JP2005242758A - Article selection device and news distribution device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely distribute a relevant article (a correction article and the like), which is related to an article distributed to a user before, to the user in a news distribution system distributing news to the user. <P>SOLUTION: An article database 10 acquires and stores an article, attribute information showing whether the article is the relevant article related to a previous article or not, and one or more pieces of article information including an article ID of an original article in the case of the relevant article. A distribution history database 22 stores distribution history information storing the article ID of the article already distributed to the user. An article selection part 30 determines whether each of the articles included in the article information is the relevant article related to the article already distributed to the user or not based on the attribute information and the article ID of the original article included in the respective article information stored in the article database 10 and the distribution history information stored in the distribution history database 22, and then, selects the article determined to be the relevant article as an article to be distributed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an article selection device that selects an article to be distributed to a user from one or more articles, and a news distribution device that distributes news to a user.

  A news distribution service that distributes news articles to users via a network is known. As techniques relating to this news distribution service, for example, the following has been proposed.

  In Patent Document 1, when an article identification code is printed on a newspaper and sold to a subscriber along with an article, an article data search request is received from the subscriber's electronic terminal based on the article identification code. A method for searching for an article to be notified and notifying the requested electronic terminal of the searched article is disclosed.

  Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a system for receiving a selection of an article desired to be subscribed from a subscriber, transmitting the article desired to be subscribed to a subscriber terminal, and determining a fee based on the subscription history.

JP 2002-189719 A JP 2002-109250 A

  By the way, in a normal newspaper, a magazine, etc., a correction article of a misinformation may be posted at a later date. Such corrected articles tend to be overlooked even in the case of a regular subscription, but in the article providing methods described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, there is a high possibility that they will not be provided to users.

  In addition, it is desirable to distribute not only correction articles but also related articles such as follow-up articles related to previously distributed articles to users. However, in the article providing methods described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, such related articles are often not provided to users.

  Therefore, the present invention provides an article selection device that can reliably select a related article related to an article previously distributed to a user as an article to be distributed to the user from one or more articles. .

  In addition, the present invention provides a news distribution apparatus that can reliably distribute related articles related to articles previously distributed to the user to the user.

  The present invention is an article selection device for selecting an article to be distributed to a user from one or more articles, and an attribute information indicating whether the article is a related article related to a previous article. Article information acquisition means for acquiring one or more article information including identification information of the original article in the case of a related article, attribute information included in each article information acquired by the article information acquisition means, and the original article Based on the identification information and the distribution history information in which the identification information of articles distributed to the user is recorded, the articles included in the article information are related articles related to the articles distributed to the user. And first article selection means for selecting an article determined to be a related article as an article to be distributed.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the related article is a correction article or a follow-up article to a previous article.

  Further, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first article for searching and selecting an article to be distributed is selected from one or more articles acquired by the article information acquiring means based on a preset search condition. 2 article selection means.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the second article selection unit selects an article to be distributed from articles other than the correction article when the first article selection unit selects the correction article.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the first article selection unit selects an article to be distributed for each user based on distribution history information for each user.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the second article selection means selects an article to be distributed for each user based on a search condition set for each user.

  Further, in the present invention, with respect to the identification information of a distributed article recorded in the distribution history information, a history retention period determining unit that determines a history retention period based on an attribute of the article or a user's request, Deletion means for deleting, from the distribution history information, the identification information of the articles already distributed recorded in the distribution history information when the history retention period determined by the history retention period determination unit has expired It is desirable.

  A news creation device according to the present invention includes any one of the above article selection devices, and a news creation unit that creates news including one or more articles using the articles selected by the article selection device. .

  In the present invention, it is desirable that the news creation means lays out the selected article within a preset number of pages.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the news creating means lays out the related articles in a display form different from other articles.

  In the present invention, the news creation means, when posting a related article in the news, information on the timing or place where the distributed article corresponding to the related article is distributed, or the article or the article is posted. It is desirable to add a thumbnail image of the news.

  The news distribution device according to the present invention includes any one of the above news creation devices and news distribution means for distributing the news created by the news creation device to the user.

  In the present invention, it is desirable to further include a billing processing means for performing billing processing for articles distributed to users by excluding corrected articles from billing targets.

  The present invention is an article selection method executed by an article selection device that selects an article to be distributed to a user from one or more articles, and whether the article is a related article related to a previous article. Included in each article information acquired in the article information acquisition step that acquires one or more article information including the attribute information that indicates or the identification information of the original article in the case of a related article, and the article information acquisition step Based on the attribute information and the identification information of the original article, and the distribution history information in which the identification information of the articles already distributed to the user is recorded, each article included in each article information has been distributed to the user An article selection step of determining whether or not the article is related to the article and selecting the article determined to be the related article as an article to be distributed.

  In addition, the present invention is an article selection program for selecting an article to be distributed to a user from one or more articles. The computer selects an article and whether the article is a related article related to a previous article. Included in each article information acquired in the article information acquisition step that acquires one or more article information including attribute information indicating whether or not and the identification information of the original article in the case of a related article Each article included in each article information has been distributed to the user based on the attribute information and the identification information of the original article and the distribution history information in which the identification information of the article distributed to the user is recorded. It is determined whether or not the article is related to the article, and an article selection step of selecting an article determined to be a related article as an article to be distributed is executed.

  According to the present invention, a related article related to an article previously distributed to a user can be reliably selected as an article to be distributed to the user from one or more articles.

  Moreover, according to this invention, the related article relevant to the article previously delivered to the user can be reliably delivered to the user.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a news distribution system including a news distribution apparatus 1 according to an embodiment. In this news distribution system, a news distribution apparatus 1 managed by a news provider and one or more user terminals 2 used by a user to acquire news are connected to each other via a network 3 such as the Internet. Yes. As an example of the user terminal 2, there is a printer multifunction device that is installed in a store or the like and has a user interface. However, the user terminal 2 may be another information communication terminal such as a personal computer or a mobile phone.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the news distribution apparatus 1. The news distribution apparatus 1 selects an article to be distributed to a user from one or more articles, creates a news in which one or more articles are posted using the selected article, and creates the created news Is distributed to the user (specifically, the user terminal 2). In this specification, a news article in which one or more articles are published, particularly a news article in which one or more articles are laid out on a paper surface or a screen is referred to as news.

  In the present embodiment, article selection and news creation are performed for each user. That is, the news distribution device 1 distributes news customized for each user to each user. However, news does not necessarily need to be customized, and article selection and news creation may be performed uniformly for all users.

  2, the news distribution apparatus 1 includes an article database 10 (hereinafter referred to as an article DB), a user information database 20 (hereinafter referred to as a user information DB), an article selection unit 30, a news creation unit 40, a news distribution. Unit 50, distribution history update unit 60, and billing processing unit 70.

  The article DB 10 acquires and stores article information in which an article is associated with its attribute information. The articles registered in the article DB 10 are roughly classified into two types, a new article not related to an article before the article (also referred to as an already published article) and a related article related to an already published article. Here, there are two types of related articles: a follow-up article that is a continuation of an already published article in a series of article reports, and a corrected article that corrects an error in an already published article. The attribute information of the article includes at least information indicating whether or not the article is a related article, and includes identification information of the original article when the article is a related article. The configuration of data stored in the article DB 10 will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

  The article information is supplied to the article DB 10 by appropriate means. For example, it may be supplied via a network from an article supply source such as a newspaper company, or may be input via a user interface by a news distribution service provider.

  The article attribute information is set in advance by the news distribution service provider or the article supplier.

  The user information DB 20 stores information related to individual users who receive news distribution. The user information DB 20 includes a profile DB 21 for storing profile information for each user including search conditions used for searching for articles to be distributed, and distribution history information for each user including identification information for articles that have already been distributed. The distribution history DB 22 is stored. Here, the profile information for each user is generated based on the user registration information received from each user prior to the provision of the news distribution service. The configuration of data stored in the user information DB 20 will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS.

  The article selection unit 30 selects an article to be distributed to the user from among a plurality of articles stored in the article DB 10. The article selection unit 30 includes a first article selection unit 31 and a second article selection unit 32.

  The first article selection unit 31 selects each article included in each article information based on the attribute information included in each article information stored in the article DB 10 and the distribution history information stored in the distribution history DB 22. Is a related article related to an article already distributed to the user, and an article determined to be a related article is selected as an article to be distributed. In the present embodiment, the first article selection unit 31 selects a related article to be distributed for each user based on the distribution history information for each user.

  The second article selection unit 32 searches and selects an article to be distributed based on a search condition in profile information stored in the profile DB 21 from one or more articles stored in the article DB 10. To do. In the present embodiment, the second article selection unit 32 selects an article to be distributed for each user based on a search condition set for each user. In the present embodiment, the second article selection unit 32 selects an article to be distributed from articles other than the corrected article.

  The news creation unit 40 creates a news including one or more articles using the article selected by the article selection unit 30. In the present embodiment, the news creation unit 40 lays out the selected articles within a preset number of pages. In addition, related articles are laid out in a display form different from other articles. In addition, when posting a related article in the news, original article distribution information about a distributed article corresponding to the related article is added. Here, as the original article distribution information related to the distributed article, for example, information on the time or place where the article is distributed, the thumbnail image of the article or the news on which the article is posted, and the like can be cited.

  The news distribution unit 50 distributes the news created by the news creation unit 40 to the user via the network 3.

  The distribution history update unit 60 updates the distribution history information stored in the distribution history DB 22. Specifically, when news is distributed to a user by the news distribution unit 50, a distribution history including identification information of each article posted in the news is added to the distribution history information of the user. In addition, each distribution history recorded in the distribution history information is deleted from the distribution history information when a history retention period preset for each distribution history has expired. In the present embodiment, the history retention time limit is determined by the distribution history update unit 60 based on article attributes or user desires. However, the history retention time limit may be determined in any way, or may be uniform for all articles.

  The billing processing unit 70 performs billing processing on articles distributed to users by excluding corrected articles from billing targets.

  In the present embodiment, news distribution apparatus 1 having the above configuration is realized by a general computer. Each of the units 10 to 70 is realized by a program corresponding to each function being executed by computer hardware resources such as a CPU, ROM, RAM, and hard disk drive. For example, the article selection unit 30 is realized by the CPU executing an article selection program according to the present embodiment stored in a storage medium. However, the implementation mode of the news distribution apparatus 1 is not particularly limited.

  Next, the configuration of data stored in the article DB 10, the profile DB 21, and the distribution history DB 22 will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of data stored in the article DB 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the data in the article DB 10 is composed of one or more “article information” records. The “article information” record includes “article ID”, “article genre”, “registration date”, “article type”, “distribution type”, “original article ID”, “keyword”, “headline”, and “ It consists of multiple fields such as “article”.

  The “article ID” field holds an article ID that is identification information for identifying an article. The “article genre” field holds the genre of articles such as politics, society, and sports. The “registration date” field holds the date when the article is registered in the article DB 10.

  The “article type” field holds information indicating the classification of articles such as general articles, case articles, and sports articles. The data in the “article type” field is used to determine the history retention time limit described later (FIG. 14).

  The “distribution type” field holds information indicating whether the article is a new article, a follow-up article, or a corrected article. The “original article ID” field holds the article ID of the original article when the article is a related article (follow-up article or corrected article).

  The “Heading” field holds the heading (title) of the article. The “article” field holds the article itself, that is, the article body. The article may include still images, moving images, sounds, and the like.

  As described above, article attribute information is registered in fields other than the “article” field among the plurality of fields constituting the “article information” record.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of data stored in the profile DB 21. FIG. 4 shows the profile information of a single user. This profile information is created and stored for each user.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the profile information of each user is composed of fields of “user authentication information”, “personal information”, “selection condition”, and “distribution method”. The

  The “user authentication information” field holds a user ID and a password that are used to identify individual users. The “personal information” field holds the user's address, telephone number, and the like. The “selection condition” field holds a search condition for searching for an article to be distributed to the user, the number of sheets at the time of distribution, and the like. The “distribution method” field holds information on how to distribute to the user. In this example, a distribution request from a user is received, and distribution to a printer multifunction device designated at that time is shown.

  FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an example of a search condition for searching for an article to be distributed to a user. In this example, the search condition includes three fields of “keyword”, “type”, and “importance”. The keyword of the record whose “type” field is the article genre is handled as a search key for the “article genre” field of the article DB 10 shown in FIG. The keyword of the record whose “type” field is the article text is handled as a search key for the “article” field of the article DB 10 shown in FIG. 3, that is, a search key for the entire text. The “importance” field holds the importance of each keyword for the user. This importance is used to determine the history retention time limit described later (FIG. 16).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of data stored in the distribution history DB 22. FIG. 5 shows distribution history information of a single user. This distribution history information is created and stored for each user.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the distribution history information of each user is composed of one or more “distribution history” records. The “distribution history” record includes a plurality of fields such as “article ID”, “distribution date”, “distribution method”, “distribution comment”, “thumbnail”, and “history retention time limit”.

  The “article ID” field holds an article ID of a distributed article. The “delivery date” field holds the date on which the article was delivered. The “distribution method” field holds the distribution method of the article. The “distribution comment” field holds information indicating how and where the article is distributed. The “thumbnail” field holds an image representing a rough layout or a reduced image of a distributed article or news on which the article is posted. The “history retention period” field retains information indicating how long a distribution history of a certain article is retained.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the news distribution apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described in detail.

[Whole news distribution process]
Here, the overall flow of the news distribution process will be briefly described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of news distribution processing. The news distribution apparatus 1 receives input of the user ID and password of the user A from a user who wants to distribute news (hereinafter referred to as user A), and identifies the user A (S601). Next, based on the profile information and distribution history information of the user A stored in the user information DB 20, an article to be distributed to the user A is selected from the articles stored in the article DB 10 (S602). ). Next, the selected article is laid out to create news (S603), and the created news is distributed to the user terminal 2 used by the user A (S604). Then, the distribution history information of the user A is updated (S605).

  In this example, the news distribution apparatus 1 performs article layout in step S603, but the article layout may be performed on the user terminal 2 side.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of delivered news (article layout). As shown in FIG. 7, information such as the headline and distribution date of an article and one or more articles are laid out on a printed sheet 700.

[Article selection process]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the article selection process in step S602 of FIG. This article selection process is performed by the article selection unit 30.

  The article selection unit 30 refers to the article information in the article DB 10 based on the distribution history information of the user A, and selects and acquires a corrected article for the article distributed to the user A (S801). Next, an article as a delivery candidate is searched from the article DB 10 based on the search key registered in the profile information of the user A (S802). In this step S802, the corrected article is excluded from the search target. This is because the corrected article corresponding to the article distributed to the user A has already been selected in step S801, and other corrected articles are unnecessary for the user A. Hereinafter, the article searched in step S802 is referred to as a normal article.

  Thereafter, the articles are selected so as to be within the distribution amount (for example, 5 pages in A4 size) registered in the “selection condition” field of the profile information of user A (S803 to 808). First, the amount of corrected articles acquired in step S801 is calculated (S803). Here, the amount means the size on the paper surface required for printing. The amount of articles can be calculated based on the number of characters in an article, assuming that the article is laid out in a fixed pitch font. For example, conversion may be performed such that one line is 80 full-width characters and one page is 30 lines. Next, the normal articles searched in step S802 are added until the cumulative amount of articles reaches the above-mentioned distribution amount (S804 to 808). First, one normal article is selected (S804), the amount of the normal article is calculated in the same manner as in step S803 (S805), and the cumulative amount of the article to which this is added is obtained (S806). If the accumulated amount is equal to or less than the distribution amount (S807: YES), the normal article is added as an article to be distributed to the user A (S808). On the other hand, if not (S807: NO), it is determined that the accumulated amount has reached the distribution amount, and the process is terminated.

  In the above example, the corrected article is selected in step S801, and the article other than the corrected article is selected in step S802. However, the related article (corrected article and follow-up article) is selected in step S801, and step S802 is performed. It is also possible to select an article other than the related article.

  The order of selecting normal articles in step S804 may be determined according to any rule. For example, the order of selection of normal articles is determined based on attributes such as importance, urgency, and genre of the articles, and user desires.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a correction article acquisition process in step S801 of FIG. The correction article acquisition process is performed by the first article selection unit 31.

  The first article selection unit 31 acquires one “distribution history” record from the distribution history information of the user A (S901), and acquires the article ID (S902). An article having this article ID in the “original article ID” field is searched from the article DB 10, that is, a related article related to an article distributed to the user A (S 903). Then, it is determined whether a related article is found (S904).

  When the related article is not found (S904: NO), the process proceeds to step S907 described later. On the other hand, if a related article is found (S904: YES), it is determined whether the article is a corrected article by referring to the “distribution type” field of the searched article (S905).

  When it is determined that the article is not a corrected article (S905: NO), the process proceeds to step S907 described later. On the other hand, if it is determined that the article is a corrected article (S905: YES), the article is added to the article to be distributed to the user A (S906).

  In step S907, it is determined whether there is an unprocessed “distribution history” record. If there is an unprocessed “distribution history” record (S907: YES), the process returns to step S901. If there is no record (S907: NO), the process is terminated. That is, the processing from step S901 to S906 is repeated for all “distribution history” records held in the distribution history information of user A.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing another example of the correction article acquisition process in step S801 of FIG. The correction article acquisition process is also performed by the first article selection unit 31.

  The first article selection unit 31 acquires one “article information” record from the article DB 10 (S1001), and refers to the “distribution type” field to determine whether the article is a corrected article (S1002).

  If it is not a corrected article (S1002: NO), the process proceeds to step S1007 to be described later. On the other hand, if it is a corrected article (S1002: YES), the original article ID held in the “original article ID” field is acquired (S1003). Then, in the distribution history information of the user A, a “distribution history” record having the acquired original article ID in the “article ID” field is searched. That is, the original article corresponding to the corrected article is searched in the distribution history information of the user A (S1004).

  If the original article corresponding to the corrected article is not found as a result of the search, that is, if the original article corresponding to the corrected article has not been distributed (S1005: NO), the process proceeds to step S1007 described later. On the other hand, when the original article is found, that is, when the original article corresponding to the corrected article has already been distributed to the user A (S1005: YES), the article is added to the article to be distributed to the user A (S1006). ).

  In step S1007, it is determined whether there is an unconfirmed “article information” record in the article DB 10. If there is an unconfirmed record (S1007: YES), the process returns to step S1001, and if there is no unconfirmed record (S1007: NO), the process is terminated. That is, the processing from step S1001 to step S1006 is repeated for all “article information” records stored in the article DB 10.

[News creation process]
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the news creation process in step S603 of FIG. This news creation process is performed by the news creation unit 40.

  First, the news creation unit 40 selects one article whose layout has not been completed from the articles selected by the article selection unit 30 (S1101). Then, a layout (allocation on the page) process for this article is performed (S1102).

  If the article is not a corrected article (S1103: NO), the process proceeds to step S1107 to be described later. On the other hand, when the article is a corrected article (S1103: YES), the value of the “distribution comment” field of the “distribution history” record of the original article corresponding to the corrected article is acquired and laid out as the original article distribution information. (S1104). Next, it is determined whether a thumbnail image is registered in the “thumbnail” field of the “distribution history” record (S1105).

  When the thumbnail image is not registered (S1105: NO), the process proceeds to step S1107 to be described later. On the other hand, when a thumbnail image is registered (S1105: YES), this thumbnail image is also laid out (S1106). After this processing, a surrounding line may be laid out in the corresponding corrected article part.

  In step S1107, it is determined whether there is an unlayed article. If there is an unlaid article (S1107: YES), the process returns to step S1101, and if there is no unlaid article (S1107: NO), the process is terminated. That is, the processing from step S1101 to S1106 is performed for all articles selected by the article selection unit 30 (S1107).

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of news (article layout) including a corrected article generated in this manner. In FIG. 12, a correction article 1201 surrounded by a frame is laid out on a sheet 1200 together with a thumbnail image 1202.

  The news created by the news creation process shown in FIG. 11 is delivered from the news creation unit 40 to the news distribution unit 50 and is distributed to the user terminal 2 of the user A by the news distribution unit 50.

[Delivery history update processing]
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the distribution history update process in step S605 of FIG. This distribution history update process is performed by the distribution history update unit 60. Here, a case where the distribution history information of the user A is updated will be described.

  First, the distribution history update unit 60 refers to the “history retention period” field of each “distribution history” record and searches for a distribution history whose history retention period has elapsed (S1301). If the distribution history whose history retention time limit has passed is not searched (S1302: NO), the process proceeds to step S1304, which will be described later. On the other hand, if a search is made (S1302: YES), all “distribution history” records for which the history retention period has passed are deleted (S1303).

  The next step S1304 and subsequent steps are new registration processing. That is, a “distribution history” record is generated and registered for each of one or more articles included in the news distributed in step S604 of FIG.

  First, one unprocessed article is selected, a thumbnail image of the article is generated (S1304), and a history retention period for the article is calculated (S1305). Then, a “distribution history” record for the article is added to the distribution history information of user A (S1306). At this time, the thumbnail image generated in step S1304 is also registered.

  Next, it is determined whether there is an unprocessed article (S1307). If there is an unprocessed article (S1307: YES), the process returns to step S1301, and if there is no unprocessed article (S1307: NO), the process is performed. Terminate. That is, the processing from step S1304 to S1306 is performed on each distributed article.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the history retention time limit determination process in step S1305 of FIG. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a conversion table in which article types are associated with history retention deadlines.

  First, the distribution history update unit 60 acquires the article type from the “article type” field of the “article information” record of the distributed article (S1401). Next, referring to the conversion table shown in FIG. 15, a history retention period corresponding to the acquired article type is acquired (S1402), and this is added to the distribution date to calculate the history retention period of the article ( S1403).

  Such a history retention time determination process is suitable for use in such a manner that a period in which a corrected article can be issued, which is estimated based on the type of article, is automatically set. For example, a general article is about two weeks, but an article whose main data is fact data such as accidents and incidents is set to three days because it is unlikely to be corrected after much time has passed. Furthermore, a setting such as one day is set for a sports article whose main result is a game result or the like.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating another example of the history retention time limit determination process in step S1305 of FIG. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a conversion table in which importance levels and history retention deadlines are associated with each other.

  First, the distribution history update unit 60 acquires all keywords hit in the distributed article among one or more keywords included in the search condition of the user A (see FIG. 4) (S1601). Then, referring to the “importance” field corresponding to these keywords, the maximum importance is obtained (S1602). Next, referring to the conversion table shown in FIG. 17, the history retention period corresponding to the acquired maximum value is acquired (S1603), and this is added to the distribution date to calculate the history retention period of the article ( S1604).

  Such history retention time determination processing is preferably used when reflecting the user's preference in the history retention time limit. In this example, the user can receive a corrected article even after a certain amount of time has passed by increasing the importance of a field or keyword that is considered important. In addition, users can shorten the history retention period or distribute information by reducing the importance of areas and keywords that are extremely uninterested or unnecessary even if correction articles appear, such as weather forecasts. It is possible not to keep the history information.

  In the above example, the history retention time limit is determined based on the article type or keyword, but may be determined based on other article attributes.

[Billing process]
FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the billing process. This charging process is performed by the charging processing unit 70.

  The accounting processing unit 70 first acquires an unprocessed distributed article (S1801). Then, with reference to the “distribution type” field of this article, it is determined whether or not the article is a corrected article (S1802). If it is a corrected article (S1802: YES), the accounting process is not performed for the article, and the process proceeds to step S1804. On the other hand, if it is a corrected article (S1802: NO), the accounting process is performed for the article (S1803).

  In step S1804, it is determined whether there is an unprocessed distributed article. If there is an unprocessed distributed article (S1804: YES), the process returns to step S1801, and if not (S1804: NO), End the process.

  According to the present embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.

  (1) In this embodiment, as article information, an article corresponds to attribute information indicating whether or not the article is a related article related to a previous article, and attribute information of the original article when the article is a related article. Get the attached one. Then, based on the attribute information included in each article information, the identification information of the original article, and the distribution history information of the user, it is determined whether each article is a related article related to the article already distributed to the user. Judgment is made, and an article determined to be such a related article is selected as an article to be distributed. For this reason, according to the present embodiment, a related article related to an article previously distributed to a user can be reliably selected as an article to be distributed to the user from one or more articles. As a result, when a related article related to an article previously distributed to the user is issued, it is possible to reliably distribute the related article to the user who has received the distribution. In particular, the corrected article should surely be distributed to the user, so that when the related article is a corrected article, a very large effect can be obtained.

  (2) Since the second article selection unit 32 that selects an article to be distributed to the user by keyword search or the like selects an article to be distributed from articles other than the corrected article, the corrected articles are selected in duplicate. It can be avoided that a corrected article unnecessary for the user is selected.

  (3) Since the history retention period of the distribution history of the article is determined based on the attribute of the article and the user's wish, and the distribution history of the article is deleted when the determined history retention period expires, The amount of distribution history can be appropriately reduced. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the load of the article selection process and reduce the storage capacity, and it is possible to avoid the distribution of unnecessary corrected articles to the user.

  (4) Since related articles are laid out in a display form different from other articles, the user can easily identify other articles and related articles. In particular, oversight of corrected articles can be reduced.

  (5) Since information about the original article of the related article, for example, when, where and how the original article was distributed, is added, it becomes possible to promote understanding of the related article by the user.

  (6) Since the corrected amount that should not be charged is excluded from the charge target and the charge amount is calculated, an appropriate charge process can be performed.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to said embodiment. For example, article attribute information may be embedded in the article body. Further, regarding the attribute information of the article, the presence / absence of the identification information of the original article in the case of a related article may be attribute information indicating whether the article is a related article related to a previous article. Further, the article selection device, method, and program according to the present invention are not limited to the news articles shown in the above embodiment, but can be applied to other articles such as magazines.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the news delivery system containing the news delivery apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of a news delivery apparatus. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the data stored in article DB. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the data stored in profile DB. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the data stored in distribution log | history DB. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of news delivery processing. It is a figure which shows an example of the delivered news. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the article selection process in step S602 of FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of correction article acquisition processing in step S <b> 801 of FIG. 8. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows another example of the acquisition process of the correction article in step S801 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the news preparation process in step S603 of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the news containing a correction article. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the distribution history update process in step S605 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the log | history retention time limit determination process in step S1305 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the conversion table with which the article classification | category and the log | history retention period were matched. It is a flowchart which shows another example of the history retention time limit process in step S1305 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the conversion table with which the importance and the log | history retention period were matched. It is a flowchart which shows an example of an accounting process.

Explanation of symbols

  1 news distribution device, 2 user terminal, 3 network, 10 article DB, 20 user information DB, 21 profile DB, 22 distribution history DB, 30 article selection section, 31 first article selection section, 32 second article Selection section, 40 news creation section, 50 news distribution section, 60 distribution history update section, 70 billing processing section.

Claims (15)

An article selection device for selecting an article to be distributed to a user from one or more articles,
Article information acquisition means for acquiring one or more article information including an article, attribute information indicating whether the article is a related article related to the previous article, and identification information of the original article when the article is a related article; ,
Based on the attribute information included in each article information acquired by the article information acquisition means and the identification information of the original article, and the distribution history information in which the identification information of the articles already distributed to the user is recorded. It is determined whether each article included in article information is a related article related to an article distributed to the user, and the article determined to be a related article is selected as an article to be distributed. Article selection means,
An article selection device characterized by comprising: The article selection device according to claim 1,
The article selection apparatus, wherein the related article is a correction article or a follow-up article for a previous article. The article selection device according to claim 1 or 2,
The apparatus further comprises second article selection means for searching for and selecting an article to be distributed based on a preset search condition from one or more articles acquired by the article information acquisition means. Article selection device to do. The article selection device according to claim 3,
The second article selection unit selects an article to be distributed from articles other than the corrected article when the first article selection unit selects a corrected article. The article selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The first article selection means selects an article to be distributed for each user based on distribution history information for each user. The article selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The article selection device, wherein the second article selection means selects an article to be distributed for each user based on a search condition set for each user. The article selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A history retention time determining means for determining the history retention time for the identification information of a distributed article recorded in the distribution history information based on the attribute of the article or a user's request;
And deleting means for deleting, from the distribution history information, the identification information of the distributed articles recorded in the distribution history information when the history retention period determined by the history retention period determination unit has expired. Article selection device characterized by that. The article selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
News creation means for creating news including one or more articles using the articles selected by the article selection device;
A news creation apparatus characterized by comprising: The news creation device according to claim 8,
The news creating device lays out the selected article within a predetermined number of pages set in advance. The news creation device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein
The news creating device lays out the related articles in a display form different from other articles. The news creation device according to any one of claims 8 to 10,
When the news creation means posts a related article in the news, information on the timing or place where the distributed article corresponding to the related article is delivered, or a thumbnail image of the article or news on which the article is posted A news creation device characterized by adding The news creation device according to any one of claims 8 to 11,
News distribution means for distributing news created by the news creation device to users;
A news distribution apparatus comprising: The news distribution device according to claim 12, wherein
A news distribution apparatus, further comprising billing processing means for performing billing processing on articles distributed to users by excluding corrected articles from billing targets. An article selection method executed by an article selection device that selects an article to be distributed to a user from one or more articles,
An article information acquisition step for acquiring one or more article information including an article, attribute information indicating whether the article is a related article related to the previous article, and identification information of the original article when the article is a related article; ,
Based on the attribute information and the original article identification information included in each article information acquired in the article information acquisition step, and the distribution history information in which the identification information of articles distributed to the user is recorded. Article selection step for determining whether each article included in the article information is a related article related to an article distributed to the user and selecting an article determined to be a related article as an article to be distributed When,
An article selection method characterized by comprising: An article selection program for selecting an article to be distributed to a user from one or more articles,
An article information acquisition step for acquiring one or more article information including an article, attribute information indicating whether the article is a related article related to the previous article, and identification information of the original article when the article is a related article; ,
Based on the attribute information and the original article identification information included in each article information acquired in the article information acquisition step, and the distribution history information in which the identification information of articles distributed to the user is recorded. Article selection step for determining whether each article included in the article information is a related article related to an article distributed to the user and selecting an article determined to be a related article as an article to be distributed When,
Article selection program characterized by causing

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