Communication system, communication method, and storage medium storing communication program for mobile device users

• US 20010025248A1
• Filed: 03/22/2001
• Published: 09/27/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Nihei, Katsumi
• Granted Patent: US 6,785,538 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting

Abstract

A communication system and a method of communication for a user of a portable information terminal are provide which are capable of automatically acquiring information of an occasion that the user desires while the portable information terminal is being used by the user and of carrying out communication among users having best matching conditions in terms of time (T), place (P), and individual preference according to occasion (O) (may be referred to as an occasion) of the user.

The communication system is made up of portable information terminals and a center being communicated via a wireless communication unit. The center has a spot information database and a user TPO (Time, Place, and Occasion) database. Element information is extracted by the center from a message received from the user. By learning a desired occasion of the user, a user TPO database is produced. Based on the TPO database, spot information and another user information having best matching conditions in terms of time (T), place (P), and desired occasion (O) are selected and transmitted to the user.

Claims

1. A communication system for mobile device users comprising:

a portable information terminal;

a center; and

wherein said portable information terminal and said center are communicated with each other through a wireless communication unit; and

wherein said portable information terminal has;

a place information managing unit used to acquire information about a place where said portable information terminal exists and to manage the acquired place information; and

a message managing unit used to manage said acquired place information, an identification to identify a user and an operational behavior of said user in a form of a message and to transmit said message to said center and used to provide a message fed from said center to said user;

wherein said center has;

a message controlling unit used to transmit said message to said portable information terminal and to receive said message from said portable information terminal;

a user TPO element information extracting unit used to extract element information made up of information about a present time (T), a present place (P), and an individual preference according to a present Occasion (O) of said user from a message fed from said portable information terminal;

a spot information database used to store spot information about a restaurant and/or a sight-seeing resort made up of information about spots and explanatory contents of said spots;

an occasion learning unit used to learn a desired individual preference according to an occasion from said user TPO element information and said spot information database and to produce user TPO data made up of static information containing an identification, age, sex of said user, and of dynamic information about when and where said user has visited and about what kind of spot or information said user has an interest in;

a user TPO database used to store said user TPO data produced for each user by said occasion learning unit; and

a TPO matching unit used to select spot information, when said message fed from said user includes a request for spot information, by achieving a match between spot information and said user TPO data of said user having transmitted the request message contained in said user TPO database and to request said message controlling unit to transmit said selected spot information to said portable information terminal of said user having transmitted said message requesting spot information and, when said message fed from said user includes a request for transmission of a message from said user to another user, to select said other user by achieving a match between said user TPO data of said user having transmitted said message requesting for transmission of said message to said other user contained in said user TPO database and user TPO database of said other user and to request said message controlling unit to transmit said message fed from said user to a portable information terminal of said other user.

2. The communication system for mobile device users according to

claim 1

, wherein said message controlling unit in said center judges whether said user having transmitted a message to said center is a user who has been registered with said user TPO database from a user identification contained in said message fed from said portable information terminal and, as a result, if said user is not the registered user, controls said user TPO element information extracting unit so as not to perform extracting processes, said occasion learning unit so as not to perform learning processes and said TPO matching unit so as not to perform matching processes.

3. The communication system for mobile device users according to

claim 1

, wherein said spot information database stores advertisement information to be added to said spot information.

4. The communication system for mobile device users according to

claim 1

, wherein said TPO matching unit adds advertisement information selected by achieving a match between user TPO data of said selected other user and said advertisement information contained in said spot information database, to said selected spot information or to a message to be transmitted to said selected other user.

5. The communication system for mobile device users according to

claim 1

, wherein a portable cellular phone or personal handy phone system is used as said wireless communication unit.

6. The communication system for mobile device users according to

claim 1

, wherein said message transmitted and received between said portable information terminal and said center is an electronic mail.

7. A communication method for mobile device users comprising:

a step of acquiring information about a place where a portable information terminal exists and of managing the place information in said portable information terminal;

a step of managing said place information, an identification to identify the user of said portable information terminal and an operational behavior of said user in a form of a message and transmitting said message from said portable information terminal to a center by a wireless communication unit and receiving said message fed from said center through said wireless communication unit and providing said message to said user, in said portable information terminal;

a step of managing a message to be transmitted and received between said portable information terminal and said center and of transmitting and receiving said message to and from said portable information terminal through said wireless communication unit, in said center;

a step of extracting a user TPO element information made up of information about a present time (T), a present place (P), and an individual preference according to a present Occasion (O) of said user from a message fed to said center from said portable information terminal through said wireless communication unit, in said center;

a step of learning a desired individual preference according to an occasion of said user based on said user TPO element information and a spot information database storing spot information about a restaurant and/or a sight-seeing resort made up of information about spots and explanatory contents of said spots and producing user TPO data made up of static information containing said identification, age, sex of a user and of dynamic information about when and where said user has visited and about what kind of spot or information said user has an interest in, in said center;

a step of selecting said spot information, when said message fed from said user contains a request for said spot information, by achieving a match between said spot information and said user TPO data of said user having transmitted said message contained in said user TPO database and requesting to transmit said selected spot information to said portable information terminal of said user having transmitted said message requesting for said spot information and, when said message fed from said user contains a request for transmission of a message from said user to another user, selecting said other user by achieving a match between said user TPO data on said user having transmitted said message requesting for transmission of said message to the selected other user contained in said user TPO database and user TPO database of said selected other user and requesting to transmit said message fed from said user to a portable information terminal of said selected other user, in said center.

8. The communication method for mobile device users according to

claim 7

, wherein said center judges whether said user having transmitted a message is a user who has been registered with said user TPO database, from a user identification contained in said message fed from said portable information terminal and, as a result, if said user is not a registered user, does not perform said step of extracting said user TPO element information, said step of learning a desired individual preference according to an occasion of said user and of storing said user TPO data for each user into said user TPO database and said step of achieving a match among said user TPO data.

9. The communication method for mobile device users according to

claim 7

, wherein said spot information database contains advertisement information to be added to said spot information.

10. The communication method for mobile device users according to

claim 7

, wherein, in said step, taken by said center, of identifying a user based on said user identification of said message fed from said portable information terminal through said wireless communication unit and of achieving a match between said user TPO data and said spot information database or said user TPO database, advertisement information selected by achieving a match between user TPO data of said selected other user and advertisement information contained in said spot information database is added to said selected spot information or to a message to be transmitted to said selected other user.

11. The communication method for mobile device users according to

claim 7

, wherein a portable cellular phone or personal handy phone system is used as said wireless communication unit.

12. The communication method for mobile device users, according to

claim 7

, wherein said message transmitted and received between said portable information terminal and said center is an Electronic mail.

13. A communication business method comprising:

a step of holding and managing, in a center communicating with a portable information terminal by a wireless communication unit, a spot information database used to store spot information about a restaurant and/or a sight-seeing resort made up of information about spots and explanatory contents of said spots and a user TPO database storing, for each user, user TPO data including information about a time (T), a place (P), and an individual preference according to an occasion (O) of said user;

a step of extracting a user TPO element information made up of information about said time (T), said place (P), and said individual preference according to said occasion (O) of said user from a message transmitted from a portable information terminal of said user and received by said center and obtaining said user TPO data containing a present place, and/or a desired individual preference according to a present occasion of said user and automatically updating said user TPO database; and

a step of retrieving said spot information from said spot information database, when said message received by said center contains a request for said spot information, and obtaining spot information having best matching conditions in terms of time (T), place (P), and individual preference according to occasion (O) of said user and providing said obtained spot information to said portable information terminal of said user.

15. The communication business method according to

claim 13

, wherein said user TPO database holds, for each said user, said identification of said user, profile information made up of information about personal information of said user, place information of said user, operational information of said user, and information about movement of said user.

17. The communication business method according to

claim 15

, wherein said user TPO database and said profile information of said user stores personal information about a name, an address, a gender and an age, information about key words indicating information in which said user has an interest and information about a presence or absence of a desire for acquainting an individual preference according to an occasion and wherein said operational information of users contained in said user TPO database stores a spot identification of spot information requested by said user, a time when a request for said spot information was made and a place where a request for said spot information was made, and wherein said movement information of users contained in said user TPO database stores a spot identification of spot information related to spots where said user has visited and a time of said visit.

19. The communication business method according to

claim 13

, further comprising a step of extracting said user TPO element information made up of said time (T), said place (P), and said individual preference according to said occasion (O) of said user, when a request for transmission of a message from said user to another user is contained in a message transmitted from said portable information terminal of said user and received by said center from said received message and obtaining said user TPO data made up of information about a present place, and/or an individual preference according to an present occasion of said user from said extracted said user TPO element information and selecting said other user having best matching conditions in terms of said time (T), said place (P), and said individual preference according to said occasion (O) of said user by retrieving information from said user TPO database and then transmitting message information fed from said user to a portable information terminal of said other user.

21. The communication business method according to

claim 13

, wherein said spot information is made up of guidance information including, at least, one of a character string, image, voice, and moving picture.

22. The communication business method according to

claim 13

, wherein advertisement information is added to said spot information and/or message information to be transmitted from said center to said portable information terminal.

24. The communication business method according to

claim 22

, wherein advertisement information having best matching conditions in terms of time (T), place (P), and individual preference according to occasion (O) of users going to receive said spot information and/or message information.

26. The communication business method according to

claim 13

, wherein place information of said portable information terminal is transmitted from said portable information terminal to said center and contents of said user TPO database are automatically updated based on said message transmitted from said portable information terminal.

28. The communication business method according to

claim 15

, wherein, when place information is transmitted from said portable information terminal of said user and when said user stays for a predetermined period of time or more within a spot area, it is judged that said user has visited said spot and spot information for said user is retrieved from said spot information database and, based on information about said spot in which said user is judged to have visited, said movement information of said user TPO database is updated.

14. A communication business method comprising:

a step of holding and managing, in a center communicating with a portable information terminal by a wireless communication unit, a user TPO database storing, for each user, user TPO data including information about a time (T), a place (P), and an individual preference according to an occasion (O) of said user;

a step of extracting a user TPO element information made up of information about said time (T), said place (P), and said individual preference according to said occasion (O) of said user from a message transmitted from a portable information terminal of said user and received by said center and obtaining said user TPO data containing a present place, and/or a desired individual preference according to a present occasion of said user and automatically updating said user TPO database;

a step of setting a presence or an absence of a desire for acquainting an individual preference according to a occasion, as a profile of said user, in said user TPO database; and

a step of retrieving said user TPO database, when said message received by said center contains a request for transmission of a message to another user or a request for acquainting an individual preference according to an occasion matching and selecting said other user having best matching conditions in terms of said time (T), said place (P), and said individual preference according to said occasion (O) of said user and providing said message transmitted from said user to a portable information terminal of said other user.

16. The communication business method according to

claim 14

, wherein said user TPO database holds, for each said user, said identification of said user, profile information made up of information about personal information of said user, place information of said user, operational information of said user, and information about movement of said user.

18. The communication business method according to

claim 16

, wherein said user TPO database and said profile information of said user stores personal information about a name, an address, a gender and an age, information about key words indicating information in which said user has an interest and information about a presence or absence of a desire for acquainting an individual preference according to an occasion and wherein said operational information of users contained in said user TPO database stores a spot identification of spot information requested by said user, a time when a request for said spot information was made and a place where a request for said spot information was made, and wherein said movement information of users contained in said user TPO database stores a spot identification of spot information related to spots where said user has visited and a time of said visit.

20. The communication business method according to

claim 14

, wherein said other user having best matching conditions in terms of said time (T), said place (P), and said individual preference according to said occasion (O) of said user having transmitted said request for transmission of said message is selected out of other users for whom a desire for acquainting an individual preference according to an occasion has been pre-set in said user profile information contained in said user TPO database.

23. The communication business method according to claim 14, wherein advertisement information is added to said spot information and/or message information to be transmitted from said center to said portable information terminal.

25. The communication business method according to

claim 23

, wherein advertisement information having best matching conditions in terms of time (T), place (P), and individual preference according to occasion (O) of users going to receive said spot information and/or message information.

27. The communication business method according to

claim 14

, wherein place information of said portable information terminal is transmitted from said portable information terminal to said center and contents of said user TPO database are automatically updated based on said message transmitted from said portable information terminal.

29. The communication business method according to

claim 16

, wherein, when place information is transmitted from said portable information terminal of said user and when said user stays for a predetermined period of time or more within a spot area, it is judged that said user has visited said spot and spot information for said user is retrieved from said spot information database and, based on information about said spot in which said user is judged to have visited, said movement information of said user TPO database is updated.

30. A portable information terminal for communication with a center via a wireless communication unit comprising:

a place information managing unit used to acquire information about a place where said portable information terminal exists and to manage the acquired place information;

a message managing unit used to manage said place information, an identification to identify a user and an operational behavior of said user in a form of a message and to transmit said message to said center and used to provide a message fed from said center to said user; and

wherein a user TPO information made up of information about a time (T), a place (P), and an individual preference according to an occasion (O) is transmitted by said portable information terminal in a form of a message to said center and said center, based on said message transmitted from said portable information terminal, updates a user database and wherein said portable information terminal receives spot information having best matching conditions in terms of time (T), place (P), and individual preference according to occasion (O) of said user and outputs.

31. A portable information terminal for communication with a center via a wireless communication unit comprising:

a place information managing unit used to acquire information about a place where said portable information terminal exists and to manage said place information;

a message managing unit used to manage said place information, an identification to identify a user and an operational behavior of said user in a form of a message and to transmit said message to said center and used to provide a message fed from said center to said user; and

wherein, based on a message transmitted from said portable information terminal of a user to said center, another user having best matching conditions in terms of time (T), place (P), and individual preference according to occasion (O) of said user is selected by said center and a portable information terminal of said other user receives said message transmitted from said portable information terminal of said user to said center.

32. A communication business center apparatus for mobile device users being communicated with a portable information terminal via a wireless communication unit comprising:

a spot information database used to store spot information about a restaurant and/or a sight-seeing resort made up of information about spots and explanatory contents of said spots;

a user TPO database used to store said user TPO data produced for each user including information about a time (T), a place (P), and an individual preference according to an occasion (O) of said user;

an extracting unit used to extract an user TPO element information made up of information about a present time (T), a present place (P), and an individual preference according to an present occasion (O) of said user from a message fed from said portable information terminal;

an automatically updating unit used to obtain user TPO data made up of information about a present place, and an individual preference according to a present occasion of said user from said extracted said user TPO element information and automatically updates said user TPO database;

a spot information obtaining unit used to obtain, when said received message contains a request for spot information, by retrieving said spot information database, spot information having best matching conditions in terms of time (T), place (P), and individual preference according to occasion (O) of said user and to supply said spot information to a portable information terminal of said user.

33. The communication business center apparatus according to

claim 32

, further comprising:

a selecting unit used to select another user having best matching conditions in terms of time (T), place (P), and individual preference according to occasion (O) of a user having transmitted a message from a portable information terminal of said user containing a request for transmission of a message to said other user or a request for acquainting an individual preference according to an occasion by retrieving related information from said user TPO database and to transmit message information fed from said user to a portable information terminal of said other user.

34. The communication business center apparatus for mobile device users according to

claim 32

, wherein said user TPO database holds, for each user, said identification of said each user, profile information made up of information about personal information of said each user, place information of said each user, operational information of said each user, and information about movement of said each user.

35. The communication business center apparatus for mobile device users according to

claim 34

, wherein said user TPO database and said profile information of said user stores personal information about a name, an address, a gender and an age, information about key words indicating information in which said user has an interest and information about a presence or absence of a desire for acquainting an individual preference according to an occasion and wherein said operational information of users contained in said user TPO database stores a spot identification of spot information requested by said user, a time when a request for said spot information was made and a place where a request for said spot information was made, and wherein said movement information of users contained in said user TPO database stores a spot identification of spot information related to spots where said user has visited and a time of said visit.

36. The communication business center apparatus for mobile device users according to

claim 32

, wherein said spot information is made up of guidance information including, at least, one of a character string, image, voice and moving picture.

37. The communication business center apparatus for mobile device users according to

claim 32

, wherein advertisement information is added to spot information and/or message information to be transmitted from said center to said portable information terminal.

38. The communication business center apparatus for mobile device users according to

claim 37

, wherein advertisement information having best matching conditions in terms of time (T), place (P), and individual preference according to occasion (O) of users going to receive said spot information and/or message information is sent.

39. The communication business center apparatus for mobile device users according to

claim 32

, wherein place information of said portable information terminal is transmitted from said portable information terminal to said center and contents of said user TPO database are automatically updated based on said message transmitted from said portable information terminal.

40. A communication program which causes processing to be performed by computers making up a center being communicated with a portable information terminal through a wireless communication unit,

wherein said portable information terminal includes:

a place information managing unit used to acquire information about a place where said portable information terminal exists and to manage the acquired place information; and

a message managing unit used to manage said place information, an identification to identify a user and an operational behavior of said user in a form of a message and to transmit said message to said center and used to provide a message fed from said center to said user; and

wherein said center has;

a spot information database used to store spot information about a restaurant and/or a sight-seeing resort made up of information about spots and explanatory contents of said spots;

a user TPO database used to store user TPO data made up of information about time (T), place (P), and individual preference according to occasion (O) produced for each user; and

wherein said processing includes;

(a) a step of managing a message to be transmitted and received between said portable information terminal;

(b) a step of extracting a user TPO element information made up of information about a present time (T), a present place (T), and an individual preference according to an present occasion (O) of a user from a message fed to said center from said portable information terminal;

(c) a step of learning a desired individual preference according to an occasion of said user based on said user TPO element information and said spot information database storing said spot information about said restaurant and/or said sight-seeing resort made up of information about said spots and explanatory contents of said spots and producing said user TPO data made up of static information containing said identification, an age and a gender of said user and of dynamic information about when and where said user has visited and about what kind of spot or information said user has an interest in;

(d) a step of selecting spot information, when said message fed from said user contains a request for spot information, by achieving a match between spot information and said user TPO data of said user having transmitted said message contained in said user TPO database and requesting that said selected spot information is transmitted by said message managing step to a portable information terminal of said user having transmitted said message requesting for said spot information and, when said message fed from said user contains a request for transmission of a message from said user to another user, selecting said other user by achieving a match between said user TPO data on said user having transmitted said message requesting for transmission of said message to said other user contained in said user TPO database and user TPO database of said other user and requesting that said message fed from said user is transmitted by said message managing step to a portable information terminal of said other user.

41. A storage medium storing a communication program which causes processing to be performed by computers making up a center being communicated with a portable information terminal through a wireless communication unit,

wherein said portable information terminal includes:

a place information managing unit used to acquire information about a place where said portable information terminal exists and to manage the acquired place information; and

a message managing unit used to manage said place information, an identification to identify a user and an operational behavior of said user in a form of a message and to transmit said message to said center and used to provide a message fed from said center to said user; and

wherein said center has;

a spot information database used to store spot information about a restaurant and/or a sight-seeing resort made up of information about spots and explanatory contents of said spots;

a user TPO database used to store user TPO data made up of information about time (T), place (P), and individual preference according to occasion (O) produced for each user; and

wherein said processing includes;

(a) a step of managing a message to be transmitted and received between said portable information terminal;

(b) a step of extracting a user TPO element information made up of information about a present time (T), a present place (T), and an individual preference according to an present occasion (O) of a user from a message fed to said center from said portable information terminal;

(c) a step of learning a desired individual preference according to an occasion of said user based on said user TPO element information and said spot information database storing said spot information about said restaurant and/or said sight-seeing resort made up of information about said spots and explanatory contents of said spots and producing said user TPO data made up of static information containing said identification, an age and a gender of said user and of dynamic information about when and where said user has visited and about what kind of spot or information said user has an interest in;

(d) a step of selecting spot information, when said message fed from said user contains a request for spot information, by achieving a match between spot information and said user TPO data of said user having transmitted said message contained in said user TPO database and requesting that said selected spot information is transmitted by said message managing step to a portable information terminal of said user having transmitted said message requesting for said spot information and, when said message fed from said user contains a request for transmission of a message from said user to another user, selecting said other user by achieving a match between said user TPO data on said user having transmitted said message requesting for transmission of said message to said other user contained in said user TPO database and user TPO database of said other user and requesting that said message fed from said user is transmitted by said message managing step to a portable information terminal of said other user.