JP2023159781A - Information providing device, information providing method and information providing program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide information for a user with high convenience.SOLUTION: An information providing device according to the present application, includes an identification unit, and a providing unit. The identification unit identifies a plurality of pieces of information regarding an information providing object for a user, and regarding a future, as providing information. The providing unit provides the user with a content in which the plurality of pieces of providing information identified by the identification unit are arranged in a time series, a second content being displayed so as to be overlapped with a part on a first content.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an information providing device, an information providing method, and an information providing program.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, with the rapid spread of the Internet, various information has been provided via the Internet. As an example of a technique for providing such information, Patent Document 1, for example, discloses a technique for providing users with information tailored to the users.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-024603

However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 has room for improvement in providing highly convenient information to users.

This application has been made in view of the above, and aims to provide an information providing device, an information providing method, and an information providing program that can provide highly convenient information to users. .

The information providing device according to the present application includes a specifying section and a providing section. The specifying unit specifies a plurality of pieces of information related to the future information to be provided to the user as provided information. The providing unit provides the user with second content, which is content in which a plurality of pieces of provided information identified by the identifying unit are arranged in chronological order, and is displayed over a portion of the first content.

According to one aspect of the embodiment, it is possible to provide highly convenient information to users.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining information providing processing performed by an information providing apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the information providing system according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the terminal device according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the information providing device according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user information table stored in the user information storage unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a content table stored in the content storage unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of first content and second content provided by the providing unit of the information providing device according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the second content in a state in which the first content is slid over the first content provided by the providing unit of the information providing apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example of related content provided by the providing unit of the information providing device according to the embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining another example of provided information provided by the providing unit of the information providing device according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of information processing by the processing unit of the information providing device according to the embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating another example of the configuration of the terminal device according to the embodiment. FIG. 13 is a hardware configuration diagram showing an example of a computer that implements the functions of the information providing device and the terminal device according to the embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Below, an information providing apparatus, an information providing method, and a form for implementing an information providing program (hereinafter referred to as an "embodiment") according to the present application will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that this embodiment does not limit the information providing apparatus, information providing method, and information providing program according to the present application. Moreover, each embodiment can be combined as appropriate within the range that does not conflict with the processing contents. Further, in each of the embodiments below, the same parts are given the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[1. Example of information provision processing]
First, with reference to FIG. 1, information provision processing performed by the information provision apparatus according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining information providing processing performed by an information providing apparatus according to an embodiment.

The information providing device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an information processing device that cooperates with the terminal device 2 of each user U and provides various information to each user U online, and uses one or more servers or a cloud system, etc. Realized.

The information providing device 1 provides various information through a portal site or the like. User U can access, for example, news, weather, routes, shopping, auctions, tickets, finance, sports, events, videos, music, TV programs, travel, restaurants, traffic jams, congestion, special sales, routes, etc. through portal sites, etc. , maps, route searches, web searches, cooking, and other content can be obtained from the information providing device 1 .

As shown in FIG. 1, the information providing device 1 provides the first content to the user U by transmitting the first content to the terminal device 2 (step S1). The first content is, for example, the content of the top screen of the portal site, and is displayed on the terminal device 2. The information providing device 1 transmits the first content to the terminal device 2 based on a content request from the terminal device 2, for example.

Furthermore, the information providing device 1 estimates the context of the user U. The context of the user U is the situation of the user U, and includes, for example, the situation of the user U with a relatively long period of time, the situation of the user U with a relatively short period of time, etc.

The user U's situation for a relatively long period of time includes, for example, a daily life state in which the user is living a daily life, a travel state in which the user is traveling, but is not limited to such examples. User U's status for a relatively short period of time is, for example, a work status where he is working, a commuting status where he is commuting, a eating status where he is having a meal, and a status where he is taking a bath. This includes, for example, a bathing state, but is not limited to such an example.

The information providing device 1 estimates the context of the user U, for example, based on the location information of the user U transmitted from the terminal device 2 (step S2). For example, the information providing device 1 can estimate the context of the user U based on information on the user's U movement history. Further, the information providing device 1 estimates the context of the user U from the user U's schedule information and the like.

Next, the information providing device 1 identifies a plurality of pieces of provided information based on the information of the user U (step S3). Each of the plural pieces of information to be provided is information regarding the information to be provided to the user U, and is information regarding the future. The information provision target is, for example, a product, service, event, or person in which the user U is presumed to have an interest, and is determined based on the user U's information.

The information about the user U used to specify the provided information includes information about the service usage history of the user U, information about the context of the user U, information about the user U's follow, or information about the attributes of the user U. . The information on user U's service usage history includes information on user U's product purchase history, information on user U's search history, information on user U's browsing history, and the like. The user U's follow information is information about a follow target that the user U has set up to follow.

For example, based on the product purchase history of the user U, the information providing device 1 can specify, as the provided information, information about future sales timings of products related to products purchased by the user U in the past. Further, the information providing device 1 can specify information regarding the future of the follow target as the information provision target based on the follow information of the user U. The follow information includes information on a follow target set by the user U.

Further, the information providing device 1 can specify the provided information according to the user U's context estimated in step S2. For example, when the context of the user U indicates a state of daily life, the information providing device 1 specifies information related to daily life and information regarding the future as the provided information. Further, when the context of the user U indicates a travel state, the information providing device 1 specifies travel-related information regarding the future as the provided information.

Next, the information providing device 1 generates second content in which the plural pieces of provided information identified in step S3 are arranged in chronological order (step S4). The information providing device 1 then provides the second content to the user U by transmitting the second content generated in step S4 to the terminal device 2 (step S5).

The second content is content that is displayed overlapping a part of the first content, and can be slid over the first content by the user U's operation on the terminal device 2, as shown in FIG. . Therefore, the user U can view the second content in detail by sliding the second content upward as needed while viewing the first content.

In addition, in the second content, before sliding on the first content, provided information A that is temporally closest to the current time is arranged furthest to the left, and provided information B that is next temporally closest to the current moment is provided information. Provided information C is placed to the right of provided information A and is temporally farther from the present time than provided information A and B. Provided information C is placed to the right of provided information B.

In this way, in the second content, the provided information A, B, and C are arranged in chronological order before sliding on the first content. As a result, the user U can easily understand the temporal relationship between the provided information A, B, and C, and the information providing device 1 can provide highly convenient information to the user U. can.

In addition, in the second content, after sliding on the first content, provided information A that is temporally closest to the current time is arranged at the top, and provided information B that is next temporally closest to the current moment is provided information. Provided information C, which is placed below provided information A and which is temporally farther from the present time than provided information B, is placed below provided information B.

In this way, in the second content, the provided information A, B, and C are arranged in chronological order even after sliding on the first content. Thereby, the user U can easily understand the temporal relationship between the provided information A, B, and C, and can provide highly convenient information to the user U.

Furthermore, the contents indicated by the provided information A, B, and C are more detailed in the state after sliding on the first content than in the state before sliding on the first content. Therefore, the user U can grasp more detailed information by sliding the second content, and can provide highly convenient information to the user.

In the above example, the second content is provided before and after sliding on the first content, although the arrangement direction and the degree of detail of the provided information A, B, and C are different before and after sliding on the first content. The information A, B, and C may have the same arrangement direction and the same level of detail.

In this way, the information providing device 1 according to the embodiment specifies information regarding the future that is information to be provided to the user U as provided information, and provides the specified provided information to the user U. Thereby, the information providing device 1 can provide information regarding the future to the user U, and therefore can provide highly convenient information to the user U.

The information providing device 1 also specifies a plurality of pieces of provided information and provides the user U with a second content that is a content in which the specified pieces of provided information are arranged in chronological order and is displayed over the first content. do. As a result, the information providing device 1 can display information related to the future side by side and superimposed on the first content for the user U, so that the user U can view at least one of the second contents while viewing the first content. be able to understand the parts. Therefore, the information providing device 1 can provide highly convenient information to the user U.

Further, the information providing device 1 estimates the context of the user U based on the information of the user U, and specifies information according to the estimated context as the provided information. Thereby, the information providing device 1 can provide the user U with information regarding the future according to the context of the user U, and can provide highly convenient information to the user U.

In the above example, the information providing device 1 generates the second content and displays it on the terminal device 2, but the terminal device 2 collects information from the information providing device 1, generates the second content, and displays it on the terminal device 2. The second content may be displayed. In this case, the terminal device 2 functions as an information providing device that executes some or all of the above-described functions of the information providing device 1, together with or alone.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the information providing system including the information providing device 1 and the terminal device 2 that perform such processing will be described in detail.

[2. Information provision system configuration]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the information providing system according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the information providing system 100 according to the embodiment includes an information providing device 1 and terminal devices 2 ₁ , 2 ₂ , . . . , 2 _n . For example, n is an integer of 3 or more.

Terminal device 2 ₁ is used by user U ₁ , terminal device 2 ₂ is used by user U 2 , and terminal device _{2 n} is used by user U _n . In the following, when each of _the terminal devices 2 ₁ , 2 ₂ , .

The information providing device 1 and the terminal device 2 are connected to each other via a network N so that they can communicate with each other by wire or wirelessly. Note that the information providing system 100 shown in FIG. 2 may include a plurality of information providing apparatuses 1.

The terminal device 2 is, for example, a desktop PC (Personal Computer), a notebook PC, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or the like. Note that the terminal device 2 is not limited to the above example, and may be, for example, a smart watch or a wearable device.

[3. Terminal device 2]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the terminal device 2 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal device 2 according to the embodiment includes a communication section 10, a display section 11, an operation section 12, a sensor group 13, a storage section 14, and a processing section 15.

[3.1. Communication department 10]
The communication unit 10 is realized by, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card). The communication unit 10 is connected to the network N by wire or wirelessly, and transmits and receives information to and from the information providing device 1 via the network N.

[3.2. Display section 11]
The display unit 11 is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display.

[3.3. Operation unit 12]
The operation unit 12 includes, for example, a keyboard including keys for inputting letters, numbers, and spaces, an enter key, and arrow keys, a mouse, a power button, and the like. When the display unit 11 is a touch panel compatible display, the operation unit 12 includes a touch panel.

[3.4. Sensor group 13]
The sensor group 13 includes, for example, a positioning sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, an illuminance sensor, an image sensor, and the like. The positioning sensor is a sensor that detects the position of the terminal device 2. The acceleration sensor is a sensor that detects the acceleration of the terminal device 2. The gyro sensor is a sensor that detects postures such as tilt and rotation of the terminal device 2. A geomagnetic sensor is a sensor that detects geomagnetism. The illuminance sensor is a sensor that detects illuminance indicating brightness and darkness around the terminal device 2, and the image sensor is a sensor that captures an image of the surroundings of the terminal device 2.

[3.5. Storage unit 14]
The storage unit 14 is realized by, for example, a semiconductor memory element such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a flash memory, or a storage device such as a hard disk or an optical disk.

The storage unit 14 stores, for example, information transmitted from the information providing device 1 and acquired by the processing unit 15 via the network N and the communication unit 10, and detection information that is information detected by the sensor group 13. .

[3.6. Processing unit 15]
The processing unit 15 is a controller, and various programs stored in the storage device inside the terminal device 2 use the RAM as a work area by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit). This is achieved through execution. The processing unit 15 may be partially or entirely realized by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The processing section 15 includes an information acquisition section 16, a display processing section 17, and an information output section 18.

[3.6.1. Information acquisition unit 16]
The information acquisition unit 16 acquires various contents transmitted from the information providing device 1 and received by the communication unit 10 via the network N. The content transmitted from the information providing device 1 is, for example, the above-mentioned first content and second content.

[3.6.2. Display processing unit 17]
The display processing unit 17 causes the display unit 11 to display the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 16. For example, the display processing unit 17 causes the display unit 11 to display the content acquired by the information acquisition unit 16.

[3.6.3. Information output unit 18]
The information output unit 18 transmits operation information, which is information corresponding to an operation on the operation unit 12 by the user U, to the information providing device 1 via the communication unit 10, for example. Further, the information output unit 18 transmits detection information, which is information detected by the sensor group 13, to the information providing device 1 via the communication unit 10.

[4. Configuration of information providing device 1]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information providing device 1 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the information providing device 1 includes a communication section 20, a storage section 21, and a processing section 22.

[4.1. Communication department 20]
The communication unit 20 is realized by, for example, a NIC. The communication unit 20 is connected to the network N by wire or wirelessly, and transmits and receives information to and from various other devices. For example, the communication unit 20 transmits and receives information to and from the terminal device 2 via the network N.

[4.2. Storage unit 21]
The storage unit 21 is realized by, for example, a semiconductor memory device such as a RAM or a flash memory, or a storage device such as a hard disk or an optical disk. The storage unit 21 includes a user information storage unit 30 and a content storage unit 31.

[4.2.1. User information storage unit 30]
The user information storage unit 30 stores various information regarding the user U. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a user information table stored in the user information storage unit 30 according to the embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the user information table stored in the user information storage unit 30 includes information on items such as "user ID", "attribute information", "history information", and "setting information". .

“User ID” is an identifier that identifies user U. "Attribute information" is attribute information regarding the attributes of the user U associated with the "user ID." The attributes of the user U are, for example, demographic attributes, psychographic attributes, and the like. Demographic attributes are demographic attributes, such as age, gender, occupation, place of residence, annual income, and family structure. Psychographic attributes are psychological attributes, such as lifestyle, values, and interests.

"History information" is history information that includes information such as service usage history, and includes, for example, user U's payment history information, user U's search history information, user U's browsing history information, user U's Contains context history information, user U's movement history information, and the like.

User U's payment history information includes purchase history information regarding products that User U purchased online, at a physical store, or at a physical facility using a payment service; , service usage history information regarding services used for a fee at actual facilities, etc.

The purchase history information includes information on products purchased by user U, purchase cost information, purchase date and time, purchase store information, and the like. The service usage history information includes information on services used by user U, information on usage fees, date and time of usage, information on stores used, and the like.

The search history information of the user U is, for example, information on the search history of web content on search sites, information on the search history on various websites, and the like. User U's browsing history information is information on user U's browsing history of web content, for example, information on user U's browsing history of property information, and browsing history of leaflets of stores such as convenience stores and supermarkets. Contains various types of information such as information.

The movement history information of the user U is information on the movement history of the user U, and includes, for example, information on the position of the user U for each unit time. Note that the movement history information of the user U may be information on visited stores, facilities, and the like. The context history information of the user U is history information of the user U context estimated by the processing unit 22.

The "setting information" is information set by the user U, and includes, for example, the follow information described above. Note that the information set by user U is not limited to follow information, and may include other information set by user U.

[4.2.2. Content storage unit 31]
The content storage unit 31 stores information regarding content. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a content table stored in the content storage unit 31 according to the embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the content table stored in the content storage unit 31 includes information on items such as "content ID" and "content."

"Content ID" is an identifier that identifies content. “Content” is information regarding the content associated with “Content ID”. Specifically, the content is, for example, information regarding the contents of the content or information on the address of the content.

The content is, for example, content related to a portal site that provides various types of content, such as news, weather, routes, shopping, auctions, tickets, finance, sports, events, videos, music, TV programs, travel, restaurants, etc. These are various contents related to traffic jams, congestion, special sales, routes, maps, route searches, web searches, cooking, etc. The ticket is, for example, a ticket for an event such as a concert, play, kabuki, rakugo, or manzai. Note that the content may be content related to a web blog site, a SNS (Social Networking Service) site, a payment service, or the like.

The content includes information about the future. Information about the future may include, for example, information about future special sales, information about future routes, information about future congestion, information about future traffic jams, information about future events in the destination area, and information about restaurants in the destination area. Examples include, but are not limited to, information regarding reservations, or information regarding future weather in the travel destination area.

In FIG. 6, the content with content ID "C1" is content "CO1", the content with content ID "C2" is content "CO2", and the content with content ID "C3" is content "CO3". be. Note that in the example shown in Figure 6, the contents are expressed using abstract codes such as "CO1," "CO2," and "CO3," but the contents are, for example, data in a file format containing various information. be. Further, the content storage unit 31 is not limited to the above, and may store various information depending on the purpose.

[4.3. Processing unit 22]
The processing unit 22 is a controller, and various programs (an example of an information providing program) stored in a storage device (for example, the storage unit 21) inside the information providing device 1 are stored in a RAM by a processor such as a CPU or an MPU. This is achieved by executing this as a work area. Further, the processing unit 22 may be partially or entirely realized by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or an FPGA.

As shown in FIG. 4, the processing unit 22 includes an acquisition unit 40, an estimation unit 41, a specification unit 42, and a provision unit 43, and realizes or executes information processing functions and operations described below. . Note that the internal configuration of the processing unit 22 is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 4, and may be any other configuration as long as it performs information processing to be described later.

[4.3.1. Acquisition unit 40]
The acquisition unit 40 acquires various information. The acquisition unit 40 acquires various information from the storage unit 21. The acquisition unit 40 acquires various information from the user information storage unit 30, the content storage unit 31, and the like.

Further, the acquisition unit 40 can also acquire information about the user U from the terminal device 2 or an external device, and store the acquired information about the user U in the user information storage unit 30, for example. The information about the user U acquired from the terminal device 2 includes, for example, the above-mentioned detection information. Further, the acquisition unit 40 can also acquire various types of content from, for example, an external device and store the acquired content in the content storage unit 31.

[4.3.2. Estimation unit 41]
The estimation unit 41 estimates the context of the user U based on the user information acquired from the user information storage unit 30 by the acquisition unit 40 . The estimation unit 41 estimates the context of the user U based on, for example, movement history information included in the user information.

The user U's context is the user's U situation. For example, the types of situations of the user U include a situation of the user U for a relatively long period of time, a situation of the user U for a relatively short period of time, a momentary situation of the user U, etc.

User U's status for a relatively long period of time includes, for example, daily life status where he is living his daily life, travel status where he is traveling, business trip status where he is on a business trip, and hospitalization status. This includes, but is not limited to, a hospitalized state.

User U's status for a relatively short period of time is, for example, a work status where he is working, a commuting status where he is commuting, a eating status where he is having a meal, and a status where he is taking a bath. Examples include a bathing state, a sleeping state, and a sleeping state, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

Further, the instantaneous situation of the user U may include, for example, the operating state of the user U, the operating state of the terminal device 2 by the user U, the state of the surrounding environment of the user U, and the like. The operating state of the user U is, for example, moving, stopped, exercising, or the like.

The operating states of the terminal device 2 are as follows: user U is watching a video on the terminal device 2, user U is watching music on the terminal device 2, and user U is watching news on the terminal device 2. For example, the user U is searching using the terminal device 2. The state of the surrounding environment of the user U includes, for example, the weather state, the temperature state, the humidity state, the noise state, the sunlight state, the disaster state, etc. of the place where the user U is located.

The estimation unit 41 can estimate the situation of the user U, for example, using a situation estimation model that receives user information as input and outputs the situation score of the user U. The situation score output from the situation estimation model is a score for each situation, and the estimation unit 41, for example, selects the situation corresponding to the highest situation score among the scores output from the situation estimation model as the situation of the user U. It can be estimated. Furthermore, the estimation unit 41 can also estimate the situation of the user U for each type of situation of the user U. Note that a situation estimation model may be provided for each situation. The situation estimation model is, for example, a learning model generated by machine learning using a neural network, but is not limited to such an example.

[4.3.3. Specification part 42]
The specifying unit 42 specifies information related to the future information to be provided to the user U as information to be provided, based on the information of the user U acquired by the obtaining unit 40 from the user information storage unit 30. . Below, information regarding the future may be referred to as future information.

The provided information specified by the specifying unit 42 is content stored in the content storage unit 31, but is not limited to this example, and may include, for example, information including link information such as the address of content provided from another device. It may be.

The object of information provision to the user U is the object of information to be provided to the user U, and may be, for example, a product, service, event, store, facility, or person, but is not limited to such examples. Examples of events include, but are not limited to, sporting events, music events, theatrical events, karaoke competitions, lectures, school festivals, exhibitions and sales, and product exhibitions.

In addition, the targets for providing information to user U include, for example, targets in which user U is presumed to have an interest, products purchased by user U in the past and products related to the products, and products that user U follows. This is a follow target that has been set as follows.

The target that the user U is estimated to be interested in is determined by the specifying unit 42 based on the user U's psychographic attributes, for example. Products that user U has purchased in the past and products related to the products are determined by the identification unit 42 based on user U's product purchase history, for example. The follow target, which is the target that the user U has set to follow, is determined by the specifying unit 42 based on the user U's setting information.

For example, the specifying unit 42 may specify, as provided information, information on future sales timings of related products that are related to products purchased by the user U in the past, based on the product purchase history of the user U. can. Related products are products that are frequently purchased in combination with products purchased by user U in the past, products of the same brand as products purchased by user U in the past, and products purchased by user U in the past. These include consumables included in the product, new products that user U has purchased in the past, and the like.

If the product purchased by user U in the past is a product of professional baseball team A, the related product is, for example, a product of professional baseball team A that will be sold in the future. Further, when the product that user U purchased in the past is a notebook PC, the related products include, for example, a wireless speaker, a keyboard, and wireless earphones.

The specifying unit 42 can specify, as provided information, information about future sales periods of objects in which the user U is presumed to have an interest. For example, when it is estimated that the user U has an interest in suspense movies, the identifying unit 42 may provide information such as the screening theater, screening start date, and trailer of a new suspense movie that is scheduled to be screened at a theater, or Information such as the final screening date of a suspense movie being shown at a theater can be specified as provided information.

In addition, when it is estimated that the user U has an interest in the entertainer C, the identification unit 42 provides information such as the broadcast start date and time of a new drama in which the entertainer C appears and a trailer, or the start date and time of sales of the celebrity's concert tickets. Information on sales locations, etc. can be specified as provided information.

Further, the specifying unit 42 can specify information on the future sales timing of the related product mentioned above as the provided information. If the product purchased by user U in the past is a product of professional baseball team A, the related product is, for example, a product of professional baseball team A that will be sold in the future. Further, when the product that user U purchased in the past is a PC, the related products include, for example, a wireless speaker, a keyboard, and wireless earphones.

Further, for example, when the follow target is singer B, the information regarding the follow target and the future information is information about singer B's future concert tickets, or information about singer B's future new album. etc. The concert ticket information includes information indicating the release date of the concert ticket, information on the concert ticket purchasing site, and the like. Further, the new album information includes information indicating the release date of the new album, information on the new album purchase site, and the like.

The specifying unit 42 specifies, for example, future information that satisfies predetermined conditions as provided information. The predetermined conditions include, for example, the condition that the period is from the current time to a predetermined period before, or the condition that the number of times is a predetermined number in order from the most recent, but is not limited to such examples. .

Note that, when the number of future information that satisfies a predetermined condition is equal to or greater than a threshold, the identification unit 42 specifies future information with a high degree of importance from among the plurality of future information that satisfies a predetermined condition as provided information. You can also do that. The identifying unit 42 can determine the importance of future information, for example, using an importance estimation model that receives user information as input and outputs an importance score for each object. The importance estimation model is, for example, a learning model generated by machine learning using a neural network, but is not limited to such an example.

The specifying unit 42 can also determine the importance of future information, for example, based on the slide history of the second content provided by the providing unit 43, the selection history of provided information included in the second content, and the like. The slide history of the second content includes, for example, information indicating the time during which each provided information of the second content was displayed on the display unit 11 of the terminal device 2 after the second content was slid. .

For example, the specifying unit 42 determines that the provision information that is the information provision target indicated by the provision information that has been displayed for a longer time on the display unit 11 has a higher degree of importance, or determines that the provision information indicated by the provision information that has been selected many times is It can be determined that the more targeted the provided information is, the more important it is.

Further, the identifying unit 42 can also identify future information according to the context of the user U estimated by the estimating unit 41 as the provided information. For example, when the context of the user U indicates a daily life state, the identifying unit 42 identifies future information related to daily life as the provided information. The future information related to daily life is, for example, at least one of the following: information about future special sales, information about future routes, information about future congestion, and information about future traffic congestion, but is limited to such examples. Not done.

Further, when the context of the user U indicates a travel state, the identifying unit 42 identifies future information related to travel as provided information. Future information related to travel is, for example, at least one of information regarding events in the travel destination area, information regarding restaurant reservations in the travel destination area, and information regarding the weather in the travel destination area. Not limited.

Further, when the user U is moving, the identifying unit 42 can reduce the number of future information to be identified as provided information, compared to when the user U is stationary. In this case, when the user U is moving, the identifying unit 42 prioritizes future information with higher importance or information in the near future to the present time as provided information, compared to when the user U is stationary. Identify.

Moreover, when the user U is in an exercise state, the identifying unit 42 can prioritize future information on sporting events, future information on sporting goods, etc., and identify the information to be provided. Further, when the user U is playing baseball, the specifying unit 42 can prioritize future information on professional baseball, future information on baseball equipment, etc., and specify the information to be provided.

Further, the identifying unit 42 can also identify related content that is information related to future information. For example, the specifying unit 42 can also specify, as related content, behavior support information that prompts the user U to take actions related to future information, based on the user U's actions based on the future information.

For example, assume that future information provided to user U as information is information regarding ticket sales for an event to be held in the future, and user U purchases tickets for the event based on such future information. In this case, the specifying unit 42 specifies, as the behavior support information, information regarding a hotel in the area where the event is held during a period including the day on which the event is held. Information regarding hotels includes, for example, information indicating hotels with vacant rooms, information on sites for making reservations for hotels with vacant rooms, and the like.

Further, the specifying unit 42 can further specify future information related to the future information as provided information based on the behavior of the user U based on the future information. For example, assume that the future information is information regarding the sale of tickets for an event to be held in the future, and the user U attempts to purchase a ticket for the event based on the future information, but is unable to do so.

In this case, the specifying unit 42 specifies future information about an event related to the event for which the user U was unable to purchase a ticket, as the behavior support information. The future information of an event related to the event for which the user U could not purchase a ticket is, for example, an event of the same type as the event for which the user U could not purchase a ticket, but held at a different venue.

For example, if the event for which user U could not purchase a ticket is a concert of singer D to be held in Tokyo, the identification unit 42 provides behavioral support with future information about a concert of singer D to be held outside of Tokyo. It can be specified as information.

Further, when the context of the user U is a web search using the first content displayed on the terminal device 2, the specifying unit 42 specifies target future information indicated by the search query as provided information. I can do it. Further, when the context of the user U is the playing state of an online game using the terminal device 2, the identifying unit 42 can identify future information targeted at the online game being played as the provided information.

Further, when the user U's context is a state of watching a video using the terminal device 2, the identifying unit 42 can identify future information about an event in which an actor appearing in the video appears as the provided information. Further, when the context of the user U is to stop watching a video using the terminal device 2, the identifying unit 42 can identify future information indicating the distribution end date of the video for which viewing has been stopped as provided information. .

Note that the identifying unit 42 specifies future information as provided information for each type of user U's situation estimated by the estimating unit 41, or specifies future information as provided information for each type of user U's situation estimated by the estimating unit 41. Future information corresponding to the combination can be specified as provided information.

[4.3.4. Providing Department 43]
The providing unit 43 provides the provided information specified by the specifying unit 42. For example, the providing unit 43 provides the user U with the provided information by transmitting the provided information specified by the specifying unit 42 to the terminal device 2 via the communication unit 20 and the network N.

The providing unit 43 provides the user U with second content, which is content in which a plurality of pieces of provided information specified by the specifying unit 42 are arranged in chronological order. Further, the providing unit 43 provides the user U with the first content on which the second content is displayed in an overlapping manner.

The first content is, for example, content on the top screen of a portal site, and is displayed on the display unit 11 of the terminal device 2. The providing unit 43 transmits the first content to the terminal device 2, for example, based on a content request from the terminal device 2. The information acquisition unit 16 of the terminal device 2 acquires the first content provided from the providing unit 43, and the display processing unit 17 of the terminal device 2 displays the first content acquired by the information acquisition unit 16 on the display unit 11. Display.

Further, the providing unit 43 transmits second content, which is content in which a plurality of pieces of provided information specified by the specifying unit 42 are arranged in chronological order, to the terminal device 2 via the communication unit 20 and the network N. The second content is slideable content, and provided information that indicates information that is temporally closer to the current time is placed at a higher position.

The providing unit 43 provides the second content to the user U in addition to the first content when there is a content request from the terminal device 2, but the provision unit 43 is not limited to this example. For example, the providing unit 43 provides the second content to the user U when the identifying unit 42 identifies a plurality of pieces of information to be provided while the first content is being displayed on the display unit 11 of the terminal device 2. You can also do that.

The information acquisition unit 16 of the terminal device 2 acquires the second content provided from the providing unit 43, and the display processing unit 17 of the terminal device 2 displays the second content acquired by the information acquisition unit 16 on the first content. The image is displayed on the display unit 11 in a state where it is superimposed on a part of the image.

In the initial state, the area where the second content is displayed in the display area of the display unit 11 is small, but by sliding the second content on the first content, the area where the second content is displayed is enlarged. be able to.

When the user U performs a sliding operation on the second content on the display unit 11, the providing unit 43 slides the second content on the first content and enlarges the area where the second content is displayed.

In the plural pieces of provided information arranged in chronological order in the second content, the closer the provided information is to the current time in terms of time, the higher the provided information is arranged. When the provided information is arranged in the horizontal direction, the highest position is the leftmost position, and when the provided information is arranged in the vertical direction, the highest position is the topmost position. Thereby, the user U can easily understand the temporal relationship of multiple pieces of provided information.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of first content and second content provided by the providing unit 43 of the information providing device 1 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the second content 60 is displayed overlapping a portion of the first content 50.

The first content 50 includes a search box 51, a search button 52, a plurality of content columns 53, 54, 55, 56, and a tab column 57. A search keyword is input into the search box 51 by the user U's operation on the operation unit 12 .

When the user U selects the search button 52 by operating the operation unit 12 with a search keyword input in the search box 51, the information output unit 18 of the terminal device 2 displays the search keyword input in the search box 51. A search query including a search keyword is sent to the information providing device 1. The providing unit 43 transmits search results according to the search keyword included in the search query to the terminal device 2. Such search results are acquired by the information acquisition unit 16 and displayed on the display unit 11 by the display processing unit 17.

Each of the contents included in the content columns 53, 54, and 55 is the content to be transferred to the linked content when the user U makes a selection, and some of the contents include, for example, Some information is displayed. The contents arranged in the content column 55 are switched by selecting a tab included in the tab column 57. The content column 56 includes home button content for moving to the initial screen, as well as content for moving to the linked content when the user U makes a selection.

In the state shown in FIG. 7, the second content 60 is displayed overlapping a portion of the content column 55. Therefore, the user U can check the second content 60 while viewing content other than a part of the content column 55.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, the second content 60 includes provided information 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ , 61 ₃ . Provided information 61 ₁ is content related to a concert ticket for entertainer C, and includes link information such as an address of the content indicating detailed content regarding the concert ticket for entertainer C, for example. The provided information ₆₁₂ is content related to the opening game of professional baseball team G, and includes, for example, link information such as the address of the content indicating detailed content regarding the opening game of professional baseball team G.

The provided information ₆₁₃ is content related to the new drama of the celebrity C, and includes link information such as the address of the content indicating detailed content regarding the new drama of the celebrity C, for example. In the following, when each of the provided information 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ , and 61 ₃ is shown without being individually distinguished, it may be referred to as provided information 61 .

When the user U selects the provided information 61 by operating the operation section 12, the providing section 43 provides the terminal device 2 with content indicating detailed contents corresponding to the selected provided information 61 and causes the display section 11 to display the content. The content indicating detailed content is displayed, for example, in the content display area where the content column 55 and the tab column 57 are displayed, instead of or overlapping the content column 55 and the tab column 57. At this time, the providing unit 43 maintains the second content 60 in the state shown in FIG. 7, but can also change the size to an even smaller size.

Further, the providing unit 43 can also delete the provided information 61 selected by the user U by operating the operating unit 12 from the second content 60. Thereby, the user U can easily grasp the provided information 61 in which the content indicating detailed content is not displayed.

The providing unit 43 can change the state in which the second content 60 is displayed on the display unit 11 to the state in which it is not displayed, which is not operated by the user U until a predetermined period has passed. In this case, the providing unit 43 provides the second content including the new provided information 61 to the user U when the new provided information 61 is specified by the specifying unit 42, or provides the second content including the new provided information 61 to the user U after a predetermined period has elapsed. In this case, the second content 60 can be redisplayed on the display unit 11.

Further, the providing unit 43 can change the display mode of each piece of provided information 61 according to the importance level of the provided information 61 included in the second content 60, and can also change the display mode of the entire second content 60. Can be changed. The display mode of the provided information 61 is, for example, background color, font size, frame size, frame color, etc., but the blinking speed may be changed depending on the degree of importance. Further, the display mode of the second content 60 as a whole includes, for example, the background color, the size of the characters, the size of the frame, the color of the frame, etc., but the blinking speed may be changed depending on the importance level.

Further, the providing unit 43 can add the provided information 61 newly specified by the specifying unit 42 to the second content, or delete the provided information 61 that is no longer future information from the second content.

Further, when the second content 60 is slid downward by the user U's operation on the operation unit 12, the providing unit 43 moves the second content 60 downward to a position where the provided information 61 is not displayed. At this time, the pull-out tab 65 of the second content 60 is displayed on the display unit 11, and by operating the pull-out tab 65, the second content 60 can be pulled upward. Note that the user U can also position the drawer tab 65 upward, on the left side, or on the right side by operating the operation unit 12.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the second content 60 in a state in which the first content 50 provided by the providing unit 43 of the information providing device 1 according to the embodiment is slid. As shown in FIG. 8, the second content 60 includes date and time information 62 ₁ , 62 ₂ , 62 ₃ in addition to provided information 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ , 61 ₃ .

When the second content 60 is pulled out by sliding on the first content 50, the provided information 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ , and 61 ₃ are arranged in chronological order in the vertical direction. The provided information 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ , 61 ₃ shown in FIG. 8 shows more detailed content than the provided information 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ , 61 ₃ shown in FIG. 7 . Thereby, the user U can understand the provided information 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ , 61 ₃ in detail by simply sliding the second content.

Further, the providing unit 43 can reduce the contents shown in the provided information 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ , 61 ₃ as the sliding speed is slower, and the providing information 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ , 61 ₃ as the sliding speed is faster, for example. It is possible to increase the content shown in . Thereby, the user U can increase the slide speed to grasp more detailed content, and by slowing down the slide speed, the user U can quickly grasp a plurality of pieces of provided information.

The date and time information ₆₂₁ is information indicating the date and time corresponding to the provided information ₆₁₁ , and in the example shown in FIG. 8, the date and time when applications for concert tickets of entertainer C start being accepted is shown, but the information is not limited to this example. For example, if the provided information ₆₁₁ is information regarding the end of accepting applications for concert tickets for entertainer C, the date and time information ₆₂₁ is information indicating the end date and time for accepting applications for entertainer C's concert tickets, for example. Note that the date and time information ₆₂₁ may be information indicating the date and time of the concert of the entertainer C.

The date and time information ₆₂₂ is information indicating the date and time corresponding to the provided information ₆₁₂ , and is information indicating the start date and time of the opening game of professional baseball team G, but is not limited to this example. For example, when the provided information ₆₁₂ is information regarding the end of the opening game of professional baseball team G, the date and time information ₆₂₂ is, for example, information indicating the scheduled end date and time of the opening game of professional baseball team G.

The date and time information ₆₂₃ is information indicating the date and time corresponding to the provided information ₆₁₃ , and is information indicating the broadcast start date and time of the second episode of the new drama of entertainer C, but is not limited to this example. For example, if the provided information _61-3 is information regarding the end of broadcasting of the first episode of Celebrity C's new drama, the date and time information _62-3 is, for example, information indicating the end date and time of broadcasting of the first episode of Celebrity C's new drama. be.

In this way, the second content 60 includes provided information 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ , 61 ₃ , and the user U can check the date and time of the information indicated by each provided information 61 ₁ , 61 ₂ , 61 ₃ . It can be easily understood.

For example, when a specific operation such as a long press is performed on the provided information 61, the providing section 43 can display only the provided information related to the provided information ₆₁₁ on the display section 11. For example, in the case shown in FIG. 8, when a specific operation is performed on provided information 61 ₁ , provided information 61 ₃ related to provided information 61 ₁ is left, and provided information 61 ₂ not related to provided information 61 1 is left as the provided information 61 ₂ . 2 content 60.

In the second content 60 shown in FIG. 8, three pieces of provided information 61 are shown, but if four or more pieces of provided information 61 are included, the user U can scroll the second content 60 by a scroll operation.

The providing unit 43 provides the related content to the user U when the related content is specified by the specifying unit 42 . For example, the related content is included in part of the second content 60, but may be displayed overlapping part or all of the second content 60.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example of related content provided by the providing unit 43 of the information providing device 1 according to the embodiment. As shown in (a) of FIG. 9, when the user U selects the provided information ₆₁₁ in a state where the second content 60 is displayed superimposed on a part of the first content 50, As shown in (b), the linked content 70 corresponding to the link information included in the provided information ₆₁₁ is displayed on the terminal device 2.

In the example shown in FIG. 9B, content 70 for purchasing a concert ticket for entertainer C is displayed on the terminal device 2 in a state where it is placed at the top of the second content 60. If the user U selects the purchase button 71 included in the content 70 by operating the operation unit 12 in the state shown in FIG. 9(b), the ticket purchase is completed as shown in FIG. 9(c). In addition to the content 72 indicating , content 73 including the address of the hotel reservation content as link destination information is displayed on the terminal device 2 as related content.

Next, when the content 73 is selected by the user U's operation on the operation unit 12 in the state shown in FIG. 9(c), the hotel reservation content 74 is selected as shown in FIG. 9(b). Displayed on the terminal device 2.

In this way, the providing unit 43 provides the user U with the content 73, which is behavior support information that encourages the user U to take actions related to the provided information, as related content based on the user U's behavior based on the provided information. can do.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining another example of provided information provided by the providing unit 43 of the information providing device 1 according to the embodiment. As shown in (a) of FIG. 10, when the user U selects the provided information ₆₁₁ in a state where the second content 60 is displayed superimposed on a part of the first content 50, As shown in (b), the linked content 75 corresponding to the link information included in the provided information ₆₁₁ is displayed on the terminal device 2.

In the example shown in FIG. 10(b), content 75 for purchasing a concert ticket for entertainer C is displayed on the terminal device 2 in a state where it is placed at the top of the second content 60. contains information indicating that concert tickets for entertainer C are sold out.

In the example shown in FIG. 10(b), in addition to the content 75, content 76 including link information such as the address of the content for purchasing tickets for another venue for the concert of entertainer C is sent to the terminal device 2 as provided information. Is displayed.

Next, in the state shown in FIG. 10(b), when the content 76 is selected by user U's operation on the operation unit 12, as shown in FIG. Content 77 for purchasing venue tickets is displayed on the terminal device 2.

In this way, the providing unit 43 provides, for example, information related to the provided information ₆₁₁ and related to the information provision target to the user U, and other future information, based on the behavior of the user U based on the provided information. (For example, the content 76) can be provided to the user U as provided information. Contents 76 and 77 are other examples of information regarding the future.

Note that the providing unit 43 can also provide the user U with the provided information by transmitting the provided information to the user U's e-mail address via the communication unit 20 and the network N.

[5. Processing procedure]
Next, a procedure of information processing by the processing unit 22 of the information providing device 1 according to the embodiment will be explained. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of information processing by the processing unit 22 of the information providing device 1 according to the embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 11, the processing unit 22 of the information providing device 1 determines whether there is a content request from the user U (step S10). Next, when determining that there is a content request (step S10: Yes), the processing unit 22 provides the first content 50 to the user U (step S11).

Next, the processing unit 22 estimates the context of the user U (step S12). Then, the processing unit 22 specifies information regarding the future as information to be provided to the user U, based on the information of the user U including the context of the user U (step S13). . The processing unit 22 provides the user U with the second content in which the plural pieces of provided information 61 identified in step S13 are arranged in chronological order (step S14).

Next, the processing unit 22 determines whether there is any related content (step S15). If the processing unit 22 determines that there is related content (step S15: Yes), it provides the related content to the user U (step S16).

When the processing of step S16 is completed, when it is determined that there is no related content (step S15: No), or when it is determined that there is no content request (step S10: No), the processing unit 22 determines that it is time to end the operation. It is determined whether or not (step S17). For example, when the power of the information providing device 1 is turned off, or when it is determined that an end operation has been performed by operating an operation section (not shown) of the information providing device 1, the processing section 22 determines the operation end timing. It is determined that it has become.

If the processing unit 22 determines that the operation end timing has not come (step S17: No), the process proceeds to step S10, and if it determines that the operation end timing has come (step S17: Yes), the process proceeds to FIG. The indicated process ends.

[6. Other configuration examples of the terminal device 2]
In the above example, the information providing device 1 generates the second content and displays it on the terminal device 2, but the terminal device 2 collects information from the information providing device 1, generates the second content, and displays the second content. It may also be configured to display content. In this case, the terminal device 2 functions together with the information providing device 1 as part of an information providing device that executes some of the above-described functions of the information providing device 1. Furthermore, the terminal device 2 may be configured to function as an information providing device that performs all of the above-described functions of the information providing device 1.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another example of the configuration of the terminal device 2 according to the embodiment. The terminal device 2 shown in FIG. 12 differs from the terminal device 2 shown in FIG. 3 in the function of the processing section 15. The processing unit 15 of the terminal device 2 shown in FIG. 12 differs from the terminal device 2 shown in FIG. 3 in that it further includes an estimating unit 41, a specifying unit 42, and a providing unit 43.

The estimating unit 41, specifying unit 42, and providing unit 43 shown in FIG. 12 function similarly to the estimating unit 41, specifying unit 42, and providing unit 43 shown in FIG. 4, for example. The storage unit 14 stores information about the user U of the terminal device 2, and the estimation unit 41 estimates the context of the user U based on the information about the user U stored in the terminal device 2. do. Note that the information of the user U stored in the terminal device 2 includes detection information that is information detected by the sensor group 13, for example.

The specifying unit 42 selects specific information from among the contents stored in the information providing device 1 based on the information of the user U stored in the terminal device 2 and the context of the user U estimated by the estimating unit 41. can be identified.

The providing unit 43 causes the display processing unit 17 to execute a process of displaying, on the display unit 11, the second content 60 in which a plurality of pieces of provided information specified by the specifying unit 42 are arranged in chronological order. Note that the providing unit 43 may include the functions of the display processing unit 17.

Note that the identifying unit 42 of the terminal device 2 can also identify specific information in cooperation with the information providing device 1. For example, the specifying unit 42 of the terminal device 2 transmits to the information providing device 1 a specifying request including the information of the user U stored in the terminal device 2, the context of the user U estimated by the estimating unit 41, etc. , it is also possible to have the information providing device 1 specify the specific information.

In this case, the identifying unit 42 of the information providing device 1 identifies the provided information based on the information of the user U included in the specific request, and the providing unit 43 of the information providing device 1 identifies the provided information based on the information of the user U included in the specific request. The provided information is sent to the terminal device 2. The providing unit 43 of the terminal device 2 causes the display unit 11 to display second content 60 in which a plurality of pieces of provided information transmitted from the information providing device 1 are arranged in chronological order.

Note that the terminal device 2 may have a configuration that does not include one or both of the estimation section 41 and the identification section 42. In this case, the providing unit 43 of the terminal device 2 acquires the plural pieces of provided information specified by the specifying unit 42 from the information providing device 1, and displays the second content 60 in which the plurality of obtained pieces of provided information are arranged in chronological order. The display processing section 17 is caused to execute the process for displaying on the section 11.

In this way, the terminal device 2 can perform the functions of the estimating section 41, the specifying section 42, and the providing section 43 in cooperation with the information providing device 1, and the estimating section 41, the specifying section 42, and the providing section 43 It can function as part of an information providing device having the following functions. Note that hereinafter, a configuration including the above-described information providing device 1 and a part or all of the terminal device 2 may be referred to as an information providing device 1.

The processing unit 15 shown in FIG. 12 allows various programs (an example of an information providing program) stored in a storage device (for example, the storage unit 14) inside the terminal device 2 to be stored in the RAM by a processor such as a CPU or an MPU. This is achieved by executing it as a work area.

[7. Modified example]
In the second content described above, a plurality of pieces of provided information are arranged in chronological order, but the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the second content may have one piece of provided information.

In addition, the providing unit 43 also provides a second set of information that includes, as provided information, information regarding the future of the target whose information is shown in the content selected by the user U from among the plurality of contents arranged in the content row 55 shown in FIG. 7, for example. Content can be provided to user U. For example, each time the content arranged in the content column 55 is selected, the providing unit 43 uses the second content that includes, as provided information, information regarding the future of the target whose information is shown in the content selected by the user U. It can be provided to person U.

[8. Hardware configuration]
Each of the information providing device 1 and the terminal device 2 according to the embodiments described above is realized by, for example, a computer 80 having a configuration as shown in FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a hardware configuration diagram showing an example of a computer 80 that realizes the functions of the information providing device 1 and the terminal device 2 according to the embodiment. The computer 80 includes a CPU 81, a RAM 82, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 83, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 84, a communication interface (I/F) 85, an input/output interface (I/F) 86, and a media interface (I/F). )87.

The CPU 81 operates based on a program stored in the ROM 83 or HDD 84 and controls each part. The ROM 83 stores a boot program executed by the CPU 81 when the computer 80 is started, programs depending on the hardware of the computer 80, and the like.

The HDD 84 stores programs executed by the CPU 81 and data used by the programs. The communication interface 85 receives data from other devices via the network N (see FIG. 2) and sends it to the CPU 81, and sends data generated by the CPU 81 to the other devices via the network N.

The CPU 81 controls output devices such as a display and a printer, and input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse via an input/output interface 86. The CPU 81 obtains data from an input device via the input/output interface 86. Further, the CPU 81 outputs the generated data to an output device via the input/output interface 86.

Media interface 87 reads programs or data stored in recording medium 88 and provides them to CPU 81 via RAM 82. The CPU 81 loads this program from the recording medium 88 onto the RAM 82 via the media interface 87, and executes the loaded program. The recording medium 88 is, for example, an optical recording medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) or a PD (Phase change rewritable disk), a magneto-optical recording medium such as an MO (Magneto-Optical disk), a tape medium, a magnetic recording medium, or a semiconductor memory. etc.

For example, when the computer 80 functions as the information providing device 1 according to the embodiment, the CPU 81 of the computer 80 realizes the functions of the processing unit 15 and the processing unit 22 by executing a program loaded onto the RAM 82. Furthermore, data in the storage section 14 or the storage section 21 is stored in the HDD 84 . The CPU 81 of the computer 80 reads these programs from the recording medium 88 and executes them, but as another example, these programs may be acquired from another device via the network N.

[9. others〕
Furthermore, among the processes described in the above embodiments, all or part of the processes described as being performed automatically can be performed manually, or the processes described as being performed manually can be performed manually. All or part of the process can also be performed automatically using known methods. In addition, information including the processing procedures, specific names, and various data and parameters shown in the above documents and drawings may be changed arbitrarily, unless otherwise specified. For example, the various information shown in each figure is not limited to the illustrated information.

Furthermore, each component of each device shown in the drawings is functionally conceptual, and does not necessarily need to be physically configured as shown in the drawings. In other words, the specific form of distributing and integrating each device is not limited to what is shown in the diagram, and all or part of the devices can be functionally or physically distributed or integrated in arbitrary units depending on various loads and usage conditions. Can be integrated and configured.

For example, the information providing device 1 described above may be realized by a plurality of server computers, or depending on the function, it may be realized by calling an external platform using an API (Application Programming Interface) or network computing. can be changed flexibly.

Furthermore, the embodiments and modifications described above can be combined as appropriate within a range that does not conflict with the processing contents.

[10. effect〕
As described above, the information providing device 1 according to the embodiment includes the specifying section 42 and the providing section 43. The specifying unit 42 specifies a plurality of pieces of information related to the information to be provided to the user U and related to the future as provided information. The providing unit 43 provides the second content 60 to the user U, which is content in which a plurality of pieces of provided information specified by the specifying unit 42 are arranged in chronological order, and is displayed over a part of the first content 50. do. Thereby, the information providing device can provide highly convenient information to the user U.

Further, the second content 60 is content that can be slid over the first content 50. Thereby, the information providing device can provide more convenient information to the user U.

Furthermore, the second content 60 is arranged at a higher position as the provided information indicates information that is temporally closer to the current time. Thereby, the information providing device can provide more convenient information to the user U.

Further, the specifying unit 42 specifies related content that is information related to information about the future, and the providing unit 43 provides the related content specified by the specifying unit. Thereby, the information providing device can provide more convenient information to the user U.

Further, the specifying unit 42 specifies the provided information based on the user U's information. Thereby, the information providing device can provide more convenient information to the user U.

Further, the information regarding the future is information regarding an event that is estimated to be of interest to the user U. Thereby, the information providing device can provide more convenient information to the user U.

Further, based on the product purchase history of the user U, the specifying unit 42 specifies information on future sales timings of products related to products purchased by the user U in the past as provided information. Thereby, the information providing device can provide more convenient information to the user U.

Further, the specifying unit 42 specifies information regarding the future of the follow target as an information provision target based on information on the follow target, which is the target that the user U has set up to follow. Thereby, the information providing device can provide more convenient information to the user U.

Although the embodiments of the present application have been described above in detail based on the drawings, this is merely an example, and various modifications and improvements can be made based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, including the embodiments described in the disclosure section of the invention. It is possible to implement the invention in other forms.

Further, the above-mentioned "section, module, unit" can be read as "means", "circuit", etc. For example, the acquisition unit can be read as an acquisition means or an acquisition circuit.

1 Information providing device 2, _{2 1} , 2 ₂ ,..., 2 _n terminal device 10, 20 Communication section 11 Display section 12 Operation section 13 Sensor group 14, 21 Storage section 15, 22 Processing section 16 Information acquisition section 17 Display Processing unit 18 Information output unit 30 User information storage unit 31 Content storage unit 40 Acquisition unit 41 Estimation unit 42 Specification unit 43 Provision unit 100 Information provision system N Network

Claims (10)

a specifying section that specifies multiple pieces of information regarding the future that are information to be provided to users as information to be provided;
a providing unit that provides the user with second content that is a content in which the plurality of pieces of provided information specified by the identification unit are arranged in chronological order and is displayed over a part of the first content; An information providing device comprising: The second content is
The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein the content is slidable over the first content. The second content is
The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein the provided information indicating information that is temporally closer to the current time is arranged at a higher position. The specific part is
Identifying related content that is information related to the information about the future,
The provision department is
The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein the related content specified by the specifying unit is provided. The specific part is
The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein the provided information is specified based on information of the user. The information regarding the future is
The information providing device according to claim 5, wherein the information is information regarding an event that is estimated to be of interest to the user. The specific part is
Information according to claim 5, characterized in that, based on the product purchase history of the user, information on future sales timings of products related to products purchased by the user in the past is specified as the provided information. Providing device. The specific part is
Information provision according to claim 5, characterized in that information regarding the future of the follow target is specified as the information provision target based on information of the follow target, which is a target that the user has set up to follow. Device. An information provision method executed by a computer, the method comprising:
an identification step of identifying a plurality of pieces of information regarding the future that are information to be provided to users as information to be provided;
a providing step of providing the user with a second content that is a content in which a plurality of pieces of the provided information identified in the identifying step are arranged in chronological order and is displayed over a part of the first content; An information provision method characterized by including. an identification procedure for identifying multiple pieces of information regarding the future that are information to be provided to users as information to be provided;
a providing step of providing the user with a second content that is a content in which a plurality of pieces of the provided information identified by the identifying step are arranged in chronological order and is displayed overlapping a part of the first content; An information providing program that is executed by a computer.

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