JP2000078294A - Communication network structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To correspond to the enlargement of an information system by discriminating information into knowledge information and consciousness information, accumulating consciousness information in a host station and knowledge information in a user station and permitting a user to take initiative in the administration of a network. SOLUTION: Respective users register the message of consciousness information to the consciousness database of a host machine. The user makes accesses to the host machine, and refers to a consciousness information group. When desired consciousness information exists, a response message is sent to a host station. Thus, the host station supplies communication information to the user registering consciousness information matched with a response will content. A communication means can use cable or radio communication, automatically dials to the target user in accordance with it, and connects a communication line. Thus, the users directly transfer detailed information. Thus, the user takes the initiative in the administration of a network. The accumulation of vast information in the host machine is eliminated, the administration of the system by the host machine in a small scale is realized, and maintaining operation can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication network structure in which the relationship between a user station and a host station is fundamentally changed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are already many communication network systems in which personal computers scattered all over the country are connected to a host machine through a communication line. As shown in FIG. 20, a conventional communication network system has a configuration in which a number of user stations U1, U2,... Are connected to the end of a communication network radially constructed with a host station H1 at the center. Specifically, in order to eliminate the difference in communication costs due to long-distance communication, access points H2 are provided in various places (in the figure, Osaka) as shown in FIG. 21 and the user stations U21 to U26 are indirectly connected via the access points H2. This is a configuration that is connected to the host station H1. Each user can access various types of databases by directly or indirectly accessing the host station, or send e-mails to other users by temporarily storing information in a mailbox of the host machine.

[0003]

In this type of communication network system, all communications are performed via a machine installed in a host station (hereinafter referred to as a host machine). Mail can be sent to all user stations and databases can be used simply by complying with the communication protocol, and it has the advantage that there is no need to consider compatibility with the communication protocol of other user station machines, but on the other hand, many The problem is also included.
This problem is becoming more serious in recent years.

[0004] The increasing problems are listed as follows. Since information is always stored in the host machine, a huge amount of information is stored in the host machine. As the number of user stations increases, the scale of the host machine must be increased. In addition, image data and audio data have recently been handled, and the data size has tended to increase. Inevitably, constant updating and hugeness of the host machine are indispensable, and enormous costs are required for maintaining and operating the host machine. And this cost has to be collected in the form of commissions from network members, which naturally increases the burden on users. Since all information is always stored and passed on the host machine, no matter how neutral the operation is, the handling and arrangement of e-mails, the selection of data stored in the database, and the database The construction method itself will naturally reflect the will of the operation manager of the host machine, and the information will be controlled. This will lead to the exclusion of nonstandard products that are not suitable for mass sales, for example, by taking online shopping as an example. All data is temporarily stored in the host machine,
Since all data is distributed from the host machine as a starting point, the operation management company of the host machine is likely to take on the information distribution business character. When the information distribution business has a personality, it tends to select a route in which the organized information can be obtained collectively in selecting an information acquisition route. As a result, as shown in FIG. A three-layer structure is formed in which a small number of information providers are located on the upstream side of the information route, and a large number of users as consumers are located downstream. In addition, the relationship between the information provider and the user as a consumer is fixed, and the network becomes more rigid. The above tendency in communication networks has become increasingly prominent in recent years, particularly in major communication networks.

Although the above is a problem in personal computer communication, such a problem is not limited to personal computer communication and is a problem common to communication networks having a host machine.
It is expected that this will be an important problem in various communication network systems that will appear in the future.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and fundamentally reexamines a relationship between a host station and a user station, and restructures a communication network structure from a host-driven type to a user-driven type. The communication network system and its communication that can easily cope with an increase in the amount of communication information without worrying about operation in the future as well as in the future. It does not provide a method.

[0007]

The inventor of the present invention has repeatedly investigated the problems of the conventional communication network structure. As a result, the biggest problem of the conventional communication network is that all information is stored in the host station. I came to the conclusion that I was there. The fact that all information is stored in the host station means that all of the information is under the supervision of the operator of the host station, which prevents free exchange of information between user stations. In addition, accumulation of information in the host station causes an increase in the size of the host station device.

In order to eliminate such a situation, it is necessary to fundamentally review the relationship between the host station and the user station.
For that purpose, it is necessary to consider information to be stored in the host station. Based on such recognition, the inventor examined "information" and obtained the following recognition. Conventionally, information and data in communication network systems
In fact, what is collectively referred to as "name" is not uniform in content, and "information" can be classified into "consciousness information" and "knowledge information" depending on its content. And "consciousness",
"Knowledge", "information", "consciousness information", and "knowledge information" must be conceptually distinguished and handled, and can be defined as follows. Consciousness: The mind of a living being that is aware of things and knows the situation and problems. The whole spiritual thing, including thoughts, sensations, wills, and intuitions, of living beings. Knowledge: What life knows about things. What the living entity understood and recognized about things. Information: news about things, events, things. A collection of materials and data that can help you make the right decisions or make action decisions for a particular purpose. Consciousness information: A collection of information, materials, and data on the contents of consciousness. Knowledge information: A collection of news, materials, and data on the content of knowledge.

As described above, when information is distinguished into consciousness information and knowledge information, the nature of the conventional communication network structure becomes clearer. For example, if Mr. A thinks "I want to know how to make a delicious salad" and wants to get an answer to it on a communication network, there are two methods for obtaining the answer in the conventional communication network structure as follows. There is. One is when the answer on this theme has already been stored in the host station, and the other one is that the answer has not been stored in the host station. Therefore, a new answer is provided in the form of advice from another user station. This is the case. Answers provided by the host station are prepared by the host station operator in advance for frequently-received themes and extracted from discussions on similar themes that network participants have done in the past. There is. The answer is
For example, it is "a specific example of a combination of vegetables and a specific mixing example of dressing". The idea of "I want to know how to make a delicious salad" is consciousness information, and the "solution specific example of a combination of vegetables and a specific example of dressing" as a solution to this is knowledge information. In the case where the answer “specific examples of vegetable combinations and specific examples of dressing” are registered in the host station in advance, or when answers from other user stations are collected, the conventional communication network structure In each case, these pieces of knowledge information pass through a host station and are temporarily stored in a host machine. The accumulation of the knowledge information in the host machine means that the knowledge information is placed under the supervision of the host station operator as described above, and also causes the host machine to be enlarged.

In order to solve such a problem of the communication network structure, the present inventor stops storing knowledge information in the host machine and registers only consciousness information in the host station. The present invention was convinced that if the information was to be stored in the user station, the above problem would basically be solved. The communication network structure of the present invention invented based on such an idea has the contents described in claim 1. That is, a plurality of user stations are connected to each other by two-way communication means, and at least one or more host stations are connected to these user stations by two-way communication means. Awareness information as a summary of one's consciousness to be transmitted to other users via a communication network, and each user station directly or indirectly selects a partner station and communicates directly with the partner station without going through the host station In the host station, a database that registers the communication connection information required for the communication is established in the host station, and the user station that has acquired the communication connection information about the target user with whom the user interacts can communicate with each other without going through the host station. It is characterized by direct communication of knowledge information.

It is preferable that at least the telephone number of the communication connection information of the target user provided from the host station to the user be kept secret from the user. Specific forms of concealment include making the telephone number invisible without displaying it, or encrypting the telephone number and making it meaningful or decryptable in an area where the user cannot participate inside the user machine. Can be adopted. As the communication means, any of wired communication, wireless communication, and combined use of wired communication and wireless communication can be adopted. A public line or a dedicated line can be used as a line used for wired communication. Known public lines can be used, for example,
An ISDN line and an analog telephone line can be used. The telephone line used for the public line may be a fixed telephone line, a portable wireless telephone line, or a line of a personal handy phone (simple portable telephone). Amateur radio or business radio can be used as the radio communication.
One or both of the consciousness information registered in the host station and the knowledge information stored in each user station may include the video information.

When such general problems of the communication network are considered to be limited to personal computer communication, the problems become clearer and the solution of the problems becomes more concrete.
As described above, the size of the host machine in the conventional communication network system is increased because all data is temporarily stored in the storage medium of the host machine even when users communicate with each other. . In order to avoid this, only the minimum necessary data may be registered in the host machine, and the detailed data may be directly transmitted between the users who are the parties. The data that needs to be registered in the host machine is consciousness information as a summary of the consciousness content that one wants to convey to other users. You should concentrate on providing a "place" for gathering other users who respond to the.

Conventionally, the presence of the host station also has a buffer function for absorbing the difference in the communication protocol between the user machines. However, at present, the communication protocol has been almost unified, and the communication protocol has been almost unified. The differences can also be completely eliminated by standardizing the user machines, so there is currently no major obstacle to direct communication between user stations.

A communication network system completed based on such an idea has a plurality of user stations connected to each other by two-way communication means, and at least a plurality of user stations connected to these user stations by two-way communication means. A communication network system comprising one or more host stations,
The user machine installed in the user station and the host machine installed in the host station have the following configurations.

The user machine installed in the user station has the following function realizing means. 1) The consciousness information as a summary of one's consciousness that the user wants to convey to other users is selected from video, audio, sound, music, letters, symbols, and numbers within a limited amount of information. A consciousness information input unit that expresses a kind or a combination of a plurality of kinds and inputs this consciousness information according to a screen instruction. 2) A consciousness information registering means for registering consciousness information input by the consciousness information inputting means in a consciousness database published under the control of the host station. 3) Consciousness information browsing means for browsing other users' consciousness information registered in the consciousness database. 4) When finding the consciousness information to which the user can respond in the viewed consciousness database, the user who registered the consciousness information with respect to the host station (hereinafter, the user to be interacted with is referred to as a target user). Response intention registration means for registering this response intention in the host machine in order to express the intention to contact directly through the network. 5) Communication connection information recording means for receiving the communication connection information about the target user transmitted to the user determined to be appropriate by the host station in response to the expression of the response intention, and recording the communication connection information on a recording medium. 6) Target user automatic dial means for connecting a line to a bidirectional communication path with the target user's user machine based on the communication connection information recorded in the communication connection information recording means. 7) Express the details of the knowledge that the user wants to convey through a line-connected communication path by combining one or more types selected from video, audio, sound, music, letters, symbols, and numbers, and A means for transmitting and receiving knowledge information that communicates information with the target user.

On the other hand, the host machine installed in the host station has the following function realizing means. 8) A consciousness information disclosing means for arranging various consciousness information of each user registered in the consciousness database and disclosing the consciousness information group to all users or specific users through a network. 9) Matching intention combining means for matching the consciousness information registered in the awareness database with the contents of the response intention, and associating or grouping the consciousness information and the response intention with a strong correspondence. 10) To notify one or both of the user who has registered the consciousness information and the user who has registered the response intention of successful matching, and to directly contact the target user as the target user, Communication connection information providing means for providing communication connection information through a network.

The concept of a target user used in the description of the above configuration means a user to be interacted with, and defines one user to be another user to be interacted with, and is defined in a relative relationship. is there.

Communication between user stations as viewed from an arbitrary user station and communication between a user station and a host station are usually alternatively selected, except for special cases.

In the above-mentioned communication network system, the method of determining a conversation partner and contacting the conversation partner is such that when finding interesting consciousness information, the intention to respond to the information is communicated to the host machine (response intention registration means). Means for the host machine to perform a matching process between the consciousness information and the content of the response intention (corresponding intention coupling means); means for notifying the user of the successful matching and providing communication connection information about the target user (communication connection information providing means) However, it is also possible to use other methods for determining a conversation partner and for contacting the conversation partner.For example, the user can respond from the list of consciousness information without performing matching work by the host machine. When it finds possible awareness information, it directly communicates with the target user It may be obtained to provide communication connection information for establishing the host station. In addition, the matching process performed by the host machine may be performed in an indispensable combination that maintains rigorous theme matching, or in a case that considers contingency that relaxes theme matching and realizes unexpected encounters. is there.

As the user machine installed in the user station, a machine equipped with a computing device, a display device, a storage device, a large-capacity recording medium, a communication device and consciousness information input means is adopted. Device, voice input device,
It consists of one or more combinations of character input devices. The user station has a personal computer function, a telephone function, and a television receiver function.

As for the communication protocol, if each user station uses a different communication protocol, it is necessary to make an adjustment before connecting the line, so that the communication protocol used by each user station is preferably unified.

A current analog line may be used as a communication network for connecting the user stations with each other and between the user station and the host station. It is preferable to use an ISDN line whose main purpose is digital transmission from the viewpoint of utilizing the Internet.

The communication method operated in the communication network system having the above configuration includes the following steps. A) The user selects consciousness information, which is a summary of his or her consciousness that he or she wants to convey to other users, from among video, audio, sound, music, characters, symbols, and numbers within a limited total amount of information. A consciousness information registration step of expressing one or more kinds in combination, transmitting the consciousness information to a host station by operating a user machine of the user, and registering the consciousness information in a consciousness database managed by the host station. B) A consciousness information disclosing step in which the host station arranges various consciousness information of each user registered in the consciousness database and publishes the consciousness information group to all users or specific users through a network. C) A consciousness information browsing step in which a user operates his / her own user machine to access the consciousness database and browses consciousness information of another user registered in the consciousness database. D) In order to express through the network the intention to directly contact the target user who has registered the consciousness information with the host station when he or she finds consciousness information that he / she can respond to in the viewed consciousness database, A response will registration process for registering the response will in the host machine. E) A corresponding intention combining step in which the host station matches the consciousness information registered in the consciousness database with the contents of the response intentions, and associates or groups the consciousness information with a strong correspondence with the response intentions. F) When the intention is successfully combined in the corresponding intention combining step, one or both of the user who has registered the consciousness information and the user who has registered the response intention is notified of the success of the matching, and directly communicates with the other user who has become the target user. A communication connection information providing step in which the host station provides communication connection information for contacting the user through a network; G) The user machine automatically dials in accordance with the communication connection information obtained from the host station in the communication connection information providing step to set the bidirectional communication path with the target user's user machine to the line connection state, and Both users express the details of the knowledge they want to convey by combining one or more types selected from video, audio, sound, music, letters, symbols, and numbers,
A user communication process in which the user operates this user's own machine to transmit this knowledge information to each other.

In the steps indicated by D, E, and F, the determination of the conversation partner is performed by a matching operation by the host machine. On the other hand, it is also possible to rely solely on the selection intention of the user who browses the list of consciousness information without leaving the decision of the conversation partner to the matching work by the host machine. In this case, the following steps indicated by D 'and E' are adopted instead of the steps indicated by D, E and F.

D ') When finding the consciousness information to which the user can respond in the browsed consciousness database, communication connection information for directly contacting the host user with the target user who has registered the consciousness information is provided. Required communication connection information requesting step.

E ′) A communication connection information providing step in which the host station notifies the user of the communication connection information regarding the target user via a network in response to the communication connection information regarding the target user from the user.

Various methods can be considered as a method of registering the consciousness information in the consciousness database. For example, one of the answer items prepared for the question items prepared in advance is selected.
Adopt the multi-branch selection questionnaire method of selecting one, and if the contents of the registered consciousness information are represented by a set of codes or numerical values selected for each question item, it is easy to analyze and evaluate the contents of the consciousness information . Such a questionnaire is more preferably formed in a tree structure.

Various methods may be considered for the method of registering the content of the response intention in the response intention registration process. However, similar to the method of registering the consciousness information in the consciousness database, adopting the multiple-choice questionnaire method requires analysis and evaluation. It is preferable from an easy viewpoint.

It is also possible to register both the consciousness information registered in the consciousness database and the response intention contents registered in the response intention registration step in a text document format. In this case, the matching work by the host machine is
The consciousness information and the response intention contents are analyzed and classified using the preset classification keyword as an index, and then executed.

In the matching operation performed by the host station, the closest candidate having the correspondence is set as the first candidate, and the other candidates are ranked according to the degree of closeness of the correspondence. It is also preferable to prepare a preliminary candidate in preparation for the dialogue failure. It is also conceivable to perform a matching process that incorporates an element of contingency instead of using the intimacy of the correspondence as a reference.

[0031]

In such a communication network structure,
Each user can request and ask other users,
Short consciousness information summarizing one's consciousness to be conveyed is registered in the host machine, and a large amount of knowledge information is stored in a user machine managed by each user under his / her own responsibility. The host station serves as a "square" where the users meet each other, and the users who meet on this host machine leave the host station and directly exchange knowledge information. Such a communication network structure is applicable not only to personal computer communication but also to all communication networks as long as it has a host station, and the communication means is appropriately selected based on the characteristics of the network.

In a communication network system using such a communication network structure for a personal computer communication network, awareness information is registered in an awareness database constructed on a host machine. The method of registering the consciousness information is a questionnaire method that answers the questions asked by the host machine one after another, writing the contents that you want to convey directly in a text document format, and when inputting using various input devices There is also. The consciousness information is expressed by combining one or more kinds selected from video, audio, sound, music, characters, symbols, and numbers, and it is important to limit the total amount of information to a small size. The consciousness information registered in the consciousness database is open to all users or specific users in a list format, and the user accesses the consciousness database and freely browses the contents of the consciousness information. Only the consciousness information can be browsed, and the communication connection information such as the telephone number of the registrant of the consciousness information is kept secret. As a result of the browsing, the user who finds the consciousness information to which the user can respond notifies the host machine that he can respond to the consciousness information, and obtains the communication connection information of the target user to be a conversation partner from the host machine.

From the step of notifying the host machine of the response intention, the step of obtaining the communication connection information of the target user can be roughly classified into two types. First
Is a method that goes through a matching operation by the host machine, and the second is a method that does not go through this matching operation. That is, in the first method, when a plurality of response intentions are registered in the host machine with respect to the consciousness information registered in the consciousness database, the host machine transmits the consciousness information and the contents of the plurality of response intentions expressed thereto. In order to determine the response intention that has the content that most closely matches the content of the consciousness information, determine the user who has registered this response intention as the other party (target user), and directly contact this target user. This is a method of notifying the user who registered the initial awareness information of the communication connection information. This matching method is indispensable to connect consciousness information and response intention by intimacy of contents, but there is also a method of producing an accidental encounter as another matching method. the other one is,
The user who has found the responsive consciousness information notifies the host machine that he / she intends to respond, and at the same time requests immediate notification of the communication connection information about the user (target user) with whom the host machine interacts. This is a method in which communication connection information about the communication partner is notified one after another without any examination or after only a simple examination, and without any matching work by the host machine.

After obtaining the communication connection information about the communication partner, the users close the communication network with the host machine, make the communication network between the parties into a line connection state, and obtain knowledge between the parties without passing through the host machine. Communicate information directly. There is no limitation on the total amount of information in the communication here, and a large amount of knowledge information expressed by combining one or a plurality of types selected from video, audio, sound, music, characters, symbols, and numbers is exchanged. Things.

As described above, according to the present invention, the host machine basically provides only a "place" for the users to meet each other, and after the meeting, the users communicate with each other directly away from the host machine. . Therefore, the information registered in the host machine can be limited to the minimum necessary consciousness information, and even a small-sized host machine can withstand operation without a possibility that the accumulated data amount becomes huge. On the other hand, since direct communication between users exchanges the details of knowledge information to be conveyed, the amount of data handled is large, but this data is within the range managed at your own risk and There is no problem because the data is within the management range of the user machine. Information expressed by a combination of one or more selected from among video, audio, sound, music, letters, symbols, and numbers is transmitted to the direct communication between users,
As a user machine used by a user, a so-called multimedia device having an image input device, a voice input device, a character input device, and the like, and having a personal computer function, a telephone function, and a television receiver function is used. .

By making the communication protocol of such a user machine uniform for all the user machines participating in the network, there is no need for prior adjustment for direct communication between users.

The communication network connecting the user stations with each other and between the user station and the host station has an ISDN having a caller ID function notification.
In the case of a line, since the originator is specified in communication between users, the right to reject communication is also secured. Further, since the ISDN line has a small fee difference between long-distance communication and short-distance communication, communication between users at remote locations does not cause a problem in cost. In addition, by verifying the consistency between the user ID number and the notified caller number, the identity can be confirmed, so that the payment for credit inquiry and online shopping can be performed without error.

If the telephone number of the target user's communication connection information provided from the host station to the user is concealed from the user, the user machine automatically dials the other party without informing the user of the telephone number. I do. Therefore, unless the user tells the other party, there is no way to know the telephone number of the other party, and there is little possibility that the privacy of each other is violated.

[0039]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a communication network structure of the present invention. This network has many user stations U
Are connected to the host station H1 via the communication network 1, and the host station H1 is located at the center of the radially connected user stations U1, U2... As in the conventional communication network structure. . The present network structure is different from the conventional communication network structure in that a communication network 2 for connecting user stations without passing through the host station H1 is formed. A large amount of data is transmitted and received directly between user stations. Then, when viewed from a specific user station, the communication network 1 and the communication network 2 are not simultaneously connected, and one of them is alternatively selected. However, when making a payment or credit inquiry in real time online, the communication network 1 and the communication network 2 may be connected at the same time and two user stations and a host station may be connected at three points. Further, the amount of data transmitted / received by the communication network 2 is much larger than that of the communication network 1, so that each user station has a large-capacity recording medium 3.
Is also different from the conventional communication network structure.

As the communication network 1 and the communication network 2, both a wired communication network and a wireless communication network are applicable. The wired communication network may be a public line network or a dedicated line network. Further, as the public line network, any of an ISDN network and an analog telephone network can be used. In addition to the built-in telephone network, a portable wireless telephone network and a personal handy phone (simple mobile phone) that is expected to spread in the future
Is also applicable. As for wireless communication networks, both amateur wireless networks and business wireless networks are targeted.

The consciousness information registered in the host station and the knowledge information stored in each user station may or may not include video information.

FIG. 2 shows a plurality of host stations H1 and H2,
This is a case where one host station H2 is set as an access point. The user stations U21 to U26 are connected to the host station H1 as necessary via the communication network 1, and are connected to the user stations U11 to U26.
U16 is connected to the host station H2 as an access point. Also, a communication network 2 is formed between the user stations to be connected as necessary. Host station H1
Is installed in, for example, Tokyo, and has the function of a main unit. On the other hand, the host station H2 is a sub-unit installed in each major city such as Osaka, and suppresses an excessive burden of call charges. It has a function as an access point for performing The host station H1 as a main device and the host station H2 as an access point are always connected by a dedicated high-speed digital line. In this network system, the amount of data stored in the host station is much smaller than that of the conventional network system, so that the load on the host station is small, and many access points can be installed with a small capital investment.

FIG. 3 is an example of an overall configuration diagram when the device configuration of the communication network system is grasped from a functional point of view. The system comprises a plurality of user stations, at least one or more host stations, and a communication network interconnecting the user stations. A user machine installed in the user station and a host machine installed in the host station are shown in FIG. Such means are provided. Each function realized here is realized by a hardware configuration of a multimedia device described later and software that controls the hardware configuration. As shown in FIG. 4, the "response intention registration means" in the user machine is replaced with "communication connection information request means", while the two means, "corresponding intention combining means" and "communication connection information providing means", in the host machine are replaced. It can be replaced with only “communication connection information providing means”. The details of each means are the same as those in the description of the steps of the communication method in the present network system, and thus are omitted here.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show an example of a user machine installed in a user station. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the user machine, and FIG. This device is designed to be very easy to operate and used by the elderly and children without resistance.
It has a general telephone function and an answering machine function. It also has functions of capturing / editing / transferring video images, a personal computer function, a game machine function, etc., and also has an information security function of preventing falsification of recorded data and unauthorized use by others. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, a hard disk 1 for providing a temporary storage area and a work area for various data to a computer main body 11 having an arithmetic processing unit 10 mounted thereon.
2, a magneto-optical disk drive (MD) 13 as a large-capacity recording medium for recording document data, image data, audio data, and the like, and a VIDEO board 14 directly connected to a CPU bus in an expansion slot on the back side thereof. A voice input / output & MIDI (sound source) board 15 and an ISDN (integrated digital communication network) board 16 are mounted. And VI
A video camera 17 and a VTR are connected to the DEO board 14 so that video input is possible. By outputting a video video signal to a home TV via the VIDEO board 14, there is no dedicated CRT display. Even so, the video can be projected on the home TV 18.
A CRT display can be used instead of a home TV. Although not shown, the computer main body 11 and the CRT display may be integrated. Voice input / output & MI
An output terminal of the DI board 15 is connected to an AMP (audio signal amplifier) and an external speaker 19, so that high-quality sound (including music and simple sounds) can be reproduced. A microphone 20 is connected to the input side of the unit 15 so that voice input is also possible. Voice input through the microphone is used not only to create a voice file to be transmitted to the host station or another user station with which the user is interacting, but also to add a voice recognition function to issue an operation command to the multimedia device. It may be used for giving by voice. Although not shown, a microphone-like receiver of an existing telephone may be used instead of the microphone. The ISDN board 16 is connected to a DSU (data line terminating device) 21 and is connected to an ISDN line called an INS net 64 or an INS net 1500. The ISDN line can transfer large amounts of data at high speed, so it is suitable for data transmission with images, and it has a caller ID notification function that displays the telephone number of the other party before picking up the handset, so the right to refuse communication Can also be reserved. The caller ID to be notified is usually managed by the user machine, and the user is not notified of the telephone number as raw information as it is, but if necessary, the above function can be selected by selecting the optional mode It is desired that this be exhibited. In addition, since the identity can be confirmed by verifying the consistency between the user ID number and the notified caller number, it is possible to perform a credit inquiry and a payment in online shopping without error. It is needless to say that an ISDN line is preferably used because the present system also handles images and the like, but a general analog line can also be used if techniques such as data compression are used together. Reference numeral 22 in the figure denotes an input pointing device represented by a mouse or a trackball. Since the user machine aims to be easy for anyone to operate, basically no keyboard is connected, and all input instruction operations are performed by mice and trackballs, as well as keypads used in touch panels and game machines In principle, it is performed by simple input means such as. It is to be noted that although not shown, it is also appropriate to attach only a numeric keypad, or to make it possible to optionally attach a full-size keyboard to a person who is accustomed to keyboard operation. Although not shown, a simple image reading device such as a handy scanner can be connected.

The communication method of the present invention performed using such a multimedia device includes the following steps.

<Consciousness Information Registration Step> (see FIG. 7) This is a step in which a user transmits his / her consciousness to other users connected to the network, and is a step in which consciousness information is registered in the form of a message. A user who makes a request or question to another user and wants a response from the other user in response to the request,
Manipulate 0 to create a short message that is a summary of the will content. The message may be audio data recorded through a microphone, a video created by a video camera, or a text document input by operating a mouse or a keyboard. What is important here is that the total amount of information of messages that can be created is limited. The created message is sent from the user machine 30 to the host machine 40 in an e-mail format, and is registered as consciousness information in the consciousness database constructed on the host machine 40. All access procedures from the user machine 30 to the host machine 40 are automated, and if registration is completed, the host machine 4
The line with 0 is cut off. The registered consciousness information is stored in the consciousness database for a certain period. The storage period is set separately depending on the type of the consciousness information, the size of the capacity, and the data format. For example, when the consciousness information includes large-capacity data such as image data and audio data, the host machine 4
The storage period is set short to reduce the burden of zero.
In FIG. 7, "5,000 delicious Chinese dishes in the Osaka area"
Tell me where you can eat within a yen! ! Is registered in the host machine 40.

<Consciousness Information Disclosure Process> When the consciousness information sent from the user through the network is registered in the consciousness database, the host machine 40 sorts various consciousness information of each user, and transmits these consciousness information groups through the network. Publish to network participants. The consciousness information registered in the consciousness database is released unlimitedly within the storage period of each consciousness information,
After the data retention period has expired, disclosure restrictions may be added or deleted from the awareness database. When publishing, there are cases where it is made public to all users and cases where it is made public only to specific members. Judgment of disclosure or non-disclosure with respect to the user shall be distinguished by the ID number of the user. Since the sorting and sorting of the consciousness information requires a great deal of labor if performed manually, it is preferable that the sorting and sorting can be automatically performed by the host machine 40. As an automatic classification method by the host machine 40, for example, a word included in consciousness information is classified as a keyword, or registration of consciousness information itself is performed by a plurality of answers prepared in advance for a predetermined finite number of question items. Consideration may be given to adopting a multi-branch selection questionnaire method in which the closest one is selected from among them. In particular, when the multi-branch selection questionnaire method is adopted, since the content of the consciousness information itself is expressed as a set of numerical values and codes as answers to the questionnaire, mechanical rearrangement and classification by the host machine 40 is extremely easy. is there.

<Consciousness Information Browsing Step> (See FIG. 8) The user operates his / her own user machine to access the consciousness database stored in the host machine 40 through the network and browse the consciousness information of other users. It is a process. The purpose of browsing the consciousness database is to search by using a keyword or to make the consciousness database into a tree structure that is classified from large to small classification, and to trace the hierarchy of this tree structure from top to bottom A method of finding consciousness information can be adopted. FIG.
Indicates that another user other than the user who registered the consciousness information in the <consciousness information registration step> is browsing the consciousness database. In the group of consciousness information displayed in the list, the consciousness information registered by the previous user, "Tell me a restaurant where you can eat delicious Chinese food in the area of Osaka for less than 5,000 yen!""Please tell me a restaurant."

<Response Will Registration Step> (See FIG. 9) When finding the consciousness information to which the user can respond in the browsed consciousness database, the host machine 40 informs that he / she has a will to respond to the consciousness information. This is the process of expressing The response intention is indicated by specifying the corresponding consciousness information and registering its own ID number and a simple response message in the communication network in a mailbox associated with the consciousness information. In addition to a brief description of the response that the user can make, the response message can also include his or her profile. However, you should avoid including your own phone number in the response message. Since the host machine 40 manages the telephone number and basic self information in association with the ID, it should be used. The telephone number and basic personal information of each user managed by the host machine 40 are also used for matching in the next correspondence intention combining step. FIG. 9 shows that a user who has a willingness to respond to the above-mentioned message "Tell me a Chinese restaurant in Osaka for less than 5,000 yen." Is registered in the host machine 40.

<Corresponding Will Combining Step> (Refer to FIG. 10) This is a step in which the host station matches each consciousness information registered in the consciousness database with the contents of the response intention expressed for each consciousness information. Matching is usually performed between the consciousness information in the consciousness database and the content of the will to respond to the consciousness information. However, when there is no corresponding response intention expression, the registered message in the consciousness database is used. In some cases, matching work is performed between each other. The matching can be determined by numerically evaluating the degree of matching of the keywords. In addition, the matching may be such that only perfect matches are extracted.However, even if they do not completely match, those with a strong correspondence are ranked in the order of strong correspondence and secured as preliminary candidates, It is also conceivable to stock as the next candidate when the dialogue with the first candidate is not established. The consciousness information for which the matching has been found by the matching operation and the response intention are linked or grouped and managed in the host machine 40. Matching should be performed periodically after a certain period of time during the message registration storage period, when the number of unevaluated response intentions reaches a certain number, and in real time whenever a new response intention is registered It is conceivable that the processing is performed. As another example of the matching process, a method of freely performing the matching without being restricted by the matching of the themes and enjoying the unexpectedness can be considered. FIG. 10 shows a plurality of responses to the first user's consciousness information "Tell me a store where you can eat delicious Chinese food for less than 5,000 yen in the Osaka area!" As a result of matching with the content of the will, it was judged that the response intention of "I know a store that can eat delicious Chinese food within 4000 yen in Ibaraki-shi!" Is shown.

<Communication Connection Information Providing Step> (See FIG. 11)
One or both of the user who has registered the consciousness information and the user who has registered the response will will be notified of the success of the matching. This is a step of providing communication connection information for making contact. What matters here is the content of the information to be notified to the user and the timing of the notification. The contact time can be processed in real time when there is a response,
In this method, since the matching operation becomes practically meaningless, it is better to wait until a certain number or more of the response intentions are accumulated. Also, the content of the communication connection information provided to the user includes at least a telephone number because the user who has received the communication connection information needs to connect a line to a communication path between the user and a user who has indicated a will to respond. There is a need. However, making the telephone number known to other users is not preferable because there is a concern that the telephone number may be misused for purposes other than necessary communication and cause privacy problems. In order to avoid such a situation, while including the telephone number in the communication connection information, the telephone number is invisible to the user operating the user machine 30 or is encrypted. It should just be. For example, the invisible state is a case where the received communication connection information is stored in the memory without being displayed on the display screen. When the telephone number is encrypted, the received character is decrypted in an invisible area of the user machine 30. The communication connection information is recorded in the memory of the user machine 30, HDD or MD, and at this stage, the communication network between the user station and the host station is cut off. Fig. 11 shows the user who registered the message "Tell me a restaurant where you can eat delicious Chinese food in the area of Osaka for less than 5,000 yen !!" The figure shows a state in which communication connection information regarding a user is notified.

<User Communication Step> (See FIG. 12) The user machine 30 reads out the communication connection information stored in the memory or another recording medium and automatically dials the target user to establish a communication network between the user stations. connection,
This is a process in which the users directly exchange detailed information.
The data to be exchanged may be video data, audio data, text-related data, or composite data. Although the size of the data amount is free, since it is communication between the parties, it is a rule that the data amount is within the responsibility of the parties. Here, the responsibility between the parties refers to the performance and scale of the user machine 30 owned by the parties,
Furthermore, this means that communication is performed in consideration of the large call charge burden in long-distance communication due to communication between parties without passing through an access point. In addition, it is natural that the communication protocol of the user stations to be communicated with must be the same, but the communication protocol of all user stations must be unified to guarantee smooth communication even if the target user changes. It is preferred that Therefore, in order to realize this, it is most realistic to take the form in which the network host lends the user machine 30 itself. FIG. 12 shows a situation in which users communicate with each other directly without the intervention of a host machine and transmit and receive detailed data.

In the <response intention registration step> and <correspondence intention combining step>, the determination of the conversation partner is performed by the matching operation by the host machine. On the other hand, it is also possible to leave the decision of the conversation partner to only the selection intention of the user who browses the list of consciousness information without leaving it to the matching operation by the host machine. In this case, a step shown as the following <communication connection information requesting step> is employed instead of the steps shown in the <response intention registration step> and the <corresponding intention combining step>.

<Communication Connection Information Requesting Step> (See FIG. 13) When a message that the user can respond to is found in the browsed summary database, the host station directly contacts the user who registered the message. For obtaining communication connection information through the network. In this method, no matching work is performed by the host station.
In response to a request from the user, the communication connection information is notified almost without examination. Since this network basically places importance on communicating at the individual's responsibility, prior check by the host station is unnecessary, but minimum check for addicts who are always causing problems on the network. This does not preclude performing such operations. In response to the message “Tell me a restaurant where you can eat delicious Chinese food for less than 5,000 yen in the Osaka area!” In FIG. 13, “Ibaraki City knows a restaurant where you can eat delicious Chinese food for less than 4,000 yen. At the same time, and at the same time requesting the immediate provision of communication connection information for the user who registered the appeal message.

Next, service contents provided in the communication network system of the present invention will be described. Classification focusing on the correspondence between user stations participating in the service provided in this network system,
"1: N-type service", "N: N-type service", "1:
There is also a "DB service", which is divided into "type 1 services", and in addition to these, each user station uses various databases connected to the host station. Each service is realized by a combination of text data, audio data, video data, and the like, and maximizes the multimedia function of the user machine. Examples of the “1: N type service” include a flea market, a garage sale (sell / buy), a personal auction, network shopping (mail order), ticket / event information, and a company-provided commercial. The “N: N type service” includes, for example, a scoop video contest, a photo contest, a collective matchmaking match, a quiz deciding match in Japan, an original video exchange, and the like. "1:
Do you have a "type 1 service", for example, a videophone, answering machine, video video communication, or a person to talk to?
(For the elderly), life consultation / psychological counseling, navigation (operation guidance), etc. "DB
Examples of the “service” include a NEWS database,
An image encyclopedia, an intellectual database, and the like.

FIGS. 14 and 15 show examples of menus displayed on a TV screen as a display device of the user machine. FIG. 14 shows an example of a top menu screen at the time of startup, and FIG. 15 shows an example of a menu screen when a communication mode is selected. The “CQ mode” in FIG. 15 is a calling mode for an unspecified number of people. "Videophone" in the figure is a service that was almost impossible with a conventional communication network system. In a conventional communication network system, data is temporarily registered in a recording medium in a host machine, and then this data is taken out by another user. Therefore, data cannot be exchanged between users in real time. This is made possible by direct data exchange between users.

Next, among the items shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, specific examples of registration of consciousness information required when using items other than the database use as various information services provided by the host machine. Is described.
The contents of the consciousness information are roughly classified into reception type information as shown in <Table 1> and transmission type information as shown in <Table 2>. , "Medium area", "small area", "genre", "price", "other" are prepared in a tree structure as shown in FIG. By answering the questionnaire in the form of a questionnaire, consciousness information in the form of a message, which is a summary of consciousness to be transmitted to other users, is created and registered. Note that this tree structure is also used when searching for desired consciousness information in the consciousness information browsing process.

[0058]

[Table 1]

[0059]

[Table 2]

Table 3 shows the types of consciousness information registration methods. As the method of registering the consciousness information, there are prepared a communication mode A in which the amount of handled data is relatively small and a method of using the communication mode B in which the amount of handled data is large. The communication mode A includes input by a questionnaire method and character input (text input) by operating a keyboard or a mouse. In the case of a questionnaire input, input data is a set of codes and numerical values. If the input data is represented by a set of codes and numerical values, these data are registered in a code database, while if the input is character input, the input data is registered in a text database. In these communication modes A, the user station and the host station are connected by D-channel packet communication to transmit data because the amount of data handled per case is small. There is no need to limit the data storage period because the data amount itself is small. On the contrary, a real-time communication mode like a so-called electronic conference room in which a plurality of user stations simultaneously participate at the same time is provided.

The communication mode B is a method of registering consciousness information as video data or audio data. These data registrations are performed by making full use of the multimedia function of the user machine, and the input data is stored in the video / audio database. These use the B channel because of the large amount of data to be handled, and also limit the data storage period to three months. It goes without saying that the video file and the audio file are registered in a compressed format, but the decompression and decompression are automatically executed by the user machine without injuring the user's hand.

[0062]

[Table 3]

<Table 4> shows the types of target consciousness information retrieval methods in the consciousness information browsing process, and these naturally correspond to the contents of the consciousness information described above. In the communication mode A, the target person list is sequentially displayed while the line is connected, whereas in the communication mode B having a large data capacity, the downloaded compressed file is decompressed and viewed.

[0064]

[Table 4]

Since the communication network of the present invention is intended for the elderly to children, attention is paid to operability, and most of the operations are designed so that they can be performed with a mouse, a trackball or a simple keypad. I have. In addition, specific operations adopt a method of sequentially selecting the corresponding items according to the screen display, and when you make a mistake or if you do not understand the operation, a warning message or commentary message will be displayed on the screen, or by artificial voice It is designed to provide guidance. still,
One method is to gather users who will be navigators who kindly teach the elderly how to operate them with the communication network.

FIG. 17 shows a start screen of "Video Communication Club" which is one of the services provided by the present communication network system. The purpose of this club is to exchange videos and still images created by users with each other or to enjoy videos and still images provided by the host station. To proceed to the next item on this screen, one of “tool”, “transmission”, and “response” may be selected, and the device is designed so that the operation content can be intuitively recognized. Here, the “tool” is a tool for inputting, editing, and reproducing voices, still images, moving images, pictures, music, sentences, etc. By selecting this “tool” item, these tools are activated. Has become. In this user machine, these tools are provided in the form of a device driver called an "image front-end processor", and intervene between a person who operates various boards such as a VIDEO board or a voice & MIDI board built in the user machine. The complicated control for these various boards is automated. “Transmission” is a video data transmission mode as transmission of one's will. This includes "transmission" as a first question to another person and "transmission" as a reply to the will of another person, and these include immediate transmission and transmission with a time difference. The "response" is a mode for reproducing an answer from another person to the transmission of his / her will. The answer may be received immediately or it may take a considerable amount of time before the answer is received. In addition to "answers", in addition to answers to their own first intentions, "answers" to other people's opinions expressed in a chain starting from their own wills can be received. Although the body of the series of data is self-managed by each user, only the data index is linked in the host machine, and the mutual relation is managed.

FIG. 18 shows a reproduction operation screen for video data received in the "response" mode. In the figure, reference numeral 50 denotes a screen unit for displaying a reproduced image, and 51 denotes an operation unit.
The operation unit 51 has almost the same contents as the operation unit of the home VTR. Clicking each icon executes the operation content represented by the icon.

FIG. 19 shows a display screen of a TV telephone function which is one of other services provided by the present communication network system. The display screen is visualized so that the operation procedure can be easily recognized, similar to "Video Communication Club".
By clicking on each item displayed on the operation unit 60 with a mouse operation, the content of each item is executed. Further, by clicking on the push button section 62, a telephone number is entered, thereby realizing operability close to that of a normal telephone. Further, ADDRES. BO
OK61 is provided, and by clicking this part, a list of registered friends and acquaintances' home addresses, names, telephone numbers, workplace information, etc. can be displayed as in a normal address book. By clicking on the relevant part,
It is devised so that it can automatically dial the desired party.

[0069]

According to the communication network structure of the present invention, the knowledge information is not stored in the host station but only the awareness information is basically registered, and the knowledge information is stored in the user machine managed by each user station. We decided to accumulate. Therefore, the knowledge information is not deviated and managed by the host station operator as in the related art, and a user-driven communication network can be constructed. Further, since no knowledge information is stored in the host station, the size of the host station can be reduced, and the equipment cost of the host machine can be reduced. Further, if such a communication network structure is applied to personal computer communication, a new communication network system which has not existed before can be constructed. In this communication network system, each user registers consciousness information, which is a summary of his or her consciousness that he or she wants to convey to other users, in the form of a short message, and the other users indicate their intention to respond to this message to the host station. You will be able to meet on the host machine by notifying. Then, after meeting on the host machine, the user cuts off communication with the host station and directly communicates with the target user with whom the user has interacted without going through the host machine. In such a communication network system, the amount of information stored in the host machine can be dramatically reduced. Therefore, it is possible to deal with an increase in the number of users and multimedia handling information, that is, handling of video information and audio information with a relatively small-sized host machine, thereby reducing the maintenance and operation costs of the host machine. It can greatly reduce the user's fee burden. In addition, since the exchange of knowledge information is performed directly between users without going through the host station, the intention of the operation manager of the host machine can be eliminated as much as possible, and open user information can be transmitted and received. In addition, the user is the sender of the interrogation message,
Since it is a responder to other users, the relationship between a corporate user as an information provider and a general user as a consumer is freely and freely transmitted and received, unlike the conventional network system. Can be performed.

Line connection abnormalities and the like due to differences in communication protocols for communication not via the host station can be avoided by standardizing the communication protocols of all user machines participating in the network to the same standard.

The communication network connecting the user stations with each other and between the user station and the host station has an IS having a caller ID function notification.
In the case of the DN line, since the caller is specified in the communication between the users, the right to reject communication can be secured. In addition, since the identity can be confirmed by verifying the consistency between the user ID number and the notified caller number, it is possible to perform a credit inquiry and a payment in online shopping without error. In addition, the ISDN line has a charge system in which the line usage fee does not depend much on the distance of the communication distance, and is therefore advantageous for remote communication.

Further, the telephone number of the communication connection information of the target user provided from the host station to the user is kept secret from the user, and the user machine automatically dials the other party without knowing the telephone number to the user. In this case, it is possible to prevent prank calls or the like due to misuse of the communication connection information, thereby protecting each other's privacy.

When a multi-branch selection questionnaire method is adopted as a method of registering the consciousness information in the consciousness database, and when the consciousness information is a set of codes or symbols selected for each question item, the contents of the consciousness information Analysis and evaluation can be performed easily, and matching work can be sped up. When the multi-branch selection questionnaire method has a tree structure, the selection items are gradually narrowed, so that a message can be easily created.

When the method of registering the content of the response intention in the response intention registration step employs the multiple-choice questionnaire method,
It is easy to analyze and evaluate the response will content.

When the consciousness information and the response intention registered in the text document format are analyzed and classified using the preset classification keyword as an index, if the user is accustomed to keyboard operation, the user is asked to perform the multiple questionnaire. There is no need to respond, and you can register your own will in a short time.

In the matching operation, the closest candidate of the correspondence is set as the first candidate, and other items are ranked according to the degree of closeness of the correspondence.
Even if the conversation with the candidate is unsuccessful, you can introduce the next candidate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a basic concept of a communication network structure of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall explanatory diagram showing the concept of the present invention when an access point is installed.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an internal configuration of a user machine and a host machine in a communication network system to which the present invention has been applied;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the internal configuration of the user machine and the host machine in the communication network system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a system configuration diagram showing one embodiment of a user machine used in a communication network system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory perspective view showing the appearance of the apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a consciousness information registration step in a communication method applied to the communication network structure of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an awareness information browsing step in the communication method.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a response will registration step in the communication method.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a corresponding intention combining step in the communication method.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a communication connection information providing step in the communication method.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing a communication process between users in the communication method.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a communication connection information requesting unit which replaces the response will registration step and the corresponding intention combining step in the communication method.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a top menu when a user machine is started.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a menu when a communication mode is selected.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a tree structure of a questionnaire for message registration.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a start screen of “Video Communication Club”;

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a playback operation screen for video data received in the “response” mode of the “video communication club”;

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen of a TV phone.

FIG. 20 is an overall explanatory diagram showing a basic concept of a conventional communication network system.

FIG. 21 is an overall explanatory diagram showing a concept when an access point is installed in a conventional communication network system.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram indicating a problem of a conventional communication network system.

[Explanation of symbols]

H1 Host station H2 Host station (access point) U1 to U8, U11 to U16, U21 to U26 User station 1 Communication network 2 Communication network 3 Recording medium 10 Processing unit 11 Computer body 12 Hard disk 13 Magneto-optical disk drive 14 VIDEO board 15 Audio input / output & MIDI board 16 ISDN board 17 Video camera 18 Home TV 19 AMP &
External speaker 20 Microphone 21 DSU 22 Input instruction device 30 User machine 40 Host machine 50 Screen unit 51 Operation unit 60 Operation unit 61 ADDR
ES. BOOK

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A system comprising: a plurality of user stations connected to each other by two-way communication means; and at least one host station connected to these user stations by two-way communication means. A consciousness information as a summary of one's consciousness that the station wants to convey to other users through the communication network, and each user station directly or indirectly selects a partner station and directly communicates with the partner station without going through the host station. A database in which communication connection information necessary for communication is registered is built in the host station, and the user station that has acquired communication connection information on the target user with whom the conversation is to be made can transmit to the user station without passing through the host station. A communication network structure in which knowledge information is exchanged directly between each other. 2. An area in which at least the telephone number of the communication connection information of the target user provided to the user from the host station is invisible to the user or encrypted, and the user cannot participate in the user machine. 2. The communication network structure according to claim 1, wherein the communication network structure is made meaningful or decoded. 3. The communication network structure according to claim 1, wherein the communication means is wired communication, wireless communication, or a combination of wired and wireless communication. 4. The communication network structure according to claim 3, wherein the line used for the wired communication is a public line or a dedicated line. 5. The communication network structure according to claim 4, wherein the public line is an ISDN line or an analog telephone line. 6. The communication network structure according to claim 4, wherein the public line is a portable radio telephone line or a personal handyphone line. 7. The communication network structure according to claim 3, wherein the radio communication is an amateur radio or a business radio. 8. The communication network structure according to claim 1, wherein one or both of the consciousness information registered in the host station and the knowledge information exchanged between the user stations include video information.