Device and method for sharing information between users

Abstract

To provide a user-friendly device for sharing information between users.SOLUTION: A device 2 for sharing information between users shares information for assisting with transactions between a plurality of users, and comprises: a question reception section 21 that receives question information D1 from a terminal 3 of a user who issues a question; an answer reception section 22 that receives answer information D2 from a terminal 4 of a user who issues an answer to the question; an information for browsing management section 23 that associates the question information and the answer information and manages a result as information D3 for browsing; a browsing control section 25 that receives a browsing request from a terminal 5 of a user who wishes to browse the information for browsing, and on the basis of a browsing condition that has been set for the user who wishes to browse, transmits the information for browsing to the terminal of the user who wishes to browse; and a browsing condition management section 26 that manages the browsing condition for each user in accordance with a predetermined action of the user relating to the information for browsing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for sharing information among users. [Background technology]

[0002] A system has been proposed in which multiple companies work together to share business data such as the plans and results of each company's work (Patent Document 1).A system has also been proposed that allows questions and answers about technical information to be viewed within an authorized range (Patent Document 2).A system has also been proposed that extracts appropriate respondents according to the attributes of the questioner and the question (Patent Document 3). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2018 / 012375 [Patent Document 2] JP 2002-373096 A [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 5498309 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In Patent Document 1, "the inter-company information sharing system 10 performs appropriate access control according to the relationship between the company that registered the business data in the inter-company information sharing system 10 and the company that is trying to view the business data" (Patent Document 1, paragraph 0023). Patent Document 2 does not disclose how to gather questioners and answerers. Patent Document 3 is able to estimate and gather appropriate answerers, but does not disclose a method for gathering questioners.

[0005] Conventional techniques are unable to efficiently collect and share questions from questioners and answers from answerers.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for sharing information among users that is easy for users to use. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, a user-to-user information sharing device according to one aspect of the present invention is a user-to-user information sharing device that shares information to support transactions between multiple users, and includes a question receiving unit that receives question information from a terminal of a user among the multiple users who issues a question, a response receiving unit that receives response information from a terminal of a user among the multiple users who issues an answer to the question, a viewing information management unit that associates the question information with the response information and manages it as viewing information, a viewing control unit that receives a viewing request from a terminal of a user among the multiple users who wishes to view the viewing information, and transmits the viewing information requested to be viewed to the terminal of the user who wishes to view it based on viewing conditions set for the user who wishes to view it, and a viewing conditions management unit that manages the viewing conditions for each user in accordance with the user's specified behavior regarding the viewing information. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, viewing conditions can be managed for each user in accordance with the user's specified actions regarding the viewing information, and the viewing information requested can be sent to the terminal of the user wishing to view it based on the viewing conditions set for the user wishing to view it. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a functional configuration diagram of an entire system including a user information sharing device. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the user information sharing system. [Diagram 3] 1 is an example of a table for managing questions. [Figure 4] 13 is an example of a table for managing answers. [Diagram 5] 1 is an example of a table for managing views to questions and answers. [Figure 6] 13 is an example of a table for managing each user of the user information sharing device. [Figure 7] 13 is an example of a table for managing the status of each user. [Figure 8] 13 is a flowchart showing the overall process of the user information sharing device. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart showing a process for accepting questions and answers. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart showing a question and answer browsing control process. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart of a process for updating a user rank and a viewable number. [Figure 12] 13 is a flowchart showing a process for increasing the number of viewable pages. [Figure 13] 13 is a flowchart showing a process for updating a uniqueness degree. [Figure 14] 13 is an example of a screen for registering a question. [Figure 15] 13 is an example of a screen for registering an answer. [Figure 16] FIG. 11 is a functional configuration diagram of a user-to-user information sharing system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 17] 13 is an example of a screen for registering a question according to the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The user-to-user information sharing device of this embodiment shares information that supports transactions between multiple users. The user-to-user information sharing device accepts question information from the terminals of multiple users and also accepts answer information from the terminals of multiple users. When the user-to-user information sharing device accepts a viewing request from a user terminal, it transmits viewing information in which the question information and the answer information are associated with each other to the terminal of the user who wishes to view the information, in accordance with viewing conditions set for the user who wishes to view the information. The user-to-user information sharing device then manages viewing conditions for each user according to the user's predetermined actions regarding the viewing information.

[0011] The user-to-user information sharing device of the present embodiment is applicable to, for example, a user-to-user information sharing system in which buyers and suppliers exchange and share information. A buyer is a company that manufactures products by combining multiple parts or materials, such as automobiles, aircraft, ships, electrical products, robots, drones, daily necessities, cosmetics, medicines, and food. A supplier is a company that provides parts or materials used by a buyer, such as a parts manufacturing company or a material manufacturing company. Hereinafter, a buyer may be referred to as a buyer company, and a supplier may be referred to as a supplier company.

[0012] In preparation for natural disasters, etc., there is a demand for the sophistication of value chains. To achieve this, it is necessary for buyer companies to be able to find appropriate supplier companies on the value chain (sourcing operations) and place orders for the parts or materials they need. The user-to-user information sharing device of this embodiment enables each buyer company and each supplier company to share information, rather than each buyer company individually asking each supplier company about information on parts, etc.

[0013] Each buyer company and each supplier company can view and refer to information exchanged in the past for ordering and receiving (browsing information including question information and answer information). Furthermore, in the user-to-user information sharing device of this embodiment, each buyer company and each supplier company can disclose their true identity as necessary, and the number of times that the browsing information can be viewed can be increased depending on the disclosure level. In this way, the user-to-user information sharing device of this embodiment is advantageous for both the participating buyer companies and supplier companies, actively encourages information sharing, and can maintain confidentiality as necessary, making it highly user-friendly. EXAMPLES

[0014] A first embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 15. Fig. 1 is a functional configuration diagram of a user-to-user information sharing system 1. The user-to-user information sharing system 1 includes, for example, at least one user-to-user information sharing device 2, at least one questioner terminal 3, at least one answerer terminal 4, and at least one viewer terminal 5. The questioner terminal 3, answerer terminal 4, and viewer terminal 5 are computer terminals used by users of the user-to-user information sharing device 1, and therefore can also be called user terminals.

[0015] The user-to-user information sharing device 2 includes, for example, a question receiving unit 21, an answer receiving unit 22, a browsing information management unit 23, an evaluation unit 24, a browsing control unit 25, and a browsing condition management unit 26.

[0016] The question receiving unit 21 has a function of receiving question information D1 transmitted from the questioner terminal 3. The answer receiving unit 22 has a function of receiving answer information D2 transmitted from the answerer terminal 4. The viewing information management unit 23 has a function of managing viewing information D3 in which the question information D1 and the answer information D2 are associated with each other. The viewing information management unit 23 can use a question table T1, an answer table T2, and a viewing table T3, which will be described later.

[0017] The evaluation unit 24 evaluates whether the question information D1 is unique compared to past question information, and whether the answer information D2 is unique compared to past answer information. The viewing control unit 25 has a function of receiving a viewing request from the viewer terminal 5 and controlling the viewing of the viewing information D3. The viewing condition management unit 26 has a function of managing viewing conditions for determining whether the viewing terminal 5 can view the viewing information D3. The viewing control unit 25 can use a user table T4 and a user status table T5, which will be described later.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the user-to-user information sharing system 1 including the user-to-user information sharing device 2. As shown in FIG.

[0019] The user-to-user information sharing device 2 is configured as a computer including, for example, a calculation unit 201, a memory 202, a communication unit 203, and a user interface unit 204. In the drawings, the word "unit" may be omitted. Furthermore, in the drawings, the user interface may be abbreviated as UI.

[0020] The calculation unit 201 is a device that realizes a predetermined function by reading and executing a computer program stored in the memory 202. The calculation unit 201 is not limited to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and may include a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0021] The memory 202 includes a main storage device and an auxiliary storage device (neither of which are shown in the figure). A computer program stored in the auxiliary storage device is transferred to the main storage device and executed by the calculation unit 201.

[0022] The communication unit 203 is a device for communicating with other devices 3, 4, and 5 via the communication network CN. The user interface unit 204 is a device for a user such as a system administrator to exchange information with the user-to-user information sharing device 2. The user interface unit 204 includes, for example, a monitor display, a keyboard, a pointing device, a touch panel, a printer, a voice recognition device, a voice synthesis device, and the like.

[0023] The user-to-user information sharing device 2 can be connected to a storage medium MM. The storage medium MM is configured as, for example, a memory device, a hard disk device, an optical disk device, a magneto-optical disk device, a magnetic tape device, or the like, and can non-temporarily store computer programs and data. The storage medium MM can transfer and store computer programs and data to the memory 202 of the user-to-user information sharing device 2. The storage medium MM can also transfer and store computer programs and data from the memory 202 to the storage medium MM. A computer program that realizes the functions of the user-to-user information sharing device 2 is stored in the storage medium MM, the storage medium MM is connected to another computer, and the computer program stored in the storage medium MM is installed in the other computer, thereby making it possible to cause the other computer to function as the user-to-user information sharing device 2.

[0024] The questioner terminal 3 included in the user terminal is a computer terminal used by a user who is a questioner. The questioner is, for example, a buyer company. The questioner terminal 3 includes, for example, a calculation unit 301, a memory 302, a communication unit 303, and a user interface unit 304. Each of these devices 301-304 is similar to each of the devices 201-204 described above, and therefore details are omitted.

[0025] The respondent terminal 4 included in the user terminal is a computer terminal used by a user who is a respondent. The respondent is, for example, a supplier company. The respondent terminal 4 includes, for example, a calculation unit 401, a memory 402, a communication unit 403, and a user interface unit 404. Each of these devices 401-404 is similar to each of the devices 201-204 described above, so details are omitted.

[0026] The viewer terminal 5 included in the user terminal is a computer terminal used by a user who is a viewer. The viewer is, for example, a buyer company or a supplier company. The viewer terminal 5 includes, for example, a calculation unit 501, a memory 502, a communication unit 503, and a user interface unit 504. Each of these devices 501-504 is similar to each of the devices 201-204 described above, and therefore details are omitted.

[0027] A supplier company may further purchase parts or materials from another supplier company to manufacture the parts or materials. In this case, a supplier company that purchases parts, etc. from other supplier companies becomes a buyer company for the other supplier companies. Therefore, some supplier companies may become questioners because they are also buyer companies. It is considered that viewers are mostly buyer companies, but this is not limited, and a supplier company may become a viewer. In order to find a supplier company that can manufacture the parts, etc. that the buyer company desires, the buyer company transmits question information D1 to the user-to-user information sharing device 2 to solicit answers, or refers to past viewing information D3 managed by the user-to-user information sharing device 2.

[0028] 3 is an example of a table for managing question information. The question table T1 manages, in association with each other, a question ID C11, a questioner user ID C12, a reference answer ID C13, a questioner disclosure level C14, a question content C15, a request destination type C16, a request destination C17, and a uniqueness C18, for example.

[0029] The question ID C11 is identification information that uniquely identifies question information within the system 1. The questioner user ID C12 is identification information that uniquely identifies a user who has become a questioner within the system 1. The referenced answer ID C13 is identification information that identifies past answer information that the questioner referenced when asking a question.

[0030] The questioner disclosure level C14 is a level at which the questioner's true identity is made public. There are multiple disclosure levels, for example, "anonymous," "major industry classification," "medium industry classification," "minor industry classification," and "company name." "Anonymous" is a level at which the questioner's identity is not revealed. "major industry classification," "medium industry classification," and "minor industry classification" are levels that indicate the industry to which the questioner belongs at several levels of granularity. "Company name" is the name of the questioner's company.

[0031] The question content C15 is the content of the question. The question includes various technical matters such as production technology, production capacity, quality, etc. The question may include matters other than technical matters such as delivery date, price, production location, etc.

[0032] The requestee type C16 is the type of respondent to be requested to answer the question. The requestee type can be, for example, "industry" or "company name". "Industry" is, for example, an industry name that is distinguished based on a major industry classification, a medium industry classification, and a minor industry classification. The questioner can ask a question by specifying an industry that is appropriate for the content of the question. "Company name" is the company name of the respondent.

[0033] The uniqueness C18 is an index showing how distinctive the content of the question identified by the question ID C11 is compared with the content of past questions. The uniqueness can be calculated by using techniques such as text mining and principal component analysis. When calculating the uniqueness, the requester type C16 or the requester C17 that posed the question may be taken into consideration. For example, even if a question is technically similar to questions posed in other industries, a question posed in an industry different from the normal requester type C16 can be considered to be unique. Furthermore, the more similar questions there are, the less unique the question is considered to be. In this way, the uniqueness C18 can be calculated by taking into consideration, for example, the content of the question, the requester, the number of similar questions, and the like. Here, the larger the uniqueness value, the more unique (newer) the question is.

[0034] 4 is an example of a table for managing answer information. The answer table T2 manages, for example, a question ID C21, an answer ID C22, an answerer user ID C23, an answerer disclosure level C24, an answer content C25, an asker's evaluation C26, and a uniqueness C27 in association with each other.

[0035] The questioner ID C21 is identification information that uniquely identifies the question information, and its value is the same as the question ID 11 in FIG. 3. The answer ID C22 is identification information that uniquely identifies the answer information. The ID of the answer information referenced by the questioner among the answer information is recorded in the reference answer ID C13 in FIG. 3. The answerer user ID C23 is identification information that uniquely identifies the user who became the answerer among the users.

[0036] The answerer disclosure level C24 is a level at which the identity of the answerer is made public. As with the questioner disclosure level C14 described in Fig. 3, the answerer disclosure level C24 has multiple levels, such as "anonymous," "major industry classification," "medium industry classification," "minor industry classification," and "company name."

[0037] The answer content C25 is the content of the answer to the question identified by the question ID C21. The answer format may be a multiple choice answer to the question such as "yes" or "no", "up to 1 mm thickness", "up to 1.5 mm thickness", or "up to 1.8 mm thickness", or it may be a free text answer. The answer format may be specified by the questioner, or may be determined by the answerer himself from among a number of pre-prepared formats.

[0038] The questioner's evaluation C26 is the questioner's evaluation of the answer. If the content C25 of the answer identified by the answer ID C22 is in line with the questioner's intention, for example, the questioner gives the answer an evaluation such as "Good". The evaluation value may be a binary value such as "0" or "1", or a ternary value such as "Excellent", "Average", and "Disappointing". The evaluation C26 may be entered in free text. Alternatively, the questioner may operate something like a slide bar to input the degree of satisfaction with the answer.

[0039] The uniqueness C27 is an index showing how distinctive or new the content of the answer identified by the answer ID C22 is compared with the content of past answers.

[0040] 5 is an example of a table T3 for managing views of questions and answers. The view management table T3 manages, for example, a question ID C31, an answer ID C32, a viewer user ID C33, a viewer's rating C34, and favorites C35 in association with each other.

[0041] The information to be viewed D3 is composed of a pair of question information D1 and answer information D2. When the user-to-user information sharing system 1 obtains multiple pieces of answer information D2 for one piece of question information D1, the information to be viewed D3 is generated for each piece of answer information D2. The information to be viewed D3 is formed by an ID that identifies the question information D1 and an ID that identifies the answer information.

[0042] The question ID C31 constituting part of the viewing information D3 is identification information that uniquely identifies the question information D1, and is set to the same value as the question ID C11 in the question table T1. The answer ID C32 constituting the other part of the viewing information D3 is identification information that uniquely identifies the answer information D2, and is set to the same value as the answer ID C22 in the answer table T2. The viewer user ID C33 is identification information that uniquely identifies a user who has become a viewer. Either the questioner or the answerer can become a viewer. There may also be users who only view.

[0043] The viewer's rating C34 is the viewer's rating of the viewing information D3. For example, if the viewer judges that the viewing information D3 was useful, the viewer sets a high rating. Here, the viewing information D3 is rated using a number of stars. Five stars is the highest rating, and one star or zero stars is the lowest rating. Other rating methods are also possible. The viewer may be allowed to write his or her impressions of the rating in free text. The favorites C35 are information that the viewer uses to mark the viewing information D3 if he or she likes it. Viewing information D3 registered in the viewer's favorites can be viewed again promptly at a later date.

[0044] 6 is an example of a table T4 for managing each user. The user table T4 manages, for example, a user ID C41, a company name C42, a minor industry category C43, a medium industry category C44, a major industry category C45, an email address C46, ​​a prefecture C47, an address C48, and a telephone number C49 in association with each other.

[0045] The user ID C41 is identification information that uniquely identifies each user who uses the user-to-user information sharing system 1. The company name C42 is the user's company name. The company name C42 is not limited to a company, and for example, the name of a university, research institute, government agency, local government, or individual can be registered.

[0046] The small industry classification C43 is a small classification of the industry to which the user belongs. The medium industry classification C44 is a medium classification of the industry to which the user belongs. The large industry classification C45 is a large classification of the industry to which the user belongs. In other words, the items C43 to C45 are information that abstractly and stepwise indicates what kind of company the user is. A classification method other than the small classification C43, medium classification C44, and large classification C45 may be used.

[0047] The mail C46 is information for sending an e-mail to a user. The mail C46 may be any information capable of sending information consisting of text, still images, moving images, audio, or a combination of these to a user, and is not limited to an e-mail address.

[0048] The prefecture C47 is information indicating the general location of the user. The address C48 indicates the location of the user. The telephone number C49 is the user's telephone number.

[0049] 7 is an example of a table for managing the status of each user. The user status table T5 manages, for example, a user ID C51, a viewable number C52, and a user rank C53 in association with each other.

[0050] The user ID C51 is identification information that uniquely identifies a user within the system 1. The number of views C52 indicates the number of times the user can view the browsing information D3. The user rank C53 indicates the activity level of a predetermined action taken by the user regarding the browsing information D3.

[0051] The predetermined actions that the user performs with respect to the browsing information D3 include at least one of asking a question, answering a question, and browsing a pair of a question and an answer.

[0052] Here, the user's action of asking a question means that question information D1 from the questioner terminal 3 is accepted by the question accepting unit 21. The user's action of answering means that answer information D2 from the answerer terminal 4 is accepted by the answer accepting unit 22. The user's action of browsing means that a browsing request from the viewer terminal 5 is accepted by the browsing control unit 25.

[0053] When a user performs a predetermined action regarding the browsing information D3, the number of available views for the user increases by a predetermined number. The predetermined number when asking a question, the predetermined number when answering, and the predetermined number when browsing may be the same or different. For example, if the predetermined number when asking a question is called the first predetermined number, the predetermined number when answering is called the second predetermined number, and the predetermined number when browsing is called the third predetermined number, the second predetermined number may be set to the largest, the third predetermined number to the smallest, and the first predetermined number to be set in between (second predetermined number>first predetermined number>third predetermined number). The predetermined number obtained when browsing the browsing information may be a negative value. That is, when a user browses the browsing information D3, the number of available views decreases.

[0054] When a user asks a question and reveals information about the user's true identity, the user-to-user information sharing device 2 adjusts the predetermined number according to the level of disclosure (α) (=first predetermined number+α, or first predetermined number×α). Similarly, when a user answers and reveals information about the user's true identity, the user-to-user information sharing device 2 adjusts the predetermined number according to the level of disclosure (=second predetermined number+α, or second predetermined number×α). For example, when a user's name is revealed, the user-to-user information sharing device 2 increases the predetermined number by "1," and when the user's name is not revealed, the predetermined number is not increased.

[0055] The predetermined number by which the number of views that can be viewed is increased or decreased can also be adjusted according to the activity level of a predetermined behavior (user rank).

[0056] 8 is a flowchart showing the overall processing of the user-to-user information sharing device 2. The user-to-user information sharing device 2 performs a process of accepting a question and a process of accepting an answer (S1), and publishes the accepted question and answer (S2). The user-to-user information sharing device 2 controls the viewing of the viewing information D3 (S4), and updates the user rank and the number of views that can be viewed (S5).

[0057] 9 is a flowchart showing a question reception process and an answer reception process. The user-to-user information sharing device 2 performs a question reception process (S10). In the question reception process (S10), the user-to-user information sharing device 2 receives question information D1 from the questioner terminal 3, sets the disclosure level of the questioner, requests an answer to the question, and updates the uniqueness of the question.

[0058] The disclosure level of the questioner is selected from among, for example, business category, company name, and anonymity. The person to whom an answer to the question is requested is selected from, for example, a designated specific answerer, an answerer in a specified specific group (specific industry), and all users. The uniqueness of the question can be calculated by the user-to-user information sharing device by comparing the content of the question currently accepted with the content of questions accepted in the past, and depending on the number of similar questions, etc.

[0059] In the answer reception process (S11), the user-to-user information sharing device 2 receives answer information D2 from the answerer terminal 4, notifies the questioner terminal 3 of the reception of the answer, and updates the uniqueness of the answer. The user-to-user information sharing device compares the content of the answer currently received with the content of answers received in the past, and calculates the uniqueness of the answer according to the number of similar answers, etc.

[0060] The user-to-user information sharing device 2 accepts confirmation of the answer by the questioner (S12). In the answer confirmation process (S12), the questioner refers to the answer information D2 via the questioner terminal 3 and evaluates the answer. If the questioner thinks that the answer was helpful, the questioner can give the answer a good evaluation. Furthermore, the questioner can ask a follow-up question to the answerer. Alternatively, the questioner can ask a follow-up question to the initial answer.

[0061] The user-to-user information sharing device 2 checks whether the questioner wishes to continue accepting answers (S13). If the questioner wishes to continue accepting answers (S13: YES), the process returns to step S11. If the questioner wishes to not continue accepting answers (S13: NO), the process ends normally.

[0062] A process of disclosing question information D1 received from the questioner terminal 3. A process of disclosing answer information D2 received from the answerer terminal 4 will not be shown in detail. In the process of disclosing question information D1, the received question information D1 is registered in question table T1. In the process of disclosing answer information D2, the received answer information D2 is registered in answer table T2.

[0063] 10 is a flowchart showing the viewing control process. An overview of the process will be described first. When the user-to-user information sharing device 2 receives a viewing request from the viewer terminal 5 (S30), it determines whether viewing is permitted (S31). The user-to-user information sharing device 2 determines whether the viewer's viewable number n is 1 or more (S32), and if it determines that the viewable number n is 1 or more (S32: YES), it permits viewing of the requested viewing information D3 (S33).

[0064] If the viewer's viewable number n is less than 1 (S32: NO), the user-to-user information sharing device 2 determines whether the viewer should acquire the viewable number n (S34). If the viewer wishes to acquire the viewable number n (S34: YES), the user-to-user information sharing device 2 prompts the viewer to take action and acquires (adds) the viewable number n (S35).

[0065] In the viewing request reception process (S30), the user-to-user information sharing device 2 receives a viewing request from the viewer terminal 5, refers to the question table T1 and the answer table T2, and transmits part of the question and part of the answer as summary information of the viewing information D3 to the viewer terminal 5 for display. The user-to-user information sharing device 2 receives a viewing request from the viewer terminal 5. After looking at the summary information of the viewing information D3, the viewer can select the viewing information D3 for which he or she wishes to check the details.

[0066] In the process (S31) of determining whether viewing is permitted, the user-to-user information sharing device 2 checks the number of views n and the user rank UR set in the viewer terminal 5. The user-to-user information sharing device 2 compares the uniqueness included in the information to be viewed D3 with the user rank UR, and determines whether the user rank UR is equal to or greater than the uniqueness (user rank ≧ uniqueness). If the user rank UR is equal to or greater than the uniqueness, the user-to-user information sharing device 2 permits the viewer terminal 5 to view the information to be viewed D3.

[0067] The uniqueness included in the information to be viewed D3 is the uniqueness of the question information D1 constituting a part of the information to be viewed D3 (item C18 in FIG. 3) and the uniqueness of the answer information D2 constituting the other part of the information to be viewed D3 (item C27 in FIG. 4). For example, the inter-user information sharing device 2 can use the average of the uniqueness of the question information D1 and the uniqueness of the answer information as the uniqueness of the information to be viewed D3. The uniqueness of the information to be viewed D3 may be calculated by a method other than the above. It can be estimated that the more unique the information is, the more valuable the information is. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to provide valuable information only to users who have contributed to the inter-user information sharing system 1.

[0068] In the process (S32) of determining whether the viewable number n is 1 or more, it is determined whether the viewer terminal 5 has the viewable number n required for viewing the viewing information D3. Here, when the viewing information D3 is viewed, the viewable number n is reduced by 1. That is, in step S32, the user information management device 2 confirms whether the viewer terminal 5 has the viewable number n required for viewing the viewing information D3.

[0069] In the process (S33) of allowing the viewer terminal 5 to view the viewing information D3, the viewing information D3 is provided to the viewer terminal 5, the number of views that can be accessed is decremented by 1, and the process ends normally.

[0070] If the viewer terminal 5 does not wish to obtain the number of views that can be viewed (S34: NO), this process ends normally.

[0071] In the process of acquiring the number of permitted views (S35), the number of permitted views held by the viewer terminal 5 is increased by a method to be described later.

[0072] 11 is a flowchart of the process of updating the user rank and the number of views that can be accessed. The user information management device 2 performs steps S41 to S44, which will be described later, for each user (S40).

[0073] The user information management device 2 updates the user rank (S41). The user information management device 2 calculates the number of actions of the user, and updates the user rank of the user according to the calculated number of actions. The number of actions is the number of questions, answers, and views asked by the user. Different weights may be assigned to the questions, answers, and views. In this case, the number of actions can be calculated by the following (Equation 1).

[0074] Number of actions = cumulative number of questions × c1 + cumulative number of answers × c2 + cumulative number of views × c3 (Formula 1) The user information management device 2 calculates the user rank from the calculated number of actions and updates the user rank C53 in the user status table T5. The user information management device 2 can also lower the user rank if the number of actions within a certain period of time drops by a predetermined value or more.

[0075] The user information management device 2 updates the number of possible views n (S42). The number of possible views n can be calculated from the following (Equation 2), (Equation 3), and (Equation 4) according to the user's predetermined actions of asking a question, answering, and viewing.

[0076] Number of views available when asking a question n = user rank × c4 × questioner's disclosure level (Formula 2) Number of views available at the time of answering n = User rank × c5 × Respondent's disclosure level... (Formula 3) Number of views that can be viewed at the time of viewing n = n-1 (Equation 4) The user information management device 2 determines whether the user rank has changed as a result of step S41 (S43). If the user rank has changed (S43: YES), the user information management device 2 notifies the user of the change (S44). If the user rank has not changed (S43: NO), the process moves to the next user.

[0077] Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing a process of adding the number of views based on an explicit instruction from a user. In the process of updating the number of views described in step S42 of Fig. 11, when the user takes a specified action, the number of views is automatically updated. In contrast, the process shown in Fig. 12 shows details of step S35 in Fig. 10, and the number of views is added at the user's request. In other words, a user (viewer) who wishes to view the viewing information D3 can increase the number of views without taking a specified action.

[0078] To obtain the latest status, the user information management device 2 updates the user rank (S350) and updates the number of views permitted (S351). These steps S350 and S351 may be omitted.

[0079] The user information management device 2 confirms whether the viewer wishes to add (increase) the number of views allowed (S352). For example, when the viewer operates an add button displayed on the screen of the viewer terminal 5, the user information management device 2 can confirm the viewer's intention to add to the number of views allowed. In step S352, the user information management device 2 receives the value of the number of views desired by the viewer, calculates the fee required for the increase, and presents the calculated fee to the viewer.

[0080] When the viewer agrees to pay the additional fee for the number of views via the viewer terminal 5 (S53: YES), the user information management device 2 adds the number of views for the viewer (S54). After confirming the payment of the fee (additional fee) by the viewer, the user information management device 2 adds the number of views for the viewer and notifies the viewer terminal 5 that the number of views has been added.

[0081] 13 is a flowchart showing the process of updating the uniqueness. Since the method of updating the uniqueness of a question and the method of updating the uniqueness of an answer are basically the same, they will be explained without using separate flowcharts.

[0082] The user information management device 2 refers to the question table T1 or the answer table T2 (S1001) and calculates the similarity between the current question and past questions, or the similarity between the current answer and past answers (S1002). The user information management device 2 calculates the uniqueness of the current question from the similarity between the past questions and the current question, or calculates the uniqueness of the current answer from the similarity between the past answers and the current answer (S1003). In step S1003, the user information management device 2 calculates the uniqueness of the question or the uniqueness of the answer from the similarity and the number of similar questions or answers. The more similar the questions or answers are, the lower the uniqueness of the question or answer.

[0083] 14 is an example of a screen G1 for registering a question. The question registration screen G1 is provided to the questioner terminal 3 from the user information management device 2.

[0084] The question registration screen G1 includes, for example, a questioner information display section GP11, an answer request destination display section GP12, and a question content display section GP13. The questioner information display section GP11 displays information about the questioner. The information about the questioner includes, for example, a question ID, a questioner ID, the questioner's name (such as a company name), whether the questioner's name is made public, and a disclosure level (up to which industry classification is to be made public). The answer request destination display section GP12 specifies a user in an industry to which the questioner wants an answer, or a specific user. The questioner can search by industry name or by company name (answerer name). The question content display section GP13 displays the content of the question and the answering method. The answering methods include, for example, a "YES / NO" multiple-choice method, a method in which the questioner selects from a pull-down menu prepared in advance, a method in which the questioner inputs a numerical value, a method in which the questioner answers in free text format, and the like. The questioner can specify in advance the answering method that matches the content of the question and his / her own preference.

[0085] As shown in the upper part of the question registration screen G1, the asker can specify the level at which the question and the exchange of answers to the question are made public to viewers. That is, the disclosure levels of the viewing information D3 include, for example, "accepted" and "partially private". "Accepted" means that all of the viewing information D3 is made public to viewers. "Partially private" means that part of the viewing information D3 is hidden and made public to viewers. When all of the viewing information D3 is made public, the asker may be given an additional number of views. It may be possible to set disclosure levels other than those described above.

[0086] 15 is an example of the screen G2 for registering an answer. The answer registration screen G2 is provided to the answerer terminal 4 from the user information management device 2.

[0087] The answer registration screen G2 includes, for example, a question display section GP21, an answer display section GP22, and an answerer display section GP23. The question display section GP21 displays the content of the question to be answered by the answerer. The answer display section GP22 displays the answer from the answerer according to the answering method specified by the questioner. The answerer display section GP23 displays the answerer's information. The answerer's information includes, for example, the answerer ID, whether the answerer's name is to be made public, the disclosure level (industry level at which it is to be disclosed), and the like.

[0088] According to the user information management device 2 of this embodiment configured as above, questions from questioners and answers from answerers can be efficiently collected and shared.

[0089] According to this embodiment, it is possible to realize an information sharing device 2 that is easy to use for each of the users, ie, the questioner, the respondent, and the viewer.

[0090] The user information management device 2 of this embodiment manages the viewing conditions for each user according to the user's predetermined actions regarding the viewing information D3, and transmits the viewing requested information to the terminal of the user who wishes to view it based on the viewing conditions set by the user who wishes to view it. Therefore, the viewing information D3 can be viewed only by viewers who are qualified to view it, improving usability.

[0091] According to this embodiment, the asker can ask about what he / she wants to know while keeping secrets such as the company name, and the act of asking a question increases the number of times the browsing information D3 can be viewed, increasing the motivation to ask questions. The answerer can also promote his / her company to the asker, who is a potential customer, while keeping secrets such as the company name, increasing the motivation to answer. Therefore, the user-to-user information sharing system 1 of this embodiment can attract askers and answerers by the benefits obtained by the asker and the answerer, and can accumulate the browsing information D3. The more the browsing information D3 is accumulated, the more the number of askers and answerers increases, improving usability for users.

[0092] According to this embodiment, the questioner can ask a question by specifying the answer format, and can obtain the information he or she desires in the format he or she desires, improving usability for the user who is the questioner.

[0093] According to this embodiment, the asker can select in advance whether to make all of the browsing information D3 public or to make part of it private (partially public). Therefore, the asker can collect answers while keeping some of the exchange of questions and answers secret from competitors or existing business partners, improving usability for the user who is the asker.

[0094] According to this embodiment, the more unique a question is compared to past questions, the more views the questioner can receive, and thus an incentive is given to the questioner. Similarly, the more unique an answer is compared to past questions, the more views the answerer can receive, and thus an incentive is given to the answerer. Therefore, more information that has appeared less frequently in the past and is therefore more valuable is accumulated in the user-to-user information sharing system 1 over time, and the utility value of the user-to-user information sharing system 1 increases.

[0095] According to this embodiment, if the viewer's user rank is equal to or higher than the uniqueness of the viewing information D3, viewing is permitted, so that an incentive can be given to users to participate in the user-to-user information sharing system 1 (by asking questions, answering questions, viewing), thereby attracting more users to exchange information. EXAMPLES

[0096] The second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 16. In the following embodiments including this embodiment, the differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described. In this embodiment, when browsing the browsing information D3, only the presence or absence of the browsing permitted number is determined.

[0097] 16 is a functional block diagram of the user-to-user information sharing system 1A according to this embodiment. The viewing condition management unit 26A of the user information management device 2A according to this embodiment manages only the number of views as a viewing condition. That is, in this embodiment, viewing of the viewing information D3 is permitted only based on the presence or absence of the number of views, regardless of the user rank of the viewer.

[0098] This embodiment thus configured provides the same effects as the first embodiment, except for the effects obtained from the user rank. EXAMPLES

[0099] The third embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 17. Fig. 17 shows a question registration screen G1A provided by the user information management device of the present embodiment. Compared to the question registration screen G1 described in Fig. 14, the question registration screen G1A of the present embodiment further includes a transaction record display button GP14, a company information display button GP15, and a question reliability display section GP16.

[0100] The transaction record display button GP14 is a button for displaying the transaction record of the questioner through the user-to-user information sharing system 1. In this embodiment, when the questioner starts a transaction with an answerer who answers the question from the questioner, the start of the transaction is registered in the user information management device 2. The questioner's transaction record provides an incentive to other answerers to answer, increasing the possibility of obtaining a more useful answer.

[0101] The company information display button GP15 is a button that displays at least a part of the questioner's credit information. When the answerer operates the company information display button GP15, the user information management device 2 acquires the questioner's information from a company information management server (not shown) and displays all or a part of it on the answerer terminal 4. The company information may include, for example, information such as the number of employees, capital, shareholder structure, and major banks.

[0102] The question reliability display section GP16 is a button that displays the reliability of a question. The reliability of a question is an index for determining whether a question asked by a questioner is a serious question or a prank question. For example, a machine learning model can be generated from the question table T1 and the answer table T2, and the reliability of a question can be determined by the machine learning model. This makes it possible to prevent frivolous questions and fake questions, and maintain the reliability of the user-to-user information sharing system 1.

[0103] The present embodiment thus configured also has the same operational effects as those of the first embodiment. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the transaction record information of the questioner, the company information of the questioner, and the reliability information of the question can be provided to the answerer, which improves the usability for users and maintains the reliability of the user-to-user information sharing system 1.

[0104] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modified examples are included. For example, the above-mentioned embodiment has been described in detail to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and is not necessarily limited to those having all the described configurations. In addition, each of the above-mentioned configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be realized in hardware by designing a part or all of them as an integrated circuit, for example. In addition, each of the above-mentioned configurations, functions, etc. may be realized in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function. Information such as a program, table, file, etc. that realizes each function can be placed in a memory, a recording device such as a hard disk or SSD (Solid State Drive), or a recording medium such as an IC card, SD card, or DVD. [Explanation of symbols]

[0105] 1, 1A: user-to-user information sharing system, 2, 2A: user information management device, 3: questioner terminal, 4: answerer terminal, 5: viewer terminal, 21: question reception unit, 22: answer reception unit, 23: viewing information management unit, 24: evaluation unit, 25: viewing control unit, 26, 26A: viewing condition management unit, D1: question information, D2: answer information, D3: viewing information

Claims

1. An inter-user information sharing device for sharing information supporting transactions between a plurality of users, a question receiving unit that receives question information from a terminal of a user who asks a question among the plurality of users; an answer receiving unit that receives answer information from a terminal of a user who issues an answer to the question among the plurality of users; a browsing information management unit that associates the question information with the answer information and manages them as browsing information; a viewing control unit that receives a viewing request from a terminal of a user who desires to view the viewing information among the plurality of users, and transmits the viewing-requested viewing information to the terminal of the user who desires to view the information based on viewing conditions set for the user; a browsing condition management unit that manages the browsing conditions for each user in accordance with a predetermined action of the user regarding the browsing information; Equipped with the predetermined action includes the question receiving unit receiving the question information from the user's terminal, When the question information from the terminal of the user is received by the question receiving unit, the number of available views included in the viewing conditions of the user is increased by a predetermined number. A device for sharing information between users.

2. The predetermined action further includes the answer receiving unit receiving the answer information from the user's terminal, When the answer information from the terminal of the user is accepted by the answer accepting unit, the number of views included in the viewing conditions of the user is increased by a predetermined number. The user information sharing device according to claim 1 .

3. The predetermined action further includes the viewing control unit receiving the viewing request from the user's terminal, When the viewing request from the terminal of the user is accepted by the viewing control unit, the number of views that can be viewed, which is included in the viewing conditions of the user, is reduced. The user information sharing device according to claim 2 .

4. If information about the user name is made public during the predetermined action, the number of views that can be accessed is increased in addition to the predetermined number. The user information sharing device according to claim 3 .

5. The information about the user name is prepared to be more specific in multiple stages, from the name of the industry to which the user belongs to to the name of the company, and the more specific the information about the user name, the more the number of views that can be displayed increases. The user information sharing device according to claim 4.

6. The predetermined number is adjusted according to the activity level of the predetermined behavior. The user information sharing device according to claim 5 .

7. The system further includes an evaluation unit that calculates a uniqueness indicating a degree to which the question information is unique compared to past question information, and a uniqueness indicating a degree to which the answer information is unique compared to past answer information. The inter-user information sharing device according to claim 6.

8. The viewing control unit determines whether or not the requested information to be viewed can be viewed based on the activity level set for the user requesting the viewing and the uniqueness included in the requested information to be viewed. The user information sharing device according to claim 7.

9. Among the plurality of users, the user who issues the question is a buyer, and among the plurality of users, the user who issues the answer is a supplier, and the information that supports the transaction between the plurality of users is information related to the manufacture of a product. The user information sharing device according to claim 1 .

10. 1. A method for sharing information supporting a transaction between a plurality of users by a user information sharing device, comprising: The user information sharing device includes: receiving question information from a terminal of a user who issues a question among the plurality of users; receiving answer information from a terminal of a user who issues an answer to the question among the plurality of users; The question information and the answer information are associated with each other and managed as browsing information; receiving a viewing request from a terminal of a user who desires to view the viewing information among the plurality of users; transmitting the requested information to be viewed to a terminal of the user who desires to view the information based on viewing conditions set by the user who desires to view the information; managing the viewing conditions for each user in accordance with a predetermined action of the user regarding the viewing information; the predetermined action includes the question receiving unit receiving the question information from the user's terminal, When the question information from the terminal of the user is received by the question receiving unit, the number of available views included in the viewing conditions of the user is increased by a predetermined number. Methods for sharing information between users.

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