Information service system

The present invention relates to an information service system.

Conventionally, for example, in Patent Document 1, it has been proposed to use a navigation system used as a "single" device and used for route guidance or the like as a "network type" system connected to a network such as the Internet. ..<patcit num="1"><text>Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-316385</text></patcit>

<p> In addition to fixed terminals such as PCs (Personal Computers), mobile terminals such as mobile phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistance), and navigation systems are combined with networks such as the Internet. Information services handled by content service providers (CSPs) can be used.</p><p> The content provided to each terminal from this CSP is mainly created based on the guidelines set by the content makers, but even if the content is attractive for fixed terminals such as PCs, the above types are available. In mobile terminals, the user's usability and content expressiveness are reduced due to physical restrictions (for example, the screen size is smaller, the resolution is lower, and the user's operability is inferior compared to fixed terminals such as PCs). Invite. And this is a factor that makes it impossible to fully demonstrate the characteristics of CSP, which is the content provider. Furthermore, individual contents are a mixture of those that have been improved for mobile terminals and those that have not, and there is also a problem that the information service itself is not uniform.</p><p> The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information service system capable of providing an information service suitable for a terminal to be used.</p>

<p> The information service system according to claim 1 made to achieve the above object is Content service providers that provide content data that composes content, applications for providing information services based on content, and A center that collects content data and applications provided by content service providers, Connected to the center via communication<u style="single">End</u>With the end,<u style="single">The terminal is an in-vehicle terminal mounted on the vehicle, and transmits vehicle information indicating the state of the vehicle to the center.</u>The center is<u style="single">Based on the vehicle information transmitted from the in-vehicle terminal, it has a regulation determination means for determining whether or not the information service delivered to the in-vehicle terminal should be regulated, and the regulation determination means has determined that the regulation should be applied. In the case, the information service control means for providing the regulated information service to the in-vehicle terminal is provided.</u>It is characterized by that.</p><p> As described above, the information service system of the present invention does not directly use the content provided by the content service provider (CSP), but provides the content data constituting the content provided by the CSP and the information service based on the content at the center. Collect as separate information from the application to provide<u style="single">。</u></p><p> This will<u style="single">For example, when it is not preferable for the driver of the vehicle to use the information service (for example, while driving), the center can regulate the information service provided to the in-vehicle terminal.</u></p><p> Claim<u style="single">2</u>According to the information service system described in the above, the in-vehicle terminal transmits the vehicle information including the mounting position information of the display screen of the in-vehicle terminal in the vehicle interior. The regulation determination means is characterized in that it determines when the installation position of the display screen of the in-vehicle terminal indicated by the installation position information is the regulation target position of the information service.</p><p> Thereby, for example, when the display screen is mounted at the position used by the driver of the vehicle, it is possible to determine whether or not the information service should be regulated.</p><p> Claim<u style="single">3</u>According to the information service system described in the above, in the information service control means, the mounting position of the display screen of the in-vehicle terminal indicated by the mounting position information indicates the regulated position and the non-regulated position of the information service, and further, the regulation determination means. If it decides that it should be regulated, it will provide a regulated information service and an unregulated information service to the in-vehicle terminal. The in-vehicle terminal provides the regulated information service from the display screen installed at the regulated position of the information service. It is characterized by providing unregulated information services from a display screen mounted at a position not subject to regulation of information services.</p><p> As a result, even if one user is equipped with display screens for the front seats and the rear seats of the vehicle, for example, the information service from the display screens for the front seats mainly used by the driver is restricted. It is possible to prevent restrictions on information services from the display screen for the rear seats.</p>

Hereinafter, embodiments of the information service system of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of the information service system of the present embodiment. The terminal A1 is a mobile terminal of a different type, such as a car navigation system mounted on a vehicle such as a mobile phone, a PDA, or an automobile. In this embodiment, a case where a car navigation system is adopted as the terminal A1 is shown as an example. The information service system of the present embodiment makes it possible to use various information services via a network while staying in the vehicle interior.

As shown in FIG. 1, the information service system of this embodiment is composed of a terminal A1, a center A2, and a CSP group A3. The center A2 is connected to a CSP group A3 composed of a plurality of content service providers (CSPs) that provide various services on the network via a communication network such as the Internet.

The terminal A1 is connected to the center A2 wirelessly or by wire, and can send and receive various data to and from the center A2. When the terminal A1 is wirelessly connected to the center A2, the terminal A1 can perform a predetermined operation even when the communication is interrupted.

The terminal A1 can perform operations related to the provided services in an interactive manner by the user's voice, and various services can be used without interfering with the driving operation of the vehicle.

Figure 2 shows the overall configuration of the car navigation system as terminal A1. As shown in the figure, the car navigation system includes a position detector 1, a map data input device 6, an operation switch group 7, an external memory 9, a display device 10, a transmitter / receiver 11, a voice controller 12, a speaker 13, and a voice recognition device. It is equipped with 14, a microphone 15, a remote control sensor 16, a remote control terminal (hereinafter, remote control) 17, a vehicle information collecting device 19, and a control device 8 to which each of these devices is connected.

The control device 8 is configured as a normal computer, and is internally provided with a peripheral CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, and a bus line (all not shown) connecting these configurations. The I / O includes an in-vehicle interface (in-vehicle IF) 18 for connection with the vehicle information collecting device 19.

The control device 8 performs predetermined processing (for example, based on various information input from the position detector 1, the map data input device 6, the operation switch group 7, the external memory 9, the transmitter / receiver 11, the voice controller 12, and the remote control sensor 16). , Map scale change processing, menu display selection processing, destination setting processing, route search execution processing, route guidance start processing, current position correction processing, display screen change processing, volume adjustment processing, etc.).

The position detector 1 is a GPS receiver 5 for GPS (Global Positioning System) that detects the current position of the vehicle based on the surrounding geomagnetic sensor 2, gyroscope 3, distance sensor 4, and radio waves from satellites. have. Since each of these sensors has an error of different properties, they are configured to be used while being complemented by a plurality of sensors. Depending on the accuracy, a part of the above may be used, or a steering rotation sensor, a vehicle sensor for each driving wheel, or the like may be used.

The map data input device 6 is equipped with a storage medium (not shown), and inputs various data including so-called map matching data, map data, and marker data for improving the accuracy of position detection stored in the storage medium. It is a device for doing. As the storage medium, a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM is generally used because of the amount of data, but a memory card, an HDD, or the like may be used.

The operation switch group 7 uses, for example, a touch switch or a mechanical switch integrated with the display device 10, and various functions (for example, map scale change, menu display selection, destination setting, etc.) can be transferred to the control device 8 by operating the switch. Gives operation instructions for route search, route guidance start, current position correction, display screen change, volume adjustment, etc.).

Further, the remote controller 17 is provided with a plurality of operation switches (not shown), and by operating the switches, various command signals are input to the control device 8 via the remote controller sensor 16 to execute various functions in the control device 8. The operation switch group 7 and the remote controller 17 can cause the control device 8 to execute the same function by any switch operation.

When the destination is set from the remote control sensor 16 via the remote controller 17 or by the operation switch group 7, the control device 8 automatically determines the optimum route from the current position detected by the position detector 1 to the destination. Search for and set and display the guidance route. As a method for automatically setting the optimum route, a method such as Dijkstra's algorithm is known.

The set route is superimposed and displayed together with the current position mark detected by the position detector 1 on the display map displayed on the display device 10 based on the information of the map data input device 6. In addition to the current position and route, other information such as the current time and traffic jam information can be additionally displayed on the display map.

The external memory 9 is a writable large-capacity storage device such as an HDD. The external memory 9 is used for storing a large amount of data or data that should not be erased even if the power supply is cut off, or copying frequently used data from the map data input device 6 for use. There is. The external memory 9 may be a removable memory having a relatively small storage capacity.

The display device 10 displays a map, a destination selection screen, or the like as navigation, is capable of full-color display, and can be configured by using a liquid crystal, an organic EL, or the like.

The transmitter / receiver 11 receives, for example, various information distributed from the VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) (registered trademark) center and the center A2. In addition, it is a device that transmits vehicle information including the vehicle speed, the shifting position of the transmission, the parking brake (P brake) state, etc. to the center A2. The vehicle information also includes mounting position information (front seats, rear seats, etc.) of the display device 10 and user information (user ID, password, user name, vehicle type, etc.) regarding the user of the terminal A1.

The speaker 13 notifies the outside of a predetermined voice (voice for guidance, explanation of screen operation, voice recognition result, etc.) based on the voice output signal input from the voice controller 12. The microphone 15 inputs the voice uttered by the user as an electric signal to the voice recognition device 14. The voice recognition device 14 collates the user's input voice uttered through the microphone 15 with the vocabulary data (comparison target pattern) in the recognition dictionary (not shown) stored internally, and selects the one with the highest degree of matching. Input to the voice controller 12 as the recognition result.

The voice controller 12 controls the voice recognition device 14 and controls the talkback output (voice output) through the speaker 13 to the user who has input the voice. In addition, the process of inputting the recognition result of the voice recognition device 14 to the control device 8 is also performed.

The vehicle information collecting device 19 is a device that collects the above-mentioned vehicle information, and outputs the collected vehicle information to the control device 8.

Based on the information from the voice recognition device 14, the control device 8 performs predetermined processing (for example, map scale change processing, menu display selection processing, destination setting processing, route search execution processing, route guidance start processing, etc.) for the user's utterance. Executes the current position correction process, display screen change process, volume adjustment process, etc.). Further, the route guidance voice information and the like processed by the control device 8 are appropriately notified from the speaker 13 via the voice controller 12. Further, the control device 8 transmits the above-mentioned vehicle information to the center A2.

Figure 3 shows the configuration of CSP group A3. The CSP group A3 is composed of a plurality of CSPs, and each CSP separately has a content database (content DB) that constitutes the content and an application database (app DB) for providing information services based on the content. .. Examples of this information service include various services such as sending and receiving e-mails, providing traffic information, weather information, travel information (including reservations and transfer information), and entertainment information (music download, etc.). Each CSP provides the content data and the application separately to Center A2. This application is designed to work at center A2.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the terminal A1 hierarchically. The terminal A1 is composed of a vehicle IF unit C1 that makes a communication connection with the vehicle, an application control unit C2 that executes an application, a multimedia IF unit C3 that makes a communication connection with audio, etc., and a network IFC4 that makes a communication connection with the outside. Will be done.

The platform of the application control unit C2 is composed of, for example, a combination of hardware, a device driver, an OS (Operating System), and the like. Functions that operate on this platform include a user interface (UI) / voice user interface (VUI) function, a navigation function that executes various functions of the navigation system, and a browser function for displaying information on homepages on the Internet. ..

In addition, the audio (AUDIO) function for operating audio, the database (DB) function for reading and writing data stored in the database, executing applications stored in the database, and the vehicle information described above are provided. It has a vehicle function to acquire. These functions operate by executing an application program (application).

Figure 5 shows the configuration of center A2 hierarchically. Center A2 is a center management unit B1 that manages the entire center, an information service control unit B2 that executes applications collected from CSP group A3 and provides information services to terminal A1, and a network that manages communication connections with the network. Management unit B3, right management unit B4 that manages contractually with users who use terminal A1 (for example, has / does not have the right to use paid content), user management that manages information about users of terminal A1 It is composed of part B5.

In addition, center A2 is information about different types of terminals such as PCs, mobile phones, PDAs, car navigation systems, etc. (for example, screen information such as screen size and resolution, and operation units such as the number, arrangement, and types of operation keys. The terminal management unit B6 that manages information about each CSP, the application management unit B7 that manages the content data collected from the CSP group A3 and the application B9 separately, and the CSP management unit that manages information about each CSP of the CSP group A3. Consists of B8.

The service platform of the information service control unit B2 is composed of, for example, a combination of hardware, a device driver, an OS, and the like. Functions that operate on this service platform include UI / VUI functions, authentication functions that authenticate users, and information services that are suitable for the type of terminal based on information about terminals managed by the terminal management unit B6. It is provided with a terminal function for processing the composition of the content as described above, and a CSP function for executing an application for providing an information service based on the content processed by the terminal function. Each of the above functions operates by executing a service application program (service application).

As described above, the information service system of the present embodiment does not use the content provided by the CSP as it is, but provides the content data constituting the content provided by the CSP group A3 and the information service based on the content at the center A2. Collect as separate information from the application to do.

Then, in the center A2, the composition of the content is processed based on the information about the terminal managed by the terminal management unit B6, and the application for providing the information service by the processed content is executed, which is suitable for the type of the terminal. It provides information services.

As a result, in the past, physical restrictions on various terminals have led to deterioration in user usability and content expressiveness, but content suitable for the type of terminal that delivers information services based on information about the terminal. Therefore, since the composition of the content is processed and the information service based on the processed content is provided, the information service suitable for the type of the terminal can be used in each terminal. As a result, it becomes possible to provide a uniform information service.

In addition, in the terminal function, based on the vehicle information transmitted from the terminal A1, it is determined whether or not the information service delivered to the terminal A1 should be regulated, and when it is determined that the regulation should be imposed, the regulation is performed. Executes the driving regulation process that delivers the information service to the terminal A1.

Hereinafter, the above-mentioned driving regulation processing will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 6 to 7. In step 10 shown in FIG. 6 (hereinafter referred to as S) 10, it is determined whether or not to perform automatic determination based on vehicle information. Here, if an affirmative judgment is made, the process proceeds to S20, and if a negative judgment is made, the information service is regulated or the regulation is lifted in S60 based on the user's selection operation. ..

In the determination of S10, the affirmative judgment is made when the automatic judgment is set in advance by the user, but the affirmative judgment is made when the terminal A1 is an in-vehicle terminal such as a car navigation system. You may.

Subsequently, the traveling determination process in S20 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In S210, the vehicle speed, shifting position, and P-brake state included in the vehicle information are referred to. The S220 determines whether or not the shifting position is "P" (that is, the shifting position when parked).

Here, if an affirmative determination is made, it is assumed that the vehicle equipped with the terminal A1 is in a completely stopped state "completely stopped" in S230, and this process is terminated. On the other hand, if a negative judgment is made, the process proceeds to S240.

The S240 determines whether or not the shifting position is "R" (that is, the shifting position when reversing). Here, if an affirmative determination is made, it is assumed that the vehicle equipped with the terminal A1 is in the retreating state "reversing" in S250, and this process is terminated. On the other hand, if a negative judgment is made, the process proceeds to S260.

The S260 determines whether the vehicle speed is 0 km / h or the P-brake state is "ON" (that is, the parking brake is operating). Here, if any one of them is positively determined, in S270, the vehicle equipped with the terminal A1 is regarded as being temporarily stopped, and this process is terminated. On the other hand, if a negative judgment is made, the process proceeds to S280.

The S280 determines whether the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the predetermined speed. Here, if an affirmative determination is made, in S290, it is assumed that the vehicle equipped with the terminal A1 is traveling at high speed "during high speed", and this process is terminated. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made, it is assumed that the vehicle equipped with the terminal A1 is "running at low speed" in S300, and this process is terminated.

In FIG. 6, in S30, as a result of the traveling determination in S20, it is determined whether or not it corresponds to the traveling regulation. Here, if the result of the driving judgment in S20 corresponds to any of "high-speed driving", "low-speed driving", and "backward", the information service is regulated in S40 and provided to the terminal A1. To do.

When the state changes from a state that does not correspond to the driving regulation to a state that corresponds to the driving regulation, in S40, a guidance to the effect that the information service is regulated is delivered to the terminal A1 and the user of the terminal A1 is notified. As a result, the user of the terminal A1 can know that the information service is restricted.

On the other hand, when the result of the traveling determination in S20 corresponds to either "completely stopped" or "paused", the normal information service is provided to the terminal A1 in S50. In addition, when the state that corresponds to the driving regulation changes to the state that does not correspond to the driving regulation, in S50, the guidance to the effect that the regulation of the information service is lifted is delivered to the terminal A1 and the user of the terminal A1 is notified. .. As a result, the user of the terminal A1 can know that the regulation of the information service is lifted.

In this way, for example, when it is not preferable for the driver of the vehicle to use the information service (for example, while driving), the information service provided to the terminal A1 can be regulated at the center A2. As a result, each CSP does not need to execute a process for imposing driving restrictions, and an information service specialized for contents becomes possible.

(Modification example 1) When executing the travel regulation process of the present embodiment, the mounting position information of the display device 10 of the terminal A1 included in the vehicle information is referred to, and the mounting position of the display device 10 indicated by the mounting position information is the regulated position of the information service. It should be executed when (for example, the front seat position). Thereby, for example, when the display screen of the display device 10 is mounted at a position used by the driver of the vehicle, it is possible to determine whether or not the information service should be regulated.

If the mounting position of the display device 10 indicated by the mounting position information indicates the regulated position and the non-regulated position of the information service, and further, in S30 of the above-mentioned driving regulation processing, if it is determined that the driving regulation is applicable, S40 Then, the regulated information service and the unregulated ordinary information service are provided to the terminal A1 respectively.

Then, the terminal A1 provides the regulated information service from the display screen of the display device 10 mounted at the regulated position of the information service, and displays the display device 10 mounted at the non-regulated position of the information service. Information services that are not regulated may be provided from the screen.

As a result, even if only one user is installed, for example, when the display screens of the display devices 10 are mounted for the front seats and the rear seats of the vehicle, the display screens for the front seats mainly used by the driver are used. It is possible to regulate the information service and not to regulate the information service from the display screen for the rear seats.

(Second embodiment) Since the second embodiment has much in common with that of the first embodiment, detailed description of the common part will be omitted below, and different parts will be mainly described. The information service system in the first embodiment executes an application for providing an information service at the center A2.

On the other hand, in the information service system of the present embodiment, the CSP group A3 is manufactured so that the application for providing the information service by the content operates on the terminal A1, and the center A2 is the application collected from the CSP group A3. Is delivered to terminal A1. The terminal A1 differs in that the application distributed from the center A2 is executed.

The center A2 in the present embodiment collects the content data constituting the content provided by the CSP group A3 and the application for providing the information service by the content as separate information. Then, the collected application is distributed to the terminal A1, and when the application is executed on the terminal A1, the content configuration is processed based on the information about the terminal so that the information service suitable for the type of the terminal is used. Then, the content data constituting this processed content is distributed to the terminal A1.

FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the terminal A1 in the present embodiment hierarchically. It differs from the terminal A1 of the first embodiment only in that it has an application database (application DB), and has the same other configurations. The application distributed from the center A2 is stored in this application DB. Then, when using the information service, the DB function reads the application data stored in the application DB and executes the application.

As described above, the information service system of the present embodiment does not directly use the content provided by the CSP group A3, but at the center A2, the content data constituting the content provided by the CSP group A3 and the information service based on the content. Collect information as separate information from the application for providing. Then, in the center A2, the collected application is distributed to the terminal A1, and when this application is executed on the terminal A1, the content configuration is processed so as to be an information service suitable for the type of the terminal A1. , The content data constituting this processed content is distributed.

As a result, an information service suitable for the type of terminal to be used can be used on the terminal A1, and a uniform information service can be used even if the type of terminal is different. Furthermore, since the application collected from the CSP group A3 is distributed to the terminal A1, the latest application can be provided from the center A2 to the terminal A1. As a result, for example, even if it is an in-vehicle terminal of a manufacturer option (line-mounted product, MOP) mounted on a vehicle, it can be used even when a new information service or a new function is added without changing the hardware. be able to.

In addition, in this embodiment, the traveling regulation process in the first embodiment is executed in the terminal A1. That is, when it is determined whether or not the information service should be regulated based on the vehicle information on the terminal A1 without transmitting the vehicle information to the center A2, and it is determined that the regulation should be applied. Try to regulate information services. Thereby, for example, when it is not preferable for the driver of the vehicle to use the information service (for example, while driving), the information service can be regulated on the terminal.

(Modification example 2) When executing the travel regulation process of the present embodiment, the mounting position information of the display device 10 of the terminal A1 included in the vehicle information is referred to, and the mounting position of the display device 10 indicated by the mounting position information is the regulated position of the information service. It should be executed when (for example, the front seat position). Thereby, for example, when the display screen of the display device 10 is mounted at a position used by the driver of the vehicle, it is possible to determine whether or not the information service should be regulated in the terminal A1.

When the mounting position of the display device 10 indicated by the mounting position information indicates the regulated position and the non-regulated position of the information service, and further, in the driving regulation processing of the present embodiment, when it is determined that the driving regulation is applicable, On the terminal A1, from the display screen of the display device 10 mounted at the regulated position of the information service, the regulated information service is provided, and from the display screen of the display device 10 mounted at the non-regulated position of the information service. , Information services that are not regulated may be provided.

As a result, even if only one user is installed, for example, when the display screens of the display devices 10 are mounted for the front seats and the rear seats of the vehicle, the display screens for the front seats mainly used by the driver are used. It is possible to regulate the information service and not to regulate the information service from the display screen for the rear seats.

<figref num="1">It is a figure which shows the basic structure of an information service system.</figref><figref num="2">It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the car navigation system as a terminal A1.</figref><figref num="3">It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of CSP group A3.</figref><figref num="4">It is the figure which showed the structure of the terminal A1 hierarchically.</figref><figref num="5">It is the figure which showed the structure of the center A2 hierarchically.</figref><figref num="6">It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the driving regulation processing executed in the center A2.</figref><figref num="7">It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the running determination processing executed in the running regulation processing.</figref><figref num="8">It is the figure which showed the structure of the terminal A1 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment hierarchically.</figref>

Code description

A1 terminal A2 center A3 CSP group (content service provider group)