Information intermediary apparatus, information management apparatus, and information communication system

• US 7,571,218 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2006
• Issued: 08/04/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Namiki, Asa, Tanaka, Hiroshi, Yoda, Akira, Shinkai, Yasuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Vaughn, Jr.; William C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cheema; Umar
• Application Number:
  US11/369,730
• Publication Number:
  US 20060149832A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,245 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/218, 709/219
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0254 based on statistics
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4878 Advertisement messages
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

An information intermediary apparatus for communicating through a communication network with an information management apparatus having user information stored therein, the information intermediary apparatus, which includes: a first communication section for establishing communication through the communication network with the information management apparatus; a second communication section for communicating with a portable communication apparatus having identification information for identifying a user; an identification information-obtaining section, connected with said second communication section, for obtaining said identification information from said portable communication apparatus through said second communication section; user information input unit, connected with said first communication section, for inputting user information for the user of the portable communication apparatus; and a data-identifying section, connected with said identification information-obtaining section and said user information input unit, for associating said identification information with the user information.

Claims

1. An information communication system for communicating user information through a communication network, comprising:

(a) an information intermediary apparatus for sending the user information, including;

a first communication section for establishing communication with an information management apparatus through the communication network;

a second communication section for communicating with a portable communication apparatus having identification information for identifying a user stored therein;

an identification information-obtaining section connected with said second communication section for obtaining said identification information from said portable communication apparatus through said second communication section;

a user information input unit connected with said first communication section for inputting user information; and

a data-identifying section connected with said identification information-obtaining section and said user information input unit for associating said identification information with the user information; and

(b) an information management apparatus for receiving and storing the user information, including;

a receiving section for receiving information relating to user identification information obtained from a portable communication apparatus connected to the information intermediary apparatus and user information for a registered user registered at the information intermediary apparatus, by communicating with the information intermediary apparatus;

a storing section for storing said user identification information and the user information associated with said user identification information;

a search condition-accepting section connected with the information intermediary apparatus, through said receiving section, for accepting from a browsing user a search condition for searching the user information of the registered user stored in said storing section;

a retrieving section connected with said storing section and said search condition-accepting section for retrieving from said storing section user information that satisfies said search condition; and

a transmission section connected with said receiving section and said retrieving section for sending the user information retrieved by said retrieving section to the information intermediary apparatus through said receiving section.

2. The information communication system according to claim 1, wherein said user information input unit of the information intermediary apparatus comprises at least one of:

an operations unit for inputting a profile of the user;

a microphone for inputting voice data of the user; and

an image-capturing unit for inputting an image of the user.

3. The information communication system according to claim 2, wherein the information intermediary apparatus further comprises:

a data-identifying section, connected with said identification information-obtaining section and said user information input unit, for associating said identification information with the input user information,

wherein said data-identifying section associates said profile with said identification information for the user.

4. The information communication system according to claim 2, wherein the information intermediary apparatus further comprises an open contents-designating section for designating among said identification information, said image, said voice data, and said profile contents that are to be disclosed.

5. The information communication system according to claim 2, wherein the second communication section sends said image of the user to said portable communication apparatus of the user, said image being used as wallpaper for said portable communication apparatus.

6. The information communication system according to claim 1, wherein:

the information intermediary apparatus further comprises a portable communication apparatus receiving section for receiving and connecting with at least one of said portable communication apparatus, and

said second communication section communicates with said at least one portable communication apparatus through said portable communication apparatus receiving section.

7. The information communication system according to claim 1, wherein the information intermediary apparatus further comprises:

an image-capturing unit that inputs an image of a group user including a plurality of users,

an operations unit that inputs a profile of the group user, and

a data-identifying section that associates said image of the group user with said profile of the group user.

8. The information communication system according to claim 7, wherein:

said second communication section of the information intermediary apparatus communicates with a plurality of said portable communication apparatus of the group user, said identification information-obtaining section of the intermediary apparatus obtains said identification information from each user of the group user, and said data-identifying section of the intermediary apparatus associates said image with said identification information of each user.

9. The information communication system according to claim 8, wherein the information intermediary apparatus further comprises an instruction section for instructing each user of the group user to lineup in an order corresponding to an order of said identification information of each user of the group user.

10. The information communication system according to claim 1, further comprising another information intermediary apparatus with same components as the information intermediary apparatus, wherein the information intermediary apparatus communicates through the communication network with the information management apparatus which communicates with the another information intermediary apparatus through the communication network, said another information intermediary apparatus stores the user information and wherein the information intermediary apparatus and the another information intermediary apparatus are stationary.

11. The information communication system according to claim 1, wherein the information management apparatus further comprises:

a port able communication apparatus communication section for sending to the portable communication apparatus of a registered user data of the browsing user, when said search condition-accepting section accepts from the browsing user said search condition and said retrieving section retrieves the user information of the registered user.

12. The information communication system according to claim 1, wherein the information management apparatus further comprises:

an advertisement-storing section for storing a distribution condition defined as a condition to be satisfied by an advertisement and a target audience for a distribution of said advertisement;

a concordance degree-calculating section for obtaining from said storing section user information of the browsing user and calculating a concordance degree for each advertisement stored in said advertisement-storing section; and

a setting value-storing section for storing a setting value, which is a smallest value possible for said concordance degree when said advertisement is distributed,

wherein the information management apparatus retrieves from said advertisement-storing section each advertisement having a value of said concordance degree not less than said setting value, and distributes to the browsing user said retrieved advertisement with the user information retrieved by said retrieving section.

13. The information communication system according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of the information intermediary apparatus, each positioned at a distance from other information intermediary apparatuses and each communicating with the information management apparatus,

wherein the information management apparatus informs the portable communication apparatus of a location of a nearest information intermediary apparatus from the plurality of the information intermediary apparatus.