JP2002099480A - Information provision system, device used for the system, information provision method and record medium storing program for performing the method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To maintain quick communication response while maintaining good visibility without deteriorating image quality to effectively correspond to customization need of a user when information is provided from an information center. SOLUTION: Corresponding codes '0001', '0010', '0011' of standard landmarks 46, 47, 48 perform processing modifying to '0001A', '0010A', '0011A' being codes which the user originally has for landmarks 49, 50, 51. Next, the codes ('0001', '0010', '0011') which the standard landmarks 46, 47, 48 have for the landmarks 49, 50, 51 in which the user desires the modification in plug-in are given respectively. Thereby the landmarks 49, 50, 51 modified by the desire of the user are displayed in place of the standard landmarks 46, 47, 48.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention is widely and rapidly
In addition, the present invention relates to an information providing system capable of providing highly visible information, an apparatus used in the system, an apparatus used to execute an information providing method, and a recording medium recording the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An information system for establishing an information center for transmitting information and providing information from the information center to a navigation device mounted on a vehicle via a network such as the Internet. Is
Conventionally known, examples of which are described in, for example,
No. 01653. In the information providing system disclosed in this publication, map information including location information of various facilities is transmitted from an information center via the network,
It is configured to provide on-board navigation devices on-time. Therefore, by updating the information in the information center, the user can always obtain the latest information.

However, in the above information providing system, the latest positional information of facilities and the like is added to the map information and updated, and the updated map information is distributed over a network. Inevitably increase. For this reason, when the user intends to obtain and use the latest information in the navigation device, it is necessary to connect for a long time each time, and it has been pointed out that it takes a long time to obtain and increases communication costs.

[0004] In view of such circumstances, the present inventors have previously proposed an information providing system capable of providing the latest necessary information without transmitting map information.

According to the proposed information providing system, information required by a user such as facility information is transmitted as information that can be combined with the map information without transmitting map information that inevitably increases the amount of information. By configuring the transmission, the communication load was significantly reduced.

Only the information required by the user is effectively loaded on the communication infrastructure and transmitted, and stored in a user terminal having a large amount of information such as a map combined with the information. As a result, the image can be transmitted without deteriorating the image quality, so that a clear image can be reproduced on the receiving side. That is, it is preferable in that a high-quality image can be generated on the receiving side.

Further, in an information providing system using a network, there is a need for a user to customize a screen sent from an information center so that a user can display his or her favorite image or icon.

As a measure for responding to such a user's need for customization, it is conceivable that the user's needs are processed by a server device of an information center and changed according to the user's needs.

[0009]

However, if the server device of the information center is individually adapted to the needs of the user as described above, the load on the server device is significantly increased, and the capacity of the server device is increased. In addition to the problem of having to perform the communication, the amount of communication information from the server device to the user terminal increases, so that another problem occurs that the image quality must be reduced in order to maintain the communication speed.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and when providing information from an information center to a user, it is possible to maintain good visibility without deteriorating the image quality and to quickly perform the operation. An object of the present invention is to maintain communication responsiveness and effectively respond to a user's customization needs.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above objects of the present invention are as follows.
An information providing system for providing information to a user via a communication path from an information center provided on a network, wherein the server is provided in the information center and functions as an information providing source to the user, and the server A user-side terminal connected to be capable of transmitting information via a network, and at least a part of image information to be displayed on a user-side terminal screen based on information transmitted from the server device to the user-side terminal. Image information is stored in the user-side terminal, the server device transmits image display instruction information for instructing display of the user-side terminal stored image information stored in the user-side terminal, the user-side terminal Displaying image information stored in the user terminal corresponding to the image display instruction information from the server device. It is in the can be achieved by an information providing system characterized.

In this case, the image display instruction information transmitted from the server device and instructing the display of the image information stored in the user terminal stored in the user terminal is common to all users. As a result, it is not necessary for the server device to manage information contents for each user, and the communication load on the server device can be significantly reduced.

[0013] In a preferred aspect, the image information stored in the user terminal is an image icon, and the image display instruction information from the server device for the image icon is set corresponding to a display position on a display screen. ing.

In this case, the image icon is stored in the user terminal corresponding to the display position.

[0015] The image icon can be configured to be transmitted from the server device to the user terminal and stored. To download this icon,
It is not performed when displaying the screen to be customized, but as a separate process for storing icons for customization. Therefore, at the time of customization, image information necessary for customization, such as an icon for customization, is already stored in the user terminal, and at the time of customization operation, it is read from the memory of the user terminal. Become.

Further, the image icon may be stored in the user terminal from an external storage medium. This external storage medium includes a CD-ROM,
VD, MD, floppy disk, etc. are included.

According to another feature of the present invention, there is provided a server device used in an information providing system for providing information to a user via a communication path from an information center provided on a network, wherein the server device is provided in the information center. It functions as a source for providing information to the user, is connected to a user terminal operated by the user via a network so that information can be transmitted, and transmits image information to be displayed on the user terminal screen. In addition, among the images to be displayed on the user side terminal, instructing display of image information stored in the user side terminal, transmitting common image display instruction information to all user side terminals, To display the image information stored in the user-side terminal corresponding to the image display instruction information. Server apparatus is provided, which comprises.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a user terminal used in an information providing system for providing information to a user via a communication path from an information center provided on a network, the information center comprising: An image to be displayed on a user-side terminal screen, which is connected to a server device provided in the server and adapted to function as an information providing source to a user so that information can be transmitted through the network, and transmitted from the server device. Stores at least a part of the image information of the information, transmitted from the server device, among the images to be displayed on the user side terminal, instructs the display of the image information stored in the user side terminal, It operates to display the stored image information to all user terminals based on the common image display instruction information. User terminal is provided, wherein.

Another feature of the present invention is an information providing method for providing information to a user via a communication path from an information center provided on a network. Information is transmitted to the user terminal via the network, and at least a part of the image information to be displayed on the user terminal screen based on the information transmitted from the server device to the user terminal. The server device transmits image display instruction information for instructing display of user-side terminal stored image information stored in the user-side terminal, and the user-side terminal transmits an image display instruction from the server device. An information providing method characterized by displaying image information stored in a user terminal corresponding to the information. .

According to another characteristic of the present invention, the above characteristic of the present invention is provided by a computer program, and is provided from an information center provided on a network via a communication path. A program for executing an information providing method for providing information to a user by transmitting information from a server device provided at the information center to a user-side terminal via a network, At least a part of the image information to be displayed on the user terminal screen based on the information transmitted to the user terminal is stored in the user terminal, and the server device is stored in the user terminal. Transmitting image display instruction information for instructing display of user-side terminal stored image information, wherein the user-side terminal is A storage medium storing a program for executing an information providing method, characterized by displaying image information stored in a user terminal corresponding to image display instruction information from a server device. .

According to the present invention, an information center is installed on a network as an information source on the information provider side, and an information providing infrastructure is constructed in such a manner that user terminals are also connected to the network. The user can obtain various kinds of information from the information center via the user side terminal and download and store it in his or her own navigation device or user side terminal such as a personal computer terminal.
In addition, the information in the information center is processed as needed,
The information can be stored in a predetermined area in a memory managed by the server device as its own information. The basic feature of the present invention is that the screen information from the information center and the screen information from the user side terminal selected based on the information display instruction information from the information center are combined and displayed on the screen of the user side terminal. The screen information from the user side terminal can be customized by the user, select the screen information desired by the user and combine it with the screen information from the information center Can be displayed. By doing so, it is not necessary to transmit all the information to be displayed on the screen from the server device to the user side terminal. Therefore, an information providing system that enables the user to customize without reducing the visibility is provided. Can be established.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an overall information providing system to which the present invention can be applied. [System Configuration] Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic configuration diagram of an information providing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. In the present embodiment, the network 2 used
Is the Internet 2. Various terminals are connected to the Internet 2 so that information communication is possible. Examples of the user-side terminal 3 include a navigation device 5 mounted on a vehicle via a mobile phone 4 and a personal computer 6 connected to a network 2 at a home or office so that information can be transmitted to the network 2 via a modem. The user side terminal 3 is typically a navigation device 5 or a personal computer as described above.
A portable device having another type of communication function may be used.
In the embodiment of the present invention, an information center 7 is provided as a terminal on the service provider side in a form connected to the network 2. The information center 7 provides various kinds of information useful for the user who will be interested in the user via the network 2. Information Center 7
Is a server device 8 and various databases 9, 10, 1 connected to the server device 8 so that information can be transmitted.
1 is provided. The user can download the information from the information center to the user terminal 3 such as his / her personal computer and process it. Further, the user can also transfer the information processed by the personal computer to the navigation device 5 which is an in-car device via a network. Also, the user terminal 3
From the information center to a predetermined area assigned to a user of the information center, and downloads the information to its own user terminal or to another user terminal such as the navigation device 5 via the server device 8. Can be transferred in effect.

[Information center] The information center 7 of this example
Is assumed to be operated by a car maker, but the information provided by the information center 7 is not limited to the car-related information, and may provide various information required by general Internet users. It has become. The information center 7 includes the server device 8 as described above, and various databases are connected to the server device 8. In this example, the information center 7 is connected to the navigation device 5 or to the user. Content such as music for providing information to a personal computer terminal, or a database 9 relating to sumazamana service information for a user, a database 10 relating to social information such as news / weather forecast, and weather information, A database 11 for electronic mail data for relaying, a database 12 for personal information for storing personal information such as a home address and a date of birth for each user, and the like are provided.

As one feature of the present invention, the server device 8 in the present embodiment does not include a database relating to map information used by the navigation device 5. Therefore, in the present embodiment, unlike the normal information providing center of this type, the map information is transmitted from the information center 7 to the user's personal computer terminal or the in-vehicle navigation device 5 via the server device 8. Not.

[Navigation Apparatus] The navigation apparatus 5 can be considered as one mode constituting a user-side terminal. The navigation apparatus 5 is connected via the network 2 and, in this example, the mobile phone 4 via the Internet. It can be connected to the information center 7 so that information can be transmitted. In this example, the navigation device 5 is assumed to be mounted on the automobile 13 and is connected to the server device 8 of the information center 7 via the Internet by the mobile phone 4 in a running state so that information can be transmitted. is there.

The information providing system of the present invention is characterized in that it is a system that does not send image information such as map data as described above.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the entire system of a navigation device mounted on a vehicle. As shown in FIG. 2, the navigation apparatus 5 mounted on the vehicle 13 includes a navigation apparatus main body 14, an optical beacon communicator 14 capable of bidirectional communication with an optical beacon, a centralized control unit (TDM) 16, a multi-display. 1
6. A head-up display 18, a voice dialogue switch 19 (speaker 20, microphone 21) for driver's voice input and output, an operation switch 22, and an external information center 7 requesting necessary map information from the information center 7. A mobile phone 4 for receiving requested map information, an external storage medium for storing map information and the like are provided.

Here, in addition to the navigation display, the multi-display 17 displays a meter, an external monitor, a warning, and an audio. In addition to the navigation display, the head-up display 18 displays a vehicle speed, a warning display, an inter-vehicle distance, and the like. The operation switch 22 is used by the driver to change such various kinds of display contents. Further, by the voice interaction switch 19,
Such an operation is also possible. The mobile phone 4 for obtaining information from outside is not limited to this, and may be a vehicle-mounted car phone or other wireless communication means.

In such a navigation device 5, the navigation device body 14 requests the map information required by the information center 7 from the mobile phone 4, and transmits the required map information transferred from the information center 7 in response to the request. It is received by the telephone 4 and stored in an external storage medium. The present invention is not limited to this. Traffic information (traffic jam, construction, accident, parking lot information, etc.), which is VICS information, is obtained from the FM multiplex broadcasting equipment 26 (or an optical beacon or a radio beacon) and stored. The necessary information is obtained from the information stored in the external storage medium. The obtained information is output to the central control unit 16 and displayed on the multi-display 17 and the head-up display 18. At this time, a voice explanation may be given by the voice interaction switch 19.

Here, the head-up display 18
Is an image on a windshield, which is very effective for safety because a driver can see necessary information without distracting his / her eyes.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the vehicle, specifically showing a navigation device mounted on the vehicle. FIG. 3 shows the navigation device body 14 described with reference to FIG.
A central control unit (TDM) 16, a multi-display device 17, a head-up display 18, a voice guide speaker 20 and a microphone 21 constituting a voice dialogue switch 19 for voice input and output of a driver, an operation switch 22, and a mobile phone 4. , And the external storage medium 25 are shown. Further, in addition to these, the automobile 13 has a dash panel side in front of the cabin,
A data drive device 27 for inserting an external storage medium and a RAM card device 28 for inserting a RAM card storing personal information such as a seat position are provided.

On the other hand, on the rear side of the vehicle 13, a mobile phone antenna 29, a VICS compatible FM multiplex broadcast tuner 30, an FM antenna 31, a GPS antenna 32 for obtaining position information from GPS satellites, and a DVD changer 33 are provided. It is installed.

As described above, the map data, that is, the basic information relating to the form of the terrain itself, does not need to be updated, but if communication is attempted, the amount of information becomes enormous and the communication load becomes extremely large. In the embodiment of the present invention, it is not sent by communication via a network.

For this reason, in the present invention, in relation to the information center 7, the navigation device 5 or the pacoson 6 as the user terminal 3 stores the map data. In addition, the navigation device 5 uses the GP as described above.
A GPS receiving system having an S receiving antenna 32, a function of detecting the position of the vehicle based on the received GPS information, displaying map information, and superimposing and displaying the position of the vehicle on the information; Alternatively, a processing program for calculating a route to the destination and displaying the route overlaid on the map information is provided. And, as described above, the navigation device 5 of the present embodiment can be connected to the network (Internet) 2 via a mobile terminal such as the mobile phone 4. The map data or the processing program may be stored in the storage device of the navigation device 5 or may be stored in an external (C
It can also be recorded on a medium (not shown) such as a D-ROM or a DVD-ROM, and can be appropriately read and displayed on the display devices 17 and 18 when used.

The processing program in the navigation device 5 is provided with a plug-in. The plug-in intervenes between the server device 8 and the processing program to convert data transmitted from the server device 8. It is configured to correspond to the above processing program.

Specifically, the plug-in has a function of connecting the navigation device 5 (mobile phone 4) to the server device 8. Further, the data transmitted from the server device 8 is converted into a data format corresponding to the processing program so that the data transmitted and received between the server device 8 and the navigation device 5 has a specific format. It has a function of converting data transmitted to the server device 8 into data of the specific format.

The navigation device 5 stores image data such as icons embedded in an HTML document (data), which is one of the data transmitted from the server device 8. It also has a function of selecting an image to be displayed from the stored image data based on the image selection data transmitted from the device 8, and adding the selected image to a predetermined location in the HTML document. ing. That is, in the embodiment according to the present invention, the image data such as the icons displayed on the screen of the user terminal 3 is basically stored in the external storage medium 25 of the user terminal 3 and the server device 8. Thereafter, the image display instruction code of the icon is transmitted to all the user terminals 3 in common. In this case, an image display instruction code corresponding to a preset standard icon is transmitted from the server device 8 to the user terminal 3.

Further, the plug-in is installed in the server device 8.
Has a function of selecting a map to be used for adding information from a plurality of map data of the navigation device 5 having different scales based on the map selection data specifying the map to be selected transmitted from. At the same time, it has a function of adding an image representing the position of the facility or the like to the selected map based on the coordinate data specifying the position of the information addition on the selected map. The display of the map data to which this information is added is performed by the processing program.

As described above, the navigation device 5 is configured to perform a process corresponding to each data transmitted from the server device 8.

[Personal Computer Terminal 6] The personal computer terminal 5 of the user is provided, for example, at home or the like, and is configured to be connectable to the Internet 2 by a modem or the like. The personal computer terminal 5 includes map data and a processing program for processing using map data such as display of the map data, similarly to the navigation device 5. The processing medium may be stored in a built-in storage device, but may be stored in an external storage medium 25,
A configuration may be adopted in which the data is read out as needed at the time of execution. In this case, the storage medium 25 can be prepared as handle software for a personal computer terminal.

When a processing program is stored in the storage medium 25, a plug-in is provided. Like the plug-in of the navigation device 5, this plug-in is interposed between the server device 8 and the map data processing program in the personal computer terminal 6, and makes each data transmitted from the server device correspond to the processing program. It is configured as something.

The storage medium 25 also stores image data such as icons embedded in the HTML document transmitted from the server device 8. The plug-in of the personal computer terminal 6 also stores the data transmitted from the server device 8. On the basis of,
It has a function of selecting an image to be displayed from the stored image data, and adding the selected image to a predetermined location in the HTML document.

Further, the plug-in adds an image representing the location of a facility or the like to the map data of the storage medium of the user terminal based on the map selection data and the coordinate data transmitted from the server device 8. It has a function to do. The control of the display of the map data to which the information is added is performed by the above-described processing program, similarly to the navigation device 5.

As described above, the personal computer terminal 6 can be connected to the information center 7 via the Internet 2 so as to be able to transmit information, and has map data, like the navigation device 5. Has the same plug-in. For this reason, an environment is provided in which information from the information center 7 can be used at the same level as the navigation device 5.

[Display of Image Information] With reference to FIG. 4, an image icon previously stored in the external storage medium of the user terminal and a corresponding code for displaying the image icon will be described. The user requests the vehicle 13 to transmit necessary information from the service information database of the information center 7 outside the vehicle to the vehicle 13 using the mobile phone 4 mounted on the vehicle. However, when image information such as landmarks is transmitted, the amount of information to be transmitted significantly increases as compared with text information, the transmission time increases, and communication costs increase, which is not preferable. Also, if the transmission time becomes longer,
Since the data is received by the mobile telephone 4 mounted on the vehicle, the radio wave may be interrupted and the communication may be interrupted. In this case, it is necessary to start over and it is not preferable that such a situation occurs.

In order to solve such disadvantages, it is conceivable to limit the amount of information so that the transmission rate is not unduly reduced by lowering the resolution. The problem that the property deteriorates arises.

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4, a specific landmark is first coded by a specific communication code in the SAT signal database 9, and data 40 including this communication code is transmitted to the user terminal 3 (navigation device). 5
Alternatively, it is transmitted to the personal computer terminal 6). The code corresponding to the landmark in the server device is the same as the code corresponding to the landmark stored in the database of the external storage medium 25 on the user terminal 3 side. Therefore, on the automobile 13 side, the data 40 including the communication code is received by the in-vehicle mobile phone 4, and a landmark corresponding to the communication code included in the coded information is searched. In this case, the user-side terminal 3 stores a database called a mark & code area storing data corresponding to image display such as landmarks and image display instruction marks, that is, coded information and communication codes corresponding thereto. And an area for retrieving information corresponding to the communication code is provided. In this area, landmarks corresponding to the communication code are searched, and these landmarks are displayed on the screen of the navigation device 5 so as to be superimposed on the base map.

Here, the first example of the stored mark, that is, the icon is a landmark 41, 42, 43, such as a restaurant or a gas station (GS) as shown in FIG.
44, 45. These landmarks are a type of display image information.

More specifically, first, as shown in FIG. 4, a runt mark and a communication code are set in the database 9 of the information center 7 in association with each other. For example, the landmark 41 of the coffee shop corresponds to the communication code “0001”, and the landmark 42 of the restaurant corresponds to the communication code “001”.
0, the gas station (GS) 43 corresponds to the communication code "0011", the landmark of the airfield 44 corresponds to the communication code "0100", and the hospital landmark 452 corresponds to the communication code "0101". And so on.

The data 40 transmitted from the information center 7 to the vehicle includes a coordinate value 40 indicating the position of the landmark.
a (represented by latitude and longitude), the above communication code and related text data, and the like. In the vehicle-mounted navigation device 5, a landmark corresponding to the communication code included in the transferred data 40 is searched. After this,
As described above, on the screen of the navigation device 5, these landmarks 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45 are displayed on the base map at positions specified by the coordinate data. That is, based on the communication code from the server device 8, the user terminal 3 searches for the landmark corresponding to the communication code from the server device according to the mark-and-code area in accordance with the plug-in routine. It is selected and displayed according to the coordinate code transmitted with this landmark code.

[Icon customization] In the present invention,
The user can appropriately change an image such as an image icon displayed on the screen of the user terminal according to his / her preference. That is, the user can customize the image icons on the information screen from the information center.

Referring to FIG. 5, for example, the image display instruction code from the information center now corresponds to “0001” corresponding to “eat (restaurant)” and the code corresponding to “drink (cafe, bar)” corresponds to “eating (restaurant)”. It is assumed that the code corresponding to "0010" and "play (sightseeing / recreation)" is "0011", and the landmarks corresponding to the code and stored in the external storage medium of the user terminal are 46, 4 and 4, respectively.
If the user wants to change the landmarks corresponding to “eat”, “drink”, and “play” to the landmarks 49, 50, and 51 shown in FIG. Can change the landmarks of “eat”, “drink”, and “play” as desired by operating the user-side terminal. This processing is incorporated in a processing program of the user terminal as one function of the plug-in.

The processing procedure is as follows. That is, the user makes a request from the user side terminal to change from the standard landmarks 46, 47, 48 of "eat", "drink", and "play" to the desired landmarks 49, 50 and 51 ( Usually, this is done through keyboard operation). In response to this request, the plug-in sets the corresponding codes of the standard landmarks 46, 47 and 48 to "0001", "0010" and "0011" to "0001A", "0010A" and "0011A", respectively.
Is performed. This code is a code originally possessed by the landmarks 49, 50, 51 that the user wishes to change. Next, in the plug-in, the landmarks 49, 50, 51 that the user wishes to change are displayed.
Are assigned to the codes of the standard landmarks 46, 47 and 48, that is, "0001", "0010" and "0011", respectively. As a result, in contrast to "0001", "0010", and "0011", which are transmitted to the user as image display commands from the server device of the information center, the standardized screen of the user terminal as described above is standardized. Landmark 4
Instead of 6, 47 and 48, landmarks 49, 50 and 51 changed by the user as desired will be displayed respectively.

According to the above procedure, the icon on the user terminal screen can be changed only by operating the user terminal. In this case, since the transmission information of the server device of the information center does not change, by providing this customization function to the user side terminal, the operation of the server device of the information center does not change, and the burden does not increase at all. .

In changing the icon according to the user's preference, the user terminal displays the customized icon and the like. Next, the icon is customized by the user in the above-described procedure, and the icon is customized from the standard one to the user's own. The display procedure when the display is changed to will be described. Customized information can be displayed even when a search function of the following information center is used.

In the present embodiment, the case of "searching for sushi points in Naka Ward, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture" will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 7, when "SPOT search" which is a menu for searching for facility information from a list of menu items on the screen display of the user terminal 3 is clicked, a user such as a navigation device or a personal computer terminal is clicked. The data is transmitted from the terminal to the server device of the information center. In response, the server device of the information center returns the next HTML document. As a result, FIG.
As shown in the figure, three search menu fields 52, 5 and 5 of "search by genre", "search by area" and "search by telephone number"
3, 54 are displayed on the prepared page.

When performing the "search by area" 53 in the "SPOT search", the whole country or any prefecture is selected in the scroll box 55 provided on the left side of the "search by area" column 53. At the same time, a municipal name is entered in a text box 56 provided on the right side thereof. When performing “search by telephone number” 54, the “3.
Area codes in the three text boxes 57, 58, 59,
Enter the station number and telephone number respectively. When these inputs are made and the "search" push buttons 60 and 61 provided at the lower part of each search menu column are clicked, a user terminal such as the navigation device 5 (mobile phone 4) or the personal computer terminal 5 or the information center 7 is provided. The data input by the user's operation is transmitted to the server device 8. In response to the transmission from the user, the server device of the information center sends a response corresponding to the transmission data to H
Return in TML format.

When the "search by genre" is performed, the icons "eat", "stay", "play", and "sports" provided in the "search by genre" column 52 are displayed. , “Sightseeing / recreation”, “life / shop”, “transportation”, “drive”, “gasoline” and “other” items 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 7
Click any of 5, 76, 77, 78, 79. These icons can be appropriately changed by the user according to the customization procedure described above.

The code information of these icons transmitted from the server device 8 to the user terminal 3 is common, and as described above, the user at the user terminal 3 can check the landmark & code data of the user terminal. Can be changed by designating the landmark stored in. Then, even when the user terminal 3 is started to use such a search function, the changed icon can be displayed by using the customization function according to the feature of the present invention.

When the icon 70 corresponding to "eat" is selected and clicked from among the icons to be searched, the data is transmitted from the user terminal to the server device of the information center. In response, the information center performs the following communication in HTML format. In other words, as shown in FIG. 9, “Japanese food”, “Western food”, “Chinese food”, “sweetness / café”, “izakaya / snack”, “family restaurant”, “fast food”, “ramen” and “other” A selection item list 62 in which the items are arranged in a line is displayed on the screen of the user terminal.

This page is a menu screen for selecting any of the above-mentioned items. When the item of "Japanese food" is clicked here, the user side of the navigation device 5 (mobile phone 4) or the personal computer terminal 6 or the like is clicked. From the terminal,
The information is transmitted to the server device 8 of the information center 7. The list of selection items is transmitted from the server device 8 to the user terminal 3 and displayed on the user terminal screen. The selection item list 63 is, for example, as shown in FIG. In other words, in this example, "sushi", "barbecue", "shabu-shabu / sukiyaki", "tonkatsu", "soba / udon", "tempura / kushiage", "yakitori / kushiyaki", "restaurant / kaiseki / kappo" , A selection item list 63 in which items of “oden / ochazuke” and “others” are arranged in a line is displayed.

On this page, a check box 64 is provided on the left side of each item, and the check box 64 of the item to be searched is checked. Further, “all” items are provided, and when the “all” items are checked, all the check boxes 64 are checked.

Here, when the item “Sushi” is checked and the “Search” push button 65 provided at the bottom of this page is clicked, the data is transmitted to the server device 8. The server device 8 responds to this in the HTML format. For example, "sushi"
A page for setting a search area for performing the search is displayed.

This page is configured such that three selection items 40 of “around home”, “select from map”, and “select by place name” can be selected. A radio button is provided on the left side of each item, and after selecting one of the items, an "OK" push button provided at the bottom of this page is clicked. Thereby, the data is transmitted to the server device 8. In this case, when “around home” is selected, a search based on the home address registered in the database of the server device 8 becomes possible.

On the other hand, when “search by place name” is selected, the information is displayed on the screen of the user side terminal such as the navigation device 5 or the personal computer terminal 5 by the next HTML format document returned from the server device 8. Will be displayed. On this page, a drop-down for selecting each prefecture is provided. By selecting any prefecture from this drop-down menu, a list of the selected prefectures is displayed in the scroll text box. You. When the municipalities are selected in this scroll box and the “OK” push button is clicked, the data is transmitted to the server device 8.

Here, for example, when "Hiroshima Prefecture" and "Naka Ward in Hiroshima City" are selected, among the sushi restaurants in which the server device 8 is registered, the one corresponding to "Naka Ward in Hiroshima City Hiroshima Prefecture" is selected. The search is performed, and the data of the search result is returned to the user terminal such as the navigation device 5. As a result, a list in which sushi restaurants existing in the vicinity of Naka-ku, Hiroshima are arranged in a line is displayed. On this search result page, ten items corresponding to the search result are displayed, and “10” to “10” provided at the bottom of the search result page are displayed.
By clicking on the items "0" and "Next 10", the names of the listed sushi restaurants can be sequentially displayed.

Further, there are push buttons for “area reset” and “genre setting”. When these buttons are clicked, a new search can be performed by returning to the page for specifying an area or a genre.

Further, when any one of the store names is clicked, data is transmitted from the user side terminal such as the navigation device 5 to the information center. In response, the server device 8 of the information center 7 returns corresponding data. By this communication, as shown in FIG. 10, information on the address and telephone number of the selected shop is displayed.

Also, an item of “SPOT registration” is provided for each item of the above-mentioned stores, and when any of the items of “SPOT registration” is clicked, the position information of the corresponding sushi restaurant is stored in the server of the information center 7. Registered in the device 8. As a result, the display is made in the column of the favorite click on the custom page.

Further, a "map check" item is provided for each store item, and any of the "map checks"
When the item is clicked, data requesting a map display of the selected sushi restaurant is transmitted from the user side terminal such as the navigation device 5 to the server device 8 of the information center 7. The server device 8 represents map selection data, which is data of a scale of a map used for adding information from a plurality of maps of different scales possessed by the user side terminal such as the navigation device 5 and the position of a facility or the like. The coordinate data, which is the data on which position on the selected map the image is to be added, is returned.

Upon receiving the map selection data and the coordinate data, the user terminal such as the navigation device 5 selects a map of a designated scale and places a predetermined image (representing a sushi restaurant) at a designated position on the map. Image). In this way, the list of search results is displayed in the left frame as shown in FIG. 11, while the position of the sushi restaurant whose position is to be confirmed is indicated by the icon 8 in the right frame.
The map indicated by 0 is displayed.

As described above, the information added on the map can be provided to the user by using the map data of the user terminal such as the navigation device 5.

In this system, the information center 7
Via the Internet 2 line from the server device 8 of
There is no need to send large map data. That is, the communication load can be greatly reduced as compared with a system that transmits map data, and the communication time and communication cost can be dramatically reduced.

Further, the server device 8 in the present system
Need not transmit image data such as icons. For this reason, the communication data amount in the present system is further reduced. When such information is transmitted through a communication line, the image quality must be reduced in relation to the communication speed. However, in this case, the resolution of the displayed screen is reduced, and There is a problem that performance is reduced. In this system, map data or icons with a large amount of information are stored in the user terminal in advance and used as necessary based on data transmitted from the information center or in combination with this information. The screen is displayed on the terminal side. by this,
In this system, the burden on the system for transmitting a large amount of information can be reduced, and a highly responsive and high-quality screen display can be realized at a low communication cost.

[Other Customization Techniques] Referring to FIG. 12, the data structure of the user terminal 3 is partially displayed.

In the structure of this example, “eating” is one of the data structures of the illustrated hard disk drive (HDD).
81 are provided, and a file name “000” corresponding to the communication code of “eat” 81 is provided below the folder.
1. ico ”82 and“ spare ”83 are provided. Plugin of user terminal is “eat” 8
When the folder No. 1 is called, “0001.ico” in the same hierarchy as “spare” 83 is used as a standard icon.
Processing is performed so as to read and display the file 82.
However, if the user has customized the program, the program is modified so that the same file name "0001.ico" 84 in the lower layer in the "spare" 83 folder is read. Therefore, in the case of the present example, instead of changing the file name of the icon to be read, the hierarchy to be read is changed, and the icons stored therein are displayed. As a result, in this example, by default, icons that are assembled to display those in the higher hierarchy are displayed, and after customization, the icons stored in the file of the same name in the lower hierarchy are displayed. Is done. In this case, the user can easily change the contents of the customization by appropriately changing the contents of the lower layer file, that is, the icons.

Similarly, for “stay” 85, the plug-in program of the user-side terminal 3 executes the “stay” 85.
If you call the folder of the standard (original)
In the state, the file name “0010.ico” 86 associated with the communication code of the icon is read and displayed. However, when the user customizes, the folder of “spare” 87 is called, and the file “001” having the same name as the communication code in the hierarchy below it
0. ico ”88 is read and displayed. The icon can be easily customized by appropriately rewriting the file “0010.ico” 88 in the lower hierarchy.

[0079]

As described above, according to the present invention, clear image information can be promptly displayed on the user side terminal, and the transmission information from the server device can be reduced as much as possible. Costs can be reduced.

Further, the server device of the information center carries out information transmission by applying various codes including image information to users in common using communication codes. The plug-in on the user terminal allows customization of the coded information according to the needs of the user. The customization function of the present invention can be performed extremely easily because the information communication of the server device of the information center can be performed by operating only the user side terminal without any influence. Since all the replacement image information is stored in the user terminal, there is an advantage that the image quality is not hindered even if the communication speed is increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information providing system according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an in-vehicle navigation device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the vehicle showing an arrangement state of a navigation device mounted on the vehicle.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing that a landmark is coded by a communication code and transferred, and the communication code is decoded and an icon is displayed;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a landmark (icon) stored in the user terminal before customization and a communication code corresponding to the landmark transmitted from the server device;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a landmark (icon) stored in the user terminal after customization and a communication code corresponding to the landmark transmitted from the server device;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of an information center homepage,

8 is an example of a display screen as in FIG. 7 (SPOT search)
Figure showing

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example (eating) of a display screen as in FIG. 7;

10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen (Japanese food) as in FIG. 7;

11 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen (map display) as in FIG. 7;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram for explaining another method for customizing an icon.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information provision system 2 Network (Internet) 3 User side terminal 4 Cellular phone 5 Navigation device 6 Personal computer 7 Information center 8 Server device.

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. An information providing system for providing information to a user via a communication path from an information center provided on a network, comprising: a server device provided in the information center and functioning as an information providing source for the user; An image information to be displayed on a user terminal screen based on information transmitted from the server device to the user terminal, the user device being connected to the server device so as to be capable of transmitting information via a network. At least some of the image information is stored in the user-side terminal, the server device transmits image display instruction information for instructing the display of the user-side terminal stored image information stored in the user-side terminal, The user-side terminal is an image stored in the user-side terminal corresponding to the image display instruction information from the server device. Information providing system characterized in that it is adapted to display the distribution. 2. The image information stored in the user terminal is an image icon, and the image display instruction information from the server device for the image icon is set corresponding to a display position on a display screen. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The information providing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image icon is stored in the user terminal corresponding to the display position. 4. The image icon is transmitted from a server device.
4. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the information is transmitted to and stored in a user terminal. 5. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the image icon is stored in the user terminal from an external storage medium. 6. A server device used in an information providing system for providing information to a user via a communication path from an information center provided on a network, wherein the server device is provided in the information center and functions as an information providing source for the user. It is connected to a user terminal operated by a user via a network so that information can be transmitted, transmits image information to be displayed on the user terminal screen, and displays the image information on the user terminal. Of the images to be made, instructing display of image information stored in the user side terminal, transmitting common image display instruction information to all user side terminals, and transmitting the image to the user side terminal. Operable to display image information stored in the user terminal corresponding to the display instruction information. Over server apparatus. 7. A user-side terminal used in an information providing system for providing information to a user via a communication path from an information center provided on a network, wherein the terminal is provided in the information center and serves as an information providing source to the user. It is connected so as to be able to transmit information via a network with a server device that is to function, and transmits at least a part of image information to be displayed on the user-side terminal screen, transmitted from the server device. Stored and transmitted from the server device, of the images to be displayed on the user side terminal, instruct display of image information stored in the user side terminal, common to all user side terminals A user terminal that operates to display stored image information based on image display instruction information. 8. An information providing method for providing information to a user via a communication path from an information center provided on a network, comprising: providing a user terminal via a network from a server device provided at the information center; Transmitting information, and storing at least a part of the image information to be displayed on the user terminal screen on the user terminal based on the information transmitted from the server device to the user terminal; Transmitting image display instruction information for instructing display of user-side terminal stored image information stored in the user-side terminal, wherein the user-side terminal transmits to the user-side terminal corresponding to the image display instruction information from the server device. An information providing method characterized by displaying stored image information. 9. The image information stored in the user terminal is an image icon, and the image display instruction information from the server device for the image icon is set corresponding to a display position on a display screen. 2. The information providing method according to claim 1, wherein: 10. The information providing method according to claim 8, wherein the image icon is stored in the user terminal corresponding to the display position. 11. The information providing method according to claim 8, wherein the image icon is transmitted from a server device to a user terminal and stored. 12. The information providing method according to claim 8, wherein the image icon is stored in the user terminal from an external storage medium. 13. A recording medium recording a program for executing an information providing method for providing information to a user via a communication path from an information center provided on a network, the server being provided at the information center. Transmitting information from the server device to the user terminal via the network, and at least a part of the image information to be displayed on the user terminal screen based on the information transmitted from the server device to the user terminal. Stored in a terminal, the server device transmits image display instruction information for instructing display of user-side terminal stored image information stored in the user-side terminal, and the user-side terminal displays an image from the server device. The image information stored in the user terminal corresponding to the instruction information is displayed. Recording medium for recording a program for executing the information providing method.