JP2003271607A - Method and device for providing word-of-mouth information - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the selection and use of word-of-mouth information desired by a user from a number of pieces of word-of-mouth information. <P>SOLUTION: When a request of word-of-mouth information is received from a user, the number of word-of-mouth information registered in each divided area of a map is provided to the user, and the user select a desired area from the areas. The map of the selected area is divided again, and the number of word-of-mouth information registered in each area is provided to the user. The division of the map of the selected are is repeated until the area selected by the user becomes a sufficiently small area, and the desired word-of-mouth information is limited stepwise, whereby the selection of the desired word-of- mouth information is facilitated. <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 a method and apparatus for exchanging word-of-mouth information between a server and a terminal device connected to a network. Particularly, the present invention relates to a technique for facilitating access to desired word-of-mouth information by a user of a terminal device when a large number of word-of-mouth information is registered in a server.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a word-of-mouth information providing method, for example, there is a method described in JP-A-10-288530.
When the user registers word-of-mouth information in the method, the user adds position data to the edited word-of-mouth information and sends it to the server, and the server manages the word-of-mouth information and the position data sent from the user. When the user uses the word-of-mouth information, the user receives a list of word-of-mouth information registered on the server from the server,
The desired word-of-mouth information is selected from the list and transmitted to the server, and the details of the word-of-mouth information are received from the server and used.

[0003]

In the above prior art, when the number of word-of-mouth information registered in the server becomes large, the list provided from the server becomes huge, and the user uses the desired word-of-mouth information. In that case, it is time-consuming to select from a huge list. An object of the present invention is to provide a word-of-mouth information providing method and device that allows a user to easily select and use desired word-of-mouth information even when the number of word-of-mouth information registered in a server becomes large.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the number of word-of-mouth information items registered in each area obtained by dividing a map when the user requests to use the word-of-mouth information in the server is calculated. It is provided to the user, and the user selects a desired area from the areas. The map of the selected area is divided again and the number of word-of-mouth information items registered in each area is provided to the user. It is possible to easily select desired word-of-mouth information by repeatedly dividing the map of the selected area and gradually limiting the desired word-of-mouth information until the area selected by the user is sufficiently small. To do.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be shown. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a communication system according to the present invention. The communication system shown in FIG. 1 includes a server 110, terminal devices 170 and 180, a communication line 120 such as a public line network or the Internet, and base stations 130 and 14.
0, wireless communication network 150, 160.

The server 110 holds word-of-mouth information (character data, image data, voice data, etc.) and map information, and processes word-of-mouth information and map information in response to a user's request, and word-of-mouth associated with map information. Provide information count and word-of-mouth information to users. In addition, the server holds word-of-mouth information registered by the user, information of the position where the word-of-mouth information is registered, and facility information.

A user A as an information provider edits word-of-mouth information on an arbitrary position or facility using the terminal device 170 and registers it in the server 110. User B, who is an information receiver, requests word-of-mouth information from the server 110 using the terminal device 180, and downloads word-of-mouth information count information and word-of-mouth information associated with map information from the server for use. A communication line 120 and a wireless communication network 150,
160 is connected through base stations 130 and 140, and the server 110 and the terminal device 1 are connected through this communication line.
Various types of information are transmitted and received between 70 and 180. Here, the various information to be transmitted / received includes position information, word-of-mouth information, map information, word-of-mouth information number information associated with the map information, and the like. In this embodiment, the map information is stored in the server 110.
Holds complete map information, and the terminal devices 170, 1
Although 80 is configured to hold a part of the map information, only the server 110 holds the map information, only the terminal devices 170 and 180 hold the map information, the server 110 and the terminal device 170, 180, both may hold complete map information. Further, in FIG. 1, the terminal device 170 that is an information provider and the terminal device 180 that is an information receiver are shown separately, but this is shown separately for the sake of explanation, and in reality, one terminal device is used. Information can be provided and information can be received. Further, in FIG. 1, the server 110, the terminal device 170 as an information provider, and the terminal device 180 as an information receiver are respectively one, but this is a notation for explanation, and actually, there are a plurality of servers and a plurality of servers. The terminal device may exist.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server 110. The server 110 is a communication device 210, a computer 220, a word-of-mouth information DB (Data Base) 23.
0, the map information DB 240. The communication device 210 receives a request for using word-of-mouth information from the terminal device 180, a request for word-of-mouth information registration from the terminal device 170, word-of-mouth information registered by a user, and association with map information received from the computer 220, which is transmitted from time to time. Number of reviews information Number information, reviews information, map information terminal device 180
Or send it to. The computer 220 takes in a request from the communication device 210 to use the user's word-of-mouth information, word-of-mouth information registered by the user, information from the word-of-mouth information DB 230 and the map information DB 240, performs processing, and sends the processing to the communication device 210 according to the processing result. It sends word-of-mouth information number information, word-of-mouth information, map information, and updates word-of-mouth information DB 230. The word-of-mouth information DB 230 manages position information and facility information corresponding to word-of-mouth information registered by the user. The information in the word-of-mouth information DB 230 is used by the computer 220 as needed. Map information DB2
Reference numeral 40 manages a plurality of national map information of different scales, which the computer 220 uses as necessary.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal devices 170 and 180. The terminal devices 170 and 180 are a wireless communication device 310, a current position measuring device 320 such as GPS, an information processing device 330, an information presenting device 340, an input device 35.
It consists of zero. The wireless communication device 310 is the server 11
0, the number of reviews information associated with the map information and a request to use the review information are transmitted, and the server 110 receives the number of reviews information associated with the map information, the review information, and the map information. The current position measuring device 320 measures the current position of the terminal device. The measured current position information is mainly used for determining the map to be displayed first when using the map information. Information processing device 33
0 processes information to present the user with word-of-mouth information received by the wireless communication device 310, number-of-words information information associated with map information, map information, etc., and the input device 34.
0 of the word-of-mouth information is processed and registered in the server 110 through the wireless communication device 310, and a request from the input device 350 to use the user's word-of-mouth information is sent to the wireless communication device 310.
Through the server 110. The information presentation device 340 includes a display device 341 and a speaker 342,
The word-of-mouth information number information, word-of-mouth information, map information, etc. associated with the map information sent from the information processing device 330 are displayed on the display device 341 or provided to the user by voice from the speaker 342. A printing device can also be used when output to paper is required. The input device 350 includes a microphone 351 for inputting voice information and voice information, a touch panel 352 for inputting on the display screen, and a button 353 provided on the terminal device. A user edits word-of-mouth information from the input device 350 and a server Information on the number of reviews, which is registered with or associated with map information,
Requests word-of-mouth information and map information from the server. Although the display device 341 and the touch panel 352 are shown separately in FIG. 3, they may be the same. The configuration of the terminal device is an example, and the configuration of the terminal device in the word-of-mouth information providing method and device is not limited. For example, a keyboard or a mouse may be used as the input device.

FIG. 4 is an example of a display screen of the terminal device 180. The display screen 410 is an example of a screen displaying normal map information, and the display screen 420 is an example of a screen displaying the number of word-of-mouth information items associated with the map information on the map information. The display screen 410 and the display screen 420 are the terminal device 180.
Switching is performed by pressing the word-of-mouth information switching button of the input device 350 inside. When you press the word-of-mouth information switching button,
If the display screen displayed at that time is a screen displaying normal map information, the number of word-of-mouth information items is displayed on the map information. Also, if the display screen displayed at that time is a screen that displays the number of word-of-mouth information items associated with the map information on the map information, the word-of-mouth information associated with the map information is deleted and normal map information is displayed. indicate. The word-of-mouth information switching button may be provided as hardware on the terminal device, as software on the display screen as a button, or by voice input. The display screen 420 has four regions 421, 422, 423, and 4 in a mesh shape on the entire map on the display screen.
Number of word-of-mouth information items divided into 24 and registered in each region 4
26, 427, 428, and 429 are displayed. The user can specify a desired area out of these four areas. In addition, in this embodiment, the area is selected, but for example, the number of word-of-mouth information items 426, 4
27, 428, 429 may be selected. In this embodiment, the area is divided into four areas in a mesh shape, but this does not limit the way of division, and may be divided into nine areas, for example, and it is not necessary to be in a mesh shape. , For example, may be divided by municipality.

FIG. 5 shows an example of presentation of the number of word-of-mouth information items of the terminal device 180. It is a presentation example of the number of word-of-mouth information items associated with the map information when the user selects the divided screen 423 on the display screen 420. Compared with the display screen 420, the map becomes a smaller scale, and the area 423 is the area 511,
It is divided into 512, 513, and 514, and the number of review information items 417 associated with the map information of the region 423 is associated with the map information. The number of review information items 516, 517, 518, 51
It is divided into nine. Further, as an information presenting means other than the information presenting means for displaying on the screen, an example of an audio information presenting means will be shown. The sound is output from the speaker 342,
Number of word-of-mouth information items 516, 517, 518, 519 associated with representative place names of map divided into four and map information
Read aloud. Here, the typical place name is, for example, a place name at the center of each of the divided areas 511, 512, 513, and 514.

FIG. 6 shows an example of presentation of the number of word-of-mouth information items of the terminal device 180. When the user selects the area 513 of the display screen 510, the display screen 610 is displayed. The map is smaller than the display screen 510, and the images 611, 612, and 613 of each facility and the number of word-of-mouth information items of each facility are 6
15, 616 and 617 are displayed. In FIG. 6, the facility image 611 and the word-of-mouth information number 615 indicate that there are 20 pieces of word-of-mouth information registered in the A building, and the facility image 612 and the word-of-mouth information number 616 indicate that the word-of-mouth information is registered in the B restaurant. The number of information items is 10, and the image 613 of the facility and the number of word-of-mouth information items 617 show that the number of word-of-mouth information items registered in the C gas station is 5. The user can select the facility corresponding to the desired information from the facility images 611, 612, and 613. A screen in which the number of word-of-mouth information items is not the area like the screen 610 but the number of word-of-mouth information items for each facility or position is presented is called a final word-of-mouth information number screen. On the final review information count screen,
When the user selects one of the facility images 612 and 613, the word-of-mouth information regarding the selected facility or position can be used. However, since the image 611 of the facility displays the number of word-of-mouth information items of the A building, when the image 611 is selected, the display screen 620 displaying the number of word-of-mouth information items of each store in the A building is displayed. On the display screen 620, facility images 611, 612, 613 and the number of word-of-mouth information items 616, 6
17 is the same as the display screen 610, but the facilities in the image 611 are displayed, and the number of word-of-mouth information items 625, 6 of each facility are shown.
26 is displayed. It should be noted that a facility in which a plurality of facilities exist, such as a collective store or a building, can be expanded, and a single store is referred to as a non-expandable facility. When the number of word-of-mouth information items of a collective store or a store in a building is shown in, it is called the number of word-of-mouth information items developed.

Next, a method of registering word-of-mouth information in the server according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. The processing flow in the server is shown in FIG.
Shows the processing flow in the user's terminal device.

In the server, when the communication device 210 of the server receives the word-of-mouth information that the user wants to register from the terminal device 170 (step 701), the word-of-mouth information is sent to the computer 220. The word-of-mouth information received in step 701 also includes position information or facility information corresponding to the word-of-mouth information. Upon receiving the word-of-mouth information from the communication device 210, the computer 220 updates the word-of-mouth information DB 230 (step 702).

When a user who wants to register information on the terminal device 170 selects a position or facility for which word-of-mouth information is to be registered from the map information presented by the information presentation device 340 (step 801), a screen for editing the word-of-mouth information is displayed. It is displayed on the display device 341 (step 802). After that, the user edits the word-of-mouth information using the information input device 350 (step 803), and the information of the position or facility selected by the information processing device 320 in step 801 is displayed in step 803.
It is added to the word-of-mouth information edited in step 3 and transmitted from the communication device 310 to the server (step 804).

Next, the word-of-mouth information use method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. FIG. 9 shows a processing flow in the server, and FIG. 10 shows a processing flow in the user's terminal device.

The server first receives the request information for using word-of-mouth information and the desired position for using word-of-mouth information from the terminal device 180 (step 901). The request information for using the word-of-mouth information is information that the user wants to use the word-of-mouth information, and the desired position for using the word-of-mouth information is information about the position where the user-written word-of-mouth information is registered. In this embodiment, the user inputs the word-of-mouth information when requesting the word-of-mouth information. However, for example, if the user does not input the desired position to use the word-of-mouth information, the current position measuring device 320 of the terminal device 180 is input. The configuration may be such that information about the current position of the user is provided using the position information. Further, the desired position for using the word-of-mouth information also includes information on the map information displayed when the user selects it. After that, the map information is acquired from the map information DB 230 based on the received desired position to use the word-of-mouth information (step 902), and the word-of-mouth information DB is reviewed based on the received desired position to use the word-of-mouth information and the acquired map information. Information is acquired (step 903). Steps 902 and 903
Calculator 220 based on the map information and word-of-mouth information acquired in
Calculate the number of word-of-mouth information items in step (step 904),
The map information and the number of word-of-mouth information items calculated in step 904 are linked (step 905), and the result is sent to the terminal device 18.
0 (step 906). Wait until the selection result from the terminal device 180 is received (step 907),
When the selection result from the terminal device is received, it is judged whether or not the display screen selected by the user on the terminal device is the final word-of-mouth information number screen (step 908). Processing is performed from step 902 in order to create information in which map information is linked. The final word-of-mouth information screen refers to a screen in which the number of word-of-mouth information items for each facility is displayed, such as display screens 610 and 620. Although it is a request from the final word-of-mouth information number screen, when requesting the number of word-of-mouth information items of deployable facilities, the processing is performed from step 902 to create the number of word-of-mouth information items again (step 909). To select the number of word-of-mouth information items that can be expanded is, for example, the display screen 610.
In, the case where the image 611 representing the facility is selected. When a facility that cannot be deployed is selected in the request from the final screen, the corresponding word-of-mouth information is acquired from the word-of-mouth information DB (step 910) and the word-of-mouth information is transmitted to the terminal device 180 (step 911). To select the number of word-of-mouth information items that cannot be expanded is, for example, when the images 612 and 613 representing the facilities are selected in the display screen example 610.

In the terminal device 180, when a user's request for using word-of-mouth information is input from the input device (step 1
001), a suitable word-of-mouth information selection screen is displayed on the display device 341 of the information presentation device 340 in response to the user's request (step 1002). Waiting for the user to select the position or facility from the displayed review information selection screen (step 1003), and when the selection is made, the information regarding the position or facility selected by the user and the information regarding the selected map information are used in the server 110. (Step 1004). As a result, the word-of-mouth information number information linked to the map information is acquired from the server 110 (step 1005). The number of word-of-mouth information items acquired is provided to the user from the information presentation device 340 of the terminal device 180 (step 1006). As a method of presenting information, there are a method of displaying on the display device 341, a method of presenting by voice from the speaker 342, and the like. The method of presenting information may be selectable by the user, or may be automatically selected according to the state of the terminal device or the user. Wait for the user to select the number of review information items again from the number of review information items associated with the presented map information (step 100
7) When the selection is made, the selection result is transmitted to the server 110 (step 1008). It is determined whether or not the word-of-mouth information number screen presented in step 1006 is the final word-of-mouth information number screen (step 1009), and if it is not the final word-of-mouth information number screen, the process returns to step 1005 and step 1
In 007, the word-of-mouth information count information corresponding to the area selected by the user is acquired from the server 110. Step 10
If the word-of-mouth information number screen presented in 06 is the final word-of-mouth information number screen, it is judged whether or not the deployable facility is selected (step 1010), and if the deployable facility is selected, the step 1007. A more detailed word-of-mouth information number in which the facility selected by the user is deployed is acquired from the server 110 (step 1011), the number of word-of-mouth information items is presented to the user (step 1012), and the process returns to step 1007 to wait for the user's selection. If no deployable facility is selected, the review information of the facility selected by the user in step 1007 is acquired from the server 110 (step 1013), and the review information is presented to the user (step 1014). In addition, you may specify the word-of-mouth information desired position on the displayed map information,
The latitude and longitude may be directly specified.

In the present embodiment, the description has been made on the assumption that the terminal has data of a display screen for requesting word-of-mouth information in advance, but this does not limit the configuration, and the server may be used as necessary. You can also download from.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the data structure of the word-of-mouth information DB 230. The data 1100 includes latitude information 1101, longitude information 1102, and facility information 110 as position information.
3 and a word-of-mouth information storage location 1104. The latitude information 1101 and the longitude information 1102 represent the target position of the word-of-mouth information and the place of the facility. Facility information 1103
Indicates the position of the object of the word-of-mouth information and the name of the facility. The word-of-mouth information storage location 1104 is a URL of a file in which word-of-mouth information is stored, a path to the file, or the like. The data 1110 is an example of the data structure of the word-of-mouth information number DB, and does not limit the data structure of the word-of-mouth information number DB.

In the above description, the word-of-mouth information is subjective information regarding the impression of the user who used the store or the like, the atmosphere of the store or the quality of the service, and is one store (facility).
If multiple pieces of word-of-mouth information are included for each item, the word-of-mouth information may not be registered at all depending on the facility. Although the number of word-of-mouth information items is displayed in the above-described embodiment, the calculation of step 904 in FIG. 9 is performed by the store etc. in which the word-of-mouth information is registered instead of the number of word-of-mouth information items.
The number of items (facility, etc.) may be changed to be calculated, and the number of items displayed on the screen together with the map information may be the number of items such as stores where word-of-mouth information is input.

Further, the calculation of step 904 in FIG. 9 is further modified to determine the number of stores etc. in which word-of-mouth information is registered,
The number of word-of-mouth information items may be calculated together, and the number of items to be displayed on the screen together with the map information may be described together with both the number of stores and the number of word-of-mouth information items.

Further, instead of the word-of-mouth information of the user who used the shop or the like, the advertisement information of the shop by the manager of the shop or the advertising agent may be registered / managed / processed similarly to the word-of-mouth information. In this case, step 9 in FIG.
When calculating the number of word-of-mouth information items of 04 (and the alternative processing shown in the above paragraph), the advertisement information may be included in the word-of-mouth information and calculated and output.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the number of word-of-mouth information items registered in the display area on the screen is displayed first, and then the number of word-of-mouth information items corresponding to the displayed area is changed in stages. The user can easily select and use desired word-of-mouth information from a large number of word-of-mouth information by repeating the operation of restricting the information.

By providing a button for switching the display / non-display of the number of word-of-mouth information items on the terminal device, the problem that the map information which is generated when the number of word-of-mouth information items is displayed on the map is difficult to see is solved, and the user desires. When selecting word-of-mouth information, the number of word-of-mouth information items may be displayed on the map or selected only on the map, and desired word-of-mouth information can be selected and used more easily. .

Next, a modification of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the modified example of the first embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to classify the word-of-mouth information according to the type of the object for which the word-of-mouth information is registered, and to display only the number of word-of-mouth information items of a particular type by the input from the user. In particular, when the type of word-of-mouth information desired by the user is limited, an information providing method that allows the user to more easily select and use the desired word-of-mouth information is realized. The classification of the word-of-mouth information is, for example, word-of-mouth information about meals, word-of-mouth information about shopping, word-of-mouth information about facilities, word-of-mouth information about sightseeing, word-of-mouth information about recommendations in the vicinity, and the like. The first embodiment has a step of classifying according to the type of word-of-mouth information in the server, and an operation of specifying the type of word-of-mouth information when the user registers the word-of-mouth information and a word-of-mouth when the user uses the word-of-mouth information The difference is that it is possible to perform an operation that specifies the type of information.

FIG. 12 is an example of a display screen of the terminal device 180 in the modification of the first embodiment. Regarding the display screen 1210, the display screen 4 shows that the total number of word-of-mouth information items is displayed.
Same as 20, but buttons (word-of-mouth information classification buttons) 1201, 12 showing classification of types of word-of-mouth information on the screen
02, 1203, 1204, 1205, 1206 are displayed, and the type of the word-of-mouth information currently displayed and the number 1230 thereof are displayed. When the user selects any of the word-of-mouth information classification buttons on the display screen 1210, only the number of word-of-mouth information items regarding the selected classification is displayed within the range of the map information currently displayed. FIG. 12 shows an example in which the user selects the button 1201 representing meal of the word-of-mouth information classification button, and the result display screen 1220 is displayed. On the display screen 1220, only the number of word-of-mouth information items related to meals registered within the range of the displayed map information is displayed, and further the word-of-mouth information classification and the number thereof 1240.
Will be the meal information and its number. Further, as in the first embodiment, when the user specifies an area, the corresponding number of word-of-mouth information items is displayed on more detailed map information. Word of mouth information classification buttons 1202, 1203, 120 in the state of the screen 1220
When the user selects any one of 4, 1205, and 1206, the screen changes to a screen displaying the number of word-of-mouth information items corresponding to the selected button.

FIG. 13 is a processing flow of the server in the modification of the first embodiment when the server is requested by the user to register word-of-mouth information. In the modified example of the first embodiment, the classification information of the word-of-mouth information is included in the data handled when the information request is made by the user. Here, the classification information refers to information indicating which word-of-mouth information classification button the user has selected. When receiving the request from the user, the classification information is received in addition to the desired position and the map information (step 130).
1) and that the classification information is added to the consideration when calculating the number of word-of-mouth information items (step 1302), which is different from the first embodiment. In addition, the user selects the word-of-mouth information number selection screen 121.
Word-of-mouth information selection buttons 1201, 1202, 12 from 0
The processing procedure of the server when any one of 03, 1204, 1205, and 1206 is selected is different from that of the first embodiment. Upon receiving the selection result from the terminal device, it is determined whether the user has selected the word-of-mouth information classification button (step 130).
3), if selected, map information D from desired position information
After acquiring map information from B (step 1304),
Calculate the number of word-of-mouth information items based on the classification information and location information. After that, returning to step 905, the map information and the number of word-of-mouth information items are linked. If the user has not selected the word-of-mouth information classification button in step 1303, the same processing as in the first embodiment is performed.

FIG. 14 is a processing flow of the terminal device when the word-of-mouth information is used in the modification of the first embodiment. Differences from the first embodiment are steps 1401 and 1402. In step 1006, it is determined whether or not the user has selected the word-of-mouth information classification button in the number of word-of-mouth information items presented (step 1401), and if selected, the selected result is transmitted to the server 110 (step 140).
2). As a result, the number of word-of-mouth information items acquired from the server 110 is only the number of word-of-mouth information items suitable for the word-of-mouth information classification button selected by the user. If not selected, the same process as in the first embodiment is performed.

FIG. 15 shows an example of the data structure stored in the word-of-mouth information DB 230 in the modification of the first embodiment. The structure of the data 1500 is classified into 150 in addition to the data structure 1100.
1 is added. The classification 1501 represents the type of word-of-mouth information, and for example, information selection buttons 1201 and 120
2, 1203, 1204, 1205, 1206 are selected from meals, shopping, facilities, sightseeing, recommendations, and others. The data 1500 is an example of a data structure stored in the word-of-mouth information DB 230, and the structure is not limited.

As described above, according to the modification of the first embodiment, in addition to the first embodiment, word-of-mouth information is classified according to the type of information, and the number of word-of-mouth information items for each classification is provided to the user. As a result, the user can more easily select and use the desired word-of-mouth information when the type of the desired word-of-mouth information is limited.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, when the user registers the word-of-mouth information in the server, an evaluation value regarding the object of the word-of-mouth information is added, and when providing the word-of-mouth information to the user, the evaluation regarding the object of the word-of-mouth information. By providing the word-of-mouth information together, the word-of-mouth information providing method of the present invention can be made more useful to the user, and the user can more easily use desired word-of-mouth information. The difference from the first embodiment is that the user gives an evaluation value to the word-of-mouth information when registering the word-of-mouth information in the server 110, and that the server 110 calculates the total evaluation value together with the number of word-of-mouth information items. . The evaluation value is an evaluation with respect to an object for which the user registers word-of-mouth information, and in this embodiment, it is -10.
It is represented by a numerical value from 0 to +100. Negative numbers indicate that the user gives a bad evaluation to the subject for which word-of-mouth information is registered, and the closer the number is to -100, the stronger the degree. A positive number indicates that the user has a good evaluation of the subject for which word-of-mouth information is registered, and the number is 100.
The closer to, the stronger the degree. If the user does not input the evaluation value when registering, the evaluation value is treated as 0. This evaluation value calculation method is an example, and the evaluation value calculation method in the present invention is not limited. The comprehensive evaluation value is an evaluation value that is a combination of all pieces of word-of-mouth information in a certain area, and is, for example, an average of evaluation values of pieces of word-of-mouth information in a certain area.

FIG. 16 shows a terminal device 1 according to the second embodiment.
It is an example of a display screen of 80. Comprehensive evaluation value 1616, 1617, 16 of the word-of-mouth information of the area under the number of word-of-mouth information items
18 and 1619 are displayed. The comprehensive evaluation value of the number of word-of-mouth information items to be displayed is calculated as follows, for example. Assume that there are N pieces of word-of-mouth information in a certain area, and the evaluation value of word-of-mouth information corresponding to each piece of word-of-mouth information is A1, A2, A.
3, ..., AN. At this time, the comprehensive evaluation value A of the area is calculated by Equation 1.

[0035]

[Equation 1]

In this embodiment, the total evaluation value is displayed below the number of word-of-mouth information items, but the image showing the number of word-of-mouth information items displayed by the total evaluation value may be changed. For example, the color of the image showing the number of word-of-mouth information items is −100 ≦ A ≦ 5
Dark red when 0, light red when -50 <A <0, 0 ≦ A
It may be changed such that it is light blue when <50 and dark blue when 50 ≦ A ≦ 100. In addition, the size of the display image of the number of word-of-mouth information items may be changed, the color of the map information to be evaluated may be changed, the color of the facility to be evaluated may be changed, or the like depending on the comprehensive evaluation value.

FIG. 17 is a processing flow of the server when the user requests the server to use word-of-mouth information in the second embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment is that the evaluation value is added to the word-of-mouth information to be handled, and that the number of word-of-mouth information items is calculated in step 1701.
It is to calculate a comprehensive evaluation value for each number of word-of-mouth information items and to add the comprehensive evaluation value calculated in step 1701 when linking the map information and the number of word-of-mouth information items in step 1702.

FIG. 18 is a word-of-mouth information DB in the second embodiment.
4 is a data configuration example of word-of-mouth information stored in 220.
In the data 1800, the evaluation value 1801 is added to the data 1100. Data 1810 is word-of-mouth information DB 220
It is an example of the data structure of the word-of-mouth information stored in, and does not limit the data structure of the word-of-mouth information.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the user can use the comprehensive evaluation value together with the number of word-of-mouth information items. By using the comprehensive evaluation value as an aid in selecting word-of-mouth information, the word-of-mouth information providing method of the present invention becomes more useful, and the user can more easily select and use desired word-of-mouth information.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, each time the user registers word-of-mouth information on the server, points are given to the user, and a privilege such as changing the number of word-of-mouth information provided according to the number of points is added. . This allows
It is possible to promote the user's registration of word-of-mouth information on the server.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a server in the third embodiment. The server 1910 differs from the server 110 in that it has a user information DB 1920. The user information DB 1920 stores the user's ID number, the number of points, the level, etc., and manages the number of points and the level that fluctuates depending on the number of registered word-of-mouth information of the user. The level is a classification according to the number of points the user has acquired. For example, when a user registers one piece of word-of-mouth information, 1 point is generated, and the level increases by 1 every 10 points. When the point P is 0 ≦ P <10, it is the A level,
10 ≦ P <20 is the B level, 20 ≦ P <30 is the C level, and so on. As the level increases, benefits such as the number of word-of-mouth information items that can be used increase, and the word-of-mouth information providing service becomes more useful.

FIG. 20 is an example of a display screen on the terminal device 180. The display part of the number of reviews information is the display screen 420
But the member information display unit 2010 is different. The name, point, and level are displayed in this part according to the user who is using it. In the example of FIG. 20, it can be seen that the user who is using the word-of-mouth information providing service has a user name of Kikuchi, points of 15, and level B. For example, as a privilege for each level, the number of word-of-mouth information items available for each facility increases as the level increases by one. In Level A, the number of word-of-mouth information items that can be used for one facility is one, and only the word-of-mouth information item registered last among the word-of-mouth information items registered in the facility can be used. Repeatedly registering the word-of-mouth information, the number of word-of-mouth information items that can be used for one facility at Level B is three. Use the word-of-mouth information newly registered among the word-of-mouth information registered in the facility. You can Repeatedly registering word-of-mouth information, when the level becomes C, the number of word-of-mouth information items that can be used for one facility is 5, and 5 of the word-of-mouth information registered newly in the facility are used. It can be done. This is an example of a privilege with respect to the number of points, and does not limit the privilege.

FIG. 21 shows an example of the data structure handled by the user information DB 1920. Data 2100 is user ID number 2101, user name 2102, user point 2
103 and user level 2104. Data 21
10 is an example of Mr. Kikuchi's data.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, the word-of-mouth information registration of the user who uses the word-of-mouth information providing service is promoted, and the number of word-of-mouth information registrations of the server of the word-of-mouth information providing service is increased, which is more useful. It becomes possible to make things.

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention,
First, the number of reviews that are registered in each region that the map is divided into is displayed, and by repeatedly performing the operation of gradually limiting the number of reviews that correspond to the regions that are displayed, the user can obtain a large number of reviews. It is possible to easily select and use desired word-of-mouth information from the above.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a communication system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a server in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a terminal device in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a word-of-mouth information display screen of the terminal device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a word-of-mouth information presentation screen when the user makes a selection in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a word-of-mouth information display screen when the user selects it in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing of the server at the time of information registration according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing processing of the terminal device at the time of information registration according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the processing of the server at the time of providing information according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing of the terminal device at the time of providing information according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a data configuration diagram of a word-of-mouth information DB according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a terminal device according to a modification of the first embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the processing of the server at the time of providing information in the modification of the first embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the processing of the terminal device at the time of providing information in the modification of the first embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a data configuration diagram of a word-of-mouth information DB according to a modification of the first embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of the terminal device in the second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the processing of the server when providing information in the second embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a data configuration diagram of a word-of-mouth information DB in the second embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a configuration diagram of a communication system according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 20 is an example of a display screen of the terminal device according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a data configuration diagram of a word-of-mouth information DB in the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

110: word-of-mouth information server, 120: communication line, 13
0, 140: wireless base stations, 150, 160: wireless communication channels, 170, 180: terminal devices.

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. A word-of-mouth information providing method for providing word-of-mouth information from a server to a terminal device in a system in which the server and the terminal device are connected to a network, wherein the server, for each predetermined range of map information, falls within the predetermined range. The word-of-mouth information transfer data related to the number of word-of-mouth information items is transmitted to the terminal device, and the terminal device receives the word-of-mouth information transfer data, and the predetermined range of the map information and the number of word-of-mouth information items within the predetermined range. A word-of-mouth information providing method characterized by displaying the information in association with each other. 2. The word-of-mouth information providing method according to claim 1,
A word-of-mouth information providing method, characterized in that word-of-mouth information transfer data in which the predetermined range is changed is transmitted to a terminal device according to a change in the scale of a map displayed on a display screen. 3. The word-of-mouth information providing method according to claim 1,
A word-of-mouth information providing method, characterized in that the predetermined range is displayed separately for each facility. 4. The word-of-mouth information providing method according to claim 1,
In response to receiving the instruction of the category of the word-of-mouth information from the terminal device, the number of pieces of word-of-mouth information of the word-of-mouth information transfer data is transmitted to the terminal device as a value narrowed down to the number of pieces of word-of-mouth information of the designated category. A word-of-mouth information providing method characterized by the above. 5. In a word-of-mouth information providing method for exchanging word-of-mouth information between a server connected to a network and a terminal device, the server includes an evaluation of a word-of-mouth information target from the terminal device in response to a request transmitted from the terminal device. The process of registering word-of-mouth information, and the number of word-of-mouth information items registered in the requested area from the word-of-mouth information registered in the server in response to a request sent from the terminal device by the server, and map information of the area. And a step of transmitting information to the terminal device, a step of receiving the information by the terminal device, and a step of displaying the terminal device. A word-of-mouth information providing method including a step of displaying the information on a device. 6. The word-of-mouth information providing method according to claim 5, wherein the display mode of the number of word-of-mouth information items displayed on the map is changed according to the evaluation of the word-of-mouth information of the area. 7. A word-of-mouth information providing method for exchanging word-of-mouth information between a server connected to a network and a terminal device, the step of holding and managing as points the number of times each user has registered word-of-mouth information in the server, A step of creating information in which the server associates the number of word-of-mouth information items registered in the requested area from the word-of-mouth information registered in the server in response to a request from the terminal device with map information of the area; A word-of-mouth information providing method including a step of transmitting the information to a terminal device, a step of receiving the information by the terminal device, and a step of displaying the information on a display device of the terminal device. 8. The word-of-mouth information providing method according to claim 7, wherein the server changes the number of word-of-mouth information provided to the terminal device by the points. 9. An input device for inputting an instruction to the terminal device, a communication device for communicating with a server, a display device for displaying map information, the number of word-of-mouth information items, etc., and necessary for the operation of the terminal device. When there is a request to display word-of-mouth information from the input device in the previous period, the number of word-of-mouth information items to be displayed on the map is acquired through the communication device, and the number of word-of-mouth information items is acquired in a predetermined area of the map. A terminal device characterized by displaying in association with. 10. The terminal device according to claim 9, wherein the map information is also acquired from the server and displayed. 11. The terminal device according to claim 9 or 10, further comprising means for switching between a mode in which the number of word-of-mouth information items and the map information are both displayed on the display device and a mode in which the map information is displayed without displaying the number of the word-of-mouth information items. A terminal device characterized by being provided. 12. The terminal device according to claim 9,
A terminal device, wherein when a request for changing the scale of a map is input from the input device, the number of word-of-mouth information items corresponding to the change of the scale is acquired from the server via the communication device and displayed again. 13. The terminal device according to claim 9, wherein data for displaying a guide screen for requesting display of word-of-mouth information is held in advance in the terminal device. . 14. The terminal device according to claim 9, further comprising an input device for selecting a target category of word-of-mouth information, and inputting one of the target categories of word-of-mouth information from the input device. A terminal device, which calculates the number of reviews of each type and displays the number of reviews of the selected category on the display device. 15. In a word-of-mouth information providing system in which a server and a terminal device are connected to a network and word-of-mouth information is provided from the server to the terminal device, the number of word-of-mouth information items within a predetermined range for each predetermined range of map information. A server for transmitting word-of-mouth information transfer data associated with a terminal device, and a terminal for receiving word-of-mouth information transfer data and displaying a predetermined range of map information and the number of pieces of word-of-mouth information within the predetermined range in association with each other. A word-of-mouth information providing system comprising a device. 16. A method of providing word-of-mouth information to a terminal device in a server connected to the terminal device via a network, wherein word-of-mouth information within the predetermined range is provided for each predetermined range of map information displayed on the terminal device. A word-of-mouth information providing method characterized by generating the number of pieces of information and transmitting word-of-mouth information transfer data in which a predetermined range of map information is associated with the number of pieces of word-of-mouth information to a terminal device. 17. The word-of-mouth information providing method according to claim 16, wherein the predetermined range is changed and the number of word-of-mouth information items is regenerated in response to a change in the scale of the map displayed on the terminal device. And transmitting new word-of-mouth information transfer data to the terminal device. 18. A word-of-mouth information providing server, which is connected to a terminal device via a network and provides word-of-mouth information to the terminal device, for each predetermined range of map information displayed on the terminal device,
Means for generating the number of word-of-mouth information items within the predetermined range;
A word-of-mouth information providing server comprising means for transmitting word-of-mouth information transfer data in which a predetermined range of map information is associated with the number of word-of-mouth information items to a terminal device. 19. The word-of-mouth information providing server according to claim 18, wherein the generation unit changes the predetermined range in response to a change in the scale of the map displayed on the terminal device to change the word-of-mouth information. A word-of-mouth information providing method, comprising regenerating the number of cases and transmitting new word-of-mouth information transfer data to a terminal device.