System and method for providing information to a portable terminal Number:7,050,816 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) owispatent An information providing system can include a registration terminal having a guidance information registration database which stores information groups, which are correlated with reference position information. When portable terminal position information for specifying the position of a portable terminal is received together with a transmission request for the guidance information, the guidance information is automatically selected from an information group in accordance with the received transmission request on the basis of the position relationship between the reference position which is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group in accordance with the received transmission request, and the position which is specified by the received portable terminal position information, and the selected guidance information is transmitted to the portable terminal.<H information, providing, System, and, meth, 7050816.html, Patent, pto, 7050816

Title: System and method for providing information to a portable terminal

Abstract: An information providing system can include a registration terminal having a guidance information registration database which stores information groups, which are correlated with reference position information. When portable terminal position information for specifying the position of a portable terminal is received together with a transmission request for the guidance information, the guidance information is automatically selected from an information group in accordance with the received transmission request on the basis of the position relationship between the reference position which is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group in accordance with the received transmission request, and the position which is specified by the received portable terminal position information, and the selected guidance information is transmitted to the portable terminal.

Patent Number: 7,050,816 Issued on 05/23/2006 to Fukui, et al.

Inventors: Fukui; Yoshiki (Suwa, JP); Taniguchi; Shinya (Suwa, JP); Kitada; Naruhide (Nagano-ken, JP)
Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Tokyo, JP)

Appl. No.: 062725

Filed: February 5, 2002

Foreign Application Priority Data


Feb 09, 2001 [JP]			2001-034351

Current U.S. Class: 455/456.1 ; 370/310; 455/414.1; 455/414.2; 455/432.1; 455/456.3; 709/219; 709/227

Current International Class: H04Q 7/20 (20060101)

Field of Search: 455/414.1,414.2,432.1,456.1-457,552.1 370/310 709/218,219,227

References Cited [Referenced By]

U.S. Patent Documents


6042383	March 2000	Herron
6219696	April 2001	Wynblatt et al.
6256498	July 2001	Ludwig
6477542	November 2002	Papaioannou
6580914	June 2003	Smith
6677894	January 2004	Sheynblat et al.
6714797	March 2004	Rautila
6731612	May 2004	Koss

Foreign Patent Documents


09-153054	Jun., 1997	JP
10-243468	Sep., 1998	JP
11-115651	Apr., 1999	JP
11-187469	Jul., 1999	JP
11-250393	Sep., 1999	JP
2000-187667	Jul., 2000	JP

Primary Examiner: D'Agosta; Stephen
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

Claims

The invention claimed is:

1. An information providing system comprising: a portable terminal that is connected with a registration terminal for registering target information that is to be used by the portable terminal, and that provides the target information in the registration terminal to the portable terminal, the target information including information of a service location or a sightseeing spot, the registration terminal being adapted to associate a plurality of different pieces with different degrees of details of the target information with a single information group, and to register the information group, which is correlated with reference position information for specifying a reference position as a reference, the reference position information including a plurality of different position ranges that correspond to the plurality of pieces of the target information, respectively; the target information in the registration terminal being provided to the portable terminal by automatically selecting the target information from the information group on the basis of the positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group, and the portable terminal, and by transmitting the selected target information to the portable terminal; and the target information that is provided to the portable terminal automatically becoming more detailed with a greater degree of details as the portable terminal moves closer to the reference position from one position range to another position range.

2. An information providing system comprising: a portable terminal that is connected with a registration terminal for registering target information that is to be used by the portable terminal, and that provides the target information in the registration terminal to the portable terminal, the registration terminal being adapted to associate a plurality of different pieces of the target information with a single information group, and to register the information group, which is correlated with reference position information for specifying a reference position as a reference; the target information in the registration terminal being provided to the portable terminal by automatically selecting the target information from the information group on the basis of the positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group, and the portable terminal, and by transmitting the selected target information to the portable terminal; and the target information that is provided to the portable terminal automatically becoming more detailed as the portable terminal moves closer to the reference position; the registration terminal including a storage device that stores the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, in which, when portable terminal position information for specifying the position of the portable terminal is received together with a transmission request for the target information, the target information is selected from an information group in accordance with the received transmission request based on a positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group in accordance with the received transmission request, and the position that is specified by the received portable terminal position information, and the selected target information is transmitted to the portable terminal; and the portable terminal including a position information retrieving device that retrieves the portable terminal position information, in which the portable terminal position information retrieved by the position information retrieving device is transmitted to the registration terminal together with the transmission request.

3. An information providing system comprising: a portable terminal that is connected with a registration terminal for registering target information that is to be used by the portable terminal, and that provides the target information in the registration terminal to the portable terminal, the registration terminal being adapted to associate a plurality of different pieces of the target information with a single information group, and to register the information group, which is correlated with reference position information for specifying a reference position as a reference; the target information in the registration terminal being provided to the portable terminal by automatically selecting the target information from the information group on the basis of the positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group, and the portable terminal, and by transmitting the selected target information to the portable terminal; and the target information that is provided to the portable terminal automatically becoming more detailed as the portable terminal moves closer to the reference position; the registration terminal including a storage device that stores the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, in which, when a transmission request for the target information is received, reference position information corresponding to an information group in accordance with the received transmission request is transmitted to the portable terminal, and, when a result of determination by the portable terminal is received in response to the transmission of the reference position information, the target information is selected from an information group in accordance with the received transmission request on the basis of the received result of determination, and the selected target information is transmitted to the portable terminal; and the portable terminal including a position information retrieving device that retrieves portable terminal position information for specifying the position of the portable terminal, in which, when the reference position information is received in response to the transmission of the transmission request, the positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the received reference position information, and the position that is specified by the portable terminal position information retrieved by the position information retrieving device is determined, and a result of the determination is transmitted to the registration terminal.

4. An information providing system comprising: a portable terminal that is connected with a registration terminal for registering target information that is to be used by the portable terminal, and that provides the target information in the registration terminal to the portable terminal, the registration terminal being adapted to associate a plurality of different pieces of the target information with a single information group, and to register the information group, which is correlated with reference position information for specifying a reference position as a reference; the target information in the registration terminal being provided to the portable terminal by automatically selecting the target information from the information group on the basis of the positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group, and the portable terminal, and by transmitting the selected target information to the portable terminal; and the target information that is provided to the portable terminal automatically becoming more detailed as the portable terminal moves closer to the reference position; the registration terminal including a storage device that stores the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, in which, when a transmission request for the target information is received, an information group in accordance with the received transmission request, and the reference position information corresponding thereto are transmitted to the portable terminal; and the portable terminal including a position information retrieving device that retrieves portable terminal position information for specifying the position of the portable terminal, in which, when the information group and the reference position information are received in response to the transmission of the transmission request, the target information is selected from the received information group based on the positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the received reference position information, and the position that is specified by the portable terminal position information retrieved by the position information retrieving device.

5. An information providing system comprising: a portable terminal that is connected with a registration terminal for registering target information that is to be used by the portable terminal, and that provides the target information in the registration terminal to the portable terminal, the registration terminal being adapted to associate a plurality of different pieces of the target information with a single information group, and to register the information group, which is correlated with reference position information for specifying a reference position as a reference; the target information in the registration terminal being provided to the portable terminal by automatically selecting the target information from the information group on the basis of the positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group, and the portable terminal, and by transmitting the selected target information to the portable terminal; and the target information that is provided to the portable terminal automatically becoming more detailed as the portable terminal moves closer to the reference position; the registration terminal including a storage device that stores the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, and stores program data, in which, when a transmission request for the target information is received, an information group in accordance with the received transmission request, the reference position information corresponding thereto, and program data are transmitted to the portable terminal; the program data being program data that causes the portable terminal to execute the process of selecting the target information from the information group based on the position relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information, and the position that is specified by portable terminal position information for specifying the position of the portable terminal; and the portable terminal including a position information retrieving device that retrieves the portable terminal position information, in which, when the information group, the reference position information, and the program data are received in response to the transmission of the transmission request, the process is executed according to the received program data to select the target information.

6. The information providing system according to claim 2, the information group including first target information and second target information having more detailed content than the first target information, which are associated with each other; and in the selection of the target information, the first target information being selected from the information group if a distance from the reference position that is specified by the reference position information to the position that is specified by the portable terminal position information is within a first predetermined range, and the second target information is selected from the information group if a distance from the reference position that is specified by the reference position information to the position that is specified by the portable terminal position information is within a second predetermined range which is smaller than the first predetermined range.

7. The information providing system according to claim 2, the information group including first target information and second target information that includes more detailed content than the first target information in addition to the content of the first target information, which are associated with each other; and in the selection of the target information, the first target information being selected from the information group if a distance from the reference position that is specified by the reference position information to the position that is specified by the portable terminal position information is within a first predetermined range, and the second target information is selected from the information group if a distance from the reference position that is specified by the reference position information to the position that is specified by the portable terminal position information is within a second predetermined range that is smaller than the first predetermined range.

8. The information providing system according to claim 2, the registration terminal being connected with an external terminal having the target information registered therein, and including a target information retrieving device that retrieves the target information from the external terminal; and the target information retrieved by the target information retrieving device being stored in the storage device.

9. A registration terminal connected with the portable terminal in the information providing system according to claim 2, said registration terminal comprising a storage device that stores the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, wherein, when the portable terminal position information is received together with the transmission request, the target information is selected from an information group in accordance with the received transmission request based on the position relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group in accordance with the received transmission request, and the position that is specified by the received portable terminal position information, and the selected target information is transmitted to the portable terminal.

10. A registration terminal connected with the portable terminal in the information providing system according to claim 3, said registration terminal comprising a storage device that stores the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, wherein, when the transmission request is received, the reference position information corresponding to an information group in accordance with the received transmission request is transmitted to the portable terminal, and, when the result of the determination is received in response to the transmission of the reference position information, the target information is selected from the information group in accordance with the received transmission request on the basis of the received result of the determination, and the selected target information is transmitted to the portable terminal.

11. A registration terminal connected with the portable terminal in the information providing system according to claim 5, said registration terminal comprising a storage device that stores the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, and that stores the program data, wherein, when the transmission request is received, an information group in accordance with the received transmission request, the reference position information corresponding thereto, and the program data are transmitted to the portable terminal.

12. A portable terminal connected with the registration terminal in the information providing system according to claim 3, said portable terminal comprising a position information retrieving device for retrieving the portable terminal position information, wherein, when the reference position information is received in response to the transmission of the transmission request, the position relationship between the reference position that is specified by the received reference position information, and the position that is specified by the portable terminal position information retrieved by the position information retrieving device is determined, and a result of the determination is transmitted to the registration terminal.

13. A portable terminal connected with the registration terminal in the information providing system according to claim 4, said portable terminal comprising a position information retrieving device that retrieves the portable terminal position information, wherein, when the information group and the reference position information are received in response to the transmission of the transmission request, the target information is selected from the received information group based on the position relationship between the reference position that is specified by the received reference position information, and the position that is specified by the portable terminal position information retrieved by the position information retrieving device.

14. An information providing system comprising: a portable terminal that is connected with a registration terminal for registering target information that is to be used by the portable terminal, and that provides the target information in the registration terminal to the portable terminal, the registration terminal being adapted to associate a plurality of different pieces of the target information with a single information group, and to register the information group, which is correlated with reference position information for specifying a reference position as a reference; the target information in the registration terminal being provided to the portable terminal by selecting the target information from the information group on the basis of the positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group, and the portable terminal, and by transmitting the selected target information to the portable terminal; the registration terminal including a storage device that stores the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, in which, when portable terminal position information for specifying the position of the portable terminal is received together with a transmission request for the target information, the target information is selected from an information group in accordance with the received transmission request based on a positional relationship between the reference position which is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group in accordance with the received transmission request, and the position which is specified by the received portable terminal position information, and the selected target information is transmitted to the portable terminal; the portable terminal including a position information retrieving device that retrieves the portable terminal position information, in which the portable terminal position information retrieved by the position information retrieving device is transmitted to the registration terminal together with the transmission request; the information group including first target information and second target information having more detailed content than the first target information, which are associated with each other; and in the selection of the target information, the first target information being selected from the information group if a distance from the reference position that is specified by the reference position information to the position that is specified by the portable terminal position information is within a first predetermined range, and the second target information being selected from the information group if a distance from the reference position that is specified by the reference position information to the position that is specified by the portable terminal position information is within a second predetermined range which is smaller than the first predetermined range.

15. An information providing system comprising: a portable terminal that is connected with a registration terminal for registering target information that is to be used by the portable terminal, and that provides the target information in the registration terminal to the portable terminal, the registration terminal being adapted to associate a plurality of different pieces of the target information with a single information group, and to register the information group, which is correlated with reference position information for specifying a reference position as a reference; the target information in the registration terminal being provided to the portable terminal by selecting the target information from the information group on the basis of the positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group, and the portable terminal, and by transmitting the selected target information to the portable terminal; the registration terminal including a storage device that stores the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, in which, when portable terminal position information for specifying the position of the portable terminal is received together with a transmission request for the target information, the target information is selected from an information group in accordance with the received transmission request based on a positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group in accordance with the received transmission request, and the position that is specified by the received portable terminal position information, and the selected target information is transmitted to the portable terminal; the portable terminal including a position information retrieving device that retrieves the portable terminal position information, in which the portable terminal position information retrieved by the position information retrieving device is transmitted to the registration terminal together with the transmission request; the information group including first target information and second target information that includes more detailed content than the first target information in addition to the content of the first target information, which are associated with each other; and in the selection of the target information, the first target information being selected from the information group if a distance from the reference position that is specified by the reference position information to the position that is specified by the portable terminal position information is within a first predetermined range, and the second target information is selected from the information group if a distance from the reference position that is specified by the reference position information to the position that is specified by the portable terminal position information is within a second predetermined range which is smaller than the first predetermined range.

16. An information providing system: a portable terminal that is connected with a registration terminal for registering target information that is to be used by the portable terminal, and that provides the target information in the registration terminal to the portable terminal, the registration terminal being adapted to associate a plurality of different pieces of the target information with a single information group, and to register the information group, which is correlated with reference position information for specifying a reference position as a reference; the target information in the registration terminal being provided to the portable terminal by selecting the target information from the information group on the basis of the positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group, and the portable terminal, and by transmitting the selected target information to the portable terminal; the registration terminal including a storage device that stores the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, in which, when portable terminal position information for specifying the position of the portable terminal is received together with a transmission request for the target information, the target information is selected from an information group in accordance with the received transmission request based on a positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group in accordance with the received transmission request, and the position that is specified by the received portable terminal position information, and the selected target information is transmitted to the portable terminal; the portable terminal including a position information retrieving device that retrieves the portable terminal position information, in which the portable terminal position information retrieved by the position information retrieving device is transmitted to the registration terminal together with the transmission request; the registration terminal being connected with an external terminal having the target information registered therein, and including a target information retrieving device that retrieves the target information from the external terminal; and the target information retrieved by the target information retrieving device being stored in the storage device.

17. An information providing system: a portable terminal that is connected with a registration terminal for registering target information that is to be used by the portable terminal, and that provides the target information in the registration terminal to the portable terminal, the registration terminal being adapted to associate a plurality of different pieces of the target information with a single information group, and to register the information group, that is correlated with reference position information for specifying a reference position as a reference; the target information in the registration terminal being provided to the portable terminal by selecting the target information from the information group on the basis of the positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group, and the portable terminal, and by transmitting the selected target information to the portable terminal; the registration terminal including a storage device that stores the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, in which, when portable terminal position information for specifying the position of the portable terminal is received together with a transmission request for the target information, the target information is selected from an information group in accordance with the received transmission request based on a positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group in accordance with the received transmission request, and the position that is specified by the received portable terminal position information, and the selected target information is transmitted to the portable terminal; the portable terminal including a position information retrieving device that retrieves the portable terminal position information, in which the portable terminal position information retrieved by the position information retrieving device is transmitted to the registration terminal together with the transmission request; and when the portable terminal position information is received together with the transmission request, the target information is selected from an information group in accordance with the received transmission request based on the position relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group in accordance with the received transmission request, and the position that is specified by the received portable terminal position information, and the selected target information is transmitted to the portable terminal.

18. An information providing system: a portable terminal that is connected with a registration terminal for registering target information that is to be used by the portable terminal, and that provides the target information in the registration terminal to the portable terminal, the registration terminal being adapted to associate a plurality of different pieces of the target information with a single information group, and to register the information group, which is correlated with reference position information for specifying a reference position as a reference; the target information in the registration terminal being provided to the portable terminal by selecting the target information from the information group on the basis of the positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group, and the portable terminal, and by transmitting the selected target information to the portable terminal; the registration terminal including a storage device that stores the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, in which, when a transmission request for the target information is received, reference position information corresponding to an information group in accordance with the received transmission request is transmitted to the portable terminal, and, when a result of determination by the portable terminal is received in response to the transmission of the reference position information, the target information is selected from an information group in accordance with the received transmission request on the basis of the received result of determination, and the selected target information is transmitted to the portable terminal; the portable terminal including a position information retrieving device that retrieves portable terminal position information for specifying the position of the portable terminal, in which, when the reference position information is received in response to the transmission of the transmission request, the positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the received reference position information, and the position that is specified by the portable terminal position information retrieved by the position information retrieving device is determined, and a result of the determination is transmitted to the registration terminal; and when the transmission request is received, the reference position information corresponding to an information group in accordance with the received transmission request is transmitted to the portable terminal, and, when the result of the determination is received in response to the transmission of the reference position information, the target information is selected from the information group in accordance with the received transmission request on the basis of the received result of the determination, and the selected target information is transmitted to the portable terminal.

19. An information providing system: a portable terminal that is connected with a registration terminal for registering target information that is to be used by the portable terminal, and that provides the target information in the registration terminal to the portable terminal, the registration terminal being adapted to associate a plurality of different pieces of the target information with a single information group, and to register the information group, which is correlated with reference position information for specifying a reference position as a reference; the target information in the registration terminal being provided to the portable terminal by selecting the target information from the information group on the basis of the positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group, and the portable terminal, and by transmitting the selected target information to the portable terminal; the registration terminal including a storage device that stores the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, and stores program data, in which, when a transmission request for the target information is received, an information group in accordance with the received transmission request, the reference position information corresponding thereto, and program data are transmitted to the portable terminal; the program data being program data that causes the portable terminal to execute the process of selecting the target information from the information group based on the position relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information, and the position that is specified by portable terminal position information for specifying the position of the portable terminal; the portable terminal including a position information retrieving device that retrieves the portable terminal position information, in which, when the information group, the reference position information, and the program data are received in response to the transmission of the transmission request, the process is executed according to the received program data to select the target information; and when the transmission request is received, an information group in accordance with the received transmission request, the reference position information corresponding thereto, and the program data are transmitted to the portable terminal.

20. An information providing system: a portable terminal that is connected with a registration terminal for registering target information that is to be used by the portable terminal, and that provides the target information in the registration terminal to the portable terminal, the registration terminal being adapted to associate a plurality of different pieces of the target information with a single information group, and to register the information group, which is correlated with reference position information for specifying a reference position as a reference; the target information in the registration terminal being provided to the portable terminal by selecting the target information from the information group on the basis of the positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group, and the portable terminal, and by transmitting the selected target information to the portable terminal; the registration terminal including a storage device that stores the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, in which, when a transmission request for the target information is received, reference position information corresponding to an information group in accordance with the received transmission request is transmitted to the portable terminal, and, when a result of determination by the portable terminal is received in response to the transmission of the reference position information, the target information is selected from an information group in accordance with the received transmission request on the basis of the received result of determination, and the selected target information is transmitted to the portable terminal; the portable terminal including a position information retrieving device that retrieves portable terminal position information for specifying the position of the portable terminal, in which, when the reference position information is received in response to the transmission of the transmission request, the positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the received reference position information, and the position that is specified by the portable terminal position information retrieved by the position information retrieving device is determined, and a result of the determination is transmitted to the registration terminal; when the transmission request is received, the reference position information corresponding to an information group in accordance with the received transmission request is transmitted to the portable terminal, and, when the result of the determination is received in response to the transmission of the reference position information, the target information is selected from the information group in accordance with the received transmission request on the basis of the received result of the determination, and the selected target information is transmitted to the portable terminal; and when the reference position information is received in response to the transmission of the transmission request, the position relationship between the reference position that is specified by the received reference position information, and the position that is specified by the portable terminal position information retrieved by the position information retrieving device is determined, and a result of the determination is transmitted to the registration terminal.

21. An information providing system: a portable terminal that is connected with a registration terminal for registering target information that is to be used by the portable terminal, and that provides the target information in the registration terminal to the portable terminal, the registration terminal being adapted to associate a plurality of different pieces of the target information with a single information group, and to register the information group, which is correlated with reference position information for specifying a reference position as a reference; the target information in the registration terminal being provided to the portable terminal by selecting the target information from the information group on the basis of the positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group, and the portable terminal, and by transmitting the selected target information to the portable terminal; the registration terminal including a storage device that stores the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, in which, when a transmission request for the target information is received, an information group in accordance with the received transmission request, and the reference position information corresponding thereto are transmitted to the portable terminal; the portable terminal including a position information retrieving device that retrieves portable terminal position information for specifying the position of the portable terminal, in which, when the information group and the reference position information are received in response to the transmission of the transmission request, the target information is selected from the received information group based on the positional relationship between the reference position that is specified by the received reference position information, and the position that is specified by the portable terminal position information retrieved by the position information retrieving device; and when the information group and the reference position information are received in response to the transmission of the transmission request, the target information is selected from the received information group based on the position relationship between the reference position that is specified by the received reference position information, and the position that is specified by the portable terminal position information retrieved by the position information retrieving device.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a system that is capable of connecting a portable terminal with a registration terminal for registering target information via a network to provide the target information in the registration terminal to the portable terminal, and to a terminal for use in the same system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an information providing system, a registration terminal, and a portable terminal which are suitable for providing appropriate information depending upon the position of a user and for facilitating acquisition of information by the user.

2. Description of Related Art

Currently, information viewer systems, such as that disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-126184, are known as a system in which information is downloaded for use from a terminal connected to a network with such an information viewer system, when a storage medium owned by a user is connected to an information providing terminal device via storage medium connecting device, the information providing terminal device retrieves information from an information server via a network, and the retrieved information is transferred to and stored in the storage medium. By connecting the storage medium to an information display terminal device, the information stored in the storage medium can be displayed on the information display terminal device so as to be viewed by the user. Accordingly, a user is readily able to retrieve and view required information without the needs for explicit operation for selecting information.

However, in such a conventional information viewer system, which is adapted to provide information into uniformity, the same content of information could only be obtained in whatever condition a user downloads the same information, and it can be difficult to provide appropriate information in accordance with the circumstance of the user. For instance, it is assumed that shop or sightseeing guidance information is provided as part of information providing services. If a user far from the shop or sightseeing spot of interest uses a portable terminal to access the guidance information, simplified guidance information only about the outline of the shop or sightseeing spot may be provided. If a user near the shop or the sightseeing spot of interest uses a portable terminal to access it, detailed guidance information regarding the content or specific direction of the shop or sightseeing spot may be provided, thereby providing appropriate information depending upon the position of a user.

Like homepages on the Internet, simplified information may also be posted on a top page, followed by detailed information in a hierarchical manner, thereby allowing a user to obtain the information content desired by the user. However, if the desired information is placed in a deep hierarchy from the top page, a user must search for the information while viewing hierarchically ordered pages page by page from the top page, thereby wasting labor and time. In addition, access from a portable terminal such as a cellular phone may require repeated trial-and-error accesses, thereby making the communications costly.

Rather, it may also be contemplated that only detailed information be provided every time. However, in the case where sightseeing information is provided, as described above, detailed information may not be necessarily required sometimes depending upon the position of a user. The detailed information requires proportionally large capacity of data, resulting in undesirable communications load placed on a portable terminal if the information is not necessary to a user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the foregoing unsolved problems associated with the conventional art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an information providing system, a registration terminal, and a portable terminal which are desirable to assist a user in readily obtaining information.

To this end, an information providing system according to the present invention can connect a portable terminal with a registration terminal for registering target information which is to be used by the portable terminal, and provides the target information in the registration terminal to the portable terminal. The registration terminal can be adapted to associate a plurality of different pieces of the target information with a single information group, and to register the information group, which is correlated with reference position information for specifying a reference position as a reference. The target information in the registration terminal can be provided to the portable terminal by selecting the target information from the information group on the basis of the position relationship between the reference position which is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group, and the portable terminal, and by transmitting the selected target information to the portable terminal. With such a structure, in order to provide the target information in the registration terminal to the portable terminal, based on the position relationship between the reference position which is specified by the reference position information corresponding to an information group, and the portable terminal, the target information is selected from that information group, and the selected target information can be transmitted to the portable terminal.

In this regard, the determination of the position relationship may desirably, but not restrictively, be performed by one or both of the registration terminal and the portable terminal, and may also be performed by any other terminal than the registration terminal and the portable terminal.

The position of the portable terminal may be specified in detail using GPS (Global Positioning System), etc., on the basis of the position information from a base station with which the portable terminal or the portable terminal communicates, or may be roughly specified by determining whether or not the portable terminal belongs to the communications coverage of a particular base station on the basis of the position of the particular base station.

Furthermore, the position of the portable terminal may be specified as the relative position to the reference position, or as the absolute position using latitude and longitude, etc.

The registration terminal can be designed to store the target information by any technique at any time, and may store the target information beforehand, or may not store the target information beforehand but store the target information such as by an external input when the present apparatus is activated.

According to an information providing system of the present invention, the registration terminal can include a storage device for storing the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, in which, when portable terminal position information for specifying the position of the portable terminal is received together with a transmission request for the target information, the target information can be selected from an information group in accordance with the received transmission request on the basis of the position relationship between the reference position which is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group in accordance with the received transmission request, and the position which is specified by the received portable terminal position information, and the selected target information is transmitted to the portable terminal. The portable terminal can include a position information retrieving device for retrieving the portable terminal position information, in which the portable terminal position information retrieved by the position information retrieving means is transmitted to the registration terminal together with the transmission request.

With this structure, in the portable terminal, the portable terminal position information can be retrieved by the position information retrieving device, and the retrieved portable terminal position information can be transmitted to the registration terminal together with the transmission request for the target information such as by user's operation.

In the registration terminal, when the portable terminal position information is received together with the transmission request, the target information can be selected from an information group in accordance with the received transmission request on the basis of the position relationship between the reference position which is specified by the reference position information corresponding to the information group in accordance with the received transmission request, and the position which is specified by the received portable terminal position information.

The storage device is designed to store the target information by any technique at any time, and may store the target information beforehand, or may not store the target information beforehand but store the target information by an external input when the present apparatus is activated.

According to an information providing system of the present invention, the registration terminal can include a storage device for storing the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, in which, when a transmission request for the target information is received, reference position information corresponding to an information group in accordance with the received transmission request is transmitted to the portable terminal. When a result of determination by the portable terminal is received in response to the transmission of the reference position information, the target information is selected from an information group in accordance with the received transmission request on the basis of the received result of determination, and the selected target information is transmitted to the portable terminal. The portable terminal includes position information retrieving means for retrieving portable terminal position information for specifying the position of the portable terminal, in which, when the reference position information is received in response to the transmission of the transmission request, the position relationship between the reference position which is specified by the received reference position information, and the position which is specified by the portable terminal position information retrieved by the position information retrieving device is determined, and a result of the determination is transmitted to the registration terminal.

With this structure, in the portable terminal, the transmission request for the target information can be transmitted to the registration terminal such as by user's operation.

In the registration terminal, when the transmission request is received, the reference position information corresponding to an information group in accordance with the received transmission request can be transmitted to the portable terminal.

In the portable terminal, the portable terminal position information can be retrieved by the position information retrieving device. When the reference position information is received, the position relationship between the reference position which is specified by the received reference position information, and the position which is specified by the retrieved portable terminal position information can be determined, and a result of the determination can be transmitted to the registration terminal.

In the registration terminal, when the result of the determination is received, the target information can be selected from an information group in accordance with the received transmission request on the basis of the received result of the determination, and the selected target information can be transmitted to the portable terminal.

According to an information providing system of the present invention, the registration terminal can include a storage device for storing the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, in which, when a transmission request for the target information is received, an information group in accordance with the received transmission request, and the reference position information corresponding thereto are transmitted to the portable terminal. The portable terminal includes a position information retrieving device for retrieving portable terminal position information for specifying the position of the portable terminal, in which, when the information group and the reference position information are received in response to the transmission of the transmission request, the target information is selected from the received information group on the basis of the position relationship between the reference position which is specified by the received reference position information, and the position which is specified by the portable terminal position information retrieved by the position information retrieving device.

With this structure, in the portable terminal, the transmission request for the target information can be transmitted to the registration terminal such as by user's operation.

In the registration terminal, when the transmission request is received, an information group in accordance with the received transmission request, and the reference position information corresponding thereto can be transmitted to the portable terminal.

In the portable terminal, the portable terminal position information can be retrieved by the position information retrieving device. When the information group and the reference position information is received, the target information can be selected from the received information group on the basis of the position relationship between the reference position which is specified by the received reference position information, and the position which is specified by the retrieved portable terminal position information.

According to an information providing system of the present invention, the registration terminal can include a storage device for storing the information group, which is correlated with the reference position information, and for storing program data, in which, when a transmission request for the target information is received, an information group in accordance with the received transmission request, the reference position information corresponding thereto, and the program data are transmitted to the portable terminal. The program data is program data which causes the portable terminal to execute the process of selecting the target information from the information group on the basis of the position relationship between the reference position which is specified by the reference position information, and the position which is specified by portable terminal position information for specifying the position of the portable terminal. The portable terminal can include a position information retrieving device for retrieving the portable terminal position information, in which, when the information group, the reference position information, and the program data are received in response to the transmission of the transmission request, the process is executed according to the received program data to select the target information.

With this structure, in the portable terminal, the transmission for the target information can be transmitted to the registration terminal such as by user's operation.

In the registration terminal, when the transmission request is received, an information in accordance with the received transmission request, the reference position information corresponding thereto, and a program data can be transmitted to the portable terminal.

In the portable terminal, the portable terminal position information can be retrieved by the position information retrieving device. When the information group, the reference position information, and the program data are received, the process is executed according to the received program data to thereby select the target information from the received information group on the basis of the position relationship between the reference position which is specified by the received reference position information, and the position which is specified by the retrieved portable terminal position information.

According to an information providing system of the present invention, the information group can include a first target information and a second target information having more detailed content than the first target information, which are associated with each other; and in the selection of the target information. The first target information can be selected from the information group if a distance from the reference position which is specified by the reference position information to the position which is specified by the portable terminal position information is within a first predetermined range. The second target information can be selected from the information group if a distance from the reference position which is specified by the reference position information to the position which is specified by the portable terminal position information is within a second predetermined range which is smaller than the first predetermined rang