JP2000324246A - Service information delivery unit and information terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable an information terminal that is moving to obtain optimum service information. SOLUTION: A service information delivery unit 4 classifies service information by each position registration area of a mobile communication system and stores the result into a service information storage section 34. A processing unit 32 of the delivery unit 4 generates a moving history of an information terminal (7), predicts the position registration area to which the information terminal (7) is likely to belong to in the future on the basis of the moving history, selects service information in cross-reference with a predicted position registration area, and serves the selected service information to the information terminal (7). Furthermore, the processing unit 32 selects the position registration area to which the information terminal (7) frequently belongs or in which the information terminal (7) is resident for a long time on the basis of the moving history, selects the service information in cross-reference with the selected position registration area and serves the selected service information to the information terminal (7).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a service information providing apparatus for providing service information to a portable information terminal, and an information terminal to which the service information is provided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-98473 discloses a mobile communication system for providing various types of service information to a local information automatic display terminal device, which is a portable information terminal, via a base station and a communication network. Has been disclosed. The base station of the mobile communication system is a base station I used for location registration of an information terminal.
An identification signal including D is always transmitted. An advertising phrase, which is service information, is added to the identification signal.
The local information automatic display terminal device receives the identification signal transmitted from the base station, extracts the advertising phrase from the received identification signal, and displays the extracted advertising phrase.

[0003]

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-98473
The local information automatic display terminal device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10-20711 obtains optimal service information based on an identification signal of a base station that can be wirelessly connected at the current time. In such a mobile communication system, it is possible to provide optimal service information to an information terminal having a narrow moving range and continuing to connect to the same base station. If the information terminal moves over a wide area and the connectable base stations are updated frequently, the location of the currently connectable base station is merely a passing point,
It is difficult to provide optimal service information to an information terminal based on the identification signal of the base station.

[0004] The present invention provides a service information providing apparatus and a service information providing apparatus capable of providing optimal service information to a portable information terminal in which a base station which can move in a wide range and is connectable is frequently updated. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information terminal capable of requesting optimum service information from a device.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a base station installed in a plurality of preset location registration areas, a communication network connecting the base stations, and a wireless connection to the base station. An information terminal that performs location registration through a base station,
A mobile control database means for storing information on a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs based on the result of location registration; and a service information providing apparatus provided in a mobile communication system, wherein service information to be provided to the information terminal is stored. Service information storage means, information acquisition means for acquiring information on the location registration area to which the information terminal belongs from the mobility control database means, and information on the acquired location registration area stored for each information terminal. Movement history creation means for creating a movement history of the service information, service information selection means for selecting service information from the service information storage means based on the created movement history, and communication information between the communication network and the base station. And a providing means for providing the information terminal to the information terminal via the Internet.

According to the present invention, a service information providing apparatus provides service information to an information terminal using a mobile communication system. The provided service information is selected based on the movement history of the information terminal. As a result, the service information providing device can provide optimal service information for the owner of the information terminal.

In the service information providing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention, the information acquiring means reads information of a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs from the movement control database means at predetermined timings, and the movement history creating means The feature is to give to.

According to the present invention, the information acquisition means of the service information providing apparatus spontaneously acquires information on the location registration area to which the information terminal belongs from the mobility control database means. Accordingly, the service information providing apparatus can create a movement history without imposing a load on the mobile communication system. Therefore, it is possible to provide optimal service information to the information terminal without imposing a load on the mobile communication system. Can be.

[0009] In a service information providing apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention, the movement control database means provides the service information providing apparatus with information on a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs at predetermined timings, Receiving information provided from the movement control database means and providing the information to the movement history creating means.

According to the present invention, in the service information providing apparatus, the information on the location registration area to which the information terminal belongs is voluntarily given to the service information providing apparatus by the mobility control database means. As a result, unnecessary calls do not occur, so that it is possible to suppress an increase in traffic due to the creation of the movement history in the mobile communication system.

[0011] In the service information providing apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the movement history includes information on a location registration area in which the information terminal has performed location registration, and information on the location registration area in which the location registration has been performed. It is characterized by including at least a stay time.

According to the present invention, in the service information providing apparatus, since the movement history includes the information of the location registration area and the stay time, the service information optimum for the information terminal owner is determined by the information terminal owner. Not only can you choose in consideration of your stay time.

A service information providing apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention refers to a movement history of the information terminal, and based on the history of the information terminal in a location registration area to which the information terminal currently belongs, The service information storage unit further stores service information in association with the location registration area, and the service information selection unit stores the service information in the prediction by the area prediction unit. The service information related to the specified location registration area is selected.

According to the present invention, the service information providing device provides the information terminal with service information relating to the location registration area where the information terminal is expected to belong in the future. As a result, the service information providing apparatus can more effectively provide optimal service information to the owner of an information terminal that moves over a wide range. Further, the service information providing device can provide service information that is valuable to the owner of the information terminal as compared with a device of the related art that provides only service information relating to the current location registration area.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the service information providing apparatus, the area predicting means (a) collates the history of the information terminal with the movement history of the information terminal; Extract the part equal to the information terminal history,
(C) extracting a location registration area described after a portion equal to the history in the movement history as a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs in the future.

According to the present invention, the area prediction means of the service information providing apparatus can easily predict the location registration area to which the information terminal belongs in the future based on the history and movement history of the information terminal to which the service information is provided. it can.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the service information providing apparatus, the area prediction means stores a location registration area described next to an end of a portion of the movement history equal to the history to a location to which the information terminal belongs in the future. It is characterized in that it is extracted as a registration area.

According to the present invention, the area prediction means of the service information providing apparatus can very easily predict the location registration area to which the information terminal will belong in the future.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the service information providing apparatus, the area predicting means is configured such that a stay time of the information terminal is the shortest among the location registration areas described after a portion of the movement history equal to the history. A long location registration area is extracted as a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs in the future.

According to the present invention, the area prediction means of the service information providing apparatus, when predicting the location registration area, determines that the location registration area, which is only a passing point when the information terminal moves, belongs to the future location of the information terminal. It can be prevented from being selected as a registration area. When the service information is provided based on the location registration area predicted in this way, the service information providing apparatus further effectively provides the optimal service information to the owner of the moving information terminal. Can be.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the service information providing apparatus, the area estimating means may determine that the staying time of the information terminal in a location registration area described after a portion of the movement history equal to the history is determined in advance. A location registration area longer than a predetermined reference stay time is extracted as a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs in the future.

According to the present invention, the area prediction means of the service information providing apparatus, when predicting the location registration area, determines that the location registration area, which is only a passing point when the information terminal moves, is the location to which the information terminal belongs in the future. It can be prevented from being selected as a registration area. When the service information is provided based on the location registration area predicted in this way, the service information providing apparatus further effectively provides the optimal service information to the owner of the moving information terminal. Can be.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a service information providing apparatus,
A first area selection unit that refers to the movement history of the information terminal and selects a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs most frequently, the service information storage unit stores service information in the location registration area; The service information selecting means selects service information related to the location registration area selected by the first area selecting means.

According to the present invention, the service information providing device provides the information terminal with service information related to the location registration area to which the information terminal frequently belongs in the past. Thus, the service information providing apparatus can more effectively provide optimal service information to an information terminal that moves over a wide area without being restricted to the current position of the information terminal. Further, the service information providing device can provide service information that is valuable to the owner of the information terminal as compared with a device of the related art that provides only service information relating to the current location registration area.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a service information providing apparatus comprising:
A second area selection unit that refers to a movement history of the information terminal and selects a location registration area having the longest total stay time of the information terminal, wherein the service information storage unit stores the service information in the location registration area. The service information selecting means selects service information related to the location registration area selected by the second area selecting means.

According to the present invention, the service information providing apparatus provides the information terminal with service information related to the location registration area where the information terminal stays for a long time. Thus, the service information providing apparatus can more effectively provide optimal service information to an information terminal that moves over a wide area without being restricted to the current position of the information terminal. As a result, the service information providing device can provide valuable service information for the owner of the information terminal as compared with a device of the related art that provides only service information on the current location registration area to which the service terminal belongs.

A twelfth invention provides a service information providing apparatus,
Two or more base stations are installed in the single location registration area.

According to the present invention, when the location of an information terminal is managed in units of a location registration area in which a plurality of base stations are installed, the service information providing apparatus can provide optimal service information based on the movement history. Can be provided to the information terminal.

A service information providing apparatus according to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention
Only one base station is installed in the single location registration area.

According to the present invention, the service information providing apparatus manages the position of an information terminal in units of a location registration area in which a single base station is installed, that is, in the case of an information terminal in units of base stations. When the position is managed, optimal service information based on the movement history can be provided to the information terminal.

According to a fourteenth aspect, a base station installed in a plurality of location registration areas set in advance, a communication network connecting the base stations, and service information storage means for storing service information are provided. An information terminal provided in a mobile communication system including a service information providing apparatus having a wireless communication unit for performing wireless communication with the base station, and storing information of a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs. Moving history creating means for creating a movement history of the information terminal, area designating means for designating a location registration area to request service information based on the created movement history, and a service relating to the designated location registration area Requesting means for requesting the service information providing apparatus to provide information via the wireless communication means, the communication network, and the base station; The information providing apparatus reads service information relating to a location registration area requested by the information terminal from service information storage means, and provides the information to the information terminal via a communication network and a base station. Terminal.

According to the present invention, the information terminal is used in a mobile communication system provided with a service information providing device. In a mobile communication system, an information terminal itself creates a movement history of an information terminal and requests to provide service information based on the movement history. Accordingly, in the mobile communication system, the movement history of the information terminal, that is, the behavior record of the owner of the information terminal is not given to components other than the information terminal, so that the privacy of the owner can be protected.

[0033] The information terminal according to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention further comprises a location registering means for performing location registration via a base station every time the location registration area to which the information terminal belongs is changed. It is characterized in that information of a location registration area transmitted to a base station at the time of location registration is accumulated.

According to the present invention, the movement history creating means of the information terminal obtains the movement history by accumulating the information of the location registration area created by the location registration means at the time of location registration. Therefore, in the mobile communication system, a call for acquiring information on the location registration area to which the information terminal belongs does not occur. Thus, the information terminal can prevent an increase in traffic due to the creation of the movement history in the mobile communication system.

[0035]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a mobile communication system 1 provided with a service information providing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as "providing apparatus") 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention. . The mobile communication system 1 includes a plurality of base stations 5, a communication network 6, and a portable information terminal 7, in addition to the providing device 4. The base station 5 and the communication network 6 constitute the network-side equipment 2. The information terminal 7 corresponds to a mobile station of the mobile communication system 1. A mobile communication system including the network-side equipment 2 and the information terminal 7 is widely used for mobile communication capable of receiving a call using terrestrial waves. For example, a PHS network currently used in Japan is used. And mobile / car phone networks.

In the area where the network-side equipment 2 is installed, a plurality of location registration areas 9 are set in advance for the location registration of the information terminal 7. At least one base station 5 is installed in a single location registration area 9. A single location registration area 9 is formed by paging areas of all base stations 5 belonging to the area. The paging area is defined for each base station 5, and the information terminals existing in the paging area are:
A wireless connection can be made to a base station belonging to the paging area.

The communication network 6 includes at least one connection device 22, a local exchange 23, a toll exchange 24, a common channel signaling network 25, and a mobility control database unit 26. The base station 5 installed in each location registration area 9 communicates via a communication line and a connection device 22.
It is connected to the local exchange 23. Subscriber exchange 23
Is connected to the toll switch 24 via a communication line, similarly to a wired telephone network. The toll switch 24 is mutually connected via a communication line. As a result, the mobile communication system 1 forms a wide area telephone network capable of communicating with a remote place. The information terminal 9 is connected to the closest base station among all the base stations 5 by wireless communication.

The location where the location registration area 9 is set, the number of location registration areas 9, the location where the base station 5 is installed, and the number of base stations 5 are provided by the telephone company using the mobile communication system 1, for example. Is determined based on the size of the service area of the mobile phone to be used, the output of electromagnetic waves used for wireless communication, and the like. In general, the larger the service area or the shorter the reach of wireless communication used by the information terminal 7, the more base stations 5 are installed.

In the example of FIG. 1, two location registration areas 9 are set, and four base stations are installed in a single location registration area 9. In the example of FIG. 1, the connection device 22, the local exchange 23, and the toll switch 24
There are one by one. In the following description, when the position registration area on the right side and the position registration area on the left side are distinguished from each other in FIG.
, And the reference numeral of the component related to the area on the right side is "B".
It is shown with a suffix.

The local exchange 23 is further connected to the mobile control database 2 via the common channel signaling network 25.
6 is connected. The movement control database unit 26
The database stores information on all information terminals 7 in the mobile communication system 1 and information on the location registration area 9 to which each information terminal 7 currently belongs. The database is used to select the subscriber exchange 23 and the base station 5 used for wireless communication from all the subscriber exchanges 23 and the base station 5 when calling the information terminal 7. FIG.
In the example, when calling the information terminal 7 located in the left location registration area 9A, it is necessary to call the information terminal 7 using the left local exchange 23A. For this purpose, the movement control database unit 26 stores information (hereinafter referred to as “terminal connection information”) that associates the information terminal 7 with the left position registration area 9A.
).

Normally, the information terminal 7 wirelessly connects to and communicates with any one of the closest base stations. Information terminal 7
Move, the base station to be wirelessly connected is changed one after another as the information terminal 7 moves. In this case, if a plurality of wirelessly connected base stations all belong to the same location registration area, there is no need to update the terminal connection information in the mobility control database unit 26. If the location registration area 9 to which the base station to be wirelessly connected belongs changes, it is necessary to update the terminal connection information in the mobility control database unit 26.

In the example of FIG. 1, the position registration area 9A on the left side
Information terminal 7 located in the right is registered in the location registration area 9 on the right side.
When the terminal moves to B, the information terminal 7 connects to any one of the base stations 5B belonging to the position registration area 9B on the right side. In this case, the information terminal 7 transmits, as an electromagnetic wave, information indicating that the information terminal 7 has moved to the right-side position registration area 9B for position registration. The transmitted information is transmitted to the mobile control database unit 26 via the local exchange 22B on the right side and the common channel signaling network 25. The movement control database unit 26 changes the location registration area to which the information terminal 7 indicated by the terminal connection information belongs from the left location registration area 9A to the right location registration area 9B based on the information transmitted from the information terminal 7. To update the terminal connection information.

The providing device 4 is a feature of the present invention, is connected to the local exchange 23, and further has a mobility control database 26 via a common channel signal network 25.
It is connected to the. The providing device 4 roughly converts the service information selected based on the movement history of the information terminal 4 from the service information prepared in advance using the wireless telephone network of the mobile communication system 1 to the information terminal. 4

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the providing device 4. The providing device 4 includes a line connection unit 31 and a processing device 3
2, movement history storage unit 33, and service information storage unit 3
4 inclusive. The movement history storage unit 33 stores a terminal device identification table 43 and a connection history table 44 of each information terminal. The service information storage unit 34 stores a location registration area identification table 45 and a service information table 46 for each location registration area. The line connection unit 31, the processing device 32, the movement history storage unit 33, and the service information storage unit 34 are connected to a bus line, and can exchange signals and data with each other. Processing device 32
Serves also as an information acquisition unit 51, a movement history creation unit 52, an area prediction unit 53, a service information selection unit 54, and a provision unit 55. Five processing units 51 to 51 that are also used by the processing device 32
55 is virtually realized by the arithmetic processing of the processing device 32.

The line connection unit 31 controls connection of a communication line between the providing device 4 and the information terminal 7, and further controls connection of a communication line between the providing device 4 and the movement control database unit 26. The information acquiring unit 51 acquires terminal connection information, which is information on the location registration area to which the information terminal 7 belongs, from the mobility control database unit 26 via the line connecting unit 31 and the common channel signal network 25. The movement history creation unit 52 accumulates the read terminal connection information in the connection history table 44 for each information terminal 7. Thereby, the movement history of the information terminal 7 is created. Area prediction unit 5
3 predicts a location registration area to which the information terminal 7 will belong in the future with reference to the connection history table 44. The service information selection unit 54 refers to the connection history table 44 and selects service information to be provided to the information terminal 7 from the service information in the service information storage unit 45. The providing unit 55 provides the selected service information to the information terminal 7 via the line connection unit 31 and the communication network 6.

[0046]

[Table 1]

Table 1 shows the structure of the terminal connection information. The terminal connection information of a certain information terminal 7 is information indicating to which location registration area the information terminal 7 belongs, and includes an identifier for identifying the information terminal 7 and an identifier for identifying the location registration area. Be composed. The identifier of the location registration area corresponds to the area information of the location registration area, and indicates where in the service area of the communication system 1 the location registration area is located.

[0048]

[Table 2]

Table 2 shows the structure of the terminal device identification table 43. The terminal device identification table 43 includes n entries. The numerical value “n” is equal to the number of information terminals 7 to which the providing device 4 can provide the service. Each entry of the terminal device identification table 43 is composed of an identifier of the information terminal 7 and a history table pointer. The history table pointer of an entry is address information for reading the terminal device-specific connection history table 44 corresponding to the information terminal 7 indicated by the information terminal identifier of the entry.

[0050]

[Table 3]

Table 3 shows the structure of the connection history table 44 of any one information terminal. The connection history table 44 is
This is an information table unique to the information terminal 7, and is created in the same number as the number of the information terminals 7 to which the providing device 4 can provide the service, that is, n. Connection history table 4 for one information terminal
4 is composed of m entries. Connection history table 44
Is composed of the identifier of the location registration area and the duration. The continuation time is a numerical value corresponding to the stay time in which the information terminal 7 has continued to belong to the same location registration area. When the information terminal 7 always moves, the elapsed time of all entries becomes one.

M = 30 × 24 × 60 = 43,200 (1) “m” is a variable numerical value.
It is determined according to the length of the period in which the providing device 4 accumulates the movement history of the information terminal 7. When the information terminal 7 does not move at all, the numerical value m becomes 1. When the information terminal 7 constantly moves and the providing device 4 fetches the terminal connection information from the movement control database unit 26 once a minute and accumulates the fetched terminal connection information for 30 days, the numerical value m is calculated as shown in Expression 1. Is 43200
become.

[0053]

[Table 4]

Table 4 shows the location registration area identification table 45.
Is shown. The location registration area identification table 45 has L
Consists of entries. Numerical value L is equal to the number of location registration areas. Each entry of the location registration area identification table 45 is composed of a location registration area identifier and a service information table pointer. The service information table pointer is address information for reading the location registration area-specific service information table 46 corresponding to the location registration area 9 indicated by the location registration area identifier.

[0055]

[Table 5]

Table 5 shows the configuration of the service information table 46 of any one location registration area. The service information table 46 includes k entries. k is equal to the number of service information that the service information providing device 4 can provide to the information terminal 7. Each entry of the service information table 46 is composed of an entity of service information provided by the providing device 4 to the information terminal 7 and a service identifier. The service identifier is an identifier for identifying the entity of the service information.

In the providing device 4, the movement history of the information terminal 7 is created based on the terminal connection information acquired from the movement control database unit 26. With reference to Tables 1 to 3, a specific procedure for creating the movement history of the information terminal 7 in the providing device 4 will be described below. The movement control database unit 26 stores the terminal connection information in Table 1 for all the information terminals 7,
Always have. The processing device 32 first includes the information acquisition unit 51
And acquires the terminal connection information of the information terminal 7 to which the service information is to be provided, from the terminal connection information stored by the mobility control database unit 26.

After the terminal connection information is obtained, the processing device 3
2 operates as the movement history creation unit 52. Processing unit 3
2 is a terminal device-specific connection history table 4 of Table 3 corresponding to the information terminal indicated by the information terminal identifier of the acquired terminal connection information with reference to the terminal device identification table 43 of Table 2.
4 is selected from the entire connection history table. Next, the processing device 32 selects the latest entry from all entries of the selected connection history table 44, and compares the location registration area identifier of the selected entry with the location registration area identifier of the terminal connection information. If the two location registration area identifiers match, the processing device 32 updates the duration of the selected entry by adding one. If the identifiers of the location registration areas are different from each other, the processing device 32 adds a new entry to the selected connection history table 44 and adds the location registration area identifier of the terminal connection information to the location registration area identifier of the added entry. Copy the identifier and set the duration of the added entry to 1. By the above processing, the identifier of the location registration area to which the information terminal 7 belongs is accumulated in the connection history table 44, so that the movement history of the information terminal 7 is created.

When the identifier of the information terminal of the terminal connection information is retrieved from the terminal device identification table 43, if the information terminal identifier is not in the terminal device identification table 43, the processing device 3
2 judges that the information terminal indicated by the obtained terminal connection information is an information terminal that is not a target of the service information providing service. For the information terminals that are not targeted, for example, the creation of the movement history and the provision of the service information are not performed, so that the process ends at this point.

The terminal connection information may be read out spontaneously by the information acquisition unit 51 from the movement control database unit 26, or may be given to the information acquisition unit 51 by the movement control database unit 26. In the former case, the information acquisition unit 51 accesses the movement control database unit 26 and reads the terminal connection information at every predetermined timing. Specifically, the information acquisition unit 5
1 goes once a minute to get terminal connection information. As a result, the terminal connection information is obtained without imposing a load on the network-side facility 2, so that the processing device 32 can create the movement history without imposing a burden on the network-side facility 2. When the movement control database unit 26 gives the terminal connection information, the movement control database unit 26 gives the terminal connection information to the information acquisition unit 51, for example, every time a new location registration is performed in the location registration area. In this case, a call for providing the terminal connection information occurs only when the terminal connection information is updated, so that an unnecessary call does not occur. Thereby, in the mobile communication system 1,
The traffic on the transmission path between the mobility control database unit 26 and the providing device 4 and the traffic on the communication network 6 are prevented from increasing due to the acquisition of the terminal connection information.

As described above, the terminal connection information may be acquired periodically or irregularly.
If the terminal connection information is acquired periodically, the processing device 32
Can update the movement history of the information terminal 7 regardless of whether or not the information terminal 7 is moving. When the movement history is updated regularly, the duration of the latest entry is updated based on the comparison result of the location registration area identifier, so that the stay time of the information terminal 7 in the latest location registration area 9 is measured. Will be. Therefore, while operating as the movement history creation unit 52, the processing device 32 can also operate as a means for measuring the stay time of the information terminal 7 in the location registration area.

When providing service information to a certain information terminal 7, the processing device 32 first roughly describes the information terminal 7.
Is determined to be moving, and if it is moving, a location registration area to which the device will belong in the future is predicted. The location registration area that will belong in the future refers to the location registration area that will belong next to the location registration area to which it belongs at the present time, or to the near future, for example, after the terminal connection information has been updated 1 to 9 times. Indicates the location registration area that would be. Table 1 below
The prediction process of the location registration area in the processing device 32 using Table 3 will be described in detail.

The processing device 32 first reads the current time terminal connection information of the information terminal 7 (hereinafter referred to as the "information terminal 7") to which the service information is provided from the mobility control database unit 26. The processing device 32 further reads the terminal device-specific connection history table 44 of the information terminal 7, and reads the position registration area identifier of the latest entry of the read connection history table 44 and the movement control database unit 26 first. The terminal connection information at the current time is compared with the location registration area identifier. If the identifiers of the two location registration areas are the same, the processing device 32 determines that the information terminal 7 is not moving. Connection history table 44 of the information terminal 7
If the location registration area identifier indicated by the latest entry of the above and the location registration area identifier of the terminal connection information 5 at the current time are different, the processing device 32 determines that the information terminal 7 is moving. By the processing described above, the processing device 32
Can determine whether the information terminal 7 is moving. As described above, the processing device 32 operates as a movement determination unit that determines whether or not the information terminal 7 is moving before the position registration area is predicted.

When the information terminal 7 is moving, the processing device 32 operates as an area prediction unit 53, and predicts a location registration area to which the information terminal 7 will belong in the future. For this prediction processing, the processing device 32 is first configured of x entries from the latest entry to x entries starting from the latest entry in the connection history table of the information terminal 7. (Hereinafter referred to as “reference entry sequence”). The reference entry column indicates the history of the information terminal 7 to the latest location registration area to which the information terminal 7 belongs. The numerical value x may be always set to an arbitrary numerical value that is equal to or greater than 1 and equal to or less than half the number m of all entries in the connection history table 44.

Next, the processing unit 32 searches all entry of the connection history table 44 of the information terminal 7 for the same entry string as the fetched reference entry string. If the same entry string as the latest reference entry string cannot be found from the connection history table 44, the value x is updated by subtracting 1 from the value, and
Using the updated numerical value x, the reference entry string is fetched and the entry string is searched again. The above-described search processing of the entry string is repeated while updating the numerical value x until the same entry string as the latest reference entry string is found from the connection history table 44. As the numerical value x increases, a history with a long moving distance can be searched from the moving history.
The smaller the is, the shorter the moving distance can be searched from the moving history.

When a plurality of entry strings identical to the latest reference entry string are found, it is preferable to use the newest entry string among the found plurality of entry strings in the position registration area prediction processing. If a plurality of entry strings identical to the latest reference entry string are found, the value is updated by adding a predetermined value α to the numerical value x, and the entry string is searched again using the updated numerical value x, and the search is performed again. The location registration area may be predicted based on the result. When the entry sequence is searched again, the accuracy of the prediction of the location registration area to which the information terminal 7 will belong in the future will be higher. As a result of repeating the entry string search process until the numerical value x becomes 1, if the same entry as the reference entry sequence cannot be found from the connection history table 44 even if the numerical value x is 1, the information terminal 7 Since it is determined that the user has performed a moving action without a location, a location registration area to which the user will belong in the future is not predicted.

When the same entry string as the latest reference entry string is retrieved from the connection history table 44, the processing device 32 determines the latest entry in the connection history table 44 from the entry next to the last entry of the same entry string. Using the part up to the entry, an identifier of the location registration area to which the information terminal 7 will belong in the future is selected. According to the processing described above, when the information terminal 7 is moving, the processing device 32
Indicates the location registration area to which the information terminal 7 will belong in the future.
Can be predicted based on the movement history. For example, the processing device 32 selects the location registration area identifier described in the next entry at the end of the same entry row as the reference entry row in the movement history as the identifier of the location registration area to which the information terminal 7 will belong in the future. . This greatly simplifies the process for selecting an identifier, thereby reducing the processing time and the load on the processing device 32.

The location registration area in which the identifier is described in the next entry at the end of the same entry row as the reference entry row may not be the destination for the owner of the information terminal but may be merely a passing point. In such a case, it is preferable to prevent a position registration area that is only a passing point from being selected as a position registration area to which the future will belong. For this reason, the processing device 32 selects the identifier of the location registration area having the longest staying time of the information terminal in a portion subsequent to the same entry sequence as the reference entry sequence in the movement history.
Further, for this purpose, the processing device 32 assigns the identifier of the location registration area in which the staying time of the information terminal is longer than a predetermined reference staying time in a portion subsequent to the same entry row as the reference entry row in the movement history. You may choose. Such 2
When an identifier is selected in one of the two steps, the entry to be selected is
In the movement history, from the time belonging to the location registration area described in the next entry at the end of the same entry row,
It is preferable to limit to a portion from the time to a time after a predetermined time. The predetermined time is, for example, one hour.

When the position registration area to which the future belongs is predicted, service information is provided based on the predicted position registration area identifier. If the location registration area to which the terminal belongs in the future is not predicted, the service information is provided based on the location registration area identifier of the terminal connection information of the information terminal 7 at the current time. For this purpose, the processing device 32 specifies a location registration area based on the processing result of the area prediction unit 53,
The service information related to the specified location registration area,
The service information is selected as the optimum service information for the owner of the information terminal 7. The processing while the processing device 32 operates as the service information selection unit 54 is as follows.

When the location registration area to which the information terminal 7 belongs is predicted, the processing device 32 first stores an entry describing the identifier of the location registration area 9 to which the information terminal 7 will belong in the location registration area identification table of Table 4. Select from 45. Next, the processing device 32 selects a service information table indicated by the service information table pointer indicated by the selected entry. The service information table thus selected corresponds to the location registration area to which the information terminal 7 will belong in the future. If the future location registration area is not predicted, the processing device 32 first stores an entry describing the identifier of the location registration area 9 of the terminal connection information of the information terminal 7 at the current time in the location registration area identification table of Table 4. Select from 45. Next, the processing device 32
The service information table indicated by the service information table pointer indicated by the selected entry is selected. The service information table thus selected corresponds to the location registration area 9 to which the information terminal 7 currently belongs.

Finally, the processing device 32 operates as the providing unit 55 and reads the service information table 46 selected by the service information selecting unit 54. The processing device 32 provides the read arbitrary service information in the table 46 to the information terminal 7 via the line connection unit 31, the communication network 6, and the base station 5. After acquiring the provided service information, the information terminal 7 presents the service information to the owner of the information terminal 7 by a method such as visual display or acoustic display.

As described above, the providing device 4 can provide the mobile information terminal 7 with the service information related to the location registration area to which the mobile terminal 7 will belong in the future. Therefore, the providing device 4 can provide optimal service information to the information terminal 7 that moves over a wide range. Further, as described above, the providing device 4 extracts the latest history in the movement history of the information terminal 7 as a reference entry sequence for predicting the location registration area to which the information terminal 7 will belong in the future, and Search for the part that matches the latest history in. The next location registration area following the portion found as a result is regarded as the location registration area to which the information terminal 7 will connect in the future. Thus, the providing device 4 can easily predict the location registration area to which the information terminal 7 will belong in the future using only the movement history. Further, when it is difficult to predict the location registration area, the providing device 4 provides the service information based on the location registration area to which the provider currently belongs. Accordingly, the providing device 4 can provide the service information to the information terminal 7 even when it is difficult to predict the location registration area.

The processing device 32 may also serve as the first area selection unit 56 instead of the area prediction unit 53. First
The area selecting unit 56 selects, from among all the location registration areas 9,
The information terminal 7 selects a location registration area to which the information terminal 7 frequently belongs.
The frequently-registered location registration area includes a place that the owner of the information terminal 7 frequently visits. In order to select a location registration area to which the information terminal 7 frequently belongs, the first area selection unit 56 may analyze the connection history table 44 and select a location registration area to which the information terminal 7 has most frequently belonged in the past.
More specifically, the first area selection unit 56 selects a portion of the duration of Table 3 that is a predetermined time period in the past from the latest entry in the movement history, and based on the selected portion, for each location registration area, The statistics of the number of affiliations of the information terminal are obtained, and the location registration area with the largest affiliation is selected. If the predetermined period is one week and the terminal affiliation information is acquired once a minute, the portion from the current time to 10080 minutes before in the movement history is subject to statistics.

When the first area selection unit 56 is provided,
The processing device 32 specifies the location registration area selected by the first area selection unit 56 instead of the location registration area predicted to belong in the future, and selects the service information table 46 corresponding to the specified location registration area. . Therefore, the processing device 32 provides the information terminal 7 with the service information in the service information table 46 corresponding to the location registration area to which the information terminal 7 frequently belongs. Thereby, the providing device 4
Is compared with the information terminal 7 moving in a wide area.
Service information related to a location registration area including a place frequently visited by the owner of the information terminal 7 without being bound by the current location of the information terminal 7. Therefore, the providing device 4 can easily provide the information terminal 7 with optimal service information.

The processing device 32 may include a second area selection unit 57 instead of the area prediction unit 53.
The second area selection unit 57 selects a position registration area having a long total stay time of the information terminal 7 from all the position registration areas 9. Location registration areas where the total stay time is long,
It includes a place where the owner of the information terminal 7 is often located. In order to select a location registration area having a long total stay time, the connection history table 44 is analyzed, and the location registration area having the past total stay time of the information terminal 7 may be selected. More specifically, the second area selecting unit 57 selects a portion of the continuous time of Table 3 which is retroactive for a predetermined period from the latest entry in the movement history, and, based on the selected portion, for each location registration area. The statistics of the stay time of the information terminal are obtained, and the location registration area having the largest sum of the stay times is selected. If the predetermined period is one week and the terminal affiliation information is acquired once a minute, the portion from the current time to 10080 minutes before in the movement history is subject to statistics.

When the second area selecting section 57 is provided,
The processing device 32 specifies the location registration area selected by the second area selection unit 57 instead of the predicted next location registration area, and selects the service information table 46 corresponding to the designated location registration area. Therefore, the providing device 4
Any service information in the service information table 46 corresponding to the location registration area where the information terminal 7 has stayed for a long time,
It can be provided to the information terminal 7. Accordingly, the providing device 4 can provide the information terminal 7 moving over a wide area with service information related to the location registration area where the information terminal 7 is often located, without being restricted to the current position of the information terminal 7. In addition, optimal service information can be easily provided to the information terminal 7. Further, the providing device 4 can more effectively provide the optimum service information to the information terminal 7 having a narrow moving range and the information terminal 7 at rest.

As described above, the service information provided to the information terminal 7 is selected based on the movement history of the information terminal 7. The creation of the movement history of the information terminal 7 and the designation of the location registration area related to the service information to be provided may be performed by the information terminal 7 instead of the service information providing device 4. Further, the information terminal 7 further performs at least one of a process of predicting a location registration area to which the user will belong in the future, a process of selecting a location registration area to which the user frequently belongs, and a process of selecting a location registration area to stay for a long time. The location registration area related to the service information to be provided may be specified based on the result of the performed processing.
In this case, the information terminal 7 requests the service information providing device 4 to provide service information related to the designated location registration area, and the providing device 4 provides the information terminal 7 with service information related to the requested location registration area. do it.

In order for the information terminal 7 to itself create a movement history and designate a location registration area, the communication system 61 may have a configuration as shown in FIG. Of the configuration of the communication system 61 in FIG. 3, the configuration other than the configuration described below is the same as the configuration of the communication system 1 in FIG. Of the components of the communication system 61 of FIG.
Components that are the same as those of the communication system 1 according to the embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The communication system 61 includes a plurality of base stations 5,
It includes a communication network 6, a portable information terminal 63, and a service information providing device 64. The providing device 64 includes the line connection unit 31
, A service information storage unit 34, and a processing device 66. The processing device 66 of the providing device 64 also serves as the providing unit 67. The information terminal 63 includes a wireless communication unit 71, a movement history storage unit 72, and a processing device 73, and these three processing units are mutually connected via a bus line. The wireless communication unit 71, based on the control of the processing device 73,
Performs wireless communication with The movement history storage unit 72 stores a connection history table of the information terminal 63. Information terminal 63
The processing device 73 includes a movement history creation unit 76, an area prediction unit 53, a first area selection unit 56, a second area selection unit 57,
It also serves as an area designation unit 77 and a request unit 78.

The movement history creation section 76 stores information on the location registration area to which the information terminal belongs in the movement history storage section 72, and creates a movement history of the information terminal. Movement history creation unit 7
The details of the movement history creation processing of No. 6 are the same as the details of the movement history creation processing of the movement history creation unit 52 of the providing device 4 in FIG. The area specifying unit 77 specifies a location registration area for which service information is to be requested based on the created movement history. The processing procedure for specifying the location registration area to be requested is the same as that of the service information selecting unit 5 in the first embodiment.
4 is the same as the processing procedure for specifying the location registration area to which the service information is to be provided. Therefore, to specify the location registration area, the area prediction unit 53, the first area selection unit 56,
The processing result of any one of the second area selection unit 57 and the second area selection unit 57 is referred to. The request unit 78 includes an area specifying unit 77
It requests the providing device 64 to provide service information on the location registration area designated by the user via the wireless communication unit 63, the base station 5, and the communication network 6. The providing unit 67 of the providing device 64 provides the service information on the location registration area requested by the information terminal 63 to the information terminal 63 via the communication network 6 and the base station 5. The provided service information is presented to the owner of the information terminal 63 by a method such as visual display or acoustic display.

As described above, in the communication system 61, the creation of the movement history of the information terminal 64 and the service information provision request based on the movement history 64 are performed by the information terminal itself. The movement history of the information terminal corresponds to an action record of the owner of the information terminal. In the communication system 61, since the behavior record of the owner of the information terminal is not given to components other than the information terminal 63, the privacy of the owner can be protected.

As information on the location registration area stored as the movement history, it is preferable to use information on the location registration area transmitted by the information terminal 67 to the base station for location registration. That is, the movement history creating unit 76 stores the result of the position registration every time the position registration is performed, and the history of the position registration becomes the movement history. Thus, no call is generated between the information terminal 63 and the movement control database unit 26 for creating the movement history. Therefore, in the mobile communication system 61, it is possible to prevent an increase in traffic caused by the creation of the movement history.

The embodiments described above are examples of the service information providing apparatus and the communication system according to the present invention, and can be realized in other various forms as long as the main configurations are the same. In particular, the processing units in the providing devices 4 and 64 and the processing unit in the information terminal 63 are not limited to the above-described configuration and may be realized by other configurations as long as the same processing result is obtained.

In the communication system 1 shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of base stations 5 are provided in the location registration area 9. When a single base station is provided in a single location registration area, the terminal connection information of the information terminal 7 is managed in base station units. In this case, the providing device 4 frequently connects the base station related to the service information to be provided to a base station to which the information terminal 7 to which the service information is provided is expected to connect in the future. The base station to be connected may be specified based on the base station to which the information terminal 7 is connected for a long time, the service information may be selected based on the specified base station, and the selected service information may be provided. The processing of the providing device 4 in such a case is illustrated in FIG.
In the above description, the "location registration area" may be replaced with "base station" or "base station calling area". The communication system 61 in FIG. 3 may have a configuration in which a single base station is provided in a single location registration area.

In the communication system 1 of FIG. 1, the connection between the providing device 44 and the mobility control database unit 26 may be made by using a dedicated line instead of via the common line signal network 25. The providing device 4 may read the position information of the information terminal 7 from the base station 5 instead of from the movement control database unit 26. The providing device 4 may be located in the same center as the movement control database unit 26, instead of being installed outside the network-side facility 2 as shown in FIG.

[0086]

As described above, according to the present invention, a service information providing apparatus provided in a mobile communication system creates a movement history of an information terminal, and stores service information based on the created movement history. Provided to the terminal. As a result, the service information providing device can provide optimal service information for the owner of the information terminal.

Further, according to the present invention, the service information providing apparatus voluntarily acquires information on the location registration area to which the information terminal belongs in order to create a movement history of the information terminal.
Thus, the service information providing apparatus can provide the optimal service information to the information terminal without imposing a burden on the mobile communication system. Still further, according to the present invention, in the service information providing device, the information on the location registration area to which the information terminal belongs is voluntarily given to the service information providing device by the mobility control database means. This can suppress an increase in traffic in the mobile communication system. Further, according to the present invention, the movement history includes information on the location registration area to which the information terminal belongs and the stay time of the information terminal in the location registration area. Thus, the service information providing apparatus can select the optimal service information in consideration of not only the travel route of the information terminal but also the stay time.

Further, according to the present invention, the service information providing apparatus predicts a location registration area to which the information terminal will belong in the future, and provides the information terminal with service information related to the predicted location registration area. As a result, the service information providing apparatus can more effectively provide optimal service information to the owner of an information terminal that moves over a wide range. Furthermore, according to the present invention, the area prediction means of the service information providing apparatus compares the history of the information terminal with the movement history of the information terminal, extracts a portion equal to the history, and extracts the history in the movement history. A location registration area described after a portion equal to the location information is extracted as a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs in the future. Thus, the area prediction unit can predict the location registration area to which the information terminal belongs in the future based on the history and movement history of the information terminal to which the service information is provided.

According to the present invention, the area predicting means includes:
A location registration area described next to the end of a portion of the movement history equal to the history is extracted as a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs in the future. As a result, the area prediction means can very easily predict the position registration area to which the future belongs. Still further, according to the present invention, the area prediction means, among the location registration areas described after a portion equal to the history in the movement history, the location registration area having the longest staying time of the information terminal, It is extracted as a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs in the future. Further, according to the present invention, the area prediction unit is configured such that, among the location registration areas described after a portion equal to the history in the movement history, the stay time of the information terminal is longer than a predetermined reference stay time. The location registration area is extracted as a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs in the future. Through these processes, the area prediction unit can prevent the location registration area, which is merely a passing point when the information terminal moves, from being selected as the location registration area to which the information terminal belongs in the future.

Further, according to the present invention, the service information providing device provides the information terminal with service information related to the location registration area to which the information terminal has frequently belonged in the past.
Further, according to the present invention, the service information providing device provides the information terminal with service information related to the location registration area where the information terminal stays for a long time. With these, the service information providing device can provide information terminals
Get the best service information, regardless of your location.
It can be provided more effectively.

Further, according to the present invention, a plurality of base stations are installed in a single location registration area. In this way, the service information providing apparatus can provide optimal service information to the information terminal when the position of the information terminal is managed on a location registration area basis. Further, according to the present invention, a single base station is installed in a single location registration area. Thus, when the position of the information terminal is managed on a base station basis, the service information providing apparatus can provide optimal service information to the information terminal.

As described above, according to the present invention, in a mobile communication system provided with a service information providing device,
The information terminal makes the movement history of the information terminal and requests to provide service information based on the movement history. Thereby, in the mobile communication system, the privacy of the owner can be protected. Further, according to the present invention, the information terminal accumulates information of the location registration area created at the time of location registration to obtain a movement history. This allows the information terminal to prevent an increase in traffic in the mobile communication system.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a mobile communication system 1 including a service information providing device 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a service information providing device 4 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a mobile communication system 61 including an information terminal 63 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,61 mobile communication system 4,64 service information providing device 5 base station 6 communication network 7,63 information terminal 9 location registration area 26 movement control database unit 33,72 movement history storage unit 34 service information storage unit 51 information acquisition unit 52, 76 Movement history creation unit 53 Area prediction unit 54 Service information selection unit 55, 67 Provision unit 56 First area selection unit 57 Second area selection unit 77 Area specification unit 78 Request unit

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A base station installed in each of a plurality of location registration areas set in advance, a communication network connecting base stations, and location registration wirelessly connected to the base station via the base station. In a service information providing apparatus provided in a mobile communication system including an information terminal and a mobility control database means for storing information of a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs based on a result of location registration, a service to be provided to the information terminal Service information storage means for storing information; information acquisition means for acquiring information on the location registration area to which the information terminal belongs from the mobility control database means; and accumulating the acquired location registration area information for each information terminal. Moving history creating means for creating a moving history of the information terminal; and storing service information from the service information storing means based on the created moving history. A service information providing apparatus, comprising: service information selecting means for selecting; and providing means for providing the selected service information to an information terminal via a communication network and a base station. 2. The information acquisition unit according to claim 1, wherein at each predetermined timing, information of a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs is
2. The service information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the service information providing device reads the information from the movement control database means and supplies the read information to the movement history creation means. 3. The movement control database means supplies the service information providing device with information on a location registration area to which an information terminal belongs at predetermined timings, and the information acquisition means receives the information from the movement control database means. 2. The service information providing device according to claim 1, wherein said service information is received and provided to said movement history creating means. 4. The travel history includes at least information of a location registration area in which the information terminal has performed location registration, and at least a time at which the information terminal has stayed in the location registration area in which the location registration has been performed. The service information providing device according to claim 1, wherein 5. An area for referring to a movement history of the information terminal and predicting a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs in the future based on a history of the information terminal to a location registration area to which the information terminal currently belongs. The service information storage unit stores service information in association with a location registration area, and the service information selection unit includes a service associated with the location registration area predicted by the area prediction unit. 2. The service information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein information is selected. 6. The area predicting means: (a) collates the history of the information terminal with the movement history of the information terminal; and (b) extracts a portion equal to the history of the information terminal from the movement history. And (c) extracting a location registration area described after a portion equal to the history in the movement history as a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs in the future. apparatus. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the area prediction unit extracts a location registration area described next to an end of a portion of the movement history equal to the history as a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs in the future. The service information providing device according to claim 6, wherein 8. The information terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the area prediction unit determines a position registration area having the longest staying time of the information terminal among the position registration areas described after a portion equal to the history in the movement history. The service information providing device according to claim 6, wherein the service information providing apparatus extracts the location registration area to which the future belongs. 9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the area prediction unit is configured to determine, in a position registration area described after a portion equal to the history in the movement history, a position where the stay time of the information terminal is longer than a predetermined reference stay time. 7. The service information providing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the registration area is extracted as a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs in the future. 10. The service information storage means further comprising: first area selection means for referring to a movement history of the information terminal and selecting a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs most frequently; 2. The service according to claim 1, wherein the service information selecting means selects service information related to the position registration area selected by the first area selecting means. Information providing device. 11. A service area storing unit, further comprising: a second area selecting unit that refers to a movement history of the information terminal and selects a location registration area having the longest total stay time of the information terminal. The service information selecting means selects service information associated with the position registration area selected by the second area selecting means, and stores the service information in association with the position registration area. Service information providing device. 12. The service information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein two or more base stations are installed in the single location registration area. 13. The service information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein only one base station is installed in the single location registration area. 14. A service information providing system comprising a base station installed in each of a plurality of location registration areas set in advance, a communication network connecting the base stations, and service information storage means for storing service information. An information terminal provided in a mobile communication system including a device, a wireless communication unit for performing wireless communication with the base station, and storing information of a location registration area to which the information terminal belongs, the information terminal Movement history creating means for creating a movement history of the user, area designating means for designating a location registration area for which service information should be requested based on the created movement history, and provision of service information on the designated location registration area. Requesting means for requesting the service information providing device via the wireless communication means, a communication network, and a base station; Location reads service information for location registration area requested by said information terminal from the service information storage means, via a communication network and a base station, information terminal and providing to said information terminal. 15. A location registration unit for performing location registration via a base station every time a location registration area to which an information terminal belongs is changed, wherein the movement history creating unit includes a base station at the time of location registration. The information terminal according to claim 14, wherein information of the location registration area transmitted to the information terminal is stored.