JP2001350758A - System and method for providing information - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information providing system which can be operated without forcing an excessive burden on a system provider. SOLUTION: The information providing system provides prescribed information by transmitting conversation information through a communication network 11 to a terminal 7 of a general user. This system has a useful conversion information storage part 29 for storing conversation information and an information providing processing part 17 for selecting prescribed conversation information out of the conversation information stored in the useful conversation information storage part 29 and transmitting the selected conversation information through the communication network 11 to the terminal 7 of the general user. This information providing processing part 17 receives the conversation information which is transmitted through the communication network from the terminal of the information provider for providing the prescribed information to the general user and in which the prescribed information is expressed in the form of one or more speeches, and stores the received conversation information in the conversation information storage part 29.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for providing information to general users via a network, and more specifically, to provide general users with information suitable for the general users in a conversation format. For technology.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various information is provided to general users on a network such as the Internet.
There are also sites that allow general users who have similar interests in hobbies and chats to exchange information such as conversations through chats, forums, and the like. Further, in order to realize one-to-one marketing, profile information of general users is implicitly and explicitly collected and information such as advertisements adapted to each general user is provided. Sites also exist.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-126163 discloses the following technique. That is,
The mobile agent of each terminal has personal information about the owner, and moves to a server or another terminal to exchange information or negotiate with other mobile agents. In the server, the agent of each terminal is stored in the terminal agent storage memory, and each mobile agent operates autonomously. Each mobile agent compares each other's owner data (public data) with another agent, and establishes a matchmaking (set) with the mobile agents having a predetermined commonality. When the mobile agent of the established set returns to the terminal, it reports the personal information and the like of the partner to the owner. In this publication, a mobile agent is used, so that a platform for the mobile agent is required to find a partner who has a taste and taste.

[0004]

In such a situation,
Conversation between the general user and the information providing system via a communication network such as the Internet, collecting profiles of general users through the conversation, and providing appropriate information to the general user from the system side It is hoped that it will be. In this information providing system, it is necessary to select conversation information that provides an appropriate response to the conversation information input by the general user and transmit the conversation information to the general user. Therefore, the information providing system has the condition branch information for selecting the conversation information and the conversation information selected by the condition branch information and provided to the general user.

However, since the types of conversation information input by general users vary widely, the conditional branch and conversation information possessed by the information providing system must be complicated and large in volume. If this information providing system is exclusively constructed by a system provider, it is necessary to input complicated and large amounts of conditional branching and conversation information, and there is a problem that an excessive burden is imposed on the system provider.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a conversation type information providing technique which enables the information providing system to be operated without imposing an excessive burden on a provider.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a general user terminal (for example, terminal 7 in the embodiment) is connected via a communication network (for example, communication network 11 in the embodiment). A system for providing information by transmitting conversation information through conversation information storage means (for example, useful conversation information storage unit 2 in the embodiment) for storing conversation information.
9) and information providing processing means for selecting predetermined conversation information from the conversation information stored in the conversation information storage means and transmitting the selected conversation information to a terminal of a general user via a communication network (for example, Information provision processing unit 17) in the form of (1). This information provision processing means is a conversation in which predetermined information is transmitted from a terminal of an information provider that provides the general user via a communication network and the predetermined information is represented in one or a plurality of dialogue forms. The information is received, and the received conversation information is stored in the conversation information storage means. Thus, the information providing system can be operated without imposing an excessive burden on the system provider.

[0008] Further, the information providing system according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a profile information storage means (for example, a profile information storage unit 31 in the embodiment) for storing profile information of a general user, A general conversation processing unit for exchanging general conversation information with a terminal via a communication network (for example, the general conversation processing unit 1 in the embodiment)
5) and a profile information processing unit (for example, the profile processing unit 19 in the embodiment) that extracts profile information of the general user through exchange of general conversation information and stores the profile information in the profile information storage unit. A configuration is also possible. Then, the information providing processing means described above acquires the profile information of the general user from the profile information stored in the profile information storage means, and conversation information related to the acquired profile information is stored in the conversation information storage means. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the conversation information is selected from the stored conversation information, and the selected conversation information is transmitted to the terminal of the general user via the communication network. As a result, the general user can obtain information suitable for hobbies and preferences, and the information provider can perform efficient advertising / public relations activities.

Further, the above-mentioned information providing processing means transmits the information via a communication network from a terminal of an information provider for providing predetermined information to the general user, and the predetermined information is transmitted to the general user.
Or, conversation information represented in a plurality of dialogue forms and profile information related to the conversation information are received, and the received conversation information and profile information are stored in the conversation information storage means, and the conversation information is stored in the conversation information storage means. Extracting profile information having relevance with the profile information of the general user stored in the profile information storage means from the profile information obtained, selecting conversation information corresponding to the extracted profile information, and It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which data is transmitted to a terminal of a general user via a communication network.

Further, the profile information processing means transmits the profile information of a specific general user stored in the profile information storage means to the terminal of the specific general user via a communication network. It is also possible to register whether or not the profile information of the general user stored in the profile information storage means can be disclosed to a third party in accordance with instruction information from the terminal of the general user. . Thus, it is possible to prevent profile information that does not require disclosure from leaking to a third party.

[0011] Further, the information providing processing means described above may include, in conversation information transmitted to a general user, information on another user having profile information related to the profile information of the general user. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which it is performed.

[0012] Further, the information providing processing means described above,
A configuration is also possible in which, when a general user terminal requests transmission of information about another user, the profile information of the other user is transmitted to the general user terminal. Thereby, communication between general users having commonality in hobbies and preferences can be activated.

Further, the information providing processing means described above is
When a general user terminal requests transmission of information about another user, a page including the profile information of the other user and a message entry area for the other user is transmitted to the general user terminal. In addition to the transmission, when a message transmission request is received from the terminal of the general user, the message entered in the message entry area may be transmitted to another user. This makes it extremely easy to communicate between general users.

[0014] The conversation information transmitted from the information providing means to the terminal of the general user may be configured to include reference information of related information. Also,
The conversation information transmitted from the information providing means to the terminal of the general user may be configured to include image information of a character corresponding to the dialog included in the conversation information.

[0015] The conversation information transmitted from the information provider terminal may include information for designating a character image transmitted to the general user terminal corresponding to the dialog included in the conversation information. A configuration is also possible.
Further, the profile information transmitted from the terminal of the information provider may be configured to include one or more general user attribute types and attribute values corresponding to the attribute types.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information providing method for providing information by transmitting conversation information to a terminal of a general user via a communication network. Conversation information transmitted from a terminal of an information provider to be provided to the user over a communication network and receives conversation information in which predetermined information is expressed in one or more dialogue forms, and registers the received conversation information in a storage device A registration step, and an information transmission step of selecting predetermined conversation information from the conversation information registered in the conversation information registration step, and transmitting the selected conversation information to a terminal of a general user via a communication network.

The modification according to the first aspect of the present invention is applicable to the second aspect of the present invention.

The information providing method as described above is
The program can be implemented by a program to be executed by an ordinary computer, and the program is stored in a storage medium or a storage device such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a CD-ROM, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or a hard disk. Is done. Further, intermediate data during the processing is stored in a storage device such as a main memory of a computer.

[0019]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a system according to the present invention. This system uses the Web
Server 1 having server function, database (DB)
3, a terminal 5 of an operation manager, a terminal 7 of a general user capable of executing a Web browser, a terminal 9 of a useful information provider capable of executing a Web browser, and a communication network 11.

The outline of the functions realized in the system according to the present invention is as follows. Details of each function will be described later. First, the following functions are provided as functions for general users. (1) General Conversation Function In addition to giving general users the opportunity to enjoy a general conversation with a character on the Web browser of the terminal 7,
Through this conversation, the system searches for and acquires profile information such as hobbies and preferences of general users. (2) Useful information conversation function Useful profile information of general users is used as a key to extract useful information conversations and distribute them to general users. (3) Page management function General users can publish their profile on the browser.
Manage private. (4) E-mail distribution function URL (Uniform Resource Locato) of the page where the profile information of other users is disclosed to general users
Distribute e-mail etc. with r) described.

The following functions are provided as functions for useful information providers and system operators. (1) Conversation registration management function Registers and manages a general conversation scenario that searches and acquires profile information on general users' hobbies and preferences. (2) Useful Information Registration Management Function The useful information provider registers a conversation for providing useful information from the Web browser of the terminal 9 of the user. (3) Operation management function The operation person in charge manages useful information and form mail between the useful information provider and the user.

The server 1 shown in FIG. 1 is connected to the database 3 and the terminal 5 of the operation manager, and further connected to the terminal 7 of a general user and the terminal 9 of a useful information provider via a communication network 11. . The server 1 includes an authentication processing unit 13, a general conversation processing unit 15, an information provision processing unit 17, a profile processing unit 19, a mail processing unit 21, and an operation management unit 23. The server 1 can be provided with various processing functions (not shown) in addition to the processing units shown in FIG.

The database 3 includes an authentication information storage unit 25 for storing authentication information, a general conversation information storage unit 27 for storing general conversation information, a useful conversation information storage unit 29 for storing useful information, and profile information of general users. It has a profile information storage unit 31 for storing, and an operation management information storage unit 33 for storing operation management information of the information providing system. Note that the database 3 may include not only the storage units illustrated in FIG. 1 but also various storage units (not illustrated).

Here, the general conversation information stored in the general conversation information storage unit 27 is created by, for example, an operator of the system using a general text input program or a spreadsheet program and converted into a text format. After that, the data is converted into a format that can be registered in the database 3 by a predetermined tool, and registered in a database operation language. The useful conversation information storage unit 29 stores useful information provided by a useful information provider. The useful information includes conditional information, which is conditional branch information and profile information for deciding who to provide the useful information to, and the character 35.
, And information such as a guidance URL.

The authentication information storage unit 25 includes an area for storing a registered user ID and password of a general user, and an area for storing a registered user ID and password of a useful information provider. The profile information storage unit 31 includes an area for storing general user profile information. In the profile information storage unit 31,
In addition to the profile information of the general user, conversation history information such as the conversation number of the conversation that the general user has exchanged with the server 1 in the past is stored.

The terminal 5 of the operation manager is a terminal operated by the operation manager who operates and manages the system according to the present embodiment. The terminal 5 is, for example, a personal computer (PC), is communicably connected to the server 1, and performs various settings for the server 1.

The terminal 7 of the general user is, for example, a personal computer, and the HTML transmitted from the server 1.
A Web browser that receives a (Hyper Text Markup Language) source and displays it on a display screen is installed. Further, it has a communication function for communicating with the server 1 via the communication network 11.

The useful information provider terminal 9 is, for example, a personal computer, like the general user terminal 7, and receives the HTML source transmitted from the server 1,
A Web browser that displays the information on the screen is installed. Further, it has a communication function for communicating with the server 1 via the communication network 11. The useful information provider is, for example, a staff member of a store that provides goods or services.

The communication network 11 is, for example, a public line network or an integrated service digital network (ISDN).
Ital Network), the Internet, etc.

Next, the function of each processing unit provided in the server 1 will be outlined. The authentication processing unit 13 has a function of checking a user ID and a password when a general user or a useful information provider accesses the server 1, and authenticating whether or not these persons are properly registered persons. .

The general conversation processing unit 15 has a function of transmitting conversation information to general users, a function of receiving conversation information input by the general user using the terminal 7, and a function of analyzing the contents thereof. It has a function of selecting conversation information suitable for forming a conversation in accordance with a conditional branch prepared in advance in the specified order or based on the analyzed contents.

The information provision processing unit 17 stores the provided information such as useful information input from the terminal 9 of the useful information provider in the useful conversation information storage unit 23 provided in the database 3, and further stores the stored useful information. Is provided to the user in a conversation with the general user.

The profile processing unit 19 extracts the profile information of the general user through the conversation with the general user executed by the general conversation processing unit 15 and stores the profile information in the profile information storage unit 31. It has a function of setting the disclosure and non-disclosure of profile information based on requests. Here, the profile information refers to so-called attribute information, and in the present embodiment, refers to information relating to hobbies and preferences.

The mail processing unit 21 transmits an e-mail to a general user or a useful information provider in response to a request from a general user, a useful information provider, or another processing unit of the server 1. It has a function to receive e-mail from the terminal of a person or a useful information provider. In addition, a general user who has not used for a predetermined period is urged to use it.

The operation management unit 23 has a function of controlling the server 1 in accordance with an input from the terminal 5 of the operation manager, and a function of managing useful information and a form mail between a useful information provider and a general user. Have.

Next, the service provided to the general user by the system of the present invention will be described with reference to the display screen examples by the Web browser of the general user terminal 7 shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the conversation between the character 35 and the general user with the system. The character 35 is, for example, an appearance image of a human, an animal, a virtual creature, or the like. The character 35 operates as the conversation progresses, and is displayed as if the user is talking with the character 35. In the figure, a conversation surrounded by "" is a line provided from the server 1, and a conversation surrounded by "" is an answer input by a general user. FIG. 2 shows a conversation realized by the above-mentioned general conversation function, and FIG. 3 shows a conversation realized by the above-mentioned useful information conversation function. Although FIGS. 2 and 3 show an example in which all conversation contents are displayed on one screen, one screen is formed for each dialog as described later, and the previous dialog is displayed. A screen configuration that does not display is also possible.

First, as shown in FIG.
Displays on the display screen of the terminal 7 a statement asking "What is your favorite food?" When a general user inputs "Oden" using input means such as a keyboard, "Oden" is displayed below "What is your favorite food?" On the screen. Then, the server 1 recognizes the input information “Oden” and displays a sentence “Do you like Oden!” On the screen. At the same time, the server 1 extracts the profile information indicating that the favorite food of the general user who has a conversation is Oden, and stores the profile information in the profile information storage unit 31. Further, after the sentence "Do you like oden!", A sentence asking "Where do you like oden?" Is displayed on the screen of the terminal 1 asking the general user again about the reason why he likes oden. When the general user inputs "warm place" using the input means in order to answer this inquiry, "warm place" is further displayed on the screen. In response to this, the server 1 displays "Warm place!" On the screen, and assembles a natural conversation flow.

The character 35 also operates in synchronization with the progress of such a conversation. For example, when the inquiry message "What is your favorite food?"
Set the face of 5 to be a curious expression,
When the sentence "Do you like oden!" Is displayed, set it so that it looks a little surprised.

In the present embodiment, a conversation between the server 1 and a general user on the screen shown in FIG. 2 is called a general conversation. Through such a conversation, the general user can enjoy a general conversation with the character on the Web browser. In addition, the server 1 can search for and acquire profile information on the hobbies and preferences of general users through general conversation. In this way, among the functions of the system according to the present invention described above, a general conversation function is achieved.

Next, as shown in the screen of FIG.
Displays the sentence "Speaking of Oden," on the display screen of the terminal 7 of the general user. Subsequently, the server 1 displays a sentence "I was told by Mr. XX of the gourmet forum " on the screen. At this time, the underlined portion indicates that there is another page to be linked, and the cursor is moved to the portion with the mouse or the like of the terminal 7 and the linked page is displayed by clicking the mouse. Can be. In this case, ○
The profile information etc. of ○ is displayed and the corresponding ○
You can also display a page where you can send a message to Mr. ○. An example of such a page is shown in FIG. 6 and will be described in detail later.

Further, the server 1 displays an inquiry sentence "There is an Odena in Akasaka, but do you want to see it?" And also discloses information about the Odena.
Display the URL “http://www.odenya.com” of the page b on the screen.

In the present embodiment, a conversation between the server 1 and the general user on the screen shown in FIG. 3 is called a useful information conversation. By providing such a service, a general user can obtain useful information suitable for his / her hobbies and preferences. On the other hand, useful information providers can supply useful information to general users who are likely to want to obtain useful information. It can be carried out.

Next, the page management function will be described with reference to a screen display example of the general user terminal 7 shown in FIG. This page management function is mainly executed by the profile processing unit 19. FIG. 4 is a screen for setting the disclosure / non-disclosure of own profile information. On this screen, a picture of the character 35 is displayed, and a message "Please check that you can publish" is displayed near this character 35, and it is displayed as if you are talking with the character. You. Further, on the screen, profile information such as hobbies and preferences of the general user obtained through the search through the above-described general conversation function is displayed in the area 37 together with the items. Further, an end button 39 is also displayed.

On the screen displayed as shown in FIG. 4, the general user clicks the disclosure check box provided on the left side of the profile information, which is permitted to be disclosed to others, by using a mouse or the like. Insert
In this example, "Sukinabemono", "Sukina TV Show", "Story of the Week", "Sukina Forum"
Is checked, and is published as profile information on a general user page as shown in FIG. When the general user clicks the end button 39 with the mouse when the setting regarding the disclosure / non-disclosure of the profile information is completed, the setting is determined and the database 3
Is stored in the profile information storage unit 31.

The page shown in FIG. 4 may be further provided with a button for instructing a designated person to inform his / her profile information. When the general user clicks this button, a form page having an area for inputting the mail address of the partner to be notified is transmitted from the server 1 and displayed on the screen of the general user terminal 7. When such a general user inputs a mail address and gives a transmission instruction, an introduction mail in which his / her profile information or the URL of his / her own Web page is described at the mail address destination is sent to the mail processing unit 21 of the server 1. Via an e-mail system.

Next, the above-described mail distribution function will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 shows an e-mail reception screen displayed on the terminal 7 of a general user. The mail distribution function is mainly executed by the information provision processing unit 17 and the mail processing unit 21 of the server 1. This email is
Mail processing unit 2 based on an instruction from information provision processing unit 17
1 to the general user terminal 7 via the communication network 11. In this example, an e-mail having the following contents is transmitted to the terminal 7 of "xx". "×
× Send a message to Gourmet Forum ○○ who was talking during this time? http: //www.aaa.bbb/ccc "

The information providing processing section 17 transmits the above-mentioned useful information conversation to the general user (here, xx-san) in order to activate the communication between the general users by transmitting such e-mail. ),
Third parties introduced in such useful information conversation (here, ○
○) to send a message. Furthermore, by including the URL (here, http: //www.aaa.bbb/ccc) of the Web page containing the message transmission form of the third party introduced in the e-mail message, You can send messages to them.

When a general user receives such an e-mail and clicks the URL in the e-mail using a mouse, a Web page including a message transmission form for transmitting a message to the third party is displayed. It is transmitted from the information provision processing unit 17 of the server 1 to the terminal 7 of the general user. FIG. 6 shows a screen display example of the Web page. In the Web page shown in FIG. 6, the profile information 41 of the message destination, the message transmission form 43, the transmission button 45, the picture of the character 35, and the message of the destination of the message, and the message "Your destination is not notified of your e-mail address. "It is included.

In the area 41 for displaying profile information, only items and contents checked as information that may be disclosed on the profile information disclosure / non-disclosure setting screen shown in FIG. Is displayed. In the message transmission form 43,
The general user XX inputs a message to be sent to XX using input means such as a keyboard. When the input is completed and the general user XX clicks the send button 45 with a mouse or the like, the input message is sent to the communication network 11 by the mail processing unit 21 according to the instruction of the information provision processing unit 17. Is sent to Mr. XX's terminal via. At this time, as shown in the message of the character 35 shown at the bottom of the Web page, the destination XX is not notified of the mail address of the source XX. As a result, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience caused by the leakage of the mail address information to a third party. Therefore, a general user who wants to send a message can easily send a message to a transmission destination, and communication between users can be more activated.

In addition, one of the mail distribution functions executed by the information provision processing unit 17 in cooperation with the mail processing unit 21 is as follows. There is a function to send service confirmation mail to general users. The service confirmation e-mail includes contents indicating an acknowledgment of using the system and contents urging the user to use the system again.

Further, the information provision processing unit 17 and the mail processing unit 21 provide a Web service in which profile information and the like of another user are described to a user using the information provision system.
It also has a function of sending an e-mail with the URL of the page. Thereby, communication between general users can be activated. Further, the information provision processing unit 1
7 and the mail processing unit 21 search for a general user who has not used the information providing system for a certain period of time, and give a notice to the general user that the account will be deleted if the information providing system has not been used for a further predetermined period of time. It also has the function of sending mail. This can promote the use of this information providing system. If there is no use for a predetermined period, the account is deleted.

Next, a useful information registration management function, which is one of the functions of the system according to the present embodiment, will be outlined with reference to a screen display example shown in FIG. The screen shown in FIG. 7 displays a registration page for useful information, which is displayed on the screen of terminal 9 of the useful information provider. Then, the useful information provider uses the input means such as the keyboard and mouse of the terminal 9 to input various information into each input area in the registration page, and registers the information in the useful conversation information storage unit 29 of the database 3. In this information providing system, using such a registration page, useful information providers who want to provide useful information each register useful information.

On the screen shown in FIG. 7, an input area 47 relating to profile information, an input area 49 relating to the movement of the character 35, an input area 51 relating to dialogue, an input area 53 relating to a URL for guiding a general user, a preview button 55, and a registration button Button 57 is displayed.

Input area 47 for profile information
Includes an area indicating an item of profile information and an area indicating a value corresponding to the item. In the input area 47 relating to profile information, profile information having relevance to the information that the useful information provider intends to provide is input and registered. The profile information from the plurality of useful information providers registered in this way is compared with the profile information of the general user obtained through general conversation information and the like. If there is a general user who has the same profile information, useful information from the useful information provider who registered the profile information is extracted, and finally this useful information is transmitted to the general user. You. Note that the profile information of the general user and the profile information from the useful information provider do not need to be completely the same, and may partially match. Further, a case having a predetermined relationship may be used. Relevant standards are registered in advance.

As shown in the figure, the items of the profile information include “favorite food”, “favorite forum”, “today alone”, “destination to go to”, and the like. One or more items related to useful information are selected from these items by the useful information provider, and a value corresponding to the selected item can be input. In this example, since the useful information of □□ is related to “Odenya”, a favorite food item is selected and “Oden” is input as a corresponding value. Also,
Since his useful information is related to “Akasaka”, it is possible to select an item of a travel destination to be visited and to input “Akasaka” or “Tokyo” as a corresponding value.

In the input area 49 for the motion, the character 35 is displayed.
Is input / selected, and up to four operations, Operation 1, Operation 2, Operation 3 and Operation 4, can be input. Also,
In the line input area 51, the useful information provider can input the line of the character 35, and can input up to four lines, that is, line 1, line 2, line 3, and line 4.
The action 1 corresponds to the dialogue 1, the action 2 corresponds to the dialogue 2, the action 3 corresponds to the dialogue 3, the action 4 corresponds to the dialogue 4, and the dialogue is displayed on the screen until the next dialogue is displayed. 35 executes an operation corresponding to the line.

In this example, an action of “crossing arms” is input to action 1, and a dialogue of “let's say oden,” is input to dialogue 1. In this case, on the screen of the terminal 7 of the general user, when the process shifts to the useful information conversation, the form of the character 35 is changed to a posture in which the arms are folded, and the words "Speaking of Oden," are displayed.

In general, the terminal area 7 of the general user is displayed in the input area 53 of the destination URL after the last operation and dialogue.
The URL to be displayed on the screen is input. When the general user clicks the guide destination URL displayed on the screen, the Web page of the URL is displayed, and useful information on the Web page is provided to the general user. Therefore, in the input area 53 of the guide destination URL, the URL of the Web page including the information that the useful information provider wants to provide to the general user is input.

A preview button 55 and a registration button 53 are provided at the bottom of the display screen of FIG. When the preview button 55 is clicked on with a mouse, the useful information conversation proceeds on the screen of the useful information provider terminal 9 based on the information registered on this useful information registration page. As a result, the useful information provider can determine whether it is necessary to correct the action and the dialogue, and can set an optimal conversation. As a result of the confirmation by the preview button 55, if the useful information provider determines that there is no problem in the set conversation and operation, the registration button 5
When 7 is clicked with a mouse, the set useful information is registered in the useful conversation information storage unit 9 of the database 3.

Next, the details of the general conversation function in the system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 shows a processing flow of the general conversation function.

First, the general user uses the Web of the terminal 7 of his / her own.
Authentication information input screen 59 displayed on screen by browser
, The user's own user ID (Identifier) and password (Password) are input. Here, the user ID is represented by an arbitrary symbol, a character string, or the like, but may be a mail address. These user IDs and passwords are transmitted to the server 1 via the communication network 11. In the server 1, the user ID received by the authentication processing unit 13
And a password authentication process. The authentication processing unit 13
The user I from the authentication information storage unit 25 of the database 3
The password corresponding to D is obtained, and the received password is compared with the password obtained from the authentication information storage unit 25 to determine whether it is correct.

As a result of the determination, if the received password is correct together with the received user ID, the authentication processing unit 13
Is determined to have been authenticated, and the flow proceeds to a conversation progress status extraction process 63. Also, as a result of the determination, the received user I
If the password received with D is incorrect or if the received user ID itself is not registered,
The authentication processing unit 13 transmits a message to the general user terminal 7 via the communication network 11 to prompt the user to input the user ID and the password again.

In the process 63 for extracting the general conversation progress status, the general conversation processing unit 15 stores the history of the conversation between the general user and the server 1 stored in the profile information storage unit 31 based on the transmitted user ID. Search for information,
The conversation number (conversation ID) of the content to be conversed next with the general user having this user ID is acquired.

Next, the general conversation processing unit 15 acquires conversation information corresponding to the conversation number from the general conversation information storage unit 27 based on the conversation number acquired in the general conversation progress status extraction processing 63. The conversation information corresponding to one conversation number includes a plurality of lines. At this time, if there is a part to be supplemented by the profile information in the conversation information line, the profile information storage unit 31
The relevant part is complemented by referring to the profile information stored in. For example, a part to be supplemented by the profile information is described as, for example, “% username%”. "Takeshi" in the "username" part of such a description
Is complemented by the profile information related to the name, and is converted into a description such as “Takeshi-san”. Another example is, "My favorite food is% favoritefoo
d% ", obtains the favorite food of the general user from the profile information storage unit 31 and converts it to, for example, a description" favorite food was oden ". .

Here, the conversation information stored in the general conversation information storage section 27 includes (1) no input type, (2) YesNo input type, (3) keyword input type, and (4) select input type. There are types. Each conversation type will be described.

(1) No input type This is a conversation type that does not require a judgment or input of a keyword from a general user. For example, the following conversation. Dialogue 1 "Christmas soon" + Action 1 Dialogue 2 "Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ" + Action 2 Dialogue 3 "After Christ is born" + Action 3 Dialogue 4 "It's been 2000 years" + Action 4 The operations 1 to 4 are operations of the character 35 synchronized with the dialogue, although the detailed operation contents are omitted.

(2) YesNo Input Type This is a conversation type in which a general user is requested to input Yes or No.
For example, it refers to the following conversation. Dialogue 1 “You must give a gift for Christmas” + Action 1 Dialogue 2 “Do you want to give a gift to someone?” + Action 2 The display screen that includes dialogue 2 includes a Yes / No check box. Then, the general user operates the input means of the terminal 7 to transmit Yes / No to the server 1. If the answer is Yes, the dialogue line 3 "I hope it's a happy Christmas" is output, and the character 35
Is carried out. If the answer is No, the dialogue line 4 "Slightly lonely" is output and the character 35
Performs operation 4.

(3) Keyword input type This is a conversation type in which a general user is required to input a character string. For example, the following conversation. Dialogue 1 "Do you want to get something?" + Action 1 Dialogue 2 "What do you want to give for Christmas?" + Action 2 Dialogue 3 "Hey. Poka!" + Action 3 Dialogue 4 " Hope will be fulfilled "+ Operation 4 The display screen including the above-mentioned dialogue 2 includes an input box for inputting" △△ ", and the general user inputs" △△ "on the terminal 7. Operate the means and input into the input box.

(4) Select input type This is a conversation type in which a general user is required to input a select button. For example, the following conversation. Dialogue 1 "Christmas quiz!" + Action 1 Dialogue 2 "Where is the place where Christ was born?" On the display screen including Dialogue 2, "Bethlehem""London""Paris""Tokyo"
And a select button for selecting one of them. The general user selects and clicks one of the select buttons corresponding to the answer considered to be the correct answer. If the answer to the quiz is correct, the line 3 “hit!” Is output, and the character 35 performs the operation 3. On the other hand, if the answer is incorrect, the dialogue line 4 “Bethlehem Nanadena” is output, and the character 35 performs the operation 4.

In this embodiment, it is set that a maximum of four lines can be provided interactively. However, the number of lines that can be included in one conversation type can be set to an arbitrary number, and may be smaller or larger than four. Also,
It is also possible to define a conversation type other than the conversation type described above.

Returning to the description of the general conversation processing flow shown in FIG. The general conversation information extracting process 65 is executed, and a specific conversation number and general conversation information corresponding to the specific conversation number are transmitted from the general conversation processing unit 15 to the terminal 7 of the general user via the communication network 11. At the terminal 7 of the general user, conversation contents as shown in a conversation example 67 are displayed on the display screen. In this conversation example, four lines are prepared and displayed together with the action of the character 35. In the conversation example 67, only the conversation information provided by the general conversation processing unit 15 is displayed for convenience, but an input field for a general user to input the conversation information is also displayed on the screen.

As shown in FIG. 8, the first screen displays a line saying "What is your favorite food?" In order to display the dialogue on the screen of the general user terminal 7, the general conversation processing unit 15 converts the conversation information “What is your favorite food?” Into HTML data, and the general information is transmitted via the communication network 11. It is necessary to transmit to the terminal 7 of the user. In the terminal 7 of the general user, the HTML data is converted by the Web browser, and “What is your favorite food?” Is displayed on the screen. On the other hand, when the general user inputs "Oden" using the input means of the terminal 7, a line saying "Do you like Oden!" Is displayed. At this time, the information “Oden” is transmitted from the general user terminal 7 to the general conversation processing unit 15 via the communication network 11. The general conversation processing unit 15 generates a next sentence “Where do you like Oden?” From the information “Oden” and transmits it to the terminal 7 of the general user. Then, "Where do you like oden?" Is displayed on the screen of the general user terminal 7. When the general user inputs "Warm place", the information is transmitted to the general conversation processing unit 15 in the same manner. Based on this information, the general conversation processing unit generates information such that the words "Warm place !!" are displayed on the screen of the terminal 7 of the general user.
Perform transmission processing. Thus, the conversation of one block corresponding to the conversation number ends.

When the conversation of one block is completed in this way, the profile processing unit 19 extracts the profile information based on the conversation input by the general user, and extracts the profile information stored in the profile information storage unit 31. A profile update process 69 for updating the profile information of is performed. In this conversation example 67, the profile information that the general user's favorite food is “Oden” is extracted and stored in the profile information storage unit 31. At the time of profile update processing 69, the conversation number that has been completed is stored in the profile information storage unit 31.

Subsequently, a conversation number to be executed next is selected based on the conversation number stored in the profile information storage unit 31, and a general conversation information extracting process 65 is executed. Thereafter, similarly, the general conversation information is acquired from the general conversation information storage unit 27, the conversation information is displayed on the terminal 7 of the general user, and the conversation proceeds sequentially. Then, when all of the conversations registered in advance are executed and the process shifts to the useful information conversation, the general conversation processing is temporarily interrupted.

Next, a useful information distribution process will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 9. In this example, the useful information conversation is performed following the general conversation.

In the useful information distribution status confirmation processing 71, the information providing processing unit 17 sends the general information from the profile information storage unit 31 and the useful conversation information storage unit 29 based on the user ID and the profile information obtained in the general conversation described above. The conversation number (conversation ID) related to the useful information conversation for the user is acquired. Specifically, the profile information of the general user acquired first through the general conversation is extracted from the profile information storage unit 31. Using the extracted profile information, a search is made for profile information that is registered in the useful conversation information storage unit 29 by a plurality of useful information providers and serves as conditional branch information of the conversation. As a result of the search, a conversation number related to useful information associated with profile information having the same identity as the profile information of the general user acquired from the profile information storage unit 31 is acquired from the useful conversation information storage unit 29.
It should be noted that the determination as to whether or not the extracted profile information has the sameness is performed according to a predetermined standard. It is not intended to be completely the same, and it is sufficient if there is a predetermined association. Note that the information provision processing unit 17 is configured to
In some cases, a process is performed in which the same useful information is not distributed with reference to the past conversation history stored in the storage unit 1. Also, the useful information may be given an order, and the conversation number may be acquired so that the next useful information is delivered.

Next, based on the conversation number acquired in the useful information distribution status confirmation processing 71, the information provision processing section 17 acquires conversation information corresponding to the conversation number from the useful conversation information storage section 29. The conversation information corresponding to one conversation number includes a plurality of lines. At this time, if there is a part to be supplemented by the profile information in the dialogue of the conversation information, the part refers to the profile information stored in the profile information storage unit 31 and complements the part.

A useful information extracting process 73 is executed.
The specific conversation number and the conversation information are transmitted to the general user terminal 7 by the information provision processing unit 17 via the communication network 11. At the terminal 7 of the general user, the conversation content as shown in the conversation example 75 is displayed on the display screen. In this conversation example, four lines are prepared and displayed together with the action of the character 35. As shown in the figure, the first screen displays a line saying “Speaking of Oden”. By clicking on a predetermined place on the screen, such as on the area of the character 35, a dialogue saying "There is an Oden shop named XX in Akasaka" is displayed.
Then, when the user clicks further, a line saying “Let's see it?” Is displayed. Clicking on "http: //www.o
The guidance URL of "denya.com" is displayed, and the conversation of one block associated with this conversation number ends. When the conversation of one block is completed in this way, the profile processing unit 1
9 stores the ended conversation number in the profile information storage unit 31.
To be stored.

As described above, in the useful information distribution process, among the useful information registered by the useful information provider by the server 1, useful information that matches the taste of the general user is selected, and the general information is selected in a conversation format. Provided to users. In this example, there is an Oden shop in Akasaka called XX and the URL of the Oden shop is "http: // w
ww.odenya.com "is provided to the general user with two useful information.

Note that the useful information distribution process described with reference to FIG. 9 is shown in FIG. 10 when the useful information is distributed via a Web browser installed on the terminal 7 of the general user, and as shown in FIG. In some cases, useful information is distributed using e-mail. In FIG. 10, the useful information distribution process 81 is inserted during the processing of general conversation, and is executed after the general conversation information extraction processing 79a. Then, after the useful information distribution process 81 ends, the process proceeds to a general conversation information extracting process 79b.
The general conversation extraction processing 79a and 79b perform the same processing as the general conversation information extraction processing 65 shown in FIG.

In the case of distribution using electronic mail, first, a mail distribution schedule process 83 is performed, and the mail is distributed at a predetermined timing. In this case, in the useful information distribution process 81, a single mail including all the lines of the conversation example 75 described with reference to FIG.
5 is executed.

Next, the page management function will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the general user inputs his / her user ID and password on the authentication information input screen 87 displayed on the screen by the Web browser of his / her terminal 7. These user IDs and passwords are transmitted to the server 1 via the communication network 11. The server 1 performs authentication processing of the user ID and password received by the authentication processing unit 13. The authentication processing unit 13 searches the authentication information storage unit 25 of the database 3 with the received user ID, and acquires the stored password. Then, it is determined whether the received password and the password acquired from the authentication storage unit 25 are the same.

As a result of the determination, when it is determined that the two passwords are the same, the authentication processing unit 13 determines that the password has been authenticated, and proceeds to the profile information extracting process 91. Also, as a result of the determination, if the user ID is not the same or the received user
If D itself is not registered, the authentication processing unit 1
3 transmits a message to the general user terminal 7 via the communication network 11 to prompt the user to re-enter the user ID and password.

In the profile information extracting process 91, the profile processing unit 19
, The profile information of the general user having this user ID is acquired from the profile information storage unit 31.

The profile processing section 19 processes the profile information as a Web page of the general user,
The data is converted into TML data and transmitted to the terminal 7 of a general user. In the terminal 7 of the general user, the HTML data is displayed on a screen by a Web browser. Display example 93
, The profile information of the general user obtained through the above-described general conversation and the like is displayed. A disclosure check box is provided on the left side of the profile information displayed for each item to specify whether it is public or private. When a general user moves the cursor over the public check box and clicks on it, a check mark is displayed. When the check mark is displayed, the profile information of the item may be made public.

When the general user clicks the OK button after completing the input, the input information is transmitted to the server 1 via the communication network 11. The profile processing unit 19 of the server 1 executes an update process 95 for updating the profile information stored in the profile information storage unit 31 based on the input information. Specifically, the information about whether to make the information of each item in the profile information public information or non-public information is updated. The profile information thus made private can be referred to only by the general user who is the principal and the operation administrator of the system,
Others cannot see it.

Next, the useful information registration function will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the useful information provider inputs his / her user ID and password on the authentication information input screen 97 displayed on the screen by the Web browser of his / her terminal 9. These user IDs and passwords are transmitted to the server 1 via the communication network 11. The server 1 performs authentication processing of the user ID and password received by the authentication processing unit 13. The authentication processing unit 13 searches the authentication information storage unit 25 of the database 3 with the received user ID, and acquires the stored password.
Then, it is determined whether the received password and the password acquired from the authentication storage unit 25 are the same.

As a result of the determination, when it is determined that the two passwords are the same, the authentication processing unit 13 determines that the password has been authenticated, and proceeds to the useful information extracting process 101. Also,
If the result of the determination is that they are not the same or the received user ID itself is not registered, the authentication processing unit 13 inputs the user ID and password to the terminal 7 of the general user via the communication network 11. Send a message prompting you to try again.

In the useful information extracting process 101,
The useful information processing unit 17 acquires useful information of a useful information provider having this user ID from the useful conversation information storage unit 29 based on the received user ID. In addition,
In the case of a useful information provider that provides useful information for the first time this time, since useful information is not stored in the useful conversation information storage unit 29, information to that effect is stored in the information provision processing unit 1.
7 will be acquired.

The information providing processing unit 17 converts the useful information into a useful information registration page of the useful information provider, converts the information into HTML data, and transmits the HTML data to the terminal 9 of the useful information provider via the communication network 11. At the terminal 9 of the useful information provider, the HTML is transmitted by a Web browser.
Display the data on the screen. In the display example 103, information on the user profile, information on the character's movement and dialogue, and information on the guidance destination URL are displayed, and a preview button and a registration button are provided. Each piece of information is the same as that described in FIG. The registered useful information may be corrected or newly input.

When the input of the useful information provider is completed and the registration button is clicked, the input information is transmitted to the server 1 via the communication network 11. The information provision processing unit 17 of the server 1 executes a temporary registration process 105 of useful information based on the input information. In the temporary registration process 105, the input information is usefully stored in the conversation information storage unit 29. The provisional registration is to prevent inappropriate information such as slander against others from being registered and distributed to general users.
This is because the inspection is performed by the operation manager. In addition,
If you've reviewed enough people to submit useful information,
It is also possible to replace the temporary registration processing 105 with the main registration processing. Further, when a problem occurs, it is possible to perform post-processing and replace it with the official registration processing.

[0093] As for the useful information registration, as described above, the useful information provider registers and manages the information from his / her own terminal 9 using the Web browser. It is also possible to register and manage by the operation management unit 23.

The operation manager of this information providing system uses the terminal 5 to refer to all useful information.
It is possible to search for useful information using useful information as a condition key, and to modify or delete information such as registered general conversation information and useful information. Further, the operation manager can refer to the profile information of the general user or refer to the page in which the profile information of the general user is described, and can correct or delete the page.

In the above-described embodiment, in the profile information introduction page shown in FIG. 6, whether the items are made public or non-public on the setting page shown in FIG. 4 is specified based on the input of the general user. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Generally, information such as an address and a telephone number that should be kept private may be automatically handled as private information.

Further, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which public / non-public can be set in a conversation with the system without setting public / non-public on the setting page as shown in FIG. In this way, the general user can make necessary settings while enjoying the conversation.

It is also possible to use a plurality of servers instead of configuring the server 1 of FIG. 1 with one computer, and to configure the database 3 with a plurality of databases. Furthermore, the screen example shown in the present embodiment is an example, and can be variously modified. It is also possible to provide not only one terminal 5 to 9 but also a plurality of terminals.

The conversation type defined in the general conversation information is
It is also possible to make settings for useful information.

[0099]

As described above, according to the present invention, it has been possible to provide a conversation type information providing technique which enables the system to be operated without imposing an excessive burden on the information providing system provider.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of an entire system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a screen display example in the system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display in the system according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a screen display example in the system according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display in the system according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a screen display example in the system according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a screen display example in the system according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a processing flow of a general conversation in the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a useful information distribution process according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a useful information providing form according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a useful information providing form according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a processing flow of a user page management function according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a processing flow of a useful information registration management function in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 server 3 database 5 terminal of operation manager 7 terminal of general user 9 terminal of useful information provider
11 Communication Network 13 Authentication Processing Unit 15 General Conversation Processing Unit 17
Information provision processing unit 19 Profile processing unit 21 Email processing unit 23 Operation management unit 25 Authentication information storage unit 27 General conversation information storage unit 29 Useful conversation information storage unit 31 Profile information storage unit 33 Operation management information storage unit

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. An information providing system for providing information by transmitting conversation information to a terminal of a general user via a communication network, comprising: a conversation information storage unit for storing the conversation information; Information providing processing means for selecting predetermined conversation information from the conversation information stored in the information storage means, and transmitting the selected conversation information to the terminal of the general user via a communication network; Information providing processing means for transmitting, via a communication network, a terminal of an information provider that provides predetermined information to the general user, and the predetermined information is conversation information in which one or a plurality of dialogue forms are used; An information providing system, comprising receiving the conversation information and storing the received conversation information in the conversation information storage means. 2. Profile information storage means for storing profile information of a general user; general conversation processing means for exchanging general conversation information via a communication network with a terminal of the general user; And a profile information processing means for extracting profile information of the general user through information exchange and storing the profile information in the profile information storage means, wherein the information provision processing means is stored in the profile information storage means. The profile information of the general user is acquired from the profile information, conversation information related to the acquired profile information is selected from the conversation information stored in the conversation information storage means, and the selected conversation information is selected by the general user. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the information is transmitted to a terminal via a communication network. 3. The information providing processing means, wherein the predetermined information is transmitted from a terminal of an information provider that provides the general user to the general user via a communication network, and the predetermined information is transmitted in one or a plurality of dialogue forms. And the profile information related to the conversation information is received, the received conversation information and the profile information are stored in the conversation information storage means, and the profile information stored in the conversation information storage means is received. From the profile information of the general user stored in the profile information storage means, and selects the conversation information corresponding to the extracted profile information, and uses the selected conversation information for the general use. 3. The information providing system according to claim 2, wherein the information is transmitted to a terminal of a user via a communication network. 4. The profile information processing means transmits profile information of a specific general user stored in the profile information storage means to a terminal of the specific general user via a communication network. 3. The information provision method according to claim 2, wherein registration of whether or not the profile information of the general user stored in the profile information storage means can be disclosed to a third party is registered in accordance with instruction information from a terminal of the general user. system. 5. The information providing processing means according to claim 1, wherein said conversation information transmitted to the general user includes information about another user having profile information relevant to the profile information of said general user. 3. The information providing system according to claim 2, wherein: 6. The information providing processing means transmits profile information of the other user to the general user terminal when the general user terminal requests transmission of information about the other user. 6. The information providing system according to claim 5, wherein the information is transmitted. 7. The information providing processing means according to claim 1, wherein, when a request for transmission of information relating to said other user is made from said general user terminal, profile information of said other user and a message to said other user. The page including the entry area is transmitted to the general user terminal, and when a message transmission request is issued from the general user terminal, the message entered in the message entry area is transmitted to the other user. 6. The information providing system according to claim 5, wherein the information is transmitted to the information providing system. 8. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the conversation information transmitted from the information providing means to the terminal of the general user includes reference information of related information. 9. The conversation information transmitted from the information providing means to the terminal of the general user includes image information of a character corresponding to a line included in the conversation information. Information providing system described. 10. The conversation information transmitted from the information provider terminal includes information corresponding to a line included in the conversation information and designating a character image transmitted to the general user terminal. 4. The information providing system according to claim 3, wherein: 11. The profile information transmitted from the information provider terminal includes one or more general user attribute types and attribute values corresponding to the attribute types. 3. The information providing system according to 3. 12. An information providing method for providing information by transmitting conversation information to a terminal of a general user via a communication network, wherein the information provides predetermined information to the general user. A conversation information registration step of receiving conversation information transmitted from a provider terminal via a communication network and wherein the predetermined information is represented in one or more dialogue forms, and registering the received conversation information in a storage device; Transmitting predetermined conversation information from the conversation information registered in the conversation information registration step, and transmitting the selected conversation information to a terminal of the general user via a communication network. . 13. A storage medium storing a program for providing information by transmitting conversation information to a terminal of a general user via a communication network, wherein the program stores a program in a computer. Receiving, from a terminal of an information provider that provides information to the general user, conversation information in which the predetermined information is expressed in one or a plurality of dialogue forms, and the received conversation information; A conversation information registration step of registering the conversation information in a storage device, selecting predetermined conversation information from the conversation information registered in the conversation information registration step, and transmitting the selected conversation information to the terminal of the general user via a communication network. A storage medium, which is a program for executing an information transmission step to be transmitted to the computer and the following.