JP2002163178A - Managing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a managing system in which a plurality of terminal devices and managing device and the like are portable and attachable by a user, and outputs of information by a plurality of the terminal devices are managed by the managing device. SOLUTION: For example, position information obtaining device 2, a plurality of the terminal devices 3 to 7, and the managing device 1 are portable or attachable by the user 8. The position information obtaining device 2 obtains information on a position, and a plurality of the terminal devices 3 to 7 output information corresponding to the position information. At this moment, the managing device 1 controls outputs of the information by a plurality of the terminal devices 3 to 7.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a management system in which a plurality of terminal devices and management devices can be carried by a user or can be mounted on a user, and the output of information by the plurality of terminal devices is controlled by the management device. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Information registration devices and information retrieval devices for digitizing information such as memos and photographs, storing the information in a semiconductor memory or the like, and retrieving the registered information for use as necessary are frequently used. Have been. In such a device, a huge amount of information can be registered,
Various inventions have been made on how to efficiently extract information from this vast amount of registration information.

For example, in the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-287143, information on the date and time of occurrence and location of the information is added to the registered information and managed. Further, in the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-50594, information on the latitude and longitude calculated from the address book and information on the current position of the apparatus are combined to search and provide appropriate map information. ing.

Further, PEPYS ("PEPYS: Generating Autobio"
graphies by Automatic Tracking, "Proceedings of the
Second European Conference on Computer-Supported
The invention described in Cooperative Work, Amsterdam, September 1991) specifies the location information of the terminal device, estimates what kind of activity was being performed there, and automatically sends a diary. Thus, the position of the user is detected and recorded as a record.

In recent years, with the development of computers and networks, it has become possible to easily obtain information anywhere in the world. However, the fact that information is easily obtained often hinders the intention of actually going to the place and putting himself in a similar environment. In other words, the convenience of easily obtaining information is
On the contrary, it can be seen that it hinders the opportunity to obtain various experiences.

[0006] From such a viewpoint, the information registering and information retrieving devices described above pursue the convenience of using the registered information, and are placed in a physical environment in which the information is actually registered. The registered information cannot be used only in such a case, and such a use form has hindered the motivation to actually go to the place.

[0007] In view of such circumstances, it is possible to motivate the user to put himself in the physical environment where the information is actually registered. Devices have been developed that can provide the opportunity to obtain such various experiences.

For example, in the invention described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-188838 and the invention described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-192732, information such as memos and photographs is registered together with information indicating an environment at the time of the registration. There are provided an information registration device for searching for information and an information search device for searching for information registered in this way.For example, an individual's thoughts and impressions in a specific environment are associated with the environment. There is realized an apparatus or the like which can record and register the information, and later can retrieve the registered information only when actually placed in the environment.

In the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-185609, the portable information device detects its own position using a satellite, searches local information from the detected own position, and selectively outputs the local information. That is being done. Also,
In the invention described in JP-A-9-113599,
When the current position of a user approaches a registered location or leaves the registered location, the user is informed that there is an action to be performed at the registered location.

According to the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-15876, a history of processing performed when the user is in a place that can be represented by position information is stored, and a history matching the current position information is stored. To output the contents of the processing corresponding to the position information, or to select the processing performed in a place close to the current position information from the history and output the contents. I have.

[0011]

However, with respect to the information registration and information retrieval devices as described above, for example, a plurality of terminal devices suitable for the user's preference are attached to the user and the like. There has not yet been developed a system that comprehensively controls the output of information and provides the output information to the user. If such a system is developed, a plurality of terminals can control the user. It is expected that the provision of the output information will be realized.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional situation, and a plurality of terminal devices and a management device can be carried by a user or can be mounted on a user, and information output by a plurality of terminal devices can be performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a management system or the like that can control the above by a management device. Another object of the present invention is to provide a management system as described above that outputs information corresponding to position information from a plurality of terminal devices.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, in a management system according to the present invention, a position information acquisition device, a plurality of terminal devices, and a management device are configured to be portable or attachable to a user. The following processing is performed by the function of each device. That is, the location information acquisition device acquires location information, and a plurality of terminal devices output information corresponding to the location information acquired by the location information acquisition device. Control the output.

Therefore, when a plurality of terminal devices are attached to a user or the like and the information corresponding to the position information is provided to the user by the plurality of terminal devices, the output of the information by the plurality of terminal devices is performed. For example, a single (managed) management device can control the entire system, thereby providing, for example, a plurality of terminal devices to provide the user with integrated output information.

Here, as the position information acquisition device, for example, a global positioning system (GPS: Gl)
It can be configured using a GPS receiver of an obal positioning system, and in this case, as the position information, for example, the position information of the position information acquisition device (a user wearing the device) is acquired. Various other devices may be used as the position information acquisition device.
It is also possible to use a device that receives position information (for example, the base station device) wirelessly transmitted from a base station device such as a (Personal Handy phone System) and acquires the position information.

The number of the plurality of terminal devices (accommodated in the management system) is not particularly limited, and various numbers may be used. Various information may be used as the information output by the terminal device. For example, text information, audio information, vibration (vibration) information, image information, and the like can be used. .

Various modes may be used to output information by the terminal device. For example, a mode in which text information is displayed and output on a screen such as a display, or a mode in which voice information is output from a speaker (voice) How to output,
A mode in which vibration information is output by a vibration device (vibrator) (that is, vibration is generated), a mode in which image information is displayed and output on a screen such as a display, or the like can be used.

Various methods may be used to control the information output by the terminal device by the management device. Specifically, for example, any information can be transmitted from any terminal device to any terminal device. It is controlled whether the output is performed in a suitable manner (for example, level). In such control, the management device may output information from all of the plurality of terminal devices to be managed, for example, and may output only some of the plurality of terminal devices to be managed. In some cases, information may be output from the.

Examples of modes that can be carried by the user include a mode that can be carried by the user's hand and a mode that can be carried in a user's bag or the like. In addition, as an aspect that can be worn by the user, for example, the user's head, shoulders, arms,
There are modes that can be worn on various parts of the body such as the waist and feet.

Further, in the management system according to the present invention, information corresponding to the position information may be stored in various places, and the information corresponding to the position information may be obtained by the terminal device via various routes. In this regard, three specific configuration examples will be described below.

As a first configuration example, in the management system according to the present invention, an external database stores location information and information in association with each other, and the management device is acquired from the external database by the location information acquisition device. Information corresponding to the position information to be obtained, and transmits the obtained information to the terminal device. Then, the terminal device receives the information transmitted from the management device, and outputs the received information.

Therefore, in this configuration example, information corresponding to the position information is stored in an external database, and the information is transmitted from the database (for example, the base station device that relays the communication between the database and the management device). And) transmitted to the terminal device via the management device.

Here, as a method of associating position information with information, for example, a method of associating one-to-one, a method of associating information with a position information having a width (position attribute) and information, for example, A method of associating such identification information (representative value) of the position attribute (position range) with the information can be used.

The information communication performed by the management device to acquire information from an external database and the information communication performed by the management device to transmit information to the terminal device include, for example, wireless communication. May be used, or wired communication may be used.

As a second configuration example, in the management system according to the present invention, an external database stores location information and information in association with each other, and the terminal device is acquired from the external database by the location information acquisition device. The information corresponding to the location information to be obtained is obtained, and the obtained information is output.

Therefore, in this configuration example, the information corresponding to the position information is stored in the external database, and the information is stored in the external database (for example, in the base station device that relays the communication between the database and the terminal device). ) To the terminal device. Here, as information communication performed by the terminal device to acquire information from an external database, for example, wireless communication or wired communication may be used.

As a third configuration example, in the management system according to the present invention, the management device stores the location information and the information in association with each other (for example, in a memory or a database), and the management device acquires the location information. The information corresponding to the position information acquired by the device is transmitted to the terminal device. Then, the terminal device receives the information transmitted from the management device, and outputs the received information.

Therefore, in this configuration example, information corresponding to the position information is stored by the management device, and the information is transmitted from the management device to the terminal device. Here, as information communication performed for transmitting information from the management device to the terminal device, for example, wireless communication or wired communication may be used.

In the management system according to the present invention, in the above configuration, the management device controls the information output by the terminal device based on the control information corresponding to the position information obtained by the position information obtaining device. . Therefore, the information output by the terminal device can be controlled by a control method corresponding to the position, for example.

As an example, in such a management system according to the present invention, the control information corresponding to the above-mentioned position information includes information designating a mode of outputting information from the terminal device. Here, for example, information that specifies a mode of outputting information from the terminal device is “no sound information is output, text or vibration information is output, and the vibration level is 1 / (for the reference level, for example). Information that specifies a mode such as “2” is used.

In the management system according to the present invention, as one configuration example, an external database stores location information and control information in association with each other, and the management apparatus acquires position information from the external database. The control information corresponding to the position information acquired by the device is acquired, and the information output by the terminal device is controlled based on the acquired control information. Here, as information communication performed by the management device to obtain control information from an external database,
For example, wireless communication may be used, or wired communication may be used.

Further, in the management system according to the present invention, in the above configuration, the management device controls the information output by the terminal device based on the control information set by the user. Therefore, the information output by the terminal device can be controlled by a control method set by the user, for example. As the control information set by the user, information on various controls may be used.

As an example, in such a management system according to the present invention, the control information set by the user includes information specifying a terminal device that outputs information for each information output mode. Here, examples of the information output form include a sound, text, vibration, and the like. Further, information on each output form is stored in, for example, a management device or an external database.

The information for specifying the terminal device that outputs information for each information output mode is, for example, "Sound information is output from the terminal device B, and text information is output from the terminal device E.
The vibration information output from the terminal device A is output. "
For example, information for designating a terminal device is used. Note that, for example, information that designates a terminal device that outputs information of each output mode by assigning a priority order may be used.

Further, in the management system according to the present invention, in the above configuration, the management device detects the status of each terminal device and controls the information output by the terminal device based on the detected status of each terminal device. I do. Therefore, information output by the terminal device can be controlled based on the state of each terminal device.

Here, the status of the terminal device is, for example, whether the power of the terminal device is on or off, or whether the terminal device is operating or stopped. An operation state or the like can be used. Further, as a method of controlling information output by the terminal device based on the state of the terminal device, for example, a method of not outputting information from a terminal device whose power is off, or a method of controlling a predetermined terminal device to operate, for example, In some cases (or during a stop), a method of not outputting information can be used.

In the management system according to the present invention, in the above-described configuration, a plurality of terminal devices can be arbitrarily selected by a user (for example, from among more prepared terminal devices). . And the management device,
Register the identification information of the terminal device selected by the user,
The information output by the terminal device corresponding to the registered identification information (that is, the terminal device selected by the user) is controlled.

Therefore, for example, the user can arbitrarily select a plurality of terminal devices that match the user's preference, and use the plurality of terminal devices by attaching them to the user.
In this case, the management device can register the identification information of each terminal device selected by the user (for example, store it in a memory or a database) and manage the plurality of terminal devices based on the registered identification information. . Here, as the identification information (ID) of the terminal device, various information may be used as long as each terminal device can be identified.

In a preferred embodiment of the management system according to the present invention, the position information acquisition device and the management device are
It was configured as an integrated device. Note that, for example, the position information acquisition device and the management device can be configured as devices that can be detached from each other, or, for example, the position information acquisition device and the management device can be configured as separate devices from each other.

The present invention also provides a management device as described above. That is, in the management device according to the present invention, the storage unit stores the position information and the information in association with each other,
The control unit transmits information corresponding to the position information acquired by the position information acquisition device to the terminal device, and controls information output by the plurality of terminal devices. Here, the position information acquisition device, each terminal device, and the management device can be carried by the user or can be worn by the user.

Further, in the management device according to the present invention, the acquisition means acquires information corresponding to the position information acquired by the position information acquisition device from an external database storing the position information and the information in association with each other, and Transmits the acquired information to the terminal device, and controls information output by the plurality of terminal devices. Here, the position information acquisition device, each terminal device, and the management device can be carried by the user or can be worn by the user.

The present invention also provides a management method as described above. That is, in the management method according to the present invention, the management device stores the location information and the information in association with each other, transmits information corresponding to the location information acquired by the location information acquisition device to the terminal device, and Control information output by the terminal device. Here, the position information acquisition device, each terminal device, and the management device can be carried by the user or can be worn by the user.

In the management method according to the present invention, the management device acquires information corresponding to the position information acquired by the position information acquisition device from an external database that stores the position information and the information in association with each other, and acquires the information. The transmitted information is transmitted to the terminal device, and information output by the plurality of terminal devices is controlled. Here, the position information acquisition device, each terminal device, and the management device can be carried by the user or can be worn by the user.

In the management system according to the present invention, a plurality of terminal devices and a management device are configured so as to be portable or attachable to the user, and the following processing is performed by the functions of each device. That is, the plurality of terminal devices output information, and at this time, the management device controls the information output by the plurality of terminal devices.

Therefore, when a plurality of terminal devices are attached to a user or the like and information is provided to the user by the plurality of terminal devices, the output of information by the plurality of terminal devices (for example, one) is managed. The device can be controlled collectively, thereby providing, for example, a plurality of terminal devices to provide the user with controlled output information.

Next, an example of an information registration device or an information search device will be described as a preferred example of the device to which the present invention can be applied. In the information registration device, for example, registration information input by a user and information of one or more environments at the time of the input are registered in association with each other and stored in a storage unit. Specifically, the information registration device includes input means such as an input pad, a camera, and a microphone for the user to input fragmentary registration information such as a memo, a photo, and a voice comment. It has environmental information acquisition means such as a GPS, altimeter, speedometer, thermometer, hygrometer, and clock for acquiring information on the environment outside the device, such as speed, temperature, humidity, and time.

As an example, longitude, latitude, altitude, speed provided by GPS, date provided by clock, time provided by thermometer, temperature provided by thermometer, humidity provided by hygrometer, etc. It can be used as information, and is not limited to these, and is obtained by, for example, atmospheric pressure, air volume / wind direction, sound intensity / frequency, light amount / ultraviolet light amount / infrared light amount, radiation dose, or other chemical analysis methods Numerical values and the like can be used as environmental information.

Here, as a method of associating the registered information with the environment information, for example, a method of associating one-to-one or a method (environment attribute) in which information of the environment (part or all) has a certain width (environment attribute). A method of associating with the registration information, for example, identification information (representative value) of such an environmental attribute (environmental range)
A method of associating the registration information with the registration information can be used. In addition, the information registration apparatus can register not only a configuration that allows registration only when the user is in the environment, but also associates the registration information with the environment information anytime and anywhere (at any time or at any place). It can also be configured.

If the environment range at the time of registration is set smaller than the environment range required at the time of search (search environment range), for example, a slight error may occur in the value of environment information. In this case, it is possible to realize a search for registered information that matches the actual environment. Even if the user environment (the environment at the time of the search) changes, for example, According to this, it is possible to realize that the corresponding information search is performed smoothly, and it is also possible to realize, for example, that the search processing of the registered information is performed easily and at high speed.

As an example, it is preferable that the size of the minimum environment range (at the time of registration) is set to about the accuracy of the value of the environment information obtained by the environment information obtaining means. The accuracy of the GPS that is not performed is 10 m (about latitude and longitude around Japan).
(3 seconds to 0.4 seconds), so when this system is used, (about latitude and longitude around Japan) 3
It is preferable to use a position range having a size of about m (0.1 seconds) as the minimum position range. Here, “second” is “xx
× degrees △△ minutes XX. Seconds ”.

In the information search apparatus, for example, when a search instruction is input (for example, a search start command, a search key (keyword), a search range, or power on) is input, And searching for the registration information corresponding to the environment information based on the environment information in. And presenting the search result. Here, as a method of presentation, for example, a method of displaying and outputting information on a screen, a method of printing and outputting information by a printer, a method of outputting information by voice from a speaker, and the like can be used.

Further, as environment information for search, for example, information (environmental conditions) in which information of (part or all) environment has a certain width can be used. In this case, the size of the search environment range can be specified by, for example, a user, or can be set in advance, for example. In this case, information searched for each environment range included in the search environment range can be presented.

As described above, in the information registration device and the information search device, for example, the environment information and the registration information are associated one-to-one, and the registration information is searched using the environment information as a key. And registering information and searching for registration information using environment information as a key, for example, associating environment information with registration information and searching for registration information using environmental conditions as a key, The environment information and the registration information can be associated with each other, and the registration information can be searched using the environment condition as a key. Further, for example, the information registration device and the information search device can be integrated to constitute an information registration and search device.

Further, for example, a terminal device that can be carried and carried by a user (the terminal device referred to here does not necessarily correspond to the terminal device referred to in the present invention).
And a management device that manages registration information and the like (the management device referred to here does not always match the management device referred to in the present invention) is provided separately to constitute an information registration device and an information search device. It is also possible. In such a configuration, the terminal device acquires the information on the environment, associates the acquired environment information with the registration information, and transmits and registers the acquired environment information to the management device, or transmits the acquired environment information to the management device. For example, receiving and presenting registration information corresponding to the environment information returned from the management device is performed. Also,
The terminal device and the management device communicate with each other, for example, wirelessly (or may be wired).

Further, for example, one management device can collectively manage registration information corresponding to various environments, or for example, for each position, a (different) management device that stores registration information corresponding to the position. Can also be installed.

As a method of searching for information, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which information is searched (selected) on the management device side, for example, a configuration in which information is searched on the terminal device side. In addition, for example, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which information is searched in a certain range on the management device side, and more detailed information is searched from the information in the certain range on the terminal device side.

Further, for example, the management device can be composed of a management unit for managing registration information and one or a plurality of wireless communication units (for example, such as a wireless base station device) for performing wireless communication. In a simple configuration, as an example, the management unit and the wireless communication unit are installed separately from each other, the wireless communication unit wirelessly communicates information with the terminal device, and the management unit communicates the information with the wireless communication unit. It communicates by wire or wirelessly.

Further, in the terminal device, for example, the main body and the position information obtaining means (eg, GPS) can be configured as a detachable separate body, or the position information obtaining means can be attached to the main body (the terminal device). A built-in configuration can also be used. When GPS is used, it is preferable to dispose a GPS receiver above the head and shoulders of the user because GPS radio waves from satellites can be easily received by the GPS receiver.

[0059]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of a personal network server system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, the personal network server system corresponds to the management system according to the present invention, and a server device 1 described later.
Corresponds to a management device according to the present invention, a GPS receiver 2 described later corresponds to a position information acquiring device according to the present invention, and a plurality of terminal devices 3 to 7 described below correspond to a plurality of terminal devices according to the present invention. I do.

As shown in the figure, the personal network server system of the present embodiment has a GPS receiver 2 for acquiring position information based on a GPS signal, and a plurality of terminal devices for outputting information. 3-7, GPS receiver 2
And a (personal network) server device 1 that controls and controls a plurality of terminal devices 3 to 7. The server device 1 is, for example, a PDA (Personal Digital Assista
nt). Further, FIG. 1 shows a base station device B that wirelessly communicates information with the PHS terminal device 7, for example.

Specifically, the user 8 of the present example has the headphone type terminal device 3 mounted on the head, the doll type terminal device 4 mounted on the (right) shoulder, and the wristwatch type terminal. Device 5
Is mounted on the (left) arm, a pedometer (trade name) type terminal device 6 is mounted on the (right) waist, and the GPS receiver 2 is mounted on the (left) shoulder. . In addition, the user 8 in this example has a back (on the left shoulder), and P
If the HS terminal device 7 or the server device 1 is inserted and the PH
The S terminal device 7 and the server device 1 are carried by the user 8. The user 8 of the present example carries these devices 1 to 7 with the server device 1, the GPS receiver 2, and the plurality of terminal devices 3 to 7 being carried or mounted,
Move the position.

The server device 1, the GPS receiver 2, and each of the terminal devices 3 to 7 are preferably light because they are carried by the user 8 or carried by the user. In addition, since each of the terminal devices 3 to 7 is, for example, configured as a separate device and has interchangeability, the user 8 can select and combine them as desired.

For this reason, for example, when the user 8 owns many terminal devices (for example, at home),
It is possible to go out (for example, from home) by mounting or carrying an arbitrary number of arbitrary terminal devices in combination according to the preference of the day. In this way, for example, each terminal device is dispersed in the body of the user 8, and the user 8 becomes easy to move, and the functions of each terminal device (such as a function of outputting information) can be uniformly and successfully used. Becomes

In this example, wireless communication using Bluetooth is used for wireless communication between the GPS receiver 2 and the server device 1 and for wireless communication between each of the terminal devices 3 to 7 and the server device 1. Have been. Here, Bluetooth generally has a function of starting wireless communication when a transmitter and a receiver approach (for example, within a predetermined distance).

A specific example of how the server device 1 manages the terminal device when the user 8 arbitrarily selects a terminal device to be worn by the user (the user 8) will be described. That is, first, the user 8 turns on the power of the terminal device (only) to be registered in the server device 1 (for example, as an initial setting), and arranges the terminal device in a position where the terminal device can communicate with the server device 1. As an example, when registering the headphone type terminal device 3 in the server device 1, the user 8 wears the terminal device 3 on his / her head and (only a plurality of terminal devices) Turn on the power.

Next, in this state, the user 8 selects and presses the “H” (mark indicating headphones) button displayed on the setting screen of the server device 1, for example. To register the “headphone-type terminal device”, and, for example, by selecting and pressing a “search” (search instruction) button displayed in the setting screen, power is supplied to the server device 1. Instructs to search for a terminal device that is on.

Then, the server device 1 uses wireless communication to search for a terminal device that is powered on and is capable of communication. As a result, the searched terminal device 3 is referred to as a “headphone-type terminal device”. The identification information (ID) of the terminal device 3 is acquired from the terminal device 3 and the acquired identification information is registered in association with the “headphone-type terminal device”.

When such registration is performed, the server 1
Means that the terminal device 3 having the identification information associated with the “headphone-type terminal device” is a “headphone-type terminal device”.
Therefore, various controls and the like can be executed.
Also, for all terminal devices worn by the user 8,
By performing the same registration processing as described above, the identification information of all these terminal devices can be registered in the server device 1 and managed by the server device 1.

The management of each terminal device performed by the server device 1 includes, for example, a type of each terminal device (for example, a type such as a headphone type or a handyphone type).
Management, status of each terminal device (for example, power on, power off, interrupt disabled, etc.) and transmission / reception rules (for example, communication protocol) according to each terminal device
And so on.

Next, FIG. 2 shows another example of the personal network server system similar to that shown in FIG. 1 above. Specifically, the configuration of the server device S provided in the system is shown. An example, an example of display on the display screen C of the server device S, a plurality of (five in this example) terminal devices 41 to 45 (each referred to as “terminal A” to “terminal E”), (Artificial) satellites 51, 52 are shown.

In the server device S shown in FIG. 2, in addition to the server unit 15 having a server function, a GPS receiver 11, a position information acquisition unit 12, a database 13
Also, the configuration example in which the location information search device 14 is integrated has been described. For example, as shown in FIG.
May be provided separately from the server unit 15.

The server apparatus S shown in FIG.
S receiver 11, position information acquisition unit 12, database (DB) 13, location information search device 14, server unit 1
5, a wireless device 16, and an antenna 17 are provided. The GPS receiver 11 receives GPS signals from the satellites 51 and 52.
The signal is received wirelessly. The position information acquisition unit 12 uses G
The position information (of the GPS receiver 11) is obtained based on the GPS signal received by the PS receiver 11. In addition,
In this example, the GPS receiver 11 and the position information acquisition unit 12 constitute a position information acquisition device.

The database 13 stores the location information and the information (location information) in association with each other, and stores the location information and the external environment setting file in association with each other. The location information search device 14 searches the database 13 for location information corresponding to the location information acquired by the location information acquiring unit 12 and an external environment setting file corresponding to the location information. The file is output to the server unit 15.

The wireless device 16 wirelessly communicates location information, control information (for each of the terminal devices 41 to 45), etc., with each of the terminal devices 41 to 45 using the antenna 17 using, for example, Bluetooth.

The server section 15 is provided with an output judging device 24. The server unit 15 also includes an external environment setting file 21 input from the location information search device 14,
A user setting file 22 set by the user and a terminal status file 23 set based on the status of the terminal devices 41 to 45 are stored (for example, in a memory).

The output judging device 24 includes an external environment setting file 21, a user setting file 22, and a terminal status file 2.
3 based on the control information described in
Control of information output by each of the terminal devices 41 to 45 through wireless communication by the
Is output from the terminal devices 41 to 45 (all or some according to the content of the control information).

The output determination device 24 shown in FIG. 2 includes a text file (text information) 31 and a sound file (audio information, such as a WAV file) 32 input as the location information, and the location information. A rule file 33 included and input in the form of a script file is shown. Here, the rule file 33
Describes a rule for outputting the location information to which the rule file 33 is added (for example, an output mode desired by a person who provides the location information). And then output 10
Outputs audio information when seconds have elapsed. In this case, if the audio information cannot be output, the vibration information is output (when the 10 seconds have elapsed). Is described.

When such a rule file 33 is added to the location information, the location information to be processed is information controlled based on the rule file 33, as shown in FIG. The fact (for example, “wearable control content.”) Is displayed and output on screen C provided in server device S.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the setting contents of the external environment setting file 21. The external environment setting file 21 is a file set by, for example, a person who provides location information or a person who exists at a location associated with the location information (for example, a person who lives at the location).
In this example, the external environment setting file 21 has a configuration that cannot be changed by the user. In the setting contents of the external environment setting file 21 shown in the figure, “output of sound information (including voice information) is prohibited, output of text information and vibration information is permitted, and output level of vibration information is set to (for example, (Compared to a predetermined reference level) 1/2 ".

FIG. 4 shows a user setting file 22.
3 shows an example of the setting contents. Note that the user setting file 22 includes, for example, (the server device S and the terminal devices 41 to 4).
5) This file is set (customized) by the user. In the setting contents of the user setting file 22 shown in the figure, regarding the sound information, “terminal B (priority 1),
Terminal A (priority 2), terminal C (priority 3) "are output in priority order, and text information" terminal E "is output.
(Priority 1), terminal C (priority 2), terminal B (priority 3), terminal A (priority 4) ", and the vibration information is" terminal A (priority 1) ". Is set to be output with a priority of "."

FIG. 5 shows an example of the setting contents of the terminal status file 23. The terminal status file 23 is, for example, a file set based on a result of the server device S detecting the state of each of the terminal devices 41 to 45 by wireless communication. The terminal status file 23 is set, for example, by a user. It is also possible. In the setting contents of the terminal status file 23 shown in the figure, “the terminal A, the terminal B, and the terminal E are in a power-on (ON) state,
Terminal C and terminal D are in a power-off (OFF) state,
Terminals A, B and C can output sound information, terminals D and E cannot output sound information, and terminals C and E can output text information The terminal A, the terminal B, and the terminal D cannot output text information, the terminal A can output the vibration information, and the terminal B, the terminal C, the terminal D, and the terminal E transmit the vibration information. Cannot be output. "

Next, an example of the operation performed by the personal network server system of this embodiment will be described, taking the server device S and the terminal devices 41 to 45 shown in FIG. 2 as an example. It is assumed that the external environment setting file 21 is set to the contents shown in FIG. 3, the user setting file 22 is set to the contents shown in FIG. 4, and the terminal status file 23 is set to the contents shown in FIG. It is assumed that the content is set as shown.

First, the server device S is a user (user)
When the user moves, information on the position (location) of the user is acquired by the GPS receiver 11 and the location information acquisition unit 12, and an external environment setting file or information (location information) corresponding to the acquired location information is retrieved. The device 14 searches the database 13 and outputs the searched external environment setting file and location information to the server unit 15.

Here, in the server device S, for example, an external environment setting file or location information may be stored in the database 13 in advance, or as another configuration, for example, an external environment setting file stored in an external database may be stored. It is also possible to download (receive) location information and store it in its own storage means (for example, the above-described database 13).

As a specific example, for example, in the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the server device 1 acquires the position information (of the user 8) acquired by the GPS receiver 2 by wireless communication with the GPS receiver 2. Also, by communicating wirelessly with the PHS terminal device 7 and communicating with the base station device B via the PHS terminal device 7, the position information acquired from the GPS receiver 2 is transmitted to the base station device B. Send to. On the side of the base station apparatus B, a database is provided which stores the location information in association with the external environment setting file and the location information, and searches the external environment setting file and the location information corresponding to the location information received from the server apparatus 1. Then, the retrieved external environment setting file and location information are stored in the PHS terminal device 7.
Is transmitted (downloaded) to the server device 1 via the server.

As described above, the external environment setting file includes, for example, information for restricting the volume at which audio information is output and information for specifying the type of a terminal device for outputting information. Constraint information considering the situation of the user and the surrounding environment is described. The attached document such as the external environment setting file and the location information (including the rule file) described above usually has a mechanism for calling an application, but does not have an execution processing function.

Next, the server device S sets the output determination device 24
It is determined whether or not a rule file is added to the location information input from the location information search device 14, and if it is added, information indicating that control based on the rule file is performed (for example, " Is displayed on the screen C of the self (server device S). In addition, such a display should just be recognizable by a user, for example, and may be performed by (any one of) the terminal devices 41 to 45.

Next, the server device S sets the output determination device 24
With reference to the setting contents of the external environment setting file 21, the user setting file 22, the terminal status file 23, and the rule file 33 (if added to the location information), the terminal devices 41 to 41 are determined based on the referred setting contents. 45 controls the output of the location information.

In the various files described above, control information for controlling information output by the terminal devices 41 to 45 is described as described above. For example, the output order of information and the information output request Information about terminals, characteristics of each terminal device, current state of each terminal device, and the like is described. The output determination device 24 refers to the description contents of these files, for example, to determine whether or not output to the output desired terminal is possible, or to perform alternative processing of the output terminal based on the priority order. Output of information by 41 to 45 is controlled.

The above control process can be performed by registering the identification information of each of the terminal devices 41 to 45 in the server device S as described above. The terminal device 4 having each piece of identification information is described by associating the identification information (or type information, etc.) with its control method (rule) in a file.
1 to 45 can be controlled based on rules corresponding to the respective pieces of identification information. In addition, as a process of registering the terminal devices 41 to 45 in the server device S, for example, a method in which the terminal devices 41 to 45 and the server device S automatically perform a registration process as described above can be used, Alternatively, for example, a method of performing a registration process manually by a user may be used.

In the server device S, each of the terminal devices 41 to 4 according to the control information described in the various files described above.
5 and the control information for controlling each of the terminal devices 41 to 45 (all or a part of each of the terminal devices 41 to 45) via wireless communication by the wireless device 16.
Send to The terminal devices 41 to 45 (all or part of them) output the location information received from the server device S to the user in a manner based on the control information received from the server device S.

In the setting contents of the external environment setting file 21, the user setting file 22, and the terminal status file 23 of this example, for example, text information is output from the terminal E (terminal device 45) as shown in FIG. At the same time, the vibration information is output from the terminal A (terminal device 41) at a half level.

Next, another example of the information output control performed by the server device will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, as a schematic configuration example of the server device 61, a processing unit 7
1, a wireless unit 72, and an antenna 73 are shown. That is, in the server device 61, information regarding the location information to be processed is displayed and output on the screen G1. Specifically, for example, the title of the location information is displayed in the title portion 81 and the content portion 82 displays the title of the location information. The content of the location information is displayed, the keyword of the location information is displayed in the keyword section 83, and the text file (mark indicating) 8
4 and a sound file (mark indicating) 85 and a rule file (mark indicating) 86 are displayed.

When the user selects the rule file 86, the server device 61 displays the contents of the control information described in the selected rule file 86 on the screen G2. "The sound information (sound) is output in the priority order of the headphones (" H ") and the handyphone (" P ")", and the "sound information (sound) is automatically output ( Autoplay: “A”) ”and“ For text information, the screen of the handy phone display (“PD”),
"Output in the priority order of the screen (" HD ") of the head mounted display" and "Output text information () after outputting sound information ()" are displayed.

When the location information to be processed is generated, the server device 61 automatically refers to the control information such as the rule file 86 as described above, and outputs the information from the terminal device in a form based on the control information. I do. In the example shown in the figure, first, the headphone-type
Sound information (in this example, a predetermined song) is output from the terminal device 62 (process), and then text information (in this example, on the screen D of the PHS terminal device (handy phone) 63 carried by the user 64). , The title of the song
(A quiz) is displayed and output (processing).

The mode in which the information output by the terminal device is controlled by the server device is not limited to the one described above, and various modes may be used. As a specific example, in the personal network server system as shown in FIG. 1, for example, the server device 1 detects whether or not the pedometer (trade name) type terminal device 6 is operating (counting up). Then, when the operation is being performed (that is, when the user 8 is moving), the information output by the terminal devices 3 to 7 is stopped, while the operation is performed for a predetermined period (for example, several seconds). When the operation is stopped (that is, when the user 8 stops), control is performed such that information corresponding to the position information acquired by the GPS receiver 2 is output from (all or part of) the terminal devices 3 to 7. Can also be performed.

As another specific example, for example, a plurality of doll-shaped terminal devices are prepared, and such terminal devices are connected to each other (for example, by outputting voice information of a cute voice).
It is also possible to have a conversation, and it is also possible to call out the user's attention by switching the same information to a plurality of terminal devices and sequentially outputting the same information, and for example, when it is better not to block the user's vision, text It is also possible to output sound information without outputting information or image information. Further, in the personal network server system as in this example, for example, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which each terminal device acquires (directly) location information from an external database by wireless communication or the like.

As described above, in the personal network server system of the present example, when a user who owns a plurality of wearable terminal devices carries some of them, for example, carries them, the location corresponding to the position of the user is considered. Information (for example, text information, audio information, music information,
Various types of information such as photo information) are searched, and the searched information is used as the status of each terminal device, the status of the environment where the user is located, the expression intention of the information (content) creator, the desired status of the user, and the like. It can be output from the terminal device selected based on the information and presented to the user.

Here, the configuration of the management system, the position information acquisition device, the terminal device, and the management device according to the present invention are not necessarily limited to those described above, and various configurations may be used. Further, the application field of the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above-described fields, and the present invention can be applied to various fields.

The various processes performed in the management system, the position information acquisition device, the terminal device, and the management device according to the present invention include, for example, a processor stored in a ROM in a hardware resource including a processor and a memory. A configuration controlled by executing a control program may be used, and each functional unit for executing the processing may be configured as an independent hardware circuit. The present invention also provides a floppy (registered trademark) disk or a CD-ROM storing the above-mentioned control program.
It can also be grasped as a computer-readable recording medium such as a ROM or the program itself.
The processing according to the present invention can be performed by inputting the control program from the recording medium to the computer and causing the computer to execute the control program.

[0101]

As described above, according to the management system and the like according to the present invention, the position information acquisition device, the plurality of terminal devices, and the management device are configured to be portable or attachable to the user. The device acquires location information, and a plurality of terminal devices output information corresponding to the location information acquired by the location information acquiring device, and at this time, the management device controls information output by the plurality of terminal devices. Therefore, the output of information by the plurality of terminal devices can be collectively controlled by the (for example, one) management device, thereby providing, for example, the output information controlled by the plurality of terminal devices to the user. Is realized.

Further, in the management system according to the present invention, the plurality of terminal devices and the management device are configured so as to be portable by the user or attachable to the user, so that the plurality of terminal devices output information. Since the information output by the plurality of terminal devices is controlled, the output of the information by the plurality of terminal devices is (for example, one).
It is possible to perform overall control by the management device, thereby providing, for example, a plurality of terminal devices to provide integrated output information to the user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a personal network server system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation performed by a personal net server system.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of setting contents of an external environment setting file.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of setting contents of a user setting file.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of setting contents of a terminal status file.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of information output control.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 61, S. (personal network) server device,
2, 11 ··· GPS receiver, 3 to 7, 41 to 45, 6
2, 63 terminal device, 8 user, B base station device, 12 location information acquisition unit, 13 database (DB), 14 location information search device, 15 server unit, 16. Wireless device, 17, 73 ... Antenna, 21 ... External environment setting file, 22 ... User setting file, 23 ... Terminal status file, 24 ...
Output judgment device, 31, 84, text file, 3
2, 85-sound file, 33, 86-rule file, 51, 52- artificial satellite, C, D, G1,
G2 ... screen, 71 ... processing unit, 72 ... wireless unit,
81 ... title part, 82 ... content part, 83 ... keyword part,

Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. A position information acquisition device having a function of acquiring position information, a plurality of terminal devices having a function of outputting information corresponding to position information acquired by the position information acquisition device, A management device having a function of controlling information output by the terminal device, wherein the position information acquisition device, the plurality of terminal devices, and the management device are portable by a user or can be mounted on the user. . 2. The management system according to claim 1, wherein the management device acquires information corresponding to the location information acquired by the location information acquisition device from an external database that stores the location information in association with the information. Having a function of transmitting the obtained information to the terminal device, wherein the terminal device receives the information transmitted from the management device,
A management system for outputting received information. 3. The management system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device obtains information corresponding to the position information obtained by the position information obtaining device from an external database that stores the position information in association with the information. A management system having a function and outputting acquired information. 4. The management system according to claim 1, wherein the management device stores the location information and the information in association with each other,
The terminal device has a function of transmitting information corresponding to the position information acquired by the position information acquisition device to the terminal device, and the terminal device receives the information transmitted from the management device,
A management system for outputting received information. 5. The management system according to claim 1, wherein the management device is configured to control the information by the terminal device based on control information corresponding to the position information acquired by the position information acquisition device. A management system characterized by controlling the output. 6. The management system according to claim 5, wherein the control information corresponding to the position information includes information designating a mode of outputting information from the terminal device. 7. The management system according to claim 5, wherein the management device corresponds to the position information acquired by the position information acquisition device from an external database that stores the position information and the control information in association with each other. A management system having a function of acquiring obtained control information, and controlling information output by a terminal device based on the acquired control information. 8. The management system according to claim 1, wherein the management device controls information output by the terminal device based on control information set by a user. Management system. 9. The management system according to claim 8, wherein the control information set by the user includes information designating a terminal device that outputs information for each information output mode. system. 10. The management system according to claim 1, wherein the management device has a function of detecting a state of each terminal device,
A management system for controlling information output by a terminal device based on a detected state of each terminal device. 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein
In the management system described in the paragraph, the plurality of terminal devices can be arbitrarily selected by the user, the management device has a function of registering identification information of the terminal device selected by the user, A management system for controlling information output by a terminal device corresponding to identification information. 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein
The management system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the position information acquisition device and the management device are integrated devices. 13. A plurality of terminal devices having a function of outputting information, and a management device having a function of controlling information output by the plurality of terminal devices, wherein the plurality of terminal devices and the management device are operated by a user. A management system characterized by being portable or attachable to a user. 14. A storage means for storing position information and information in association with each other, and information corresponding to position information acquired by a position information acquisition device portable by the user or attachable to the user. Control means for transmitting to a terminal device that can be worn by the user and controlling information output by the plurality of terminal devices, the management device being portable by the user or wearable by the user. . 15. An acquisition unit for acquiring information corresponding to position information acquired by a position information acquisition device that is portable or attachable to a user from an external database that stores position information and information in association with each other. Control means for transmitting the obtained information to a terminal device which can be carried or worn by the user, and controlling information output by the plurality of terminal devices, comprising: A management device characterized by being possible. 16. A position management device that is portable by a user or wearable by a user stores positional information and information in association with each other, and a position acquired by a position information acquisition device that is portable by the user or wearable by the user. A management method, characterized by transmitting information corresponding to information to a terminal device that can be carried or worn by a user, and controlling information output by a plurality of terminal devices. 17. A management device portable by a user or wearable by a user, obtained from an external database storing location information and information in association with each other by a position information acquisition device portable by the user or wearable by the user. Acquiring information corresponding to the position information to be transmitted, transmitting the acquired information to a terminal device that can be carried or worn by the user, and controlling information output by a plurality of terminal devices. How to manage.