JP2003256640A - Member authentication management system by image such as bar code - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the lowering of function of a server by reducing the processing quantity in a server computer for performing the acceptance of a member registration by an image such as bar code and to enable to improve service and to ensure security by enabling a quick acceptance processing. <P>SOLUTION: This system is provided with the server computer 1 having a member database 11 for storing and managing image data to make a member card and member registration information, and delivering the image data as member card to portable terminal with browser 3; a client computer 2 for generating the image data to make the member card and transmitting them to the server; and image reading authentication devices 4 and 5 for reading the image displayed on the screen of the portable terminal 3 to perform a member authentication. The server computer 1 receives the image data to make the member card from the client computer 2, stores and manages them in the member database 11, and delivers the image data as the member card to the portable terminal 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention distributes image data as a membership card to a mobile terminal with a browser and authenticates members with an image displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal with a browser. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a membership transaction, a server receives a request for member registration and automatically generates an image such as a barcode in the server.
Proposed a system for member authentication by distributing to mobile phones with browsers (for example, see Japanese Patent No. 3207192)
And is about to be put to practical use.

In such a conventional system, when a member registration request is sent to the server, an image such as a bar code is generated in the server and the image such as a bar code is distributed to the member. . However, in reality, in the generation of a barcode image, a huge number of algorithms are intensively operated to generate an image, and therefore some tens of seconds are required, and the load of the CPU performing the generation processing is extremely large.
Therefore, as the number of requests for member registration is concentrated, the processing speed of the CPU is reduced, and images such as barcodes cannot be normally generated, and the frequency thereof is extremely high.

In addition, in such a membership-based commercial transaction, there may be a case where it becomes necessary to update the membership card or classify the members according to the purchase class of the members. In that case, it is necessary to replace or partially replace images such as barcodes, but even in that case, a program for updating will be executed in the server for a certain period of time.
It monopolizes the processing power of the CPU. Therefore, in addition to the reception of the member registration, other services provided by the server cannot be used, and the functions are significantly deteriorated.

Further, when the server computer is attacked from the outside, if the image such as the bar code is generated interlockingly with each other in response to the request for member registration in the server, it is difficult to backup the data. Without
The original information itself becomes unstable and poses an important security problem.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and reduces the processing amount in a server computer that accepts member registration by images such as bar codes and reduces the function of the server. It is possible to prevent, enable quick reception processing, improve services, and ensure security.

Therefore, the present invention is a member authentication management system using an image such as a bar code for distributing image data as a membership card to a mobile terminal with a browser and performing member authentication with an image displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal with a browser. hand,
A server computer having a member database that stores and manages image data to be the membership card and membership registration information, and distributes the image data to the portable terminal with a browser as the membership card, and the image data to be the membership card. And a client computer configured to transmit to the server, further comprising an image reading authentication device that reads an image displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal with a browser and performs member authentication, wherein the server computer is a client. The image data for the membership card is received from a computer, stored in the member database for management, and the image data is delivered to the portable terminal with a browser as a membership card in response to a member registration request. It is what

The image serving as the membership card is an image including a bar code, and the image reading / authentication device is a terminal computer that performs member authentication based on the member registration information acquired by the client computer from the member database of the server computer. A bar code reader for reading an image including a bar code displayed on the screen of the browser-equipped mobile terminal.

The server computer has a function of transmitting a membership card update guide mail based on the member registration information when receiving image data as a new membership card updated to the member registration information from the client computer. However, the updated new membership card is image data added as a special member, and the member database stores and manages image data that becomes a plurality of membership cards corresponding to the member registration information. The client computer is
It has an image conversion program for converting into a plurality of image formats compatible with the portable terminal with a browser.

[0010]

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 diagram showing an embodiment of a member authentication management system using images such as barcodes according to the present invention, 1 is a server computer, 2 is a client computer, 3 is a mobile terminal with a browser, 4 is a barcode reader, 5 Is a cashier terminal computer, 11 is a member database, 12 is a member registration program, 21 is an image generation program for barcodes, 22 is an image conversion program for barcodes, and 23 is an image transmission program for barcodes. An image issuing device such as a bar code for member authentication to a member customer at a store, which has a means for issuing an image such as a bar code to a member's mobile phone screen with a browser.
The server computer 1 that issues images such as bar codes while efficiently maintaining the membership numbers and the like distributes image data to the portable terminal 3 with a browser as a membership card. It has a member database 11 that stores and manages member registration information, and a member registration program 12 that performs registration processing in response to a member registration request. The member database 11 receives an image such as a barcode from the client computer 2 and stores and manages it together with the member registration information in association with the member number. The member registration program 12 stores the members in the database 11 in response to a request for member registration. The member number is attached and distributed to the member's browser-equipped mobile terminal 3 along with an image such as a barcode associated with the number, and the member registration information is stored.

The client computer 2 generates image data for a membership card and transmits it to the server computer 1.
1, a barcode image conversion program 22, a barcode image transmission program 23. The barcode or the like image generation program 21 is means for operating the sales manager or the like to generate the barcode or the like image, and the barcode or the like image conversion program 22 converts the image generated by the barcode or the like image generation program 21. The barcode image transmitting program 23 is a means for converting the format into a required format, and the barcode image having been converted into the required format is a means for transmitting to the server computer 1.

Images such as bar codes are
The image information has information such as a two-dimensional code and a member number, and is used to identify the member by reading the member number and the like with a bar code reader 4 installed at a store. The member number or the like is composed of, for example, a character string for identifying a member, a member attribute, or the like, or a character string for identifying a service type or an amount of money, and an image such as a bar code indicating the information is displayed on the client computer 2. Is generated. In this case, the character string may include full-width and half-width alphanumeric characters, symbols, and other characters.

In the member authentication management system using the image such as the barcode having the above-mentioned configuration, in the server computer 1,
Image data to be used as a membership card is received from the client computer 2, stored in the member database 11 and managed, and image data is distributed as a membership card to the browser-equipped mobile terminal 3 in response to a member registration request. The image displayed on the screen 3 is read by, for example, the bar code reader 4 of the store, and the cashier terminal computer 5 authenticates the member.

The distribution of images such as bar codes is stored in the portable terminal 3 with a browser according to the following steps, for example. First, send an e-mail to issue a membership card to your mobile device (mobile phone).
Received with the mailer software of, and displayed a URL with a hyperlink at the location of the membership card in the mail document (for example, http: /
If you click on a text document such as /www.kkc.co.jp/kaiin, the browser software of the mobile terminal will start up, connect to the Internet, and have an HTM with a barcode image attached.
The L document is called from the server and displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal. The membership card is downloaded by this operation.

If the access to the server and the downloading of the membership card are carried out each time they are used, the communication cost will increase, so the screen once downloaded can be used by the mobile terminal, for example, as a screen memo function. Remember
By calling up the screen from the screen memo at the cashier counter of the store and having the reader scan it, the operation can be speeded up and it becomes economical. Further, this usage may be explained on the screen.

The processing flow and data according to the embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the flow of processing from image generation of a barcode or the like to member registration / member authentication by the member authentication management system for images of a barcode or the like according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a flow of processing of special member registration. It is a figure for explaining.

In the member authentication management system using images such as barcodes according to the present invention, first, as shown in FIG. 2, in the client computer 2 which is a business entity terminal, the start number of the barcode to be created is designated (step S11) and created. The number of barcode images to be processed is designated (step S12), the image format (for example, BMP, PNG, GIF, etc.) is designated (step S13), and the barcode image is generated based on these designations (step S14).

Next, since the image format differs depending on the browser of the portable terminal 3 with a browser, it is converted into a required image format corresponding to each browser and output (step S15), and the image data is stored in the database (step S1).
6). The image file contains, for example, "10" shown in FIG.
000001.png, 10000002.png, 10000003.png, …… 100000
Image data in PNG format such as "0n.png" is stored. Then, the stored image data is called from the database and transmitted to the server computer 1 (step S17).

When the server computer 1 receives the image data from the client computer 2 (step S18), the image data is stored in the member database 11 (step S19). At this time, the member database 11
As shown in FIG. 3B, each member number and the name, address, sex, mail address and other member attributes of the image data are initial values.

When the image data is stored in the member database 11 of the server computer 1, the member registration request is received from the server computer 1 by transmitting the member registration request from the portable terminal 3 with a browser (step S21). At this time (step S22), the member registration form as shown in FIG. 3C is transmitted to the portable terminal 3 with a browser (step S23). On the other hand, the mobile terminal 3 with a browser receives the member registration form (step S24), and the name, address, gender, mail address and other member attributes are entered as the member registration information according to the member registration form and transmitted to the server computer 1. (Step S25).

Upon receiving the member registration information (step S26), the server computer 1 stores it in the member database 11 (step S2).
7) Then, the membership card with the barcode image is transmitted to the mobile terminal with browser 3 (step S28), and this is received by the mobile terminal with browser 3 and fetched (step S29). At this time, since the image such as the barcode is stored in advance in the member database 11 of the server computer 1, the server computer 1 only transmits the image and does not generate the image, so that the load on the CPU is significantly reduced. be able to.

The member registration information thus stored in the member database 11 is transmitted from the server computer 1 to the client computer 2 for backup (step S31), and the client computer 2 receives and stores it (step S32). ). Then, by transferring this member registration information to the cashier terminal computer of the store (step S33),
When the barcode image is read from the portable terminal 3 with a browser by the barcode reader, the member is authenticated (step S34).

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a bar code image replacement process, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a member database in which special members are registered. In membership-based commerce, it is common practice to register good customers as special members such as bronze members and gold members, and to offer benefits to members as ordinary members and special members separately. .

In the case of performing customer analysis and registering such a special member, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, first, a customer analysis is performed to extract a good customer (step S41). Set up special members (step S4)
2). Then, the barcode for the special member is created, the start number of the created barcode is designated (step S43), the number of barcode images to be created is designated (step S44), and the image format (for example, BMP, PNG, GIF, etc.) is specified. Designation is performed (step S45), and the same processing as the processing from step S14 onward described with reference to FIG. 2 is performed. By these processes, the special member image data is registered in the member database 11 in addition to the member number, image data, name, address, sex, mail address and other member attributes as shown in FIG. 5 (step S49). ). In the example shown in FIG. 5, Taro Kokusai and Hanako Yamamoto are special members.
Jiro Yamada is not a special member, so no special member image data is registered.

When the special member image data is registered, a guide mail for updating the membership card to the special member is transmitted from the server computer 1 (step S51), and the portable terminal 3 with a browser receives the guide mail. (Step S52) The member can know that he is qualified to become a special member. Therefore, when an instruction to update the membership card is sent from the portable terminal 3 with a browser to the server computer 1 (step S53), the server computer 1 receives the instruction to update the membership card (step S5).
4) By transmitting the membership card with the barcode image to the mobile terminal with browser 3 (step S55), the mobile terminal with browser 3 can be updated to the special membership card (step S56).

As described above, in the member authentication management system for images such as barcode according to the present invention, the client computer 2 has a function of generating images such as barcode, and the We
By providing the server computer 1 with the processing function of member registration on b, the entire processing is distributed. Therefore, in the barcode generation process, the server computer 1
Since it does not impose a burden on the user, it is possible to realize the function of delivering images such as barcodes to members more than hundreds of times to thousands when delivering barcodes to members compared to the conventional system as described above. it can. In other words, even if a plurality of requests for member registration are concentrated almost at the same time, it is possible to deliver images such as barcodes without any trouble. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation where the server computer according to the present invention is added for image generation, and it is possible to operate the server computer economically and stably.

Further, since the WEB server generates an image such as a barcode even if some processing of the member service is in operation, the image such as a barcode can be arbitrarily generated, and necessary update is possible. By generating an image, transmitting it to the member database in the WEB server, and storing it, it becomes possible to easily replace or partially replace images such as barcodes.

Further, since an image such as a bar code is generated by the client, it is possible to perform processing in a safe and reliable environment, and it is possible to prevent erroneous generation or incomplete generation of the image. Moreover, the backup image inevitably remains in the client computer even after transmitting the image such as the barcode to the server computer, and the original image data can be reliably maintained and managed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various modifications can be made. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the barcode image is transmitted to the browser-equipped mobile terminal and stored by a function such as a screen memo of the browser-equipped mobile terminal, so that the barcode image of the browser-equipped mobile terminal is read by the barcode reader. Although the reading member authentication is performed, an image for member authentication other than the barcode may be used. In addition, in the member database, image data to be a membership card corresponding to the member registration information is stored, and image data is additionally stored and managed for special members. Alternatively, the old image data may be rewritten with the image data, and the latest image data may be always updated.

[0030]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the image generation processing is performed by the client computer and transmitted to the server computer, and the server computer does not need to perform the image generation processing at all. In the member registration process with the browser-equipped mobile terminal, it is possible to prevent the process from concentrating and being stopped, and the member registration process can be performed quickly. Furthermore, images such as bar codes can be left as backup images in the client computer, and original image data can be reliably maintained and managed.

By generating an image such as a bar code by the client as in the present invention, the image such as the bar code created by the client is printed on a temporary paper medium card with a member registration postcard and distributed to the customer. A customer who wishes to join the membership registration postcard can fill in certain items and return it, and the customer can register as a member using the information on the membership registration postcard. On the other hand, since the customer authenticates the member with the image such as the barcode when receiving the temporary paper medium card, even if the official member registration is not performed,
For example, at the same time as shopping, various services can be received in addition to the point service based on the purchase amount.

Further, even if the customer does not have a mobile phone, the service can be received in real time, and it is possible to slowly consider after joining the member registration postcard and join the membership. However, in the conventional system described above, the barcode cannot be generated from the portable terminal with browser only at the timing of joining. According to the present invention, it becomes possible to immediately apply the membership qualification, and it can be expected to promote membership.
In some cases, even a member who does not have a mobile phone with a browser can operate a member service with a centralized database together with a member who has a mobile phone with a browser by operating a paper medium card.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a member authentication management system using images such as barcodes according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the flow of processing from image generation of a barcode or the like to member registration / member authentication by the member authentication management system using the image of a barcode or the like according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a flow of processing of special member registration.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a barcode image replacement process.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a member database in which special members are registered.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Server computer, 2 ... Client computer, 3 ... Portable terminal with browser, 4 ... Bar code reader, 5 ... Cash register terminal computer, 11 ... Member database, 12 ... Member registration program, 21 ... Bar code image generation program, 22 … Bar code image conversion program, 23… Bar code image transmission program

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G06K 19/07 G06K 19/00 J (72) Inventor Akio Iijima 2nd No. 6 Bancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo International Shipping In-house stock company (72) Inventor Norio Takahashi 2-6, Rokubancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo International shipping In-company stock company (72) Takahisa Ishikawa 2-19-13 Takanawa, Minato-ku, Tokyo Ryoyu Calculation In-house F-term (reference) 5B035 AA14 BA01 BB01 BB12 5B072 BB08 CC08 CC24 MM11

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A member authentication management system using images such as a bar code for distributing image data as a membership card to a mobile terminal with a browser and performing member authentication with an image displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal with a browser. A server computer that has a member database that stores and manages image data as a certificate and member registration information, and distributes the image data as a membership card to the portable terminal with a browser, and generates image data as the membership card. And transmitting to the server, the server computer receives the image data as the membership card from the client computer, stores it in the member database, manages it, and has the browser in response to a member registration request. Configured to deliver the image data as a membership card to a mobile terminal A member authentication management system based on images such as barcodes. 2. A member authentication management system using images such as bar codes for distributing image data as a membership card to a mobile terminal with a browser and performing member authentication by an image displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal with a browser, wherein the member A server computer that has a member database that stores and manages image data as a certificate and member registration information, and distributes the image data as a membership card to the portable terminal with a browser, and generates image data as the membership card. A client computer for transmitting to the server, and an image reading / authentication device for reading an image displayed on the screen of the portable terminal with a browser and performing member authentication. The server computer uses the membership card from the client computer. Image data is received, stored in the member database, managed, and registered. A member authentication management system using images such as barcodes, which is configured to deliver the image data as a membership card to the portable terminal with a browser in response to a recording request. 3. The member authentication management system based on images such as barcodes according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the image serving as the membership card is an image including a barcode. 4. The image reading / authentication device includes a terminal computer that performs member authentication based on member registration information acquired by the client computer from a member database of the server computer, and a bar code displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal with a browser. 3. The member authentication management system by barcode image according to claim 2, wherein the member authentication management system comprises a barcode reader for reading an image including the. 5. The server computer has a function of transmitting a membership card update guide mail based on the member registration information when receiving image data as a new membership card to be updated with the member registration information from the client computer. 3. A member authentication management system using images such as barcodes according to claim 1 or 2. 6. The member authentication management system using images such as barcodes according to claim 5, wherein the updated new membership card is image data added as a special member. 7. The member authentication management system based on images such as barcodes according to claim 5, wherein the member database stores and manages image data to be a plurality of membership cards corresponding to the member registration information. . 8. The member authentication management by images such as barcodes according to claim 1, wherein the client computer has an image conversion program for converting into a plurality of image formats corresponding to the portable terminal with a browser. system.