INFORMATION PROVIDING METHOD AND INFORMATION PROVIDING DEVICE

• US 20140344054A1
• Filed: 05/13/2014
• Published: 11/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: MAEDA, Manabu, OHMORI, Motoji, FUTA, Yuichi, MATSUZAKI, Natsume, MATSUSHIMA, Hideki, UNAGAMI, Yuji
• Granted Patent: US 10,380,635 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.53
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3641 Personalized guidance, e.g. limited guidance on previously travelled routes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations

Abstract

A first user among a plurality of users is associated with a second user having an evaluation tendency similar to evaluation data of the first user for management. Further, a third user is selected by a terminal device of the first user as a user having preference information that suits preference of the first user. The third user is associated with the first user and the second user for management. This configuration makes it possible to select not only a user automatically selected by a system but also another user whom a targeted user is interested in as a similar user, allowing provision of information that better suits hobby and preference of the targeted user.

Claims

1. An information providing method in an information providing system for providing a terminal device of a user with object information via a network based on information from the terminal device of the user, the object information corresponding to the user, the method comprising:

receiving evaluation data regarding a plurality of evaluation objects, from a terminal device of each of a plurality of users via the network;

associating a first user among the plurality of users with a second user, the second user having an evaluation tendency similar to evaluation data of the first user;

providing a terminal device of the first user via the network with first object information regarding a first evaluation object, the first evaluation object having been used by the second user and having not been used by the first user;

receiving preference information regarding preference of the plurality of users from a predetermined terminal device via the network;

providing the terminal device of the first user with the preference information via the network;

receiving from the terminal device of the first user via the network, user information that indicates a third user, the third user being selected by the terminal device of the first user as a user having preference information that corresponds preference of the first user from among the preference information;

associating the third user indicated by the user information with the first user and the second user; and

providing the terminal device of the first user via the network with second object information regarding a second evaluation object, the second evaluation object having been used by the third user and having not been used by the first user, in addition to the first object information regarding the first evaluation object having been used by the second user and having not been used by the first user.

2. The information providing method according to claim 1, wherein

the predetermined terminal device comprises a terminal device of each of the plurality of users, and

the preference information regarding preference of the plurality of users is inputted from the terminal device of each of the plurality of users.

3. The information providing method according to claim 1, wherein

a home appliance in a house of each of the plurality of users is connected to the network,

the predetermined terminal device comprises the home appliance, and

home appliance log information of the home appliances is inputted via the network to generate the preference information regarding the preference of the plurality of users.

4. The information providing method according to claim 1, wherein the association of the first user with the second user is performed by associating a first identifier that indicates the terminal device of the first user with a second identifier that indicates the terminal device of the second user.

5. The information providing method according to claim 1, wherein the association of the first user with the second user is performed by associating a first identifier that indicates the first user with a second identifier that indicates the second user.

6. The information providing method according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation data regarding each evaluation object among the plurality of evaluation objects generated based on a number of access to each of the evaluation objects in the terminal device of each of the plurality of users.

7. The information providing method according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation data regarding each evaluation object among the plurality of evaluation objects generated based on evaluation inputted by each of the plurality of users in the terminal device of each of the users.

8. An information providing method in an information providing system for providing a terminal device of a user with object information via a network based on information from the terminal device of the user, the object information corresponding to of the user, the method comprising:

receiving evaluation data of regarding a plurality of evaluation objects, from a terminal device of each of a plurality of users via the network;

associating a first user among the plurality of users with a second user having an evaluation tendency similar to evaluation data of the first user;

providing a terminal device of the first user via the network with first object information regarding a first evaluation object, the first evaluation object having been used by the second user and having not been used by the first user;

receiving first preference information regarding preference of the plurality of users, from the terminal device of each of the plurality of users via the network;

providing the terminal device of the first user with the first preference information via the network;

receiving second preference information from the terminal device of the first user via the network, the second preference information being selected from among the first preference information by the terminal device of the first user as preference information that corresponds preference of the first user;

associating a third user who provides the second preference information with the first user and the second user t; and

providing the terminal device of the first user via the network with second object information regarding a second evaluation object, the second evaluation object having been used by the third user and having not been used by the first user, in addition to the first object information regarding the first evaluation object having been used by the second user and having not been used by the first user.

9. The information providing method according to claim 8, wherein a number of the third user is plural.

10. An information providing method in an information providing system for displaying object information that suits corresponds preference of a user of a terminal device on a display of the terminal device based on information from the terminal device, the method causing a computer of the terminal device to

input evaluation data about regarding a plurality of evaluation objects evaluated by each of a plurality of users into a terminal device of a first user among the plurality of users from a cloud server via a network;

associate the first user with a second user who has an evaluation tendency similar to evaluation data of the first user;

input first object information from the cloud server into the terminal device and display the object information on the display of the terminal device, the first object information being regarding a first evaluation object having been used by the second user and having not been used by the first user;

input preference information regarding preference of the plurality of users from the cloud server into the terminal device via the network and display the preference information on the display of the terminal device;

receive user information that indicates a third user via the terminal device and associate the third user with the first user and the second user, the third user being selected as a user having preference information that corresponds preference of the first user from among the preference information;

provide the cloud server with the user information that indicates the third user via the network; and

input second object information from the cloud server into the terminal device via the network and display the second object information on the display of the terminal device, the second object information being regarding a second evaluation object having been used by the third user and having not been used by the first user, in addition to the first object information regarding the first evaluation object having been used by the second user and having not been used by the first user.

11. An information providing method in an information providing system for displaying object information that corresponds preference of a user of a terminal device on a display of the terminal device based on information from the terminal device, the method causing a computer of the terminal device to:

input evaluation data regarding a plurality of evaluation objects evaluated by each of a plurality of users into a terminal device of a first user among the plurality of users from a cloud server via a network;

associate the first user with a second user who has an evaluation tendency similar to evaluation data of the first user;

input first object information from the cloud server into the terminal device and display the first object information on the display of the terminal device, the first object information being regarding a first evaluation object having been used by the second user and having not been used by the first user;

input first preference information from the cloud server into the terminal device via the network and display the first preference information on the display of the terminal device, the first preference information being regarding preference of the plurality of users;

receive second preference information via the terminal device and provide the cloud server with the second preference information via the network, the second preference information being selected as preference information that corresponds preference of the first user from among the first preference information;

receive user information that indicates a third user who selects the second preference information via the terminal device, and the third user with the first user and the second user; and

input second object information from the cloud server into the terminal device via the network and display the second object information on the display of the terminal device, the second object information being regarding a second evaluation object having been used by the third user and having not been used by the first user, in addition to the first object information regarding the first evaluation object having been used by the second user and having not been used by the first user.

12. An information providing device for displaying object information that corresponds preference of a user, the device comprising:

a display for displaying the object information;

a communicating section for receiving evaluation data regarding a plurality of evaluation objects evaluated by each of a plurality of users from a cloud server via a network; and

a controller configured to;

associate a first user among the plurality of users with a second user having an evaluation tendency similar to evaluation data of the first user,

display, on the display, first object information regarding a first evaluation object having been used by the second user and having not been used by the first user,

receive preference information regarding preference of the plurality of users using the communicating section from the cloud server via the network,

display the preference information regarding the preference of the plurality of users on the display,

receive user information that indicates a third user selected as a user having preference information that corresponds preference of the first user from among the preference information, and associate the third user with the first user and the second user, and

display, on the display, second object information regarding a second evaluation object having been used by the third user and having not been used by the first user, in addition to the first object information regarding the first evaluation object having been used by the second user and having not been used by the first user.

13. The information providing device according to claim 12, further comprising storage,

wherein the controller

receives evaluation data about a plurality of evaluation objects evaluated by each of the plurality of users at a first timing from the cloud server via the network and stores the received evaluation data in the storage,

receives preference information regarding preference of the plurality of users at a second timing from the cloud server via the network and stores the received preference information in the storage,

selects the first object information regarding the first evaluation object having been used by the second user and having not been used by the first user, using the storage, and displays the selected first object information on the display, and

selects the second object information regarding the second evaluation object having been used by the third user and having not been used by the first user, using the storage, and displays the selected second object information on the display.

14. An information providing device for displaying object information that suits preference of a user, the device comprising:

a display for displaying the object information;

a communicating section for receiving evaluation data regarding a plurality of evaluation objects evaluated by each of a plurality of users from a cloud server via a network; and

a controller configured to;

associate a first user among the plurality of users with a second user having an evaluation tendency similar to evaluation data of the first user,

display, on the display, first object information regarding a first evaluation object having been used by the second user and having not been used by the first user,

receive first preference information regarding preference of the plurality of users using the communicating section from the cloud server via the network,

display the first preference information regarding the preference of the plurality of users on the display,

receive second preference information selected as preference information that s corresponds preference of the first user from among the first preference information,

associate a third user who selects the second preference information with the first user and the second user, and

display, on the display, second object information regarding a second evaluation object having been used by the third user and having not been used by the first user, in addition to the first object information regarding the first evaluation object having been used by the second user and having not been used by the first user.

15. The information providing device according to claim 14, further comprising storage,

wherein the controller

receives evaluation data about a plurality of evaluation objects evaluated by each of the plurality of users at a first timing from the cloud server via the network and stores the received evaluation data in the storing section,

receives the first preference information regarding the preference of the plurality of users at a second timing from the cloud server via the network and stores the received first preference information in the storing section,

selects the first object information regarding the first evaluation object having been used by the second user and having not been used by the first user, using the storage, and displays the selected first object information on the display, and

selects the second object information regarding the second evaluation object having been used by the third user and having not been used by the first user, using the storage, and displays the selected second object information on the display.