JP5438795B2 - Mediation device, position information use system, computer program, and mediation method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an intermediary device that mediates position information of a mobile terminal device.

Mobile terminal devices having a function of measuring their own position with high accuracy have become widespread. The location information use service that uses the location information of the mobile terminal device includes, for example, a service that informs the location of the mobile terminal device in response to an inquiry from the family of the user of the mobile terminal device or an affiliated organization. There is also a service for sending advertisements, coupons, and the like of stores near a point where the mobile terminal device is located to the mobile terminal device by e-mail or the like.
In order to receive the location information use service, it is necessary to inform the service provider (location information use device) of the location of the mobile terminal device. However, there is a case where the location information using device is not notified to the location information using device because the detailed location of the mobile terminal device is not desired or the location information may be leaked or misused. This hinders the spread of location information use services.
In order to solve this problem, there has been proposed a position information management system in which a position error of a mobile terminal apparatus is added with an error such as a random error or a rounding error to blur and manage the position.

JP 2009-296452 A JP 2005-291785 A

For example, in a service that provides information on a store near the mobile terminal device, if the location information is blurred, the accuracy of determining whether the store is near the mobile terminal device is deteriorated, and the convenience of the service is impaired. .
Further, in order to receive a coupon or the like, if the contact information such as an e-mail address is notified to the position information using device, the user can be identified using this. By accumulating the position information that identifies the user, the influence of the added error can be weakened, and the user's home location or the like may be specified.

  An object of the present invention is to make it possible to receive a service using the position information of the mobile terminal device without the detailed position of the mobile terminal device being known to the position information using device, for example.

An intermediary device according to the present invention includes a processing device that processes data, an input device that inputs data, an output device that outputs data, a position acquisition unit, a position processing unit, a search request acquisition unit, and a search unit And a provision request acquisition unit and a provision unit,
The position acquisition unit acquires position information representing the position of the mobile terminal device using the input device,
The position processing unit uses the processing device to process the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit by a method set by a user of the mobile terminal device,
The search request acquisition unit uses the input device to acquire a search request including a search condition including a position condition from the position information use device,
The search unit determines whether or not the mobile terminal device satisfies the search condition based on the position information processed by the position processing unit using the processing device,
The provision request acquisition unit uses the input device to acquire a provision request for requesting to provide information to a mobile terminal device that satisfies the search condition from the position information use device,
The providing unit provides the information to the user of the mobile terminal device when the search unit determines that the mobile terminal device satisfies the search condition using the output device. Features.

The intermediary device according to the present invention further includes a location request acquisition unit and a location notification unit,
The location request acquisition unit acquires a location request for requesting location information of the mobile terminal device from the location information use device using the input device,
The position notifying unit notifies the position information using device of the position information processed by the position processing unit using the output device.

The mediation apparatus according to the present invention further includes an inquiry notification unit,
When the search unit determines that the mobile terminal device satisfies the search condition using the output device, the inquiry notifying unit notifies the user of the mobile terminal device of the position of the mobile terminal device. It is characterized by notifying that there has been an inquiry about information.

The mediation apparatus according to the present invention further includes an inquiry notification unit,
The inquiry notifying unit notifies the user of the mobile terminal device that there has been an inquiry about the location information of the mobile terminal device, using the output device.

In the intermediary device according to the present invention, the position processing unit includes:
Based on the position of the mobile terminal device represented by the position information, a region including the position is determined from a plurality of regions, and information representing the determined region is used as position information after processing of the mobile terminal device. It is characterized by.

In the intermediary device according to the present invention, the position processing unit includes:
A position represented by coordinates obtained by adding an error value having an absolute value less than or equal to an upper limit value designated by the user of the mobile terminal device to the coordinates representing the position of the mobile terminal device is defined as the position of the mobile terminal device. It is characterized by.

In the intermediary device according to the present invention, the position processing unit includes:
The position represented by the coordinates obtained by rounding the coordinates representing the position of the mobile terminal device to the number of significant digits specified by the user of the mobile terminal device is the position of the mobile terminal device.

The intermediary device according to the present invention further includes a position estimation unit,
The position estimation unit estimates the position of the mobile terminal device based on the position of the mobile terminal device at a plurality of times represented by the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit using the processing device,
The position processing unit processes position information representing the position estimated by the position estimation unit using the processing device.

  The position information use system according to the present invention includes a mobile terminal device carried by a user and the mediation device.

  When the computer program according to the present invention is executed by a computer having a processing device for processing data, an input device for inputting data, and an output device for outputting data, the computer functions as the mediating device. It is characterized by.

An intermediary method according to the present invention is a mediation method in which an intermediary device having a processing device that processes data, an input device that inputs data, and an output device that outputs data mediates position information.
The input device acquires position information indicating the position of the mobile terminal device,
The processing device processes the position information acquired by the input device according to a method set by a user of the mobile terminal device,
The input device acquires a search request including a search condition including a position condition from the position information using device,
The processing device determines whether or not the mobile terminal device satisfies the search condition based on the processed location information,
Obtaining a provision request for requesting the input device to provide information to the mobile terminal device satisfying the search condition from the position information using device,
The output device provides the information to a user of the mobile terminal device when the processing device determines that the mobile terminal device satisfies the search condition.

  According to the mediating apparatus according to the present invention, for example, a service using the location information of the mobile terminal device can be received without the location information using device knowing the detailed location of the mobile terminal device.

1 is a system configuration diagram illustrating an example of an overall configuration of a location information use system 10 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure which arranged according to the role of the example of the whole structure of the positional information usage system 10 in Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a system configuration diagram illustrating another example of the overall configuration of the position information use system 10 according to the first embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the hardware resource of the mobile terminal device 12, the positional information mediation apparatus 14, and the positional information utilization apparatus 16 in Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of a mobile terminal device 12 according to the first embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the user information data D12 which the user information management part 21 in Embodiment 1 memorize | stores. The figure which shows an example of the usage information data D13 which the usage information management part 24 in Embodiment 1 memorize | stores. The figure which shows an example of the disclosure information data D14 which the disclosure information management part 27 in Embodiment 1 memorize | stores. The figure which shows an example of the positional information data D15 showing the positional information which the position acquisition part 29 in Embodiment 1 acquires. The figure which shows an example of the inquiry information data D16 which the inquiry information management part 32 in Embodiment 1 memorize | stores. The figure which shows the specific example of the data which the mobile terminal device 12 in Embodiment 1 manages, transmits, or receives. The block diagram which shows an example of the functional block of the positional information mediation apparatus 14 in Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure which shows an example of the browsing information data D17 which the browsing information management part 50 in Embodiment 1 memorize | stores. The figure which shows an example of the inquiry request data D18 showing the inquiry request which the inquiry request receiving part 51 in Embodiment 1 receives. The figure which shows another example of the inquiry request data D18 showing the inquiry request which the inquiry request receiving part 51 in Embodiment 1 receives. The figure which shows an example of the inquiry result data D19 showing the inquiry result which the inquiry result transmission part 54 in Embodiment 1 produces | generates. The figure which shows another example of the inquiry result data D19 showing the inquiry result which the inquiry result transmission part 54 in Embodiment 1 produces | generates. The figure which shows the specific example of the data which the positional information mediation apparatus 14 in Embodiment 1 manages, receives, or processes. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of position inquiry processing S12 in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of position processing S27 in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an image of processing in a bias application step S71 in the first embodiment. The figure which shows the image of the process in the significant digit rounding process S73 in Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure which shows the image of the process in the address cutting process S75 in Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure which shows the image of the process in station conversion process S76, route conversion process S78, and company conversion process S79 in Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure which shows the image of the process in the mesh conversion process S85 in Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of service provision processing S14 in the first embodiment.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
The first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the position information use system 10 in this embodiment.

In the position information use system 10, the user terminal device A measures its own position using a positioning satellite such as GPS (Global Positioning System) or QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellites System). The user terminal device A transmits terminal location information representing its own location to the location information mediating device via a terminal relay station or a network.
In the position information mediating apparatus, the position information receiving unit receives the terminal position information. The position information processing unit processes the terminal position information based on the user information stored in the user information storage unit, the usage information stored in the usage information storage unit, and the like. The processing terminal position information transmission unit transmits the processing terminal position information obtained by processing the terminal position information to the service providing apparatus via a network or a terminal relay station.
In the service providing apparatus, the processing terminal position information receiving unit receives the processing terminal position information. The service information creation processing unit generates service information based on information stored in the information storage unit. The service information transmission unit transmits the service information to the location information mediating apparatus via a network or the like.
The location information mediating apparatus receives service information.
The processing terminal position information is also transmitted to the user terminal device B.
Further, the processing terminal position information can be transmitted together with the service information.
The position information mediating apparatus also transmits the service information and the processing terminal position information to the user terminal apparatus A via a network, a terminal relay station, or the like as necessary.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram in which an example of the entire configuration of the position information use system 10 in this embodiment is arranged according to roles.

An apparatus that measures its own position and notifies the position information mediating apparatus such as “user terminal apparatus A” described with reference to FIG. 1 is referred to as “mobile terminal apparatus 12”.
Further, a device that uses the processing terminal position information processed by the position information mediating device 14 such as the “user terminal device B” or “service providing device” described in FIG. 1 is referred to as a “position information using device 16”. .
Further, the “network 18” includes not only the “network” described with reference to FIG. 1 but also the entire system that mediates communication between devices such as a “terminal relay station”.

The location information use system 10 includes a mobile terminal device 12, a location information mediation device 14, and a location information use device 16. The mobile terminal device 12, the position information mediating device 14, and the position information using device 16 may each have a plurality of configurations.
The mobile terminal device 12, the location information mediating device 14, and the location information using device 16 are connected to a network 18 such as a public telephone line or the Internet. The mobile terminal device 12 and the location information mediating device 14 communicate via the network 18. Similarly, the location information mediating device 14 and the location information using device 16 communicate via the network 18. However, the mobile terminal device 12 and the location information using device 16 do not communicate directly.

  FIG. 3 is a system configuration diagram showing another example of the overall configuration of the position information use system 10 in this embodiment.

  In this example, the mobile terminal device 12 and the location information mediating device 14 are devices that are physically integrated. The location information mediating device 14 and the location information using device 16 are connected to a network 18. The location information mediating device 14 and the location information using device 16 communicate via a network 18.

  The user carries the mobile terminal device 12 (or the device in which the mobile terminal device 12 and the location information mediating device 14 are integrated). The mobile terminal device 12 informs the location information mediating device 14 of its location information.

  The position information using device 16 uses the position information of the mobile terminal device 12 via the position information mediating device 14. For example, the location information using device 16 receives the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 via the location information mediating device 14 and displays where the mobile terminal device 12 is. Alternatively, the location information using device 16 specifies a search condition for the location of the mobile terminal device 12 and provides the service to the mobile terminal device 12 that satisfies the search condition via the location information mediating device 14. For example, the location information using device 16 provides the mobile terminal device 12 in the vicinity of a predetermined store via the location information mediating device 14 with information about products handled in the store, or the store. Distribute coupons that can be used in

  Alternatively, a user's family at a distant place uses the position information using device 16 to know the current position of the user. For example, if an accident such as a disaster occurs near the location where the user is located, if the current location of the user is far from the location where the damage occurred, it can be immediately understood that there is no possibility of being damaged. . Despite the lack of local information, the user's family can be reassured.

The location information mediating device 14 causes the location information using device 16 to use the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 only within the range permitted by the user of the mobile terminal device 12.
For example, when the location information using device 16 requests the location information of the mobile terminal device 12, the location information mediating device 14 informs the location information using device 16 of the location information with the accuracy permitted by the user of the mobile terminal device 12, More detailed location information is not reported. This prevents the location information using device 16 from knowing information that the user of the mobile terminal device 12 does not want the location information using device 16 to know, such as the home location of the user of the mobile terminal device 12. be able to.
Alternatively, when the location information using device 16 requests the mobile terminal device 12 within a predetermined range to distribute product information, a coupon ticket, etc., the location information mediating device 14 determines that the mobile terminal device satisfies the specified condition. 12, product information and coupons are distributed in place of the position information using device 16. The location information mediating device 14 notifies the location information using device 16 only of the number of mobile terminal devices 12 to be distributed, and identifies the location of each mobile terminal device 12 and the mobile terminal device 12 to be distributed. Information that can be done is not notified. As a result, the user of the mobile terminal device 12 does not need to know the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 unnecessarily to the location information using device 16.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of hardware resources of the mobile terminal device 12, the location information mediating device 14, and the location information using device 16 in this embodiment.

The mobile terminal device 12, the location information mediating device 14, and the location information using device 16 are computers having a processing device 91, a storage device 94, an input device 92, and an output device 93, for example.
The processing device 91 processes the data by executing a computer program, and controls the input device 92, the output device 93, and the storage device 94.
The storage device 94 stores a computer program executed by the processing device 91, data processed by the processing device 91, and the like.
The input device 92 inputs information from outside and converts it into data that can be processed by the processing device 91. The data converted by the input device 92 may be processed directly by the processing device 91 or may be temporarily stored by the storage device 94. For example, the input device 92 is an operation input device that inputs an operation by an operator, such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch pad. Alternatively, the input device 92 is a camera that captures still images, moving images, and the like. Alternatively, the input device 92 is a microphone that inputs sound. Alternatively, the input device 92 is a sensor that detects physical quantities such as temperature, acceleration, and direction. Alternatively, the input device 92 is a position measuring device that measures its own position using a global positioning system (GPS) or the like. Alternatively, the input device 92 is an analog-digital converter that converts an analog signal into digital data. Alternatively, the input device 92 is a receiving device that receives and decodes a signal transmitted by another device.
The output device 93 converts the data processed by the processing device 91 and the data stored in the storage device 94 and outputs them to the outside. For example, the output device 93 is a display device that displays still images, moving images, characters, and the like. Alternatively, the output device 93 is a speaker that outputs sound. Alternatively, the output device 93 is a mechanical element that performs a mechanical operation such as a motor. Alternatively, the output device 93 is a digital-analog converter that converts digital data into an analog signal. Alternatively, the output device 93 is a transmission device that transmits a signal modulated by a predetermined modulation method to another device.

  Functional blocks such as the mobile terminal device 12 described below can be realized by the processing device 91 executing a computer program stored in the storage device 94, for example. However, the functional blocks described below may be realized by other configurations such as other electrical configurations such as analog circuits or mechanical configurations.

  FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing an example of functional blocks of the mobile terminal device 12 in this embodiment.

  The mobile terminal device 12 is a terminal device carried by a user, such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, or a laptop computer. The mobile terminal device 12 includes, for example, a user information input unit 20, a user information management unit 21, a user information transmission unit 22, a usage information reception unit 23, a usage information management unit 24, and a usage information display unit. 25, disclosure information input unit 26, disclosure information management unit 27, disclosure information transmission unit 28, position acquisition unit 29, position information transmission unit 30, inquiry information reception unit 31, inquiry information management unit 32, , A reference information display unit 33, a provision information reception unit 34, a provision information management unit 35, and a provision information display unit 36.

The user information input unit 20 uses the input device 92 such as an operation input device to input basic information about the user of the mobile terminal device 12 (hereinafter referred to as “user information”). The user information includes, for example, information such as the user's name, e-mail address, gender, date of birth, and address. The user information input unit 20 may be configured to acquire user information from information registered in advance in the mobile terminal device 12.
Using the storage device 94, the user information management unit 21 stores data representing user information input by the user information input unit 20 (hereinafter referred to as “user information data”).
The user information transmitting unit 22 transmits information represented by the user information data stored in the user information managing unit 21 to the position information mediating device 14 using an output device 93 such as a transmitting device.

The use information receiving unit 23 receives information about the position information using device 16 (hereinafter referred to as “use information”) from the position information mediating device 14 using an input device 92 such as a receiving device. The usage information includes, for example, information such as the name of the user and what the user does using the location information.
The usage information management unit 24 uses the storage device 94 to store data representing the usage information received by the usage information receiving unit 23 (hereinafter referred to as “use information data”).
The usage information display unit 25 displays information represented by the usage information data stored by the usage information management unit 24 using an output device 93 such as a display device.

  The user of the mobile terminal device 12 looks at the information displayed by the usage information display unit 25 and determines how far the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 is disclosed to the location information usage device 16.

The disclosure information input unit 26 uses the input device 92 such as an operation input device to indicate the location information use device 16 that the user has determined that the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 may be disclosed, information to be disclosed, and the like. (Hereinafter referred to as “disclosure information”).
The disclosure information management unit 27 uses the storage device 94 to store data representing the disclosure information input by the disclosure information input unit 26 (hereinafter referred to as “disclosure information data”).
The disclosure information transmission unit 28 transmits information represented by the disclosure information data stored in the disclosure information management unit 27 to the position information mediating device 14 using the output device 93 such as a transmission device.

The position acquisition unit 29 acquires information indicating the position of the mobile terminal device 12 (hereinafter referred to as “position information”) using an input device 92 such as a position measurement device. The position information includes, for example, latitude and longitude. For example, the position acquisition unit 29 measures the position of the mobile terminal device 12 by GPS. Alternatively, the position acquisition unit 29 calculates the position of the mobile terminal device 12 using the processing device 91 based on information such as a base station and an access point to which the mobile terminal device 12 is connected. Alternatively, the location acquisition unit 29 receives information indicating the location of the base station, access point, etc. from the base station, access point, etc. to which the mobile terminal device 12 is connected, using the input device 92 such as a receiving device. The position of the mobile terminal device 12 is considered.
The position information transmission unit 30 transmits information representing the position of the mobile terminal device 12 acquired by the position acquisition unit 29 to the position information mediating device 14 using an output device 93 such as a transmission device. The accuracy of the position of the mobile terminal device 12 represented by the information transmitted by the position information transmission unit 30 is the same as the accuracy of the position acquired by the position acquisition unit 29. For example, assuming that the position acquisition unit 29 has acquired position information having accuracy up to the fifth decimal place for the latitude and longitude, the position information transmission unit 30 includes latitude and longitude having accuracy to the fifth decimal place. Is transmitted to the position information mediating apparatus 14. Since the latitude of 1 degree is about 100 km, the position information mediating apparatus 14 knows the position of the mobile terminal apparatus 12 with a high accuracy of an error of about 1 m. However, since the position information mediating apparatus 14 processes the position information based on the disclosed information and then discloses the position information to the position information using apparatus 16, the position information using apparatus 16 does not obtain unnecessary detailed position information.

  The location information mediating device 14 may be configured to acquire information representing the location of the mobile terminal device 12 from a base station or an access point to which the mobile terminal device 12 is connected. In this case, the mobile terminal device 12 may be configured without the position acquisition unit 29 or the position information transmission unit 30.

The inquiry information receiving unit 31 uses the input device 92 such as a receiving device to inquire about the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 by the location information using device 16, the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 disclosed thereby, etc. Information (hereinafter referred to as “inquiry information”) is received from the position information mediating apparatus 14.
The inquiry information management unit 32 uses the storage device 94 to store data representing the inquiry information received by the inquiry information receiving unit 31 (hereinafter referred to as “inquiry information data”).
The inquiry information display unit 33 displays information represented by the inquiry information data stored in the inquiry information management unit 32 using an output device 93 such as a display device.

The provided information receiving unit 34 uses the input device 92 such as a receiving device, and information such as product information and coupons provided by the location information using device 16 based on the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 (hereinafter “provided information”). Is received from the position information mediating apparatus 14.
The provided information management unit 35 uses the storage device 94 to store data representing the provided information received by the provided information receiving unit 34 (hereinafter referred to as “provided information data”).
The provided information display unit 36 displays information represented by the provided information data stored by the provided information management unit 35 using an output device 93 such as a display device.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of user information data D12 stored by the user information management unit 21 in this embodiment.

The user information data D12 includes, for example, user identifier data D20, user name data D21, mail address data D22, gender data D23, date of birth data D24, and address data D25.
The user identifier data D20 is data representing identification information (hereinafter referred to as “user identifier”) for uniquely identifying the user of the mobile terminal device 12 or the mobile terminal device 12 in the location information use system 10. is there. The user identifier is, for example, the login name of the user of the mobile terminal device 12 or the telephone number of the mobile terminal device 12. The user information data D12 may be configured not to include the user identifier data D20. This is because the location information mediating device 14 can determine the user identifier of the mobile terminal device 12 based on the mobile terminal device 12 that has transmitted the user information.

The user name data D21 is data representing the name of the user of the mobile terminal device 12 (hereinafter referred to as “user name”).
The mail address data D22 is data representing a mail address of an electronic mail that can be received by the mobile terminal device 12. The mail address data D22 is used, for example, to transmit usage information, inquiry information, and provision information to the mobile terminal device 12 by using the e-mail addressed to the mail address represented by the mail address data D22 by the position information mediating device 14. It is done.
The sex data D23 is data representing the sex of the user of the mobile terminal device 12. The gender data D23 is, for example, when the position information using device 16 specifies the gender of the user of the mobile terminal device 12 as a condition for narrowing down the mobile terminal devices 12 that provide the provided information. Used.
The date of birth data D24 is data representing the date of birth of the user of the mobile terminal device 12. For example, the date of birth data D24 narrows down the mobile terminal devices 12 to which the location information using device 16 provides the provided information. When the user's age or month of birth of the mobile terminal device 12 is specified as a condition for this, the location information mediating device 14 uses it.
The address data D25 is data representing the address of the user of the mobile terminal device 12. The address data D25 is, for example, the location information when the location information using device 16 specifies the area where the user of the mobile terminal device 12 lives as a condition for narrowing down the mobile terminal devices 12 that provide the provided information. Used by the intermediary device 14.
The user information data D12 is not limited to these, and may include data representing other information.
Since the user information is personal information of the user of the mobile terminal device 12, the user information is not disclosed to the location information using device 16 even if it is used by the location information mediating device 14. For this reason, the user of the mobile terminal device 12 can register the user information in the position information mediating device 14 with peace of mind.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the usage information data D13 stored in the usage information management unit 24 according to this embodiment.

  The usage information data D13 includes, for example, user identifier data D30, user name data D31, URL data D32, mail address data D33, usage content data D34, recommended disclosure content data D35, and inquiry notification presence / absence data. D38.

The user identifier data D30 is data representing identification information (hereinafter referred to as “user identifier”) for uniquely identifying the position information use device 16 in the position information use system 10.
The user name data D31 is data representing the name or the like (hereinafter referred to as “user name”) of the subject (hereinafter referred to as “location information user”) operating the position information using device 16.
The URL data D32 is data representing a URL such as a home page of the location information user.
The mail address data D33 is data representing the mail address of the position information user.
The usage content data D34 indicates how the location information using device 16 uses the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 and what the user of the mobile terminal device 12 is by disclosing the location information to the location information using device 16. It is data representing an explanation of how profit can be obtained (hereinafter referred to as “usage content”).

The recommended disclosure content data D35 is data representing the disclosure content of the location information (hereinafter referred to as “recommended disclosure content”) required by the location information using device 16 in order to give a predetermined benefit to the user. In other words, it is not necessary to disclose position information more detailed than the recommended disclosure content to the position information using device 16. In addition, the user of the mobile terminal device 12 knows that there is a possibility that the predetermined profit may not be obtained, and decides to disclose the location information that is less accurate than the recommended disclosure content to the location information use device 16. May be. For example, when the location information using device 16 provides a service that teaches information on a store near a location where the mobile terminal device 12 is located, location information with an accuracy of about 100 m is sufficient, and more detailed information is available. unnecessary. Conversely, if only location information with lower accuracy is disclosed, information on a store far from the location of the mobile terminal device 12 may be provided. The user of the mobile terminal device 12 considers such points and determines how far the position information is disclosed. The recommended disclosure content data D35 includes, for example, recommended disclosure method data D36 and recommended disclosure accuracy data D37. The recommended disclosure method data D36 is data representing a position information disclosure method (hereinafter referred to as “recommended disclosure method”) required by the position information using device 16. The recommended disclosure accuracy data D37 is data representing the disclosure accuracy (hereinafter referred to as “recommended disclosure accuracy”) of position information required by the position information using device 16. The disclosure method and the disclosure accuracy will be described later.
The usage information data D13 may have a plurality of recommended disclosure content data D35. The plurality of recommended disclosure content data D35 represents, for example, a plurality of different recommended disclosure methods, and represents the recommended disclosure accuracy for each disclosure method.
The inquiry notification presence / absence data D38 is data indicating whether or not to notify the mobile terminal device 12 when the location information using device 16 inquires the location information of the mobile terminal device 12. If the operating entity of the location information using device 16 does not want the user of the mobile terminal device 12 to know that the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 has been inquired, the mobile terminal device 12 is not notified of this. can do. Instead, the inquiry notification presence / absence data D38 is notified to the user of the mobile terminal device 12, so that the user determines that the operating entity of the location information using device 16 cannot be trusted and Therefore, there is a possibility that the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 is not disclosed.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the disclosure information data D14 stored in the disclosure information management unit 27 in this embodiment.

  The disclosure information data D14 includes, for example, user identifier data D40, user identifier data D41, usage method type data D42, disclosure content data D43, and inquiry notification condition data D48.

The user identifier data D40 is the same data as the user identifier data D20 included in the user information data D12. The user identifier represented by the user identifier data D40 is used to specify the mobile terminal device 12 that discloses the position information. The disclosed information data D14 may be configured not to include the user identifier data D40.
The user identifier data D41 is the same data as the user identifier data D30 included in the usage information data D13. The user identifier represented by the user identifier data D41 is used to specify the location information use device 16 that the user of the mobile terminal device 12 determines to disclose location information.

  The usage method type data D42 is data representing a type of information that the mobile terminal device 12 permits the location information mediating device 14 to disclose to the location information use device 16 (hereinafter referred to as “use method type”). is there. For example, the position information user is a person who has a personal connection with the user such as the family or work place of the user of the mobile terminal device 12, and the position information use device 16 determines the position of the mobile terminal device 12. When making an inquiry to the mediating device 14, the location information mediating device 14 discloses the location information itself of the mobile terminal device 12 to the location information using device 16 with a disclosure method and accuracy specified by the user of the mobile terminal device 12. To do. Further, when the location information user provides a service to the mobile terminal device 12 that satisfies a predetermined search condition including the location of the mobile terminal device 12, the location information mediating device 14 uses the user of the mobile terminal device 12. It is determined whether or not the search condition is satisfied based on the position information of the disclosure method / disclosure accuracy specified by. In this case, the location information mediating device 14 does not disclose the location information itself of the specific mobile terminal device 12 to the location information using device 16. As described above, the location information usage method of the mobile terminal device 12 is disclosed as follows: the location information use device 16 discloses the location information itself and directly uses it, and the location information use device 16 discloses the location information itself. There is a usage method that allows it to be used indirectly. The usage method type represents, for example, whether or not the user of the mobile terminal device 12 is allowed to directly use the location information use device 16 of the location information of the mobile terminal device 12.

  The disclosure content data D43 is data representing a disclosure method and disclosure accuracy of location information that is permitted to be used by the user of the mobile terminal device 12 to the location information using device 16. The disclosure content data D43 includes, for example, disclosure condition data D44, disclosure method data D45, disclosure accuracy data D46, and position type data D47.

  The disclosure condition data D44 is data representing a condition (hereinafter referred to as “disclosure condition”) that causes the position information using apparatus 16 to use the position information of the mobile terminal apparatus 12. The disclosure conditions include, for example, conditions regarding the position of the mobile terminal device 12 and the time zone. As a result, the user of the mobile terminal device 12 can set the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 not to be disclosed to the location information using device 16 when the mobile terminal device 12 is in the vicinity of the home, for example. it can. Further, the user of the mobile terminal device 12 can make a setting such that the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 is not disclosed to the location information using device 16 outside working hours, for example.

  Disclosure method data D45 is data representing a disclosure method of position information when the position information using device 16 uses the position information of the mobile terminal device 12. Examples of the disclosure method include “latitude and longitude”, “mesh”, “address”, “railway”, “bus”, and “road”. “Latitude / longitude” is a disclosure method in which the position of the mobile terminal device 12 is represented by latitude and longitude. “Mesh” is a disclosure method in which a map is divided into a plurality of mesh-shaped areas in advance and the position of the mobile terminal device 12 is represented by a mesh number or the like. The “address” is a disclosure method that represents the position of the mobile terminal device 12 by prefecture or city. “Railway” is a disclosure method in which the position of the mobile terminal device 12 is represented by the nearest station, route name, or the like. “Bus” is a disclosure method in which the location of the mobile terminal device 12 is represented by the nearest bus stop or bus route name. “Road” is a disclosure method in which the position of the mobile terminal device 12 is represented by the closest main road or the like.

The disclosure accuracy data D46 is data representing the disclosure accuracy of the location information when the location information using device 16 uses the location information of the mobile terminal device 12. For example, the disclosure accuracy may be common regardless of the disclosure method, or may be different for each disclosure method. Common disclosure accuracy regardless of the disclosure method includes, for example, the magnitude of a bias (error value) applied to the position of the mobile terminal apparatus 12. Applying a bias to the position of the mobile terminal device 12 means, for example, that a position slightly deviated from the position of the mobile terminal device 12 is regarded as the position of the mobile terminal device 12. It is the maximum distance to shift the position from the real position.
For example, the following disclosure accuracy is different for each disclosure method. When the disclosure method is “latitude and longitude”, the disclosure accuracy includes the number of significant digits of latitude and longitude. When the disclosure method is “mesh”, the disclosure accuracy (disclosure level) includes a mesh interval and the like. When the disclosure method is “address”, the disclosure accuracy (disclosure level) includes “prefecture level”, “city level”, “town name level”, and the like. When the disclosure method is “railway”, the disclosure accuracy (disclosure level) includes “railway company level”, “route level”, “station level”, and the like. When the disclosure method is “bus”, the disclosure accuracy includes “sales office level”, “route level”, “bus stop level”, and the like. When the start method is “road”, the disclosure accuracy (disclosure level) includes “national road level”, “main local road level”, “prefectural road level”, “city road level”, and the like.

  The location type data D47 is data representing the type of location information (hereinafter referred to as “location type”) when the location information using device 16 is to use the location information of the mobile terminal device 12. Examples of the position type include “final position” and “estimated position”. The “final position” is a position represented by the position information last transmitted by the mobile terminal apparatus 12 to the position information mediating apparatus 14. When the interval at which the mobile terminal apparatus 12 transmits the position information to the position information mediating apparatus 14 is large, the position represented by the last transmitted position information may be greatly different from the current position of the mobile terminal apparatus 12. The “estimated position” is a current position estimated by the position information mediating apparatus 14 based on the position information transmitted from the mobile terminal apparatus 12 to the position information mediating apparatus 14. For example, the position information mediating apparatus 14 estimates the moving direction and moving speed of the mobile terminal apparatus 12 based on the latest plurality of position information, and estimates the current position of the mobile terminal apparatus 12 based on the result.

  The disclosure information data D14 may include a plurality of disclosure content data D43. Then, the disclosure method, the disclosure accuracy, and the like can be changed depending on the situation such as the location and time of the mobile terminal device 12.

The inquiry notification condition data D48 indicates how to notify the mobile terminal apparatus 12 when the position information using apparatus 16 inquires the position information of the mobile terminal apparatus 12 (hereinafter referred to as “inquiry notification condition”). ). The inquiry notification condition includes, for example, a notification type and a notification time. Examples of the notification type include “direct”, “indirect”, and “all”. “Direct” represents notification when the location information itself of the mobile terminal device 12 is disclosed to the location information using device 16. “Indirect” indicates that the mobile terminal apparatus 12 is notified when the search condition specified by the position information using apparatus 16 is met. “All” represents both cases. The notification time includes, for example, “immediate notification”, “periodic notification”, “record”, “non-notification”, and the like. “Immediate notification” is to notify the mobile terminal device 12 immediately whenever the location information using device 16 inquires the location information of the mobile terminal device 12. “Periodical notification” means, for example, once a day, at an interval specified by the user of the mobile terminal device 12 and collectively reporting that the location information using device 16 inquired the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 during that interval. It is to be. “Recording” refers to recording that the location information using device 16 inquired the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 and notifying the recorded content only when a request is received from the mobile terminal device 12. . “Non-notification” means that the mobile terminal device 12 is not notified nor recorded that the location information using device 16 has inquired the location information of the mobile terminal device 12.
When the inquiry notification condition data D48 is other than “non-notification”, the disclosure information management unit 27 determines the location information based on the inquiry notification presence / absence data D38 of the usage information data D13 stored in the usage information management unit 24. It is determined whether or not the use device 16 is set to notify the mobile terminal device 12 that the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 has been inquired. When it is determined that the mobile terminal device 12 is not notified that the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 of the location information using device 16 has been inquired, the disclosure information management unit 27 outputs an output device such as a display device. 93 may be used to display this, and the disclosure information data D14 may not be stored.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of position information data D15 representing position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 29 in this embodiment.

The position information data D15 includes, for example, user identifier data D50, measurement time data D51, latitude data D52, longitude data D53, and measurement accuracy data D54.
The user identifier data D50 is the same data as the user identifier data D20 included in the user information data D12. The user identifier represented by the user identifier data D50 is used to specify the mobile terminal device 12 that transmits the position information. The position information data D15 may be configured not to include the user identifier data D50.
The measurement time data D51 is data representing the time when the position of the mobile terminal device 12 is measured (hereinafter referred to as “measurement time”).
The latitude data D52 is data representing the latitude among the measured positions of the mobile terminal device 12.
The longitude data D53 is data representing longitude among the measured positions of the mobile terminal device 12.
The measurement accuracy data D54 is data representing the measurement accuracy of the position of the mobile terminal device 12.
Note that the position information data D15 may include, for example, altitude data representing the altitude of the position of the mobile terminal device 12.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the inquiry information data D16 stored in the inquiry information management unit 32 according to this embodiment.

The inquiry information data D16 includes, for example, user identifier data D60, inquiry time data D61, and disclosed content data D62.
The user identifier data D60 is the same data as the user identifier data D30 included in the usage information data D13. The user identifier represented by the user identifier data D60 is used to specify the location information use device 16 that has inquired the location information of the mobile terminal device 12.
The inquiry time data D61 is data representing the time (hereinafter referred to as “inquiry time”) when the position information of the mobile terminal device 12 is inquired.
The disclosure content data D62 is data representing the content (hereinafter referred to as “disclosure content”) disclosed by the location information mediating device 14 to the location information using device 16. The disclosed content includes, for example, “direct” and “indirect”. “Direct” represents that the location information itself of the mobile terminal device 12 is disclosed to the location information using device 16. “Indirect” indicates that the mobile terminal apparatus 12 corresponds to the search condition specified by the position information using apparatus 16.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of data managed, transmitted, or received by the mobile terminal apparatus 12 in this embodiment.

  The user information data D12 shown in this example is transmitted by the mobile terminal device 12 of Mr. “Jiro Watanabe” with the user identifier “1” to the location information mediating device 14.

  In the user information data D12, the user identifier data D20 is “1”. The user name data D21 is “Jiro Watanabe”. The mail address data D22 is “xx@yyy.co.jp”. The sex data D23 is “male”. The date of birth data D24 is “xxx year xx month xx day”. The address data D25 is “xx prefecture xx city xx town x chome x number x number”.

  The usage information data D13 shown in this example is transmitted to the location information mediating device 14 by the location information using device 16 of “Corporation xxxx” with the user identifier “s001”.

In the usage information data D13, the user identifier data D30 is “s001”. The user name data D31 is “Corporation zzz”. The URL data D32 is “http://www.zzz.cp.jp/index.html”. The mail address data D33 is “aaa@zzz.co.jp”. The usage content data D34 is “Get a coupon for a nearby store!”. The inquiry notification presence / absence data D38 is “notification”.
The usage information data D13 shown in this example includes two pieces of recommended disclosure content data D35. One is that the recommended disclosure method data D36 is “latitude and longitude”, and the recommended disclosure accuracy data D37 is “third place after the decimal point”. The other is that the recommended disclosure method data D36 is “railway” and the recommended disclosure accuracy data D37 is “station level”. It is recommended to disclose up to “3rd decimal place” when disclosing the location in the “latitude and longitude” format, and to disclose at the nearest station level when disclosing the location in the “railway” format. Represents.

  The disclosed information data D14 shown in this example is transmitted by the mobile terminal device 12 of Mr. “Jiro Watanabe” with the user identifier “1” to the location information mediating device 14.

In the disclosed information data D14, the user identifier data D40 is “1”. The user identifier data D41 is “s001”. This means that Mr. “Jiro Watanabe” with the user identifier “1” discloses the position information to “Corporation xxxx” with the user identifier “s001”.
In the disclosure information data D14 shown in this example, the usage method type data D42 is “indirect”. This represents not disclosing the position information directly but only disclosing information about whether or not the search condition is satisfied.
In the disclosure information data D14 shown in this example, the inquiry notification condition data D48 is “all”. This means that when the location information is disclosed, all of the information is notified to the mobile terminal device 12 regardless of whether it is directly disclosed or indirectly disclosed. Since the usage method type data D42 is “indirect”, the position information is not disclosed directly. Therefore, even if the inquiry notification condition data D48 is “indirect”, the same is true in this case.

The disclosure information data D14 shown in this example includes three disclosure content data D43.
The first disclosure content data D43 includes disclosure condition data D44 of “L _H > 1 km”, disclosure method data D45 of “latitude and longitude”, disclosure accuracy data D46 of “500 m” and “second place after decimal point”, position type Data D47 is an “estimated position”. Here, “L _H ” means “distance from home”. That is, this indicates that the estimated position at the time of the inquiry is disclosed by the “latitude and longitude” method when the distance from the home is more than 1 km. However, a maximum of 500 m of bias (error) is added to the position information, and only the second decimal place of latitude and longitude is disclosed.
The second disclosure content data D43 includes disclosure condition data D44 “in Tokyo”, disclosure method data D45 “address”, disclosure accuracy data D46 “200 m” and “town name level”, and position type data D47 “final position” Is. This indicates that, when in the Tokyo metropolitan area, the last location notified by the mobile terminal device 12 to the location information mediating device 14 is disclosed by the “address” method. However, a maximum of 200 m of bias (error) is added to the position information, and only the street name level of the address is disclosed.
In the third disclosure content data D43, the disclosure condition data D44 is blank, the disclosure method data D45 is “address”, the disclosure accuracy data D46 is “0 m” and “city level”, and the position type data D47 is “final position”. It is. This represents unconditionally disclosing the final location in an “address” manner regardless of location. However, no bias is added to the location information, and only the city level of the address is disclosed.

  When the mobile terminal device 12 is in Tokyo, both the disclosure condition of the second disclosure content data D43 and the disclosure condition of the third disclosure content data D43 are satisfied. The two disclosure content data D43 have the same disclosure method, but the second disclosure content data D43 has the disclosure accuracy of “town name level”, whereas the third disclosure content data D43 has the disclosure accuracy. It is “city level” and the second disclosure content data D43 has higher disclosure accuracy. For this reason, when the mobile terminal device 12 is in Tokyo, the location information is disclosed according to the second disclosure content data D43.

  Further, when the mobile terminal device 12 is located at a position more than 1 km away from “Jiro Watanabe” 's home represented by the address data D25, the disclosure condition of the first disclosure content data D43 and the second or third disclosure Both the disclosure conditions of the content data D43 are satisfied. However, since the two disclosure contents data D43 have different disclosure methods, the position information is disclosed according to both of the disclosure contents data D43.

  As shown in this example, the disclosure accuracy of the position information may be lower than the recommended disclosure accuracy recommended in the usage information data D13. Further, the disclosure method of the position information may be different from the recommended disclosure method recommended in the usage information data D13. How to disclose the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 is all determined by the user's own intention.

  The location information data D15 shown in this example is transmitted by the mobile terminal device 12 of Mr. “Jiro Watanabe” with the user identifier “1” to the location information mediating device 14.

In the position information data D15, the user identifier data D50 is “1”. The measurement time data D51 is “2012/3/4 12:34:56”. The latitude data D52 is “35.659246”. The longitude data D53 is “139.744389”. The measurement accuracy data D54 is “2 m”. This is because the mobile terminal device 12 of Mr. “Jiro Watanabe” with the user identifier “1” has a latitude of 35.659246 degrees and a longitude of 139.744389 degrees at 12:34:56 on March 4, 2012. It means that it was within 2m radius from the point.
In this way, the mobile terminal device 12 transmits the position information with the maximum accuracy that can be acquired by the position acquisition unit 29 to the position information mediating apparatus 14. The mobile terminal device 12 reduces the accuracy of the location information before transmitting it to the location information mediating device 14, and sends the location information having a lower accuracy than the maximum accuracy that can be acquired by the location acquisition unit 29 to the location information mediating device 14. The structure which transmits with respect to it may be sufficient.

  The inquiry information data D16 shown in this example is received by the mobile terminal device 12 of Mr. “Jiro Watanabe” with the user identifier “1” from the location information mediating device 14.

  In the inquiry information data D16, the user identifier data D60 is “s001”. The inquiry time data D61 is “2012/3/4 12:50:24”. The disclosed content data D62 is “indirect”. This indicates that “stock company xxx” of the user identifier “s001” searched at 12:50:24 on March 4, 2012, and the mobile terminal device 12 satisfied the search condition.

  FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of functional blocks of the position information mediating apparatus 14 in this embodiment.

  The location information mediating device 14 (location information processing unit) includes, for example, a user information reception unit 40, a user information management unit 41, a usage information reception unit 42, a usage information management unit 43, and a usage information transmission unit. 44, disclosure information receiving unit 45, disclosure information managing unit 46, position information receiving unit 47, position information managing unit 48, position estimating unit 49, browsing information managing unit 50, inquiry request receiving unit 51, The browsing information search unit 52, the search result management unit 53, the inquiry result transmission unit 54, the inquiry information management unit 55, the inquiry information transmission unit 56, the provision request reception unit 57, the provision information generation unit 58, A provision information transmission unit 59.

The user information receiving unit 40 receives user information from the mobile terminal device 12 (user information transmitting unit 22) using an input device 92 such as a receiving device.
The user information management unit 41 uses the storage device 94 (user information storage unit) to store user information data D12 representing the user information received by the user information receiving unit 40. The user information data D12 stored by the user information management unit 41 includes user identifier data D20. When the user information received from the mobile terminal device 12 does not include a user identifier, the user information management unit 41 uses the processing device 91 to identify the mobile terminal device 12 that transmitted the user information, User information data D12 including user identifier data D20 representing the user identifier of the identified mobile terminal device 12 is stored.

The usage information receiving unit 42 receives usage information from the position information usage device 16 using an input device 92 such as a reception device.
The usage information management unit 43 uses the processing device 91 to verify the usage information received by the usage information reception unit 42. For example, the usage information management unit 43 verifies whether or not the user name is correct, whether or not a homepage represented by the URL exists, whether or not the e-mail address is correct. When the verification is successful, the usage information management unit 43 uses the storage device 94 (use information storage unit) to store usage information data D13 representing the usage information that has been successfully verified.
The usage information transmission unit 44 transmits the usage information represented by the usage information data stored in the usage information management unit 43 to the mobile terminal device 12 using the transmission device.
Note that the usage information received by the usage information receiving unit 42 may not include a user identifier. In that case, the usage information management unit 43 uses the processing device 91 to identify the location information usage device 16 that has transmitted the usage information, and obtains user identifier data D30 representing the user identifier of the identified location information usage device 16. The included usage information data D13 is stored.

The disclosure information receiving unit 45 receives the disclosure information from the mobile terminal device 12 using the input device 92 such as a receiving device.
The disclosure information management unit 46 uses the storage device 94 to store the disclosure information data D14 representing the disclosure information received by the disclosure information receiving unit 45. The disclosure information data D14 stored by the disclosure information management unit 46 includes user identifier data D40. When the disclosure information received from the mobile terminal device 12 does not include a user identifier, the disclosure information management unit 46 uses the processing device 91 to identify the mobile terminal device 12 that has transmitted the disclosure information, and the identified movement Disclosure information data D14 including user identifier data D40 representing the user identifier of the terminal device 12 is stored.

The location information reception unit 47 (location acquisition unit) receives location information from the mobile terminal device 12 using an input device 92 such as a reception device.
Using the storage device 94, the position information management unit 48 stores position information data D15 representing the position information received by the position information receiving unit 47. The location information data D15 stored by the location information management unit 48 includes user identifier data D50. When the user identifier is not included in the location information received from the mobile terminal device 12, the location information management unit 48 uses the processing device 91 to identify the mobile terminal device 12 that has transmitted the location information, and the identified movement. The location information data D15 including the user identifier of the terminal device 12 is stored.

The position estimation unit 49 uses the processing device 91 to estimate the current position of the mobile terminal device 12 based on the position information data D15 stored by the position information management unit 48.
For example, the position estimation unit 49 uses the processing device 91 to classify the plurality of position information data D15 stored by the position information management unit 48 for each mobile terminal device 12 based on the position information data D15. In the case where there are two or more pieces of position information data D15 for one mobile terminal apparatus 12, the position estimation unit 49 uses the processing apparatus 91 based on the measurement time data D51, from among the last position information data D15. And the previous position information data D15 are extracted. The position estimation unit 49 uses the processing device 91 to determine the difference in measurement time, the difference in latitude of the mobile terminal device 12, and the difference in longitude of the mobile terminal device 12 based on the two pieces of position information data D15 extracted. Is calculated. The position estimation unit 49 uses the processing device 91 to calculate the quotient (latitude change rate) obtained by dividing the difference in latitude by the difference in measurement time, and the quotient (longitude change rate) obtained by dividing the difference in longitude by the difference in measurement time. Is calculated. The position estimation unit 49 uses the processing device 91 to calculate the elapsed time from the last measurement time to the current time based on the last position information data D15. The position estimation unit 49 uses the processing device 91 to calculate the product of the latitude change rate and the elapsed time (latitude movement amount estimated value) and the product of the longitude change rate and the elapsed time (longitude movement amount estimated value). To do. The position estimation unit 49 uses the processing device 91 to calculate the sum (latitude estimation value) of the latitude of the mobile terminal device 12 plus the latitude movement amount based on the last location information data D15, and the mobile terminal device 12. The sum (longitude estimated value) obtained by adding the longitude movement amount estimated value to the longitude is calculated. The position estimation unit 49 uses the estimated latitude value and the estimated longitude value as the estimated position of the mobile terminal device 12.
Note that the position estimation unit 49 may be configured to estimate not only the current position of the mobile terminal apparatus 12 but also a future position such as 5 minutes or 10 minutes later.

  The browsing information management unit 50 (position processing unit) uses the processing device 91 to disclose the disclosure information data D14 stored in the disclosure information management unit 46, the position information data D15 stored in the position information management unit 48, and the position estimation unit. Browsing information is generated based on the current position estimated by 49. The browsing information is the position information of the mobile terminal apparatus 12 that is disclosed to the position information using apparatus 16 or that is to be searched based on the search condition specified by the position information using apparatus 16. The browsing information management unit 50 uses the storage device 94 to store data representing the generated browsing information (hereinafter referred to as “browsing information data”).

For example, when the position type represented by the position type data D47 is “final position”, the browsing information management unit 50 sets the position of the mobile terminal apparatus 12 represented by the last position information data D15 for the mobile terminal apparatus 12. Based on this, browsing information is generated.
When the position type represented by the position type data D47 is “estimated position”, the browsing information management unit 50 generates browsing information based on the position estimated by the position estimating unit 49 for the mobile terminal device 12. .

  The browsing information management unit 50 uses the processing device 91 to generate two random numbers from −1 to 1. The browsing information management unit 50 uses the processing device 91 to calculate the product (latitude bias and longitude bias) of each of the two generated random numbers and the magnitude of the bias represented by the disclosure accuracy data D46. The browsing information management unit 50 uses the processing device 91 to calculate the latitude bias (latitude of latitude) of the mobile terminal device 12 based on the position (final position or estimated position) of the mobile terminal device 12 from which browsing information is generated. The sum (error with error) and the sum of longitude of the mobile terminal device 12 and longitude bias (longitude error) (longitude with error) are calculated. The browsing information management unit 50 regards the calculated latitude and longitude with error as the latitude and longitude of the mobile terminal device 12.

  The browsing information management unit 50 processes the latitude and longitude of the mobile terminal device 12 based on the disclosure method represented by the disclosure method data D45.

  For example, when the disclosure method is “latitude and longitude”, the browsing information management unit 50 uses the processing device 91 to disclose the latitude and longitude of the mobile terminal device 12 based on the disclosure accuracy represented by the disclosure accuracy data D46. The information is rounded to the number of significant digits specified by the precision, and used as browsing information. For example, when the latitude and longitude of the mobile terminal device 12 are (+35.656, +139.757), the browsing information management unit 50 (+35.65, +139) if the disclosure accuracy is “second place after the decimal point”. .76), when the disclosure accuracy is “1st place after the decimal point”, it is set to (+35.7, +139.8). Note that the method of rounding the latitude and longitude of the mobile terminal device 12 is not limited to rounding, and may be other methods such as rounding down or rounding up.

  Alternatively, when the disclosure method is “address”, the browsing information management unit 50 uses the processing device 91 to convert the latitude and longitude of the mobile terminal device 12 into the address at that position. The browsing information management unit 50 uses the processing device 91 to cut the address into browsing information based on the disclosure accuracy represented by the disclosure accuracy data D46. For example, when the converted address is “2-4-1, Hamamatsucho, Minato-ku, Tokyo”, the browsing information management unit 50 determines that the disclosure accuracy is “prefecture level”, “Tokyo”, “city” If it is “Machimura level”, the portion representing the details of the address is deleted according to the disclosure accuracy, such as “Minato-ku, Tokyo”, and “Town name level”, “Hamamatsucho 2-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo”.

  When the disclosure method is “railway”, the browsing information management unit 50 uses the processing device 91 to convert the latitude and longitude of the mobile terminal device 12 to the nearest station of the point. When the disclosure accuracy represented by the disclosure accuracy data D46 is “route level”, the browsing information management unit 50 uses the processing device 91 to convert the converted nearest station into a route name passing through the station. When the disclosure accuracy represented by the disclosure accuracy data D46 is “railway company level”, the browsing information management unit 50 uses the processing device 91 to operate the route that passes through the converted nearest station. Convert to the name of the railway company you are using. When there are a plurality of routes that pass through the nearest station, the browsing information management unit 50 may be configured to convert the list into a list of a plurality of route names that pass through the station or a plurality of railroad company names. The browsing information management unit 50 uses the nearest station obtained by conversion as browsing information.

  When the disclosure method is “bus”, the browsing information management unit 50 uses the processing device 91 to convert the latitude and longitude of the mobile terminal device 12 to the nearest bus stop at that point. When the disclosure accuracy represented by the disclosure accuracy data D46 is “route level”, the browsing information management unit 50 uses the processing device 91 to convert the nearest bus stop into a route name passing through the bus stop. When the disclosure accuracy represented by the disclosure accuracy data D46 is “sales office level”, the browsing information management unit 50 uses the processing device 91 to operate the nearest bus stop and the bus that operates the route passing through the station. Convert to company sales office name. When there are a plurality of routes passing through the nearest bus stop, the browsing information management unit 50 may be configured to convert the list into a plurality of route names or a plurality of sales office names passing through the bus stop. The browsing information management unit 50 uses the nearest bus stop obtained by the conversion as browsing information.

  When the disclosure method is “road”, the browsing information management unit 50 uses the processing device 91 to calculate the latitude and longitude of the mobile terminal device 12 based on the disclosure accuracy represented by the disclosure accuracy data D46. It is converted into national roads, major local roads, prefectural roads, or municipal roads closest to the location, and used as browsing information. The browsing information management unit 50 may be configured such that the road having the shortest straight distance from the point is set as the “closest road”, or from the point in consideration of the road structure or traffic regulations. The configuration may be such that the road that can be reached earliest is the “closest road”.

The inquiry request reception unit 51 (search request acquisition unit, position request acquisition unit) uses an input device 92 such as a reception device to request a request (inquiry for location information of the mobile terminal device 12) from the location information use device 16. (Hereinafter referred to as “inquiry request”). Examples of the inquiry request include a location request and a search request.
In the location request, the mobile terminal device 12 that wants to know where he is is specified. The location information mediating device 14 discloses the location information of the mobile terminal device 12 to the location information using device 16. However, the location information is disclosed only when the user of the mobile terminal device 12 approves in advance, and the disclosed location information is obfuscated according to the disclosure method and the disclosure accuracy. Information.
In the search request, a search condition for narrowing down the mobile terminal devices 12 that the location information using device 16 wishes to provide services is designated. The location information intermediary device 14 searches for the mobile terminal device 12 that satisfies the condition according to the search condition. The location information mediating device 14 provides a service to the retrieved mobile terminal device 12 instead of the location information using device 16.

The browsing information search unit 52 uses the processing device 91 to search the browsing information data stored in the browsing information management unit 50 in accordance with the inquiry request received by the inquiry request reception unit 51.
For example, when the inquiry request is a location request, the browsing information search unit 52 uses the processing device 91 and the mobile terminal device specified in the inquiry request based on the disclosure information data D14 stored by the disclosure information management unit 46 It is determined whether the 12 users permit the direct disclosure of the position information to the position information using apparatus 16 that has transmitted the inquiry request. When it determines with permitting, the browsing information search part 52 uses the processing apparatus 91 about the mobile terminal apparatus 12 designated by the inquiry request from the browsing information data which the browsing information management part 50 memorize | stored. Get browsing information data.
When the inquiry request is a search request, the browsing information search unit 52 uses the processing device 91 to display the user information data D12 stored in the user information management unit 41 and the disclosure stored in the disclosure information management unit 46. Based on the information data D14, the mobile terminal device 12 that permits the location information using device 16 to search the location information from the browse information data stored by the browse information management unit 50, which is designated by the search request The browsing information data about the mobile terminal device 12 satisfying the search conditions is acquired.

  The search result management unit 53 uses the storage device 94 to store the browsing information data acquired by the browsing information search unit 52.

The inquiry result transmitting unit 54 (position notifying unit) uses the processing device 91 to respond to the inquiry request received by the inquiry request receiving unit 51 based on the browsing information data stored by the search result managing unit 53 (hereinafter referred to as “inquiry”). Called "result"). The inquiry result transmission unit 54 transmits the generated inquiry result to the position information using device 16 by using an output device 93 (processing terminal position information transmission unit) such as a transmission device.
For example, when the inquiry request is a position request, the inquiry result transmission unit 54 generates an inquiry result based on the browsing information data if there is browsing information data stored by the search result management unit 53. The inquiry result generated by the inquiry result transmission unit 54 includes the position information of the mobile terminal device 12. When there is no browsing information data stored by the search result management unit 53, the query result transmission unit 54 generates a query result indicating “not applicable”.
When the inquiry request is a search request, the inquiry result transmission unit 54 counts the number of browsing information data (number of condition satisfaction users) stored by the search result management unit 53. The inquiry result generated by the inquiry result transmission unit 54 includes the number of condition satisfaction users, but does not include the position information of the mobile terminal device 12.

  The inquiry information management unit 55 uses the processing device 91 to generate inquiry information based on the disclosure information data D14 stored by the disclosure information management unit 46 and the browsing information data acquired by the browsing information search unit 52. For example, for the mobile terminal device 12 corresponding to the browsing information data acquired by the browsing information search unit 52, the inquiry information management unit 55 determines whether transmission or recording of the inquiry information is necessary based on the disclosure information data D14. To do. The inquiry information management unit 55 generates inquiry information for the mobile terminal apparatus 12 that has determined that transmission or recording of inquiry information is necessary.

  The inquiry information transmission unit 56 (inquiry notification unit) transmits the inquiry information generated by the inquiry information management unit 55 to the mobile terminal device 12 using the output device 93 such as a transmission device.

  The provision request receiving unit 57 (providing request acquisition unit) uses the input device 92 such as a receiving device to request the provision of service from the location information using device 16 to the mobile terminal device 12 searched by the search request ( (Hereinafter referred to as “provision request”). The service for the mobile terminal device 12 includes, for example, information about nearby stores and coupons that can be used at the stores. The position information using device 16 may be configured to transmit a provision request together with a search request, or may be configured to transmit a provision request after receiving a query result for the search request.

  The provision information generation unit 58 uses the processing device 91 to transmit to the mobile terminal device 12 based on the browsing information data stored by the search result management unit 53 and the provision request received by the provision request reception unit 57. Produce information to be generated.

  The provided information transmitting unit 59 (providing unit) transmits the provided information generated by the provided information generating unit 58 to the searched mobile terminal device 12 using the output device 93 such as a transmitting device.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of browsing information data D17 stored by the browsing information management unit 50 in this embodiment.

The browsing information data D17 includes, for example, user identifier data D70 and browsing data D71.
The user identifier data D70 is the same data as the user identifier data D20 included in the user information data D12. The user identifier represented by the user identifier data D70 is used to specify the mobile terminal device 12 to be searched.
The browsing data D71 is data representing information such as the position processed by the browsing information management unit 50. The browsing data D71 includes, for example, disclosure method data D72, time data D73, and processed position data D74.
The disclosure method data D72 is the same data as the disclosure method data D45 included in the disclosure information data D14. The disclosure method data D72 represents the disclosure method used when the browsing information management unit 50 processes the position of the mobile terminal device 12.
Time data D73 is data representing time. When the position type is “final position”, the time represented by the time data D73 is the time represented by the measurement time data D51 included in the latest position information data D15. When the position type is “estimated position”, the time represented by the time data D73 is the time used as the current time when the position estimation unit 49 estimates the position.
The processed position data D74 is data representing the position of the mobile terminal device 12 processed by the browsing information management unit 50.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of inquiry request data D18 representing an inquiry request received by the inquiry request receiving unit 51 in this embodiment.

The data included in the inquiry request data D18 varies depending on the type of inquiry request.
When the inquiry request is a location request, the inquiry request data D18 includes, for example, user identifier data D80, request type data D81, and user identifier data D82.
The user identifier data D80 is the same data as the user identifier data D30 included in the usage information data D13. The inquiry request data D18 may be configured not to include the user identifier data D80. This is because the position information mediating apparatus 14 can determine the user identifier of the position information using apparatus 16 based on the position information using apparatus 16 that has transmitted the inquiry request.
The request type data D81 is data representing the type of inquiry request. For example, the request type data D81 represents “location request”.
The user identifier data D82 is the same data as the user identifier data D20 included in the user information data D12. The user identifier represented by the user identifier data D82 is used for the location information using device 16 to specify the mobile terminal device 12 that wants to know the location.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another example of the inquiry request data D18 representing the inquiry request received by the inquiry request receiving unit 51 in this embodiment.

When the inquiry request is a search request, the inquiry request data D18 includes, for example, user identifier data D80, request type data D81, and search condition data D85.
The user identifier data D80 and the request type data D81 are the same as in FIG. However, the request type data D81 represents “search request”.
The search condition data D85 is data representing a condition for searching for the mobile terminal device 12. The search condition represented by the search condition data D85 is described by, for example, an SQL sentence. The search condition includes a condition regarding the position of the mobile terminal device 12 and other conditions.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of query result data D19 representing a query result generated by the query result transmission unit 54 in this embodiment.

Data included in the inquiry result data D19 also differs depending on the type of inquiry request.
When the inquiry request is a position request, the inquiry result data D19 includes, for example, time data D90 and processed position data D91.
The time data D90 is data representing the same time as the time data D73 included in the browsing information data D17.
The processed position data D91 is data representing the same position as the processed position data D74 included in the browsing information data D17.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram showing another example of the inquiry result data D19 representing the inquiry result generated by the inquiry result transmission unit 54 in this embodiment.

When the inquiry request is a search request, the inquiry result data D19 includes, for example, inquiry result identifier data D95 and condition satisfying user number data D96.
The query result identifier data D95 is data representing identification information (hereinafter referred to as “query result identifier”) for identifying the query result data D19 itself. The query result identifier is used to specify which query result provides the service to the mobile terminal device 12 when the location information using device 16 is configured to transmit the provision request separately from the search request. . The inquiry result data D19 may be configured not to include the inquiry result identifier data D95.
The condition satisfaction user number data D96 is data representing the number of condition satisfaction users.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a specific example of data managed, received, or processed by the position information mediating apparatus 14 in this embodiment.

  The user information management unit 41 manages the user information data D12 received by the user information receiving unit 40 from each mobile terminal device 12, for example, using the user identifier data D20 as a key.

The location information management unit 48 manages the location information data D15 received by the location information reception unit 47 from each mobile terminal device 12, for example, using the user identifier data D50 as a key. The position information management unit 48 stores at least two pieces of position information data D15 representing the newest position and position information data D15 representing the immediately preceding position for one mobile terminal apparatus 12.
For example, for the mobile terminal device 12 of Mr. Jiro Watanabe with the user identifier “1”, the location information management unit 48 has a latitude of 35.659246 degrees and a longitude of 139 at 12:34:56 on March 4, 2012. From position information data D15 indicating that it was within a radius of 2 m from a point of .744389 degrees, and at a point of latitude 35.655646 degrees and longitude 139.774489 degrees at 12:44:52 on March 4, 2012 Position information data D15 indicating that the radius is within 3 m is stored. When the location information receiving unit 47 receives the next location information data D15 from the mobile terminal device 12 of Mr. “Jiro Watanabe” with the user identifier “1”, the location information management unit 48 receives the location information data D15. Instead, for example, the position information data D15 for 12:34:56 is deleted.

  The inquiry request data D18 shown in this example is received by the location information mediating device 14 from the location information using device 16 of “Corporation xxxx” with the user identifier “s001”.

  In the inquiry request data D18, the user identifier data D80 is “s001”. The request type data D81 is “search request”. The search condition data D85 is “[L (35.6629940, 139.760018) <500 m or station = Shiodome] and male”. This indicates that the location information using device 16 of “company xxx” with the user identifier “s001” requests a search for the mobile terminal device 12 that satisfies the search condition. Here, “L (x, y)” represents a distance from a point of latitude x and longitude y. That is, among mobile terminal devices disclosing location information in a latitude / longitude method, the mobile terminal device is within 500 m from a point of latitude 35.66,940 degrees and longitude 139.760018 degrees, and the user is male. The mobile terminal device satisfies this search condition. Of the mobile terminal devices that disclose location information in the rail system, a mobile terminal device whose nearest station is “Shiodome” and whose user is a male also satisfies this search condition.

  In the case of such an inquiry request, “Jiro Watanabe” of the user identifier “1” permits indirect disclosure of location information to “xxxx Co., Ltd.” of the user identifier “s001”. If so, the location information intermediary device 14 determines whether or not the mobile terminal device 12 of “Jiro Watanabe” with the user identifier “1” satisfies the search condition.

Based on the position information data D15 stored in the position information management unit 48, for example, the position estimation unit 49 uses the mobile terminal device 12 of “Jiro Watanabe” with the user identifier “1” at a speed of 119 m / min. It is estimated that the robot is moving in the direction of 109.72 degrees (clockwise with true north as 0 degrees, slightly south of true east).
It is assumed that the time when the inquiry is requested is, for example, 12:50:24 on March 4, 2012. Based on the latest position information and the estimated moving direction and moving speed, the position estimating unit 49 determines that the mobile terminal device 12 of Mr. Jiro Watanabe with the user identifier “1” It is estimated that it is at a point of latitude 35.653641 degrees and longitude 139.763634 degrees at hour 50 minutes 24 seconds.

The browsing information management unit 50 processes the position estimated by the position estimation unit 49. If the maximum value of bias (error) added to the position information is “500 m”, the browsing information management unit 50 converts this into a frequency in the latitude direction and a frequency in the longitude direction, and the maximum value “0” of the latitude bias. .0045 degrees ”and the maximum value of the longitude bias“ 0.005538 degrees ”.
The browsing information management unit 50 generates a random number whose absolute value is equal to or less than the maximum value of the latitude bias and adds it to the latitude estimated by the position estimation unit 49. Similarly, the browsing information management unit 50 generates a random number whose absolute value is equal to or less than the maximum value of the longitude bias and adds it to the longitude estimated by the position estimation unit 49.
When the disclosure accuracy of the location information is “latitude / longitude” and the disclosure accuracy is “second place after the decimal point”, the browsing information management unit 50 sets the calculated latitude of 35.6602841 degrees and longitude of 139.764018 degrees to the decimal point. The second round is rounded off to obtain 35.66 degrees latitude and 139.76 degrees longitude.

Based on the latitude 35.66 degrees and longitude 139.76 degrees calculated by the browsing information management unit 50, the browsing information search unit 52 searches the mobile terminal device 12 of Mr. “Jiro Watanabe” with the user identifier “1”. Determine whether the condition is met.
The browsing information search unit 52 calculates a distance between a point having a latitude of 35.66 degrees and a longitude of 139.76 degrees and a point having a latitude of 35.66940 degrees and a longitude of 139.760018 degrees.
The browsing information search unit 52 determines that “Jiro Watanabe” of the user identifier “1” is male from the user information data D12 stored by the user information management unit 41, and the calculated distance is 327 m. Therefore, it is determined that the mobile terminal device 12 of Mr. “Jiro Watanabe” with the user identifier “1” satisfies the search condition.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the position inquiry process S12 in this embodiment.

  The position inquiry process S <b> 12 is a process for a position request from the position information using device 16. The position inquiry process S12 includes, for example, a position request acquisition step S20, a disclosure information extraction step S21, a disclosure condition selection step S22, a disclosure condition determination step S23, an inquiry result notification step S24, and a position type determination step S25. It includes a position estimation step S26, a position processing step S27, a reference result notification step S28, a notification determination step S29, a reference information generation step S30, a transmission determination step S31, and a reference information transmission step S32.

  In the position request acquisition step S <b> 20, the inquiry request receiving unit 51 acquires inquiry request data D <b> 18 representing the position request notified from the position information using device 16.

In the disclosure information extraction step S21, the browsing information search unit 52 uses the disclosure information data D14 stored by the disclosure information management unit 46 based on the location request acquired by the inquiry request reception unit 51 in the location request acquisition step S20. The user identifier data D40 matches the user identifier data D82 included in the inquiry request data D18, the user identifier data D41 matches the user identifier data D80 included in the inquiry request data D18, and The disclosure information data D14 in which the usage method type represented by the usage method type data D42 is “direct” or “all” is extracted.
When the extracted disclosure information data D14 does not exist, the user does not allow the user to directly disclose the position information. The browsing information search unit 52 proceeds to the inquiry result notification step S24.
When the extracted disclosure information data D14 exists, the browsing information search unit 52 advances the processing to the disclosure condition selection step S22.

  The browsing information search unit 52 processes the disclosure content data D43 included in the disclosure information data D14 extracted in the disclosure information extraction step S21 one by one.

In the disclosure condition selection step S22, the browsing information search unit 52 selects one disclosure content data D43 that has not yet been processed from the disclosure content data D43.
When all the disclosure content data D43 has been processed and there is no disclosure content data D43 to be selected, the browsing information search unit 52 advances the processing to the inquiry result notification step S24.
When there is disclosure content data D43 that has not been processed yet, the browsing information search unit 52 selects one disclosure content data D43 from among the disclosure content data D43 that has not yet been processed. The browsing information search unit 52 proceeds to the disclosure condition determination step S23.

In the disclosure condition determination step S23, the browsing information search unit 52 determines whether or not the disclosure condition represented by the disclosure condition data D44 included in the disclosure content data D43 selected in the disclosure condition selection step S22 is satisfied.
If it is determined that the disclosure condition is satisfied, the browsing information search unit 52 proceeds to the position type determination step S25.
When it is determined that the disclosure condition is not satisfied, the browsing information search unit 52 returns the process to the disclosure condition selection step S22 and selects the next disclosure content data D43.

In the inquiry result notifying step S24, the inquiry result transmitting unit 54 has notified the position request of the inquiry result indicating “not applicable” as a response to the position request acquired by the inquiry request receiving unit 51 in the position request acquiring step S20. The position information using device 16 is notified.
The browsing information search unit 52 ends the position inquiry process S12.

In the position type determination step S25, the browsing information management unit 50 determines whether the position type represented by the position type data D47 included in the disclosure content data D43 selected in the disclosure condition selection step S22 is “final position” or “estimated position”. judge.
When the position type is “final position”, the browsing information management unit 50 uses the user identifier data D50 included in the inquiry request data D18 from the position information data D15 stored in the position information management unit 48. The position information data D15 that matches the identifier data D82 and has the latest time represented by the measurement time data D51 is extracted. The browsing information management unit 50 acquires the latitude indicated by the latitude data D52 and the longitude indicated by the longitude data D53 included in the extracted position information data D15. The browsing information management unit 50 proceeds to the position processing process S27.

  In the location estimation step S26, the location estimation unit 49 matches the user identifier data D50 with the user identifier data D82 included in the inquiry request data D18 from the location information data D15 stored by the location information management unit 48. In addition, the position information data D15 having the newest time represented by the measurement time data D51 and the position information data D15 having the second latest time represented by the measurement time data D51 are extracted. The position estimation unit 49 calculates the current latitude and longitude of the mobile terminal device 12 based on the extracted two pieces of position information data D15. The browsing information management unit 50 acquires the latitude and longitude calculated by the position estimation unit 49.

  In the position processing process S27, the browsing information management unit 50 processes the latitude and longitude acquired in the position type determination step S25 or the position estimation step S26 based on the disclosure content data D43 selected in the disclosure condition selection step S22. The browsing information about the mobile terminal device 12 is generated.

  In the inquiry result notification step S28, the inquiry result transmission unit 54 generates an inquiry result based on the browsing information generated by the browsing information management unit 50 in the position processing process S27. The inquiry result transmission unit 54 sets the time data D73 included in the browsing information data D17 as time data D90 of the inquiry result data D19. Further, the inquiry result transmission unit 54 sets the processed position data D74 included in the browsing information data D17 as processed position data D91 of the inquiry result data D19. As a response to the position request acquired by the inquiry request receiving unit 51 in the position request acquisition step S20, the inquiry result transmitting unit 54 notifies the generated inquiry result to the position information using device 16 that has notified the position request.

In the notification determination step S29, the inquiry information management unit 55 moves based on the inquiry notification condition data D48 included in the disclosure information data D14 extracted by the browsing information search unit 52 in the disclosure information extraction step S21. It is determined whether or not to notify the terminal device 12. The case of notifying that there has been an inquiry is when the inquiry notification condition represented by the inquiry notification condition data D48 is, for example, “immediate notification”, “periodic notification”, “record”, or the like. The case where the inquiry is not notified is a case where the inquiry notification condition is, for example, “non notification”.
When it determines with notifying that there existed the inquiry, the inquiry information management part 55 advances a process to inquiry information generation process S30.
If it is determined not to notify that there has been an inquiry, the inquiry information management unit 55 ends the position inquiry process S12.

  In the inquiry information generation step S30, the inquiry information management unit 55 is based on the position request acquired by the inquiry request reception unit 51 in the position request acquisition step S20 and the browsing information generated by the browsing information management unit 50 in the position processing process S27. To generate inquiry information. The inquiry information management unit 55 sets the user identifier data D80 included in the inquiry request data D18 as the user identifier data D60 of the inquiry information data D16. In addition, the inquiry information management unit 55 generates data representing the time when the inquiry request receiving unit 51 acquires the inquiry request, and uses the data as inquiry time data D61 of the inquiry information data D16. The inquiry information management unit 55 sets the data representing “direct” as the disclosure content data D62 of the inquiry information data D16. The inquiry information management unit 55 stores the generated inquiry information.

In the transmission determination step S31, the inquiry information transmission unit 56 immediately confirms that there has been an inquiry based on the inquiry notification condition data D48 included in the disclosure information data D14 extracted by the browsing information search unit 52 in the disclosure information extraction step S21. Determine whether to notify or later. The case where the inquiry is immediately notified is a case where the inquiry notification condition represented by the inquiry notification condition data D48 is, for example, “immediate notification”. The case where the inquiry is not notified later is a case where the inquiry notification condition is, for example, “periodic notification”, “record”, or the like.
When it is determined that the inquiry has been made immediately, the inquiry information transmission unit 56 proceeds to the inquiry information transmission step S32.
When it determines with notifying that there existed inquiry later, the inquiry information transmission part 56 complete | finishes position inquiry process S12.

In the inquiry information transmission step S32, the inquiry information transmission unit 56 generates the inquiry information generated by the inquiry information management unit 55 in the inquiry information generation step S30 based on the position request acquired by the inquiry request reception unit 51 in the position request acquisition step S20. Is notified to the mobile terminal device 12. The inquiry information transmitting unit 56 notifies the inquiry information to the mobile terminal device 12 specified by the user identifier represented by the user identifier data D82 included in the inquiry request data D18.
The inquiry information transmission unit 56 ends the position inquiry process S12.

  FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the position processing process S27 in this embodiment.

  The position processing process S27 included in the position inquiry process S12 described above will be described in more detail. The position processing S27 includes, for example, a bias determination step S70, a bias addition step S71, a disclosure method determination step S72, a significant digit rounding step S73, an address conversion step S74, an address cutting step S75, and a station conversion step. S76, level determination step S77, route conversion step S78, company conversion step S79, bus stop conversion step S80, level determination step S81, route conversion step S82, sales office conversion step S83, road conversion step S84 And a mesh conversion step S85.

In the bias determination step S70, the browsing information management unit 50 biases the latitude y and longitude x of the mobile terminal device 12 based on the disclosure accuracy data D46 included in the disclosure content data D43 selected in the disclosure condition selection step S22. It is determined whether or not.
When the bias magnitude b represented by the disclosure accuracy data D46 is 0, the browsing information management unit 50 determines that no bias is applied to the latitude y and longitude x of the mobile terminal device 12, and the process proceeds to the disclosure method determination step S72. Proceed with the process.
When the bias magnitude b represented by the disclosure accuracy data D46 is greater than 0, the browsing information management unit 50 determines to bias the latitude y and longitude x of the mobile terminal device 12, and the process proceeds to the bias adding step S71. Proceed.

In the bias addition step S71, the browsing information management unit 50 generates two random numbers r _x and r _y (where −b ≦ r _x ≦ b and −b ≦ r _y ≦ b). Browse information management unit 50 calculates the addition of the random number r _y latitude y of the mobile terminal device 12 the sum y + r _y, substituting the latitude y of the mobile terminal device 12. In addition, the browsing information management unit 50 calculates the sum x + r _x obtained by adding the random number r _x to the longitude x of the mobile terminal device 12 and replaces the longitude x of the mobile terminal device 12.

In the disclosure method determination step S72, the browsing information management unit 50 determines the disclosure method based on the disclosure method data D45 included in the disclosure content data D43 selected in the disclosure condition selection step S22.
When the disclosure method is “latitude and longitude”, the browsing information management unit 50 advances the processing to the effective digit rounding step S73.
When the disclosure method is “address”, the browsing information management unit 50 advances the processing to the address conversion step S74.
When the disclosure method is “railway”, the browsing information management unit 50 proceeds to the station conversion step S76.
When the disclosure method is “bus”, the browsing information management unit 50 proceeds to the bus stop conversion step S80.
When the disclosure method is “road”, the browsing information management unit 50 advances the processing to the road conversion step S84.
If the disclosure method is “mesh”, the browsing information management unit 50 proceeds to the mesh conversion step S85.

In the effective digit rounding step S73, the browsing information management unit 50 is based on the effective digits after the decimal point of latitude and longitude represented by the disclosure accuracy data D46 included in the disclosure content data D43 selected in the disclosure condition selection step S22. The rounding process such as rounding off is performed so that the latitude y and longitude x of the mobile terminal device 12 become the effective digits. The browsing information management unit 50 sets data representing two numerical values respectively representing the latitude y and the longitude x subjected to rounding processing as processed position data D74.
The browsing information management unit 50 ends the position processing process S27.

  In the address conversion step S74, the browsing information management unit 50 converts the latitude y and longitude x of the mobile terminal device 12 into the address at that point. The browsing information management unit 50, for example, a character string representing an address at a prefecture level such as “Tokyo”, a character string representing an address at a municipal level such as “Minato Ward”, and “Hamamatsucho 2-chome” A list consisting of a character string representing an address at the town name level and a character string representing an address at a detailed level such as “4 No. 1” (“Tokyo”, “Minato-ku”, “Hamamatsucho 2-chome”, "No. 4 No. 1") represents the address of the point. For example, the browsing information management unit 50 includes data representing the area of each prefecture, data representing the area of each municipality within each prefecture, data representing the area of each town name within each municipality, and each address within each town. The data representing the area is stored in advance. The browsing information management unit 50 determines the prefecture to which the point belongs from the latitude y and longitude x of the mobile terminal device 12 based on the data representing the area of each prefecture, and acquires the name of the prefecture. The browsing information management unit 50 determines the municipality to which the point belongs from the latitude y and longitude x of the mobile terminal device 12 based on the data representing the area of each municipality in the determined prefecture. Get the city name. Similarly, the browsing information management unit 50 determines the address of the point where the mobile terminal device 12 is located.

In the address cut-off process S75, the browsing information management unit 50 determines the disclosure level based on the disclosure accuracy data D46 included in the disclosure content data D43 selected in the disclosure condition selection process S22.
For example, when the disclosure level is “prefecture level”, the browsing information management unit 50 extracts a character string representing an address at the prefecture level from the list representing the address determined in the address conversion step S74. The processed position data is D74.
When the disclosure level is “city level”, the browsing information management unit 50 selects a character string representing an address at the prefecture level from the list representing the address determined in the address conversion step S74, A character string representing an address at the municipal level is extracted, and the extracted character strings are combined to obtain processed position data D74.
When the disclosure level is “town name level”, the browsing information management unit 50 selects a character string representing an address at the prefectural level from the list representing the address determined in the address conversion step S74, and a municipality. A character string representing an address at the level and a character string representing an address at the town name level are extracted, and the extracted character strings are combined to obtain processed position data D74.
The browsing information management unit 50 ends the position processing process S27.

  In the station conversion step S76, the browsing information management unit 50 determines the nearest station of the point based on the latitude y and longitude x of the mobile terminal device 12. For example, the browsing information management unit 50 stores in advance data representing the latitude and longitude of each station. The browsing information management unit 50 calculates the distance between the position of the mobile terminal device 12 and the position of each station based on the latitude y and longitude x of the mobile terminal device 12 and the latitude and longitude of each station, and is closest. Determine the station. Note that the browsing information management unit 50 stores in advance data representing the range of the area where the station is the nearest station for each station, and the point belongs based on the latitude y and longitude x of the mobile terminal device 12. The configuration may be such that the nearest station is determined by determining the area. This is because the station with the shortest straight distance is not necessarily the nearest station due to the relationship of the passages.

In the level determination step S77, the browsing information management unit 50 determines the disclosure level based on the disclosure accuracy data D46 included in the disclosure content data D43 selected in the disclosure condition selection step S22.
When the disclosure level is “railway company level”, the browsing information management unit 50 proceeds to the company conversion step S79.
When the disclosure level is “route level”, the browsing information management unit 50 proceeds to the route conversion step S78.
When the disclosure level is “station level”, the browsing information management unit 50 sets the character string representing the station name of the nearest station determined in the station conversion step S76 as the processed position data D74, and ends the position processing process S27.

  In the route conversion step S78, the browsing information management unit 50 generates a list of routes that pass through the nearest station determined in the station conversion step S76. For example, the browsing information management unit 50 stores in advance data representing a correspondence relationship between each station and a route passing through the station. The browsing information management unit 50 determines a route passing through the nearest station based on this data. The browsing information management unit 50 generates a list of character strings representing the determined route name and sets the processed position data D74, and ends the position processing S27.

  In the company conversion step S79, the browsing information management unit 50 generates a list of railway companies that operate the route passing through the nearest station determined in the station conversion step S76. For example, the browsing information management unit 50 stores in advance data representing a correspondence relationship between each route and a railway company that operates the route. The browsing information management unit 50 determines a route passing through the nearest station in the same manner as the route conversion step S78. The browsing information management unit 50 determines, for each determined route, the railway company that operates the route. The browsing information management part 50 produces | generates the list | wrist of the character string showing the name of the determined railway company, and it is set as processed position data D74, and complete | finishes position processing process S27.

  In the bus stop conversion step S80, the browsing information management unit 50 determines the nearest bus stop at that point based on the latitude y and longitude x of the mobile terminal device 12. For example, the browsing information management unit 50 stores in advance data representing the latitude and longitude of each bus stop. The browsing information management unit 50 calculates the distance between the position of the mobile terminal device 12 and the position of each bus stop based on the latitude y and longitude x of the mobile terminal device 12 and the latitude and longitude of each bus stop, Determine the nearest bus stop. Note that the browsing information management unit 50 stores in advance data representing the range of the area where the bus stop is the nearest bus stop for each bus stop, and the point is based on the latitude y and longitude x of the mobile terminal device 12. The configuration may be such that the nearest bus stop is determined by determining the region to which it belongs.

In the level determination step S81, the browsing information management unit 50 determines the disclosure level based on the disclosure accuracy data D46 included in the disclosure content data D43 selected in the disclosure condition selection step S22.
When the disclosure level is “sales office level”, the browsing information management unit 50 proceeds to the office conversion process S83.
When the disclosure level is “route level”, the browsing information management unit 50 proceeds to the route conversion step S82.
When the disclosure level is “bus stop level”, the browsing information management unit 50 sets the character string indicating the name of the nearest bus stop determined in the bus stop conversion step S80 as the processed position data D74, and ends the position processing process S27.

  In the route conversion step S82, the browsing information management unit 50 generates a list of bus routes that pass through the nearest bus stop determined in the bus stop conversion step S80. For example, the browsing information management unit 50 stores in advance data representing a correspondence relationship between each bus stop and a bus route passing through the bus stop. The browsing information management unit 50 determines a bus route passing through the nearest bus stop based on this data. The browsing information management unit 50 generates a list of character strings representing the determined bus route name as processed position data D74, and ends the position processing S27.

  In the sales office conversion step S83, the browsing information management unit 50 generates a list of bus sales offices operating buses that pass through the nearest bus stop determined in the bus stop conversion step S80. For example, the browsing information management unit 50 stores in advance data representing a correspondence relationship between each bus route and a bus sales office that operates a bus passing through the bus route. The browsing information management part 50 determines the bus route which passes the nearest bus stop similarly to route conversion process S82. The browsing information management unit 50 determines, for each determined bus route, a bus office that operates a bus that passes through the bus route. The browsing information management unit 50 generates a list of character strings representing the determined name of the bus sales office as processed position data D74, and ends the position processing process S27.

In the road conversion step S84, the browsing information management unit 50 narrows down the types of roads to be searched based on the disclosure accuracy data D46 included in the disclosure content data D43 selected in the disclosure condition selection step S22. For example, the browsing information management unit 50 stores in advance data representing the type of road and the latitude and longitude of the start point / passing point / end point of the road for each road. When the disclosure level is “national road level”, the browsing information management unit 50 searches only roads whose road type is “national road”, and does not search other roads. When the disclosure level is “main local road level”, the browsing information management unit 50 searches only roads whose road type is “national road” or “main local road”, and searches for other roads. Not targeted. When the disclosure level is “prefectural road level”, the browsing information management unit 50 searches only roads whose road type is “national road”, “main local road”, or “prefectural road”. Other roads are not searched.
Based on the latitude y and longitude x of the mobile terminal device 12, the browsing information management unit 50 determines the road closest to the point from the roads that are the search targets. The browsing information management unit 50 sets the character string representing the determined road name as the processed position data D74, and ends the position processing process S27.

  In the mesh conversion step S85, the browsing information management unit 50 determines the mesh interval (one side of the quadrangular region delimited by the mesh based on the disclosure accuracy data D46 included in the disclosure content data D43 selected in the disclosure condition selection step S22. Length). For example, the browsing information management unit 50 stores in advance data representing the relationship between mesh intervals and symbols attached to a plurality of regions divided by the meshes of the intervals. The browsing information management unit 50 determines an area to which the point belongs based on the latitude y and longitude x of the mobile terminal device 12. The browsing information management unit 50 sets the character string representing the code assigned to the area as the processed position data D74, and ends the position processing process S27.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an image of processing in the bias adding step S71 in this embodiment.

  When the position of the mobile terminal apparatus 12 is (x, y) and the magnitude of the bias is b, the browsing information management unit 50 displays the position of the mobile terminal apparatus 12 in a hatched square, for example. Shift to either position. In the disclosure method determination step S72 and subsequent steps, the shifted position (x + rx, y + ry) is set as the position (x, y) of the mobile terminal device 12, and the process is executed.

  FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an image of processing in the significant digit rounding step S73 in this embodiment.

For example, when the disclosure accuracy is “second place after the decimal point”, if the position (x, y) of the mobile terminal device 12 is one of the squares with diagonal lines, the processed position data is the latitude “ 35.66 "degrees and longitude" 139.76 "degrees.
If the disclosure accuracy is “third place after the decimal point”, the square shown in this figure is divided into 10 parts vertically and horizontally, and the area of one square becomes 1/100, and the position of the mobile terminal apparatus 12 is Different squares are distinguished.
On the contrary, if the disclosure accuracy is “1st place after the decimal point”, a total of 100 squares, 10 in each of the vertical and horizontal directions, are collected to form one square.

  FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an image of processing in the address cut-off process S75 in this embodiment.

  For example, it is assumed that the position (x, y) of the mobile terminal device 12 is converted to “2-1, Hamamatsucho, 4-1, 1 Minato-ku, Tokyo” in the address conversion step S74. If the disclosure accuracy is “prefecture level”, only “Tokyo” is extracted. If the disclosure accuracy is “city level”, only “Minato-ku, Tokyo” is extracted. If the disclosure accuracy is “town level”, only “2 Hamamatsucho, Minato-ku, Tokyo” is extracted.

  FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an image of processing in the station conversion step S76, the route conversion step S78, and the company conversion step S79 in this embodiment.

For example, it is assumed that there are four stations “A station”, “B station”, “C station”, and “D station” near the position (x, y) of the mobile terminal device 12. If the position (x, y) of the mobile terminal device 12 is within the hatched area, it is determined that the nearest station is “B station”.
If the disclosure accuracy is “station level”, the processed position data is “B station”.
If the disclosure accuracy is “route level”, the processed position data is a list of routes passing through the station, such as “E Company F Line”, “E Company G Line”, and “H Company I Line”.
If the disclosure accuracy is “railway company level”, the processed position data is a list of railway companies that operate a route passing through the station, such as “Company E” and “Company H”.

  FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an image of processing in the mesh conversion step S85 in this embodiment.

The mesh is represented by, for example, an alphabet in the longitude direction and a number in the latitude direction, and is represented by a character string made up of a combination of an alphabet and a number such as “A1” and “B2”. As shown in this figure, the widths of the meshes may be different, and in some meshes, the mesh may be divided into finer meshes, such as meshes “C2” to “D3”. In this case, the mesh is represented by a character string such as “Ca21”.
The position information using device 16 sets the mesh interval in accordance with the position information using method, for example, fine meshes in urban areas and coarse meshes in suburbs.

  When the position (x, y) of the mobile terminal device 12 is within a hatched square, if the disclosure accuracy is “level 1”, the processed position data is “C2”. If the disclosure accuracy is “level 2”, the processed position data is “Ca21”.

  FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the service providing process S14 in this embodiment.

  The service provision process S14 is a process for a search request and a provision request from the location information using device 16. The service providing process S14 includes, for example, a search request acquisition step S40, a disclosure information extraction step S41, a disclosure information selection step S42, another condition determination step S43, a disclosure condition selection step S44, and a disclosure condition determination step S45. Position type determination process S46, position estimation process S47, position processing process S48, position condition determination process S49, browsing information storage process S50, counting process S51, inquiry result notification process S52, and inquiry result determination process S53 Providing request acquisition step S54, user selection step S55, provision information generation step S56, provision information notification step S57, user selection step S58, notification determination step S59, inquiry information generation step S60, It has transmission determination process S61 and inquiry information notification process S62.

  In the search request acquisition step S <b> 40, the inquiry request receiving unit 51 acquires inquiry request data D <b> 18 representing the search request notified from the position information using device 16.

In the disclosure information extraction step S41, the browsing information search unit 52 uses the user identifier data D41 included in the inquiry request data D18 from the disclosure information data D14 stored in the disclosure information management unit 46. Disclosure information data D14 that matches D80 and whose usage method type represented by the usage method type data D42 is “indirect” or “all” is extracted.
When the extracted disclosure information data D14 does not exist, there is no user who allows the user to indirectly disclose the position information. The browsing information search unit 52 proceeds to the counting step S51.
When the extracted disclosure information data D14 exists, the browsing information search unit 52 advances the processing to the disclosure information selection step S42.

  The browsing information search unit 52 processes the disclosure information data D14 extracted in the disclosure information extraction step S41 one by one.

In the disclosure information selection step S42, the browsing information search unit 52 selects one disclosure information data D14 that has not yet been processed from the disclosure information data D14 extracted in the disclosure information extraction step S41.
If all the disclosure information data D14 has been processed and there is no disclosure information data D14 that has not yet been processed, the browsing information search unit 52 advances the processing to the counting step S51.
When there is disclosure information data D14 that has not been processed yet, the browsing information search unit 52 selects one disclosure information data D14 from among the disclosure information data D14 that has not yet been processed. The browsing information search part 52 advances a process to other condition determination process S43.

In the other condition determination step S43, the browsing information search unit 52 sets the search condition represented by the search condition data D85 included in the inquiry request data D18 acquired by the inquiry request reception unit 51 in the search request acquisition step S40. It decomposes | disassembles into the conditions regarding the position of, and other conditions. The browsing information search unit 52 uses the user identifier data D20 included in the disclosure information data D14 selected in the disclosure information selection step S42 from the user information data D12 stored by the user information management unit 41. User information data D12 that matches the data D40 is extracted. The browsing information search part 52 determines whether conditions other than a position are satisfy | filled among the decomposed | disassembled conditions based on the extracted user information data D12.
When it is determined that conditions other than the position are satisfied, the browsing information search unit 52 advances the processing to the disclosure condition selection step S44.
When it is determined that the conditions other than the position are not satisfied, the browsing information search unit 52 returns to the disclosure information selection step S42 and selects the next disclosure information data D14.

  Next, the browsing information search unit 52 processes the disclosure content data D43 included in the disclosure information data D14 selected in the disclosure information selection step S42 one by one.

In the disclosure condition selection step S44, the browsing information search unit 52 selects one disclosure content data D43 that has not yet been processed from the disclosure content data D43 included in the disclosure information data D14 selected in the disclosure information selection step S42. To do.
When all the disclosure content data D43 has been processed and there is no disclosure content data D43 that has not yet been processed, the browsing information search unit 52 returns the processing to the disclosure information selection step S42, and stores the next disclosure information data D14. select.
When there is disclosure content data D43 that has not been processed yet, the browsing information search unit 52 selects one disclosure content data D43 from among the disclosure content data D43 that has not yet been processed. The browsing information search unit 52 proceeds to the disclosure condition determination step S45.

In the disclosure condition determination step S45, the browsing information search unit 52 determines whether or not the disclosure condition represented by the disclosure condition data D44 included in the disclosure content data D43 selected in the disclosure condition selection step S44 is satisfied.
If it is determined that the disclosure condition is satisfied, the browsing information search unit 52 proceeds to the position type determination step S46.
When it is determined that the disclosure condition is not satisfied, the browsing information search unit 52 returns the process to the disclosure condition selection step S44 and selects the next disclosure content data D43.

In the position type determination step S46, the browsing information management unit 50 determines whether the position type represented by the position type data D47 included in the disclosure content data D43 selected in the disclosure condition selection step S44 is “final position” or “estimated position”. judge.
When the location type is “final location”, the browsing information management unit 50 discloses the disclosure selected by the user identifier data D50 in the disclosure information selection step S42 from the location information data D15 stored by the location information management unit 48. The position information data D15 that matches the user identifier data D40 included in the information data D14 and has the latest time represented by the measurement time data D51 is extracted. The browsing information management unit 50 acquires the latitude indicated by the latitude data D52 and the longitude indicated by the longitude data D53 included in the extracted position information data D15. The browsing information management unit 50 proceeds to the position processing process S48.
When the position type is “estimated position”, the browsing information management unit 50 proceeds to the position estimation process.

  In the position estimation step S47, the position estimation unit 49 includes the user identifier data D50 in the disclosure information data D14 selected in the disclosure information selection step S42 from the position information data D15 stored by the position information management unit 48. The position information data D15 that matches the user identifier data D40 and has the newest time represented by the measurement time data D51 and the position information data D15 that has the second newest time represented by the measurement time data D51 are extracted. The position estimation unit 49 calculates the current latitude and longitude of the mobile terminal device 12 based on the extracted two pieces of position information data D15. The browsing information management unit 50 acquires the latitude and longitude calculated by the position estimation unit 49.

In the position processing process S48, the browsing information management unit 50 processes the latitude and longitude acquired in the position type determination step S46 or the position estimation step S47 based on the disclosure content data D43 selected in the disclosure condition selection step S44. The browsing information about the mobile terminal device 12 is generated.
The details of the operation in the position processing process S48 are the same as those in the position processing process S27, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

In the position condition determination step S49, the browsing information search unit 52 determines whether or not the condition regarding the position among the decomposed conditions is satisfied based on the browsing information generated by the browsing information management unit 50 in the position processing process S48. judge.
When it determines with the conditions regarding a position being satisfy | filled, the browsing information search part 52 advances a process to browsing information storage process S50.
When it is determined that the condition regarding the position is not satisfied, the browsing information search unit 52 returns the process to the disclosure condition selection step S44 and selects the next disclosure content data D43.

In the browsing information storage step S50, the browsing information search unit 52 stores browsing information data D17 representing the browsing information generated by the browsing information management unit 50 in the position processing process S48.
The browsing information search unit 52 returns the process to the disclosure information selection step S42, and selects the next disclosure information data D14.

  In the counting step S51, the search result management unit 53 counts the number of browsing information data D17 stored by the browsing information searching unit 52 in the browsing information storage step S50.

  In the inquiry result notifying step S52, the search result managing unit 53 generates an inquiry result based on the number counted in the counting step S51. The search result management unit 53 sets the data representing the number counted in the counting step S51 as the condition satisfaction user number data D96 of the inquiry result data D19. As a response to the search request acquired by the query request receiving unit 51 in the search request acquisition step S40, the query result transmitting unit 54 notifies the generated query result to the position information using apparatus 16 that has notified the search request.

In the inquiry result determination step S53, the search result management unit 53 determines whether or not the browsing information data D17 stored by the browsing information search unit 52 in the browsing information storage step S50 exists based on the number counted in the counting step S51. judge.
When the number counted in the counting step S51 is 0, that is, when the browsing information data D17 stored by the browsing information search unit 52 in the browsing information storage step S50 does not exist, the search result management unit 53 ends the service providing process S14.
When the number counted in the counting step S51 is 1 or more, that is, when the browsing information data D17 stored by the browsing information search unit 52 in the browsing information storage step S50 exists, the search result management unit 53 proceeds to the provision request acquisition step S54. To proceed.

In the provision request obtaining step S54, the provision request receiving unit 57 obtains provision request data representing the provision request from the position information using device 16 that has notified the inquiry result in the inquiry result notifying step S52. The provision request data includes inquiry result identifier data D95 included in the inquiry result data D19 notified in the inquiry result notification step S52. Further, the provision request receiving unit 57 may be configured to obtain provision request data in advance in the search request obtaining step S40. In this case, the provision request data does not include the inquiry result identifier data D95.
If provision request data is not notified from the position information using device 16 even after a predetermined time, the provision request receiving unit 57 advances the process to the user selection step S58.
When provision request data is notified from the position information using device 16 within a predetermined time, the provision request receiving unit 57 advances the process to the user selection step S55.

  The provided information generation unit 58 processes the browsing information data D17 stored by the browsing information search unit 52 in the browsing information storage step S50 one by one.

In the user selection step S55, the provision information generation unit 58 selects one piece of browsing information data D17 that has not yet been processed from the browsing information data D17 stored by the browsing information search unit 52 in the browsing information storage step S50. .
If all the browsing information data D17 has been processed and there is no browsing information data D17 that has not yet been processed, the provision information generation unit 58 advances the processing to the user selection step S58.
When there is browsing information data D17 that has not been processed yet, the provided information generation unit 58 selects one browsing information data D17 from the browsing information data D17 that has not been processed yet. The provision information generation part 58 advances a process to provision information generation process S56.

  In the provision information generation step S56, the provision information generation unit 58 generates provision information based on the provision request data acquired by the provision request reception unit 57 in the provision request acquisition step S54. The provision information generation unit 58 generates provision information for the user specified by the user identifier based on the user identifier data D70 included in the browsing information data D17 selected in the user selection step S55. . For example, the provision information generation unit 58 extracts the user information data D12 in which the user identifier data D20 matches the user identifier data D70 from the user information data D12 stored by the user information management unit 41. The provided information generation unit 58 enters the user name represented by the user name data D21 in the address field of the provided information based on the user name data D21 included in the extracted user information data D12.

In the provided information notifying step S57, the provided information transmitting unit 59 is identified by the user identifier based on the user identifier data D70 included in the browsing information data D17 selected by the provided information generating unit 58 in the user selecting step S55. The provision information generated by the provision information generation unit 58 in the provision information generation step S56 is notified to the mobile terminal device 12 to be provided.
The provision information generation unit 58 returns the process to the user selection step S55 and selects the next user selection step S55.

  The inquiry information management unit 55 processes the browsing information data D17 stored by the browsing information search unit 52 in the browsing information storage step S50 one by one.

In the user selection step S58, the inquiry information management unit 55 selects one piece of browsing information data D17 that has not yet been processed from the browsing information data D17 stored by the browsing information search unit 52 in the browsing information storage step S50. .
When all the browsing information data D17 has been processed and there is no browsing information data D17 that has not yet been processed, the inquiry information management unit 55 ends the service providing process S14.
When there is browsing information data D17 that has not been processed yet, the inquiry information management unit 55 selects one browsing information data D17 from the browsing information data D17 that has not yet been processed. The inquiry information management unit 55 advances the process to the notification determination step S59.

In the notification determination step S59, the inquiry information management unit 55 moves that the inquiry has been made based on the inquiry notification condition data D48 included in the disclosure information data D14 selected by the browsing information search unit 52 in the disclosure information selection step S42. It is determined whether or not to notify the terminal device 12.
When it determines with notifying that there existed reference, the inquiry information management part 55 advances a process to inquiry information generation process S60.
If it is determined not to notify that there has been an inquiry, the inquiry information management unit 55 returns the process to the user selection step S58 and selects the next browsing information data D17.

  In the inquiry information generation step S60, the inquiry information management unit 55 is based on the inquiry request data D18 acquired by the inquiry request receiving unit 51 in the search request acquisition step S40 and the browsing information data D17 selected in the user selection step S58. , Generate query information. The inquiry information management unit 55 sets the user identifier data D80 included in the inquiry request data D18 as the user identifier data D60 of the inquiry information data D16. In addition, the inquiry information management unit 55 generates data representing the time when the inquiry request receiving unit 51 acquires the inquiry request, and uses the data as inquiry time data D61 of the inquiry information data D16. The inquiry information management unit 55 sets the data representing “indirect” as the disclosure content data D62 of the inquiry information data D16. The inquiry information management unit 55 stores the generated inquiry information.

In the transmission determination step S61, the inquiry information transmission unit 56 immediately confirms that there has been an inquiry based on the inquiry notification condition data D48 included in the disclosure information data D14 selected by the browsing information search unit 52 in the disclosure information selection step S42. Determine whether to notify or later.
When it is determined that the inquiry has been made immediately, the inquiry information transmission unit 56 proceeds to the inquiry information notification step S62.
When it is determined that the inquiry is made later, the inquiry information transmission unit 56 ends the service providing process S14.

In the inquiry information notification step S62, the inquiry information transmission unit 56 performs the inquiry information management unit 55 in the inquiry information generation step S60 based on the user identifier data D70 included in the browsing information data D17 selected in the user selection step S58. The generated inquiry information is notified to the mobile terminal device 12. The inquiry information transmission unit 56 notifies the inquiry information to the mobile terminal device 12 specified by the user identifier represented by the user identifier data D70.
The inquiry information transmitting unit 56 ends the service providing process S14.

The location information use system 10 (location information fuzzy registration / information distribution system) in this embodiment is characterized by the following points.
1. “Own position information” accurately measured by the terminal (mobile terminal device 12) is provided as “schematic” (processing) so that it may be used by others. For this purpose, the position processing unit (browsing information management unit 50) performs the following processing. The position processing unit performs classification according to a classification method prepared in advance from the input position information and describes it in the management table. In particular,
(1) Convert to landmarks such as “Name of municipality to which your location belongs”, “Nearest station name”, etc.
(2) Convert to “affiliated mesh number” managed by the system. Thereby, high-speed search becomes possible. When the original position information includes altitude, the “affiliated mesh number” may be configured to be three-dimensionally identifiable in consideration of the height. Further, the browsing information management unit 50 may be configured to automatically subdivide the size of the “affiliation mesh” according to the search frequency.
(3) A value obtained by designating position accuracy (rounded to 1 km, etc.) is obtained and described in the management table.
(4) Using an error generation device (such as adding an error at random), the error is added and a camouflaged value is calculated and described in the management table.
(5) For each “affiliation mesh” in the vicinity of the home, the vicinity of the company, etc., the accuracy that can be “schematic” can be designated.
(6) The accuracy that can be “schematically” can be specified by time, such as during working hours and after hours.
(7) The configuration may be such that each user can define the rough calculation method and describe it in the management table.
2. The position acquisition unit (position information receiving unit 47, position information management unit 48) performs management of multiple generations of “time point 1” and “time point 2” registered for its own position. The position estimation unit (49) calculates the “progress vector” (which direction moved at which speed) during the period between the time point 1 and the time point 2 and writes it in the management table. Based on the data in the two terms, the position estimating unit performs “extrapolation” up to an arbitrary time, thereby predicting “position at the current time” and writing it in the management table.
3. The “location information” obtained in 1 and 2 above allows the user (user of the mobile terminal device 12) to select the level to be disclosed. That is, only the “your position accuracy with the accuracy that you have recognized” can be seen from a company or family that provides services based on location information such as a coupon distributor (location information using device 16).
4). In addition, when there is a location information provision request (location request) from a company that provides a service based on location information, such as a coupon distributor (location information use device 16), the provision is made by a “permission flag” (disclosure information). Do. This system (position information mediating device 14) mediates mail communication from the service provider. You can receive services without notifying your personal information directly to the service provider.
5. Moreover, the structure which can push a service (coupon delivery etc.) may be sufficient when a user moves to the "affiliation mesh" which the service provision company registered beforehand.
6). Coupon distributors and family members can check their own location history (directly by the user).
7). The location information intermediary device 14 may charge for performing the relay of the location information management and the mail communication from the service provider as described above, and collect the “mediation fee” from the service provider. it can.
For example, the location information mediating device 14 does not charge the user of the mobile terminal device, and collects the system operation cost from the location information using device 16 as an access fee.

The user terminal (mobile terminal device 12) obtains accurate position information of the user terminal by positioning satellites such as GPS satellites and quasi-zenith satellites, base station position information, or manual input by the user (user). To do.
The location information registration mediation system (location information mediation device 14) obtains accurate location information of the user terminal and processes it into ambiguous location information. The position information registration mediation system searches for ambiguous position information or provides ambiguous position information. The location information registration mediation system obtains a location information mediation fee from a location information service provider.
The location information service provider (location information use device 16) obtains vague location information or distributes coupons or the like using vague location data. The location information service provider obtains a fee from the coupon provider.

Thereby, the anxiety that the position information may be known and misused by a third party can be solved.
Further, the position information can be searched at high speed.
As a result, the location information use service can be spread.
A safe and secure location information service can be realized.

  In addition, the mobile terminal device 12 does not transmit position information representing an accurate position to the position information mediating device 14, but transmits position information processed in the mobile terminal device 12 to the position information mediating device 14. It may be a configuration. For example, a position processing unit that processes position information is provided not in the position information mediating device 14 but in the mobile terminal device 12, and the mobile terminal device 12 transmits the position information processed by the position processing unit to the position information mediating device 14. Send.

  Moreover, the structure which can designate accident occurrence, such as a disaster, as disclosure conditions may be sufficient. When the occurrence of an accident is specified in the disclosure condition, the location information mediating device 14 does not process the acquired location of the mobile terminal device 12 regardless of the disclosure method and the disclosure accuracy specified by the user, and sends it to the location information using device 16. On the other hand, it may be configured to notify as it is. Then, when an accident such as a disaster occurs, it is possible to inform the position information using device 16 used by the user's family of the mobile terminal device 12 of the user's accurate position.

  When the mobile terminal device 12 and the location information mediating device 14 are different devices, the mobile terminal device 12 and the location information using device 16 do not communicate directly. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the location information using device 16 from knowing information that can identify the mobile terminal device 12 such as the IP address or mail address of the mobile terminal device 12.

  The configuration described above is an example, and other configurations may be used. For example, a configuration in which a configuration of a non-essential part is replaced with another configuration may be used.

The mediating device (position information mediating device 14) described above includes a processing device (91) that processes data, an input device (92) that inputs data, an output device (93) that outputs data, and a location acquisition unit. (Location information receiving unit 47), position processing unit (browsing information management unit 50), search request acquisition unit (inquiry request reception unit 51), search unit (browsing information search unit 52), provision request acquisition unit ( A provision request receiving unit 57) and a providing unit (provided information transmitting unit 59).
The position acquisition unit acquires position information (position information data D15) representing the position of the mobile terminal device (12) using the input device.
The position processing unit uses the processing device to process the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit according to a method set by a user of the mobile terminal device.
The search request acquisition unit uses the input device to acquire a search request (query request data D18) including a search condition including a position condition from the position information using device (16).
The search unit determines whether the mobile terminal device satisfies the search condition based on the position information (browsing information data D17) processed by the position processing unit using the processing device.
The provision request acquisition unit uses the input device to acquire a provision request (inquiry request data D18) for requesting provision of information to the mobile terminal device that satisfies the search condition from the position information use device. To do.
The providing unit provides the information to the user of the mobile terminal device when the search unit determines that the mobile terminal device satisfies the search condition using the output device.

Thereby, the service using the location information of the mobile terminal device can be received without the detailed location of the mobile terminal device being known to the location information using device. Since the location information using device does not know the detailed location of the mobile terminal device, for example, even if the user is unable to determine whether the location information using device operating company has low recognition and is reliable, Without worrying about misuse of location information, you can receive the service provided by the location information use device with peace of mind.
In addition, since the location information using device operating company does not need to know detailed information that is not necessary for providing the service, the management cost of personal information and the risk of leakage of personal information can be reduced.

The mediation device (position information mediation device 14) further includes a location request acquisition unit (inquiry request reception unit 51) and a location notification unit (inquiry result transmission unit 54).
The location request acquisition unit uses the input device (92) to acquire a location request (query request data D18) for requesting location information of the mobile terminal device (12) from the location information use device (16). .
The position notification unit notifies the position information using device of the position information (browsing information data D17) processed by the position processing unit (browsing information management unit 50 ) using the output device (93). To do.

  As a result, the location information using device is notified to the location information using device without giving the detailed location of the mobile terminal device to the location information using device, and the location information summarized to a level acceptable to the user of the mobile terminal device can be protected. be able to. Thereby, the service provided by the position information using device can be received with peace of mind.

The intermediary device (position information intermediary device 14) further includes an inquiry notification unit (inquiry information transmission unit 56).
When the search unit (browsing information search unit 52) determines that the mobile terminal device satisfies the search condition using the output device (93), the inquiry notification unit is configured to use the mobile terminal device (12). Is notified that there has been an inquiry about the location information of the mobile terminal device.

  As a result, the user of the mobile terminal device can know when and how his / her location information is used, and can receive the service provided by the location information using device with peace of mind.

The intermediary device (position information intermediary device 14) further includes an inquiry notification unit (inquiry information transmission unit 56).
The inquiry notifying unit notifies the mobile terminal device (12) specified by the identification information that there is an inquiry about the location information of the mobile terminal device, using the output device (93).

  As a result, the user of the mobile terminal device can know when and how his / her location information is used, and can receive the service provided by the location information using device with peace of mind.

The position processing unit (browsing information search unit 52)
Based on the position of the mobile terminal device (12) represented by the position information, a region including the position is determined from a plurality of regions, and the information representing the determined region is processed after the mobile terminal device is processed. Position information.

  Thereby, the location information using device can receive the service provided by the location information using device without knowing where the mobile terminal device is in the area.

The position processing unit (browsing information search unit 52)
The prefecture, city, town or town name to which the above location belongs, the nearest station at the above location, the nearest bus stop at the above location, the route through the nearest station at the above location, the bus route through the nearest bus stop at the above location, the nearest station at the above location The railway company that operates the route that passes through, or the bus office that operates the bus that passes the nearest bus stop at the above position, or the bus company is determined, and the position information after processing of the mobile terminal device (12) is determined.

  Thereby, the service provided by the location information using device can be received without the detailed location of the mobile terminal device being known to the location information using device.

The position processing unit (browsing information search unit 52)
A position represented by coordinates obtained by adding an error value having an absolute value equal to or less than the upper limit value designated by the user of the mobile terminal device to the coordinates representing the location of the mobile terminal device (12) is the position of the mobile terminal device. And

  Thereby, the service provided by the location information using device can be received without the detailed location of the mobile terminal device being known to the location information using device.

The position processing unit (browsing information search unit 52)
The position represented by the coordinates obtained by rounding the coordinates representing the position of the mobile terminal apparatus (12) to the number of significant digits specified by the user of the mobile terminal apparatus is defined as the position of the mobile terminal apparatus.

  Thereby, the service provided by the location information using device can be received without the detailed location of the mobile terminal device being known to the location information using device.

The mediation device (position information mediation device 14) further includes a position estimation unit (49).
The position estimation unit uses the processing device (91), based on the position of the mobile terminal device at a plurality of times represented by the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit (position information reception unit 47). The position of the mobile terminal device is estimated.
The position processing unit (browsing information management unit 50) processes position information representing the position estimated by the position estimation unit using the processing device.

  Thereby, the service provided by the location information using device can be received without the detailed location of the mobile terminal device being known to the location information using device. Since the intermediary device knows the detailed position of the mobile terminal device, it can accurately estimate the position of the mobile terminal device.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Location information use system, 12 Mobile terminal device, 14 Location information mediation device, 16 Location information use device, 18 Network, 20 User information input part, 21, 41 User information management part, 22 User information transmission part, 23 , 42 Usage information reception unit, 24, 43 Usage information management unit, 25 Usage information display unit, 26 Disclosure information input unit, 27, 46 Disclosure information management unit, 28 Disclosure information transmission unit, 29 Location acquisition unit, 30 Location information transmission 31 Reference information receiving unit 32, 55 Reference information managing unit 33 Reference information displaying unit 34 Providing information receiving unit 35 Providing information managing unit 36 Providing information displaying unit 40 User information receiving unit 44 Usage information Transmission unit, 45 Disclosure information reception unit, 47 Location information reception unit, 48 Location information management unit, 49 Location estimation unit, 50 Browsing information management unit, 51 Reference required Receiving unit, 52 browsing information search unit, 53 search result management unit, 54 inquiry result transmission unit, 56 inquiry information transmission unit, 57 provision request reception unit, 58 provision information generation unit, 59 provision information transmission unit, 91 processing device, 92 Input device, 93 output device, 94 storage device, D12 user information data, D13 usage information data, D14 disclosure information data, D15 location information data, D16 inquiry information data, D17 browsing information data, D18 inquiry request data, D19 inquiry result Data, D20, D40, D50, D70, D82 User identifier data, D21 User name data, D22, D33 Mail address data, D23 Gender data, D24 Date of birth data, D25 Address data, D30, D41, D60, D80 User identifier data, D31 User name data, 32 URL data, D34 use content data, D35 recommended disclosure content data, D36 recommended disclosure method data, D37 recommended disclosure accuracy data, D38 inquiry notification presence / absence data, D42 use method type data, D43, D62 disclosure content data, D44 disclosure condition data , D45, D72 Disclosure method data, D46 Disclosure accuracy data, D47 Location type data, D48 Query notification condition data, D51 measurement time data, D52 latitude data, D53 longitude data, D54 measurement accuracy data, D61 query time data, D71 browsing data , D73, D90 Time data, D74, D91 Processed position data, D81 Request type data, D85 Search condition data, D95 Query result identifier data, D96 Condition satisfying user count data, S12 Position inquiry process, S14 Service provision processing, S20 location request acquisition step, S21, S41 disclosure information extraction step, S22, S44 disclosure condition selection step, S23, S45 disclosure condition determination step, S24, S28, S52 inquiry result notification step, S25, S46 location type determination Process, S26, S47 position estimation process, S27, S48 position processing, S29, S59 notification determination process, S30, S60 inquiry information generation process, S31, S61 transmission determination process, S32 inquiry information transmission process, S40 search request acquisition process, S42 Disclosure information selection process, S43 Other condition determination process, S49 Position condition determination process, S50 Browse information storage process, S51 counting process, S53 Inquiry result determination process, S54 provision request acquisition process, S55, S58 User selection process, S56 provision Information generation step, S57 provision information notification step, S62 Inquiry information notification process, S70 Bias determination process, S71 Bias addition process, S72 Disclosure method determination process, S73 Effective digit rounding process, S74 Address conversion process, S75 Address cut process, S76 Station conversion process, S77, S81 Level determination process , S78, S82 Route conversion process, S79 Company conversion process, S80 Bus stop conversion process, S83 Sales office conversion process, S84 Road conversion process, S85 Mesh conversion process.

Claims (10)

In an intermediary device that mediates communication between a mobile terminal device and a plurality of location information using devices that use location information of the mobile terminal device,
A position acquisition unit for acquiring position information indicating the position of the mobile terminal device;
A disclosure information receiving unit for acquiring, for each of the plurality of position information using devices, disclosure information indicating a condition for disclosing the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit;
A position processing unit that processes the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit for each of the plurality of position information use devices based on the disclosure information acquired by the disclosure information reception unit for each of the plurality of position information use devices; ,
A search request acquisition unit for acquiring a search request including a search condition including a condition for a position from any of the plurality of position information using devices,
When the search request acquisition unit receives the search request, among the position information processed by the position processing unit for each of the plurality of position information use devices, the position information use device corresponding to the position information use device that is the transmission source of the search request A search unit for determining whether the mobile terminal device satisfies the search condition based on position information;
A provision request acquisition unit that acquires a provision request for requesting to provide information to a mobile terminal device that satisfies the search condition from a location information use device that is a transmission source of the search request;
When the search unit determines that the mobile terminal apparatus satisfies the search condition, the position information processed by the position processing unit is not notified to the position information using device that is the transmission source of the search request. , to the user of the mobile terminal device, intermediary device, characterized in that it comprises a providing unit for providing the information to the providing request has requested provision. The intermediary device further includes:
A location request acquisition unit that acquires a location request for requesting location information of the mobile terminal device from any of the plurality of location information use devices;
When the position request acquisition unit acquires the position request, among the position information processed by the position processing unit for each of the plurality of position information use devices, the position request corresponding to the position information use device that is the transmission source of the position request The mediation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a position notification unit that notifies the position information to a position information use apparatus that is a transmission source of the position request. The intermediary device further includes:
An inquiry notifying unit for notifying the user of the mobile terminal device that there has been an inquiry about the location information of the mobile terminal device when the search unit determines that the mobile terminal device satisfies the search condition. The mediation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: The position processing part is
Based on the position of the mobile terminal device represented by the position information, a region including the position is determined from among a plurality of regions, and the information indicating the determined region is the position after processing of the mobile terminal device. It is set as information, The mediation apparatus in any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The position processing part is
A position represented by coordinates obtained by adding an error value equal to or less than an upper limit value designated by a user of the mobile terminal device to coordinates representing the position of the mobile terminal device is defined as the position of the mobile terminal device. The intermediary device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The position processing part is
The position represented by coordinates obtained by rounding the coordinates representing the position of the mobile terminal device to the number of significant digits specified by the user of the mobile terminal device is defined as the position of the mobile terminal device. Item 6. The mediating apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 5. The intermediary device further includes:
A position estimation unit that estimates the position of the mobile terminal device based on the position of the mobile terminal device at a plurality of times represented by the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit;
The intermediary device according to claim 1, wherein the position processing unit processes position information representing the position estimated by the position estimation unit. A mobile terminal device carried by the user;
A position information use system comprising the intermediary device according to claim 1.   The computer functions as an intermediary device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, when executed by a computer having a processing device for processing data, an input device for inputting data, and an output device for outputting data. A computer program characterized by: In an intermediary method of an intermediary device that mediates communication between a mobile terminal device and a plurality of location information using devices that use location information of the mobile terminal device,
A position acquisition step of acquiring position information representing the position of the mobile terminal device;
A disclosure information receiving step of acquiring disclosure information indicating a condition for disclosing the location information acquired by the location acquisition step for each of the plurality of location information using devices;
A position processing step of processing the position information acquired by the position acquisition step for each of the plurality of position information use devices, based on the disclosure information acquired for each of the plurality of position information use devices by the disclosure information receiving step; ,
A search request acquisition step for acquiring a search request including a search condition including a condition for a position from any of the plurality of position information using devices,
When the search request acquisition step receives the search request, among the location information processed for each of the plurality of location information use devices in the location processing step, the location information use device corresponding to the transmission source of the search request A search step for determining whether the mobile terminal device satisfies the search condition based on position information;
A provision request acquisition step for acquiring a provision request for requesting to provide information to a mobile terminal device satisfying the search condition from a location information using device that is a transmission source of the search request;
If the mobile terminal apparatus satisfies the search condition and is determined by the search process , the position information processed by the position processing process is notified to the position information using apparatus that is the transmission source of the search request. And a providing step of providing the information requested to be provided by the provision request to a user of the mobile terminal device.

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