JP2003044694A - Method of purchasing commodities in bulk which can be transferred with communication network - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a server able to transfer commodities with a communication network to a plurality of receivers when an applicant purchases one kind of commodities in bulk. SOLUTION: The applicant requesting a bulk purchase finishes a membership registration to a settlement server 3 in advance and obtains ID of the applicant and a receiver. The bulk purchase for commodities is applied by accessing a CP server 2 from an user terminal 1. Then, the applicant selects either of a lump-sum payment and sharing payment. Commodities information, ID for the applicant and receiver are transferred to the settlement server 3 from the CP server 2. The settlement server 3 houses an applied commodities into boxes provided for every receiver. The settlement server 3 sends an e-mail to each receiver's terminal 4 and inquires whether or not each receiver receives commodities. Then, the commodities are transferred with a network to an approved receiver, and the payment is settled via the settlement server 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for purchasing a plurality of products in a lump, and in particular, an applicant makes a bulk purchase application to a server by a communication network and pays for it, and based on an instruction from the server. It relates to a method of transferring the item to the recipient. The products mentioned here include tickets that can be transmitted through a communication network, game software, ringtones for mobile phones, and other downloadable software.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a virtual shop (web shop) has been opened on a communication network such as the Internet, and the general public has access to the virtual shop to purchase products. Recently, airplane seats, concert tickets, etc. have also been transmitted to applicants via a communication network. Also, game software, mobile phone ringtones, and other downloadable software are handled as communicable products.

[0003]

However, when one applicant purchases a plurality of commodities such as game software which can be transmitted by communication, all the plurality of commodities are transmitted by communication to the one applicant. Therefore, in order to give multiple products to multiple people,
The applicant must perform the delivery of the product separately.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable a server to communicate and transmit products to a plurality of recipients when an applicant purchases a plurality of products of one type in bulk.

Another object of the present invention is to increase the degree of freedom of transaction by allowing the receiver as well as the applicant to settle the payment.

[0006]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a method of purchasing a plurality of commodities capable of communication transmission of one type in a lump and paying the price by communication means. Access the virtual store on the communication network from the terminal of the person who wants to purchase, and specify the recipient of the product and apply for multiple purchases of the same product, and the applicant will apply as a payment method for the product price. Selecting either a lump sum payment by a person or a shared payment by all the recipients, the virtual store transferring merchandise information, applicant information and recipient information related to bulk buying to a payment server, the payment server Stores the product for which purchase is requested in the memory of each recipient,
The payment server sends an e-mail to the recipient's terminal to inquire as to whether or not to receive the merchandise, and only the recipient who approves the receipt reads the merchandise stored in the memory and performs communication transmission.

Further, in the present invention, the payment server executes a step of inquiring whether or not to receive the product by sending an electronic mail to the terminal of the recipient, and then the payment server receives the product for which purchase is requested. The step of storing in the memory for each person may be executed.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication network system used in the method of bulk buying of commodities capable of communication transmission according to the present invention.

The present invention relates to services provided to applicants and recipients who have registered in the settlement server 3 in advance. In the present invention, member registration is performed by an applicant who requests bulk buying. That is, the applicant
The bank accounts, credit card numbers, etc. of the applicant and the recipient are registered in the settlement server, and the settlement server issues user IDs of these persons and notifies the user terminal.

The user terminal 1 is a virtual store (web-sh).
CP server (contents prov)
(ider server) 2 and selects one desired communicable product, and designates a plurality of recipients.

When such a purchase application is completed, the CP server 2 notifies the settlement server 3 of the selected product, its price and the recipient. Then, the payment server 3 confirms the intention to receive the product at the recipient terminal 4,
The product is communicated and transmitted to the person who displayed the receiving doctor, and the payment procedure for the payment is performed.

After receiving the selected product, the price thereof, and the bulk purchase information of the recipient etc. from the CP server 2, the settlement server 3 is provided with a BOX 5, that is, a memory area for temporarily storing the product for each recipient.

For example, when the product is game software, the electronic data stored in each BOX 5 is exactly the same. Further, for example, when the product is an airplane ticket, a ticket as electronic data having a seat different for each recipient is stored in each BOX 5.

[0014] Immediately after the settlement server receives the bulk buying information, the communicable item may be stored in the BOX. The product thus stored is stored for a predetermined grace period, and is discarded if it is not received even after the grace period.

Further, the merchandise may be stored in each BOX 5 after the settlement server 3 completes confirmation of acceptance of acceptance with respect to the recipient terminal 4. In this case, a grace period for confirming acceptance of the receipt is provided, and after the lapse of the period, the product is stored in the BOX 5 of the recipient 4 who has accepted the receipt, and the communication is promptly transmitted to the recipient. .

Next, information exchanged between the user terminal 1 and the CP server 2 will be described.

The user terminal 1 can send a C message whenever desired.
The P server 2 can be accessed. However, in the present invention, it is necessary to perform the above-mentioned member registration before the bulk purchase application.

The user terminal 1 selects one type of merchandise at a desired store on the home page of the CP server 2 and designates a recipient. To specify the recipient, enter the user ID by the above-mentioned pre-registration.

At the end of the application procedure, the CP server 2 stores merchandise information including a store code, a merchandise code, and a merchandise unit price, as well as applicant information and recipient information that is a recipient list.

The recipient information received by the CP server 2 is I
Only D. These pieces of information are registered in the payment server 3 in advance. Note that the recipient information received by the CP server 2 does not include the recipient's e-mail address, but this has already been registered in the settlement server 3 in advance. Therefore,
The payment server 3 retrieves the electronic mail address from the user ID, and the payment server 3 inquires of the recipient 4 whether or not to accept the merchandise by electronic mail.

Here, the user terminal 1 and the recipient terminal 4 are
A fixed-line telephone, a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant capable of connecting to the Internet, a personal computer, a mobile computer and the like are suitable.

As described above, the applicant needs to know the recipient's e-mail address and the payment settlement account in advance in order to perform the member registration in advance. For example, when traveling with friends, it is easy to make a travel plan and obtain such information with prior understanding.

However, on the CP server 2 side, in order to make the transaction a quick and simple procedure, the application procedure is completed without the condition of the above-mentioned approval by the applicant side.

Next, information exchanged between the CP server 2 and the settlement server 3 will be described. CP server 2
Not only participates in the bulk buying method of the present invention, but also executes the other trading method generally performed by the CP server 2 as a web shop.

When the bulk buying procedure of the present invention is completed, the CP server 2 transfers the above-mentioned product information / applicant information and recipient information to the settlement server 3.

The CP server 2 further notifies the settlement server 3 of a settlement account for each virtual store (to be precise, an individual store in the web shop) to receive the product price. Here, the settlement accounts of all virtual stores in the CP server 2 may be notified to the settlement server 3 in advance. The account includes all bank accounts, credit cards, other accounts that can be used for electronic transactions, electronic money, and the like.

The information managed by the payment server 3 includes the product information sent from the CP server 2, the applicant ID and the recipient I.
D, the settlement account of the virtual store, and the e-mail address / settlement account of the applicant / recipient pre-registered from the user terminal 1. The payment server 3 may additionally request the input of a name, an address, a telephone number, etc. at the time of pre-registration. However, this additional information is not used in the implementation of the bulk buying method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the bulk buying method of the present invention.

First, in S1, the applicant performs the above-described pre-registration with the settlement server.

Next, in S2, a person who desires bulk buying accesses the CP server 2 from the user terminal 1,
Find the target virtual store, specify multiple bulk purchases of the same product and recipients of the product, and apply for bulk purchase. To specify a product, click the homepage of the target store.

Next, in S3, the applicant selects a payment method for the commodity price. The payment method is either one-time payment by the applicant, or split payment (warican), that is, shared payment by all the recipients. Here, the applicant himself / herself does not necessarily have to be the recipient, because the applicant may act on behalf of another person or collectively purchase as a present for the recipient.

Next, in S4, the merchandise information and the recipient information are transferred from the CP server 2 to the settlement server 3.

Next, in S5, the settlement server 3 sends the CP
The server 2 is accessed to store the requested product in the BOX for each recipient.

Next, in S6, the settlement server 3 sends an electronic mail to each recipient terminal 4 and inquires whether or not to receive the merchandise. At this time, the receiver terminal knows for the first time that the receiver has been designated as the receiver of the product, but no trouble will occur if it is understood in advance with the applicant. However, there is a possibility that the applicant may make a mistake, so that the recipient terminal 4 can be declared to reject the receipt.

Here, the temporal order of S5 and S6 may be exchanged. In this case, the product is stored only in the BOX 5 for the recipient who has approved the receipt. As a result, the memory space used by the settlement server 3 can be kept empty, which is convenient when transmitting relatively long game software or computer programs to the recipient.

Then, in S7, the merchandise is transmitted by communication to the authorized recipient, and the price is paid by the settlement server 3.
Is settled through.

On the other hand, if the receipt is rejected in S8, the product is discarded from the BOX, and the BOX, that is, the memory area is also deleted.

When S5 is executed subsequent to S6, the BOX is deleted when the acceptance is rejected in S6, so that S8 is not necessary.

[0039]

According to the present invention described above, when purchasing a product that can be transmitted by communication, it is possible to select either a lump sum payment by the purchase applicant or a warican by the recipient of the product. It is possible to flexibly meet user needs.

Further, according to the present invention, it is not necessary for the applicant to distribute each of the recipients after purchasing the product.

Further, according to the present invention, such convenient bulk buying is actively used by the general public, and if the discount service is introduced on the settlement server side, the virtual store market is further activated. It

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for collectively purchasing products that can be transmitted by communication.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the method of bulk buying of commodities capable of communication transmission according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 user terminal 2 contents provider (CP) server 3 settlement server 4 recipient terminal 5 product storage box for each recipient

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A method of purchasing a plurality of commodities capable of communication transmission in a lump and paying the price by a communication means, wherein a terminal of a person who desires a bulk purchase accesses a virtual store on a communication network and receives it. Specifying a person to make an application to purchase the same product more than once, and the applicant selecting either one-time payment by the applicant or shared payment by all the recipients as a payment method of the product price, The virtual store transfers the product information, the applicant information, and the recipient information to a payment server; the payment server stores the product requested to be purchased in a memory for each recipient; and the payment server Sending an e-mail to the recipient's terminal to inquire whether or not to receive the product, and the product stored in the memory only to the recipient who has approved the receipt. And a method of transmitting the data by communication, the method of collectively purchasing the communicable products. 2. A method of purchasing a plurality of commodities capable of communication transmission in a lump and paying the price by communication means, wherein a terminal of a person who desires bulk purchase accesses a virtual store on a communication network, The step of applying for multiple purchases of the same product by designating the recipients of the product, and the step of the applicant selecting either lump sum payment by the applicant or shared payment by all the recipients as the payment method of the product price The virtual store transfers merchandise information, applicant information, and recipient information to a payment server; the payment server sends an email to the recipient to inquire whether or not to receive the merchandise; The server allocates memory only to the recipients who have approved the receipt and stores the goods in those memories, and the recipient approves the receipt. A step of reading out the products stored in the memory and transmitting the products by communication only. 3. The bulk buying method for communicable items according to claim 1, wherein the communicable item is one of a ticket, a ringing melody of a mobile phone, game software, and a computer program. . 4. The communication according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the terminal of the applicant and the recipient is any one of a fixed telephone, a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant and a personal computer that can be connected to the Internet. How to buy bulk items that can be transmitted. 5. The bulk buying method for communicable items according to claim 1, wherein the payment server collects the price of the product and pays the price to the virtual store. 6. The settlement server, from the virtual store,
The bulk purchase method for communicable items according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the applicant information and the recipient information are received, and the price of the product is collected and paid. 7. The applicant is notified of the applicant information and the recipient information by the virtual store, and the virtual store transfers the information to the settlement server. The bulk buying method for communicable items listed in 2.