JP2002118690A - Information providing system, apparatus and method for billing, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a provider of information to bill users for the information utilized by the users. SOLUTION: An information providing system comprises user terminals 101 taken along by users, a base terminal 102 for providing the user terminals 101 with information, and a network 104 to which the user terminals and the base terminal are connected. If the user utilizes the provided information, after the base terminal 102 provides specified information to a user terminal 101, billing data for an information provider who provided the information to the user is recorded so as to bill for the provision of information utilized by the user.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an information notification system,
The charging device, the charging method, and the storage medium are particularly suitable for use in charging a user connected to the information notification system in accordance with the information notification.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, notifying information to a user having a user terminal device such as a portable terminal device is effective for efficiently providing information to the user. In such an information notification system, a base terminal device connected to the user terminal device is installed in a store, a passage, or the like, and information is notified from the base terminal device to the user terminal device.

In such an information notification system,
Information can be selected from among the information registered in the base terminal device, reflecting the status of each user, such as the position and interests, and this information can be provided to the user. The store where the base terminal device is installed can notify various information from the same place, and the information provider efficiently notifies the interested user of the information of the store or the product to be notified. be able to.

[0004]

The information notification system as described above has a problem that when information is excessively registered in each base terminal device, the probability that the registered information is notified to the user terminal device is reduced. there were.

[0005] In addition, the notification is sent from the web server of the information provider to the user terminal device using the communication path of the base terminal device. In such a case, the information of another store is registered free of charge, so that the conventional information notification system may provide undesired information.

[0006] In order to solve such a problem, it is effective to charge the information provider or the user so that the owner of the base terminal device is profitable. Thereby, the information provider, the base terminal device holder, and the user all have the advantage of using the information notification system.

[0007] In addition, by charging, it is possible to suppress registration of useless advertisements, and it is possible to proceed with infrastructure development in anticipation of advertisement charges, and to efficiently use the information notification system. It becomes possible.

[0008] A billing method in the information notification system has been proposed in, for example, JP-A-2000-78129.
In the conventional billing method, billing reflecting the situation where the user has used the information or billing according to the situation where the user has acted based on the information has not been performed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to allow a user who has provided information to be charged for information used by the user. I do.

[0010]

An information notification system according to the present invention is an information notification system in which a user terminal device carried by a user and a base terminal device for notifying the user terminal device of information are connected to a network. And a charging unit for charging a provider of the information notified by the base terminal device when the base terminal device notifies the user terminal device of predetermined information. Another feature of the present invention is that, after the base terminal device notifies the user terminal device of the information, the charging unit transmits the information to the base terminal device installed in the store indicated by the notified information. When the user terminal device is connected, the provider of the predetermined information is charged. According to another feature of the present invention, the charging unit is provided in a terminal device connected to the network integrally with the base terminal device or separately from the base terminal device. It is characterized by: Further, other features of the present invention include a user terminal device carried by a user, a base terminal device for notifying information to the user terminal device, a position management device for managing the connection status of the user, An information notification system in which an information registration device used for information registration by a provider and a charging device for charging for the information notification are connected to a network, wherein the user terminal device holds a user profile indicating a user's preference. A user profile holding unit, a communication unit that becomes communicable when approaching the base terminal device, a user profile transmission unit that transmits a user profile to the base terminal device via the communication unit, An information holding device for holding the information to be notified, and an information address indicating a location in the information holding device. A notification information address receiving means for signal,
Notification information obtaining means for obtaining information indicated by the information address from the information holding device indicated by the information address received by the notification information address receiving means; and information selected by the notification information obtaining means to a user. Information presenting means for presenting. According to another feature of the present invention, the information holding device includes a notification information holding device that holds information that is a notification candidate, and a notification information holding device that holds the information address in response to an information acquisition request from the user terminal device. And information providing means for transmitting the indicated information. According to another feature of the present invention, the base terminal device includes a notification information profile holding unit that holds a notification information profile indicating a property of information to be a notification candidate, and a notification information profile when the user terminal device approaches. Communication means enabling communication, user profile receiving means for receiving the user profile from the user terminal device by the communication means, and the user profile from among the notification information profiles held in the notification information profile holding means. Information selecting means for selecting information suitable for the user profile received by the receiving means; information notifying means for transmitting the information address of the information selected by the information selecting means to the user terminal device using the communication means; It is characterized by having. According to another feature of the present invention, the location management device includes location management means for retaining location information indicating to which base terminal device a user terminal device connected to the information notification system is connected. In response to the registration request of the base terminal device, a position registration unit that registers in the position management unit that the user terminal device is connected to the base terminal device, and a request from another device. And a connection status response means for responding to the base terminal device connected to the user terminal device described in the request or the user terminal device connected to the base terminal device described in the request. Features. According to another feature of the present invention, the information registration device includes a notification information profile creation unit that creates the notification information profile, and notification information that issues a request to register the notification information profile to the base terminal device. And a profile registration request unit. Another feature of the present invention is that the charging apparatus registers information in the notification information profile holding means of the base terminal apparatus or transmits information from the base terminal apparatus to the user terminal apparatus. When notifying, a billing data recording unit for recording billing data for a registrant of the notification information or a user having a user terminal device is provided. Another feature of the present invention is that the base terminal device further includes a notification record registration unit that registers a notification record in which the user has notified the selected information to the position management device, The position management device refers to the notification record holding unit that holds the notification record and the notification record that is held in the notification record holding unit at the time of the position registration, and the user connected to the base terminal device has previously In the case where the information related to the base terminal device has been notified, further comprising charging instruction means for instructing the charging device to record the charging data to the information provider that has notified the information, the charging device, It is characterized by further comprising charging instruction receiving means for recording charging data according to the charging instruction means.

[0011] The billing device of the present invention comprises: information data notifying means for notifying information data from the base terminal device to the user terminal device when the user approaches the store; a store name of the notified information; Notification record data registration means for registering the notified user ID and notification time in the position management means as notification record data, and a user who performs user registration with the base terminal device when the user moves between base terminal devices Registration means, user position registration means for performing position registration of a user with respect to the position management means, notification presence / absence determination means for determining whether or not the store information has been previously notified to the user; As a result of the determination by the presence / absence determining means, if the store has been notified, a charging instruction requesting means for transmitting a charging instruction request to the charging means; There has been characterized as having a charging means for charging the information provider. Another feature of the present invention is that a user terminal device carried by a user, a base terminal device for notifying information to the user terminal device, an information holding device for holding the notified information, A location management device for managing a connection status, an information registration device used by an information provider for information registration, and a charging device for charging for information notification; a plurality of the base terminal devices; and a plurality of the information holding devices. A billing device for use in an information notification system in which one location management device, a plurality of information registration devices, and one or a plurality of billing devices are connected to a network, wherein When notifying information, a billing means for recording billing data for a registrant of the notification information or a user having a user terminal device is provided.

According to the billing method of the present invention, when a user approaches a store, a process of notifying information data from the base terminal device to the user terminal device, and receiving a store name of the notified information, a notified store name, and a notification. Registering the user ID and the notification time in the location management unit as notification record data; performing a user registration with the base terminal device when the user moves between base terminal devices; A process of performing location registration of the user, and a process of determining whether or not the information of the store has been notified to the user before;
If the store is notified as a result of the notification presence / absence determination process, a process of sending a charging instruction request to a charging unit, and a process of charging the information provider to the information provider based on the charging instruction request And characterized in that: Another feature of the present invention is that a user terminal device carried by a user, a base terminal device for notifying information to the user terminal device, an information holding device for holding the notified information, A location management device that manages the connection status, an information registration device used by the information provider for information registration, and a charging device that performs charging for information notification; a plurality of the base terminal devices and a plurality of the information holding devices; An accounting method used in an information notification system in which one location management device, a plurality of information registration devices, and one or a plurality of accounting devices are connected to a network, wherein information is notified from the base terminal device to the notification terminal. In this case, a billing step of recording billing data for a registrant of the notification information or a user having a user terminal device is provided. Further, according to another feature of the present invention, the base terminal device further includes a notification record registration step of registering a notification record in which the user has notified the selected information to the position management device, The position management device refers to the notification record holding step of holding the notification record, and the notification record held in the notification record holding step at the time of the location registration, and the user connected to the base terminal device has previously Further comprising: a charging instruction step of instructing the charging device to record charging data to an information provider that has notified the information, when the information relating to the base terminal device has been notified to the charging device. A charging instruction receiving step of recording charging data according to the charging instruction means.

A storage medium according to the present invention is characterized in that a program for causing a computer to execute a process for executing the above-described billing method is stored in a computer-readable manner.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of an information notification system, a billing device, a billing method and a storage medium according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an information notification system in a shopping mall.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a user terminal device computer carried by a user. 102 is installed in each store or corridor in the shopping mall, is connected to the user terminal device computer 101 by wireless communication, receives and updates a user profile indicating the user's preference from the user terminal device computer 101, and updates the user profile suitable for the user. This is a base terminal computer that selects appropriate information and notifies the user terminal device computer 101 of the selected information.

Reference numeral 103 is directly connected to the base terminal computer 102 and is connected to the user terminal device computer 10.
1 is a notification candidate database in which information candidates and candidate profiles to be notified to No. 1 are stored.

Reference numeral 104 denotes a network which is the Internet or an intranet to which the base terminal computer 102 connects. Reference numeral 105 denotes a Web server for notification information connected to the network 104. Reference numeral 106 denotes a notification terminal computer used by an information provider to register an information profile in the notification information database 103. A position management computer 107 manages the connection status of all users. Reference numeral 108 denotes a charging computer that performs charging according to the information notification.

Next, the base terminal computer 102 will be described in detail. The base terminal computer 102 connects to the user terminal device computer 101 via a line by wireless communication. The base terminal computer 102
The property when the user uses the base terminal computer 102 is stored as a base terminal profile.

For example, when used in a shopping mall, the properties of the store where the base terminal computer 102 is installed have as a base terminal profile. When the user terminal device computer 101 connects to the base terminal computer 102, the user profile is transmitted to the base terminal computer 102.

Although the user profile reflects the user's preference, the fact that the user connects to a specific base terminal computer 102 indicates that the user has shown interest in the store. Therefore, by updating the user profile by reflecting the base terminal profile of the connected base terminal computer 102, it is possible to respond to dynamically changing user interests.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of base terminal computer 102 in the present embodiment. FIG.
Reference numeral 501 denotes a user monitoring unit that monitors the presence of the user terminal device computer 101 that can be connected.

Reference numeral 502 denotes a base terminal ID and a system ID which are connected to the connectable user terminal device computer 101.
And a user registration unit for receiving and registering a user ID and a user profile from the user terminal device computer 101.

Reference numeral 503 denotes a base terminal profile holding unit for holding a base terminal profile. A user profile update unit 504 updates a user profile. A user profile transmission unit 505 transmits the updated user profile to the user terminal device computer 101.

An information selection unit 506 selects information appropriate for the connected user. 507 is an information selection unit 50
6. The information selected in step 6
The notification information transmission unit transmits the notification information to the server.

Reference numeral 508 denotes a notification information registration unit that receives a registration request from the notification terminal computer 106 and registers a notification information profile in the notification information database 103.
Reference numeral 509 denotes a charging data transmitting unit that transmits charging data to the provider of the notification information.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of base station computer 102 in the present embodiment.
Hereinafter, the operation procedure of the base terminal computer 102 will be described with reference to FIG.

In the first step S201, the user monitoring unit 501 constantly monitors whether or not the user terminal device computer 101 to which the user terminal device computer 101 can be connected exists. Then, if the user terminal device computer 101 exists around,
Connect to it and move on to the next operation in another thread (Thread).

In step S202, the user registration unit 50
The registration process is performed in Step 2. User terminal device computer 10
1, the base station ID and the system ID are sent to the location management computer 107, and the user ID and the user profile are received from the user terminal device computer 101, and the connection of the user is registered in the location management computer 107.

FIG. 6 shows examples of these IDs. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 601 denotes a store name as a base terminal ID of the base terminal computer 102 to which the user terminal device computer 101 is connected; 602, a shopping mall name as a system ID; and 603, a user name as a user ID. I have.

Next, in step S203, the user profile update unit 504 causes the base terminal holding unit 503
And updates the user profile by reflecting the base terminal profile stored in the user profile.

Next, in step S204, the updated user profile is returned to the user terminal device computer 101 by the user profile transmitting unit 505, but the user profile is retained because it is used for the subsequent processing.

Next, in step S205, the notification information selection unit 506 uses the notification candidate database 10 based on the user profiles and these notification information profiles.
The user selects information appropriate for the user from a plurality of notification information profiles registered in No. 3.

Next, in step S206, the selected notification information is notified from the notification information transmitting unit 507 to the user terminal device computer 101. Further, the notification record is registered in the position management computer 107.

The billing for billing for the information notification is performed by the user at the base terminal computer 102 of the store or the like indicated by the notification information.
When a user connects to the location management computer 10
The charging instruction request is sent to the charging computer of the base terminal computer 102 that has notified the above information with reference to the notification record, and the charging computer records the charging data for the information provider.

Next, the user terminal device computer 101
Will be described in detail. The user terminal device computer 101 has means for communicating with the base terminal computer 102 wirelessly by peer-to-peer (peer-to-peer: a system for connecting personal computers equally), means for storing user profiles, and information for the user. Video output and audio output means required for presentation are provided.

Next, the user terminal device computer 101
Shows the processing in. When the user approaches the base terminal computer 102 installed in the store, the user terminal device computer 101 performs close proximity wireless communication with the base terminal computer 102 and automatically connects to the base terminal computer 102, and transmits the base terminal ID and the system ID from the base terminal computer 102. receive.

On the other hand, the user terminal device computer 101
Transmits the user ID and the user profile to the base terminal computer 102. As a result of the communication, the updated user profile is returned and stored in the storage unit. And the base terminal computer 1
02, the information is notified to the user by the user profile transmission unit 505.

Next, a description will be given of how to grasp a dynamically changing user situation. In the information notification, the base terminal computer 102 receives the user profile and updates it based on the base terminal profile. This user profile is a file expressing the user's preferences and interests.
The base terminal computer 102 selects and notifies information suitable for each user based on the information.

FIG. 3 shows a base terminal profile of a base terminal computer 102 installed in a shopping mall.
4 shows an example of a notification information profile of notification information notified to the user terminal device computer 101 of a customer in a shopping mall and a user profile.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes an attribute group in which a manager of the present system at a mall classifies user interests in advance. 302 is a classification of a predetermined attribute group. Reference numeral 303 denotes an attribute value determined in advance for each classification.

Reference numeral 304 denotes a base terminal profile and a notification information profile based on an attribute expression indicating which attribute the base terminal computer 102 or the notification information has with respect to the attribute group 301. This profile 304 is set by the administrator of the base terminal computer 102 and the notification information.

The base terminal profile and the notification information profile are represented by similar attribute expressions but have different roles. The base terminal profile is used for updating the user profile, and the notification information profile is used for selecting the notification information. used.

Reference numeral 305 denotes an example of preference data of the user profile. In this example, the vector data is represented by weight data expression for the attribute group determined by the system. The attribute groups and their initial values determined by the system administrator are reflected in the user's interest each time data is given to the user terminal computer 101 at the time of initial registration to the system and thereafter connected to the base terminal computer 102. Will be updated.

Hereinafter, using this example, step S203 will be described.
A description will be given of a user profile update process performed in step (1). The user connects to the connected base terminal computer 102
You might be interested in the nature of a store with
The update is performed by increasing the weight of the user profile corresponding to the attribute of the base terminal computer 102 and decreasing the weight of the other attributes. This is realized by the following equation. p (t) = (1-1) [kq (t) + (1-k) p (t-1)] + lr

In the above equation, t is a step representing the point in time when the user terminal device computer 101 connects to the base terminal computer 102 and updates the user profile, and q (t) represents the attribute of the base terminal computer 102 Is a vector data having a value normalized by the number of attributes of the base terminal computer 102 in the classification, and k and l are constants from 0 to 1 and r
Is a constant vector in which the sum of the vector elements is normalized.

On the other hand, as shown in the above equation, the base terminal profile q (t) and the user profile p (t-t-
1) is linearly connected to reflect the base terminal profile in the user profile p (t). The updated profile is obtained by accumulating the profiles of base stations connected in the past and becomes data reflecting attributes indicating the behavior and interest of the user.

Next, an example of the notification information selection processing performed in step S205 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, in step S401, the classification 302 is ranked. This randomly selects a classification,
The selected classifications are ranked, and the same processing is performed on the remaining classifications to rank all the classifications.

Next, in step S402, one attribute is selected for each category. User profile p
Each attribute is assigned between 0 and 1 with the weight of (t) as the probability of each attribute, and a random number between 0 and 1 is assigned to select an applied attribute. Attributes with higher weights are selected with higher probability.

Next, in Step S403, Step S403
In step 401, the classification that ranks first is selected. Next, in step S404, in the notification information profile of the notification candidates registered in the notification candidate database, information having no attribute selected in step S402 in the selected classification is excluded from the notification candidates.

Next, in step S405, it is checked whether notification candidates remain after the exclusion. Next, in step S406, if the notification candidate is 0 in step S405, the notification candidate removed immediately before is returned.

Next, in step S407, it is checked whether there is any classification that has not been selected. Next, step S40
In step 8, if there is a classification not selected in step S407, the next rank classification is selected and the process loops. Next, in step S409, if all the classifications have been processed in step S407, one of the remaining notification candidates is selected and used as notification information.

Next, the notification terminal computer 106 will be described in detail. The notification terminal computer 106 includes:
An operation function for creating a notification information profile and an operation function for registering a notification information profile to be registered in the base terminal computer 102 in the system are provided.
The notification information profile can be registered in the notification candidate database of the base terminal computer 102 in the system.

In the registration, the base terminal computer 1
The information provider can guess the state of the user connecting to each base terminal computer 102 from the location where the base station 02 is located and the nature of the device or store where the base terminal computer 102 is installed. Based on this, the information provider stores in the notification candidate database of each base terminal computer 102,
It is possible to select and register information according to the guessed user.

Next, the position management computer 107 will be described in detail. The location management computer 107 is provided for centrally managing which base terminal computer 102 all users who connect to the base terminal computer 102 of the present system are currently connected to.

That is, when the base terminal computer 102 connects with the user terminal device computer 101 and performs user registration, the user ID and the base terminal ID are sent from the base terminal computer 102 to the location management computer 107, and the location management computer 107 Accumulates and manages this.

This information is sent to the notification terminal computer 106
Of the base terminal computer 102 to which a specific user is connected and the connection status of each base terminal computer 102 can be requested from the position management computer 107 using the notification terminal.

Next, the charging computer 108 will be described in detail. In the present embodiment, an advertisement is charged and charged to the information provider of the notification information by performing information notification from the base terminal computer 102 of each store in the shopping mall.

In the charging method according to the present embodiment, the base terminal computer 102 notifies the user terminal device computer 101 of the information, and the user terminal device computer 101 is connected to the base terminal computer 102 of the store indicated by the notified information. At this time, the charging computer of the base terminal computer 102 that has notified the notification information records the charging data to the information provider.

As a result, in the information notification system of the present embodiment, it is possible to determine the validity of the notification information based on the user's action and to charge based on the result of the determination, and to efficiently perform the advertisement. Is obtained.

FIG. 7 shows this method. First, step S
At 701, information data is sent from the store base terminal computer 102 to the user terminal device computer 101. Next, in step S702, the store name of the notified information, the notified store name, the notified user ID, and the notification time are registered in the position management computer 107 as notification record data. FIG. 8 shows an example of notification record data registered in the position management computer 107.

Next, in step S703, when the user moves between the base terminal computers 102, a user registration process with the base terminal computer 102 is performed. Then, in the next step S704, the user's location is registered in the location management computer 107. On this occasion,
The notification record data is checked to determine whether or not the user involved in the registration has received information on the store where the base terminal computer 102 is installed.

Next, in step S705, if the information of this store has been notified to the user before, the name of the notified store is checked, and a charging instruction request is sent to the charging computer 108 of the store. Record data for the provider.

According to the method described above, when the user approaches the base terminal computer 102 installed in the store with the user terminal computer 101, the user profile is passed to the base terminal computer 102 and updated, and the user profile is updated. Then, information matching the user's preference is selected and notified to the user, and based on the information notification, the charging computer records the charging data for the information provider.

<Other Modifications> In the first embodiment, the billing data for the information provider is recorded in the notification effect reward type in which the billing data is recorded because the user goes to the store indicated by the notified information. An example was shown.

However, the information notification system of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in each base terminal computer 102, the base terminal computer 1
02 connected to the user terminal device computer 101
When the information is notified to the information provider, it may be of a pay-per-use type in which the information provider of the notification information is charged according to the number of notifications.

In this case, no notification record data is required in the position management computer 107, and charging is performed in step S
At 206, a request is sent from the notification information transmitting unit 507 to the billing data transmitting unit 509.

<Other Modifications> Further, as another example of the billing method, in each base terminal computer 102,
The URL of the information is notified to the user terminal device computer 101 connected to the base terminal computer 102,
From the Web server 105 of the URL to the user terminal device computer 101 via the base terminal computer 102
When the information is notified to the base terminal computer 10
2 may be a pay-as-you-go type based on the data amount of the notification information to the information provider.

<Other Modifications> Further, as another example of the billing method, a fixed-rate type in which billing is performed according to the number of registrations at the time when the information provider registers the notification information in the notification information database 103. good. Regardless of the number of notifications, a fixed amount is charged according to the number of registered information. In this case, the billing is transmitted from the notification information profile registration unit 508 to the billing data transmission unit 509.

<Other Modifications> In the above-described embodiment, the base terminal computer 102 records the billing data for the information provider in the billing computer 107 in response to the information notification. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, a flat-rate or pay-as-you-go billing may be performed for the user who acquires the information. In this case, the base terminal computer 102 receives the user information at the time of connection with the user terminal device computer 101, and records the billing data with the billing computer using the user information.

<Other Modifications> In the above-described embodiment, the use in a shopping mall is exemplified, and the base terminal computer 102 is made to have the characteristics of each store. The present invention is not limited to this, and various forms of the base terminal computer 102 are assumed depending on the scene in which the system is used.

For example, when the base terminal computer 102 is installed at each station of a train and the user is notified of information around the station, the railway company charges the information provider to obtain an advertisement fee. Such an embodiment is also conceivable.

<Other Modifications> In the above embodiment, the charging computer is connected to each base terminal computer 10.
2 and charging is performed for each base terminal computer 102, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example,
As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 9, a charging computer may be directly connected to the network 904, and charging may be performed collectively in response to a request from each base terminal computer 102.

In FIG. 9, reference numeral 901 denotes a user terminal computer. 902 is a base terminal computer. Reference numeral 903 denotes a notification information database. 90
4 is a network. Reference numeral 905 denotes a Web server for notification information. Reference numeral 906 denotes a notification terminal computer. Reference numeral 907 denotes a position management computer that manages the connection status of all users. Reference numeral 908 denotes an accounting computer that performs accounting in response to requests from a plurality of user terminal device computers 901 connected to the system.

In the above embodiment, for example, in FIG. 1, the base terminal computer 102, the location management computer 107, and the notification terminal computer 106 are separately mounted and connected to the network 104. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, for example, the functions of the base terminal computer 102 and the charging computer 108 may be implemented together in one device.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of a general computer system. In FIG. 10, 1200
Is a computer PC. PC 1200 is CPU1
201, which executes a program stored in the ROM 1202 or the hard disk (HD) 1211 or supplied from the floppy (registered trademark) disk drive (FD) 1212, and collectively manages each device connected to the system bus 1204. Control.

The CPU 1201 of the PC 1200 and the RO
M1202 or a program stored in the hard disk (HD) 1211 configures each unit of the present embodiment, and executes a billing method and the like.

Reference numeral 1203 denotes a RAM, which functions as a main memory, a work area, and the like for the CPU 1201. Reference numeral 1205 denotes a keyboard controller (KBC),
B) Control input of instructions from 1209 and the like.

Reference numeral 1206 denotes a CRT controller (CRT)
In C), the display of the CRT display (CRT) 1210 is controlled. 1207 is a disk controller (DK
C), a boot program (a start program: a program for starting execution (operation) of hardware and software of a personal computer), a plurality of applications, a hard disk (HD) 1211 for storing user files, a network management program, and the like, and a floppy disk ( FD)
1212 is controlled.

Reference numeral 1208 denotes a network interface card (NIC) which exchanges data with another network device or another PC via the LAN 1220 in two directions.

<Other Modifications> In the above embodiment, the computer program or the CPU or the MPU is used to execute a software program for realizing the above-mentioned functions. It is needless to say that this is achieved by a logic circuit realizing

<Other Modifications> In the above embodiment, the device used by the notifier is the notification terminal computer, but this is not limited to a computer.
Any device having a function that allows the notifier to set information may be used.

The portable terminal computer is not limited to a portable computer, but may be a computer incorporated in a portable device such as a mobile phone, or a computer or a device mounted on a mobile body such as a car. May be.

Further, the base terminal computer, the location management computer, and the billing computer need not be computers as long as they satisfy the above functions.

<Other Modifications> In the above embodiment, Web data is used for the notification information. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Text, images, sounds, and formats according to specific applications are used. A notification form such as notification by data or mail may be used. Further, in the above embodiment, information is obtained from the Web server on the network based on the URL.
The present invention is not limited to L, and other types of information holding devices and other description means for indicating the location of information may be used.

<Other Modifications> In the above embodiment, the user profile describes only the data indicating the user's preference. Apart from this, the name, age, and Personal information such as gender may be included in the user profile.

<Other Modifications> In the above-described embodiment, names such as a store name, a shopping mall name, and a user name as shown in FIG. 13 are used as the base terminal ID, the system ID, and the user ID. The base terminal computer ID is not limited to the base terminal ID.
2 may be used, or the domain name of the system may be used as the system ID. As an example of the user ID, the system may assign an anonymous ID such as a number when the user is initially registered.

<Other Modifications> In the above embodiment, only the data indicating the user's preference is described in the user profile, but apart from this, the name, age, Personal information such as gender may be provided in the user profile.

<Other Modifications> In the above embodiment, each profile is set as shown in FIG.
The attribute setting of the profile is not limited to this. Various attribute settings can be considered depending on the situation where the system is used.

<Other Modifications> In the above embodiment, the base terminal profile and the notification information profile are represented by the attribute expression, and the user profile is represented by the attribute weight data expression. However, the present invention is not limited to this. . For example, various forms are conceivable, such as expressing a user profile in an attribute expression or using a correlation value with each attribute in a base terminal profile and a notification information profile.

<Other Modifications> In the above embodiment, the user profile is updated by cumulative calculation, but the user profile update is not limited to this. It is sufficient that the past user profile and the base terminal profile of the base terminal computer 102 currently connected are reflected.

<Other Modifications> In the above embodiment, the information selection was performed according to the procedure of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, but the information selection means is not limited to this, and the information selection reflecting the user profile is performed. Any means is acceptable. For example, a process of setting an evaluation function based on the priority of the user's preference or the position of the user known from the connected base terminal computer 102 and selecting information having the highest evaluation value may be performed.

<Other Modifications> In the above embodiment, the portable terminal computer is connected to base terminal computer 102 by wireless communication, but the communication with base terminal computer 102 is not limited to wireless communication. For example, a form in which infrared communication is used or a connection device connected by a wire having a high communication speed is inserted may be considered.

<Other Other Modifications> The present invention relates to
The present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices or an apparatus including a single device. A recording medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or an apparatus,
Computer (or CP) of the system or device
U and MPU) read out and execute the program code stored in the recording medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the recording medium on which the program code is recorded constitutes the present invention.

Examples of the recording medium for supplying the program code include a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, and C-ROM.
DR, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM
Etc. can be used.

Further, when the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS and the like running on the computer are actually executed based on the instructions of the program code. It goes without saying that a part or all of the above-described processing is performed, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

Further, after the program code read from the recording medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, The CPU provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing,
It goes without saying that a case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.

[0097]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is determined whether or not the notification information has been effectively used based on the behavior of the user, and charging is performed based on the determination result, so that efficient advertisement can be performed.
Further, according to the present invention, the information provider, the base terminal device holder, and the user are both charged by charging according to the information notification to the user, thereby providing the benefit to the holder of the base terminal device. Advantages of using the present system can be obtained. Also, according to another feature of the present invention,
By charging, the useless advertisement registration can be suppressed, and the information notification system can be used effectively. In addition, according to another feature of the present invention, since an appropriate notification based on the user situation is performed, an efficient notification can be performed in terms of an advertising cost in a billing system based on a pay-as-you-go system.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a first example of an information notification system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of a base terminal computer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of each profile in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an information selection processing procedure of the base terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a base terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of each ID according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a billing method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of notification record data according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the information notification system configuration according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computer system capable of configuring a terminal device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 User terminal device computer 102 Base terminal computer 103 Notification candidate database 104 Network which is the Internet or an intranet 105 Web server 106 Notification terminal computer 107 Location management computer 108 Charging computer

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04L 12/14 H04B 7/26 109M H04M 3/42 H04L 11/02 F H04Q 7/04 H F term (reference ) 5K024 AA71 AA76 CC11 FF03 FF04 GG05 GG10 5K025 BB10 DD06 5K030 HA06 HB08 HC01 HC09 JL01 JT09 KA01 KA07 5K067 AA29 AA34 BB21 DD17 DD51 EE10 FF03 FF23 HH23 JJ64 KK15

Claims (16)

[Claims] An information notification system in which a user terminal device carried by a user and a base terminal device for notifying the user terminal device of information are connected to a network, wherein the base terminal device is connected to the user terminal device. An information notification system comprising: charging means for charging a provider of information notified by the base terminal device when notified of predetermined information. 2. The charging means, after the base terminal device notifies the user terminal device of information, and when the user terminal device is connected to a base terminal device installed in a store indicated by the notified information, An information notification system for charging a predetermined information provider. 3. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein said charging means is provided in a terminal device connected to said network integrally with said base terminal device or separately from said base terminal device. Or the information notification system according to 2. 4. A user terminal device carried by a user, a base terminal device for notifying the user terminal device of information, a position management device for managing the connection status of the user, and information used by an information provider for information registration. A registration device and an information notification system in which a charging device for charging for the information notification is connected to a network, wherein the user terminal device holds a user profile indicating a user's preference, Communication means for enabling communication when approaching the base terminal apparatus; user profile transmission means for transmitting a user profile to the base terminal apparatus via the communication means; and holding information notified from the base terminal apparatus. An information holding device, and a notification information address for receiving an information address indicating a location in the information holding device. Communication means; notification information obtaining means for obtaining information indicated by the information address from the information holding device indicated by the information address received by the notification information address receiving means; An information notification system comprising: information presenting means for presenting information to a user. 5. An information holding device for holding information serving as a notification candidate, and information providing means for transmitting information indicated by the information address in response to an information acquisition request from the user terminal device. The information notification system according to claim 4, comprising: 6. The base terminal device includes: a notification information profile holding unit that holds a notification information profile indicating a property of information that is a notification candidate; a communication unit that becomes communicable when the user terminal device approaches; A user profile receiving unit for receiving the user profile from the user terminal device by the communication unit; and a user profile received by the user profile receiving unit from notification information profiles held in the notification information profile holding unit. Information selecting means for selecting information suitable for the information processing apparatus, and information notifying means for transmitting the information address of the information selected by the information selecting means to the user terminal device using the communication means. Item 4
Or the information notification system according to 5. 7. The position management device, wherein the position management device holds position information indicating which base terminal device the user terminal device connected to the information notification system is connected to, and registration of the base terminal device. In response to the request, a position registration unit that registers in the position management unit that the user terminal device is connected to the base terminal device, and in response to a request from another device connected to the network, Connection status response means for responding to the base terminal device connected to the user terminal device described in the request or the user terminal device connected to the base terminal device described in the request. Claim 4
7. The information notification system according to any one of items 6 to 6. 8. The information registration device, comprising: a notification information profile creating unit that creates the notification information profile;
The information notification system according to any one of claims 4 to 7, further comprising: a notification information profile registration request unit that issues a request to register the notification information profile to the base terminal device. 9. The billing device, when registering an information profile in the notification information profile holding means of the base terminal device or when notifying information to the user terminal device from the base terminal device, The information notification system according to any one of claims 4 to 8, further comprising charging data recording means for recording charging data for a registrant or a user having a user terminal device. 10. The system according to claim 1, further comprising: a notification record registering means for registering, in said location management device, a notification record in which said base terminal device has notified the user of the selected information. A notification record holding unit for holding the information, and referring to the notification record held in the notification record holding unit at the time of the location registration, a user connected to the base terminal device previously having information related to the base terminal device. And charging instruction means for instructing the charging apparatus to record the charging data to the information provider that has notified the information, wherein the charging apparatus performs charging in accordance with the charging instruction means. The information notification system according to any one of claims 4 to 9, further comprising a charging instruction receiving unit that records data. 11. An information data notification means for notifying information data from a base terminal device to a user terminal device when a user approaches a store, a store name of the notified information, a notified store name, and a user who received the notification. Notification record data registration means for registering the ID and the notification time in the position management means as notification record data; and user registration means for performing user registration with the base terminal device when the user moves between base terminal devices; User position registration means for registering the position of the user with the position management means; notification presence / absence determination means for determining whether or not the store information has been previously notified to the user; determination by the notification presence / absence determination means As a result, if the store has been previously notified, a charging instruction requesting means for transmitting a charging instruction request to the charging means, and based on the charging instruction request, the charging means Charging apparatus characterized by having a charging means for charging for test person. 12. A user terminal device carried by a user,
A base terminal device that notifies the user terminal device of information,
An information holding device that holds information to be notified, a position management device that manages the connection status of the user, an information registration device used by the information provider for information registration, and a charging device that charges for the information notification. Billing used in an information notification system in which a plurality of the base terminal devices, a plurality of the information holding devices, one location management device, a plurality of information registration devices, and one or a plurality of billing devices are network-connected. A charging apparatus, comprising: charging means for recording charging data for a registrant of notification information or a user having a user terminal device when notifying information from the base terminal device to the notification terminal. . 13. A process of notifying information data from a base terminal device to a user terminal device when a user approaches a store, a store name of the notified information, a notified store name, a notified user ID, and a notification. A process of registering time as notification record data in a location management unit; a process of registering a user in the base terminal device when the user moves between base terminal devices; A process of performing registration, a process of determining whether or not the store information has been notified to the user before, and a result of the notification presence / absence determination process, if the store has been notified before, charging is performed. A charging method, comprising: a process of sending a charging instruction request to the means; and a process of charging the information provider by the charging unit based on the charging instruction request. 14. A user terminal device carried by a user,
A base terminal device that notifies the user terminal device of information,
An information holding device that holds information to be notified, a position management device that manages the connection status of the user, an information registration device used by the information provider for information registration, and a charging device that charges for the information notification. A charging method used in an information notification system in which a plurality of the base terminal devices, a plurality of the information holding devices, one location management device, a plurality of information registration devices, and one or a plurality of charging devices are connected to a network. A charging step of, when notifying information from the base terminal apparatus to the notifying terminal, recording charging data for a registrant of the notification information or a user having a user terminal apparatus; 15. A notification record registration step of registering, in the position management device, a notification record in which the base terminal device notifies the user of the selected information, wherein the position management device performs the notification. A notification record holding step of holding a record, and referring to the notification record held in the notification record holding step at the time of the location registration, a user connected to the base terminal apparatus previously having information related to the base terminal apparatus. Has been notified, the charging apparatus further comprises a charging instruction step of instructing the charging apparatus to record charging data to an information provider who has notified the information, and the charging apparatus responds to the charging instruction means. The charging method according to claim 14, further comprising a charging instruction receiving step of recording charging data. 16. A computer-readable storage medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to execute a process for executing the charging method according to claim 13.