JP2000268260A - Conversion method of point coupon and prepaid coupon, electronic mall device and computer readable recording medium which records point coupon/prepaid ticket conversion program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To convert the point of a point coupon into a prepaid use coupon and to change a conversion rate from the point into the prepaid use coupon in accordance with the accumulation state of the points. SOLUTION: A home page generation program 203 receiving a home page generation request issues a point coupon conversion request to a point coupon conversion program 207 in a server when a requested home page is a home page containing conversion information on a point coupon. The point conversion program 207 issues a point acquisition request to a point coupon management program 206. The point coupon conversion program 206 acquires the conversion rate of the user from the point conversion rule table 216 of the data base 304 and converts the number of points that a user holds by using the acquired conversion rate. The result is given to a prepaid-type coupon management program 205 and a coupon point addition request is made. Thus, the number of points in the prepaid-type coupon of the user is increased.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of converting a prepaid type coupon and a point coupon used in a store opened on the Internet, and converts the number of points obtained by the conversion method into a value of the prepaid type coupon. The present invention relates to a method of converting a point coupon ticket and a prepaid type coupon that can be added to a balance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A technology called the Internet has been developed, and the spread of the technology has made it possible to open a virtual store called an electronic mall on the Internet. Electronic malls are now selling digital contents in addition to selling goods. Digital content refers to image files, audio files and software, or Worl
d Refers to contents (works) that can be delivered through a network, such as pages on the Wide Web. It should be noted that the small amount (digital) content referred to in this specification mainly indicates a content of several yen to several hundred yen.

[0003] Generally, credit card payment is used in electronic commerce. However, if a credit is set every time in order to settle a product of several yen to several hundred yen, a credit card payment is required. Credit companies are worried that credit cards will be used to make small payments due to the rapid increase in transaction volume. For this reason, some sites have made small payments using prepaid cards. A typical prepaid card is BitCash (Nikkei), which purchases an actual prepaid card at a convenience store or bookstore, and enters the characters (usually a scratch card type) written on it as a password to make payment. Multimedia September 1997) and Web Money (Nikkei Multimedia 1998)
April issue). With this method, payment can be made without using a credit card, so that digital contents of 10 yen or 100 yen can be purchased. Also Bi
At tCash, BitCash EX cards for adults are sold to purchase content for those 20 years and older. It also sells BitCashKids cards for children. Web Money has the same specifications as BitCash, but is a prepaid card that can aggregate the balances of a plurality of prepaid cards into one card as a user service. Further, since this card does not specify a member, an unspecified number of users can access the card.

As a payment method without using a prepaid card, there is a method in which a virtual prepaid card is purchased in advance by a credit card or a bank transfer, and the virtual prepaid card is deducted at the time of purchasing a small amount of digital content. This is represented by the QQQ (Thank You) card
(See the Nikkei Multimedia August 1997 issue). This payment method substitutes for credit payment or bank payment, authenticates an individual using a user ID and a password, determines a virtual prepaid card that can be used by the authenticated user, and This is a payment method that can eliminate the anxiety of those who do not have a credit card and those who are reluctant to enter a credit card number on the Internet. This method can be used for settlement other than digital contents. With the QQQ card, a virtual QQQ use ticket is sold at a price that can be settled for credit for small amount of digital content, and is used for settlement of content (1000 yen or less) of 1000 yen or less that cannot be settled for credit. In this paper, the prepaid card that is actually issued is called a prepaid card, and the virtually issued prepaid card is called a prepaid card.

[0005] On the other hand, there is an Internet point coupon system of Impress Direct related to a virtual point coupon. This system uses a credit card to settle books sold by Impress,
5% of the price is returned to points. This point is 1 point = 1 when purchasing the actual product
When converted into yen, only the person holding the point can use it. These points have an expiration date, and if they are not redeemed within the expiration date, the points will be invalid. Also,
If you use more than 1000 points per year, you become a Gold member and the point redemption rate goes from 5% to 6%. In addition,
In this system, points cannot be transferred to a third party and cash cannot be transferred. In addition, the point coupon in this paper indicates a virtual point coupon.

[0006]

In the prepaid card system and the credit settlement system as in the conventional system, the point coupon cannot be added to the prepaid possessed by the same user holding the point coupon, and the point coupon cannot be added to the prepaid card. There is a problem that the conversion rate when adding to the balance is fixed. Point coupons and prepaid balances are managed as separate items, and when purchasing products using point coupons, they are converted at a fixed exchange rate, and only points converted from the price of the product are subtracted from the price of the product. This is achieved by making a payment. However, in a system that covers the whole world, such as the Internet, if a fixed conversion rate such as 1 point = 1 yen is adopted, it is not possible to support currency in each country or preferential conversion for each user. In addition, the conversion rate is independent for each individual, and there is a demand for changing the conversion rate depending on the user's daily purchase status and purchased product history. The conversion rate has no relation to the exchange rate. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for adding a point to a point coupon and converting the point into a prepaid use ticket each time a product of an electronic mall is purchased with a prepaid use ticket. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for changing the conversion ratio from points to prepaid-type tickets according to the accumulated state of points.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a prepaid type voucher authenticated by a user ID authenticating means and a virtual point coupon authenticated by a user ID authenticating means. Using a ticket,
In an electronic mall system that manages a prepaid voucher and manages point coupons, the price of the purchased digital content is subtracted from the balance of the prepaid voucher according to the purchase of the digital content by the user, and the purchased digital content is Add the point corresponding to the price to the points and the accumulated points of the virtual point coupon,
The point / money conversion ratio for converting the number of points of the virtual point coupon to the amount of the prepaid-type voucher is changed to a higher value in accordance with the increase in the number of accumulated points, and a request for converting the number of points / money is made. When the request is made, the number of points is converted into an amount according to the conversion ratio at the time of the request, the conversion result is added to the balance of the prepaid type voucher, and the converted number of points is subtracted from the number of points of the virtual point coupon. . Further, when the cumulative number of points of the virtual point coupon exceeds a certain reference number, the conversion ratio of the number of points / amount conversion is changed to a higher ratio. Further, the authentication means based on the user ID authenticates an individual user using a user ID and a password.

[0008] Further, the management of the prepaid-type use ticket and the management of the point coupon are performed by using the prepaid-type voucher authenticated by the authentication means by the user ID and the virtual point coupon voucher authenticated by the authentication means by the user ID. An electronic mall device including a management means for performing the
The managing means includes means for subtracting the price of the purchased digital content from the balance of the prepaid use ticket according to the purchase of the digital content by the user, and a point corresponding to the price of the purchased digital content to a virtual point coupon. Means for adding the points of the ticket and the accumulated points, and a conversion ratio of the number of points and the amount of money for converting the number of points of the virtual point coupon into the amount of the prepaid use ticket to a higher value in accordance with the increase of the number of accumulated points. When a request for changing the number of points and the amount of money is made,
Means are provided for converting the number of points into an amount according to the conversion ratio at the time of the request, adding the conversion result to the balance of the prepaid-type voucher, and subtracting the converted number of points from the number of points of the virtual point coupon. .

Also, the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium storing a point coupon / prepayment type voucher conversion program in which a point coupon and a prepaid type voucher are linked. Subtracting the price of the purchased digital content from the balance of the prepaid use ticket, adding a point corresponding to the price of the purchased digital content to the points and the accumulated points of the virtual point coupon ticket, A procedure of changing the point / money conversion ratio for converting the number of points of the point coupon into the amount of the prepaid type voucher to a higher value in accordance with the increase of the accumulated points, and request information of the number of points / money conversion In accordance with the input, the number of points is converted to the amount by the conversion ratio at the time of request , The conversion result is added to the balance of the prepaid vouchers are translated to the number of points to have a procedure of subtracting the number of points the virtual point coupons.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an electronic commerce system which performs a point coupon ticket and prepaid-type use ticket interlocking management method according to the present invention. In this embodiment,
In order to enhance the effectiveness of point coupon coupons and prepaid coupons used in electronic commerce, the user client 100 and the electronic mall network server 200
Are connected via the Internet 400. In addition,
In this embodiment, the cyber mall server and the network server are integrated into one server (the cyber mall network server 20).
0).

The client 100 accesses a homepage on the cyber mall network server 200 and displays a homepage sent from the cyber mall network server 200 on a screen. The cyber mall network server 200 creates a home page requested by the client 100 and transfers it to the requesting client 100. At this time, if the homepage requested by the client 100 needs to post a product list and product information of the digital content, the product target and the number to be displayed are determined, and the corresponding electronic mall / network server 200 attached Search DB, get product information, create homepage, request client
Transfer to 100. If the homepage requested by the client 100 needs to post the conversion result of the point coupon, the electronic mall network server 20
0 Search the attached DB or the like, obtain the point coupon information of the corresponding user, convert the balance of the point coupon with the conversion rate of the corresponding user, create a homepage, and send it to the requesting client 100. Forward.

The outline of the processing between the client 100 and the cyber mall network server 200 will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step 501,
Client 100 is an electronic mall network server 2
The homepage on the Internet 00 is accessed, and the homepage transferred from the cyber mall network server 200 is displayed on the screen in steps 507 and 508. The cyber mall network server 200 receives the request from the client 100 in step 502, creates a home page in step 506, and transfers it to the requesting client 100 in step 507.

At this time, if the home page requested by the client 100 is a normal home page, the home page is read from the disk and transferred to the requesting client. When the home page requested by the client 100 publishes the product information, in step 503 the D connected to the cyber mall network server 200
B, the product information of the product is searched, and step 506 is performed.
To create a home page, and in step 507, transfer it to the requesting client 100 for display (step 508). Further, if the home page requested by the client 100 is a product purchase page, the client 1
The information related to the purchase of the product requested from 00 is searched for the product information of the product by a DB or the like connected to the cyber mall network server 200, and the payment processing by the prepaid use ticket is performed based on the information. Then, in step 506, a home page for permitting product download is created, and in step 507, the home page is transferred to the requesting client 100 and displayed (step 508). Further, if the home page requested by the client 100 is a page for requesting the conversion of a point coupon ticket, the point coupon information requested by the client 100 in step 505 is stored in a database or the like connected to the cyber mall network server 200, etc. Retrieve the point coupon information of the user on the client 100, add the point coupon conversion result to the point coupon conversion process and the balance of the prepaid type voucher based on the information, and convert the point coupon conversion result in step 506. Then, a home page displaying the balance of the prepaid-type use ticket is created, transferred to the requesting client 100 in step 507, and displayed (step 508).

In the following, the client shown in FIG.
100, the configuration and processing in the cyber mall network server 200 will be described. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the electronic mall network server 200 in the present embodiment. In order for client 100 to be able to purchase products and add point coupons to prepaid vouchers on the browser,
The electronic mall network server 200 includes a control program 201, a network server program 202, a homepage creation program 203, an electronic mall management program 204, a prepaid-type voucher management program 205, a point coupon management program 206, a point coupon conversion program 207, and user input. It comprises a reception program 208. When the control program 201 in the cyber mall network server 200 is started, the network server program 202, the homepage creation program 203, the cyber mall management program 204, the prepaid use ticket management program 2
05, activate the point coupon management program 206 and the point coupon conversion program 207. When the client 100 accesses the homepage, the network server program 202 in the cyber mall network server 200 issues a homepage creation request to the homepage creation program 203, and the electronic mall management program
A home page in which the selected information is embedded is acquired from 204 and distributed to the network browser 101 in the client 100. Electronic mall network server 200
The homepage creation program 203 in CGI (Co
This is a program that has a function of "monitor interface" and acquires a homepage creation request from the network server program 202 as described above,
After the homepage is created, the network server program 202 is notified.

When the homepage requested to be created is a normal homepage, an HTML file is read from the disk to create the homepage. If the homepage requested to be created is a homepage that includes the conversion result of the point coupon, a conversion request is issued to the electronic mall management program 204, such as a user ID and how many points to convert,
After obtaining the conversion information, create a website. further,
If the homepage requested to be created is a homepage that posts product information, a product information acquisition request is issued to the electronic mall management program 204, and after the product information is obtained, a homepage is created.

The electronic mall management program 204 in the electronic mall network server 200 includes authentication information such as a user ID and a password for a user to log in to the electronic mall server, and user individual information such as a user name, an address, and a date of birth. The user information management table 210 shown in FIG. 9 for managing the user information, the shop ID used for managing the shop in the cyber mall server, the shop name representing the shop ID name, and the type to which the shop belongs are determined. A store management table 211 shown in FIG. 9 for managing a store such as a business start date for managing a category to be started and when the store starts operating, and product information (product for managing products handled in the store) ID, product name and price)
And a shop ID for identifying which shop manages the article and a shop management table shown in FIG.
As described above, when a conversion request such as a user ID and how many points are to be converted is received from the homepage creation program 203, the point coupon management program 206 and the point coupon conversion program 207 When a request for the number of points of the user ID and a request for conversion of the number of points of the user ID are requested, and the conversion result of the point coupon is received from the point coupon management program 206 and the point coupon conversion program 207, the result is created on the homepage. Notify the program. In addition, homepage creation program 203
Then, when a product information acquisition request is received, product information is created using the store management table 211 and the product management table 212, and the homepage creation program 204 is notified of the product information.

The prepaid use ticket management program 205 in the cyber mall network server 200 has a prepaid use ticket balance management table 214 shown in FIG. 10 for managing the use ticket balance for each user. When a request for obtaining a use ticket balance is received from the electronic mall management program 205, the use ticket balance of the corresponding user ID is searched from the prepaid use ticket balance management table 214, and the result is notified to the electronic mall management program 205. .

The point coupon management program 206 in the electronic mall network server 200 has a point coupon management table 215 shown in FIG. 11 for managing point coupon tickets for each user. Upon receiving a request to acquire the number of points of the point coupon from the program 205, the corresponding user ID
Is retrieved from the point coupon management table 215, and the result is notified to the electronic mall management program 205. Similarly, when receiving a request to acquire the accumulated point number of point coupons from the electronic mall management program 205, the accumulated point number of the corresponding user ID is searched from the point coupon management table 215, and the result is notified to the electronic mall management program 205. I do.

The point coupon conversion program 207 in the electronic mall network server 200 has a point conversion rule table 216 shown in FIG. 12 for managing point coupon conversion rates for each point. Upon receiving a request for converting the number of points of the point coupon from the management program 205, it is checked whether the conversion rate of the corresponding user ID is held correctly in proportion to the current accumulated number of points, and if correct, the conversion rate is changed. If the conversion rate needs to be changed, the conversion rate is searched from the point conversion rule table 216, the calculation is performed based on the number of converted points and the conversion rate, and the result is notified to the electronic mall management program 205.

The user input reception program 208 in the cyber mall network server 200 has a point conversion rule table 216 shown in FIG. 13 for managing the conversion rate for each accumulated number of points for each user. Independently used by an administrator to set a conversion rate proportional to the accumulated number of points from an input screen as shown in FIG.

In the above processing, the detailed processing of the user input reception program 208 in the cyber mall network server 200 will be described with reference to the pad diagram of FIG. Detailed processing of the user input reception program 208 will be described with reference to the pad diagram of FIG. This program 208 displays a point coupon conversion rate input setting screen 217 (FIG. 23), and displays the contents set by the administrator in the point conversion rule table 216.
This is a program for managing settings. 21 in FIG.
Numerals 61 to 2165 and 2171 to 2175 correspond to reference numbers of elements in the point conversion rule table 216 and the input setting screen 217 in FIG. 23, respectively. First, in step 2081, the conversion rate 2171 for converting the purchase amount input by the user into points, which is set by the administrator using the input setting screen 217 of the server, and the conversion rate (2172) from points to prepaid use tickets
(2175) is received and stored in the work area. next,
In step 2082, when the setting button is pressed by the administrator, in step 2083, the conversion rate from the purchase price to the point (2171) and the conversion rate from the point to the prepaid type voucher (2171) to (2175) ) Is read, and the conversion rate from the purchase amount to the points (2161), the accumulated point number and the rate conversion table 1 (216
2) Stored in point conversion rule table 216 as conversion table 2 (2163) of cumulative points and rates, conversion table 3 (2164) of cumulative points and rates, conversion table 4 (2165) of cumulative points and rates I do. As described above, since the conversion rate between the purchase amount and the point coupon, and the conversion rate between the point coupon and the prepaid voucher can be managed, the point coupon can be converted into the prepaid voucher according to the user's purchase situation. .

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the client 100 in the present embodiment. The client 100 accesses the home page 102 on the cyber mall network server 200 through the network browser 101, and can see the accessed home page 102 on the network browser 101. From the above, Client 1
00, by the processing between the cyber mall network server 200, the client 100 clicks a specific area of the home page 102 displayed on the network browser 101, and the user can obtain the point coupon ticket of the user's own prepaid When it is desired to add to the balance, the point coupon can be dynamically converted according to the conversion rate at that time, and can be added to the balance of the prepaid use ticket. In addition, the number of points converted and added to the balance of the prepaid type voucher is subtracted from the number of currently held points, but is added as an accumulated number of points, and can be changed to a better conversion rate.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the processing of the network browser 101 in the client 100 and the home page 102 to be displayed. Client 100 can view home page 102 through network browser 101,
Further, by clicking a specific area on the homepage 102, the network browser 101 can access the homepage to the network server program 202 and can see the next homepage 102 transmitted from the network server program 202. .

Next, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing processing of the network server program 202, the homepage creation program 203, and the cyber mall management program 204 in the cyber mall network server 200. Network server program 202 in cyber mall network server 200 receiving homepage access from client 100
Issues a homepage creation request to the homepage creation program 203. The homepage creation program 203 that has received the homepage creation request reads the HTML file from the disk 304 if the requested homepage is a normal homepage, creates the homepage, and creates a network server program in the cyber mall network server 200. Transfer to 202. If the requested homepage is a homepage including product information and store information, a product information and store information acquisition request is issued to the electronic mall management program 204 in the electronic mall network server 200, and the product information and the store information are issued. Get store information,
The data is transferred to the network server program 202 in the cyber mall network server 200. Also, when the requested homepage has requested the product purchase processing, it issues a purchase processing request to the cyber mall management program 204 in the cyber mall network server 200 and receives purchase processing information from the cyber mall management program 204. And create a homepage, network server program 20
Transfer to 2. At this time, the electronic mall management program 204
Issues a use ticket subtraction request and a point number addition request to the prepayment type use ticket management program 205 and the point coupon management program 206, and transfers the use ticket processing information and the point number processing information to the electronic mall management program 204.

In the above processing, the detailed processing of the homepage creation program 203 that has received a homepage creation request from the network server program 202 in the cyber mall network server 200 will be described with reference to the pad diagram of FIG. This program 203 is a program that determines the type of the requested homepage, creates the homepage, and transfers it to the network server program 202.
The homepage creation program 203 is a control program 201
The following processing is repeated until the processing is completed. Step 2031
When a homepage creation request is received from the network server program 202, the type of the requested homepage is determined in step 2032. If the requested homepage is a homepage that performs user authentication,
A user authentication request is issued to the electronic mall management program 204, and a user authentication step is performed (step 2041). If the requested homepage is a homepage that displays a list of stores, a store information acquisition request is issued to the electronic mall management program 204, and a store display step is performed (step 2042). Also, if the requested homepage is
In the case of a homepage for displaying a product list, a product information acquisition request is issued to the electronic mall management program 204, and a product display step is performed (step 2043). If the requested homepage is a homepage for performing a product purchase process, a purchase process request is issued to the electronic mall management program 204, and a purchase process step is performed (step 2044).
If the requested home page is a home page for displaying a use ticket balance, a request for obtaining a use ticket balance is issued to the prepaid use ticket management program 205 (step 203).
3). If the requested homepage is a homepage displaying a point coupon, a point coupon acquisition request is issued to the point coupon management program 206 (step 2034). Further, if the requested homepage is a homepage that converts point coupons into use coupons, the point coupon conversion program 207
Issue a point coupon conversion request to
2035). In the above, various steps of the electronic mall management program 204 of the various processing request issuing destination, the prepaid use ticket management program 205, the point coupon management program 2
When the end notice is obtained from 06 and the point coupon conversion program 207, the corresponding homepage is created in step 2037, and the created homepage is transferred to the network server program 202 in step 2038. From the above,
Various homepages requested to be created by the network server program 202 can be created.

The above-mentioned 2 in the homepage creation program 203
In step 041, a user authentication step of the electronic mall management program 204 that performed user authentication, a store display step that performed a store list display, a product display step that performed a product list display, and a purchase processing step that performed a purchase process The detailed processing of FIG. 16, FIG. 17, FIG.
This will be described with reference to the pad diagram of FIG. First, from FIG. 16, the user authentication step of the program 204 is a program for performing user authentication when a designated user logs in. Reference numerals 2101, 2102 in FIG. 16 correspond to reference numbers of elements in the user information management table 210 in FIG. In the user authentication step of the electronic mall management program 204, the following process is repeated every time the homepage creation program 203 calls the user authentication step until the control program 201 ends. First, in step 20411, a record corresponding to the user ID of the user whose user ID (2101) is going to log in is searched from the user information management table 210 in the user information management DB, and the password (21
02) in the work area. Then, step 2041
In step 2, the password (2102) is read from the work area, and it is determined whether or not the password is equal to the password input by the user trying to log in. Step 20413
If the passwords are the same, the home page creation program 203 is notified of the success of the user approval in step 20414. In step 20413, if the passwords are not equal, in step 20415, the homepage creation program 203
Notify user failure.

Referring to FIG. 17, the store display step of the program 204 is a program for displaying a list of stores registered in the electronic mall. Reference numerals 2111, 2112 in FIG. 17 correspond to the reference numbers of the elements in the store management table 211 in FIG. Electronic mall management program 20
The store display step of 4 repeats the following processing every time it is called from the homepage creation program 203 until the control program 201 ends. First, step 2042
In step 1, the store management table 211 is searched for a record of the store currently operating, and the shop ID (2111) and the shop name (2112) are stored in the work area. Then step 20
At 422, the shop ID (2111) and the shop name (2112) are read from the work area, and notified to the homepage creation program 203 as shop information.

Next, referring to FIG. 18, the product list display step of the program 204 is a program for displaying a list of products registered in the electronic mall. Reference numbers 2121 to 2124 in FIG. 18 correspond to reference numbers of elements in the product management table 212 in FIG. The product list display step of the electronic mall management program 204 repeats the following processing every time it is called from the homepage creation program 203 until the control program 201 ends. First, in step 20431, a record of a product on display corresponding to the shop ID (2122) selected from the product management table 212 is searched, and the product ID (2121), product name (2123), and price (21) are retrieved.
24) is stored in the work area. Next, step 20432
In the work area, the product ID (2121) and the product name (212
3) Read the price (2124) and notify the homepage creation program 203 as product information.

Next, referring to FIG. 19, the purchase processing step of the program 204 is a program for performing a purchase processing in an electronic mall. Reference numerals 2121-2124 in FIG.
Corresponds to the reference number of the element in the product management table 212. In the purchase processing step of the electronic mall management program 204, the following processing is repeated every time it is called from the homepage creation program 203 until the control program 201 ends. First, in step 20441, a record of the product corresponding to the product ID (2121) selected from the product management table 212 is searched, and the product ID (2121) and the product name (21
23) Store the price (2124) in the work area. next,
At step 20442, the product ID (212
1) The product name (2123) and the price (2124) are read out and the settlement process is performed. If the settlement processing is completed in step 20443, a request to reduce the use ticket is issued to the prepaid use ticket management program 205 in step 20444. Step 20445
In step 20446, when a notice of success in subtraction is received from the prepaid-type use ticket management program 205, a point coupon addition request is issued to the point coupon management program 206, and in step 20447, the addition is successful from the point coupon management program 206. When notified, step 20448
Notifies the homepage creation program 204 of the purchase processing completion. Also, in step 20445, if a subtraction failure notification is received from the prepaid-type
In step 0449, the homepage creation program 203 is notified of the purchase processing failure. As described above, it is possible to perform a store list, a product list display, and a purchase process for the electronic mall.

Next, FIG. 7 shows the processing of displaying the balance of a use ticket and the number of points of a point coupon in the processing of the network server program 202 in the cyber mall network server 200 and the cyber mall management program 204. FIG. 6, the network server program 202 in the cyber mall network server 200 receiving the homepage access from the client 100 issues a homepage creation request to the homepage creation program 203. When the requested homepage requests display processing of the use ticket balance, a request for the use ticket balance is issued to the prepaid-type use ticket management program in the cyber mall network server 200, and the use ticket balance information is received. Create a homepage and a network server program
Transfer to 202. When the requested homepage requests display processing of the balance of the point coupon ticket, a point number acquisition request is issued to the point coupon management program 206 in the cyber mall network server 200 to receive the point number information. Then, a home page is created and transferred to the network server program 202.

In the above processing, in the homepage creation program 203, the balance of the prepaid-type use ticket is displayed (step 2033), and in the purchase processing step (step 20444) of the electronic mall management program 204, the request for subtraction of the use ticket is received. The detailed processing of the prepaid use ticket management program 205 will be described with reference to the pad diagram of FIG. This program 205 is a program for managing a prepaid-type use ticket. Reference numerals 2141 and 2142 in FIG. 20 correspond to reference numbers of elements in the use ticket balance management table 214 in FIG.
The prepaid-type ticket management program 205 is the control program 2
The following processing is repeated until 01 ends. First, in step 2051, when a request for displaying a use ticket balance is received from the homepage creation program 203, in step 2052, a record corresponding to the user ID specified by the user ID (2141) is searched from the use ticket balance management table 214. , User I
D (2141) and user balance (2142) are stored in the work area. In step 2053, the user balance (2142) is read from the work area and notified to the homepage creation program 203 as use ticket balance information. Step 205
In step 4, if a use ticket subtraction request is received from the purchase processing step of the electronic mall management program 204, in step 2055,
A record corresponding to the user ID specified by the user ID (2141) is searched from the use ticket balance management table 214, and the user ID (2141) and the user balance (2142) are stored in the work area. In step 2056, the user balance (2142) is read from the work area, and the purchase amount is reduced. Next, in step 2057, when the subtraction of the user balance (2142) is successful, in step 2058, the electronic mall management program 204
A use ticket subtraction success notification is issued to the purchase processing step of. Here, if the subtraction of the user balance (2142) fails, in step 2059, the purchase processing step of the electronic mall management program 204 is notified of the failure of the use ticket subtraction. As described above, in the electronic mall, it is possible to manage the prepaid-type use ticket.

Next, in the display of the point coupon in the homepage creation program 203 (step 2034) and the purchase processing step in the electronic mall management program 204 (step 20446) described above, the point coupon addition request is received. The detailed processing of the point coupon management program 206 will be described with reference to the pad diagram of FIG. This program 206 is a program for managing point coupons. Reference numbers 2151 to 2154 in FIG.
And 2161 to 2165 correspond to the reference numbers of the elements in the point coupon management table 215 in FIG. 11 and the reference numbers of the elements in the point conversion rule table 216 in FIG. 12, respectively. The point coupon management program 206 repeats the following processing until the control program 201 ends. First, in step 20601, when a point coupon display request is received from the homepage creation program 203, in step 20602, a record corresponding to the user ID designated by the user ID (2151) is searched from the point coupon management table 215, and the user ID (2151), points (215
2) Store the number of accumulated points (2153) and the conversion rate (2154) in the work area. Next, in step 20603, the point (2152) is read from the work area, and the home page creation program 203 is read as point coupon information.
Notify.

On the other hand, when a point coupon addition request is received from the purchase processing step of the electronic mall management program 204 in step 20604, the user ID (2151) is obtained from the point coupon management table 215 in step 20605.
Retrieves a record corresponding to the specified user ID, and stores the user ID (2151), points (2152), cumulative number of points (2153), and conversion rate (2154) in the work area. In step 20606, the point conversion rule table 216
Conversion rate from purchase price to points (2161), cumulative points and rate conversion table 1, 2, 3, 4 (2162)
Search for (2165) and store it in the work area. In step 20607, the points (2152) and the conversion rate (2161) from the purchase price to the points are read from the work area,
The points for the purchase amount are added to the points (2152) and the accumulated points (2153). Further, in step 20608, conversion table 1 of the accumulated points and the rate from the work area,
2, 3, 4 (2162)-(2165) and cumulative points (215
Read 3) and determine the user's conversion rate (2154). In step 20609, the conversion rate of the original user (215
If 4) needs to be changed, in step 20610, the conversion rate (2154) of the user on the work area is changed. Next, in step 20611, the user ID (2151), points (2152), conversion rate (2153) from the work area
Is read and stored in the DB. In step 20612, the user ID (2151), points (2152),
The accumulated points (2153) and the conversion rate (2154) are read out, and the purchase processing step of the electronic mall management program 204 is notified of the completion of the purchase processing. As described above, it is possible to manage the point system that can perform conversion according to the user's purchase situation.

FIG. 8 shows a network server program 202 in the cyber mall network server 200,
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing processing of a point coupon conversion program 207. 6 and 7, the network server program 202 in the cyber mall network server 200 receiving the homepage access from the client 100 issues a homepage creation request to the homepage creation program 203. When the homepage creation program 203 receives the homepage creation request, the requested homepage is
In the case of a home page including point coupon conversion information, a point coupon conversion request is issued to the point coupon conversion program 207 in the cyber mall network server 200 to acquire the point coupon conversion information,
The data is transferred to the network server program 202 in the cyber mall network server 200.

Hereinafter, detailed processing of the point coupon conversion program 207 for converting a point coupon into a prepaid type voucher in response to a point coupon conversion screen preparation request (step 2035) in the homepage preparation program 203 will be described with reference to the pad diagram of FIG. This will be described with reference to FIG. This program 207 is a program for performing a process of converting a point coupon into a prepaid-type use ticket. Reference numbers in FIG.
Reference numerals 2141 to 2142 and 2151 to 2154 denote reference numbers of elements in the use ticket balance management table 214 in FIG.
Corresponds to the reference number of the element in the point coupon management table 215. Point coupon conversion program 207
Repeats the following processing until the control program 201 ends. First, in step 2071, a record corresponding to the user ID specified by the user ID (2151) is searched from the point coupon management table 215, and the user ID (215
1) Store points (2152) and conversion rate (2154) in the work area. At step 2072, the user ID designated by the user ID (241) from the use ticket balance management table 214
Is searched, and the user ID (2141) and the user balance (2142) are searched and stored in the work area.
In step 2073, the points (2152) and the conversion rate (2154) are read from the work area, and the conversion amount to the use ticket is calculated and the points (2152) are subtracted. In step 2074,
The user balance (2142) is read from the work area, and the amount converted into the use ticket calculated in step 2073 is added. In step 2075, the user ID (2151) and point (2152) are read from the work area and stored in the DB. Steps
In 2076, the user ID (2141) and the user balance (2142) are read from the work area and stored in the DB. From the above,
By using the conversion rate, the points collected by the user at the time of product purchase can be converted into a prepaid use ticket in accordance with the user's purchase situation.

[0036]

According to the present invention, each time a merchandise in the electronic mall is purchased with a prepaid type coupon, points are added to the point coupon, and the points can be converted into a prepaid type coupon. In addition, it is possible to change the conversion ratio from points to prepaid-type tickets according to the accumulated state of points.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flowchart of an outline of processing in a system to which the present invention is applied;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a network server.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a client.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a process of a network browser and a configuration of a home page to be displayed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining merchandise information acquisition processing, store information acquisition processing, and purchase processing among a network server program, a homepage creation program, and an electronic mall management program.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a use ticket balance information acquisition process and a point number information acquisition process among a network server program, a homepage creation program, and an electronic mall management program.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining point coupon conversion processing among a network server program, a homepage creation program, and a point coupon conversion program.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing processing of an electronic mall management program and the configuration of a user information management table, a store management table, and a product management table to be used.

FIG. 10 shows processing of a prepaid-type use ticket management program, and
It is a figure showing the composition of the prepayment type use ticket balance management table used.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing processing of a point coupon management program and a configuration of a point coupon management table to be used.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a process of a point coupon conversion program and a configuration of a point conversion rule table to be used.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a process of a user input reception program and a configuration of a point conversion rule table to be used.

FIG. 14 is a PAD diagram relating to a point conversion setting step of the user input receiving program.

FIG. 15 is a PAD diagram of a homepage creation program.

FIG. 16 is a PAD diagram relating to a user authentication step of the homepage creation program.

FIG. 17 is a PAD diagram relating to a store display step of the homepage creation program.

FIG. 18 is a PAD diagram relating to a product list display step of the homepage creation program.

FIG. 19 is a PAD diagram relating to a purchase processing step of the homepage creation program.

FIG. 20 is a PAD diagram of a prepaid use ticket management program.

FIG. 21 is a PAD diagram of a point coupon management program.

FIG. 22 is a PAD diagram of a point coupon conversion program.

FIG. 23 is an example of a conversion rule input setting screen used in the point coupon conversion program.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 user client 101 network browser 102 homepage 200 electronic mall network server (electronic mall server and network server) 201 control program 202 network server program 203 homepage creation program 204 electronic mall management program 205 prepayment-type voucher management program 206 point coupon management program 207 Point coupon conversion program 208 User input reception program 210 User management table 211 Store management table 212 Product management table 214 Voucher balance management table 215 Point coupon management table 216 Point conversion rule table 220 User information management DB 221 Store information DB 222 Product information DB 224 Use ticket management DB 225 Point coupon management DB 301 CPU 302 Keyboard 303 Display 304 HDD 310 Memory 320 Bus 400 Internet

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Koike 890 Kashimada, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside the Hitachi, Ltd.System Development Div. (72) Inventor Kenichi Hirayama 5030 Totsukacho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture F-term in the Software Division, Hitachi, Ltd. 3E042 CB02 CC01 CC04 CC06 CD04 EA01 5B049 BB11 CC39 DD01 DD04 DD05 EE01 EE05 EE23 EE25 FF03 FF04 FF08 FF09 GG04 GG07 9A001 EZ03 JJ66 JJ67 KK57 LZ03

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. Management of a prepaid type voucher and management of a point coupon using a prepaid type voucher authenticated by an authentication unit by a user ID and a virtual point coupon voucher authenticated by an authentication unit by a user ID. In the electronic mall system, the price of the purchased digital content is subtracted from the balance of the prepaid use ticket in accordance with the purchase of the digital content by the user, and the point corresponding to the price of the purchased digital content is a virtual point coupon. The points are added to the points of the ticket and the accumulated points, and the point / money conversion ratio for converting the number of points of the virtual point coupon into the amount of the prepaid type voucher is changed to a higher value according to the increase of the accumulated points. When a request for conversion of the number of points and the amount of money is made, A point coupon ticket and a prepaid type voucher are characterized in that the number of points is converted into an amount, the conversion result is added to the balance of the prepaid type voucher, and the converted number of points is subtracted from the number of points of the virtual point coupon. Conversion method. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the cumulative number of points of the virtual point coupon exceeds a certain reference number, the number of points and the amount of money are calculated. A conversion method between a point coupon ticket and a prepaid-type voucher, wherein the conversion ratio is changed to a higher ratio. 3. The conversion method between a point coupon and a prepaid-type ticket according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the authentication means based on the user ID authenticates an individual user by a user ID and a password. How to convert between point coupons and prepaid tickets. 4. Management of a prepaid type coupon and management of a point coupon by using a prepaid type coupon authenticated by an authentication unit by a user ID and a virtual point coupon coupon authenticated by an authentication unit by a user ID. An electronic mall device including a management unit that performs interlocking, wherein the management unit subtracts the price of the purchased digital content from the balance of the prepaid use ticket according to the purchase of the digital content by the user, Means for adding the points corresponding to the price of the purchased digital content to the points and the accumulated points of the virtual point coupon; and the number of points / amount conversion for converting the number of points of the virtual point coupon to the amount of the prepaid use ticket. Means for changing the conversion ratio of the value to a higher value in accordance with the increase in the number of accumulated points, When an amount conversion request is made, the number of points is converted into an amount according to the conversion ratio at the time of the request, the conversion result is added to the balance of the prepaid type voucher, and the converted number of points is calculated from the number of points of the virtual point coupon. An electronic mall device having means for subtracting. 5. A procedure for subtracting the price of the purchased digital content from the balance of the prepaid-type ticket in response to the user's input of information related to the purchase of the digital content, and a point corresponding to the price of the purchased digital content. A procedure of adding the points of the virtual point coupon to the points and the accumulated points, and a point / value conversion ratio for converting the number of points of the virtual point coupon to the amount of the prepaid-type ticket according to the increase of the accumulated points. In accordance with the procedure to change to a higher value and the input of the request information of the number of points / amount conversion, the number of points is converted into the amount by the conversion ratio at the time of the request, and the conversion result is added to the balance of the prepaid type voucher. Execute the procedure of subtracting the converted points from the points of the virtual point coupon, point coupon and prepayment A computer-readable recording medium that stores a point coupon ticket and a prepaid-type voucher conversion program linked with a voucher.