Information providing device

• US 20060149459A1
• Filed: 02/13/2004
• Published: 07/06/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intertrust Technologies Corporation (Fidelio Acquisition Co LLC)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yoshioka, Mototaka, Kudo, Takahiro, Ozawa, Jun, Matsuura, Satoshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,856,311 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/201
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3484 Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

An information providing system is disclosed to provide information to a traveling user, the information providing system including: a visit history record unit (306) which detects that the user visits a place which is away from a user'"'"'s living area in order to generate a travel history, and records, as a visit history, the travel history together with a visit area which represents the visited place; a visit history database (303); a facility information database (304) which provides the user with the information regarding the visit area recorded in the visit history database (303); a facility information search unit (308); and the like.

Claims

1-13. -13. (canceled)

14. An information providing apparatus which provides information to a traveling user, said information providing apparatus comprising:

a travel history record unit operable to record a travel history of the user;

a reference area extraction unit operable to extract a reference area from the recorded travel history, the reference area being a place where the user has stayed more than certain times;

a visit area extraction unit operable to extract a visit area from the recorded travel history, the visit area being a place where the user has stayed and which is far from the extracted reference area with a certain distance;

a visit history record unit operable to record a visit history, the visit history being the travel history including the extracted visit area; and

an information providing unit operable to provide to the user with information regarding the visit area recorded by said visit history record unit.

15. The information providing apparatus according to claim 14,

wherein said travel history record unit is operable to record, as the travel history, position information of the user together with time information and date information, and

said reference area extraction unit is operable to extract from the travel history, as the reference area, a place where the user visits, based on a predetermined stay time period and a predetermined number of stay day.

16. The information providing apparatus according to claim 14,

wherein said visit history record unit is operable to record visit histories of a plurality of users, and

said information providing unit is operable to provide the information by referring to a visit history of another user who has visited the user'"'"'s visit area, the visit history to be provided being extracted from the visit histories recorded by said visit history record unit.

17. The information providing apparatus according to claim 16,

wherein said information providing unit is operable to provide information of a visit area which is different from the user'"'"'s visit area, the visit area to be provided being extracted from visit areas included in the visit history of the another user.

18. The information providing apparatus according to claim 17,

wherein said information providing unit is operable to provide information of a visit area where many other users have visited, the visit area to be provided being extracted from visit areas which are different from the user'"'"'s visit area.

19. The information providing apparatus according to claim 17,

wherein said visit history record unit is operable to record, as the visit history, in addition to the visit area, a travel history which includes one of a time, a stay period, a day of the weak, a weather, and a season regarding when the user visits the visit area, and

said information providing unit is operable to provide information of a visit area whose information matches one of a time, a stay period, a day of the weak, a weather, and a season regarding a current time, the visit area to be provided being extracted from the visit histories recorded in said visit history record unit.

20. The information providing apparatus according to claim 16,

wherein said visit history record unit is operable to record, as the visit history, in addition to the visit area, a travel history which includes the reference area of the user, and

said information providing unit is operable to specify another user whose visit area is same as or similar to the visit area included in the user'"'"'s visit history, and whose reference area is same as or similar to the reference area included in the user'"'"'s visit history, and to provide the information by using a visit history of the specified another user.

21. The information providing apparatus according to claim 20,

wherein said information providing unit is operable to provide information regarding a return route from the user'"'"'s visit area, by using the travel history included in the visit history of the another user.

22. The information providing apparatus according to claim 21,

wherein the information regarding the return route includes a route which another user has used, and a time period required for another user to travel on the route.

23. The information providing apparatus according to claim 20,

wherein said information providing unit is operable to provide the information by using a visit history of another user whose previously recorded profile information is same as or similar to profile information of the user.

24. The information providing apparatus according to claim 20,

wherein said information providing unit is operable to provide the information by using a visit history of another user whose previously recorded profile information of reference area is same as or similar to profile information of reference area of the user.

25. The information providing apparatus according to claim 14,

wherein said information providing unit is operable to hold a facility database which includes information of a facility in an area to be the visit area, and to provide the information of the facility included in the facility database, as information regarding the visit area.

26. The information providing apparatus according to claim 14,

wherein a certain distance used in said visit area extraction unit is changed depending on a travel means of the user.

27. A method for providing information to a traveling user, said method comprising:

recording a travel history of the user;

extracting a reference area from the recorded travel history, the reference area being a place where the user has stayed more than certain times;

extracting a visit area from the recorded travel history, the visit area being a place where the user has stayed and which is far from the extracted reference area with a certain distance;

recording a visit history, the visit history being the travel history including the extracted visit area; and

providing the user with information regarding the visit area recorded in said recording.

28. A program for use in an information providing apparatus for providing information to a traveling user, said program causing a computer to execute:

recording a travel history of the user;

extracting a reference area from the recorded travel history, the reference area being a place where the user has stayed more than certain times;

extracting a visit area from the recorded travel history, the visit area being a place where the user has stayed and which is far from the extracted reference area with a certain distance;

recording a visit history, the visit history being the travel history which includes the extracted visit area; and

providing the user with information regarding the visit area recorded in said recording.

29. An information providing system comprising a mobile terminal and a server apparatus, in order to provide information to the user via said mobile terminal,

wherein said mobile terminal includes:

a travel history send unit operable to send a travel history of the user to said sever apparatus; and

a presentation unit operable to present, to the user, information sent from said server apparatus, and

said server apparatus includes;

a travel history record unit operable to record the travel history sent from said mobile terminal;

a reference area extraction unit operable to extract a reference area from the recorded travel history, the reference area being a place where the user has stayed more than certain times;

a visit area extraction unit operable to extract a visit area from the recorded travel history, the visit area being a place where the user has stayed and which is far from the extracted reference area with a certain distance;

a visit history record unit operable to record a visit history, the visit history being the travel history including the extracted visit area; and

an information providing unit operable to send, to said mobile terminal, information regarding the visit area recorded by said visit history record unit.