JP2005122766A - Merchandise price information registration system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a merchandise price information registration system and method that enable merchandise price information providers to easily register merchandise price information in order to provide consumer-oriented information that is a collection of merchandise price information about specific merchandise at retail stores in a trading area. <P>SOLUTION: By email or Internet connection, an information providing apparatus 1 registers, from an ad insert, merchandise price information including a trading area, merchandise names, a retail store name, prices and a sales period, and ad insert image data respectively in a merchandise price database 25 and an ad insert database 26. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a merchandise price information registration method and method, and more particularly to a merchandise price information registration method and method for registering merchandise price information of retail stores in a commercial area competing for “cheap” price information.

  Conventionally, as a method of obtaining product information from an insertion advertisement, a consumer knows the price of a product sold at each retail store in the trade area by means of a newspaper insertion advertisement, and goes to the retail store to purchase the desired product. On the other hand, the retail store knows the prices of the products sold by competing other retail stores in the commercial area through newspaper insert advertisements, etc., and sets the product price of its own store with reference to the product sales prices of the competing other stores.

  In addition, as a method for obtaining product information using a network, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-63749, a store or a product (sale item) is selected from a menu screen, and the product is selected. Is displayed, the jungle name of the product is displayed, and if one of them is supported, the small item name of the genre is displayed. Furthermore, when one of the officer names is selected (for example, fruit), the image of the fruit, the price, and the store name are displayed across a plurality of products. Further, when a user finds a product of interest while viewing many products and wants to see detailed information about the product, when the display position is designated, information on the product is displayed.

JP-A-10-63749

  However, both general consumers and retail stores are extremely sensitive to product price information, and whether or not the product price in the trade area is a “purchase” leads to general consumers' willingness to purchase. The price is set by referring to the retailer price information.

  In the conventional method of obtaining product information from insert advertisements, the price information of products for sale can be obtained from limited media such as insert advertisements from newspaper dealers. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to directly obtain integrated price comparison information throughout the retail stores of a specific product. In other words, since there is no information that summarizes the product price at a retail store for a specific product in the business area, it is possible to grasp the information that indicates which retail store sells at the best price and the lowest price for general consumers and retailers. There is a problem that it is difficult to do.

  In addition, in the conventional method of obtaining information from insert advertisements, it is possible to organize information such as trade area, retail store, price, sales period, etc. for selling good-priced products, and discover retail stores that have set low-priced product prices. Too much time and money. In other words, general consumers and retail stores have a problem that it is difficult to organize all of the huge price information of retail stores in the business area.

  In addition, in a method for obtaining product information using a network (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-63749), a screen is displayed for narrowing down the products for each product even though the desired product is known. In addition, there is a problem that even if the products are narrowed down, it is difficult to clearly see where is the cheapest store in the trade area and where is the next. That is, there is a problem that consumers and retail stores have to organize information such as trade areas, retail stores, prices, sales periods, etc., for selling products that can be bought at an expensive time.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to register product price information of a product price information provider in order to provide information for general consumers that summarizes product price information at a retail store of a specific product in a business area. It is an object of the present invention to provide a commodity price information registration method and method that are easy to manage.

  In addition, in view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is a commodity price information registration method and method that can reduce the burden on the trade area, retail store, price, sale period, and cost for selling a good-priced commodity. Is to provide.

  In addition, the object of the present invention is to make it possible to provide value-added information, which is the above-described object, via a network, and to provide a product price information registration method that can provide services that are convenient for general consumers and retailers, and It is to provide a method.

  It is another object of the present invention to provide a product price information registration method and method for registering a product price information service for insert advertisements via a network.

  In order to achieve the above object, the first commodity price information registration method of the present invention is based on a business area, a commodity name, a retail store name, a price, and a sales period from an attached file when an e-mail is received via a network. It has a registration means for extracting and registering product price information including

  The second commodity price information registration method of the present invention includes commodity price information including a trade area, a commodity name, a retail store name, a price, and a sales period from a file attached when an e-mail is received via a network. , And a registration means for extracting and registering the insert advertisement image data.

  A third product price information registration method of the present invention is a product price information registration method for connecting a device of a product price information provider and a server for providing product price information via a network, the device Display means for receiving the price information registration screen information from the server and displaying the price information registration screen, product price information including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sales period to be output when creating the insert advertisement, , And a transmission means for inputting the insert advertisement image data into the price information registration screen and transmitting it to the server, and the server receives the product price information and the insert advertisement image data transmitted by the transmission means. It has a registration means for registering the received commodity price information and the insert advertisement image data.

  Further, in the first, second, or third commodity price information registration method, the commodity name having conversion means for converting the commodity name into a common common commodity name and used as registration information by the registering means Is a common product name converted by the converting means.

  Further, in the first or second commodity price information registration method, the commodity price information is information at the time of creating the insert advertisement.

  Furthermore, in the second product price information registration method, the insert advertisement image data is image data at the time of insert advertisement creation.

  Further, in the first product price information registration method, if there is product price information registered by the registration means that has passed the sales period, the product with the corresponding product name from the product price information database. It has a deletion means for deleting price information.

  Further, in the second or third commodity price information registration method, if there is any commodity price information registered in the registration means and insert advertisement image data that has passed the sales period, the registration means It has a deletion means for deleting the product price information of the corresponding product name and the insert advertisement image data of the retail store name.

  Furthermore, in the above first or second commodity price information registration method, there is a confirmation means for confirming whether the transmission source e-mail address is a pre-registered e-mail address when an e-mail is received via the network. It is characterized by that.

  The first product price information registration method of the present invention is a product price information registration method for connecting a device of a product price information provider and a server for providing product price information via a network, A product price information database for storing product price information including product names, retail store names, prices, and sales periods is prepared in the server, and the server is attached when the server receives an e-mail from the device via the network. Product price information including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sales period is extracted from the file and registered in the product price information database.

  A second product price information registration method of the present invention is a product price information registration method for connecting a device of a product price information provider and a server for providing product price information via a network, A product price information database for storing product price information including a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sales period; and an image database for storing the retail store name, the sales period, and insert advertising image data are prepared in the server; When the server receives an e-mail from the device via a network, the product price information including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sale period is extracted from the attached file. Register in the database, extract the retail store name, sales period, and insert advertising image data from the attached file to obtain the image data base. It is characterized in that to be registered in the nest.

  A third product price information registration method of the present invention is a product price information registration method for connecting a device of a product price information provider and a server for providing product price information via a network, A product price information database for storing product price information including a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sales period; and an image database for storing the retail store name, the sales period, and insert advertising image data are prepared in the server; Product price information including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sales period that the device receives price information registration screen information from the server and displays a price information registration screen, and the device outputs at the time of creating the insert advertisement And the advertising advertisement image data are input to the price information registration screen and transmitted to the server, and the server transmits the product price information and the insertion information from the device. Upon receiving the image data, and registers the commodity price information to the received to the commodity price information database, is characterized in that to register the advertising inserts image data thus received to the advertising inserts database.

  Furthermore, in the first or second product price information registration method, the server prepares a conversion dictionary for converting the product name into a common product name, and the product name registered in the product price information database is When the server receives an e-mail from the device, it is a common product name obtained by converting the product name of the attached file with the conversion dictionary.

  Further, in the third commodity price information registration method, the server prepares a conversion dictionary for converting the commodity name into a common commodity name, and the server registers the commodity name registered in the commodity price information database by the server. When the product price information is received from a device, the product name is a common product name obtained by converting the product name of the product price information with the conversion dictionary.

  Furthermore, in the first or second commodity price information registration method, the commodity price information is information at the time of creating the insert advertisement.

  Furthermore, in the first product price information registration method, the insert advertisement image data is image data at the time of insert advertisement creation.

  Furthermore, in the first product price information registration method, if there is any product price information registered in the product price information database that has passed the sales period, the corresponding product name from the product price information database. The product price information is deleted.

  Further, in the second or third item price information registration method, the item price information registered in the item price information database and the insert advertisement image data registered in the image database have passed the sales period. If there is, the product price information of the product name corresponding to the product price information database is deleted, and the inserted advertisement image data of the product is deleted from the image database.

  Furthermore, in the above first or second commodity price information registration method, when an e-mail is received via a network, it is confirmed whether or not the transmission source e-mail address is a pre-registered e-mail address. Yes.

  As described above, the present invention prepares a database for storing product price information including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sales period in a server, and sends an e-mail to the device of the product price information provider. Alternatively, since product price information and insert advertisement image data by Internet connection are registered, there is no need for the service provider to input from insert advertisements one by one, and there is an effect that insert advertisement services can be performed.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the server that provides the product price information service searches for the requested product name by replacing the common product name using the conversion dictionary, the general consumer and the retail store There is an effect that companies can perform simple operations without being aware of common product names.

  Further, according to the present invention, if there is a product price information registered in the database for which the server providing the product price information has passed the sales period, the product price information of the corresponding product name from the database. Therefore, there is an effect that it is not necessary for the product price information provider to delete items that have passed the sales period.

  Next, a first embodiment which is the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  Referring to FIG. 1, in the first embodiment of the present invention, an information providing apparatus 1 that provides price information of a product during a sales period, a server 2 that provides a service of product price information, and price information of the product A user terminal 3 receiving the service, an Internet 100 (communication network) connecting the information providing apparatus 1, the server 2, and the user terminal 3, a user information database 24 connected to the server 2 under the server 2 and The product price database 25, the insert advertisement database 26, the conversion dictionary 27, and the screen information database 28 are configured. The user information database 24, the product price database 25, the insert advertisement database 26, the conversion dictionary 27, and the screen information database 28 are allocated to areas in a nonvolatile storage medium device (for example, a magnetic disk). ing. In this case, each may be allocated in a separate storage medium device.

  The server 2 is an information processing apparatus such as a workstation, and includes a control unit 21 that operates under program control by a processor, an interface unit 22 that exchanges data with the Internet 100, and a storage unit 23 that can read and write. Composed.

  The information providing apparatus 1 is an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer that operates under program control by a processor. The information providing apparatus 1 stores product price information such as the input trade area, retail store name, product name, product code, manufacturer name, price, sales period (first day, all day) as a file in a storage unit (not shown). Means for storing the inserted advertisement read from the scanner as a file in the storage unit, and means for transmitting these files to the server 2 of the service provider using electronic mail.

  In the user information database 24, the user ID, password, etc. of the user who has contracted for the product price information service are registered, and the user ID, password, e-mail address, etc. of the information provider are registered.

  In the product price database 25, the trade area, retail store name, product name (registered with a common product name), product code, manufacturer name, price, and first day date (first day of the sales period) that are the product price information input from the information providing device 1 Date), all-day date (all-day date of the sales period), insert advertisement (displaying storage location of insert advertisement by URL), and the like are registered.

  In the insert advertisement database 26, insert advertisement image data input from the information providing apparatus 1 is registered together with a validity period (insert advertisement sale period) of insert advertisements (including flyers) for each retail store name.

  Since the conversion dictionary 27 unifies the product name input from the use terminal 3 and the information providing device 1 into one fixed product name in the management of the server 2, a term for converting the input product name into a common product name is used. Each common product name is registered in advance.

  The screen information database 28 stores various screen information to be displayed on the screens of the user terminal 3 and the information providing apparatus 1 connected via the Internet.

  When receiving the e-mail, the control unit 21 of the server 2 extracts product price information including the trade area, the product name, the product code, the manufacturer name, the retail store name, the price, and the sale period from the attached file. Means for registering in the database 25 and means for extracting the retail store name, the sales period and the inserted advertisement image data from the attached file and registering them in the inserted advertisement database 26; Based on the condition information, the product price database 25 retrieves and extracts the product price information during the insertion advertisement sale period, and then extracts the product price information extracted based on the search condition information search method after the extraction. A means for sending the sorted product price information as a search result to the requester, a means for displaying the search result on the sender's screen, and a request for insertion advertisement And means for transmitting relevant advertising inserts image data read by the requester more from advertising inserts database 26. The control unit 21 also includes a means for checking the authentication of the user ID and password based on the user information database 24 before receiving the search service, and when the e-mail is received, the source e-mail is sent to the user information database. 24. If there is a means for confirming whether or not it is registered in 24, and the product price information in the product price database 25 and the insert advertisement image data in the insert advertisement database 26, there are those that have passed the sales period. And means for deleting the corresponding data, and means for performing maintenance management (modification, deletion, etc.) of the product price information.

  The usage terminal 3 is an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer that operates under program control by a processor. The use terminal 3 has a search condition including means for connecting to the server 2 by starting up browser software (software connected to the Internet), a trade area (city), a product name, a product code, a manufacturer name, and a sales period. Means for requesting a search for product price information from the server 2 by information, means for displaying the product price information extracted by the search request on the screen of the terminal in a state sorted by a user-specified search method, When the area of the insert advertisement of the product price information displayed on the screen is clicked, the insert advertisement image data is obtained from the server 2 and output as the insert advertisement.

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, a mechanism for obtaining product price information from the information providing apparatus 1 will be described. The product price information provider starts up the spreadsheet software of the information providing device 1, and in accordance with the format determined in advance by the service provider, from the insert advertisement to the trade area, retail store name, product name, product code, manufacturer name, price, When the product price information such as the sales period is input by an input unit (not shown) (for example, a keyboard) and a file name and a storage location are designated, the information providing device 1 displays a storage unit (for example, its own device). To the product price information file. Further, the product price information provider starts up the image editing software, inputs an insertion advertisement (image data) by an input unit (for example, a scanner) (not shown), reads, specifies a file name, and a storage location. The providing device 1 stores the input data as a folded advertisement image file in the storage unit. That is, the information providing apparatus 1 stores two files, that is, the product price information file and the insert advertisement image file in the storage unit by an operation from the input unit (keyboard and scanner) of the product price information provider (see FIG. 2 sequence A1).

  Thereafter, the product price information provider starts up the e-mail software built in the information providing device 1 and connects to the Internet 100, and uses the e-mail address of the server 2 with the product price information file and the insert advertisement file attached to the e-mail. When setting and inputting a send button on the screen, the information providing apparatus 1 sends an email with an attached file to the server 2 managed by the service provider via the Internet 100 (sequence A2).

  The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has received the e-mail via the interface unit 22 checks whether the source e-mail address read from the header of the e-mail is registered in the user information database 24, and an attached file (product price information File and insert advertisement image file) format. If each check is normal, the control unit 21 registers the insert advertisement image file in the insert advertisement database 26 together with the sales period read from the product price information file. Furthermore, the control unit 21 extracts the common product name by searching the conversion dictionary 27 from the product name in the product price information from the product price information file, and classifies the common product name for each common product name based on the extracted common product name. The product price information read out from the product price information file is registered in the product price database 25 for each product. In addition, when registering in the commodity price database 25, the control unit 21 registers the content (URL format) indicating the storage location of the insert advertisement stored in the insert advertisement database 26 in the insert advertisement column. That is, the server 2 registers the product price information in the product price database 25 from the electronic mail transmitted from the information providing apparatus 1, and registers the insert advertisement image data in the insert advertisement database 26 (sequence A3, A4). .

  On the other hand, the control unit 21 reads the all-day column of the product price database 25 and the all-day column of the insert advertisement database 26 in order to confirm whether or not the expired information of the product price database 25 and the insert advertisement database 26 remains. The contents of each read all-day column and the current date are checked once a day, and if expired information remains, the information is deleted. In this case, the time to be checked by the control unit 21 need not be specified, but it is desirable to set it at midnight.

  Next, we will describe the mechanism that retail store companies and general consumers retrieve and obtain product price information that they want to know from the product database. When a user such as a retail store company or a general consumer starts up browser software built in the use terminal 3 and inputs the URL of the server 2 on the screen, the use terminal 3 accesses the server 2 via the Internet 100. The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has been accessed via the interface unit 22 reads the login input screen information from the screen information database 28 and transmits it to the user terminal 3 via the interface unit 22 and the Internet 100. The user terminal 3 that has received the login input screen information displays the login input screen on the screen.

  When the user inputs the user ID and password issued by the service provider on the login input screen displayed on the use terminal 3, the use terminal 3 transmits the entered authentication information to the server 2 via the Internet 100. To do. The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has received the authentication information via the interface unit 22 searches the user information database 24 based on the received authentication information (user ID, password), and if it matches, the screen information database 28 uses it. The menu screen information for the user is read out and transmitted to the user terminal 3 via the interface unit 22 and the Internet 100. That is, a communication path that can use this service is set between the use terminal 3 and the server 2. The user terminal 3 that has received the menu screen information displays the menu screen on the screen.

  When the user selects a search item from the menu screen displayed on the use terminal 3, the use terminal 3 transmits the selected search item information (information linked to the URL of the server 2) to the server 2. The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has received the search item information reads the search input screen information from the screen information database 28 based on the search item information and transmits it to the user terminal 3. The user terminal 3 that has received the search input screen information displays the search input screen on the screen (sequence A11 in FIG. 3).

  The user wants to know on the search input screen displayed on the terminal 3 (select a preset city), product name, product code, manufacturer name (if blank, for all manufacturers), sales When the search condition information including the period (first day and all day) and the sorting method (selection of period and date) is input, the user terminal 3 transmits it to the server 2 (sequences A12 and A13 in FIG. 3).

  If the product code is blank (blank), the control unit 21 of the server 2 that has received the search condition information searches the exchange dictionary 27 based on the product name in the search condition information, and if there is a match, Each time the product price database 25 is searched based on the common product name, search condition information trade area, and sales period, and the corresponding product is detected (extracted), the detected (extracted) information (trade area, retail store name, product name, Product code, manufacturer name, price, sales period, storage location) are stored in the storage unit 23. When a product code is input in the received search condition information, the control unit 21 stores the product price database 25 based on the trade area, product code, manufacturer name, and sale period in the search condition information. Each time it searches and detects (extracts) the corresponding information, the detected (extracted) information (trade area, retail store, product name, product code, manufacturer name, price, sales period, insert advertisement) is stored in the storage unit 23 I will do it. Eventually, the control unit 21 sorts the contents of the storage unit 23 as the search results in the order of low cost according to the sorting method when all the searches are completed and stored in the storage unit 23. In this case, the sorting by the control unit 21 means “low-order sorting within a specified period if“ period ”” and “low-order sorting by date if“ date ””. When the sorting is completed, the control unit 21 reads the search result format from the screen information database 28, the search result from the storage unit 23, and adds the read search result to the search result format, thereby adding the search result information (trade area, (Retail store, product name, product code, manufacturer name, price, sales period, insert advertisement) are transmitted to the use terminal 3 (sequences A14 to A17).

  The user terminal 3 that has received the search result information displays the search result on the screen. That is, the usage terminal 3 displays product price information data such as a trade area, a retail store name, a product name, a product code, a manufacturer name, a price, a sale period, and the like as a list on the screen by a designated sorting method. (Sequence A18, A19).

  In this way, the user sees the search results displayed on the screen of the user terminal 3 in the order of the lowest price, so that the user can find out which retail store sells the product he / she wants to buy during the desired period of use or day by day. I can know.

  Further, when the user clicks on the insert advertisement (the place where the insert advertisement is stored by the URL linked to the URL of the server 2) from the search result displayed on the screen of the use terminal 3, the user uses the input section (mouse). The terminal 3 transmits the clicked insertion advertisement request information (information that the item of the insertion advertisement is clicked) to the server 2. The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has received the insert advertisement request information reads (extracts) the corresponding insert advertisement (insert advertisement image data) from the insert advertisement database 26 and transmits it to the user terminal 3.

  When the use terminal 3 receives the insert advertisement, the use terminal 3 displays it on the screen. When the user designates printing of the insert advertisement displayed on the screen, the user terminal issues the insert advertisement with a printer (not shown).

  In this way, the user can grasp what other products the retail store selling the products he / she wants to buy cheaply by viewing the insert advertisements by outputting the insert advertisements. it can.

  Next, a second embodiment which is the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 4, the second embodiment of the present invention is different in that the information providing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 showing the first embodiment is replaced with an information providing apparatus 4. That is, the information providing apparatus 4 is an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer that operates by a program using a processor, as in the information providing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1, but inputs product price data and image information (for example, a photograph of the product). 1 is different from the information providing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 in that product price information and image data of insert advertisements are created.

  Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG.

  First, a mechanism for obtaining product price information from the information providing apparatus 4 will be described. The product price information provider starts up the advertisement creation software of the information providing device 4, and according to the format determined in advance by the service provider, from the input unit (eg, keyboard, scanner, etc.) from the trade area, retail store name, product name, Product price information such as product code, manufacturer name, price, and sales period is created, and insert advertisement and insert advertisement image data are created by inputting image information and image editing operation based on the created product price information. At this time, the information providing apparatus 4 creates product price information and image data of the insert advertisement on the program of the advertisement creation software via the screen (not shown) and the operation of the product price information provider from the input unit. . When the file name and the storage location are designated after the creation, the information providing device 4 stores the input data as a product price information file and a inserted advertisement image file in a storage unit (for example, a magnetic disk). That is, the information providing device 4 stores two files, a product price information file and an insertion advertisement image file, in a storage unit in the device by an operation from an input unit (keyboard, scanner, etc.) of the product price information provider through a user interface. This means that it has been saved (sequence B1 in FIG. 5).

  Although two files were created with insert advertising software, product price information files were created using spreadsheet software, and insert advertisements and insert advertisement image files were created using image editing software. good.

  5 is replaced with the information providing apparatus 4 in FIG. 2 to replace the information providing apparatus 1 in FIG. 2 with the contents described in the first embodiment (the processes in the sequences A2 to A4 in FIG. 2). Since it becomes the same, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Next, a mechanism will be described in which retail store companies and general consumers retrieve product price information that they want to know from the product price database. The mechanism obtained by searching for the product price information in this case is the same as the mechanism for searching for the product price information of FIG. 3 described in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  Next, a third embodiment that is the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 1, the third embodiment of the present invention is different in that the information providing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 showing the first embodiment is added with an Internet function in addition to an electronic mail function. To do. Other than that, it is the same as FIG.

  Next, the operation of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG.

  First, a mechanism for obtaining product price information from the information providing apparatus 1 will be described. The product price information provider starts up the spreadsheet software of the information providing device 1, and in accordance with the format determined in advance by the service provider, from the insert advertisement to the trade area, retail store name, product name, product code, manufacturer name, price, When the product price information such as the sales period is input by an input unit (not shown) (for example, a keyboard) and a file name and a storage location are designated, the information providing device 1 displays a storage unit (for example, its own device). To the product price information file. Further, the product price information provider starts up the image editing software, inputs an insertion advertisement (image data) by an input unit (for example, a scanner) (not shown), reads, specifies a file name, and a storage location. The providing device 1 stores the input data as a folded advertisement image file in the storage unit. That is, the information providing apparatus 1 stores two files, that is, the product price information file and the insert advertisement image file in the storage unit by an operation from the input unit (keyboard and scanner) of the product price information provider (see FIG. 6 sequence A1).

  Thereafter, when the product price provider starts up the browser software built in the information providing apparatus 1 and inputs the URL of the server 2 on the screen, the use terminal 3 accesses the server 2 via the Internet 100. The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has been accessed via the interface unit 22 reads the login input screen information from the screen information database 28 and transmits it to the user terminal 3 via the interface unit 22 and the Internet 100. The user terminal 3 that has received the login input screen information displays the login input screen on the screen.

  When the user inputs the user ID and password issued by the service provider on the login input screen displayed on the use terminal 3, the use terminal 3 transmits the entered authentication information to the server 2 via the Internet 100. To do. The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has received the authentication information via the interface unit 22 searches the user information database 24 based on the received authentication information (user ID, password). Menu screen information for the price provider is read and transmitted to the user terminal 3 via the interface unit 22 and the Internet 100. That is, a communication path that can use this service is set between the use terminal 3 and the server 2. The user terminal 3 that has received the menu screen information displays the menu screen on the screen.

  When the user selects an item for price registration from the menu screen displayed on the usage terminal 3, the usage terminal 3 transmits the price registration item information (information linked to the URL of the server 2) to the server 2. The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has received the price registration item information reads the price registration input screen information from the screen information database 28 based on the price registration item information, and transmits it to the user terminal 3. The user terminal 3 that has received the price registration input screen information displays the price registration input screen on the screen (sequence C1 in FIG. 6).

  When specifying a file on the price registration input screen displayed on the information providing apparatus 1, the product price information file and the product price information file are inserted into the input column prompting the storage location of the two files displayed. When the storage location of the advertisement file is input and the transmission button on the screen is pressed, the information providing apparatus 1 reads the commodity price information file and the insertion advertisement file from the storage unit of the own apparatus and transmits them to the server 2 (sequence) C2).

  The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has received the two files via the interface unit 22 checks the format of the received product price information file and insert advertisement image file. If the check is normal, the control unit 21 registers the insert advertisement image file in the insert advertisement database 26 together with the sales period read from the product price information file. Furthermore, the control unit 21 extracts the common product name by searching the conversion dictionary 27 from the product name in the product price information from the product price information file, and classifies the common product name for each common product name based on the extracted common product name. The product price information read out from the product price information file is registered in the product price database 25 for each product. In addition, when registering in the commodity price database 25, the control unit 21 registers the content (URL format) indicating the storage location of the insert advertisement stored in the insert advertisement database 26 in the insert advertisement column. That is, the server 2 registers the product price information transmitted from the information providing apparatus 1 connected via the Internet in the product price database 25, and registers the insert advertisement image data in the insert advertisement database 26 (sequence C3). , C4).

  In the sequence C1, when data entry is specified on the price registration input screen displayed on the information providing apparatus 1, the trade area, retail store name, product name, product code in which the product price information provider is displayed. Enter the required information in the input fields such as manufacturer name, price, sales period, etc., enter the storage location of the insert advertisement file in the input field prompting the input of the storage location of the insert advertisement file, and press the send button on the screen Then, the information providing apparatus 1 may read the product price information file and the insert advertisement file from the storage unit of the own apparatus and transmit them to the server 2.

  On the other hand, the control unit 21 reads the all-day column of the product price database 25 and the all-day column of the insert advertisement database 26 in order to confirm whether or not the expired information of the product price database 25 and the insert advertisement database 26 remains. The contents of each read all-day column and the current date are checked once a day, and if expired information remains, the information is deleted. In this case, the time to be checked by the control unit 21 need not be specified, but it is desirable to set it at midnight.

  Next, a description will be given of a mechanism in which a retail store company or a general secretary retrieves product price information desired to know from a product database. Since the mechanism for obtaining product price information in this case is the same as the mechanism for retrieving product price information described in the first embodiment of the present invention, the description thereof is omitted.

  Next, a fourth embodiment that is the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 4, the fourth embodiment of the present invention is different in that the information providing apparatus 4 of FIG. 4 showing the second embodiment is added with an Internet function in addition to an electronic mail function. To do. Other than that, it is the same as FIG.

  Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4, FIG. 7, and FIG.

  First, a mechanism for obtaining product price information from the information providing apparatus 4 will be described. Since the sequence B1 in FIG. 7 is the same as the sequence B1 in FIG. 5 described in the second embodiment, the description thereof is omitted. The processing of the sequences C1 to C4 in FIG. 7 is performed by replacing the information processing device 1 in FIG. 6 with the information processing device 4 and the contents described in the third embodiment (processing in the sequences C1 to C4 in FIG. 6). Since it becomes the same, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Next, a mechanism will be described in which retail store companies and general consumers retrieve product price information that they want to know from the product price database. Since it is the same as the product price information search mechanism of FIG. 3 described in the first embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

  As described above, in the first to fourth embodiments, the use terminal 3 is an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer. However, it is needless to say that the present invention also includes a case where a mobile phone is used as a use terminal. In this case, the Internet 100 is an Internet connection by wireless network connection (including a service “for example, i-mode (registered trademark)” supported by a wireless telephone company).

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the 1st and 3rd embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows schematic operation | movement of the structure of the goods price information acquisition in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows schematic operation | movement of the structure of the goods price information search in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the 2nd and 4th embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows schematic operation | movement of the structure of the goods price information acquisition in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows schematic operation | movement of the mechanism of the goods price information acquisition in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows schematic operation | movement of the structure of the goods price information acquisition in the 4th Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 4 Information provision apparatus 2 Server 3 User terminal 21 Control part 22 Interface part 23 Storage part 24 User information database 25 Product price database 26 Insertion advertisement database 27 Conversion dictionary 28 Screen information database 100 Internet

Claims (19)

A product having registration means for extracting and registering product price information including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sales period from an attached file when an e-mail is received via a network Price information registration method. Registration means for extracting and registering product price information including a trade area, product name, retail store name, price, and sales period, and insert advertisement image data from an attached file when an e-mail is received via a network A product price information registration system characterized by having. A product price information registration method for connecting a device of a product price information provider and a server for providing product price information via a network,
The apparatus includes: a display unit that receives price information registration screen information from the server and displays a price information registration screen;
Transmission means for inputting product price information including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sales period to be output at the time of creating the insert advertisement, and an insert advertisement image data to the price information registration screen, and transmitting it to the server; Have
The server has registration means for registering the received product price information and the insert advertisement image data when receiving the product price information and the insert advertisement image data transmitted by the transmission means. Registration method. Conversion means for converting the product name into a common product name,
4. The product price information registration method according to claim 1, wherein the product name used as registration information in the registration means is a common product name converted by the conversion means. The product price information registration method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the product price information is information at the time of creating the insert advertisement. The commodity price information registration method according to claim 2, wherein the insert advertisement image data is image data at the time of insert advertisement creation. It has a deletion means for deleting the product price information of the corresponding product name from the product price information database if the product price information registered by the registration means is past the sales period. The product price information registration method according to claim 1. If there is any product price information and insert advertising image data registered by the registration means that have passed the sales period, the product price information of the corresponding product name and insert advertising image data of the retail store name are obtained from the registration means. 4. The commodity price information registration method according to claim 2, further comprising a deleting means for deleting. 3. The commodity price information registration method according to claim 1, further comprising confirmation means for confirming whether or not the transmission source e-mail address is a pre-registered e-mail address when an e-mail is received via a network. . A product price information registration method for connecting a device of a product price information provider and a server for providing product price information via a network,
Preparing a product price information database in the server for storing product price information including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sale period;
When the server receives an e-mail from the device via the network, product price information including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sales period is extracted from the attached file, and the product price information database is extracted. Product price information registration method characterized by registering. A product price information registration method for connecting a device of a product price information provider and a server for providing product price information via a network,
A product price information database for storing product price information including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sales period;
An image database for storing the retail store name, the sales period, and the insert advertisement image data is prepared in the server,
When the server receives an e-mail from the device via a network, the product price information including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sale period is extracted from the attached file. A product price information registration method comprising: registering in a database, extracting a retail store name, a sales period, and insert advertisement image data from an attached file and registering the image in the image database. A product price information registration method for connecting a device of a product price information provider and a server for providing product price information via a network,
A product price information database for storing product price information including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sales period;
An image database for storing the retail store name, the sales period, and the insert advertisement image data is prepared in the server,
The device receives price information registration screen information from the server and displays a price information registration screen,
Product price information including the trade area, product name, retail store name, price, and sales period output by the device when creating the insert advertisement, and insert advertisement image data are input to the price information registration screen and transmitted to the server,
When the server receives product price information and insert advertisement image data from the device, the received product price information is registered in the product price information database, and the received insert advertisement image data is stored in the insert advertisement database. Product price information registration method characterized by registering. A conversion dictionary for converting the product name into a common product name is prepared in the server, and the product name registered in the product price information database is the attached file when the server receives an e-mail from the device. The product price information registration method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the product name is a common product name obtained by converting the product name in the conversion dictionary. Preparing a conversion dictionary for converting the product name into a common product name in the server;
The product name registered in the product price information database is a common product name obtained by converting the product name of the product price information with the conversion dictionary when the server receives the product price information from the device. The product price information registration method according to claim 12, wherein: 12. The product price information registration method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the product price information is information at the time of creating an insertion advertisement. 12. The product price information registration method according to claim 11, wherein the insert advertisement image data is image data at the time of insert advertisement creation. The product price information of the corresponding product name is deleted from the product price information database if there is any product price information registered in the product price information database that has passed the sales period. 10. The product price information registration method according to 10. If the product price information registered in the product price information database and the insert advertisement image data registered in the image database are past the sales period, the product price information database 13. The product price information registration method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the product price information is deleted from each of the image insertion advertisement image data of the product from the image database. 12. The method for registering product price information according to claim 10 or 11, wherein when an e-mail is received via a network, it is confirmed whether or not the transmission source e-mail address is a pre-registered e-mail address.

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