INFORMATION SHARING SYSTEM, INFORMATION SHARING METHOD AND TERMINAL DEVICE

• US 20160036755A1
• Filed: 03/06/2013
• Published: 02/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: YAMADA, Hideo, MURAMATSU, Ryuya
• Granted Patent: US 9,397,975 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/30 Semantic analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/10 Services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/222 using geographical location information, e.g. messages transmitted or received in proximity of a certain spot or area
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• 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 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

An information sharing system includes a computer network formed of terminals and a server and allows information about a posted message to be shared among users. The system or a terminal acquires a question message input via the terminal together with positional information associated with the question message and causes the acquired question message to be accessible to the users. The system or terminal acquires an answer message input by a respondent via the terminal as an answer to the question message and causes the acquired answer message to be accessible to the users. The system or terminal acquires positional information of the respondent and restricts the respondent from inputting the answer message to the question message on the basis of question positional information that is the positional information associated with the question message and respondent positional information that is the acquired positional information of the respondent.

Claims

1. An information sharing system in which, on a computer network formed of terminals of users and a server, information about a posted message posted by a user is shared among the users, comprising:

an electronic control unit configured to;

acquire a question message input via the terminal together with positional information associated with the question message;

cause the acquired question message to be accessible to the users on the computer network;

acquire an answer message input via the terminal as an answer to the question message;

cause the acquired answer message to be accessible to the users on the computer network;

acquire positional information of a respondent that is the user who inputs the answer message; and

restrict the respondent from inputting the answer message to the question message on the basis of question positional information that is the positional information associated with the question message and respondent positional information that is the acquired positional information of the respondent.

2. The information sharing system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to:

determine whether the restriction is based on a contents of the question message; and

restrict the respondent from inputting the answer message to the question message when it is determined that the restriction is based on the contents of the question message.

3. The information sharing system according to claim 2, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to:

determine whether the question message is a question that requires an answer in real time on the basis of the contents of the question message; and

determine whether the restriction is based on a contents of the question message the question message is a question that requires an answer in real time.

4. The information sharing system according to claim 3, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to:

acquire correspondence relationship information that associates whether it is a question that requires an answer in real time with each of multiple-type fixed messages; and

determine whether the question message is a question that requires an answer in real time on the basis of the correspondence relationship information when the question message corresponds to any one of the multiple-type fixed messages.

5. The information sharing system according to claim 3, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to determine whether the question message is a question that requires an answer in real time by performing a syntactic analysis on the question message.

6. The information sharing system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to set a range of the respondent, to which restriction on input of the answer message is applied, on the basis of a relationship between the question positional information and the respondent positional information.

7. The information sharing system according to claim 6, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to restrict the respondent who is located a predetermined distance or longer apart from a location that is identified by the question positional information from inputting the answer message.

8. The information sharing system according to claim 6, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to restrict the respondent who is not located at a location, identified by the question positional information, within a last predetermined period of time from inputting the answer message.

9. The information sharing system according to claim 6, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to set the range of the respondent, to which restriction on input of the answer message is applied, on the basis of the relationship between the question positional information and the respondent positional information that indicates a location of the respondent at the time point at which the question message was posted or the time point at which the answer message to the question message is posted.

10. The information sharing system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to acquire information that identifies a location on a map, specified by a questioner that is the user who posted the question message, as the question positional information.

11. The information sharing system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to:

display a map image on the terminal;

display a selection target at the location that is identified by the question positional information, associated with the acquired question message, on the map image displayed on the terminal; and

when the selection target has been selected by the user, output the acquired question message.

12. The information sharing system according to claim 11, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to output the answer message together with the question message when the selection target displayed at the location identified by the question positional information, associated with the question message to which the answer message is made, has been selected by the user.

13. An information sharing method in which, on a computer network formed of terminals of users and a server, information about a posted message posted by a user is shared among the users, the method comprising:

question message information acquisition step of acquiring a question message input via the terminal together with positional information associated with the question message;

question message accessing step of causing the question message acquired in the question message information acquisition step to be accessible to the users on the computer network;

answer message information acquisition step of acquiring an answer message input via the terminal as an answer to the question message;

answer message accessing step of causing the answer message acquired in the answer message information acquisition step to be accessible to the users on the computer network;

respondent positional information acquisition step of acquiring positional information of a respondent that is the user who inputs the answer message; and

answer message input restriction step of restricting the respondent from inputting the answer message to the question message on the basis of question positional information that is the positional information associated with the question message and respondent positional information that is the positional information of the respondent, acquired in the respondent positional information acquisition step.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable program for sharing information about a posted message posted by a user among a plurality of users, the program comprising:

instructions for acquiring a question message input via an operating unit together with positional information associated with the question message;

instructions for causing the acquired question message to be accessible to the users on the computer network;

instructions for acquiring an answer message input via the operating unit as an answer to the question message;

instructions for causing the acquired answer message to be accessible to the users on the computer network;

instructions for acquiring positional information of a respondent that is the user who inputs the answer message; and

instructions for restricting the respondent from inputting the answer message to the question message on the basis of question positional information that is the positional information associated with the question message and respondent positional information that is the acquired positional information of the respondent.