JP3318485B2 - How to provide product information - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information providing method for providing merchandise information to customers and clerks using an electronic computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At a store, when a customer makes an inquiry about a product, the store clerk explains the product on the spot, or after the store clerk searches for product information using a terminal device installed in the store. The product was being described. Further, in stores where terminals for customers are installed, the customers themselves search for product information using the terminal devices. Because of this, when many customers try to use the terminal,
You have to wait for the terminal device to be available.

A related technique for providing product information is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-46636. In this technique, a portable terminal is attached to a commodity carrier for carrying commodities, and a customer searches for commodity information via the portable terminal.

[0004]

The conventional method has a problem that it takes time for a customer to search for and purchase a desired product from a large number of products. That is, especially in a large store, it takes a lot of time to find where the desired product is. Also, when receiving a product description from a store clerk, it takes time to find a store clerk in charge and receive the description. Even when the terminal device is installed in the store, the customer must go to the installation site of the terminal device, and even if the user goes to the installation site of the terminal device, one terminal is occupied by one customer and becomes empty. There was also a problem that the user had to wait for it and the operation of the terminal was troublesome. On the other hand, the method of attaching a mobile terminal to the product carrier requires time and effort to update the product information of all mobile terminals at the same time whenever product information changes, and terminal equipment for clerks must be prepared separately There was a problem that did not become.

An object of the present invention is to reduce the time required for a customer to purchase a desired product.

Another object of the present invention is to make it possible for a customer and a clerk to easily use a terminal device by using the same portable terminal, and to provide the clerk with information for the clerk. .

[0007] Still another object of the present invention is to easily update product information by centrally managing the product information.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an information processing apparatus for searching a database in which product information is stored to obtain information on a desired product, a search request transmitted to the information processing apparatus, and a search result. In a method of providing product information of a system having a terminal device for displaying a search request from a portable terminal device operated by a customer and a clerk, and when operated by a clerk, personal information indicating that the user is a clerk. When the information processing device transmits the information to the information processing device by wireless communication and receives the search request, if the personal information of the clerk is not received, the database is searched and the product information for the customer is extracted and transmitted to the terminal device. When the personal information of the clerk is received, the database is searched, product information for the clerk is taken out, transmitted to the terminal device, and the product information of the search result is obtained. In only terminal device, in the case of product information clerk direction and wherein the method of providing product information to be presented separately and can be reported information only in presentable information and the clerk to the customer.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a product information providing system according to the present embodiment. Reference numeral 1 denotes an information processing device installed in each store that searches for product information, stock information, and the like and provides the information, and includes a database 2, a processing unit 3, and a transmission / reception unit 13. The database 2 stores merchandise information, stock information, and information on merchandise display locations.
The processing unit 3 is a processing device that searches the database 2 in response to a search request, and executes a program stored in a storage device of the information processing device 1. The transmission / reception unit 13 is a communication control device including an infrared transmission / reception device that controls transmission and reception of information between the information processing device 1 and another device, a wireless device, and the like. Reference numeral 4 denotes a terminal device for transmitting an information search request to the information processing device 1 and displaying the received information. The card input / output unit 41, the input / output unit 42, and the storage device 4
3, a processing unit 5 and a transmission / reception unit 44. The terminal device 4 is a portable terminal device used by customers and clerks. The card input / output unit 41 is a device that reads various cards such as a membership card, a credit card, a prepaid card, and writes information on the card. The input / output unit 42 is a device such as a touch panel / keyboard / display for inputting a search request and displaying a search result. The storage device 43 is a storage device for temporarily storing the received search results. The processing unit 5 transmits the card information input from the card input / output unit 41 and the search request input from the input / output unit 42 to the information processing device 1, and stores the search result when the search result is received from the information processing device 1. A processing device for displaying on the input / output unit 42 via the device 43;
The program stored in the storage device of the terminal device 4 is executed. The transmission / reception unit 44 is a communication control device including an infrared transmission / reception device that controls transmission and reception of information to and from the information processing device 1 via the transmission / reception unit 13, a wireless device, and the like. Reference numeral 11 denotes a terminal device which is connected to the information processing apparatus 1 via the transmission / reception unit 13 and is provided at each sales floor of the product and displays information on the purchased product. Terminal device 11
Is composed of a POS terminal, a personal computer, a register and the like. 1
2 is connected to the information processing apparatus 1 via the transmission / reception unit 13,
This is a calling device that calls the person in charge at the sales floor. Calling device 12
Consists of a pager and a mobile phone. Note that the information processing device 1 is connected to the information processing device 1 of the product information providing system installed in another store via the transmission / reception unit 13 and a network.

When card information is input from the card input / output unit 41 of the terminal device 4 used by the customer, the processing unit 5 sends this search request to the information processing device 1 via the transmission / reception unit 44 and the transmission / reception unit 13. Send. The processing unit 3 of the information processing device 1
The database 2 is searched in response to the search request, and the search results such as the requested product information and stock information are transmitted to the terminal device 4. The processing unit 5 stores the received search result in the storage device 4
3 and then displayed on the input / output unit 42. When a customer instructs to purchase a product via the input / output unit 42, the processing unit 5 transmits the purchase request to the information processing device 1. The processing unit 3 transmits the purchase information of the product to the terminal device 11 of the sales floor of the product requested to be purchased, and the terminal device 11 displays this information. The processing unit 3 transmits confirmation information for receiving the purchased product to the terminal device 4, and the processing unit 5 that has received the confirmation information displays the confirmation information on the input / output unit 42. If there is no stock of the product in the store, the processing unit 3 extracts the stock information of the other store from the database 2 and transmits the result to the terminal device 4.

On the other hand, when a password and a search request are input from the input / output unit 42 of the terminal device 4 used by the clerk, the processing unit 5 transmits the search request to the information processing device 1. Processing unit 3
Searches the database 2 in response to the search request,
The search results such as the requested product information and stock information are transmitted to the terminal device 4. The processing unit 5 temporarily stores the received search result in the storage device 43 and displays it on the input / output unit 42. When the sales person in charge of the product is displayed in the search result and a request for calling a person in charge is input from the input / output unit 42, the processing unit 5 transmits this request to the information processing device 1. The processing unit 3 transmits the call information to the calling device 12 owned by the person in charge in response to the request.

The database 2 has information such as specifications, prices and the like for each product code as a product information database, and information such as sales floor classification, stock amount, and stock amount at other stores as a stock information database. The sales person database has information on the name of the person in charge for each sales floor section.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a comprehensive menu screen for customers displayed on the input / output unit 42. As shown in FIG. Any one of the options of the comprehensive menu can be selected. The detail (send) button is valid when pressed after selecting an option, and is a button for instructing a request for information transmission. The end button is a button for instructing the end of the information providing process.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a product information menu screen for a customer displayed on the input / output unit 42. As shown in FIG. The product information menu is a menu that is displayed when “product information” is selected from the options of the comprehensive menu. The options in the product information menu indicate the product type, and any one of them can be selected. The detail (send) button
This button is valid when pressed after selecting an option, and is a button for instructing an information transmission request. The general menu button is a button for giving an instruction to return to the general menu screen. The end button is a button for instructing the end of the information providing process. This product information menu is information for members.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of detailed information of a specific product for a customer displayed on the input / output unit 42. As shown in FIG. On the screen, information such as the name of the product, the price, the specifications, the availability of the product, and the display (display) location of the product are displayed. The “buy (send)” button 421 is a button for instructing purchase of a product. The “other store stock (transmission)” button 422 is effective when there is no stock, and is a button for instructing inquiry of stock information of another store. The general menu button is as described above. The previous screen button is a button for giving an instruction to return to the previous screen.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of confirmation information for receiving the purchased product displayed on the input / output unit 42. As shown in FIG. The screen shows the name, price, serial number,
Information such as the product delivery location is displayed.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the processing unit 5 and the processing unit 3 when the user of the terminal device 4 is a customer. When the customer has a card such as a customer card or a membership card, when the card is inserted into and read from the card input / output unit 41, the processing unit 5 stores the input card information in the storage device 43 (step). 5
1). When a request for transmitting the general menu is instructed from the input / output unit 42, the processing unit 5 transmits a request for transmitting the menu to the information processing apparatus 1 together with the minimum card information for distinguishing a customer such as a member (step 52). ). The processing unit 3 receives this menu request (step 31), and transmits a comprehensive menu to the terminal device 4 according to the presence and type of the card information (step 32). The processing unit 5 receives the comprehensive menu, temporarily stores it in the storage device 43, and displays it on the input / output unit 42 (step 53). If the menu is to be further developed, the process returns to step 52 and the above processing is repeated. In this way, a list of individual products is finally displayed on the input / output unit 42 as options. When the display of the general menu is instructed from the input / output unit 42, the processing unit 5 displays the general menu stored in the storage device 43 on the input / output unit 42. When an instruction to select a specific product and request detailed product information is input from the input / output unit 42, the processing unit 5 transmits a search request including the product code to the information processing device 1 (step 54). The processing unit 3 receives the search request (step 33), retrieves the database 2 to retrieve the product information of the specified product (step 34), and transmits it to the terminal device 4 (step 35). The processing unit 5 receives the product information, temporarily stores it in the storage device 43, and displays it on the input / output unit 42 (step 55). When there is an instruction of the previous screen from the input / output unit 42, the processing unit 5 displays the previous screen stored in the storage device 43 on the input / output unit 42. When another product is selected from the input / output unit 42 and detailed information is requested, the processing unit 5 returns to step 54 and repeats the above processing. When the “other store inventory (send)” button 422 on the display screen is instructed via the input / output unit 42, the processing unit 5 refers to the product information on the storage device 43 and confirms that there is no inventory at this store. A message requesting the stock information of another store is transmitted to the information processing device 1 (step 54). The processing unit 3 receives this message (step 33), searches the database 2 to extract the name of another store with stock (step 34), and transmits it to the terminal device 4 (step 35). The processing unit 5 receives the information, temporarily stores the information in the storage device 43, and displays the information on the input / output unit 42 (step 55). When the "buy (send)" button 421 on the display screen is instructed via the input / output unit 42, the processing unit 5 specifies a product code and transmits a purchase request to the information processing device 1 (step 56). The processing unit 5 transmits to the information processing apparatus 1 the information necessary for purchase from the card information input in step 51. The processing unit 3 receives this purchase request (step 3
6) The purchase information is transmitted to the terminal device 11 at the counter where the product to be purchased is sold (step 37). Terminal device 11
Displays this information on the display device, so that the clerk who sees the information can bring the product to the counter. Next, the processing unit 3 transmits confirmation information of the receipt to the terminal device 4 together with the serial number (step 38). The processing unit 5 receives this confirmation information and displays it on the input / output unit 42 (step 5).
7). When the card is read in step 51, if the card is a prepaid card, the processing unit 3 transmits a frequency corresponding to the price of the product, and the processing unit 5 reduces the frequency from the remaining frequency via the card input / output unit 41 by the frequency. Update the card information to make payment. If it is a credit card, the processing unit 3 performs payment processing with the credit card, and
Notify 1 of payment by card. The same applies to an electronic money card. The processing unit 3 periodically inquires the information processing apparatus 1 of the merchandise information providing system of the other store about the stock information of each product via the network, and thereby updates the stock information of the other store in the database 2.

According to the above embodiment, the customer can reduce the time required to search for and purchase a desired product from a large number of products. In addition, the customer can check whether or not the product is in stock. If the customer has no stock, the customer can know the stock status of another store. In addition, since the display place of the product is displayed on the product information screen, a necessary product can be quickly searched.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a comprehensive menu screen for a clerk displayed on the input / output unit 42. Although the contents of the menu are different from those of the general menu for customers, the operation method is the same as that of the general menu for customers shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example of detailed information of a specific product for a clerk displayed on the input / output unit 42. The displayed information is the same as the detailed information for the customer, but the cost of the product is displayed in an encrypted form. In addition, the stock amount of the product and the stock amount of other stores are displayed. In addition, the sales representative of the product is displayed. "Call (send)" button 423
Is a button for instructing the sales person in charge of the product to be called.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of the processing of the processing unit 5 and the processing unit 3 when the user of the terminal device 4 is a clerk. When a clerk password (personal information) is input from the input / output unit 42 or a clerk's card is inserted into the card input / output unit 41 and read, the processing unit 5
Stores the input password or card information in the storage device 43 (step 61). When a request to transmit a general menu is instructed from the input / output unit 42, the processing unit 5 transmits a request to transmit a menu to the information processing apparatus 1 together with a password or card information (step 62). The processing unit 3 receives the menu request (step 71), and after confirming that the user is a clerk by using the password or the card information, transmits a comprehensive menu for the clerk to the terminal device 4 (step 7).
2). The processing unit 5 receives the comprehensive menu, temporarily stores it in the storage device 43, and displays it on the input / output unit 42 (step 63). Thereafter, detailed product information is displayed on the input / output unit 42 as shown in FIG. 8 by following the same procedure as that for the customer (step 65). Note that among the information received by the processing unit 5, information that can be notified only to the clerk, such as the product cost, the budget, and the precautions in the store, is processed so that the general customer does not see the information.
Is encrypted by When the “call person in charge (send)” button 423 on the display screen is instructed via the input / output unit 42, the processing unit 5 transmits a call request for designating a person in charge to the information processing device 1 (step 66). . The processing unit 3 receives this request (step 76) and transmits a calling signal to the calling device 12 owned by the person in charge (step 77). The calling device 12 receives this calling signal and calls the person in charge.

According to the above embodiment, the information that can be presented to the customer and the information for the clerk are separately displayed on the input / output unit 42, so that the information can be explained to the customer and the information necessary for the clerk can be quickly obtained. be able to. Further, when giving a detailed explanation of a product to a customer, a person in charge of a sales floor can be quickly called.

[0024]

According to the present invention, the customer and the clerk can search for the product information not only using the terminal device prepared in the store but also using their own terminal device. Time can be shortened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a product information providing system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example of a comprehensive menu screen for customers of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example of a product information menu screen for customers according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display example of detailed information of a specific product for a customer according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a display example of product receipt confirmation information of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows a processing unit 5 when the customer uses the terminal according to the embodiment.
3 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing of a processing unit 3.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example of a comprehensive menu screen for a clerk of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display example of detailed information of a specific product for a clerk of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a processing unit 5 when a clerk of the embodiment uses the terminal.
3 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing of a processing unit 3.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... information processing device, 2 ... database, 3 ...
Processing unit, 4 ... terminal device, 5 ... processing unit, 11
..Terminal device, 12 ... Paging device, 421 ... Purchase (transmission), 422 ... Other store stock (transmission), 423
... Person in charge (transmission)

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-6-119354 (JP, A) JP-A-8-87643 (JP, A) JP-A-8-103352 (JP, A) JP-A-8-7002 (JP) JP-A-5-94592 (JP, A) JP-A-7-85185 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 17/60 G07G 1/12 G09F 27/00 G09G 5/00

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method for storing information from a database in which merchandise information is stored.
In a method for providing product information of a system having an information processing device for obtaining desired product information and a terminal device for requesting the product information from the information processing device and displaying the product information, the information processing device came to a store. Customers and the store
Request of product information from a terminal device operated by a clerk
When the terminal device is operated by a clerk,
And information indicating Rukoto received by the wireless communication, the data if it does not receive the information indicating that the clerk
Product information for customers from the database
Sent to the customer, and receives information indicating that he / she is a clerk
Fetches product information for the clerk from the database
The terminal device that has transmitted the product information operated by the customer to the terminal device
Screen corresponding to the product information on the terminal device
The product code is changed according to the purchase instruction associated with the display.
The information processing device that has transmitted the product code to the information processing device and received the product code
About the purchase of the product to another terminal device
Send information to a terminal device operated by the customer
A method of providing product information, comprising transmitting a serial number and a delivery location of the product. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
Receives information identifying the customer when the device is operated
And sends it to the terminal device according to the received customer identification information.
2. The method for providing product information according to claim 1, wherein the information to be transmitted is changed . 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sales person and the product are
And the terminal device operated by a store clerk.
Sales representative corresponding to the product displayed on the terminal device from the device
Receiving a request to call the caller,
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting a calling signal to a calling device of a sales person . 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
Another store of goods related to the goods information transmitted by the terminal device
2. The method for providing product information according to claim 1, wherein information for inquiring about stock is received . 5. The product information received by the terminal device.
Contains information on the price of the product, and the information processing device
Payment for the purchase of the product using communication with the device
Related to electronic money.
The method for providing product information according to claim 1.