JP2003006519A - Information providing system, method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide information providing system, method and program, that can provide a service satisfying the needs of a user which are 'wanting to immediately know things he/she wants to know'. SOLUTION: The information providing system provides an answer to a question through a network. A Q and A processing part 132 receives a question request including the question and information regarding the answer time limit from a terminal through a network, invites the answer to the question with the presentation of the answer time limit through the network to the terminals of answer inviting object destinations, receives the answer to the question from the terminals of the answer inviting destinations and provides the answer through the network for the terminal of a corresponding question request origin. It may receive the registration of a question receiving condition regarding at least one of question receivable date and time and a question receivable frequency from the terminal and extract the answer inviting object destination capable of receiving the question within the answer time limit of the question.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information providing system, method and program for providing answers to questions via a network.

[0002]

[Background Art and Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As a general image of Internet users, the motivation for starting the Internet was "because there are Web pages and mail delivery services that are useful for work, hobbies and entertainment.""Work, friends, acquaintances" I wanted to exchange emails with each other. "

However, according to a trend survey after starting to use the Internet, the number of sites visited by users in a month is limited, and “I started the Internet because I wanted to obtain various information, but in reality, I can't find it, I'm always visiting similar sites, and in the end I only use e-mail, "an internet user image emerges.

[0004] For example, "I have to entertain customers at the land I came to for the first time. Is there any good store?""I got stuck in the game. What is the strategy?""Surfing to Chiba from now on" How do you feel about the waves? "" I want to buy a new MD, but what do you recommend? "
For users, they do not know when and where it will occur,
There are also surprisingly many "things I want to know" that I want to solve immediately.

All of these can be checked on the Web if you have a hard time, but it is not easy on the go.

[0006] In addition, even if the user wants to know only on the current Internet (especially the Web), he / she inputs a keyword of the thing he / she wants to know in a search engine, and if there is no information to be obtained in the search result, the basic information is obtained at that time. Most of the time, the process of problem solving ended.

Even if the Internet is started in this way, it has been difficult to immediately find out the information desired to be known, other than the Web alone, when needed.

There is also a method of using a bulletin board on a predetermined site or a section for accepting questions when the information desired to be found cannot be found even when searching on the Web, but it is uncertain when the answer will be obtained. , No service has been provided that fully satisfies the needs of Internet users who want to know what they want to know right away.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and the purpose thereof is to provide information capable of providing a service which sufficiently satisfies the needs of the net user "I want to know what I want to know right now". A system, a method and a program are provided.

[0010]

[Means for Solving the Problems] (1) An information providing system for providing an answer to a question via a network, which accepts a question request including information about a question and a deadline for the answer from a terminal via the network and makes an answer. A method for soliciting an answer by presenting a deadline for answering the question to the terminal of the solicitation target via the network, and a terminal of the corresponding question requester that accepts the answer to the question from the terminal of the solicitation destination via the network And a means for providing an answer to the request via the network.

[0011] Answers can be solicited for the terminal of the answer solicited destination through an electronic mail or a WEB screen.
For example, the questions may be solicited by sending the questions themselves by e-mail, or the question may be notified by e-mail and the details of the questions may be browsed on the WEB.

Providing an answer to the question requesting terminal is as follows:
It can be done via e-mail or a WEB screen.
For example, the answer itself may be provided in a form of sending by e-mail, or the reply of the answer may be sent by e-mail and the details of the answer may be viewed in the WEB.

Here, a computer such as a PC (not necessarily portable) or a portable information device can be used as the terminal.

The terminal to which the answer is to be collected is a terminal or the like registered in advance, for example, a terminal or the like of a user who agrees to accept the question and registers the mail address or the like.

According to the present invention, it is possible to receive a question in which information regarding an answer deadline is presented via a network, to present an answer deadline to the question, and to collect an answer. Therefore, it is possible to realize an information providing system that provides an answer to a user who has "a question that he / she wants to know by a certain deadline" by the deadline.

Since it is possible to ask a question by presenting a short answer deadline such as within 10 minutes, it is possible to answer the needs of users who have "a question to ask immediately".

(2) The information providing system of the present invention comprises means for accepting registration of question acceptance conditions relating to at least one of a question acceptance date and time and a question acceptance frequency of a user from a terminal via a network, and registered question acceptance. And a means for extracting a user who can accept the question within the answer period of the question as an answer solicitation destination, based on the case, and an answer solicitation is performed as an answer solicitation destination.

According to the present invention, a question acceptance condition relating to at least one of the question acceptance date and time and the question acceptance frequency of a user who may be an answer solicitation target in advance from a user who may be an answer solicitation destination. It is possible to accept the registration of and to extract the answer recruitment destinations who can send the question within the answer period of the question based on the registration.

Therefore, it is possible to efficiently collect the answers by focusing on the users who are likely to give the answers within the answer period desired by the questioner. For this reason, the probability that answers will be gathered within the answer period desired by the questioner increases, and it is possible to realize an information providing system with high immediacy that answers the needs of users who want to know what they want to know right now.

[0020] Also, since users who may be candidates for answering can also receive notifications of answering according to the circumstances they have declared, users who do not want to be notified at an unwilling time or frequency. A friendly system can be realized.

(3) The present invention is an information providing system for providing an answer to a question via a network,
Means for accepting the registration of question acceptance conditions relating to at least one of the question acceptance date and time and the question acceptance frequency of the user from the terminal via the network, and means for accepting the question from the terminal via the network,
Based on the registered question acceptance conditions, a user who can accept the question is extracted as an answer solicitation target, and a method for soliciting an answer to the question via the network to the extracted user's terminal, and an answer solicitation target Means for accepting an answer to the question from the previous terminal via the network and providing the answer to the corresponding terminal of the question requesting source via the network.

Here, a computer such as a PC (not necessarily portable) or a portable information device can be used as the terminal.

According to the present invention, a question acceptance condition relating to at least one of a question acceptance date and a question acceptance frequency of a user who is a potential answer invitation target in advance from a user who is a potential answer acceptance target. It is possible to accept the registration of, and extract the terminal of the answer solicitation target to which the question can be sent based on the registration.

Therefore, it is possible to efficiently collect the answers by focusing on the users who are likely to give the answers in real time. Therefore, it is possible to realize a highly immediate information providing system that answers the needs of users who want to know immediately what they want to know.

[0025] Also, since users who may be candidates for answering can also receive notifications of answering according to the circumstances declared by themselves, users who do not want to be notified at an unwilling time or frequency. A friendly system can be realized.

(4) The information providing system according to the present invention is characterized in that the answer is solicited by transmitting an e-mail for answer solicitation showing the answer deadline to the terminal of the answer solicitation target.

[0027] For example, by using an e-mail alert function or the like, an alert such as "a question has been asked" can be generated on the terminal of the respondent, so that the respondent is invited to respond in real time. It is possible to ensure the promptness of the response.

(5) When the information providing system of the present invention receives an answer to a question from the terminal to which the answer is requested via the network, the information providing system sends an electronic mail to the effect that the answer to the terminal of the corresponding question requester has arrived. It is characterized by notifying.

By using an alert function of e-mail, for example, it is possible to generate an alert such as "Answer has arrived" on the terminal of the inquirer, so that the inquirer is notified in real time that an answer has been received. It is possible to ensure the promptness of the response.

(6) In the information providing system of the present invention, the selection information of the community selected in association with the answer recruitment destination from each community provided for a plurality of themes is selected from the terminal of the question requesting source via the network. It is characterized in that the user who is the target of the response is extracted from the users who are accepted through the selected community and belong to the selected community.

A community is a group of users organized around a common and specific field of interest. Users belonging to a community are likely to have useful information about the theme of the community.

According to the present invention, by selecting a community, it is possible to select a user who can provide useful information about a question the questioner wants to know as an answer solicitation target.

(7) The information providing system of the present invention further includes means for managing the points owned by the user, and the predetermined points are held by the user who requested the question in association with the provision of the answer to the terminal that requested the question. It is characterized in that processing for shifting from points to the points owned by the user who provided the answer is performed.

The predetermined points may be determined based on, for example, the selling price of the answer presented by the answer provider, or may be determined based on the buying price presented by the question requesting source.

Here, the points can be configured to circulate in the present system like money in the real world.

According to the present invention, since the answer can be given an economic value, the user can obtain more than "mood self-satisfaction" by answering.

Therefore, it is possible to increase the motivation for answering the question, and to realize an information providing system with high immediacy that answers the user's need "I want to know what I want to know right now".

(8) The information providing system of the present invention receives bid price information relating to at least one of a bid price and an upper limit of a bid price of an answer from a terminal of a question requesting source via a network, and the bid price information is a target for answer recruitment. It is characterized in that it is provided to the terminal through the network to collect answers to the question.

For example, the respondent may freely present the selling price of the answer by using the buying price information as a guide, or the selling price may be determined by a predetermined algorithm based on the buying price information.

According to the present invention, the questioner can make a question request by presenting the budget and the upper limit of the consideration paid for the answer, and whether or not the respondent answers according to it. The content etc. can be decided.

(9) The information providing system of the present invention receives selling price information regarding a selling price of an answer to a question from a terminal of an answer solicitation destination through a network, and provides the selling price information to a question requesting source through the network. It accepts an application for purchasing an answer and provides the answer purchased through the network.

Since the questioner can determine whether or not to buy the answer by looking at the selling price information, he / she can buy and sell at the same interval as the answer.

(10) The information providing system of the present invention provides the inquiry requesting terminal with a summary of the answers received for the question and the selling price list via the network, and the inquiry requesting terminal It is characterized in that selection information of an answer desired to be browsed from is accepted via a network, and details of the answer selected via the network are provided to a terminal of a question requesting source.

(11) The information providing system of the present invention is characterized in that a portable information device is used as the terminal.

The portable information device is, for example, a mobile phone or PDA.
Etc.

According to the present invention, by using the Internet function or the like of the portable information device and asking a question or answer,
A convenient and highly immediate information providing system can be realized.

(12) The present invention is an information providing method for providing an answer to a question via a network, which accepts a question request including information about the question and a deadline for the answer from the terminal via the network and seeks answers. A step of performing an answer solicitation showing the answer deadline for the question to the destination terminal via the network, and accepting the answer to the question from the terminal of the answer solicitation destination via the network, to the corresponding question requesting terminal Providing a response via a network.

(13) In the information providing method of the present invention, the step of receiving registration of question acceptance conditions relating to at least one of the question acceptance date and the question acceptance frequency of the user from the terminal via the network, and the registered question acceptance. Based on the case, a step of extracting a user who can accept the question within the answer period of the question as an answer solicitation target, and the extracted user is made as an answer solicitation target.

(14) An information providing method for providing an answer to a question via a network, wherein registration of question acceptance conditions relating to at least one of a question acceptance date and time and a question acceptance frequency of a user from a terminal is performed via the network. Based on the acceptance step, the step of accepting a question from the terminal via the network, and the registered question acceptance conditions, the users who can accept the question are extracted as the answer solicitation targets, and the extracted user's terminal is networked. A step of soliciting an answer to the question via the network, a step of accepting an answer to the question from the terminal of the answer solicitation target via the network, and providing the answer to the corresponding question requesting terminal via the network. And are included.

(15) The information providing method of the present invention is characterized in that the answer is solicited by transmitting an answer solicitation e-mail showing an answer deadline to the terminal of the answer solicitation target.

(16) In the information providing method of the present invention, when an answer to a question is received from the terminal of the answer solicitation target via the network, the fact that the answer has been received to the corresponding terminal of the request source of the question is sent by e-mail. It is characterized by notifying.

(17) According to the information providing method of the present invention, the selection information of the community selected in association with the answer recruitment target from the communities provided for a plurality of themes is sent from the terminal of the question requesting source to the network. It is characterized in that the user who is the target of the response is extracted from the users who are accepted through the selected community and belong to the selected community.

(18) The information providing method of the present invention further includes the step of managing the points owned by the user, and the predetermined points are held by the user who requested the question in association with the provision of the answer to the terminal that requested the question. It is characterized in that processing for shifting from points to the points owned by the user who provided the answer is performed.

(19) In the information providing method of the present invention, the bid price information regarding at least one of the budget price and the upper limit of the bid price of the answer to the question is received from the terminal of the question requesting source through the network, and the bid price information is the target for the answer offer. It is characterized in that it is provided to the terminal through the network to collect answers to the question.

(20) According to the information providing method of the present invention, the selling price information regarding the selling price of the answer to the question is received from the terminal of the answer solicitation destination via the network, and the selling price information is provided to the question requesting source via the network. It accepts an application for purchasing an answer and provides the answer purchased through the network.

(21) According to the information providing method of the present invention, the inquiry requesting terminal is provided with a summary of the answers received in response to the question and a selling price list via the network, and the inquiry requesting terminal is sent. It is characterized in that selection information of an answer desired to be browsed from is accepted via a network, and details of the answer selected via the network are provided to a terminal of a question requesting source.

(22) The information providing method of the present invention is characterized in that a portable information device is used as the terminal.

(23) The present invention is a program usable by a computer, characterized by causing the computer to realize the information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

(24) The present invention is a program usable by a computer, characterized by causing the computer to realize the information providing method according to any one of claims 12 to 22.

[0060]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 1. First Example FIG. 1 is an example of the configuration of the information providing system of the present embodiment.

The information providing system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a portable terminal 20 and a server device 100 of the information providing system,
30 is included, and these are connected via a network 10 such as the Internet.

In the figure, at least the server device 100 of the information providing system may be included, and other components may be arbitrary components.

The server device 100 of the information providing system and each of the user terminals 20 and 30 are connected to the Internet 10 via a network of a communication trader called a provider, for example.

The server device 100 of the information providing system
The transmission path between the mobile terminal 20 of each user and the mobile terminal 20 may include a wireless transmission path, or may be connected by a wired transmission path.

The server device 100 of the information providing system is
A communication device 110 that is connected to an Internet line or the like for transmitting and receiving data, a host computer 120 such as a workstation, user information and archive information (Q &
Includes a database 150 that stores (A information), etc.
It also has a function as a server, etc., and has established a home page for the World Wide Web (WWW) for mobile phones on the Internet.

The communication device 110 is composed of a modem, a terminal adapter, a router or the like, and is connected to other server devices or portable terminals 20, 30 or the like via a communication line such as a telephone line, an ISDN line or a dedicated line. Send and receive data between.

The mobile terminals 20 and 30 are, for example, information communication terminals such as mobile phones and PDAs owned by users, and are mobile devices that are connected to the Internet and can browse homepages and send and receive e-mail.

The user may use the URL (Uniform R) of the home page of the site to which the information providing system is applied from the mobile terminal.
By specifying the esource Locator), you can access the information providing site provided by the system.

For example, a user who has “a question to know right now” can specify an answer deadline and post a question in the question corner of the information providing site of this system.
Then, in this system, the users who can answer within the answer deadline specified by the questioner are extracted from the users who are registered as respondents in advance as the answer solicitation target, and the answer solicitation is presented with the answer deadline. Providing answers to the user who made the inquiry.

FIG. 2 is an example of a functional block diagram of the server device of the information providing system of this embodiment.

The server device 100 of the information providing system is
It includes a host computer 120 and a database 150.

The host computer 120 is a processing unit 1.
30, storage unit 122, information storage medium 126, and transmission / reception unit 1
Includes 24.

The transmission / reception section 124 exchanges data with the portable terminals 20, 30 and the database 150 and has both a transmission function and a reception function, but realizes the transmission / reception function by being distributed to the transmission means and the reception means. May be.

The storage unit 122 includes the processing unit 130 and the transmission / reception unit 1.
It becomes a work area such as 24, and its function is realized by hardware such as RAM.

Based on the received processing request, the processing unit 130 discriminates which terminal is transmitted and what kind of distribution request, and performs various processing. Its function is hardware (CPU, It is realized by a combination of a processor such as DSP or ASIC such as gate array) and a program (game program, firmware, or the like). However, all the functions of the processing unit 100 may be realized by hardware, or all of them may be realized by a program.

The processing section 130 also performs a process of generating image information for displaying a homepage image on each terminal based on the process request information. The image information is We
It is generated by a file described in a content description language such as an HTML file so that page b can be displayed. Then, based on various processing requests, various processing such as image updating on the homepage is performed.

The processing section 130 includes a Q & A processing section 132, a user information registration processing section 134, and an archive browsing processing section 13.
Including 6.

The Q & A processing unit 132 accepts a question request including information about a question and its answer deadline from the terminal via the network, and presents the answer deadline for the question to the terminal of the answer target through the network. A process of soliciting an answer and a process of accepting an answer to a question from the terminal of the answer solicitation destination via the network and providing the answer to the corresponding terminal of the question requesting source via the network are performed.

Further, based on the question acceptance condition relating to at least one of the question acceptance date and time and the question acceptance frequency accepted from the terminal via the network, the users who can accept the question within the answer period of the question are extracted as the answer solicitation targets. You may do it.

Further, the answer solicitation may be performed by transmitting an answer solicitation e-mail showing the answer deadline to the terminal of the answer solicitation target.

Further, when an answer to a question is received from the terminal of the answer solicitation target via the network, the corresponding terminal of the question requesting source may be notified by e-mail.

From the communities provided for a plurality of themes, the selection information of the community to be designated as the answer soliciting destination is accepted via the network, and the answer soliciting destination is selected from the users belonging to the selected community. You may make it extract.

In association with the provision of the answer to the question requesting terminal, a process of shifting a predetermined point from the holding point of the question requesting user to the holding point of the answer providing source user may be performed.

Also, the bid price information concerning at least one of the budget price and the upper limit of the bid price of the answer to the question is accepted through the network from the question requesting source, and the bid price information is provided to the terminal of the answer solicitation target destination through the network. Answers may be solicited for the question.

Also, the selling price information regarding the selling price of the answer to the question is received from the terminal of the answer target terminal through the network, the selling price information is provided to the question provider through the network, and the application for the purchase of the answer is accepted and purchased. The provided answer may be provided via the network.

Further, a summary of the answers sent to the question and a list of selling prices are provided to the question requesting terminal via the network, and selection information of the answer desired to be browsed from the question requesting terminal is provided. Accept over the network,
The details of the selected answer may be provided to the question requesting terminal via the network.

The user information registration processing unit 134 receives the user information from the user's terminal via the network and stores the received information in the user information database (1
66) is performed.

Further, the registration of the question acceptance condition regarding at least one of the question acceptance date and time and the question acceptance frequency may be accepted from the user via the network.

The archive browsing processing unit 136 accepts a browsing request for past Q & A from the terminal via the network, reads the past Q & A stored in the database as archive information, and sends it to the requesting terminal via the network. Process the provided process.

An information storage medium (a storage medium usable by a computer) 126 stores information such as programs and data, and its function is that of an optical disc (C
D, DVD), magneto-optical disk (MO), magnetic disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or memory (RO
It can be realized by hardware such as M).

The processing section 130 uses the information storage medium 126.
Various processes of the present invention (the present embodiment) are performed based on the information stored in. That is, the information storage medium 126 stores information (program or data) for executing the means of the present invention (the present embodiment) (particularly the block included in the processing unit 110).

The other functions described above can also be realized by reading information from the information storage medium 126.

The programs, data, etc. stored in the information recording medium 126 may be partially or wholly received via a transmission medium such as a network line. That is, the host computer 120 can also receive the program, data, and the like in an embodied format embodied in a carrier wave from a predetermined host terminal device or the like via a network to realize the various functions described above. is there.

The database 150 also includes a transmission / reception section 152 for transmitting / receiving data to / from the host computer 120.
And archive information 162 and community information 164
And an information storage unit 160 that stores user information 166 and various content information 168 in a usable state.

The information storage section 160 is a CPU-readable storage medium such as a magnetic or optical recording medium or a semiconductor memory, and is realized by, for example, a RAM, a hard disk (magnetic disk), a flexible disk, a CD-ROM or the like. .

Archive information 162 contains past Q & A.
Information is stored and functions as an archive information database.

The community information 164 stores information about communities including community registered user information, which is information (for example, user ID) about users who have registered respondents in each community, and serves as a community registered user information database. Function.

The user information 166 stores registered user information such as a user ID, a mail address of a user's mobile terminal, possession points, an evaluation, a profile, information about a community to which the user belongs, and question acceptance conditions.

The various contents information 168 is, for example, WE
Content information for page B and the like are included.

Next, a specific example will be described by taking the i trade system which is an example of the information providing system of the present embodiment as an example.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an outline of services of the i trade system.

The i-trade system makes maximum use of the current Internet function of mobile phones, matches "people who want to know" and "people who know" with the community as a key, and exchanges messages between individuals. Providing a communication platform service to solve problems quickly.

At the site 200 provided by this system,
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of communities related to various themes such as a ramen fan community 210, a game capture community 212, a mobile utilization community 214, a Yokohama information community 216, and a Giants support community 218 are operated. A community is a group of users organized around a particular area of common interest.

One or more users who are interested in the community belong to each community.
For example, the game capture community 212 has users 22
0-1 to 220-4 belong.

In this system, on the premise that "the members who belong to the community of a specific field may have many people who are familiar with the field", first search for the community that deals with what they want to know. Then, by asking questions to members of the community and getting answers from the members, "ask people what you want to know" is realized.

Further, in order to realize the immediacy of "I want to know what I want to know right now", I am able to ask questions using the Internet function of a mobile phone that I carry with me anywhere, anytime. By sending alerts such as "Question has come" and "Answer has come" using the e-mail function of the mobile phone, it is possible to "know what you want to know right now" in near real time.

However, even if you could ask a question anytime and anywhere, it wouldn't be a model without an answer,
It is unlikely that communication will be activated in the true sense if the only advantage that respondents can obtain by answering is "mood self-satisfaction". Therefore, this system allows respondents to add a "price" to their response contents. This price is set based on the points distributed within the service (≒ currency in the real world),
The questioner pays the points he owns to the respondent so that he can browse the response contents.

Here, the user 230 having the question "I want to know right now" participates in a community having a theme close to the question he has (S1), and answers the user who belongs to the community through this system. The question can be distributed by presenting the deadline and the bid price budget (S2).

The user who has received the delivery of the question can upload the answer showing the selling price to the present system within the answer deadline, and the questioner 230 can buy the answer at the offered selling price. When the sales of the answers are completed in this way, the questioner can browse the answer contents (S3), and the questioner pays the responder a point corresponding to the selling price (S4). The questioner can also upload an evaluation of the answer content to the system.

The question and the answer (Q & A) to the question are stored in the system database (S).
6).

Further, for example, the user 250 who has a question "I want to know right now" participates in a community having a theme close to the question that he / she has (S1). It is also possible to search for the question and refer to the answer (S7).

When the user 250 finds an answer that he / she wants to refer to, the selling point is paid to the user of the respondent (S8) and the answer can be referred to.

As described above, in this system, by giving a price to the answer, the person seeking the answer is motivated to answer.

Further, the inquirer who purchased the answer contents can decide the trustworthiness of the answerer by evaluating the satisfaction of the answer contents in return.

An answer (bid) to one question can be accepted from a number of respondents, and a summary of those answers and the trustworthiness of each respondent (the average of evaluations of other respondents to the contents of the answers so far). ), It is possible to select which information to purchase after comparing and
As a questioner, there is a great deal of room for selecting answer information.

Further, in the present system, by storing the exchanged questions and answers as a knowledge database, the user can search and refer to them, and a huge FAQ database is automatically constructed.

Further, to refer to the answer in this database, it is necessary to pay the price set by the respondent as in the case of the ordinary question / answer, and it is possible to further motivate the answer. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the same question and answer from being exchanged many times in this system, and to "collect knowledge".

Each user can create a community based on his / her favorite name and theme, and can become the owner of the community. The owner may obtain a margin of points (≈money) that circulate in his / her community and may freely set the margin rate. For example, if you want to collect a large number of users, you can set a low margin rate compared to other communities, or you can set a high margin rate in a highly specialized community with a high added value. .

Next, a specific question will be asked about the functions of the present embodiment by taking the i-trade system using a form telephone as an example.

FIG. 4 is an example of a function map of the i trade system of this embodiment.

The modules M1 to M56 shown in FIG.
It is a module that is activated to realize each of the screen interfaces I1 to I56 described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 23.

Each module is, for example, a CGI (Common Gat
Interactive W by a program using eway Interface)
The eb page is configured to be created. The processing of each module may be executed on the server, or what can be executed on the mobile terminal may be executed on the mobile terminal by a Java applet (registered trademark), a Web browser, or the like. Good.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are views for explaining the ID / PW input screen and the menu screen.

When the ID / PW input module (M1) displays the ID / PW input screen (I1) of FIG. 5A, the user inputs the user ID and password and selects the "login" button. be able to.

When the input contents are correct, the menu screen module (M2) displays the menu screen (I2) of FIG. 5B.

When "Ask a question" is selected here, the theme selection 1 module (M10) displays the theme selection 1 screen (see I10 in FIG. 6A). Further, when “view my question” is selected, the narrow-down menu module (M20) displays the narrow-down menu screen (see I20 in FIG. 10A). Also, when "Check answers to myself" is selected, the question list display module (M30) causes the question list display screen (see FIG. 14).
(See I30 of (A)) is displayed. Also, if you select "Browse Archives", the Q & A search module (M4
0), the Q & A search screen (I40 in FIG. 18A)
(See) is displayed. When "user registration" is selected, the user registration module (M50) displays the user registration screen (see I50 in FIG. 22A).

First, an operation example when uploading a question will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are views for explaining the theme selection 1 screen and the theme selection 2 screen, and FIGS. 7A and 7B explain the question error screen and the community selection menu screen. FIG.

A theme selection 1 screen (I10) is displayed by the theme selection 1 module (M10). On the theme selection 1 screen (I10), the outline of the theme can be mainly selected, and from this screen, the user can select the outline of the theme according to the question content.

When the outline of the theme is selected, the theme selection 2 module (M11) selects the theme selection 2
The screen (I10-1) is displayed. On the theme selection 2 screen (I11-1), the number of active users who belong to the community of the theme selected on the theme selection 1 screen (I10) is displayed (see 310). An active user is a user who can accept a question at a certain point in time, and is determined by the question acceptability condition registered by the user who is the answer recruitment target and the answer deadline presented by the questioner.

When the number of active users of the theme selected here exceeds 100, an error screen (I11-2 in FIG. 7A) indicating that the question cannot be transmitted is displayed.

Further, it is possible to narrow down the question subject according to a further subdivided theme.

For example, the theme selection 2 screen (I in FIG. 6B)
In 10-1), "Narrow the theme to ramen", the community selection module screen (M12) displays the community selection menu screen (I12 in FIG. 7B). On the community selection menu screen (I12), a list of communities belonging to the narrowed down theme is displayed.
It is possible to further narrow down the question target.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams for explaining the community introduction screen and the question content input screen, and FIGS. 9A and 9B are for explaining the question content confirmation screen and the question transmission screen. FIG.

On the community introduction screen (I13) displayed by the community introduction module (M13), the contents of the community selected from the community list can be browsed.

If "Question this community" is selected here, the question content input module (M14)
A question content input screen (I14) is displayed. From the question content input screen (I14), "question title" 320,
"Text of question contents" 322, "Budget upper limit for answers"
Input of input items such as 324 and “response deadline” 326 is accepted.

When "Ask a question" 328 is selected here, the question content confirmation module (M15) displays a question content confirmation screen (I15 in FIG. 9A). On the question content confirmation screen (I15), a confirmation screen of the question content input on the previous screen is displayed to confirm before transmission.

If "OK with this" is selected on the question content confirmation screen (I15), the question is transmitted by the question transmission module (M16) and the question transmission screen (I16 in FIG. 9B) is displayed. A message indicating that the question has been sent is displayed, and the series of question processes ends.

Next, an operation example when uploading an answer will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C show a narrow-down menu screen, a self-addressed question list screen, and a question content display screen, and FIGS. 11A and 11B show a community question list screen.
It is a question content display screen. 12 (A) and 12 (B), a profile reference screen, and a participating community list screen.

In the narrow-down menu screen (I20) displayed by the narrow-down menu module (M20), the user can select whether to display a list of questions that are addressed to him or to display after narrowing down the questions in the community. it can. When the number of questions increases, it is easier to see after narrowing down by the community.

On the narrow-down menu screen (I20),
When “View list” is selected, the self-addressed question list module (M21) causes the self-addressed question list screen (I2
1) is displayed. On the question list screen for myself (I21), the questions that are addressed to me can be listed. The contents displayed in the list are “question title” 330, “budget upper limit” 332, “answer deadline” 334, and the like.

When a title is selected from the list, the question content display module (M23) displays a question content display screen (I23) where the details including the text of the question can be viewed.

Further, for example, a narrow-down menu screen (see FIG. 10)
In I20) of (A), when a community such as “Ebisu no Tokai” is selected, the community question list module (M22) displays the community question list screen (I22 of FIG. 11A). Here, a list of questions sent to the selected community is displayed.

When the title is selected from the list, the question content display module (M23) displays the question content display screen (I23) in which the details including the text of the question can be viewed. On the question content display screen (I23), "questioner name" 340, "title" 342, and "question content" 34
4, "budget upper limit" 346, "question time" 348, "answer deadline" 350, etc. are displayed.

Question content display screen (I2 in FIG. 11B)
In 3), when the “questioner” 340 is selected, the profile reference module (M24) displays the profile reference screen (I24 in FIG. 12A). On the profile reference screen (I24), the questioner's profile can be viewed. In addition to personal information, your profile also shows your rating of past answers.

The profile reference screen (I in FIG. 12B)
23), when "view participating communities" 340 is selected, a participating community list module (M2
5) Participating community list screen (Fig. 12 (B))
I25) is displayed.

Participating community list screen (FIG. 12B)
In I25), the community to which the questioner belongs can be listed. You can also browse the community home page by selecting the community from the list.

FIGS. 13A, 13B and 13C show an answer input screen, an answer content confirmation screen and an answer transmission screen.

Question content display screen (I2 in FIG. 12A)
When "Reply" is selected in 3), the answer input module (M26) displays the answer input screen (I26).

On the answer input screen (I26), the answer contents to the question can be entered. Answer input screen (I2
6), "Response title" 360, "Response content" 3
Input of response items such as 62 and “response price” 364 is accepted.

When "Reply" 366 is selected here, the reply content confirmation module (M27) displays the reply content confirmation screen (I27 in FIG. 13B).
On the reply content confirmation screen (I27), a confirmation screen of the reply content input on the previous screen is displayed, and confirmation before transmission is performed.

If "OK with this" is selected on the confirmation screen (I27) of the response contents, the response transmission module (M28) transmits the response, and the response transmission screen (I28 in FIG. 13C) is displayed. A message indicating that the reply has been transmitted is displayed, and the series of reply processes ends.

Next, regarding an operation example when browsing an answer,
This will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 to 17.

FIGS. 14A and 14B are question list display screens,
16 is an answer list display screen, and FIGS. 15A and 15B are an answer digest display screen and a question content display screen.
17A and 17B are an answer purchase confirmation screen and an answer content display screen, and FIGS. 17A, 17B, and 17C are an answer content transfer screen, a question solution confirmation screen, and a question solution notification screen.

When the menu screen “See answer for myself” of the menu screen of FIG. 5A is selected, the question list display module (M
30) displays the question list display screen (I30). On the question list display screen (I30), a question list issued by the user is displayed, and it is possible to select which question the answer is viewed.

When a given question is selected here, the answer list display module (M31) causes the answer list display screen (I3
1) is output.

On the answer list display screen (I31), a list of answer contents for the selected question is displayed. In the list, "Respondent name" 370, "Response price" 372 of each answer,
“Title” 374 and the like are described.

When the title of a given answer is selected from the answer list, the answer digest display module (M3
3) displays the answer digest display screen (I33).

On the answer digest display screen (I33), the digest of the answer contents (the first 15 characters of the answer contents) can be viewed. Also, the evaluation contents of the respondents can be viewed from the profile.

When "View question contents" is selected on the answer list display screen (I31), the question contents display module (M32) displays the question contents display screen (I32). If you don't understand what you asked,
In this way, the contents of the question can be viewed, which is convenient.

When "Buy this content" is selected on the answer digest screen (I33), it becomes possible to purchase the formal content, and the answer purchase confirmation module (M
34), an answer purchase confirmation screen (I34) is displayed, and it is urged to confirm whether the answer to be purchased may be the selected one. If "Yes" is selected, points are actually paid to the respondent, and the purchase is completed.

Answer content display module (M35)
The response content display screen (I35) is displayed, and the entire text of the response content can be browsed. Also, the evaluation of the answer contents and the impression of the questioner are accepted from this screen.

Answer content display screen (I3 in FIG. 16B)
In 5), if "Send mail to me" is selected, the reply content transfer module (M36) sends the entire text of the reply content to the user's own mobile mail address and outputs the reply content transfer screen (I36). . It is convenient to send it to the user's own mobile phone in this way, because the answer contents can be referred to even when the user is out of the service area.

When the user's question is solved, on the answer content display screen (I35) of FIG. 16 (B),
When "This question is solved" is selected, the question solution confirmation screen (I37-1) is displayed by the question solution module (M37). By selecting "Yes", the question the user has asked is treated as a solution. , The answer can be terminated. However, in order to quit, it is necessary to accept the answers within the deadline for answering the questions.

If "Yes" is selected here, the question solution module (M37) treats the question the user has asked as a solution and the question solution notice screen (I37-2) is displayed to treat the question as a solution. The message that you have done is displayed.

Next, an operation example when searching an archive (past Q & A) will be described with reference to FIGS.

18 (A) (B) (C) are a Q & A search screen, a search result list display screen, and a Q & A content display screen, and FIGS. 19 (A) (B) (C) are theme selection screens and community selection screens. It is a screen and Q & A list screen.
21A, 21B, and 21C are an answer digest display screen, an answer purchase confirmation screen, and an answer content display screen.

When "Browse archive" is selected on the menu screen of FIG. 5A, the Q & A search module (M4
0) displays the Q & A search screen (I40). On the Q & A search screen (I40), Q & A exchanged in the past
You can search (archive) by keyword or theme.

When a keyword is input on the Q & A search screen (I40), the search result list module (M41) searches based on the input keyword and displays a list of search results on the search result list screen (I41). What you see here is a Q & that has already expired or has been resolved.
Only A.

When a given Q & A is selected from the search result list screen, the Q & A content display module (M45) displays the Q & A content display screen (I45). Q & A
On the content display screen (I45), the question content of the selected Q & A and a list of answer titles are displayed. In the list of answers, all the answers are displayed regardless of whether the questioner has purchased.

When the past Q & A is narrowed down by theme, if a given theme is selected on the Q & A search screen (I40) of FIG. 18A, the theme selection module (M4
2) outputs the theme selection screen (I42 in FIG. 19A). Q & A you want to browse on the theme selection screen (I42)
You can further narrow down the theme of. If you select a given theme here, the community selection module (M
44), the community selection screen (I44) is displayed. On the community selection screen (I44), it is possible to select whether to narrow down by the community belonging to the selected theme or display all Q &A's belonging to the theme in a list.
If you select "List in the order of new arrivals", the Q & A list module (M43) will display the Q & A list screen (I43).
Is displayed. On the Q & A list screen (I43), a list of all Q & A belonging to the selected theme is displayed. Also Q
When the number of & A is large, page link processing is performed and the amount of information displayed on one page is limited.

When a given community is selected on the community selection screen (I44) in FIG. 19B, Q &
A Q & A list screen (I43) is displayed by the A list module (M43). On the Q & A list screen (I43), a list of all Q & A belonging to the selected community is displayed. Q & A contents can be displayed by clicking the title.

When the title is clicked here, Q &
The Q & A content display screen (I45) is displayed by the A content display module (M45). On the Q & A content display screen (I45), "Q & A question content" and "answer title list" are displayed. Here, by selecting a title from the list of answers, the digest of the answers can be viewed.

When the title is selected, the answer digest display module (M33) outputs the answer digest display screen. If you see the answer digest and the content seems to be satisfactory, you can purchase the formal content by selecting "Buy this answer".

When "Buy this answer" is selected, the answer purchase confirmation module (M34) displays the answer purchase confirmation screen (I34), and prompts the user to confirm whether or not the selected answer is acceptable. . If "Yes" is selected, points are actually paid to the respondent, and the purchase is completed.

Answer content display module (M35)
The response content display screen (I35) is displayed, and the entire text of the response content can be browsed. Also, the evaluation of the answer contents and the impression of the questioner are accepted from this screen.

Next, an operation example when registering user information will be described with reference to FIGS.

22 (A) (B) (C) (D) are a user registration screen, a condition selection screen, a date / time selection screen, and a frequency selection screen, and FIGS. 23 (A) (B) (C) are selected days of the week. They are a screen, a date and time selection screen, and a time zone selection screen.

When "User Registration" is selected on the menu screen of FIG. 5A, the user registration menu module (M50) displays the user registration menu screen (I50).

On the user registration menu screen (I50),
When the "question acceptance condition" is selected, the condition selection module (M51) displays the condition selection screen (M51).

User registration menu screen (I50)
When "Question acceptance possible date / time registration" is selected, the date / time selection module (M52) displays a date / time selection screen (I5
2) is displayed. Here, either date selection (day selection or date selection) or time zone selection can be designated.

User registration menu screen (I50)
Then, when "Question Acceptable Frequency Registration" is selected, the frequency selection module (M53) causes the frequency selection screen (I5
3) is displayed. On the frequency selection screen (I53), input about the frequency at which the question is desired to be accepted is accepted.

When "day selection" is specified on the date / time selection screen (I52), the day selection module (M54) displays the day selection screen (I54), accepting the input for the day on which the question is desired to be accepted, The day when the accepted questions can be accepted is registered in the database as user information.

When "date selection" is designated on the date and time selection screen (I52), the date selection module (M55) displays the date selection screen (I55), and accepts the input for the date on which the question is desired to be accepted. Register the accepted question acceptance date as user information in the database.

When "time zone selection" is specified on the date / time selection screen (I52), the time zone selection module (M5
The time zone selection screen (I56) is displayed by 6), the input regarding the time zone in which the question is desired to be accepted is accepted, and the accepted question acceptable time zone is registered in the database as user information.

FIG. 24 is a diagram for explaining an example of the contents of the user information in the database.

The user information 400 is generated for each user, and has a user ID 402, a mail address 404, participation community information 406, acceptance conditions 408 (conditions 410 regarding acceptance date and time and conditions 412 regarding acceptance frequency) possession points 414, evaluation 416. ,
It includes user profile information 418 and the like.

Next, various processing examples for realizing the i-trade system of the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 25 is a flow chart for explaining the login processing of this system.

First, the login ID sent from the mobile terminal
The server receives the password and the server judges whether the password is correct for the input login ID (step S10). Here, the server means a server machine in which a system providing this service operates.

If the login ID and password are correct, display the iTrade menu screen on the mobile terminal,
If there is an error, an error screen is displayed on the mobile terminal (step S20).

FIG. 26 is a flow chart for explaining the question upload process.

When "Send question" is selected from the menu screen, the server displays a list of themes on the mobile terminal (step S30).

Next, the selection of the theme is accepted from the user (step S40).

When the theme selected by the user further includes a theme, the included theme is displayed, and the selection of the theme from the user is accepted again (steps S50, S60, S40).

If the theme selected by the user does not include another theme, the community belonging to the theme is displayed (steps S50 and S70).

When the user selects a community, a question content input screen as shown in FIG. 8B is displayed on the mobile terminal.

Then, the "Title", "Question content", "Reply deadline" and "Budget" input from the question content input screen are received, and the question content confirmation screen as shown in FIG. 9A, for example, is displayed on the user terminal.

When "Ask a question" is selected here, active user extraction processing is performed (step S1).
00, S110). An active user is a user who can accept a question at some point.

When the number of active users exceeds 100, a process of selecting 100 active users is performed (steps S120 and S130).

Then, the entered question content is saved in the database, and the extracted active user is sent an e-mail in which the URL for browsing the question content and the answer deadline are described (step S140). U
The RL is the address of the homepage where the question contents are posted.

FIG. 27 is a flow chart for explaining the reply upload process.

When the URL described in the e-mail received by the active user is selected, the browsing screen of the corresponding question content is displayed on the mobile terminal. At this time, investigate whether the answer deadline of the question has expired or if the question is not solved, and if either of them is applicable, do not display the "answer" menu on the screen and do not accept the answer A warning to that effect is displayed on the screen (step S15).
0).

[0205] Next, "answer" on the question content browsing screen.
When the menu is selected, an answer content input screen is displayed on the mobile terminal (step S160).

[0206] Next, when "Title", "Reply content" and "Reply price" are entered in the reply content input screen and the "Reply" button is selected, a digest of the entered reply content is created (step S170). The digest can include "title", "20 characters of the beginning of the reply content", and "reply price". Further, a screen indicating that the reply has been transmitted may be displayed on the mobile terminal to which the reply has been input.

Then, the digest of the answer contents is transmitted to the interrogator by electronic mail and stored in the database (step S180).

FIG. 28 is a flow chart for explaining the reply viewing / purchasing process.

When the URL described in the e-mail received by the questioner is selected, a list of answer contents for the corresponding question content is displayed on the user terminal of the questioner (step S190). Displayed in this list are, for example, "title", "respondent name", "response price", etc. of each response.

Next, when the title of the answer to be browsed is selected from the answer content list, the answer content digest screen of the selected answer is displayed on the portable terminal (step S2).
00). However, when the answer price is 0 points, the entire answer content may be displayed.

[0211] When the "buy this answer" menu is selected, a purchase confirmation screen of the answer contents is displayed on the portable terminal (step S210).

Next, if "Yes" is selected from the purchase confirmation screen, points corresponding to the answer price are subtracted from the points owned by the user (step S220).

[0213] Next, 5% of the points including the answer price as a whole are deducted as the service usage fee (step S22).
0).

[0214] Next, points of a specific ratio with the answer price as a whole are deducted as community usage fees, and the deducted community usage fees are added to the owner of the corresponding community. The owner of the corresponding community is
You are the owner of the community the questioner has chosen to send the question to. Note that the community usage rate can be determined by the owner of each community.

Next, points obtained by subtracting the service usage fee and the community usage fee are added to the respondent (step S
250).

Next, an e-mail indicating that the answer has been purchased and points have been added is sent to the respondent (step S260).

Then, the full text of the response contents is displayed on the portable terminal (step S270).

FIG. 29 is a flow chart for explaining the respondent evaluation process.

[0219] Answer contents of the questioner's user terminal Full text When the evaluation (5 levels) and the comment to the respondent are input and the "send button" is selected on the screen, the respondent's previous The average value of the contents evaluated newly by the other users and the contents evaluated newly is calculated, and the comprehensive evaluation of the respondents is calculated (step S280).

Then, the respondent is sent an electronic mail in which the questioner's evaluation of the respondent, the comment to the respondent, and the comprehensive evaluation of the respondent are described (step S290).

FIG. 30 is a flow chart for explaining the reply deadline processing.

When “Resolve this question” is selected from the user terminal of the respondent, acceptance of the answer is stopped (step S300).

Next, the question is treated as a solution, and a screen indicating that the acceptance of the answer is stopped is displayed on the portable terminal (step S310).

Next, the solved questions and answers are saved as an archive in the database (step S32).
0).

FIG. 31 is a flow chart for explaining the archive search (keyword search) processing.

When "Browse archive" is selected from the menu screen, a theme list and a keyword search form are displayed on the mobile terminal (step S330).

Next, when the keyword relating to the question to be searched is input in the character input portion of the keyword search form and the "search button" is selected, the text of the question content / answer content including the input search keyword is displayed. The archive list of the retrieved questions and answers that match is created and displayed on the mobile terminal (step S340). At this time, the items displayed in the list are, for example, "question title", "resolution date and time", and the like. Further, as a result of the search, if there is no corresponding question or answer, a screen indicating that there is no corresponding data may be displayed on the mobile terminal.

Next, when the question title is selected from the list of search results, the archive overview screen (contents of the selected question (questioner / title / question content / resolution date / time) and the answer to the question are displayed on the mobile terminal. List (answer title / respondent / answer price) is displayed (step S35).
0).

FIG. 32 is a flow chart for explaining the archive search (theme / community search) processing.

When the "view archive" menu is selected from the menu screen, a list of themes and a form for keyword search are displayed on the mobile terminal (step S36).
0).

Next, the selection of the theme from the user is accepted (step S370).

When the theme selected by the user further includes a theme, the included theme is displayed and the selection of the theme from the user is accepted (steps S380, S390, S370).

If the theme selected by the user does not include a theme, the community belonging to the theme is displayed (step S400).

When the community is selected by the user, a list of archives included in the theme or community selected by the user is displayed on the mobile terminal (steps S410 and S420).

When a question title is selected from the archive list, an archive summary screen (contents of selected question (questioner / title / question content / resolution date / time) and a list of answers to the question are displayed on the mobile terminal. (Response title / Respondent / Response price) is displayed (step S430).

FIG. 33 is a flow chart for explaining the archive browsing / purchasing process.

From the list of answers on the archive summary screen,
When the title of the answer to be browsed is selected, the answer content digest screen of the selected answer is displayed on the mobile terminal (step S440). However, when the answer price is 0 points, the entire answer content may be displayed.

When "Buy this answer" is selected from the answer contents digest screen, a purchase confirmation screen for answer contents is displayed on the portable terminal (step S450).

When "Yes" is selected from the purchase confirmation screen, points corresponding to the answer price are subtracted from the points owned by the user (step S460).

[0240] Next, 5% points of the total answer price are deducted as service usage charges (step S47).
0).

Next, points of a specific ratio with the answer price as a whole are deducted as community usage fees, and the community usage fees are added to the owner of the corresponding community (step S480). Here, the community usage rate can be determined by the owner of each community.

Next, points obtained by subtracting the service usage fee and the community usage fee are added to the respondent (step S
490).

Next, an e-mail indicating that the answer has been purchased and points have been added is sent to the respondent (step S500).

Then, the full text of the answer contents is displayed on the portable terminal (step S510).

FIG. 34 is a flow chart for explaining the active user extraction processing.

First, all users who are registered as respondents in the community selected by the questioner user are extracted from the community registration information database (step S52).
0).

Registered in each community in the community registration information database (respondents are registered)
The user ID of the user is stored.

Next, the following steps S540 to S5 are performed until the processing is completed for all the respondent registered users.
The processing of 90 is performed.

Here, the variables i and n are initialized (step S530). The variable i is a variable used as an index when performing extraction processing for the extracted user, and the variable n is a variable for counting the extracted actives.

Next, i is incremented (step S
540).

Next, the question acceptance condition of the user information of the user (i) is read from the user information database, and it is determined whether the question can be accepted within the answer acceptance deadline presented by the questioner (step S550).

If it can be accepted, the user is extracted as an active user and the variable n is incremented (steps S560, S570, S58).
0) Then, if the processing has not been completed for all the respondent registered users, the processing from step S540 is repeated (step S590).

As described above, according to the mobile phone of the present embodiment, it is possible to realize an information providing system that "a person can ask a person what he / she wants to know and can immediately obtain an answer anytime, anywhere".

[0254] Then, the user has a "exciting feeling that an answer may come back soon" peculiar to e-mails such as mobile phones.
And with a system-like mechanism that can get answers instantly,
You can enjoy solving problems and collecting them.

The present system can also be carried out on a mobile phone that forms an alliance with an Internet site operator, a mailing list operator, a mobile phone content provider, etc. who already have a certain number of members.

For example, a content provider operating an i-mode official game site may be prompted to introduce this service, and the system may be positioned as a new menu (or recommended menu) for site members.

If there is a demand among the members of the game site, "I'm playing a role-playing game XX now, but I don't know how to defeat the enemy XX. I want someone who understands to tell me right now." , The system can function as a useful service within the site.

[0258] Further, as an alliance destination, an industry with extremely high professional expertise (eg, tax accountant, accountant, lawyer, etc.)
May be selected for active use in a highly professional community.

Although the preferred embodiments to which the present invention is applied have been described above, the application of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

In the case of the mobile phone of the present embodiment, the case where the terminal of the question requesting source is a mobile phone has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be a portable information device such as a PDA,
It may be a computer such as a PC.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case has been described as an example where the answers are solicited by notifying the answer solicitation destination by e-mail, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the terminal of the answer solicitation destination and the server of the present system may be constantly connected in any window of the PC.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an example of a configuration of an information providing system of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an example of a functional block diagram of a server device of the information providing system of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an outline of services of the i trade system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an example of a function map of the i trade system according to the present embodiment.

5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining an ID / PW input screen and a menu screen.

6A and 6B are diagrams for explaining a theme selection 1 screen and a theme selection 2 screen.

7A and 7B are views for explaining a question error screen and a community selection menu screen.

8A and 8B are diagrams for explaining a community introduction screen and a question content input screen.

9A and 9B are diagrams for explaining a question content confirmation screen and a question transmission screen.

10A, 10B, and 10C are a narrow-down menu screen, a question list screen addressed to oneself, and a question content display screen.

11A and 11B are a community question list screen and a question content display screen.

12A and 12B are a profile screen and a participating community list screen.

13 (A), (B), and (C) are response input screens,
It is an answer content confirmation screen and an answer transmission screen.

14A and 14B are a question list display screen and an answer list display screen.

15A and 15B are an answer digest display screen and a question content display screen.

16A and 16B are an answer purchase confirmation screen and a participation answer content display screen.

17 (A), (B), and (C) are an answer content transfer screen, a question solution confirmation screen, and a question solution notification screen.

18A, 18B, and 18C are a Q & A search screen, a search result list display screen, and a Q & A content display screen.

19A, 19B, and 19C are a theme selection screen, a community selection screen, and a Q & A list screen.

FIG. 20 is a Q & A list screen.

21 (A), (B), and (C) are an answer digest display screen, an answer purchase confirmation screen, and an answer content display screen.

22 (A), (B), (C), and (D) are a user registration screen, a condition selection screen, a date and time selection screen, and a frequency selection screen.

23A, 23B, and 23C are a day selection screen, a date selection screen, and a time zone selection screen.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating an example of the content of user information in a database.

FIG. 25 is a flow chart diagram for explaining this system login processing.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart diagram for explaining question upload processing.

FIG. 27 is a flow chart diagram for explaining a response upload process.

FIG. 28 is a flow chart diagram for explaining an answer browsing / purchasing process.

FIG. 29 is a flow chart diagram for explaining a respondent evaluation process.

FIG. 30 is a flow chart diagram for explaining an answer deadline process.

FIG. 31 is a flow chart diagram for explaining an archive search (keyword search) process.

FIG. 32 is a flow chart diagram for explaining archive search (theme / community search) processing.

FIG. 33 is a flow chart diagram for explaining an archive browsing / purchasing process.

FIG. 34 is a flow chart diagram for explaining an active user extraction process.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Information Providing System 10 Internet (Public Line) 20, 30 Mobile Terminal 100 Server Device 110 of Information Providing System 110 Communication Device 120 Host Computer 122 Storage Unit 124 Communication Unit 126 Information Storage Medium 130 Processing Unit 132 Q & A Processing Unit 134 User Information Registration Processing Part 136 Archive browsing processing part 150 Database 152 Transmission / reception part 160 Information storage part 162 Archive information 164 Community information (community registration user information) 166 User information 168 Various content information

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Atsuhiro Kumagai             Roppongi 1-9-9 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo             First Plaza 1025 (72) Inventor Shinpei Yajima             Fukuda, 3-5-11 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo             Building 202

Claims (24)

[Claims] 1. An information providing system for providing an answer to a question via a network, which accepts a question request including information about a question and an answer deadline from the terminal via the network, and sends it to a terminal of an answer target. A method for soliciting an answer by presenting the deadline for answering the question via the network, and accepting an answer to the question from the terminal of the answer solicitation destination via the network, An information providing system characterized by including a means for providing an answer. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein means for accepting registration of question acceptance conditions relating to at least one of a question acceptance date and time and a question acceptance frequency of a user from a terminal via a network, and a registered question acceptance item, An information providing system comprising means for extracting a user who can accept a question as an answer solicitation destination within a question answer deadline, and soliciting an answer as an answer solicitation destination. 3. An information providing system for providing an answer to a question via a network, wherein registration of question acceptance conditions relating to at least one of a question acceptance date and a question acceptance frequency of a user is accepted from a terminal via the network. Method, and means for accepting questions from terminals via the network, and based on the registered question acceptance conditions, users who can accept questions are extracted as answer recruitment destinations, and the network is connected to the extracted user terminals. A means for soliciting an answer to the question via the network, a means for accepting an answer to the question from a terminal for which an answer is solicited via a network, and a method for providing an answer to the corresponding terminal as a requester of the question via the network, An information providing system including: 4. The information according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the answer is solicited by transmitting an answer solicitation e-mail showing an answer deadline to the answer solicitation target terminal. Offer system. 5. The email according to any one of claims 1 to 4, when an answer to a question is received from a terminal of an answer target through a network, a message is sent to the terminal of the corresponding question requester. An information providing system characterized by notifying by. 6. The selection information of a community selected from the communities provided for a plurality of themes by associating with a target for answer recruitment according to any one of claims 1 to 5, An information providing system, characterized in that a user who is a target for answering is extracted from among users who belong to a selected community. 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising means for managing the points owned by the user, the predetermined points being associated with the provision of an answer to the terminal of the question requesting source. An information providing system characterized by performing processing for shifting from the possession points to the possession points of the user who provided the answer. 8. The bid price information regarding at least one of a bid price and an upper limit of a bid price of an answer from a question requesting terminal is accepted via a network, and the bid price information is sent to a terminal of an answer target object. An information providing system characterized in that the information is provided via a network to collect answers to the question. 9. The selling price information according to any one of claims 7 to 8 is accepted from a terminal of an answer target terminal via a network, and the selling price information is provided to a question requesting source via the network. An information providing system characterized by receiving an application for purchasing an answer, and providing an answer purchased through a network. 10. The question requesting terminal according to claim 1, wherein the inquiry requesting terminal is provided with a summary of the answers sent to the question and a selling price list via the network. An information providing system characterized by receiving selection information of an answer desired to be browsed from a terminal via a network and providing details of the answer selected via the network to a terminal as a question requesting source. 11. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein a portable information device is used as the terminal. 12. An information providing method for providing an answer to a question via a network, which accepts a question request including information about a question and a deadline for the answer from the terminal via the network, and sends the question to an answer target terminal. And the step of performing an answer solicitation showing the answer deadline for the question via the network, and accepting the answer to the question from the terminal of the answer solicitation destination via the network, and sending the answer to the corresponding question requesting terminal via the network. A method for providing information, comprising: providing an answer. 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein registration of question acceptance conditions relating to at least one of a question acceptance date and time and a question acceptance frequency of the user is accepted from the terminal via the network, and based on the registered question acceptance cases, And a step of extracting a user who can accept the question within the answer deadline of the question as an answer solicitation target, and an answer providing method is characterized in that the extracted user is solicited as an answer solicitation target. 14. An information providing method for providing an answer to a question via a network, wherein registration of question acceptance conditions relating to at least one of a question acceptance date and a question acceptance frequency of a user is accepted from a terminal via the network. Step, and the step of accepting questions from terminals via the network, and based on the registered question acceptance conditions, the users who can accept the questions are extracted as the answer solicitation targets, and the network is connected to the extracted user terminals. A step of soliciting an answer to the question via the network, a step of accepting an answer to the question from the terminal of the answer solicitation target via the network, and providing an answer to the corresponding question requesting terminal via the network, Information provision method characterized by including 15. The information according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the response is solicited by transmitting an answer solicitation email showing a response deadline to the terminal of the answer solicitation target. How to provide. 16. The email according to any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein when an answer to a question is received from a terminal of an answer target through a network, a response is sent to the corresponding terminal of the requester of the question. A method for providing information, characterized in that notification is given by. 17. The selection information of a community selected by associating with a target for answer recruitment from among the communities provided for a plurality of themes according to claim 12, the network requesting from the terminal of the question requesting source. A method for providing information, characterized in that a user who is the target of answer recruitment is extracted from the users who belong to the selected community. 18. The method according to claim 12, further comprising the step of managing the points owned by the user, the predetermined points being associated with the provision of an answer to the terminal of the question requesting source. An information providing method characterized by performing a process of shifting from the possession points to the possession points of the user who provided the answer. 19. The bid price information regarding at least one of a bid price and an upper limit of a bid price of an answer to a question is received from a terminal of a question requesting source via a network, and the bid price information is sent to a terminal of an answer target object. A method for providing information, characterized by providing the information via a network and soliciting answers for the question. 20. The selling price information regarding the selling price of an answer to a question is received from a terminal of an answer target object through a network according to claim 18, and the selling price information is provided to a question requesting source through the network. A method of providing information, characterized by receiving an application for purchasing an answer and then providing the purchased answer via a network. 21. The inquiry requesting terminal according to claim 12, wherein the inquiry requesting terminal is provided with a summary of the answers received in response to the question and a selling price list via the network. A method for providing information, characterized by receiving selection information of an answer desired to be browsed from a terminal via a network and providing details of the answer selected via the network to a terminal as a question requesting source. 22. The information providing method according to claim 12, wherein a portable information device is used as the terminal. 23. A program usable by a computer, the program causing a computer to realize the information providing system according to claim 1. Description: 24. A program usable by a computer, characterized by causing the computer to realize the information providing method according to any one of claims 12 to 22.