JP2004157929A - Information providing system cooperating with paper medium and business method for information provision cooperating with paper medium and program for information providing system cooperating with paper medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for providing information associated with the written contents of even a paper medium such as a book prepared not on the assumption that this system is cooperating with an outside digital information providing system. <P>SOLUTION: The constituting elements(pages, titles, charts or the like) of a book are registered in a book database, and the association information of the book with outside information is stored in an association database. When a user opens a predetermined WEB site by the WEB browser of a terminal 24, and transmits the identification information (for example, ISBN) of the book and the position information (for example, page number and title) of internal information to a management server 14, the management server 14 specifies relevant information corresponding to the internal information based on the information of the association database, and transmits the relevant information to the user terminal 24. <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 a system for providing information related to the description content of a paper information medium such as a book or a magazine (called a paper medium in the present invention) in a digital format.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Nowadays, digital information media such as CD-ROMs are widely used due to the price reduction of personal information devices such as personal computers. Further, with the development of communication networks such as the Internet, information provided online has been increasing. However, on the other hand, paper media such as books and magazines continue to be used as information media for various reasons. Judging from this situation, paper media will not be completely replaced by digital information systems in a short period of time, but rather, efforts will be made to use both together to effectively provide information to a large number of people. It is thought that it is possible.
[0003]
As an example of an information providing system used in cooperation with a paper medium, there is one described in Patent Document 1. In this system, information on a book and related information (multimedia content and the like) on a remote server are associated by the following method.
-Print an icon indicating that there is related information on the book.
-Make character strings of items with related information stand out on book pages.
-Prepare a pull-down menu on the WEB page to select the page number of the book.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-516085
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Most of books and magazines distributed today are not premised on cooperation with external digital information providing systems such as web sites. No special icon, symbol, character string, or the like indicating cooperation with external information is described in such a book or magazine. An object of the present invention is to provide a system that can provide information related to the description contents of a paper medium created without assuming cooperation with an external digital information providing system.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An information providing system according to the present invention made in order to solve the above problem has a server that performs a process according to a request transmitted from another terminal through a data communication network, and the server includes:
Paper media database with registered paper media,
For each paper medium registered in the paper medium database, an association database storing association information between information existing outside the paper medium and internal information described in any part of the paper medium,
A request receiving unit for receiving a related information distribution request together with the identification information of the paper medium and the position information of the internal information from another terminal; and
Based on the identification information of the paper medium and the position information of the internal information received by the request receiving unit, the corresponding paper medium and its internal information are specified, and the information associated with the internal information is related to the relevant information of the internal information. Related information distribution unit to be transmitted to the terminal as
It is characterized by having.
[0006]
The present invention also provides a business method using the information providing system to provide related information provided by a publisher of a paper medium to a user of the paper medium. Still further, the present invention provides a program for causing a computer to function as a server of the information providing system.
[0007]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
In the information providing system according to the present invention, the paper medium database is a database that stores information on a paper medium to be provided with information. The paper medium does not need to be created assuming cooperation with the information providing system according to the present invention. Any paper medium having a configuration capable of physically or logically indicating the information writing position can be registered in the paper medium database of the system of the present invention.
[0008]
The association database is a database in which association information between external information and internal information of a paper medium is stored for each paper medium. Here, “external information on a paper medium” means “information not described on the paper medium”, and does not mean information outside the information providing system according to the present invention.
[0009]
Paper media can generally be considered as consisting of a lot of internal information. Each piece of internal information can be uniquely specified by a combination of identification information of a paper medium and position information indicating a position where the internal information is written in the paper medium (hereinafter, referred to as position identification information). An example of the identification information of the paper medium and an example of the position information of the internal information will be described below.
<Example of paper medium identification information>
-Combination of book title, edition, author name and publisher name-International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
・ Magazine name + number <Example of location information in internal information>
A device that physically indicates the position where information is written in a paper medium. For example, a combination of a page number and a spatial position in a page corresponds to this. The spatial position in the page is, for example, a line number (in the case of horizontal writing text), a column number (in the case of vertical writing text), a partial area constituting the page (eg, “second row”, “upper right”, “lower left”). An instruction is given by a two-dimensional coordinate system (for example, coordinates of two points that define a rectangular area including target information).
-A device that logically indicates the position of information in a paper medium. For example, chapters / sections / sections (or headings assigned to chapters / sections / sections) of chaptered books, figure / table numbers, laws / regulations / sections / issues, titles of articles included in the collection of articles, etc. Is equivalent to
-Combination of physical instruction method and logical instruction method. For example, a combination of a page number and a chapter / section / section heading corresponds to this.
[0010]
In the association database, the correspondence between the position specifying information and the external information does not need to be one-to-one, and a plurality of position specifying information may correspond to one related information. As an example, consider multiple textbooks edited and published according to the same curriculum. Although these textbooks differ in their specific descriptions, they share the same subject matter. Therefore, if information related to the subject is prepared, the information can be used as related information in all textbooks. For example, if information (commentary, example sentences) relating to “current completion” in English is prepared, the information can be shared by all English textbooks and reference books that include “current completion” as an item. In this way, collection and maintenance of related information can be made more efficient.
[0011]
The request receiving unit is a functional unit that receives a related information distribution request from another terminal together with the position specifying information. The request receiving unit can be configured, for example, as a WEB server and as a WEB site managed by the WEB server. In this case, the request receiving unit operates as follows, for example. First, the user transmits a request for browsing a predetermined URL to the server using the WEB browser of the terminal. In response to this request, the request receiving unit of the server transmits a WEB page for inputting position specifying information to the terminal. This page is provided with a form for inputting paper medium identification information (eg, ISBN) and position information of internal information (eg, page number and heading). When the user inputs (or selects from the list) the identification information of the paper medium and the position information of the internal information in this form and performs a transmission operation, the terminal transmits the information to the request receiving unit. The input (or selection) of the identification information of the paper medium and the input (or selection) of the position information of the internal information may be performed on separate web pages.
[0012]
The related information distribution unit is a functional unit that reads information associated with the position specifying information received by the request receiving unit and transmits the information to the terminal. The related information distribution unit can be configured as a cooperative system between the database management system and the web server, for example. If there is no related information corresponding to the received position specifying information, a message notifying the fact is transmitted to the terminal.
[0013]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the information providing system according to the present invention is provided with a paper medium database that can register any paper medium as long as it is a paper medium having a configuration capable of physically or logically indicating the position where internal information is described. In addition, it is possible to provide information relating to the contents described in virtually any paper medium.
[0014]
The information providing system according to the present invention can be used for an information providing business of providing various information related to the contents described on a paper medium to a user (reader) of the paper medium. For example, a publisher of a paper medium (for example, a publisher) may use the information providing system according to the present invention as a means for supporting readers (users) of a book or for related information (advertising) of the book for the reader. Information, etc.). As described above, if the information providing system according to the present invention is used in business, it is possible to improve the book quality by advertising / promoting sales of own books and feedback of opinions from users without having to construct an expensive information distribution system. Such an effect can be obtained.
[0015]
【Example】
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a learning-related information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The learning-related information providing system (hereinafter, referred to as the present system) 10 in FIG. 1 includes a management server 14 which is a computer capable of communicating with other terminals via a data communication network 12 such as the Internet. The management server 14 includes software function units such as a web server 16, a data management unit 18, and a mail management unit 20, which are configured by operating various programs. Further, the management server 14 includes a data storage unit 22 configured by a fixed magnetic disk or the like. The management server 14 executes processing corresponding to various requests sent from the user terminals 24, and returns a result to those terminals. The user terminal 24 is a personal computer on which a web browser is installed.
[0016]
FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of the data storage unit 22. In FIG. 2, the word "database" is abbreviated as "DB". The database and the data storage unit created in the data storage unit 22 will be described below.
User database: A database that stores attribute information of registered users of this system.
Publisher database: A database that stores attribute information of publishers who provide books and related information handled by this system.
Book database: A database that stores attribute information of books (textbooks, reference books, etc.) handled by this system. The book attribute information includes bibliographic information indicating the attributes of the entire book and text information indicating the internal structure of the book. The bibliographic information includes the title, publisher ID, author name, issue date, edition, format, total number of pages, content classification (eg, English, mathematics), and the like. The body information includes attribute information of main elements constituting each page. FIG. 3 shows an example in which attribute information of a book is described in an XML format. In this example, the main components (pages, headings, figures, etc.) of the book are arranged hierarchically. Each element has a name attribute (name), which can be used to create a code (information position specifier) that can uniquely identify each element in the book. For example, the element <FIG. 2> on the second page can be reached by starting from the top element <book data> and following the path of <body>, <page>, <FIG. 2>. Therefore, when the names of the elements on the path are linked by, for example, a dot (.), It becomes "book2.body.page1.fig2". Thus, an information position specifier corresponding to the element <FIG. 2> is obtained. In the above description, the constituent elements of the book correspond to the internal information of the present invention, and the information position specifier corresponds to the position specifying information.
Related information database: A database that stores data related to various related information. Information such as information names, content classifications, names of files storing data bodies of related information, and data formats (eg, text, images, moving images, audio, web sites), etc. are stored in this database.
Association database: A database that stores association information between each description part (component) of a book specified by the information position specifier and related information provided by the present system. Since a plurality of pieces of related information can exist for one component of a book, a list of related information IDs is associated with one information position designator.
Used book list storage unit: A place where a list of books registered by each user for use is stored.
Usage history storage unit: A place where each user records when and what related information regarding the description of which part of which book is used. The “information position specifier” holds information indicating “which book is described in which part”.
User billing database: A database that stores information on the usage fees of the system by users. The types of fees to be paid by the user include a monthly basic fee, an information fee (a fee for use of paid related information), a support fee (a fee for use of a paid support service for a question), and the like. In the “related information ID”, the ID of the related information is written when paid related information is used.
Publisher billing database: A database that stores information on the usage fees of this system by publishers. The types of fees paid by the publisher include a basic monthly fee, an advertising fee (occurred when a user browses advertising information), a sales fee (acquired when a user purchases a book online), and the like.
Web site data storage unit: A place where files (HTML documents, images, sounds, scripts, etc.) constituting the Web site of the system are stored.
[0017]
FIG. 4 shows a schematic configuration of a part of the WEB site. An area surrounded by a broken line in the WEB site is an area that can be browsed only by a registered user of the present system.
[0018]
The person who wishes to register the user opens the top page with the web browser, and selects "user registration" there to open the user registration page. The user registration page is provided with a form for inputting information necessary for registration (see “User DB” in FIG. 2). When necessary information is input to this form and a transmission operation is executed, the input information is transmitted from the terminal to the management server 14. In the management server 14, the received information is passed from the web server 16 to the data management unit 18. The data management unit 18 issues a new user ID and password, adds a new record corresponding to the user ID to the user DB (FIG. 2), and stores the information therein. The issued user ID and password are transmitted to the terminal through the web server 16. The person who has obtained the user ID in this way can use various services of the present system by selecting “login” on the top page and inputting the ID and password on the authentication page from the next time.
[0019]
The procedure for using the related information on the user terminal 24 will be described below.
[0020]
After logging in, first, a “service menu” page is displayed on the screen of the user terminal 24. This page provides the following six book list menus.
New Books: Displays a list of books recently registered in this system.
Handling books: A list of all books handled by this system is displayed.
Books by category: A list of books handled by this system is displayed for each category.
Registered books: Displays a list of books that the user has registered for use.
Recently used books: Displays a list of books that the user has recently viewed related information with this system.
Favorite Books: Displays a list of books that are frequently used by users.
[0021]
When any one of the book list menus is selected on the “service menu” page, a “book selection” page including the selected book list is displayed on the screen of the user terminal 24 (in the example of FIG. 4, books by category (classification: High school English) is displayed on the screen). On this screen, the use registration status (unregistered / registered) of each book by the user is displayed in addition to the book name and publisher name.
[0022]
When a book whose use registration status is "unregistered" (for example, "English A" in FIG. 4) is selected on the "book selection" page, a page showing more detailed information of the book is displayed on the screen. When the “registration” button on this page is pressed, a book use registration request is transmitted from the user terminal 24 to the management server 14 together with the book ID and the user ID. In the management server 14 receiving this request, the data management unit 18 adds the book ID to the used book list of the user ID (FIG. 2).
[0023]
On the other hand, when a book whose use registration status is “registered” (for example, “English B” in FIG. 4) is selected on the “book selection” page, the ID of the selected book is transmitted from the user terminal 24 to the management server 14. The management server 14 that has received the request transmits a “page designation” page to the user terminal 24. This page has a text box for entering the page number of the book. When the page number is entered in this box and the “next” button is pressed, the book ID and the page number are transmitted from the user terminal 24 to the management server 14, and the management server 14 that has received the book ID and the page number designates the specified “description position”. A “designation” page (this will be described later) is transmitted to the user terminal 24. If a page with no related information is specified, an error message (eg, "The specified page has no related information") is displayed. The presence or absence of the related information is determined based on the association database (FIG. 2).
[0024]
On the “entry position designation” page, the presence or absence of related information is displayed for each element such as a heading or a figure that constitutes the book selection page. When an element on which related information exists is selected on this page, a related information list request is transmitted from the user terminal 24 to the management server 14 together with the information position specifier of the selected element. In the management server 14 receiving the request, the data management unit 18 specifies the related information corresponding to the element based on the association database (FIG. 2), and changes the information name of the related information from the related information database (FIG. 2). A list page (“related information list” page) in which the information name is acquired is generated, and the page is transmitted to the user terminal 24 via the web server 16.
[0025]
When any related information is selected on the “related information list” page, the data body of the selected information is transmitted from the management server 14 to the user terminal 24. In the user terminal 24, information is displayed or reproduced by software corresponding to the format of the received data. For example, if the received data is an HTML document, the WEB browser analyzes the data and displays text, images, and the like on a screen. When the received data is a moving image or a sound, the moving image or the sound is reproduced by a moving image or a sound reproducing application (including an applet or a plug-in that operates on a WEB browser). When the used information is the pay information, the charging information for the used user is stored in the user charging database. If the used information is advertising information, the charging information for the publisher as the advertiser is stored in the publisher charging database.
[0026]
When the information is distributed as a moving image or a sound, the moving image or the sound is streamed online, or the moving image or the sound data is downloaded and reproduced. In order to properly charge for the use of information in such a form, for example, video or audio is played back by a dedicated application, and a playback time limit is set. It is preferable to perform user authentication. In this way, for example, a person who has lost the user authority of the system due to illegal distribution of downloaded videos and sounds to others or cancellation of the system due to withdrawal etc. can play downloaded data without paying usage fee. Can be prevented.
[0027]
As described above, in the system according to the present embodiment, the use history storage unit stores a record of when and when the user used which related information regarding the description of which book and which position. By using this information, for example, it is possible to confirm the progress of the learning of each user, and to analyze the weak field of the user by seeing which related information is frequently used. In addition, information useful for book evaluation can be obtained by statistically processing the use histories of many users. For example, if a part of the book in which the use of related information is requested particularly frequently is found, it can be determined that the description of that part may be inadequate or unclear. Can be taken.
[0028]
By the way, it is natural that the user may not be satisfied with the related information provided by the system or the book specified by the user may not be registered in the book database. An example of a service function for dealing with such a case will be described below.
[0029]
(1) If the book designated as the book request reception function is not registered in the book database, it is impossible to provide related information. Therefore, the system may be provided with a function for receiving a request for a book for which related information is desired from the user. In particular, for books with many requests, the system administrator requests the publisher to provide book data. Further, the request information may be automatically distributed to related publishers as marketing information.
[0030]
(2) Similar book introduction function Although the book owned by the user is not registered in the book database, if a similar book is registered, the related information corresponding to the book may be useful to the user. High. Thus, the system may be provided with a function of introducing a book similar to the book specified by the user.
[0031]
(3) Related information link function using keywords In many cases, various types of information described in books can be associated with some keywords. Therefore, a keyword string included in the related information displayed on the screen is highlighted, and a predetermined operation (for example, a mouse click operation) by the user on the keyword string is performed, and another keyword assigned with the keyword is displayed. A related information link function such as displaying related information on a screen may be provided.
[0032]
In addition, by using the related information link function using the keyword, it is also possible to conduct a business of selling a link right to each keyword to a company or the like related to the content of the keyword. In this case, for example, when a trader such as an online bookstore or an online publisher purchases a link right to a keyword, the user of the present system can be directed to an introduction / sale WEB page of a book related to the keyword. In addition, the user can efficiently obtain information of a large number of books related to the target information, and can easily order the books online on the spot if necessary.
[0033]
As mentioned above, although one Example of this invention was described in detail, an Example is not limited to the above-mentioned thing. For example, in the above-described embodiment, elements such as a heading and a figure in the selected page are displayed in a list format on the “specification position designation” page, and the user is allowed to select a desired element. May be specified. For example, in the example of FIG. 5, a reduced image of the selected page is displayed on the screen, and a portion of the image in which a link to related information is embedded is highlighted, while the other portions are displayed slightly darker. I have. In this way, the user can see at a glance where in the page the relevant information can be used by comparing the actual target page of the book with the page image on the screen. Further, it goes without saying that various other forms of the other parts of the present system are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a learning-related information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a data storage unit.
FIG. 3 is an example in which attribute information of a book is described in an XML format.
FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a part of a web site.
FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of another example of a part of a web site.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Learning related information providing system 14 Management server 16 Web server 18 Data management unit 22 Data storage unit 24 User terminal

Claims (4)

A server that performs a process in response to a request transmitted from another terminal through the data communication network;
Paper media database with registered paper media,
For each paper medium registered in the paper medium database, an association database storing association information between information existing outside the paper medium and internal information described in any part of the paper medium,
A request receiving unit for receiving a related information distribution request together with the identification information of the paper medium and the position information of the internal information from another terminal; and
Based on the identification information of the paper medium and the position information of the internal information received by the request receiving unit, the corresponding paper medium and its internal information are specified, and the information associated with the internal information is related to the relevant information of the internal information. Related information distribution unit to be transmitted to the terminal as
An information providing system in cooperation with a paper medium, comprising: An information user billing database storing billing information for use of paid related information for each user of the related information,
A media issuer accounting database storing, for each issuer, accounting information for the issuer of the paper medium registered as a business user of the present system; and
The information processing apparatus further includes a charging processing unit that performs charging processing for use of paid related information with respect to the information user charging database and performs charging processing for business use of the present system with respect to the medium issuer charging database. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein: An information providing system in cooperation with a paper medium, wherein the information providing system according to claim 1 or 2 is used to provide related information provided by a paper medium issuer to a user of the paper medium. Business way. 3. A program for an information providing system in cooperation with a paper medium, wherein the program causes a computer to function as a server of the information providing system according to claim 1.

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