HK1085815B - Information providing system, information providing apparatus, information providing method, portable terminal, information outputting method - Google Patents

Description

Information providing system, information providing apparatus, information providing method, portable terminal, information output method, and program

Cross reference to related applications

The present invention comprises subject matter relating to Japanese patent application JP 2005-067983 filed by the Japanese patent office at 3/10 2005, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The invention relates to an information providing system, an information providing apparatus, an information providing method, a portable terminal, an information output method, and a computer program.

Background

In portable terminals such as cellular phones and portable mobile computers, it is possible to connect to the internet, display Web pages, and the like. The user can obtain desired information using such a portable terminal.

When a user connects to the internet using such a portable terminal to obtain desired information, the user specifies a URL. However, it is cumbersome to enter a long URL on a portable designation, which is usually provided only with an input device having small buttons or the like. In this way, the information provider provides a system that allows users to obtain information by a simple operation using portable terminals so that the users will obtain the information they provide. For example, a system has been provided in which a user inputs a code instead of a URL, or in which information desired by the user is obtained by reading a two-dimensional barcode with a camera mounted on a portable terminal.

For example, according to the information processing system described in japanese unexamined patent application publication No.2002-259248, the user first inputs a predetermined access code to the cellular phone so that a code input screen is displayed. Then, a code for identifying a product, which is visible on an advertising medium such as a Web page or poster, is entered in the code input screen, thereby obtaining information on the product which is related in advance to the code from the server.

Disclosure of Invention

However, even in the above-described system, the user must input an access code and a product identification code to the cellular phone. Further, in order to implement the above-described system, the information provider must develop a program that allows accumulated product information to be searched based on a product identification code transmitted from the user's cellular phone, and incorporates the program into an existing server.

With the internet developed to such an extent that users can select information from a large amount of information so that information providers prompt users to obtain the information they provide, it is desirable to develop a system in which users can obtain information by further simplified operations.

In such a system, it is not easy in terms of time and cost for information providers and users to introduce new devices, or to otherwise prepare new equipment. Thus, there is a need to implement a system that uses existing equipment. For example, both the information provider and the user desire to provide information from a Web page used by a large number of information providers to the user portable terminal, if possible, in order to provide information using such a simple operation as a browser which is generally used for browsing Web pages.

It is desirable to provide an information providing system, an information providing apparatus, an information providing method, and a computer program that allow a user to obtain information by a simple operation using an existing apparatus.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an information providing system including a portable terminal including an IC chip, and an information providing apparatus configured to perform wireless communication with the IC chip included in the portable terminal.

The information providing device includes a browser configured to read content transmitted from an external device through a network and output the content on a screen based on screen output control information embedded in content data, the screen output control information defining at least a format for outputting the content or a data structure of the content on the screen, and a wireless communication unit configured to perform wireless communication with an IC chip included in a portable terminal.

In the content data, transfer target information to be transferred to the portable terminal and transfer control information instructing transfer of the transfer target transfer information to the portable terminal are also embedded. The browser instructs the wireless communication unit to transmit the transmission target information to the portable terminal based on the transmission control information embedded in the content that has been read. The wireless communication unit transmits the transfer target information to an IC chip included in the portable terminal based on an instruction from the browser through wireless communication.

According to the above-described arrangement, the browser included in the information providing apparatus reads the content transmitted from the external apparatus and outputs the content on the screen based on the screen output control information embedded in the content data. Further, based on the transmission control information embedded in the content data, the browser instructs the wireless communication unit to transmit the transmission target information, which is also embedded in the content data, to the IC chip included in the portable terminal. Based on an instruction from the browser, the wireless communication unit transmits the transmission target information to the IC chip located in the wireless communication access permission. The communication between the wireless communication unit and the IC chip is performed in a contactless manner, i.e., the IC chip and the wireless communication unit are not in contact with each other, or are not in electrical contact even when in physical contact, so that there is no electrical connection.

For example, the screen output control information includes information defining a character size and a color contained in the content, information indicating a position of an image output on the screen as a part of the content, or information indicating a hyperlink as a format in which the content is output on the screen. In addition, the screen output control information includes, for example, information indicating the start and end of the header and the body of the data structure as the content. Based on the screen output control information embedded in the content defining the data structure, the browser displays the data contained in the header in the title bar of the screen and displays the data contained in the body as the main data on the screen. Further, based on the screen output control information of the defined format, the browser displays characters in a defined color and size, obtains and displays an image based on the position information, and displays a hyperlink in a recognizable manner.

Thus, the browser that outputs the content based on the screen output control information can instruct the wireless image unit to transmit the transmission target information based on the transmission control information embedded in the content data and the screen output control information. In this way, the information provider can provide the transfer target information to the user portable terminal capable of wireless communication simply by embedding the transfer target information and the transfer control information in the content it provides. Further, the user simply browses the content through the information providing apparatus including the browser, and places the portable terminal including the IC chip on the wireless communication unit of the information providing apparatus so that the IC chip comes into a range allowing wireless communication, it is possible to obtain the transfer target information embedded in the content.

In the information providing system, the portable terminal may be configured to display the transfer target information transferred from the wireless communication unit to the IC chip on a display screen of the portable terminal. The portable terminal may display the transfer target information as it is on the display screen, or process or edit the transfer target information before displaying the information. For example, when a URL is received as the transfer target information by the IC chip, the portable terminal may display the URL as it is on the display screen, or it is determined by analysis that the transfer target information received by the IC chip is one URL, activate a browser contained in the portable terminal to connect to the internet, retrieve a Web page indicated by the URL, and display it on the display screen. Thus, by simply placing the portable terminal on the wireless communication unit of the information providing apparatus, the transfer target information embedded in the content displayed on the information providing apparatus can be displayed on the display screen of the portable terminal. The portable terminal may be configured to display a confirmation message or the like to confirm whether the message is displayed before the transmission target information is displayed on the display screen before the transmission target information is processed or edited or the processed or edited information is displayed on the display screen. Thus, it is possible to avoid information that is not desired by the user from being displayed on the screen, or retrieval of a Web page that is not desired by the user.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an information providing apparatus that wirelessly communicates with an IC chip included in a portable terminal. The information providing device includes a browser configured to read content transmitted from an external device through a network and output the content on a screen based on screen output control information embedded in content data, the screen output control information defining at least a format of the content or a data structure of the content for output on the screen, and a wireless communication unit configured to perform wireless communication with an IC chip included in a portable terminal. In the content data, transfer target information to be transferred to the portable terminal and transfer control information instructing transfer of the transfer target information to the portable terminal are also embedded. The browser instructs the wireless communication unit to transmit the transmission target information to the portable terminal based on the transmission control information embedded in the read content. The wireless communication unit transmits the transmission target information to an IC chip included in the portable terminal based on an instruction from the browser by wireless communication.

In the content data, type information that is associated with the transfer target information and indicates a type of the transfer target information may also be embedded so that the browser can instruct the wireless communication unit to transfer the type information associated with the transfer target information to the portable terminal together with the transfer target information. The type information indicating the type of the transfer target information is used to identify what the transfer target information is, for example, whether the transfer target information is a URL or plain text. Thus, the associated type information can also be transmitted to the portable terminal together with the transmission target information. In this way, the portable terminal can recognize the type of the transfer target information with reference to the type information without analyzing the transfer target information received by the IC chip. Thus, for example, when the transfer target information is a URL, the portable terminal can recognize that the transfer target information is a URL with reference to the type information and display a Web page by activating a browser included in the portable terminal. In addition, the type information may contain information identifying the type of the transfer target information content. The content of the transfer target information refers to information obtained by the user when the transfer target information is output by the portable terminal.

The content may be a Web page written in a markup language, and the screen output control information and the transfer control information may be information identified by a tag.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a computer program that causes a computer to function as the information providing apparatus described above.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an information providing method implemented using a portable terminal including an IC chip and an information providing apparatus that wirelessly communicates with the IC chip included in the portable terminal. The information providing method includes the steps performed by an information providing apparatus, of reading content transmitted from an external apparatus through a network; analyzing transfer target information to be transferred to the portable terminal, and transfer control information instructing transfer of the transfer target information to the portable terminal, the transfer target information and the transfer control information being embedded in the read content; and transmitting the transmission target information to an IC chip included in the portable terminal by wireless communication based on the transmission control information.

The information providing method may further include the step of embedding the transfer control information and the transfer target information in the content provided to the information providing apparatus, which is performed by the external apparatus.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a portable terminal including an IC chip configured to perform wireless communication with an information providing apparatus to receive transfer target information from the information providing apparatus; and a controller configured to output the transfer target information received by the IC chip.

According to the above-described aspect, the portable terminal outputs the transfer target information received by the IC chip through wireless communication. In this way, the portable terminal obtains the transfer target information from the information providing apparatus, and outputs the transfer target information when the user simply moves the portable terminal into a range allowing wireless communication with the information providing apparatus. Thus, the user can obtain information simply by moving the portable terminal into a range that allows wireless communication with the information providing apparatus.

The IC chip may receive, from the information providing apparatus, type information associated with the transfer target information and indicating a type of the transfer target information, and the controller may display an image that may correspond to the type information on the display screen based on the type information. According to the above-described aspect, the portable terminal can output information in a more user-friendly manner by displaying an image. Further, when the type information received from the information providing apparatus identifies the type of the content of the transfer target information, an image corresponding to the type information is provided to be displayed, and the user can estimate the content of the transfer target information based on the displayed image. The image displayed on the display screen by the controller may be held by the portable terminal or by an external computer capable of establishing a communication link with the portable terminal.

The portable terminal may further include an image storage unit configured to store an image associated with the type information; and a decision unit configured to obtain an image associated with the type information received by the IC chip from the image storage unit.

The portable terminal may further include an image storage unit configured to store an image; an image definition storage unit configured to store type information associated with the image stored in the image storage unit; and a decision unit configured to obtain an image associated with the type information received by the IC chip from the image storage unit based on the correlation stored in the image definition storage unit. According to the above-described aspect, the correlation between the type information and the image can be changed by changing the correlation stored in the image definition storage unit.

The transfer target information may be transferred from the wireless communication unit included in the information providing apparatus to the IC chip according to an instruction by the browser included in the information providing apparatus. The browser may be configured to read content transmitted from an external device through a network, output the content on a screen based on screen output control information embedded in the content data, the screen output control information defining at least a format for outputting the content on the screen or a data structure of the content, and instruct the wireless communication unit to transmit, to the IC chip, transmission target information embedded in the content data based on the transmission control information also embedded in the content. According to the above-described aspect, the portable terminal can obtain the transfer target information, which is embedded in the content displayed by the browser included in the information providing apparatus, by wireless communication. In this way, the user can obtain the information contained in the content simply by moving the portable terminal into a range of wireless communication with the information providing apparatus that displays the content in which the transfer target information is embedded.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a computer program that causes a computer to function as the above-described portable terminal.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an information output method performed by the above-described portable terminal.

As described above, according to the embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information providing system, an information providing apparatus, an information providing method, a portable terminal, an information output method, and a computer program that allow a user to obtain information with the portable terminal using an existing facility by a simplified operation.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an information providing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information providing apparatus according to the first embodiment;

fig. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a portable terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of a process performed in the information providing system according to the first embodiment;

fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure performed by the information providing apparatus and the portable terminal according to the first embodiment;

fig. 6 shows an example of a Web page displayed by the information providing apparatus according to the first embodiment;

fig. 7 shows an example of transfer target information displayed by the portable terminal according to the first embodiment;

fig. 8 shows an example of transmission control information according to the first embodiment;

fig. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a portable terminal according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 shows an example of an icon according to the second embodiment;

fig. 11 is a flowchart of a process performed by the portable terminal according to the second embodiment;

fig. 12 shows an example of an icon and transfer target information displayed by the portable terminal according to the second embodiment; and

fig. 13 shows an example of transmission control information according to the second embodiment.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and the drawings, parts that are functionally substantially the same are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions thereof are avoided.

First embodiment

First, an overall configuration of an information providing system 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1. The information providing system 100 includes, for example, a Web server 301, information providing apparatuses 101a, 101 b.. 101n (hereinafter, simply referred to as the information providing apparatus 101), portable terminals 201a, 201 b.. 201n (hereinafter, simply referred to as the portable terminal 201), and a network 103.

The Web server 301 stores a Web page representing certain content and transmits the Web page to the information providing apparatus 101 via the network 103 in response to a request from the information providing apparatus 101. The information providing apparatus 101 may include a plurality of Web servers 301. In this embodiment, an information provider, referred to as a content holder, provides information to a user using a Web page. More specifically, the content holder contains information that it wishes to provide in a Web page, so that the information is provided to the user through the information providing apparatus 101. Further, the content holder embeds information of the portable terminal 201, which the content holder wishes to particularly provide to the user, in the data of the Web page as transfer target information, and embeds transfer control information in the data of the Web page, so that the information providing apparatus 101 transmits the transfer target information to the portable terminal 201.

In the present embodiment, the Web page is written in HTML, and transfer control information and screen output control information to be described later are identified based on the mark. The screen output control information, transfer target information, and the like embedded in the Web page data are written in HTML files that are the basis of the Web page in HTML-based language for the IC chip operation extension.

The information providing apparatus 101 retrieves a Web page from the Web server 301 and displays the page on the display screen. Further, the information providing apparatus 101 transmits transfer target information to the portable terminal 201 through the reader/writer 111 based on transfer control information embedded in a Web page. The information providing apparatus 101 is, for example, a Personal Computer (PC), a television receiver capable of displaying a Web page, or a game machine.

More specifically, the browser 120 of the information providing apparatus 101 reads a Web page transmitted from the Web server 301. The browser 120 displays the Web page on the display screen based on the screen output control information embedded in the Web page. The screen output control information defines a format for outputting a Web page on the screen, or a data format of the Web page.

Further, the browser 120 instructs the reader/writer 111 to transmit transfer target information, which is also embedded in the Web page, to the contactless IC chip 202 of the portable terminal 201 based on the transfer control information embedded in the Web page.

The reader/writer 111 is an example of a wireless communication unit. The reader/writer 111 transmits transfer target information to the noncontact IC chip 202 located within the wireless communication housing through wireless communication based on an instruction from the browser 120. The reader/writer 111 may be included in and integrated with the reader/writer 111 as shown in fig. 1. In addition, the reader/writer 111 may be a separate device and connected to the information providing apparatus 101 through a cable.

The portable terminal 201 includes a noncontact IC chip 202 capable of wireless communication. The portable terminal 201 receives the transfer target information by performing communication between the noncontact IC chip 202 and the reader/writer 111 of the information providing apparatus 101. Then, the portable terminal 201 displays the transfer target information received by the noncontact IC chip 202 on the display screen. The portable terminal 201 is, for example, a cellular phone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a portable game machine, or a watch including a non-contact IC chip. In addition, for example, a card socket for loading an IC card containing a non-contact IC chip may be provided so that wireless communication can be performed between the IC chip loaded in the card socket and the information providing apparatus 101, whereby the transfer target information received by the IC card can be used by the portable terminal 201.

The network 103 allows bidirectional communication between the Web server 301 and the information providing apparatus 101. The network 103 is, for example, a public network such as the internet, a telephone network, or a satellite communication network, or a private network such as a WAN, LAN, or IP-VPN, and may be wired or wireless.

The general configuration of the information providing system 100 has been described above. The configuration of the information providing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to fig. 2.

The information providing apparatus 101 includes, for example, a CPU 102, a memory 104, an input unit 106, a display 108, a communication unit 110, a hard disk 114, and a reader/writer 111. The CPU 102 functions as a processor and a controller, and controls processing performed by components of the information providing apparatus 101. Processing executed by the browser 120, which will be described later, is controlled by the CPU 102. The memory 104 is implemented by ROM and RAM, and temporarily stores various data related to processing performed by the CPU 102, an operation program of the CPU 102, and the like.

The input unit 106 includes input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, and an interface for accepting data input from the input devices.

The display 108 includes a display device such as a CRT display or a liquid crystal display, and an interface for displaying data on the display device according to an instruction from the CPU 102.

The communication unit 110 is a communication interface, and is composed of a communication line, a communication circuit, a communication device, and the like. The communication unit 110 may exchange information, such as a request for retrieving a Web page and Web page data, using an external device such as the Web server 301.

The hard disk 114 is a data storage device implemented by a flash memory, for example. The hard disk 114 can store various types of data such as an Operating System (OS) and various application programs. The hard disk 114 is an example of a storage device, and stores a browser 120 and a reader/writer driver 124, which will be described later. The browser 120 and the reader/writer driver 124 may be stored in the memory 104 instead of the hard disk 114. The CPU 102 calls a browser 120, which is an application program stored in the hard disk 114, and controls processing executed by the browser 120 for displaying a Web page, transmitting transfer contents in the Web page, and the like.

The reader/writer 111 wirelessly communicates with the noncontact IC chip 202. The reader/writer 111 and the noncontact IC chip 202 communicate with each other mainly based on the Near Field Communication (NFC) standard, which allows noncontact communication at an RF carrier frequency of 13.56MHz and a maximum communication rate of 212Kbps within a small distance of 10 cm.

The reader/writer driver 124 stored in the hard disk 114 is a device driver that allows the CPU 102 to control the reader/writer 111.

The browser 120 stored on the hard disk 114 includes a plug-in 122. The plug-in 122 is an application for adding functionality to the browser 120. In the present embodiment, the function of instructing the reader/writer 111 to transmit the transfer target information to the noncontact IC chip 202 based on the transfer control information embedded in the Web page is provided in the form of the plug-in 122. The browser 120 may perform processing so that a Web page is displayed on the display device through the display 108 based on the screen output control information. Further, using the installed plug-in 122, the browser 120 can perform the processing described above based on the transfer control information.

The Web page retrieved from the Web server 301 by the communication unit 110 is stored in the memory 104 or the hard disk 114. The browser 120 reads the stored Web page, and when the transfer control information identified by the tag is embedded in the Web page data, the browser 120 extracts the transfer target information that is also embedded in the Web page data. Now, the process performed by the browser 120 based on the transfer control information will be described in detail with reference to fig. 8. Fig. 8 shows a specific example of the transfer control information and the transfer target information embedded in the Web page data. The browser 120 analyzes the transfer control information embedded in the Web page data, for example, in the following manner, and instructs the reader/writer 111 to transmit the transfer target information also embedded in the Web page data to the non-contact IC chip 202.

The browser 120, when it has read the extended tag with the ID "Felica", removes the portion of the "Felica" extended tag other than the annotation (defined by <! -and- >), and will move outside the annotation within these parts of the annotation. The browser 120 then displays a Web page on the display device via the display 108 based on another set of screen output control information. In this way, in the displayed Web page, the text "send this information to the cellular phone" written to the comment is displayed, while the text "please download a plug-in supporting the extension flag" written outside the comment but not yet removed is not displayed. ".

Then, when the user selects the text "send this information to the cellular phone", the browser 120 takes "FELICA: $ FELICA $", which is defined by the link destination of the screen output control information "a HREF" as the selected text "send this information to the cellular phone". The browser 120 checks whether the retrieved link destination is "felica: "start, and if so, search for a search with a search term that follows" felica: "identifier" $ FELICA $ "is labeled with the same ID. In this example, a "PUSH" flag as an example of transmission control information is found by searching for a flag having the same ID. In this way, the browser 120 instructs the communication unit 110 to send the transfer target information "http// www.xxx.co.jp/" sandwiched by the "PUSH" flag to the contactless IC chip 202, together with the type information "url" indicating the type of the transfer target information.

The configuration of the information providing apparatus 101 has been explained. The configuration of the portable terminal 201 according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to fig. 3.

The portable terminal 201 includes a noncontact IC chip 202, a controller 204, and a cellular phone circuit 206. The cellular phone circuit 206 is a circuit related to a cellular phone function of the portable terminal 201. Since the cellular phone circuit is not a main feature of the present embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

The noncontact IC chip 202 receives an AC voltage from an antenna (not shown) of the portable terminal 201. When the non-contact IC chip 202 and the reader/writer 111 communicate with each other in a non-contact manner, the antenna drives the non-contact IC chip 202 by a voltage induced by a magnetic field generated by the reader/writer 111 and exchanges data with the reader/writer 111 by wireless.

The non-contact IC chip 202 includes, for example, a rectifier circuit, a power generator, a demodulator, a modulator, a receiver, a transmitter, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a ROM, an EEPROM, a cryptographic engine, a random number generator, a cyclic redundancy check circuit.

The rectifying circuit rectifies the AC voltage fed from the antenna and feeds the rectified voltage to the power generator. The power generator generates a power supply voltage used by the noncontact IC chip 202 from a voltage fed thereto. The demodulator demodulates a signal received from the reader/writer 111 through the antenna into an electric signal, which can be processed in the noncontact IC chip 202, and supplies the electric signal to the receiver. The modulator modulates the electric signal transmitted from the noncontact IC chip 202 to the reader/writer 111 through the antenna into a signal that can be transmitted by noncontact communication.

The CPU operates at the power supply voltage in the noncontact IC chip 202 generated by the power generator and controls the entire operation of the noncontact IC chip 202. The ROM is a nonvolatile memory and stores an application program, an operating system (hereinafter, referred to as OS) as a platform, and the like.

The RAM is a volatile memory, and stores data and the like temporarily used by the OS and application programs. The EEPROM is mainly used to store user data. However, an application program, an OS, and the like may also be stored in the EEPROM. Instead of EEPROM, flash memory may be used. The cryptographic engine encrypts and decrypts data exchanged with the external device. A random number generator generates a random number for the encryption key. The cyclic redundancy code check circuit performs cyclic redundancy code check, i.e., error check, on data received from the external device.

The transfer target information received by the noncontact IC chip 202 from the reader/writer 111 is stored in the RAM of the noncontact IC chip 202. The noncontact IC chip 202 receives the transfer target information from the reader/writer 111 and stores it in the RAM. When the communication is completed, the noncontact IC chip 202 notifies the controller 204 of the completion of the communication.

Upon receiving the notification from the non-contact IC chip 202, the controller 204 displays the transfer target information received by the non-contact IC chip 202 from the reader/writer 111 on the display screen. The controller 204 may display the transfer target information as it is, or process and edit the transfer target information before displaying the information. For example, when the transfer target information is a URL, the controller 204 recognizes that the transfer target information is a URL by lexical analysis of the transfer target information, activates the browser of the portable terminal 201 and connects to the network 103, retrieves a Web page from a Web server indicated by the URL, and displays the Web page on the display screen. If the noncontact IC chip 202 has received the type information of the transfer target information and stored the information in the RAM together with the transfer target information, the controller 204 can recognize that the transfer target information is a URL with reference to the type information without having to perform lexical analysis.

The configuration of the portable terminal 201 has been described above. The flow of processing executed in the information providing system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to fig. 4. The following description is given with reference to screen examples shown in fig. 6 and 7.

First, in step S102, the information providing apparatus 101 connects to the Web server 301 through the network 103, and retrieves a Web page. After retrieving the Web page, in step S104, it is determined whether the transfer control information can be processed in the information providing apparatus 101. When it is determined in step 104 that the transfer control information cannot be processed, the Web page is normally displayed on the display device of the information providing apparatus 101 in step 120. More specifically, when the plug-in 122 is not installed on the information providing apparatus 101, the transfer control information cannot be processed. In this case, in the example shown in fig. 8, the transfer control information and the transfer target information are held in a state written in the comment. Thus, the browser 120 ignores the transfer control information and displays the Web page based on the screen output control information.

On the other hand, when the transfer control information can be processed by the information providing apparatus 101, that is, when the plug-in 122 has been installed, in step S106, as described with reference to fig. 8, the browser 120 moves the transfer control information and the like out of the comment and displays one link corresponding to the transfer control information in the Web page. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, link 504 is displayed in Web page 502. Then when the user selects link 504 at step S108, browser 120 analyzes the markup as described with reference to fig. 8 at step S110. Then, in step S112, the browser 120 supplies the transfer target information and the type information to the reader/writer 111, and instructs the reader/writer 111 to send the transfer target information and the type information to the noncontact IC chip 202.

When the user places the portable terminal 201 on the reader/writer 111 so that the noncontact IC chip 202 of the portable terminal 201 comes into contact with the noncontact IC chip 202 to enable wireless communication with the reader/writer 111 at step S114, the reader/writer 111 transmits transfer target information and type information to the noncontact IC chip 202 of the portable terminal 201 in a noncontact manner by wireless communication. In step S116, the non-contact IC chip 202 of the portable terminal 201 receives the transfer target information and the type information from the reader/writer 111. Then, in step S118, the controller 204 of the portable terminal 201 displays the transfer target information on the display screen. As shown in fig. 7, for example, the transfer target information embedded in the Web page is displayed on the display screen 510 of the portable terminal 201.

Through the above-described processing, the user can obtain information embedded in a Web page by the portable terminal 201 simply browsing the Web page through the information providing apparatus 101 such as a personal computer, clicking a link displayed on the Web page, and placing the portable terminal 201 on the reader/writer 111.

The flow of processing performed in the information providing system 100 has been described. Hereinafter, the flow of information between the browser 120 and the reader/writer 111 of the information providing apparatus 101 and the portable terminal 201 will be explained.

First, in step S202, the browser 120 of the information providing apparatus 101 reads a Web page. In step S204, the browser 120 analyzes the transfer control information (tag) embedded in the Web page. In step S206, the browser 120 extracts the transfer target information based on the transfer control information, supplies the transfer control information to the reader/writer 111, and instructs the reader/writer 111 to send the transfer target information. For example, the transfer target information is embedded in the data in a predetermined format for exchanging data by wireless communication with the non-contact IC chip 202. Further, the user is notified of the transfer readiness by blinking one of the components of the reader/writer 111, and is prompted to put the portable terminal 201 on the reader/writer 111.

When the portable terminal 201 is moved within the range that allows wireless communication with the reader/writer 111, the noncontact IC chip 202 of the portable terminal 201 transmits information for wireless communication, such as an identifier of the noncontact IC chip 202, to the reader/writer 111 in step S210. When the other end side of the wireless communication is identified by the identifier, the reader/writer 111 transmits the data prepared at step S208 to the non-contact IC chip 202 identified by the identifier at step S212. The data includes at least transfer destination information.

In step S214, the noncontact IC chip 202 of the portable terminal 201 receives data from the reader/writer 111, and in step S216, stores the data in the RAM of the noncontact IC chip 202. Then, in step S218, the contactless IC chip 202 notifies the controller 204 of the portable terminal 201 that the wireless communication has been completed, and the controller 204 displays the transfer target information on the display screen of the portable terminal 201.

The flow between the browser 120 and the reader/writer 111 and the portable terminal 201 has been described.

Second embodiment

An information providing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the information providing system according to the present embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the information providing apparatus transmits transfer target information, which is also embedded in a Web page, to the portable terminal by wireless communication based on transfer control information embedded in the Web page. Upon receiving the transmission target information, the portable terminal displays the information on the display screen. The portable terminal according to the second embodiment is different from the portable terminal 201 according to the first embodiment in that an image related to the displayed information content can be displayed in addition to the information displayed by the portable terminal 201 according to the first embodiment. Now, an information providing system according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 9 to 13.

The overall configuration of the system and the configuration of the information providing apparatus according to the second embodiment are substantially the same as the information providing system 100 and the information providing apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

The configuration of the portable terminal 601 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 9. The portable terminal 601 includes, for example, a non-contact IC chip 202, a controller 604, a cellular phone circuit 206, a decision unit 602, an icon definition storage unit 608, and an icon storage unit 606. The configuration and function of the noncontact IC chip 202 and the cellular phone circuit 206 are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment, and thus description thereof will be omitted.

Upon receiving the notification from the noncontact IC chip 202, the controller 604 displays the transfer target information received by the noncontact IC chip 202 from the reader/writer 111 on the display screen, similarly to the first embodiment. However, unlike the first embodiment, upon receiving the transfer target information from the non-contact IC chip 202, the controller 604 supplies the transfer target information to the decision unit 602, obtains the type of the transfer target information, the related image, and the information to be displayed from the decision unit 602, and displays the image and the information on the display screen based on the type obtained from the decision unit 602. In the present embodiment, the type information of the transmission target information is included in the transmission target information, and the type is determined by the decision unit 602. Similar to the first embodiment, the type information contains information identifying the type of the transfer target information pattern, such as url or text information (the information identifying the type of the transfer target information pattern will be hereinafter referred to as pattern type information). Further, in the present embodiment, information identifying the content type of the transfer target information is contained in the type information. The content of the transfer target information refers to information content obtained by the user when the transfer target information is displayed on a display screen or output by voice. For example, the content is content relating to food and drink, content relating to transportation such as a train or an airplane, or content relating to entertainment. Information identifying the content type of the transfer target information (hereinafter referred to as content type information) is embedded in the Web page maintained by the Web server 301, similarly to the transfer target information and the type information in the first embodiment. The content holder selects an appropriate genre from the content of the information provided to the user's portable terminal 601, and embeds content type information corresponding to the genre of the content in the Web page.

The decision unit 602 obtains the transfer target information from the controller 604, and determines the type of the transfer target information based on the type information contained in the transfer target information. The decision unit 602 provides the determined type, information to be displayed, and an image to the controller 604. More specifically, the decision unit 602 determines the mode type, such as url or text information, based on the mode type information contained in the transfer target information, and supplies the result to the controller 604.

Further, the decision unit 602 provides the controller 604 with an image related to the content associated with the content type contained in the transfer target information. In the present embodiment, an icon is used as an example of an image. More specifically, the decision unit 602 extracts content type information from the transfer target information and obtains an icon associated with the extracted content type information from the icon storage unit 606. The correlation between the content type information and the icon is defined in the icon definition storage unit 608.

The icon definition storage unit 608 is an example of an image definition storage unit. In the icon definition storage unit 608, content type information is stored in association with the icon. The icon definition storage unit 608 contains a memory such as a RAM of the portable terminal 601. In the icon definition storage unit 608, pieces of content type information are associated with addresses of a plurality of icons stored in the icon storage unit 606. A plurality of icons may be associated with a single piece of content type information, or each piece of content type information may be associated with one icon. The correlation between the content type information and the icon may be defined in the icon storage unit 606. In this case, the icon definition storage unit 608 is omitted from the portable terminal 601.

The icon storage unit 606 is an example of an image storage unit, and stores icons therein. The icon storage unit 606 contains a memory such as the RAM of the portable terminal 601. Fig. 10 shows an example of icons stored in the icon storage unit 606. For example, when content on entertainment is provided by transfer target information, icons 60a to 60e are displayed on the display screen of the portable terminal 601. The content regarding entertainment may be further classified such that the icon 60a is displayed when the content relates to music, the icon 60b is displayed when the content relates to sports, and the icon 60e is displayed when the content relates to a television program. For example, when contents regarding foods and beverages are provided by the transfer target information, icons 60f to 60i are displayed on the display screen of the portable terminal 601. For example, when content about transportation is provided by the transfer target information, icons 60j to 60l are displayed on the display screen of the portable terminal 601. For example, when content about shopping is provided by the transfer target information, icons 60m to 60p are displayed on the display screen of the portable terminal 601.

The configuration of the portable terminal 601 has been described above. The flow of the process of the decision unit 602 obtaining an icon based on the content type information will be described below with reference to fig. 11.

First, in step S302, the decision unit 602 obtains transfer target information from the controller 604. Upon obtaining the transfer target information, the decision unit 602 checks whether or not the content type information is contained in the transfer target information at step S304. More specifically, for example, an identifier indicating content type information is determined in advance, and the decision unit 602 checks whether a predetermined identifier is included in the transfer target information, and determines that the content type information is included in the transfer target information when the predetermined identifier is included, and determines that the content type information is not included in the transfer target information when the predetermined identifier is not included.

When it is determined in step S304 that the content type information is contained, in step S306, the decision unit 602 obtains the address of the icon associated with the content type information contained in the transfer target information from the icon definition storage unit 608.

Then, in step S308, the decision unit 602 obtains the corresponding icon from the icon storage unit 606 according to the address obtained from the icon definition storage unit 608. Then, in step S310, the decision unit 602 provides the icon obtained in step S308 to the controller 604. The icon provided from the decision unit 602 is displayed on the display screen of the portable terminal 601 by the controller 604.

When a plurality of icons are associated with a single piece of content type information in the icon definition storage unit 608, the decision unit 602 may randomly select one icon from a plurality of icons (for example, icons 60a to 60e) related to the content type information contained in the transfer target information in the icon definition storage unit 608.

The flow of the decision process of the decision unit 602 obtaining the icon based on the content type information has been described. An example of the transfer target information displayed on the display screen of the portable terminal 601 will be described below.

As shown in fig. 12, on the display screen of the portable terminal 601, in addition to the information 70 corresponding to the transfer target information displayed on the display screen 510 of the portable terminal 201 according to the first embodiment to be displayed, an icon 60 based on the content type information contained in the transfer target information and a message 80 based on the mode type information contained in the transfer target information are displayed. In this way, the user of the portable terminal 601 can predict the content of the information obtained from the information providing apparatus 101 by wireless communication before actually browsing the content. In the illustrated example, the user may identify or predict that the obtained information is related to food and beverages.

An example of the transfer target information displayed on the display screen of the portable information terminal 601 has been described. A specific example of the transfer destination information embedded in the Web page will be described below with reference to fig. 13.

Description of components corresponding to those in the example shown in fig. 8 will be omitted, and components defined by < PUSH > and </PUSH > will be described in relation to the operation of the portable terminal 601, unlike the example shown in fig. 8. In the example shown in FIG. 13, the transmission target information is "Uhttp:// www.xxx.co.jp/C10". In this example, the interval included in the transfer target information is a spacer, "U" is mode type information, "C" is a content information identifier, and "10" is content type information. The transfer target information is transferred from the information providing apparatus 101 to the portable terminal 601. The portable terminal 601 supplies the received transmission target information to the decision unit 602. The decision unit 602 reads the transfer target information from the beginning in units separated by spacers. More specifically, the decision unit 602 first reads "U" and thereby recognizes it as pattern type information representing url. The decision unit 602 recognizes that the information read next to the mode type information is the information to be displayed on the screen. In this example, decision unit 602 recognizes that "http:// www.xxx.co.jp/" is the information to be displayed, and the type of the information is url. Then, the decision unit 602 reads "C" and recognizes that the content type information is contained. The decision unit 602 recognizes that the information read next to the identifier "C" of the content type information is the content type information. In this example, the decision unit 602 recognizes that "10" is the content type information, obtains the address of one icon associated with "10" from the icon definition storage unit 608, and obtains the corresponding icon from the icon storage unit 606.

The information providing system according to the second embodiment has been described above. In the information providing system according to the second embodiment, the user of the portable terminal can easily know the content of the information obtained by wireless communication based on the icon displayed on the portable terminal. A content holder as an information provider can display an icon according to content provided on a user's portable terminal simply by embedding appropriate content type information according to the content provided in a Web page. This serves to provide information to the user more conveniently and attractively.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the claims and it is understood that these changes and modifications belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

For example, the content may be contained in a digital television broadcast and written in a Broadcast Markup Language (BML), which is a content description language for the digital television broadcast, the information providing apparatus may be a television receiver that receives the digital television broadcast, and a browser installed in the television receiver may be used to display the content written in the BML on a screen so that the transmission target information is transmitted to the portable terminal by analyzing the transmission target information written in the BML.

Claims (14)

1. An information providing system comprising:

a portable terminal including an IC chip; and

an information providing device configured to wirelessly communicate with an IC chip included in a portable terminal;

wherein the information providing apparatus includes

A browser configured to read content transmitted from an external device through a network and output the content on a screen of the information providing device based on screen output control information embedded in content data, the screen output control information defining at least a format for outputting the content or a data structure of the content on the screen, and

a wireless communication unit configured to wirelessly communicate with an IC chip included in the portable terminal,

wherein in the content data, transfer target information to be transferred to the portable terminal and transfer control information instructing transfer of the transfer target information to the portable terminal are also embedded;

wherein the browser instructs the wireless communication unit to transmit the transmission target information to the portable terminal based on the transmission control information embedded in the content that has been read, and

wherein the wireless communication unit transmits the transfer target information to an IC chip included in the portable terminal based on an instruction from the browser by wireless communication.

2. The information providing system according to claim 1,

wherein the portable terminal displays the transfer target information transferred from the wireless communication unit to the IC chip on a display screen of the portable terminal.

3. An information providing apparatus that wirelessly communicates with an IC chip included in a portable terminal, the information providing apparatus comprising:

a browser configured to read content transmitted from an external device through a network and output the content on a screen of the information providing device based on screen output control information embedded in content data, the screen output control information defining at least a format for outputting the content or a data structure of the content on the screen; and

a wireless communication unit configured to wirelessly communicate with an IC chip included in a portable terminal;

wherein in the content data, transfer target information to be transferred to the portable terminal and transfer control information instructing transfer of the transfer target information to the portable terminal are also embedded,

wherein the browser instructs the wireless communication unit to transmit the transmission target information to the portable terminal based on the transmission control information embedded in the read content, and

wherein the wireless communication unit transmits the transmission target information to the IC chip included in the portable terminal based on an instruction from the browser by wireless communication.

4. The information providing apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein in the content data, type information which is associated with the transfer target information and indicates a type of the transfer target information is further embedded, and

wherein the browser instructs the wireless communication unit to transmit type information associated with the transmission target information to the portable terminal together with the transmission target information.

5. The information providing apparatus according to claim 3,

a Web page in which content is written in a markup language, an

Wherein the screen output control information and the transfer control information are information identified by a mark.

6. An information providing method implemented with an information providing apparatus including a wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication with an IC chip included in a portable terminal, the method comprising the following steps performed by the information providing apparatus:

reading content transmitted from an external device through a network;

outputting content on a screen of the information providing apparatus based on screen output control information embedded in content data, the screen output control information defining at least a format for outputting the content on the screen or a data structure of the content;

reading transfer target information to be transferred to the portable terminal and transfer control information instructing transfer of the transfer target information to the portable terminal, the transfer target information and the transfer control information also being embedded in the content data; and

the wireless communication unit is instructed to transmit the transmission target information to the portable terminal based on the transmission control information.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein,

wherein type information associated with the transfer target information and indicating a type of the transfer target information is also embedded in the content data, an

Wherein the wireless communication unit is instructed to transmit the relevant type information together with the transmission target information.

8. An information providing method implemented using a portable terminal including an IC chip and an information providing apparatus that wirelessly communicates with the IC chip included in the portable terminal, the information providing method comprising the steps performed by the information providing apparatus of:

reading content transmitted from an external device through a network;

analyzing transfer target information to be transferred to the portable terminal and transfer control information instructing transfer of the transfer target information to the portable terminal, the transfer target information and the transfer control information being embedded in the read content; and

the transfer target information is transferred to an IC chip included in the portable terminal by wireless communication based on the transfer control information.

9. An information providing method according to claim 8, further comprising the steps performed by the external device of: the transfer control information and the transfer target information are embedded in the content provided to the information providing apparatus.

10. A portable terminal, comprising:

an IC chip configured to perform wireless communication with an information providing apparatus to receive transfer target information from the information providing apparatus; and

a controller configured to output transfer target information received by the IC chip,

wherein the transfer target information is transferred from the wireless communication unit included in the information providing apparatus to the IC chip according to an instruction by the browser included in the information providing apparatus, and

wherein the browser reads a content transmitted from an external device through a network, outputs the content on a screen of the information providing device based on screen output control information embedded in the content data, the screen output control information defining at least a format for outputting the content or a data structure of the content on the screen, and instructs the wireless communication unit to transmit transmission target information embedded in the content data to the IC chip based on the transmission control information also embedded in the content data.

11. The portable terminal according to claim 10, wherein,

wherein the IC chip receives type information associated with the transfer target information and indicating a type of the transfer target information from the information providing apparatus, an

Wherein the controller displays an image corresponding to the genre information on the display screen based on the genre information.

12. The portable terminal according to claim 11, further comprising:

an image storage unit configured to store an image associated with the type information; and

a decision unit configured to obtain an image associated with the type information received by the IC chip from the image storage unit.

13. The portable terminal according to claim 11, further comprising:

an image storage unit configured to store an image;

an image definition storage unit configured to store type information associated with the image stored in the image storage unit; and

a decision unit configured to obtain an image associated with the type information received by the IC chip from the image storage unit based on the correlation stored in the image definition storage unit.

14. An information output method for a portable terminal including an IC chip that performs wireless communication with an information providing apparatus, the information output method comprising the steps of:

receiving, by the IC chip, transmission target information and type information indicating a type of the transmission target information through wireless communication from the information providing apparatus; and

displaying the transfer target information and the image corresponding to the genre information on a display screen,

wherein the transfer target information is transferred from the wireless communication unit included in the information providing apparatus to the IC chip according to an instruction by a browser included in the information providing apparatus, and

wherein the browser reads a content transmitted from an external device through a network, outputs the content on a screen of the information providing device based on screen output control information embedded in the content data, the screen output control information defining at least a format for outputting the content or a data structure of the content on the screen, and instructs the wireless communication unit to transmit transmission target information embedded in the content data to the IC chip based on the transmission control information also embedded in the content data.