JP2004030354A - Information providing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information providing system that is loadable even on a portable information terminal with low processing and display capabilities such as a PDA and in which display is updated cheerfully. <P>SOLUTION: Terminals 10 to 12 display display character strings transferred by a browser, character strings selected in the display character strings are transmitted as request information. In this information providing system 20, a mediating access point server 21 performs session (page) management and model dependance processing with the terminals. The terminal sides have only to be provided with a browser with a light processing load, the processing load of the terminal sides can be reduced and an amount of transfer data can be reduced. Display can be updated lightly even in a portable information terminal with low processing and display capabilities such as a PDA. Also, an application server has only to support general-purpose services, and in addition, various mobile devices can be supported. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information providing system, and more particularly, to an information providing system suitable for a portable information terminal having a low processing capability and a low display capability, such as a mobile phone and a PDA.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as an information providing system, there has been a well-known Internet Web service. This service uses HTML format data and returns predetermined or generated HTML data in response to a service (page) request by a URL (address) from a general-purpose browser of a terminal.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In recent years, other types of tags have been defined in response to diversifying Web display functions, and a general-purpose browser has these processing functions, resulting in an increase in program scale and an increase in processing load. In the conventional information providing system as described above, mounting a general-purpose browser for HTML or a subset thereof on a mobile information terminal such as a mobile phone or a PDA having a low processing capability or display capability requires a large program capacity and a large processing capacity. Since the load is heavy, there is a problem in that it cannot be mounted, or even if it can be mounted, processing resources are wasted and the display is not updated easily.
[0004]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and can be mounted on a portable information terminal having a low processing capability or display capability such as a mobile phone or a PDA, and can easily update the display. An object of the present invention is to provide an information providing system.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The information providing system according to the present invention is characterized in that a terminal displays a transferred display character string and transmits a selected character string among the display character strings as a request character string. On the server side, the intermediary access point server manages the session with the terminal.
[0006]
According to the present invention, by specifying a format to be used from a predetermined display format and transmitting only a character string to be displayed in the format, the terminal side has a small program capacity and a light processing load. It is only necessary to provide a browser, it is possible to reduce the processing load on the terminal side and the amount of transfer data, and it is possible to easily update the display even with a portable information terminal such as a mobile phone or a PDA having a low processing capability and a low display capability. .
[0007]
In addition, the intermediary access point server manages the session (page) or absorbs the model-dependent processing, so that the service-providing server only needs to support the same versatile service as before. The development of the side system becomes easy, and the development efficiency is improved.
Furthermore, by supporting the model-dependent processing in the intermediary access point server, it is possible to support a wide variety of mobile devices.
[0008]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an entire system including an information providing system 20 of the present invention. The information providing system 20 is installed at a place where people gather, such as a store or a station. In the information providing system 20, a wireless access point device 28, a plurality of application (Web) servers 23 and 24, a database server 25, a router / firewall server 26, and the like are connected by a LAN 27. The wireless access point device 28 includes, for example, a well-known Bluetooth (registered trademark) wireless transceiver 22 and an access point server (hereinafter, referred to as AS) 21.
[0009]
For example, in an information application system 20 installed in a store, the AS 21 is wirelessly connected to a PC (personal computer) terminal 10, a PDA terminal 11, a mobile phone terminal 12 and the like carried by a visiting customer. The information application system 20 is connected to the Internet 30 via a router / firewall server 26, and the AS 21 can also connect to external servers 31 and 32 as needed.
[0010]
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing data exchange between devices in the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, it is assumed that user authentication has already been completed. In the system of the present invention, each terminal is provided with a browser (described later) having a simple function, and when a user clicks (selects or operates) an area (button) displayed as “top” on the display screen, for example. , The terminal transmits the character string “top” to the AS 21.
[0011]
The AS 21 determines what application server is requested based on the received character string “top” and the current session state of the terminal (information indicating which page is currently displayed), and determines the received character string “ A character string "service" is added to the "top" as a character string for determining the content of the request, and the request is transmitted to the determined server. Then, the display character string of the answer is received from the server.
[0012]
The AS 21 generates display data to be transmitted to the terminal based on the received display character string, the terminal type information acquired at the time of connection, and the session state. The display data includes display form information, a title character string, a plurality of display character string information to be displayed as options, and the like.
[0013]
In the terminal, the browser displays the character string received in the specified form. Here, for example, when the user clicks (selects) the check box of “entertainment”, the terminal transmits only the character string of “entertainment” to the AS 21. Hereinafter, the above processing is repeated.
[0014]
As described above, by performing the session (page) management and the model-dependent processing by the AS 21, the processing load and the program development load on both the terminal side and the server side are reduced, and the display can be updated lightly.
[0015]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing of the terminal according to the present invention. Examples of the portable information terminal include a notebook PC, a PDA, and a mobile phone having a wireless connection function. Although these portable information terminals have different display and processing capabilities, they all have an operating system, information processing functions by installing programs, display functions, input functions, etc. By installing the browser, the terminal can be used as the terminal of the present invention.
[0016]
In S10, it is determined whether or not there is data received from the AS 21, and if the determination result is negative, the process proceeds to S12, but if affirmative, the process proceeds to S11. In S11, the received character string is displayed on the display device of the terminal based on the display format information included in the received data.
[0017]
In S12, it is determined whether or not a selection operation (click) has been performed by the user. If the determination result is negative, the process returns to S10, but if affirmative, the process proceeds to S13. In S13, it is determined whether or not the operation is an end operation (click on the end button). If the determination result is affirmative, the browser process ends, but if the determination result is negative, the process proceeds to S14.
[0018]
In S14, it is determined whether the instruction is a display change instruction (= transmission instruction). Which of the display change, transmission, and other processing to execute when the area is selected is determined in advance by the designated display format information. If the determination result in S14 is affirmative, the process moves to S15, and the display content is changed based on the instruction, for example, as described in a specific example (S-6) of the display screen described later.
[0019]
If the determination result in S14 is negative, that is, if it is a transmission instruction, the process proceeds to S15, and the character string corresponding to the selected check box or button area is transmitted to the AS 21.
[0020]
The browser of the terminal only needs to perform the above processing, and the program is small and the amount of data to be transmitted and received is small, so that the processing load is light and the display can be updated lightly.
[0021]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing of the server in the present invention. The processing in the application server is, for example, almost the same as that of a conventional Web server, but the Web server receives a URL as request information, whereas the server of the present invention requests a character string or a combination of a plurality of character strings. Identify the services to be performed.
[0022]
The reason is that the request character string transmitted from the terminal can be used as it is, and in the development and operation of the system, the contents can be easily understood by the programmer and the operator, and the development and operation efficiency can be improved.
[0023]
In S20, it is determined whether or not there is data received from AS21. If the determination result is negative, S20 is repeated, but if affirmative, the process proceeds to S21. In S21, the received character string is analyzed to determine which page data is requested by the user.
[0024]
In S22, for example, display information generation processing such as making a search request to the DB server and obtaining an answer is performed. In S23, display character string data as an answer to AS21 is generated and transmitted to AS21. The format of the display character string data is a general-purpose format that does not depend on the model of the terminal.
[0025]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing of the access point server 21 according to the present invention. In S30, it is determined whether or not there is data received from the terminal. If the determination result is positive, the process shifts to S31. In S31, it is determined whether or not the received data is a standard code. If the data is not a standard code, the process shifts to S32 to perform a conversion process to the standard code.
[0026]
In S33, it is determined whether or not the received data is an authentication request at the beginning of the connection. If the determination result is negative, the process proceeds to S38, but if affirmative, the process proceeds to S34. In S34, an authentication process is performed. That is, for example, the received user ID and password are sent to an authentication server (not shown) to obtain an answer indicating whether the authentication is OK or NG.
[0027]
In S35, it is determined whether or not the result of the authentication processing is authentication OK. If the determination result is negative, the flow shifts to S37 to perform the connection rejection processing. If the determination result is positive, the flow shifts to S36. In S36, session information with the terminal is registered in the session database. The session information includes the terminal type information acquired from the terminal, the name of the server currently receiving the service (server address), and the current service hierarchy information (page identification information).
[0028]
In S38, it is determined whether or not the received data from the terminal is an end request. If the received data is an end request, the process shifts to S39 to delete the session information registered in the AS 21.
[0029]
In S40, the session information of the terminal is read, and a character string ("service" in FIG. 2) serving as page identification information is added to the character string received based on this information. In S41, an application server responsible for the processing is selected, processing request character string data is transmitted to the server, and an answer is obtained from the server.
[0030]
In S42, the terminal type information is read, and it is determined whether or not the scroll function of the terminal is to be proxy-processed. If the result of the determination is affirmative, the flow shifts to S43 to perform a scroll proxy process. That is, if the terminal has a small number of display lines, the display character string is stored. Then, first, display character strings are transmitted by the number of lines that can be displayed, and when a downward scroll request is made from the terminal, the remaining display character strings are transmitted. Further, when there is a request for upward scrolling, the character string transmitted first is retransmitted. By the processing as described above, the scroll function is performed as a proxy.
[0031]
In S44, when transmitting the image data to the terminal, it is determined whether or not to perform the reduction process depending on whether or not the image size is larger than the size that can be displayed on the terminal. If the determination result is positive, The flow shifts to S45, where a process of reducing the image size is performed.
[0032]
In S46, it is determined whether or not the character code of the terminal is a standard code. If the result of the determination is negative, the process proceeds to S47, in which a character code conversion process for converting the character code into a code suitable for the terminal is performed. Is
[0033]
In S48, the display character string information is output to the terminal in a predetermined format together with the display format information. In S49, the session (page) information of the terminal is updated.
[0034]
As described above, since the session management and the model-dependent display processing are performed in the AS 21, the load on the terminal side is reduced, and the application server side can perform general-purpose processing independent of the model.
[0035]
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of a series of data exchange between devices in the present invention. 7 to 10 are explanatory diagrams showing examples of data exchanged between devices in the specific example of FIG. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of the terminal in the specific example of FIG. Note that the ORB (Object Request Broker) in FIG. 6 is called a distributed object and is a framework for organically connecting a plurality of computers to perform distributed processing. However, the present invention can be implemented without using an ORB. Can be implemented.
[0036]
Hereinafter, a signal sequence will be described as an example of using the restaurant guidance service. This specific example includes an initial setting sequence, a plurality of service providing sequences, and an end sequence, and the contents of each sequence include a variable-length character code string.
[0037]
As shown, the initialization request (S-1) includes (1) an initialization request character string (INIT), (2) a model code (iPAQ), (3) a user ID (user1), and (4) a password (ABCDEFGH). (2) is set by a browser corresponding to the model, and (3) and (4) are set in advance by the user or input on the screen of FIG. 11A.
[0038]
When receiving the initial setting request (S-1), the AS 21 transmits an authentication request (S-c1) to an authentication server (not shown) and receives an authentication response (S-c2). Next, the AS 21 transmits a service initial request (S-s1) to a predetermined application server. The character string of “provided service list” is predetermined as a service name requested first.
[0039]
The AS 21 receives a service initial request response (S-s2) from the server. The contents include (1) display format name (STD00), (2) title name (provided service list), and (3) provided service item (news,...).
[0040]
Upon receiving (S-s2), the AS 21 generates an initialization request response (S-2) and transmits it to the terminal. The initial setting request response (S-2) includes (1) a model-compatible display format name (DLG00), (2) a title name, and (3) a provided service item. (2) and (3) are the same as the contents of the service initial request response (S-s2). The terminal receives the signal and displays a screen as shown in FIG. This is the initial setting sequence.
[0041]
Here, when the user clicks (selects) the button of "various information guidance", the terminal sends out a service request (S-3). The content of the service request (S-3) is only a character string displayed as a selection item on the terminal screen "various information guidance". This service request (S-3) is directly transferred to the application server.
[0042]
The AS 21 receives a service request response (S-s4) from the server. The contents are (1) display format name (STD01), (2) requested service name (various information guidance), (3) title name (various guidance information), (4) number of items (5), (5) item name (Tourist guide, restaurant information, ...).
[0043]
When receiving the service request response (S-s4), the AS 21 generates a service request response (S-4) and transmits it to the terminal. Contents are (1) display format name corresponding to model (DLG01), (2) title name (various guide information), (3) number of items (5), (4) item name (tourist guide, restaurant information, ...) Become.
[0044]
FIG. 11C shows an example of a display screen after receiving the service request response (S-4). Here, when the user clicks (selects) "restaurant information", the terminal sends a service request (S-5). The content of the service request (S-5) is only the request information name “restaurant information”.
[0045]
When receiving the service request (S-5) from the terminal, the AS 21 transmits the service request (S-s5) to the server. For example, by making the service names and information names of the menu hierarchy (upper three hierarchies) up to the “restaurant information” unique (not duplicated), the pages can be managed only by the service names or the information names. . Further, it is assumed that the information name of the lower hierarchy is not unique, and the page can be specified by adding the unique upper information name as described later.
[0046]
The AS 21 receives a service request response (S-s6) from the server. The contents of the service request response (S-s6) include (1) display format name (STD10), (2) request information name (restaurant information), (3) title name (restaurant information), (4) number of type items ( 3), (5) Type item (1: Chinese ... Japanese food) composed of multiple type identification numbers and item names, (6) Number of information items (20), (7) Multiple information item names and corresponding type identification numbers Information items.
[0047]
When receiving the service request response (S-s6), the AS 21 generates a service request response (S-6) and transmits it to the terminal. The contents are (1) model-specific display format name (DLG10), (2) title name (restaurant information), (3) number of type items (3), (4) type item consisting of multiple type identification numbers and item names. (1: Chinese: Japanese food); (5) Number of information items (20); (6) Information items (visiting ...) consisting of a plurality of information item names and corresponding type identification numbers.
[0048]
FIG. 11D shows an example of a display screen after receiving the service request response (S-6). Here, when the user clicks (selects), for example, a Chinese food check box, the terminal browser displays only the information items having the identification number 1 (= Chinese food) in the right window from among the received information items. I do. Then, for example, when the user clicks (selects) "Beijing Shuya", the terminal sends a service request (S-7). The content of the service request (S-7) is only the request information item name "Beijing liquor".
[0049]
Upon receiving the service request (S-7) from the terminal, the AS 21 reads out the session information of the terminal, adds a character string indicating a unique request information name of “restaurant information” to the request information item, and provides the service to the server. Send the request (S-s7).
[0050]
The AS 21 receives a service request response (S-s8) from the server. The contents of the service request response (S-s8) include (1) display format name (STD11), (2) request information name (restaurant information), (3) title name (Beijing liquor information), (4) detailed information ( Morning ... 7890, ...).
[0051]
When receiving the service request response (S-s8), the AS 21 generates a service request response (S-8) and transmits it to the terminal. The contents consist of (1) a model-compatible display format name (DLG11), (2) a title name (Beijing liquor information), and (3) detailed information (morning ... 7890,...).
[0052]
FIG. 11E shows an example of a display screen after receiving the service request response (S-8). Although not shown, a “top” button and an “end” button are always displayed on the screen. Here, when the user clicks (selects) the “end” button, for example, the terminal transmits an end request (S-9). The end request (S-9) is composed of an "end" character string. When receiving the termination request (S-9), the AS 21 transmits a termination request response (S-10) composed of a character string "OK" to the terminal, and the session is terminated.
[0053]
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed above, the present invention may have the following modifications. In the embodiment, an example in which the terminal and the access point device are wirelessly connected is disclosed. However, any wireless or wired connection means can be adopted as the connection means with the terminal.
[0054]
In the embodiment, the example in which the request is recognized by the character string in the application server is disclosed. However, in the access point server, the request is recognized by analyzing the character string and converted into, for example, a URL. It is also possible to use a Web server.
[0055]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, by specifying a format to be used from among predetermined display formats and transmitting only a character string to be displayed in the format, the terminal side has a program capacity of It is only necessary to provide a small browser with a light processing load, and it is possible to reduce the processing load on the terminal side and reduce the amount of transfer data, and to display easily on portable information terminals with low processing and display capabilities such as mobile phones and PDAs. This has the effect of enabling the update of the data.
[0056]
In addition, the intermediary access point server manages the session (page) or absorbs the model-dependent processing, so that the service-providing server only needs to support the same versatile service as before. This also has the effect of facilitating the development of the side system and improving the development efficiency. Further, by absorbing the model-dependent processing in the intermediary access point server, there is an effect that it is possible to support a wide variety of mobile devices.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an entire system including an information providing system 20 of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing data exchange between devices in the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing of a terminal according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating processing of a server according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing of the access point server 21 according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of a series of data exchange between devices in the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram (1) showing an example of data exchanged in a specific example.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram (2) illustrating an example of data exchanged in a specific example.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram (3) illustrating an example of data exchanged in a specific example.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram (4) illustrating an example of data exchanged in a specific example.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a terminal in the specific example of FIG. 6;
[Explanation of symbols]
10 PC terminal, 11 PDA terminal, 12 mobile phone terminal, 20 information providing system, 21 access point server, 22 wireless transceiver, 23, 24 application server, 25 database server, 26 router / firewall 27, LAN, 28, wireless access point device, 30, Internet, 31, 32, external server

Claims (4)

A session management means for managing a session with the terminal;
Display information acquisition means for requesting generation of the next display character string information based on the request character string information and the session information received from the terminal;
Based on the request, a display character string is generated, and a display character string generating unit that answers the display information obtaining unit is provided.
Means for transmitting the display character string information to the terminal;
An information providing system comprising: 2. A terminal device for displaying a display character string in a designated format, and transmitting the selected character string in the display character string to the display information acquisition unit as a request character string. Information providing system described in. 3. The information providing system according to claim 1, further comprising a model-dependent display processing unit. 3. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the display character string generating means is a server that recognizes a processing request based on the character string.

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