Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/102,344, filed Mar. 20, 2002, and entitled “Method and System for Distributing Disaster Information,” and which was published on Sep. 26, 2002 as U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2002/0138298 A1, and which is assigned to the same assignee as this application, and which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a system for distributing information via such a network as an Internet, more particularly to a system for distributing disaster information to customers. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Disaster information must be shared quickly by all the concerned people. At present, such disaster information is distributed to people by mass media. However, enabling people to share any kind of information related to disaster is one of today&#39;s most urgent issues. 
     The Internet is an effective tool for distributing information. However, using the Internet to distribute disaster information would not be effective, as mass disaster information would be distributed to people without distinction. Consequently, people might receive so much information that truly necessary information could be lost. Furthermore, receiving so much information might cause people to lose their interest and become insensitive even to disaster information. 
     Disaster information covers a spectrum ranging from ordinary disasters such as fires, weather-caused (heavy rains, lightning, snowfalls, and so forth) damages, railway accidents, and traffic accidents, through more serious natural disasters (earthquakes, eruptions, tsunamis (seismic sea waves), typhoons, and so forth) that occur only once in many years. It is therefore important not to let people overlook really necessary disaster information among a mass of information they might receive. When an existing Internet system is employed for distributing such disaster information, however, it is required to set conditions for registering customers so as to receive disaster information one by one. For example, conditions to be set could become complicated as follows. When a disaster occurs far away, what information do customers want to have? Do they need railway operation information and/or weather reports? When a disaster occurs in the neighborhood, what scale disaster information do they receive? Do they want information about small fires, traffic accidents, as well? Actually, there is no need to set the conditions in such detail, as conditions will be set coarsely so as to distribute mass information; existing systems cannot distribute truly necessary information to individual customers. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a system that can distribute necessary information to customers without requiring setting of complicated and troublesome conditions. 
     Customers refer to geographical information as a criterion so as to make their choices about disaster information they truly need. Typically, a customer requests minute disaster information when the disaster-stricken district is closer to him/her; conversely, the customer does not request any information about far-away disasters except when the disaster is serious in scale. 
     Table 1 shows disaster categories by assuming the X axis as a distance from the subject customer, the Y axis as a disaster level, and the Z axis as a disaster category. This table employs the first letters of Distance, disaster Level, and Category, so that it may be referred to as a DLC table. 
     In this DLC table, distance from a subject customer is usually a distance from the customer&#39;s home address. A slight disaster damage takes a lower level and a serious disaster damage takes a higher level. For an earthquake, for example, a level is decided by the seismic intensity (or magnitude denoting the energy of the earthquake). Disaster categories denote disaster types. For example, the table a denotes fires, the table b denotes earthquakes, the table c denotes hurricanes, and the table d denotes seismic waves. Such tables are prepared for each disaster category. The tables a to d described above are just examples. The number of tables may also be prepared in accordance with the number of other disasters. 
     The table a in the DLC table has a trapezoidal area, which denotes the relationship between the distance from each customer and each disaster level. When the distance from a customer is near, the customer wants to obtain the disaster information even when the disaster level is low. When the distance from the customer is far, however, the customer does not want any information about low level disasters. Thus, the trapezoidal area denotes such the customer&#39;s need of disaster information. Consequently, in the case where this area is defined as a distribution set area and disaster information included in this area is distributed to a customer, it will be effective to satisfy the customer&#39;s desire for obtaining disaster information. And, the DLC table enables the customer to obtain disaster information matching with the customer&#39;s need simply by selecting two elements: a district and a disaster level for each disaster category. 
     Basically, the present invention distributes disaster information on the basis of the concept employed for the DLC table. Consequently, the information distributor, at the time of storing disaster information in a data base, creates disaster information so as to include a disaster-occurred district, a disaster level, and a disaster category therein. On the other hand, the distribution service receiver (customer) sets his/her district. The information distributor then creates customer information including the district set by the customer. This is why the distributor can distribute disaster information appropriately to the customer&#39;s need just by collating this disaster information with the customer information under predetermined conditions updated by the DLC table. 
     In order to attain the above object, the information distribution apparatus of the present invention, enabled to distribute disaster information to a customer terminal, includes a disaster information storage for storing disaster-occurred district information for identifying a disaster-occurred district and a real disaster level corresponding to the disaster, selected from a plurality of preset disaster levels; a customer information registration unit for registering customer district information set by the customer; a distribution information management unit for deciding whether disaster information is distributed to the customer or not by collating the disaster-occurred district information with the customer district information with respect to the set disaster level matching with the real disaster level; and an information distribution unit for distributing disaster information to the customer terminal according to the decision by the distribution information management unit. 
     In the case of the information distribution apparatus of the present invention, the customer registers customer district information beforehand, and can receive disaster information matching with his/her need. 
     In the case of the information distribution apparatus of the present invention, the customer district information set by the customer is preferably divided into hierarchical layers before it is stored. Hierarchical division means, for example, the relationship between prefectures and municipalities. More concretely, it means the relationship between “Tokyo” and “Minato Ward” in Tokyo or “Kanagawa Prefecture” and “Fujisawa City” in the prefecture. The customer district information of the present invention is not limited only to such administrative units. Storing hierarchically divided district information in this way is intended to cope with customers&#39; needs. The requests from customers do not depend on the disaster level; customers living in “Minato Ward” request distribution of disaster information related to disasters occurring in Minato Ward, but do not request distribution of disaster information about disasters occurring in other wards in “Tokyo”. Consequently, the disaster information storage should preferably store the disaster-occurred district information divided in hierarchical layers, to provide more favorable collation of information by the distribution information management unit. 
     The information distribution apparatus of the present invention distributes disaster information to customer terminals via such a network as the Internet. The information distribution apparatus of the present invention does not limit the types of customer terminals, but they are preferably portable terminals, for example portable phones enabled to be connected to a network so as to receive disaster information effectively therefrom. 
     According to the present invention, the disaster information storage can store a disaster type corresponding to disaster-occurred district and each disaster level. When such information is stored in the storage, the distribution information management unit may decide whether to distribute information according to each disaster type or not. This is because there are many disaster types such as fires, weather-caused disasters, earthquakes, etc. as described above, and the decision must be made appropriately to each such disaster type. 
     Furthermore, in the case of the present invention, the disaster information storage should store disaster contents corresponding to the disaster-occurred district information and each real disaster level so as to enable the information distribution unit to distribute the disaster type, the disaster-occurred district information, and the disaster contents to subject customer terminals as disaster information. 
     As described above, the information distribution unit is used only to distribute disaster information. However, in addition to such disaster information, the concept of the present invention may also apply to the distribution of general information of events for which occurred-districts can be identified. Specifically, the concept of the present invention can apply to event information to be classified into nationwide information and local information, such as economic information, political information including elections, sports information, and so forth. The information distribution apparatus of the present invention obtains information about an event for which occurred-districts can be identified, so that the information may be distributed only to customers who satisfy predetermined conditions. In order to attain this objective, the information distribution apparatus includes an information distribution unit having a criterion for deciding whether information in relation to a disaster level in each of the hierarchically divided geographical units is distributed or not, and a customer information registration unit for registering customer district information set by the customer. The distribution information management unit, when it obtains new event information wherein the customer district information matches with the event-occurred district in any of the geographical units, decides whether information according to the criterion is distributed or not. 
     Basically, the information distribution apparatus decides whether information is distributed by comparing two geographical items while consideration is given to the event level. 
     In the information distribution apparatus of the present invention, the distribution information management unit may have a plurality of criteria, and sets quotation information for the criteria. The quotation information is used to quote each of the criteria. The customer information registration unit registers any of the quotation information items and the distribution information management unit can confirm the quotation information registered in the customer information registration unit so as to decide whether information according to the criterion corresponding to the confirmed quotation information is distributed or not. This is to cope with each event type, such as economic information, politic information including elections, sports information, and so forth. 
     Furthermore, in the information distribution apparatus of the present invention, the distribution information management unit, at the time of distributing event information to the customer, may distribute a questionnaire related to the event. For example, at the time of distributing disaster information, the distribution information management unit may solicit and receive the latest information about the disaster from a customer living in or around the disaster-occurred district so as to distribute the new information to another customer. The questionnaire preferably is prepared for each event separately. 
     Furthermore, in the information distribution apparatus of the present invention, the distribution information management unit, at the time of distributing the event information may communicate with the customers about payment of monetary gifts. This makes it possible to provide relief quickly to a customer who has suffered from a disaster. 
     The present invention may also apply to an information distribution apparatus that can cope with events that occur in such courses as roads, as described above. In such a case, the information distribution apparatus of the present invention is preferably be configured as follows. Specifically, the information distribution apparatus of the present invention, which obtains event information for which its occurred-district can be identified by course and distributes the event information to customers who satisfy predetermined conditions, includes a distribution information management unit having a criterion for deciding whether or not to distribute information in relation to a disaster level in each of hierarchically divided geographical units; a course-district conversion unit for converting event-occurred course information to information of a district that the course passes through; and customer information registration unit for registering customer district information set by each customer. The distribution information management unit, when it obtains new event information for which the geographical unit matches with the event-occurred district in any of the geographical units, decides whether or not information is distributed to the customer according to the criterion. 
     A district where a railway disruption occurs is identified by the course. However, although course information is a kind of disaster-occurred district information, it cannot be compared with the customer district information registered in the customer information registration unit unless modified. This is why the present invention converts course information to information of a district that the course passes through. 
     The information distribution apparatus of the present invention is also used to distribute to customers information of a disaster occurring in a predetermined district. The apparatus includes a customer information registration unit for registering customer district information set by each customer, a disaster information storage for storing the disaster-occurred district and the disaster level, and a distribution information management unit for deciding whether or not the disaster information is distributed to the customer by comparing the customer district information with the disaster-occurred district while consideration is given to the disaster level. 
     In the information distribution apparatus of the present invention, the distribution information management unit decides whether to distribute disaster information to the customer by comparing the distance from the customer district with that of the disaster-occurred district. 
     The present invention also provides an information distribution method for distributing to customers information of a disaster occurring in a predetermined district. The method includes: a step (a) of registering customer district information according to which the customer requests distribution of information; a step (b) of identifying the disaster-occurred district and the disaster level; and a step (c) of deciding whether to distribute the disaster information by considering the distance between the customer district and the disaster-occurred district, while consideration is given to the disaster level. 
     In the information distribution method of the present invention, the step (c) can decide to distribute the disaster information to the customer even when the disaster level is high and the customer district is far from the disaster-occurred district. This is to cope with the request from the customer who wants to obtain information of a serious disaster even when the disaster occurs far away. 
     Furthermore, the present invention enables the step (c) to decide to distribute the disaster information to the customer when the disaster level is low and the customer district matches the disaster-occurred district or is nearby. 
     The present invention also provides an information distribution method that includes: a step of storing disaster-occurred district information for identifying a disaster-occurred district and a real disaster level selected from a plurality of preset disaster levels and corresponding to the disaster; a step of registering customer district information set by the customer; and a step of deciding whether the disaster information is distributed to the customer terminal or not by collating the disaster-occurred district with the customer district information with respect to a set disaster level matching with the real disaster level; and a step of distributing the disaster information or not according to the decision. 
     Furthermore, the information distribution method of the present invention may be used to obtain information of an event for which its occurred-district can be identified and distribute the event information to a customer who satisfies predetermined conditions. The method includes: a step of preparing a criterion for deciding whether to distribute information to the customer in relation to an event level set in each of hierarchically divided geographical units; a step of registering customer district information set by the customer; and a step of deciding whether information is distributed to the customer or not according to the criterion when it obtains new event information and the customer district information matches with the event-occurred district in any of the geographical units. 
     Furthermore, the information distribution method of the present invention may be used to distribute information to a customer of a disaster occurring in a predetermined district. The method includes a step of registering customer district information set by the customer; a step of storing the disaster-occurred district and the disaster level; and a step of deciding whether or not the disaster information is distributed to the customer by comparing the customer district information with the disaster-occurred district while consideration is given to the disaster level. 
     Furthermore, the present invention provides a program that enables a computer to execute processes (a) for setting a customer district according to which the customer requests distribution of disaster information; (b) for identifying a disaster-occurred district and a disaster level; and (c) for deciding whether information is distributed to the customer or not by comparing the distance between the customer district and the disaster-occurred district while consideration is given to the disaster level. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows disaster, level, category (DLC) table, in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic block diagram of a configuration of a disaster information distribution system employed in a first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an information distribution apparatus employed in the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  shows contents of a disaster information data base (DB) employed in the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  shows contents of a customer information data base (DB) employed in the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  shows contents of matching tables employed in the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  shows a procedure for registering customer information employed in the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  shows another procedure for registering customer information employed in the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 9  shows still another procedure for registering customer information employed in the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 10  shows exemplary logic employed in the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 11  shows contents of a disaster information data base (DB) employed in the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 12  shows contents of a customer information data base (DB) employed in the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 13  shows contents of a course-district conversion table employed in the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 14  shows exemplary logic employed in the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 15  shows exemplary screens shown on a customer&#39;s portable telephone employed in the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 16  is a block diagram of a configuration of an information distribution apparatus employed in a second embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 17  is a block diagram of a configuration of an information distribution apparatus employed in a third embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 18  shows exemplary screens displayed for a customer&#39;s portable telephone employed in the second and third embodiments of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Hereunder, various embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic block diagram for a configuration of a disaster information distribution system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the disaster information distribution system in this first embodiment includes an information distribution apparatus  1 . The information distribution apparatus  1  obtains disaster information from a disaster information source  3 . The information distribution apparatus  1  then customizes the obtained disaster information and distributes the customized disaster information to a customer  2 . 
     The customer  2  can receive the disaster information from the information distribution apparatus  1  with use of a portable phone and/or a personal computer (PC) via, for example, the Internet  4 , as well as via a car navigation system, an illuminated sign spelling-out news board, a terminal installed at a convenience store, a terminal such as a digital home appliance, and so forth. 
     The information distribution apparatus  1  obtains disaster information items from the disaster information source  3 . For example, the disaster information source  3  may collect the following information items: fire information, river (flood) information, railway (accident) information, road (accident) information, traffic information, weather reports, earthquake information, volcano information, recall information, and crime information. The fire information may include fires and explosion accidents. The river information may include flood warnings. The railway information may include delay or recovery information. The road information may include car accidents and traffic jams. The weather information may include weather reports and various weather-caused disaster warnings and alarms, as well as the probability of precipitation. The earthquake information may include seismic intensity of each earthquake and damages of each earthquake. The volcano information may include eruption information. The recall information may include recall information of foods, machines, and other products available on the market. The information distributor obtains the disaster information items and stores them in data bases (to be described later) of the information distribution apparatus  1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram for a configuration of the information distribution apparatus  1 . The system shown in  FIG. 3  distributes disaster information to portable phones  51  to  54  of customers. 
     The information distribution apparatus  1  includes a disaster information management unit  10 , a customer information management unit  20 , a distribution information management unit  30 , and an information distribution unit  40 . 
     The disaster information management unit  10  includes an information input application program  11 , an automatic input application program  12 , and a disaster information data base (DB)  13 . 
     The information input application  11  is used to enter disaster information obtained from the disaster information source  3  manually. The automatic input application  12  is used to enter disaster information obtained from the disaster information source  3  automatically as digital information. The disaster information entered from the information input application  11  and automatic input application  12  is stored in the disaster information data base (DB)  13 . 
     The disaster information data base (DB)  13  stores disaster information classified by geographical information, disaster type, disaster level, and disaster content.  FIG. 4  shows an exemplary record  400  of the disaster information data base (DB)  13 . The geographical information is classified into three hierarchical layers: (STATE), (CITY), and (TOWN). As shown in  FIG. 4 , the “STATE” denotes such a prefecture as Tokyo, Hokkaido, and so forth. The “CITY” denotes such a city, town, or village of an administrative unit as Minato Ward, Fujisawa City, and so forth. The “TOWN” denotes a local area unit in a ward, city, town, or village, for example, Roppongi 3-chome, Kirihara-machi, and so forth. In  FIG. 4 , “CATEGORY” denotes information of a disaster type. Specifically, it may be a fire report, a weather report, an earthquake report, and so forth. In  FIG. 4 , “LV” denotes a disaster level. This level means one of three ranks (1 to 3) for each disaster type (“CATEGORY”). In the first embodiment, “1” denotes a serious disaster damage, “2” denotes a medium disaster damage, and “3” denotes a slight disaster damage. “DETAIL” in  FIG. 4  means information denoting descriptive specifics of a disaster, for example, “explosion and fire outbreak on 13th floor of a building”, “fire outbreak in a warehouse”, and so forth. The disaster information stored in the disaster information data base (DB)  13  may be updated each time disaster information is obtained from the disaster information source  3 . Each time the disaster information data base (DB)  13  is updated, the new disaster information may be transferred to the distribution information management unit  30 . 
     The customer information management unit  20  is provided with a customer information registration application program  21  and a customer information DB  22 . The customer information registration application  21  assists each customer to register his/her information in the customer information DB  22  so as to receive services from this system. Customer information may be registered in the customer information DB  22  in the format of an exemplary record  500  as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     In  FIG. 5 , “CUSTOMER” denotes information used to identify each customer. The example shown in  FIG. 5  includes information about three customers, denoted X, Y, and Z. A mail address used for a portable phone may be set for “CUSTOMER”. Each customer information is registered with respect to hierarchically divided geographical information (“STATE”, “CITY” and “TOWN”) and “COURSE” information. The geographical information means customer district information set by each customer. A home address can be set as the customer district information. In this case,  FIG. 5  shows that the home address of the customer X is Roppongi, Minato-Ward, Tokyo, the home address of the customer Y is Daimon, Minato-Ward, Tokyo, and the home address of the customer Z is Roppongi, Minato-Ward, Tokyo. A customer pays his/her highest attention to information about disasters that occur in his/her district including his/her home address. In  FIG. 5 , “COURSE” may be selected from two choices A and B. A specific selection example will be described later. 
     The distribution information management unit  30  receives new disaster information from the disaster information data base (DB)  13 . Receiving new disaster information, the distribution information management unit  30  executes a process for matching the disaster information with each customer information registered in the customer information DB  22 . As a result of this matching process, customers are selected to whom the new disaster information is to be distributed. The distribution information management unit  30  is provided with matching tables used for the matching processing. A matching table may be prepared for each disaster information type, that is, for each “CATEGORY”. Such a matching table may also be prepared for each course in each “CATEGORY”. 
       FIG. 6  shows an example of a matching table  600  for a fire outbreak report. A matching table is configured by two tables: a first table  601  for course A, and a second table  602  for course B. 
     The matching table  600  is used to link hierarchically divided geographical information with disaster level and decide whether to distribute disaster information customers. Hereinafter, exemplary contents of the matching table for course A are described. Disaster information whose level LV is 3 is distributed to the subject customer(s) only when “TOWN” in the disaster information transferred from the distribution information management unit  30  matches “TOWN” in the customer information obtained from the customer information DB  22 . The “o” in the matching table denotes that information should be distributed. Disaster information whose level LV is 2 is distributed to the subject customer(s) when “CITY” in the disaster information transferred from the distribution information management unit  30  matches “CITY” in the customer information obtained from the customer information DB  22 . In this case, even when the “TOWN” does not match between that transferred from the distribution information management unit  30  and that obtained from the customer information DB  22 , the disaster information is distributed to the subject customer(s). Disaster information whose level LV is 1 is distributed to the subject customer(s) when “STATE” in the disaster information transferred from the distribution information management unit  30  matches “STATE” in the customer information obtained from the customer information DB  22 . In this case, even when both “TOWN” and “CITY” do not match between that transferred from the distribution information management unit  30  and that obtained from the customer information DB  22 , the disaster information is distributed to the subject customer(s). “ALL” in the matching table means that information should be distributed even when all “STATE”, “CITY”, and “TOWN” do not match between that transferred from the distribution information management unit  30  and that obtained from the customer information DB  22 . This is a case in which disaster information is distributed even when a district denoted by customer district information is far from a disaster-occurred district. The same rules also apply to the matching table for course B. 
     The information distribution unit  40  distributes disaster information, according to decisions made by the distribution information management unit  30 , to predetermined customers as mail information. The customers receive this information via portable phones  51  to  54 . In this first embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 2 , disaster information is distributed to the portable phones  51  to  54  of the customers via the Internet. Thus, the portable phones  51  to  54  must be portable phones that can communicate with the Internet. The communication method of each of the portable phones differs among carriers (portable phone companies), so that the information distribution unit  40  must distribute disaster information appropriately to the communication method of each of the portable phones  51  to  54 . 
     A customer who wants to use the disaster information distribution service of the first embodiment is asked to register himself/herself via a portable telephone  51  as shown in  FIG. 3 . Hereinafter, the customer registration procedure will be described with reference to  FIGS. 7 through 9 . 
     When the customer accesses the information distribution apparatus  1  via the portable telephone  51 , a password input screen  701  is displayed as shown in  FIG. 7 . The customer is requested to enter his/her password on the password input screen  701 . The password input screen  701  also displays the mail address assigned to the portable telephone  51 . When the customer sends the entered password, a home address input screen  702  is displayed. The customer is prompted to select his/her area such as Kanto, Tokai, and so forth on the home input screen  702 . In this case, the customer selects Kanto in the example shown in  FIG. 7 . Then, there appears a prefecture selection screen  703  for prompting the customer to select his/her prefecture. In this example, the customer selects 23 Wards in Tokyo. Then, there appears a city selection screen  704  for prompting the customer to select his/her city, ward, town, or village. In this example, the customer selects Meguro Ward. After this, there appears a detail selection screen  801  for prompting the customer to select his/her more detailed area in the selected ward as shown in  FIG. 8 . This completes the registration of the information related to his/her home address. 
     Then, there appears a course selection screen  802  for prompting the customer to select a course, as shown in  FIG. 8 . The customer is requested to select either A or B. In this example the customer selects the course A. After this course selection, there appears a confirmation screen  803  for prompting the customer to confirm the registered items. On the confirmation screen  803  are displayed “Nakameguro, Meguro-Ward, Tokyo” as the selected area and “A” as the selected course as shown in  FIG. 8 . The confirmation screen  803  also prompts the customer to register other areas; for example, it is also possible to register the home address of his/her parents, the address of his/her place of work, and so forth on this screen. 
     Then, there appears a phone registration screen  804  for prompting the customer to register the type of the portable telephone  51  as shown in  FIG. 8 . On the screen phone registration  804  are displayed three types of portable telephones. The customer is prompted to select one of them. When the customer selects the type of the portable telephone, there appears another confirmation  901  screen for prompting the customer to confirm the type of the portable telephone he/she has entered. When the customer sends “confirmed”, there appears a registration confirmation screen  902  for displaying the “registration confirmed” message as shown in  FIG. 9 . 
     Next, a description will be made for the details of a matching process executed by the distribution information management unit  30  with reference to  FIG. 10 . 
       FIG. 10  shows a procedure for deciding whether to distribute disaster information to three customers X, Y, and Z shown as users in  FIG. 5 , with reference to the matching table  600  shown in  FIG. 6 , when an explosion and fire occur in Roppongi, and which is newly registered in the disaster information DB  13 . The explosion and fire is selected from the disaster information items shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     The distribution information management unit  30  obtains the disaster information from the disaster information DB  13  and the customer information from the customer information DB  22  respectively. In the exemplary record  1001  shown in  FIG. 10 , the disaster information denotes “Tokyo”, “Minato-Ward”, “Roppongi”, “LV=2”, and “Fire report” respectively. 
     The customer X has selected the course A, so the disaster information is collated with the customer information in the matching table  601  for the course A. Because LV=2, the LV 2  column in the matching table  601  is checked. The customer information “CITY” denotes “Minato-Ward”, which matches with “CITY”, and a circle (o) is described in the “CITY” field of the LV 2  column in the matching table. The (o) means that the information should be distributed. This disaster information is thus distributed to the customer X.  FIG. 15  shows an example of a screen  1501  for displaying the information distributed to the customer&#39;s portable telephone  53 . 
     The customer Y has selected the course A. Therefore, the matching table  601  for the course A is used for a matching processing just like the customer X. The “TOWN” of the customer Y denotes “Daimon”, which differs from the disaster information “TOWN”. However, “CITY”, which is just one level above “TOWN”, matches with “Minatoku”. In addition, for the course A, the information of LV 2  of “CITY” must be distributed. This disaster information is thus distributed to the customer Y. 
     The customer Z has selected the course B. Thus, the disaster information is collated with the customer information in the matching table  602  for the course B. Because LV=2, the LV 2  column in the matching table  602  is checked. In the case of the customer information of the customer Z, because “CITY” is “Minato-Ward” and “TOWN” is “Roppongi”, both “CITY” and “TOWN” in the disaster information match with those registered for the customer. However, no circle (o) is described in the LV 2  field in the matching table  602  for the course B. The circle (o) means that the disaster information should be distributed. Therefore, this disaster information is not distributed to the customer Z. 
     As described above, in a sense, the matching process is a process for comparing customer district information with a disaster-occurred district while consideration is given to the disaster level. This comparison may be considered as a comparison of distance between customer district information and a disaster-occurred district. For example, when both “TOWN” items match with each other, the distance is close. On the other hand, when both “STATE” items match with each other, but “TOWN” items differ, the distance may be far. 
     As described above, the present invention also handles railway information such as train breakdowns/accidents as disaster information. In the case of railway information, the geographical information of a disaster is identified by the railway course and/or the railway station in which the disaster occurs. Consequently, it is inconvenient to use the information about the railway course and/or the station in the matching processing with reference to the matching table shown in  FIG. 6 . It is thus helpful to convert a railway course to geographical information. 
       FIG. 11  shows an exemplary record  110 D of disaster information related to a railway and stored in the disaster information DB  13 . Disaster information related to a railway is classified into “CATEGORY” denoting a disaster type, “RAILWAY” denoting a railway course on which the subject disaster has occurred, and “STATION  1 ” and “STATION  2 ” denoting station(s) in which the subject disaster has occurred. The reason why there are two stations “STATION  1 ” and “STATION  2 ” stored in the data base is due to a possibility that a disaster may occur between two stations. When a fire breaks out in a station yard, station names denoted in “STATION  1 ” and “STATION  2 ” match with each other. “LV” denotes a disaster level. “DETAIL” denotes the nature of a disaster. 
     In the example shown in  FIG. 11 , “CATEGORY” denotes only a train trouble/accident. The disaster information described in the top row of the exemplary record  1101  denotes a door trouble that has occurred between Shibuya Station (STATION  1 ″) and Harajuku Station (“STATION  2 ”) of the Yamanote Line (“RAILWAY”). The disaster information also denotes that the disaster level of this door trouble is 3(LV), which means a slight trouble. The disaster information described in the next row denotes an accident resulting in injury or death occurred in the Kunitachi station yard (“STATION  1 ” and “STATION  2 ”=“Kunitachi”) of the Chuosen (“RAILWAY”); the disaster level is 1. 
     The customer information stored in the customer information DB  22  is also used for matching with respect to train troubles/accidents. However, the disaster information to be used for the matching with respect to such train troubles/accidents can be limited more strictly than that of other disaster information.  FIG. 12  shows an exemplary record  1200  that includes “STATE”, “CITY”, and “COURSE” in customer information used for matching for train troubles/accidents. 
     While both course and station are identified for railway information as described above, this kind of information cannot be used conveniently for matching geographical information stored as customer information. This is why course information is converted to geographical information. The distribution information management unit  30  is provided with a course-district conversion table  1300  as shown in  FIG. 13 . The course-district conversion table  1300  includes information about districts passed by each subject course. The district is set as geographical information equivalent to “CITY” in customer information. Specifically, as shown in  FIG. 13 , for the Toyoko Line, Meguro-Ward, Shibuya-Ward, Yokohama City, etc. that are passed by the Toyoko Line are described. As for the JR Yamanote Line, Chiyoda-Ward, Meguro-Ward, Shibuya-Ward, and so forth that are passed by the Yamanote Line are described. The course-district conversion table  1300  describes geographical information of districts for each course and to be passed by each course. 
     The distribution information management unit  30  also has a matching table whose format is the same as that shown in  FIG. 10 . The description will therefore be omitted here. 
     Next, a description will be made for the matching process executed for railway information with reference to  FIG. 14 . 
       FIG. 14  shows an example of a procedure for deciding whether to distribute disaster information to the three customers X, Y, and Z shown in  FIG. 12  with reference to the matching table  600  when door trouble occurs in the Yamanote Line and the trouble is selected from the disaster information items  1401  also shown in  FIG. 11  so as to be registered newly in the disaster information DB  13 . 
     The course information  1402  included in the disaster information transferred to the distribution information management unit  30  from the disaster information DB  13  is converted to geographical information by the course-district conversion table  1300 . Specifically, “Yamanote Line” in the “RAILWAY” column is converted to the geographical information of Shibuya-Ward, Meguro-Ward, . . . by the course-district conversion table  1300 . 
     As shown in the exemplary records  1403 , customer X has selected the course A. Thus, the disaster information is collated with the customer information in the matching table  601  for the course A. Because the disaster level LV of the train trouble/accident is 3, the LV 3  column in the matching table  601  is checked. In the LV 3  column and in the “CITY” and “TOWN” rows in the matching table  601  are described a circle (o) respectively, which means that the disaster information should be distributed. “CITY” in the customer information of the customer X is Meguro-Ward. On the other hand, the Yamanote Line is converted to Meguro-Ward, Shibuya-Ward, . . . by the course-district conversion table  1300 . “CITY” thus matches disaster information and customer information, so that the disaster information is distributed to the customer X.  FIG. 15  shows an example of a screen  1502  for displaying information distributed to the portable telephone  53  of the customer X. 
     Customer Y has selected the course B. Thus, the matching table  602  for the course B is checked. In the matching table  602  for the course B, LV 3  disaster information is marked not to be distributed. Consequently, the disaster information is not distributed to the customer Y. 
     The customer Z has selected the course A. The disaster information and the customer information are thus collated with each other in the matching table  601  for the course A. Because “CITY” of the customer Z is Shibuya-Ward and “CITY” matches between disaster information and customer information just like the customer X, so that the disaster information is distributed to the customer Z. 
     In the above first embodiment, predetermined disaster information is distributed from the information distribution apparatus  1  to the customer&#39;s portable telephone  53 / 54 . In the case where the customer who receives the disaster information is in the disaster-occurred district at the time of the disaster, it is possible to obtain disaster information such as descriptive details from the customer. This is why the present invention proposes a method not only for distributing disaster information to the customer&#39;s portable telephone  53 / 54 , but also for obtaining disaster information from the customer through a questionnaire. 
       FIG. 16  shows a block diagram of a configuration of an information distribution apparatus  200  used so as to obtain disaster information from a customer. The same reference numerals are used for the same items as those of the information distribution apparatus  1  in the first embodiment, avoiding redundant description. 
     The information distribution apparatus  200  is provided with a questionnaire DB (data base)  60 ; a questionnaire management unit  70 ; and a WEB site  80 . 
     The questionnaire DB  60  stores various questionnaires corresponding to disaster types. When the distribution information management unit  30  distributes disaster information to a customer&#39;s portable telephone  53 , the distribution information management unit  30  may obtain a questionnaire corresponding to the disaster type from the questionnaire DB  60  and distribute it to the portable telephone  53 .  FIG. 18  shows an example of a questionnaire screen  1801  sent to the portable telephone  53 . In this example, the questionnaire is distributed together with earthquake information. 
     The questionnaire management unit  70  collects answers to the questionnaires about disaster information and analyzes them. The result of the analysis is then transferred to the questionnaire DB  60  and stored there. The questionnaire result is also displayed on the screen of the WEB site  80 . Customers can thus obtain detailed information about a disaster by referring to this WEB site  80 . 
     The information stored in the questionnaire DB  80  is then transferred to the disaster information DB  13  via an automatic input application program  12 . This information can be distributed to customers as new disaster information. 
     A third embodiment of the present invention includes a system for paying a monetary gift to a customer who suffers from a disaster, using the information distribution system. 
       FIG. 17  shows a block diagram of a configuration of an information distribution apparatus  300  that pays such a gift of money. In the following description of the third embodiment, the same reference numerals are used to indicate the same items as earlier regarding the first embodiment, thereby avoiding redundant description. 
     The information distribution apparatus  300  is provided with a received mail management unit  85 ; a customer account DB (data base)  90 ; and a gift money payment management unit  100 . 
     The distribution information management unit  30  of the information distribution apparatus  300 , for example, when distributing disaster information, sends inquiries to customers about payment of monetary gifts.  FIG. 18  shows an example of a screen  1802  for such inquiries. A customer who desires to receive a gift may reply to this inquiry. 
     The received mail management unit  85  receives mail for requesting gift money via the customer&#39;s portable telephone  53 . The received mail management unit  85 , when receiving mail for requesting gift money, transfers information for identifying the source customer, for example, a mail address, to the gift money payment management unit  100 . 
     The customer account DB  90  stores such information as the mail address for identifying each customer corresponding to the account set in a bank or other financial institution  110  registered beforehand by the customer requesting the gift. 
     The gift money payment management unit  100 , when receiving a mail address from the received mail management unit  85 , obtains the information from the customer account DB  90  so as to identify the account of the customer. In addition, the gift money payment management unit  100  transfers gift money to the financial institution  110  in which the account is opened. 
     While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, the present invention is not limited only to those embodiments. For example, information to be distributed is not limited only to disaster information; the present invention may apply universally to information of a disaster for which its occurred-district can be identified.

Technology Category: 3