JP2002513187A - Ways to increase the efficiency of commerce - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Summary The present invention relates to a method for increasing the efficiency of commerce, whereby a customer can obtain the physical alternatives required for obtaining / utilizing products, services, and / or the like. To obtain the data, a data processing device (X) owned by the customer, such as a data communication device, connects to the server (A) via an open data communication (Y) such as an intranet, the Internet, or a modem. Select, confirm and pay for a product, service and / or the like, and then the server (A) checks the individual, communication content, credit information and / or the like before conducting the transaction. And confirming the legitimacy of the transaction, and transmitting a receipt or the like at least proving the validity of the transaction to the customer. The server (A) forms an identifier (1) for at least the customer during the connection and sends the identifier to the customer after receipt of the payment, after which the customer may use the physical substitute (2) containing at least the identifier described above. ) Is created by the data processing device (X) owned by the customer.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for increasing the efficiency of commerce, by means of which a customer obtains the physical substitutes required for obtaining / utilizing products, services and / or the like, etc. Connected to the server by a data processing device such as a personal computer or a data communication device owned by the customer via an open data communication such as an intranet, the Internet, or a modem, and after connection, a desired product, service, and / or the like. And confirms and makes a payment, after which the server verifies the legitimacy of the commercial transaction after collating the individual, communication content, credit information and / or the like, and Send a receipt or the like to the customer to prove the validity of the action.

The principles described above now work, for example, in ticket sales for different types of transportation companies or service providers, for example, for organizing entertainment events,
This allows the customer to connect to the service provider's server via the Internet with the customer's own computer, make reservations and make payments,
Receive a receipt entitled to the actual ticket. At present, the use of actual services purchased, such as tickets, that allow entry to entertainment events, however, requires that customers travel to obtain previously booked tickets. The typical decisive drawback of this activity is that, in fact, the customer still has to first go and get the actual ticket separately, while, in fact, the service provider First, they must send the ticket to the customer, and on the other hand, they must continue to have a queue of customers who have already booked the ticket in advance, so that for a two-stage ticket sale, the customer service Quality suffers without balance.

On the other hand, for example, German Patent Application 196 34 169 or US Pat.
At 9,480, a system is shown that includes a separate self-service terminal, such as a closed net (US Pat. No. 5,23,23).
9,480) or, for example, by a modem (German Patent 196 34 169), a server is connected to the organizer of events, such as different types of sports, plays, musicals, etc. Each terminal has firstly the equipment required for the purchase operation together with the printer, and the customer may select a ticket for the desired event from a source connected to the Internet and pay. A ticket may be printed for the customer himself, allowing entry to the event. First, the problem is related to this solution, which is that the installation and maintenance of the system is very costly, which is very large in its entirety. A terminal is connected to an event organizer's server connected to the system. Because of this, first of all, it is not easy for customers to have very limited possibilities to select an event as a practical matter, and to combine a large number of information sources as a practical matter into a closed system, For this reason, the solution applies rather only to a limited environment. In addition, the customer must always operate a terminal connected to the system. Therefore, it is necessary to extend these terminals very widely in order to make the type of network as manageable as possible for the customer. Achieving such a system may be somewhat possible in densely populated areas, but people living in depopulated settlements are, in fact, quite different from those in populated areas. This is because they have values.

[0004] The method according to the invention achieves a significant improvement with respect to the above-mentioned problems,
It is intended to essentially increase the level of prior art in this field. To this end, the method according to the invention is characterized in that the server first forms at least one identifier for the customer during the connection, sends the identifier to the customer after receipt of the payment, The customer substitutes a physical substitute that includes at least the identifier described above,
It is created by the data processing device owned by the user.

The most crucial advantages of the method according to the invention are, firstly, the ease, reliability and usefulness of the method in most heterogeneous relationships and purposes. The method according to the invention will be very well used in connection with actual ticket sales, for example as well as the sale of different types of products. The decisive advantage of the method according to the invention is furthermore that anyone can select, confirm and pay for the required purchasing means, for example in connection with the desired service or event, for example, It may be carried out by a personal computer at hand or by a personal data communicator owned by the customer, for example a GSM phone, or by a so-called pocket computer, for example, provided with a data communication function, after which further the server is replaced by an actual physical substitute That is, for example, an entrance ticket to the event is directly created by the customer's data processing device. In particular, any type of existing closed net, for example connected to a service provider, is therefore no longer necessary, but instead always uses the most widely available existing net, for example the Internet, in this connection means May be. This allows the customer to use
In addition, it naturally has the widest available choice for service providers. Furthermore, with regard to an advantageous embodiment of the method, the service provider advantageously confirms the identifier of the physical alternative made for the customer, for example by means of an automatic reader. After notifying the validity of the EAN code of the ticket, for example, created by the customer, the customer can end the transaction, ie, enter the exhibition, for example.

[0006] Advantageous embodiments according to the invention are set out in the independent claims relating to the present method.

In the following description, the present invention is described in detail in the accompanying FIGS. 1a and 1b, and in FIGS. 2a and 2b, in which the principles according to the method of the invention are:
Shown as examples performed by four alternative methods.

[0008] The present invention relates to a method for increasing the efficiency of commerce, whereby a customer can obtain the physical alternatives required for obtaining / utilizing products, services, and / or the like, etc. , An open data communication system such as an intranet, the Internet, a modem, etc.
To connect to the server A, and after connection, select, confirm and pay for the desired product, service and / or the like, after which the server A communicates with the individual, communication content, credit information and And / or verifying the similarity, and then confirming the legitimacy of the commercial transaction, and transmitting at least a receipt or the like for certifying the validity of the commercial transaction to the customer. The server A forms, during the connection, at least an identifier 1 for the customer and, after receipt of the payment, sends the identifier to the customer, after which the customer possesses at least the physical substitute 2 containing the above-mentioned identifier in the possession of the customer. Created by the data processing device X.

In this regard, the server, in addition to the existing server solution, may be provided by a specific part which belongs completely to, for example, the device of the net server supplier or the actual service provider, or alternatively software. The server may be implemented by means of an intelligent solution alone, and in the process described above, the server is connected to the appropriate point, starting from the contact acquisition device and ending up with the device of the final service provider.

Furthermore, as an advantageous embodiment of the method, the identifier 1 of the physical substitute 2 created by the customer is preferably with respect to the use or acquisition of products, services and / or the like. After being confirmed by the automatic reading device B and establishing the validity of said physical substitute 2, the customer may pay for it, such as delivering the goods to be purchased or allowing entry to the resort. Enables the termination of a given business transaction.

Further, in an advantageous embodiment, the server A has an optically readable E
Create a collator, such as an AN code 1a, which is included in the physical alternative 2, which is created by the customer, by the printer Z of the data processing device owned by the customer. . On the other hand, the server A is operable in a similar way, collecting the identifier 1 for the customer as a graphic page, which page is printed by the printer Z of the data processing device owned by the customer.

Further, as an advantageous embodiment of the method, the identifier 1 transmitted by the server A is written by the customer's data processing device to a portable storage means such as a memory card or a smart card.

1a, 1b and 2a, the server A is physically located between the service provider T and the customer X, and the server is connected to the service provider during the same connection Y. Is conveniently connected to the person T and is notified of the purchase action. The validity of the identifier 1 given to the customer can be determined, for example, according to the principle shown in FIG. 1a, by the reading device B communicating with the server A or, alternatively, as shown in FIG. Confirmed by direct contact of the device B with the service provider T. The solution illustrated by FIG. 2a differs from the solution illustrated in FIG. 1a in the following respects. That is, the identifier 1 is recorded directly on the customer's data communication device X and, in this connection, acts as the actual physical substitute 2 and its validity depends on the server A and / or the service provider T After the connection to the automatic reading device B. Furthermore, the solution shown in FIG. 2b differs from the solution described above mainly in the following respects. That is to say that the customer server A, for example, a program especially developed for this purpose, is integrated and arranged in the service provider T's device environment.

Further, in an advantageous embodiment of the method, the identification of the physical alternative, such as a ticket, is based on a contactless remote reading principle, for example inductive, capacitive and / or similar, operated by electromagnetics Or a remote reader operating on and / or according to radio frequency. In addition to the above, so-called optical solutions will be issues to be considered as well as infrared-based solutions. In this way, firstly a very smooth ticket identification is made possible by the whole device, monitoring the continuous flow of customers, for example without having to visually confirm each ticket one by one, and Can pass through the passage gate at the same time. In this regard, it may be more convenient to utilize another type of surveillance system for customer flows, such as a video camera.

[0015] The type of method described above also allows for a wider collection of information than before, allowing a completely new kind of information about the customer to be collected immediately during the act of purchase, all services being similar. Most of the disparate summary information about a customer will be collected for purposes such as tracking, marketing or statistics on the customer.

The method described above is applicable to the arrangement of heterogeneous public events, such as exhibitions, festivals, concert hall events, sports events and the Olympics.
The method may further be used for centralized sales of tickets for businesses such as airlines, shipping companies and bus companies. The method may also be used in so-called duty-free sales or mail order business and similar delivery. The method may be applied to services such as internal benefits, for example. The method may also be applied, on the one hand, in public administration, for example, in health care, with the sending of medicines and available diagnostics, or, in the other hand, in social services, for example, with financial assistance.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described or shown above, but can vary within the basic concept and also within an extended scope. Therefore, instead of a personal computer, for example, a GSP phone connected to a printer is used to enable the customer to act as described above after the connection. On the other hand, with the development of technology, the quantity of existing loadable payment cards, for example, types of commerce tools such as telephone cards, is increasing, and the devices for loading these cards can be used for private use. It will be possible, and the principles described above may likewise be used with home computer loading cards. Of course, all future types of storage that will be realized are problematic when operating according to the basic principles of the invention, i.e. when a customer contacts a server such as a service provider, and performs payment actions. Later, the identified identifier is transmitted to the customer, who may perform the writing in the most appropriate manner for this purpose with the data processing device owned. Similarly, the service provider may provide the customer with a physical replacement using, for example, traditional visual confirmation, optical reading, or other remote reading devices, such as electromagnetically operated inductive, capacitive, etc. ,
That is, for example, the ticket may be confirmed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1a and 1b show the principle according to the method of the invention.

2a and 2b illustrate the principle according to the method of the invention.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (81) Designated country EP (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, IT, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE ), OA (BF, BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG), AP (GH, GM, KE, LS, MW, SD, SZ, UG, ZW), EA (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), AL, AM, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BR, BY, CA, CH, CN, CU, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IS, JP, KE , KG, KP, KR, KZ, LC, LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LV, MD, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RU, SD, SE, SG, SI, SK, SL, TJ, TM, TR, TT, UA, UG, US, UZ, VN, YU, ZW (71) Applicant Aurorankatu 15 B19, Helsinki, Finland

Claims (6)

[Claims] Claims 1. A method of increasing the efficiency of a business transaction, wherein a customer obtains a physical substitute required for obtaining / utilizing a product, service, and / or the like, such as a personal computer, The data processing device (X) owned by the customer such as a data communication device connects to the server (A) via open data communication (Y) such as an intranet, the Internet, and a modem. , And / or the like, after selecting, confirming and paying, the server (A) checks the individual, communication content, credit information and / or the like and then conducts the transaction. Wherein the server (A) is connected to the client during a connection, wherein the server (A) transmits a receipt or the like to the customer, at least certifying the validity of the commercial transaction. Forming at least one identifier (1) with respect to the customer and transmitting the identifier to the customer after receipt of the payment, after which the customer has a physical alternative (2) containing at least the above-mentioned identifier, the customer-owned data processing Equipment (X)
A method for increasing the efficiency of commercial transactions, characterized by being created by: 2. The identifier (1) of the physical substitute (2) created by a customer, preferably with respect to the use or acquisition of products, services and / or the like, an automatic reader (B). ) And after establishing the validity of said physical substitute (2), the customer entitles by payment, such as delivering the goods to be purchased or allowing entry to the resort. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method allows the termination of a commercial transaction. 3. The server (A) creates a collator (1a) such as an optically readable EAN code, the collator being included in the physical substitute (2), A typical alternative is that the customer has a printer (Z
The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the method is created by: 4. The server (A) collects the identifier (1) relating to a customer as a graphical page, and the page is printed by a printer (Z) of the data processing device owned by the customer. A method according to any of the preceding claims. 5. The identifier (1) transmitted by the server (A) is written by a data processing device of the customer to a portable storage means such as a memory card or a smart card. A method according to any of the preceding claims. 6. The identifier (1) transmitted by the server (A) is based on the principle of contactless remote reading with respect to the use and / or acquisition of products, services and / or the like, for example by electromagnetic means. 6. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the remote device operates, for example, by an inductive, capacitive and / or similar remote reader, or by a remote reader operating on and / or in accordance with radio frequency. The method according to any one of the above.