Map display control system, and map display control method

Abstract

To provide a method for preferentially displaying onto a map a facility of high probability with which a user potentially uses.SOLUTION: In a map display control system, a map application server includes: a fact information acquisition part for acquiring fact information showing a fact related to a terminal user; an attribute possession probability determination part for determining a value in accordance with a probability with which the terminal user has an attribute that the fact information does not show as a fact whether the terminal user has; a facility use history information acquisition part which acquires use history information showing a facility use history by the terminal user; an attribute information acquisition part for acquiring attribute information associated with each of a plurality of facilities located in an area corresponding to a map displayed to a screen from a storage part storing the attribute information in association with a facility; and a map display control part preferentially displaying onto a map, a preferential facility associated with the attribute which the terminal user does not use and whose determined value is prescribed value or larger of the plurality of facilities on the basis of the use history information and the acquired attribute information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for displaying facilities on a map. [Background technology]

[0002] It is known that a terminal device preferentially displays on a map a specific facility that is directly related to a fact about a user of the terminal device, which is expected to encourage the user to use the facility.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that a terminal device that a user can carry with them stores point card information such as the issuing store, location information, card name, card number, number of points, specified number of points, expiration date, etc. for each store that issued a point card owned by the user, and that if a store that issued a point card whose points are about to expire and whose expiration date is approaching is located near the terminal device, the terminal device displays a map showing the location of that store and the user's current location. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-318951 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] There are cases where it is desired to encourage a user to use a facility that the user has never used. In this case, it is desirable to display the facility on a map for users who have attributes that are likely to use the facility. However, it is highly likely that the facts that can be collected about the user do not contain information related to the facility that the user has not used. Therefore, conventional technology has limitations in displaying on a map facilities for which the user may be a potential customer.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and one example of the objective of the present invention is to provide a map display control system and a map display control method that enable facilities that are likely to be potentially used by a user to be displayed preferentially on a map. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is a map display control system comprising: an acquisition means for acquiring fact information indicating facts related to a terminal user who uses a terminal device; a determination means for determining, based on the acquired fact information, a value corresponding to the likelihood that the terminal user has an attribute whose possession by the terminal user is not indicated as a fact by the fact information, said determination means determining the value for the attribute that is correlated between the fact and the probability; a usage history information acquisition means for acquiring usage history information indicating a history of facility use by the terminal user; an attribute information acquisition means for acquiring the attribute information associated with each of a plurality of facilities located within a geographical area corresponding to a map displayed on a screen of the terminal device from a storage means that associates attribute information indicating attributes related to facilities as user attributes with the facilities and stores the attribute information; and a display control means for displaying facilities on the displayed map, said display control means displaying, based on the acquired usage history information and the acquired attribute information, priority facilities associated with the attribute that have not been used by the terminal user and whose determined value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, among the plurality of facilities, in priority to facilities other than the priority facilities.

[0008] According to this aspect, for an attribute that is related to the fact and the probability that the terminal user has the attribute, a value indicating the probability that the terminal user has the attribute is determined based on fact information indicating a fact about the terminal user. Whether or not the terminal user has the attribute is not indicated as a fact by the fact information. Based on usage history information indicating the history of facility usage by the terminal user and attribute information indicating attributes associated with a plurality of facilities located in a geographical area corresponding to the displayed map, among facilities that the terminal user has not used, facilities associated with an attribute whose value according to the probability that the terminal user has the attribute is equal to or greater than a predetermined value are preferentially displayed on the map. A facility with a relatively high probability that the terminal user has an attribute associated with the facility is a facility with a relatively high probability that the user will use it. Therefore, it is possible to preferentially display on the map facilities that are highly likely to be potentially used by the user.

[0009] Another aspect of the present invention is a map display control system in which the plurality of facilities may include affiliated facilities affiliated with a specified service, and the system further comprises a service usage information acquisition means for acquiring service usage information indicating usage status of the specified service by the terminal user, and the display control means is configured to, when the acquired service usage information indicates non-use of the specified service and a value determined by the determination means for an attribute related to the affiliated facility is equal to or greater than the specified value, display the affiliated facility in priority to a facility other than both the affiliated facility and the priority facility, regardless of whether the affiliated facility has been unused by the terminal user.

[0010] According to this aspect, for a predetermined service having an affiliated facility, service usage information indicating the usage status of the service by the terminal user is acquired. When the user has not used the predetermined service and a value according to the probability that the terminal user has an attribute related to the affiliated facility of the service is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the affiliated facility is preferentially displayed on the map. This preferential display is performed regardless of whether the terminal user has not used the affiliated facility. As described above, a facility for which the terminal user is relatively likely to have an attribute associated with the facility is a facility for which the user is relatively likely to use. Therefore, the user can be encouraged to use a service that the user has not used by using the facility.

[0011] Yet another aspect of the present invention is a map display control system, wherein the specified service is a mobile communication service, and the affiliated facility is a facility that accepts contract applications for the mobile communication service.

[0012] According to this aspect, it is possible to encourage a user to apply for a contract for an unused mobile communication service through the use of the facility.

[0013] Yet another aspect of the present invention is a map display control system characterized in that the specified service is an electronic payment service, and the affiliated facility is a facility where the purchase price of an object of trade provided by the affiliated facility can be paid using the electronic payment service.

[0014] According to this aspect, it is possible to encourage a user to use an electronic payment service that he or she has not yet used through use of the facility.

[0015] Yet another aspect of the present invention is a map display control system characterized in that an upper limit on the number of facilities that can be displayed on the screen is predefined for each facility category, and the display control means displays a number of facilities for each facility category that is equal to or less than the upper limit.

[0016] According to this aspect, an appropriate number of facilities for each facility category can be displayed on the map.

[0017] Yet another aspect of the present invention is a map display control system further comprising a search history information acquisition means for acquiring search history information indicating a history of searches for facilities in response to requests from the terminal user, the search history information indicating searched facilities, and the display control means determines a facility to be displayed on the map from among the plurality of facilities in the same category as the category to which the facility indicated by the acquired search history information belongs.

[0018] According to this aspect, based on search history information indicating a history of searches for facilities in response to requests from a terminal user, facilities in the same category as the category to which the previously searched facilities belong are displayed on the map, allowing facilities in a category desired by the user to be displayed.

[0019] Yet another aspect of the present invention is a map display control system in which the acquired factual information indicates the degree to which the terminal user has performed a specified action, and the determination means determines the value corresponding to the probability that the terminal user has the specified attribute using a model indicating the relationship between the degree of the specified action and the probability that the user has the specified attribute.

[0020] According to this aspect, a value according to the probability that a terminal user has a predetermined attribute is determined according to the degree of a predetermined behavior by using a model showing the relationship between the degree of a predetermined behavior and the probability that the user has a predetermined attribute. Therefore, it is possible to estimate the probability that the user has a predetermined attribute from the user's behavior.

[0021] Yet another aspect of the present invention is a map display control system, wherein the attribute information stored in the storage means indicates attributes possessed by users who use the facility.

[0022] According to this aspect, a value corresponding to an attribute of a terminal user that uses a facility is determined. If the value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the facility is displayed with priority. Therefore, facilities that are likely to be used by the user can be displayed with priority on the map.

[0023] Yet another aspect of the present invention is a map display control method executed by a computer, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring fact information indicating facts related to a terminal user using a terminal device; a decision step of determining, based on the acquired fact information, a value corresponding to the likelihood that the terminal user has an attribute whose ownership is not indicated as a fact by the fact information, the decision step determining the value for the attribute having a correlation between the fact and the probability; a usage history information acquisition step of acquiring usage history information indicating a history of facility use by the terminal user; an attribute information acquisition step of acquiring, from a storage means that associates attribute information indicating attributes related to facilities as user attributes with the facilities and stores the attribute information; and a display control step of displaying facilities on the displayed map, the display control step displaying priority facilities associated with the attribute that have not been used by the terminal user and for which the determined value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, among the multiple facilities, in priority to facilities other than the priority facilities, based on the acquired usage history information and the acquired attribute information. Effect of the Invention

[0024] According to the present invention, facilities that are highly likely to be potentially used by a user can be preferentially displayed on a map. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a communication system S according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2]1 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a map application server 1 according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] 4 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a database of a map application server 1. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of setting target user attribute information based on a cross-use rate. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of attributes. [Figure 6] 2 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a database of a member information management server 2 according to an embodiment. FIG. [Figure 7] 2 is a diagram showing an example of functional blocks of a system control unit 11 in the map application server 1. FIG. [Figure 8] 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship between input information and the ownership probability of an estimation target attribute. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a determination of priority display of facilities. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a map display screen in a map application. [Figure 11] (a) shows the maximum number of facilities that can be displayed for each category. (b) shows the category of each facility and its display priority. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of displaying facilities on a map. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an attribute possession probability determination process in the system control unit 11 of the map application server 1 in an embodiment. [Figure 14] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a map information providing process in a system control unit 11 of the map application server 1 in an embodiment. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a map display process in a user terminal 5 according to an embodiment. [Figure 16] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of a system control unit 11 of a map application server 1 according to an embodiment. FIG. [Figure 17] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a determination of priority display of facilities. [Figure 18]5 is a flowchart showing an example of a map information providing process in a system control unit 11 of the map application server 1 in an embodiment. [Figure 19] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a map application server 1 according to an embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a search history DB 14f. [Figure 21] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of a system control unit 11 of a map application server 1 according to an embodiment. FIG. [Figure 22] 13 shows an example of determining candidate facilities to be displayed on a map. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0027] [1. First embodiment] [1-1. Communication system configuration] First, the configuration and functional overview of the communication system S according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the schematic configuration of the communication system S according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the communication system S includes a map application server 1, a member information management server 2, a point management server 3, a plurality of service servers 4, and a plurality of user terminals 5. The map application server 1, the member information management server 2, the point management server 3, each service server 4, and each user terminal 5 are connected to a network NW. The network NW is constructed by, for example, the Internet, a dedicated communication line (for example, a CATV (Community Antenna Television) line), a mobile communication network (including base stations, etc.), a gateway, etc.

[0028] The map application server 1 may be an example of the map display control system of the present invention. The map application server 1 may be a server device that executes various processes related to a map service. The map service may be a service for displaying a map using a map application. The map application is an application that each user terminal 5 can execute. The map application may be an application for displaying a map by the user terminal 5 and displaying facilities on the map. The map application server 1 may cause the user terminal 5 to display a map by transmitting information related to the map to the user terminal 5. Note that the map application server 1 may enable display of a map using a web browser in addition to or instead of the map application.

[0029] Examples of facilities displayed on the map include stores, offices, accommodation facilities, and sports facilities. The facilities displayed on the map may be facilities where a user can use a specified point program. The point program may be a service that, for example, gives points to a user who purchases a transaction object, which is a specified percentage of the purchase price, and allows the user to use the points he or she owns to purchase the transaction object. The user may be able to earn and use points, for example, between an online service and a facility that is a member of the point program. The transaction object may be something that can be traded commercially. Examples of the transaction object include products and services. The user may be given a point card for the point program. The user may be able to earn and use points by presenting the point card to the facility. In addition, an application for the point program may be installed on the user terminal 5. An information code indicating the card number of the point card may be displayed on the screen of this application. Examples of the information code include a one-dimensional barcode and a two-dimensional code. Instead of presenting the point card, the user may be able to earn and use points by presenting the information code of the card number displayed on the screen to the facility.

[0030] Alternatively, the facilities displayed on the map may be facilities corresponding to a predetermined Internet comprehensive service. The Internet comprehensive service may include a plurality of services. These services may be services provided, for example, using a computer network or using information and communication technology. Such services may include online services. Online services may be provided through a website. Examples of services included in the Internet comprehensive service include the above-mentioned map service, online shopping mall, facility reservation service, service reservation service, online securities, online banking, web search, video distribution, the above-mentioned point program, mobile communication service, carrier payment, optical fiber connection service, credit card, app payment, electronic money, online securities, online banking, receipt and point exchange service, check-in service, social networking service (SNS), rich communication service (RCS) or instant messaging service, email service, etc. The mobile communication service may be provided, for example, using a core network. Examples of these include websites. Other services may be provided, for example, using the Internet.

[0031] Examples of facilities corresponding to services included in the Internet comprehensive service include facilities affiliated with the service, facilities affiliated with the service, and facilities that allow users to use the service. For example, a user may be able to use a service corresponding to the facility before, during, or after using the facility. The mobile communication service may be, for example, a service provided by a mobile communication carrier in a corporate group that provides the Internet comprehensive service, and may be a service that enables voice communication between portable terminal devices such as mobile phones. A facility corresponding to the mobile communication service may be, for example, a mobile phone store that allows contracts for the mobile communication service. Examples of mobile phone stores include carrier shops, mobile phone stores, and electronic appliance stores. A facility corresponding to credit cards, app payments, or electronic money may be, for example, a facility where the purchase price of a product or service at the facility can be paid by credit card, app payments, or electronic money. A facility corresponding to a facility reservation service may be, for example, a facility that can be reserved through the reservation service. The receipt / point exchange service may be, for example, a service that gives points to a user when the user uploads an image of a receipt received from a facility when purchasing a transaction object at the facility. The facility corresponding to the receipt point exchange service may be, for example, a facility that allows points to be given for uploading an image of the receipt of the facility. The check-in service may be a service that gives points to a user on the condition that the user enters a spot area within a range set in advance in the facility corresponding to the check-in service. Specifically, points may be given to a user when the user is located within a set spot area and performs an operation to check in to the facility using the user terminal 5, so that the user can be given points. In this embodiment, the check-in may be a procedure for starting to use the facility, a procedure for notifying the check-in service that the user has visited the facility, or a procedure for notifying the check-in service that the user has entered a preset spot area.Whether or not a user is located within the spot area can be specified from the location information of the user terminal 5 possessed by the user. The location information is information indicating the location of the user terminal 5. The facility corresponding to the check-in service may be a facility that is permitted to give points to a user who has checked in. The user may be able to use the check-in service by using a map application. That is, the user may be able to check in using the map application. In this case, the map application server 1 may execute processing related to the check-in service. An example of the SNS is a spot SNS. The spot SNS may be an SNS for exchanging information related to spots within a community. The spot may be a facility. The spot SNS may be an SNS that permits a user to become a member of a community on the condition that the user is located within one or more spot areas previously set by the creator of the community. To become a member of the community, a check-in operation may be required as described above. The creator may set the spot area to include a facility for which information is exchanged in the community. The facility corresponding to the spot SNS may be a facility for which a community exists for the facility or a facility for which a spot area is set for the facility. When a user uses or signs up for a service, the user may be given points in addition to the points that can normally be acquired by presenting a point card.

[0032] The member information management server 2 may be a server device that manages information about members of the Internet comprehensive service. When a user becomes a member of the Internet comprehensive service, the user is given a user ID. The user ID may be identification information that identifies the user in the Internet comprehensive service. A user who becomes a member of the Internet comprehensive service may be able to use many of the services included in the Internet comprehensive service. In order to use some of the services, the user may need to register as a separate member on the condition that the user is a member of the Internet comprehensive service. Each member of the Internet comprehensive service may be given a member rank. The member rank indicates the rank of the user in the Internet comprehensive service or the point program. The higher the member rank, the more preferential treatment the user may receive in the Internet comprehensive service. The total number of member ranks is not particularly limited. Examples of member ranks include diamond rank, platinum rank, gold rank, silver rank, and regular rank. The ranks are higher in the order of diamond rank, platinum rank, gold rank, silver rank, and regular rank. The member rank may be determined according to the user's usage of the Internet comprehensive service. For example, the member rank may be determined based on at least one of the number of points the user has earned within a specified period in the past and the number of times points have been earned. For example, the member rank may be updated monthly. In order to earn points, it may be necessary to use services included in the Internet comprehensive service. For example, the user may be required to purchase a trading object using those services. The higher the number of points earned by the user or the more times points are earned, the higher the member rank may be.

[0033] The point management server 3 may be a server device that manages points of each user in a point program. The number of points currently held by each user is called the number of available points.

[0034] Each service server 4 may be a server device that manages information regarding a service that the service server 4 corresponds to among the services included in the Internet comprehensive service. For example, each service server 4 may store information such as the registration status, usage status, and usage history by users of the service that corresponds to the service server 4. At least one service server 4 may be a server device that executes a process for providing the service that the service server 4 corresponds to to the user.

[0035] Each user terminal 5 may be a terminal device owned by a user who can use the Internet comprehensive service. Examples of the user terminal 5 include a mobile information terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet computer, a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), etc. A map application may be installed in each user terminal 5. At least some of the user terminals 5 may have a function of acquiring the location information of the user terminal 5. For example, the user terminal 5 may calculate longitude and latitude as location information using a satellite positioning system such as a GPS (Global Positioning System). For example, the mobile communication operator may provide the user terminal 5 with location information using a base station. For example, the user terminal 5 may be capable of acquiring location information using short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy. For example, a beacon may be installed at a predetermined location. This beacon transmits identification information identifying the location or identification information identifying the beacon by short-range wireless communication. The user terminal 5 may acquire the identification information transmitted from the beacon as location information. The user terminal 5 may transmit the acquired location information to the map application server 1. For example, the user terminal 5 may periodically execute acquisition and transmission of location information. The user terminal 5 may acquire and transmit the location information according to a map application or other application. At least some of the user terminals 5 may be stationary computers. The user terminal 5 may display a map in a web browser.

[0036] [1-2. Map application server configuration] Next, the configuration of the map application server 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 2 to Fig. 5. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of the map application server 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 2, the map application server 1 includes a system control unit 11, a system bus 12, an input / output interface 13, a storage unit 14, and a communication unit 15. The system control unit 11 and the input / output interface 13 are connected via the system bus 12.

[0037] The system control unit 11 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 11a, a read only memory (ROM) 11b, a random access memory (RAM) 11c, and the like.

[0038] The input / output interface 13 performs interface processing between the storage unit 14 and the communication unit 15 and the system control unit 11 .

[0039] The storage unit 14 is configured with, for example, a hard disk drive, etc. The storage unit 14 may store a facility group DB 14a, a facility DB 14b, a user attribute DB 14c, an attribute estimation model DB 14d, a location information DB 14e, etc. "DB" is an abbreviation for database.

[0040] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the database of the map application server 1. The facility group DB 14a may store facility group information related to each facility group. The facility group may be a group consisting of a plurality of facilities. Examples of facility groups include a group of franchisees affiliated with the same franchise, a group of chain stores, and a combination of a head office and a branch office. A facility group for convenience may be assigned to a facility that does not belong to a specific facility group. The facility group DB 14a may store, as facility group information, for example, a facility group ID, a facility group name, category information, service information, and target user attribute information in association with each other. The facility group ID is identification information for identifying a facility group. The category information indicates a category of facilities in the facility group. Examples of categories include restaurants, cafes, supermarkets, convenience stores, hotels, inns, department stores, mobile phone shops, electronics stores, hair salons, nail salons, beauty salons, gas stations, and the like. In addition, categories may be divided, for example, by business type, type of products provided, type of services provided, and the like. The service information indicates services that the facility group is currently affiliated with or affiliated with, among the services included in the Internet comprehensive service. In this embodiment, facilities are affiliated with or affiliated with services on a facility group basis. If the affiliated or affiliated services differ for each facility, the service information may be stored in the facility DB 14b described below. The service information may include, for example, the service ID of one or more services that the facility group is affiliated with or affiliated with. The service ID is identification information that identifies each service included in the Internet comprehensive service.

[0041] The target user attribute information indicates attributes related to the facility group as attributes of the user. For example, the target user attribute information may indicate which users are to display facilities belonging to the facility group on the map. The target user attribute information may indicate, for example, attributes of users related to the facility group. For example, the target user attribute information may indicate attributes of users who use the facility group, attributes of users who are relatively likely to use the facility group, attributes of users who are relatively likely to like the facility group, attributes of users who the facility group wants to use the facility group, and attributes of users who are relatively likely to use or contract with a service that the facility group is affiliated with or affiliated with. The target user attribute information may be set, for example, by the facility group, by the administrator of the map application server 1, or automatically by the map application server 1. The target user attribute information may include, for example, an attribute item ID and an attribute value for each of one or more attributes possessed by such a user. The attribute item ID is identification information that identifies an item of an attribute. Examples of attribute items include surname, given name, gender, age, address, membership rank, occupation, job type, annual income, marital status, whether or not one has children, amount of assets, whether or not one owns something specific, whether or not one likes something specific, contract status or usage status of a specific service included in the Internet comprehensive service, etc. An attribute value is a value that indicates an attribute for that attribute item. For example, if the attribute item is gender, examples of attribute values ​​include "male" and "female." Also, for example, if the attribute item is age, the attribute value is a value that indicates age.

[0042] An example of setting target user attribute information is shown below. For example, the target user attribute information of a pet shop may indicate attributes such as "single", "female" and "owns a cat". For example, the target user attribute information of a children's clothing store may indicate attributes such as "married" and "has children". For example, the target user attribute information of a life insurance sales counter may indicate attributes such as "married", "full-time employee", "annual income of 6 million yen or more" and "ages between 20's and 40's".

[0043] Furthermore, the target user attribute information for a facility group that is affiliated with or affiliated to a specific service included in the Internet comprehensive service may indicate a service used by a user who is relatively likely to use or sign up for the service. In this case, for example, the map application server 1 may automatically identify such a service. The map application server 1 may use, for example, a cross-use rate of a service. The cross-use rate may indicate the ratio of users who use another second service also included in the Internet comprehensive service among users who use any first service included in the Internet comprehensive service. In this case, the second service may correspond to a service with which the facility group is affiliated or affiliated. The map application server 1 may determine the first service with a relatively high cross-use rate as the service to be set as the target user attribute information. For example, the map application server 1 may determine the first service with the highest cross-use rate, or may determine one or more first services with a cross-use rate equal to or higher than a predetermined value. Furthermore, the map application server 1 may calculate the ratio of users who use the second service among users who use a combination of any multiple services as the first service as the cross-use rate.

[0044] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of setting target user attribute information based on cross-use rate. For example, mobile phone shop X is affiliated with a mobile communication service included in the Internet comprehensive service. The group of mobile phone shops X wants to increase the number of contracts for the mobile communication service. Therefore, the cross-use rate of each service with the mobile communication service as the second service may be calculated. For example, as shown in FIG. 4(a), the cross-use rate between the point card and the mobile communication service is 25%. The cross-use rate between electronic payment by electronic money and the mobile communication service is 47%. The cross-use rate between the application payment and the mobile communication service is 72%. The cross-use rate between the check-in service and the mobile communication service is 9%. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4(b), the target user attribute information of the group of mobile phone shops X may be set to "use application payment".

[0045] Returning to FIG. 3, the facility DB 14b may store, for example, facility information regarding each facility. For example, the facility DB 14b may store, as facility information, a facility ID, a facility group ID, a facility name, an address, and facility location information, etc., in association with one another. The facility ID is identification information for identifying a facility. The facility group ID indicates the facility group to which the facility belongs. The facility location information is information indicating the geographical location of the facility. For example, the facility location information may indicate the longitude and latitude corresponding to the address of the facility. Also, for example, the facility location information may indicate the positions of each vertex constituting the outer edge of the site of the facility in longitude and latitude.

[0046] In the user attribute DB14c, attribute information on the attributes of the user may be stored for each combination of the user and the attribute or for each combination of the user and the attribute item. For example, in the user attribute DB14c, a user ID, an attribute item ID, an attribute value, an attribute type, and an ownership probability may be stored in association with each other as attribute information. The user ID indicates a user associated with the attribute. A combination of an attribute item ID and an attribute value indicates an attribute associated with the user. The attribute type indicates the type of the attribute. The types of attributes may include a fact attribute and an estimated attribute. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an attribute. A fact attribute may indicate an attribute that is considered to be possessed by a user. Therefore, when the attribute type is set to "fact attribute", an attribute indicated by a combination of an attribute item ID and an attribute value may be treated as being possessed by a user indicated by a user ID as a fact. In addition, attribute information of a fact attribute may be stored for each attribute item. For example, an attribute of the user registered or input by the user for the Internet comprehensive service or any service included in the Internet comprehensive service may be included in the fact attribute. For example, when registering as a member to a service, a user may register attributes. Examples of such attributes include family name, given name, sex, age, address, etc., as shown in FIG. 5. These pieces of information are stored in a member DB 21, which will be described later. In addition, attributes that are clear from the user's behavior captured by the map application server 1, the member information management server 2, the point management server 3, or the service server 4 may be included in the fact attributes of the user. Examples of such attributes include membership rank, usage status of each service, usage status of each facility group or each facility, etc. In addition, the behavior taken by the user using any service included in the Internet comprehensive service or the behavior taken at the facility itself may be included in the fact attributes. The estimated attribute indicates an attribute that is estimated whether or not the user has it. For example, the map application server 1 may make the estimation. Examples of estimated attributes include marital status, whether or not the user has children, occupation, industry, annual income, amount of assets, whether or not the user owns something specific, whether or not the user likes something specific, etc., as shown in FIG. 5.However, even for the attributes shown in these examples, for example, attributes registered by a user when registering as a member for any service, attributes entered in a questionnaire, etc. may be included in the fact attribute. Therefore, even if the attribute is the same, it may be a fact attribute or an estimated attribute depending on the user. Returning to FIG. 3, the ownership probability may be effective when the attribute type is set to "estimated attribute". The ownership probability indicates the probability that a user indicated by a user ID has an attribute indicated by a combination of an attribute item ID and an attribute value. Therefore, a user does not necessarily have an attribute indicated by a combination of an attribute item ID and an attribute value. In addition, the attribute information of the estimated attribute may be stored for each attribute item for one user, or may be stored for each attribute value. For example, when the attribute item is "marital status", if the probability that the user is married is known, the probability that the user is not married is also clear. Therefore, for such attributes, attribute information may be stored for each attribute item. In addition, for an attribute item that has three or more attribute values, such as occupation, attribute information may be stored for each attribute value.

[0047] The map application server 1 may add or update attribute information to the user attribute DB 14c at a predetermined timing, for example. For example, when a user's attribute is stored in the member DB 21 or an attribute in the member DB 21 is updated, the map application server 1 may store attribute information indicating the attribute as a real attribute in the user attribute DB 14c. For example, the map application server 1 may obtain information on an attribute registered by a user in any service included in the Internet comprehensive service from the point management server 3 or the service server 4 corresponding to the service. The map application server 1 may store attribute information indicating the attribute as a real attribute in the user attribute DB 14c. For example, the map application server 1 may determine the ownership probability of an estimated attribute for each user or a part of users, and store attribute information including the ownership probability in the user attribute DB 14c.

[0048] The attribute estimation model DB14d may store model information on each attribute estimation model for calculating the probability that the user has an estimated attribute. An estimated attribute for which the ownership probability is calculated is called an estimated target attribute. The attribute estimation model may be a model that indicates a relationship between a specific fact about the user and the ownership probability of the estimated target attribute. Examples of the attribute estimation model include a probability model, a machine learning model, a statistical model, and the like. Specific examples of the model include a neural network, a support vector machine, a linear regression, a logistic regression, and an estimation of a probability density distribution. The attribute estimation model may be a model that inputs information about a target user and outputs the ownership probability of a target attribute of the user. For example, the attribute estimation model DB14d may store a model ID, an estimated target attribute item ID, an estimated target attribute value, and an input information item, etc., in association with each other. The model ID is information that identifies the attribute estimation model. The estimated target attribute item ID is an attribute item ID of the estimated target attribute. The estimated target attribute value is an attribute value of the estimated target attribute. The input information item indicates an item of user information that is input as input information to the attribute estimation model in order to output the ownership probability. The input information item may indicate one item of information or may indicate multiple items. The input information may include information on a specific attribute of the user. For example, the input information item may indicate an attribute item of a specific attribute of the user. In this case, the input information item may include an attribute item ID of a fact attribute. The input information item may indicate an item of information on a specific action of the user. An action taken by a user is a fact for the user, regardless of whether it is included in the user's attributes. Examples of the input information item in this case include the presence or absence of the action, the degree to which the user took the action, etc. Examples of the degree of the action include the number of times the action was taken, the frequency of the action, the amount paid by the user for the action, the total or average value of the amount, etc. The input information item may also be an item indicating other facts for the target user. Examples of such facts include the presence or absence of other users with the same address as the target user's address, the attributes of other users with the same address as the user's address, etc.It is also possible to say that this information is a broad attribute of the target user.

[0049] The location information DB 14e may store location information transmitted from each user terminal 5 to the map application server 1. For example, each user terminal 5 having a map application installed may periodically acquire location information and transmit it to the map application server 1. The location information DB 14e may store, as location information, a user ID, a recording date and time, terminal location information, and the like, in association with one another. The user ID indicates the user who uses the user terminal 5 that transmitted the location information. The recording date and time indicates the date and time when the user terminal 5 recorded the location information. The terminal location information indicates the location of the user terminal 5 at the time of the recording date and time. For example, the terminal location information may include the longitude and latitude of the location.

[0050] The storage unit 14 may further store an attribute estimation model in association with each model ID. For example, as the attribute estimation model, data or a program indicating an algorithm for attribute estimation using the model or a structure of the model may be stored. Parameters of the attribute estimation model may also be stored. Note that the user attribute DB 14c, the attribute estimation model DB 14d, and the attribute estimation model may be stored in a server device other than the map application server 1, such as the member information management server 2. Then, the generation of the attribute estimation model and the calculation of the ownership probability of the estimated attribute may be executed by the server device.

[0051] Furthermore, various programs such as an operating system, a DBMS (Database Management System), and a server program are stored in the storage unit 14. The server program is a program that causes the system control unit 11 to execute processes related to the map application. The server program may be obtained from another device via the network NW, or may be recorded on a recording medium such as a magnetic tape, an optical disk, or a memory card and read via a drive device.

[0052] The communication unit 15 is configured, for example, by a network interface card, etc. The communication unit 15 connects to the member information management server 2, the point management server 3, the service server 4, the user terminal 5, etc. via the network NW, and controls the communication state with the connected devices.

[0053] [1-3. Membership information management server configuration] Next, the configuration of the member information management server 2 will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the database of the member information management server 2 according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 6, the member information management server 2 as a storage means may store databases such as a member DB21 and an action history DB22. The member information management server 2 may provide, for example, the map application server 1, the point management server 3, and each service server 4 with an API (Application Programming Interface) for accessing the database stored in the member information management server 2. Each server device may be able to obtain information from the database stored in the member information management server 2 and update the database through this API.

[0054] Member information regarding each member of the Internet general service may be stored in the member DB 21. For example, the member DB 21 may store, as member information, a user ID, name, sex, date of birth, telephone number, address, email address, member rank, and the like, in association with one another.

[0055] The behavior history DB22 may store a history of user behavior resulting from the user's use or contract for a service included in the Internet comprehensive service. For example, the behavior history DB22 may store, each time an action is taken, an action log in which an action log ID, a user ID, a service ID, a facility ID, an action date and time, and action content information are associated with each other. The action log ID is identification information for identifying the action log. The user ID indicates the user who took the action. The service ID indicates the service used by the user to take the action. The facility ID indicates the facility used by the user for the action. The facility ID is valid when a service included in the Internet comprehensive service is used or contracted at a facility. The behavior content information indicates the type and details of the action taken by the user. There is no particular limitation on the type and details of the action recorded as history. Examples of types of behavior include browsing web pages or screens, searching for information, purchasing a product at an online shopping mall, making a reservation at a facility or service reservation service, trading at an online securities company or online bank, earning and using points using a point card or the like, payment by electronic money, payment by app, payment by credit card, uploading a receipt, checking in to a facility using a check-in service or a spot SNS, signing up for and canceling a mobile communication service contract, making a phone call, sending a short message, sending an instant message, sending an email, etc. Examples of details of behavior include the product purchased, the category of the product, the purchase amount, the facility or service to be reserved, the category of the reservation, the amount paid for the reservation, the transaction content, the transaction amount, the number of points earned or used, the product or service purchased by the payment, the category of the purchase, the payment amount, the phone number to be called, the user to whom the message is sent, etc.

[0056] The point management server 3 and each service server 4 may generate and record an action log indicating a predetermined action taken by a user using a service supported by the server device. The information and format included in the generated action log may be information and format unique to the service. The point management server 3 and each service server 4 may transmit the action log to the member information management server 2 in response to generating the action log. The member information management server 2 receiving the action log from the service server 4 may convert the format of the action log into a common format that can be stored in the action history DB22, and store the converted action log in the action history DB22. At this time, the member information management server 2 may identify the service used by the user based on the format of the received action log or which server device is the sender of the action log. The member information management server 2 may also identify the type of action taken by the user based on the received action log. The member information management server 2 may include the service ID of the identified service in the action log stored in the action history DB22. Furthermore, the member information management server 2 may include information indicating the type and details of the identified action in the action content information of the action log.

[0057] [1-4. Functional overview of the system control unit of the map application server] Next, a functional overview of the system control unit 11 in the map application server 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 7 to Fig. 12. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block of the system control unit 11 in the map application server 1. As shown in Fig. 7, the system control unit 11 may function as a fact information acquisition unit 1101, an attribute estimation model generation unit 1102, an attribute possession probability determination unit 1103, a facility usage history information acquisition unit 1104, an attribute information acquisition unit 1105, a map display control unit 1106, and the like, by the CPU 11a reading and executing various program codes included in the server program.

[0058] The fact information acquisition unit 1101 may acquire fact information indicating facts regarding one or more users. For example, the fact information may include information indicating a fact attribute of the user. The information indicating the fact attribute may be, for example, a combination of an attribute item ID and an attribute value. The fact information acquisition unit 1101 may acquire attribute information whose attribute type is a fact attribute, among attribute information stored in the user attribute DB14c for the target user. In addition, for example, the fact information acquisition unit 1101 may acquire attributes stored in the member DB21. In addition, for example, the fact information may include information regarding the behavior taken by the user. An example of the information regarding the behavior is the behavior log stored in the behavior history DB22. Another example of the information regarding the behavior is the degree of the behavior. Examples of the degree of the behavior include the number of times the behavior was performed, the frequency of the behavior, the amount paid by the user for the behavior, the total amount, the average value, and the like. These pieces of information can be identified from the behavior log.

[0059] The attribute estimation model generating unit 1102 may generate an attribute model. For example, the attribute estimation model generating unit 1102 may generate an attribute estimation model for each attribute indicated by the target user attribute information stored in the facility group DB 14a, with the attribute as an estimation target attribute. However, the attribute estimation model generating unit 1102 may not generate an attribute estimation model for a user attribute identified only as a fact attribute. An example of such an attribute is an attribute stored in the member DB 21.

[0060] The attribute estimation model generating unit 1102 may generate an attribute estimation model based on information on at least one of a user who actually has an attribute to be estimated and a user who actually does not have the attribute to be estimated. For example, the target user can be identified by searching attribute information including an attribute item of the attribute to be estimated and an attribute type indicating the fact attribute from the user attribute DB 14c. The attribute estimation model generating unit 1102 may, for example, cause the fact information acquiring unit 1101 to acquire fact information of the target user. The fact information acquired by the fact information acquiring unit 1101 may be information that does not actually indicate, for example, whether or not the user has the attribute to be estimated. For example, the fact information acquiring unit 1101 may acquire attribute information including an attribute item of an attribute different from the attribute to be estimated and an attribute type indicating the fact attribute from the user attribute DB 14c among the attribute information of the target user. In addition, the information on the behavior acquired as fact information by the fact information acquiring unit 1101 basically does not directly indicate whether or not the user has the attribute to be estimated.

[0061] The attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 may determine, as the input information item, an item of a fact that has a relationship between the fact for the user and the probability that the user has the attribute to be estimated. For example, the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 may calculate, for each attribute item, a proportion of users who have the attribute to be estimated among users who have a fact attribute indicated by a combination of the attribute item and the attribute value, as the ownership probability. The calculation of the ownership probability may use, for example, an estimation of a probability density distribution. Alternatively, the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 may obtain the ownership probability from a neural network by training the neural network that inputs the fact attribute and outputs the ownership probability of the attribute to be estimated. The attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 may determine, as the input information item, an attribute item whose ownership probability is significantly different depending on the attribute value and whose ownership probability for any attribute value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. A significant difference in the ownership probability may be, for example, a difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​of the ownership probability is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example, 50 percent or more). Alternatively, the presence of a significant difference in the ownership probability may be such that the maximum value of the ownership probability is high enough to infer that the user has the attribute to be estimated (e.g., 70 percent or more) and the minimum value of the ownership probability is low enough to infer that the user does not have the attribute to be estimated (e.g., 30 percent or less). For example, the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 may calculate the ratio of users who have the attribute to be estimated for each behavior between users who performed the behavior and users who did not perform the behavior as the ownership probability. Then, the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 may determine, as an input information item, the presence or absence of a behavior that has a significant difference in the ownership probability depending on the presence or absence of the behavior. Note that the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 may include, even if a user has an attribute of an attribute item that is a candidate for an input information item as an estimated attribute, a user who has a probability of having the attribute that is equal to or higher than a first predetermined value (e.g., 80 percent or more) as having the attribute as a fact, in the calculation of the ownership probability of the attribute to be estimated.Also, the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 may include in the calculation of the ownership probability of the attribute to be estimated, a user whose probability of having the attribute is equal to or less than a second predetermined value (for example, equal to or less than 20 percent) as not actually having the attribute. The second predetermined value is lower than the first predetermined value. For example, the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 may calculate, for each degree of a certain behavior, the proportion of users who have the attribute to be estimated among users who have performed the behavior to that degree as the ownership probability. Then, the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 may determine, as the input information item, the degree of the behavior in which the ownership probability shows a significant difference depending on the degree of the behavior. For example, the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 may calculate, as the input information item, a combination in which the ownership probability of the attribute to be estimated shows a significant difference depending on the combination with the attribute value or the behavior degree from among combinations of multiple attribute items, combinations of multiple behaviors, or combinations of attribute items and behaviors, in the same manner as described above.

[0062] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the input information and the ownership probability of the attribute to be estimated. For example, the attribute to be estimated is keeping a cat. Therefore, the ownership probability of the attribute to be estimated in this case is the probability of keeping a cat. For example, the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 estimates the relationship between the purchase frequency of cat food in an online shopping mall and the probability of keeping a cat. The purchase frequency of cat food itself does not indicate whether or not a cat is kept. As shown in FIG. 8, the higher the purchase frequency of cat food, the higher the probability of keeping a cat. There is a correlation between the purchase frequency of cat food and the probability of keeping a cat, and there is a significant difference in the probability of keeping a cat depending on the purchase frequency of cat food. Therefore, the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 may determine the purchase frequency of cat food as the input information item. Note that the condition for there being a significant difference in the ownership probability depending on the attribute value is not limited to there being a correlation between them.

[0063] For example, suppose that the attribute to be estimated is marital status or whether or not the user has children. In this case, it may be possible to determine the probability of being married or having children in relation to the relationship between the users from the presence or absence of other users with the same address as the target user, the surnames, sex, ages or age difference of those users, the frequency of contact between those users, and the like. In this case, at least some of those items may be input information items. Examples of means of contact between users include telephone, short message, instant message, and email.

[0064] When the input information items are determined, the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 may generate an attribute estimation model. For example, when certain input information is input, the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 may generate a model that outputs the ownership probability calculated for the input information when the input information items are determined. The attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 may store model information including the determined input information items in the attribute estimation model DB 14d.

[0065] The attribute ownership probability determination unit 1103 may determine a value according to the probability that the user has an attribute to be estimated, which is not actually indicated by the fact information acquired by the fact information acquisition unit 1101 about the user of the user terminal 5. This value is not particularly limited as long as the value increases as the probability that the user has the attribute to be estimated increases. For example, this value may be the ownership probability of the attribute to be estimated. The attribute to be estimated at this time may be an attribute that has a relationship with the fact indicated by the fact information. The attribute ownership probability determination unit 1103 may calculate the ownership probability using the attribute estimation model generated by the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102. For example, the fact information acquisition unit 1101 may acquire an input information item associated with the attribute item ID and attribute value of the attribute to be estimated from the attribute estimation model DB 14d. The fact information acquisition unit 1101 may acquire information of the item indicated by the input information item from the information of the target user. Here, when the input information item includes an attribute item, the attribute ownership probability determination unit 1103 may determine the ownership probability of the attribute to be estimated only when the attribute of the attribute item of the target user is a fact attribute. Alternatively, even if the attribute of the attribute item of the target user is an estimated attribute, the attribute ownership probability determination unit 1103 may determine the ownership probability of the attribute to be estimated using the estimated attribute. In this case, the attribute ownership probability determination unit 1103 may determine that the target user has the attribute if the ownership probability of the attribute is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value (e.g., 80 percent or more). Also, the attribute ownership probability determination unit 1103 may determine that the target user does not have the attribute if the ownership probability of the attribute is equal to or less than a second predetermined value (e.g., 20 percent or less). The attribute ownership probability determination unit 1103 may obtain the ownership probability of the attribute to be estimated by inputting the acquired information as input information to the attribute estimation model.

[0066] The facility usage history information acquisition unit 1104 may acquire usage history information indicating a history of facility usage by the user of the user terminal 5. The usage history information may include, for example, an action log stored in the action history DB 22. When a user uses a facility, the action log includes a facility ID indicating the facility used and a user ID of the user who used the facility. The usage history information may also be the location information of the user terminal 5 stored in the location information DB 14e and facility location information of at least one facility stored in the facility DB 14b. The location information DB 14e can be said to indicate the location history of the user terminal 5. When a facility is used, the user moves to the facility. Based on the location of the user terminal 5 and the location of the facility, it is possible to identify whether or not the user has used the facility.

[0067] The attribute information acquisition unit 1105 may acquire, from the facility group DB 14a, target user attribute information associated with each of a plurality of facilities located in a geographical area corresponding to a map displayed on the screen of the user terminal 5. The geographical area corresponding to the map may be a geographical area in which the map is to be displayed. The user terminal 5 may transmit display range information indicating the range of the geographical area in which the map is to be displayed to the map application server 1. The display range information may transmit, for example, a user ID of a user who uses the user terminal 5, the longitude and latitude of the center of the geographical area, the scale of the map, the resolution and aspect ratio of the screen of the user terminal 5, and the like. The target user attribute information stored in the facility group DB 14a is associated with a facility group ID for each facility group. The facility DB 14b stores the facility ID of each facility in association with the facility group of the facility group to which the facility belongs. Therefore, the attribute information acquisition unit 1105 may acquire the target user attribute information for each facility from the facility group DB 14a by referring to the facility DB 14b.

[0068] The map display control unit 1106 may display the facility on a map displayed on the screen of the user terminal 5. Information indicating the facility may actually be displayed on the map. Examples of the information indicating the facility include an icon, a mark, other images, symbols, and characters. Various methods of displaying the facility on the map are possible. For example, the map display control unit 1106 may generate a map image including the facility by superimposing information about the facility on a map image indicating the map. The map display control unit 1106 may transmit data of the generated map image to the user terminal 5. The user terminal 5 may directly display the map image generated by the map display control unit 1106 based on the received map image data. Alternatively, the map display control unit 1106 may transmit the map image data and display information for displaying each facility on the map separately to the user terminal 5. As a result, the map display control unit 1106 may cause the user terminal 5 to display the facility on the map. The display information for each facility transmitted may include, for example, the facility name, category information, facility location information, and the like of the facility. The user terminal 5 may extract a plurality of facilities located within a geographical area corresponding to the map displayed on the screen, for example, based on facility location information of each facility. The user terminal 5 may display the map on the screen and also display information on each extracted facility at a position according to the facility location information. At this time, the user terminal 5 may display information according to a category indicated by the category information. The user terminal 5 may also display the facility name near the facility information.

[0069] Based on the usage history information acquired by the facility usage history information acquisition unit 1104 and the target user attribute information acquired by the attribute information acquisition unit 1105, the map display control unit 1106 may display, among multiple facilities located within a geographical area corresponding to the displayed map, a facility that has not been used by the user of the user terminal 5 and is associated with an attribute whose value determined by the attribute possession probability determination unit 1103 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, in preference to facilities other than the facilities. A facility that is displayed in preference to other facilities is called a priority facility. Facilities other than the priority facility are called non-priority facilities.

[0070] Whether or not a user has not used a certain facility may be determined based on the user's experience of using the facility. For example, an unused facility may be a facility that the user has never used up to now, or may be a facility that the user has not used during a predetermined period in the past. Examples of the length of the predetermined period include three months, six months, and one year. Whether or not a user has not used a facility may be determined, for example, on a facility group basis. For example, a certain supermarket chain includes a store A1 and a store A2. It is assumed that a user has used store A1. In this case, even if the user has never actually used store A2, the user is considered to have used store A2 as well. Whether or not a user has not used a facility can be determined from the usage history information. For example, the map display control unit 1106 may determine that the user has used a specific facility when a facility group to which a facility indicated by a facility ID included in the action log belongs includes a facility group to which the specific facility belongs. When such a facility group is not included, the map display control unit 1106 may determine that the user has not used the specific facility. Also, for example, if the position of the user terminal 5 indicated by any of the position information has been located within the premises of a specific facility, the map display control unit 1106 may determine that the user has used the specific facility. In this case, the map display control unit 1106 may determine that the user has used the facility only if the position of the user terminal 5 has been located within the premises for a predetermined period of time or more. Also, for example, if the distance between the position of the user terminal 5 and the position of the specific facility has been less than a predetermined value, the map display control unit 1106 may determine that the user has used the specific facility.

[0071] When the ownership probability determined by the attribute ownership probability determination unit 1103 is equal to or greater than a threshold value, it indicates that the probability that the user has an attribute related to the facility is relatively high. Examples of the threshold value include 70 percent, 80 percent, etc. Therefore, on the map, facilities that the user has not used so far but that are likely to be used by the user in light of the user's attributes are displayed in preference to other facilities. This makes it possible to encourage the user to use the facility for the first time.

[0072] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a determination of the priority display of a facility. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the attribute indicated by the target user attribute information of a certain pet shop Y is a single woman who keeps a cat. For example, the target user attribute information includes an attribute value "keeps" for the attribute item "whether or not the user keeps a cat", an attribute value "single" for the attribute item "married or not", and "female" for the attribute item "gender". Here, gender is specified as a fact attribute, and whether or not the user keeps a cat and marital status are specified as estimated attributes. The threshold of the ownership probability is 80 percent. It is assumed that users a, b, and c each display a map on the user terminal 5. The geographical area corresponding to the map includes the pet shop Y. As shown in FIG. 9, all of users a, b, and c are women. The probability that user a is single is 32%. Furthermore, the probability that user a keeps a cat is 90%. The probability of being single is less than the threshold. Although user a has not used pet shop Y, pet shop Y is not displayed as a priority facility for user a. The probability that user b is single is 80%. Also, the probability that user b keeps a cat is 93%. Both ownership probabilities are above the threshold. However, since user b has visited pet shop Y, pet shop Y is not displayed as a priority facility for user b. The probability that user c is single is 88%. Also, the probability that user c keeps a cat is 85%. Both ownership probabilities are above the threshold. Since user c has not visited pet shop Y, pet shop Y is displayed as a priority facility for user c.

[0073] The priority display of the priority facilities may be, for example, to display all the priority facilities and not to display any non-priority facilities. Alternatively, the priority display may be to display a predetermined number of the priority facilities and not to display any non-priority facilities. Alternatively, an upper limit of the number of facilities that can be displayed may be set in advance. The map display control unit 1106 may display a number of facilities equal to or less than this upper limit. In this case, the priority display may be to display as many priority facilities as possible within the upper limit, and also display non-priority facilities when the number of priority facilities does not reach the upper limit. The upper limit of the number of facilities that can be displayed may be common to all scales of the map, or may be set for each scale. Also, the upper limit of the number of facilities that can be displayed may be set in advance for each category of the facilities. The category of the facilities may be, for example, a category of the facilities indicated by category information stored in the facility group DB 14a.

[0074] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a map display screen in a map application. The example shown in FIG. 10 is a screen example assuming that all facilities located within a geographical area corresponding to a map displayed on the screen are displayed without distinction between priority facilities and non-priority facilities. Therefore, the actual display may differ. As shown in FIG. 10, the map display screen 100 may include a map display area 200. A map image 210 may be displayed in the map display area 200. In addition, facility icons 220a, 220b, 220c, 220d, 220e, 220f, 220g, 220h, 220i, and 220j may be displayed in the map display area 200 superimposed on the map image 210. Each facility icon is information indicating a facility. For example, an image indicating the category of the facility may be displayed on each facility icon. In addition, the facility name may be displayed near each facility icon. Facility icons 220a, 220b, 220c, 220d, 220e, 220f, 220g, 220h, 220i, and 220J correspond to hotel A, convenience store B, carrier shop C, hotel D, convenience store E, convenience store F, mobile phone shop G, department store H, supermarket I, and hotel J, respectively.

[0075] FIG. 11(a) shows the maximum number of facilities that can be displayed for each category. As shown in FIG. 11(a), the categories of facilities include at least product sales (excluding mobile phone sales), mobile phone sales, and accommodation facilities. The maximum number of product sales facilities is 3. The maximum number of mobile phone sales facilities is 1. The maximum number of accommodation facilities is 2. FIG. 11(b) shows the categories of facilities and the display priority of each facility. The display priority of priority facilities is high, and the display priority of non-priority facilities is lower. As shown in FIG. 11(b), convenience stores B, E, and F, department store H, and supermarket I are product sales facilities. The display priority of convenience stores B and E, department store H, and supermarket I is high. The priority of convenience store F is low. Carrier shop C and mobile phone shop G are mobile phone sales facilities. The display priority of carrier shop C is high. The display priority of mobile phone shop G is low. Hotels A, D, and J are accommodation facilities. The display priority of hotel J is high. The display priority of hotels A and D is low.

[0076] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of display of facilities on a map. The upper limit number of goods sales is 3, and the number of goods sales facilities with high display priority is 4. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, among these facilities, facility icons 220b, 220h, and 220I corresponding to convenience store B, department store H, and supermarket I, respectively, may be displayed. The upper limit number of mobile phone sales facilities is 1, and the number of goods sales facilities with high display priority is 1. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, facility icon 220c corresponding to carrier shop C with high display priority may be displayed. The upper limit number of accommodation facilities is 2, and the number of accommodation facilities with high display priority is 1. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, at least facility icon 220j corresponding to hotel J with high display priority is displayed. Also, among hotels A and D, facility icon 220d corresponding to hotel D, for example, is displayed.

[0077] When the map display control unit 1106 transmits the map image data and the display information to the user terminal 5, the display information may include information indicating whether each facility is a priority facility or not. Alternatively, the display information may include the display priority of each facility. By transmitting the display information including the display priority, the map display control unit 1106 may cause the user terminal 5 to preferentially display the priority facilities on the map. Furthermore, the map display control unit 1106 may transmit to the user terminal 5, in addition to the map image data and the display information, display upper limit number information indicating the upper limit number of facilities to be displayed for each category. By transmitting this information, the map display control unit 1106 may cause the user terminal 5 to display a number of facilities for each category that is equal to or less than the upper limit number of facilities.

[0078] [1-5. Operation of communication system] Next, the operation of the communication system S will be described with reference to Figs. 13 to 15. The system control unit 11 of the map application server 1 may execute the processes shown in Figs. 13 and 14 according to various program codes included in the server program. The processes shown in these figures are examples, and any process may be executed as long as the purpose is achieved. The order of the processes is not limited to the order shown in these figures. Furthermore, at least one of the steps shown in these figures may not be executed.

[0079] 13 is a diagram showing an example of an attribute possession probability determination process in the system control unit 11 of the map application server 1 in this embodiment. For example, the system control unit 11 may periodically execute the possession probability determination process for each combination of an attribute to be estimated and a user for which each attribute estimation model stored in the storage unit 14 outputs a possession probability. The attribute to be estimated can be specified from an attribute item ID to be estimated and an attribute value to be estimated stored in the attribute estimation model DB 14d.

[0080] 13, the attribute possession probability determination unit 1103 determines whether attribute information including the user ID of the target user and a combination of an estimation target attribute item ID and an estimation target attribute value indicating the target estimation target attribute is stored in the user attribute DB 14c (step S101). If the corresponding attribute information is stored (step S101: YES), the attribute possession probability determination unit 1103 determines whether the attribute type included in the corresponding attribute information is an "estimated attribute" (step S102). If the attribute type is a "factual attribute" (step S102: NO), the possession probability determination process ends.

[0081] If the corresponding attribute information is not stored (step S101: NO), or if the attribute type is "estimated attribute" (step S102: YES), the fact information acquisition unit 1101 acquires fact information (step S103). For example, the fact information acquisition unit 1101 may acquire input information items of the attribute estimation model of the target attribute to be estimated from the attribute estimation model DB14d. If the input information items include attribute items, the fact information acquisition unit 1101 may acquire attribute information including the user ID of the target user and the attribute item ID of the attribute item from the user attribute DB14c. Also, if the input information items include items of the user's behavior, the fact information acquisition unit 1101 may search the behavior history DB22 for behavior logs including the user ID of the target user, including information indicating the behavior. The fact information acquisition unit 1101 may calculate the degree of the behavior based on the acquired behavior log.

[0082] Next, the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 inputs the acquired factual information to an attribute estimation model corresponding to the estimation target attribute of the target (step S104). For example, the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 may input an attribute value included in the attribute information acquired from the user attribute DB 14c to the attribute estimation model. Also, for example, the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 may input the calculated degree of behavior to the attribute estimation model. In this way, the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 acquires the ownership probability from the attribute estimation model. Next, the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 stores the attribute information including the acquired ownership probability in the user attribute DB 14c (step S105). For example, the stored attribute information includes the user ID of the target user, an attribute type indicating the "estimated attribute", and an attribute item ID and attribute value indicating the estimation target attribute in addition to the ownership probability. If attribute information corresponding to the target user and the estimation target attribute of the target is already stored in the user attribute DB 14c, the attribute estimation model generation unit 1102 updates the attribute information with new attribute information. When step S105 ends, the ownership probability determination process ends.

[0083] FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of a map information providing process in the system control unit 11 of the map application server 1 in this embodiment. For example, when the map application is started, the user terminal 5 may obtain the current position information of the user terminal 5 and generate display range information including the position information, the scale, and the like. The user terminal 5 may transmit the generated display range information to the map application server 1. After the map application is started, the position of the user terminal 5 may change, the scale of the map may change, or a user operation to change the display range of the map may be performed, thereby changing the range of the geographical area to be displayed on the map. As a result, when additional map image data is required to display the map, the user terminal 5 may transmit display range information including position information indicating the longitude and latitude of the center position in the map to the map application server 1. The system control unit 11 may execute the map information providing process every time it receives the display range information from the user terminal 5.

[0084] As shown in FIG. 14, the map display control unit 1106 transmits map image data according to the display range information to the user terminal 5 that is the transmission source of the display range information (step S201). The map image data may be stored in, for example, a map platform. The map platform may be, for example, a server device that enables a map to be displayed on a screen of a web browser or an application of the user terminal 5. The map platform may be the map application server 1 itself, or may be a server device different from the map application server 1. The map platform may store map image data for each scale of a map, for example. For example, for each scale, data of a rectangular map image having a predetermined number of pixels in length and width may be stored in association with the latitude and longitude corresponding to the map image. The map display control unit 1106 may acquire, for example, multiple map image data covering an area wider than the range of the geographical area indicated by the display range information from the map platform. At this time, the map display control unit 1106 may acquire only map image data corresponding to the current scale, or may acquire map image data corresponding to multiple scales including the current scale. The map display control unit 1106 may transmit each acquired piece of map image data to the user terminal 5 in association with the latitude and longitude and the scale corresponding to the map image data.

[0085] Next, the map display control unit 1106 extracts facilities located within an area wider than the geographical area for displaying the map (step S202). For example, the map display control unit 1106 may identify the range of the area covered by the map image data acquired from the map platform. The map display control unit 1106 may search the facility DB 14b for facility IDs whose latitude and longitude indicated by the facility position information are included within the range of the area. Next, the map display control unit 1106 initializes the display priority of each extracted facility to zero (step S203).

[0086] Next, the attribute information acquisition unit 1105 acquires, for each of the extracted facilities, target user attribute information associated with the facility group ID of the facility group to which the facility belongs from the facility group DB 14a (step S204). Next, the map display control unit 1106 identifies, from among the extracted facilities, a facility for which the ownership probability of all attributes indicated by the target user attribute information is equal to or greater than a threshold (step S205). For example, the map display control unit 1106 may acquire attribute information including the user ID of the user and the attribute item ID of the user from the user attribute DB 14c for each combination of an attribute item ID and an attribute value included in the target user attribute information. If the attribute type included in the attribute information is a "factual attribute" and the attribute value included in the target user attribute information matches the attribute value included in the attribute information acquired from the user attribute DB 14c, the map display control unit 1106 may determine that the ownership probability is 100%. When the attribute type included in the attribute information is a "factual attribute" and the attribute value included in the target user attribute information is different from the attribute value included in the attribute information acquired from the user attribute DB 14c, the map display control unit 1106 may determine that the ownership probability is 0%. When the attribute type included in the attribute information is an "estimated attribute" and the attribute value included in the target user attribute information is the same as the attribute value included in the attribute information acquired from the user attribute DB 14c, the map display control unit 1106 may compare the ownership probability included in the attribute information with a threshold value. When the attribute type included in the attribute information is an "estimated attribute" and the attribute value included in the target user attribute information is different from the attribute value included in the attribute information acquired from the user attribute DB 14c, the map display control unit 1106 may calculate the ownership probability to be compared with the threshold value by subtracting the ownership probability included in the attribute information from 100%.

[0087] Next, the facility use history information acquisition unit 1104 acquires an action log including the user ID of the user of the user terminal 5 that is the transmission source of the display range information from the action history DB 22 (step S206). Next, the map display control unit 1106 identifies, from among the facilities identified in step S205, a facility that has not been used by the user as a priority facility (step S207). For example, the map display control unit 1106 may acquire a facility ID of a facility that the user has used from an action log that includes action content information indicating the use of the facility among the acquired action logs. In addition, the map display control unit 1106 may acquire a facility group ID associated with the facility ID of each facility that the user has used from the facility DB 14b. In addition, the map display control unit 1106 may acquire a facility group ID associated with the facility ID of each identified facility from the facility DB 14b. The map display control unit 1106 may identify, from among the identified facilities, a facility that does not belong to a facility group that the user has used as an unused facility based on the acquired facility group ID.

[0088] Next, the map display control unit 1106 adds a predetermined value to the display priority of the identified priority facility (step S208). Next, the map display control unit 1106 transmits display information for each facility extracted in step S202 to the user terminal 5 (step S209). For example, the map display control unit 1106 may acquire the facility name, facility location information, and category information of each facility from the facility DB 14b. The map display control unit 1106 may generate display information including the acquired information, display priority, and upper limit number information. When the map display control unit 1106 transmits each generated display information, the map information providing process ends.

[0089] 15 is a flowchart showing an example of a map display process in the user terminal 5 according to this embodiment. For example, when a map application is started, the user terminal 5 may execute the map display process in accordance with the map application.

[0090] 15, the user terminal 5 transmits display range information to the map application server (step S301). For example, the user terminal 5 may acquire current location information of the user terminal 5 and transmit display range information including the location information, the initial value of the scale, the screen resolution of the user terminal 5, the user ID, and the like.

[0091] Next, the user terminal 5 receives the map image data and the display information transmitted from the map application server 1 in response to the transmission of the display range information (step S302). Next, the user terminal 5 displays the map image on the screen based on the map image data (step S303). For example, the user terminal 5 may convert the longitude and latitude associated with each map image data according to the current scale into coordinates in the coordinate system of the screen based on the display range information. The user terminal 5 may identify a map image, at least a part of which is to be displayed on the screen, based on the converted coordinates. The user terminal 5 may display each identified map image on the screen at a position corresponding to the coordinates.

[0092] Next, the user terminal 5 extracts facilities located within the geographical area in which the map is displayed on the screen from the facilities corresponding to the display information received from the map application server 1 based on the display range information (step S304). For example, the user terminal 5 may convert the longitude and latitude indicated by the facility position information included in each display information into coordinates in the coordinate system of the screen. The user terminal 5 may extract facilities whose converted coordinates indicate a position on the screen.

[0093] Next, the user terminal 5 selects a number of facilities corresponding to the upper limit of the number of facilities that can be displayed from the extracted facilities in descending order of display priority for each facility category based on the display priority, category information, and upper limit number information included in the display information (step S305). Next, the user terminal 5 displays facility icons for each selected facility on the map image on the screen (step S306). For example, the user terminal 5 may display a facility icon corresponding to the category information included in the display information with the converted coordinates for each selected facility, and may also display the facility name near the facility icon.

[0094] Next, the user terminal 5 determines whether the range of the geographical area in which the map is to be displayed has changed (step S307). For example, the range may change due to the movement of the user terminal 5, a change in scale, a user operation, etc. If the range of the geographical area in which the map is to be displayed has changed (step S307: YES), the user terminal 5 determines whether additional map image data is required (step S308). If additional map image data is not required (step S308: NO), the process proceeds to step S303. Then, the user terminal 5 continues to display the map using the map image data and display information currently held by the user terminal 5. If additional map image data is required (step S308: YES), the process proceeds to step S301. Then, the user terminal 5 transmits display range information according to the geographical area in the changed range to the map application server 1.

[0095] If the range of the geographical area in which the map is displayed has not changed (step S307: NO), the user terminal 5 determines whether or not to terminate the map application (step S309). For example, the map application is terminated by a user operation. If the map application is not terminated (step S309: NO), the process proceeds to step S307. If the map application is terminated (step S309: YES), the map display process ends.

[0096] As described above, according to the present embodiment, the map application server 1 may acquire fact information indicating facts related to the user using the user terminal 5. The map application server 1 may determine, based on the fact information, a value according to the likelihood that the user using the user terminal 5 has an attribute that is not indicated as a fact by the fact information. The map application server 1 may acquire usage history information indicating the history of facility usage by the user. The map application server 1 may acquire, from the facility group DB 14a, target user attribute information associated with each of a plurality of facilities located in a geographical area corresponding to the map displayed on the screen. The map application server 1 may display the facilities on the map. At this time, based on the usage history information and the target user attribute information, the map application server 1 may display, among the plurality of facilities, a priority facility that has not been used by the user using the user terminal 5 and is associated with an attribute whose determined value is equal to or greater than a threshold, in preference to a facility other than the priority facility. A facility with a relatively high probability that the user has an attribute associated with the facility is a facility with a relatively high probability that the user will use it. Therefore, facilities that are highly likely to be potentially used by the user can be preferentially displayed on the map.

[0097] Here, the map application server 1 may display a number of facilities that is equal to or less than the upper limit of the number of facilities that can be displayed for each facility category. In this case, an appropriate number of facilities can be displayed on the map for each facility category.

[0098] In addition, the map application server 1 may determine a value according to the probability that the user has a predetermined attribute by using an attribute estimation model that indicates the relationship between the degree of a predetermined behavior by the user and the probability that the user has a predetermined attribute. In this case, it is possible to estimate the probability that the user has a predetermined attribute from the user's behavior.

[0099] [2. Second embodiment] Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 16 to 18. Except for the points described below, the second embodiment may be the same as the first embodiment. In this embodiment, among the services included in the Internet comprehensive service, affiliated facilities of the service that the user has not used are preferentially displayed on the map.

[0100] Fig. 16 is a diagram showing an example of functional blocks of the system control unit 11 of the map application server 1 according to this embodiment. In Fig. 16, the same elements as those in Fig. 7 are given the same reference numerals. Fig. 16 differs from Fig. 7 in that in Fig. 16, the system control unit 11 further functions as a service usage information acquisition unit 1107.

[0101] The service usage information acquisition unit 1107 may acquire service usage information indicating the usage status of a predetermined priority service by the user of the user terminal 5. The priority service may be a service with which the facility can cooperate. Examples of services with which the facility can cooperate include services to which the facility is affiliated, services available at the facility, and services for which the facility accepts contracts. Examples of such services include facility use reservation services, service use reservation services, point cards, mobile communication services, credit card payments, app payments, electronic money payment receipt and point exchange services, check-in services, and spot SNS. The priority service may be at least one service included in the Internet comprehensive service. For example, the priority service may be all services included in the Internet comprehensive service with which the facility can cooperate, or may be one or more predetermined services. The service usage information may include, for example, an action log stored in the action history DB22. The service ID included in the action log indicates the service used by the user. When the service usage information acquisition unit 1107 acquires the action log, for example, the facility usage history information acquisition unit 1104 may also serve as the service usage information acquisition unit 1107.

[0102] When the service usage information acquired by the service usage information acquisition unit 1107 indicates that the priority service is not being used, and the value determined by the attribute ownership probability determination unit 1103 for an attribute related to an affiliated facility affiliated with the priority service is equal to or greater than a threshold, the map display control unit 1106 may display the affiliated facility preferentially over facilities other than the affiliated facility and the priority facility. In this case, the map display control unit 1106 may display the affiliated facility preferentially regardless of whether the affiliated facility has not been used by the user. This makes it possible to encourage the user to use unused services through the use of the affiliated facility. Note that the map display control unit 1106 may display only affiliated facilities of unused services preferentially, but may not display facilities that have not been used by the user preferentially.

[0103] Whether or not a user has used a certain service may be identified based on the user's experience of using the service. For example, an unused service may be a facility that the user has never used up to now, or a service that the user has not used within a predetermined period of time in the past. Furthermore, whether or not a user has used a service may correspond to the contract status of the service. For example, a service for which the user has not yet signed a contract is an unused service. A service for which the user has a contract is a service in use. A service for which the user once signed a contract but then cancelled is an unused service.

[0104] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a facility priority display determination. For example, a certain mobile phone shop Z is a store that sells mobile phones and accepts contracts for various mobile communication services. As shown in FIG. 17, the attribute indicated by the target user attribute information of the mobile phone shop Z is a user with children whose membership rank is diamond rank. Furthermore, the mobile phone shop Z is a member of a credit card payment service among the services included in the Internet comprehensive service, and is affiliated with a mobile communication service. Assume that a certain user d displays a map on the user terminal 5. The geographical area corresponding to the map includes the mobile phone shop Z. As shown in FIG. 17, the membership rank of the user d is diamond rank. Furthermore, the probability that the user d has children is 88 percent. If the threshold is 80 percent, the mobile phone shop Z can be a candidate for priority display. On the other hand, the user d has used the mobile phone shop Z. Specifically, the user d completed the contract procedure for a mobile communication service different from the mobile communication service included in the Internet comprehensive service at the mobile phone shop Z and purchased a mobile phone. The user d paid for the purchase using the credit card payment service included in the Internet comprehensive service. Therefore, while user d has used the credit card payment service among the services included in the comprehensive Internet service, he has not used the mobile communication service. If the mobile communication service is included in the priority services, mobile phone shop Z will be displayed preferentially to user d. This makes it possible to encourage user d to sign up for the mobile communication service included in the comprehensive Internet service at mobile phone shop Z.

[0105] When there is a mixture of priority facilities and affiliated facilities of a priority service, the map display control unit 1106 may display the priority facilities and affiliated facilities with the same priority. Alternatively, the map display control unit 1106 may display either the priority facilities or the affiliated facilities with priority over the other.

[0106] FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of map information providing processing in the system control unit 11 of the map application server 1 in this embodiment. In FIG. 18, the same processes as those in FIG. 14 are assigned the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 18, first, steps S201 to S208 are executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Next, the map display control unit 1106 identifies a service that is not used by the user among the priority services based on the action log acquired in step S206 (step S211). For example, when there is an action log including a service ID of the priority service and action content information indicating the use or contract of the priority service, the map display control unit 1106 may determine that the user is using the priority service. The map display control unit 1106 may determine that a priority service that does not have such an action log is not being used. In addition, when the action log including the service ID of a certain priority service and the action content information indicating the cancellation of the contract of the priority service are included, the map display control unit 1106 may determine that the priority service is not being used.

[0107] Next, the map display control unit 1106 identifies affiliated facilities of the identified unused service from among the facilities identified in step S205 (step S212). For example, the map display control unit 1106 may acquire service information associated with the facility group ID of the facility group to which each identified facility belongs from the facility group DB 14a. The map display control unit 1106 may identify a facility whose service information includes a service ID of an unused service as an affiliated facility. Next, the map display control unit 1106 adds a predetermined value to the display priority of the identified affiliated facility (step S213). The value added at this time may be the same as or different from the value added in step S208. Next, step S209 is executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

[0108] As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to encourage a user to use an unused service through use of a facility.

[0109] [3. Third embodiment] Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 19 to 22. Except for the following points, the third embodiment may be the same as at least one of the first and second embodiments. In this embodiment, the facilities displayed on the map are limited based on the search history of the facilities.

[0110] Fig. 19 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of the map application server 1 according to this embodiment. In Fig. 19, the same elements as those in Fig. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals. Fig. 19 differs from Fig. 2 in that in Fig. 19, a search history DB 14f is further stored in the storage unit 14.

[0111] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the search history DB 14f. The search history DB 14f may store a history of searches for facilities. For example, the search history DB 14f may store a search log each time a search for a facility is performed. As shown in FIG. 20, the search history DB 14f may include, as the search log, for example, a search log ID, a search date and time, a user ID, search conditions, and searched facility information. The search log ID is identification information for identifying the search log. The search date and time indicates the date and time when the search was performed. The user ID indicates the user who requested the search. The search conditions indicate conditions for searching for a facility. Examples of conditions included in the search conditions include the name or other keywords of the facility, an address, a category, and the like. The searched facility information indicates a list of the facilities that have been searched. The searched facility information may include, for example, a facility ID, a facility group ID, category information, an address, and the like for each of the facilities that have been searched.

[0112] For example, the map application server 1 may search for a facility in response to a request from a user using a map application. For example, the user inputs search conditions to the user terminal 5. The user terminal 5 transmits the input search conditions to the map application server 1. The map application server 1 searches for one or more facilities that satisfy the search conditions, for example, by using the facility group DB 14a, the facility DB 14b, etc. The map application server 1 transmits the search result to the user terminal 5. The search result may include, for example, a facility name, a category name, an address, etc. for each of the searched facilities. The user terminal 5 displays the search result on a screen. The user selects any one of the facilities from the displayed search results. The user terminal 5 transmits display range information including the position of the selected facility to the map application server 1. The map application server 1 causes the user terminal 5 to display a map based on the display range information, and also causes the facility to be displayed on the map. In this case, the position of the facility selected by the user becomes the center of the map. At this time, the map application server 1 may store the search log in the search history DB 14f.

[0113] Fig. 21 is a diagram showing an example of functional blocks of the system control unit 11 of the map application server 1 according to this embodiment. In Fig. 21, the same elements as those in Fig. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals. Fig. 21 differs from Fig. 7 in that in Fig. 21, the system control unit 11 further functions as a search history information acquisition unit 1108.

[0114] The search history information acquisition unit 1108 may acquire a search history of a facility in response to a request from a user of the user terminal 5. For example, the acquired search history may be at least one search log including the user ID of the user among the search logs stored in the search history DB 14f. In this case, the search history information acquisition unit 1108 may acquire only the search log with the most recent search date and time. Alternatively, the search history information acquisition unit 1108 may acquire a predetermined number of search logs in order of most recent search date and time. Alternatively, the search history information acquisition unit 1108 may acquire one or more search logs with a search date and time within a predetermined period in the past.

[0115] The search history information acquiring unit 1108 may acquire a search history for at least one service other than the map service, among services included in the Internet comprehensive service, from the service server 4 corresponding to the service. In this case, the search history information acquiring unit 1108 may acquire a search history of a user of the user terminal 5 displaying the map. For example, in an online shopping mall, a search history of a product may be recorded. It may be possible to identify a facility that sells the product from the search history of the product. Also, for example, in a facility reservation service, a search history of the facility may be recorded.

[0116] The map display control unit 1106 may determine a facility to be displayed on the map from among a plurality of facilities located within a geographical area corresponding to the map displayed on the screen of the user terminal 5, from among facilities in the same category as the category to which the facility indicated by the search history acquired by the search history information acquisition unit 1108 belongs. That is, facilities in the same category as the category of the facility searched in the past become candidates for the facility to be displayed on the map. Therefore, even if a certain facility is a priority facility or an affiliated service of an unused service, if it does not belong to the same category as the category of the facility searched in the past, the facility is not displayed on the map. In this way, the facilities displayed on the map are filtered. The category used for filtering the facilities to be displayed may be the same as or different from the type of category used for the upper limit number of displays.

[0117] FIG. 22 shows an example of determining candidates for facilities to be displayed on a map. As shown in FIG. 22, a supermarket K and a restaurant L are searched in response to a request from a certain user. The categories of the supermarket K and the restaurant L are supermarket and restaurant, respectively. The search log includes the supermarket K and the restaurant L. After that, the user causes the user terminal 5 to display a map. At this time, as shown in FIG. 22, a hotel M, a supermarket N, a ramen shop O, a convenience store P, a restaurant Q, and the like are extracted as facilities located in a geographical area corresponding to the map. The categories of the hotel M, the supermarket N, the ramen shop O, the convenience store P, and the restaurant Q are hotel, supermarket, ramen shop, convenience store, and restaurant, respectively. In this case, the supermarket N and the restaurant Q are candidates to be displayed on the map. Whether or not these facilities are displayed is determined based on whether or not they are priority facilities, whether or not they are affiliated facilities of an unused service, and the upper limit number of facilities to be displayed for each category. The hotel M, the ramen shop O, and the convenience store P are not displayed.

[0118] For example, when facilities located within the area are extracted in step S202 of the map information provision process shown in Fig. 14, the search history information acquisition unit 1108 may acquire a search log including the user ID of the user of the user terminal 5 that transmitted the display range information from the search history DB 14f. The map display control unit 1106 may determine facilities to be displayed candidates based on, for example, the category of the searched facilities indicated by the search log and the category of the facilities located within the area. After that, the processes from step S203 onwards may be executed for the facilities to be displayed candidates.

[0119] As described above, according to this embodiment, facilities in a category desired by the user can be displayed.

[0120] (Supplementary Note 1) A map display control system comprising: an acquisition means for acquiring fact information indicating facts related to a terminal user using a terminal device; a determination means for determining, based on the acquired fact information, a value corresponding to a likelihood that the terminal user has an attribute whose possession by the terminal user is not indicated as a fact by the fact information, said determination means determining the value for the attribute that is correlated between the fact and the likelihood; a usage history information acquisition means for acquiring usage history information indicating a history of facility use by the terminal user; an attribute information acquisition means for acquiring, from a storage means for storing attribute information indicating attributes related to facilities as user attributes in association with the facilities, the attribute information associated with each of a plurality of facilities located within a geographical area corresponding to a map displayed on a screen of the terminal device; and a display control means for displaying facilities on the displayed map, said display control means displaying, based on the acquired usage history information and the acquired attribute information, priority facilities associated with the attribute that have not been used by the terminal user and whose determined value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, among the plurality of facilities, in priority to facilities other than the priority facilities.

[0121] (Appendix 2) The plurality of facilities may include affiliated facilities affiliated with a specified service, and the map display control system further comprises a service usage information acquisition means for acquiring service usage information indicating the usage status of the specified service by the terminal user, and the display control means is characterized in that when the acquired service usage information indicates non-use of the specified service and a value determined by the determination means for an attribute related to the affiliated facility is equal to or greater than the specified value, the map display control system displays the affiliated facility in priority to facilities other than the affiliated facility and the priority facility, regardless of whether the affiliated facility has not been used by the terminal user.

[0122] (Appendix 3) The map display control system according to appendix 2, characterized in that the specified service is a mobile communication service, and the affiliated facility is a facility that accepts contract applications for the mobile communication service.

[0123] (Appendix 4) The map display control system described in Appendix 2, characterized in that the specified service is an electronic payment service, and the affiliated facility is a facility where the purchase price of a trading object provided by the affiliated facility can be paid using the electronic payment service.

[0124] (Appendix 5) A map display control system as described in any one of Appendices 1 to 4, characterized in that an upper limit on the number of facilities that can be displayed on the screen is predefined for each facility category, and the display control means displays a number of facilities for each facility category that is equal to or less than the upper limit.

[0125] (Appendix 6) The map display control system according to any one of Appendices 1 to 5 further comprises a search history information acquisition means for acquiring search history information indicating a history of searches for facilities in response to requests from the terminal user, the search history information indicating searched facilities, and the display control means determines a facility to be displayed on the map from among the plurality of facilities, the facility being in the same category as the category to which the facility indicated by the acquired search history information belongs.

[0126] (Appendix 7) A map display control system as described in any one of Appendices 1 to 6, wherein the acquired factual information indicates the degree to which the terminal user has taken a specified action, and the determination means determines the value corresponding to the probability that the terminal user has the specified attribute using a model indicating the relationship between the degree of the specified action and the probability that the user has a specified attribute.

[0127] (Supplementary Note 8) The map display control system according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 7, characterized in that the attribute information stored in the storage means indicates attributes possessed by users who use the facility.

[0128] (Appendix 9) A map display control method executed by a computer, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring fact information indicating facts related to a terminal user using a terminal device; a decision step of determining, based on the acquired fact information, a value corresponding to a probability that the terminal user has an attribute whose ownership is not indicated as a fact by the fact information, the decision step determining the value for the attribute having a correlation between the fact and the probability; a usage history information acquisition step of acquiring usage history information indicating a history of facility use by the terminal user; an attribute information acquisition step of acquiring, from a storage means that associates attribute information indicating attributes related to facilities as user attributes with the facilities and stores the attribute information; and a display control step of displaying facilities on the displayed map, the display control step displaying priority facilities associated with the attribute that have not been used by the terminal user and for which the determined value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, among the multiple facilities, in preference to facilities other than the priority facilities, based on the acquired usage history information and the acquired attribute information. [Explanation of symbols]

[0129] 1 Map application server 2. Membership information management server 3 Point Management Server 4 Service Server 5. User terminal 11 System control section 12 System Bus 13 Input / Output Interface 14 Storage section 14a Facility Group DB 14b Facility DB 14c User Attributes DB 14d Attribute estimation model DB 14e Location information DB 14f Search History DB 15 Communications Department 21 Member DB 22 Behavioral History DB 1101 Factual Information Acquisition Department 1102 Attribute estimation model generation unit 1103 Attribute Possession Probability Determination Unit 1104 Facility usage history information acquisition unit 1105 Attribute information acquisition section 1106 Map display control unit 1107 Service usage information acquisition unit 1108 Search history information acquisition unit NW Network S Communication System

Claims

1. An acquisition means for acquiring fact information indicating facts related to a terminal user who uses the terminal device; a determination means for determining, based on the acquired factual information, a value according to a probability that the terminal user has an attribute whose possession or non-possession by the factual information is not indicated as the fact, the determination means determining the value for the attribute that is related to the fact and the probability; a usage history information acquiring means for acquiring usage history information indicating a history of facility usage by the terminal user; an attribute information acquiring means for acquiring attribute information associated with each of a plurality of facilities located within a geographical area corresponding to a map displayed on a screen of the terminal device from a storage means for storing attribute information indicating attributes related to a facility as a user attribute in association with the facility; a display control means for displaying facilities on the displayed map, the display control means displaying, based on the acquired usage history information and the acquired attribute information, priority facilities among the plurality of facilities that have not been used by the terminal user and that are associated with the attribute for which the determined value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, in preference to facilities other than the priority facilities; A map display control system comprising:

2. The plurality of facilities may include affiliated facilities that are affiliated with a predetermined service; The service usage information acquisition unit further includes a service usage information acquisition unit that acquires service usage information indicating a usage status of the predetermined service by the terminal user, The map display control system according to claim 1, characterized in that, when the acquired service usage information indicates non-use of the specified service and the value determined by the determination means for an attribute related to the affiliated facility is equal to or greater than the specified value, the display control means displays the affiliated facility in priority to facilities other than the affiliated facility and the priority facility, regardless of whether the affiliated facility has been used by the terminal user or not.

3. the predetermined service is a mobile communication service, 3. The map display control system according to claim 2, wherein the affiliated facility is a facility that accepts applications for a contract for the mobile communication service.

4. the predetermined service is an electronic payment service, 3. The map display control system according to claim 2, wherein the affiliated facility is a facility where the purchase price of a transaction object provided by the affiliated facility can be paid by using the electronic payment service.

5. An upper limit on the number of facilities that can be displayed on the screen is determined in advance for each facility category; 3. The map display control system according to claim 1, wherein the display control means displays a number of facilities for each facility category equal to or less than the upper limit.

6. The system further includes a search history information acquiring means for acquiring search history information indicating a history of searches for facilities in response to a request from the terminal user, the search history information indicating the facilities searched for, The map display control system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the display control means determines, among the plurality of facilities, facilities to be displayed on the map from among facilities in the same category as the category to which the facility indicated by the acquired search history information belongs.

7. The acquired factual information indicates a degree to which the terminal user has performed a predetermined action; The map display control system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the determination means determines the value corresponding to the probability that the terminal user has the specified attribute using a model showing the relationship between the degree of the specified behavior and the probability that the user has the specified attribute.

8. 3. The map display control system according to claim 1, wherein the attribute information stored in the storage means indicates attributes of users who use the facilities.

9. 1. A computer-implemented map display control method, comprising: An acquisition step of acquiring fact information indicating facts related to a terminal user who uses a terminal device; a determination step of determining a value according to a probability that the terminal user has an attribute that is not indicated as a fact by the fact information obtained, the value being determined for the attribute that is related to the fact and the probability; a usage history information acquisition step of acquiring usage history information indicating a history of facility usage by the terminal user; an attribute information acquisition step of acquiring attribute information associated with each of a plurality of facilities located within a geographical area corresponding to a map displayed on a screen of the terminal device from a storage means that stores attribute information indicating attributes related to a facility as a user attribute in association with the facility; a display control step of displaying facilities on the displayed map, the display control step being for displaying, among the plurality of facilities, priority facilities that have not been used by the terminal user and that are associated with the attribute for which the determined value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, in preference to facilities other than the priority facilities, based on the acquired usage history information and the acquired attribute information; A map display control method comprising:

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