JP4531457B2 - MAP INFORMATION PROVIDING SUPPORT METHOD, SERVER COMPUTER, AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a map information provision support method, a map information provision support system, and a map information provision support program, and particularly relates to provision of map information or position information using an electronic pen, and an electronic pen capable of optically reading a dot pattern. Providing an information providing service that manages dot patterns with unique information in correspondence with map information consisting of scale, latitude, and longitude, and provides dot patterns as printed materials, making it easy to input location information on the map Regarding the method.

  A map information providing system using an electronic map such as a car navigation system has become common. For example, a map book provided with a code indicating the place name along with its place name on a map, an optical or magnetic code reading means for reading the code of the map book, and a code read by the code reading means And a navigation device (see Patent Document 1) including a control unit that performs processing and a display unit that displays processing information processed by the control unit has been proposed.

In addition, in a system using special paper on which a dot pattern is printed and an electronic pen that reads the dot pattern and digitizes the content written on the special paper, a predetermined identification mark is printed on the special paper. And means for identifying on which special paper the digitized data of the content written on the special paper is written based on the digitized data of the check mark graphic written on the identification mark portion. A special paper management device (refer to Patent Document 2) characterized by this is also proposed.
JP-A-5-241507 JP 2004-88676 A

  By the way, in the conventional method, an input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a scroll pointer is used to specify a desired destination in the map information client. However, when specifying the position, it is necessary to perform many operations such as setting the map scale, switching the map screen, moving the map screen itself (scrolling, etc.), moving the position specifying pointer, and determining the target position. The user of the map information client is forced to perform complicated work and the input efficiency is not excellent.

  In addition, the destination that can be specified by such a conventional method is often a single point in one operation, for example, and the work burden on the user further increases in the process of specifying a plurality of purposes and setting a movement route. It becomes. On the other hand, even if a bar code is used to specify a destination as in Patent Document 1, the bar code printing area and printing form are fixed, and the size of the print medium is limited, or it corresponds to all locations on the map. There remains a problem to be solved, such as inefficiency and difficulty in printing the barcode on the print medium. In addition, when a plurality of destinations are specified or a position that is not specified by a barcode is input, the same processing procedure as that of the conventional method using the scroll pointer is required, and the operation becomes complicated.

  On the other hand, as a side that wants to provide map information, for example, copy the map book and send it directly to the other party, even if there is a car navigation system etc. on the recipient side of the map information, As usual, it is necessary to set a map scale and a destination on the recipient side, and it is difficult to provide map information simply and efficiently.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a map information provision support method, a map information provision support system, and map information provision that enable easy and reliable provision of map information to a map information client. The main purpose is to provide support programs.

The map information providing support method of the present invention that solves the above problems is based on an optical reading result of a print medium on which a dot pattern that can uniquely identify each print position is calculated by a client computing device connected to an electronic pen. Information on a certain dot pattern is acquired from the electronic pen, and processing for transmitting the dot pattern information to a server computer connected via a network is executed. Map dot pattern database in which map information in which latitude, longitude and longitude are associated, a user ID for identifying an information provider who bears the provision cost of the map information, and a provision period of the map information are stored in association with each other And charging for each user ID associated with each dot pattern information in the map dot pattern database. A computing device of a server computer comprising a billing management database storing information including information and a usage history information limit, a process of receiving dot pattern information from the client via the network, and the received dot pattern information The process of matching in the map dot pattern database, specifying the information of the corresponding latitude and longitude at the corresponding scale as the provided map information, and comparing the received dot pattern information in the map dot pattern database, the corresponding record is the user ID And the process for determining whether the provision time limit does not exceed the current time, and if the result of the determination is that the corresponding record does not include the user ID and is within the provision time limit, the identification Provided map information via the network. Send to Ianto includes the relevant record is the user ID, or if beyond providing date, and transmits a charging confirmation notification to the client, receives from the billing approval request the client corresponding to the notification, Updating the usage history information associated with the user ID in the accounting management database, performing accounting processing, and then transmitting the specified provided map information to the client via the network; The processing unit of the client receives the provided map information from the server computer via the network, and the latitude and longitude information and the map image data are associated with each other based on the received provided map information. Extracting the corresponding map image from the stored map database and outputting it to the display device; and Receiving a billing confirmation notification from a computer via the network, and receiving the billing approval request and returning a billing approval request to the server computer.

Further, the server computer of the present invention obtains dot pattern information, which is an optical reading result for a printing medium on which a dot pattern capable of uniquely specifying each print position is printed, from the connected electronic pen, and A server computer that is communicably connected to a client that transmits pattern information via a network, and that associates each dot pattern information of the print medium with a map scale, latitude, and longitude. A map dot pattern database in which a user ID for identifying an information provider who bears the provision cost of the map information and a provision time limit of the map information are stored in association with each other, and each dot pattern in the map dot pattern database Information including billing information and usage history information limit for each user ID associated with the information The charge management database storing the data, the process of receiving the dot pattern information from the client via the network, the received dot pattern information is compared in the map dot pattern database, and the corresponding latitude and longitude of the corresponding scale Whether the process for identifying information as provided map information and the received dot pattern information are collated in the map dot pattern database, the record does not contain a user ID, and the provision deadline does not exceed the current time And if the corresponding record does not include the user ID and is within the provision time limit, the specified provision map information is transmitted to the client via the network, the record includes the user ID, or the offer deadline If so, it sends a notification of charging confirmation to the client, receives a charging approval request from the client corresponding to the notification, and updates the usage history information associated with the user ID in the charging management database. And an arithmetic unit that executes a process of transmitting the specified provided map information to the client via the network after performing the accounting process.

The program of the present invention, the information of the dot pattern dot pattern that can uniquely identify each print position is optically reading results for print media printing is acquired from the connected electronic pen, the dot pattern Communication with a client that transmits information via a network so that each dot pattern information of the print medium, map information that associates a scale, latitude, and longitude on the map, and provision of the map information A map dot pattern database in which a user ID for identifying an information provider that bears a cost and a provision time limit of the map information are stored in association with each other, and a user associated with each dot pattern information in the map dot pattern database A charging management database storing information including charging information and usage history information limit for each ID The server computer receives the dot pattern information from the client via the network and collates the received dot pattern information with the map dot pattern database to provide information on the corresponding latitude and longitude at the corresponding scale. The processing specified as map information and the received dot pattern information are collated in the map dot pattern database to determine whether the corresponding record does not include a user ID and the provision deadline does not exceed the current time. As a result of the processing and the determination, if the corresponding record does not include the user ID and is within the provision time limit, the specified provided map information is transmitted to the client via the network, and the corresponding record is It includes a user ID, or not exceed the offer deadline For example, a notification of charging confirmation is transmitted to the client, a charging approval request is received from the client corresponding to the notification, the usage history information associated with the user ID in the charging management database is updated, and charging is performed. After the process is performed, a process of transmitting the specified provided map information to the client via the network is executed.

  In addition, the problems disclosed by the present application and the solutions thereof will be clarified by the embodiments of the present invention and the drawings.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide simple, reliable and efficient map information to a map information client.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a network configuration diagram including a map information provision support system 100 in the present embodiment. A map information providing support system 100 (hereinafter, system 100) of the present invention is, for example, a server computer, and a program 101 for realizing a function for executing the map information providing support method of the present invention is stored in a memory from a storage device 102 such as a hard disk drive. The data is read to 103 and executed by the CPU 104 which is an arithmetic unit.

  In addition, the system 100 includes an I / O unit 105 that is connected to an external device such as the map information client 200 via a network 150 such as a LAN or the Internet to exchange data. Further, the system 100 can use a map dot pattern database 125, a use type dot pattern database 126, a provision type dot pattern database 127, a map coordinate database 128, and a charge management database 129.

  Hereinafter, functional units that are configured and held by the system 100 based on, for example, the program 101 will be described. The system 100 includes a reading result acquisition unit 110 that receives an optical reading result of the print medium 210 by the electronic pen 201 in the map information client 200 from the map information client 200 that receives provision of map information.

  Further, the system 100 extracts dot pattern information included in the reading result from the reading result, and collates the dot pattern information in the map dot pattern database 125 to provide information on the corresponding latitude and the corresponding longitude at the corresponding scale. A provided map information specifying unit 111 that specifies map information is provided. Here, the map dot pattern database 125 is a map in which each dot pattern information of the print medium 210 on which a dot pattern capable of uniquely specifying each print position is printed is associated with a scale, latitude, and longitude on the map. It is a database that stores information in association with each other.

  Further, the system 100 includes an information providing unit 112 that returns the provided map information to the map information client 200.

  In addition, the system 100 stores, for each dot pattern information in the map dot pattern database 125, a charge management database that stores provision availability information including whether payment for the provision map information has not been settled or an expiration date for the provision map information. 129 is used to specify the provided map information, the provision management information corresponding to the dot pattern information is searched in the accounting management database 129, and based on the provided availability information searched here, the corresponding provided map information When it can be determined that the provision price has been settled or that the usage period has not been exceeded, a provision availability determination unit 113 that transmits the corresponding provision map information to the map information client 200 can be provided.

  The map information client 200 shown in FIG. 1 is a computer that allows a user to receive a map information providing support service from the system 100. Similar to the system 100, the map information client 200 is required for various types of map information clients. A program realizing an input / output processing function and the like is read into a memory and executed by an arithmetic unit. In addition, the map information client 200 includes a communication interface that is connected to an external device such as the system 100 via a network 150 such as a LAN or the Internet to exchange data. Further, the map information client 200 accepts user instructions such as a display device that outputs various information acquired from the system 100 and an electronic pen 201 that enables optical reading of a dot pattern on the print medium 210. An input device is provided.

  The map information client 200 includes a map database 203 in which latitude and longitude information and map image data are stored in pairs, and the current map information client 200 uses GPS (Global Positioning System). It is assumed that navigation information such as a position and a course of travel to a predetermined destination can be provided. The map database 203 can be a storage device such as a hard disk, as well as various media such as a compact disk and a reading device thereof. Further, as shown in FIG. 8C, the specific data structure of the map database 203 is, for example, a map number (for example, a file number of a map image), a display using latitude and longitude information set for each scale as a key. It is a collection of records in which information such as location data and corresponding addresses are associated.

  The recipient of the map information uses the electronic pen 201 connected to the map information client 200 to create a dot pattern on the electronic pen map (print medium) 210 created by a map seller or a map information provider. Information can be read optically. The dot pattern information of the electronic pen map 210 read here is notified from the map information client 200 to the system 100 via the network 150. Then, the map information client 200 acquires from the system 100 provided map information at a predetermined position on the electronic pen map 210 designated by the recipient using the electronic pen 201. Based on the provided map information, the map information client 200 extracts a map image of the corresponding district from the map database 203 and outputs it to an appropriate output interface such as a display.

  Next, the electronic pen 201 in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of the electronic pen 201 used in the present embodiment. The electronic pen 201 has a writing function 202 having a pen pressure sensing means at the pen tip, and also has a camera function 203 in the vicinity of the pen tip to display a dot pattern 211 on the print medium 210 at the writing position. Shooting is possible. The dot pattern information photographed by the camera function 203 is stored in the memory function 204 inside the electronic pen 201 and transmitted to a host device such as the map information client 200 by the communication function 205 according to a predetermined protocol.

  An object from which the electronic pen 201 reads dot pattern information is an electronic pen map 210 as the print medium. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a print array 212 of dot patterns 211 on the electronic pen map 210. One dot pattern 211 is formed by arranging dots 230 at the top, bottom, left, and right of intersections 221 of virtual lines 220 arranged at equal intervals in the vertical and horizontal directions. That is, the arrangement of four patterns of dots 230 can be expressed for one intersection 221.

  As shown in FIG. 2C, for example, the dot pattern 211 is “0” if the dot 230 is arranged below the intersection 221, and similarly if the dot 230 is arranged above the intersection 221. “1”, similarly, “2” if the dot 230 is arranged to the left of the intersection 221, and “3” if the dot 230 is arranged to the right of the intersection 221, etc. can do. If such a dot pattern 211 is configured, for example, as a print array 212 of 6 × 6 (6 virtual lines 220 × 6 virtual lines), 4 ^ 36 types of numerical information 227 can be expressed. The numerical information group 213 includes numerical information 227 for each dot pattern 211 arranged in parallel for each virtual line 220.

  In the example of FIG. 2C, each virtual line 220 in the print array 212 is regarded as a “column”, and numerical information 227 that can be converted from each dot pattern 211 on this column is displayed, for example, in hexadecimal. Further, by connecting the numerical information 227 for each column, the dot pattern management ID 235 that is dot pattern information in the present invention can be configured.

  Next, the electronic pen map 210 as a print medium in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the electronic pen map 210. This electronic pen map 210 is obtained by printing the print array 212 of the dot pattern 211 corresponding to the scale of the electronic pen map 210 on the printing medium 210 together with the map according to the corresponding latitude and longitude on the map. It becomes. On the other hand, it is not assumed that the recipient of the map information uses the electronic pen map 210. For example, a distributor of business cards, pamphlets, flyers, etc. (an “information provider that provides map information via the system 100” If it is a situation where it is desired to guide the recipient to a desired destination, there is no need to print a map on the print medium 210, and the print pattern of the dot pattern 211 corresponding only to the destination. This can be dealt with by printing 212 on a distribution printed matter 214 such as a business card.

  In the present embodiment, a form of printing the dot pattern 211 print array 212 on the print medium 210 together with a map for use on the recipient side is a “use-type” service, while the dot pattern 211 is printed. A form in which the array 212 is printed on a distribution printed matter 214 such as a business card without a map and used for the recipient side is referred to as a “providing type” service.

  Next, a database that can be used by the map information provision support system of the present embodiment will be described. FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing a correspondence pattern between the dot pattern 211, the scale, the latitude and longitude, and the information provider. FIG. 4A shows an example of correspondence at the time of use-type service, and FIG. It is. The dot pattern 211 in the “use type” described above is, for example, a map showing a predetermined area centered on the same address, but corresponds to the presence of a plurality of electronic pen maps 210 with different scales, and corresponds to the same latitude and longitude. The electronic pen map 210 is associated with each scale. On the other hand, the dot pattern 211 in the “providing type” is associated with each information provider and the scale.

  A database in which the dot pattern 211 is associated with the scale, latitude and longitude, and the information provider in this way is the map dot pattern database 125 shown in FIG. This map dot pattern database 125 includes information (here, dot pattern management ID) of each dot pattern of the print medium 210 on which the dot pattern 211 capable of uniquely specifying each print position is printed, the scale on the map, the latitude, There is a database that stores longitude in association. The information of the scale and latitude / longitude is used as map information, which is provided map information when provided to the map information client 200. The data structure of the map dot pattern database 125 is an aggregate of records in which information such as scale and latitude / longitude is associated with a dot pattern management ID as a key.

  In the map dot pattern database 125, the dot pattern management ID is managed by associating the ID of the information provider that bears the cost of providing map information corresponding to the dot pattern management ID as a user ID. Can do. Further, the map information provision time limit corresponding to the dot pattern management ID can also be managed in association with the time limit information.

  Moreover, the system 100 can be provided with a provision type map dot pattern database 127 as shown in FIG. The provided map dot pattern database 127 is a map corresponding to a dot pattern management ID in which the user ID is set in the map dot pattern database 125, that is, a map pattern providing ID is paid by the information provider. This is a selective collection of information records.

  Further, the system 100 may include a usage-type map dot pattern database 126 as shown in FIG. 7 in correspondence with the above-described “use-type” map information provision. This use-type map dot pattern database 126 is a record in which no user ID is set in the map dot pattern database 125, that is, a record of map information corresponding to a dot pattern management ID that does not particularly consider the burden of providing map information. This is a selective aggregation.

  Since the system 100 includes such use-type or provision-type map dot pattern databases 126 and 127, for example, the processing efficiency is improved while avoiding competition on the system 100 with the “provided-type” map information provision service. Can be achieved. In addition, it is possible to suppress the occupation of system resources, networks, and the like and to achieve efficient system operation.

  In addition, the system 100 can include a charge management database 129. This charge management database 129 is a database that stores provision availability information including settlement of the provision price of the provided map information or the expiration date of use of the provided map information for each dot pattern information in the map dot pattern database 125. is there. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8A, for example, the user ID set in the map dot pattern database 125 is subtracted as a key (that is, the dot pattern management ID is indirectly used as a key). Each user ID is a collection of records in which security information as authentication information for each user, billing information indicating unbilled contents, and usage history information are associated with each other.

  Further, the map coordinate database 128 is a database in which, for example, as shown in FIG. 8B, map numbers and their scales, coordinate values of position data, and corresponding addresses are stored in association with each other.

  Note that the functional units 110 to 113 in the system described so far may be realized as hardware, or may be realized as a program stored in an appropriate storage device such as an HDD or a memory. In this case, the CPU 104 reads the corresponding program from the storage device into the memory 103 and executes it in accordance with the execution of the program.

  In addition to the Internet and LAN, various networks such as a dedicated line, a WAN (Wide Area Network), a power line network, a wireless network, a public line network, and a mobile phone network can be adopted as the network 150. Further, if a virtual private network technology such as VPN is used, communication with improved security is established when the Internet is adopted.

  Hereinafter, the actual procedure of the map information provision support method will be described with reference to the drawings. Various operations corresponding to the map information provision support method described below are realized by the program 102 that the system 100 reads out to the memory 103 and executes. And this program 102 is comprised from the code | cord | chord for performing the various operation | movement demonstrated below.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an actual procedure in the map information client 200 in the present embodiment. First, in describing the map information provision support method of the present invention, the processing in the map information client 200 will be outlined. It is assumed that the electronic pen map 210 exists in advance on the recipient side. When the map information client 200 optically reads the electronic pen map 210 by the electronic pen 201 (s1000), the map information client 200 acquires information of the dot pattern 211 in the electronic pen map 210. Then, after generating the dot pattern management ID, an inquiry request including the dot pattern management ID is transmitted to the system 100 (s1100: process A).

  If the processing result processed in response to the inquiry request is received from the system 100 and the processing result informs the generation of the charge when the map information is used, a charge approval request including the user ID is sent to the system 100. (S1200: Process B). The user ID is, for example, the ID of the information provider in providing the “providing type” map information, that is, the user ID in the map dot pattern database 125.

  When the billing process corresponding to the billing approval request is executed in the system 100, the provided map information is transmitted from the system 100 to the map information client 200. The map information client 200 receives and acquires it (s1300), extracts a map corresponding to the provided map information from the map database 203, and outputs it to an output interface or the like (s1400: process C). The process in the map information client 200 ends here.

  Next, the actual procedure of the map information provision support method in the present embodiment will be described in line with the processing in the system 100. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an actual procedure of the map information provision support method in the present embodiment. In accordance with the processing A in the map information client 200, the system 100 first receives an optical reading result of the electronic pen map 210 by the electronic pen 201 in the map information client 200 from the map information client 200, that is, the Receive an inquiry request. Then, the dot pattern management ID (dot pattern information) included in this inquiry request is extracted, and this dot pattern management ID is collated in the map dot pattern database 125 to obtain information on the corresponding latitude and the corresponding longitude at the corresponding scale. It is specified as provided map information (s1101).

  Next, the system 100 refers to the provision availability information corresponding to the corresponding dot pattern management ID in the charge management database 129 regarding the provision map information. Here, the system 100 determines whether the record of the corresponding dot pattern management ID is “providing type” that does not include “user ID”, and whether the time limit information does not exceed the current time (s1102). If the record is “provided” and is within the time limit (s1102: YES), it is determined that there is no problem in transmitting the provided map information to the map information client 200, and the corresponding provided map information is assigned to the map information client 200. (S1107), and the process ends.

  On the other hand, if it is not determined in the determination that the record is “providing type” and that it is within the time limit (s1102: NO), that is, any information provider who has the electronic pen map 210 in hand uses it. The system 100 recognizes that the record is not a “provided” record that can be used, but a “used” record that requires payment when the map information is used, or a record that has expired.

  Therefore, the system 100 transmits, for example, billing confirmation information indicating that billing settlement is required to the map information client 200, and executes the process B flow. Upon receiving this charge confirmation, the map information client 200 transmits, for example, a user ID based on the dot pattern 212 of the distribution printed matter 214 (see FIG. 3) to the system 100, and executes a charge approval request.

  The system 100 receives the charging approval request (s1103), and determines whether the user ID exists in the charging management database 129 (s1104). If it is determined by this determination that the user ID does not exist in the charge management database 129 (s1104: NO), the dot pattern is not “providing type” but “use type” but has not been charged. Error information is returned to the map information client 200 for provision as a processing request corresponding to the management ID (s1105), and the processing is terminated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined by the determination s1104 that the user ID exists in the charging management database 129 (s1104: YES), the system 100 updates various information such as a usage history in the charging management database 129 and performs the charging process. (S1106), the provided map information is transmitted to the map information client 200 (s1107), and the process is terminated.

  The procedure for creating the map dot pattern database will also be described. FIG. 11 shows an example of creation processing of the usage-type map dot pattern database 126. First, the system 100 acquires, for example, the user ID of an information provider who has received a request for use in advance (s1600). Also, the scale information, latitude information, longitude information, and time limit information, which are map information, Acquired in response to a request from the information provider (s1601). Further, the system 100 takes in the usage type dot pattern data 1100 generated in advance according to the scale, latitude, longitude, etc. on the premise of the setting of the “user ID” and the charge management as the usage type (s1602). The system 100 synthesizes the map information acquired from the information provider and the usage type dot pattern data (s1603) and stores them in the usage type map dot pattern database 126.

  Similarly, an example of processing for creating the provision-type map dot pattern database 127 as shown in FIG. 12 will be described. The system 100 takes in the scale, latitude, and longitude information from the map coordinate database 128 (s1500). Then, provision-type dot pattern data 1200 generated in accordance with the scale, latitude, longitude, etc. on the premise that setting of the “user ID” is not required as the provision type is fetched (s1501). The system 100 synthesizes the acquired data from the map coordinate database 128 and the provision type dot pattern data (s1502) and stores them in the provision type map dot pattern database 127. The processing from step s1500 to s1502 is repeated until there is no corresponding information in the map coordinate database 128.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide simple, reliable and efficient map information to a map information client.
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described concretely based on the embodiment, it is not limited to this and can be variously changed in the range which does not deviate from the summary.

It is a network block diagram including the map information provision support system in this embodiment. (A) The outline figure of an electronic pen in this embodiment, (b) The figure which shows the printing arrangement | sequence of the dot pattern in the map for electronic pens, (c) The figure which shows the example of generation | occurrence | production of dot pattern management ID. It is a schematic diagram of the map for electronic pens in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the matching pattern with the dot pattern in this embodiment, a scale, the latitude longitude, and an information provider, (a) The example of matching at the time of use type service, (b) The example of matching at the time of provision type service It is. It is a figure which shows the map dot pattern database in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the utilization type | mold map dot pattern database in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the provision type | mold map dot pattern database in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the accounting management database in this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the actual procedure in the map information client in this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the actual procedure of the map information provision assistance method in this embodiment. It is an example of a creation process of a usage-type map dot pattern database in the present embodiment. It is an example of creation processing of a provision type map dot pattern database in the present embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Map information provision support system, system 101 Program 102 Memory | storage device 103 Memory 104 CPU 105 I / O part 110 Reading result acquisition part 111 Provision map information specific | specification part 112 Information provision part 113 Provision availability determination part 125 Map dot pattern database 126 Use type Dot pattern database 127 Provided dot pattern database 128 Map coordinate database 129 Charge management database 130 Electronic pen designation position management server 131 Map management server 132 User management server 150 Network 200 Map information client 201 Electronic pen 202 (electronic pen) pen tip 203 (Electronic pen) camera function 204 (electronic pen) memory function 205 (electronic pen) communication function 203 map database 210 print medium 21 Dot pattern 212 a dot pattern printed arrangement 213 dot pattern Numerical Example 214 dot pattern with a print

Claims (4)

The computing device of the client connected to the electronic pen
A server in which dot pattern information, which is an optical reading result for a print medium on which a dot pattern capable of uniquely specifying each print position is printed, is acquired from the electronic pen, and the dot pattern information is connected via a network. Execute the process to send to the computer,
Each dot pattern information of the print medium, map information that associates a scale, latitude, and longitude on a map, a user ID that identifies an information provider who bears the provision cost of the map information, and the map information A map dot pattern database stored in association with the provision deadline and a charge storing information including a charge information and a use history information limit for each user ID associated with each dot pattern information in the map dot pattern database A computing device of a server computer comprising a management database,
Processing for receiving dot pattern information from the client via the network;
A process of collating the received dot pattern information in the map dot pattern database and identifying information of the corresponding latitude and corresponding longitude at the corresponding scale as provided map information;
A process of collating the received dot pattern information in the map dot pattern database, determining whether the corresponding record does not include a user ID and the provision deadline does not exceed the current time;
As a result of the determination, if the corresponding record does not include the user ID and is within the provision time limit, the specified provided map information is transmitted to the client via the network, and the corresponding record is the user ID. Or a payment confirmation notification is sent to the client, a charging approval request is received from the client corresponding to the notification, and the user ID is associated with the user ID in the charging management database. Updating the usage history information, performing the billing process, and executing the process of transmitting the specified provided map information to the client via the network,
The computing device of the client is
Receiving the provided map information from the server computer via the network;
Based on the received provided map information, a process of extracting a corresponding map image from a map database in which latitude and longitude information and map image data are stored in association with each other, and outputting the map image to a display device;
Receiving the billing confirmation notification from the server computer via the network, and receiving the billing approval request and returning the billing approval request to the server computer.
A map information providing support method characterized by that. In claim 1,
A map information providing method, wherein the print medium is printed with only a dot pattern corresponding to map information relating to a specific place. The information of the dot pattern of each printing position is uniquely identifiable dot pattern is an optically read results for printing print media, acquired from the connected electronic pen, and clients that transmitted the dot pattern information A server computer communicably connected via a network,
Each dot pattern information of the print medium, map information that associates a scale, latitude, and longitude on a map, a user ID that identifies an information provider who bears the provision cost of the map information, and the map information Map dot pattern database that stores the provision deadline of
For each user ID associated with each dot pattern information in the map dot pattern database, a charging management database storing information including charging information and usage history information limit;
Processing for receiving dot pattern information from the client via the network;
A process of collating the received dot pattern information in the map dot pattern database and identifying information of the corresponding latitude and corresponding longitude at the corresponding scale as provided map information;
A process of collating the received dot pattern information in the map dot pattern database, determining whether the corresponding record does not include a user ID and the provision deadline does not exceed the current time;
As a result of the determination, if the corresponding record does not include the user ID and is within the provision time limit, the specified provided map information is transmitted to the client via the network, and the corresponding record is the user ID. Or a payment confirmation notification is sent to the client, a charging approval request is received from the client corresponding to the notification, and the user ID is associated with the user ID in the charging management database. An arithmetic unit that executes the process of updating the usage history information and performing the accounting process, and then transmitting the specified provided map information to the client via the network;
A server computer characterized by comprising: A client that acquires dot pattern information, which is an optical reading result for a printing medium on which a dot pattern capable of uniquely specifying each print position is printed, from a connected electronic pen and transmits the dot pattern information Connected through a network,
Each dot pattern information of the print medium, map information that associates a scale, latitude, and longitude on a map, a user ID that identifies an information provider who bears the provision cost of the map information, and the map information Map dot pattern database that stores the provision deadline of
For each user ID associated with each dot pattern information in the map dot pattern database, a server computer comprising a charging management database storing information including charging information and usage history information limit,
Processing for receiving dot pattern information from the client via the network;
A process of collating the received dot pattern information in the map dot pattern database and identifying information of the corresponding latitude and corresponding longitude at the corresponding scale as provided map information;
A process of collating the received dot pattern information in the map dot pattern database, determining whether the corresponding record does not include a user ID and the provision deadline does not exceed the current time;
As a result of the determination, if the corresponding record does not include the user ID and is within the provision time limit, the specified provided map information is transmitted to the client via the network, and the corresponding record is the user ID. includes, or if it exceeds the offer date, and transmits a charging confirmation notification to the client, receiving a billing authorization request from the client that corresponds to the notification, with relation to the user ID in the billing management database Updating the usage history information, performing the accounting process, and transmitting the specified provided map information to the client via the network;
A program characterized by having executed.

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