JP2005078266A - Method and system for mediating content search - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a system for mediating content search capable of following changes in the preferences or habits of content requestors. <P>SOLUTION: A content provider (C) registers the meta information of content in a content mediator system (M) in advance. Each content requestor (U) registers his own user information in the content mediator system in advance. When the content requestor sends a search request, the content mediator system searches for content by referring to the meta information and sends back an address where the content is to be stored. The content requestor can browse each content by accessing the address sent back. The record of consumption by the content requestor is reported to the content mediator system. The content mediator system updates user information based on consumption report data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a content search mediating method and system, and in particular, a search mediator searches the content provided by the content provider for content that matches the request of the content requester, and distributes the search result to the content requester. The present invention relates to a content search mediating method and system.

  In current information services, there are cases where the user has to make various efforts to search for desired content, or the presence of content that is useful to the user may be overlooked. In order to improve this situation, explicit semantic data is added to various contents, and various information about the user (such as the user situation at that time) is systematized and held. It is important to utilize it for information processing.

  In response to such a request, in Patent Document 1, in a network type service system that requests or provides information or services on a network, a requester that requests information or services and a provider that provides information or services. Between them, a method of mediating information and services is described.

In the present invention, a “requester attribute” that is an attribute of the requester, a “request profile” indicating the content of the information or service requested by the requester, and a “content profile” indicating the content of the information or service provided by the provider ”And“ provider attribute ”, which is an attribute of the provider, is registered in advance in the mediator, and the content that matches the request from the requester is provided to the requester by the mediator.
JP 2000-123036 A

  In the above-described prior art, the mediator only selects content based on the pre-registered “requester attribute” and “request profile”. There has been a technical problem that if the requester makes a mistake, content that matches the request from the requester cannot be provided.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a content search mediating method and system capable of solving the above-described problems of the prior art and following changes in the content requester's preferences and habits.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention searches a content that matches a request of a content requester from content provided by a content provider, and distributes a search result to the content requester and The system is characterized in that the following measures are taken.

  (1) The content search intermediary system of the present invention stores personal information management means for managing user information of a content requester in association with a user ID, and meta information of each content provided by the content provider. Based on content information management means managed in association with the destination address, search request receiving means for receiving a search request including the user ID and search key from the content requester, and a user ID included in the received search request A user information extracting unit for extracting the user information of the content requester from the personal information management unit, and referring to the meta information based on the user information of the content requester and a search key, Content search means for searching for matched content, and the searched content Search result distribution means for distributing address information to the content requester, consumption result data receiving means for receiving the consumption request data of the content requester, and update means for updating the user information based on the consumption result data It is characterized by that.

  (2) In the content search mediation method of the present invention, the content requester registers the user information of the user and the transmission destination address of the search result in the content mediator in association with the user ID, and the content provider A procedure for registering a storage address and meta information of each content with a content search agent, a procedure for a content requester to send a search request including a user ID and a search key to the content agent, and the content agent A procedure for extracting the user information of the content requester based on the user ID included in the search request, and the content broker based on the search key and the extracted user information included in the search request. Refer to the meta information of each content and select the content that matches the content requester's request. A procedure in which the content broker distributes the storage address of the selected content to the content requester; a procedure in which the content broker receives consumption result data of the content requester; and the content broker A person updating the user information based on the consumption record data.

  According to the present invention, the following effects are achieved.

  (1) The content requester can browse the content considering his / her preferences and preferences without registering his / her personal information with the content provider. Also, the content provider can selectively distribute the content only to a desired user without obtaining the personal information of the content requester.

  (2) Since the content requester's user information registered in the content broker system is sequentially updated based on the content requester's consumption record, the content requester's preferences and habits change over time. However, it is possible to always deliver content that matches the request of the content requester.

  (3) If the content requester's terminal automatically notifies the content intermediary system of its current location along with the search request, a search result considering the current location of the content requester can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a content distribution system to which the present invention is applied. A large number of content provider systems (C), a large number of content requester terminals (U), and at least one content brokerage. And the electronic payment system (S) for notifying the mediator system (M) of the consumption results while paying for the purchase, use or usage fee by the content requester. The content provider system (C) and the content broker system (M) are personal computers or server systems, and the content requester terminal (U) is a portable wireless communication terminal such as a mobile phone or a PDA.

  Each content provider (C) uses, as meta-information, the address information of the storage location and the information used as an index when the user selects the content regarding the content desired to be provided to the user (content requester). , Register in advance in the content broker system (M). Each content requester (U) associates the user information such as his / her preferences and habits and the distribution destination address of the search result (for example, the address of the mobile phone) with his / her identification information (user ID). Registered in advance in the user system (M).

  Thereafter, when the content requester (U) transmits a search request including its own user ID and a search key from the mobile phone at the delivery destination address to the content broker system (M), the content broker system (M) One or more contents that match the search request are searched with reference to the meta information, and the storage destination address is distributed to the distribution destination address. The content requester can browse each content by accessing the distributed storage address.

  When the content requester (U) makes a payment for the purchase of goods, a food and drink fee, an entrance fee or a usage fee with a mobile phone or a credit card, the electronic payment system (S) designates the billing fee as specified by the content requester. While withdrawing from the account, the contents broker system (M) is notified of the contents of purchased goods, foods and drinks, and their amounts as consumption performance data. The content broker system (M) updates the user information based on the notified consumption result data.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the content broker system (M). In the personal information management unit 101, as personal information of the content requester, user information such as preference and habit, and a distribution address of the search result correspond to a user ID assigned in advance to each content requester. Attached and stored in advance.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a user information registration card used when the content requester registers user information in advance, and user information is entered in a question format.

  In response to the “favorite menu at the coffee shop” of the question Q1, for example, if the menu that is routinely selected at the coffee shop is “coffee”, the content requester checks the check box. In the same manner, check the check boxes for items that match your own tastes and customs, etc. for question Q2 “use amount at coffee shop” and question Q3 “preferred mobile phone at coffee shop”.

  There are a wide variety of items to be entered in the user information registration card, and not only items relating to coffee shops as described above, but also items relating to restaurants, items relating to shopping, items relating to service businesses, items relating to hospitals / clinics etc. are registered in the same manner. The user information may be entered on the form by the content requester, and then registered by the operator in the personal information management unit 101 using appropriate input means, or an input screen imitating the user information registration card May be prepared on the Web and registered from the network terminal at hand.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the content information management unit 102 stores the storage destination address and the meta information of each content in association with each other with respect to a large number of content provided by the content provider.

  4 and 5 are diagrams showing an example of a content information registration card used when the content provider registers meta information in advance, and features of the content are entered in a question format.

  Unlike the user information registration card, the content information registration card is prepared for each type of business and service type. If the content introduces a coffee shop, as shown in FIG. 4, a “recommended menu”, “ “Price setting”, “form”, “sales point”, etc. are registered. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 5, “type”, “customer unit price”, “feature”, and the like are registered for content introducing a restaurant.

  In the meta information, in addition to the information registered in the content information registration card, a store address, business hours, a telephone number, and the like are also registered. Similarly to the user information, these content information may be filled in by a content provider and then registered in the content information management unit 102 by using an appropriate input means, or the content information An input screen imitating a registration card may be prepared on the Web so that it can be registered from the network terminal at hand.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the search request receiving unit 104 receives a search request including the user ID and the search key from the content requester. The user information extraction unit 105 extracts the user information of the content requester from the personal information management unit 101 based on the user ID registered in the received search request. The distribution destination address extraction unit 103 extracts the distribution destination address of the search result from the personal information management unit 101 based on the user ID registered in the received search request and notifies the search result distribution unit 108 of this. To do.

  The content search unit 106 refers to the meta information of the content information management unit 102 based on the extracted user information and the search key registered in the received search request, and the content predicted from the user information A search is made for a storage address of content that matches the requester's preferences and customs and includes the search key. The search result distribution unit 108 distributes the storage destination address of the searched content to the distribution destination address notified from the distribution destination address extraction unit 103.

  The consumption record data receiving unit 109 receives consumption record data notified from the electronic settlement system (S) and provides it to the user information update unit 110. The user information update unit 110 updates information related to the user registered in the personal information management unit 101 based on the notified consumption result data.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present embodiment. In step S1, it is determined whether a search request is received from the content requester. When the content requester inputs, for example, “I want to drink tea at a coffee shop in Shinjuku” and sends a search request. When the search request is received by the search request receiving unit 104, in step S2, the search request is sent to the search request. The registered user ID and search keys “Shinjuku”, “coffee shop”, and “tea” are extracted.

  In step S3, the user information extraction unit 105 refers to the personal information management unit 101 based on the extracted user ID, and extracts user information associated with the user ID. In step S4, based on the search keys “Shinjuku”, “coffee shop”, “tea” extracted from the search request and the user information extracted from the personal information management unit 101, the content search unit 106 performs the content information. The meta information of the management unit 102 is searched, and the content that matches the search request is searched.

  More specifically, the content search unit 106 uses the “coffee shop” registered in the user information registration card of FIG. 3 as information when searching for a coffee shop from user information extracted based on the user ID. The user's preferences, customs, etc. are recognized with reference to “favorite menu at”, “amount of money spent at a coffee shop”, “favorite form of a coffee shop”, and the like. The content search unit 106 further refers to the meta information of the content information management unit 102, and searches for one or more contents that are coffee shops that match the user's preferences and customs and whose location is in or near Shinjuku. To do.

  In step S5, the search result distribution unit 108 extracts the storage destination address of the searched content from the content information management unit 102, and distributes it to the distribution destination address extracted by the distribution destination address extraction unit 103. To do.

  After that, the content requester refers to the content, selects a desired coffee shop, goes to the coffee shop, eats and drinks, and pays the food and drink price with a mobile phone or a credit card. In the electronic settlement system (S), the food and drink price Is sent to the content broker system (M) together with the user ID of the content requester as consumption record data.

  In the content broker system (M), in step S6, the consumption record data is received by the consumption record data receiving unit 109 and provided to the user information updating unit 110. The user information update unit 110 accumulates the notified consumption result data. For example, in the user information registration card described with reference to FIG. 3, the coffee is checked as “Q1: Favorite menu at the coffee shop”. When the frequency of tea as consumption result data is higher than that of coffee, the favorite menu in the coffee shop of the content requester is updated from coffee to tea in step S7. Accordingly, when a search request “I want to drink tea at a coffee shop” is received from the same content requester thereafter, a coffee shop that specializes in black tea is preferentially searched.

  According to the present embodiment, the content requester can browse the content in consideration of his / her preferences and preferences without registering his / her personal information with the content provider. Also, the content provider can selectively distribute the content only to a desired user without obtaining the personal information of the content requester.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, the user information of the content requester registered in the content broker system is sequentially updated based on the consumption performance of the content requester. Even if it changes, it becomes possible to always search for content that matches the request of the content requester.

  In the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the user information of the content requester is automatically updated based on the consumption request of the content requester. However, the content requester himself accesses the content broker system and changes the content requester. You may make it do.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the content broker system (M), where the same reference numerals as those described above represent the same or equivalent parts.

  In the present embodiment, the content requester detects its current location using a GPS reception function or a positioning system using a wireless tag mounted on a mobile phone, and registers this in the search request to register the content broker. Send to system (M). In the content broker system (M), as shown in FIG. 7, the current position information registered in the search request received by the search request receiving unit 107 is read and notified to the content search unit 106. The content search unit 106 searches for content in the same manner as described above based on the user information extracted based on the user ID and the search key, refers to the location registered in the content, and is registered in the search request. Only content located within a radius of 500 meters, for example, is finally searched from the current position information.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the content requester can automatically notify the content broker system (M) of the current position of the content requester. There is no need to register the location-related conditions. Therefore, even when searching for a coffee shop in Shinjuku, it is possible to obtain information on a coffee shop that is in the vicinity of the current position and that matches the user's preference by simply inputting “I want to drink tea at a coffee shop”.

It is the block diagram which showed the whole structure of the content delivery system which concerns on this invention. It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the principal part of a content mediator system (M). It is the figure which showed an example of the user information registration card | curd used when a content requester registers user information previously. It is the figure which showed an example of the content information registration card used when a content provider registers meta information beforehand. It is the figure which showed an example of the content information registration card used when a content provider registers meta information beforehand. It is the flowchart which showed the operation | movement of this embodiment. It is a block diagram of 2nd Embodiment of a content mediator system (M).

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Personal information management part, 102 ... Content information management part, 104 ... Search request reception part, 105 ... User information extraction part, 103 ... Delivery destination address extraction part, 106 ... Content search part, 107 ... Search request reception part (positioning) (Including position information by the system), 108 ... search result distribution unit, 109 ... consumption result data reception unit, 110 ... user information update unit

Claims (4)

In a content search brokerage system that searches for content that matches a content requester's request from the content provided by the content provider and distributes the search result to the content requester.
Personal information management means for managing the user information of the content requester in association with the user ID;
Content information management means for managing meta information of each content provided by a content provider in association with a storage address of each content;
Search request receiving means for receiving a search request including the user ID and search key from the content requester;
User information extraction means for extracting the user information of the content requester from the personal information management means based on the user ID included in the received search request;
Content search means for referring to the meta information based on the user information and search key of the content requester and searching for content that matches the request of the content requester;
Search result distribution means for distributing address information of the searched content to a content requester;
Consumption result data receiving means for receiving consumption request data of the content requester;
And an updating means for updating the user information based on the consumption record data. The search request includes content requester's current location information;
The content search unit refers to the meta information based on user information, a search key, and current position information of the content requester, and searches for content that matches the request from the content requester. The content search mediation system according to 1. In a content search mediating method of searching for content that matches a request of a content requester from content provided by a content provider and delivering the search result to the content requester.
The content requester registers the user information of the user and the transmission destination address of the search result with the user ID in association with the user ID,
The procedure for the content provider to register the storage address and meta information of each content with the content search broker,
A procedure in which a content requester sends a search request including a user ID and a search key to a content broker;
A procedure for the content broker to extract user information of the content requester based on a user ID included in the search request;
The content broker refers to the meta information of each content based on the search key included in the search request and the extracted user information, and selects the content that matches the request of the content requester.
The content broker distributes the storage address of the selected content to the content requester;
The content broker receives the consumption request data of the content requester;
A content search mediating method, comprising: a step in which the content broker updates the user information based on the consumption record data. The search request includes content requester's current location information;
The content circulator searches for content that matches a request from a content requester by referring to the meta information based on user information, a search key, and current position information of the content requester. 4. The content search mediating method according to 3.

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