JP2003162476A - Information providing unit and information providing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To convert or generate information to be delivered, according to the throughput of a terminal that access the unit, and then send the information to the terminal. <P>SOLUTION: An information providing unit 100 that can communicate with a plurality of terminals 410, 420, 510, and 520 over a network 600 wherein the information throughput differs from terminal to terminal. The information providing unit comprises a database 200 in which providing information to be delivered in response to an information reference request from a terminal is stored; terminal type detection means 122 that, upon receiving a reference request, detects a terminal type identifying the throughput of the terminal; delivery information composition means 120 that converts or generates providing information associated with the request from the terminal based on the detected terminal type so that the information is suitable for the throughput of the terminal; and information sending means 112 and 114 that send the converted or generated providing information to the terminal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information providing apparatus and an information providing method for providing information using a network such as the Internet, and more particularly to a plurality of terminals having different processing capabilities according to the processing capabilities. The present invention relates to an information providing device and an information providing method for providing information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a communication environment via a network such as the Internet has been dramatically improved, and the communication speed has been increased and the communication capacity has been increased. Further, in recent years, low-priced always-on environments have been provided, and it has become common for individuals to always connect to networks.

In addition, mobile phones, PHS (Person)
al Handy-phone System) and PDA (Personal Digital Assi)
The spread of mobile terminals such as stan) is remarkable, and various kinds of information can be obtained by using these mobile terminals to send and receive e-mails or access information providing sites via the Internet. Has become.

Since the mobile terminal is required to be small and light in nature, the display screen size is generally small, and the processing speed and the memory capacity are also small. There are considerable restrictions on the processing capacity including specifications. In addition, specifications such as display screen size are different between each model because various models are available on the market. Furthermore, an entity that provides mobile phone services (including PHS services) (hereinafter also referred to as a carrier)
Depending on the browser installed on the mobile terminal, the displayable image format (gif, jpeg, bmp,
(png etc.) are also different.

Therefore, a site created for a mobile terminal belonging to a certain carrier can be properly accessed from the mobile terminal of the carrier but cannot be accessed or accessed from the mobile terminals of other carriers. However, there is an inconvenience such as display disorder. Even if the model is different even in the same business, the display specifications (hardware specifications such as the screen size of the display device, the number of colors that can be displayed, the number of display characters, etc., and a browser or a device for displaying images) There is a disadvantage in that the display may not be performed as expected, although it can be accessed by software (including both software specifications such as a viewer).

[0006] In particular, when constructing an information providing site for mobile terminals, it is necessary to construct different sites by changing the URL and the like so as to suit each of a plurality of carriers.

Recently, an image pickup device such as a CCD is mounted on a portable terminal so that an image can be sent to another person by e-mail or the like, but in this case as well, an image can be sent between different carriers. I couldn't send the image because of the format difference.

Regarding this point, regarding transmission / reception of an electronic mail to which image information is attached, the carrier is estimated from the domain name or the like included in the destination of the electronic mail, and the image is displayed so that it can be displayed on the mobile terminal of the carrier. A system in which the format is converted so that an e-mail is delivered (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 200-200200).
No. 0-59595), or when the image format that can be displayed by the sender is stored individually when the electronic mail is received, and the electronic mail accompanied by the image information is received before. A method has been proposed in which, when sending to a certain destination, the image format is converted based on the stored information and then sent (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-69443).

[0009]

As described above, the prior art is as follows.
It is necessary to construct multiple sites with similar contents so as to meet the processing capability including the display specifications of the terminal device that is accessed, and it takes a lot of time and effort to create and operate them, and the processing capability of the terminal device is required. There was a problem that it was not possible to respond in detail according to.

Further, the above-mentioned conventional techniques relating to the transmission / reception of electronic mail accompanied by image information are all related to the transmission / reception of electronic mail accompanied with image information, and are applied when downloading information including image information from an information providing site. Can not do it. Further, all of these techniques are for transmitting an image in which the image format is converted so that it can be displayed on the terminal device of the destination of the electronic mail, and for example, the image information received in the mailbox of the mail server is involved. In a system that allows an unspecified one or a plurality of terminal devices having different displayable image formats to receive an e-mail, it may not be possible to properly receive the e-mail. Furthermore, although some people own multiple mobile phones, an e-mail with image information attached to an e-mail address of one mobile phone can be used as an information processing device (other mobile phone) other than the one mobile phone. In the case of receiving by telephone, PDA, personal computer, etc.), there is also a problem that the above-mentioned conventional technique cannot receive or cannot properly receive.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to convert or generate information to be distributed in accordance with the processing capability of a terminal device that accesses the terminal device. It is an object to provide an information providing apparatus and method for transmitting the information to the apparatus.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information providing device capable of communicating via a network with a plurality of terminal devices having different information processing capacities. A provision information storage unit that stores provision information distributed according to a reference request, and a terminal type detection unit that detects a terminal type according to the processing capacity of the terminal device when the reference request is received, Distribution information configuring means for configuring (generating or converting) the provided information related to the request of the terminal device based on the terminal type detected by the terminal type detecting means so as to match the processing capability of the terminal device. There is provided an information providing device comprising: an information transmitting unit configured to transmit the providing information configured by the distribution information configuring unit to the terminal device.

When receiving the information reference request from the terminal device, the information providing device of the present invention detects the terminal type of the terminal device, and based on this, adapts to the processing capability of the terminal device. Since the provision information is generated or converted and transmitted, it is possible to construct various information with different processing capacities by constructing a single information provision site without being restricted by the processing capacities of the accessing terminal devices. It becomes possible to support access from the terminal device.

Further, when accessing using a terminal device having a high processing capacity, rich contents (for example, moving images having a relatively large processing load) are distributed, and a terminal device having a low processing capacity is used. If so, it becomes possible to deliver appropriate content (for example, character information with a relatively small processing load, a still image with a small data amount, etc.), so that it is possible to improve customer satisfaction.

The terminal device may be a desktop type personal computer, a laptop type personal computer, a notebook type personal computer,
A PDA and a mobile terminal (including PHS) can be exemplified. Examples of the processing capacity include displayable image format, displayable character count, displayable color count, display screen size, display screen resolution, and other display specifications, or calculation processing speed, storage capacity, and the like. it can.

The provided information includes document information, music information, image information, or a combination thereof. The provision information may include icon information including image information and related information including information that defines processing related to the image information. In this case, part or all of the related information may be integrally included in the image information by using, for example, an electronic watermark technique.

The related information includes information defining some processing related to the image information. For example, where the program is executed, the location of the program or the program itself, or information (text information, still image information) , Moving image information, music information, etc.), the location of the information or the information itself and the location of the program to be started to display or reproduce the information, or the program itself.

In the information providing apparatus of the present invention, further, with respect to the related information included in the provided information, an attribute information storage unit is further stored in which attribute information in which whether or not the related information can be distributed is set for each terminal type is stored in advance. The distribution information forming means may include only relevant information that can be distributed according to the attribute information in the provision information.

Further, in the information providing apparatus of the present invention, terminal capacity storage means for preliminarily storing processing capacity information relating to the processing capacity of the terminal device for each of a plurality of terminal types is further provided.
The distribution information configuration means may format-convert the image information according to the processing capacity information.

Further, in the information providing device of the present invention,
Information related to single or multiple pieces of information included in the related information, including attribute information in which whether the information is to be distributed is set for each terminal type, and information that can be distributed according to the attribute information Only the provided information may be included in the distribution.

In the information providing apparatus of the present invention, a terminal capacity storage means in which processing capacity information relating to the processing capacity of the terminal device is stored in advance for each of a plurality of terminal types, and an image for converting image information based on the processing capacity information. And a conversion means. As a result, when the provided information includes image information, it is converted and delivered so as to be compatible with the image format that can be processed by the terminal device that has accessed, so that a plurality of terminal devices with different display specifications can be used. The information provided person can refer to the image from any terminal device.

For a plurality of users, the icon management means for managing the icon information associated with the user and the icon information designated by the one user among the icon information associated with the one user are It may further include icon transfer means for canceling the association with one user or performing processing for associating with another user without canceling the association. In this case, according to the instruction of the one user, the electronic information addressed to the other user to which the address information including the icon identification information for identifying the icon information designated by the one user is set You may further provide the email production | generation means which produces | generates an email. Further, in this case, when the other user accesses from the terminal device according to the address information, the icon transfer means performs the process for the icon information specified by the icon specifying information included in the address information. It should be set to. Accordingly, icon information can be freely transferred between users who use terminal devices having different processing capabilities, and convenience can be improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information providing program for causing a computer to function as the information providing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable information recording medium in which the information providing program according to the second aspect of the present invention is recorded.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information providing method for providing information to a plurality of terminal devices having different information processing capabilities via a network, wherein the information from the terminal device is referred to. A receiving step of receiving a request, a terminal type detecting step of detecting a terminal type according to the processing capacity of the terminal device when the reference request is received in the receiving step, and information relating to the request of the terminal device. ,
Based on the terminal type detected in the terminal type detection step, a distribution information configuration step of configuring (generating or converting) so as to match the processing capability of the terminal device, and information configured in the distribution information configuration step. And a step of transmitting information to the terminal device.

According to the inventions of the second to fourth aspects, it is possible to achieve the same effects as those of the invention of the first aspect.

[0027]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Outline of Service] First, the service provided by the information providing server in this embodiment will be outlined. When a user (customer) registers as a member of this service, a virtual storage (my folder) that can be managed by the user can be opened for the user, and an icon (details described later) is provided in this storage.
It becomes possible to store and accumulate information referred to as.

As for the icon, it is possible to add an icon transferred for a fee or free of charge to one's own storage, delete an unnecessary icon, or transfer an icon owned by itself to another user for a fee or no charge. You can do it. In addition, by adding a message or the like to an image captured by an image capturing device such as a CCD attached to a mobile terminal or an image captured by using a digital camera, it is possible to register as an icon in one's own storage. it can.

The icon in this embodiment is a unit of information which is composed of image information and related information. The image information of this icon is generally used, for example, jpeg, gif, bmp, p.
An image file such as ng, which can be displayed on a personal computer or a mobile terminal using a program (Viewer or Browser) that visually reproduces the image file.

Information related to the icon includes characters, a still image,
Video, music, or other valuable information itself or information for specifying the location of the information (URL, IP address, etc.), information for operating a specific program, the program itself, or both of them. It may be. Further, the related information may be instruction information for acquiring a new icon from the electronic device.

In the virtual society constructed on the computer network, the icon in this embodiment is information that is apparently packaged into one package, and the image information is used as a clue to display the related information. It is designed so that it can be pulled out. The usage form of this icon is not particularly limited, but this icon can be used as a unit for transactions such as purchasing information from an information provider or transferring the information between users.

More specifically, taking a music CD (compact disc) distributed in the real world as an example, the image information of the icon corresponds to the jacket of the music CD, and the related information of the icon is the music CD. Corresponds to the music information and lyrics card recorded inside. By referring to the image information of the icon, it becomes possible to identify the music information as its content and reproduce, manage or transfer the music information in units of this icon. Of course, the usage form of the icon is not limited to the above.

[Overall System] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 is an information providing server operated by an information providing enterprise to provide an information providing service, and the information providing server 100 includes a database 200. The database 200 is a storage device attached to the information providing server 100 or a database server capable of communicating via a network such as a LAN (local area network).

Reference numeral 310 is the first to provide a mobile phone service.
A first carrier server as a switch or gateway server of a mobile phone business (first carrier), 32
Reference numeral 0 denotes a second carrier server as a switch or gateway server of a second mobile phone business entity (second carrier) that provides a mobile phone service different from that of the first carrier.

Reference numeral 400 denotes one user who has registered for this service. The user 400 can use the mobile terminal 410 and the personal computer (PC) 420 as subscriber terminals of the first carrier. The user 400 can use the mobile terminal 410 to perform data communication with the first carrier server 310, various servers connected to the network 600 including the information providing server 100 via the network 600, and personal communication. Using the computer 420, the information providing server 100 via a gateway server (not shown) and the network 600.
It is possible to perform data communication with various servers and the like connected to the network 600 including the above.

Reference numeral 500 denotes another user who has subscribed to this service. The user 500 can use the mobile terminal 510 and the personal computer (PC) 520 as subscriber terminals of the second carrier. The user 500 can use the mobile terminal 510 to perform data communication with the second carrier server 320, various servers connected to the network 600 including the information providing server 100 via the network 600, and a personal computer. Using the computer 520, the information providing server 100 via a gateway server (not shown) and the network 600.
It is possible to perform data communication with various servers and the like connected to the network 600 including the above.

The network 600 operates so that the devices connected to the network 600 can send and receive information between the devices when they establish a session with each device. In FIG. 1, the network 60
Although 0 is shown in a simplified form, its construction is actually more complex. For example, in the case of the Internet, a plurality of networks are combined and configured via a gateway. Further, the connection is not limited to the case of directly connecting to a so-called backbone so-called backbone, and even if the connection is temporarily made by a PPP connection or the like, information can be transmitted / received between them when a session is established. It should be like this.

The information providing server 100 includes a WWW (World Wide Web) server that provides a home page, a mail server, and a CGI (Common Gat).
It also serves as an eway interface) server. Note that the information providing server 100 does not need to be configured by a single computer, and various functions realized by the information providing server 100 described later are divided into a plurality of units and appropriately communicated with each other by different computers. It may be configured.

The information providing server 100 is composed of, for example, a general-purpose computer. This general-purpose computer is a CP
U (Central Processing Unit) or MPU (Micro Proc
essor unit), RAM (Random Ac)
cess Memory) and ROM (Read Onl)
y Memory), a storage device such as a hard disk, an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse, a CRT (Cathode)
Ray Tube and liquid crystal display device (Liquid-
A display device such as a Crystal Display), a communication interface such as a modem, a terminal adapter, or a router is provided. In addition, CD-ROM device, DV
An external storage device such as a D (registered trademark) device, a hard disk device, a magneto-optical disk device, a flexible disk device, or a magnetic tape device is provided. These external storage devices are devices for reading a program recorded in a portable information recording medium into the server. The information providing server 100 has at least an OS (Operating) in order to enable communication via the network 600 and the like.
g System) and an HTTP server program are stored in the storage device, and an information providing program for providing this service is also stored.

The portable terminals 410 and 510 are CPU or M.
It is configured to include a storage device such as a PU, a ROM, and a Flash EPROM, a display device such as a liquid crystal display element, and a communication device for wireless communication with a base station of a carrier. HTTP (Hyp) is stored in the storage devices of the mobile terminals 410 and 510.
erText Transfer Protocol)
A browsing program (browser), a program for sending and receiving electronic mail (mailer), and the like are stored.

Personal computers 420 and 520
Is provided with a storage device such as a CPU or MPU, RAM, ROM, or hard disk, an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse, a display device such as a CRT or a liquid crystal display device, a communication interface such as a modem, a terminal adapter, or a router. There is. In addition, the personal computer 420,
The storage device 520 has at least an operating system (OS) and HTTP (HyperText) to enable communication via the network 600 and the like.
A Transfer Protocol) browsing program (browser) and the like are stored.

[Information Providing Server] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main part of the information providing server 100 managed and operated by the information providing enterprise that provides the information providing service.

The information providing server 100, as shown in the figure, has a control means 112, a transmission / reception means 114,
Environment variable extraction means 116, authentication means 118, distribution information configuration means 120, terminal type detection means 122, image conversion means 124, mail generation means 126, icon transfer means 12
8 and action execution means 130 and the like.

The control means 112 comprises means 114-130.
Control of the mobile terminals 410, 420, communication with the personal computers 510, 520 via the first carrier server 310, the second carrier server 320, and the network 600, control of communication with the database 200, and other control. I do.

The transmitting / receiving means 114 includes the mobile terminals 410, 42.
0, various information transmitted from the personal computers 510 and 520 and various information transmitted from the information providing server 100 to the terminal devices 410, 420, 510 and 520.

The environment variable extracting means 116 is used for the terminal device 41.
0, 420, 510, 520 are predetermined protocols (HT
Environment variable (HT) including the type of the terminal or information corresponding thereto (information convertible to the type), which is sent according to the protocol when accessing according to the TP).
TP_USER_AGENT, etc.) and temporarily stores it in a storage device (not shown). However, in order for the present invention to be realized, the terminal devices 510 and 520 as the receiver side (transfer destination) of the information including the image information may at least comply with the above-mentioned predetermined protocol.

The authentication means 118 searches the user information 210 in the database 200 based on the login ID and password (PW) passed from the control means 112,
It is determined whether or not the accessing user (400, 500) is a legitimately registered person, and the determination result is returned to the control means 112.

The distribution information constructing means 120 comprises the control means 11
2 in accordance with the instruction from No. 2, based on various types of information 220 to 270 set in the database 200, a web page in which information to be delivered is set to the accessing terminal devices 410, 420, 510, 520 ( A process (including a file described in hypertext, an image file, etc.) is generated and returned to the control unit 112 (details will be described later).

The terminal type detecting means 122 includes the control means 11
In response to the instruction No. 2, the terminal device 4 that has accessed from the environment variables extracted by the environment variable extraction means 116.
Type of 10, 420, 510, 520 (if the type is set in the environment variable, the type, if information corresponding to the type is set in the environment variable, convert this Type) is detected and returned to the control means 112.

In this embodiment, when the accessing terminal is the portable terminal 410 or 510, a model ID for identifying the model or information corresponding thereto is set in the environment variable. If the terminal that has accessed is the personal computer 420 or 520, information indicating that fact (also referred to as model ID for convenience) is set. Therefore, this is extracted and the terminal information 250 of the database 200 is extracted. And the terminal type is detected. In this embodiment, the terminal type is “PC” for a personal computer, “CA1” for a first carrier, “CA2” for a second carrier, which is not shown in FIG. The third carrier is “CA3”. It should be noted that this terminal type detection is not performed by the environment variable as described above, but by other means,
It may be performed by a method.

The image converting means 124 receives the image specifying information, the image format to be converted, and the image size to be converted if necessary from the control means 112, and the image information specified by the image specifying information is stored in the image of the database 200. When the extracted image information is extracted from the information and the image format instructed by the control unit 112 is different, a process of converting the extracted image information into the image format instructed by the control unit 112, and the image format is changed as necessary. A process (decimation of bits) of reducing (enlarging in some cases) the converted image information to an image size instructed by the control unit 112 is performed. The image format conversion process and the image size conversion process may be performed in the reverse order.

The mail generation means 126 is a control means 112.
The information necessary for mail generation is received from the user information 210 and the user icon information 220 of the database 200.
Etc. as appropriate, and the icon I of the icon to be sent
An electronic mail (icon sending notification mail) in which a URL to be accessed for icon transfer is described including D or information corresponding thereto is generated. The details of this e-mail are shown in FIG. The contents will be described later.

The icon transfer means 128 is the control means 11
According to the instruction of 2, the processing of adding the icon in the storage of the transfer source user to the storage of the transfer destination user is performed. This processing has two types, "move" and "copy". In the case of "copy", the icon ID of the icon to be transferred is set to the user ID of the transfer destination user in the user icon information 220 of the database 200. Perform the process of associating. In the case of “move”, after the copying process, a process of canceling the association of the icon ID of the transferred icon associated with the user ID of the transfer source user of the user icon information 220 of the database 200 is performed. Do it together.

The action execution means 130 is the control means 1
According to the instruction from 12, the corresponding related information is acquired from the related information 270 of the database 200 according to the action set in the property information 240, and the corresponding program is activated.

[Database] As shown in FIG. 2, the database 200 of the information providing server 100 includes
User information 210, user icon information 220, icon information 230, property information 240, terminal information 25
0, image information (icon image) 260, and related information 2
70 and the like are stored. Hereinafter, these pieces of information will be described.

(User Information) The user information 210 is information about the user (subscriber) of the information providing service provided by the information providing server 100. As shown in FIG. 3, the user information 210 includes a user ID for identifying the user from other users, a password (PW) for personal identification, a user's email address, gender, date of birth, and other information. The information is the set information.

The user information 210 is not limited to the one illustrated in FIG. 3, and may include more detailed personal information such as the user's name, address, and telephone number. However, in this embodiment, from the viewpoint of ensuring the anonymity of the information providing service, the information is limited to the minimum necessary information. Further, in this embodiment, the user ID for identifying the user from other users and the login ID used for identifying the user when logging in to the information providing server 100 are not particularly distinguished. , User ID and login I
When D is different, a login ID may be set. Further, the user ID may be the mail address of the user, and in this case, the user ID field may not be set.

(User Icon Information) The user icon information 220 is information in which an icon ID and other information are set corresponding to the user ID, as shown in FIG. The icon ID is identification information for identifying an icon owned or managed by the user.

The icon associated with the icon ID set in the user icon information 220 is apparently recognized by the user as an icon stored in his / her own storage.

(Icon Information) The icon information 230 is
As shown in FIG. 5, corresponding to the icon ID,
This is information in which the icon name, image ID, property ID, and other information are set. The icon name is character information that briefly describes the content of the icon. For example, when the icon relates to a specific cartoon character, the character name or the like is set.

The image ID is identification information for identifying the image information of the icon identified by the icon ID. Specifically, for example, the storage location of the image information and its file name (for example, "XXXXX"). 001.gif ”) and the like.

The property ID is identification information for associating the related information (property information in this embodiment) of the icon identified by the icon ID. The property ID does not necessarily need to be set uniquely for each icon, and the same property ID may be commonly set for a plurality of icons. That is, the same property ID may be used for one icon and another icon having different image IDs.

(Property Information) Property Information 240
As shown in FIG. 6, a single or a plurality of menu IDs corresponding to the property ID and the menu I
This is information in which a menu name, action, media type, and other information are set corresponding to each of D.

The menu ID is identification information for identifying the related information when a plurality of related information is set for the icon, and the menu name is document information that briefly describes the content of the related information. Is.

The action is information in which the location of the related information and the method of extracting the related information (a program to be started) are set, and when the related information is character information according to the content of each related information. Displays the character information visually, and when the related information is video information, the video information is visually reproduced as a moving image, or when the related information is music information, the music information is displayed. Is stipulated for processing such as auditorily reproducing. When the related information is the URL of a specific site, the process of accessing the site is defined.

In the media type, information indicating whether or not the provision of the related information specified by the menu ID is permitted is set for each type of terminal device that may access. In this embodiment, the terminal devices that may be accessed are a personal computer, a mobile terminal of a first carrier, a mobile terminal of a second carrier, and a mobile terminal of a third carrier. Two types are given. That is, "PC" for the personal computer, "CA1" for the mobile terminal of the first carrier, "CA2" for the mobile terminal of the second carrier, and "CA3" for the mobile terminal of the third carrier. .

In FIG. 6, the media type of which the type is described provides the related information related to the menu ID, and the media type that is not described provides the related information related to the menu ID. Means not. For example, for the menu ID “001”, the relevant information is provided for all the personal computers and the mobile terminals of the first to third carriers, and the menu I
Regarding D "002", the relevant information is provided only to the personal computer.

In this embodiment, the terminal devices that may be accessed are classified according to their processing capabilities.
Personal computers, first-carrier mobile terminals, second-carrier mobile terminals, and third-carrier mobile terminals are classified into four categories, and one category is assigned to each category, which is handled for each category. The classification method is not particularly limited, and each may be further subdivided according to the processing capability of the terminal device.

For example, the model of the terminal device (identification information for distinguishing a group of terminal devices having the same or similar specifications from another group of terminal devices, usually given by the manufacturer or distributor of the terminal device). It is also possible to classify each type) and give one type to each. Further, mobile terminals may be classified according to display specifications (image type, number of display characters, screen size, etc.). For personal computers, the OS used
Or the type of browser, or the type of CPU used, the capacity of the storage device, or the like. It may be classified into a personal computer and a mobile terminal (regardless of carrier).

(Terminal Information) As shown in FIG. 7, the terminal information 250 is information in which the terminal type, the image type, the number of display characters, the screen size, and other information are set in correspondence with the model ID. is there. The model ID is identification information for identifying the model of the terminal device. In this embodiment, the mobile terminal is set for each model, and the personal computer is set as a single item indicating that. ing. Of course, the personal computer may be set for each model.

The terminal type is, as described above, the type (P
C, CA1 to CA3).

The image type is an image type (image format) that can be handled by the terminal device associated with the model ID (or terminal type), and includes gif, jpeg, bm.
One or more of p, png, etc. are set. In addition, in the portable device of this embodiment, "ALL" is set as the image type for the personal computer, which is compatible with all types.

As the number of characters to be displayed, the number of characters that can be displayed on the display device included in the terminal device associated with the model ID is set in the horizontal and vertical directions in character units. As the screen size, the screen size of the display device included in the terminal device related to the model ID is set in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction in pixel units. It should be noted that in this embodiment, with respect to the number of display characters and the screen size of the personal computer, the display device is very large in comparison with the mobile terminal, so information indicating “no limitation” is set.

(Image information, related information) Image information 260
Although not shown, is the information of the image itself identified by the image ID of each icon.

Although not shown, the related information 270 is source information such as character information, moving image information, still image information, and music information whose location is set in the action of the property information 240.

[Processing by this system] As an example, one user 400 uses the portable terminal 410 of the first carrier to refer to the contents of his or her own storage set in the information providing server 100, and the one user The process when the user transfers the icon in his storage to another user 500 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 12.

(Icon Reference Processing) First, FIG. 8 will be referenced. A predetermined URL (Uniform Resource) for one user 400 to use the mobile terminal 410 to receive the service provided by the information providing server 100.
When the access operation is performed by inputting "Locator", a service providing request is made to the information providing server 100 according to a predetermined protocol (HTTP) (step 801). This request is passed to the control means 112 via the transmission / reception means 114. At this time, according to the protocol, the environment variable including “HTTP_USER_AGENT” changes from the mobile terminal 410 to the information providing server 100.
Sent to. “HTTP_USER_AGENT” includes the model ID of the mobile terminal 410 or information corresponding thereto. This environment variable is extracted by the environment variable extraction means 116 and stored in the storage device (step 802).

When the user 400 accesses using the personal computer 420, the information for identifying the OS (operating system) and the browser used is sent as an environment variable, and is stored in the same manner. .

Next, the control means 112 receives from the distribution information construction means 120 files (files described in hypertext, image files, etc.) that compose an authentication page for obtaining information for authenticating the user, The data is transmitted to the mobile terminal 410 via the transmitting / receiving means 114 (step 803).

As a result, the login screen as shown in FIG. 13A is displayed on the display device of the portable terminal 410. In this embodiment, the information providing server 100 uses the HTML (Hyper Text M).
A file described in arkup Language) is transmitted, but the first carrier server 310 as a gateway uses the language system adopted in the first carrier (for example, HDML (Handheld Dege).
Vice Markup Language) and WML
(Website Meta Language) etc.)
Is appropriately converted into a message and sent to the mobile terminal 410.

The user 400 of the portable terminal 410 inputs the login name and password (PW) according to the screen display and selects the displayed login button (the portable terminal 4
The cursor key 10 is operated to move the cursor to the login button, and the execution button of the mobile terminal 410 is pressed.
The same applies below. Then, the input login name and password are sent to the information providing server 100 (step 80).
4). In this embodiment, as described above, the same login name and user ID are used, so the user ID is entered in the login name field, but if the login name and user ID are different, Enter the login name in the Login Name field.

In the information providing server 100, the login name and password are passed to the authentication means 118 via the control means 112, and the authentication means 118 executes the authentication processing. That is, the authentication unit 118 refers to the user information 210 of the database 200 and refers to the user 40 concerned.
It is determined whether 0 is a person who is properly registered to receive this service, and the determination result is passed to the control means 112. Here, it is assumed that the user is a legitimately registered person, and the control unit 112 causes the distribution information configuration unit 120 to generate a file (a file described in hypertext, an image file, etc.) that forms the icon list page. Instruct. If it is determined that the user is not a legitimately registered person to receive this service, a file displaying a message indicating login disapproval is received from the distribution information configuring means 120, and this is received by the mobile terminal 410. Send to.

The distribution information constructing means 120 searches the user icon information 220 of the database 200 based on the user ID, and extracts the icon ID of the icon held by the user in his storage. Next, the icon name set corresponding to the extracted icon ID is extracted from the icon information 230, and based on this, a file forming the icon list page is generated and passed to the control means 112. The control unit 112 transmits the file received from the distribution information forming unit 120 to the mobile terminal 410 via the transmitting / receiving unit 114 (step 805). As a result, the icon list screen as shown in FIG. 13B is displayed on the display device of the mobile terminal 410.

As shown in FIG. 13B, on the icon list screen, the icon names of the icons (manga character 1, cartoon character 2,
Cartoon characters 3, ...) are listed. If there are many icons, only the first specified number will be displayed in the order of registration, AIUEO, alphabetical order, or frequency of reference, and the next specified number will be displayed by selecting "Next". Is displayed.

The displayed icon names are hyperlinks, and by selecting one of them, the icon I for the selected icon name is selected.
Information including D is sent to the information providing server 100 (step 806). Instead of the icon name or together with the icon name, the image information of the icon (detailed later) may be displayed in a reduced size.

At the bottom of the icon list screen, "icon search", "contact", etc. are displayed. These are also hyperlinks, and "icon search"
Detailed operation is omitted by selecting.
By displaying a predetermined search screen and inputting the initials of the icon, the theme, etc., it is possible to search for the icon that the user owns. When "inquiry" is selected and operated, the mailer (e-mail program) of the mobile terminal is started up with the predetermined mail address of the information providing server 100 set as the destination. Instead of starting the mailer, a page for displaying an inquiry screen may be sent and necessary items may be input from the screen.

In the information providing server 100, the control means 112 having received the icon selection information instructs the distribution information forming means 120 to generate an icon content display page,
The distribution information composing means 120 executes an icon content generation process (step 807). The details of this icon content generation processing are shown in FIG.

The distribution information constructing means 120 cooperates with the terminal type detecting means 122 as appropriate, and first, from the environment variables extracted by the environment variable extracting means 116, the model ID of the portable terminal 410 (or this). (Information corresponding to) is acquired (step 1101), and based on this model ID,
The terminal information 250 (see FIG. 7) in the database 200 is searched to obtain the corresponding terminal type and image type (step 1102). Here, the model ID of the mobile terminal 410 is assumed to be "XX001", and the terminal type "CA1" set corresponding to this is obtained and the image type "gif, jpeg" is obtained.

Next, based on the icon ID registered for the user in the user icon information 220 (see FIG. 4) of the database 200, the icon information 230.
(See FIG. 5) is searched to acquire the icon name, image ID and property ID corresponding to the icon ID (step 1103).

Then, the property information 240 (see FIG. 6) is searched based on the property ID, and the step is set in the media type corresponding to the menu ID among the plurality of menu IDs set for the property ID. A menu ID having a matching terminal type specified in 1102 is specified (step 1104). Here, the terminal type of the mobile terminal 410 is "CA1".
(See FIG. 7), the property information 240 of FIG.
As a result, "001" and "003" are specified as the menu ID for which "CA1" is set as the media type.

Next, based on the image type acquired in step 1102, the image information relating to the image ID of the icon selected by the user is extracted from the image information 260 of the database 200, and the image type acquired from the terminal information 250 (ie , The image type that can be displayed on the mobile terminal 410) and the image type of the image information of the icon extracted from the image information 260 of the database 200 are compared, and if they are different from each other, the image extracted from the image information 250 The information is converted so as to match the image type acquired from the terminal information 260 (step 11
05), considering the screen size corresponding to the terminal information 260, the converted image information is further reduced (enlarged in some cases) so that the image has an appropriate size (step 11).
06).

Then, based on the menu ID specified in step 1104 and the image information converted in steps 1105 and 1106, a file (a file described in hypertext, an image file, etc.) forming the icon content display page is generated. (Step 1107), and passes it to the control means 112.

Returning to FIG. 8, the control means 112 transmits the file received from the distribution information constructing means 120 to the portable terminal 410 via the transmitting / receiving means 114 (step 808). As a result, the icon content display screen as shown in FIG. 14A is displayed on the display device of the mobile terminal 410.

As shown in FIG. 14A, on the icon content display screen, for the icon (for example, cartoon character 1) selected on the icon list screen, an image based on the image information of the icon is displayed. At the same time, the menu IDs “001” and “00” are displayed as the contents of the icon.
The menu name ("weapon", "related site" in the figure) corresponding to "3" is displayed. If there are many menu names, order of registration, AIUEO, alphabetical order,
Alternatively, only the first predetermined number is displayed in descending order of reference frequency, and the next predetermined number is displayed by selecting "Next".

Since the terminal device that has accessed is the mobile terminal 410 of the first carrier here, it is the “weapon” and “related site” that are displayed as menus on the icon content display screen. When the accessing terminal device is the personal computer 420, as is apparent from FIG.
"Weapon" corresponding to "1", "002", "003",
"Video information" and "related sites" will be displayed. When the mobile terminal whose terminal type is "CA2" or "CA3" is accessed, only "weapon" corresponding to the menu ID "001" is displayed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the information, such as the video reproduction, which is relatively heavy on the terminal device is provided to the personal computer having the sufficient reproduction capability according to the specifications. However, a portable terminal such as a portable terminal having a relatively small capability is not provided, that is, the menu display content is changed according to the capability of the terminal device that has accessed. This makes it possible to provide appropriate information according to the capabilities of the terminal device.

Referring again to FIG. On the mobile terminal 410, the menu name (“weapon”, “related site”, etc.) displayed on the icon content display screen shown in FIG.
Is a hyperlink, and when one of them is selected, the menu ID of the selected menu
Is sent to the information providing server 100 (step 80).
9).

Upon receiving this, the control means 112 instructs the action execution means 130 to execute the action corresponding to the menu ID. Action execution means 1
30 refers to the property information 240 of FIG. 6 to acquire the action, and according to the content thereof, the related information 27
The corresponding related information is acquired from 0, and processing such as starting the corresponding program is performed.

For example, when "weapon" is selected,
The corresponding action is "Display weapon name".
Is set, so the corresponding character information (eg beam saber, bazooka, beam rifle, etc.)
Is extracted from the related information 270, and the program name of the program for displaying this character information is passed to the control means 112.

In this case, since the character information is displayed, it can be displayed by the browser that is currently activated on the portable terminal 410. Therefore, the control unit 112 causes the delivery information forming unit 120 to display the page including the character information. The relevant information display page (first layer) generated in response to the instruction is sent to the mobile terminal 410 (step 810), and the relevant information display screen as shown in FIG. 14B is displayed. 1 is displayed on the display device.

The "weapon name" displayed here is a hyperlink, and by selecting the "weapon name", the selection information is sent to the information providing server 100 (step 811). According to the distribution information forming means 120, the related information display page (second layer)
Is generated and sent to the mobile terminal 410 (step 81).
2). As a result, the display device of the mobile terminal 410 is displayed as shown in FIG.
A description of the weapon is displayed as shown in FIG. 4 (C). Furthermore, you may set a 3rd hierarchy, a 4th hierarchy, etc.

Further, in the icon content display screen of FIG. 14A, when "related site" is selected and operated, the URL of the related site is set as the action corresponding to it. The URL of the mobile terminal 410 can be accessed by the function of the browser, and the information related to the icon can be obtained from another site.

In FIG. 14 (A), "Send to friend", "Delete", "Return to list", etc. are displayed at the bottom of the icon content display screen. These are also hyperlinks, and the icon can be deleted from its storage by selecting "Delete". That is, the icon ID related to the icon is deleted from the user icon information 220. In addition,
If "Delete" is selected, a page for confirming whether or not the deletion should really be performed is sent, and it is preferable to reconfirm. When “Return to list” is selected and operated, the file for displaying the icon list screen of FIG. 13B is retransmitted.

(Mail Generation Process) When “Send to a Friend” is selected on the icon content display screen of FIG. 14A, the process for mail generation as shown in FIG. 9 is performed. Done.

That is, when the "send to friend" is selected and operated, the fact is sent to the information providing server 100 (step 901), and the control means 112 having received it sends the mail information for inputting the mail information. The files (files described in hypertext, image files, etc.) forming the input page are received from the distribution information forming unit 120 and transmitted to the portable terminal 410 via the transmitting / receiving unit 114 (step 902). Thereby, the mail information input screen as shown in FIG. 15A is displayed on the display device of the mobile terminal 410.

When the user 400 of the portable terminal 410 inputs the destination mail address, title and comment according to the screen display and selects and operates the displayed send button, the input information (mail information) is provided. It is sent to the server 100 (step 903). Here, it is assumed that the email address of another user 500 is input as the destination email address. As the title and the comment, the user 400 can set arbitrary sentences.

In the information providing server 100, the control means 112 sets a file (a file described in hypertext, an image file, etc.) that constitutes the transmission acceptance completion page indicating that the transmission of the mail has been accepted, to the delivery information configuring means 120. Received from the portable terminal 410 and transmitted to the portable terminal 410 via the transmitting / receiving means 114 (step 904). As a result, the display shown in FIG. 15B is displayed on the display device of the mobile terminal 310.

Next, in the information providing server 100, the control means 112 instructs the mail generation means 126 to generate a mail for icon transfer. In response to this instruction, the mail generation means 126 first receives the above-mentioned step 9 by the user of the mobile terminal 410 as the transfer source of the icon.
The user 500 as the transfer destination of the icon transfers the icon by including the icon ID or the information corresponding to the icon referred to when the “send friend” selection operation is performed in 01. A URL (icon acquisition URL) to be accessed for receiving is generated (step 905). The URL is, for example, “www.ht.
tps: // ○○○. ne. jp / c / g. cfm? e
= ICON0001 ”. In this URL,
"ICON0001" is the icon ID or icon ID
Is information corresponding to.

Next, an icon delivery notice mail as shown in FIG. 17 is generated (step 90).
6). The icon sending notification email shown in FIG. 17 is
The destination email address (the email address of the user 500) input in step 903 is set as the destination (To :) of the email, and the subject (Subjec) is set.
Similarly, the title input in step 903 is set as t :), and the mail address of the user 400 (obtained from the user information 210 in FIG. 3) is set as the sender (From :) of the mail.

Also, as the mail body, an introduction message, the comment input in step 903, and step 9
The icon acquisition URL generated in 05 and other predetermined information are set. It should be noted that the introduction message is a predetermined fixed sentence, and the introduction of this service and the method of acquiring the icon are set.

A "return" button is displayed on each of the icon content display screen shown in FIG. 14A and the related information display screen shown in FIGS. By selecting this button, the user can select to return to the icon list screen or return to the previous screen, etc., and save it to his or her own storage after that. With respect to the displayed icon, various operations described above such as referring to related information can be performed.

(Icon Reference Processing by Icon Transfer Destination User) Next, the icon reference processing by the icon transfer destination user 500 will be described with reference to FIG. In the mail generation process of FIG. 9, the mail generation means 12
The icon sending notification mail generated by 6 is sent to the mail address of another user 500 as an icon receiver via the control means 112 and the transmission / reception means 114 (step 1001). User 500
Either the mobile terminal 510 or the personal computer 520 receives the icon delivery notification mail. Here, it is assumed that the mobile terminal 510 receives it.

Next, when the icon recipient 500 uses the portable terminal 510 to access the URL set in the icon delivery notification mail (step 1002), the icon reference processing of FIG. 8 has already been described. Similarly, the “HTT sent from the mobile terminal 510 is transmitted.
An environment variable including "P_USER_AGENT" is acquired (step 1003), a file forming a user authentication page is sent, and the authentication process is executed based on the login name and password (step 1005) sent in response to this. It

If the person to whom the icon is transferred is not registered as a user for receiving the service according to the present embodiment, a predetermined registration is made when the URL set in the image delivery notice mail is accessed. After receiving the registration and the registration, a process for authentication is performed.

Next, assuming that the user 500 is a legally registered person, the control means 112 instructs the icon transfer means 128 to carry out the icon transfer processing. In response to this, the icon transfer means 128 executes the icon transfer processing as shown in FIG.

That is, the icon transfer means 128 first
The icon ID or information corresponding thereto is extracted from the URL sent from the mobile terminal 510 (step 1201),
A process of associating the icon ID with the user ID of the transfer destination user 500 of the user icon information 220 of the database 200 is performed (step 1202). Specifically, the icon ID is added (copied) to the column for registering the icon ID of the user ID of the transfer destination user 500 of the user icon information 220 of the database 200.

If necessary, the user icon information 220 in the database 200 is added after the associating process.
The process of canceling the association of the icon ID associated with the user ID of the transfer source user 400 is also performed (step 1203). Specifically, the icon ID is deleted from the column for registering the icon ID of the user ID of the transfer source user 400 of the user icon information 220 of the database 200.

The selection of the copying of the icon (the icon of the transfer source remains as it is) or the movement (the icon of the transfer source is deleted) may be made possible in advance by the user 400 of the transfer source. Alternatively, the icon may be set in advance according to the attribute of the icon to be transferred.

Since the user 500 of the transfer destination can obtain various kinds of information set for the icon along with the transfer of the icon, a charging means (not shown) is separately provided and the user of the transfer destination is provided. You may make it charge to 500 according to the value of the said icon.
When the icon is moved (the transfer source icon is deleted) as described above, the transfer destination user 500 may pay the consideration to the transfer source user 400. The charging method or the payment method of the consideration is not particularly limited, and various methods can be used.

Returning to FIG. 10, after the icon transfer processing,
The information providing server 100 transfers the user icon information 220 of the database 200 to the user I of the transfer destination user 500.
A search is performed based on D, and the icon ID of the icon (including the transferred icon) held by the user 500 in his / her storage is extracted. Next, the icon name set corresponding to the extracted icon ID is extracted from the icon information 230, and based on this, a file forming the icon list page is generated and transmitted to the mobile terminal 510 (step 1008). .

On the portable terminal 510, for example, when an icon name relating to the transferred icon is selected from the icon list screen, that effect is displayed.
(Step 1009). Information providing server 10
In response to this, 0 executes the icon content generation processing already described with reference to FIG. 11 (step 1010).

In the icon content generation processing in this case, first, the model ID of the portable terminal 510 (or information corresponding thereto) is extracted from the environment variables extracted by the environment variable extraction means 116 (step 1101),
Based on this model ID, the terminal information 250 in the database 200 is searched to obtain the corresponding terminal type and image type (step 1102). Here, the model ID of the mobile terminal 510 is assumed to be "YY002", and the terminal type "CA2" set corresponding to this is obtained and the image type "bmp, png" is obtained (see FIG. 7).

Next, the icon information 230 is searched based on the icon ID registered for the user 500 in the user icon information 220 of the database 200, and the icon name, image ID and property ID corresponding to the icon ID are acquired. (Step 1103).

After that, the property information 240 is searched based on the property ID, and the menu ID among the menu IDs set for the property ID is searched.
Among the media types corresponding to (1), a menu ID having a matching terminal type specified in step 1102 is specified (step 1104). Here, the mobile terminal 51
Since the terminal type for 0 is "CA2", "001" is specified as the menu ID for which "CA2" is set as the media type from FIG.

Next, the image format of the image information related to the icon is converted so as to match the image type acquired in step 1102 (step 1105),
Considering the screen size corresponding to the terminal information 260, the converted image information is further reduced so that the image has an appropriate size (step 1106).

After that, a file forming an icon content display page is generated based on the menu specified in step 1104 and the image information converted in steps 1105 and 1106 (step 1107).

Returning to FIG. 10, the file is transmitted to the portable terminal 510 (step 1011). As a result, the display device of the mobile terminal 510 displays the icon content display screen as shown in FIG.
However, in this case, the menu name is Menu I
Only the "weapon" corresponding to D "001" is displayed.

Thereafter, similar to the icon reference processing of FIG. 8,
The user 500 owns an icon (user 400
(Including the icon transferred from), various operations such as referencing related information about the icon and deleting the icon when the icon is unnecessary can be performed.

Here, in this embodiment, the “related site” associated with the menu ID “003” is the user 400.
The corresponding media type in FIG. 6 is set so that is displayed when is accessed using the mobile terminal 410, and is not displayed when the user 500 is accessed using the mobile terminal 510. This is because the related site is usually constructed only for a specific carrier (here, the first carrier). However, if the related site is constructed by applying the present invention, it can be accessed without problems from the mobile terminal of any carrier, so it is necessary to set the type of all carriers in that media type. it can.

The user 500 is the personal computer 5
When access is made using 20, menu IDs “001”, “002”,
Since "weapon", "video information", and "related site" corresponding to "003" are displayed, more information can be referred to.

In the above-described embodiment, when the icon transferred from the icon transfer source user 400 is forcibly registered once in the storage of the icon transfer destination user 500 and the user 500 thinks it is unnecessary. Although the icon can be deleted after that, the user 500 may be asked whether or not to register the sent icon in his / her own storage.

In this case, before performing the icon transfer processing (step 1007) in FIG. 10, for example, in FIG.
An icon registration confirmation screen as shown in (A) is sent to the mobile terminal 510 of the user 500, and after the user 500 confirms the content, if the user wishes to register, select "register in storage". However, if not desired, it is preferable to perform an icon transfer process in accordance with the user's wish by selecting and operating "not register in storage". When "Register to storage" is selected, after the icon transfer process, the screen shown in FIG.
A registration completion screen as shown in can be displayed.

In FIG. 16A, the portable terminal 5
Despite being accessed by 10, all of "weapons", "video information", and "related sites" are displayed as menus. This is because it is better for the user 500 to be able to confirm what related information is set in this icon when determining whether to register.

However, here, regarding the "weapon", the related information can be retrieved by performing the selection operation in the same manner as described above, but regarding the "video information" and the "related site",
The selection operation cannot be performed from the mobile terminal 510. In this case, the user 500 cannot retrieve the relevant information from the mobile terminal 510 currently in use, but can retrieve the relevant information by using the personal computer 520. So that you can recognize that
It is preferable that the menu that allows the selection operation and the menu that cannot perform the selection operation be displayed in different colors, can be displayed in reverse video, or can be distinguished by other methods.

According to the present embodiment, the contents of the menu display for the information to be provided are changed according to the processing capacity of the terminal device that has accessed. That is,
For a personal computer having a sufficient processing capacity according to its specifications, it is possible to provide a content including contents having a relatively large load on a terminal device such as video reproduction. On the other hand, like a mobile device,
For those with a relatively small processing capacity, those with a large processing load such as video information are excluded so that only contents suitable for the processing capacity of the mobile terminal can be provided. Therefore, the terminal device can receive appropriate information according to its processing capability.

Further, since the image format of the image information to be distributed to the terminal device is converted into an image of a format that can be handled by the accessing terminal device and sent, for example, in the case of a mobile terminal, its carrier is used. In general, the image format that can be handled differs depending on the type, but the image information can be referenced from the mobile terminal of any carrier.

Further, the size of the image information to be distributed to the terminal device (the number of pixels in the vertical and horizontal directions) is reduced (enlarged in some cases) so as to be properly displayed according to the screen size of the terminal device that has accessed and sent. Thus, for example, in the case of a mobile terminal, the screen size varies depending on the model, but the image information can be referred to from any mobile terminal having any screen size.

Therefore, when a user who uses the service of this embodiment has a personal computer or a portable terminal of a plurality of carriers, whichever terminal is used, he / she owns it in his / her own storage. The icons can be managed and referenced, which is very convenient.

Further, the icon can be transferred to another user such as a friend by a simple operation. At this time, the terminal device used by the user and the display specification of the terminal device used by the friend are included. You can move without worrying about processing power at all. For example, an image captured by the user using a mobile terminal with an imaging device or using a digital camera or the like is registered as an icon in his storage, and the above-described transfer operation is performed to change the image. The user can refer to this easily.

In the above-described embodiment, the information providing server 10 considers the burden of the conversion processing according to the processing capability of the terminal device of the image format and size of the image information.
However, the program for executing the conversion process may be installed in the terminal device in advance, or may be downloaded as necessary, and the conversion process may be executed on the terminal device side. Good.

In the above-described embodiment, the image information forming the icon and the related information are associated and managed separately in the database 200, but the present invention is not limited to such a form, and the image information is not limited to this. Can be managed as a whole including a part or all of the relevant information. That is, the icon itself can be treated as an information image described later. Here, the information image will be described.

The "information image" refers to information in which image information and at least related information defining a unique process are handled as one handling unit. The information image is formed in a format that can be displayed by a general personal computer such as jpeg or gif, and a program (Viewer or Browser) that visually reproduces the image information is used.
It is an information file that can be handled in the same manner as the image information and can execute various processes based on the related information when a dedicated program is used. here,
Note that "image information" and "information image" are different concepts.

Various information can be included in the information image as related information. “Related information” refers to characters, images, sounds, and other information. More specifically, for example, when the operator of the terminal wants to refer to information existing in a specific server, the information is If the specific information (URL, IP address, etc.) is used and a specific program is to be operated, the program name or the program itself can be used. It may be instruction information for acquiring new image information from an electronic device.

As the information image, one having a structure as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 can be exemplified. Figure 1
8 is a diagram showing a format example of an information image in which related information is embedded. Here, the gif format is taken as an example. The format need not be the gif format but may be another format such as the jpeg format or the pcx format.

The start portion 1801 is a field provided to identify that this information is image information in the gif format, and is assigned a character string "gif" and its version.

In the color scheme expression image data 1803, the pixels are
The image data is arranged from left to right and from top to bottom. Here, in the case of the gif format, it is encoded using the LZW algorithm of the variable length code.

The comment extension unit 1805 stores gif data
Information other than the main graphic information in the stream can be included. For example, sub-graphic information,
It is possible to include any information that is not normally used for direct display, such as information on names of persons involved in production, annotation information about main graphic information, control information, and the like.

The end portion 1806 indicates that this data stream has ended, and means that other parameter information etc. does not follow. 1802 between the start portion 1801 and the color scheme table image data 1803
And color scheme expression image data 1803 and annotation expansion unit 1805
In the period 1804, information other than these is included. For example, information including parameters that define information necessary for an image to be drawn, such as screen width, screen height, and color resolution, is assigned.

The related information 1807 is the annotation expansion unit 18 described above.
It is arranged in 05 as it is, or after being subjected to processing such as encryption, it is collected as one piece of information. As a result, an information image including related information such as specific motion information is formed inside the image information, which is merely image information in appearance. Although all of these explanations have been given in the gif format, the image format may be another format.

Next, another embedding format will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing another format example of an information image in which related information 1907 such as specific motion information is embedded. Here again, the gif format is taken as an example. Also in this example, the format need not be the gif format but may be another format such as the jpeg format or the pcx format.

The start portion 1901 is a field provided to identify that this information is image information in the gif format, as in the above, and is assigned with the character string "gif" and its version. is there.

In the color scheme expression image data 1903, the pixels are
The image data arranged in the order from left to right and from top to bottom is arranged. Here, in the image information 1908,
By mixing the specific action information 1907, which is related information, in the form of a watermark 1909, even if the image information is displayed, the specific action information cannot be visually recognized as it is, and the image information can be visually recognized as it is. There is. Here, the information thus mixed 1909 is encoded using the LZW algorithm of the variable length code.

The annotation extension 1905 typically contains information other than graphic information in the gif data stream. In this example, the fields are not particularly required, but if necessary, they can be freely defined and used by the information provider. It is also possible to include related information other than the specific operation.

The end portion 1906 indicates that this data stream has ended, and means that other parameter information etc. does not follow.

In all of the above examples, the gif format has been described. However, even in the case of an image format of another format, it is sufficient that the related information is recorded in such a state that it can be separated from others.

Details of the usage of such an information image are proposed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-117845. Briefly described here, in a personal computer or the like, Internet Explorer manufactured by Microsoft Corp. Image information loaded from the server by a browser program such as Netscape Navigator, Netscape Navigator, etc., only the information part related to the image included in the information image is extracted by the function of the browser and displayed on the display device of the client computer. Like This information image can be handled as an independent file on the computer by using the saving function of a browser program, so that it can be easily spread to others. When extracting the related information from the information image, a dedicated program is used.

The embodiments described above are described for facilitating the understanding of the present invention and not for limiting the present invention. Therefore,
Each element disclosed in the above embodiments is intended to include all design changes and equivalents that belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment,
Although the image information and the related information are associated with each other by using the icon ID, they may be associated with each other by using the image specifying information (file name) for specifying the image information.

[0161]

According to the present invention, the content of the information to be distributed is configured in accordance with the processing capacity of the accessing terminal device. Without being restricted by the processing capacity, it is possible to deal with access from various terminal devices having different processing capacities and to prepare a plurality of terminal devices having different processing capacities by only preparing one piece of original information. On the side of the information receiver who uses, there is an effect that the information can be referred to from any terminal device.

Also, since rich contents can be distributed when accessed using a terminal device having high processing capability, and appropriate contents can be distributed when using a terminal device having not so high processing capability. , Can improve customer satisfaction.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information providing server according to the embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of user information set in a database according to the embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of user icon information set in a database according to the embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of icon information set in a database according to the embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of property information set in the database according to the embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of terminal information set in a database according to the embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing icon reference processing according to the embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a mail generation process according to the embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing icon reference processing by a user of an icon transfer destination according to the embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing icon content generation processing according to the embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing icon transfer processing according to the embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen image of information displayed on the terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention, (A)
Is a login screen, and (B) is an icon list screen.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a screen image of information displayed on the terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention, (A)
Is an icon content display screen, (B) is a related information display screen (first layer), and (C) is a related information display screen (second layer).
Is.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a screen image of information displayed on the terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention, (A)
Is a mail information input screen, and (B) is a mail transmission acceptance completion screen.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a screen image of information displayed on the terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention, (A)
Is an icon registration screen, and (B) is a registration completion screen.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an outline of an icon delivery notification mail according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of embedding related information in an information image according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing another example of embedding related information in an information image according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 ... Information providing server 112 ... Control means 114 ... Transmitting / receiving means 116 ... Environment variable extraction means 118 ... Authentication means 120 ... Delivery information constructing means 122 ... Terminal type detection means 124 ... Image conversion means 126 ... E-mail generation means 128 ... Icon transfer means 130 ... Action executing means 200 ... Database 210 ... User information 220 ... User icon information 230 ... Icon information 240 ... Property information 250 ... Terminal information 260 ... Image information 270 ... Related information 310, 320 ... Carrier 400, 500 ... User 410, 510 ... Mobile terminal 420, 520 ... Personal computer 600 ... Network

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yukihisa Miya             4-735 Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Sai             Inside Vergene.com F-term (reference) 5B085 AA08 BE07 CE06                 5K030 HA05 HB02 JT09 LA07

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An information providing device capable of communicating via a network with a plurality of terminal devices having different information processing capacities, wherein provision information distributed in response to a reference request for information from the terminal device is stored. Provided information storage means, a terminal type detection means for detecting a terminal type according to the processing capability of the terminal device when the reference request is received, and the provided information related to the request of the terminal device, Based on the terminal type detected by the type detection means, delivery information configuring means configured to match the processing capability of the terminal device, and the provision information configured by the delivery information configuring means is transmitted to the terminal device. And an information providing device including: 2. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the provided information includes icon information including image information and related information including information that defines processing related to the image information. 3. The information providing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a part or all of the related information is included in the image information. 4. The information providing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image information and the related information are associated with each other through image specifying information that specifies the image information. 5. The related information includes, for the information included in the related information, attribute information in which whether or not to distribute the information is set for each of the terminal types, and the distribution information configuring unit follows the attribute information. The claim 2, wherein only the distributable information is included in the provided information.
The information providing device according to 3 or 4. 6. A terminal capacity storage means for storing processing capacity information relating to the processing capacity of the terminal device in advance for each of a plurality of terminal types, and an image conversion means for converting image information based on the processing capacity information. The information providing device according to any one of claims 2 to 5. 7. For a plurality of users, icon management means for managing the icon information associated with the user, and icon information designated by the one user among the icon information associated with the one user, The icon transfer means for canceling the association with one user or performing a process of associating with another user without canceling the association.
7. The information providing device according to any one of 6 to 6. 8. The destination is the other user to which address information including icon identification information for identifying the icon information designated by the one user is set in accordance with an instruction from the one user. The information providing device according to claim 7, further comprising a mail generation unit that generates an electronic mail. 9. When the other user accesses from a terminal device according to the address information, the icon transfer means performs a process on the icon information specified by the icon specifying information included in the address information. The information providing device according to claim 8, 10. An information providing program for causing a computer to function as the information providing apparatus according to claim 1. 11. A computer-readable information recording medium in which the information providing program according to claim 10 is recorded. 12. An information providing method for providing information to a plurality of terminal devices having different information processing capacities through a network, the receiving step of receiving an information reference request from the terminal device, When the reference request is received in the reception step, a terminal type detection step of detecting a terminal type according to the processing capability of the terminal device, and information related to the request of the terminal device is detected in the terminal type detection step. A distribution information configuring step configured to conform to the processing capability of the terminal device based on the terminal type, and an information transmitting step of transmitting the information configured in the distribution information configuring step to the terminal device. Information provision method.