KR101009464B1 - Method and device for providing information based on location of target person about information - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a method and apparatus for providing information based on a location of an information subject. According to an aspect of the present invention, a method of providing a location information service by a service information server coupled with a service user terminal through a communication network includes: tracking an area where an information target is located; Recognizing a service user terminal in which a region is set as a service target region; And providing service information for the information subject to the service user terminal. According to the present invention, by providing the information based on the location of the information target that is the information target rather than the receiver of the information, the service user who receives the information receives the information about the information target set in advance by the service user. Useful location based information can be provided.

Location, terminal, RFID, electronic tag, information provision

Description

Method and device for providing information based on location of target person about information}

The present invention relates to providing information about a predetermined person, and more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for providing information about a corresponding person to a person corresponding to a region where a predetermined information object is located.

Recently, in addition to delivering information such as advertisements to an unspecified number of people using printed media or broadcasts such as newspapers and magazines, communication media such as personal mobile phones or e-mails have been used due to the development of communication technologies such as mobile phones and the Internet. Specific information such as advertisements is directly delivered to individuals.

In particular, the location tracking technology according to a GPS system or a mobile communication system is becoming common, and information based on region is provided.

For example, movie advertisement information of the subject of "movie of the day" may be delivered to a mobile phone of a customer located near a theater such as CGV. Since the customer's mobile phone transmits the location information to the mobile communication network from time to time, the mobile network operator can know the location of the customer and provide an advertisement corresponding to the recognized location.

As described above, the conventional method for providing information based on a region recognizes a location of a person carrying a communication terminal (GPS terminal or a mobile phone, etc.) capable of wirelessly determining a location, and displays information such as advertisements corresponding to the region. To provide the user to the location.

In other words, when a person who wants to provide information moves, an information provider (for example, an advertiser, etc.) located in the area provides information such as an advertisement, but there is an advantage of providing more useful information based on the region. Users who use communication terminals, such as mobile phones, receive unneeded or unwanted information and feel uncomfortable.

In addition, if the local information provider wants to provide arbitrary information, there is a problem in efficiency as it must recognize people located in the area.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and provides a method and apparatus for a location-based information providing service for a specific information target to obtain related information, not the location of a service user to receive information. It is to.

Other objects of the present invention will become more apparent through the preferred embodiments described below.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a method of providing a location-based information providing service by a service information server coupled via a service user terminal and a communication network, the method comprising the steps of: (a) tracking the area where the information subject is located; (b) searching for a service user terminal in which the area is set as a service area; And (c) providing service information for the information subject to the service user terminal, and a recording medium on which the information providing method based on the location of the information subject and a program for executing the method are recorded.

Here, in step (a), the area can be tracked through a tag recognizer that recognizes the electronic tag provided by the information subject, or by recognizing the location of the mobile communication terminal or GPS terminal provided by the information subject. The area can be tracked.

The service information may include at least one of a name of the information target person, an area in which the information target person enters, and an entry time into the area.

The method may further include receiving a message for setting the service area from the service user terminal.

In addition, tracking the location of the service user terminal; The method may further include setting an area based on a location of the service user terminal as the service area.

According to another aspect of the invention, the location tracking unit for tracking the area where the information subject is located; A user search unit for searching for a service user terminal in which the area is set as a service area; And a communication unit for providing the service information for the information subject to the service user terminal through a communication network.

Here, the service area may be set to correspond to area information included in the message received from the service user terminal.

The location tracking unit tracks the location of the service user terminal, and an area according to the location of the service user terminal may be set as the service area.

According to the present invention, by providing information based on the location of the information target that is the information target rather than the receiver of the information, the service user who receives the information receives the information about the information target set by the user in advance. Useful location based information can be provided.

In addition, according to the present invention, by providing the corresponding information to the people of the region based on the location of the information subjects, such as celebrities that are attracted by many people, the service user is preset by the specific information subjects of interest It can be easily recognized that it is located in an area, providing more interesting and informative information to service users.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and in describing the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals regardless of the reference numerals, and duplicates thereof. The description will be omitted.

1 and 2 are schematic diagrams illustrating an entire system for providing information based on a location of an information target according to each embodiment of the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 1, the entire system according to the present embodiment includes an electronic tag 10, a tag recognizer 30, a main service server 50, and service user terminals 70-1, 70-2, ..., 70-n, hereafter referred to as 70).

The electronic tag 10 includes predetermined information, and the information (hereinafter referred to as "tag information") can be read by the tag recognizer 30. The tag recognizer 30 wirelessly recognizes the electronic tag 10 that enters the effective distance range and reads embedded information. For example, the electronic tag 10 may be a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, and likewise, the tag recognizer 30 may be an RFID reader.

The electronic tag 10 is possessed by an information target as an object of information, and identification information (for example, name, occupation, etc.) of the information target may be embedded as tag information. The information subject may be set by the service user, and may be, for example, a celebrity such as an athlete, a politician, a celebrity, or the like, or may be a friend, lover, coworker, or the like of the service user.

The tag recognizer 30 reads the electronic tag 10 that has entered the effective range, and then transmits the region information on the current location to the main service server 50 together with the tag information. The tag recognizer 30 is provided in a plurality of regions, and the region information is information on the region where the tag recognizer 30 is located. For example, when the tag recognizer 30 located in Gangnam Station reads an arbitrary electronic tag 10, the main service server 50 may be referred to as "Gangnam Station" along with the tag information read from the tag recognizer 30 described above. Receive local information.

According to another exemplary embodiment, the main service server 50 may previously have information on the region where each tag recognizer 30 is located along with identification information (for example, a serial number) for each tag recognizer 30. have. In this case, the tag recognizer 30 transmits the tag information read along with its identification information to the main service server 50, and the main service server 50 transmits the tag information through the identification information of the received tag recognizer 30. You will recognize it.

Hereinafter, for convenience of description, a case in which the tag recognizer 30 transmits local information together with the tag information to the main service server 50 will be described.

Accordingly, the main service server 50 may recognize the tag information and the local information of the electronic tag 10 read by the tag recognizer 30, and may be an information target having the corresponding electronic tag 10 through the tag information. This information can be used to identify the location where the information target is located through the received local information.

The main service server 50 recognizes the service user corresponding to the area where the information target as described above is currently located among the service users subscribed in advance.

According to this embodiment, the service user can set the desired area, such as the area where he or she lives or the place where he goes to work, and the main service server 50 corresponds to the area where the service area is currently located. You can search for a service user who has been set as a region.

In addition, the service user can be set as the information target for the celebrities, such as athletes, politicians, entertainers, or people, such as friends, lovers set in the service area.

The main service server 50 transmits the information (hereinafter referred to as "service information") about the information subject according to the tag information to the service user recognized as described above. The service information may include identification information on the corresponding information target, information on the region in which the information target has entered, and entry time information (see FIG. 3). Of course, the entry time information may be information about the time at which the initial location was tracked in a state where the information target is located in an arbitrary region.

3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a service information message according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The service user may receive the service information message as shown in FIG. 3 through the service user terminal 70 which is his communication terminal (eg, a mobile communication terminal capable of communicating through a mobile communication network). The service information message may be transmitted through a message transmission service such as a short message service (SMS) provided by a mobile communication network, or may be transmitted through an e-mail. Of course, this is only an example and it is obvious that all communication means between the main service server 50 and the service user terminal 70 may be equally applied.

Here, as the service user terminal 70, not only the mobile communication terminal but also all terminals capable of communicating through a communication network, such as a general computer and personal digital assistants (PDAs), may be applied equally.

Referring to FIG. 2 according to another embodiment, the entire system includes a target terminal 20, a main service server 50, and a service user terminal 70.

The target terminal 20 may be a terminal capable of tracking a location such as a mobile communication terminal and a GPS device. That is, the target terminal 20 is a device whose location can be tracked by the main service server 50 through a mobile communication network, a GPS satellite, or the like.

If the target terminal 20 is a mobile communication terminal, although not shown, the target terminal 20 is frequently used for information on the current location (eg, a wireless location location (HLR), etc.) in a location register of a mobile communication network (wireless). Information about the corresponding base station communicating with the mobile station). Even now, a mobile communication operator operating a mobile communication network tracks a location by a base station in a region where a mobile communication terminal is located and provides a service such as "find friend", and thus will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It will be omitted.

In addition, since navigation systems and devices are widely used, the position searching technique through GPS satellites will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and thus, a description of the position tracking method using the GPS method will be omitted.

In summary, the main service server 50 tracks the location of the target terminal 20 using a mobile communication network or a GPS satellite, and relates to a service user corresponding to an area according to the tracked location as described with reference to FIG. 1. Provide service information.

Here, according to the present embodiment, the main service server 50 periodically searches for the location of the information target (for example, a 30 minute period), and provides corresponding service information to the corresponding service user when the location changes. can do.

Hereinafter, a process of providing related information to a service user based on a location of an information target through each embodiment will be described, but a process in the system according to FIG. 2 will be described as an example. Of course, the process in the entire system according to FIG. 1 may also be performed similarly or identically, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and a further description thereof will be omitted.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing location-based information when the information subject is a celebrity according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a location-based information when the information subject is a general person according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart showing a provision process.

As described above, the information subject may be a celebrity such as a celebrity, an athlete, or a politician. In particular, politicians may be interested in which areas they are visiting during the campaign. Therefore, a service for providing related information based on the location of celebrities such as politicians according to the present embodiment may be a beneficial service for service users such as voters.

Referring to FIG. 4 illustrating a process of a location-based information providing service for celebrities such as politicians, the main service server 50 tracks the location of the target terminal 20 and recognizes a corresponding region (S410). Of course, the target terminal 20 may be a plurality, but for convenience of description, it will be described on the assumption that there is only one target terminal 20.

As described above, the main service server 50 periodically tracks the location of the target terminal 20 and determines whether there is a change in the area according to the tracked location (S420). If there is no change, it can be judged that the information subject has not left the area where it was.

If the area where the information target is located is changed, the main service server 50 searches for a service user who has set the area as a service area (S430). For example, when a politician information target person visits Jagalchi Market in Busan, the main service server 50 searches for a service user who has previously set Jagalchi Market as a service area. In the future, service information related to the visit of the politician may be delivered to the corresponding service user.

The main service server 50 determines whether there is a service user who sets the area where the search result information target is currently located as a service area (S440), and if so, the corresponding information target person as shown in FIG. 3. The service information message of the content visited to the region is transmitted to the searched service user (s450).

Here, although not shown in the drawing, even if the information subject is leaving the service area, the relevant information to the service users according to the service area (for example, "Hong Gil-dong off the Busan Jagalchi market area at 14:10 You can get a message like "

Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 5, a process of a location-based information providing service that is an information target for a general public, which is not a celebrity, will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, the main service server 50 receives an information target from a service user (S510). Of course, the setting of the service area at the time of registration as the information target may also proceed. In addition, there may be a plurality of information targets, and service areas may be set differently for each information target.

The main service server 50 transmits a service registration request message to the terminal 20 that is the target of the information requesting setting (S520). The service registration request message may include identification information (eg, name and phone number) and service content of the service user who requested the service. The service registration request message may be a message in the form of a URL call back so that the information subject can easily respond.

The information subject who checks the service registration request message determines whether to accept it, and then transmits the response message to the main service server 50 using the terminal 20 which is the target thereof (s530 or s535).

When the service is registered (s540), the main service server 50 transmits the information on the service setting success to the service user terminal 70 (s550). Thereafter, like the location-based information providing service as the information target according to FIG. 4, the main service server 50 periodically tracks the location of the corresponding terminal 20, and the target terminal 20 enters a preset service area. In this case, the service information message corresponding thereto is transmitted to the service user terminal 70.

According to the present embodiment, for example, when a service user sets up an acquaintance such as a friend or senior junior as an information target, when a familiar acquaintance enters an area where the user is currently located, the acquaintance immediately recognizes the call and meets by phone. Can be expected to cause interest to service users.

According to another embodiment, the service user may change the service area from time to time. That is, it is also possible to set the area where the user is currently located instead of the fixed area as the service area. In this case, the service user may access the main service server 50 using his terminal to set a service area, or transmit area information for setting the service area to the main service server 50 using an SMS message or the like. have. The main service server 50 receiving the message may recognize region information included in the message and set the region as a service region.

Alternatively, if the service area is set to 'current location area', the main service server 50 may track the location of the service user terminal 70 from time to time, and set the area according to the tracked location as the service area. Therefore, even if the user moves to any area, the service user can obtain information about an acquaintance located near him among the acquaintances who are previously set as information targets.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the main service server 50 will be described.

6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a main service server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, in describing each component of the main service server 50, redundant descriptions according to a method of providing related information to the service user based on the location of the information target will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 6, the main service server 50 includes a data communication unit 610, a storage unit 620, a message sending unit 630, and a control unit 640, and the control unit 640 includes a location tracking unit 642. ), A user searcher 644, a message generator 646, and a main controller 648. Of course, each component of the controller 640 does not necessarily need to be implemented in hardware, and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it can be implemented in software such as a program.

The data communication unit 610 communicates with devices such as a terminal 20, a service user terminal 70, and a location register of a telecommunication network through a communication network.

The storage unit 620 stores service related information (for example, identification information for location identification, related service user information, service area information, etc.) for people set as information targets.

The message sending unit 630 is to provide location-based service information to the service user terminal 70 to the service user terminal 70 through the mobile communication network, for example, through a message transmission service such as SMS provided by the mobile communication company. You can send a message. Of course, when the service user terminal 70 is a terminal connected to an internet network such as a computer, service information may be transmitted through the data communication unit 610.

The control unit 640 sets the information target person, and periodically tracks the location of the set information target person, so that the service information of the information target person can be provided to the corresponding service user when the service area corresponding to the located area is set. The data communication unit 610, the storage unit 620, and the message sending unit 630 are controlled.

The location tracking unit 642 of the control unit 640 is for tracking the location of the information target, the method using the electronic tag 10, the location tracking method using the base station of the mobile communication network and the tracking method using GPS as described above All methods of tracking the location of a particular device may equally apply. In addition, according to the above-described embodiment, the location tracking unit 642 may track the location of the service user terminal 70, and a service area may be set according to the tracked location of the service user terminal 70.

The user search unit 644 performs a function of searching for a service user who has set an area according to the location of the information target as a service area in the storage unit 620, and the message generator 646 sends the service user terminal 70 to the service user terminal 70. Function to generate the service information message to be transmitted.

The main control unit 648 is the location tracking unit 642, the user search unit 644 and the message generating unit 646 to transmit the relevant information to the terminal of the service user that has set the area according to the current location of the information target as the service area To control.

The method of the present invention as described above may be implemented in a program and stored in a computer-readable recording medium (CD-ROM, RAM, ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, etc.).

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and many variations are possible by those skilled in the art within the spirit of the present invention.

1 and 2 are schematic diagrams showing an overall system for providing information based on a location of an information target according to each embodiment of the present invention.

3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a service information message according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing location-based information when the information subject is a celebrity according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing location-based information when the information subject is a general person according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a main service server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (10)

In the main service server coupled to the communication network to provide a location-based information providing service, (a) if the tag recognizer corresponding to the area where the information subject is located recognizes the electronic tag held by the information subject, acquiring the location information of the information subject from the tag recognizer; (b) searching for a service user terminal in which the area where the information target person is located according to the location information is set as a service area; And and (c) providing the service user terminal with service information including at least one of the area and the entry time into the area, together with the name of the information object, based on the location of the information object. delete delete The method of claim 1, The location information of the information target person is repeatedly acquired at a predetermined time period, and the information about the area change according to the case where the area where the information target person is located is changed to the service user terminal. How to Provide Information Based. The method of claim 1, And receiving the message for setting the service area from the service user terminal, based on the location of the information target. The method of claim 1, Tracking the location of the service user terminal using any one of an electronic tag method, a method using a base station of a mobile communication network, and a method using a GPS technology; And providing an area based on the location of the service user terminal as the service area. A recording medium on which a combination of instructions for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 4 is tangibly embodied and in which a program readable by a digital information processing apparatus is recorded. A location tracking unit for acquiring the location information of the information target person from the tag recognizer when the tag recognizer corresponding to the area where the information target person is located recognizes the electronic tag held by the information target person; A user search unit for searching for a service user terminal in which an area based on the location information is set as a service area; And And a communication unit for providing the service user terminal with service information including at least one of the area and the entry time into the area together with the name of the information object. The method of claim 8, And the service area is set to correspond to area information included in a message received from the service user terminal. The method of claim 8, The location tracking unit tracks the location of the service user terminal using any one of a method using a base station of the mobile communication network or a method using GPS technology, wherein the area according to the tracked location of the service user terminal is the service area. Information providing apparatus based on the location of the information target, characterized in that set to.

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