JPH11174951A - Supply method for information - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the supply method for information which can display information on a map in an easy-to-see state. SOLUTION: A map file name 'Akihabara Station center part' contains characters corresponding to a bank A so that they are displayed at (X1, Y1), so the custom layer 7a of the bank A at the center part of Akihabara Station is displayed. Similarly, characters corresponding to a magazine B are stored so that they are displayed at (X2, Y2) and (X3, Y3), so the custom layer 7b of the magazine B at the central part of Akihabara Station is displayed and even when a map of the same area is displayed, characters and positions which are displayed are different by custom layers respectively.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of supplying information using a computer system, and it is possible to display only information belonging to a specific classification on a map in an easy-to-understand manner, and to effectively utilize the supplied information. Possible information supply methods.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, there has been proposed a method for supplying information for supplying information and a method for registering information for registering information by using a computer system using a communication network such as the Internet. For example, as a technique for supplying advertisement information, there has been proposed a display method for indicating a position where an advertisement target exists on a map displayed on a computer display. In this method, a map based on map information stored in advance is displayed in a hierarchical manner, and a point on the map, which corresponds to the coordinates of the stored advertising object, is displayed at a point corresponding to the symbolized advertising object. Object (for example,
(An icon indicating a specific store) is displayed to prompt the user to select a desired advertisement target (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-349).
02 publication). According to this technology, since the map information and the advertisement information can be obtained in association with each other, there is an advantage that the location of the store existing in the desired area can be seen at a glance.

[0003]

However, in the display method as described above, when the amount of advertisement information existing in the same area increases, a situation arises in which advertisement objects are displayed densely on a map. However, there is also a drawback that the advertisement recipient feels inconvenience in searching for a desired store. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a problem of the conventional display method.
In the figure, reference numeral 120 denotes a state where the illustrated advertising objects are displayed in an overlapping manner when a plurality of stores exist adjacent to each other.

In order to solve such a problem, a method of reducing the size of an icon or increasing the display of a map can be considered. However, in the former method,
In the latter method, it becomes difficult to recognize the icons, and the display range becomes narrower, which makes it difficult to grasp the position on the map. In any case, the advertisement information is displayed on the map in an easily understandable manner. There is a problem that you can not. On the other hand, if the advertising information displayed on the map is a display that is difficult for the recipient of the advertisement to understand, there is a problem that the merit of supplying the advertising information is diminished because the provided advertising information is not effectively used. there were.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and relates to a method for supplying information using a computer system, and to provide a method for supplying information capable of displaying information on a map in an easily understandable manner. It is an object.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention displays a map on a display using a computer system, and displays the coordinates of display information including coordinate information in the map. If present,
In the method for supplying information for graphically displaying the display information, the display information belonging to a specific classification set in advance is only displayed when the coordinates are present in the area of the map being displayed. A selection identifier display step of displaying a selection identifier corresponding to the display information; and an information display step of graphically displaying the display information corresponding to the selection identifier on the map when the selection of the selection identifier is performed. And characterized in that:

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Before describing the embodiments of the present invention, the positioning of the present invention will be described. In the embodiment, the information to be supplied is advertisement information, and an advertisement refers to a product or service (hereinafter referred to as an advertising object) of a certain person, and an advertisement or the like to a potential consumer or the like. Is to do. The supply of the advertisement information may be performed through a third party, and the present invention is a part corresponding to such a “third party”. Next, in consideration of such a position of the present application, meanings of words and the like used in the following description are determined. For example, in the following description, the person who provides the advertising information,
That is, a person who wants to advertise is referred to as an "advertisement client", and a person who receives the advertisement information, that is, a consumer or the like, is referred to as an "advertisement receiver". Here, the reason that the "advertising client" was not regarded as the "advertising provider" or the "advertising supplier" is that the "third party" who received the advertisement information from the "advertising client" Since the information is supplied, from the viewpoint of the "advertisement recipient", the present invention also becomes the same "advertisement provider" or "advertisement provider" as the "advertisement requester" and causes confusion. The “advertising client” is an “information provider” in the claims.

1: Overall Configuration Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment is a computer system provided with the present invention, and the supplied position information of the advertisement target is displayed on a map displayed on a display of the computer. Here, the display indicating the map and the advertisement target is configured to be drawn based on image data registered in advance. More specifically, the map drawing layer and the drawing layer that indicates the location of the advertising object are configured separately,
At the time of display, these drawing layers are superimposed and displayed on a display. Hereinafter, of such layers, a layer that displays only the advertisement information of a specific advertisement requester is classified as a custom layer, and a layer that displays the advertisement information without specifying the advertisement requester is classified and used as a general layer.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a computer system for realizing the information supply method of the present embodiment. In this figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a server, which is connected to the Internet NET via a route control device and a telephone line. Reference numerals 101, 102,... Denote various terminals.
Connected to. Each of the terminals 101, 102,... Has an input unit such as a keyboard and a mouse, as well as a display unit such as a CRT and an LCD. In such a computer system, the person who receives the supply of information is the terminal 1
By operating any of 01, 102,..., The desired information is supplied.

1-1: Configuration of Server 10 Next, a detailed configuration of the server 10 will be described. FIG.
2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the server 10. FIG. In this figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a control means, which is constituted by a CPU or the like, and performs control of each unit, data transfer, various calculations, temporary storage of data, and the like. Reference numeral 12 denotes an input control unit that controls data input from a terminal connected via the Internet NET. Reference numeral 13 denotes output control means for controlling data output to the terminal. Reference numerals 14 to 19 denote storage means, each of which stores and stores files described below.

The main program is stored in the storage means 14. The main program includes the control unit 1
1, for example, a program for displaying a guidance screen on a display unit of a terminal, a general layer display program for displaying a store existing on a map of a desired area, and displaying only a store of a specific customer And a custom layer display program to be displayed. This operation will be described later.

Next, the storage means 15 stores a map file. The map file in the present embodiment is:
The hierarchical structure is a three-layer structure. The upper layer is a map of Japan, the middle layer is a map for each prefecture, and the lower layer is a section (for example, a municipal unit, a downtown unit) map. The map of each layer is in a bitmap format or a vector format, and a file name is determined for each map. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a map file in the lowest layer. As shown in the figure, the map file is a file for displaying only a map without displaying information about a store.

The storage means 16 shown in FIG. 2 stores a character file. Such a character file is composed of character data for display, bitmap data of an icon, and the like, and is referred to in an operation described later. The “character” used in the following description refers to a picture, a figure, a character, or the like for specifying and displaying an advertisement target, and the “icon” refers to a mouse cursor MC (FIG. 9) ) Is positioned in the area where the character is displayed, and a predetermined operation can be performed by performing a click operation. In other words, the expression "display and display information for display" in the claims corresponds to displaying a character as an icon, and the "selection identifier" corresponds to an icon. Character bitmap data is stored differently for each customer, for each type of business, and for each service content. Here, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the character file. As shown in the figure, each character is assigned a character number. The character number is used to identify the character, and by storing this number in another file (see FIG. 6), for example, it is possible to associate the advertisement requester with the character to be displayed as information on the advertisement requester. it can.

The storage means 17 shown in FIG. 2 stores a customer file (see FIG. 2). Such a customer file is created for each store registration number, and the customer file corresponding to one store registration number includes registrant ID, password, store information, map file name, (x, y) information, and the like. As described above. Of these, store information further includes the store name, phone number, fax number,
Itinerary (from the nearest station to the store), business type indicating the business type of the store, link (indicating the destination of information on the network to be referred to when linking with other information), advertising message (indicating the content of the advertisement) Like the information indicating the service contents and the like, the information includes various information on the store to be advertised.

Here, the store registration number is set when the advertisement information is registered (the advertisement information is provided from the advertisement requester).
It is automatically given by the control means 11. The (x, y) information is information indicating a location of a store in a bitmap format or vector format map file.

The storage means 18 shown in FIG. 2 stores a map management file. FIG. 5 shows the data structure. The map management file contains the map file name, custom ID,
(X, y) information and information including a set of store registration numbers are stored. The custom ID is a number for specifying a custom layer. Further, the (x, y) information is information indicating which point is the designated icon of the advertisement client having the custom ID in the map file.
Therefore, by referring to the map management file, it is possible to specify information on the custom layer to be displayed in the area, the store to be displayed on the custom layer, and the position on the map.

The storage means 19 shown in FIG. 2 stores an index file. Figure 6 shows the data structure.
You. As shown in the figure, the index file stores information as a set of a custom ID, a custom layer name, a registrant ID, and a character number. Therefore, by referring to the index file, it is possible to specify an advertisement client having a custom layer and a character to be displayed on the display. Note that one advertisement client may have a plurality of custom IDs. For example,
In the case where the advertisement requester introduces a store for men and a store for women separately, different custom IDs are assigned to the stores and different custom layers are provided. Further, for example, as in a case where a plurality of stores are owned in the form of a branch or a chain, the entire store registered by one advertisement requester may have the same number. By doing so, it is possible not only to indicate the presence of the custom layer, but also to identify that the same advertisement client has registered a plurality of stores, and to specify “to which series the store belongs”. .

1-2: Description of Custom Layer Here, the relationship between the custom layer and the various files will be described with reference to FIG. When the lowermost map is displayed on the display, a character is displayed on the map, and it is possible to recognize that a store exists there by the displayed position. According to the present invention, it is possible to display a custom layer in which only the character of a specific advertisement requester is displayed. Even when a map of the same area is displayed, the character and position displayed for each custom layer are changed. different. Here, the specific advertisement client is a store that divides the target by gender as described above, as well as, for example, a store that is in the same company with a head office and a branch, a store that belongs to the same affiliate, a specific magazine or publishing An advertisement requester of a store introduced by a company, a store providing the same service, and the like correspond to the store. In other words, it refers to an advertisement client who provides advertisement information that can be selected or classified from a large number of pieces of information according to a certain standard and can be combined into one unit.

For example, in the central part of Akihabara Station, a custom I
Since the character of D1001 is stored so as to be displayed at (X1, Y1) (FIG. 5), and the custom ID 1001 stores that the character of character number 101 (FIG. 4) is displayed (FIG. 6), The custom layer 7a of Bank A in the central part of Akihabara Station is displayed. Also, in the center of Akihabara station, there is a custom ID 1002
Is stored so as to be displayed at (X2, Y2) and (X3, Y3) (FIG. 5), and the custom 1D10
02 stores the display of the character with the character number 102 (FIG. 4) (FIG. 6), so that the custom layer 7b of the B magazine in the central part of Akihabara Station is displayed. As described above, by storing each file in association with each other, it is possible to easily display only the advertisement information of a specific advertisement client.

2: Description of Operation Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Here, the terminals 101, 102,... Are connected to the server 10 to communicate with each other, and all of them also function as terminals of the advertisement recipient. For convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the terminal 101 is connected to the server 10. The following is a description.

When the terminal 101 is connected to the server 10,
The control unit 11 detects this connection via the input control unit 12, and controls the terminal 101 according to the main program. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the main operation of the main program. First, in step S1,
The control unit 11 displays an area selection screen on the display unit of the connected terminal 101, and urges the advertisement recipient to select a region where the advertisement display is desired.

On the area selection screen, the advertisement recipient is prompted to select a desired area, and a predetermined operation is performed to select a classified map including the desired area. For example, a map of Japan is displayed on the display unit, and the user is prompted to select one of the prefectures. If one of the prefectures is selected, the map for each prefecture is displayed, and then the classification is selected. And finally select a classified map including a desired area.

When the classified map including the desired area is thus selected, the control means 11 advances the procedure to step S2, and the display on the terminal 101 is shown in FIG. 9 as follows. Such a general layer display screen is assumed. An area 90 in the figure is an area for displaying a map file corresponding to the area selected in step S1. The area 91 is an area for displaying a character indicating the presence of a custom layer to be displayed in the area displayed in the area 90. The area 91 is composed of 91a, 91b, 91c... 9
If there are a plurality of characters to be displayed, the characters are displayed in order from 91a. The displayed character functions as an icon, and the ad recipient can click on the desired icon to
A custom layer that displays the character shown as the icon can be displayed.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the general layer display processing. First, the control unit 11 extracts from the storage unit 17 all the customer files that have the classified map displayed in the area 90 as the map file name (S21). Then, from the extracted customer file, (x,
y) Read information, store name information, and industry information (S22),
On the classified map displayed in the area 90, (x,
y) A character corresponding to the type of business is displayed on the coordinates based on the information, and a store name based on the store name information is displayed near the character (S23). As a result, in the area 90, stores existing in the area selected by the advertisement recipient are displayed. The layer displayed here is a general layer, and the information to be displayed on the custom layer is recorded in the map management file described below, so that it is not referred to and is not displayed on the general layer.

Further, a process of extracting from the storage means 18 all the map management files which have the classified map displayed in the area 90 as the map file name (S2).
4). If none of the map management files has been extracted (S25: No), there is no custom layer corresponding to the area displayed by the currently displayed general layer, and the general layer display processing ends. That is, no character is displayed in area 91.

On the other hand, if one of the map management files is extracted (S25: Yes), the custom ID is read from the extracted map management file (S26), and all the index files corresponding to the read custom ID are read. Is extracted from the storage means 19 (S27). Then, a character number is read from the extracted index file (S28), and a character file corresponding to the read character number is extracted from the storage means 16 and displayed at a predetermined position in the area 91 (S29).

Steps S24 to S29 are described in FIGS.
This will be specifically described using the file shown in FIG. The custom ID read from the map management file having the map file [Akihabara Station Central] as the map file name is 1
001, 1002, and 1003 (see FIG. 5), and the character numbers read from the index files corresponding to these custom IDs are 101, 102, and 103.
(See FIG. 6), the character 10 shown in FIG.
1, 102 and 103 correspond to the regions 91a, 91b and 9 in FIG.
1c. Thus, in the area 91, only the character indicating the presence of the custom layer corresponding to the map file [Akihabara Station central part] is displayed.

When step S2 in FIG. 8 is completed,
Waiting for operation from the advertisement recipient. Advertisers receive Figure 9
When the mouse cursor MC is positioned in the area 91a shown in FIG.
In step S3a, the process proceeds to step S3a, and the display on the terminal 101 is changed to a custom layer display screen as shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the advertisement recipient is A
This shows a case where the mouse 101 is positioned in the area 91a (FIG. 9) where the character 101 indicating the bank is displayed as an icon and a click operation is performed.

In step S3a, the control means 11 creates the custom layer 7a described with reference to FIG. That is, upon detecting a click operation, the control unit 11 firstly deletes all the characters and the like displayed in the area 90 in step S23, and secondly, corresponds to the character displayed in the clicked area 91a. Thirdly, the custom ID is read, and thirdly, a map management file having the read custom ID is further extracted from the map management file extracted in step S24. Fourthly, (x, y) information is read from the extracted map management file, and the coordinates based on the (x, y) information are added to the coordinates based on the (x, y) information on the classified map displayed in the area 90 in step S28. The read character is displayed in correspondence with.

Thus, the general character displayed on the general layer display screen (including a character indicating a custom layer of another advertisement requester, including the character) is displayed on the map displayed on the display. Only the custom layer of the selected advertisement requester that has been deleted from the top will be displayed. And the advertiser
When the mouse cursor MC is positioned on the displayed icon and a click operation is performed, the store registration number corresponding to the coordinates is read from the map management file, and the store information in the corresponding customer file is displayed. Similarly, when the advertisement receiver positions the mouse cursor MC in the areas 91b to 91n and clicks, the process proceeds to steps S3b to S3n, and processing for displaying the custom layer is performed. In the area 91, an icon for moving to a general layer display screen or another screen may be displayed.

As described above, on the general layer display screen displayed when the advertisement recipient selects the display area, it is clearly displayed that the custom layer of the specific advertisement requester exists (area 91). When a desired advertisement requester is selected from the display, a custom layer in which only the advertisement information of the advertisement requester is displayed is displayed, so that the provided advertisement information can be used more effectively.
In addition, the advertisement recipient can easily understand the presence of the advertisement information on the map, and can easily identify the advertisement requester and obtain the advertisement information, so that the advertisement information can be used effectively. For example, if a plurality of advertising clients (for example, A publisher and B publisher) provide advertising information for the same store, the information from each advertising client can be easily compared, It is easy to display only the information of the advertisement requester.

3: Modifications The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications as described below are possible.

In the above embodiment, one custom ID stores one registrant ID and specifies a custom layer (see FIG. 6). For example, one custom ID stores one business type (or Any of the information stored in the customer file) may be stored so that a custom layer for each type of business can be displayed. In the embodiment, the supplied information is the advertisement information, but any other information may be used as long as it can be supplied in association with the map. The file storing the custom ID is not limited to the index file, and may be, for example, a customer file.

In the general layer, characters indicating the type of business are displayed on the map. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Characters to be displayed on the custom layer may be displayed on the map at the same time. When a large number of characters are to be displayed on the map, the characters need not be displayed on the map until a custom layer is selected.

Also, a plurality of custom layers may be displayed simultaneously. In this case, a plurality of icons can be selected from the icons displayed in the area 91. For example, when selected, the display is inverted, and an enter button is provided in addition to the icon.

After displaying a certain custom layer,
Even when an operation for displaying another region is performed, a custom layer having the same custom ID may be displayed. In this case, a means for storing the selected custom ID is provided, and only the map management file having the stored custom ID is extracted in the custom layer display processing of another area. That is, even when the area displayed on the display is changed, the stored classification is treated as valid.

[0037]

According to the present invention, a method of supplying information using a computer system can display only information belonging to a specific classification and do not display other information, so that the information can be easily understood. It can be displayed and can be used effectively.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a server in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a map file.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a character file.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a map management file.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of an index file.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a custom layer.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a general layer display screen according to the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a general layer display process.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a custom layer display screen according to the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional service position display screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 server, 11 control means, 12 input control means, 13 output control means, 14 to 17 storage means, 101, 102, 103, 104 terminal

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takehiko Murata Cybermap Japan Co., Ltd. 3-29 Kanda Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A map is displayed on a display using a computer system, and when the coordinates of display information including coordinate information are present in the map, the display information is graphically displayed. In the information supply method, for display information belonging to a specific class set in advance, a selection identifier corresponding to the display information is displayed only when the coordinates are present in the area of the map being displayed. A selection identifier display step; and an information display step of, when a selection is made for the selection identifier, displaying and displaying the display information corresponding to the selection identifier on the map. Supply method. 2. A map is displayed on a display using a computer system, and when the coordinates of display information including coordinate information are present in the map, the display information is graphically displayed. In the information supply method, for display information belonging to a specific classification set in advance, a selection identifier corresponding to the display information is displayed only when the coordinates are present in the display area of the map being displayed. A selection identifier display step, a storage step of storing a specific classification corresponding to the selection identifier when an input is made by the selection identifier, and displaying the display information belonging to the specific classification stored in the storage step to the map. And an information display step of displaying the information in a graphic form, wherein the information display step is performed even when a local area of the map is changed. Method for supplying information, characterized in that, characterized in that handle classification stored in step as valid. 3. The information supply method according to claim 1, wherein, in the selection identifier display step, the selection identifier is displayed so as not to overlap a display area of the map. 4. The information supply method according to claim 1, wherein, in the information display step, information other than display information belonging to a specific classification corresponding to the selected identifier input is not displayed. . 5. The information supply method according to claim 1, wherein the specific classification is performed based on information on an information provider. 6. The information supply method according to claim 1, wherein in the information display step, information belonging to a plurality of specific classifications can be displayed.