JP2002183326A - Information distribution method, communication system and server device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information distribution method, a communication system and a server device enabling a user to request various kinds of information acquirable in a place apart from the position of the user, to another user existing in the place. SOLUTION: This communication system including a plurality of terminals and this server device communicable between each terminal through a network is used in this information distribution method. Specifically, while a requester's terminal transmits an information transmission request including position information on a request object, the server device transmits the information transmission request received from the terminal. In this case, a transmission address for the information transmission request is selected in the server device, so that the information transmission request is transmitted to a terminal corresponding to the content of the position information in the information transmission request.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information distribution method, a communication system, and a server device capable of distributing information among a plurality of terminals.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, it is considered that there is a great demand for knowing the current situation of a remote place by means of video and audio. For example, there is a request to check the weather and the state of the travel destination or the state of traffic congestion, etc. before departing on a trip, a request to view the current scenery of a sightseeing spot visited in the past, and the like. . Under the conventional technology, as means for satisfying such a request, listening to a broadcast on a television or a radio, browsing a homepage on the Internet, and the like are conceivable.

[0003]

However, since the information that can be obtained by these media is predetermined, it has not been possible to individually obtain the information desired by each individual. For example, even if a person who plans to travel to Kinkaku-ji wants to view the current Kinkaku-ji image, it cannot be viewed on TV or the like unless it is being broadcast at that time. It is hard to imagine being able to browse the current video of Kinkakuji on the homepage in a timely manner. in this way,
Although there is a strong demand for acquiring the current situation of a remote place, there has been no proposal of a technology capable of effectively responding to such a demand.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and provides an information distribution method by which a user can obtain various kinds of information on an arbitrary place such as a remote place.
It is an object to provide a communication system and a server device.

[0005]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system including a plurality of terminals and a server device capable of communicating with each of the terminals via a network. An information distribution method using a first step in which one of the terminals transmits an information transmission request including position information on a request target, and a step in which the server device transmits an information transmission request received from the terminal. In the second step, the transmission destination of the information transmission request is such that the information transmission request is transmitted to a terminal corresponding to the content of the position information in the information transmission request. It is characterized by being selected. Further, the present invention is a communication system including a plurality of terminals and a server device capable of communicating with each of the terminals via a network, wherein each of the terminals transmits an information transmission request including position information regarding a request target. Transmitting means for transmitting, the server device is a means for receiving an information transmission request transmitted from any terminal,
Transmission destination selection means for selecting a transmission destination of the information transmission request so that the information transmission request is transmitted to a terminal corresponding to the position information in the received information transmission request, and a received information transmission request And transmitting means for transmitting to the destination selected by the destination selecting means. Further, the present invention is a server device capable of communicating with each of a plurality of terminals via a network, and receiving an information transmission request including position information on a request target from any of the terminals. Means for selecting a transmission destination of the information transmission request so that the information transmission request is transmitted to a terminal corresponding to the position information in the received information transmission request; Transmitting means for transmitting the information transmission request to the transmission destination selected by the transmission destination selecting means.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Such an embodiment shows one aspect of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention, and can be arbitrarily changed within the scope of the present invention.

<A: Configuration of Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a communication system to which the information distribution method according to the present invention can be applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system includes a plurality of terminals 1, 1,..., A network 2 including a mobile communication network and the Internet, and the like.
And an information distribution server 3 capable of communicating with the network via the network 2.

[0008] Under such a configuration, the user of each terminal 1 (hereinafter, referred to as “requester”) who desires information such as images and sounds (hereinafter, referred to as “request target”) is required to transmit information about the request target. The specified information transmission request Ureq can be transmitted to the network 2 using the terminal 1. Here, the information transmission request Ureq includes position information loc for specifying a position related to the request target. On the other hand, the information distribution server 3 receives the information transmission request Ureq transmitted from the terminal 1 of the requester, and, for the terminal 1 existing near the position indicated by the position information loc included in the information transmission request Ureq,
The information transmission request Ureq is transmitted. For example, a requester who wants a video of Kinkaku-ji Temple can use "Kinkaku-ji Temple"
Is transmitted, or an information transmission request Ureq in which the position of Kinkaku-ji is specified by latitude and longitude. As a result, the information transmission request Ureq is transmitted to the terminal 1 existing near Kinkakuji. on the other hand,
The user of the terminal 1 (hereinafter, referred to as “responder”) that has received the information transmission request Ureq captures, for example, an image to be requested using a digital camera or the like, and data representing the image (hereinafter, “requested object”). Is transmitted to the requesting terminal 1 using the terminal 1. As a result, a place where desired images and sounds can be obtained (hereinafter referred to as “local”)
The requester located at a location remote from the user can request the desired information from the user located at the site. Hereinafter, the configuration of each unit for realizing such a function will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] Each terminal 1 actually has a function of transmitting an information transmission request Ureq to the information distribution server 3 and receives an information transmission request Ureq transmitted from another terminal 1.
It also has a function of transmitting information according to the request to the terminal 1 that has made the request. In other words, the user of the terminal 1 can be a requester or a responder. However,
Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the terminal 1 that transmits the information transmission request Ureq (that is, the terminal 1 used by the requester) is referred to as “requesting terminal 1”, while the terminal 1 that transmits information according to the request (that is, The terminal 1) used by the responder is referred to as “response terminal 1”. However, if there is no need to particularly distinguish the requesting terminal 1 and the responding terminal 1, they are simply referred to as terminals 1.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of each terminal 1. In the present embodiment, as the terminal 1,
A wireless communication terminal capable of wireless communication with the network 2 is used. That is, each terminal 1 is, for example, a mobile phone,
A portable communication terminal such as a PHS (Personal Handyphone System: registered trademark) or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or a notebook computer capable of performing data communication via the network 2 while being connected to a portable telephone or the like It is. As shown in FIG.
Is a control unit 11, a communication unit 12, an operation unit 13, and a display unit 1.
4, a speaker 15 and an interface 16, and a bus 17 for connecting these components. In the case where the terminal 1 takes a form of a mobile phone or the like and a notebook computer connected thereto (for example,
The functions of the terminal 1) and the communication unit 12 illustrated on the right end in FIG. 1 are performed by a mobile phone or the like, while the functions of the other units are performed by a notebook computer.

The control unit 11 controls other units by executing a program stored in a storage device (not shown), and functions as a control center of the terminal 1. Communication unit 12
Is means for performing communication with the information distribution server 3 via the network 2. Specifically, the communication unit 12
Is provided with an antenna 12a, transmits a radio signal obtained by modulating a carrier with a digital signal supplied from the control unit 11, to the network 2 via the antenna 12a, and transmits a radio signal transmitted from the network 2. Via the antenna 12a, and outputs a digital signal obtained by demodulating the received signal to the control unit 11.

The operation unit 13 has a plurality of keys for the user to input desired characters, numbers, and the like, and a signal corresponding to the pressed key is output to the control unit 11. . By appropriately pressing these keys, the user can input and transmit the information transmission request Ureq. Here, the contents of the information transmission request Ureq input by the requesting user will be described.

The information transmission request Ureq in the present embodiment is:
User identifier ID, location information loc, media information med, description
Includes dsc and reward rwd. Here, the user identifier ID is
The information is assigned to each user by performing user registration before receiving the service by the information distribution server 3, and is information for identifying each user. The position information loc is information that specifies a position where there is a high possibility that a request target (for example, a video or audio in a remote place) can be acquired. In the present embodiment, as described above, for example, the information transmission request Ureq is transmitted to the terminal 1 existing near the position indicated by the position information loc. It should be noted that the user can use this location information
The loc can be specified by a place name, a facility name, or the like, or can be specified by a latitude and a longitude.
For example, a user who wants a video of Kinkaku-ji Temple can use location information lo
The character “Kinkakuji” may be input as c, or the latitude and longitude where Kinkakuji is located may be input.

The media information med is information indicating the mode (media) of the desired information. For example, it is possible to designate still images, moving images, and sounds, as well as image quality and sound quality. The description dsc represents a description about desired information of the user who is the requester. The reward rwd represents the amount of reward paid by the requester to the person who transmitted the request target data in response to the request. The contents of the information transmission request Ureq are as described above. For example, if the information transmission request Ureq input by the user who wants the still image of Kinkakuji is schematically represented as [I
D, Kinkakuji, video, "Please show me the current video of Kinkakuji," 100 (reward). The above is the contents of the information transmission request Ureq in the present embodiment. In addition, the user, among these items, the user identifier ID
Information other than the location information loc may be input as needed.

The display unit 14 has a display device such as a liquid crystal panel, and displays characters and images according to the information supplied from the control unit 11. For example, if the information transmission request Ureq input by the user or the request target transmitted from the responding terminal 1 is an image, the image or the like is displayed. On the other hand, the speaker 15 is used as a means for outputting the sound when the request target transmitted from the responding terminal 1 is a sound.

The interface 16 is means for connecting the terminal 1 to an external device (for example, a digital camera or a microphone). For example, when the requester requests an image, the responder captures the image requested by a digital camera or the like. In this case, the digital camera and the response terminal 1 communicate with each other via the interface 16. The request target data representing the captured video is connected to the responding terminal 1 via the interface 16.
And so on, and so on. On the other hand, the requesting terminal 1 outputs the image data provided by the responder to a personal computer or the like connected via the interface 16 and performs some processing on the image using the personal computer. It is also possible.

Note that the terminal 1 may have a function of performing voice communication with another terminal 1 via the network 2. In this case, the terminal 1 is provided with a microphone, and an audio signal input from the microphone is transmitted to the network 2 via the communication unit 12, while an audio signal corresponding to the wireless signal received by the communication unit 12 is output. The signal is output from the speaker 15.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, the information distribution server 3
Will be described. As shown in the figure, the information distribution server 3 includes a control unit 31, a communication unit 32, a user registration database (denoted as "user registration DB" 33) in the figure, a reward management unit 34, and a request management unit 34. It includes a transmission destination selection unit 35 and a bus 36 for interconnecting these units.

The control unit 31 controls other units by executing a program stored in a storage device (not shown), and functions as a control center of the information distribution server 3. The communication unit 32 is connected to the network 2,
While the data received via the network 2 is output to the control unit 31, the data supplied from the control unit 31 is transmitted to the network 2.

The user registration database 33 stores, for each user who has performed user registration to receive the service provided by the information distribution server 3, a name and a telephone number of the user and a user identifier ID assigned to the user. And the credit of the user are stored in association with each other. Here, the credit is virtual money valid only for the service provided by the information distribution server 3. For example, when the requester who received the request target data from the responder paid a predetermined reward to the responder, the credit corresponding to the requester in the user registration database 33 is reduced by the reward. . On the other hand, when the responder who provided the request target data to the requester receives a reward from the requester, the credit corresponding to the responder in the user registration database 33 is:
For example, it increases by the reward. The reward management unit 34 has a role of appropriately updating the credit value for each user stored in the user registration database 33.

Next, the request transmission destination selection unit 35 is a means for selecting a transmission destination of the information transmission request Ureq received from the requesting terminal 1. More specifically, the request transmission destination selection unit 35 transmits the requesting terminal 1 such that the information transmission request Ureq is transmitted to the terminal 1 near the position indicated by the position information loc in the information transmission request Ureq. The transmission destination of the information transmission request Ureq received from is selected, and the information transmission request Ureq is transmitted to the selected destination. The request destination selection unit 3
The specific operation (e.g., the method of selecting the transmission destination of the information transmission request Ureq) of No. 5 will be described in detail in the following operation description.

<B: Operation of Embodiment> Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence chart shown in FIG. First, a predetermined operation is performed on the operation unit 13 of the requesting terminal 1A by the requester, and the information transmission request Ureq described above is performed.
Input and transmission instructions, the requesting terminal 1
The control unit 11 in A transmits the input information transmission request Ureq to the information distribution server 3 via the communication unit 12 (Step S1).

The information distribution server 3 transmits the requesting terminal 1A
Is transmitted to the terminal 1 corresponding to the location information loc so that the information transmission request Ureq received from the
The destination of Ureq is selected (step S2), and the information transmission request Ureq is transmitted to the selected destination (steps S3 and S4). The details are as follows.

First, the control unit 31 in the information distribution server 3
When the information transmission request Ureq transmitted from the requesting terminal 1 is received via the network 2 and the communication unit 32, the information transmission request Ureq is output to the request transmission destination selection unit 35. On the other hand, the request transmission destination selection unit 35 selects the transmission destination of the information transmission request Ureq based on the position information loc in the received information transmission request Ureq, and transmits the information transmission request Ureq to the selected destination. I do. In particular,
By executing the following operations (1) to (3), the destination of the information transmission request Ureq is selected and transmitted.

(1) The request transmission destination selection unit 35 selects a radio base station installed near the position indicated by the position information loc in the received information transmission request Ureq, and transmits the selected radio base station to the selected radio base station. The information transmission request Ureq is transmitted. When the location information loc is specified by a place name or a facility name (for example, when “Kinkakuji” is specified), the request destination selection unit 35 outputs the map information (a plurality of map information) stored in a storage device (not shown). By referring to a place name and a latitude / longitude correspondence table), the latitude / longitude corresponding to the place name or facility name is detected, and a radio base station is selected based on the latitude / longitude.

On the other hand, the radio base station broadcasts the information transmission request Ureq received from the information distribution server 3 to the terminal 1 located in the radio zone formed by the radio base station. That is, for example, the information transmission request Ureq is transmitted to the unspecified terminal 1 located in the wireless zone via the wireless channel allocated for the information transmission request Ureq broadcasting. As a result, the information transmission request Ureq is transmitted to a terminal near the position indicated by the position information loc in the information transmission request Ureq.

(2) When the location information loc in the received information transmission request Ureq is specified by longitude and latitude, the request transmission destination selection unit 35 transmits the location information loc to the communication unit 3.
2 and to the directory server via the network 2. When the location information loc in the received information transmission request Ureq is specified by a place name, a facility name, or the like, the place name or the like is converted to the latitude / longitude by referring to the map information, similarly to the above (1). After conversion, the latitude and longitude are transmitted to the directory server as position information loc. This directory server has an HLR (Home Location Re
sister), the telephone number of each terminal 1 and the terminal 1
Is stored in association with the current position. Then, when the position information loc is received from the information distribution server 3,
The directory server searches for the terminal 1 existing near the position indicated by the position information loc, and transmits the telephone number of the terminal 1 to the information distribution server 3.

When the directory server notifies the telephone number of the terminal 1 in this way, the request transmission destination selection unit 35 in the information distribution server 3 transmits the information transmission request Ureq previously received from the control unit 31 to the notified telephone. The message is transmitted to the terminal 1 specified by the number. As a result, the information transmission request Ureq
The information transmission request Ureq will be transmitted to the terminal 1 existing near the position indicated by the position information loc.

(3) The network 2 is connected to a chat server that manages a chat (character call) between a plurality of terminals 1 participating in the community. For example, it is an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) type server. More specifically, when the chat server receives a message from any one of the terminals 1 participating in a certain community (group), the chat server transmits the message to the other terminals 1 participating in the community. is there. As a result, a plurality of terminals participating in the community can chat with each other via the chat server. In this chat server,
The community name, chat topics in the community, and the like are stored.

Request destination selection unit 3 in information distribution server 3
5 requests such a chat server for the name of the registered community, the topic of the chat in the community, and the like. On the other hand, in response to this request, the chat server transmits the name of the community registered in the chat server, the topic of the chat in the community, and the like to the information distribution server 3.
When the information is received via the communication unit 32, the request transmission destination selection unit 35 in the information distribution server 3 determines the position in the information transmission request Ureq received from the control unit 31 in the community notified from the chat server. Select the community associated with the information loc. Specifically, when the location information loc is specified by a place name or a facility name, the request destination selection unit 35 selects a community that includes the place name or the facility name as a community name or a chat topic. When the position information loc is specified by latitude / longitude, referring to the map information in the same manner as in (1) and (2) above, the latitude / longitude is converted into a place name or facility name, and the place name or the facility name is converted. Select a community that includes the facility name as a community name or chat topic. Further, the request destination selection unit 35
By specifying the selected community, the information transmission request Ur
Send eq to the chat server.

On the other hand, the chat server transmits the information transmission request Ur received from the information distribution server 3 via the network 2.
eq is transmitted to a plurality of terminals 1 participating in the designated community. As a result, the terminal 1 corresponding to the content of the location information loc in the information transmission request Ureq, that is, for example, the terminal 1 of a user who is interested in the content designated as the location information loc, via the chat server, Ureq will be sent.

As described above, the request transmission destination selection unit 35 in the present embodiment executes the above-described processes (1) to (3), whereby the terminal according to the content of the position information loc in the information transmission request Ureq is determined. So that the information transmission request Ureq is transmitted, the transmission destination of the information transmission request Ureq is selected,
The information transmission request Ureq is transmitted to the selected destination. FIG. 4 illustrates a case where the information transmission request Ureq from the requesting terminal 1A is transmitted to the responding terminals 1B and 1C (steps S3 and S4). Here, in FIG. 4, for convenience, the information distribution server 3 is illustrated as directly transmitting the information transmission request Ureq to the terminal 1, but in reality, the above (1) to (1) As described in 3), the information transmission request Ureq may be transmitted from the information distribution server 3 to each terminal 1 via a wireless base station or a chat server.

The control unit 11 in the responding terminals 1B and 1C that has received the information transmission request Ureq in this way controls the display unit 14 to display the contents of the information transmission request Ureq. As a result, the users (responders) of the responding terminals 1B and 1C can grasp the existence of the requester, the contents of the information requested by the requester, and the like.

The responder refers to the content of the information displayed in this way, that is, the location loc, the media information med, the description dsc, and the reward rwd, and determines whether or not he / she can respond to this request, or responds to the request. It is determined whether or not it is OK. As a result, the responder who has determined that the responder responds to the request performs a predetermined operation on the operation unit 13 of the responding terminal 1 to obtain a user identifier ID of the responder and a description rsp of information that he or she can provide. , And a response message containing the reward rwd 'you want. Further, when an instruction to transmit the input response message is given, the control unit 11 in the response terminal 1 transmits the input response message to the information distribution server 3 by the communication unit 12 (step). S5 and S6). And thereafter, the information transmission request
Negotiation between the user of the requesting terminal A that transmitted the Ureq and the user of the provider terminal B1 or B2 that transmitted the response message (for example, the content of the information to be transacted and the responder). Negotiation regarding the reward paid for the job is executed (steps S7 and S8).

In the present embodiment, when response messages are transmitted from a plurality of response terminals 1 among the response terminals 1 that have received the information transmission request Ureq, the response messages are transmitted in the order in which the response messages were transmitted. Negotiation with the requesting terminal 1 is performed. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 4, after the information transmission request Ureq is transmitted to the response terminals 1B and 1C, first, a response message is transmitted from the response terminal 1C, and thereafter, the response terminal 1B transmits the response message. It is assumed that a response message has been transmitted. In this case, the response-side terminal 1C that has transmitted the response message first
And the requesting terminal 1A negotiate (step S
7). Then, when the negotiation between the responding terminal 1C and the requesting terminal 1A is not completed, the negotiation is next performed between the responding terminal 1B and the requesting terminal 1A (step). S8).

Here, in the present embodiment, a text call (chat) is negotiated between the responding terminal 1B or 1C and the requesting terminal 1A.
That is, taking as an example a procedure of negotiation between the responding terminal 1C and the requesting terminal 1A, first, the responding terminal 1C
Is transmitted to the requesting terminal 1A via the information distribution server 3, and the content is displayed on the display unit 14 of the requesting terminal 1A. Next, the requesting terminal 1A
The user (requester) transmits a message to be notified to the user of the responding terminal 1C to the information distribution server 3 with reference to the display contents. The information distribution server 3 transmits the message received from the requesting terminal 1A to the responding terminal 1C. Thereafter, a similar procedure is performed between the responding terminal 1C and the requesting terminal 1A, and negotiations on information transactions are performed. Here, the message transmitted from the responding terminal 1C includes the user identifier IDa of the requesting terminal 1A that is the negotiation partner, while the requesting terminal 1C
The message transmitted from A includes the user identifier IDc of the responding terminal 1C. And the information distribution server 3
Transmits the received message to the terminal 1 specified by the user identifier ID included in the message. As a result, since the user of each terminal 1 cannot know the personal information such as the telephone number of the negotiation partner, the privacy of the user participating in the negotiation is not hindered. If the negotiation between the responding terminal 1C and the requesting terminal 1A is unsuccessful, the negotiation is subsequently performed between the responding terminal 1B and the requesting terminal 1A. Is realized by the following procedure.

Next, as a result of the negotiation, if the responder and the requester have reached an agreement on the contents of the information to be traded or the remuneration, etc., the requester operates the operation unit 13 of the requesting terminal 1A.
By performing a predetermined operation on the agreement information [requesting user identifier IDa, provider user identifier IDb, location information loc, media information me]
d, description dsc, reward rwd] to the information distribution server 3 (step S9). Here, the media information med, the reward rwd, and the like in the agreement information are the contents that have reached an agreement with the responder as a result of the negotiation.

On the other hand, the control unit 31 in the information distribution server 3 that has received the agreement information stores the agreement information in a storage device (not shown), and stores the user identifier IDa and the user identifier IDa of the requesting terminal 1A included in the agreement information. The reward rwd is notified to the reward management unit 34. The reward management unit 34 stores the notified user identifier IDa in the user registration database 33.
And updates the value of the credit associated with the user identifier IDa to a value obtained by subtracting the reward rwd from the credit (step S10).

On the other hand, the control unit 31 in the information distribution server 3
Is the responding terminal 1 that has reached an agreement with the requesting terminal 1A.
B (identified by IDb in the agreement information)
Notify that requested information should be transmitted (step S
11).

The control unit 11 in the responding terminal 1B that has received the notification causes the display unit 14 to display that information should be transmitted. The responder who sees this display performs an operation for transmitting the requested information to the requesting terminal 1A. Specifically, for example, when the request target is a video,
The responder captures the requested video using a digital camera or the like, connects the responding terminal 1B to a digital camera or the like, and transfers video data representing the captured video to the responding terminal 1B. Similarly, when the requested voice is a voice, the respondent collects the requested voice using a microphone or the like and transfers voice data representing the voice to the response terminal 1B. On the other hand, the responding terminal 1B
The control unit 11 transmits the received request target data (video data or audio data, etc.) to the information distribution server 3 via the communication unit 12 (step S1).
2). The request target data is relayed by the information distribution server 3 and received by the requesting terminal 1A. Thus, the requesting terminal 1A can obtain the requested data to be requested.

On the other hand, the control unit 31 in the information distribution server 3
Relays the request target data from the responding terminal 1B in step S12, makes an inquiry about the contents of the data to the requesting terminal 1A (step S1).
3). Here, the user of the requesting terminal 1A examines the contents of the video and audio obtained from the responding terminal 1B, and when accepting the transaction, performs a predetermined operation on the operation unit 13 and performs a predetermined operation on the information distribution server. 3 is notified that the transaction is accepted (step S14). Upon receiving this consent notice, the control unit 31 in the information distribution server 3 proceeds to step S9
And outputs the user identifier IDb of the responding terminal 1B and the reward rwd in the agreement information received to the reward management unit 34. The reward management unit 34 searches the received user identifier IDb from the user registration database 33, and updates the value of the credit associated with the user identifier IDb to a value obtained by adding the reward rwd to the credit (step S).
15). When this process is completed, the control unit 31 in the information distribution server 3 notifies the responding terminal 1B that the transaction has been completed (step S16).

After the inquiry in step S13, if the user of the requesting terminal 1A does not accept the negotiation (for example, if the information received from the responding terminal 1B does not respond to the request of the user, etc.) In response to a predetermined operation performed by the user, a notification that the negotiation is not accepted is transmitted from the requesting terminal 1A to the information distribution server 3. In this case, the process returns to step S8, and the negotiation between the requesting terminal 1A and the responding terminal 1B is restarted. If the requesting terminal 1A has not negotiated with all the responding terminals 1 that have transmitted the response message, the requesting terminal 1A cannot acquire the requested information.

As described above, the information transmission request Ureq in the present embodiment includes the position information loc relating to the request target, and the information transmission request Ureq transmitted from the requesting terminal.
Ureq is transmitted to the terminal 1 according to the content of the position information loc. Therefore, the requester can receive desired information that can be obtained at a location remote from the current position of the requester from another user or the like located at the remote location.

As described above, the exchange of information between the requesting terminal 1 and the responding terminal 1 is performed by using the user identifier ID via the information distribution server 3, so that the requester Alternatively, there is an advantage that the personal information such as the telephone number of the responder is not known to the other party, and privacy of both parties is not impaired.

<C: Modifications> One embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the above embodiment is merely an example, and various modifications may be made to the above embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Can be added. For example, the following modifications can be considered.

(1) In the above embodiment, when there are a plurality of responding terminals 1 that have transmitted a response message to the information transmission request Ureq, the order in which the response messages were transmitted (in the example shown in FIG. Although the negotiation with the requesting terminal 1 is performed in the order of the terminal 1C and the responding terminal 1B), the following may be performed. In the following, only parts different from the above embodiment will be described.

[A. First Mode] FIG. 5 is a sequence chart illustrating one mode of operation according to this modification. As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, after the information distribution server 3 transmits an information transmission request Ureq to each responding terminal 1, a response message transmitted from each responding terminal 1 in response thereto Is to be held. Then, when a certain time has elapsed after the transmission of the information transmission request Ureq, all of the response messages received so far are transmitted to the requesting terminal 1 (step S20).

On the other hand, the requester can arbitrarily select which responder to negotiate by referring to the contents of the response message thus notified. When any responder is selected in this way, the user identifier ID of the responding terminal 1 is transmitted to the information distribution server 3 (steps S21 and S22), and thereafter, the requesting terminal 1 and the requesting terminal Negotiation is performed via the information distribution server 3 with the responding terminal 1 specified by the user identifier ID transmitted from the server 1. In FIG. 5, the result of the selection of the responding terminal 1C by the requester (step S21),
This illustrates a case where negotiation is performed between the requesting terminal 1A and the responding terminal 1C. Further, when this negotiation is not completed, the user of the requesting terminal 1A can further select any one of the response messages notified from the information distribution server 3 in step S20. FIG. 5 illustrates a case where the requester further selects the responding terminal 1B after the negotiation with the user of the responding terminal 1C has failed. In this case, the information distribution server 3 is connected between the requesting terminal 1A and the responding terminal 1B.
Are negotiated via, and when the negotiation is established, the processing after step S9 shown in the above embodiment is performed.

[B. [Second Aspect] In this aspect, a responding terminal that has transmitted a response message to an information transmission request can sequentially participate in negotiations. Hereinafter, a specific example of the operation in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In the example shown in FIG. 6, first, a response message to the information transmission request Ureq is transmitted from the response terminal 1C. In this case, negotiation is performed between the requesting terminal 1A and the responding terminal 1C via the information distribution server 3 (step S30). Subsequently, upon receiving a response message from the responding terminal 1B (step S6), the information distribution server 3 transmits the response message to both the requesting terminal 1A and the responding terminal 1C that are currently negotiating. Thereafter, the requesting terminal 1A, the responding terminals 1B and 1
Negotiation is performed between each of C (step S31). Specifically, when the information distribution server 3 receives a message from any of the terminals 1, the information distribution server 3 transfers the received message to the terminals 1 other than the terminal 1 participating in the negotiation. For example, a message transmitted from the responding terminal 1C is transmitted to both the requesting terminal 1A and the responding terminal 1B. As a result of the negotiation between the responding terminal 1 that has transmitted the response message and the requesting terminal 1, if the negotiation is established between the requesting terminal 1A and any one of the responding terminals 1, the request is made. Side terminal 1A
Notifies the information distribution server 3 of the agreement information (step S9). In FIG. 6, the requesting terminal 1A
A case is shown in which an agreement is established between the communication terminal 1C and the responding terminal 1C. Since the subsequent operation is the same as in the above embodiment,
Description is omitted.

(2) In the above embodiment and the first modification, the requesting terminal and the responding terminal to be negotiated negotiate by text communication (chat).
The mode of the negotiation is not limited to this. For example, the negotiation by voice communication may be performed between the requesting terminal and the responding terminal.

(3) In the above embodiment, the directory server in the network 2 stores the telephone number of each terminal and the current position of the terminal 1 in association with each other. Is also good. That is, the directory server holds not only the current position of each terminal 1 but also information that can be provided by the user of the terminal 1. For example, the telephone number of each terminal, the current position of the terminal 1, information on information that can be provided by the user of the terminal 1 (for example, media that can be provided (different of video and audio), information on information that can be provided) A description and a reward desired for providing the information) may be stored in association with each other. Then, the request destination selection unit 35 in the information distribution server 3 refers to the information for each terminal held in the directory server, and
The transmission destination of the information transmission request Ureq received from may be determined. In the above embodiment, the position information lo
Since the destination of the information transmission request Ureq is selected based only on c, the position information loc in the information transmission request Ureq is determined.
If the terminal is in the vicinity of the position indicated by, the information transmission request Ureq is transmitted to the terminal 1 that cannot provide the request target.
Is transmitted. On the other hand, according to the present modification, information that can be provided by each terminal 1 is stored in advance,
Since the transmission destination of the information transmission request Ureq is determined based on this information, there is an advantage that the information transmission request Ureq is transmitted only to the terminal 1 that can respond to the request.

(4) In the above embodiment, virtual credits that are effective only when the service is received by the information distribution server 3 are used. However, the present invention is not limited to this. May be transmitted and received. Further, in the above embodiment, the amount of the reward is determined according to the negotiation between the requesting terminal and the responding terminal. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It may be determined uniformly. For example, the reward amount for a video transaction is “50
The reward amount may be determined in advance, such as "0", the reward for the audio transaction is "200", and the reward amount for the video transaction is "10 per second".

(5) In the information distribution method according to the present invention, since the information transmission request Ureq is transmitted to a user who is likely to be able to acquire the requested information, Although a particularly remarkable effect is obtained when a portable terminal is used as the responding terminal, the responding terminal may be a desktop personal computer or the like. Similarly, the application of the present invention is not limited to the case where the requesting terminal is a portable terminal, and the requesting terminal may be a desktop personal computer or the like.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the information transmission request from the requester's terminal including the position information regarding the request target is to be transmitted to the terminal corresponding to the content of the position information, the requester is, for example, the requester Can request information that can be obtained at the remote location from a user located at a position distant from the current position.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a communication system to which an information distribution method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information distribution server according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a sequence chart illustrating an operation in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sequence chart illustrating an operation in a modified example of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sequence chart illustrating an operation in a modified example of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Terminal, 2 ... Network, 3 ... Information distribution server, 11 ... Control part, 12 ... Communication part, 12a ... Antenna, 13 ... Operation part, 14 ... Display part, 15 ... Speaker , 16 ... interface, 31 ... control unit, 32
... Communication unit, 33 ... User registration database, 34 ...
... Reward management unit, 35 ... Request destination selection unit.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (72) Inventor Seita Otsuji 2-1-1-1, Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Inside NTT DoCoMo, Inc. (72) Inventor Toshiaki Sugimura 2-chome, Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 11-1 Inside NTT DoCoMo, Inc.

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. An information distribution method using a communication system including a plurality of terminals and a server device capable of communicating with each of the terminals via a network, wherein any one of the terminals A first step of transmitting an information transmission request including location information relating to the terminal apparatus; and a second step of transmitting an information transmission request received from the terminal by the server device. In the second step, the information transmission An information distribution method, wherein a transmission destination of the information transmission request is selected so that the information transmission request is transmitted to a terminal corresponding to the requested location information. 2. The transmission destination of the information transmission request so that the information transmission request is transmitted to a terminal existing near a position indicated by the position information in the information transmission request in the second step. Is selected.
Information distribution method described in. 3. Each of the plurality of terminals is a portable communication terminal capable of wireless communication with a wireless base station, and in the second step, the position of the position indicated by the position information in the information transmission request is An information transmission request is transmitted to a nearby wireless base station, and the wireless base station receiving the information transmission request from the server device,
The information distribution method according to claim 2, wherein the information transmission request is transmitted to a terminal located in a wireless zone formed by the wireless base station. 4. In the second step, the server device is located near the position indicated by the position information in the received information transmission request based on the storage contents of the position storage device storing the position of each terminal. 4. The information distribution method according to claim 1, wherein one or more terminals to be selected are selected, and the information transmission request is transmitted to the selected terminals. 5. In the second step, the information transmission request is transmitted to one or more terminals participating in a community corresponding to the content of the location information in the received information transmission request. 5. The information distribution method according to claim 1, wherein a transmission destination of the information transmission request is selected. 6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a third step in which the terminal that has received the information transmission request provides information corresponding to the request to the terminal that has transmitted the information transmission request. The information distribution method according to any of the above. 7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, prior to the third step, a step in which the terminal transmitting the information transmission request and the terminal receiving the information transmission request perform negotiation via the server device. The information distribution method according to claim 6. 8. A communication system comprising: a plurality of terminals; and a server device capable of communicating with each of the terminals via a network, wherein each of the terminals transmits an information transmission request including position information on a request target. Transmitting means for transmitting an information transmission request transmitted from any of the terminals; and transmitting the information to a terminal corresponding to the position information in the received information transmission request. Transmission destination selection means for selecting a transmission destination of the information transmission request so that the transmission request is transmitted; and transmission means for transmitting the received information transmission request to the transmission destination selected by the transmission destination selection means. A communication system comprising: 9. A server device capable of communicating with each of a plurality of terminals via a network, the receiving unit receiving an information transmission request including position information on a request target from any one of the terminals. And transmission destination selection means for selecting a transmission destination of the information transmission request so that the information transmission request is transmitted to a terminal corresponding to the position information in the information transmission request received by the reception means, A transmission unit for transmitting the received information transmission request to the destination selected by the destination selection unit. 10. The transmission destination selection unit transmits the information transmission request to a terminal existing near a position indicated by the position information in the information transmission request. 10. The server device according to claim 9, wherein the server device is selected. 11. Each of the plurality of terminals is a terminal capable of wireless communication with a wireless base station, and the transmission destination selection means of the server device is configured to determine a position indicated by the position information in the information transmission request. 11. The server device according to claim 10, wherein a wireless base station existing near the server is selected as a transmission destination of the information transmission request. 12. 12. The transmission destination selection means according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said one or more terminals present in the vicinity of the position indicated by the position information in the received information transmission request is stored on the basis of the contents stored in the position storage device storing the position of each terminal. The server device according to claim 9, wherein a terminal is selected. 13. The transmission destination selection unit transmits the information transmission request to one or more terminals participating in a community corresponding to the location information in the information transmission request received by the reception unit. 13. The server device according to claim 9, wherein a destination of the information transmission request is selected.