JP2003331201A - Common point system using internet - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a point system capable of using a common point in a plurality of member stores without using a point card. <P>SOLUTION: This system is constituted of store terminals 10, user terminals 20 and a server 200. The server 200 manages the accumulated point balance of each user, and manages privilege information in a store joining a point service. The user terminal 20 stores the accumulated point balance and the privilege information transmitted from the server 200. When purchasing a commodity at each store, the user terminal 20 determines whether a point is to be used or not and displays the result. The store terminal 10 transmits a point newly acquired by a user or a point used by the user at the commodity purchasing time to the server 200. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a point system using the Internet, and more particularly to a point system for managing accumulated points of each user and privilege information at each store on a server and delivering the same to user terminals.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the conventional point service, a user issues a point card at a store, earns a certain number of points when purchasing a product or the like at the store, and collects the points earned on the point card. Accumulate. Then, you can receive services such as discounts in exchange for accumulated points.

[0003]

However, the conventional point card in each store is effective only in that store, and the user does not go only to that store, but various stores (electric store, department store, department store, supermarket, etc.) Since I went shopping, the points were scattered and the usability was poor.

[0004] In recent years, cards have been so flooded as to be called a card society, and it is highly risky for a user to carry a plurality of cards and to drop or steal them. Also, when there are multiple sheets, it is troublesome to check which one to use. Under such circumstances, the present invention, which allows points to be used in common and can be used without a card, is very effective.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a point system in which a plurality of member stores can use common points without using a point card.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention is an invention relating to the handling of points with premium attached to a user when shopping at a store, and points with premium are added when shopping at a plurality of contracted stores in advance. The point system using the Internet is characterized by having a function of adding the attached function and a function of adding the corresponding points, and a function of making it possible to use the added points at any of the plurality of shops.

Specifically, the present invention is a store terminal of a store that participates in a point service, a user terminal of a user who uses the point service, a server connected to the store terminal and the user terminal via a network. And a server that manages the cumulative point balance of each user and transmits the latest cumulative point balance of each user to the user terminal of the user, and a store that is a member of the point service. And privilege information managing means for managing the privilege information in, and transmitting the privilege information to the user terminal of each user, wherein the user terminal is a connection means for connecting to the store terminal,
A point transmitting / receiving unit for storing the accumulated point balance received from the server in a storage unit and transmitting the stored accumulated point balance to the store terminal connected via the connection unit, and a store from the connected store terminal Is identified, based on the privilege information received from the server, to determine whether to use points in the identified store, and has a point use determination means for displaying the determination result, the store terminal, If points are used,
The accumulated point balance transmitted from the user terminal is subtracted from the price of the product as the number of used points used,
A joint point system having a use processing means for transmitting the number of used points to the server is included.

Further, in this case, the point use judging means judges whether or not the points should be used in the identified store, and when it is judged that the points should be used, an instruction to use the points is given to the store. It was sent to the usage processing means of the terminal.

Further, in the above, the number of points to be used is set in the user terminal, and the point use determining means is in accordance with the number of points to be used set in the user terminal. Is determined, and the number of determined use points is notified to the store terminal.

Further, the present invention is a user terminal of a user who uses a point service, and a storage means for storing the latest accumulated point balance information of the user and privilege information at stores participating in the point service. , Connecting store means for connecting to a store terminal of a store that is a member of the point service, and transmitting the stored accumulated point balance to the store terminal connected via the connecting means to prompt confirmation of balance points A point use determining unit that identifies a store from the point transmitting unit and the connected store terminal, determines whether to use points in the identified store based on the stored privilege information, and displays a determination result And a user terminal including.

Then, the point use determining means determines whether or not the points should be used in the identified store, and if it is determined that the points should be used, an instruction to use the points and the number of points to be used are provided. The processing is transmitted to the store terminal to prompt processing for subtracting the number of points used from the price of the product.

Further, the number of points to be used is set in the user terminal, and the point use determining means determines the number of points to be used according to the number of points set in the user terminal. I did it.

The invention of the above system is also realized as a method invention. Further, the above invention is also realized as a program for causing a computer to realize a predetermined function or a recording medium recording the program.

The means in this specification can be realized by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Execution by a combination of hardware and software corresponds to execution in a computer system having a predetermined program, for example.

Even if the function of one means is realized by two or more pieces of hardware, software or a combination of hardware and software, 2
The functions of one or more means may be realized by one piece of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Here, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the joint point system according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a detailed diagram of the store terminal 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, the joint point system according to the embodiment of the present invention comprises each store terminal 10, a user terminal 20, and a server 200, each of which uses a network 100 such as the Internet. Connected through.

The user terminal 20 is an information processing device such as a personal computer, PDA, mobile phone, PHS or the like. The user terminal 20 has a function of accessing and displaying point information and shop information provided on the Internet 100 by each shop terminal 10. User terminal 20
Is, for example, a function of connecting to the server 200 to receive and store the latest accumulated point balance managed by the server 200, and receiving and storing privilege information of a store participating in the point service managed by the server 200. Function,
It has a function of storing user identification information for identifying the user of the user terminal 20. In addition, the user terminal 20
A means for connecting to the store terminal 10 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, each store terminal 10 is composed of an information processing device such as an information reading device 11 and an information DB 12. The information reading device 11 has a function of reading the user identification information, the accumulated point balance of the user, and the like from the user terminal 20 connected to the store terminal 10, for example. The connection between the store terminal 10 and the user terminal 20 may be a wired connection using a cable, a connector or the like, a wireless connection using infrared rays or the like, or a network such as a LAN or the Internet. The connection may be via. The information DB 12 stores information unique to each store, such as a bargain advertisement. The store terminal 10 transmits unique store information of each store from the information DB 12 to the server 200.

Each store terminal 10 has a function of generating point information when a user purchases a product and transmitting it to the Internet 100 (via the server 200). Also, information unique to the store is transmitted. The point information includes point increase information and point decrease information. The point increase information includes user identification information and the number of points added to the user when the user purchases a product. The point reduction information includes the user identification information and the number of points reduced by the use when the user uses the points when purchasing the product.

When the user purchases a product at each store 10, the server 200 records when, where and how many items were purchased, and the points are totaled, and the points are summed up and the user terminal 2
It has a function to deliver to 0. It also has a function of delivering what the user purchased in another store to each store terminal 10. Then, the server 200 receives the point reduction information to identify the user when the user uses points at the time of purchasing the product at each store, subtracts the number of reduced points from the accumulated points of the user, and determines the point balance. It is transmitted to the user terminal 20 of the user. Alternatively, when the user obtains points, the user receives the point increase information, identifies the user, adds the increased number of points to the accumulated points of the user, and transmits the point balance to the user terminal 20 of the user.

The server 200 also receives store information from the store terminal 10 of each store and delivers it to the user terminal 20.

Then, the server 200 manages the point balance for each user, and transmits the latest accumulated point balance of each user to the user terminal 20 of the user, and in the stores that are members of the point service. It has privilege information management means for managing privilege information and transmitting the privilege information to the user terminal 20 of each user.

Store A, store B ... Store X are registered in advance as stores handling the same points. Points cannot be used for shopping at unregistered stores. The user is registered in the server in advance. Users who are not registered cannot use the points. Further, for example, it is assumed that unique identification information is assigned to each store and each user at the time of registration.

(Determination of User Terminal) Next, the user terminal 2
The determination function of 0 will be described. Server 200
Distributes the privilege information to each user terminal 20, and the user terminal 20 stores the received privilege information. The privilege information includes privilege information for each store and privilege information common to all stores. The privilege information is sales promotion information, for example, the number of points used is doubled.

The privilege information for each store includes, for example, store identification information, privilege contents, and a validity period.
Such privilege information is stored in the information DB 12 of the store terminal 10, and is transmitted to the server 200 by the store terminal 10.

When the user terminal 20 is connected to the store terminal 10 at the time of purchasing a product, the user terminal 20 reads the identification information of the store from the store terminal 10 and refers to the privilege information of the store. Then, when the privilege information of the store exists, it is determined whether or not the points should be used based on the content of the privilege, and the determination result is displayed. The user determines whether or not to use the points based on the displayed determination result, and when the points are used, the use of the points is determined by the store terminal 1
Instruct to 0. Based on this instruction, the store terminal 10
The accumulated point balance read from the user terminal 20 is subtracted from the price of the product.

With such a configuration, it is possible to support the determination of whether or not to use the points, and it is possible to promote the use of the points by the user.

When the user terminal 20 is set to the automatic mode, the user terminal 20 determines whether the points should be used as described above, and when it is determined that the points should be used, the store terminal operates. An instruction to use points may be transmitted to 10.

By doing so, points can be automatically used when there is a privilege at the store, and it is possible to improve the certainty of using the privilege provided at each store.

Further, the user terminal 20 is the user terminal 2
According to the number of used points arbitrarily set within 0,
The number of points to be used may be determined and transmitted to the store terminal 10. In this case, the number of points used is set, for example, to use the entire balance, use a certain number of points (100 points, etc.), or the like. Further, only the fractional amount of the payment amount may be set to be paid in points.

By doing so, the convenience of using points can be expanded.

In this way, the store terminal 10 that has received the instruction to use points calculates the balance by subtracting the number of points used from the price of the product. Also, the number of points used and the user identification information are used as point reduction information by the server 2
Send to 00. The store terminal 10 is the user terminal 2
The use of points may be permitted with the accumulated point balance stored by 0 as the upper limit.

(Operation of Embodiment) Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the joint point system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

First, when a user makes a purchase at the A store, points are generated, and the store terminal 10 connects to the Internet 100.
The points that reach the server 200 via the server are distributed to the user terminal 20 and stored in the user terminal 20. When shopping at the X store, the user terminal 20 is connected to the store terminal 10 and the current points are displayed on the store terminal 10. Whether to use the points is displayed on the user terminal 20 as to whether the points should be used at present. Specifically, from the server 200 to the user terminal 2 it is possible to determine whether the current points are doubled or whether there are benefits.
0 is distributed and can be automatically judged by the user terminal 20. Points are generated by purchasing a product, and at the store, the points on the user terminal are automatically read and the points are deducted from the purchase price.

A specific example of purchasing a television at an electric shop A will be described below.

(Case where points are 0) When the user goes to the electric shop A to purchase a TV, first, the user terminal 20 is connected to the shop terminal 10 and the points are confirmed before the purchase (steps 101 and 102). (Check 0 points)
If 30,000 yen is paid and 1000 yen is taken as 1 point, 30 points are added and accumulated as individual points.
The information is generated by the store terminal 10 and the Internet 10
0 is transmitted to the server 200 (step 103), added as individual points (step 104), and the information is sent to the user terminal 20 (step 105) and stored (step 106).

If there is information unique to the store, the information DB 12
(Step 201) is delivered to the user terminal 20 via the server 200 (Step 202) (Step 20)
3).

[Case where points are used and points are used]
When the user goes to the electronic store A and tries to purchase a TV, the user terminal 20 is first connected to the store terminal 10 to confirm the points and the points are automatically judged before the purchase, and the points are automatically determined. If you use it, the points will be deducted from the purchase price and the balance will be paid. At that point, the points will be 0 points. The information is generated by the store terminal 10, transmitted to the server 200 through the Internet 100, calculated as individual points, and the information is calculated by the user terminal 2
It is sent to 0 and stored.

If there is information unique to the store, the information DB 12
Is delivered to the user terminal 20 via the server 200.

(Case where points are used and points are not used) When a user goes to an electric store A to purchase a TV, first, the user terminal 20 is connected to the store terminal 10 before the purchase.
Connected to and check the points, it is automatically determined whether to use the points and this time the points are not used, so the points are added.

The information is generated in the shop terminal 10, transmitted to the server 200 through the Internet 100, added as individual points, and the information is sent to the user terminal 20 and stored therein.

If there is information unique to the store, the information DB 12
Is delivered to the user terminal 20 via the server 200.

Although the present invention has been described using the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. A person skilled in the art can make appropriate modifications or improvements based on the embodiments disclosed herein without departing from the scope of the present invention. Further, such changes or improvements are also included in the present invention.

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention,
1) Points are not distributed but calculated in total.
2) You can benefit from a uniform menu at any store.
3) It is not necessary to have a card for each store. 4) There are economies of scale as many stores operate jointly. 5) There is an effect that the points are calculated immediately and the advantageous information of the store is distributed.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the store terminal 10.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the joint point system according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 store terminals 11 Information reading device 12 Information DB 20 user terminals 100 Internet 200 servers

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A store terminal of a store participating in a point service, a user terminal of a user who uses the point service, and a server connected to the store terminal and the user terminal via a network, wherein the server is , Managing a cumulative point balance for each user, managing the latest cumulative point balance of each user to the user terminal of the user, and managing privilege information in stores affiliated with the point service, Privilege information management means for transmitting the privilege information to the user terminal of each user, wherein the user terminal stores the accumulated point balance received from the server, the connection means for connecting to the store terminal. And store the accumulated accumulated point balance to the store terminal connected via the connection means. The point transmitting / receiving means and the connected store terminal are used to identify the store, and based on the privilege information received from the server, it is determined whether points should be used in the identified store, and the determination result is displayed. Point use determination means, the store terminal, when the points are used, subtracts the accumulated point balance transmitted from the user terminal from the amount of the product as the number of used points, A joint point system having a use processing means for transmitting the number of used points to the server. 2. The point use determining means determines whether or not points should be used in the identified store,
The joint point system according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the point should be used, an instruction to use the point is transmitted to the use processing means of the store terminal. 3. The number of points to be used is set in the user terminal, and the point use determining means determines the number of points to be used according to the number of points to be used set in the user terminal. The joint point system according to claim 2, wherein the determined number of points used is notified to the store terminal. 4. A user terminal of a user who uses a point service, a storage unit for storing the latest accumulated point balance information of the user and privilege information in stores that are members of the point service, and the point service. Connection means for connecting to a store terminal of a store that is affiliated with, and point transmission means for transmitting the stored accumulated point balance to the store terminal connected via the connection means and urging confirmation of balance points. A point use determination unit that identifies a store from the connected store terminal, determines whether to use points in the identified store based on the stored privilege information, and displays a determination result. User terminal. 5. The point use determination means determines whether or not points should be used in the identified store,
The user terminal according to claim 4, wherein when it is determined that the point should be used, an instruction to use the point and the number of points to be used are transmitted to the store terminal to prompt a process of subtracting the number of points to be used from the price of the product. . 6. The number of points to be used is set in the user terminal, and the point use determining means is
The user terminal according to claim 5, wherein the number of points to be used is determined according to the number of points set in the user terminal.