Information service system for providing terminal users with terminal user specific information

• US 7,065,525 B1
• Filed: 06/27/2000
• Issued: 06/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Sasaki, Mikio, Asami, Katsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Pardo, Thuy N.
• Application Number:
  US09/605,688
• Time in Patent Office: 2,184 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/102, 707/203, 707/3, 707/103.X, 707/104.1, 709/105, 709/220, 709/224, 370/466, 370/401, 701/215, 701/201, 701/213, 340/521, 455/509, 244/158, 324/175, 435/23, 342/357.02, 600/595, 345/8
• US Class Current: 369/13.01
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/907 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

An information service system having user terminals and a center in which information according to a request for retrieval is provided to users at a low cost while simplifying setting of conditions for retrieval at the user terminals is simplified and maintaining real-time properties. A profile database at a center is updated using profile information transmitted by user terminals to construct an information database. Further, profile information used for retrieval is generated such that it includes information on the environment and situation around a user and information of requests and status of the user to allow proper retrieval in addition to verbal information from the user. The center searches the information database based on such profile information to provide information to the user terminal.

Claims

1. An information service system including a plurality of mobile user terminals and a center capable of data communication with said mobile user terminals,

said center comprising:

database construction means for adding information based on terminal-side information, including data regarding an environment of a user that varies with movement of the user, transmitted by said mobile user terminals to an information database, the database construction means also for adding information obtained by editing the terminal-side information to the information database as information based on the terminal-side information, the information added to the information database being available to subsequent requesting ones of said mobile user terminals;

retrieval means for retrieving information according to the terminal-side information transmitted by said mobile user terminals based on the information database constructed by said database construction means; and

distribution means for distributing the information retrieved by said retrieval means as distributed information,

said mobile user terminals comprising;

input means for inputting information from a user;

situation detecting means for detecting information on the situation of said user, including the data regarding an environment of the user that varies with movement of the user;

terminal-side information generation means for generating said terminal-side information including at least information input with said input means and the situation information detected by said situation detecting means;

storage and transmission means for storing the terminal-side information generated by said terminal-side information generation means in memory means and for transmitting it to said center; and

process execution means for executing a predetermined process based on the distributed information distributed by said center,

wherein;

said retrieval means of said center retrieves according to a request for retrieval using information included in said terminal-side information, when said request for retrieval is included in said terminal-side information; and

said process execution means of said mobile user terminals executes a notification process for providing notification of the requested information that is distributed by the center as distributed information.

2. An information service system according to claim 1, wherein:

said retrieval means of said center retrieves information relevant to said request for retrieval by inferring it from information included in said terminal-side information; and

said information retrieved by said retrieval means includes data inferred by said retrieval means from a plurality of types of information included in said terminal-side information that includes data regarding the environment of said user.

3. An information service system according to claim 1, wherein said terminal-side information comprises information associated with predetermined entries for inferring information relevant to said request for retrieval.

4. An information service system according to claim 3, wherein said terminal-side information is stored, transmitted and received in profiles in which information associated with particular entries among said predetermined entries is described.

5. An information service system according to claim 3, wherein said terminal-side information generation means of said mobile user terminals generates said terminal-side information by inferring unknown information associated with entries of said terminal-side information based on past terminal-side information stored in memory means.

6. An information service system according to claim 3, wherein:

said retrieval means of said center retrieves unknown information associated with entries of said transmitted terminal-side information; and

said process execution means of said mobile user terminals executes an information update process for adding information which is said unknown information retrieved by said retrieval means and which is distributed by said center as distributed information to terminal-side information stored in said memory means.

7. An information service system according to claim 6, wherein said retrieval means of said center selects past terminal-side information stored in said information database which is similar to said transmitted terminal-side information and retrieves unknown pieces of information in said transmitted terminal-side information based on said selected terminal-side information.

8. An information service system according to claim 7, wherein said retrieval means of said center selects past terminal-side information stored in said information database which is similar to said transmitted terminal-side information based on the degree of similarity calculated on the basis of said profiles.

9. An information service system according to claim 3, wherein said mobile user terminals further comprise:

priority setting means for setting priorities for predetermined entries of said terminal-side information based on information input with said input means; and

query means for prompting a user to input information associated with an entry having a relatively high priority set by said priority setting means when said information does not satisfy predetermined conditions.

10. An information service system according to claim 1, wherein:

said mobile user terminals are used on board a vehicle;

said retrieval means of said center retrieves information on the scenery around the location of said vehicle when said transmitted terminal-side information includes information of the location of said vehicle;

said distribution means distributes said scenery information to said mobile user terminals as distributed information; and

said process execution means of said mobile user terminals executes a structure inference process for inferring structures around the vehicle based on said scenery information as said distributed information.

11. An information service system according to claim 10, wherein said scenery information is information transmitted by each of said mobile user terminals to said center as image information and edited at said center.

12. An information service system according to claim 1, wherein said environment of said user includes an outside temperature of a vehicle.

13. An information service system according to claim 1, wherein said information on the situation of said user detected by said situation detecting means includes at least data other than user data, including at least one of weather, traffic status, audio environment, speech state, and noise environment.

14. The information service system according to claim 1, wherein the storage and transmission means is further for automatically transmitting the terminal-side information to said canter when a user generated request for retrieval is made.

15. An information service system including a plurality of mobile user terminals and a center capable of data communication with said mobile user terminals,

said center comprising:

a database constructor for adding information based on terminal-side information transmitted by said mobile user terminals to an information database, including data regarding an environment of a user that varies with movement of the user, the database constructor also for adding information obtained by editing the terminal-side information to the information database as information based on the terminal-side information;

a retriever connected to said database constructor, for retrieving information according to the terminal-side information transmitted by said mobile user terminals based on the information database constructed by said database constructor; and

a distributor connected to the retriever, for distributing the information retrieved by said retriever as distributed information,

said mobile user terminals comprising;

an input unit for inputting information from the user;

a situation detector for detecting information on the situation of the user, including the data regarding an environment of the user that varies with movement of the user;

a terminal-side information generator connected to said input unit and said situation detector, for generating the terminal-side information including at least information input with said input unit and the situation information detected by said situation detector;

a storage unit for storing the terminal-side information generated by said terminal-side information generator in a memory;

a transmitter for transmitting said terminal-side information in said storage unit to said center; and

a process executer for executing a predetermined process based on the distributed information distributed by said center,

wherein the transmitter is further for automatically transmitting the terminal-side information to said center when a user generated request for retrieval is made, and the information added to the information database, including the data regarding an environment of a user that varies with movement of the user, becomes available to subsequent requesting ones of said user terminals.

16. An information service system including a plurality of user terminals mounted on a vehicle and a center capable of data communication with said user terminals,

said center comprising:

database construction means for adding information based on terminal-side information transmitted by said user terminals to an information database, including data regarding an environment of a user that varies with movement of the user, the database construction means also for adding information obtained by editing the terminal-side information to the information database as information based on the terminal-side information;

retrieval means for retrieving information according to the terminal-side information transmitted by said user terminals based on the information database constructed by said database construction means; and

distribution means or distributing the information retrieved by said retrieval means as distributed information,

said user terminals comprising;

input means for inputting information from a user;

situation detecting means for detecting information on the situation of said user, including the data regarding an environment of the user that varies with movement of the user;

terminal-side information generation mean for generation said terminal-side information including at least information input with said input means and the situation information detected by said situation detecting means;

storage and transmission means for storing the terminal-side information generated by said terminal-side information generation means in memory means and for transmitting it to said center; and

process execution means for executing a predetermined process based on the distributed information distributed by said center,

wherein the storage and transmission means is further for automatically transmitting the terminal-side information to said center when a user generated request for retrieval is made, and the information added to the information database, including the data regarding an environment of the user that varies with movement of the user, becomes available to subsequent requesting ones of said user terminals.

17. An information service system including a plurality of user terminals mounted on a vehicle and a center capable of data communication with said user terminals,

said user terminals comprising:

input means for inputting information from a user;

situation detecting means for detecting information on the situation of the user, including data regarding an environment of the user that varies with movement of the user;

terminal-side information generation means for generating terminal-side information including at least information input with said input means and the situation information detected by said situation detecting means;

storage and transmission means for storing the terminal-side information generated by said terminal-side information generation means in memory means and for transmitting it to said center; and

process execution means for executing a predetermined process based on the distributed information distributed by said center,

wherein the storage and transmission means is further for automatically transmitting the terminal-side information to said center when a user generated request for retrieval is made, and information, including the terminal-side information, the data regarding an environment of the user that varies with movement of the user and information obtained by editing the terminal-side information as information based on the terminal-side information, is added to an information database, and becomes available to subsequent requesting ones of said user terminals.

18. An information service system including a plurality of user terminals mounted on a vehicle and a center capable of data communication with said user terminals,

said center comprising:

a database constructor for adding information based on terminal-side information transmitted by said user terminals, including data regarding an environment of a user that varies with movement of the user, to an information database, the database constructor also for adding information obtained by editing the terminal-side information to the information database as information based on the terminal-side information;

a retriever connected to said database constructor, for retrieving information according to the terminal-side information transmitted by said user terminals based on the information database constructed by said database constructor; and

a distributor connected to the retriever, for distributing the information retrieved by said retriever as distributed information,

said user terminals each comprising;

an input unit for inputting information from the user;

a situation detector for detecting information on the situation of the user, including said data regarding an environment of the user that varies with movement of the user;

a terminal-side information generator connected to said input unit and said situation detector, for generating said terminal-side information including at least information input with said input unit and the situation information detected by said situation detector;

a storage unit for storing the terminal-side information generated by said terminal-side information generator in a memory;

a transmitter for transmitting said terminal-side information in said storage unit to said center; and

a process executer for executing a predetermined process based on the distributed information distributed by said center,

wherein the transmitter is further for automatically transmitting the terminal-side information to said center when a user generated request for retrieval is made, and the information added to the information database, including said data regarding an environment of the user that varies with movement of the user, becomes available to subsequent requesting ones of said user terminals.