JP2002318864A - Information mediating system, method, and device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To mediate the provision of so that information information is provided in accordance with desired conditions of the information recipients in the case where information is provided from many information providers to one or many information recipients. SOLUTION: From trader terminals 2, information related to coupons provided by each enterpriser is sent to be registered in a coupon data base 14a classified by enterprisers. From consumer terminals 3, the conditions of coupons desired by consumers to be provided are sent to be registered in a desired condition data base 14b. A coupon editor 12 edits the coupons to be provided to every consumer in accordance with the desired conditions for each consumer to be registered in a coupon data base 14c classified by consumers. A coupon providing part 13 reads the edited coupons for the consumer from the coupon data base 14c classified by consumers as requested from the consumer terminal 3 to be sent to the consumer terminal 3 requesting them through the Internet 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information mediation system for electronically mediating the provision of information from a large number of information providers to one or a large number of information recipients.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The widespread use of the Internet has led to an increase in business opportunities through e-commerce for businesses and an increase in access to information for consumers. In other words, the business can effectively provide information about the business to consumers interested in the business, and the consumer is interested in the business and is easy to use. The information provided by the business can be easily searched.

[0003] When a consumer searches for information provided by a business operator, it is common to use a search engine or the like to search for a homepage provided by the business operator.
Further, in some cases, by registering in advance, an e-mail magazine providing information of interest is received. Further, a profile of a consumer is registered in advance, a consumer who is considered to be interested in information provided by the business is selected, and the information is provided by e-mail.

[0004]

However, the information provided to the consumer by any of the above methods is uniform. If a business intends to provide detailed information that differs for each consumer, the business must create many types of information, and virtually edits and provides detailed information for each consumer. That was difficult. In addition, there is a problem that it is extremely difficult for a small business to independently provide such information providing service from the viewpoint of cost.

[0005] In addition, since consumers also receive information provided by businesses, it is difficult to arrange the received information and to compare and examine the contents of the information. Further, the information provided from the business to the consumer is prepared in advance by the business in any case. So if you can't find what you want,
Even if there is a business that can provide the information, there is a problem that the consumer cannot receive any information.

According to the present invention, when information is provided from a large number of information providers to one or a plurality of information recipients, the information is provided so that the information is provided in accordance with a desired condition of the information recipient. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an information mediation system or the like that mediates information.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an information mediating system according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises:
A server device, a plurality of first terminal devices for use by a provider of information connected to the server device via a communication line, and a receiver of information connected to the server device via a communication line. A second terminal device for use, wherein each of the first terminal devices is provided with information input means for inputting information to be provided, and information input from the information input means via the communication line. Information transmitting means for transmitting to the server device, the second terminal device transmits to the communication line a condition input means for inputting a desired condition for information to be received, and a desired condition input from the condition input means. Desired condition transmitting means for transmitting to the server device via
Editing information receiving means for receiving information edited by the server device according to the desired condition transmitted from the desired condition transmitting means from the server device via the communication line; and the edited information received by the editing information receiving means. Editing information output means for outputting information, wherein the server device receives information transmitted from the information transmission device of each of the plurality of first terminal devices, and transmits the information from the desired condition transmission device. Desired condition receiving means for receiving the received desired condition; information editing means for editing the information received by the information receiving means from each first terminal device in accordance with the desired condition received by the desired condition receiving means; Editing information transmitting means for transmitting the information edited by the editing means to the second terminal device via the communication line. .

[0008] In the information mediation system, the information receiver inputs desired conditions from the second terminal device and transmits the desired conditions to the server device. You can receive the edited information. This allows the information recipient to:
It is easy to compare and review information provided by a plurality of information providers. Further, the information provider does not need to classify the information by himself, and can provide effective information at low cost.

[0009] In order to achieve the above object, an information mediation method according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of first terminal devices for use by an information provider and a first terminal device for use by an information receiver. A computer device connected to the second terminal device via a communication line, wherein the information to be provided is received from each of the plurality of first terminal devices via the communication line. Step and the second
Receiving the desired condition of the information to be received from the terminal device via the communication line, and editing the information received from each of the first terminal devices according to the desired condition received from the second terminal device And transmitting the edited information to the second terminal device via the communication line.

In order to achieve the above object, an information intermediary device according to a third aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of first terminal devices provided for use by an information provider and a plurality of first terminal devices provided for use by an information receiver. The first terminal device is connected to the second terminal device via a communication line, and receives information to be provided to the second terminal device, which is transmitted from each of the plurality of first terminal devices via the communication line. Information receiving means, a desired condition receiving means for receiving a desired condition of information to be received, transmitted from the second terminal device via the communication line, and Information editing means for editing the received information according to the desired condition received by the desired condition receiving means; and editing information for transmitting the information edited by the information editing means to the second terminal device via the communication line. Sending Characterized in that it comprises a means.

[0011] In the above-mentioned information mediating apparatus, when there are a plurality of second terminal devices, the information receiving device stores information received from the plurality of first terminal devices. Desirable condition storage means for storing desired conditions received from the plurality of second terminal devices by the condition receiving means may be provided. In this case, the information editing unit extracts the information according to each desired condition stored in the desired condition storage unit from the information storage unit, thereby allowing the information transmission unit to transmit the second information from the information transmission unit.
The information to be transmitted to each of the terminal devices can be edited.

Here, the desired condition may include a time at which information is desired to be received, and the information editing means, when the time as the desired condition stored in the desired condition storage means is reached, Information according to a desired condition may be extracted from the information storage means.

[0013] The information mediating device may include an editing information storage unit for storing the information edited by the information editing unit for each information recipient, and a transmission request for the information stored in the editing information storage unit, the communication line transmitting the information to the communication line. Request receiving means for receiving the request from each of the second terminal devices via the second terminal device. In this case, in response to the reception of the transmission request by the request receiving unit, the editing information transmitting unit reads information stored about the recipient corresponding to the transmission request from the editing information storage unit, and To the terminal device.

The information mediating apparatus further includes a desired condition transferring means for transferring the desired condition received by the desired condition receiving means to each of the plurality of first terminals via the communication line. It may be. In this case, the information receiving means may receive information input in each of the plurality of first terminal devices according to a desired condition transferred from the desired condition transferring means.

Here, the desired condition transferring means transfers the desired condition in accordance with a form having an answer input field for the desired condition received by the desired condition receiving means, and to which individual identification information is added. The information receiving means may receive, from each of the plurality of first terminal devices, a form in which information on a desired condition is written in the answer input box, and the information editing means may include The information written in the answer input box can be edited according to the identification information given to the form received by the receiving means.

In this case, the information receiving means may further comprise a charging means for receiving a form from the plurality of first terminal devices, thereby performing a charging process for a user of the first terminal device. Good.

[0017] Further, the information processing apparatus may further include a regional information storage means for storing information relating to a region to which information is provided by each of the plurality of first terminal devices. In this case, the desired condition may include information relating to the area of the information desired to be received, and the desired condition transfer means transmits the desired condition to the first terminal device corresponding to the area included in the desired condition. The desired condition received by the receiving means may be transferred.

In order to achieve the above object, a program according to a fourth aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of first terminals for use by an information provider and a second terminal for use by an information receiver. A computer device connected to the terminal device via a communication line, and information to be provided to the second terminal device transmitted from each of the plurality of first terminal devices via the communication line. An information receiving means for receiving, a desired condition receiving means for receiving a desired condition of information to be received, transmitted from the second terminal device via the communication line, and Information editing means for editing the received information in accordance with the desired condition received by the desired condition receiving means; and the information edited by the information editing means to the second terminal device via the communication line. It characterized in that to function as the editing information transmission means signals for.

[0019]

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

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information intermediary system according to this embodiment. This information intermediary system provides coupons for goods and services as information from a large number of businesses to a large number of consumers at each time designated by the consumer. As shown in FIG. , A plurality of operator terminals 2,
It comprises a plurality of consumer terminals 3. Each of the business terminal 2 and the consumer terminal 3 is connected to the server device 1 via the Internet 4.

The server device 1 edits a coupon that meets the desired conditions of each consumer based on the information on the coupon sent from the business terminal 2 and transmits the coupon in response to a request from the consumer terminal 3. Communication processing unit 11
, A coupon editing unit 12, a coupon providing unit 13, and a data storage unit 14. The data storage unit 14 stores data necessary for editing a coupon ticket for each consumer.
4a, a desired condition database 14b, and a consumer-specific coupon database 14c.

The communication processing unit 11 receives information about the coupon from the business terminal 2 and information about the desired conditions of each consumer from the consumer terminal 3 via the Internet 4, and respectively receives a business-specific coupon database 14a, It is stored in the desired condition database 14b. Communication processing unit 1
1 also transmits the coupon ticket edited for each consumer passed from the coupon providing unit 13 to the consumer terminal 3 via the Internet 4.

The coupon editing unit 12 edits a coupon for each consumer based on the data stored in the desired condition database 14b and the coupon database 14a for each company, and coupon database 14c for the corresponding consumer. Register with. Based on the request sent from the consumer terminal 3, the coupon providing unit 13 reads out the coupon ticket edited for the consumer from the consumer-specific coupon database 13c, passes it to the communication processing unit 11, and returns it.

The desired condition database 14b is a database storing desired conditions for receiving a coupon for each consumer, and has a relational database table as shown in FIG. Each record included in this table includes the name of the consumer, the address of the consumer-specific database 14c in which the edited coupon is to be stored, the date and time at which the coupon is to be provided (provided date and time), and It is composed of the category of the desired coupon and the area of the coupon which is desired to be provided.

The consumer can receive coupons for a plurality of categories and regions, but if the category and / or region is different, each is registered as one record in the desired condition database 14b. . In addition, as for the provision date and time,
You can also specify a specific day of the month.
The information registered in the desired condition database 14b is input at the consumer terminal 3 according to a predetermined form,
It is sent to the server device 1.

The company-specific coupon database 14a is
This is a database in which coupons provided by each company are registered for each region and category, and has a relational database table as shown in FIG. The table is prepared separately for each business entity that is the information provider, and each record included in each table is divided into the area for which information is provided and the category such as sports, home appliances, leisure, and life. It consists of classified coupon data. Each company edits only its own table on the company terminal 2 and registers it in the company-specific coupon database 14a.

The coupon database 14c for each consumer is
The coupon is prepared for each consumer (that is, for each consumer terminal 3) and is stored by the coupon editing unit 12. The coupons stored in the coupon database 14c for each consumer are stored in the corresponding consumer terminal 3.
And can be provided to the consumer terminal 3 when the consumer is authenticated.

Returning to FIG. 1, the business operator terminal 2 is constituted by a personal computer having an operating environment of browser software, and inputs information about a coupon that the business operator wants to send to the consumer, and a server. A communication processing unit 21 and an input processing unit 22
And a display processing unit 23. Each processing unit 21-2
Function 3 is built in cooperation with browser software.

The communication processing unit 21 is provided by the business operator for the input processing unit 2.
The information about the coupon input from 2 is transmitted to the server device 1 via the Internet 4. Input processing unit 22
Performs a process for the business operator to input information on each coupon ticket, that is, a process for editing a table registered in the business-specific coupon database 14a. The display processing unit 23 performs a display or the like necessary when inputting information about a coupon ticket. In order to edit the table registered in the coupon database 14a for each company, the user accesses the server device 1 via the Internet 4 and can browse and edit his / her own table on the company terminal 2.

The consumer terminal 3 is constituted by a personal computer having an operating environment for browser software.
It receives and outputs coupons that meet the conditions desired by the consumer from the server device 1, and includes a communication processing unit 31, an input processing unit 32, a display processing unit 33, and a print processing unit 33. I have. The functions of the processing units 31 to 34 are constructed in cooperation with browser software.

The communication processing unit 31 allows the consumer to input data to the input processing unit 3.
The desired condition of the coupon and the transmission request of the coupon input from 2 are transmitted to the server device 1 via the Internet 4. The communication processing unit 31 also receives, as data, a coupon for the consumer transmitted from the server device 1 via the Internet 4 in response to the transmission request for the coupon.

The input processing unit 32 performs a process for inputting a condition relating to a coupon that the consumer desires to be provided. The input processing unit 32 also performs processing for inputting a coupon ticket transmission request from the server device 1 and for inputting an instruction necessary for displaying and printing the coupon ticket. The display processing unit 33 displays the coupon received from the server device 1 based on the instruction from the input unit 32.
The print processing unit 34, based on an instruction from the input unit 32,
The coupon displayed by the display processing unit 33 is printed on paper.

The processing in the information mediation system according to this embodiment will be described below. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing executed by the server device 1 in this information mediation system. FIG. 4 (a) shows coupon ticket editing processing, and FIG. 4 (b) shows coupon ticket providing processing. Running.

In the coupon ticket editing process, the coupon editing unit 12 refers to the desired condition database 14b and determines whether any of the consumers has registered the provided date and time as the date and time at which the customer wishes to receive the coupon ticket. It is determined whether or not it is (step S101). If the provided date and time have not come, the process of step S101 is repeated, and the system waits for the provided date and time of the coupon ticket.

If it is the date and time of providing the coupon, the coupon editing unit 12 extracts one record of the date and time of providing the coupon from the desired condition database 14b (step S102). Next, the area and the category of the coupon ticket included in the extracted record are extracted, the business-specific coupon database 14a is searched using the extracted area and category as keys, and the record in the corresponding business-specific coupon database 14a is retrieved. All are extracted (step S103).

Next, the coupon editing unit 12 determines in step S
A coupon to be transmitted to the consumer terminal 2 is edited based on each record extracted in 103. For example, a coupon form prepared in advance is prepared in a number corresponding to the retrieved record, data of each record is written in each form, and HTML data in which target coupons are arranged is created (step S10
4). Then, the consumer-specific coupon database 14 of the address included in the record extracted in step S102
c (step S105).

When registration of the edited coupon is completed,
The coupon editing unit 12 determines whether another record with the same coupon ticket providing date and time is registered in the desired condition database 14b (step S106).
If there is a record with the same provision date, the process returns to step S102, the next record after the provision date is retrieved from the desired condition database 14b, and the same process is performed. On the other hand, if there is no record with the same provision date and time, step S1
The process returns to step 01, and waits again for the date and time specified as the coupon ticket provision date and time in any record.

In the coupon ticket providing process, the coupon providing unit 13 determines whether the communication processing unit 11 has received a coupon ticket transmission request from the consumer terminal 3 (step S151). If the request for transmitting the coupon has not been received, the process of step S151 is repeated, and the process waits for receiving the request for transmitting the coupon.

When a coupon ticket transmission request is received, the coupon providing unit 13 further sets a coupon in accordance with a consumer ID and a password subsequently transmitted from the consumer terminal 3.
It is determined whether or not a legitimate consumer has issued a coupon ticket transmission request (step S152). If the legitimate consumer has not requested the transmission of the coupon, the process returns to step S151 without accepting the transmission request.

If it is verified that the user is a legitimate consumer, the coupon providing unit 13 reads a coupon ticket stored in the consumer-specific coupon database 14c for the consumer (step S153). Then, the read coupon is transmitted from the communication processing unit 11 to the requesting consumer terminal 3 via the Internet 4 (step S154). Then, the process returns to step S151, and waits for the next reception of a coupon ticket transmission request.

Next, processing in the business operator terminal 2 will be described. When updating the contents of the coupon to be provided to each consumer, each business operator inputs a predetermined instruction from the input processing unit 22 to access the server device 1 and stores the coupon database 14a for each business operator. Get the registered self table. The acquired table is displayed on the display processing unit 23. Then, the business operator inputs the content of the updated coupon from the input processing unit 22 and causes the communication processing unit 21 to transmit the content to the server device 1 via the Internet 4. Thereby, the table of the business registered in the business-specific coupon database 14a is updated.

Next, processing in the consumer terminal 3 will be described. When registering the condition of the coupon that each consumer desires to be provided, a predetermined instruction is input from the input processing unit 32 to access the server device 1 and obtain a predetermined input form. Then, the desired conditions are input in accordance with the input form, and transmitted to the server device 1 via the Internet 4 from the communication processing unit 31, whereby the desired conditions of the coupon are registered in the desired condition database 14b.

In order to receive a coupon edited for each consumer, a predetermined instruction is input from the input processing unit 32 to access the server device 1, and a consumer ID and a password are input. , From the communication processing unit 31 to the server device 1. When the consumer authentication is performed by the input consumer ID and password, the communication processing unit 31 receives the coupon for the consumer sent from the server device 1. The coupon received by the communication processing unit 31 is displayed on the display processing unit 33. If the consumer wants to use one of them, the user operates the input processing unit 32 to designate one of the coupons and instruct printing. Then, the coupon designated by the print processing unit 34 is printed on paper and output. Consumers can receive services such as discounts by submitting a coupon printed on paper when shopping at a business's store.

As described above, in the information intermediary system according to this embodiment, each business operator registers information related to his / her own business in the business-specific coupon database 14a, and each customer is provided with a coupon. If the desired conditions of the ticket are registered in the desired condition database 14b, each consumer can register and receive only the coupon ticket in his / her own database 14c regardless of the provider. .

For this reason, each business can provide coupons relating to its business to the consumers who seek it without having to classify coupons for each consumer. In addition, coupon database 1 according to company
Since it is only necessary to register the information on the coupon in 4a as a table, it can be operated at low cost, and even a small business can distribute the coupon through the Internet 4. On the other hand, coupons are also updated for each consumer at the desired date and time in the desired area and category, making it easy to organize coupons and compare and examine the contents. Will be able to do it.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information mediation system according to this embodiment. This information mediation system enables a large number of businesses to provide information such as advertisements based on the content of questions from consumers. As shown in FIG. Consumer terminal 6 and one or more consumer terminals 7 (only one is shown in the figure). Each of the business terminal 6 and the consumer terminal 7 is connected to the server device 5 via the Internet 4.

The server device 5 transfers the contents of the question sent from the consumer terminal 7 to the business terminal 6, edits the answer from the business terminal 6, and returns it to the consumer terminal 7. The communication processing unit 51 and the form providing unit 52
, Form transfer unit 53, and business information database 5
4, an answer editing unit 55, and a billing processing unit 56.

The communication processing unit 51 converts the form request sent from the consumer terminal 7, the question form in which the question is written, and the question form in which the answer sent from the business terminal 6 is written. The data is received via the Internet 4 and is respectively provided by a form providing unit 52 and a form transfer unit 5
3. Hand over to answer editing section 55. The communication processing unit 51 also
The question form provided from the form providing unit 52 is transmitted to the requesting consumer terminal 7 via the Internet 4,
The question form passed from the form transfer unit 53 is transmitted to the destination business terminal 6 via the Internet 4,
The edited answer passed from the answer editing unit 55 is transmitted to the consumer terminal 7.

The form providing unit 52 issues a form having a unique identification number in accordance with the form request from the consumer terminal 7 and passes the form to the communication processing unit 51. The form transfer unit 53 specifies the business operator terminal 6 to which the question form received from the consumer terminal 7 is to be sent according to the region and category stored in the business information database 54, and uses the consumer terminal 7 as the question source and its use. In such a manner that the consumer as the consumer cannot be specified, the information is passed to the communication processing unit 51. The business operator information database 54 stores the area to which the business terminal 6 provides information and the category of information to be provided.

The answer editing unit 55 edits the answer for each question according to the identification number assigned to the question form in which the answer is sent from the business terminal 6 and fills in the question form. To the communication processing unit 51
Pass to. Each time the answer editing unit 55 receives the question form in which the answer is entered, the billing processing unit 56 performs a billing process for charging a fee for each business operator terminal 6 that is the respondent.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a question form provided from the form providing unit 52. As shown
Each question form is assigned a unique identification number. Next, an area for selecting a gender, an area for inputting an age, and an area for inputting a profile of a consumer such as tastes such as hobbies and sports are provided as information on the consumer who asks a question. The form transfer unit 53 fills in the contents of these three areas with the business terminal 6.
It is excluded when forwarding to.

Next, an area for specifying the area to which the consumer wants to provide information, an area for specifying the category of information the consumer wants to provide, and There is provided an area for designating a deadline for receiving the information. Further, there is provided an area in which a consumer inputs a question for receiving an answer from the business as information. Finally, there is an area for businesses to answer questions.

Returning to FIG. 5, the business terminal 6 is constituted by a personal computer having an operating environment of browser software, and inputs and returns a question form transferred from the server device 5. A communication processing unit 61, an input processing unit 62, and a display processing unit 63 are provided. The functions of the processing units 61 to 63 are constructed in cooperation with browser software.

The communication processing unit 61 receives the question form in which the question transferred from the server device 5 is written, passes it to the display processing unit 63, and transmits the question form in which the answer is input from the input processing unit 62 to the Internet 4. Is transmitted to the server device 5 via the. The input processing unit 62 includes the display processing unit 6
According to the question form in which the question displayed in 3 is written, a process for inputting an answer to the question is performed.
The display processing unit 63 displays a question form in which the question passed from the communication processing unit 61 is written.

The consumer terminal 7 is constituted by a personal computer having an operating environment for browser software.
A condition for information desired by the consumer is sent to the server device 5 as a question, and the information sent from the server device 5 is received and output in response thereto.
, A form request unit 72, an input processing unit 73, and a display processing unit 74. The functions of the processing units 71 to 74 are constructed in cooperation with browser software.

The communication processing section 71 transmits the question form in which the form request passed from the form request section 72 and the question passed from the input processing section 72 are written to the Internet 4.
To the server device 5 via the
Is received and passed to the display processing unit 74.

The form request section 72 inputs a request for acquiring a question form from the server device 5 before the consumer asks a question, and passes the form request to the communication processing section 71. The input processing unit 73 performs a process for inputting a question according to the question form displayed on the display processing unit 74. The display processing unit 74 displays the question form passed from the communication processing unit 71, the edited answer to the question, and the like.

Hereinafter, processing in the information mediation system according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing in the information mediation system.

First, the consumer inputs a form request from the form request unit 72 of the consumer terminal 7, and transmits the form request from the communication processing unit 71 to the server device 5 via the Internet 4 (step S241). This form request is received by the communication processing unit 51 of the server device 5 and passed to the form providing unit 52 (Step S201). When the form request is passed, the form providing unit 52 issues a question form with a new identification number, and causes the communication processing unit 51 to transmit the form to the requesting consumer terminal 7 via the Internet 4 (Step S).
202).

The communication processing section 71 of the consumer terminal 7 receives the question form sent in accordance with the form request, and displays the question form received by the display processing section 74 (step S242). The consumer operates the input processing unit 73 in accordance with the displayed question form, inputs information relating to the consumer himself / herself into the respective areas, and sets the area of the question,
The category and the answer deadline are entered in each area, and the question content is entered in the corresponding area (step S243). Then, by inputting an instruction from the input processing unit 73, the question form in which the question is written is transmitted from the communication processing unit 71 to the server device 5 via the Internet 4 (step S244).

The communication processing unit 51 of the server device 5 receives the question form in which the question has been written, and passes it to the form transfer unit 53 (step S203). The form transfer unit 53 removes the part where the information on the consumer is entered from the received question form, and stores the business terminal 6 of the business that has registered the region and category entered in the question form in the business database 54. The question form in which the question is written is transmitted from the communication processing unit 51 via the Internet 4 to the destination. Further, the identification number and the response time limit in the question form are notified to the response editing unit 55 (step S204).

The communication processing unit 6 of the destination business operator terminal 6
1 receives the question form written with the question transferred from the server device 5, and displays the question form received by the display processing unit 64 (step S221). The business is
The input processing unit 62 is operated in accordance with the displayed question form, and an answer to the question is input to the corresponding area (step S222). Then, by inputting an instruction from the input processing unit 62, the question form in which the answer is further written is transmitted from the communication processing unit 61 to the server device 5 via the Internet 4 (step S223). The processing in the business operator terminal 6 is now completed.

On the other hand, after transferring the question form in which the question is written, the server device 5 determines whether or not the answer deadline written in the question form has come (step S205). Until the answer deadline is reached, step S223
When the communication processing unit 51 receives the question form in which the answer sent from the enterprise terminal 6 is entered, the communication form is passed to the answer editing unit 55 (step S206). Upon receiving the question form in which the answer has been entered, the billing processing unit 56
A billing process is performed for a fee to be charged to the business operator who has sent the question form in which the answer has been entered (step S20).
7). Then, the process returns to step S205.

If the answer period has expired in step S205, the answer editing unit 55 has received a question form in which an answer has been entered from any of the business terminals 6 for the question whose answer period has expired. Is determined (step S208). If the question form in which the answer is entered has not been received from any of the business terminals 6, the process is terminated.

When a question form in which an answer is entered has been received from any one or more of the business terminals 6, the answer editing unit 55 refers to the identification number of each received question form, and The answer sent to the question entered in the question form for which the answer is due is edited (step S209). Then, the answer editing unit 55 transmits the edited answer from the communication processing unit 51 to the consumer terminal 7 of the question source via the Internet 4 (step S21).
0). This ends the processing in the server device 5.

On the other hand, the communication processing unit 71 of the consumer terminal 7
The edited response sent from the server device 5 is received and displayed on the display processing unit 74 (step S24).
5). As a result, the consumer can see the answers to the questions entered by him / her collectively. Thus, all the processes in the information mediation system are completed.

As described above, in the information mediation system according to this embodiment, a consumer who has information to obtain can create a question for the information and send it to the server device 1. The answer to the question is sent from the business operator who is the user of the system. For this reason, not only does the consumer not have to search for information, but even if there is no business that provides necessary information in advance, the information can be obtained as a response from the business. Moreover, since the information is provided only after a question is asked, the latest information can always be obtained. In addition, since information about consumers is excluded from the question form transferred to the business operator terminal 6, information security is also achieved.

On the other hand, the business operator also gives the information that is actually needed by the consumer as a response, so that the customer can be effectively brought into his or her business. In addition, providing information to the consumer simply requires inputting an answer to the question and returning it to the server device 5 from the business terminal 6, so there is no need to operate and manage the system by itself, and the information is provided as an answer to the question. Is provided for the first time, so that even small businesses can provide effective information at low cost.

[Modifications of Embodiment] The present invention is not limited to the above-described first and second embodiments, and various modifications and applications are possible. Hereinafter, modifications of the above-described embodiment applicable to the present invention will be described.

In the first embodiment described above, the billing process relating to the cost for operating the system is not particularly described. For example, the following billing process can be applied. When a new table is sent from the business operator terminal 2 and registered in the business-specific database 14a, the business operator can be charged. In addition, when the coupon editing unit 12 edits a coupon for each consumer and registers the coupon in the coupon database 14c for each consumer, the coupon editing unit 12 charges a business that provides each coupon included in the coupon. Can be. Alternatively, the coupon providing unit 13
When the company provides coupons edited from the consumer-specific coupon database 14c to consumers, it is also possible to charge a company that provides each coupon included in the coupons.

In the first embodiment, the coupon editing unit 12 only edits a coupon ticket according to each consumer's desired condition stored in the desired condition database 14b. On the other hand, the coupon can be further edited according to the history. That is, each coupon to be transmitted to the consumer terminal 3 is provided with identification information for each consumer, and when the coupon is used, information about the coupon is transmitted from the business terminal 2 to the server device 1. Then, it is stored in the history database in the server device 1. And
The coupon editing unit 12 may perform an editing process such as changing the discount rate of the product indicated by the coupon, according to the usage history of the coupon for each consumer stored in the history database.

In the first embodiment, the coupon ticket edited by the server device 1 is temporarily stored in the consumer-specific coupon database 14c, and transmitted to the Internet 4 in response to a transmission request from the consumer terminal 3. Via consumer terminal 3
Was to be sent to On the other hand, every time the coupon editing unit 12 performs editing, it may be sent to the consumer terminal 3 by e-mail. In addition, a form in which the consumer receives the edited coupon (e-mail transmission, FAX transmission,
(Eg, mailing) may be stored in the desired condition database 14b as one of the desired conditions, and the coupon ticket edited by the coupon editing unit 12 may be sent according to the form selected by the consumer.

In the first embodiment, the coupon to be sent to each consumer is edited irrespective of whether or not the consumer actually uses it. On the other hand, the coupon to be provided to the consumer is provided with identification information for each consumer, and when the coupon is actually used by the consumer, the coupon is transmitted from the business terminal 2 to the server device. 1, and may be stored in the server device 1 as a history. Then, the coupon editing unit 12 may edit the coupon content by changing the content of the coupon based on the accumulated history of the coupon usage of the consumer, for example, increasing the discount rate for consumers who use the product more frequently.

In the above-described first embodiment, the coupon ticket edited by the coupon editing unit 12 is stored in the consumer-specific coupon database 14c and provided only by access from the consumer terminal 3. Here, a ranking is created by counting coupons actually acquired by the consumer through access from the consumer terminal 3 for each type of coupon ticket registered in the coupon database 14a for each company or for each company. You may do it. This ranking can be provided to both the business terminal 2 and the consumer terminal 3.

In the above-described first embodiment, the coupon ticket stored in the coupon database 14c for each consumer is:
There was no change even if it changed from the contents of the coupon database 14a for each company. On the other hand, when the content of the coupon database 14a for each company is updated,
The coupon editing unit 12 checks whether or not the coupon ticket corresponding to the updated content is stored in the consumer-specific coupon database 14c. It may be updated to match.

In the first embodiment, the design of the coupon to be provided to the consumer terminal 3 is not particularly described. However, for the coupon to be provided, the design is registered in the business-specific coupon database 14a by designating the business or the design is registered in the consumer-specific coupon database 14c by designating the consumer. A coupon with a different design may be provided. Further, after the coupon is provided to the consumer terminal 3, the design may be changed by a consumer operation on the consumer terminal 3.

In the second embodiment, when the consumer inputs a question in the question form and the business operator inputs an answer, the question or the answer must be input in a text data document. Had become. On the other hand, a question or an answer may be input by selecting a desired item from a menu. The form transfer unit 53 and the answer editing unit 55 may be able to convert the question or answer item selected in the question form into text data. The design of this question form may be such that the consumer can specify it in the same manner as the design of the coupon ticket. Alternatively, the business or the consumer may specify the design of the answer, and the answer may be provided to the consumer terminal 7 according to the specified design.

In the first and second embodiments, the coupon and the answer are edited or sent at the timing designated by the consumer. This can be further advanced to realize a schedule management function. For example, in the system according to the first embodiment, it is assumed that the schedule of each consumer is registered in the desired condition database 14b, and the coupon editing unit 12 classifies the coupons by schedule and stores them in the coupon database 14c for each consumer. You may do it. Further, in the system according to the second embodiment, it is assumed that a consumer can input a question to a question form based on a daily schedule,
It may be possible to input into the question form which time in the schedule the business operator answered. Then, the answer editing unit 55 may classify and edit the answers according to the schedule.

In the first and second embodiments, the coupon and the answer are sent to the consumer terminals 3 and 7 of the consumer who made a request for the coupon or input a question. Was only. On the other hand, by specifying the transfer of the coupon and the answer together with the address of the transfer destination by the consumer, the server apparatus 1, 5 may send the coupon or the answer to a person other than the consumer.

In the first and second embodiments, the consumer terminals 3 and 7 are constituted by personal computers, but are constituted by portable telephones having an Internet connection function. Is also good. In particular, when a mobile phone is applied as the consumer terminal 7 in the system of the second embodiment, the consumer
You can use the services provided by this system wherever you are, such as where you travel.

In the first and second embodiments, the server device 1 has the coupon editing unit 12 and the coupon providing unit 1
The function 3 is provided in the server device 5 by the form providing unit 52,
Assuming that the functions of the form transfer unit 53 and the answer editing unit 55 are constructed in advance, the functions shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 and 7 are executed by the functions of these units. On the other hand, the programs shown in the flowcharts of FIGS.
The program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as an OM, distributed, and installed on a general-purpose computer. Alternatively, these programs may be stored in a fixed disk device of a Web server on the Internet 4 and downloaded to the server devices 1 and 5 via the Internet 4.

[0082]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Information recipients can appropriately receive information according to their desired conditions among information provided by many information providers.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information mediation system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a data structure in a coupon database for each company in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data structure in a desired condition database of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing in the information mediation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information mediation system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a question form provided from the form providing unit in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process in the information mediation system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 server device 2 business terminal 3 consumer terminal 4 Internet 5 server device 6 business terminal 7 consumer terminal 11 communication processing unit 12 coupon editing unit 13 coupon providing unit 14 data storage unit 14a business-specific coupon database 14b desired condition database 14c Consumer-specific coupon database 21 Communication processing unit 22 Input processing unit 23 Display processing unit 31 Communication processing unit 32 Input processing unit 33 Display processing unit 34 Print processing unit 51 Communication processing unit 52 Form providing unit 53 Form transfer unit 54 Business information Database 55 Answer editing unit 56 Billing processing unit 61 Communication processing unit 62 Input processing unit 63 Display processing unit 71 Communication processing unit 72 Form request unit 73 Input processing unit 74 Display processing unit

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (Reference) G06F 17/30 170 G06F 17/30 170Z 340 340A

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A server device, a plurality of first terminal devices for use by a provider of information connected to the server device via a communication line, and a plurality of first terminal devices connected to the server device via a communication line. A second terminal device for use by a recipient of the information, wherein each of the first terminal devices includes an information input unit for inputting information to be provided, and the information input from the information input unit for the communication. Information transmitting means for transmitting to the server device via a line, the second terminal device comprising: condition input means for inputting a desired condition for information to be received; and a desired condition input from the condition input means. A desired condition transmitting means for transmitting to the server device via the communication line, the information edited in the server device according to the desired condition transmitted from the desired condition transmitting means, the communication line Editing information receiving means for receiving from the server device via the PC, editing information output means for outputting the edited information received by the editing information receiving means, the server device, the plurality of first terminals An information receiving unit for receiving information transmitted from the information transmitting unit of each device; a desired condition receiving unit for receiving a desired condition transmitted from the desired condition transmitting unit; Information editing means for editing the information received from the user according to the desired condition received by the desired condition receiving means; and editing for transmitting the information edited by the information editing means to the second terminal device via the communication line. An information mediating system comprising: an information transmitting unit. 2. A computer connected to a plurality of first terminals for use by an information provider and a second terminal for use by an information receiver by a communication line, respectively. Receiving the information to be provided from each of the plurality of first terminal devices via a communication line; and determining a desired condition of the information to be received from the second terminal device. Receiving via a communication line, editing information received from each first terminal device in accordance with desired conditions received from the second terminal device, and transmitting the edited information to the second terminal device. Transmitting to the device via the communication line. 3. A plurality of first terminal devices provided for use by an information provider and a second terminal device provided for use by an information recipient are respectively connected via a communication line, and Information receiving means for receiving information to be provided to the second terminal device transmitted from each of the first terminal devices via the communication line; and transmission from the second terminal device via the communication line. Desired condition receiving means for receiving the desired condition of the information to be received, and information for editing the information received by the information receiving means from each first terminal device in accordance with the desired condition received by the desired condition receiving means. An information mediating device comprising: an editing unit; and an editing information transmitting unit that transmits information edited by the information editing unit to the second terminal device via the communication line. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second terminal device includes a plurality of second terminal devices, the information receiving device storing information received from the plurality of first terminal devices, and the desired condition receiving device includes the plurality of second terminal devices. Desired condition storage means for respectively storing desired conditions received from the second terminal device, wherein the information editing means stores information according to each desired condition stored in the desired condition storage means in the information storage means. The information mediating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein information to be transmitted from the information transmitting means to each of the second terminal devices is edited by extracting the information from the information transmitting means. 5. The desired condition includes a time at which information is desired to be received. The information editing means, when the time as the desired condition stored in the desired condition storage means is reached, the information storage means The information mediating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein information according to a desired condition is extracted from the information. 6. An editing information storage means for storing information edited by said information editing means for each information recipient, and a request for transmission of information stored in said editing information storage means.
Request receiving means for receiving from each of the second terminal devices via the communication line, wherein the editing information transmitting means responds to the transmission request in response to reception of the transmission request by the request receiving means 6. The information mediating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein information stored about the recipient is read from the editing information storage unit and transmitted to the corresponding second terminal device. 7. Desirable condition transferring means for transferring the desired condition received by the desired condition receiving means to each of the plurality of first terminal devices via the communication line, wherein the information receiving means comprises: 4. The information mediating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the information receiving apparatus receives information input in each of the plurality of first terminal devices according to a desired condition transferred from the desired condition transfer unit. 8. The desired condition transferring means transfers the desired condition in accordance with a form having an answer input column for the desired condition received by the desired condition receiving means, the form provided with individual identification information. The information receiving means receives, from each of the plurality of first terminal devices, a form in which information on a desired condition is written in the answer input field, and the information editing means includes a form received by the information receiving means. The information mediating device according to claim 7, wherein the information written in the answer input box is edited according to the attached identification information. 9. The system according to claim 9, further comprising a charging unit configured to perform a charging process for a user of the first terminal device by the information receiving unit receiving a form from the plurality of first terminal devices. The information mediation device according to claim 8. 10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a local information storage unit configured to store information relating to a region to which information is to be provided by each of the plurality of first terminal devices. The desired condition transferring means transfers the desired condition received by the desired condition receiving means to a first terminal device corresponding to an area included in the desired condition.
10. The information mediation device according to any one of claims 9 to 9. 11. A plurality of first services provided for use by an information provider.
A computer device connected via a communication line to each of the terminal devices and a second terminal device to be used by a recipient of the information, from each of the plurality of first terminal devices via the communication line Information receiving means for receiving the transmitted information to be provided to the second terminal device; a request for receiving a desired condition of the information to be received transmitted from the second terminal device via the communication line; Condition receiving means, information editing means for editing the information received by the information receiving means from each of the first terminal devices according to the desired condition received by the desired condition receiving means, and information edited by the information editing means. A program for functioning as editing information transmitting means for transmitting to the second terminal device via the communication line.