JP2003106852A - Information terminal device and information server - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information terminal device for efficiently acquiring information requested by a user by utilizing user information regarding a user and an environment in which the user is placed for a retrieval without loading on the user side, and to provide an information server. SOLUTION: When there is a request of retrieving information from the passenger of a vehicle 1, a user information transmitter 26 transmits vehicle data to an information center 4 via a data channel by a data communication processing unit 13b. A voice transmitter 25 transmits a voice instructing a retrieving content generated from the passenger of the vehicle 1 to the center 4 via a voice channel by a voice communication processing unit 13a. When the vehicle data is retrieved by the voice of instructing the retrieving content generated from the passenger in the center 4, data information of the retrieved result is received from the center 4, and displayed for the passenger of the vehicle 1 by a data information display unit 28. The voice information of the retrieved result is received from the center 4, and displayed for the passenger of the vehicle 1 by a voice display unit 27.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an information terminal and an information server used in an information distribution system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, JP-A-11-351901
The gazette describes the situation where the user is located, the user's request, the user's personal information, the user's utterance keyword, the operation content of the device, etc., as appropriate for each item. Equipped with a dialogue database consisting of multiple dialogue data, it matches the detected user's actual situation, the estimated user's request, the current user's personal information, and the user's utterance keyword input via the microphone. Dialogue data,
There is disclosed a control device that retrieves from the dialogue database and provides the user with it. According to this, even if the user's utterance keyword is the minimum, the content of the user's intended (desired) information can be judged from other information, so that the search can be performed.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-271074, one communication line is used to connect to an information providing station. First, the communication line is used in a voice communication mode, and the content of desired information is given by voice. To the operator to perform a search, and by receiving the identification code indicating the transmission of the next searched data, the voice communication mode is automatically switched to the data communication mode and the requested information is received from the information providing station. A communication device is disclosed. According to this, the communication line of one line is automatically switched between the voice communication mode and the data communication mode for communication, so that the user does not need to manually switch the mode, which saves the user's labor and communication. It takes less time.

[0004]

However, in the control device described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-351901 mentioned above, even if the user's utterance keyword is the minimum, the information intended by the user from other information is obtained. Although it is possible to determine the contents of the above, since the dialogue database is provided on the control device side, it was very inefficient to hold the contents of the dialogue database of a plurality of control devices in common. Further, if the dialogue database is provided on the control device side, there is a problem that the control device cannot be downsized. Therefore, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-27
Like the communication device described in Japanese Patent No. 1074, a dialogue database is shared and provided in the information providing station, and the situation where the user is placed by communication from the control device side, the user's request, and the user's request. Send each item such as personal information, user's utterance keyword, device operation content, etc. to the information providing station,
When trying to search the dialogue database, the amount of communication information becomes enormous. Therefore, if one communication line is switched between the voice communication mode and the data communication mode, the communication time becomes longer, which is a problem. there were.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is efficient to use the user information concerning the user and the environment in which the user is placed for searching without burdening the user. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an information terminal and an information server for acquiring information requested by a user.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an information terminal according to the invention of claim 1 distributes information requested by a user by searching a search database connected to an information server. An information terminal used in the information distribution system, including a voice acquisition unit (for example, the voice transmission unit 25 of the embodiment) that acquires the voice of the user and a user information acquisition unit (for example, the voice transmission unit 25 of the embodiment). A user information transmitting unit 26) of the embodiment, a voice communication unit (for example, a voice communication processing unit 13a of the embodiment) for transmitting and receiving voice information to and from the information server, and the user information to the information server. A data communication unit (for example, the data communication processing unit 13b according to the embodiment) that receives the search result data information from the server and the voice communication unit. A voice output unit for displaying the voice information received from the user to the user (for example, the voice display unit 27 of the embodiment), and a data display for displaying the data information received by the data communication unit from the information server to the user. Means (for example, the data information display unit 28 of the embodiment). With the above configuration, user information used for information retrieval is transmitted to the information server at a predetermined timing by using the data communication means, and while the retrieval environment in the information server is prepared, the user retrieves information by voice. When a request is made, the voice communication means can be used to transmit the user's voice instruction for information retrieval to the information server, and a more detailed retrieval can be executed. Further, the retrieved information can be obtained through the voice communication means if it is information by voice and through the data communication means if it is information by data such as image information.

An information terminal according to a second aspect of the present invention is the information terminal according to the first aspect, further comprising personal information storage means (for example, personal information database 17 of the embodiment) for storing the personal information of the user. The user information transmitted to the information server includes the personal information stored in the personal information storage means. With the above configuration, the personal information of the user can be used for the information search in the information server, and the information related to the user can be efficiently searched.

An information terminal according to a third aspect of the present invention is the information terminal according to the first or second aspect, which is a vehicle condition detecting means (for example, an embodiment of the present invention) for acquiring the condition information of the vehicle on which the user is riding. It is characterized in that the vehicle status detection unit 24) having a form is included, and the user information transmitted to the information server includes status information of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle status detection means. With the above configuration, it becomes possible to more efficiently retrieve information relating to the behavior of the user and the surrounding environment by using the situation information of the vehicle on which the user rides for information retrieval in the information server. .

An information server according to a fourth aspect of the present invention stores information requested from a user's terminal in a search database (for example, various information search databases 37 in the embodiments).
a-37c) is an information server used in an information distribution system for searching and distributing from (a) to (37c), which is an information server connected to the search database, and is a voice communication unit for receiving the voice of the user from the terminal of the user ( For example, the voice communication processing unit 32a) of the embodiment and a data communication unit (for example, the embodiment of the embodiment) for receiving the user information about the user and the environment in which the user is placed from the terminal of the user. A data communication processing unit 32b), an information search means for searching the search database with the voice of the user and the user information (for example, the information search processing unit 35 of the embodiment).
And an information distribution unit (for example, the voice synthesis processing unit 39 and the data information transmission unit 40 of the embodiment) that distributes the search result output by the information search unit to the terminal of the user. To do. With the above configuration, the data communication means is used to acquire the user information used for information retrieval from the user's terminal at a predetermined timing and the user information regarding the environment in which the user is placed, and the retrieval in the information server is performed. While preparing the environment, when the user requests the information search, it is possible to use the voice communication means to acquire the information search instruction by the user's voice from the user's terminal and execute the more detailed search. become able to.

An information server according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the information server according to the fourth aspect, wherein the voice communication unit transmits the voice information acquired as a search result, and the data communication unit causes the search result to be transmitted. It is characterized in that the data information acquired as is transmitted. With the above configuration, the retrieved information can be transmitted to the user's terminal via the voice communication means if it is information by voice and the data communication means if it is information by data such as image information. become.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An information terminal and an information server according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, an information distribution system including an information terminal and an information server according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.
An example will be described. The information distribution system shown in FIG.
For example, GPS (Global Positioning System) and D (Dif
vehicle running on the road with a navigation device that can identify its position using GPS
Is a system for delivering optimal information based on the position of the vehicle 1 to the passengers. In the information distribution system, the information providing area is divided into unit blocks called “cells”, and the information registered by designating the cell 3 distributed by the information provider 2 is transferred to the vehicle 1 existing in the cell 3 in the information center. Deliver from 4.

The flow of information distribution of the above information distribution system will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 2. First, the information provider 2 determines the cell 3 and time zone to be distributed to the information center 4 via the terminal. Register the specified information (register information). On the other hand, the vehicle 1 uses GPS or DGPS by the GPS satellites 5 to obtain its position, time and destination information.
To cell information request (location information notification).
When the vehicle 1 exceeds the range of the cell 3 notified from the information center 4, the vehicle 1 notifies the information center 4 of the position, time, and destination information, and the information of the next cell is notified to the information center 4.
Request to.

At the information center 4, information indicating the range of the cell 3 in which the vehicle 1 will travel next (based on the range surrounded by a plurality of coordinate points, based on the notified position, time, and destination information of the vehicle 1). (Information shown) and information selected from the information registered by the information provider 2 and associated with the cell 3 and the time zone, or the cell 3 corresponding to the travel route estimated from the destination information of the vehicle 1. The information associated with
Deliver to vehicle 1 (information delivery). In vehicle 1, GUI
Information is displayed to an occupant of the vehicle 1 using (Graphical User Interface) (information display). FIG. 3 is an example in which information is displayed on a display device (not shown) by the GUI, and when the list 101 of distributed information is selected, detailed information 102 is displayed. Note that the number of vehicles 1 that acquire information using the information distribution system is not limited to one, and the information distribution system distributes information based on each position information to a plurality of vehicles.

Next, an information terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. An information terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, in the above information distribution system, an occupant of a vehicle 1 searches for information prepared from the vehicle 1 to an information center 4,
It is used for the vehicle 1 side to receive this information. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 includes a map information database 11a and manages a travel route and destination information set by an occupant of the vehicle 1 by using GPS or DGPS, and a traveling direction of the vehicle 1 with respect to the occupant. Is a navigation device that displays the guide information of (1) and outputs map coordinates such as longitude and latitude, travel route, and destination information as position information of the vehicle 1.

Reference numeral 12 denotes an information terminal of the present embodiment mounted on the vehicle 1, which includes a voice communication processing unit 13a for transmitting / receiving voice information to / from the information center 4 and data information transmitting / receiving to / from the information center 4. Data communication processing unit 1 for
The communication processing unit 13 including 3b and the navigation device 11
Position information acquisition unit 14 that acquires the position information of the vehicle 1 from the
When the occupant of the vehicle 1 utters an operation instruction to the information terminal 12, the voice recognition processing unit 15 that acquires this voice, performs voice recognition of the voice of the acquired occupant, and determines the content of this instruction, and voice synthesis. According to the voice synthesis processing unit 16 for displaying the control content for this instruction, the age of the occupant of the vehicle 1,
The personal information database 17 stores personal information such as sex and taste.

The information terminal 12 includes (1) a vehicle speed sensor 18 for detecting the traveling speed of the vehicle 1, (2) an outside air temperature detecting device 19 for detecting an outside air temperature around the vehicle 1, and (3) the vehicle 1
Temperature detecting device 20, (4) for detecting the room temperature in the passenger compartment of the vehicle
A remaining fuel amount detecting device 21 for detecting the amount of fuel in the vehicle 1,
(5) Number of passengers detecting device 22 for detecting the number of passengers of the vehicle 1,
(6) The vehicle 1 according to the operating state of the wiper, raindrop sensor, etc.
The vehicle state detection unit 24 that acquires the state of the vehicle 1 from the weather detection device 23 that detects the weather of the place where the vehicle travels.

Further, the information terminal 12 outputs the voice indicating the information retrieval instruction spoken by the occupant of the vehicle 1 to the voice communication processing unit 13.
a voice transmitting unit 25 for transmitting to the information center 4 via a,
The personal information of the occupant of the vehicle 1 stored in the personal information database 17 and the position information acquisition unit 14 are the navigation device 1
1, the position information of the vehicle 1 acquired from 1 and the vehicle state of the vehicle 1 acquired by the vehicle status detection unit 24, user information regarding the user (occupant of the vehicle 1) and the environment in which the user is placed. To the information center 4 to request the search for the optimum information corresponding to the user information, and a voice for displaying the voice information received from the information center 4 via the voice communication processing unit 13a. A display unit 27 and a data information display unit 28 that displays data information such as images received from the information center 4 via the data communication processing unit 13b using a GUI are provided.

Further, the information terminal 12 is assumed to be equipped with an input device, a display device and the like (none of which are shown). Here, the input device refers to a keyboard (keypad) including a GUI input device, an input device such as a button switch, or a voice input device such as a microphone that acquires a voice of an occupant of the vehicle 1. What is a display device?
The image display device such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display device or a liquid crystal display device, and the audio display device such as a speaker for outputting sound.

Next, an information server according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 31 indicates
An information server provided in the information center 4, which is a voice communication processing unit 3 for transmitting and receiving voice information to and from the information terminal 12.
2a and a communication processing unit 32 including a data communication processing unit 32b for transmitting and receiving data information to and from the information terminal 12, and a voice uttered by an occupant of the vehicle 1 from the information terminal 12 is received via the voice communication processing unit 32a. Then, by recognizing the voice of the occupant of the vehicle 1, the voice recognition processing unit 33 that obtains the information regarding the information search instruction of the occupant, and the voice recognition processing unit 33 recognizes the voice regarding the information search instruction of the occupant of the vehicle 1. And a large-capacity recognition word database 34 for

Further, the information server 31 searches various prepared databases according to the information regarding the information retrieval instruction of the occupant of the vehicle 1 recognized by the voice recognition processing unit 33, and the information requested by the occupant of the vehicle 1. And an information search processing unit 35 for acquiring The information search processing unit 35 is connected to various information search databases 37a to 37c via a computer network 36. Here, the computer network 36 includes the above-described information search processing unit 35 and various information search databases 37.
LAN (Local Area Net) for connecting a to 37c
network including work), such as WAP (Wi
wireless communication by reless Application Protocol), WW
Information is transmitted and received by wired communication via the Internet using W (World Wide Web), a public line network such as PSTN (Public Switch Telephone Network) or ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), or a dedicated line.

Furthermore, the information server 31 receives the user information (occupant of the vehicle 1) and the user information concerning the environment in which the user is placed, transmitted from the user information transmitting section 26 of the information terminal 12, Optimal information search instructing section 3 for instructing information retrieval processing section 35 to retrieve optimal information corresponding to user information
8, a voice synthesis processing unit 39 for transmitting the search result searched by the information search processing unit 35 to the information terminal 12 as an audible voice signal by voice synthesis, and similarly, a search result searched by the information search processing unit 35 for data information. A data information transmission unit 40 for transmitting the information to the information terminal 12 as it is.

The navigation device 11 outputs the map coordinates as the position information. However, the position information output by the navigation device 11 is not limited to the map coordinates, and the mesh coordinates set in the above information distribution system are used. It may be a mesh number (cell number) for distinguishing each cell 3 in the shape of a circle, or position information of a map information database stored in a common format in each of the information terminal 12 and the information server 31.

Next, the operation of the information terminal 12 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 shows the information terminal 12
First, the user information transmission unit 26 of the information terminal 12 determines whether or not vehicle data is automatically transmitted as user information (step S).
1). Note that the setting of whether or not to automatically transmit the vehicle data may be performed by the occupant of the vehicle 1 in advance,
You may check each time. In addition, the vehicle data to be transmitted includes the position information of the vehicle 1 acquired by the position information acquisition unit 14 from the navigation device 11, and the vehicle status detection unit 24 detects the vehicle speed sensor 18, the outside air temperature detection device 19, and the inside air temperature detection device 2.
0, the remaining fuel amount detection device 21, the occupant number detection device 22, the weather detection device 23, and the like, which are the user information of the occupants of the vehicle 1. Furthermore, the personal information such as the age, sex, preference of the occupant of the vehicle 1 stored in the personal information database 17 may be transmitted at the same time as the user information. However, it is preferable that the personal information is transmitted only when the stored contents of the personal information database 17 are updated.

In step S1, if the vehicle data is not automatically transmitted (NO in step S1), the voice transmitting unit 2
5 and the user information transmission unit 26 confirm whether or not there is a request for information retrieval from the occupant of the vehicle 1 (step S2). In step S2, when there is no request for information search from the occupant of vehicle 1 (NO in step S2), the process waits until the occupant of vehicle 1 requests the information search. In addition, here, the vehicle 1
Whether or not there is a request for information retrieval from the occupant of the vehicle is recognized by the voice recognition processing unit 15 of the instruction voice of the occupant of the vehicle 1 or G
The determination is made based on an instruction from an input device such as a keyboard (keypad) including a UI input device and a button switch. The vehicle data is transmitted each time an occupant of the vehicle 1 requests information retrieval.

In step S2, when the occupant of the vehicle 1 requests information retrieval (YES in step S2),
The user information transmission unit 26 determines whether the data line by the data communication processing unit 13b is open (step S3). In step S3, when the data line by the data communication processing unit 13b is not open (NO in step S3), the user information transmitting unit 26 opens the data line by the data communication processing unit 13b (step S4). If the data line is opened in step S4 or the data line is opened by the data communication processing unit 13b in step S3 (YES in step S3), then the voice transmitting unit 25 causes the voice line by the voice communication processing unit 13a. Is opened (step S5).

Next, the user information transmitter 26 transmits the vehicle data to the information center 4 via the data line of the data communication processor 13b (step S6). In addition, the voice transmitting unit 25 transmits the instruction voice of the search content uttered by the occupant of the vehicle 1 to the information center 4 via the voice line of the voice communication processing unit 13a (step S7). And
The result of the information search by the information center 4 is waited, the data information of the search result is received from the information center 4, and the data information display unit 28 displays it to the occupant of the vehicle 1 using the GUI (step S8). Further, the voice information of the search result is received from the information center 4 and displayed on the occupant of the vehicle 1 by the voice display unit 27 (step S9).

When the search result data information and voice information are received from the information center 4, the occupant of the vehicle 1 is then asked whether or not to perform another search (step S10). The operation of the occupant of the vehicle 1 is confirmed by synthetic voice by the voice synthesis processing unit 16 or an instruction by GUI display. When re-search is performed in step S10 (YES in step S10), the process returns to step S6 and the above-described operation is repeated. When the re-search is not performed in step S10 (NO in step S10), the voice transmitting unit 25 closes the voice line by the voice communication processing unit 13a (step S11).

Then, the voice transmitting section 25 and the user information transmitting section 26 confirm whether or not there is a system termination request from an occupant of the vehicle 1 (step S12). Step S12
If there is no request from the occupant of the vehicle 1 to terminate the system (NO in step S12), the process returns to step S1.
The above operation is repeated. In step S12, if there is a request from the occupant of the vehicle 1 to terminate the system (YES in step S12), the user information transmitting unit 26 closes the data line by the data communication processing unit 13b (step S13), and the information terminal 12 The information retrieval process by is ended.

On the other hand, when the vehicle data is automatically transmitted in step S1 (YES in step S1), the user information transmitting section 26 determines whether or not the data line by the data communication processing section 13b is open ( Step S14). In step S14, if the data line by the data communication processing unit 13b is not open (NO in step S14), the user information transmitting unit 26 opens the data line by the data communication processing unit 13b (step S15). If the data line is opened in step S15 or the data line is opened by the data communication processing unit 13b in step S14 (YES in step S14), the user information transmitting unit 26
Determines whether or not the vehicle data transmission conditions are satisfied (step S16). The vehicle data transmission condition is, for example, a predetermined time, a predetermined distance, or a case where the vehicle exceeds the range of the cell 3 notified from the information center 4.

In step S16, if the vehicle data transmission conditions are not satisfied (NO in step S16),
Wait until the vehicle data transmission conditions are met. Step S16
When the transmission condition of the vehicle data is satisfied (YES in step S16), the user information transmission unit 26 transmits the vehicle data to the information center 4 via the data line of the data communication processing unit 13b (step S16). S17).

After transmitting the vehicle data to the information center 4,
Next, the voice transmitting unit 25 and the user information transmitting unit 26 confirm whether or not there is a request for information retrieval from the occupant of the vehicle 1 (step S18). In step S18, the vehicle 1
If there is no request for information retrieval from the passenger (step S18)
No), the process returns to step S16, and the processing from step S16 to step S18 is repeated, and while the vehicle data is being transmitted to the information center 4, it waits until the occupant of the vehicle 1 requests the information retrieval.

In step S18, when there is a request for information retrieval from the occupant of the vehicle 1 (YE in step S18)
S), the voice transmitting unit 25 opens the voice line by the voice communication processing unit 13a (step S19). And
The voice transmitting unit 25 transmits the instruction voice of the search content uttered by the occupant of the vehicle 1 to the information center 4 via the voice line of the voice communication processing unit 13a (step S20). Then, the result of the information search by the information center 4 is waited, the data information of the search result is received from the information center 4, and the data information display unit 28 displays it to the occupant of the vehicle 1 using the GUI (step S21). Further, the voice information of the search result is received from the information center 4, and is displayed on the occupant of the vehicle 1 by the voice display unit 27 (step S22).

When the data information and the voice information of the search result are received from the information center 4, the occupant of the vehicle 1 is then asked whether or not to perform the search again (step S23). Step S
23 to perform a re-search (Y in step S23)
S), after transmitting the vehicle data to the information center 4 by the user information transmitting unit 26 (step S24), step S2
The process returns to 0 and the above operation is repeated. When the re-search is not performed in step S23 (NO in step S23), the process returns to step S11 and the above-described operation is repeated.

Next, the operation of the information server 31 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the information server 31, in which the optimum information search instruction unit 38 of the information server 31 is the information terminal 1 of the vehicle 1.
From 2, it is determined whether or not the vehicle data is received via the data communication processing unit 32b (step S31). When vehicle data is not received from the information terminal 12 of the vehicle 1 in step S31 (NO in step S31), the process waits until vehicle data is received from the information terminal 12. When vehicle data is received from the information terminal 12 of the vehicle 1 in step S31 (YES in step S31), the information search processing unit 35 sets the computer network 36 based on the vehicle data received by the optimum information search instruction unit 38. Through the information retrieval databases 37a to 37c, and extracts information suitable for the user (occupant of the vehicle 1) acquired as vehicle data and the user information regarding the environment in which the user is placed (step S32).

Next, the voice recognition processing unit 33 determines whether or not a search instruction voice uttered by an occupant of the vehicle 1 is received from the information terminal 12 of the vehicle 1 via the voice communication processing unit 32a. Yes (step S33). In step S33, when the instruction voice of the search content uttered by the occupant of the vehicle 1 has not been received (NO in step S33), the occupant of the vehicle 1 waits until the instruction voice of the search content uttered. When the instruction voice of the search content uttered by the occupant of the vehicle 1 is received in step S33 (YES in step S33), the voice recognition processing unit 33 uses the large-capacity recognition word database 34 to perform voice recognition of the vehicle 1. The instruction information of the search content uttered by the occupant is determined (step S3).
4).

When the voice recognition processing unit 33 can determine the instruction information of the search content uttered by the occupant of the vehicle 1, the information search processing unit 35, based on the instruction information of the search content determined by the voice recognition processing unit 33. Of the vehicle (occupant of the vehicle 1) extracted using the vehicle data in step S32 via the computer network 36 and information suitable for the user information regarding the environment in which the user is placed, Information suitable for the search content uttered by the occupant is extracted (step S35). Then, the voice synthesis processing unit 39
If the obtained search result includes something to be displayed by voice, it is converted into voice information by voice synthesis (step S36), and is sent to the information terminal 12 of the vehicle 1 via the voice line by the voice communication processing unit 32a. The voice information of the search result is transmitted (step S37). In addition, the data information transmission unit 4
0 transmits the data information in the obtained search result to the information terminal 12 of the vehicle 1 via the data line by the data communication processing unit 32b (step S38).

The display using the GUI in the vehicle 1 described in the above-described embodiment is performed on the display device for the occupant such as a rear seat (displayed at a position out of sight of the driver). The display can be made regardless of whether the vehicle is running or stopped.
In the case of a display device in which the driver of the vehicle 1 can see, the GUI is not displayed while the vehicle 1 is running, and the content displayed on the GUI is displayed by reading aloud, and the GUI is displayed only when the vehicle 1 is stopped. Shall be performed.

Further, between the voice communication processing unit 13a of the information terminal 12 and the voice communication processing unit 32a of the information server 31 in the above-described embodiment, or between the data communication processing unit 13b of the information terminal 12 and the information server 31. Processing unit 32
The modulation method of the communication between b is, for example, ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying) that changes the amplitude of the carrier wave for communication according to the digital signal sequence to be transmitted, or FSK that changes the frequency of the carrier wave according to the digital signal sequence. (Freq
uency Shift Keying), and also PSK (Phase Shift Keyi) that changes the phase of the carrier wave according to the digital signal sequence.
ng) or the like, any method may be used as long as it is a method of modulating a carrier wave by a digital signal sequence to be transmitted.

The modulation method of the communication for transmitting the voice information between the voice communication processing unit 13a of the information terminal 12 and the voice communication processing unit 32a of the information server 31 in the above-mentioned embodiment is, for example, the analog to be transmitted. AM (Amplitud) that changes the amplitude, frequency, and phase of the carrier wave depending on the signal
e Modulation), FM (Frequency Modulation), PM
An analog modulation method such as (Phase Modulation) may be used.

Further, between the voice communication processing unit 13a of the information terminal 12 and the voice communication processing unit 32a of the information server 31 in the above-described embodiment, or between the data communication processing unit 13b of the information terminal 12 and the information server 31. Processing unit 32
The exchange method of data communication between b may be either a circuit exchange method in which communication is performed by occupying a line or a packet exchange method in which a block (packet) of a digital signal sequence is sent out during communication. .

The information server 31 has a plurality of information terminals 1.
In the case of transmitting and receiving information to and from the information terminal 2, the method of multiplexing transmission / reception signals with each information terminal is FDMA (Frequenc
y division multiple access) and the frequency of the carrier wave for communication are common to the information terminals, and the signal for each information terminal is divided by time and multiplexed to obtain TDMA (Time Division).
Multiple access), and the frequency of a carrier wave for communication is common to the information terminals, and signals for each information terminal are distinguished and multiplexed by a unique code assigned to each information terminal.
Any method such as a method capable of distinguishing and multiplexing signals of a plurality of information terminals may be used.

The multiplexing method of the transmission signal from the information terminal 12 to the information server 31 (uplink signal) and the transmission signal from the information server 31 to the information terminal 12 (downlink signal) is also the frequency of the carrier wave of the up signal and the down signal. Frequency division duplex (FDD) for multiplexing signals as different frequencies and a carrier frequency of an upstream signal and a downstream signal are common, and TDD (Time divis) for multiplexing the upstream signal and the downstream signal by time division.
ion duplex).

Further, in the information terminal 12, the voice communication processing unit 13a and the data communication processing unit 13b do not necessarily have to be separately provided, and similarly, in the information server 31, the voice communication processing unit 32a and the data communication processing unit 32b are not necessarily provided separately. There is no need to provide it. If the communication speed has a margin, both of them may be provided with one communication means capable of simultaneously transmitting and receiving both voice information and data information by the above-mentioned modulation method.

Although the information terminal 12 mounted on the vehicle 1 has been described in the above embodiment, the information terminal has an interface with the navigation device 11 for specifying the position and can communicate with the information server 31. If possible, a PDA (Personal
Digital Assistants). In this case, the user information regarding the environment in which the occupant of the vehicle 1 described in the above-described embodiment is considered as the user information regarding the environment in which the user who owns the mobile phone or PDA is located. To do.

As described above, the information terminal 12 and the information server 31 of the present embodiment have the data communication processing unit 13b and the data communication processing unit 32b when the occupant of the vehicle 1 requests the information retrieval. By using the personal information of the occupant of the vehicle 1 stored in the personal information database 17 of the information terminal 12 and the positional information of the vehicle 1 acquired from the navigation device 11 by the positional information acquisition unit 14, and acquired by the vehicle status detection unit 24. The vehicle state of the vehicle 1 that has been
Occupant) and user information relating to the environment in which the user is placed to the information center 4 in advance, and the search conditions are narrowed down by this, and while the search environment in the information server 4 is being prepared, the occupant of the vehicle 1 When the information search is requested, the voice communication processing unit 13a and the voice communication processing unit 32a are used to transmit an instruction for the information search by the voice of the occupant of the vehicle 1 to the information server to perform a more detailed search. You can Therefore, the information server 31 can easily and surely retrieve the information required by the occupant of the vehicle 1, the efficiency of the retrieval can be improved, the accurate retrieval can be executed in a short time, and the retrieval can be repeated many times. Since it is not necessary to send and receive search information, the communication processing unit 13 and the communication processing unit 3 at the time of search
The effect of being able to improve the efficiency of communication of No. 2 is acquired.

[0046]

As described above, according to the invention described in claim 1, the user information used for information retrieval is transmitted to the information server at a predetermined timing by using the data communication means,
While preparing the search environment in the information server, when the user requests the information search by voice, the voice communication means is used to transmit the user's voice information search instruction to the information server to perform a more detailed search. Will be able to run. Further, the retrieved information can be obtained through the voice communication means if it is information by voice and through the data communication means if it is information by data such as image information. Therefore, the information server can easily and surely retrieve the information requested by the user, which improves the efficiency of the retrieval, enables the accurate retrieval in a short time, and improves the communication efficiency during the retrieval. The effect of being able to improve is obtained. Further, the information terminal side can receive the searched information by an appropriate method, and the effect that the communication efficiency at the time of receiving the search result can be improved can be obtained.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the personal information of the user is used for the information retrieval in the information server, and the information relating to the user can be retrieved more efficiently. Therefore, if the information retrieval instruction by the voice uttered by the user includes the minimum necessary instruction, the information retrieval can be performed on the information server side, and the effect of reducing the burden on the user can be obtained. To be

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the situation information of the vehicle in which the user is riding is used for the information retrieval in the information server, and the information relating to the user's behavior and the surrounding environment can be more efficiently obtained. You will be able to search for. Therefore, similar to claim 3, if the information retrieval instruction by the voice uttered by the user includes the minimum required instruction, the information server side can perform the information retrieval, and the burden on the user is reduced. The effect that can be obtained is obtained.

According to the invention described in claim 4, the data communication means is used to acquire user information to be used for information retrieval from the user's terminal at a predetermined timing to prepare the retrieval environment in the information server. On the other hand, when the user requests the information search by voice, it is possible to use the voice communication means to obtain an instruction for the information search by the voice of the user from the user's terminal and execute a more detailed search. become able to. Therefore, the information server can easily and surely retrieve the information requested by the user.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the retrieved information is voice information if it is voice information, and if it is data information such as image information, it is transmitted to the user via the data communication means. Will be able to send to the terminal. Therefore, the retrieved information can be transmitted to the information terminal side by an appropriate method, and the effect of improving the communication efficiency can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an information distribution system including the information terminal and the information server of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of information display by a GUI of the information distribution system.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information server provided in the information center of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of the information terminal of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of the information server of the same embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

12 information terminal 13a voice communication processing section (voice communication means) 13b data communication processing section (data communication means) 13 communication processing section 17 personal information database (personal information storage means) 24 vehicle status detection section (vehicle status detection means) 25 voice Transmission unit (voice acquisition unit) 26 User information transmission unit (user information acquisition unit) 27 Voice display unit (voice output unit) 28 Data information display unit (data display unit) 31 Information server 32a Voice communication processing unit (voice communication) Means) 32b data communication processing section (data communication means) 32 communication processing section 35 information search processing section (information search means) 37a to 37c various databases for information search (search database) 39 voice synthesis processing section (information distribution means) 40 Data information transmission unit (information distribution means)

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yoichi Kitano             1-4-1 Chuo Stock Market, Wako City, Saitama Prefecture             Inside Honda Research Laboratory (72) Inventor Ryoji Igarashi             1-4-1 Chuo Stock Market, Wako City, Saitama Prefecture             Inside Honda Research Laboratory (72) Inventor Masayuki Takahashi             2-3-1, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo             Inside Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (72) Inventor Norihiko Maeda             2-3-1, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo             Inside Telegraph and Telephone Corporation F term (reference) 2F029 AA02 AB07 AC02 AC09 AC14                       AC16 AD05                 5B075 KK07 KK34 KK37 KK40 ND20                       PP07 PP10 PP30 PR08 UU40                 5H180 AA01 BB05 BB06 BB15 CC12                       EE01 FF05 FF13 FF22 FF27                       FF33 FF38

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An information terminal used in an information distribution system for searching and distributing information requested by a user from a search database connected to an information server, wherein the voice acquisition acquires voice of the user. Means, user information acquisition means for acquiring user information, voice communication means for transmitting and receiving voice information to and from the information server, and transmitting the user information to the information server and searching from the server Data communication means for receiving the resulting data information, voice output means for displaying the voice information received by the voice communication means from the information server to the user, and data information received by the data communication means from the information server An information terminal, comprising: a data display means for displaying to the user. 2. A personal information storage unit for storing personal information of the user, wherein the user information transmitted to the information server includes the personal information stored in the personal information storage unit. The information terminal according to claim 1, which is characterized in that. 3. A vehicle status detecting means for acquiring status information of a vehicle on which the user is riding, wherein the user information transmitted to the information server includes the vehicle status of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle status detecting means. The information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the information terminal includes status information. 4. An information server connected to the search database, which is used in an information distribution system that searches and distributes information requested by a user's terminal from the search database. A voice communication means for receiving from the terminal of the user, user communication information about the user and the environment in which the user is placed, a data communication means for receiving from the terminal of the user, An information retrieval means for retrieving the retrieval database by the voice of the user and the user information, and an information delivery means for delivering the retrieval result output by the information retrieval means to the terminal of the user Information server characterized by. 5. The voice communication means transmits the voice information acquired as a search result, and the data communication means transmits the data information acquired as a search result. Information server.