Information retrieval method and relay center

• US 7,209,756 B2
• Filed: 11/27/2001
• Issued: 04/24/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Ikeda, Nobuyuki, Yabe, Toshiyasu, Koganemaru, Takashi, Aizawa, Mitsutoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild; Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): Afshar; Kamran
• Application Number:
  US10/182,423
• Publication Number:
  US 20030013458A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,974 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561-4563, 455/456.5, 455/457, 455/414.1, 455/456.4, 455/456.6, 455/404.2, 707/3, 707/4, 709217-219, 709/245, 701200-213, 342/357.1, 342/357.06, 342/357.09, 342/357.01, 342/357.08
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• 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. A gateway server communicating with a plurality of mobile terminals via a first network and communicating with a plurality of information provider servers via a second, public network, comprising:

a menu data control that sends a mobile terminal via the first network at least one set of menu data to guide a user of the mobile terminal, through at least one round of menu selection process, to said menu selection for requesting location-related information that the user is interested in obtaining, wherein at least one of the at least one set of the menu data is accessible by the gateway server;

a request transmission control that receives a request for the location-related information from the mobile terminal via the first network, wherein the request comprises an identification of a base station to which the mobile terminal is connected and a network address attributed to an information provider server, and sends at least a part of the request via the second network to the information provider server;

an area name finder that uses the identification of the base station to obtain an area name indicative of a geographical location of the base station, wherein the area name finder obtains the area name before the request transmission control sends the at least a part of the request to the information provider server, and informs the information provider server of the area name via the second network, wherein the information provider server uses the area name to obtain the location-related information regarding a geographical area stored in relation to the area name; and

an information transmission control that receives from the information provider server via the second network at least a part of the location-related information and sends at least a part of the received information to the mobile terminal via the first network.

2. A gateway server according to claim 1, wherein there is more than one set of menu data, and a selection from one set of menu data leads to a next set of menu data.

3. A gateway server according to claim 1, wherein the area name finder informs the information provider server of the area name when the request transmission control sends the request to the information provider server.

4. A gateway server according to claim 1, wherein the base station adds the identification of its to the request from the mobile terminal.

5. A gateway server according to claim 1, wherein the identification of the base station is determined based on signal reception by the motile terminal from the base station.

6. A gateway server according to claim 1, wherein the request transmission control sends at least a part of the request to the information provider server, along with an identification of the mobile terminal.

7. A gateway server according to claim 1, wherein the area name comprises a character string indicative of the area name.

8. A gateway server according to claim 1, wherein the area name comprises an identification of a street number and name.

9. A gateway server according to claim 1, wherein the location-related information regarding the geographical area comprises location information of at least one location where a service of interest is available in the geographical area.

10. A gateway server according to claim 1, wherein the area name finder determines the area name by accessing a table that correlates the identification of the base station to its corresponding area name.

11. A gateway server communicating with a plurality of mobile terminals via a first network and communicating with a plurality of information provider servers via a second, public network, the gateway server implementing the logic of:

sending a mobile terminal via the first network at least one set of menu data to guide a user of the mobile terminal, through at least one round of menu selection process, to said menu selection for requesting the location-related information that the user is interested in obtaining, wherein at least one of the at least one set of the menu data is accessible by the gateway server;

receiving a request for the location-related information from the mobile terminal via the first network, wherein the request comprises an identification of a base station to which the mobile terminal is connected and a network address attributed to an information provider server;

sending at least a part of the request via the second network to the information provider server;

using the identification of the base station to obtain an area name indicative of a geographical location of the base station before sending the at least a part of the request to the information provider server;

informing the information provider server of the area name via the second network, wherein the information provider server uses the area name to obtain the location-related information regarding a geographical area stored in relation to the area name;

receiving from the information provider server via the second network at least a part of the located-related information; and

sending at least a part of the received information to the mobile terminal via the first network.

12. A gateway server according to claim 11, wherein there is more than one set of menu data, and a selection from one set of menu data leads to a next set of menu data.

13. A gateway server according to claim 11, wherein sending the request to the information provider server and informing the information provider server of the area name are performed concurrently.

14. A gateway server according to claim 11, wherein the base station adds the identification of its to the request from the mobile terminal.

15. A gateway server according to claim 11, wherein the identification of the base station is determined based on signal reception by the mobile terminal from the base station.

16. A gateway server according to claim 11, wherein sending at least a part of the request to an information provider server comprises sending at least a part of the request to an information provider server, along with an identification of the mobile terminal.

17. A gateway server according to claim 11, wherein the area name comprise a character string indicative of the area name.

18. A gateway server according to claim 11, wherein the area name comprises an identification of a street number and name.

19. A gateway server according to claim 11, wherein the location-related information regarding the geographical area comprises location information of at least one location where a service of interest is available in the geographical area.

20. A gateway server according to claim 11, wherein obtaining an area name comprises accessing a table that correlates the identification of the base station to its corresponding area name.