JPH05189452A - Device and system for information supply - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a device and a system for supply of information to encounter a desired opponent at a destination. CONSTITUTION:A subscriber registers self attribute data, the attribute data of the desired opponent, and self trip schedule data via an input/output terminal 1. Inputted data are transferred to a host computer 3 via a communication network 2. The host computer 3 generates information with respect to an opponent with whom meeting can be realized at every subscriber by processing the data transferred from a large number of subscribers. Generated data is stored in an output list file 48, and the subscriber can recognize possibility to encounter the desired opponent at the destination by making access the output list file via the input/output terminal.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to an information providing device and system using a communication network, and more particularly to an information providing device for providing registered subscribers with information for meeting a desired partner regarding travel. Regarding the system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of transportation systems such as airplanes, railways, and highways, many people including businessmen have the opportunity to travel by means of transportation. In particular, a trip to a foreign country or a distant area even in the country takes a lot of time, so a fruitful trip is desired. In general, the main purpose of a trip is often clear,
For some people or for some travelers, it may be a secondary purpose, but in the distance strangers (land people,
(Including travelers) may be desired. For example, it may be desirable to meet someone who has a common hobby or a common experience on a trip, even if he has never met him. Furthermore, there are cases where it is desired to meet a stranger (desired person) who is traveling, even if the person himself / herself does not travel.

[0003]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, conventionally, for those who expect to meet strangers on a trip,
There is no information provision system that provides effective information, and people who expect such encounters could not easily meet the desired person while traveling.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and system for providing information to meet a desired partner regarding travel.

[0005]

An information providing apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 is an attribute / schedule storage for storing, for each subscriber, attribute data and schedule data of the subscriber and attribute data of an expected other party. Means and a subscriber selecting means for selecting a particular subscriber having common attribute data and common schedule data among the subscribers by referring to the attribute / schedule storage means,
An information storage unit for storing information of an expected other party for each subscriber selected by the subscriber selection unit, and an information provision unit for providing the subscriber with the information stored by the information storage unit via a communication network. including.

An information providing system according to a second aspect of the present invention is provided with a plurality of input / output terminal devices for access by a plurality of subscribers and information provided by being connected to the plurality of input / output terminals via a communication network. The host computer apparatus for generating information for encountering a desired partner for travel for each subscriber. The host computer refers to the attribute / schedule storage means for storing the attribute data and schedule data of the subscriber himself / herself, which is given from the input / output terminal, and the attribute data of the expected other party, and the attribute / schedule storage means. The subscriber selecting means for selecting a specific subscriber having common attribute data and common schedule data among the subscribers, and an expectation for each selected subscriber in response to the subscriber selecting means. Information storage means for storing the information of the other party, and responding to the request of the subscriber given through the input / output terminal, the information of the other party of the corresponding subscriber stored by the information storage means. And an information transfer means for transferring to the input / output terminal. The information of the partner of the corresponding subscriber transferred from the information transfer means is displayed on the display device provided in the corresponding input / output terminal.

[0007]

According to the present invention, regarding travel, for each subscriber who expects to meet a desired partner at the travel destination, the attribute data and schedule data of the subscriber himself and the attribute data of the expected partner are stored as attributes / schedule. It is stored in advance in the means. The subscriber selecting means selects a specific subscriber having common attribute data and common schedule data among the subscribers by referring to the attribute / schedule storage means. For each selected subscriber, the information of the expected other party is accumulated by the information accumulating means, and the information providing means provides the accumulated information to the subscriber via the communication network.

[0008]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information providing system showing an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, this information providing system includes a large number of input / output terminals 1 for access by a large number of subscribers, and a host computer 3 connected to the input / output terminals 1 via a communication network 2. One input / output terminal 1 includes a keyboard (or touch panel) device 11 for inputting data and commands by a subscriber, a CRT display device 12, and a printer device 13. The communication network 2 is realized by, for example, an integrated service digital network (ISDN) and / or a telephone network, and in some cases, a local area network (LAN).

The host computer device 3 includes a data input processing section 31, a data combination processing section 32, an expected number detection processing section 33, a feasible encounter detection processing section 34, and a data output processing section 35. These processing units 31 to 3
5 is realized in this embodiment by software or programming and is connected to the communication network 2 via the interface device 30. The host computer device 3 further includes an attribute file 41, a schedule file 42, and an attribute / schedule file 4
3, the expected number files 44, 45 and 46, the intermediate files 47 and 49, and the output list file 48. These files 41 to 48 are formed in a randomly accessible storage device such as a magnetic disk device. These files 41 to 48
Are connected to the processing units 31 to 35 via the bus line 40.

The details of the processing units 31 to 35 and the files 41 to 48 provided in the host computer device 3 will be described later, but in the following description, first, the information provision shown in FIG. 1 is provided. For the purpose of explaining the outline of the system, its usage will be described.

FIG. 2 is a display diagram showing an example displayed on the display device 12 when the attribute data is input. Referring to FIG. 2, the data entry area 14 is used by the subscriber to enter his own attributes and the attributes of the expected other party. The guidance area 15 is displayed to assist the subscriber in inputting data into the data input area 14. Display examples of the data input area 14 and the guidance area 15 are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 3, the data input area 14 is
A column 51 in which the registrant number is entered, a column 52 in which the registrant's name is entered, a column 53 in which a password is entered, and a column 54 in which a fee payment bank name is entered.
, A column 55 for entering the account number, a column 56 for entering the address of the registrant, a column 57 for entering the age of the registrant, a column 58 for entering a telephone number, and a fax number for entering. Column 59 and a column 60 into which other information of the registrant is input.

Various attribute data indicating the range of receiving the information providing service are input to the column 61. For example, data regarding the attributes of the expected other party such as birthplace data, school data, family data, birth data, hobby data, etc. are entered in the column 61. In the example shown in FIG. 3, origin data, origin school data, family data, art data as a taste and sports data are shown. Various registration codes are input to the column 62.

Input of data to the data input area 14 shown in FIG. 3 is performed by the keyboard device 11. However, in order to reduce the amount of data input work, a guidance area 15 as shown in FIG. 4 is input. Used for assistance. That is, when the guidance display is used,
Data prepared in advance is displayed in the guidance area 15, and the user can easily input data by moving the cursor to the displayed data. If necessary, various data for reducing the data input work is prepared in the guidance display area 15. Input of unprepared data is performed by key input through the keyboard device 11.

In another example, the display device 12
The map is displayed on the screen, and the region data is input by repeating the instruction of the desired region. The displayed map can be sequentially changed from a large scale map to a small scale map, and hierarchical data can be input by repeating the instruction.

For example, when a person expects to meet a person from the same place of origin at a travel destination, the place of origin data is input as expected attribute data. Hometown data is
You can specify a range from a wide range to a narrower range. When an international network is formed, nationality data can be input, but in the example shown in FIG. 2, only more detailed regional data is displayed than the prefecture data in Japan. The hometown of a user is 4 Funairicho, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture
In the case of Chome, if the user wants to meet someone from the same town as the target, the birthplace data of “Hiroshima prefecture”, “Hiroshima city” and “Funairi town” is shown in FIG. Input as shown in. If the input birthplace data includes the data “4th Street”, the persons (other than the 4th street) among the people (registrants) from Funairi Town are excluded from the search target.

The school data from which the student is born is input when it is expected to meet a graduate of the same school. In this case, school name data, graduation year data, or graduation year range data is input. The graduation year range data defines the range of the graduation year of the person who is expected to meet. If no graduation year data is entered, all graduates of the designated school will be searched.

The family data is input when, for example, it is expected to meet a person having the same origin, such as the Tokugawa family Kishu branch family, a blood family, or a blood relative. Birthplace data (or placename data that is closely related to history) and family name data of the family are also optionally input.

Further, when it is expected that a person having the same taste, that is, the person having the same hobbies and / or sports is expected, hobbies data and / or sports data of the expected partner is input. In the example shown in FIG. 3, "music" (further "Italian opera") is used as artistic data, and "swimming" (further "200" is used as sports data).
Metric breaststroke ") has been entered.

As other attribute data of the registrant, for example, occupation data, experience history data such as Siberian detention,
Age data and the like may also be included.

By inputting the flag "L" to the search mask flag column FL, the search data with the flag is not used in the search processing. That is, although the data is input as the expected attribute data, by inputting the flag "L", it is possible to prevent the expected other party from being limited by the designated data. In other words, the data once excluded from the search target can be easily returned as a search item by removing the flag “L”.

FIG. 5 is a display diagram showing an example displayed on the display device 12 when the schedule data is input. The data input area 16 is provided with columns for inputting various data described below. The columns 70 to 90 are provided with the following description in order to indicate the data to be input to the blank columns in the data input area 16. A “search mask flag” is shown in the column 72. In the column 71, “date” is shown. In the column 72, “date” is shown. The column 73 shows “margin”. In the column 74, “schedule category” is shown. "Time" in column 75
Is shown. “Departure” is entered in the column 76. The column 77 shows “margin”. In the column 78, “arrival” is shown. The column 79 shows “margin”.

In the column 80, "area" is shown. In the column 81, “prefecture” is shown. The “type of vehicle” is indicated in the column 82. A “flight number” is shown in the column 83. In the column 84, “departure station (place name)” is shown. In the column 85, “arrival station (place name)” is shown. “County” is shown in the column 86. The column 87 shows “municipalities”. A “town name” is shown in the column 88. The “location” is shown in the column 89. Column 90
Indicates "contact means".

The changeable schedule data in date and time is entered in the corresponding blank columns indicated by columns 73, 77 and 79 in which "margin" is indicated. That is, when the schedule is undecided or the schedule can be changed as needed, data defining the changeable number of days and the length of time can be input in the corresponding blank column.
In the search process described later, by referring to these margin data, the search target is expanded, and thus the probability of finding an expected partner is increased.

Corresponding data indicated by columns 70 to 90 are input to the blank columns in the data input area 16 shown in FIG. 5, respectively. Data input is performed via the keyboard 11 using the guidance area 15 as in the case of the attribute data input shown in FIG. The schedule data is movement data that defines the schedule when the user moves from one point X to another point Y, and the schedule of the user's future stay such as an event site, accommodation facility, and waiting room at the airport. Location data that defines It is pointed out that both mobile data and location data include time data and locations that make up the schedule data. An example of migration data is shown in Table 1 below.

[0026]

[Table 1]

On the other hand, an example of location data is shown in Table 2 below.

[0028]

[Table 2]

FIG. 6 is a data diagram showing some examples of movement data input as schedule data. Further, FIG. 7 is a data diagram showing some examples of location data input as schedule data. It is pointed out that, besides the examples shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, various other data can be used as mobile data and location data.

As described above, after the attribute data is input with reference to the data input area 14 shown in FIG. 3 and the schedule data is input with reference to the data input area 16 shown in FIG. The search process including the data input by many subscribers is executed by the host computer 3 shown in FIG. This search process will be explained in detail in the following description, but in the following description,
First, an example of an output list finally output by the display device 12 and / or the printer device 13 will be described.

In the example described below, it is assumed that a certain user A has the registration schedule shown in Table 3 below.

[0032]

[Table 3]

On the other hand, it is assumed that another user, Mr. B, has the registration schedule shown in Table 4 below.

[0034]

[Table 4]

FIG. 8 is an output list diagram showing an example of an output list of a certain user A. On the other hand, FIG. 9 is an output list diagram showing an example of the output list of another user, Mr. B. As can be seen from the registration schedules of Mr. A and Mr. B shown in Tables 3 and 4 above, Mr. A who is a stranger to each other (or in some cases, they are acquaintances but do not know each other's schedule). Mr. B may meet on schedule. In this example, it is assumed that the attribute data of Mr. A and the attribute data of Mr. B expected to match each other. Therefore, in Mr. A's output list 91 shown in FIG. 8, Mr. B's schedule data and attribute data are displayed as partner information. Referring to FIG. 8, Mr. A's output list 91
Is a column 92 that displays Mr. A's schedule data.
And a column 93 for displaying schedule data of the other party (that is, including Mr. B) and a column 94 for displaying detailed attribute data of the other party.

On the other hand, Mr. B's output list 95 shown in FIG.
Is a column 96 that displays Mr. B's schedule data.
And a column 97 for displaying schedule data of the other party (that is, including Mr. A) and a column 98 for displaying detailed attribute data of the other party.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, each of Mr. A and Mr. B has people other than Mr. B and Mr. A who may meet as a partner (Mr. E, Mr. X, Mr. W). As they exist, schedule data and attribute data for those people are also displayed.

Receiving the output lists shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, Mr. A and Mr. B can know that the partner whom they expect exists at the destination. Therefore,
Mr. A and Mr. B can contact the desired party before or during the trip and can meet each other at the destination if mutual agreement is obtained.

From the above description, an example of a mode of use using the information providing system shown in FIG. 1 has been described. In the following description, data processing in the information providing system shown in FIG. 1 will be described in detail.

FIG. 10 is an overall flow chart showing a schematic processing flow in the information providing system shown in FIG.
Referring to FIG. 10, first, at step 101, attribute data is input (or updated depending on the case) by a large number of users or subscribers. The subscriber inputs / updates his / her own attribute data and expected attribute data via the input / output terminal 1 shown in FIG. The input attribute data is sent to the host computer 3 via the communication network 2.
Transferred to.

In step 102, the data input processing unit 31 processes the transferred attribute data and registers or stores the processed attribute data in the attribute file 41. In some cases, the data in the attribute file 41 is updated.

In step 103, the subscriber
Schedule data is input via the input / output terminal 1. In some cases, the subscriber updates the schedule data. The input schedule data is sent to the host computer 3 via the communication network 2.
Transferred to.

In step 104, the data input processing unit 31 processes the transferred schedule data,
The processed schedule data is registered in the schedule file 42. In some cases, schedule file 4
The schedule data in 2 is updated.

In step 105, the data combination processing section 32 refers to the attribute file 41 and the schedule file 42 to perform the combination processing of the two data stored via the common registration number. That is, attribute data and schedule data are combined for each subscriber (which will be described in detail later), and combined attribute / schedule data is generated.

In step 106, the generated attribute / schedule data is registered in the attribute / schedule file 43. In some cases, the attribute / schedule data in the file 43 is updated.

In step 107, the expected number detection processing unit 33 performs the processing described in detail later to generate three expected number files 44, 45 and 46. In some cases, the expected number files 44, 45 and 46 are updated.

In step 108, the feasible encounter detection processing section 34 detects a feasible encounter by performing the processing described in detail later.

In step 109, data regarding feasible encounters is stored in the intermediate file 47. In some cases, the data stored in the intermediate file 47 is updated.

In step 110, the data output processing unit 35 causes the display device 12 or the printer device 1 to operate.
The output data having a format suitable for output according to No. 3 is generated, and the generated output data is stored in the output list file 48. In some cases, the data in the output list file 48 is updated.

In step 111, the data output processing section 35 refers to the data stored in the output list file 48 in response to the request from the input / output terminal 1, and outputs the requested data to the interface device 30 and the communication network. 2 to the input / output terminal 1. The display device 12 in the input / output terminal 1 displays desired information (output list).

Next, the data format of the data stored in each of the files 41 to 47 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The data stored in the attribute file 41 has the data format shown in Table 5 below.

[0052]

[Table 5]

Referring to Table 5, the data stored in the attribute file 41 is for each registrant, that is, the registrant number R.
Attribute data EA1, EA2, ... Provided for each N are included. Each of the attribute data EA1, EA2, ... Corresponds to the attribute code indicating the attribute data described with reference to FIG. That is, each attribute code EA1, EA2, ... Indicates the attribute of the registrant himself and the attribute of the expected other party.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3, as the attribute code EA1, a code indicating the prefecture of origin "Hiroshima prefecture" of a registrant (registrant number RM) is input, and the attribute code EA
A code indicating the city of origin "Hiroshima City" is input as 2, and a code indicating the city of origin "Funairi" is input as the attribute code EA3. The other data (data numbers “02” to “04”) shown in FIG. 3 are also input as the attribute code of the same registrant number RN according to a predetermined coding.

Therefore, the attribute data input through the data input area 14 shown in FIG. 3 is converted into an attribute code by the data input processing section 31 shown in FIG. Table 5 in file 41
It is stored in the data format shown in. Similarly, when a change or update of the attribute data is requested, the data input processing unit 31 changes or updates the attribute code stored in the attribute file 41 according to the request.

The schedule data stored in the schedule file 42 shown in FIG. 1 has the data format shown in Table 6 below.

[0057]

[Table 6]

Referring to Table 6, the schedule data also includes date / time codes TMA, TMB and place codes PL1, PL2 provided for each registrant, that is, each registrant number RN.
... and including. The date and time code TMA includes a code that defines the start date and time at the place where the registrant is located.
The date and time code TMB includes a code that defines the end date and time. The location codes PL1, PL2, ... Include codes that sequentially define locations from a wide area to a narrow area. That is, one piece of schedule data stored in the schedule file 42 is that the registrant RN stays in the place determined by the place code PL1, PK2, ... In the period determined by the start date code TMA and the end date code TMB. Indicates that.

Therefore, the schedule data input through the data input area 16 shown in FIG. 5 is converted into a date code and a place code by the data input processing section 31 shown in FIG. Stored in the schedule file 42.

The data stored in the attribute / schedule file 43 has the data format shown in Table 7 below.

[0061]

[Table 7]

As can be seen from Table 7, the contents of the attribute / schedule file 42 are obtained by combining the attribute data and the schedule data stored in the attribute file 41 and the schedule file 42 according to a predetermined process. This combining process is performed in the data combining processing unit 32 shown in FIG. The data combining process is performed according to the flow chart shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the processing in the data combination processing unit 32 shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 11, in step 121, by referring to the attribute file 41, the attribute data EA1, EA2, ... Is read for each one of the registrant numbers RNA. Step 12
2, by referring to the schedule file 42, the schedule data for each registrant number RNB,
That is, date code TMA, TMB and place code P
L1, PL2, ... Are read.

In step 123, the registrant (RN
For each A), the attribute / schedule data obtained by all combinations of the attribute data EA and the schedule data TM, PL is created and stored in the attribute / schedule file 43. Therefore, this step 1
23, attribute data EL and schedule data T
This means that M and PL are combined for each registrant, and the combined data is stored in the attribute / schedule file 43.

In step 124, it is determined whether or not the processing of steps 121 to 123 has been performed for all the registered persons. When the unprocessed registrant attribute data remains in the attribute file 41, the process returns to step 121. When the processing of steps 121 to 123 has been completed for all the registrants, the above data combining processing is completed. As a result,
The combined data having the data format shown in Table 7 is generated in the attribute / schedule file 43 shown in FIG.

In the following description, the processing in the expected number detection processing unit 33 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. Prior to the description, the data format of the data generated in the expected number detection processing, that is, the data format of the data stored in the expected number files 44, 45 and 46 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

Table 8 shows the data format of the data stored in the first expected number file 44.

[0068]

[Table 8]

Referring to Table 8, the first expected number file 4
One data stored in 4 contains an attribute code and the number of registrants expecting a common attribute. As described above, the attribute data includes the attribute codes EA1 and EA.
Including 2, ... The attribute codes EA1, EA2, ... Are used as the first search key KA for detecting the first expected number, as described later.

The data stored in the second expected number file 45 has the data format shown in Table 9 below.

[0071]

[Table 9]

Referring to Table 9, the second expected number file 4
One data stored in 5 is the attribute code EA
1, EA2, ..., Date and time codes TMA and TMB, and expected number data ENB. That is, the expected number data ENB
Corresponds to the number of registrants having a common attribute code and a common date code.

The data stored in the third expected number file 46 has the data format shown in Table 10 below.

[0074]

[Table 10]

Referring to Table 10, one data stored in the third expected number file 46 is the attribute code EA.
1, EA2, ... and place codes PL1, PL2 ,.
The expected number data EN1, EN2, ... For example,
Expected number data EN1 is common attribute code EA1, EA
This corresponds to the number of registrants having a common place code PL1. The expected number code EN2 is a common attribute code EA1, EA2, ... And a common place code PL1, PL2.
Corresponding to the number of registrants having. Furthermore, the expected number code EN3 corresponds to the number of registrants having the common attribute codes EA1, EA2, ... And the common place codes PL1, PL2, PL3. The other expected number data EN4 also corresponds to the number of registrants who follow similar rules.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the generation processing of the expected number file 44 in the expected number detection processing unit 33 shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 12, first, in step 131, the first search key KA is extracted by referring to the attribute / schedule file 43. As described above, the first search key KA is the attribute codes EA1 and EA.
2, ...

At step 132, the search key KA is referred to by referring to the attribute / schedule file 43.
Each time, the number of registrants having the same search key code is counted. That is, the number of registrants who have registered the same attribute data is obtained as the expected number data ENA.

In step 133, the expected number data E
The NA is stored in the expected number file 44 for each search key KA. That is, in the expected number file 44, Table 8
Data having the data format shown in is stored.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing the generation processing of the expected number file 45 in the expected number detection processing unit 33 shown in FIG. With reference to FIG. 13, in step 134, the second search key KB is extracted by referring to the attribute / schedule file 43. The second search key KB is attribute code EA1, EA2, ...
And date and time codes TMA and TMB.

At step 135, the search key KB is referred by referring to the attribute / schedule file 43.
Each time, the number of registrants having the same search key code is counted. Therefore, the number of registrants having the same attribute data and date code is obtained as the expected number data ENB.

In step 136, the expected number data ENB is written in the expected number file 45 for each search key KB. Therefore, data having the data format shown in Table 9 is stored in the second expected number file 45.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing the generation processing of the third expected number file 46 in the expected number detection processing unit 33 shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 14, step 137
In, the third search key KC is extracted by referring to the attribute / schedule file 43. The third search key KC is the attribute code EA1, E shown in Table 10.
A2, ... And place codes PL1, PL2 ,.

At step 138, the search key KC is referred to by referring to the attribute / schedule file 43.
Each time, the number of registrants having the same search key code is counted. As described above, for example, the expected number data EN
2 corresponds to the number of registrants having common attribute codes EA1, EA2, ... And common place codes PL1, PL2. Similarly, the expected number data EN4 has common attribute codes EA1, EA2, ... And common place codes PL1 to P.
This corresponds to the number of registrants having L4.

In step 139, the expected number data E
N1, EN2, ... Search key K in the expected number file 46
It is written every C. Therefore, the data having the data format shown in Table 10 is stored in the third expected number file 46.

Next, the processing in the feasible encounter detection processing unit 34 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. Referring to FIG. 15, in step 181, expected number data ENA is read by referring to expected number file 44.

In step 182, it is determined that the read data ENA is "2" or more. When the data ENA is “1”, the process returns to step 181. When ENA ≧ “2”, the process is step 183.
Proceed to.

At step 183, the first search key KA having the expected number ENA of “2” or more is extracted from the expected number file 44, and the expected number file 4 is searched with the search key KA.
5 is retrieved. Therefore, the expected number data ENB having the search key KA is read from the expected number file 45.

In step 184, the expected number data E
It is determined whether NB is “2” or more. When the data ENB is “1”, the process returns to step 183. When ENB ≧ “2”, the process is step 185.
Proceed to.

In step 185, the second search key KB is extracted from the expected number file 45, and the expected number file 46 is searched with the search key KB. Therefore, the expected number data ENj (j = 1, 2, ...) Is read.

In step 186, it is determined whether all the data ENj are "2" or more. When at least one data ENj is “1”, the process returns to step 185. When all ENj ≧ 2, the process proceeds to step 187 shown in FIG.

At step 187, the attribute code E
By combining A, the date code TM and the place code PL, search data for searching the attribute / schedule file 43 is generated.

In step 188, by searching the attribute / schedule file 43 with the search data,
The registrant numbers RNA, RNB, ... Are extracted.

In step 189, the intermediate file data is generated for all the combinations in the extracted registrant numbers, and the generated data is stored in the intermediate file 49.

At step 190, it is determined whether all the data in the expected number file 44 has been processed. When the data remains, the process returns to step 181 shown in FIG. When all the data in the expected number file 44 are processed, the process in the feasible encounter detection processing unit 43 shown in FIG. 1 is ended.

The data format of the data generated as a result of the feasible encounter detection process shown in FIG.
It is shown in Table 11 below. That is, the data format shown in Table 1 corresponds to the intermediate file 4 shown in FIG.
This corresponds to the data format of the data stored in 7.

[0096]

[Table 11]

With reference to Table 11, one data stored in the intermediate file 47 is the registrant number data of the partner provided for each registrant number RNA, the partner attribute data, and the partner schedule data. Including. The partner number data RNB corresponds to the registrant number of the partner with whom the registrant RNA may encounter at the destination. In the intermediate file 47, not only the partner number data RNB but also the partner attribute data and schedule data are stored. That is, the partner attribute data is the partner attribute code E.
A1, EA2, ... The partner schedule data is
The other party's date and time codes TMA, TMB and the other party's place codes PL1, PL2, ...

As a result, the intermediate file 47 stores, for each registrant, the information related to the other person with whom there is a possibility of meeting at the destination. By referring to the intermediate file 47, the output list file 48 is created in the following procedure.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart for generating the data stored in the output list file 48 shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 17, in step 161,
The data stored in the intermediate file 47 is sorted using the registrant number. As a result, the data regarding the same registrant is aggregated in the intermediate file 47, and the data regarding one registrant can be easily accessed.

In step 162, the intermediate file 4
Schedule file 42 for each registrant existing in 7
The schedule data is read by referring to. That is, the data required to compose the output list shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 is read for each registrant.

At step 163, the read schedule data is written in the output format in the output list file for each registrant. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 8, Mr. A's schedule data is written in the output list file 48 in a data format suitable for forming the output list shown in FIG.

At step 164, the intermediate file 4
By referring to FIG. 7, the feasible partner information for each registrant is read. In the example shown in FIG. 8, schedule information and attribute information regarding Mr. B and Mr. E are read from the intermediate file 47.

In step 165, the read partner information is written in the output list file 48 in a data format suitable for forming the output list. As a result of the data writing in steps 163 and 165, for example, data having a data format suitable for outputting the output list shown in FIG. 8 is output list file 4.
It will be formed in 8.

At step 166, it is determined whether or not another registrant remains as a partner. If another party is left, the process returns to step 164. If no other party remains, the process proceeds to step 167.

At step 167, the intermediate file 4
It is determined whether or not there is another registrant who has not been subjected to steps 162 to 166 within 7.
When another registrant remains, the process proceeds to step 162.
Return to. When no other registrant remains, the output list file data generation process shown in FIG. 16 ends.

With the above description, steps 101 to 110 shown in the overall flow chart shown in FIG. 10 are performed.
The detailed processing in the above has been described. The processing of steps 101 to 110 shown in FIG. 10 is performed at predetermined time intervals, such as once a day, or twice a day in some cases. The user can obtain the latest information by referring to the output list file 48. On the other hand, in addition to the intermediate file 47, intermediate file data one generation before, that is, one generation old, is also stored in the old intermediate file 49. The feasible encounter detection processing unit 34 compares the data in the latest intermediate file 47 with the data in the old intermediate file 49, whereby a new feasible encounter has occurred (or has not occurred). Can be detected. Information about new feasible encounters,
The subscriber is notified via the input / output terminal 1.

Therefore, the subscriber who has completed his / her own attribute data registration and schedule data registration again accesses the information providing system via the input / output terminal 1 after the elapse of a predetermined time interval to obtain the latest output. You can get the list. That is, when a subscriber requests the output of the output list via the input / output terminal 1, the data output processing unit 35 refers to the output list file 48,
The output list data requested by the subscriber is transferred to the input / output terminal. The subscriber can look at the output list displayed on the display device 12 to obtain information about the other party at his / her destination. The output list may be output via the printer device 13 as necessary.

As described above, when the subscriber accesses the information providing system shown in FIG. 1, the subscriber can obtain the output list shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, for example. By referring to the output list, the subscriber knows that he / she may meet the person whom he / she expects. The subscriber may contact the desired party prior to the departure of the trip or during the trip, and the expected encounter may be realized.

[0109]

As described above, according to the present invention, attribute / schedule storage means for storing data for each subscriber is provided, and by referring to this, attribute data common among subscribers and By providing the subscriber selecting means for selecting a specific subscriber having common schedule data, it was possible to provide an apparatus and system for providing information for meeting a desired partner regarding travel.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information providing system showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a display diagram showing an example displayed on a display device when attribute data is input.

FIG. 3 is a display diagram of a data input area 14 shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a display diagram of a guidance area 15 shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a display diagram showing an example displayed on a display device when schedule data is input.

FIG. 6 is a data diagram showing some examples of movement data input as schedule data.

FIG. 7 is a data diagram showing an example of the contents of location data input as schedule data.

8 is an output list diagram showing an example of an output list of a certain user A. FIG.

FIG. 9 is an output list diagram showing an example of an output list of another user, Mr. B.

10 is an overall flowchart showing a schematic processing flow in the information providing system shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing processing in the data combination processing unit shown in FIG. 1.

12 is a flowchart showing a process of generating an expected number file 44 in the expected number detection processing unit shown in FIG.

13 is a flowchart showing a process of generating an expected number file 45 in the expected number detection processing unit shown in FIG.

14 is a flowchart showing a process of generating an expected number file 46 in the expected number detection processing unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the first half of processing in the feasible encounter detection processing unit shown in FIG. 1.

16 is a flowchart showing the latter half of the process in the possible encounter detection processing unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart for generating data stored in the output list file shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Input / output terminal 2 Communication network 3 Host computer 30 Interface device 31 Data input processing unit 32 Data combination processing unit 33 Expected number detection processing unit 34 Realizable encounter detection processing unit 35 Data output processing unit 41 Attribute file 42 Schedule file 43 Attribute / Schedule file 44,45,46 Expected number file 47,49 Intermediate file 48 Output list file

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An information providing apparatus for providing a plurality of subscribers with information for encountering a desired partner regarding travel via a communication network, wherein the attribute data of the subscribers themselves and the attribute data of the subscribers are provided. Attribute / schedule storage means for storing schedule data and attribute data of an expected partner, and a specific attribute having common attribute data and common schedule data among subscribers by referring to the attribute / schedule storage means. Subscriber selecting means for selecting a subscriber, information accumulating means for accumulating information of an expected partner for each selected subscriber in response to the subscriber selecting means, and information accumulating means for accumulating information. And an information providing means for providing the subscriber with the obtained information via the communication network. 2. An information providing system for providing, to a plurality of subscribers, information for encountering a desired partner regarding travel through a communication network, the plurality of subscribers being provided for access by a plurality of subscribers. Each input / output terminal device includes an output terminal device, and each input / output terminal device displays the provided information and a keyboard device for inputting corresponding subscriber's own attribute data and expected partner's attribute data and subscriber's own schedule data. The information providing system further outputs data to the plurality of input / output terminal devices via the communication network and processes given data to meet a desired partner regarding travel. And a host computer device for generating information of each subscriber, wherein the host computer device is the input / output terminal. By referring to the attribute / schedule storage means for storing the attribute data and the schedule data given by the subscriber for each subscriber, the attribute / schedule storage means is used to store the attribute data and the common schedule data common among the subscribers. A subscriber selecting means for selecting a specific subscriber, an information storing means for storing expected information of a partner for each selected subscriber in response to the subscriber selecting means, and the input / output terminal An information transfer unit for transferring the information of the partner of the corresponding subscriber stored by the information storage unit to the corresponding input / output terminal in response to a request from the subscriber given through the device, The corresponding input / output terminal device displays the information of the partner of the corresponding subscriber transferred from the information transfer means on the corresponding display device. Shimesuru, the information providing system.