Electronic guide information processing system, information distributing apparatus, portable terminal apparatus, and method for processing electronic guide information

• US 7,783,498 B2
• Filed: 10/16/2001
• Issued: 08/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kawai, Eiji
• Primary Examiner(s): OUELLETTE, JONATHAN P
• Application Number:
  US09/981,696
• Publication Number:
  US 20020083000A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,234 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/1.1
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/10 Map spot or coordinate position indicators; Map reading aids optical projection apparatus per se G03B
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/61 for local area broadcast, e.g. instore broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/98 Physical distribution of media, e.g. postcards, CDs or DVDs

Abstract

An electronic guide information processing system includes: an information distributing apparatus 19 for converting the guide information D1 into electronic guide information, and then distributing the resultant data; and a portable terminal apparatus 14 for recording and reproducing the electronic guide information distributed from the information distributing apparatus 19. The electronic guide information D1 is visually displayed or/and audibly output in the portable terminal apparatus 14. Due to this structure, the information user can obtain the guide information about customers attracting facility in the form of electronic guide information D1, instead of in the form of conventional paper materials such as guidebooks and guide maps. Besides, by employing a system in which the electronic guide information D1 is distributed through broadcasting or communication infrastructure, the information user can easily and timely obtain the guide information about the customers attracting facility before he or she actually visits there.

Claims

1. An electronic guide information processing system for electronically processing guide information about a place, the system comprising:

an information distributing apparatus for converting the guide information into electronic guide information, encrypting the electronic guide information, and then distributing the encrypted electronic guide information;

a portable terminal apparatus for recording the encrypted electronic guide information, decrypting the encrypted electronic guide information, and presenting the electronic guide information; and

an information processing apparatus for erasing the electronic guide information from the portable terminal apparatus and writing in the portable terminal apparatus of information about the place, wherein the erasing and the writing are performed at the same area.

2. The electronic guide information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the encrypted electronic guide information is distributed to the portable terminal apparatus by use of an already-existing broadcasting infrastructure or/and a communication infrastructure.

3. The electronic guide information processing system according to claim 1, wherein an information recording medium is mounted to the portable terminal apparatus, and

wherein the electronic guide information about the place is recorded in the information recording medium.

4. The electronic guide information processing system according to claim 3, wherein the information recording mediums is provided by use of an already-existing sales infrastructure.

5. The electronic guide information processing system of according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus writes at least one of advertisement information about the place and information about use of the place in the portable terminal apparatus.

6. An electronic guide information processing system for processing guide information about a place, the system comprising:

an information providing apparatus for converting the guide information into electronic guide information, encrypting the electronic guide information, and providing the encrypted electronic guide information;

a portable terminal apparatus for recording the encrypted electronic guide information, decrypting the encrypted electronic guide information, and presenting the electronic guide information, which has been provided from the information providing apparatus; and

an information processing apparatus for erasing the electronic guide information from the portable terminal apparatus and writing information about the place in the portable terminal apparatus at the same area; and

wherein reading of the electronic guide information is permitted inside the place, while reading of the electronic guide information is inhibited outside the place.

7. The electronic guide information processing system according to claim 6, wherein specific wireless broadcasting means effective in a target area is provided to the place, and

wherein the encrypted electronic guide information is provided to the portable terminal apparatus from the specific wireless broadcasting means.

8. The electronic guide information processing system according to claim 6, wherein the portable terminal apparatus comprises receiving means for receiving a wireless broadcasting signal from the specific wireless broadcasting means.

9. The electronic guide information processing system according to claim 8, wherein, when the portable terminal apparatus does not have the receiving means,

the receiving means is provided at the place.

10. The electronic guide information processing system according to claim 8, wherein the electronic guide information received by the receiving means is correlated with electronic guide information which has been already stored in the portable terminal apparatus.

11. The electronic guide information processing system according to claim 6, wherein the portable terminal apparatus comprises position measuring means for measuring latitude, longitude, and height by use of an artificial satellite, so as to specify the position of this portable terminal apparatus itself.

12. The electronic guide information processing system according to claim 11, wherein, when the portable terminal apparatus does not have the position measuring means, the position measuring means is provided at the place.

13. The electronic guide information processing system according to claim 11, wherein the measurement information obtained by the position measuring means is correlated with map information about the place which has been already stored in the portable terminal apparatus.

14. The electronic guide information processing system of according to claim 6, wherein at least one advertisement information about the place and information about use of the place is written in the portable terminal apparatus.

22. The portable terminal apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the controlling apparatus writes at least one of advertisement information about the place and information about use of the place in the storing apparatus.

15. A portable terminal apparatus for obtaining and processing electronic guide information about a place, the portable terminal apparatus comprising:

a manipulating section manipulated in order to input manipulation information about the electronic guide information;

a receiving section for receiving encrypted electronic guide information;

a storing apparatus for storing the encrypted electronic guide information received by the receiving section;

a decrypting section for decrypting the encrypted electronic guide information; and

a controlling apparatus for reading the electronic guide information from the storing apparatus in accordance with the manipulation information from the manipulating section and processing the electronic guide information to control an image display,

wherein the controlling apparatus erases the electronic guide information from the storing apparatus and writes in the storing apparatus information about the place at the same area.

16. The portable terminal apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the controlling apparatus processes the electronic guide information to control a display of an image of the place made of a three-dimensional image.

17. The portable terminal apparatus according to claim 15, wherein a communication modem is connected to the controlling apparatus, so as to receive the electronic guide information distributed by use of an already-existing communication infrastructure.

18. The portable terminal apparatus according to claim 15, wherein, when specific wireless broadcasting means effective only in a target area is provided to the place, the controlling apparatus receives the electronic guide information from the specific wireless broadcasting means by the receiving section.

19. The portable terminal apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the encrypted electronic guide information received by the receiving section is correlated with electronic guide information which has already been stored in the storing apparatus.

20. The portable terminal apparatus according to claim 15, wherein position measuring means is connected to the controlling apparatus, and the position of the portable terminal apparatus itself is specified by measuring latitude, longitude, and height by use of an artificial satellite.

21. The portable terminal apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the measurement information obtained by the position measuring means is correlated with map information about the place which has been already stored in the storing apparatus.

23. A method for processing electronic guide information which electronically processes guide information about a place, the method comprising:

producing electronic guide information at an information provider side by converting the guide information;

encrypting the electronic guide information at the information provider side;

distributing the encrypted electronic guide information to a portable terminal apparatus;

obtaining the distributed encrypted electronic guide information;

decrypting the encrypted electronic guide information;

presenting the electronic guide information;

erasing the electronic guide information from the portable terminal apparatus; and

writing in the portable terminal apparatus information about the place,

wherein the erasing and the writing are performed at the same area.

24. The method for processing electronic guide information according to claim 23, wherein the encrypted electronic guide information is distributed to the portable terminal apparatus by use of an already-existing broadcasting infrastructure or/and a communication infrastructure.

25. The method for processing electronic guide information according to claim 23, wherein the electronic guide information about the place is recorded in an information recording medium, and the information recording medium is mounted to the portable terminal apparatus.

26. The method for processing electronic guide information according to claim 25, wherein the information recording medium is provided by use of an already-existing sales infrastructure.

27. The method for processing electronic guide information according to claim 23, further comprising writing at least one of advertisement information about the place and information about use of the place in the portable terminal apparatus.

28. A method for processing electronic guide information about a place, the method comprising:

receiving the encrypted electronic guide information to a portable terminal apparatus;

decrypting the encrypted electronic guide information in the portable terminal apparatus;

erasing the electronic guide information from the portable terminal apparatus; and

writing in the portable terminal apparatus information about the place,

wherein the erasing and the writing are performed at the same area.

29. The method for processing electronic guide information according to claim 28, wherein specific wireless broadcasting means effective only in a target area is provided to the place, and

wherein the encrypted electronic guide information is provided to the portable terminal apparatus from the specific wireless broadcasting means.

30. The method for processing electronic guide information according to claim 28, wherein, when the portable terminal apparatus does not have the receiving means, the receiving means is provided at the place.

31. The method for processing an electronic guide information according to claim 30, wherein the electronic guide information received by the receiving means is correlated with electronic guide information which has been already stored in the portable terminal apparatus.

32. The method for processing an electronic guide information according to claim 28, wherein the portable terminal apparatus comprises position measuring means for measuring latitude, longitude, and height by use of an artificial satellite, so as to specify the position of this portable terminal apparatus itself.

33. The method for processing an electronic guide information according to claim 32, wherein, when the portable terminal apparatus does not have the position measuring means, the position measuring means is provided at the place.

34. The method for processing an electronic guide information according to claim 32, wherein the measurement information obtained by the position measuring means is correlated with map information about the place which has been already stored in the portable terminal apparatus.

35. The method for processing electronic guide information according to claim 28, further comprising writing at least one of advertisement information about the place and information about use of the place in the portable terminal apparatus.