JP2001265781A - System and method for displaying article information for electronic shop and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for a reducing costs for preparing and managing article data in an article supplier and an electronic shop by placing an electronic wholesaler between the article supplier and the electronic shop and managing the article data in the electronic wholesaler in the system for displaying the information of articles to be sold in the electronic shop. SOLUTION: This system is provided with an electronic wholesaler server 2 for collecting article data from an article supplier client 1 and shoring/ managing these data in an article data base and when the instruction of article retrieval is inputted from an article purchasing client 3, an electronic shop server 4 demands this retrieval instruction through a network to the electronic wholesaler server 3. In the electronic wholesaler server 3, article data are retrieved from the article data base and returned to the electronic shop server 4 and in the electronic shop server 4, the article data are received. Then, style data corresponding to the article data are acquired from a data base 421, picture data are prepared, and the picture data prepared by the electronic shop server 4 are displayed through the network onto the article purchasing client 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic shopping system, and more particularly to a system and method for displaying product information for an electronic shop having an electronic wholesaler, and a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electronic shop, for example, a user accesses a homepage or the like, which is an electronic shop established on a server of a network such as the Internet, from a client terminal, and browses, searches, purchases, etc., a product.

[0003] As a system for displaying product information in an electronic shop, typically, the following three modes are known.

(1) The merchandise supplier opens an electronic shop and creates and displays a screen for displaying merchandise information. For example, an electronic shop directly sold by a manufacturer corresponds to this.

(2) The electronic shop collects and displays a plurality of screens for displaying product information created by the product supplier. A so-called electronic mall (electronic shopping mall) corresponds to this.

(3) The electronic shop collects product data, creates and displays a screen for displaying product information. For example, an electronic shop of a store having actual stores such as a department store, a supermarket, and a convenience store corresponds to this.

[0007]

However, each of the above-mentioned conventional systems has the following problems.

In the above system (1), the merchandise supplier can sell the merchandise directly at the electronic shop, so that the merchandise supplier can sell the merchandise at a low cost without indirect costs or the like. Since the merchandise supplier is familiar with the merchandise to be supplied, the information on the merchandise can be displayed in detail and quickly. However, in the system of the above (1), in principle, only the merchandise of the merchandise supplier itself can be sold in the electronic shop.
Points are limited.

[0009] Further, the merchandise supplier must manage the updating and deletion of merchandise data, and create and update display screens, which increases the management cost.

Next, in the system (electronic mall) of the above (2), even if a large number of commodities are collected, the electronic shop side does not incur the management cost of the commodity data and the display screen. However, the wrinkle comes to the product supplier, which has the same disadvantage as the system (1).

[0011] In addition, since the sales screen displayed in the electronic mall is created by the product supplier and depends on the product supplier, a consistent (unified) display screen is purchased at the electronic shop. Difficult to provide to the elderly.

[0012] In the electronic mall, it is impossible to display product information across product suppliers, and it is difficult to provide attractive information to product purchasers.

[0013] For this reason, if an attempt is made to provide a consistent display screen or provide an attractive screen to a product purchaser,
Eventually, the display screen must be managed and the work load cannot be reduced.

In the system of (3) above, since the display screen is created on the electronic shop side, a display screen that is attractive to the product purchaser, such as a consistent display screen and display of product information across product suppliers. Can be created.

However, for that purpose, it is necessary to collect the product data in the electronic shop itself.
In addition to product data and display screen management costs, it is necessary to share product data from product suppliers. This is because the same product data must be present in order to create a consistent display screen or comparative purchase screen. As a result, the more products you collect, the higher the management costs.

[0016] As described above, in the above-mentioned conventional electronic shop, the following items can be provided:-To increase the number of products to be sold;-To create an attractive screen for the product purchaser;-To reduce the management cost of the product data and the display screen. thing,
Are all difficult.

Originally, a product supplier wants to concentrate on only providing products, and an electronic shop wants to concentrate on selling only products (for example, creating a product screen).

Regarding the electronic shops (2) and (3), from the viewpoint of the goods supplier, a plurality of electronic shops can be used to increase the sales channel of the goods (that is, for advertising and promotion). The reality is that you want to exhibit in a shop. However, in most cases, the display screen of the e-shop and the data to be provided are different, and it is necessary to manage the product data and the display screen for each e-shop. When exhibiting at multiple e-shops, Management costs rise.

As a product information system of an electronic shop,
For example, JP-A-09-330365 provides a framework for displaying merchandise information that does not depend on a store in an electronic mall composed of a plurality of stores (electronic shops). Regarding a store, there has been proposed a system in which product information can be quickly added or deleted. This system can reduce the display screen management cost of the product supplier, which is a disadvantage of the above (2), but cannot eliminate the display screen management cost of the product supplier. In addition, since a display screen is created for each store, it is difficult to provide a consistent display screen or a display screen for product information that extends across product suppliers.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a system for displaying product information to be sold in an electronic shop, a product supplier and the creation of product data in the electronic shop. It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and a method for reducing management costs and a recording medium.

[0021]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The inventor of the present invention has identified the above problems as separating a function of supplying goods, a function of collecting goods (electronic wholesaler), and a function of creating a product sales screen (electronic shop). It was found that it could be solved by. In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention, which has been devised based on such knowledge, includes an electronic wholesale server that collects and stores and manages product data sent from a product supplier client, and an electronic shop server that provides an electronic shop. Means for transmitting a search instruction to the electronic wholesaler server when a product search instruction is input from a product purchase client; and transmitting the product data searched by the electronic wholesaler server receiving the search instruction to the electronic wholesaler. Means for receiving from a server, acquiring style data corresponding to the product data from a storage unit, and automatically creating screen data, comprising: transferring the screen data created by the electronic shop server to the product purchase client for display; Is done.

The present invention also provides a product supply client,
An electronic wholesaler, an electronic shop server, and a merchandise purchase client can be connected via a network, and the merchandise supply client manages the merchandise database that stores and manages merchandise data that can be supplied by the merchandise supplier. A product data registration unit that sends the product data being sent to the electronic wholesaler server through a network, wherein the electronic wholesaler server stores and manages product data sent from the product supply client; and A product data management unit that obtains product data from the product database in response to a processing request from the electronic shop server and sends the product data to the electronic shop server through the network; Enter information about the target product An input device, a representation unit, based on information input from the input device, and a search instruction unit for retrieving instruction to the electronic shop server through the network, based on information from the electronic shop server,
The display device further includes an image display unit that displays sales information of a product requested by the product purchaser, and the electronic shop server sends a product data management unit of the electronic wholesaler server to a product data management unit via a network. A product search unit that requests acquisition of the instructed product data, and receives product data from a product data management unit of the electronic wholesaler server,
A display screen that acquires style data for product display corresponding to the product data from the product display style database, multiplies the product data with the style data, creates a display screen, and sends the display screen to the product purchase client through the network. And a creating unit.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described. In a preferred embodiment of the system of the present invention, referring to FIG.
The electronic wholesaler server 2, the electronic shop server 4, and the product purchase client 3 can be connected via the network 100, and the product supply client 1 stores and manages product data that can be supplied by the product supplier. It has a database 11 and a product data registration unit 121 that sends product data managed by the product database 121 to the electronic wholesaler server via a network.

The electronic wholesaler server 2 acquires merchandise data from the merchandise database 221 for storing and managing the merchandise data sent from the merchandise supply client 1 and the merchandise database 221 in response to a processing request from the electronic shop server 4. A merchandise data management unit 211 for sending to the electronic shop server 4 via the network 100.

The merchandise purchase client 3 is an input device 31 for the merchant purchaser to input information on the merchandise to be purchased.
And a notation device 33, a search instruction unit 321 that issues a search instruction to the electronic shop server 4 via the network 100 based on information input from the input device 31, and a display device 33 based on information from the electronic shop server 4. And an image display unit 322 for displaying sales information of the product requested by the product purchaser.

The electronic shop server 4 is connected to the network 1
Product data management unit 21 of electronic wholesaler server 2 through 00
1 receives product data from a product search unit 411 that requests acquisition of product data specified by a product purchaser, and product data from a product data management unit 211 of the electronic wholesaler server 2, and displays a product corresponding to the product data. And a display screen creation unit 412 that obtains the style data from the product display style database 421, multiplies the product data with the style data, creates a display screen, and sends the display screen to the product purchase client through the network. .

The operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described. The product supplier stores the product data that can be supplied in the product database 1 in the storage device 11 of the product supply client 1.
At 11 the storage management is performed. The product data managed by the product database 111 is sent by the product data registration unit 121 of the processing device 12 of the product supply client 1 to the product data management unit 211 of the processing device 21 of the electronic wholesaler server 2 via the network 100.

The merchandise data management section 211 of the electronic wholesaler server 2 that has received the merchandise data sent from the merchandise supply client 1 registers the data in the merchandise database 221 of the storage device 22. In this way, the merchandise data provided by the merchandise supplier is stored and managed by the electronic wholesaler server 2.

A product purchaser (customer, user) inputs information on a product to be purchased or a product to be browsed from the input device 31 of the product purchase client 3 and instructs the search instruction section 321 of the processing device 32 of the product purchase client 3. I do.

In response to the instruction input, the search instruction unit 321 of the product purchase client 3 instructs the product data search unit 411 of the processing device 41 of the electronic shop server 4 to perform a search process via the network 100. The product data search unit 411 that has received this instruction requests the product data management unit 211 of the processing device 21 of the electronic wholesaler server 2 to acquire the product data specified by the product purchaser via the network 100.

Product data management section 21 of electronic wholesaler server 2
1 acquires the corresponding product data from the product database 221 of the storage device 22 and sends it to the product data search unit 411 of the electronic shop server 4 via the network 100.

The product data search unit 411 of the electronic shop server 4 passes the product data to the display screen creation unit 412,
The display screen creation unit 412 acquires style data for product display corresponding to the product data from the product display style database 421 of the storage device 42 and multiplies the product data by the acquired style data to obtain display screen data. And sends it to the screen display unit 322 of the product purchase client 3 via the network 100.

In the merchandise purchase client 3 that has received the display screen data from the electronic shop server 4, the screen display unit 322 displays on the display device 33 the sales information of the merchandise requested to the merchandise purchaser. Thereby, the electronic wholesaler server 2
Is displayed in the electronic shop.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the product data registration unit 121 of the product supply client 1 is a processing device (computer) 11 that constitutes the product supply client 1.
The processing and functions are realized by the program executed above. The product data management unit 211 of the electronic wholesaler server 2 is a processing device (computer) that configures the electronic wholesaler server 2
The processing and functions are realized by a program executed on the computer 21. Search instruction unit 32 of the product purchase client 3
1 and the image display unit 322 realize their processing and functions by a program executed on a processing device (computer) 32 constituting the product purchase client 3. Product search unit 411 and display screen creation unit 41 of electronic shop server 4
2 implements its processing and functions by a program executed on a processing device (computer) 41 constituting the electronic shop server 4. In one embodiment of the present invention, the program is read out from a recording medium recording these programs to a computer and executed, or the program is downloaded from a server or the like via a communication medium to each computer and executed. The present invention can be implemented.

[0035]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, this embodiment includes a merchandise supply client 1 for registering merchandise data in an electronic wholesaler for a merchandise supplier to sell in an electronic shop;
An electronic wholesaler server 2 for managing product information registered by a product supplier, a product purchase client 3 for a product purchaser to display product sales information, and an electronic wholesaler upon request from a product purchaser It includes an electronic shop server 4 that acquires product information and creates a sales screen, and a network 100 such as the Internet.

The product supply client 1 has a storage device 11
Has a product database 111, and the processing device 12 has a product data registration unit 121.

The product database 111 stores product data that can be supplied by a product supplier.

The product data registration unit 121 sends the product data in the product database 111 to the electronic wholesaler server 2 via the network 100.

The electronic wholesaler server 2 includes a product data management unit 211 in the processing device 21 and a product database 221 in the storage device 22.

The product database 221 stores the product data sent from the product supply client.

The merchandise data management section 211 stores the merchandise data sent from the merchandise supply client 1 in the merchandise database 221, acquires the merchandise data requested by the electronic shop server 4 from the merchandise database 221, 100 to the electronic shop server 4.

The merchandise purchase client 3 uses the input device 31
, A processing device 32, and a display device 33.
2 includes a search instruction unit 321 and a screen display unit 322.

When the purchaser (user) of the commodity inputs a retrieval instruction for commodity data to be displayed from the input device 31, the retrieval instruction section 321 sends the retrieval instruction to the electronic shop server 4 through the network 100.

The screen display unit 322 displays the sales screen sent from the electronic shop server 4 on the display device 33.

The electronic shop server 4 includes a processing device 41
And a storage device 42. The processing device 41 includes a product data search unit 411 and a display screen creation unit 412. The storage device 42 includes a product display style database 421 storing style data of product display. .

The merchandise data search unit 411 acquires the data of the merchandise designated by the merchandise purchase client 3 from the electronic wholesaler server 2 via the network 100 and transfers the data to the display screen creation unit 412.

The display screen creation unit 412 creates a sales screen from the product data passed from the product data search unit 411 and the style data of the product display style database 412 and sends it to the product purchase client 4 via the network. I do.

The network 100 connects the commodity display client 1, the electronic wholesaler server 2, the commodity purchase client 3, and the electronic shop server 4 to each other, and exchanges data and instructions (commands).

Next, the overall operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. In the following description, it is assumed that the network 100 is the Internet.

The embodiment of the present invention can be divided into an operation when a product supplier registers product data and an operation when a product purchaser displays product information.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the operation when the goods supplier registers the goods data in one embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, registration of product data by a product supplier in one embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In order for the product supply client 1 to transmit the product data to the electronic wholesaler server 2, the product data registration unit 1
21 opens the electronic wholesaler server 2 through the Internet 100 (step A1).

For example, FTP (File
Transfer Protocol), the IP address of the electronic wholesaler server 2 is used for the FTP of the electronic wholesaler server 2
Open (OPEN) the connection with the server.

The electronic wholesaler server 2 receives the open command, performs an open operation, and when finished, notifies the commodity supply client 1 of the open end (step A2).

Next, the merchandise data registration section 121 of the merchandise supply client 1 searches whether or not merchandise data to be transmitted to the merchandise database 111 is registered (step A3).

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the product database 111 of the product supply client 1. Referring to FIG. 3, the product database 111 stores a two-column table of a transmission flag and product data.

In step A3 of FIG. 2, first, a row whose transmission flag is on (ON) is searched from the first row of the table of the product database 111, and the transmission flag is on (ON).
If the line is found, stop searching. If a line whose transmission flag is ON (ON) cannot be detected until the last line, the process proceeds to the electronic server closing process in step A9.

In step A3, if a row (transmission data) with the transmission flag on can be searched, the product data registration unit 121 acquires one piece of product data from the product database 111, and turns off the transmission flag of the row. (OFF) (step A4).

That is, in step A3, the product data is acquired from the row in which the transmission flag is ON in the product database 111. In the example shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that, for example, regarding a single song sold by music data, a song name, a singer name, a price, a trial listening data file name, and an actual data file name are required as product data, and the data format is XML. (eXtensive Markup Language), it is as shown in FIG. XM
L specifies one element of the document as a start tag (element names are "<" and ">"
) And end tags (element names between "</" and ">").

This data is stored in the product data string of the product database 111 of the product supply client 1.

The obtained product data is transmitted by the product data registration unit 121 to the electronic wholesaler server 2 via the Internet 100 (step A5). Specifically, the product data is converted into a text file, and put (PUT) to the electronic wholesaler server 2 by FTP.

Product data management section 21 of electronic wholesaler server 2
In step 1, it is monitored whether or not product data has been transmitted (step A6). Specifically, it monitors whether a file is stored in the FTP site to which the product data is transmitted.

When the product data is transmitted, the product data management unit 211 stores the product data in the product database 2
21 (step A7).

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the product database 221 of the electronic wholesaler server 2. Referring to FIG. 5, the product database 221 stores a one-column table that stores only product data. This data is the same as the product data stored in FIG.

Then, in step A7 of FIG. 2, the product data is added to the table of the product database 221.

When the storage of the product data is completed, the product data management unit 211 notifies the product supply client 1 of the end of the storage (step A8).

Next, the product data registration section 121 again
Search for the product data to be sent (step A
3). Here, the product data of the line whose transmission flag is ON (ON) is searched from the next line searched earlier.

As a result of the search by the product data registration unit 121,
If there is no product data to be transmitted, the product data registration unit 121 closes the electronic wholesaler server 2 via the Internet 100 (step A9). Specifically, the connection between the electronic wholesaler server 2 and the FTP server is closed (CLOSE).

FIG. 6 is a flow chart for explaining an operation when a product purchaser displays product information in one embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6, an operation when a product purchaser displays product information will be described.

The product purchaser uses the input device 31 of the product purchase client 3 to access the electronic shop server 4 from the search instruction section 321 via the Internet 100 (step B1). For example, in an electronic shop that sells music data, the electronic shop server 4
Assuming that the W server is running and has opened a Web page under the domain name "www.webshop.co.jp", FIG.
As shown in (1), a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is input to a Web browser with a mouse or a keyboard and transmitted.

This access command is received by the product data search unit 411 of the electronic shop server 4. In this case, since the received command is not a product information search instruction, the prepared initial screen is displayed on the Internet 10.
0 to the product purchase client 3 (step B2). For example, in the case of a screen as shown in FIG. 8, screen data (HTML sentence) as shown in FIG. 9 is transmitted.

The screen data transmitted from the electronic shop server 4 is stored in the sales information display section 3 of the product purchase client 3.
22 (step B3), and the sales information display section 322
Displays the screen data to the purchaser through the display device 33 (step B4). Specifically, from the image data shown in FIG. 9, a screen display as shown in FIG. 8 is performed on the display device 33 of the product purchase client 3 by a Web browser.

When the initial screen is displayed on the display device 33 of the merchandise purchase client 3, the input device 31 is used to input a keyword of the merchandise to be displayed and transmitted to the electronic shop server 4 (step B5).

Referring to FIG. 8, a one-line text edit C1 and a search button C2 are arranged on the screen of the display device 33 of the product purchase client 3. In this screen, the title of the music is input to the one-line text edit C1 from the keyboard, and the search button C2 is selected by clicking with the mouse.

In the electronic shop server 4, the commodity data search unit 411 receives the keyword transmitted from the commodity purchase client 3, and transmits the keyword as it is to the electronic wholesale server 2 (step B6).

For example, in FIG. 8, when a keyword “Autumn Breeze” is entered in the one-line text edit C1 and a search button C2 is clicked, the electronic shop server 4 causes the CGI (Common Gateway Interface) to be displayed.
The script (“search.cgi” in the image data of FIG. 9) is executed. The CGI script extracts the text "Autumn Breeze" input to the one-line text edit C1 and transmits the text to the electronic wholesaler server 2.

The electronic wholesaler server 2 converts the text transmitted from the electronic shop server 4 into the product data management unit 2
11 and retrieves the corresponding product data in the product database 221 (step B7).

For example, it is assumed that a table storing product data as shown in FIG. 10A exists in the product database 221 of the electronic wholesaler server 2. Of the respective product data, data whose character strings enclosed by the start tag <song name> and the end tag <song name> are the corresponding data.

For example, when a search is performed using the keyword “Autumn Breeze”, a flow chart as shown in FIG. 10B is obtained. In the case of the first row of the table, since <song name></ song name> is "summer memories", it is not applicable data (step D11).

The second line is "Autumn Breeze", which is the corresponding data (step D12), and the data of the second line is obtained (step D13).

The third line is "winter morning, so it is not applicable data (step D13).

Finally, only the data in the second row is obtained (step D14).

On the other hand, in the case of searching for “spring thoughts”, FIG.
The flowchart shown in FIG. All of the first to third rows are not applicable data (steps D21 to D23). Therefore, the data is "none" and nothing is acquired (step D24).

When a plurality of data items are applicable to the product database 221 of the electronic wholesaler server 2, all the data items are obtained.

The product data acquired by the electronic wholesaler server 2 is transmitted to the electronic shop server 4 by the product data management unit 211 (step B8).

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of product data acquired by the electronic wholesaler server 2 and transmitted to the electronic shop server 4. When a plurality of product data is acquired by the electronic wholesaler server 2, the plurality of data are stored in the electronic shop server 4.
Sent to. On the other hand, when the electronic wholesaler server 2 cannot acquire any product data, the electronic shop server 4 transmits data indicating that nothing could be acquired, such as NULL (null), to the electronic shop server 4.

After transmitting the retrieved product data or NULL, the operation of the electronic wholesaler server 2 ends.

Product information search section 4 of electronic shop server 4
11 receives the transmitted product data and passes it to the display screen creation unit 411 as it is (step B9).

Display screen creation unit 4 of electronic shop server 4
11 searches for a display style from the product display style database 421 based on the received product data (step B10).

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the product display style database 421. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the product display style database 421 has a table in which style items and style data are column items. This table stores style data corresponding to the style name.

Referring to FIG. 11, the style data having the style name “style 1” is the style data for displaying the product data of the single song, and the style data having the style name “style 2” is the product data for the album. Is the style data to be displayed.

The style data in the example shown in FIG.
This is an image to be displayed, and the corresponding element data of the XML data is entered in a portion indicated by <song name> or the like.
Actually, the style data is stored in XSL (eXtensive Style).
sheet Language).

As an example, if the style data whose style name is "style 1" is described in XSL, the result is as shown in FIG. By the way, XSL cannot operate on a plurality of XML data. Therefore, to create a display screen for a plurality of XML data,
Other scripts or programming languages are used.
In this case, the style data is a script or program corresponding to the style data.

In the electronic shop server 4, the display screen creation unit 411 determines to which style data the product data received from the electronic wholesaler server 2 is applied. The display screen creation unit 411 has a correspondence table between product data and style data, and determines style data according to the correspondence.

FIG. 13 is a table describing style application conditions corresponding to the style data shown in FIG. For example, when the data shown in FIG. 4 is obtained, looking at the correspondence table in FIG. 13, the condition on the first line is “One <single song data> tag is included”. , The style data of “style 1” is acquired. If the conditions on the first line are not satisfied, the conditions are determined on the second and third lines, and if none of the conditions are satisfied, style data of style 3 is obtained.

After acquiring the style data, the display screen creation unit 411 of the electronic shop server 4 generates a screen by multiplying the acquired product data by the style data (step B11).

For example, when the product data of FIG. 4 and the style data of FIG. 12 corresponding to the product data are processed by the XSL processor, the data output as a result of the processing is as shown in FIG. .

The XSL processor converts the XML data (FIG. 4)
HTML) corresponding to the tag in the XML data.
XSL data describing the rules for generating the data (see FIG. 12)
Is input, HTML with embedded XML data
(See FIG. 14).

For example, <xsl: value-of> on line 8 in FIG.
The script embeds the content of the tag of select = "single song data / song name". "Single song data /
The “song name” means that the character string content of the <song name> tag in the <single song data> element is embedded. In the example of FIG. 4, the character string “Autumn Breeze” of the <song name> tag on the second line The eighth line in FIG. 12 becomes the fourth line in FIG. 14 through the XSL processor.

The display screen creation unit 411 creates the generated HTM
L to the product purchase client 3 (step B).
12). Specifically, the generated HTML document is transmitted. Thus, the operation of the electronic shop server 4 ends.

The transmitted screen data is received again by the screen display unit 322 of the product purchase client 3 (step B13).

The screen display section 322 displays the sales information to the purchaser through the display device 33 (step B14).

In this manner, the product information selected by the product purchaser is displayed.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a configuration of the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 15, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the electronic wholesaler server 2 of the configuration of the embodiment shown in FIG.
And a conversion rule database 222 are further added.

In the electronic wholesaler server 2, the product data transmitted from the product supply client 1 is received by the product data management unit 211 and passed to the product data conversion unit 212.

The product data conversion unit 212 acquires conversion rules for product data from the conversion rule database 222 based on the data passed from the product data management unit 211, and converts the product data to a common product independent client. The data is converted into a format, passed again to the product data management unit 211, and stored in the product database 221.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to a specific example.

For example, it is assumed that the product data transmitted from the product supply client 1 is as shown in FIG. This is a data format unique to Company A, and when it is managed by the electronic wholesaler server 2, it is desired to manage it in the format shown in FIG.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart for explaining a process of converting and storing the product data transmitted from the product supply client in the second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 17, the product supply client 1
Is sent to the electronic wholesaler server from the product data management unit 211, and the product data conversion unit 21
2 (step E1).

The product data conversion unit 212 searches the received product data for a product data conversion rule by referring to the conversion rule database 222 (step E2).

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the conversion rule database 222 in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
8, the conversion rule database 222 includes:
Stores a table with the conversion name and conversion rule as column items. This table stores conversion rules corresponding to conversion names.

In FIG. 18, "conversion 1" is a rule for converting the data shown in FIG. 16 into the data shown in FIG. This conversion rule is described in XSL.

The product data conversion section 212 determines a conversion rule for the received product data.

FIG. 19 shows a table describing conditions for applying the conversion rule corresponding to the conversion rule of FIG. For example, when the product data of FIG. 16 is acquired, FIG.
Looking at the correspondence table of No. 9, the condition on the first line is "begins with the <Company A>tag", and since it matches this application condition, the conversion rule of Conversion 1 is obtained from the conversion rule database. . If the condition of the first line of the conversion rule application condition in FIG. 19 is not satisfied, the condition determination is performed on the second line and the third line. If all the conditions are not satisfied, conversion 2 is obtained.

After obtaining the conversion rules, the product data conversion unit 212 creates new product data by multiplying the obtained product data by the conversion rules (step E3).

For example, when the merchandise data shown in FIG. 16 and the conversion rule data shown in FIG. 18 are passed through an XSL processor, the output results of the XSL processor are output as shown in FIG.
Is obtained.

The converted product data is passed from the product data converter 212 to the product data manager 211 and stored in the product database 221 (step E4).

The operation and effect of the second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the second embodiment of the present invention, data used in an electronic shop can be shared, and an attractive screen such as a comparative purchase can be created.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, since the electronic wholesaler does not need to specify the data format for the product supplier, a plurality of product suppliers can store the product data in different formats. , Which facilitates the collection of product information.

[0120]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

The first effect of the present invention is that an electronic wholesaler is provided,
With the configuration in which the electronic wholesaler collects and manages the product data, it is possible to reduce the work load and cost for collecting and managing the product data in the electronic shop. As a result, in the electronic shop, it is possible to concentrate solely on creating a sales screen or the like of a product.

The second effect of the present invention is that the merchandise supplier only needs to supply merchandise data to the electronic wholesaler, and does not need to create a display screen or manage the merchandise data.
This means that the cost of creating a display screen and the cost of managing product data at the product supplier can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to sell goods at the electronic shop at low cost.

A third effect of the present invention is that data used in an electronic shop can be shared, and an attractive screen such as a comparative purchase can be created.

The fourth effect of the present invention is that the electronic wholesaler does not need to impose a data format on the product supplier, and a plurality of product suppliers can supply product data in different formats. And facilitate the collection of product information.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of a product database of a product supply client according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining product data in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of contents of a product database of an electronic wholesaler server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when a product purchaser displays product information in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an initial screen of a browser according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a browser screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of screen data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining processing of a product database and a product data management unit of the electronic wholesaler server in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of contents of a product display style database of the electronic shop server according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of description of style data by XSL in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram showing a table in which style application conditions corresponding to the style data shown in FIG. 11 are described.

14 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram showing data obtained by processing the product data of FIG. 4 and the style data of FIG. 12 which is style data thereof by an XSL processor.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a configuration of a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the second embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram showing an example of product data transmitted from a product supply client.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a process of converting and storing product data transmitted from a product supply client in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of a conversion rule database according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining the second embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram illustrating an example of a table describing conditions for applying a conversion rule corresponding to a conversion rule;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Merchandise supply client 2 Electronic wholesaler server 3 Merchandise purchase client 4 Electronic shop server 11 Storage device 12 Processing device 21 Processing device 22 Storage device 31 Input device 32 Processing device 33 Notation device 41 Processing device 42 Storage device 100 Network 111 Product database 121 Product Data registration unit 121 Product data registration unit 211 Product data management unit 212 Product data conversion unit 221 Product database 222 Conversion rule database 321 Search instruction unit 322 Screen display unit 411 Product data search unit 412 Display screen creation unit

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. An electronic wholesaler server for collecting and storing and managing merchandise data sent from a merchandise supplier client, wherein an electronic shop server for providing an electronic shop is provided with a merchandise purchase client connected to a network. Means for receiving a search instruction, sending the search instruction to the electronic wholesaler server, receiving product data searched by the electronic wholesaler server from the electronic wholesaler server, and storing style data corresponding to the product data from the storage unit Means for acquiring and automatically creating screen data, wherein the screen data created by the electronic shop server is transferred to the product purchase client and displayed, wherein . 2. The electronic shop server includes a product display style database in which style data for displaying products is stored in advance, receives product data from the electronic wholesaler server, and displays products corresponding to the product data. Means for acquiring the style data from the product display style database, automatically creating display screen information based on the product data and the style data, and sending the display screen information to the product purchase client. Item 1. An electronic shop product information display system according to item 1. 3. A merchandise supply client, an electronic wholesaler server, an electronic shop server, and a merchandise purchase client are connected to a network, and the merchandise supply client stores and manages merchandise data that can be supplied by the merchandise supplier. And a product data registration unit that sends product data managed by the product database to the electronic wholesaler server via a network, wherein the electronic wholesaler server stores and manages product data sent from the product supply client. A merchandise database, and a merchandise data management unit that obtains merchandise data from the merchandise database in response to a processing request sent from the electronic shop server, and returns the merchandise data to the electronic shop server through the network. But the product buyer An input device for inputting information about the incoming target product, and notation device,
A search instruction unit that issues a search instruction to the electronic shop server through the network based on the information input from the input device; and a display device based on information from the electronic shop server, An image display unit for displaying sales information, wherein the electronic shop server requests the product data management unit of the electronic wholesaler server to acquire the product data specified by the product purchaser via the network. Unit, receives product data from the product data management unit of the electronic wholesaler server, obtains style data for product display corresponding to the product data from a product display style database, based on the product data and style data, Display screen information is automatically created, and the product purchase client is A product information display system for an electronic shop, comprising: a display screen creation unit for sending the product information to a customer. 4. A conversion rule database in which the electronic wholesaler server stores conversion rules corresponding to conversion names in advance.
Based on the product data transmitted from the product supply client received by the product data management unit, referring to the conversion rule database, obtain a conversion rule corresponding to the product data, and convert the product data and the conversion And a product data conversion unit for converting from the rules to product data in a common format that does not depend on the product supply client. The product data management unit converts the product data in the common format converted by the product data conversion unit into The electronic shop product information display system according to claim 3, wherein the system is stored in a product database. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said product data conversion unit refers to a table defining conversion names to be applied when said product data includes a predetermined tag as an application condition of said conversion rule. Acquiring a conversion name applied to, converting a conversion rule corresponding to the conversion name from the conversion rule database, and generating product data in a common format from the conversion rule in the product data. The electronic merchandise information display system according to claim 4, characterized in that: 6. When the product data includes a predetermined tag, the display screen creation unit acquires style data of a style corresponding to the tag from the product display style database, and displays the style data. HTML corresponding to the predetermined tag in the product data
(HyperText Markup Language) is included, and an HTML sentence in which the content of the product data is embedded as the display screen information is automatically generated from the product data and the style data. The electronic shop product information display system according to claim 3. 7. An electronic wholesale server that collects and manages product data from a client terminal of a product supplier and that is separately provided from an electronic shop server that provides an electronic shop. When a product search instruction is input from a client terminal, the search request is sent to the electronic wholesaler server, and the electronic wholesaler server receiving the search instruction acquires the product data and sends it to the electronic shop server. The electronic shop server receives the product data searched by the electronic wholesaler server, creates screen data from the product data and style data corresponding to the product data, and creates a screen created by the electronic shop server. The data is transferred to the product purchaser client terminal via a network and displayed. A product information display method for an electronic shop. 8. A product information display method of an electronic shop system in which a product supply client, an electronic wholesaler, an electronic shop server, and a product purchase client are connected to a network, wherein: (a) the product supply client is Sending product data managed by a product database that stores and manages product data that can be supplied by the product supplier to the electronic wholesaler server via a network; and (b) the electronic wholesaler server sends the product data from the product supply client. (C) registering the sent product data in a product database and storing and managing the product data; and (c) the electronic shop server through the network based on information input by the product purchaser regarding a product to be purchased by the product purchaser. Issuing a search instruction to (d); A child shop server requesting the electronic wholesaler server to acquire the product data specified by the product purchaser via the network; and (e) the electronic wholesaler server requests a process from the electronic shop server. Acquiring product data from the product database according to the above, and sending the product data to the electronic shop server through the network; and (f) receiving the product data retrieved by the electronic wholesaler server and displaying the product corresponding to the product data. Acquiring style data from the product display style database, multiplying the product data with the style data to create display screen data, and sending the screen data to the product purchase client through the network; (g) ) In the product purchase client, Serial based on the information from the electronic shop server, and displaying the sales information of the commodity product purchaser has requested, a, e-shop for the merchandise information display method, characterized in that. 9. In the step (b), the electronic wholesaler server determines a conversion rule corresponding to a conversion name on the basis of the product data transmitted from the product supply client received by the product data management unit. The conversion rule of the product data is acquired by referring to the stored conversion rule database, the product data is converted into a common format independent of the product supply client, and the converted product data in the common format is stored in the product database. 9. The method for displaying product information for an electronic shop according to claim 8, wherein: 10. In the step (f), when a predetermined tag is included in the product data, style data of a style corresponding to the tag is obtained from the product display style database, and the style data is obtained. As H corresponding to the predetermined tag in the product data.
A rule for generating TML (hypertext markup language) is included, and an HTML sentence in which the content of the product data is embedded as the display screen information is automatically generated from the product data and the style data. The method for displaying product information for an electronic shop according to claim 8, wherein: 11. In the step (b), referring to a table defining a conversion name to be applied when the product data includes a predetermined tag, as a condition for applying the conversion rule, the tag included in the product data is referred to. Obtaining a conversion name applied to the conversion rule, obtaining a conversion rule corresponding to the conversion name from the conversion rule database, and generating product data in a common format from the conversion rule in the product data. The electronic shop product information display system according to claim 8. 12. A product supply client, an electronic wholesaler,
An electronic shop server and a product purchase client connected to a network, wherein the product supply client stores and manages product data that can be supplied by a product supplier;
Product data managed in the product database,
A product data registration unit for sending to the electronic wholesaler server via a network, wherein the electronic wholesaler server stores and manages product data sent from the product supply client; a processing request from the electronic shop server; A product data management unit for acquiring product data from the product database in response to the product data and sending the product data to the electronic shop server through the network. The product purchase client inputs information on a product to be purchased by a product purchaser. Device, notation device,
A search instruction unit that issues a search instruction to the electronic shop server through the network based on the information input from the input device, and a product that a product purchaser has requested to the display device based on information from the electronic shop server. And an image display unit for displaying the sales information of the product. The electronic shop server requests the product data management unit of the electronic wholesaler server to acquire the product data specified by the product purchaser via a network. Unit, receives product data from the product data management unit of the electronic wholesaler server, obtains style data for product display corresponding to the product data from a product display style database, and multiplies the product data with the style data. , Create a display screen and send it to the product purchase client through the network A display screen creation unit to be attached;
A program for causing a computer constituting the product supply client to execute a product data registration unit in the product supply client; and causing a computer constituting the electronic wholesaler server to execute a product data management unit in the electronic wholesaler server. A program for causing a computer constituting the product purchase client to execute a search instruction unit and a screen display unit in the product purchase client; a product data search unit and a display screen creation unit in the electronic shop server to the electronic shop server And a recording medium that records at least one program or all of the programs. 13. A storage medium according to claim 12, wherein said electronic wholesaler server stores a conversion rule database storing correspondence between conversion names and conversion rules based on product data transmitted from said product supply client. A product data conversion unit for obtaining a conversion rule of the product data by referring to the product data, and converting the product data into a common format independent of a product supply client, wherein the product data management unit converts the product data in the converted common format. In the product database, and a program for causing the computer constituting the electronic wholesaler server to execute the processes of the product data conversion unit and the product data management unit. 14. An electronic shop server for providing electronic shop screen information to a product purchase client, wherein when a product search instruction is input from the product purchase client, the search instruction is sent to the product sent from the product supplier client. Means for requesting an electronic wholesaler server to collect and store and manage data; a product display style in which style data for displaying the product is received in advance from the electronic wholesaler server, the product data retrieved by the electronic wholesaler server; Means for acquiring style data for product display corresponding to the product data from the database, automatically creating display screen information based on the product data and the style data, and sending the display screen information to the product purchase client. An electronic shop server device. 15. A merchandise database for collecting and managing merchandise data sent from a merchandise supplier client, wherein a merchandise search instruction is input from the merchandise purchase client to an electronic shop server which provides an electronic shop to the merchandise purchase client. Receiving the search instruction from the electronic shop server, searching the product database to obtain product data, and sending the product data to the electronic shop server. Wholesaler server device.