Provision of information

• US 8,874,141 B2
• Filed: 02/25/2011
• Issued: 10/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BIGLOBE, Inc. (KDDI Corporation)
• Original Assignee: BIGLOBE, Inc. (KDDI Corporation)
• Inventors: Sakka, Noriyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Karikari, Kwasi
• Application Number:
  US13/034,919
• Publication Number:
  US 20110223938A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,341 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.2, 455/412.1, 455/414.2, 455/456.1
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/026 using orientation information, e.g. compass
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals

Abstract

An information providing server acquires, according to a relative position of a mobile terminal to an information source which is a base of provided information transmitted to the mobile terminal, preset provided information among a plurality of pieces of provided information stored in a provided information database, and transmits the acquired provided information to the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal displays the received provided information.

Claims

1. An information providing system comprising:

a provided information database for storing a plurality of pieces of provided information;

a mobile terminal; and

an information providing server for transmitting the provided information to the mobile terminal,

wherein the information providing server associates information source location information indicating a location of an information source which is a base of the provided information, bearing information indicating a bearing of a location of the mobile terminal with respect to the location of the information source, and provided information identification information added to each of the plurality of pieces of provided information to identify the plurality of pieces of provided information with one another, and then stores the information as associated information;

the mobile terminal transmits terminal location information indicating the location of the mobile terminal, to the information providing server;

the information providing server calculates, when the terminal location information is received from the mobile terminal, the bearing of the location of the mobile terminal with respect to the location of the information source based on the terminal location information and the information source location information, searches for the provided identification information in the associated information based on the bearing information indicating the calculated bearing, and acquires the provided information to which the provided information identification information, which has been retrieved, has been added from the plurality of pieces of provided information stored in the provided information database, and transmits the acquired provided information to the mobile terminal; and

the mobile terminal displays the provided information received from the information providing server.

2. The information providing system according to claim 1,

wherein the information providing server stores the information expressing the bearing comprising at least one of a north, south, east and west direction, in a range of an angle around the information source as the bearing information.

3. The information providing system according to claim 1,

wherein the information providing server associates the bearing information and distance information indicating the distance from the information source to the mobile terminal, and then stores the information as associated information, calculates, when the terminal location information is received from the mobile terminal, the distance from the information source to the mobile terminal based on the terminal location information and the information source location information, searches for the provided information identification information in the associated information based on the distance information indicating the calculated distance and the bearing information indicating the calculated bearing.

4. The information providing system according to claim 1,

wherein the information providing server associates the bearing information and height difference information indicating the height difference from the information source to the mobile terminal, and then stores the information as associated information, calculates, when the terminal location information is received from the mobile terminal, the height difference from the information source to the mobile terminal based on the terminal location information and the information source location information, searches for the provided information identification information in the associated information based on the height difference information indicating the calculated height difference and the bearing information indicating the calculated bearing.

5. The information providing system according to claim 1,

wherein the mobile terminal transmits, when one information name is selected from a plurality of information names indicating a plurality of information sources received from the information providing server, the selected information name together with the terminal location information to the information providing server;

and

the information providing server transmits the plurality of information names to the mobile terminal, and acquires, according to the bearing of the location of the mobile terminal with respect to the location of the information source corresponding to the information name received from the mobile terminal, the preset provided information from the plurality of pieces of provided information stored in the provided information database.

6. An information providing server connected to a provided information database for storing a plurality of pieces of provided information and configured to transmit the provided information to a mobile terminal, comprising:

an associated information storage unit that associates information source location information indicating a location of an information source which is a base of the provided information, bearing information indicating a bearing of a location of the mobile terminal with respect to the location of the information source, and provided information identification information added to each of the plurality of pieces of provided information to identify the plurality of pieces of provided information that are associated with one another, and then stores the information;

a relative position calculation unit that calculates, when the terminal location information indicating a location of the mobile terminal is received from the mobile terminal, the bearing of the location of the mobile terminal with respect to the location of the information source based on the terminal location information and the information source location information;

a search unit that searches for the provided information identification information in the associated information storage unit based on the bearing information indicating the bearing calculated by the relative position calculation unit;

an acquisition unit that acquires the provided information to which the provided information identification information retrieved by the search unit has been added from the plurality of pieces of the provided information stored in the provided information database; and

a communication unit that transmits the provided information acquired by the acquisition unit to the mobile terminal.

7. The information providing server according to claim 6,

wherein the associated information storage unit stores the information expressing the bearing comprising at least one of a north, south, east and west direction, in a range of an angle around the information source as the bearing information.

8. The information providing server according to claim 6,

wherein the associated information storage unit associates bearing the information and distance information indicating the distance from the information source to the mobile terminal, and then stores the information;

the relative position calculation unit calculates, when the terminal location information is received from the mobile terminal, the distance from the information source to the mobile terminal based on the terminal location information and the information source location information; and

the search unit searches for the provided information identification information in the associated information storage unit based on the distance information indicating the distance calculated by the relative position calculation unit and the bearing information indicating the bearing calculated by the relative position calculation unit.

9. The information providing server according to claim 6,

wherein the associated information storage unit associates the bearing information and height difference information indicating the height difference from the information source to the mobile terminal, and then stores the information;

the relative position calculation unit calculates, when the terminal location information is received from the mobile terminal, the height difference from the information source to the mobile terminal based on the terminal location information and the information source location information; and

the search unit searches for the provided information identification information in the associated information storage unit based on the height difference information indicating the height difference calculated by the relative position calculation unit and the bearing information indicating the bearing calculated by the relative position calculation unit.

10. The information providing server according to claim 6,

wherein the associated information storage unit associates, for each of a plurality of information sources, a plurality of information names indicating the plurality of information sources, the information source location information, the bearing information, and the provided information identification information that are associated with one another, and then stores the information;

the communication unit transmits the plurality of information names to the mobile terminal; and

the search unit searches for the provided information identification information in the associated information storage unit based on the bearing information and an information name received from the mobile terminal among the plurality of information names.

11. An information providing method for transmitting provided information to a mobile terminal, comprising:

a step of calculating, when terminal location information indicating a location of the mobile terminal is received from the mobile terminal, a bearing of the location of the mobile terminal with respect to the location of an information source which is a base of the provided information based on the terminal location information and the information source location information indicating the location of the information source;

a step of searching for, based on bearing information indicating the calculated bearing, provided information identification information in associated information associating the bearing information and the provided information identification information added to the provided information to identify the provided information beforehand;

a step of acquiring the provided information to which the provided information identification information, which has been retrieved, has been added from a provided information database for storing the provided information; and

a step of transmitting the acquired provided information to the mobile terminal.

12. The information providing method according to claim 11, wherein the bearing information is the information which expresses the bearing comprising at least one of a north, south, east and west direction, in a range of an angle around the information source.

13. The information providing method according to claim 11, wherein the associated information is the information which associates the bearing information, the provided information identification information and distance information indicating the distance from the information source to the mobile terminal, and the method further comprises:

a step of calculating, when the terminal location information is received from the mobile terminal, the distance from the information source to the mobile terminal based on the terminal location information and the information source location information; and

a step of searching for the provided information identification information in the associated information based on the distance information indicating the calculated distance and the bearing information indicating the calculated bearing.

14. The information providing method according to claim 11, wherein the associated information is the information which associates the bearing information, the provided information identification information and height difference information indicating the height difference from the information source to the mobile terminal, and the method further comprises:

a step of calculating, when the terminal location information is received from the mobile terminal, the height difference from the information source to the mobile terminal based on the terminal location information and the information source location information; and

a step of searching for the provided information identification information in the associated information based on the height difference information indicating the calculated height difference and the bearing information indicating the calculated bearing.

15. A non-transitory recording medium for storing a program which, when executed by an information providing server for transmitting provided information to a mobile terminal, causes the information providing server to execute a method comprising:

a step of calculating, when terminal location information indicating a location of the mobile terminal is received from the mobile terminal, a relative position bearing of the location of the mobile terminal with respect to the location of an information source which is base of the provided information based on the terminal location information and the information source location information indicating the location of the information source;

a step of searching for, based on relative position bearing information indicating the calculated relative position bearing, provided information identification information in associated information associating the relative position bearing information and the provided information identification information added to the provided information to identify the provided information beforehand;

a step of acquiring the provided information to which the provided information identification information, which has been retrieved, has been added from a provided information database for storing the provided information; and

a step of transmitting the acquired provided information to the mobile terminal.

16. The non-transitory recording medium according to claim 15, wherein the bearing information is the information which expresses the bearing comprising at least one of a north, south, east and west direction, in a range of an angle around the information source.

17. The non-transitory recording medium according to claim 15, wherein the associated information is the information which associates the bearing information, the provided information identification information and distance information indicating the distance from the information source to the mobile terminal, and the method further comprises:

a step of calculating, when the terminal location information is received from the mobile terminal, the distance from the information source to the mobile terminal based on the terminal location information and the information source location information; and

a step of searching for the provided information identification information in the associated information based on the distance information indicating the calculated distance and the bearing information indicating the calculated bearing.

18. The non-transitory recording medium according to claim 15, wherein the associated information is the information which associates the bearing information, the provided information identification information and height difference information indicating the height difference information from the information source to the mobile terminal, and the method further comprises:

a step of calculating, when the terminal location information is received from the mobile terminal, the height difference from the information source to the mobile terminal based on the terminal location information and the information source location information; and

a step of searching for the provided information identification information in the associated information based on the height difference information indicating the calculated height difference and the bearing information indicating the calculated bearing.