Information providing device, and method

Abstract

To provide an information providing device that efficiently and effectively uses an application in and functions of a terminal at hand to provide information, and a method for providing the provided information to a user terminal.SOLUTION: In an information providing system, a server specifies, according to provider identification information transmitted from a terminal of a user, predetermined provided information provided by an information provider identified from the provider identification information, and transmits information including the predetermined provided information to a terminal of a user who has transmitted the provider identification information to start up a predetermined application and bring the user terminal into a display state in which the predetermined provided information can be stored.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information providing device and method. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there has been an information provision system equipped with a contactless reader / writer that reads and writes data from and to mobile terminals and the like in a contactless manner, and a server that communicates with the mobile terminals. An address for accessing the server is stored in the contactless reader / writer, and when the contactless reader / writer detects a mobile terminal, the address and a browser startup command are sent to the mobile terminal, causing the mobile terminal to start a browser and access the address, and displaying information (content) corresponding to the address on the browser already started on the mobile terminal that originated the access (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-210368 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, handheld terminals such as mobile terminals generally have the ability to use not only a browser but also multiple applications and multiple functions. However, in conventional information provision systems, information provided by a server is displayed on the browser. For this reason, the system is limited to providing information that can be displayed on the browser, and it is not possible to efficiently and effectively utilize other applications and functions.

[0005] The present invention has been devised in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an information providing device and method that provide information by efficiently and effectively utilizing applications and functions of a terminal at hand. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] (1) An information providing device (e.g., a server 200) that manages provided information (e.g., provider information, FIG. 4) provided by an information provider in association with provider identification information (e.g., a provider ID, an address) for identifying any one of a plurality of information providers (e.g., providers), and that can provide the provided information to a user terminal, the provided information includes predetermined provided information (e.g., contact information) that is stored in a predetermined application (e.g., a contact application, a schedule management application, etc.) that can be activated on the user terminal and thereby made available in the predetermined application, A means for identifying predetermined provided information provided by an information provider identified from a provider identification information transmitted from a user terminal (e.g., a user terminal) (e.g., t22 in FIG. 5 ); The method includes a first providing means for transmitting information including the specified provided information identified by the identification means to the user terminal that sent the provider identification information, thereby performing processing to launch the specified application in the user terminal and bring the specified provided information into a display state in which it can be stored (e.g., a page response at t23 in Figure 5, a process of transmitting contact information of an identifier corresponding to the specified application, etc.).

[0007] According to this configuration, by transmitting predetermined provided information, which is information provided by an information provider identified from the provider identification information transmitted from the user terminal and is used in a predetermined application, the predetermined application can be started and the predetermined provided information can be displayed in a state in which it can be stored. This makes it possible to provide the predetermined provided information by efficiently and effectively utilizing the predetermined application of the user terminal, and to make it available in the predetermined application without requiring the user to take the trouble of performing an input operation or the like.

[0008] (2) In the above (1), the provided information includes specific provided information (e.g., push notification content, transmission information, etc.) that can be provided in response to a request from an information provider, A storage means (e.g., t26 in FIG. 5, step S12 in FIG. 11) for storing terminal identification information (e.g., a device token) for identifying the user terminal, the terminal identification information being information from the user terminal that transmitted the provider identification information, in association with the provider identification information; and a second providing means (e.g., FIG. 8 and FIG. 9) which performs processing to display specific provided information of the information provider in a user terminal identified from terminal identification information corresponding to the provider identification information of the information provider in response to a request from the information provider.

[0009] According to this configuration, in response to a request from an information provider, specific provided information can be provided to a user terminal that has provided the predetermined provided information from the information provider, thereby improving convenience for the information provider.

[0010] (3) In the above (2), the processing performed by the first providing means includes a processing for allowing a user terminal to set whether or not to permit provision of specific provided information from an information provider identified from the provider identification information (e.g., a processing for responding with a page of a permission / denial setting screen at t23 in FIG. 5 ), and a processing for enabling the user terminal of a source of the provider identification information to display the predetermined provided information (e.g., a processing for transmitting contact information at t23 in FIG. 5 ), The terminal identification information stored in the storage means is terminal identification information transmitted from the user terminal in response to permission being set in the user terminal (see t25 and t26 in FIG. 5 and FIG. 11).

[0011] According to this configuration, the specific provided information is provided to the user terminals that have been permitted to use the information provided by the information provider, and it is therefore possible to prevent the specific provided information from being unilaterally provided against the user's will.

[0012] (4) In the above (2), the request from the information provider includes specific information to be provided in response to the request (for example, setting-related information for specifying a standard phrase, setting-related information when the content of a direct notification is entered, etc.).

[0013] According to this configuration, the specific information to be provided is transmitted when a request is made, thereby improving convenience for the information provider.

[0014] (5) In the above (2), the request from the information provider includes information for making it possible to identify the terminal identification information providing the specific provided information among the terminal identification information corresponding to the provider identification information of the information provider (for example, setting-related information for setting the destination in Figure 9(a)).

[0015] According to this configuration, since the user terminal to which the specific information to be provided is to be transmitted can be selected at the time of making a request, convenience for the information provider can be improved.

[0016] (6) In the above (2), the provided information includes a plurality of kinds of subordinate related information (e.g., business card information) relating to the business type in which the information provider is engaged or the company to which the information provider belongs; When a user who owns a user terminal that is a source of the provider identification information is one of the plurality of information providers, the storage means stores the terminal identification information of the user terminal and the provider identification information of the information provider in association with each other (for example, see step S14 of FIG. 11 and FIG. 12(a)); The request from the information provider includes condition information for specifying a condition for at least one of the plurality of types of dependent related information (for example, setting related information when selecting a business card information item and setting a condition when setting a destination in FIG. 9(a)), The processing performed by the second providing means includes processing for identifying terminal identification information that matches the conditions specified by the condition information as the destination terminal identification information based on multiple types of dependent related information of the information provider identified from the provider identification information stored in association with the terminal identification information of the information provider among the terminal identification information corresponding to the provider identification information of the information provider (for example, processing for extracting users that match the conditions specified by operating the ``Search by narrowing down conditions'' icon in Figure 9(a)).

[0017] According to this configuration, the dependent related information can be effectively utilized to set the terminal identification information that matches the condition specified by the condition information as the provision destination. Therefore, it is possible to narrow down the user terminals to which the information provider wishes to transmit based on the dependent related information in accordance with the specific provision information transmitted by the information provider, thereby improving the convenience of the information provider.

[0018] (7) In the above (2), the process performed by the first providing means includes a process (e.g., step S12 in FIG. 11) of managing multiple types of process-related information (e.g., date and time and location information in FIG. 7) for identifying any one of the date, time, and place (location) at which the process was performed, The request from the information provider includes condition information for specifying a condition for at least one of the multiple types of process-related information (for example, setting-related information when setting a condition by selecting a date and time and a location when setting a destination in FIG. 9(a)), The processing performed by the second providing means includes processing for identifying, from among the terminal identification information corresponding to the provider identification information of the information provider, terminal identification information that matches the conditions specified by the condition information based on the processing-related information as the terminal identification information of the destination (for example, processing for extracting users that match the conditions specified by operating the "select from permission time information" icon in Figure 9(a)).

[0019] According to this configuration, the process-related information can be effectively utilized to set the terminal identification information that matches the conditions specified by the condition information as the provision destination. Therefore, it is possible to narrow down the user terminals to which the information provider wishes to send the process-related information according to the specific provision information transmitted by the information provider, thereby improving the convenience of the information provider.

[0020] (8) In the above (2), the process performed by the first providing means includes a process for displaying a performance image related to the reception of the predetermined provided information before displaying the predetermined provided information (for example, t27 in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6(c)), The first providing means performs a process for displaying the predetermined provided information after displaying the performance image in the user terminal that is a sender of the provider identification information.

[0021] According to this configuration, the predetermined provided information is displayed after the user is made aware that the predetermined provided information is being received, so that the user can easily understand the situation.

[0022] (9) In the above (2), the display state is a pre-storage state in which the predetermined provision information is not stored so as to be usable in the predetermined application (for example, FIG. 6(e)).

[0023] According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the predetermined provided information from being stored so as to be usable in a predetermined application without confirmation.

[0024] (10) In the above (2), the information including the predetermined provision information transmitted by the first providing means is information of an identifier for identifying the predetermined application.

[0025] According to this configuration, a predetermined application can be started in a user terminal that has received information including the predetermined provision information, and the predetermined provision information can be input and brought into a display state in which it can be stored.

[0026] (11) An information providing device (e.g., a server 200) that manages provided information (e.g., provider information, FIG. 4) provided by an information provider in association with provider identification information (e.g., a provider ID, an address) for identifying any one of a plurality of information providers (e.g., providers), and that can provide the provided information to a user terminal, The provided information includes predetermined provided information (e.g., contact information) that is stored in a predetermined application (e.g., a contact application, a schedule management application, etc.) that can be activated on the user terminal and made available in the predetermined application, and specific provided information (e.g., notification content of a push notification, outgoing information, etc.) that can be provided in response to a request from an information provider, a first providing means for performing processing for identifying predetermined provision information corresponding to the provider identification information transmitted from a user terminal (e.g., a user terminal) and providing the information to the user terminal that transmitted the provider identification information (e.g., a page response at t22 and t23 in FIG. 5, a processing for transmitting contact information of an identifier corresponding to a predetermined application, etc.); A storage means (e.g., t26 in FIG. 5, step S12 in FIG. 11) for storing terminal identification information (e.g., a device token) for identifying the user terminal, the terminal identification information being information from the user terminal that transmitted the provider identification information, in association with the provider identification information; and a second providing means (e.g., FIG. 8 and FIG. 9) which performs processing to display specific provided information of the information provider in a user terminal identified from terminal identification information corresponding to the provider identification information of the information provider in response to a request from the information provider.

[0027] According to this configuration, the predetermined provided information can be provided by efficiently utilizing a predetermined application of the user terminal, and can be made available in the predetermined application without requiring the user to perform input operations, etc. Also, the convenience of the information provider can be improved.

[0028] (12) A method (for example, a method for controlling a server 200) for managing provided information (for example, provider information, FIG. 4) provided by an information provider in association with provider identification information (for example, a provider ID, an address) for identifying any one of a plurality of information providers (for example, providers), and for enabling the provided information to be provided to a user terminal, comprising: the provided information includes predetermined provided information (e.g., contact information) that is stored in a predetermined application (e.g., a contact application, a schedule management application, etc.) that can be activated on the user terminal and thereby made available in the predetermined application, A step of identifying predetermined provided information provided by an information provider identified from the provider identification information transmitted from a user terminal (e.g., a user terminal) (e.g., t22 in FIG. 5 ); The method further includes a step of transmitting information including the specified provided information identified in the identification step to the user terminal that sent the provider identification information, thereby performing processing to launch the specified application in the user terminal and bring the specified provided information into a display state in which it can be stored (e.g., a page response at t23 in Figure 5, a process of transmitting contact information of an identifier corresponding to the specified application, etc.).

[0029] According to this configuration, by transmitting predetermined provided information, which is information provided by an information provider identified from the provider identification information transmitted from the user terminal and is used in a predetermined application, the predetermined application can be started and the predetermined provided information can be displayed in a state in which it can be stored. This makes it possible to provide the predetermined provided information by efficiently and effectively utilizing the predetermined application of the user terminal, and to make it available in the predetermined application without requiring the user to take the trouble of performing an input operation or the like.

[0030] (13) A method (e.g., a method for controlling a server 200) for managing provided information (e.g., provider information, FIG. 4) provided by an information provider in association with provider identification information (e.g., a provider ID, an address) for identifying any one of a plurality of information providers (e.g., providers), and for enabling the provided information to be provided to a user terminal, comprising: The provided information includes predetermined provided information (e.g., contact information) that is stored in a predetermined application (e.g., a contact application, a schedule management application, etc.) that can be activated on the user terminal and made available in the predetermined application, and specific provided information (e.g., notification content of a push notification, outgoing information, etc.) that can be provided in response to a request from an information provider, In response to provider identification information transmitted from a user terminal (e.g., a user terminal), a process is performed to identify predetermined provision information corresponding to the provider identification information and provide the information to the user terminal that transmitted the provider identification information (e.g., a page response at t22 and t23 in FIG. 5, a process of transmitting contact information of an identifier corresponding to a predetermined application, etc.); a step of storing terminal identification information (e.g., a device token) for identifying the user terminal, the terminal identification information being information from the user terminal that transmitted the provider identification information, in association with the provider identification information (e.g., t26 in FIG. 5 and step S12 in FIG. 11); The method includes a step of performing processing (e.g., Figures 8 and 9) in response to a request from an information provider, to display specific provided information of the information provider on a user terminal identified from terminal identification information corresponding to the provider identification information of the information provider.

[0031] According to this configuration, the predetermined provided information can be provided by efficiently utilizing a predetermined application of the user terminal, and can be made available in the predetermined application without requiring the user to perform input operations, etc. Also, the convenience of the information provider can be improved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0032] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an information providing system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a terminal. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the flow from when a provider registers provider information to when an IC card or the like is issued. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example (part) of items registered as provider information. [Diagram 5] This figure explains the process of using a user's terminal to read a provider's two-dimensional barcode or hold it over an IC card, and then displaying the provider's provider information (part of the business card information) in a contacts app. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a display example of the user's terminal 100 corresponding to a flow up to a display state in which provider information (part of business card information) of the provider is input on a contacts application. [Figure 7] 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a push notification enabled user identification table for identifying a user who has been granted permission to a provider and is therefore enabled to receive push notifications. FIG. [Figure 8] This section explains how a provider sets the content of a push notification and how the push notification is sent. [Figure 9]FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a display example of the provider terminal 100 corresponding to the flow up to a push notification. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart for explaining a part of a provider login process. [Figure 11] 11 is a flowchart for explaining a part of a permission / rejection setting process. [Figure 12] 13 illustrates an example of a push notification enabled user identification table that has been updated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0033] The information providing system according to the present disclosure is a system that provides information by efficiently and effectively utilizing applications and functions of a terminal at hand. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the information providing system will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following examples, but is indicated by the claims, and it is intended that all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims are included in the present invention. In the following description, the same elements in the description of the drawings are given the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions will not be repeated.

[0034] <Hardware configuration of the information provision system> 1 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an information providing system 1. The information providing system 1 includes a plurality of terminals 100 and a server 200. The plurality of terminals 100 and the server 200 can each be connected to each other for communication via a network 2, and can transmit and receive information (data) in both directions. The network 2 is composed of the Internet and various mobile communication systems constructed by wireless base stations (not shown). Examples of the mobile communication system include so-called 4G and 5G mobile communication systems, LTE (Long Term Evolution), and wireless networks (e.g., Wi-Fi (registered trademark)) that can be connected to the Internet via a predetermined access point.

[0035] The terminal 100 (computer, information processing device) may be, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, a feature phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or a tablet computer, or may be a general-purpose computer such as a stationary personal computer. The terminal 100 includes a terminal used by a provider who provides information, and a terminal used by a user who receives information. The terminal 100 is equipped (installed) with multiple types of applications including a browser for viewing web pages, a contacts application for registering contact information such as phone numbers and email addresses and making them available for phone calls, and a schedule management application for managing schedules.

[0036] 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the terminal 100. As shown in the figure, the terminal 100 includes a processor 101 constituting a control processing unit, a RAM 102 constituting a storage unit, a ROM 103, an EEPROM 104, a camera 105 converting an image captured by an image pickup element (e.g., a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) sensor, etc.) into a digital signal, a microphone 106 converting mechanical vibrations of a diaphragm or the like generated by sound waves into an electric signal, a speaker 107 outputting sound, a touch screen 108 having a display unit for displaying images and detecting touch operations on the display unit, an operation detection unit 109 detecting a pressing operation or the like from a user on a predetermined button (operation unit), a communication IF 110, an input / output IF 111, and a GPS (Global Positioning System) 112 for measuring the current position of the terminal. These components of the terminal 100 are electrically connected to each other by a communication bus. The communication IF 110 includes a NIC (Network Interface Controller) and a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) chip, etc. Terminal 100 has, for example, a function for reading information by capturing an image of a two-dimensional barcode with camera 105, and a function for reading information by performing short-distance wireless communication by holding a predetermined IC chip over communication IF 110. Terminal 100 may have an input / output IF to which a display (display unit) configured separately from terminal 100 main body can be connected instead of or in addition to touch screen 108. Terminal 100 is not limited to having all of the components shown in FIG. 2, and may not have some of the components (for example, camera 105, microphone 106, GPS 112, etc.), or may have other components.

[0037] The processor 101 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), etc. The processor 101, for example, loads a program stored in an EPROM 104 onto a RAM 102, receives data from a touch screen 108, an operation detection unit 109, a communication IF 110, etc. according to instructions from the program, calculates and processes the acquired data in a procedure defined by the program, and outputs the calculated and processed data to the EEPROM 104, the touch screen 108, the communication IF 110, etc.

[0038] 1, each of the servers 200 (computers, information processing devices) may be a general-purpose computer such as a workstation or a personal computer. The servers 200 include at least a processor, a memory, a storage, a communication IF, and an input / output IF, which are electrically connected to each other by a communication bus.

[0039] The server 200 is an information providing device that provides information. The server 200 may be configured by one server (information providing device), or may be configured by multiple servers (information providing devices) that cooperate with each other. The information provided includes a predetermined WEB page used to provide information and provider information related to the provider registered by the provider. The provider information includes, for example, the provider's personal contact information, a business card for self-introduction used for work or business, information including contents to be disclosed on a homepage, etc. (hereinafter, collectively referred to as business card information), and information that the provider wants to transmit by push notification (hereinafter, collectively referred to as transmission information). In addition, the predetermined WEB page provided by the server 200 includes, for example, a page for the provider to log in, a page for registering, editing, deleting, etc., provider information related to the provider, a page for providing business card information included in the provider information, and a page for setting push notification to provide transmission information by push notification.

[0040] In the information providing system of the present embodiment, the server 200 manages provider information related to the provider in response to access from the provider to the server 200. The provider is issued a two-dimensional barcode that can identify an address for identifying the provider information of the provider from the provider information managed by the server 200, or an IC card equipped with an IC chip (for example, compatible with short-distance wireless communication) that stores information that can identify the address. The provider makes the user to whom the provider wishes to provide his / her information read the issued two-dimensional barcode with the user's terminal 100, or holds the user's terminal 100 over (closes) the IC card. As a result, the terminal 100 communicates with the server 200 by starting a browser and accessing an address identified from the read information, receives the business card information of the provider managed at the address, starts a contact application of the terminal 100, and is in a display state in which information about the provider is input in correspondence with each item on the contact application based on the business card information. In the following, a flow from when the provider registers provider information using the terminal 100 to when the user's terminal 100 is in a display state in which information about the provider is input is described.

[0041] Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining the flow from when a provider registers provider information to when an IC card is issued, etc. The horizontal axis of Fig. 3 shows each component such as the provider's terminal and server 200, and the vertical axis shows the processing content of each component over time.

[0042] First, at t1, a web browser is launched on the terminal and a specific address is input, thereby transmitting a page request to the server 200. Upon receiving the page request, the server 200 responds with a specific login page (a screen for logging in) at t2. At t3, in response to the input on the login page, login information (e.g., account name, password, etc.) is transmitted to the server 200. Note that, when the provider logs in for the first time (when registering an account), the login information transmitted includes the device token of the terminal in addition to login information for setting the account name, password, etc. The device token is, for example, an ID for identifying the terminal and a specific application on the terminal (for example, a contacts app in this embodiment).

[0043] In the server 200, a provider login process is performed at t4. In the provider login process, for example, a provider is identified based on login information, and in the case of the first login as a provider, a provider ID and address for the provider are issued and stored in association with the login information, and a page for registering the provider information is responded to as shown in t5. In the terminal 100, a page for registering the provider information is displayed, and the provider information is input to a plurality of items and registration is selected, whereby input information for identifying the inputted contents is transmitted to the server 200 as shown in t6. In the server 200, a provider information registration process is performed to register (store) the inputted provider information in association with the address of the provider ID as shown in t7, and then a top page at the time of login is responded to as shown in t8. In this way, the provider information is registered in association with the provider ID and the address of the provider. Therefore, the provider information of the provider can be identified from the provider's address and provider ID.

[0044] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example (part) of items registered as provider information. The provider information is stored in a storage of the server 200 in association with an address determined for each provider ID. As shown in FIG. 4, items registered as provider information include personal information such as last name, last name (furigana), first name, first name (furigana), TEL (mobile), email, address, birthday, SNS link, arbitrary URL, and image data (face photo), as well as subordinate related information related to the business type in which the provider is engaged and the company to which the provider belongs, such as company, company (furigana), job title, TEL (company), company URL, company address, business type, number of years since establishment, number of employees, area, capital, sales, company SNS link, arbitrary URL, and company image data (company logo). Items registered as provider information also include login information such as provider ID, account name, and password, device token (multiple devices can be registered if multiple terminals are owned), registration date and time when the provider information was registered, update date and time when the provider information was updated, and fixed phrase information and transmission setting information related to push notification. Note that the items registered as the provider information are not limited to these, and may be a part of these or may include other items.

[0045] Returning to FIG. 3, in the case of the second or subsequent login in the provider login process at t4, a top page is responded as shown at t8. On the top page, it is possible to select whether to edit or delete provider information (e.g., personal information, subordinate related information, business card information, etc.) or to set the contents of push notification, depending on the operation on the terminal 100. When an operation such as editing or deleting provider information is performed, information for editing / deleting the provider information is transmitted to the server 200 as shown at t9. The server 200 performs a provider information update process at t10. In the provider information update process, the provider information (see FIG. 4) corresponding to the provider ID is updated in accordance with the information for editing / deleting the provider information, and a page for displaying the updated provider information is responded as shown at t11.

[0046] In addition, on the page for displaying the provider information, it is possible to issue an IC card or a two-dimensional barcode of the provider in response to an operation on the terminal 100. When an issuance operation is performed, as shown at t12, issuance request information for identifying an object selected by the provider to be issued is transmitted to the server 200. The server 200 performs an issuance process at t13. In the issuance process, if the object to be issued is a two-dimensional barcode, a two-dimensional barcode capable of identifying an address storing the provider information of the provider ID is generated, and a page for displaying the two-dimensional barcode is responded to. On the other hand, if the object to be issued is an IC card, information capable of identifying an address storing the provider information of the provider ID is written into an IC card with an IC chip by using a writing application, and the IC card is sent to the provider. This enables the provider to provide his / her provider information (such as business card information) to a user to whom the provider wishes to provide the information, by using the issued two-dimensional barcode or IC card. In addition, the system is not limited to generating and shipping an IC card with an address written on it, but may instead be such that a provider purchases an IC card, and an IC card with no address written on it is shipped to the provider, and the provider performs initial setup according to a predetermined procedure (a series of processes shown in Figure 3, such as creating an account, registering provider information, and writing an address to the IC card, or just the issuance process of writing the address to the IC card).

[0047] Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining a flow of reading a two-dimensional barcode of a provider using a user's terminal 100 or holding it over an IC card to input provider information (part of business card information) of the provider on a contacts application and displaying the provider information. The horizontal axis of Fig. 5 shows each component such as the user's terminal and server 200, and the vertical axis shows the processing content of each component over time. Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining a display example of the user's terminal 100 corresponding to the processing flow shown in Fig. 5.

[0048] First, at t20, the user uses the terminal 100 of the user to read the two-dimensional barcode of the provider or to hold it over an IC card, thereby starting a browser and sending a page request for the provider's address that was read to the server 200. FIG. 6(a) is an example of a display on the user's terminal 100 when the user uses the terminal 100 to hold an IC card. As shown in FIG. 6(a), an icon such as "Open WEB site "···.com"" (where "···" is the character string of the address) is displayed at the bottom of the screen, and by clicking on the icon, the browser is started and a page request for the provider's address that was read is sent to the server 200. Note that even when the user uses the terminal 100 to read the two-dimensional barcode of the provider, the icon shown in FIG. 6(a) may be displayed, and by clicking on the icon, the browser is started and a page request for the provider's address that was read may be sent to the server 200. In addition, without the need to display or click on an icon, the user may use terminal 100 to read the provider's two-dimensional barcode or hold it over an IC card, which will launch a browser and send a page request for the provider's address that was read to server 200.

[0049] Returning to FIG. 5, the server 200 performs a contact information specification process as shown at t22. In the contact information specification process, the server 200 specifies predetermined information (e.g., business card information) that can be input to a contact application from among the provider information stored in the received address, generates contact information with an identifier (e.g., an identifier corresponding to saved data (save format) in the contact application and that starts the contact application in the receiving terminal. It is also an identifier for identifying the contact application) for activating the contact application and setting the display state in which the specified information is input for each corresponding item, and transmits the contact information to the terminal 100 of the user who made the page request together with a page response of the permission / denial setting screen as shown at t23. The server 200 constructs the contact information for each item using, for example, a code editor when generating the identifier of the contact information, and creates, modifies, saves, and updates the contact information with the specified identifier. The type of information that can be input to the contact application from among the provider information is predetermined. Note that the contact information is not limited to the information that is generated when the user's terminal accesses the provider information, but may be the information that is generated when the provider information is registered or updated, stored as one piece of the provider information, and read out when the user's terminal accesses the provider information.

[0050] In the user terminal 100, as shown at t24, a permission setting screen is displayed on the browser. The permission setting screen is a screen for setting whether or not to continuously receive information transmitted from the provider in the future. FIG. 6(b) is an example of the display of the permission setting screen in the user terminal 100. In the permission setting screen, as shown in FIG. 6(b), in addition to a message such as "Contacts will be downloaded," a window including an "Allow" icon and a "Do not allow" icon is displayed along with a message such as "You can receive information provided by the provider in the future. Do you want to allow this?" When either the "Allow" icon or the "Do not allow" icon is selected in the user terminal 100, permission information for specifying permission is transmitted to the server 200 as shown at t25. At this time, when the "Allow" icon is selected, a device token for specifying the terminal 100 is also transmitted to the server 200 in order to receive information from the provider in the future. When the “Allow” icon is selected, the current location information (information specifying the latitude and longitude) specified by the GPS 112 of the user's terminal 100 may also be transmitted to the server 200.

[0051] In the server 200, permission / rejection setting processing is performed as shown at t26. In the permission / rejection setting processing, if permission is granted based on the permission information, the device token of the terminal 100 of the user that received the contact information is stored in association with the provider ID so that push notifications can be sent from the provider thereafter. In addition, in the permission / rejection setting processing, the date and time when the device token was received (which is also the date and time when the provider information was provided) and, if location information has been received, the location information are stored in association with the device token. Note that, in the permission / rejection setting processing, no processing is performed if permission is denied.

[0052] 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of a push notification enabled user identification table for identifying a user who has been permitted to receive push notifications from a provider. The push notification enabled user identification table is stored in a predetermined area of ​​the storage of the server 200. As shown in FIG. 7, the push notification enabled user identification table stores and updates the device token, date and time, and location information of the terminal of the user who has permitted push notifications from the provider for each provider ID. Note that information such as the device token, date and time, and location information of the terminal of the user who has permitted push notifications from the provider is not limited to information stored in the push notification enabled user identification table, and may be stored in association with the address of the provider.

[0053] Returning to FIG. 5, after performing the permission / denial setting process, the server 200 transmits a page response for download performance to the user's terminal 100 as shown at t27. As a result, in the user terminal 100, the permission / denial setting screen is switched to a download performance screen on the browser as shown at t28. The download performance screen is a screen that performs a performance to visually and easily notify that the provider's contact information is being downloaded. FIG. 6(c) is a display example of the download performance screen on the user's terminal 100. As shown in FIG. 6(c), a business card image imitating a business card including provider information such as "AAA Corporation, job title BBB, name CCDD" is displayed large at the top of the screen, and the business card image is gradually reduced and enters an icon image corresponding to an icon for starting a contact application displayed at the bottom of the screen (see dotted arrow). The download performance is performed for a predetermined time (for example, 1.5 seconds), and then the browser is closed and a contact application display process is performed as shown at t29.

[0054] In the contact application display process, based on the contact information (identifier of the contact information) received at t23, the operating system of the terminal identifies the identifier of the contact information, starts the contact application via file association, and performs a process for displaying the received contact information in a state in which the contact information is entered in the corresponding item field on the contact registration screen when registering a contact in the contact application (a state in which the contact information is not saved in the contact application). The contact application display process may be performed when the contact information (identifier of the contact information) is received. In this case, the contact application may be started on the user's terminal 100 in response to the reception of the contact information (identifier of the contact information), and the received contact information is entered in the corresponding item field on the contact registration screen when registering a contact in the contact application, while the browser screen may be displayed in a higher layer than the contact registration screen, and the browser may be closed after the download performance is completed to display the contact registration screen of the contact application in the lower layer.

[0055] 6(d) and 6(e) are display examples of the contact registration screen by the contact application display process. Note that FIG. 6(e) is a display example when a downward swipe operation is performed from the screen of FIG. 6(d). As shown in FIG. 6(d) and FIG. 6(e), for each item on the contact registration screen of the contact application, an image, name, contact information, place of employment, and other information are displayed in a state where they are input based on the contact information. As shown in FIG. 6(d) and FIG. 6(e), the contact information transmitted from the server 200 is configured so that the information stored by the provider can be identified for each item that can be input in the contact application.

[0056] Also, as shown in Fig. 6(e), the "Create new contact" icon and the "Add to existing contact" icon of the contacts application are displayed, and by operating these icons, the data is saved as usable data in the contacts application and can be used in the contacts application thereafter. The provider information provided to the user's terminal using the two-dimensional barcode or IC card is a part of the provider information shown in Fig. 4.

[0057] In the information providing system of this embodiment, the provider can push notify any information at any timing to users who have received contact information from the provider and who have been authorized in FIG. 6(b). In addition, if the authorized user has registered provider information as the provider, the provider information of the user can be used to narrow down the notification destinations of the push notification. In the following, with reference to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, a flow from when the provider sets the content to be pushed notified to when the push notification is sent will be described. The horizontal axis of FIG. 8 shows each component such as the provider's terminal and the server 200, and the vertical axis shows the processing content of each component over time. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a display example of the provider's terminal 100 corresponding to the processing flow shown in FIG. 8.

[0058] The flow from t30 to t33 is the same as that from t1 to t4 in FIG. 3. That is, in response to a page request from the provider's terminal, a predetermined login screen page is responded, and provider login processing is performed in response to login information from the provider's terminal. Note that in FIG. 8, since the content to be pushed is set, it is assumed that at least the second login or later has occurred, and at t34, a top page is responded, and an operation to set the content of the push notification is performed on the top page. When an operation to set the content of the push notification is performed, push notification setting start information is transmitted to the server 200 as shown in t35. The server 200 responds with a page for push notification setting at t36. As a result, a push notification setting screen is displayed on the provider's terminal 100 as shown in t37.

[0059] Fig. 9(a) is a display example of the top page of the push notification setting screen on the provider terminal 100. As shown in Fig. 9(a), below the heading "Push notification setting", there are displayed a "Destination setting" field for setting the destination, a "Notification content setting" field for setting the content of the notification such as text or data, and a "Notification date and time setting" field for setting the date and time of notification.

[0060] On the push notification setting screen, setting-related information corresponding to an operation from the provider for setting the destination, notification content, and notification date and time in a "Destination Setting" column, a "Notification Content Setting" column, a "Notification Date and Time Setting" column, and the like is transmitted to the server 200 as shown at t38. At t39, the server 200 extracts information corresponding to the setting-related information and responds with a page or the like that enables the information to be identified. As a result, a screen corresponding to the operation from the provider is displayed on the provider's terminal 100 as shown at t40.

[0061] For example, the "Destination Setting" field shown in FIG. 9(a) displays a "Search with Narrowed Conditions" icon, a "Select from Friend List" icon, a "Select from Information at Permission" icon, and a list of destinations currently set (selected) as destinations. The "Search with Narrowed Conditions" icon is an icon for setting narrowing conditions and searching for users who meet the conditions by utilizing provider information registered by the user among users who have permitted the device token to the provider when receiving contact information and who have registered themselves as providers. Setting-related information according to operations on these icons is transmitted to the server 200, and a page including information according to the setting-related information is returned from the server 200. The page including information according to the setting-related information from the server 200 includes the screen shown in FIG. 9 as well as the screens described below.

[0062] When the "Search with narrowed conditions" icon is operated, a first modal window is displayed superimposed on the push notification setting screen, allowing the selection of a condition from among the items shown in FIG. 4 (including items not included in the contact information). In the first modal window, for example, a pull-down menu that allows the selection of the items shown in FIG. 4 is displayed, a target item is selected from among these, and a pull-down menu that allows the selection of a condition corresponding to the selected item is displayed, and a target condition is selected from among these. For example, when the "Industry" item is selected, a pull-down menu that allows the selection from general major classifications of industries such as "Manufacturing", "Construction", "Transportation", "Commerce", etc. is displayed, and when "Construction" is selected, the server 200 performs processing to extract users who have registered "Construction" in "Industry" from among users who have authorized the provider based on the provider information of the user himself (for example, personal information, subordinate related information, business card information) and respond to the provider's terminal. When the "capital" item is selected, a pull-down menu is displayed that allows the selection of major categories of capital, such as "less than 1 million yen," "1 million to less than 10 million yen," and "10 million to less than 30 million yen." When "10 million to less than 30 million yen" is selected, the server 200 performs processing to extract users who have registered "capital" amounts that fall within the range of "10 million to less than 30 million yen" based on the provider information (business card information) of the user from among users who have authorized the provider, and to respond to the provider's terminal. Note that the search is not limited to selecting one item, but multiple items may be selected to extract users who match all of the items, or multiple items may be selected to extract users who match any of the items.

[0063] The "select from friend list" icon is an icon that extracts users who have permitted a device token to a provider when contact information was received and who are registered as providers by the user themselves, and who have permitted the device token of the provider who has set up push notification, that is, users who have permitted device tokens reciprocally. When the "select from friend list" icon is operated, the server 200 performs processing to extract users who have permitted device tokens reciprocally and display a second modal window including the extracted users superimposed on the push notification setting screen. In the second modal window, for example, a list of the extracted users is displayed.

[0064] The "select from permission information" icon is an icon for extracting users based on the date and time and location at the time of permission, among users who permitted the provider to send a device token when contact information was received. When the "select from permission information" icon is operated, a third modal window in which permission information can be selected is displayed superimposed on the push notification setting screen. In the third modal window, for example, a pull-down menu is displayed that allows the user to select whether to search by date and time or location, and a pull-down menu is displayed that allows the user to select a condition corresponding to the selected content, and the user selects the target condition from among these. For example, when "date and time" is selected, a pull-down menu is displayed that allows the user to select values ​​corresponding to "year", "month", "day", "hour", "minute", "morning", "afternoon", etc., and the server 200 performs processing to extract users who match the value selected as the permitted date and time based on the date and time information and respond to the provider's terminal. Also, when "location" is selected, a mark image that can specify a selectable "location" (based on registered location information) is displayed superimposed on a map image, and the server 200 performs processing to extract users who match the location of the selected mark image based on the location information and respond to the provider's terminal. In addition, it is possible to select both the date and time and the location and extract users who match both items, and it is also possible to select both the date and time and the location and extract users who match either item.

[0065] In the first to third modal windows, if the extracted user is a provider, the user's first and last names may be displayed, or other items such as company may be displayed instead of or in addition to this, and if the user is not a provider, information that can identify the user's device token, the date and time of permission, and location may be displayed. In addition, it may be possible to select whether or not to set one of the extracted users as an actual destination (for example, to select not to send). When a confirmation operation or the like is performed in each of the first to third modal windows, the modal window is hidden, and the user is added to the destination list in FIG. 9 as a user currently set (selected) as a destination. In the destination list, the extracted user is also displayed in the same manner as in the modal window, and it may be possible to select whether or not to set the user as an actual destination.

[0066] The "Notification content settings" field displays the "Edit template" icon, "Template 1" icon, "Template 2" icon, "Template 3" icon, a notification content field for displaying and updating the notification content, and a "Select attachment data" icon for attaching data.

[0067] When the "Edit template" icon is operated, the display transitions to a template edit screen for editing the template (including the initial default template) that the provider has created and stored in advance. FIG. 9(b) is an example of the template edit screen displayed on the provider's terminal 100. On the template edit screen, as shown in FIG. 9(b), a template 1 column, a template 2 column, a template 3 column, and an "Update" icon are displayed below the character string "Edit template". In the template 1 to 3 columns, the title, the text of the template, etc. are displayed, and the text can be edited according to operations in the columns. The template is stored as template information for each provider ID. When editing is completed, the template is updated by selecting the "Update" icon, and the display transitions to FIG. 9(a).

[0068] When any of the "Fixed Text 1", "Fixed Text 2", and "Fixed Text 3" icons is operated, the fixed text (received from the server 200) corresponding to the operated icon is displayed in the notification content field below. Also, depending on the operation in the notification content field, the notification content can be edited or the notification content can be entered directly without using a fixed text. By operating the "Select Attachment Data" icon, a window for selecting the data to be attached is displayed, and the data to be attached can be selected.

[0069] In the "Notification date and time setting" field, a pull-down menu is displayed that allows the selection of values ​​corresponding to "year", "month", "day", "hour", and "minute", and the date and time of notification can be set. After completing various settings, the "send reservation" icon is operated to transition to a confirmation screen regarding the setting contents. FIG. 9(c) is an example of a display of a confirmation screen on the provider's terminal 100. As shown in FIG. 9(c), the confirmation screen displays the set sending date and time, a list of destinations, the sending contents, and the file name of the attached data. When the "send setting" icon is operated on that screen, as shown in t41, sending setting information for identifying the set contents is sent to the server 200. At t42, the server 200 updates and stores information corresponding to the sending setting information as push notification setting information, and at t43, responds with a page indicating that the push notification setting has been completed. Furthermore, when the server 200 determines that the set notification date and time has arrived, as shown in t44, it sends the notification contents based on the push notification setting information to the terminal of the user that is the destination. As a result, the notification content set by the provider is pushed to the device of the user who has permitted the provider to provide information. On the other hand, when the "Back" icon in Figure 9(c) is operated, the user can return to the push notification setting screen and make settings again. Note that push notification setting information that has been set can be deleted or updated according to the operation of the provider.

[0070] In this embodiment, in order to streamline the process of identifying users authorized in FIG. 6(b) among users who have received contact information from a provider, for example, the provider ID of the user who sent the device token is registered together with the device token registered in association with the provider ID. In FIG. 7, for example, the provider ID "Y" corresponding to the device token is registered together with the device token "yyyyy..." corresponding to the provider ID "A". Also, when provider information is registered from a new provider (when a provider ID is issued), if a device token from that provider has already been registered as a device token of an authorized user in association with any other provider, the provider ID of that provider is registered together with the device token. The contents of these processes are described below.

[0071] Fig. 10 is a flow chart for explaining a part of the provider login process explained at t4 in Fig. 3 and t33 in Fig. 8. In step S01, it is determined whether or not it is the first login as a provider based on the received login information. If it is determined in step S01 that it is the first login, in step S02, a provider ID and address of the provider are issued and a page for information registration is responded to.

[0072] In step S03, the device token of the provider's terminal is stored in association with the issued provider ID. In step S04, it is determined whether the received device token has already been registered as the user's device token in the push notification enabled user identification table of Fig. 7. If it is determined in step S04 that the device token has already been registered, in step S05, the currently issued provider ID is stored in association with the device token registered in the push notification enabled user identification table of Fig. 7.

[0073] On the other hand, if it is not determined in step S04 that the user is registered, the provider login process is terminated. If it is not determined in step S01 that the user is logging in for the first time, the login top page is displayed in step S06, and the provider login process is terminated.

[0074] Fig. 11 is a flowchart for explaining a part of the permission setting process described at t26 in Fig. 5. In step S11, it is determined whether or not permission information has been received as permission information. If it is determined in step S11 that permission information has been received, in step S12, the received device token, date and time, location information, etc. are stored in association with the provider ID of the provider of the contact information source in the push notification enabled user identification table in Fig. 7.

[0075] In step S13, it is determined whether the received device token has already been registered as a device token of any of the providers shown in Fig. 4. If it is determined in step S13 that the device token has already been registered, in step S14, the device token registered in the push notification enabled user identification table in Fig. 7 is stored in association with the provider ID that has registered the device token.

[0076] On the other hand, if it is not determined in step S13 that the information is registered, or if it is not determined in step S11 that information indicating permission has been received, the permission / rejection setting process is terminated.

[0077] FIG. 12 shows an example of the push notification available user identification table of FIG. 7 updated in step S05 of FIG. 10 or step S14 of FIG. 11. FIG. 12(a) shows a state of the push notification available user identification table shown in FIG. 7 updated in step S14 of FIG. 11 when a provider ID "E" (assuming that provider information has already been registered) receives and permits contact information of a provider ID "D" using a terminal with a device token "eeeee...". As shown in FIG. 12(a) (particularly the part shown in gray), in addition to the device token "eeeee...", date and time, and location information of the provider ID "E", "E" is stored as the provider ID in association with the provider ID "D". This allows the provider ID "D" to efficiently identify provider IDs "E" and "S" when setting up push notification. In addition, a search can be performed by narrowing down conditions by referring to provider information registered by the provider IDs "E" and "S".

[0078] FIG. 12(b) shows a state of the push notification enabled user identification table shown in FIG. 12(a) when a user logs in for the first time as a provider (provider ID "X") (registering new provider information) using a terminal with a device token "xxxxx..." already registered in association with provider IDs "A" and "D" and updated in step S05 of FIG. 10. As shown in FIG. 12(b) (particularly the part shown in gray), a newly issued provider ID "X" is stored in association with the device token "xxxxx..." already stored in association with provider IDs "A" and "D". This allows provider IDs "A" and "D" to efficiently identify a new provider ID "X" when setting up push notification. In addition, a search can be performed by narrowing down conditions by referring to the provider information registered by the new provider ID "X".

[0079] <Example of effect of the above embodiment> (1) In the information providing system according to the above embodiment, the server 200 transmits contact information of a provider ID corresponding to the address as shown at t23 in response to a page request to the address as shown at t21 in Fig. 5, thereby activating a contact application on the terminal of the user who made the page request, and inputting the contact information into the corresponding fields to display a state in which the contact information can be saved, as shown in Fig. 6(d) etc. This makes it possible to provide the contact information of the provider by efficiently and effectively utilizing the contact application on the user's terminal, and to save and make the information available in the contact application without requiring the user to take the trouble of performing an input operation or the like.

[0080] (2) Furthermore, as shown in t26 in Fig. 5 and step S12 in Fig. 11, when the server 200 receives a device token for identifying the user's terminal when receiving a page request to the address, it stores the token in association with the provider ID and can display the notification content from the provider on the user's terminal identified by the device token in response to a request from the provider. This allows the provider to send any notification content to the user at their own timing, improving the convenience of the provider.

[0081] (3) Furthermore, the server 200 can allow the user to set on the user's terminal whether or not to permit provision of notification contents from the provider by responding with a page of the permission setting screen at t23 in Fig. 5, and stores the device token transmitted from the terminal of the user who has set the permission in association with the provider ID as shown in t25 and t26 in Fig. 5 and Fig. 11. This can prevent notification contents from being unilaterally provided from the provider against the user's will.

[0082] (4) In addition, a request from a provider is information for specifying the notification content to be provided in response to the request, and includes, for example, setting-related information for specifying a template, setting-related information when the notification content is directly input, etc. This allows the notification content to be sent when a request is made, thereby improving the convenience of the provider.

[0083] (5) In addition, a request from a provider includes setting-related information for setting the destination in the device token corresponding to the provider ID. This allows the provider to select the user's device to which the notification content is to be sent when making a request, improving convenience for the provider.

[0084] (6) The provider information managed by the server 200 includes multiple types of dependency-related information (business card information) related to the business type in which the provider is engaged or the company to which the provider belongs, and when the user who owns the terminal of the user who made the address page request is one of the multiple providers based on the device token, the server 200 stores the device token of the user's terminal in association with the provider ID and address of the provider, and the request from the provider includes condition information for specifying a condition related to at least one item of the multiple types of dependency-related information (for example, setting-related information when selecting an item of business card information and setting a condition when setting a destination in FIG. 9(a)), and the server 200 specifies, among the device tokens corresponding to the provider ID of the provider, a terminal having a device token that matches the condition specified by the condition information based on multiple types of dependency-related information of the provider ID stored in association with the device token, as a terminal to which the notification content is to be provided. This makes it possible to effectively utilize the dependency-related information and set a terminal having a device token that matches the condition specified by the condition information as a provision destination. Therefore, depending on the notification content to be transmitted by the provider, it is possible to narrow down the user terminals to which the provider wishes to transmit based on the dependency related information, thereby improving the convenience for the provider.

[0085] (7) The server 200 also stores information for specifying the date, time, and location (position) when the contact information was provided, and the request from the provider includes condition information for specifying at least one type of information for specifying the date, time, and location (position) (for example, setting related information when selecting the date, time, and location when setting the destination in FIG. 9(a) and setting conditions, etc.), and the server 200 specifies a terminal of a device token that matches the condition specified by the condition information based on the information for specifying the date, time, and location (position) among device tokens corresponding to the provider ID of the provider as a terminal to which the notification content is to be provided. This makes it possible to effectively utilize the information on the date, time, and location when the contact information was provided and set a terminal of a device token that matches the condition specified by the condition information as the destination. Therefore, it is possible to narrow down the terminals of users to whom the provider wants to send the notification based on the information on the date, time, and location when the contact information was provided, depending on the notification content to be sent by the provider, thereby improving the convenience of the provider.

[0086] (8) Furthermore, as shown at t27 in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6(c), the server 200 displays the contact information on the user's terminal after displaying a download effect image related to the reception of the contact information. This allows the user to easily understand the situation because the contact information is displayed after the user is made aware that the contact information has been received.

[0087] (9) In addition, as shown in FIG. 6(e), the state in which the contact information is displayed is a pre-storage state in which the contact information has not yet been stored in the contacts application. This prevents the contact information from being stored so that it can be used in the contacts application without the user having confirmed the contact information.

[0088] (10) In addition, the contact information transmitted to the user's terminal is identifier information for identifying and launching a contact application to be launched. This allows the contact application to be launched on the user's terminal that received the contact information, and the contact information can be input and displayed in a memorizable state.

[0089] <Modification> Modifications of the above-described embodiment are listed below.

[0090] (1) In the above embodiment, the information transmitted as the contact information is information corresponding to an item that can be registered in a contacts application among the provider information registered by the provider. However, the information transmitted as the contact information is not limited to this, and may be information corresponding to an item selected by the provider among the items that can be registered in a contacts application among the provider information registered by the provider.

[0091] (2) In the above embodiment, a two-dimensional barcode or an IC chip was given as an example of a medium for identifying the address of the provider. However, the present invention is not limited to these and any medium capable of short-range wireless communication may be used. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to a medium for identifying an address, but may be a medium that allows an address to be identified remotely by transmitting the address, for example, by email or a chat app.

[0092] (3) In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the device token of the terminal was used to determine whether the user (terminal) and the provider (terminal) are the same, but this is not limiting. In the case where the terminal has a telephone function, the determination may be made using a telephone number, and in the case where the terminal has an email function, the determination may be made using a registered email address. In this case, when permission is given at t25 in Fig. 5, the telephone number or email address may be transmitted and stored in association with the server 200.

[0093] (4) In the above embodiment, various notification contents are assumed, such as, for example, contents expressing gratitude for receiving the contact information, and contents that the provider wants to appeal or publicize for personal or business purposes. In the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which a push notification can be sent by the provider setting up the push notification, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a push notification with specific contents, such as contents expressing gratitude for receiving the contact information, may be automatically sent with preset notification contents within a predetermined period (for example, six hours, the next day, one week, etc.) from the time the contact information is received. For example, if the provider sets up automatic sending the day after sending the contact information, information preset by the provider, such as a thank you message or specific information (for example, an SNS link, or provider information not included in the contact information (such as industry or company SNS link)) may be automatically sent to the terminal of the user who has received the contact information and authorized the device token.

[0094] (5) In the above embodiment, an example is described in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 in which the permission / denial setting screen is displayed to allow permission / denial setting to be performed, and then the contacts application screen is displayed, but this is not limiting. For example, the permission / denial setting screen may be displayed to allow permission / denial setting to be performed after the contacts application screen is displayed and saved, and in this case, the permission / denial setting screen may be displayed to allow permission / denial setting to be performed only when the contacts application screen is displayed and saved. This makes it possible to prevent the permission / denial setting screen from being unnecessarily displayed for users who do not save contact information.

[0095] (6) In the above embodiment, a contacts app is exemplified as the predetermined application, but the application is not limited to this as long as it is an application that is installed or can be installed on the terminal, and may be, for example, a schedule management app that manages schedules. In addition, contact information is exemplified as the predetermined provided information provided using an IC card or a two-dimensional barcode, but the predetermined provided information may be schedule information for identifying a schedule to be entered into the schedule management app. In addition, the provider may be, for example, an operator of a sports gym or a restaurant, and may provide information including store holidays, business hours, events, discount days, etc. as schedule information, and provide information including event introductions and sale days as push notification content. In this case, the provider may have the user to whom the provider wishes to provide their own schedule information read a two-dimensional barcode with the user's terminal 100, or hold the user's terminal 100 over an IC card, which will then cause the terminal 100 to start a browser and access an address specified from the read information, thereby communicating with the server 200 and receiving the schedule information of the provider managed at that address, and may then start a schedule management app on the terminal 100, so that the schedule information regarding the provider is displayed based on the schedule information and input in accordance with the date and day of the week on a calendar in the schedule management app.

[0096] (7) In the above embodiment, the server 200 transmits contact information that is an identifier corresponding to a contact application, thereby activating the contact application on the user's terminal and displaying the contact information as if it had been input. However, this is not limiting, and for example, when transmitting contact information whose identifier is not an identifier corresponding to a contact application, the server 200 may transmit the contact information and a command for activating the contact application to read the contact information, thereby activating the contact application on the user's terminal and displaying the contact information as if it had been input. [Explanation of symbols]

[0097] 1 information system, 2 networks, 100 terminals, 200 servers.

Claims

1. 1. An information providing device that manages provided information provided by an information provider in association with provider identification information for identifying any one of a plurality of information providers, and is capable of providing the provided information to a user terminal, comprising: the provided information includes predetermined provided information that can be used in a predetermined application that can be activated on the user terminal by being stored in the predetermined provided information, a specifying means for specifying, in response to provider identification information transmitted from a user terminal, predetermined provided information provided by an information provider identified from the provider identification information; and a first providing means for transmitting information including the specified provided information identified by the identification means to a user terminal that has sent the provider identification information, thereby performing processing to launch the specified application in the user terminal and bring the specified provided information into a display state in which it can be stored.

2. The provided information includes specific provided information that can be provided in response to a request from an information provider, a storage means for storing terminal identification information for identifying the user terminal, the terminal identification information being information from the user terminal that is a source of the provider identification information, in association with the provider identification information; and a second providing means for performing processing for displaying specific provided information of the information provider in a user terminal identified from terminal identification information corresponding to the provider identification information of the information provider in response to a request from the information provider.

3. the processing performed by the first providing means includes a processing for causing a user terminal to perform a setting as to whether or not to permit provision of specific provided information from an information provider identified from the provider identification information, and a processing for enabling the predetermined provided information to be displayed on a user terminal that is a source of transmission of the provider identification information, 3. The information providing device according to claim 2, wherein the terminal identification information stored in said storage means is terminal identification information transmitted from said user terminal in response to permission being set in said user terminal.

4. 3. The information providing device according to claim 2, wherein the request from the information provider includes specific information to be provided in response to the request.

5. 3. The information providing device according to claim 2, wherein the request from the information provider includes information for making it possible to identify terminal identification information that provides the specific provided information, among terminal identification information corresponding to the provider identification information of the information provider.

6. The provided information includes a plurality of types of dependent related information related to the business in which the information provider is engaged or the company to which the information provider belongs; the storage means, when a user who owns a user terminal that is a source of the provider identification information is one of the plurality of information providers, stores terminal identification information of the user terminal and provider identification information of the information provider in association with each other; the request from the information provider includes condition information for specifying a condition regarding at least one type of the plurality of types of dependent related information; The information providing device according to claim 2, wherein the processing performed by the second providing means includes processing for identifying terminal identification information that meets the conditions specified by the condition information as the terminal identification information of the recipient based on multiple types of dependent related information of the information provider identified from the provider identification information stored in association with the terminal identification information corresponding to the provider identification information of the information provider.

7. The process performed by the first providing means includes a process of managing a plurality of types of process-related information for identifying any one of a date, a time, and a place where the process was performed; the request from the information provider includes condition information for specifying a condition regarding at least one type of the plurality of types of processing-related information; The information providing device according to claim 2, wherein the processing performed by the second providing means includes processing for identifying, from among the terminal identification information corresponding to the provider identification information of the information provider, terminal identification information that meets the conditions specified by the condition information based on the processing-related information, as the terminal identification information of the recipient.

8. The process performed by the first providing means includes a process for displaying a performance image related to reception of the predetermined provided information before displaying the predetermined provided information, The information providing device according to claim 2 , wherein the first providing means performs processing for displaying the predetermined provided information after displaying the performance image in the user terminal that is a source of the provider identification information.

9. 2 . The information providing device according to claim 1 , wherein the display state is a pre-storage state in which the predetermined provided information is not stored so as to be usable in the predetermined application.

10. 2. The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein the information including the predetermined provision information transmitted by the first providing means is information of an identifier for identifying the predetermined application.

11. 1. An information providing device that manages provided information provided by an information provider in association with provider identification information for identifying any one of a plurality of information providers, and is capable of providing the provided information to a user terminal, comprising: the provided information includes predetermined provided information that can be used in a predetermined application that can be activated on a user terminal by being stored in the predetermined application, and specific provided information that can be provided in response to a request from an information provider, a first providing means for performing processing for identifying predetermined provision information corresponding to the donor identification information transmitted from the user terminal and providing the predetermined provision information to the user terminal which is a source of the donor identification information; a storage means for storing terminal identification information for identifying the user terminal, the terminal identification information being information from the user terminal that is a source of the provider identification information, in association with the provider identification information; and a second providing means for performing processing to display specific provided information of the information provider in response to a request from the information provider on a user terminal identified from terminal identification information corresponding to the provider identification information of the information provider.

12. A method for managing provided information provided by an information provider in association with provider identification information for identifying any one of a plurality of information providers, and for enabling the provided information to be provided to a user terminal, comprising the steps of: the provided information includes predetermined provided information that can be used in a predetermined application that can be activated on the user terminal by being stored in the predetermined provided information, A step of identifying, in response to provider identification information transmitted from the user terminal, predetermined provided information provided by an information provider identified from the provider identification information; and transmitting information including the specified provided information identified in the identification step to a user terminal that sent the provider identification information, thereby performing processing to launch the specified application in the user terminal and bring the specified provided information into a display state in which it can be stored.

13. A method for managing provided information provided by an information provider in association with provider identification information for identifying any one of a plurality of information providers, and for enabling the provided information to be provided to a user terminal, comprising the steps of: the provided information includes predetermined provided information that can be used in a predetermined application that can be activated on a user terminal by being stored in the predetermined application, and specific provided information that can be provided in response to a request from an information provider, performing a process of identifying predetermined provision information corresponding to the donor identification information transmitted from the user terminal and providing the information to the user terminal that is a source of the donor identification information; a step of storing terminal identification information, which is information from a user terminal that is a source of the provider identification information and is used to identify the user terminal, in association with the provider identification information; and in response to a request from an information provider, performing processing to display specific provided information of the information provider on a user terminal identified from terminal identification information corresponding to the provider identification information of the information provider.

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