JPH0837509A - Information service system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] The user immediately transmits a detailed inquiry to the information from the service provider to the information provider, using the same procedure as the normal information retrieval operation procedure, and uses the result. The information provider. [Configuration] In a system to which an information providing service method is applied, a plurality of information providers 1 (i) (i = 1 to n) are connected to a service provider 3 by a communication network 2. The information provider 1 (i) sends information to the service provider 3 via the communication network 2, and the service provider 3 adds the information identification ID and the information provider ID to these pieces of information and sends them to the information storage device 4. save. In order to use the hotline service of the information providing service system using the user terminal device 5, by connecting with the service provider 3 via the communication line 6, the necessary information can be freely obtained from the information storage device 4 of the service provider 3. Take it out.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention accumulates information from a plurality of information providing means for providing original information such as multimedia information such as video and music, and controls the information service providing means for managing access. , Information provision service system in information access means for accessing and utilizing accumulated information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional information providing services have been realized in the form of a database system or a personal computer communication system that connects a terminal and an information provider using a telephone line or the like and retrieves information desired by the user.

[0003] In general, these services are automatically operated by the service provider unattended.

[0004]

However, in the conventional method described above, when the user wants to inquire about specific information, it is possible to use an electronic mail, but there is a problem that it lacks immediacy. there were.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in an information providing service including an information provider, a service provider, and a user terminal device, the user can make a detailed inquiry about the information by using the normal information. Aiming to provide an information provision service system that can immediately transmit from a service provider to an information provider in the same procedure as the search operation procedure and can supply the result from the user to the information provider. There is.

[0006]

The information providing service system of the present invention is an information provider 1 (i) as a plurality of information providing means for providing original information, and an information provider 1 (i).
A service provider 3 as an information service providing means for accumulating original information provided by the company and managing access to the original information, and an information access means for accessing and utilizing the original information accumulated by the service provider 3. In the information providing service system of the original information communicated with the user terminal 5, the information provider 1
(I) adds an information identification ID for identifying the original information, an information providing means identification ID for identifying the information provider 1 (i), and a hotline flag to the information management area of the original information, and a communication line and / or satellite Step S1 as an original information transmitting step for transmitting the original information using the line, step S2 as an information recording step for the service provider 3 to record the original information transmitted at step S1, and the user terminal 5 Step S3 as an information access means line connecting step in which the service provider 3 connects the line with the user terminal device 5 based on the request from the user, and the user terminal device 5 connected in step S3 is an authorized user. Step S4 as an information access means determination step for determining whether the terminal device 5 If it is determined in S4 that the user terminal device 5 is an authorized user terminal device 5, the original information recorded by the service provider 3 can be searched from the user terminal device 5 as an information retrieval step S6. When the user terminal 5 accesses specific original information in step S6, step S8 as a management area search step for searching the management area of the original information, and a hotline flag in the information management area in step S8 Is detected, the information providing means identification ID is checked and step S14 as an information providing means line connection step for connecting the line with the information provider 1 (i), and the service provider 3 performs steps S3 and S14. The communication control step for controlling the communication between the information provider 1 (i) and the user terminal 5 by the line connected by Step S25 of
And is configured.

[0007]

[Operation] In the information providing service system of the present invention, when the information provider 1 (i) registers the original information in the service provider 3, all the information includes the information providing means identification ID, the information identification ID, and the hotline. A flag is added.
The service provider 3 prepares a communication line or the like so that the original information of the information provider 1 (i) can be accessed from the user terminal device 5. First, in step S1, the information provider 1
In (i), the original information to be provided to the user terminal 5 is sent to the service provider 3 using a communication line or a satellite, and the service provider 3 records the original information in step S2. Next, in step S3, the user terminal device 5 connects the line to the service provider 3 through the communication line. Then, in step S4, the service provider 3 determines whether the usage terminal device 5 is an authorized usage terminal device 5. When the user terminal 5 accesses the information, the information identification ID of the accessed information is sent to the service provider 3 in step S6, and the service provider 3 stores the information identification ID in the information management area in step S8.
Search for hotline flags from. If the hotline flag is set, the line is connected to the information provider 1 (i) in step S14. After that, the information of the information provider 1 (i) is sent to the user terminal 5 via the service provider 3, and the information of the user terminal 5 is the information provider 1 (i).
Sent to (i).

As a result, in the information providing service consisting of the information provider, the service provider, and the user terminal, the user can make a detailed inquiry for information immediately by a procedure exactly the same as the normal information retrieval operation procedure. It is possible to transmit the result from the service provider to the information provider and to supply the result from the user to the information provider.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 8 relate to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an information providing service system to which an embodiment of an information providing service system is applied, FIG.
1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the hotline function by the information providing service system of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the service provider of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the user terminal of FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information provider of FIG. 1, FIG. 6 is a first flowchart showing the flow of processing of the information providing service system by the information providing service system of FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is of FIG. FIG. 8 is a second flowchart showing the flow of processing of the information providing service system by the information providing service system, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the information flow according to the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 7.

In the information providing service system according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the information providers 1 (1) to 1 (n) as a plurality of information providing means function as information service providing means by the communication network 2. Connected to the service provider 3. The information providers 1 (1) to 1 (n) send shopping catalog information, game software information, etc. to the service provider 3 via the communication network 2, and the service provider 3 identifies the information in these information. Information identification ID and information provider 1
An information provider ID for identifying (1) to 1 (n) is added, the fields are sorted and stored in the information storage device 4.

Then, in order to use the hotline service of the information providing service system by using the user terminal 5 as the information access means, the user provides the service by connecting to the service provider 3 through the communication line 6. Necessary information can be freely retrieved from the information storage device 4, which is a database of the person 3.

In the hotline service by the information providing service system of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the service provider 31 provides the individual user 11 who is a user with a product or a software catalog. At this time, the individual user 11 and the information providers 1 (1) to 1 (n) pay the information provider commission to the service provider 31, respectively.

The individual user 11 retrieves desired information from the provided product or software catalog, requests product information or software information, makes order or inquires about the product or software, and inquires about detailed information. To do. The service provider 3 checks whether or not the hotline service function 12 provides the hotline service each time the individual user 11 accesses the product or software information.

The hotline service function 12 can automatically transmit hotline information between the information provider 1 (i) (i = 1 to n) and the individual user 11 if the hotline service is available. The processing is performed so that

[0016] The individual user 11 can obtain bargain information, service information, inventory information, product details, etc. concerning the product from the information provider 1 (i) by the hotline service based on the processing of the hotline service function 12. In addition, the information provider 1 (i) can directly inquire and explain to the individual user 11.

As shown in FIG. 3, the system configuration of the service provider 3 in the present embodiment is such that the first information storage system stores information such as actual multimedia shopping and game software.
An information storage device 21, a second information storage device 22 for storing an individual user management information, an information provider management information and an information management area for managing a hotline service, and an encryption / decryption for transmitting / receiving information. A decoding circuit 23, a conversion circuit 24 for converting transmission / reception information into a transmission signal based on a communication protocol so that transmission / reception information can be transmitted / received, and a communication interface unit 2 for actually connecting to a plurality of communication lines.
5, a CPU 26 that executes a control program, a RAM 27 that stores the current status, a ROM 28 that stores the execution program and management information of the first information storage device 21, a data bus, an address bus, and a control bus. And the system bus 29 of the CPU 26.

Here, the personal user management information accumulated by the second information accumulating device 22 is the billing information of the information use fee for each individual user 11 and the address, sex, age, occupation, and individual user ID of the individual user 11. , Information such as telephone number necessary for customer management, and the information provider management information is information provision fee for each information provider 1 (i) and information provider 1 (i) address and information provision. This is information necessary for managing the information provider 1 (i) such as a person ID and a telephone number. The information management area for managing the hotline service stores an information identification ID, an information provider ID, and a hotline flag, which are used to manage the hotline service.

The information storage device 4 in FIG.
It is composed of an information storage device 21 and a second information storage device 22.

The user terminal 5 is, as shown in FIG. 4, a RAM 41 for storing temporary information such as a control program.
An information storage device 42 for storing information received from broadcasting or a line, a display device 44 for displaying information from the service provider 3 via a display circuit 43, and a user terminal 5 main body. Operating device 45, an encryption / decryption circuit 46 that decrypts encrypted information from the service provider 3, a communication interface unit 47 that communicates with a communication line, a CPU 48 that executes a control program, and an execution program. And a ROM 49 storing terminal management information
And a system bus 50 of the CPU 48 including a data bus, an address bus, a control bus and the like.

As shown in FIG. 5, the system configuration of the information provider 1 (i) includes an information storage device 61 for storing original information and hotline information such as multimedia shopping and game software, and transmission / reception information. An encryption / decryption circuit 62 for encryption or decryption, a conversion circuit 63 for converting transmission / reception information into a transmission signal based on a communication protocol so that transmission / reception information can be transmitted / received on the line, and a communication interface unit for actually connecting to a plurality of communication lines 64, a CPU 65 for executing a control program, a RAM 66 for storing the current status, a ROM 67 for storing the execution program and management information of the information storage device 61, a data bus, an address bus, a control bus, etc. It is composed of a system bus 68 of the CPU 65.

Next, the operation of the information providing service system thus configured will be described. Here, a case where an ISDN line is used as a communication network in the information providing service system will be described.

From the user terminal 5 to the IS, the individual user 11
When accessing the shopping catalog and game software by connecting to the service provider 3 using the DN line,
Usually, a tree-structured information management mechanism is used to interactively retrieve desired information from a list of contents and read or execute it.

In this information providing service system, the control procedure shown in the flow charts of FIGS. 6 and 7 and the control procedure shown in FIG.
The hotline service is realized by the information flow chart shown in FIG.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6 which is the first flowchart of the control procedure of the hotline service, first, in step S1 (original information sending step),
In the information provider 1 (i), the CPU 65 sends the original information stored in the information storage device 61 to the service provider 3 via the communication interface unit 64 (providing the information in FIG. 8A). Next, in step S2 (information recording step), the CPU 26 of the service provider 3 stores the information received from the information provider 1 (i) via the communication interface unit 25 in the first information storage device 21 (FIG. 8).
(B) accumulation).

At this time, the information identification ID, the hotline flag, and the information provider ID are added to the information sent by the information provider 1 (i). These pieces of information are stored in the information management area of the second information storage device 22.

Next, in step S3 (information access means line connection step), the CPU 48 of the user terminal 5 connects the line with the service provider via the communication interface unit 47 (line of FIG. 8C). Connection). Following this, step S4 (information access means determination step)
Then, it is authenticated whether the individual user 11 is a legitimate user, and it is determined by comparing the individual user ID sent by the individual user 11 with the individual user management information stored in the second information storage device 22 in step S5. If the individual user 11 is not an authorized user, step S in FIG. 7 described later.
Proceed to 36.

If the individual user 11 is an authorized user, the individual user 1 is searched in step S6 (information retrieval step).
1 uses the operating device 45 of the user terminal 5 to retrieve and access the information stored by the service provider 3 (information access in FIGS. 8D and 8F). Then, in step S7, the service provider 3 sends the information selected by the individual user 11 to the user terminal device 5 (FIG. 8 (e),
(G) Information transmission).

Subsequently, in step S8 (management area search step), the CPU 26 of the service provider 3 searches for the corresponding information identification ID in the information management area stored in the information storage device 2 when transmitting the information, CPU2 in step D9
6 checks the hotline flag from the corresponding information identification ID. Then, if the hotline flag is not set in step S10, the process returns to step S6 to perform normal information access. If the hotline flag is set, the CPU 26 proceeds to step S
11 the corresponding information identification ID from the second information storage device 22.
The information provider ID corresponding to is read. Then, in step S12, the CPU 26 uses the information provider ID to read the telephone number of the information provider 1 (i) recorded in the second information storage device 22. Next, in step S13, the CPU 2
6 uses the read telephone number to make a call to the information provider using an empty line in the communication interface unit 25 (steps S8 to S13 are hot line processing of FIG. 8 (h)).

In step S14 (information providing means line connection step), the CPU 65 of the information provider 1 (i) accepts the call from the service provider 3 and connects the hot line line (FIG. 8 (i)). A) Hotline connection).

Then, moving to FIG. 7, when the line is connected,
As user information which is a call setup message, step S
At 21, the CPU 62 of the service provider 3 sends the message of the hotline service request, the information identification ID and the individual user ID, and optionally the personal information of the individual user 11 to the information provider 1 (i) (see FIG. 8 (j)). Hotline service request). Then, in step S22, the CPU 65 of the information provider 1 (i) receives the message of the hotline service request via the communication interface unit 64,
The current state of the system is inspected, and it is checked in step S23 whether the service can be provided.

If the information provider cannot execute the hotline service, in step S24 the information provider 1
The CPU 65 of (i) puts a message of rejection reason on the user information and sends it to the service provider 3, and proceeds to step S36.

When it is determined in step S23 that the hotline service is executable, the hotline information is output to the service provider 3 in step S25 (communication control step) (sending hotline information in FIG. 8 (k)). Then, in step S26, the CPU 26 of the service provider 3
Reads the hotline information from the information provider 1 (i) received via the communication interface unit 25 and transfers it to the line of the communication interface unit 25 connected to the individual user 11 (transfer of FIG. 8 (l)). ).

Next, in step S27, the CPU 48 of the user terminal device 5 receives the hotline information via the communication interface section 47, and the display device 4 via the display circuit 43.
4 (receive the hotline information of FIG. 8 (m),
display). Then, in the user terminal 5, the individual user 11 uses the operation device 45 to key in desired information (for example, product order information) according to the hotline information in step S28 (key input in FIG. 8 (n), The input information is output from the communication interface unit 47 to the service provider 3 in step S29, and the service provider 3 connects the information input from the individual user 11 from the communication interface unit 55 to the information provider 1 (i). The information provider 1 (i) receives the information from the individual user 11 in this manner (the key input reception in FIG. 8 (p)). ), The hotline information service can be realized.Here, during the hotline information service, the hotline information cancellation message is always serviced in step S30. And searching the CPU26 provider 3, to abort the message is detected at step S31, and repeats the processing of step S24～S31.

If the cancel message is detected in step S31, the CPU 26 executes the hotline service in step S32 based on the total information transmission request from the individual user 11 (total information transmission request in FIG. 8 (q)). Calculate connection time. Then, in step S33, the charge is calculated from the connection time. Next, in step S34, the CPU 26 searches the corresponding IDs of the individual user management information and the information provider management information of the second information storage device 22. Then, in step S35, the CPU 26 updates the billing information of the retrieved ID. When the charge is updated, the CPU 26 disconnects the hot line service line between the information provider 1 (i) and the service provider 3 and ends the process.

The hotline service is realized by the series of processes described above. The individual user 11 can continue to use the information providing service even after stopping the hotline service, and can also continuously use the new hotline service.

In this embodiment, the case of using ISDN has been described, but it is not limited to broadcasting and other analog telephone networks, LAN,
It can be easily realized by a combination of communication networks such as B-ISDN.

[0038]

As described above, according to the information providing service system of the present invention, when the information providing means registers the original information in the information service providing means, the information providing means identifying ID and the information identifying information are included in all the information. An ID and a hotline flag are added. The information service providing means prepares a communication line so that the original information of the information providing means can be accessed from the information access means. First, in the original information sending step, the information providing means sends the original information to be provided to the information access means to the information service providing means using the communication line or the satellite, and in the information recording step, the information service providing means records the original information. To do. Next, in the information access means line connection step, the information access means connects the line to the information service providing means by the communication line. Then, in the information access means determination step, the information service providing means determines whether the information access means is a legitimate information access means. When the information access means accesses the information, the information identification ID of the information accessed in the information retrieval step is sent to the service provider 3, and in the management area retrieval step, the information service provision means the information management area from the information identification ID to the hotline flag. To search.
If the hotline flag is set, the information providing means and the line are connected in the information providing means line connecting step. After that, the information of the information providing means is sent to the information access means via the information service providing means, and the information of the information access means is sent to the information providing means.

As a result, in the information providing service method including the information providing means, the information service providing means, and the information access means, the user can make a detailed inquiry about the information by the same procedure as the normal information retrieval operation procedure. The effect is that the service provider can immediately transmit the information to the information provider, and the result can be supplied from the user to the information provider.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an information providing service system to which an embodiment of an information providing service system is applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a hotline function by the information providing service system of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a service provider of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a user terminal device of FIG. 1.

5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information provider of FIG. 1. FIG.

6 is a first flowchart showing a processing flow of an information providing service method by the information providing service system of FIG.

7 is a second flowchart showing a flow of processing of an information providing service system by the information providing service system of FIG.

8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a flow of information according to the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG.

[Explanation of Codes] 1 (1) to 1 (n) Information Provider 2 Communication Network 3 Service Provider 4, 42, 61 Information Storage Device 5 User Terminal 6 Communication Line 11 Individual User 12 Hotline Function 21 1st Information storage device 22 Second information storage device 23, 46, 62 Encryption / decryption circuit 24, 63 Converter 25, 47, 64 Communication interface unit 26, 48, 65 CPU 27, 41, 66 RAM 28, 49, 67 ROM 29, 50, 68 System bus 43 Display circuit 44 Display device 45 Operating device

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of information providing means for providing original information, an information service providing means for accumulating the original information provided by the plurality of information providing means and managing access to the original information, and the information. In the information providing service system of the original information, which is communicated with an information access unit that accesses and uses the original information stored in the service providing unit, the plurality of information providing units manages information of the original information. Information identification ID for identifying the original information in the area
And an information providing means identification ID for identifying the information providing means and a hotline flag are added, and the original information sending step of sending the original information using a communication line and / or a satellite line; An information recording step of recording the transmitted original information by the information service providing means, and an information access means line for connecting the information service providing means to the information access means based on a request from the information access means A connection step; an information access means determination step of determining whether the information access means connected in the information access means line connection step is the authorized information access means; The above information for which the access means is legitimate When it is determined to be access means, an information search step of allowing the information access means to search for the original information recorded by the information service providing means; and the original information specified by the information access means in the information search step. When the information is accessed, a management area search step of searching the management area of the original information; and when the hotline flag set in the information management area is detected in the management area search step, the information provision is provided. An information providing means line connecting step for checking a means identification ID to connect a line with the information providing means, and a line connected by the information service providing means by the information access means line connecting step and the information providing means line connecting step Communication between the information providing means and the information access means Information service system characterized by comprising a communication control step of Gosuru. 2. The information access means determination step comprises:
When the information access means is determined to be the authorized information access means, the information access means includes a step of disconnecting and opening the line, wherein the information providing means identification ID has a line number of the information providing means, The providing means line connection step comprises a step of extracting the line number and making a call to connect the line, and the communication control step uses the line connected in the information providing means line connection step to make a current call. Is informing the information providing means of a message indicating that is a hotline from the information access means, and if the information providing means cannot provide the service, a reason message is transmitted to the information providing means. Disconnecting the line; and if the information providing means can provide the service, the information service providing means provides the information. Sending out the original information received from the stage to the information access means through a line; if the information providing means can provide a service, the information service providing means receives the information received from the information access means through the line. Sending to the information providing means, sending a message notifying the information providing means of the end of the hotline service when the information service providing means recognizes that the hotline service has ended, and notifying the end of the hotline service Disconnecting and opening a line between the information providing unit and the information service providing unit after sending the message, and providing the information service providing unit with a service when the information access unit finishes using the hotline service. Termination request message Message sending step, the information service providing means checking the connection time of the information access means, the information service providing means calculating a charge according to the connection time, the information service providing means A step of reading the charge information of the information access means in the management information of the information access means; a step of adding the current usage fee to the charge information read by the information service providing means; and a result of the addition by the information service providing means. Is recorded in the billing information part of the information access means of the management information of the information access means, and the information service providing means performs a disconnection / release process of the line after the billing process. The information providing service system according to claim 1. 3. The information according to claim 1, wherein the information service providing means has means capable of obtaining individual information of the information access means when starting a hotline service. Provided service method. 4. A plurality of communication line means are multi-dimensionally combined as a line to be used.
The information providing service method described in any one of 2 and 3.