Information providing system and information providing method

• US 7,970,383 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2006
• Issued: 06/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2005
• 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: Naganuma, Takefumi, Kurakake, Shoji, Fujii, Kunihiro, Fukazawa, Yusuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Afshar, Kamran
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHAHEED, KHALID W
• Application Number:
  US11/528,384
• Publication Number:
  US 20070073665A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,734 Days
• Field of Search: 707/3, 707/5, 707/7, 707/9, 707/104, 4554561-4563, 455/457
• US Class Current: 455/412.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096811 where the route is computed offboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096822 where the segments of the route are transmitted to the vehicle at different locations and times
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096838 where the user preferences are taken into account or the user selects one route out of a plurality
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096855 where the output is provided in a suitable form to the driver details on I/O arrangements for onboard navigation computers G01C21/36

Abstract

Providing an information providing system and an information providing method capable of providing detail information required for a user to execute his/her scheduled activity smoothly.

An information providing system 1 comprises an inhibition storing section 101 for preliminary storing inhibition information relating to inhibition factors corresponding to scheduled information relating to the scheduled activity; a candidate storing section 102 for preliminary storing candidate information relating to candidates of a coping method corresponding to the inhibition information; a schedule receiving section 103 for receiving the scheduled information from a communication terminal; an inhibition selecting section 104 for selecting from the inhibition storing section the inhibition information corresponding to the scheduled information; a candidate selecting section 105 for selecting from the candidate storing section the candidate information corresponding to the inhibition information; a candidate transmitting section 106 for transmitting the candidate information to the communication terminal 2; a selection receiving section 107 for receiving from the communication terminal 2, a selection information selected by the communication terminal 2; and a detail transmitting section 108 for transmitting detail information on the basis of the selection information to the communication terminal 2.

Claims

1. An information providing system for searching information required for a user of a mobile communication terminal to execute a scheduled activity planned by the user to provide it to the user, comprising:

an inhibition storing means for preliminarily storing inhibition information relating to at least one inhibition factor corresponding to scheduled information relating to the scheduled activity, the inhibition factor being a factor which inhibits execution of the scheduled activity due to an impediment along a travel route to the scheduled activity;

a candidate storing means for preliminarily storing candidate information relating to at least one candidate of a coping method corresponding to the inhibition information stored in the inhibition storing means, the candidate of a coping method being a method of coping with the inhibition factor;

a schedule receiving means for receiving the scheduled information and phase information indicating whether the scheduled activity is at a planning phase or at an execution phase from the mobile communication terminal of the user, the mobile communication terminal being separate from the information providing system and configured to connect to the information providing system via a network;

an inhibition selecting means for selecting, from the inhibition storing means, the inhibition information corresponding to the schedule information received by the schedule receiving means, wherein the inhibition information is generated independently of the schedule information and the inhibition selecting means selects the inhibition information from the inhibition storing means on at least a basis of a determination that the inhibition information corresponds to the schedule information and the phase information received by the schedule receiving means;

a candidate selecting means for selecting, from the candidate storing means, the candidate information corresponding to the inhibition information selected by the inhibition selecting means;

a candidate transmitting means for transmitting the candidate information selected by the candidate selecting means to the communication terminal;

a selection receiving means for receiving, from the mobile communication terminal, selection information selected from among the candidate information by the mobile communication terminal which received the candidate information from the candidate transmitting means;

a detail transmitting means for transmitting, to the mobile communication terminal, detail information based on the selection information received by the selection receiving means; and

a location obtaining means for obtaining location information of the mobile communication terminal, wherein

the inhibition selecting means further automatically selects the inhibition information from the inhibition storing means on the basis of the location information obtained by the location obtaining means.

2. The information providing system according to claim 1 further comprising,

a history obtaining means for obtaining history information relating to a communication of the mobile communication terminal, wherein the inhibition selecting means further selects the inhibition information from the inhibition storing means on the basis of the history information obtained by the history obtaining means.

3. The information providing system according to claim 2, further comprising,

a schedule predicting means for predicting the scheduled activity as a predicted activity on the basis of the history information obtained by the history obtaining means, wherein

the inhibition selecting means further selects the inhibition information from the inhibition storing means on the basis of the predicted activity predicted by the schedule predicting means.

6. The information providing system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a history obtaining means for obtaining history information relating to a communication of the mobile communication terminal; and

a schedule predicting means for predicting the scheduled activity as a predicted activity on the basis of the history information obtained by the history obtaining means, and

the inhibition selecting means further selects the inhibition information from the inhibition storing means on the basis of the history information obtained by the history obtaining means, and the predicted activity predicted by the schedule predicting means.

4. An information providing method for an information providing system of searching information required for a user of a mobile communication terminal to execute a scheduled activity planned by the user to provide it to the user, comprising:

a schedule receiving step of receiving schedule information and phase information indicating whether the scheduled activity is at a planning phase or at an execution phase, at the information providing system, relating to the scheduled activity from the mobile communication terminal of the user, the mobile communication terminal being separate from the information providing system and configured to connect to the information providing system via a network;

an inhibition selecting step of selecting from an inhibition storing means preliminary storing inhibition information, the inhibition information relating to at least one inhibition factor corresponding to the schedule information received in the schedule receiving step, the inhibition factor being a factor which inhibits execution of the scheduled activity due to an impediment along a travel route to the scheduled activity, wherein the inhibition information is generated independently of the schedule information and the inhibition selecting step includes selecting the inhibition information from the inhibition storing means on at least a basis of a determination that the inhibition information corresponds to the schedule information and the phase information received in the schedule receiving step;

a candidate selecting step of selecting from a candidate storing means preliminary storing candidate information, the candidate information relating to at least one candidate of a coping method corresponding to the inhibition information selected in the inhibition selecting step, the candidate of a coping method being a method of coping with the inhibition factor;

a candidate transmitting step of transmitting the candidate information selected in the candidate selecting step to the mobile communication terminal;

a selection receiving step of receiving, from the mobile communication terminal, the selection information selected from among the candidate information by the mobile communication terminal which received the candidate information in the candidate transmitting step;

a detail transmitting step of transmitting detail information based on the selection information received in the selection receiving step to the mobile communication terminal; and

a location obtaining step of obtaining location information of the mobile communication terminal, wherein

the inhibition selecting step includes further automatically selecting the inhibition information from the inhibition storing means on the basis of the location information obtained in the location obtaining step.

5. An information providing system for searching information required for a user of a mobile communication terminal to execute a scheduled activity planned by the user to provide it to the user, comprising;

an inhibition storing unit configured to preliminarily store inhibition information relating to at least one inhibition factor corresponding to scheduled information relating to the scheduled activity, the inhibition factor being a factor which inhibits execution of the scheduled activity due to an impediment along a travel route to the scheduled activity;

a candidate storing unit configured to preliminarily store candidate information relating to at least one candidate of a coping method corresponding to the inhibition information stored in the inhibition storing unit, the candidate of a coping method being a method of coping with the inhibition factor;

a schedule receiving unit configured to receive the scheduled information and phase information indicating whether the scheduled activity is at a planning phase or at an execution phase from the mobile communication terminal of the user, the mobile communication terminal being separate from the information providing system and configured to connect to the information providing system via a network;

an inhibition selecting unit configured to select, from the inhibition storing unit, the inhibition information corresponding to the schedule information received by the schedule receiving unit, wherein the inhibition information is generated independently of the schedule information and the inhibition selecting unit selects the inhibition information from the inhibition storing unit on at least a basis of a determination that the inhibition information corresponds to the schedule information and the phase information received by the schedule receiving unit;

a candidate selecting unit configured to select, from the candidate storing unit, the candidate information corresponding to the inhibition information selected by the inhibition selecting unit;

a candidate transmitting unit configured to transmit the candidate information selected by the candidate selecting unit to the communication terminal;

a selection receiving unit configured to receive, from the mobile communication terminal, selection information selected from among the candidate information by the mobile communication terminal which received the candidate information from the candidate transmitting unit;

a detail transmitting unit configured to transmit, to the mobile communication terminal, detail information based on the selection information received by the selection receiving unit; and

a location obtaining unit configured to obtain location information of the mobile communication terminal, wherein

the inhibition selecting unit further automatically selects the inhibition information from the inhibition storing unit on the basis of the location information obtained by the location obtaining unit.