Information providing system

• US 6,151,596 A
• Filed: 08/18/1998
• Issued: 11/21/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 08/18/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Hosomi, Itaru
• Primary Examiner(s): Amsbury, Wayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): Coby, Frantz
• Application Number:
  US09/135,562
• Time in Patent Office: 826 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/522, 707/513, 709/205, 345/356, 703/13, 713/100, 359/463
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/08 specially adapted for terminal emulation, e.g. Telnet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/24 Negotiation of communication capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

An information providing system is mainly configured by a terminal and an information storage equipment. The terminal is manipulated by a user to issue an information obtainment request, wherein it has a specific output condition, which is defined by a picture output function and/or a sound output function. The information storage equipment extracts a number of digital information elements to suit the information obtainment request, so that the digital information elements are synthesized together into digital information in accordance with a default (information) providing manner, which represents a specific display screen whose screen size and layout are determined in advance. Then, the digital information is transmitted to the terminal, which in turn provides the user with content of the digital information by using pictures and/or sounds. If the default providing manner does not match with the output function of the terminal, the information storage equipment changes the default providing manner by one of change methods, which is selected in consideration of the preset priority. Thus, the digital information elements are synthesized together into the digital information in accordance with the changed providing manner. Incidentally, if the terminal does not have a necessary software module required for outputting the digital information, the terminal downloads it from its resource.

Claims

1. An information providing system comprising:

a terminal for issuing an information obtainment request with regard to desired digital information, wherein the information obtainment request is transmitted together with an output condition of the terminal;

an information storage equipment for storing and managing digital information, which should be provided for a user of the terminal in response to the information obtainment request,

wherein said information storage equipment further comprises

a plurality of information element managers for storing and managing a plurality of digital information elements respectively,

providing manner storage means for storing a default providing manner by which the digital information elements respectively extracted from the information element managers are synthesized together and are provided for the user,

reconstruction knowledge storage means for storing a plurality of change methods, each of which changes the default providing manner in response to the output condition of the terminal,

priority storage means for storing mutual priority set for a prescribed number of the information element managers, and

information construction means for accessing the information element managers to extract the digital information elements suited to the information obtainment request given from the terminal, wherein if the output condition of the terminal matches with the default providing manner, the information construction means synthesizes the extracted digital information elements in accordance with the default providing manner to construct digital information, which is transmitted to the terminal, while if the output condition of the terminal does not match with the default providing manner, the information construction means selects one of the change methods in consideration of the mutual priority so as to change the default providing manner in response to the selected change method, so that the information construction means synthesizes the extracted digital information elements in accordance with the changed providing manner to construct digital information, which is sent to the terminal.

2. An information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the information element manager stores alternative digital information element other than the original digital information element thereof, so that if the information construction means determines that original digital information corresponding to the original digital information element cannot be provided for the user under the output condition of the terminal, the information construction means provides the user with alternative digital information corresponding to the alternative digital information element instead of the original digital information.

3. An information providing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the information element manager stores information regarding a resource to obtain a software module required for outputting the digital information element thereof, while the information construction means simultaneously obtains information regarding resources of software modules when extracting the digital information elements, suited to the information obtainment request given from the terminal, from the information element managers respectively, so that the information construction means creates a resource list describing the resources of the software modules, and wherein if the terminal does not have a necessary software module required for outputting the digital information transmitted thereto from the information storage equipment, the terminal is capable of downloading the necessary software module from a resource which is listed on the resource list.

4. A machine-readable media storing programs that cause a computer to act as an information storage equipment, which comprises

a plurality of information element managers for storing and managing a plurality of digital information elements respectively,

providing manner storage means for storing a default providing manner by which the digital information elements are extracted from the information element managers respectively and are then synthesized and provided for a user,

reconstruction knowledge storage means for storing a plurality of change methods, each of which changes the default providing manner in response to an output condition of a terminal,

priority storage means for storing mutual priority set for a prescribed number of the information element managers, and

information construction means for extracting the digital information elements, suited to an information obtainment request given from the terminal, from the information element managers respectively, wherein if the default providing manner matches with the output condition of the terminal, the information construction means synthesizes the extracted digital information elements to construct digital information, which is transmitted to the terminal, while if the default providing manner does not match with the output condition of the terminal, the information construction means selects one of the change methods in consideration of the mutual priority so as to change the default providing manner in accordance with the selected change method, so that the information construction means synthesizes the extracted digital information elements in accordance with the changed providing manner to construct digital information, which is transmitted to the terminal.

5. An information providing system comprising:

a terminal being manipulated by a user for providing the user with content of digital information in accordance with an output condition thereof, which is defined by a picture output function and/or a sound output function which are equipped in the terminal; and

an information storage equipment for storing and managing multiple types of the digital information,

wherein the information storage equipment further comprises

a plurality of information element managers for storing and managing a plurality of digital information elements respectively, and

information construction means for extracting the digital information elements, suited to an information obtainment request issued by the terminal, from a prescribed number of the information element managers respectively, so that the information construction means synthesizes the extracted digital information elements to construct digital information in accordance with a default providing manner, which is set in advance, whereby the digital information is transmitted to the terminal and is provided for the user in accordance with the output condition.

6. An information providing system according to claim 5, wherein the default providing manner represents a specific format of a display screen whose screen size and layout are determined in advance.

7. An information providing system according to claim 5, wherein the information storage equipment further comprises storage means for storing a plurality of change methods as well as mutual priority consisting of priorities set for the prescribed number of the information element managers respectively, so that if the default providing manner does not match with the output condition of the terminal, the information construction means selects one of the change methods so as to change the default providing manner by the selected change method, whereby the information construction means synthesizes the extracted digital information elements in accordance with the changed providing manner to construct digital information, which is transmitted to the terminal.

8. An information providing system according to claim 7, wherein the information construction means selects one of the change methods in such a way that the selected change method does not substantially influence at least one information element manager given a high priority.

9. An information providing system according to claim 5 or 7, wherein the information storage equipment further comprises

resource list creation means for creating a resource list describing resources to obtain software modules that the terminal requires to output the digital information elements of the information element managers respectively,

while the terminal further comprises

output function extension means for downloading a necessary software module, which the terminal requires, from one of the resources described in the resource list, so that the necessary software module is installed in the terminal to output the digital information.

10. An information providing method comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of digital information elements to suit an information obtainment request given from a terminal;

making a decision as to whether a default providing manner matches with an output condition of the terminal or not, wherein the default providing manner represents a specific format of a display screen whose screen size and layout are determined in advance while the output condition of the terminal is defined by a picture output function and/or a sound output function which are equipped in the terminal;

synthesizing the plurality of digital information elements to construct digital information in accordance with a default providing manner if the default providing manner matches with the output function of the terminal;

changing the default providing manner to suit the output condition of the terminal if the default providing manner does not match with the output condition of the terminal, so that the plurality of digital information elements are synthesized together into the digital information in accordance with the changed providing manner; and

transmitting the digital information to the terminal, so that the terminal provides the user with the digital information.

11. An information providing method according to claim 10 further comprising the step of:

selecting one of change methods in consideration of mutual priority set for a prescribed number of the information element managers from which the digital information elements are extracted, so that the default providing manner is changed by the selected change method.

12. An information providing method according to claim 10 or 11 further comprising the step of:

downloading a necessary software module, which the terminal requires to provide the digital information for the user, from a resource.