JP2021111164A - Information distribution system and information distribution method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information distribution system and an information distribution method capable of providing appropriate information in a timely manner to an article of interest to an individual.SOLUTION: In a content distribution system 1 which is a kind of information distribution system for distributing information related to one or more articles existing in an area, an IoT tag (wireless tag) T is attached to an article in the area, stores unique tag identification information, operates by obtaining energy from surrounding radio waves, and transmits tag identification information when detecting the movement of the article. A content management server 5 stores information related to articles in association with the tag identification information of the IoT tag T attached to each article, and allows a display device 8 to display information related to the article that has made a predetermined movement when a wireless device 2 receives the tag identification information of the IoT tag T.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an information distribution system and an information distribution method.

Digital signage, which is an advertising medium for displaying advertisements using display devices such as liquid crystal displays and projectors, is installed in various places. By using digital signage, it is possible to provide rich content using video and audio, and it is possible to efficiently deliver advertisements according to the installation location of digital signage. Therefore, the digital signage market is expected to expand in the future.
For example, an advertisement distribution system having a management server capable of transmitting advertisements to electronic devices connected via a network and an electronic device capable of displaying advertisements received from the management server to the outdoors via an image display device. Has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-153234

The above-mentioned digital signage can provide content according to the installation location of the digital signage, or content intended for consumers of a specific layer rather than an unspecified number of consumers. However, conventional digital signage may not be able to provide appropriate content in a timely manner to goods such as products that individual consumers are interested in.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable an individual to provide appropriate information in a timely manner to an article of interest.

One aspect of the present invention is an information distribution system that distributes information related to one or more articles existing in an area, which is attached to the articles in the area, stores unique tag identification information, and surrounds the surroundings. A wireless tag that operates by obtaining energy from radio waves to detect the movement of the article, a wireless device capable of wireless communication with the wireless tag, and a wireless tag attached to the article with information related to the article. The information processing device includes an information processing device having a storage unit that stores the tag identification information in association with the tag identification information of the above, and a display device capable of communicating with the information processing device. It is an information distribution system that transmits information related to the article that has made a predetermined movement to the display device based on the tag identification information of the wireless tag acquired from the wireless device.

According to an aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide appropriate information in a timely manner to an article of interest to an individual.

It is a figure which shows schematic system structure of the content distribution system of embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of each apparatus of the content distribution system of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the advertising packet transmitted from the IoT tag. It is a figure which shows the data structure example of a content database. It is a sequence chart which shows the operation of the content distribution system of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the display example of the content in the display device. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the content creation process. It is a figure which shows the display example of the content in the display device. It is a figure which shows the display example of the content in the display device. It is a figure which shows the display example of the content in the display device. It is a top view of the store which shows the arrangement example of a plurality of wireless devices in the content distribution system of embodiment. It is a sequence chart which shows the operation of the content distribution system of embodiment. It is a figure explaining another method of identifying a position in an area of a product. It is a figure which shows the data structure example of the shelf arrangement database. It is a sequence chart which shows the operation of the content distribution system which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure explaining the modification which a plurality of display devices are arranged in a store. It is a sequence chart which shows another operation of a content distribution system.

Hereinafter, the content distribution system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present disclosure, the term "article" means, for example, a tangible object such as a product, a semi-finished product (an intermediate stage product in the middle of manufacturing), or a product. In the following embodiments, a product is taken as an example of an article. Further, in the present disclosure, the "content" may be identification information for identifying an image as well as the image (including a still image and a moving image) itself. Content is an example of information related to an article.
The communication distance of the IoT tag in the present disclosure is only an example and is not limited. The communication distance of the IoT tag can be appropriately changed or adjusted according to the use of the IoT tag.

(1) System Configuration of Content Distribution System First, the system configuration of the content distribution system 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a system configuration of the content distribution system 1 of the present embodiment.
In FIG. 1, the content distribution system 1 of the present embodiment is a store display device 8 by a content management server 5 based on a signal received from an IoT tag T (an example of a wireless tag) attached to each product in the store. Determine the content CT to be displayed on. That is, the content distribution system 1 is a digital signage (electronic signboard) system. The content management server 5 can determine the content CT to be displayed on the display devices 8 arranged in each of the plurality of stores, but FIG. 1 illustrates only one store.

The content distribution system 1 of the present embodiment is configured to display the content corresponding to the product on the display device 8 when the visitor in the store is interested in the specific product and picks up the product. ing.
The display device 8 is, for example, a display device having a communication function, and the display method does not matter. For example, the display system of the display device 8 is an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an OLED (Organic Electro-Luminescence Display), a projector, or the like.

The content displayed on the display device 8 is a still image or a moving image (hereinafter, collectively referred to as an “image”), or the image may include sound. The image may contain text.
The content is related to the product picked up by the visitor, for example, images of multiple different products in different colors from the product picked up by the visitor, combined with the product picked up by the visitor. Is an image of another product for which is recommended. The image may include text explaining the details of the product, text for promoting the sale of the product, text explaining the campaign for the product, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, an IoT tag T of each product, a wireless device 2 that wirelessly communicates with each IoT tag T, and a display device 8 that displays contents are arranged in the store.
The wireless device 2 provided in the store can provide a wireless environment for, for example, the IoT tag T of each product. The wireless device 2 is, for example, a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) device, an access point, or the like, but may be a mobile terminal such as a tablet terminal or a smartphone.
As will be described in detail later, the IoT tag T is an energy harvesting type device that generates electricity based on radio waves in the surrounding environment, and does not have a battery. The number of wireless devices 2 does not matter, but it is good if all IoT tags T in the store can provide a wireless environment in which power can be generated. The IoT tag T has a built-in sensor that detects motion. Therefore, for example, when a visitor picks up a product, the IoT tag T attached to the product detects the movement.

The wireless device 2 can provide, for example, a beacon signal to provide a wireless environment in which the IoT tag T in the store can generate electricity. Further, the wireless device 2 receives a signal (packet) from the IoT tag T and sends the information obtained from the packet to the store server 3. The communication distance between the wireless device 2 and the IoT tag T is, for example, in the range of 3 to 10 meters, and although it depends on the size of the store, for example, by arranging one or two wireless devices 2, it can be attached to a product in the store. Information can be obtained from the IoT tag T.
The packet transmitted from the IoT tag T includes data detected by the built-in sensor (referred to as “sensor data”).

In the content distribution system 1 of the present embodiment, the wireless device 2 is not an indispensable component, and the wireless device 2 is not necessary if sufficient environmental power generation is possible in the store without the wireless device 2. For example, even if there is no wireless device 2, if the IoT tag T can generate energy by the wireless signal radiated by the visitor terminal, the wireless device 2 is not necessary. In addition, the IoT tag T can also use radio waves transmitted from a device other than the visitor terminal and the wireless device 2 (for example, a mobile terminal of a clerk) for energy harvesting. In other words, when the radio waves provided by the visitor terminal or other device other than the visitor terminal are not sufficient for energy harvesting, the IoT tag T uses the radio waves radiated from the wireless device 2 for energy harvesting. Can be used for.

The IoT tag T is configured to perform low power consumption wireless communication, and examples of communication protocols include Bluetooth Low Energy (registered trademark) (hereinafter, BLE), Bluetooth (registered trademark), and Zigbee (registered trademark). ) Etc. can be mentioned.
In the following, a case of performing communication by BLE will be described as an example. In this case, the wireless device 2 is a BLE wireless terminal.
When the IoT tag T complies with the BLE standard, the IoT tag T performs broadcast communication with the wireless device 2. Specifically, the IoT tag T broadcasts an advertising packet (described later), and the wireless device 2 receives the advertising packet. In this broadcast communication, data can be transmitted in one direction from the IoT tag T toward the wireless device 2.
As will be described later, the packet transmitted from the IoT tag T to the wireless device 2 includes a tag ID (an example of tag identification information) unique to the tag and sensor data.

The store server 3 is an edge server connected to the wireless device 2, and is arranged in, for example, an office inside the store or outside the store. The store server 3 is configured to transmit the sensor data of each IoT tag T to the content management server 5.

The content management server 5 (an example of an information processing device) is a network server that provides a cloud-type digital signage service to a store, and together with the store server 3 and the display device 8 in the store via a network NW such as the Internet. Communication is possible. As will be described later, the content management server 5 stores a content database that stores content corresponding to each product in the store.
When a visitor is interested in a specific product in the store and picks up the product, the content management server 5 sends the content corresponding to the product to the display device 8.
That is, when a visitor picks up the product, it can be seen that the product is moved by the sensor data of the IoT tag attached to the product. The content management server 5 acquires sensor data of each IoT tag from the store server 3, and when it is determined that a specific product has been moved, sends the corresponding content to the display device 8. As a result, the content corresponding to the product to which the IoT tag is attached is displayed on the display device 8.

(2) Configuration of Each Device of Content Distribution System Next, the configuration of each device of the content distribution system 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of each device of the content distribution system 1 of the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an advertising packet transmitted from the IoT tag T. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of data configuration of the content database.

Referring to FIG. 2, the IoT tag T includes a control unit 11, an antenna 12, a harvesting unit 13, a voltage control unit 14, an RF transceiver 15, and a sensor 16.
Although the overall form of the IoT tag T is not shown, for example, it is in the form of a thin film in which a conductive metal foil having a predetermined pattern on which the antenna 12 and the sensor 16 are formed and an IC chip connected to the metal foil are connected. It is a member. A control unit 11, a harvesting unit 13, a voltage control unit 14, and an RF transceiver 15 are mounted in the IC chip.

The control unit 11 has a microprocessor and a memory 111, and controls the entire IoT tag T. The memory 111 is a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory), and is a program executed by a microprocessor, a tag ID which is identification information unique to the IoT tag T, and sensor data output by the sensor 16. Remember.

The harvesting unit 13 generates energy harvesting based on radio waves in the surrounding environment (for example, radio waves from ambient wireless communication), and stores the electric power obtained by the power generation in the internal energy storage 131. In the present embodiment, the harvesting unit 13 converts, for example, the radio signal received by the antenna 12 into a DC voltage and stores it in the energy storage 131. The energy storage 131 is, for example, a capacitor. In the case of a capacitor, it may be one configured on a semiconductor chip (that is, an on-die type capacitor).

The radio waves used by the harvesting unit 13 for energy harvesting are radio waves of a plurality of different frequency bands in a wide frequency band. For example, radio waves by wireless communication in the frequency band used in mobile communication systems such as so-called 3G to 5G, and frequency bands used in communication standards such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and Wi-Fi (registered trademark). Radio waves by wireless communication, radio waves by wireless communication in the 2.4 GHz band represented by communication protocols such as ZigBee (registered trademark) and Thread, frequency bands used in RFID (for example, 900 MHz band, 13.56 MHz band) Radio waves and the like by wireless communication can be mentioned.
Radio waves such as those illustrated here are generally applicable in almost every store. Then, the IoT tag T attached to the product in the store operates with the electric power obtained by the energy harvesting by the harvesting unit 13 based on the radio wave of the surrounding environment. Therefore, it is not necessary to mount the battery on the IoT tag T, and the system cost can be suppressed. Further, since it is not necessary to mount the battery, it is not necessary to replace the battery, so that there is no problem that the tag ID cannot be acquired even though the tag exists.

The voltage control unit 14 supplies the operating voltage to the control unit 11 and the RF transceiver 15, and monitors the voltage of the energy storage 131, and switches the power mode according to the monitoring result. When the voltage of the energy storage 131 is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, the power mode is set to the first mode in which only the minimum circuit is operated. At this time, the control unit 11 and the RF transceiver 15 generate packets and wirelessly described later. No signal is transmitted. When the voltage of the energy storage 131 is charged to a predetermined threshold value or more, the power mode is set to the second mode in which the normal processing routine is executed. At this time, the control unit 11 and the RF transceiver 15 generate packets and transmit radio signals. Various processes including transmission are performed.
Note that the control unit 11 detects the sensor data detected by the sensor 16 when the voltage of the energy storage 131 is charged to a predetermined threshold value or higher even when the power mode is, for example, the first mode. It may be stored in the memory 111 together with the data of. In that case, even if the control unit 11 generates and transmits a packet containing the sensor data and the detection time data stored in the memory 111 when the power mode is switched from the first mode to the second mode. good. Thereby, it is possible to provide the wireless device 2 with information regarding the presence or absence of movement of the tag during the period when the charging voltage of the energy storage 131 is relatively low.

The sensor 16 detects, for example, the movement of the IoT tag T itself. The detected data (sensor data) is temporarily stored in the memory 111 for inclusion in a packet described later. The sensor data is configured so that it can be determined, for example, whether or not the tag has been moved. The sensor data may be a value indicating the degree of movement of the IoT tag T, or may be a binary value indicating whether or not the IoT tag T has moved.
The sensor 16 may detect the weight and pressure related to the IoT tag T. The sensor 16 may detect the temperature when the temperature sensor is built in the IC chip.

The control unit 11 generates an advertising packet according to the BLE protocol when the power mode is the second mode. The advertising packet is a packet transmitted using the advertising channel in order to realize broadcast communication in BLE, and has the packet configuration shown in FIG. Advertising packets are, as appropriate, simply referred to as "packets" below.

In FIG. 3, the preamble and the address access have predetermined fixed values, respectively. CRC is a cyclic check code, which is check data calculated by using a predetermined generation polynomial for a packet payload (that is, an advertising channel PDU (protocol data unit)).
The advertising channel PDU (hereinafter, simply referred to as "PDU") consists of a header and a payload, and the payload consists of an ADV address and ADV data. The ADV address is the address of the advertiser (that is, the IoT tag T that is the subject of notification), but it may be a random value set for each transmission so as not to specify the source. The ADV data is advertiser data (broadcast data), and in the present embodiment, the tag ID and the sensor data output by the sensor 16 are included.

The control unit 11 preferably encrypts the PDU. The encryption method is not limited, but for example, AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) with a key length of 128 bits can be used.

The RF transceiver 15 performs predetermined digital modulation (for example, GFSK (Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying)) on the transmitted packet (baseband signal) and then performs orthogonal modulation to perform a high frequency signal (2.4 GHz in the case of BLE). (Frequency band signal) is sent to the antenna 12.

The antenna 12 includes a transmitting antenna and a power generation antenna. The transmitting antenna transmits a high frequency radio signal (packet) transmitted by the RF transceiver 15. On the other hand, the power generation antenna receives, for example, radio waves in the surrounding environment or a radio signal transmitted from the wireless device 2, and functions as a rectenna in cooperation with the harvesting unit 13.

As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless device 2 includes a control unit 21, an antenna 22, an RF transceiver 23, and a communication unit 24.
The control unit 21 is mainly composed of a microprocessor and controls the entire wireless device 2. For example, the control unit 21 decodes the PDU of the packet received from the IoT tag T, detects an error from the CRC using the same generation polynomial as the IoT tag T side, and then extracts broadcast data from the PDU. The control unit 21 controls the communication unit 24 so as to transmit the extracted broadcast data to the store server 3.
The RF transceiver 23 detects the radio signal received from the IoT tag T by the antenna 22, converts it into a baseband signal, performs predetermined digital demodulation, and receives the packet. Further, in order to transmit the beacon signal from the antenna 22, the RF transceiver 23 quadraturely modulates, for example, a baseband signal having a predetermined pattern and transmits it to the antenna 22.
The communication unit 24 functions as a communication interface for communicating with the store server 3.

As described above, the IoT tag T generates energy based on the radio waves of the surrounding environment, but when the radio waves of the surrounding environment are low, normal operations such as packet generation and radio signal transmission are not performed. (For example, when the power mode is the first mode). Therefore, the control unit 21 of the wireless device 2 starts wireless transmission by the antenna 22 or starts wireless transmission by the antenna 22 when the state in which communication with the IoT tag T cannot be performed (for example, the state in which the advertising packet cannot be received) continues for a predetermined time or longer. It is preferable to control the RF transceiver 23 so as to increase the transmission power of the antenna 22. As a result, electric power can be stored because the radio waves in the surrounding environment of the IoT tag T increase, and wireless communication with the wireless device 2 can be started or restarted.

As shown in FIG. 2, the store server 3 includes a control unit 31, a storage 32, and a communication unit 33.

The control unit 31 is mainly composed of a microprocessor and controls the entire store server 3. For example, the control unit 31 authenticates the tag ID included in the broadcast data received from the wireless device 2.
Authentication may be performed, for example, by making an inquiry to an authentication server (not shown) connected to the network NW and acquiring an authentication result from the authentication server. In this case, the authentication server is, for example, a server managed by the manufacturer of the IoT tag T, has a database that stores the tag IDs of all the manufactured IoT tags T, and refers to the database to be a store server. Authenticate the tag ID inquired from 3.

The control unit 31 determines whether or not the corresponding IoT tag T (that is, the IoT tag T corresponding to the tag ID included in the broadcast data) has been moved based on the sensor data included in the broadcast data. If it is determined that the content has been moved, the control unit 31 transmits a tag motion notification to the content management server 5. The tag motion notification is a message for notifying the content management server 5 that the IoT tag has been moved, and includes the tag ID of the moved IoT tag.
When the content management server 5 manages a plurality of stores, the control unit 31 includes the store code in the tag motion notification. The store code is identification information for identifying a store from a plurality of stores.

When the tag ID authentication is successful, the control unit 31 preferably transmits a tag motion notification including the tag ID to the content management server 5. That is, it is preferable that the control unit 31 transmits the content corresponding to the product that has made a predetermined movement to the display device 8 when the tag ID authentication is successful. By authenticating the tag ID, it can be confirmed whether or not the tag ID is genuine. Therefore, by preventing the non-genuine tag ID from being transmitted to the content management server 5, the content is not displayed based on the non-genuine tag ID, and the reliability of the digital signage is improved.

The storage 32 may include, for example, a large-scale storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and may store, for example, the tag ID and sensor data included in the broadcast data.
The communication unit 33 receives the broadcast data from the wireless device 2 and sends it to the control unit 31.

As shown in FIG. 2, the content management server 5 includes a control unit 51, a storage 52 (an example of a storage unit), and a communication unit 53.
The communication unit 53 functions as a communication interface for communicating with the store server 3 and the display device 8.

The control unit 51 is mainly composed of a microprocessor and controls the entire content management server 5.
For example, when the control unit 51 receives the tag motion notification from the store server 3, it determines whether or not the product corresponding to the tag ID has made a predetermined movement based on the tag ID included in the tag motion notification. When there is a product in which the product has a predetermined movement among one or more products in the store, the control unit 51 reads the content corresponding to the product having the predetermined movement from the content database and displays the content on the display device 8. Send.
Further, the control unit 51 stores a new record in the content database and deletes the existing record from the content database, or updates the content in the existing record in the content database in response to the request from the store server 3. Etc. may be performed. For example, the store server 3 is programmed to send a request to update the content database to the content management server 5 in response to a predetermined operation by the store operator. That is, it is preferable that the contents of the content database can be appropriately updated from the store server 3.

The storage 52 includes, for example, a large-scale storage device for an HDD, and stores a content database (content DB) illustrated in FIG. In the content database of FIG. 4, each field of "store code", "tag ID", "product code", "color", "size", "stock availability", "product position", and "content" is used for one record. It is a database for managing the content which has the value of and is the display target of the display device 8 of the store.
Here, in each of the "color" and "size" fields, values indicating the color and size of the product corresponding to the product code are stored. In the "product position" field, for example, a shelf ID (SA3 or the like) is stored as a product position in the store of the product corresponding to the product code. By counting the number of records corresponding to the same product code in the content database, the number of the same product can be grasped.
Note that each field shown in FIG. 4 is only an example, and fields related to other data related to the product (for example, product type, product category, distinction between regular product / limited product, etc.) may be provided.

(3) Operation of Content Distribution System Next, the operation of the content distribution system 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a sequence chart showing the operation of the content distribution system 1 of the present embodiment.
The processing of the sequence chart of FIG. 5 is repeated every time the wireless device 2 receives a packet from each IoT tag (tags T1, T2, ...) In the store.

The wireless device 2 can provide a wireless environment in which the tags T1, T2, ... Attached to each product in the store can generate electricity by radiating, for example, a beacon signal (step S2). .. Each tag performs energy harvesting based on the radio waves of the surrounding environment, and stores the electric power obtained by the power generation in an internal energy storage (for example, a capacitor) to operate. When the voltage of the energy storage is charged to a predetermined threshold value or more, a packet including the encrypted tag ID and the sensor data as broadcast data is generated and transmitted (step S6). This packet is an advertising packet that is broadcast and transmitted.

When the wireless device 2 recognizes and receives the packet transmitted from each tag, it decodes the packet and transmits the broadcast data included in the packet to the store server 3 (step S8).
The store server 3 authenticates the tag ID included in the received broadcast data (step S10). The tag ID is authenticated based on the authentication result obtained by making an inquiry to an external authentication server, for example.

When the tag ID authentication is successful, the store server 3 determines whether or not the corresponding tag has been moved based on the sensor data included in the broadcast data (step S12). When the store server 3 determines that the tag has been moved, the store server 3 transmits a tag motion notification including the tag ID to the content management server 5 (step S14). For example, when a visitor in a store picks up a product, it is determined that the tag attached to the product has been moved. When the content management server 5 manages a plurality of stores, the store server 3 includes the store code in the tag motion notification.
Based on the tag ID included in the tag motion notification, the content management server 5 determines whether or not the product corresponding to the tag ID has made a predetermined movement (step S15). The process of step S15 corresponds to a process of determining whether or not there is a product having a predetermined movement among one or more products in the store.
It is preferable not to judge that the product has made a predetermined movement only when the visitor or the clerk touches the product a little. If the product is displayed on the display device 8 with only a slight touch of the product, information about the product that the visitor is not particularly interested in is also displayed on the display device 8 because the signage function is not fulfilled. be.
From this point of view, in step S15, it is determined whether or not the product corresponding to the tag ID has made a predetermined movement.

Here, since the series of processes of steps S2 to S14 of FIG. 5 are continuously performed, the determination of step S15 is performed based on the time when the tag motion notifications including the same tag ID are continuously received. be able to. In other words, when a visitor picks up a product or moves the product inside the store, sensor data indicating that the tag has been moved is generated from the tag attached to the product. Obtained continuously. Therefore, it can be determined that the product has made a predetermined movement when the tag detects that the tag has been moved, that is, when the tag continuously detects the movement of the product for a predetermined time or longer.

When the content management server 5 determines that the product has made a predetermined movement (step S15: YES), the content management server 5 uses the tag ID included in the received tag motion notification as a key to obtain the corresponding content from the content database (see FIG. 4). Determine (step S16). Next, the content management server 5 transmits the content determined in step S16 to the display device 8 of the store (step S18). When the display device 8 receives the content from the content management server 5, the display device 8 displays the content (step S20).

The content displayed in step S20 may be, for example, an image (an image explaining one or a plurality of features of the product, etc.) explaining the product (hereinafter, referred to as “target product”) picked up by the visitor. , It may be an image related to a product related to the target product (referred to as “related product”). The related product is, for example, another product having a different color or size from the target product, another product that succeeds the target product, or another product that is defined in advance to be used in combination with the target product. .. In the following description, the product code corresponding to the related product is referred to as "related product code".
FIG. 6 shows screen G1 as an example of the screen displayed in step S20. As an example, the screen G1 displays content including information about the target product and related products of the target product. On the screen G1, the content includes images of a plurality of other products that differ only in color from the target product as related products.

The content displayed in step S20 may include the availability of the target product and / or the related product and the position of the product in the store. In this case, the content displayed for the target product is not fixed information, but changes according to, for example, the inventory status.

Hereinafter, the process of creating the content to be transmitted to the display device 8 by the content management server 5 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the content creation process, which is executed, for example, in step S16 of FIG.
In FIG. 7, the content management server 5 refers to the content database and identifies the product code corresponding to the tag ID included in the tag motion notification and the related product code related to the product code (step S30). Although not shown, it is assumed that the correspondence between the product code and the related product code is defined and known in, for example, a content database.

The content management server 5 refers to the content database and performs the following processing. That is, the content management server 5 determines whether or not the target product and related products specified in step S30 exist in the store corresponding to the store code included in the tag motion notification (whether or not they are in stock) (step). S32). When the target product and the related product exist in the store, the content management server 5 specifies the product position (position specified by the shelf ID) and the quantity of the target product and the related product (step S34). In order to specify the quantity of products, the number of records containing the same product code is counted in the content database.
If at least one of the target product and related products does not exist in the store, check that the other store (that is, the store corresponding to the store code different from the store code included in the tag motion notification) is in stock. (Step S36). The content management server 5 configures an image as content based on the processing results of steps S30 to S36 (step S38). In step S38, for example, an image as content is configured by fitting an image corresponding to the processing results of steps S30 to S36 into a predetermined layout.

8 and 9 show an example of displaying the content created by executing the content creation process of FIG. 7.
Referring to FIG. 8A, screen G2 is a display example of content similar to screen G1 of FIG. The difference from the screen G1 of FIG. 6 is that in the content of the screen G2, information on whether or not the related product is in stock at the store, information on the quantity when the product is in stock, and information on the quantity when the product is out of stock, and other stores in stock when the product is out of stock. Information about and is added. This information is not fixed information and may change depending on the stock status.
Referring to FIG. 8B, the content of the screen G3 includes images of other products recommended to be combined with the target product as related products, information on whether or not the related products are in stock at the store, and when the related products are out of stock. Includes information about other stores in stock.
Referring to FIG. 9, the content of the screen G4 includes an image of another product recommended to be combined with the target product as a related product, and a store map M1 showing the product position of each related product. In this example, the store map M1 shows the position of the shelf corresponding to the product position for each of the two related products.

(4) Product inventory management As described above, when the product inventory status and / or the product position is reflected in the content displayed on the display device 8, the data related to the product inventory management in the content database can be sequentially updated. is necessary. Hereinafter, a method of updating data related to inventory management of products will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14.

First, a method of managing the inventory of products by arranging a plurality of wireless devices 2 in the store will be described. FIG. 10 is a plan view of a store showing an arrangement example of a plurality of wireless devices 2 in the content distribution system 1 of the present embodiment.
In the plan view of the store illustrated in FIG. 10, when six areas R1 to R6 for dividing the area of the store are provided, six wireless devices 2-1 to 2-6 are arranged corresponding to each area. NS. A unique ID (an example of device identification information; hereinafter, also referred to as "device ID") is assigned to each of the wireless devices 2-1 to 2-6. In the example shown in FIG. 10, device IDs: G1 to G6 are assigned to the wireless devices 2-1 to 2-6, respectively.
Hereinafter, when the matters common to the wireless devices 2-1 to 2-6 are referred to, they are appropriately referred to as "wireless device 2".

Each of the wireless devices 2-1 to 2-6 is set with a range (communicable range) CA1 to CA6 capable of wireless communication with the IoT tag T so as to generally cover the corresponding area. .. For example, the IoT tag T attached to the product arranged in the area R4 in the store is set so as to enable wireless communication with the wireless devices 2-4. Note that FIG. 10 is only an example, and the number of wireless devices 2 arranged in the store, the number of areas for partitioning the area of the store, or the position where the wireless devices 2 are arranged is determined by, for example, the communication of the IoT tag T. It can be optimized as appropriate according to the possible range and the communication environment in the store.
When a large number of IoT tags T are distributed and arranged in a wide store, communication with all IoT tags T in the store is performed by distributing and arranging a plurality of wireless devices 2 in the store. Can be covered.

As will be described later, when the tag ID and the device ID of the wireless device 2 that has received the packet containing the tag ID are associated with each other and transmitted to the content management server 5, the content management server 5 uses the tag ID as the tag ID. It is possible to recognize in which area within the area of the store the corresponding product is located.
From this point of view, when the area of the store is divided into a plurality of areas, it can be performed based on various criteria. For example, each of the plurality of areas R1 to R6 may be set in association with different shelves on which products are arranged. In this case, the content management server 5 can recognize which shelf in the store the product is placed on. In another example, even if a part of the plurality of areas R1 to R6 is allocated to the area where the visitor can move (in-store area) and a part of the area is allocated to the backyard area (backyard area). good. In this case, the content management server 5 can recognize whether the product is in the store area or the backyard area.

The operation of inventory management when a plurality of wireless devices 2 are arranged in a store will be described with reference to the sequence chart of FIG. The sequence chart of FIG. 11 can be executed simultaneously (in parallel) with the sequence chart of FIG.
In the sequence chart of FIG. 11, steps S2 to S6 are the same as the sequence chart of FIG. The step S8a is different from the step S8 of the sequence chart of FIG. 5 in that the device ID of each wireless device 2 is transmitted from each wireless device 2 to the store server 3 together with the broadcast data.
The store server 3 authenticates the tag ID included in the received broadcast data (step S10), and then transmits an inventory processing request including the device ID and the tag ID received in step S8a to the content management server 5 (step S10). S50).
The content management server 5 updates the content database based on the device ID and the tag ID included in the received inventory processing request (step S52). When updating the content database, the value in the "Inventory" field of the record corresponding to the tag ID included in the inventory processing request remains "Yes" (value at the time of product arrival), and the tag that does not receive the inventory processing request for a certain period of time. Set the value of the "Inventory" field of the record corresponding to the ID to "None". That is, the content management server 5 identifies the products existing in the store area based on the tag ID included in the packet received by the wireless device 2. In the content database, it can be seen that the product corresponding to the product code of the record in which the value of the "Inventory" field is "Yes" remains in the store.
If the tag ID authentication is not successful in step S10, the store server 3 does not send the inventory processing request to the content management server 5. Therefore, it is avoided that the content database is updated based on the tag ID that is not genuine, and the reliability of the content database is ensured.

Further, in the update of the content database in step S52, the value of the “product position” field of the record corresponding to the tag ID included in the inventory processing request is set to the area corresponding to the device ID included in the inventory processing request (see FIG. 10; It may be a value indicating any of regions R1 to R6), or it may be a value of a shelf ID associated with each region in advance. That is, the content management server 5 specifies the position in the store where the tag ID is located by specifying the wireless device 2 that has received the tag ID by the device ID included in the inventory processing request.
After executing the update of the content database based on the inventory processing request (including the case where the value in the content database is not substantially changed), the content management server 5 completes the inventory processing corresponding to the inventory processing request. The notification is returned to the store server 3 (step S54).

As described above, the content distribution system 1 manages whether or not the product corresponding to the product code associated with the tag ID is in stock based on the tag ID acquired from each store of the plurality of stores. Is preferable.
In the content distribution system 1 of the present embodiment, since each IoT tag T generates energy by the wireless environment in the store, the IoT tag T does not need to have a built-in battery and is relatively inexpensive.
Further, the IoT tag T of the embodiment uses BLE, which is a power-saving communication protocol, for communication with, for example, the wireless device 2, and includes a tag ID when sufficient power is charged to the energy storage by energy harvesting. Broadcast the packet. Therefore, it is not necessary to bring the wireless device 2 close to a specific tag, and a small number of wireless devices 2 can receive packets from each IoT tag T in the store and acquire a tag ID. Therefore, inventory management of a large number of products can be automatically performed with a small installation cost.

Next, another method of identifying the position of the product in the area will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 illustrates a case where six wireless devices 2-1 to 2-6 are arranged in the area of the store, as in FIG. 10.
In this method, when each wireless device 2 receives a packet from a tag, each wireless device 2 receives its own device ID, the received signal strength (RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) value) when the packet is received from the tag, and the packet. The obtained broadcast data is transmitted to the store server 3. For example, in FIG. 12, the RSSI values when the packet is received from the tag T are S _R1 , S _R2 , S _R4 , and S _{R 5 in the wireless devices 2-1, 2-2, 2-4, and 2-5, respectively.} Is. In this example, the RSSI value in the wireless devices 2-3 and 2-6 is assumed to be very small and ignored.
When the store server 3 acquires the RSSI value of each wireless device 2, the store server 3 identifies the wireless device 2 having the maximum RSSI value, and includes the device ID of the specified wireless device 2 in the inventory processing request. As a result, the content management server 5 can know the area (any of the areas R1 to R6 in FIG. 12) indicating the product position of the product to which the tag T is attached. For example, in FIG. 12, S _R2 is the maximum RSSI value, and it is specified that the product position is within the region R2.

It is also possible to specify the product position with higher accuracy by using the RSSI values in the plurality of wireless devices 2. Specifically, the distance between the tag T and each wireless device 2 is estimated based on the RSSI value at each terminal by using the attenuation characteristic of the radio wave according to the distance, and the tag T is positioned by the triangulation method.
For example, in FIG. 12, after acquiring the RSSI values of each wireless device 2, the store server 3 has three RSSI values (for example, S _R1 , S _R2 , S _{R 5} ) and wireless devices corresponding to each RSSI value in descending order. The tag T can be positioned by the triangulation method based on the known position information of 2. Further, since the radio wave propagation environment in the store is generally not an ideal free space, the positioning of the tag T can be further performed by using four or more arbitrary numbers of wireless devices 2 for the positioning of a single tag T. You can also improve the accuracy.

The store server 3 includes the position information (value of the XY coordinates in the store) of the tag corresponding to the tag ID in the inventory processing request. The content management server 5 identifies the shelf ID as the product position of the product corresponding to the corresponding tag ID by referring to, for example, the shelf layout database of FIG. 13 based on the position information of the tag included in the inventory processing request. Update the content database.
A configuration example of the shelf layout database is shown in FIG. The shelf layout database of FIG. 13 has values of each field of "store ID", "shelf ID", and "store floor area" for one record, and corresponds to the store floor area and the shelves in the store. A database for managing relationships. In the shelf layout database, the area of the floor in the store occupied by the shelves specified by the shelf ID of each store is defined. In FIG. 13, for example, the rectangular range of the shelf is defined by the XY coordinates of four points in the area of the store floor.

When a product is being moved, for example, when the product is picked up by a visitor, a clerk, or the like, it is preferable not to determine that the product is in stock. That is, it is preferable to determine that only the products that have not been moved in the store are in stock. When a product is moved, for example, there is a possibility that a visitor tries on or purchases the product, or a clerk is performing a product replacement work. Therefore, for example, it is convenient for the clerk to be able to grasp the products that have not been moved in order to inform the visitor of the inventory of the products that can be purchased reliably.
Such preferable inventory management will be described with reference to the sequence chart of FIG.

FIG. 14 shows an operation of substituting the portion of the sequence chart of FIG. 6 after step S10.
When the tag ID authentication is successful, the store server 3 refers to the sensor data included in the received broadcast data and determines the value of the inventory flag based on whether or not the tag has been moved. When the value of the inventory flag is "1", it means that the product corresponding to the target tag is placed on the shelf and is not moved. Specifically, the store server 3 is in stock only when the condition that the tag has not been moved and a predetermined time has elapsed since the tag was moved is satisfied (step S60: NO and step S64: YES). The value of the flag is set to "1" (step S66). If the store server 3 does not satisfy the condition, the value of the inventory flag is set to "0" (step S62).
In addition, the condition that a predetermined time has passed since the tag was moved is included, if it can be confirmed that the predetermined time has not been moved, it can be determined that the moved product is also returned to the shelf and stopped moving. Because. However, this is not the case, and the value of the inventory flag may be determined only by step S60.

The store server 3 transmits an inventory processing request including a tag ID and an inventory flag to the content management server 5 (step S68). The content management server 5 updates the content database based on the tag ID and the inventory flag included in the received inventory processing request (step S70). In updating the content database, when the value of the inventory flag included in the inventory processing request is "1", the value of the "inventory availability" field of the record corresponding to the tag ID included in the inventory processing request is set to "yes". .. On the contrary, when the value of the inventory flag included in the inventory processing request is "0", the value of the "inventory availability" field of the record corresponding to the tag ID included in the inventory processing request is set to "none".
After executing the update of the content database, the content management server 5 returns an inventory processing completion notification corresponding to the inventory processing request in step S68 to the store server 3 (step S72).

As described above, in the content distribution system 1 of the present embodiment, an IoT tag including a motion sensor is attached to each product in the store. Then, based on the sensor data included in the packet transmitted from each tag, whether or not there is a product that has performed a predetermined movement among one or more products in the store, such as when a visitor picks up the product. Is judged. When a product having a predetermined movement exists, the content management server 5 transmits the content corresponding to the product to the display device 8, and the content is displayed on the display device 8. Therefore, it is possible to provide appropriate contents in a timely manner to the products that the visitor is interested in in the store.

(5) Modification example (5-1) Modification example 1
In step S15 in the sequence chart of FIG. 5, the content management server 5 determines whether or not the product has made a predetermined movement, and a modified example of this determination method will be described.
In this modified example, whether or not the product has made a predetermined movement is determined by using an imaging device arranged in the store. The image pickup device is, for example, a digital video camera, but may be a digital still camera. The image pickup device can communicate with the store server 3, and sequentially transmits the images captured in the store to the store server 3. The store server 3 analyzes the image received from the image pickup device and determines whether or not the product has made a predetermined movement. In image analysis, for example, if the product is clothes, the visitor picks up the product from the hanger, checks the price tag of the product, or fits the product in front of the mirror in the store. It is determined whether or not any of the predetermined operation patterns is applicable. In this determination, for example, artificial intelligence may be used.

When the store server 3 determines that the product has made a predetermined movement, the store server 3 notifies the content management server 5. The content management server 5 receives the tag motion notification at the timing when the store server 3 notifies that the product has determined that the product has made a predetermined movement, or when the tag motion notification is received within a predetermined period before and after the timing. It is determined that the product corresponding to the tag ID included in the above has made a predetermined movement. That is, in the analysis of the image obtained by the image pickup device, it can be determined that some product has made a predetermined movement, but the product cannot be specified. Therefore, the content management server 5 identifies the product that has made a predetermined movement based on the timing of the notification based on the image analysis and the tag motion notification.
As in this modification, by using image analysis when determining whether or not the product has made a predetermined movement, it is possible to improve the accuracy of determining whether or not the product has made a predetermined movement.
By combining the determination of the presence or absence of the predetermined movement of the product by step S15 (FIG. 5) based on the tag motion notification and the determination of the presence or absence of the predetermined movement of the product by the image analysis, it is determined whether or not the product has made the predetermined movement. The accuracy of is further improved. For example, when it is determined in step S15 (FIG. 5) that the product has a predetermined movement and the image analysis determines that the product has a predetermined movement, it is determined that the product has made a predetermined movement. May be good.

(5-2) Modification 2
In this modification, when a plurality of display devices 8 capable of communicating with the content management server 5 are arranged in the store, the content corresponding to the product having a predetermined movement is selected from the plurality of display devices 8. Is selectively displayed on the display device 8.
FIG. 15 shows a plan view of an exemplary store in which a plurality of display devices 8-1 to 8-6 are arranged. The plan view of FIG. 15 is the same plan view as that of FIG. 10, and display devices 8-1 to 8-6 are arranged in the areas R1 to R6 in the store, respectively. In the following description, when the matters common to the display devices 8 to 8-6 are referred to, the term "display device 8" is used.

Especially in the case of a large store, it is preferable to arrange a plurality of display devices 8 in the store in order to accommodate a large number of visitors. When a plurality of display devices 8 are arranged in the store in this way, it is preferable to display the content corresponding to the product on the display device 8 located at the position closest to the product that has made a predetermined movement. Even if the content corresponding to the product is displayed on the display device 8 located at a position away from the position of the product that has made a predetermined movement, the visitor who picks up the product sees the content displayed on the display device 8. This is because there is a possibility that there is no such thing.

In this modified example, as shown in FIG. 10, wireless devices 2-1 to 2-6 covering, for example, regions R1 to R6 are arranged in the store.
In step S8 of FIG. 5, each wireless device 2 transmits its own device ID to the store server 3 together with the broadcast data to the store server 3. The tag motion notification transmitted in step S14 includes a combination of the tag ID and the device ID. When the content management server 5 determines in step S16 that the product has made a predetermined movement, the content management server 5 displays the display devices 8-1 to 8-1 based on the tag ID corresponding to the product and the device ID combined in the tag motion notification. Identify one of the display devices from 8-6. The content management server 5 transmits the content to the specified display device.
In this modification, the device ID of any of the wireless devices 2-1 to 2-6 and the tag ID of the tag within the communicable range of the wireless device are used as information included in the tag motion notification. Can be combined. The tag corresponding to the tag ID is located at the position closest to the display device 8 in the same area as the wireless device corresponding to the combined device ID among the plurality of display devices 8-1 to 8-6. Therefore, the content corresponding to the product that has made a predetermined movement is transmitted to the display device 8 closest to the product among the plurality of display devices 8-1 to 8-6.
For example, in the example shown in FIG. 15, when it is determined that the product to which the tag T is attached has made a predetermined movement, the display device 8 is based on the device ID of the wireless device 2-2 that has received the packet of the tag T. -2 is specified. As a result, the content management server 5 transmits the content only to the display device 8-2 from the display devices 8-1 to 8-6. Therefore, even in a large store, it is possible to provide appropriate content to the visitor.
The XY coordinates of the tag position can be calculated more accurately by using a plurality of wireless devices 2 as described with reference to FIG. Therefore, by calculating the distance between the calculated tag position (XY coordinates) and the position of each display device 8 in the store (known XY coordinates), the display device 8 closest to the tag, that is, the tag It is also possible to identify the display device 8 closest to the product to which the is attached.

(5-3) Modification 3
In this modification, when there is a product located in a predetermined area in the store area and having a predetermined movement among one or more products in the store area, the product having the predetermined movement is selected. The corresponding content is displayed on the display device 8. In this case, only one display device 8 may be arranged in the store, or a plurality of display devices 8 may be arranged as shown in FIG.
Here, the "predetermined area" is preferably set, for example, in order to effectively use signage. For example, a predetermined area is a certain area around the display device 8, a certain area around a mirror for confirming a product, and the like.
In this modification, the content management server 5 transmits the content corresponding to the product to the display device 8 when the product is located in a predetermined area in the store and makes a predetermined movement.

For example, when a product that has made a predetermined movement is located near a mirror, it is conceivable that the visitor is looking at the mirror while fitting the product to his / her body and is interested in the product. In that case, by displaying the content corresponding to the product on the display device 8, additional information can be effectively provided to the visitor.
Further, when a product having a predetermined movement is located near the display device 8, a visitor who picks up the product is more likely to see the content displayed on the display device 8, so that the signage is used. It can be used effectively. If the content is displayed at a position away from the visitor who picked up the product, the visitor may not see the content.
In addition, specifying the position of the product that has made a predetermined movement is the same as specifying the position of the tag attached to the product. For example, as described with reference to FIG. 12, the position of the tag can be specified by using a plurality of wireless devices 2.

(5-4) Modification 4
In step S15 of the sequence chart of FIG. 5, an example of determining that the product has made a predetermined movement when the time (detection time) for detecting that the tag has been moved is equal to or longer than a predetermined time has been described. The predetermined time for this detection time may be set to a different value depending on the position of the tag in the store area. For example, if a product that has made a predetermined movement is located at a cash register in a store, it is considered that the product is being moved for the checkout procedure at the cash register. In that case, it is not necessary to display the content corresponding to the product on the display device 8. Therefore, when the product is located at the cash register in the store, the content corresponding to the product is not displayed on the display device 8 even if the product makes a predetermined movement, and the content corresponding to the product is not displayed on the display device 8 for other visitors. It is preferable to utilize the display device 8.
Therefore, when the product is located in a predetermined range such as a cash register, the predetermined time used for determining whether or not the product has made a predetermined movement is longer than when the product is located in another range. It is preferable to make it longer. To specify the position of the product, for example, as described with reference to FIG. 12, a method of specifying the position of the tag using a plurality of wireless devices 2 can be used.

(5-5) Modification 5
This modification is an example of using a mobile terminal such as a visitor's smartphone.
For example, when a visitor who owns a mobile terminal picks up a product, the packet from the tag attached to the product may be received by the visitor's mobile terminal. The mobile terminal of the visitor who received the packet transmits a message including the user ID of the visitor to the content management server 5. Thereby, the product that has made a predetermined movement and the user ID can be associated with each other in the content management server 5. In that case, in order to promote the purchase of the product, information about the product associated with the user ID can be transmitted to the mobile terminal of the visitor.
Further, the content management server 5 may transmit the content to the display device 8 when the packet from the tag is received by the mobile terminal of the visitor.

From another point of view, when the visitor's mobile terminal has a built-in motion sensor such as an acceleration sensor, information on whether or not the product has made a predetermined movement by utilizing the sensor built in the mobile terminal is used. May be obtained. For example, when a visitor's mobile terminal receives a packet from a tag, it determines whether or not the product with the tag has made a predetermined movement based on the detection value of the built-in sensor. Next, the mobile terminal transmits the packet from the tag and the determination result of whether or not the product has made a predetermined movement to the content management server 5. In this way, by combining the sensors built into the mobile terminal, it is possible to improve the accuracy of determining whether or not the product has made a predetermined movement.

(5-6) Modification 6
In this modification, the content management server 5 has a product code corresponding to a product picked up by a visitor in the store (that is, a product that has made a predetermined movement) and a product that the visitor did not pick up (that is, a product that has made a predetermined movement). , Store visitor trend data including the product code corresponding to the product that did not move as specified). This store visitor trend data is data in which the determination result of step S15 in FIG. 5 is organized for each product code corresponding to the tag ID to be processed.
Further, in this modification, the content management server 5 is connected to a POS (Point of Sale) system (not shown). The POS system has a POS database in which POS data indicating the settlement result at the cash register of the store, that is, the sales content of the product is accumulated. Although not shown, the POS database stores the values of the fields of, for example, "sales time", "product code", and "cash register number" in the record corresponding to one POS data.
In this modification, the content management server 5 purchases products that the visitor picked up but did not purchase, and products that the visitor did not pick up or purchased, based on the visitor trend data and the POS database. Identify products that you haven't even. In this way, by associating the information about whether or not the visitor has picked up the product with the information about whether or not the product has been purchased and statistically processing the acquired information, the product itself can be used. It is possible to analyze information about the placement of products, such as whether there is a problem or the display position of the product is bad. By distributing the analysis result to the store server or notifying the person in charge of the store, the person in charge of the store can improve the display position of the product and consider the sales promotion of the product.

(5-7) Modification 7
The predetermined movement of the product described above may be a movement in which a product existing in a predetermined place in the store area moves to a place separated from the predetermined place by a predetermined distance or more. That is, whether or not the product has made a predetermined movement is, for example, a movement in which the visitor moves the product existing in the predetermined place in the store to a place separated from the predetermined place by a predetermined distance or more. It may be done based on whether or not. Here, the movement of moving the product to a place more than a predetermined distance is, for example, an operation in which the visitor picks up the product on the shelf or a mirror in the store where the visitor picks up the product on the shelf (not shown). It is a movement corresponding to the movement of carrying to the front of). When a product makes such a predetermined movement, it is considered that the visitor is interested in the product. Therefore, it is preferable to display the content corresponding to the product on the display device 8.
The distance traveled by the product can be obtained by sequentially positioning the position of each tag in the store, as described with reference to FIG. Based on the positioning result of each tag, the content management server 5 detects that the product has moved to a place a predetermined distance away from the product position (see FIG. 4) corresponding to the product corresponding to each tag, so that the product is released. It is judged that the predetermined movement has been made.

Although the embodiment of the content distribution system and the content distribution method has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Further, the above-described embodiment can be improved or modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In addition, the technical matters described in the embodiments and the technical matters individually described in each modification can be combined as appropriate.
In the above-described embodiment, the IoT tag can generate electricity based on radio waves radiated from at least one of the wireless device 2, the clerk terminal, and the visitor terminal.

In the above-described embodiment, the digital signage service may be provided to a plurality of stores.
In that case, when the store server 3 transmits the tag motion notification to the content management server 5, the store ID is included in the tag motion notification together with the tag ID. Then, the content management server 5 transmits the content to the display device 8 of the store corresponding to the store ID included in the tag motion notification.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the cloud-type digital signage service is provided to the store by the content management server 5 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is possible to operate the service on-premises. In that case, the store server 3 is configured to have the function of the content management server 5. That is, the store server 3 as an information processing device holds the content database, and when it is determined that the tag has been moved, the store server 3 is configured to transmit the content corresponding to the tag ID of the tag to the display device 8.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the content itself is stored in the content database of the content management server 5 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The content database stores a content ID that identifies the content, and the content management server 5 may transmit the content ID to the display device 8. In that case, the display device 8 stores the content itself in association with the content ID, and reads and displays the content corresponding to the content ID received from the content management server 5. In this case, storing the content and storing the content ID are substantially synonymous.

In the above-described embodiment, the operation of the content distribution system 1 has been described with reference to FIG. 5, but the present invention is not limited to this.
In the operation shown in FIG. 5, the case where the wireless device 2 decodes the PDU included in the packet received from the tag is shown, but this is not the case. The wireless device 2 may transmit the PDU included in the packet received from the tag to the store server 3 and decrypt the PDU on the store server 3. In this case, the store server 3 acquires decryption information (for example, a key) that is updated at regular intervals in a tag management server (not shown), and decodes the PDU.

FIG. 16 shows another operation example of the content distribution system.
The content distribution system shown in FIG. 16 includes a tag management server instead of the store server 3. The tag management server is a server for managing tags attached to products distributed in stores and the like, and may function as a tag ID authentication server.
The sequence chart shown in FIG. 16 differs from that of FIG. 5 in the following points. That is, when the wireless device 2 receives the packet from the tag, the wireless device 2 transmits the PDU included in the packet to the tag management server (step S8b). The tag management server decodes the received PDU and authenticates the tag ID included in the broadcast data extracted from the PDU (step S10). Further, the tag management server determines whether or not the tag has been moved (step S12), and transmits a tag motion notification to the content management server 5 according to the determination result (step S14). The operation after step S15 is the same as that in FIG.

In the above-described embodiment, the wireless device 2 may be capable of receiving only packets from the IoT tag T having access authority. In the store, a mobile terminal or wireless tag that the visitor can possess transmits data using the same protocol as the wireless communication protocol used between the wireless device 2 and the IoT tag T, such as the BLE protocol. The wireless device 2 may receive the data. Therefore, in order to distinguish between the packet to be received by the wireless device 2 and the data that does not need to be received, the packet transmitted from the IoT tag T should include data indicating the access authority (access authority data). It is preferable to do so. In this case, in the above-described embodiment, each time the wireless device 2 receives a packet, it confirms the access authority data included in the received packet and discards the packet for which it does not have the access authority.

In the above-described embodiment, the content management server 5 may have the function of the store server 3, and even in that case, the store server 3 is not required. On the contrary, the store server 3 may have the function of the content management server 5.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the content distribution system and the content distribution method are applied to the apparel field has been described, but it can also be applied to the field dealing with other products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. The information and formats contained in the content database may vary depending on the area of application. For example, each record in a content database in the food sector may contain an expiration date value corresponding to a product code. Each record in the content database of the pharmaceutical field may contain an expiration date value corresponding to the product code. Further, in the pharmaceutical field, when the IoT tag is attached to one package containing a predetermined number of drugs, each record of the content database may include a value of the quantity of the drug in the package.
When managing products whose expiration date is managed by expiration date or expiration date, the content management server periodically monitors the expiration date and expiration date, and updates the product code, quantity, and product position of the product whose expiration date is approaching. It is preferable to reflect it in the contents of.

1 ... Content distribution system T ... IoT tag 11 ... Control unit 111 ... Memory 12 ... Antenna 13 ... Harvesting unit 131 ... Energy storage 14 ... Voltage control unit 15 ... RF transceiver 16 ... Sensor 2 ... Radio device 21 ... Control unit 22 ... Antenna 23 ... RF transceiver 24 ... Communication unit 3 ... Store server 31 ... Control unit 32 ... Storage 33 ... Communication unit 5 ... Content management server 51 ... Control unit 52 ... Storage 53 ... Communication unit 8 ... Display device 81 ... Control unit 82 ... Storage 83 ... Display 84 ... Communication NW ... Network

Claims (9)

An information distribution system that distributes information associated with each of one or more articles existing in an area.
A wireless tag that is attached to each article, obtains energy from ambient radio waves, detects the movement of each of the one or more articles, and stores unique tag identification information.
A wireless device capable of communicating with the wireless tag,
An information processing device having a storage unit that stores information associated with each article in association with tag identification information of a wireless tag attached to each article.
Including a display device capable of communicating with the information processing device
The information processing device
Based on the information of the wireless tag acquired from the wireless device, when an article having a predetermined movement exists among the one or more articles, information related to the article having the predetermined movement is displayed on the display device. Send,
Information distribution system. The predetermined movement is a movement in which an article existing in a predetermined place in the area moves to a place separated from the predetermined place by a predetermined distance or more.
The information distribution system according to claim 1. The information processing device determines that the article has made the predetermined movement when the wireless tag continuously detects the movement of the article for a predetermined time or longer.
The information distribution system according to claim 2. The information processing device changes the predetermined time according to the position of the wireless tag in the area.
The information distribution system according to claim 3. The information processing device is related to an article that has made a predetermined movement when there is an article that is located in a predetermined area in the area and has made the predetermined movement among the one or more articles. Sending information to the display device,
The information distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The information distribution system includes a plurality of display devices capable of communicating with the information processing device.
Information related to the article is transmitted to the display device located closest to the position of the article that has made the predetermined movement among the plurality of display devices.
The information distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The wireless tag broadcasts a packet containing tag identification information and
The wireless device transmits the tag identification information included in the received packet to the information processing device.
The information distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The information processing device authenticates the tag identification information acquired from the wireless device, and when the authentication is successful, transmits information related to the article having the predetermined movement to the display device.
The information distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 7. An information distribution method that distributes information related to one or more items existing in an area.
A wireless tag attached to an article in the area stores unique tag identification information, obtains energy from surrounding radio waves to operate, and detects the movement of the article.
The wireless device performs wireless communication with the wireless tag, receives the information of the wireless tag, and receives the information of the wireless tag.
The information processing device stores the information related to the article in association with the tag identification information of the wireless tag attached to each article, and acquires the information of the wireless tag from the wireless device.
When the information processing device makes a predetermined movement, when the article having a predetermined movement exists among the one or more articles based on the tag identification information of the wireless tag acquired from the wireless device. To send information related to the article that has made the predetermined movement to the display device.
Information distribution method.

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