Information retrieval method and relay center

• US 20030013458A1
• Filed: 07/25/2002
• Published: 01/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Ikeda, Nobuyuki, Aizawa, Mitsutoshi, Koganemaru, Takashi, Yabe, Toshiyasu
• Granted Patent: US 7,209,756 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries

Abstract

Base station BS adds a base station ID for specifying itself to a signal transmitted from mobile station MS. Data distribution management unit GWS3 of gateway server GWS extracts the base station ID added to a GET request and reads out an area name corresponding to the base station ID from area name conversion table TBL. Data distribution management unit GWS3, using the area name as a search key, searches location-related information database GWS4 for location-related information corresponding to a present location of mobile station MS and transmits the information to mobile station MS.

Claims

1. An information retrieval method, comprising the steps of:

acquiring, in a relay center, location information corresponding to a mobile station, said relay center being connected to a first network and a second network including said mobile station;

converting, in said relay center, location information acquired in said acquiring step into a character string;

a proxy retrieval process in which said relay center instructs a server connected to said first network to search for information relating to said character string and acquires said information from said server; and

transmitting, by said relay center, said information acquired in said proxy retrieval process step to said mobile station.

2. An information retrieval method according to claim 1,

wherein said character string represents an administrative classification corresponding to said location information.

3. An information retrieval method according to claim 1, wherein:

said relay center comprises a database which stores said character string representing said location information and information relating to said location information in correspondence with each other; and

said relay center, in said proxy retrieval process step, searches said database for information relating to said character string and, in a case that corresponding information is not found, instructs said server to search for information relating to said character string.

4. An information retrieval method according to claim 1,

wherein information relating to said character string includes information representing a location in which said information is stored.

5. An information retrieval method according to claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

instructing said server to search for information relating to said character string in said proxy retrieval process step; and

storing said character string and said information in said database in correspondence with each other in a case that said information is acquired from said sever.

6. An information retrieval method according to claim 1 or 3,

wherein said second network is a mobile communication network, said location information is identification information of a base station which communicates with said mobile station and is included in said mobile communication network.

7. A relay center connected to a first network and a second network including a mobile station, comprising:

means for acquiring location information corresponding to said mobile station;

means for converting said acquired location information into a character string;

proxy retrieval means for instructing a sever connected to said first network to search for information relating to said character string and acquiring said information from said server; and

transmitting said acquired information to said mobile station.

8. A relay center according to claim 7,

further comprising a database which stores said character string representing location information and information relating to said location information in correspondence with each other,

wherein said relay center searches said database for information relating to said character string, in a case that corresponding information is not found, instructs said server to search for information relating to said character string.

9. A relay center according to claim 8,

wherein said relay center instructs said server to search for information relating to said character string and, in a case that said information is acquired from said server, stores said character string and said information in said database in correspondence with each other.