JP5412743B2 - Electronic POP system, server, program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic POP system, and more particularly, to an electronic POP system that provides content in accordance with a change in the degree of interest obtained based on a person's proximity and residence time.

In recent years, electronic point-of-purchase (POP) advertising devices that are installed near store shelves and provide product information interactively have been proposed and put into practical use (Patent Documents 1 and 2).
These devices can increase the customer's willingness to purchase by providing more information than can be obtained by viewing or touching a product.

  The electronic POP system proposed in Patent Document 1 manages reproduction of a plurality of contents including moving picture advertisement information and still picture interactive advertisement information, and touches the screen (touch panel) of the electronic POP device. The content of the screen saver is reproduced until the detection of the image or until the human sensor detects the approach of the person, and thereafter the content is interactively reproduced.

In addition, the electronic POP system proposed in Patent Document 2 reproduces content to be reproduced on the electronic POP terminal in a priority order corresponding to the customer's interest level. This priority order is determined according to the number of times of selection by the customer and / or the length of the browsing time.
JP 2004-191666 A JP 2002-245340 A

  Providing content according to the degree of interest of the customer and the degree of interest as described in Patent Document 2 above is effective in stimulating the customer's desire to purchase, but priority is given to the customer's overall interest level. Therefore, there is a problem that it is not possible to provide content according to real-time interests / interests of individual customers.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic POP system capable of providing content according to a person's interest level based on the person's position and residence time. That is.

A first invention for solving the above-described problems includes a POP terminal for playing back content, an IC card reader / writer, a server connected to the POP terminal via a network, and the POP terminal. An electronic POP system comprising a distance sensor installed in the vicinity of the vehicle, wherein the server receives a level value indicating a person's position based on distance data measured by the distance sensor, and indicates the dwell time. Distance data receiving means for calculating the duration of the value, interest level determination means for determining the degree of interest of a person based on the level value and the duration of the level value, and the degree of interest determined by the interest level determination means a mode judging means for selecting a providing mode of the content in response to changes in the degree of interest and the interest degree, the selected by said mode determination means Content providing means for providing content corresponding to the providing mode to the POP terminal via the network, and identification information of the IC tag or IC card held over the IC card reader / writer provided in the POP terminal And providing the content according to the identification information, and after the reproduction of the content by the POP terminal, according to the IC tag or IC card, the interest level determination means used for determination, and the level value An electronic POP system comprising: IC tag / IC card content providing means for changing a level value duration time .

The distance sensor is installed in a product shelf and measures the distance to a person standing in front of the product shelf. Further, it is preferable that the distance sensor transmits a level value representing a degree of approach of a person to the product shelf to the server according to the measured distance data, and the level value is a long distance, a medium distance, an approach. 3 levels.
The degree-of-interest determination means determines whether the degree of interest is high, low, or nothing based on the duration of the level value and the change in the level value.

With the above configuration, the distance sensor measures the distance level value from the predetermined position of the product shelf to the customer and transmits it to the server. The distance level value is received by the distance data receiving means of the server, and the distance level A value and its duration are calculated.
Based on the distance level value and its duration, the interest level determination means determines the interest level of the product on the product shelf where the distance sensor is installed, and the mode determination means selects the content based on the interest level and its change. To determine mode information.
In accordance with this mode information, the content providing means can transmit the content to the POP terminal via the network, and output the content according to the degree of interest of the customer to the POP terminal.

In addition to the above configuration, the POP terminal includes an IC card reader / writer, and provides content corresponding to the IC tag or IC card held over the IC card reader / writer, and the POP terminal uses the POP terminal. According to the IC tag or IC card, after the content reproduction, the IC tag / IC card content providing means for changing the level value used by the interest level determination means and the duration of the level value is further included. It may be.
The IC tag is placed in the vicinity of the POP terminal, and product identification information or content identification information to be provided is recorded in advance, and the IC card content providing unit is configured to store the product identification information or the content. It is preferable to provide content corresponding to the identification information.
Preferably, the IC card stores customer identification information, and the IC card content providing means provides content suitable for the customer.

In addition to the above-described configuration, further, a plurality of the distance sensor installed in the vicinity of the POP terminal, the distance data receiving means receives the level value based on the distance data measured by the distance sensor from the distance sensors And calculating the duration of each level value, wherein the interest level determination means determines an interest level corresponding to each distance sensor from each level value and the duration time of each level value, And the mode determination means obtains the current interest level information that combines the plurality of distance sensors based on the change of the level value corresponding to a distance sensor other than the distance sensor in which the interest level has changed, Selecting the current interest level information and a content providing mode according to the change in the current interest level information, and the content providing unit is selected by the mode determining unit. The content corresponding to the provided mode may be provided to the POP terminal via the network.

A second invention is a server connected to a POP terminal that plays back content and provided with an IC card reader / writer via a network, and is measured by a distance sensor installed in the vicinity of the POP terminal . The distance data receiving means for receiving the level value indicating the position of the person based on the distance data and calculating the duration of the level value indicating the dwell time, and the person has based on the level value and the duration of the level value An interest level determination unit that determines an interest level, a mode determination unit that selects the interest level obtained by the interest level determination unit and a content provision mode according to a change in the interest level, and a mode determination unit that selects the interest level Content providing means for providing the content corresponding to the provided mode to the POP terminal via the network; Receiving the identification information of the IC tag or IC card held over the IC card reader / writer provided in the P terminal, providing the content according to the identification information, and after reproducing the content by the POP terminal, In accordance with the IC tag or IC card, the level of interest used by the interest level determination means and content providing means for IC tag / IC card for changing the duration of the level value are provided. Server.

A third invention is a program that causes a computer to function as the server according to claim 8 or claim 9 .

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the electronic POP system which can provide the content according to a person's interest level based on a person's position and residence time.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of an electronic POP system 1 according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an electronic POP system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a server 30 connected to a POP terminal 10 that reproduces content via a network 40 such as a LAN (Local Area Network) and the Internet, and the POP terminal 10. It is comprised with the distance sensor 20 etc. which were installed in the vicinity.

The POP terminal 1 reproduces, for example, sales promotion information of products in retail stores such as supermarkets and information in facilities such as libraries and museums as contents. For example, in a retail store, the POP terminal 1 is installed near the product shelf of the sales promotion target product. The distance sensor 20 is also installed on the product shelf of the product to be promoted and measures the distance from the product shelf to the customer.
Data about the distance measured by the distance sensor 20 is sent to the server 30 by wireless communication means, for example.
The server 30 includes a distance data receiving unit 310, an interest degree determining unit 320, a mode determining unit 330, and a content providing unit 340. The content providing unit 340 sends content related to products on the product shelf via the network 40. The POP terminal 1 reproduces the received content.

The distance data receiving means 310 obtains the degree of approach between the product shelf and the customer and the staying time based on the received data about the distance. The interest level determination unit 320 determines the customer's interest level in the product placed on the product shelf based on the degree of customer approach and the residence time obtained by the distance data reception unit 310. The mode determination unit 330 determines a mode for selecting content based on the customer interest level information obtained by the interest level determination unit 320. The content providing unit 340 sends the content to the POP terminal 10 via the network 40 in accordance with the mode obtained by the interest level determining unit 320.
The distance data receiving unit 310, the interest degree determining unit 320, the mode determining unit 330, and the content providing unit 340 will be described in detail later.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the POP terminal 10.
As shown in FIG. 2, the POP terminal 10 has a configuration in which a control unit 101, a storage unit 103, a communication control unit 105, a display unit 107, an input unit 109, an audio output unit 111, and the like are connected via a bus 113. .

The control unit 101 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like.
The CPU calls a program stored in the storage unit 103, ROM, recording medium or the like to a work memory area on the RAM, executes it, controls driving of each device connected via the bus 113, and the POP terminal 10 performs processing. To do. For example, the control unit 101 executes content display processing, content reception processing from the server 30, and the like.
The ROM permanently holds a computer boot program, a program such as BIOS, data, and the like, and the RAM temporarily holds the loaded program and data, and is used by the control unit 101 to perform various processes. Provide work area.

  The storage unit 103 is an HDD (hard disk drive), and stores a processing program executed by the control unit 101, data necessary for program execution, an OS (operating system), and the like. These program codes are read by the control unit 101 as necessary, transferred to the RAM, read by the CPU, and executed as various means. The content information transmitted from the server 30 is stored in the storage unit 103.

  The communication control unit 105 includes a communication control device, a communication port, and the like, and is a communication interface that mediates communication with the network 40, and executes communication control. The content information sent from the server 30 via the network 40 is received by the POP terminal 10 by the communication control unit 105.

The display unit 107 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal panel and a CRT monitor, and a logic circuit (such as a video adapter) for executing display processing in cooperation with the display device, and is stored in the storage unit 103 under the control of the control unit 101. Display stored contents.
The input unit 109 is, for example, a touch panel installed on the display device of the display unit 107, a pointing device such as a keyboard or a mouse, or an input device such as a numeric keypad.
The sound output unit 111 is a speaker, for example, and outputs sound information such as sound and music.

  In addition, although not shown in FIG. 2, the POP terminal 10 includes a media input / output device such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk drive, PD drive, CD drive, DVD drive, and MO drive, and a printing unit that performs print output processing. May be provided.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the distance sensor 20.
As shown in FIG. 3, the distance sensor 20 has a configuration in which, for example, a sensor module 201, a timer 203, a wireless communication interface 205, a CPU 207, a ROM 209, a RAM 211, and the like are connected to a bus 213.

The sensor module 201 is a distance sensor using infrared rays, ultrasonic waves, or the like, and measures the distance at a predetermined interval. When there is no person in front of the product shelf where the distance sensor 20 is installed, the sensor module 20 has a measurement result of the distance to the product shelf and the wall facing each other, and when a person stands in front of the product shelf The distance between the product shelf and the person is the measurement result.
The timer 203 measures the time interval of distance measurement by the sensor module 201 and the data transmission timing from the distance sensor 20 to the server 30.

  The wireless communication interface 205 is a communication interface for transmitting distance information acquired and processed from the sensor module 201 to the server 30. There is no limitation on the type of communication interface standard, but for example, there are wireless LAN, ZigBee, Bluetooth, 315 MHz pair weak wireless, and the like.

The CPU 207 calls a program stored in the ROM 209 to the work area on the RAM 211 and executes it, controls the sensor module 201 and the wireless communication interface 205 connected via the bus 213, and processes the distance sensor 20 described later. Execute.
The ROM 209 holds programs and data executed by the distance sensor 20. On the other hand, the RAM 211 temporarily holds a program loaded from the ROM 209, data necessary for processing the program, data acquired from the sensor module 201, and the like.

Next, a hardware configuration example of the server 30 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the server 30 is configured using a general computer, and includes a control unit 301, a storage unit 302, a media input / output unit 303, a communication control unit 304, an input unit 305, a printing unit 306, a display. The unit 307 and the like are connected via the bus 308.

The control unit 301 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like.
The CPU calls a program stored in the storage unit 302, ROM, recording medium, etc. to a work memory area on the RAM, executes it, controls the drive of each device connected via the bus 308, and is performed by the server 30 described later. To achieve the process.
The ROM permanently holds a computer boot program, a program such as BIOS, data, and the like, and the RAM temporarily holds the loaded program and data, and is used by the control unit 301 to perform various processes. Provide work area.

  The storage unit 302 is an HDD (hard disk drive), and stores a processing program (to be described later) executed by the control unit 301, data necessary for program execution, an OS (operating system), and the like. These program codes are read by the control unit 301 as necessary, transferred to the RAM, read by the CPU, and executed as various means.

The media input / output unit 303 (drive device) is a media input / output device such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk drive, PD drive, CD drive, DVD drive, and MO drive, and performs data input / output.
The communication control unit 304 has a communication control device, a communication port, and the like, is a communication interface that mediates communication with the network 60 and wireless communication with the distance sensor 20, and executes communication control.

The input unit 305 is, for example, a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, or an input device such as a numeric keypad, and inputs data.
A printing unit 306 is a printer and performs print output processing.
The display unit 307 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal panel and a CRT monitor, and a logic circuit (such as a video adapter) for executing display processing in cooperation with the display device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the processing of the distance sensor 20.
As shown in FIG. 5B, the POP terminal 10 and the distance sensor 20 are installed in the vicinity of the product shelf 60. The sensor module 201 of the distance sensor 20 measures the distance between the product shelf 60 and the object in the direction of the product shelf / wall 61 facing the product shelf 60.
That is, when the person 50 stands in front of the distance sensor 20 between the product shelf 60 and the product shelf / wall 61, the distance sensor 20 measures the distance x between the distance sensor 20 and the person 50. On the other hand, when there is no person 50, the measured value x is the distance of the product shelf / wall 61 facing the product shelf 60. If the distance between the product shelf 60 and the product shelf / wall 61 is 150 cm, x = 150. (Cm).

FIG. 5A is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the distance sensor 20.
A processing program for the distance sensor 20 is stored in the ROM 209, loaded into the RAM 211, and executed by the CPU 207.
First, the timer 203 is activated, and the distance measurement value x is output to the sensor module 201 at a predetermined interval (for example, 100 ms) measured by the timer 203 (step 2001).
Taking the case where the distance sensor 20 is installed on the product shelf 60 shown in FIG. 5B as an example, the distance sensor 20 outputs a distance measurement value x of 0 ≦ x ≦ 150 (cm).

Next, the CPU 207 converts the distance measurement value x output from the distance sensor 20 into a level value L (step 2002).
For example, as shown in FIG. 5C, when the distance measurement value x is larger than 100 cm, the distance level value L = 0, and when 50 ≦ x <100, L = 1, and the distance measurement value is 50 cm. If the distance is too small, the distance measurement value x may be converted into the level value L as L = 2. The level value is not limited to 3 levels, and may be 4 levels or 2 levels, for example.

Next, the CPU 207 sends the level value L to the server 30 via the wireless communication interface 205 (step 2003). At this time, a sensor ID for identifying the distance sensor 20 may be added to the data of the level value L and transmitted.
With the above configuration, the distance level value L is transmitted every 100 ms from the distance sensor 20 to the server 30.

  In the above configuration, the distance measurement value x is converted into the level value L in the distance sensor 20 and then transmitted to the server 30. However, the distance measurement value x itself may be transmitted to the server 30. In this case, a process of converting the distance measurement value x to the level value L (step 2002) is executed on the server 30 side.

Next, processing of the server 30 of the electronic POP system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the distance data receiving unit 310 of the server 30.
FIG. 6A is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the distance data receiving unit 310.

The control unit 301 of the server 30 receives the data of the distance level L transmitted from the distance sensor 20 by the communication control unit 304 (step 3101).
At this time, (sensor ID) which is identification information of the distance sensor 20 is received together with the level value L. Also, the reception time t is given to each received level value L. This reception time may be given on the distance sensor 20 side.

Next, for the data of the level value L = 1 and the level value L = 2, the duration T is obtained from the reception time t (step 3102).
If transmission of the level value L by the distance sensor 20 is performed every 100 ms, 10 level values L are received per second. However, the level value L is lost due to the movement of the person 50, the condition of wireless transmission, or the like. Therefore, it is possible to add a process for compensating for this omission or the like.

The current value of the level value L obtained in step 3102 and its duration are stored as current data 350 on the RAM of the control unit 301 as shown in FIG. 6C.
FIG. 6C is a diagram showing the configuration of the current status data 350.
As the current data 350, a level value L351 and its duration T353 are stored. In addition, the current data 350 stores flags (FA355, FB357), interest K359, and mode M361 used in the interest determination unit 320 and the mode determination unit 330, which will be described later.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the interest level determination means 320.
The interest determination unit 320 performs a process of obtaining an interest degree K359 from the distance level value L351 obtained by the distance data receiving unit 310 and its duration T353 and storing it in the current data 350. In this process, flag A (FA355) and flag B (FB357) are used for convenience.
First, initial values of flag A (FA355) and flag B (FB357) are set to 0 (step 3201).

The control unit 301 of the server 30 refers to the level value L351 and the duration T353 of the current data 350, and determines whether there is any change (step 3202). If there is no change (No in step 3202), the process of step 3202 is repeated until there is a change.
If there is a change in the level value 351 or the duration time T353 (Yes in step 3202), the value of the degree of interest K359 is changed to K = 'high' or according to the level value L and the duration time T by the subsequent processing. Determine K = 'low' or K = '0'.
The degree of interest K = 'high' indicates that the degree of interest is high, the degree of interest K = 'low' indicates that it is low but it is interested, and the degree of interest K = '0' indicates that it is not interested.

First, when the level value L = 1 and the duration T is 10 seconds or longer (Yes in step 3203), it is determined that there is a low degree of interest. For convenience, 1 (step 3204) is stored in the value of the flag A (FA355) of the current data 350 and 0 (step 3205) is stored in the value of the flag B (FB357), and the process proceeds to step 3207 to the interest degree K357 of the current data 350. Stores the value 'low'.
That is, when the person 50 is at a distance of 50 to 100 cm from the merchandise shelf 60 for 10 seconds or more, it is determined that the person 50 has low interest.
Here, the flag A (FA355) is “1” when the level value L = 1 continues for 10 seconds or more, and “0” otherwise. Further, the flag B (FB357) is a flag which is set to “1” when the level value L = 2 continues for 10 seconds or more, and is set to “0” otherwise.

Next, when the level value L = 2, the duration T is less than 10 seconds, and the flag FA is not 1 (Yes in Step 3210), the control unit 301 determines that the duration T is less than 3 seconds (Step S10). If the duration T of the level value L = 2 is 3 seconds or more and less than 10 seconds, it is determined that there is low interest.
That is, for convenience, 0 is written in the flag B (FB357) of the current data 350 (step 3206), and it is determined in step 3206 whether the duration T is less than 3 seconds or more than 3 seconds. (Yes in step 3206), the process proceeds to step 3241, and “0” is stored in the value of the degree of interest K 359 in the current data 350. On the other hand, when the duration T is 3 seconds or more (No in Step 3206), “low” is stored in the value of the interest degree K of the current data 350 (Step 3207).
As a result of the above processing, if the person 50 is at a distance of less than 50 cm from the merchandise shelf 60 for 3 seconds or more, it is determined that the person 50 has low interest.

Next (No in Step 3210), if the duration T of the level value L = 2 is 10 seconds or more (Yes in Step 3220), that is, if the distance from the merchandise shelf 60 is less than 50 cm for 10 seconds or more, The control unit 301 determines that there is a high degree of interest K.
That is, '1' is stored in the value of flag B (FB359) indicating that the duration T of level value L = 2 has become 10 seconds or more, and '0' is stored in the value of flag A (FA357) (step 3221), “high” is stored in the value of the degree of interest K359 (step 3222).

Next (No in step 3220), in step 3230, the level value L = 1 is set to the level value L = 2 when the duration T of the level value L = 1 is 10 seconds or more and the value of the flag A (FA355) is “1”. When it becomes (Yes in Step 3230), the control unit 301 determines that the degree of interest is high, and stores the value “high” in the degree of interest K359 of the current data 350 (Step 3222).
With the above processing, when the person 50 stays at a distance of 50 to 100 cm from the merchandise shelf 60 for 10 seconds or more and then approaches a distance of less than 50 cm, the degree of interest K359 is set to “high”. Thus, it has a role of distinguishing from the degree of interest (less than 3 seconds is not interested and less than 3 seconds and less than 10 seconds) when the person 50 approaches a distance of less than 50 cm from the beginning (step 3206).

Next (No in step 3230), in step 3240, the level T is set to 1 while the duration T of the level L = 2 is 10 seconds or more and the value of the flag B (FB357) is “1”. When it becomes (Yes in Step 3240), the control unit 301 determines that there is a low degree of interest, and stores the value “low” in the degree of interest K359 of the current data 350 (Step 3207).
With the above processing, after a person stays at a distance of less than 50 cm from the merchandise shelf 60 for 10 seconds or more, the degree of interest when the user leaves a distance of 50 to 100 cm is kept low. This has a role to distinguish from the degree of interest of “0” when the distance of 50 to 100 cm stays for less than 10 seconds.

  In cases other than the above (No in step 3240), the control unit 301 determines that there is no interest, stores “0” in the value of the degree of interest K359 in the current data 350, and flags A (FA355) and B (FB357). Insert '0' into.

  After performing the process of storing a value in the interest level K359 of the current data 350 (Step 3222, Step 3242, Step 3207), the control unit 301 returns to Step 3202, and detects the change in the level value L or the duration T. I do.

  As a result of the above processing, the interest level values ‘0’, ‘low’, and ‘high’ in consideration of the distance level value L and the duration T are stored as the interest level K359 of the current data 350.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the mode determination unit 330.
The mode for selecting content is determined by the value of the degree of interest K359 determined by the degree-of-interest determination means 320.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a case where the degree of interest K = “0” is set as the calling mode 331. For example, the mode is a mode in which a person 50 who passes in front of the product shelf 60 or a person who glares for a short time is invited to be interested in the product.
Further, when the degree of interest K changes from “0” to “low”, for example, the overview mode 333 is set to provide content that explains the overview of the product in the product shelf 60.
Further, when the degree of interest K is “high”, a detailed mode 335 is provided in which content indicating the details of the product is provided.

In addition, when the degree of interest K changes from “high” to “low”, the follow mode 337 is provided to provide content that does not miss the interest of the person 50 who is a little far from the product shelf 60.
When the degree of interest K changes from “high” to “0” or from “low” to “0”, the call mode 331 is set.

  The mode determination unit 330 refers to the value of the degree of interest K359 in the current data 350, determines the mode M361 according to the criteria as shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the content providing unit 340.
FIG. 9A shows an example of content.
The storage unit 302 of the server 30 stores content 343 corresponding to each mode M361. For example, in the “calling mode”, the content A1 is displayed. In the “summary mode”, the content A2 is displayed. In the “detailed mode”, the content A3 and the content A4 are alternately displayed. The control unit 301 selects the content A5, and the communication control unit 304 transmits the content A5 to the POP terminal 10 via the network 40.
The POP terminal 10 outputs the received content through the display unit 107 and the audio output unit 111.

FIG. 9B is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the content providing unit 340.
The control unit 301 refers to the mode M361 of the current data 350, selects the content 343 corresponding to the mode M from the content example 341 as shown in FIG. 9A, transmits it to the POP terminal 10, and instructs playback. (Step 3401).

Further, the control unit 301 detects a change in the mode M of the current data 350, and if it has changed (Yes in Step 3402), the control unit 301 returns to Step 3401 to play back the content 343 corresponding to the mode M361 to the POP terminal 10. Instruct.
On the other hand, when the mode M does not change, the end of the reproduction of the content 343 is detected (step 3403), and when it ends (Yes), the process returns to step 3401. Until the reproduction of the content 343 ends (No in Step 3403), a process of detecting a change in the mode M361 (Step 3402) is executed.

  Through the above processing, it is possible to reproduce the content according to the change in the mode M.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 10 is a system configuration diagram of the electronic POP system 1 according to the second embodiment.
In addition to the system configuration of the first embodiment, an IC card reader / writer 70 is connected to the POP terminal 10. In addition to the distance data receiving unit 310, the interest degree determining unit 320, the mode determining unit 330, and the content providing unit 340, the server 30 includes the content providing unit 360 for IC tag / IC card in addition to the same as the first embodiment. Prepare.

With the above configuration, when an IC tag for a product such as the product shelf 60 or an IC card owned by the customer 50 is held over the IC card reader / writer 70, the identification ID of the IC tag or IC card is read. It is possible to select the content about the product of the IC tag or the content suitable for the customer 50 and output it to the POP terminal 10. In addition, when the content reproduction ends, the virtual interest level associated with the identification ID of the IC tag or IC card can be set. This will be described later.
In the normal case where the IC tag or the IC card is not held over, the content selected according to the degree of interest according to the distance of the person 50 described in the first embodiment is reproduced.

The electronic POP system 1 of the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating an installation example of the electronic POP system 1 of the second embodiment.
An IC card reader / writer 70 is connected to the POP terminal 10 installed in the vicinity of the product shelf 60, and the distance sensor 20 is also installed in the product shelf 60 in the same manner as in the first embodiment.
Also, an IC tag installation place (IC tag holder) 80 for displaying information about products placed in the vicinity on the POP terminal 10 is provided near the product shelf 60 or the product shelf / wall 61.

  A person 50 who is interested in a nearby product takes the IC tag from the IC tag holder 80 and holds it over the IC card reader / writer 70 to read the identification ID of the IC tag. As a result, the electronic POP system 1 of the present embodiment executes the processing of the IC tag / IC card content providing means 360 shown in FIG. 11C, and the content about the product that the person 50 is interested in is sent to the POP terminal. 10 can be played back.

  It is also possible for the person 50 to hold an IC card (for example, a point card) owned by the person 50 over the IC card reader / writer 70, and the IC tag / IC card content providing means 360 uses the identification ID of the IC card. Therefore, the content suitable for the person 50 selected from the purchase history information of the person 50 can be reproduced on the POP terminal 10.

FIG. 11B is a diagram showing a content example 361 for IC tag / IC card stored in the storage unit 302 of the server 30.
A content 367 corresponding to the identification ID 363 of the IC tag / IC card is linked.
For example, the IC tag with the identification ID “1001” is a ranking card for reproducing the content B1 of the hot selling ranking of the products around the product shelf 60. The IC tags with the identification IDs “2001” and “2002” are respectively This is an explanation card for reproducing the contents B2 and B3 describing the merchandise A and the merchandise B.

  Further, the IC card with the identification ID “3001” is, for example, the IC card of the user A, and the content C1 selected according to the purchase history, age, sex, etc. of the user A is linked.

  FIG. 11C is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the content providing unit 360 for IC tag / IC card.

The control unit 301 of the server 30 detects that the card ID read by the IC card reader / writer 70 is sent from the POP terminal 10 (step 3601).
When the card ID is received (Yes in step 3601), the reproduction of the content reproduced by the content providing unit 340 described in the first embodiment is stopped (step 3602), and the content for the IC tag / IC card is obtained. The example 361 is searched, and the POP terminal 10 is instructed to reproduce the content 367 corresponding to the card ID 363 (step 3603).

  Thereafter, the control unit 301 detects the end of the content 367 (Yes in Step 3604), and forcibly stores the interest level information 369 corresponding to the card ID 363 in the current data 350 (Step 3605). The processing returns to the processing of the interest level determination means 320, the mode determination means 330, and the content provision means 340 described in step 3606 (step 3606).

The interest level information 369 is stored in advance in the storage unit 302 corresponding to the card ID 363 together with the content example 361 for IC tag / IC card.
For example, in the case of the ranking card with the card ID 363 “1001”, the distance level L = 1 and the duration T = 5 (seconds) are stored as the current data 350 after the content information B1 is reproduced.
Based on the current state data 350, the determination of the interest level K359 by the interest level determination means 320 (FIG. 7) described in the first embodiment is taken over.

For example, in the case of the product A explanation card with the card ID 363 “2001”, the control unit 301 forcibly writes the distance level L = 2 and the duration T = 15 (seconds) in the current data 350 after the content B2 is reproduced. Take over to keep K359 high.
Similarly, in the case of an IC card owned by the user, the distance level L and the duration T of the current data 350 that keep the interest level K high are written.
For example, in the case of the user A IC card with the card ID 363 “3001”, the distance level L = 2 and the duration T = 30 (seconds) are forcibly written in the current data 350 after the content C1 is reproduced. As a result, a high degree of interest is inherited.

Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 12A is a system configuration diagram of the electronic POP system 1 according to the third embodiment.
The configuration in which the POP terminal 10 and the server 30 are connected via the network 40 is the same as in the first and second embodiments.
In the case of the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, a plurality of distance sensors 20 are installed, and the content considering the movement of the person 50 is played on the POP terminal 10.
For example, three distance sensors 20 are installed, which are distance sensor α (20-1), distance sensor β (20-2), and distance sensor γ (20-3), respectively.

FIG. 12B is a diagram illustrating an installation example when the POP terminal 10 is installed in the vicinity of the product shelf 60 of the store.
The POP terminal 10 is installed in the vicinity of the product shelf 60, and the distance sensor α (20-1), the distance sensor β (20-2), and the distance sensor γ (20-3) are separated from each other by, for example, 1.5 m. Install on shelf 60.
By installing the plurality of distance sensors 20, it is possible to grasp the situation in which the person 50 moves through the passage between the product shelf 60 and the product shelf / wall 61.

  As shown in FIG. 12A, the server 30 receives the distance data receiving means 310 that receives the distance data sent from each distance sensor 20, and the degree of interest K359 from the distance level value L351 and the duration T353 related to each distance sensor 20. In addition to the interest level determination unit 320 for determining whether or not there is a multi-sensor interest level determination unit 370 and a multi-sensor content provision unit 380.

The distance data receiving unit 310 and the interest level determining unit 320 are the same as those described in the first embodiment, but execute the processing in parallel for each of the plurality of distance sensors 20.
The multi-sensor interest degree determination unit 370 obtains a total interest degree I375 based on the interest degree 359 determined for each distance sensor 20 and the change in the distance level L351 of each distance sensor 20.
The multi-sensor content providing unit 380 causes the POP terminal 10 to reproduce optimal content based on the total interest level I375 obtained by the multi-sensor interest level determination unit 370.

Next, the data structure of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 13A is a diagram showing the configuration of the current status data 350.
The configuration is the same as the current state data 350 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 6B, but the level value L351, duration T353, and interest level of each distance sensor 20 together with the sensor ID 358 of each distance sensor 20. K359 and the values of the flags (FA355, FB357) are stored.

FIG. 13B is a diagram illustrating a data configuration of the current interest level information 371 determined by the multi-sensor interest level determination unit 370.
Which distance sensor 373 is the main at each time point is indicated by a sensor ID 373, and the degree of interest I375 is stored.
Normally, the sensor ID 358 indicating the highest interest degree among the interest degrees K359 obtained by the interest degree determination means 320 for each distance sensor 20 is written in the sensor ID 373 of the current interest degree information 371, and the interest degree of the sensor ID 373 The value of K359 is written as the interest level I375.

FIG. 13C shows a content example 377 provided by the multi-sensor content providing unit 380.
In accordance with the current interest level information 371 of FIG. 13B, the content of the mode M379 corresponding to the interest level I375 for the sensor ID of the sensor ID 373 is selected.
As with the mode M361 described in the first embodiment, the mode M379 is provided with a call mode 381, a summary mode 383, a detailed mode 385, a follow mode 387, and the like, and content to be played back in each mode is stored. .

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a process flow of the multi-sensor interest degree determination unit 370.
In the multi-sensor interest level determination unit 370, when the interest level K359 of the sensor ID 373 currently stored in the interest level information 371 becomes “0”, that is, the person has moved from the front of the distance sensor 20 corresponding to the sensor ID 373. At this time, a process of grasping the movement of the person from the change in the value of the other distance sensor 20 and taking over the degree of interest is performed.

  First, the control unit 301 sets interest degree maintenance setting data including a time during which the contents of the current interest level information 371 can be rewritten (rewrite permission time) and a time during which the rewritten contents are maintained (interest degree maintenance time). (Step 3701).

Next, the control unit 301 detects a change in the value of the degree of interest K359 in the current data 350 (step 3702). When a change in the degree of interest K359 of any of the distance sensors 20 is detected (Yes in step 3703), whether or not the degree of interest K359 in the current data 350 for the sensor ID 373 of the current degree-of-interest information 371 has changed to '0'. Is determined (step 3703).
When the interest level K359 of the distance sensor 20 other than the sensor ID 383 of the current interest level information 371 changes, or the value of the interest level K359 of the distance sensor 20 of the sensor ID 383 of the current interest level information 371 is other than “0” (ie, “ When the state changes to “low” or “high” (No in step 3703), the control unit 301 sets the sensor ID 358 having the highest interest level K359 of the current data 350 as the sensor ID 373 of the current interest level information 371, and the interest level K359. Is stored as the interest level I375 of the current interest level information 371 (step 3713).

  That is, for example, when the sensor ID 373 stored in the current interest level information 371 is β (distance sensor β20-2), the interest level K359 of the current data 350 of the distance sensor α20-1 or the distance sensor γ20-3 has changed. If the interest level K359 of the current data 350 of the distance sensor β20-2 changes with a value other than “0”, the control unit 301 has the highest interest level K359 value among the three distance sensors 20. The sensor ID 373 of the distance sensor 20 taking is taken as the sensor ID 373 of the current interest level information 371, and the value of the interest level K359 of the sensor ID 373 is set as the interest level I375.

On the other hand, when step 3703 is Yes, that is, for example, when the interest degree K359 of the sensor ID 373 (for example, β) of the current interest degree information 371 is changed to '0', the control unit 301 within the rewrite permission time, It is determined whether or not the level value L351 of the other distance sensors (distance sensor α20-1, distance sensor γ20-3) in the current data 350 is other than “0” (step 3704).
That is, it is determined whether or not the person 50 has moved from the position of the distance sensor β20-2 to the front of the other distance sensor α20-1 or γ20-3 within the rewrite permission time.

  When Step 3704 is No, that is, when the distance level value L351 of the distance sensors 20 other than the distance sensor β20-2 remains “0”, the control unit 301 indicates that the person 50 is in front of the distance sensor β20-2. The sensor ID 373 of the current interest level information 371 is maintained as it is (it remains β), and “0” (not interested) is stored in the value of the interest level I375.

  When Step 3705 is Yes, that is, when the distance level value L351 of the distance sensor (α20-1 or γ20-3) other than the distance sensor β20-2 changes to “1” or “2”, the control unit 301 is a person. 50 is moved from the front of the distance sensor β20-2, it is determined that the other distance sensor (α20-1 or γ20-3) is approached, and the sensor ID 373 of the current interest level information 371 is set to a distance level value L of '0. It is rewritten to the sensor ID of the distance sensor other than '(for example, α) (step 3705). At this time, the value of the interest level I375 is maintained as it is.

  Thereafter, the data of the current interest level information 371 is maintained for the interest level maintaining time set in Step 3701 (Step 3706).

After the interest level maintenance time has elapsed, the control unit 301 obtains the value of the degree of interest K359 of the distance sensor 20 (for example, α) of the sensor ID 373 of the current level of interest level information 371 that has been maintained from the current state data 350, and '0 (interest No) ”is determined (step 3707).
If it is “0” (Yes in step 3707), the process returns to step 3702 to continue the processing. This means that the person 50 has moved away from any distance sensor 20 after approaching the distance sensor α20-1.

  On the other hand, if the value is other than “0” (No in Step 3707), it indicates that the person 50 still remains in front of the distance sensor α 20-1, so the control unit 301 indicates the current interest level information 371. Is replaced with the value of the degree of interest K359, and the process returns to step 3702.

  Through the above processing, it is possible to recognize the movement of the person 50 and take over the interest level.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of the multi-sensor content providing unit 380.
The mode for selecting content is determined by the value of the interest level I375 determined by the multi-sensor interest level determination means 370.
For example, as shown in FIG. 15A, a case where the degree of interest I = “0” is set as the calling mode 381. For example, the mode is a mode in which a person 50 who passes in front of the product shelf 60 or a person who glares for a short time is invited to be interested in the product.
Further, when the degree of interest I is changed from “0” to “low”, for example, the overview mode 383 is provided for providing contents explaining the overview of the products in the product shelf 60.
Further, when the degree of interest I is “high”, a detailed mode 385 for providing content indicating the details of the product is set.

In addition, when the degree of interest I changes from “high” to “low”, the follow mode 387 is provided to provide content that does not miss the interest of the person 50 who is a little far from the product shelf 60.
When the degree of interest I changes from “high” to “0” or from “low” to “0”, the call mode 381 is set.

FIG. 15B is a flowchart showing a process flow of the multi-sensor content providing unit 380.
The control unit 301 refers to the sensor ID 373 and the interest level I375 of the current interest level information 371, selects content corresponding to the mode M from the content example 377, transmits it to the POP terminal 10, and instructs playback (step 3801). ).

The control unit 301 further detects a change in the interest level I375 of the current interest level information 371, and when it has changed (Yes in step 3802), returns to the step 3801 and responds to the interest level I of the current interest level information 371. The POP terminal 10 is instructed to reproduce the content.
On the other hand, when the interest level 375 of the current interest level information 371 does not change (No in step 3802), the end of the content reproduction is detected (step 3803), and when it ends (Yes in step 3803), the process returns to step 3801. . Until the content reproduction ends (No in Step 3803), a process of detecting a change in the current interest level information 371 (Step 3802) is executed.

  With the above processing, it is possible to switch and reproduce the content according to the change in the degree of interest I considering the movement of the person 50.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications are possible, and these are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

The figure which shows the structure of the electronic POP system 1 of 1st Embodiment. Hardware configuration diagram of the POP terminal 10 Hardware configuration diagram of the distance sensor 20 Hardware configuration diagram of server 30 Explanatory drawing of processing of distance sensor 20 Explanatory drawing of distance data receiving means 310 The flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the interest degree determination means 320 Explanatory drawing of the mode determination means 330 Explanatory drawing of the content provision means 340 The figure which shows the structure of the electronic POP system 1 of 2nd Embodiment. Explanatory drawing of content providing means 360 for IC tag / IC card The figure which shows the structure of the electronic POP system 1 of 3rd Embodiment. The figure which shows the data structure of the electronic POP system 1 by a several sensor. The flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the multi-sensor interest degree determination means 370. Explanatory drawing of the multiple sensor content providing means 380

Explanation of symbols

1 ……… Electronic POP system 10 ……… POP terminal 20 ……… Distance sensor 30 ……… Server 40 ……… Network 50 ……… People 60 ……… Product shelf 70 ……… IC card reader / writer 80 ......... Scanner 310 ......... Distance data receiving means 320 ......... Interest degree judging means 330 ......... Mode judging means 340 ......... Content providing means 360 ......... Content providing means for IC tag / IC card 370 ... …… Multiple sensor interest level determination means 380 ............ Multiple sensor content providing means

Claims (10)

An electronic POP system comprising an IC card reader / writer, a POP terminal for reproducing content, a server connected to the POP terminal via a network, and a distance sensor installed in the vicinity of the POP terminal Because
The server receives a level value indicating the position of a person based on the distance data measured by the distance sensor, and calculates distance data receiving means for calculating a duration of the level value indicating a residence time;
Interest level determination means for determining the level of interest of a person based on the level value and the duration of the level value;
Mode determination means for selecting the interest level determined by the interest level determination means and a content providing mode according to the change in the interest level;
Content providing means for providing content corresponding to the providing mode selected by the mode determining means to the POP terminal via the network;
Receiving identification information of an IC tag or IC card held over the IC card reader / writer provided in the POP terminal, providing content according to the identification information, and after reproducing the content by the POP terminal , According to the IC tag or IC card, the level value used for determination by the interest level determination unit, and a content providing unit for IC tag / IC card for changing the duration of the level value;
An electronic POP system comprising:   The distance sensor is installed in a product shelf, measures a distance to a person standing in front of the product shelf, and transmits a level value corresponding to the measured distance to the server. The electronic POP system described.   3. The electronic POP system according to claim 1, wherein the level values are three levels of a long distance, a medium distance, and an approach.   The interest level determination means determines the level of interest as high, low, or nothing based on a duration of the level value and a change in the level value. 4. The electronic POP system according to any one of 3.   The IC tag is placed in the vicinity of the POP terminal, and product identification information or content identification information to be provided is recorded in advance, and the IC tag / IC card content providing means includes the product identification information. 5. The electronic POP system according to claim 1, further comprising a content corresponding to the content identification information.   6. The IC card stores customer identification information, and the IC tag / IC card content providing means provides content suitable for the customer. Electronic POP system. A plurality of said distance sensor installed in the vicinity of the POP terminal,
The distance data receiving means receives a level value based on the distance data measured by the distance sensor from each distance sensor, calculates a duration of each level value,
The degree-of-interest determination means determines the degree of interest corresponding to each distance sensor from each level value and the duration of each level value, and any change in the degree of interest, and the degree of interest changed Based on the change of the level value corresponding to the distance sensor other than the distance sensor, the current interest level information that combines the plurality of distance sensors is obtained,
The mode determination means selects a content providing mode according to the current interest level information and the change of the current interest level information,
The content providing unit provides the content corresponding to the providing mode selected by the mode determining unit to the POP terminal via the network. Electronic POP system. A server connected to a POP terminal for playing back content with a smart card reader / writer via a network,
Distance data receiving means for receiving a level value indicating the position of a person based on distance data measured by a distance sensor installed in the vicinity of the POP terminal and calculating a duration of the level value indicating a dwell time;
Interest level determination means for determining the level of interest of a person based on the level value and the duration of the level value;
Mode determination means for selecting the interest level determined by the interest level determination means and a content providing mode according to the change in the interest level;
Content providing means for providing content corresponding to the providing mode selected by the mode determining means to the POP terminal via the network;
Receiving identification information of an IC tag or IC card held over the IC card reader / writer provided in the POP terminal, providing content according to the identification information, and after reproducing the content by the POP terminal , According to the IC tag or IC card, the level value used for determination by the interest level determination unit, and a content providing unit for IC tag / IC card for changing the duration of the level value;
A server comprising: A plurality of said distance sensor installed in the vicinity of the POP terminal,
The distance data receiving means receives a level value based on the distance data measured by the distance sensor from each distance sensor, calculates a duration of each level value,
The degree-of-interest determination means determines the degree of interest corresponding to each distance sensor from each level value and the duration of each level value, and any change in the degree of interest, and the degree of interest changed Based on the change of the level value corresponding to the distance sensor other than the distance sensor, the current interest level information that combines the plurality of distance sensors is obtained,
The mode determination means selects a content providing mode according to the current interest level information and the change of the current interest level information,
The server according to claim 8, wherein the content providing unit provides the POP terminal with content corresponding to the providing mode selected by the mode determining unit. A program for causing a computer to function as the server according to claim 8 or 9.

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