JP2002109351A - System, device and method for providing information, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information providing system, etc., capable of giving a reader a new incentive for reading a Web page. SOLUTION: In this information providing system, in which a server device 1 is connected to a client device 2 via the Internet 3 in a communicatable way, the server device 1 is provided with a profit DB 13 for storing profit information for specifying profit contents to be offered to an information reader, and a profit processing part 16d for specifying the profit contents to be offered to the reader and storing the profit contents in the profit DB 13, when the information is read. According to the system, a completely new incentive for the reader to look at the Web page can be offered.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an information providing system, an information providing apparatus, an information providing method, and a storage medium for browsing Web data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, Internet-related technologies have rapidly spread, and among them, WWW (World Wide Web) is widely used. The WWW is a wide-area information system using hypertext, and is a system that can call and browse Web pages stored in a number of WWW servers connected to the Internet via a client device. In this WWW, a provider who provides various kinds of information in the form of a Web page can transmit his / her own information to people all over the world at high speed and at low cost. be able to. On the other hand, a viewer who browses information, etc., is able to browse various information around the world almost free of charge, and thus has a great benefit.

[0003]

However, today, a large number of Web sites are provided, and an enormous number of Web pages are published. Therefore, it is extremely difficult for an information provider to browse his or her own Web site.

[0004] Methods for solving such problems can be roughly divided into two. The first method is Web
This is a method performed inside the site. Specifically, We
The purpose is to attract more viewers by enriching the contents (contents) of each Web page in the b site. However, in order to enrich the content, consider the direction of the content, collect a large amount of information, organize and integrate the information, and consider various designs such as graphics, which are forms of expression of information. There is a need. Such an operation is not easy because the amount of information and specialized knowledge about the content, and the sense of the content production are required. In particular, such work, despite the scale differences,
It is extremely difficult to differentiate from other Web pages only by the content of this content because it is a work that is also performed on an website.

[0005] Another method is a method performed outside a Web site. Specifically, it is to attract more viewers by advertising their website to the viewers. For example, today, the Web
There are provided many portal sites that provide browsing guides by providing site search services and the like, and many Web advertisements for allowing other Web pages to access their own Web pages by hyperlinks or the like.
However, at present, there are a large number of websites introduced by portal sites and websites posted in advertisements. Therefore, among these websites, if it is not possible to attract the interest of the viewer, the browsing is performed by the viewer. I can't get it. In such a situation, in order to attract the attention of the viewer to a specific Web page, it is necessary to give a new incentive to the viewer, which has never been seen before.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an information providing system, an information providing apparatus, an information providing method, and an information providing method capable of giving a new incentive to a Web page browsing to a viewer. And a storage medium.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an information providing system according to the first aspect of the present invention provides an information terminal device for browsing various types of information, and information browsing on the information terminal device. An information providing system configured to be communicably connected to an information providing device via a network, wherein the information providing device specifies the contents of a benefit to be provided to a viewer of the information. Profit information storage means for storing profit information, and when the information is browsed via the client device, the client device or a viewer who uses the client device, and information on which the browse request has been made. And a profit processing unit for specifying the contents of the profit to be provided to the browsing user and storing the specified profit in the profit information storage means.

As described above, conventionally, it has been difficult to provide an incentive for a viewer to view a Web page. On the other hand, according to the present system, when information is browsed, the contents of the profit to be provided to the viewer are specified and stored in the information providing device. That is, when the viewer browses the information, a predetermined profit (for example, cash, virtual money, etc., which will be described later in detail) is given to the viewer. Therefore, it is possible to provide a direct benefit to the viewer, and to provide an entirely new incentive for the viewer to see the Web page.

[0009] With this, for example, when an individual has created a Web page, it becomes a trigger for calling a relative or a friend to view the Web page,
Alternatively, when a company has created a web page for advertising its products, it can provide motivation for consumers and customers to view the web page, or the donor of the donation can be a volunteer organization. One way to make a donation is to provide a benefit to a volunteer organization that viewed your Web page.

[0010] The present invention also relates to an information providing apparatus, and the information providing apparatus according to claim 2 is communicably connected to an information terminal apparatus for browsing various information via a network, An information providing device that enables information browsing in the information terminal device, wherein profit information storing means for storing profit information for specifying the contents of profit provided to a viewer of the information, and the client When browsing the information via the device, the client device or the viewer using the client device and the information provided to the viewer based on the information on which the browsing request was made, A profit processing unit for specifying the contents and storing the specified contents in the profit information storage means.

According to this apparatus, when information is browsed, the contents of the profit provided to the viewer are specified and stored. That is, when a viewer views information, a predetermined benefit is given to the viewer. Therefore, it is possible to provide a direct benefit to the viewer, and to provide an entirely new incentive for the viewer to see the Web page.

Further, the information providing device according to claim 3 is
3. The information providing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a profit condition storage unit that stores a profit condition that is a condition for specifying the content of the profit, wherein the profit processing unit is stored in the profit condition storage unit. The content of the profit is specified based on the profit condition.

According to this apparatus, the profit condition for specifying the content of the profit is stored, and the content of the profit is specified based on the profit condition. Therefore, by appropriately setting the profit conditions, it is possible to provide any profit that matches the intentions of the Web page provider, the system opener, and the like.

[0014] Further, the information providing device according to claim 4 is:
4. The information providing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the profit condition stored in the profit condition storage means is an attribute condition relating to the attribute of the viewer, and the profit processing unit stores the profit condition in the profit condition storage means. The content of the profit is specified based on the attribute condition thus set.

According to this device, the attribute condition concerning the attribute of the viewer is stored, and the contents of the profit are specified based on the attribute condition. Therefore, it is possible to provide a benefit according to the viewer, for example, to provide the benefit only to a specific viewer, or to change the content of the benefit according to the gender, age, and the like of the viewer.

The information providing device according to claim 5 is
5. The information providing device according to claim 3, wherein the profit condition stored in the profit condition storage means is a timing condition relating to a browsing timing by the viewer, and the profit processing unit includes the profit condition storage means. The content of the profit is specified on the basis of the timing condition stored in.

According to this device, the timing condition concerning the browsing timing by the viewer is stored, and the contents of the profit are specified based on the timing condition. Therefore,
Profit can be provided according to the browsing timing. For example, the profit can be provided only when browsing is performed during a specific period, or the amount of the profit can be changed according to the browsing timing.

[0018] The information providing apparatus according to claim 6 is
The information providing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 5, further comprising a profit limit condition storage unit that stores a profit limit condition that is a condition for limiting the content of the profit, wherein the profit processing unit includes: The contents of the profits are limited based on the profit restriction conditions stored in the profit restriction condition storage means.

According to this apparatus, the profit limiting condition for limiting the content of the profit is stored, and the content of the profit is limited based on the profit limiting condition. Therefore, by appropriately setting the profit restriction condition, it is possible to restrict the profit in accordance with the intentions of the Web page provider and the system opener.

The information providing device according to claim 7 is
7. The information providing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the profit restriction condition stored in the profit restriction condition storage means is a condition relating to the amount or the number of profits obtained by the viewer, and the profit processing unit includes: The content of the profit is limited within the range of the amount or the number of profits stored in the profit restriction condition storing means.

According to this device, the condition relating to the amount or number of profits obtained by the viewer is stored, and the contents of the profits are limited within the range of the amount or number of profits. Therefore, the profit provided to the viewer can be limited to a certain amount and the number of times. For example, the profit can be provided only once to the same viewer, or the total profit can be reduced to 10,000 yen or less. It can be limited.

Further, the present invention relates to an information providing method, and an information providing method according to claim 8 enables an information terminal device for browsing various types of information, and enables the information terminal device to browse information. An information providing method for providing information in an information providing system configured to be communicably connected to an information providing apparatus via a network, wherein the information is browsed via the client device. In this case, the client device or a viewer using the client device, an information acquisition procedure for acquiring information for specifying the information on which the browsing request has been made, and an information acquisition procedure in the information acquisition procedure. And a profit specifying storage procedure for specifying the contents of the profit to be provided to the viewer based on the information and storing the specified profit in the information providing apparatus. .

According to this method, when the information is browsed, the contents of the profit provided to the viewer are specified and stored. That is, when a viewer views information, a predetermined benefit is given to the viewer. Therefore, it is possible to provide a direct benefit to the viewer, and to provide an entirely new incentive for the viewer to see the Web page.

Further, the information providing method according to claim 9 is
9. The information providing method according to claim 8, further comprising a profit condition storing step of storing a profit condition, which is a condition for specifying the contents of the profit, in the information providing device, wherein the profit specifying storing step includes: The content of the profit is specified based on the profit condition stored in the storing procedure.

According to this method, the profit condition for specifying the content of the profit is stored, and the content of the profit is specified based on the profit condition. Therefore, by appropriately setting the profit conditions, it is possible to provide any profit that matches the intentions of the Web page provider, the system opener, and the like.

The information providing method according to claim 10 is the information providing method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein
A profit restriction condition storing procedure for storing a profit restriction condition, which is a condition for restricting the contents of the profit, in the information providing device, wherein in the profit specifying storage procedure, the profit restriction stored in the profit restriction condition storing procedure is provided. It is characterized in that the contents of the profit are limited based on conditions.

According to this method, the profit limiting condition for limiting the profit content is stored, and the profit content is limited based on the profit limiting condition. Therefore, by appropriately setting the profit restriction condition, it is possible to restrict the profit in accordance with the intentions of the Web page provider and the system opener.

Further, the present invention relates to a recording medium, and the recording medium according to claim 11 is the recording medium according to claims 8 to 1.
A program for causing a computer to execute the information providing method described in any one of (1) and (2) is recorded.

According to this recording medium, the program recorded on the recording medium is read by a computer and executed, whereby the information providing method according to any one of claims 8 to 10 is used by the computer. And the same effect as each of these methods can be obtained.

Here, the "computer-readable recording medium" is a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, an EPROM, an EEPROM, a CD, or the like.
-Any "portable physical medium" such as ROM, DVD,
ROM, RA built into various computer systems
Any "fixed physical medium" such as M or HD, or
It includes a “communication medium” that holds the program in a short period, such as a communication line or a carrier when transmitting the program via a network represented by a LAN, a WAN, or the Internet.

A "program" is a data processing method described in an arbitrary language or description method, and may be in any form such as a source code or a binary code. In addition,
The “program” is not necessarily limited to a single program, but may be distributed as a plurality of modules or libraries, or may operate in cooperation with a separate program represented by an OS (Operating System). Includes what you achieve. Note that a specific configuration for reading a recording medium in each device described in the embodiment, a reading procedure, or an installation procedure after reading, etc.
Known configurations and procedures can be used.

[0032]

Embodiments of an information providing system, an information providing apparatus, an information providing method, and a storage medium according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited by the embodiment.

(Overview) Hereinafter, an overview of information provision performed by the present system will be described, and then the configuration and processing of the present system will be described in detail. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the present system. This figure 1
As shown in FIG. 1, the present system is configured by connecting a server device 1 as an information providing device and a plurality of client devices 2 as information terminal devices via the Internet 3. An arbitrary Web server 4 is connected to the Internet 3.

Here, the server 1 is an ISP (Interne
t Service Provider). Then, a person who browses the Web page (hereinafter referred to as a “browser”) can log on to the server device 1 via the client device 2 and access the Web server 4 via the server device 1. In such a system, it is assumed that the viewer is registered as a member of the present system.

The basic feature of this system which is distinguished from the conventional system is that it provides a predetermined benefit to a viewer who has viewed a Web page. Here, the predetermined profit includes everything that can be profitable for the viewer, such as cash, gift certificates, prizes, points that can be used for purchasing arbitrary goods and services, discounts of various fees, and the like. In this embodiment, virtual money (hereinafter, VM) that can be used at a predetermined site on the Internet 3 is obtained. In addition, the investor (the person or company providing the fund) of this profit is arbitrary, and for example, W
The creator of the web page may provide the information, or the creator of the present system may provide the information to promote the use of the present system.

Here, the profit provided to the viewer is determined based on predetermined profit conditions. The profit conditions include the attributes of the viewer and the browsing timing. In other words, which viewers viewed them,
There is a possibility that the profit provided to the viewer may increase or decrease depending on the fact such as when the viewer performed the browsing. Further, the profit provided to the viewer is limited based on a predetermined profit limiting condition. The profit restriction condition may include the number of times the profit is received. For example, the number of times that the same viewer can benefit from the same Web page is a predetermined number (for example, 1
Limited).

(System Configuration—Server Device 1) Next, the configuration of such a system will be described. First, the configuration of the server device 1 will be described. In FIG. 1, a server device 1 is schematically a member DB (DB = database).
10, a profit condition DB11, a profit limit condition DB12, a profit DB13, a WebDB14, a communication control IF (IF = interface) 15, and a control unit 16, each of which communicates via an arbitrary communication path. Connected as possible. Further, the server device 1 is communicably connected to the Internet 3 via a communication device (not shown) such as a router and a dedicated line. It should be noted that access to each DB is actually performed by DBMS (Database Management).
gement System), but this DBMS is omitted.

Of the components of the server device 1,
The member DB 10 is a member information storage unit for storing information on viewers registered as members of the present system. Specific information stored in this member DB 10 is
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a user ID for uniquely identifying a viewer, a password for authenticating the viewer, a name of the viewer, and an address of the viewer are associated with each other. I have. In addition, as the information on the viewer, in addition to the above information, any information for specifying the attribute of the viewer can be stored. For example, the age, sex, occupation, hometown, Hobbies and the like can be stored.

The profit condition DB 11 is profit condition storage means for storing information on the profit conditions described above. The specific information stored in the profit condition DB 11 is, for example, as shown in FIG.
The URL of the page (or the IP address of the Web page) and the profit condition (here, the attribute condition and the timing condition) are associated with each other.

The attribute condition is a condition relating to the attribute of the viewer. Specifically, as this attribute condition,
A user ID of a viewer who can benefit from browsing each Web page and a VM that is the content of the benefit provided to each browser are stored. For example, FIG.
Then, when the viewer refers to the Web page of “URL = http: //www.a-”, the user of “User ID = UID0005” is provided with VM = 1, and the other users are provided with VM = 1. = 0
Is provided (no benefit is provided). By specifying the attribute condition in this way, it is possible to provide a profit according to the viewer. For example, profits can be provided only to viewers (relatives, friends, customers, and the like) having a specific relationship with the Web page provider.

However, besides the above, other attribute conditions include:
Absolute or relative attribute conditions may also be stored to identify those who may or may not benefit. These absolute demographics include the age, gender, profession,
Hometown, hobbies, etc. can be mentioned. In addition, examples of relative attribute conditions include conditions such as a viewer who is younger than a Web page provider and a viewer who is the opposite sex to a Web page provider. Then, "viewers over 60", "women's viewers", or "We
Profit may be provided only to "viewers younger than the provider of page b". Note that information necessary for determining such an attribute condition is stored in the user ID in advance.

The timing condition is a condition relating to the browsing timing of the browsing user. As the timing condition, specifically, a date and time at which profit can be obtained by browsing each Web page is stored. For example, in FIG. 3, the viewer is "URL = http: //www.b-"
When browsing the Web page of
For the viewer who browsed from "00.7.1 to 2000.8.31", VM =
3 is provided, and a viewer who browses at another timing is provided with VM = 1. By specifying the timing conditions in this way, it is possible to provide a profit according to the browsing timing of the browsing user. For example, a specially large number of VMs can be provided only when a Web page is browsed on a specific day (during a campaign period, a company anniversary, a birthday, etc.).

However, as the timing condition, in addition to the above, an absolute or relative time condition for specifying a viewer who can receive a benefit or a timing at which a benefit cannot be obtained is stored. Can be. For example, the date and time can be set as the absolute time condition as described above. Further, as relative time conditions, “providing profit when the number of accesses to the same Web page reaches 10,000”, “accessing to the same Web page to 1,000 or more at the same time” Conditions such as "Provide profit if performed by the same visitor" and "Provide profit if accessed at least one day apart for the same viewer". Profit can only be provided if such conditions are met.

Here, the profit condition is set as a condition for each Web page, but it is also possible to set a cross profit condition for a plurality of Web pages. For example, after browsing a specific Web page,
When a web page related to the b page is continuously browsed, it is also possible to provide a profit according to the route of the net surfing, such as providing a double VM.
In this case, the path of the Web page for providing the special profit is stored in advance in the profit condition DB 11, and the path of the Web page viewed by the viewer is stored in the server device 1 every time the browsing is performed. , Each time you browse,
It is possible to determine whether it is necessary to provide a profit.

Also, according to the browsed Web page,
You can also change the type of benefits offered. For example, providing a gift certificate of a particular department store when browsing a web page of a specific department store, and providing points that can be used in the discount store when browsing a web page of a specific discount store. Can be. In this case, each URL and information for specifying the type of profit to be provided to the viewer of the Web page specified by each URL are stored in the profit condition DB 11 in advance, and the profit condition is stored for each browsing. The type of profit to be provided to the viewer may be specified with reference to the DB 11.

In FIG. 1, the profit limiting condition DB1
Numeral 2 is a profit limit condition storage unit for storing information relating to restrictions on providing profits. Specific information stored in the profit restriction condition DB 12 includes, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the URL of the Web page to be browsed (or the IP address of this Web page) and the profit restriction condition (here, , The upper limit value of the VM provided to the same viewer in each Web page).

However, as the profit limiting condition, an absolute or relative condition for specifying a viewer who limits the profit or a viewer who does not limit the profit can be stored. Of these, as absolute conditions,
The upper limit amount when providing cash, the upper denomination and upper limit number when providing gift certificates, the upper limit number of points when providing points, the upper limit discount amount when discounting, the upper limit number of discounts, etc. . Further, as a relative condition, a condition such as “the total number of VMs provided to all viewers who browsed the same Web page is set to a predetermined value or less” can be stored. Profit can be determined based on conditions.

Here, the profit condition is set as a condition for each Web page, but it is also possible to set a cross profit condition for a plurality of Web pages. For example, it is possible to set the total amount of profit that can be obtained by the same viewer browsing a plurality of Web pages.

Also, in FIG. 1, the profit DB 13 is a profit information storage means for storing information relating to the profit provided to the viewer. Specific information stored in the profit DB 13 includes, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the user ID of each viewer, the URL of the Web page that each viewer has viewed, and the information The number of times that a profit has been obtained by browsing each Web page, and the cumulative total of VMs that are currently provided to each browser are stored in association with each other.

The WebDB 14 is a Web storage means for storing data (hereinafter, Web data) constituting various Web pages browsed by the client device 2 and a program for the composition. The content of this Web data is arbitrary, and its data format is HTML
And a text file described in XML or XML. In addition, the WebDB 14 stores audio to be transmitted to the client device 2 as an audio file such as a WAVE format or an AIFF format, or stores a still image or a moving image in an image file such as a JPEG format or an MPEG2 format, as necessary. Can be stored.

In FIG. 1, the communication control IF 15
Performs communication control between the server device 1 and the Internet 3 (or a communication device such as a router).

In FIG. 1, the control section 16 is functionally conceptually provided with a request interpretation section 16a, an authentication processing section 16b, a browsing processing section 16c, and a profit processing section 16d. The request interpreting unit 16a is a request interpreting unit that interprets the contents of the request from the client device 2 and transfers the processing to other units of the control unit 16 according to the interpretation result. The authentication processing unit 16b is an authentication processing unit that receives an authentication request from the client device 2 and makes an authentication determination. In addition, the browsing processing unit 16c receives a web page browsing request from the client device 2,
This is a browsing processing unit for calling, generating, and transmitting this Web page. Also, the profit processing unit 16d
This is profit processing means for specifying the contents of profit and storing the profit. The details of the processing performed by these units will be described later.

The configuration of the server device 1 has been described above. However, the components shown in the figure are functionally conceptual, and need not necessarily be physically configured as shown in the drawings. For example, all or any part of the processing functions provided in each server of the server device 1, in particular, each processing function performed by the control unit 16, are transferred to the CPU (Cen
tral Processing Unit) and a program interpreted and executed by the CPU, or
It can also be implemented as hardware using wired logic. The program is stored in the recording medium (not shown), and the server 1
Is read mechanically.

Further, the specific form of distribution / integration of the server apparatus 1 is not limited to the illustrated one, and all or a part of the distribution / integration may be functionally or physically distributed in arbitrary units corresponding to various loads and the like. -Can be integrated and configured. For example, the WebDB 14 may be configured independently as a Web server, or the profit condition DB 11 and the profit DB 13
May be integrally configured as one DB. Note that the configuration functions of the actual server device 1 further include a firewall server, a DNS (Domain Name System) server,
Functions such as a mail server and an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server can be added. Actually, these are independently arranged as individual servers. However, since a known configuration can be applied to these servers, Description is omitted.

(System Configuration-Client Device 2) Next, the configuration of the client device 2 will be described. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the client device 2 includes a control unit 20, a ROM 21, a RAM 22, an HD 23, an input device 24, an output device 25, an input / output control IF 26, and
The communication control IF 27 is provided, and these units are connected so as to be able to perform data communication via a bus. The client device 2 is, for example, a personal computer, a workstation, a home game machine (manufactured by Sega,
Dream Cast, etc.), Internet TV, PDA (Persona
l Digital Assistant) or mobile phone or PHS
(Personal Handy Phone System).

The control unit 20 of the client device 2
It comprises a Web browser 20a. Among them, the Web browser 20a basically performs display control (browsing processing) for interpreting Web data and displaying the data on a monitor 25 described later.

The control unit 20 can be entirely or arbitrarily implemented by a CPU and a program interpreted and executed by the CPU. That is, ROM
The computer program for giving instructions to the CPU in cooperation with an OS (Operating System) and performing various processes is stored in the HD 21 or the HD 23. This computer program is executed by being loaded into the RAM 22, and forms the control unit 20 in cooperation with the CPU. However, this computer program may be stored in an application program server connected to the client device 2 via an arbitrary Internet 3, and it is also possible to download all or part of the computer program as needed. . Alternatively, all or any part of each control unit 20 can be realized as hardware such as wired logic.

As the input device 24, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone and the like can be used.
A monitor 25 described later also realizes a pointing device function in cooperation with a mouse. This input device 24
Is sent to the control unit 20 via the input / output control IF 26. As the output device 25, in addition to a monitor (including a home television), a speaker can be used (hereinafter, the output device 25 is connected to the monitor 2).
5). The output content to the output device 25 is sent from the control unit 20 via the input / output control IF 26.

The client device 2 configured as described above
Is connected to the Internet 3 via a communication line with a communication device such as a modem, a TA, a router, or a dedicated line via a communication control IF 27, and has a predetermined communication protocol (for example, TCP / IP). The server device 1 can be accessed according to the Internet protocol).

(Network) The network connecting the server device 1 and the client device 2 is not limited to the Internet 3 described above, and any network can be used. For example, the present system can be constructed using a LAN, WAN, or personal computer communication network within a limited area. In addition, terrestrial, CATV, CS, BS, or
ISDB (Integrated Services Digital Broadcastin
Various data can be transmitted and received using g). That is, the network can include not only a wired network but also these wireless / communication networks.

(Details of Processing Content) Next, the details of the processing performed using the present system configured as described above will be described in detail.

(Details of Processing Content-Premise) It is assumed that attribute information of a viewer who has become a member of the present system is stored in the member DB 10. This registration can be performed by a well-known method. For example, a viewer displays a predetermined member registration Web page on the Web browser 20a of the client device 2, and stores necessary information such as the attribute information on the Web page. When input and transmitted, the control unit 16 of the server device 1 analyzes the input contents. If the membership is accepted, the user ID and the initial password are issued by a predetermined method (for example, serial number, random generation, etc.), and a Web page including such information is displayed on the Web browser 20a. , And these information are stored in the member DB 10.

As a premise, it is assumed that the URL of the Web page providing the profit in the present system and the profit condition are:
It is assumed that it is stored in the profit condition DB11. This registration can be performed by a well-known method. For example, upon receipt of a request from the Web page creator, the creator of the present system can store the data file storing the URL and the profit condition in a predetermined communication protocol. These profit conditions and the like are stored in the profit condition DB 11 by uploading them to the server device 1 using, for example, the FTP protocol.

(Details of Processing Content-Authentication Processing) Under such a premise, after logging on to the server device 1, the viewer connects to the Internet 3 via the server device 1, and Requests for transmission of various Web data can be made. Specifically, the viewer starts the Web browser 20a of the client device 2 and
By specifying D and the password, a request for a dial-up connection to the server device 1 is made. This connection request is made according to a communication protocol such as PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol).

On the other hand, the request interpreter 16a of the server 1
Monitors the presence / absence of transmission from the client device 2, and upon receiving the transmission, establishes a connection with the client device 2, analyzes the content of this transmission, and according to the result, the control unit The processing is transferred to each part in 16. If the content of this transmission is a connection request, the authentication processing unit 16
b.

The authentication processing section 16b is provided with a PAP (Password
Authentication Protocol) and CHAP (Challenge-Handsha)
Authenticates the viewer according to a user authentication protocol such as ke Authentication Protocol. Here, at least, the authentication of the viewer is performed by determining whether or not the transmitted combination of the user ID and the password matches any of the combinations of the user ID and the password stored in the member DB 10. If the authentication is not possible, the connection is cut off. On the other hand, if authentication is possible, an Internet connection is made with the client device 2 as a client.

(Details of Processing Contents-Profit Specification / Storage Processing)
Thereafter, every time the viewer browses the Web data, a profit specifying / storing process is performed. FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of this processing. In FIG. 6, a viewer enters a Web page he / she wants to browse in a predetermined input field of the Web browser 20a.
Enter the URL of the page and send it. Then, and
When the screen update is instructed, the Web browser 20a transmits the URL according to a predetermined communication protocol via the communication control IF 27, and requests the server apparatus 1 to transmit a Web page by routing based on the URL (step SA-). 1).

The request interpreter 16a of the server device 1 monitors the presence or absence of transmission from the client device 2 (step SA-2), and upon receiving the transmission, analyzes the content of the transmission and responds to the result. Then, the process is transferred to each unit in the control unit 16. If the content of the transmission is a Web page browsing request, the browsing processing unit 16c performs address resolution of the URL and returns the resulting IP address to the Web browser 20a (step SA-3). And W
The web browser 20a uses this IP address to
It accesses the Web server 4 in which the Web data is stored, and acquires the Web data from the Web server 4.
This Web data is interpreted by the Web browser 20a, and as a result, a Web page is displayed on the monitor 25 (Steps SA-4 and SA-5).

After the address resolution and the transmission of the IP address, the process is passed to the profit processing unit 16d of the server device 1. The profit processing unit 16d performs processing for specifying the contents of the profit provided to the viewer and processing for storing the contents of the profit specified in this processing in the profit DB 13. Specifically, the profit processing unit 16d determines that the URL of the Web page requested to be browsed by the viewer is
It is determined whether or not it is stored in the profit condition DB 11 (step SA-6). If it is not stored, it can be determined that the browsed Web page has not been designated as a target for providing profit, and this processing ends. On the other hand, if it is stored, first, the VM that is the profit content is set to the initial value 0 (the initial value is arbitrary) (step SA-7), and thereafter, based on the profit condition, Identify the benefits.

Here, first, identification based on the attribute condition is performed. Therefore, the profit processing unit 16d acquires the user ID of the viewer (step SA-8). As the user ID, for example, the user ID transmitted at the time of authentication of the viewer can be used. Then, the profit processing unit 16d generates a profit condition DB based on the user ID.
11 and based on the attribute condition,
Is updated (step SA-9).

Specifically, in the case of the attribute condition shown in FIG.
If the user ID of the viewer who referred to the Web page of “RL = http: //www.a-” is “UID0005”, VM = 1 is provided to this viewer, so that this VM =
The VM is updated by adding 1 to the above VM = 0.
On the other hand, when the user ID of the viewer is other than “UID0005”, VM = 0 is provided to the viewer,
The VM is updated by adding this VM = 0 to the above-mentioned VM = 0.

Next, the profit contents are specified based on the timing condition. For this reason, the profit processing unit 16d acquires the date and time when the viewer browsed the Web page (step SA).
-10). Then, the profit processing unit 16d refers to the profit condition DB 11 based on the date and time, and updates the VM of the viewer based on the timing condition (step SA-).
11).

Specifically, in the case of the attribute condition shown in FIG.
If the timing of referring to the Web page of “RL = http: //www.b-” is between “2000.7.1-2000.8.31”, VM = 3 is provided to this viewer. The VM is updated by adding the VM = 3 to the VM of the corresponding viewer at that time. On the other hand, when the timing is "2000.7.1
If it is not between “.2000.8.31”, VM = 1 is provided to this viewer, and the VM is updated by adding this VM = 1 to the current VM of the viewer. .

Next, the profit processing unit 16d determines whether or not the profit restriction is necessary based on the profit restriction condition stored in the profit restriction condition DB12. That is, first, the profit DB 13 is referred to based on the user ID of the browsing user and the URL of the web page viewed by the browsing user, and the browsing user has enjoyed the browsing of the web page so far. The called profit amount (here, the number of times the profit has been received) is called (step SA-12). For example, in FIG. 5, the user ID is “UID0001” and the URL is “http: // w
In the case of "ww.a ~", it is understood that the profit has already been received once.

Next, the amount of profit provided by browsing the Web page this time is incremented for the number of calls (step SA-13). In the case of the above example, the number of times of receiving profits = 1 is incremented from the number of times of receiving profits = 1 so that the total = 2. Then, by referring to the profit restriction condition of the Web page stored in the profit restriction condition DB 12, it is determined whether or not the amount of profit (number of times) to be provided to the viewer is within the range of the profit restriction condition (step). SA-14). In the case of the above example, the profit restriction condition of the Web page whose URL is “http: //www.a-” is 1
And the number of times of provision to the viewer is two times, so that it is determined that the number of times of provision is out of the range of the profit restriction condition.

In this case, it is determined that a new profit cannot be provided, and the process ends without updating the VM (without recording the new profit). On the other hand, if it does not exceed the range of the profit restriction condition, it is determined that a new profit can be provided, and a process for recording this profit is performed. That is, the profit DB 13
In response to the URL stored by the viewer,
The number of times of enjoying the profit corresponding to the URL is incremented by one, and the VM total is updated using the newly obtained VM. This ends the process. Such processing is repeated each time the viewer browses the Web data, and a VM for the viewer is accumulated according to the content.

(Details of Processing Content-Viewing Process of Obtained VM) The viewer can view the VM that he or she has obtained at that time at an arbitrary timing. FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the browsing process. In FIG. 7, the viewer uses the Web browser 20a to request a Web page of a browsing screen for browsing his / her VM (Step SB-1). This request method is optional. For example, an instruction button for requesting VM browsing is provided on a predetermined Web page provided by the creator of the present system, and this instruction button is selected by the input device 24. Can make this request.

Upon receiving the browsing request, the request interpreting section 16a of the server device 1 passes the processing to the browsing processing section 16c. The browsing processing unit 16c refers to the profit DB 13 based on the user ID of the browsing user, and
3 is called (step S)
B-2, SB-3). Then, using the total of the VM, a Web page of a browsing screen for browsing the total of the VM is displayed.
Data is generated, and the Web data is transmitted to the client device 2 (step SB-4). As a result, this browsing screen is displayed on the monitor 25 (step SB-5,
SB-6). FIG. 8 shows a display example of the VM browsing screen.
In FIG. 8, the VM browsing screen is configured to include a display column GA-1 of the VM acquired by the viewer at that time. According to such a process, the viewer can easily confirm the VM acquired by the viewer.

(Details of Processing Content-Use Processing of Obtained VM) Further, the viewer can use the VM obtained by himself / herself at an arbitrary timing. As various methods for using such virtual money on a network, various methods have already been proposed and put into practical use, and the detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

For example, a viewer specifies that a VM is to be used as a payment method of a purchase price of a product at an electronic commerce site affiliated with the present system, and inputs his / her user ID and password. Then, based on this information, there is a payment authentication inquiry to this system,
In the present system, the user is authenticated using the user ID and the password, and it is determined whether the VM that the user intends to use is stored in the profit DB 13. In the case where authentication is possible, the VM is a profit DB
13 is sent to the e-commerce site to indicate that settlement is possible, and the used VM is used for the profit D
The balance is updated by subtracting from the VM stored in B13.

In addition, when the profit to be provided is cash, the cash is automatically transferred to a designated account of the viewer, and when the provided profit is a gift certificate, the gift certificate is read by the viewer. Can be sent automatically to your address. Of course, the operator may determine the contents of the profit DB 13 and manually transfer cash or send out gift certificates.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but may be implemented in various different forms within the scope of the technical idea described in the appended claims. It may be implemented in the form of.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described where the server device 1 is configured as an ISP server owned by an ISP, but in addition to this, WWW performed via an arbitrary ISP or a dedicated line The same benefit can be provided for browsing the Web page at the same time. In this case, for example, the IS
Web server that stores P server and browsed Web pages
This may be performed by acquiring information for specifying the viewer or information for specifying the viewed Web page from the server.

As the information for specifying the viewer, the information at the time when the viewer logs on as a member is used as described above, and a cookie file (Cookie) stored in the client device is used. An IP address fixedly assigned to the client device in connection with a dedicated line or the like may be used.

Further, among the processes described in the embodiment, all or some of the processes described as being performed automatically can be manually performed, or the processes described as being performed manually can be performed. All or part of the processing can be automatically performed by a known method. In addition, the processing procedures, control procedures,
Information including parameters such as specific names, various types of registration data, and search conditions can be arbitrarily changed unless otherwise specified.

[0086]

As described above, claims 1 and 2,
According to the present invention described in 8 or 11, when the information is browsed, the contents of the profit provided to the viewer are specified and stored in the information providing device. That is, when the viewer browses the information, a predetermined profit (for example, cash, virtual money, etc., which will be described later in detail) is given to the viewer. Therefore, it is possible to provide a direct benefit to the viewer, and to provide an entirely new incentive for the viewer to see the Web page.

According to the third, ninth, or eleventh aspect of the present invention, the profit condition for specifying the profit content is stored, and the profit content is specified based on the profit condition. Therefore, by appropriately setting the profit conditions, it is possible to provide any profit that matches the intentions of the Web page provider, the system opener, and the like.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention,
Attribute conditions relating to the attributes of the viewer are stored, and the contents of the profit are specified based on the attribute conditions. Therefore, it is possible to provide a benefit according to the viewer, for example, to provide the benefit only to a specific viewer, or to change the content of the benefit according to the gender, age, and the like of the viewer.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention,
A timing condition relating to the browsing timing by the viewer is stored, and the contents of the profit are specified based on the timing condition. Therefore, it is possible to provide a profit according to the browsing timing, for example, to provide a profit only when browsing is performed during a specific period, or to change a profit amount according to the browsing timing.

According to the present invention, a profit limiting condition for limiting the content of the profit is stored, and the content of the profit is limited based on the profit limiting condition. I do. Therefore, by appropriately setting the profit restriction condition, it is possible to restrict the profit in accordance with the intentions of the Web page provider, the system opener, and the like.

Further, the information providing device according to claim 7 is
A condition relating to the amount or number of profits obtained by the viewer is stored, and the contents of the profit are limited within the range of the amount or number of profits. Therefore, the profit provided to the viewer can be limited to a certain amount and the number of times,
For example, you can offer the same audience only once,
Total profit can be limited to 10,000 yen or less.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of information stored in a member DB.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of information stored in a profit condition DB.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of information stored in a profit restriction condition DB.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of information stored in a profit DB.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a profit specification / storage process.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a browsing process.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example of a VM browsing screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 server device 10 member database 11 profit condition database 12 profit limit condition database 13 profit database 14 Web database 15 communication control interface 16 control unit 16a request interpretation unit 16b authentication processing unit 16c browsing processing unit 16d profit processing unit 2 client device 20 control unit 20a Web browser 21 ROM 22 RAM 23 HD 24 Input device 25 Output device 26 Input / output control IF 27 Communication control IF 3 Internet

Claims (11)

[Claims] An information terminal device for browsing various information,
An information providing system configured to communicably connect an information providing device that enables information browsing in the information terminal device via a network, wherein the information providing device is provided to a viewer of the information. Profit information storage means for storing profit information for specifying the contents of profit to be provided to the client device, and when the information is browsed via the client device, the client device or a viewer using the client device And a profit processing unit that specifies the contents of the profit to be provided to the viewer based on the information on which the browsing request is made and stores the profit in the profit information storage unit. Information providing system. 2. An information providing device which is communicably connected to an information terminal device for browsing various kinds of information via a network so as to allow the information terminal device to browse information. Information storage means for storing profit information for specifying the contents of profit to be provided to the user, and when the information is browsed via the client device, the client device or the client device is used. And a profit processing unit that specifies the contents of the profit to be provided to the viewer based on the viewer and the information on which the browsing request has been made, and stores the profit in the profit information storage unit. Characteristic information providing device. 3. A profit condition storage means for storing a profit condition which is a condition for specifying the contents of the profit, wherein the profit processing unit is configured to store the profit condition based on the profit condition stored in the profit condition storage means. The information providing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the content of the profit is specified. 4. The profit condition stored in the profit condition storage means is an attribute condition relating to the attribute of the viewer, and the profit processing section is based on the attribute condition stored in the profit condition storage means. The information providing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the content of the profit is specified. 5. The profit condition stored in the profit condition storage means is a timing condition relating to the browsing timing by the viewer, and the profit processing section stores the timing condition stored in the profit condition storage means. The information providing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the content of the profit is specified based on the information. 6. A profit restricting condition storing means for storing a profit restricting condition which is a condition for restricting a content of the profit, wherein the profit processing section stores the profit restricting condition stored in the profit restricting condition storing means. The information providing device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the content of the profit is limited based on a condition. 7. The profit restriction condition stored in the profit restriction condition storage means is a condition relating to the amount or number of profits obtained by the viewer, and the profit processing unit stores the profit restriction condition. 7. The information providing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the content of the profit is limited to a range of the amount or the number of profits stored by the means. 8. An information terminal device for browsing various information,
An information providing method for providing information in an information providing system configured to communicably connect an information providing device capable of browsing information in the information terminal device via a network, When browsing the information via the client device, an information acquisition procedure for acquiring information for specifying the client device or a viewer using the client device and the information for which the browsing request has been made; , Based on the information obtained in the above information obtaining procedure,
A profit specifying storage procedure for specifying the contents of the profit provided to the viewer and storing the specified profit in the information providing apparatus. 9. A profit condition storing procedure for storing a profit condition, which is a condition for specifying the contents of the profit, in the information providing device, wherein the profit specifying storage procedure stores the profit condition stored in the profit condition storing procedure. The information providing method according to claim 8, wherein the content of the profit is specified based on a profit condition. 10. A profit restricting condition storing procedure for storing a profit restricting condition, which is a condition for restricting the contents of the profit, in the information providing device, wherein the profit specifying storing procedure includes: The information providing method according to claim 8, wherein the content of the profit is limited based on the stored profit restriction condition. 11. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to execute the information providing method according to any one of claims 8 to 10.