JP2002117155A - Shopping supporting system and managing server - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system capable of automating the preparation of a shopping list and retrieving an optimal purchase route. SOLUTION: On the bass of store information 26a and article information 26b on a storage means 26, a comparative table preparing means 24 prepares an article price comparative table between stores positioned inside a retrieval target area. Besides, on the basis of the store information 26a and the article information 26b on the storage means 26, a retrieving means 25 retrieves a purchase route corresponding to a request from a communication terminal 10. Then, the article price comparative table or purchase route is provided to the communication terminal 10 by an information providing means 22 and can be printed from a printing means 14 of this communication terminal 10 at need.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a system for supporting shopping.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Before going shopping, it is usual to consider what to buy and create a shopping list. For example, if curry and rice are being considered for dinner menu, of the necessary ingredients (potatoes, beef, carrots, and curry powder), check the missing ingredients and list them. That is, if there are carrots and curry powder in the refrigerator, the potatoes and beef are added to the shopping list L as shown in FIG.

[0003] Normally, prices of potatoes and beef are compared based on a flyer or the like provided as a newspaper insert advertisement. That is, the shop with the cheapest potato and the shop with the cheapest beef are specified, and FIG.
, The name and location of the store are added to the shopping list L.

[0004]

However, creating the shopping list L as described above is a cumbersome operation. That is, in order to create the shopping list L, a large number of flyers must be collected. When making a price comparison based on this flyer, it is necessary to pay attention to whether or not the store is near the home (when using a transportation such as a train or a bus to visit the store, An accurate price comparison will not be possible without considering the transportation costs.)

When visiting a large number of stores, it is important to consider the route in advance, but there has been no method for easily searching for an optimal purchase route.

The present invention has been proposed based on the above-mentioned conventional circumstances, and has as its object to provide a system that automates the creation of a shopping list and can search for an optimal purchase route.

[0007]

The present invention employs the following means to achieve the above object.

That is, as shown in FIG.
6 stores store information 26a as shown in FIG. 6 and product information 26b as shown in FIG. Further, the comparison table creating means 24 creates a product price comparison table between stores located in the search target area (described later) based on the stored store information 26a and the product information 26b.
Further, the information providing means 22 provides the communication terminal 10 with the created product price comparison table. The product price comparison table can be printed from the printing unit 14 of the communication terminal 10 as needed.

Here, there are various methods for specifying the search target area. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the storage means 26 may store information for specifying the search target area for each user of the communication terminal 10. Further, the communication terminal 10 may include an instruction input unit 15 for inputting an instruction for the search target area. Further, a current position detecting unit (not shown) for detecting the current position of the communication terminal 10 may be provided, and the search target area may be specified based on the current position detected in this way.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to compare prices of a target product by a simple operation, and to print this product price comparison table as needed.

When visiting a large number of stores, it is important to consider the route in advance. Therefore,
The search unit 25 searches for a purchase route according to a request from the communication terminal 10 based on the stored store information 26a and product information 26b. Information providing means 2
2 provides the communication terminal 10 with the searched purchase route. Note that the purchase route is determined by the printing unit 1 of the communication terminal 10.
From 4 onwards, printing is possible as needed.

As described above, according to the present invention, an optimum purchase route can be searched by a simple operation, and
This purchase route can be printed as needed.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a shopping support system to which the present invention is applied. In the following description, a housewife thinking of curry and rice for dinner menu needs to purchase potatoes and beef, and operates a communication terminal 10 (for example, a personal computer) equipped with a browsing means 12 such as a browser. It is assumed that the system will be used.

First, when the user of the communication terminal 10
When an access request is issued to the management server 20 by designating D “0001” and a password, the access request is accepted by the information providing unit 22 of the management server 20 via the transmission / reception units 11 and 21 (FIG. 2, Step S1).

Thus, the information providing means 22
With reference to the user information 26c (see FIG. 4) on the storage means 26, it is determined whether or not the access is from a registered user. Then, when it is determined that the access is from a registered user, product list information is generated based on the product information 26b (see FIG. 5) in the storage unit 26, and this product list information is returned to the communication terminal 10 ( FIG. 2, step S2 → S
3).

As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, a product list including product items and names is displayed on the display means 13 of the communication terminal 10 (FIG. 2, step S).
4). This product list only needs to include at least the name of the product, and the display mode is not limited to the mode shown in FIG.

Here, the user "0001" of the communication terminal 10
However, when potatoes and beef are specified in the product list, the communication terminal 10 issues a product price comparison request to the management server 20 (FIG. 2,
Step S5 → S6).

Then, the information providing means 22 of the management server 20, which has received the commodity price comparison request, notifies the comparison table creating means 24 that the potato and the beef have been designated by the user "0001", and transmits this notification. The received comparison table creating means 24 creates a product price comparison table in the following procedure and returns it to the information providing means 22 (FIG. 2, step S7).

That is, as shown in FIG.
Since the search target area of “01” is the XX shopping street, the comparison table creating means 24 specifies the store belonging to the XX shopping street based on the store information 26a in the storage means 26. Here, as shown in FIG. 6, since three stores C, D, and E belong to the XX shopping street, the IDs of these stores
“0003”, “0004”, and “0005” are specified.

Next, the comparison table creating means 24 specifies the potato price and the beef price at the stores "0003", "0004" and "0005" by referring to the product information 26b in the storage means 26. Here, as shown in FIG. 5, as a price per potato, the store “0003”
28 yen, 30 yen for the store "0004", and 29 yen for the store "0005", and the price per 100 g of beef is 112 yen for the store "0003" and the store "000".
Thus, 98 yen of “4” and 135 yen of store “0005” are specified.

The price of potato is exemplified by the price per piece, and the price of beef is exemplified by the price per 100 g. However, the quantity for determining the price is not particularly limited as long as it is uniform for each product. It is not something to be done.

As a result, the comparison table between the potato price and the beef price at the stores C, D, and E is stored in the management server 2.
The information is displayed on the display unit 13 of the communication terminal 10 via the information providing unit 22 (step S8 in FIG. 2).
Although the form of the commodity price comparison table is not particularly limited, as shown in FIG. 8, the price of the cheapest potato (that is, 28 yen of the store "0003") and the price of the cheapest beef (that is, the store " [0004] is preferably displayed explicitly.

Finally, when the user of the communication terminal 10 issues a print instruction, the commodity price comparison table is printed from a printing means 14 such as a printer connected to the communication terminal 10 (FIG. 2). , Step S9).

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to compare prices of a target product by a simple operation, and to print this product price comparison table as needed.

Here, as an example of the search target area of the user "0001", XX shopping street is exemplified, but there are various designation modes of this search target area, such as near XX station and XX town.

The search target area is the user information 26c.
Although the configuration stored in advance as an example is illustrated, when an access request is received from the communication terminal 10, the user may be inquired of the search target area. By doing so, it is possible to specify a desired search target area from the instruction input means 15 such as a keyboard provided in the communication terminal 10 every time access is made.

Further, a GPS (Global Positioning System)
m), a means for detecting the current position of the user is mounted on the communication terminal 10, and a search target area is specified based on the latitude information and the longitude information obtained by the current position detection means. Is also good. In such a configuration, the communication terminal 10 is configured such that the PDA (Personal Digital Assista
This is effective in the case of a portable terminal such as nce).

When visiting a large number of stores, it is important to consider the route in advance. Therefore,
In the present invention, the following configuration is employed in order to make it possible to search for a purchase route according to a request from the communication terminal 10.

That is, while the commodity price comparison table is displayed on the display means 13 of the communication terminal 10 as described above, the shop C with the cheapest potato and the shop D with the cheapest beef are designated, and furthermore, the purchase route search is performed. Is issued, a purchase route search request is issued from the communication terminal 10 to the management server 20 (FIG. 3, step S11 → S).
12).

As a result, the information providing means 22 of the management server 20, which has received the purchase route search request, sets the store C
And the store D are notified to the searching means 25 by the user "0001".
Retrieves the purchase route from the map information 26d on the storage means 26 in the following procedure and returns it to the information providing means 22 (FIG. 3, step S13).

That is, as shown in FIG.
Because the search reference position of "01" is XX apartment,
The search means 25 searches for a route that departs from the XX apartment, passes through the store C and the store D, and returns to the XX apartment. Such a search is a
○ Position information of the shopping street (for example, latitude information and longitude information)
It is needless to say that it is possible if is held in advance.

Then, with the purchase route searched as described above displayed on the display means 13 of the communication terminal 10 via the information providing means 22 of the management server 20, the communication terminal 10
When the user issues a print instruction, the purchase route is printed from the printing means 14 connected to the communication terminal 10 (FIG. 3, steps S14 → S15).

As described above, according to the present invention, an optimum purchase route can be searched for by a simple operation.
This purchase route can be printed as needed.

Although the operation for searching for a purchase route after comparing prices is described here as an example, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, it is possible to immediately search for a purchase route without performing price comparison.

In addition, according to the above-described search method, since the route satisfies the condition of departure from XX apartment, passing through store C and store D, and then returning to XX apartment, it must be a purchase route candidate. However, if a large number of purchase route candidates are applicable, it may not be easy to select an optimal purchase route from the candidates. Therefore, when conducting a purchase route search, the product price, the time required for purchase,
A configuration may be employed in which the user of the communication terminal 10 is inquired about priority items such as the distance, quality of the purchase route, and the quality of transportation used. In this way, the purchase route candidates are displayed in accordance with a predetermined rule such as the order of the lowest product price, the order of the shortest time required for purchase, the order of the shortest distance of the purchase route, the order of good quality, and the type of transportation used. It is possible.

Further, in the above description, the method of updating various information in the storage means 26 is not particularly mentioned, but the updating processing of these information is performed by the updating means 23 of the management server 20. For example, when there is a change in the inventory information of a store 30, the inventory information management unit 32 of the store 30 notifies the update unit 23 of the management server 20 via the transmission / reception units 31 and 21 of this change. The updating means 23 receiving the information updates the product information 26b in the storage means 26.

Further, in the above description, it is assumed that potatoes and beef are purchased. However, the system also has a function of supporting the determination of a purchased item. That is, the information providing unit 22 of the management server 20
A menu list as shown in (a) is provided to the communication terminal 10 as needed. Then, when the user of the communication terminal 10 designates, for example, curry and rice from the menu, the information providing means 22 of the management server 20 needs to make curry and rice as shown in FIG. The food list is provided to the communication terminal 10. Of course, the menu list and the food list are not limited to the mode illustrated here. For example, a calorie display column is provided for a user who is on a diet, and a price is provided for a user who has a household account book. A display column may be provided.

Furthermore, the presence or absence of foodstuffs in the home may be managed by a home server (a device that controls and manages a network using Bluetooth or the like), and the home server may determine a purchase item. By doing so, the troublesome work of searching for the missing ingredients is released, and the step of specifying the target product (see FIG. 2S4) can be omitted.

Here, as a method for the home server to collect food information, various methods are conceivable, such as reading a bar code attached to the food with a bar code reader, but an IC tag described below is used. It is preferable to sell the foodstuffs, because the burden on the user is reduced.

That is, an IC tag is a tag whose contents can be read by an IC tag reader by wireless communication. In principle, electromagnetic induction of two coils is used. One coil is used as a transmitting / receiving antenna of an IC tag reader, and the other coil is used as a transmitting / receiving antenna of an IC tag. In this case, the coil of the IC tag reader includes an oscillator for transmitting a carrier, and an IC using the carrier.
And a demodulator for demodulating a response signal from the tag.
The coil of the IC tag is connected to a modulator for mounting (modulating) the contents of a register on a response wave induced by a transmission wave from an antenna, and further holds a signal modulated by the modulator. A register is provided.
The signal held in this register is a tag ID for identifying the IC tag and other necessary information.

Since the above-mentioned IC tag is in the form of a sheet and can be manufactured by using a printing technique, the price is extremely low, and it is expected to spread in the future.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to compare the price of a target product by a simple operation, and to print the product price comparison table as needed. In addition, the optimum purchase route can be searched by a simple operation, and the purchase route can be printed as needed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a shopping support system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a commodity price comparison process.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an optimal purchase route search process.

FIG. 4 shows an example of user information.

FIG. 5 is an example of product information

FIG. 6 is an example of store information.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which a product list is displayed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state in which a commodity price comparison table is displayed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state in which a menu list and a food list are displayed.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a shopping list.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Communication terminal 12 Browsing means 13 Display means 14 Printing means 15 Instruction input means 20 Management server 22 Information providing means 23 Update means 24 Comparison table creation means 25 Search means 26 Storage means 26a Store information 26b Product information 26c User information

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tatsuo Kamei 1006 Kadoma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tetsuro Nakamura 1006 Kadoma Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. 72) Inventor Hiroyuki Matsuo 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Pref. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akitaka Okamoto 1006 Odaka, Kadoma, Osaka Pref. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 1006, Kadoma, Kazuma, Fumonma-shi Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A system for supporting shopping, comprising: storage means for storing store information and product information; and a store located in a search target area based on the stored store information and product information. A shopping support system, comprising: a comparison table creating unit that creates a product price comparison table between; and an information providing unit that provides the communication terminal with the created product price comparison table. 2. The shopping support system according to claim 1, wherein the storage means stores information for specifying the search target area for each user of the communication terminal. 3. The shopping support system according to claim 1, wherein said communication terminal comprises an instruction input means for inputting an instruction for said search target area. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a current position detecting means for detecting a current position of the communication terminal, wherein said comparison table creating means specifies said search target area based on said detected current position. Shopping support system described. 5. The shopping support system according to claim 1, wherein the communication terminal includes a printing unit for printing the commodity price comparison table. 6. A system for supporting shopping, comprising: storage means for storing store information and product information; and responding to a request from a communication terminal based on the stored store information and product information. A shopping support system comprising: a search unit for searching for a purchase route; and an information providing unit for providing the searched purchase route to a communication terminal. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the search means searches for a purchase route based on at least one of a commodity price, a time required for purchase, a distance of the purchase route, good / bad quality, and transportation means to be used. Shopping support system described. 8. The shopping support system according to claim 6, wherein the communication terminal includes a printing unit for printing the purchase route. 9. A management server for providing information related to shopping in response to a request from a communication terminal, comprising: storage means for storing store information and product information; A comparison table creating means for creating a product price comparison table between stores located in the search target area based on the information, and an information providing means for providing the created product price comparison table to the communication terminal. Characteristic management server. 10. A management server for providing information related to shopping in response to a request from a communication terminal, comprising: storage means for storing store information and product information; A management server comprising: a search unit that searches for a purchase route according to a request from a communication terminal based on the request; and an information providing unit that provides the communication terminal with the searched purchase route.