JP7282414B2 - Purchase rhythm information production device, recommendation device, purchase rhythm information production method, recommendation method, and program - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a recommendation device or the like that makes recommendations using information on product purchase rhythms.

Conventionally, there has been a recommendation system capable of making recommendations in consideration of user attributes (see Patent Document 1, for example).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-4529 (page 1, FIG. 1, etc.)

However, in the prior art, it was not possible to make recommendations at appropriate times using information on user's product purchase rhythms.

The purchase rhythm information producing apparatus of the first invention comprises at least one of a user identifier that identifies a user, time information about when the user purchased the product, price information about the purchase price, or type information that indicates the type of product. a purchase history information storage unit storing one or more purchase history information having two or more pieces of purchase information including information of and one or more pieces of price information or type information contained in the purchase information are determined in advance. a judgment unit for judging whether or not the condition is satisfied, and for each user identifier, the product of the user identified by the user identifier, based on one or more timing information contained in the purchase information judged by the judgment unit to satisfy the condition. Purchase rhythm information comprising: a purchase rhythm determination section for acquiring purchase rhythm information that is information specifying the purchase rhythm of the purchase rhythm determination section; and a storage section for storing the purchase rhythm information acquired by the purchase rhythm determination section in association with a user identifier. production equipment.

With such a configuration, it is possible to acquire information on the user's product purchase rhythm and use the purchase rhythm information to make recommendations at appropriate times.

In addition, in the purchase rhythm information production apparatus of the second invention, in contrast to the first invention, the purchase history information includes type information and corresponds to the type of product not used to form the purchase rhythm information. The apparatus further comprises a non-use type information storage section for storing the above type information, and the determining section determines that each of the one or more type information stored in the non-use type information storage section satisfies a predetermined condition. It is a purchase rhythm information production device that judges.

With this configuration, it is possible to acquire purchase rhythm information for products other than a certain type of product.

In addition, in the purchase rhythm information production device of the third invention, the purchase rhythm information has two or more timing information, and the purchase rhythm determination unit has two or more timing information, in contrast to the first or second invention. This purchase rhythm information production device acquires one piece of time information from two or more pieces of time information and acquires purchase rhythm information having one piece of time information when times indicated by information are close enough to satisfy a predetermined condition.

With such a configuration, it is possible to appropriately acquire purchase rhythm information by collecting period information when the period is not open.

In addition, the recommendation device of the fourth aspect of the present invention is the purchase rhythm information stored in the purchase rhythm information production device accumulated in the purchase rhythm information production device in association with the user identifier. An information storage unit, a product information storage unit that stores one or more product information items that are information about products to be recommended, and a user or terminal device identified by a user identifier at the time indicated by the time information included in the purchase rhythm information. , and a recommendation unit that transmits any one of product information among one or more product information stored in a product information storage unit.

With such a configuration, a recommendation can be made to the user at an appropriate time using the purchase rhythm information of the user.

In addition, the recommendation device of the fifth aspect of the invention further comprises an approximate user detection unit for detecting two items of purchase history information that are similar enough to satisfy a predetermined condition in addition to the fourth aspect of the invention. is stored in the product information storage unit at the time indicated by the time information of the purchase rhythm information using the purchase rhythm information corresponding to the user identifier of one of the two pieces of purchase history information. It is a recommendation device that transmits any product information among one or more product information to a terminal device or user identified by a user identifier included in the other purchase history information.

With such a configuration, it is also possible to make recommendations using other people's purchase rhythm information.

In contrast to the fourth invention, the recommendation device of the sixth invention includes two or more items including a user identifier that identifies the user, time information about the time when the user purchased the product, and price information about the purchase price. a second purchase history information storage unit that stores two or more pieces of purchase history information having purchase information; a price condition reception unit that receives price conditions constituting conditions for acquiring purchase rhythm information; A second determination unit that determines whether or not the purchase information satisfies the conditions using the price conditions received by the price condition reception unit; a second purchase rhythm determining unit that acquires, from the timing information of the above, purchase rhythm information that is information that specifies the purchase rhythm of the product of the user identified by the user identifier and that has one or more pieces of timing information; , the recommendation unit instructs the user or terminal device identified by the user identifier to recommend one or more items stored in the product information storage unit at the timing indicated by the timing information included in the purchase rhythm information acquired by the second purchase rhythm determination unit. It is a recommendation device that transmits any product information of product information.

With this configuration, the recommendation device side can change the price threshold and dynamically generate purchase rhythm information.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the purchase rhythm information of a user's goods can be acquired, and a recommendation can be made at an appropriate time using the purchase rhythm information.

Conceptual diagram of an information system in an embodiment Block diagram of the purchase rhythm information production device Block diagram of the recommendation device Flowchart for explaining the overall operation of the purchase rhythm information production device Flowchart for explaining the purchase rhythm information production process Flowchart explaining the overall operation of the same recommendation device Flowchart explaining the same recommendation process Flowchart for explaining the approximate user detection process Flowchart for explaining the purchase rhythm update process Data structure diagram of the same purchase history information Data structure diagram under the same conditions Data structure diagram of non-use type information Data structure diagram of same purchase rhythm information Diagram showing purchase rhythm information after change External view of the same computer system Diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the same computer system

Embodiments of a purchase rhythm information production device capable of acquiring user's purchase rhythm information and a recommendation device capable of making recommendations to the user at appropriate times using the purchase rhythm information will be described below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that, since components denoted by the same reference numerals in the embodiments perform similar operations, repetitive description may be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an information system according to this embodiment. This information system includes a purchase rhythm information production device 1, one or two or more recommendation devices 2, and one or two or more terminal devices 3. FIG. The purchase rhythm information production device 1 normally receives one or more recommendation devices 2 (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as "recommendation device 2") via a network such as a LAN, the Internet, or a wired or wireless communication line. ) are communicatively connected. However, communication between the purchase rhythm information production device 1 and the recommendation device 2 may not always be possible. The recommendation device 2 is communicably connected to one or more terminal devices 3 (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "terminal devices 3") via a network, a communication line, or the like.

The purchase rhythm information production device 1 is usually realized by a general-purpose server, a Clyde server, or the like. However, the purchase rhythm information production device 1 may be implemented by, for example, a PC, and the type of device does not matter. The recommendation device 2 is also realized by a general-purpose server or the like, but the type does not matter. The terminal device 3 is usually realized by a mobile terminal such as a smart phone, a tablet terminal, or a notebook PC. However, the terminal device 3 may be realized by, for example, a stationary PC, a television receiver having a communication function, a set-top box, or the like, and any type of terminal device 3 may be used.

In this embodiment, the purchase rhythm information production device 1 is, for example, a server of a company that operates this system. Also, the recommendation device 2 is, for example, a server of one or more stores (department stores, EC sites, etc.) that use this system. Also, the terminal device 3 is, for example, a portable terminal carried by a user who purchases products at a store. However, the purchase rhythm information production device 1 may be, for example, a server of one store, and its location does not matter. Further, when the purchase rhythm information production device 1 is a server of one store, the number of the recommendation device 2 is usually one, and the purchase rhythm information production device 1 and the recommendation device 2 are realized by one server. I don't mind. That is, the purchase rhythm information production device 1 may also have the function of the recommendation device 2 , or the recommendation device 2 may also have the function of the purchase rhythm information production device 1 . In this way, the information system can be realized with one server and one mobile terminal, and the hardware configuration is not limited.

The purchase rhythm information production apparatus 1 acquires purchase rhythm information, which is information on the purchase rhythm of products, based on purchase history information, which is information on the purchase history of products. The recommendation device 2 transmits product information, which is information on products to be recommended, to the terminal device 3 according to the purchase rhythm information acquired by the purchase rhythm information production device 1 . The terminal device 3 receives and outputs product information from the recommendation device 2 . Details of purchase history information, purchase rhythm information, product information, etc. will be described later.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the purchase rhythm information production device 1. As shown in FIG. The purchase rhythm information production device 1 includes a storage section 11 , a reception section 12 , a processing section 13 and an output section 14 . The storage unit 11 includes a purchase history information storage unit 111 and a non-use type information storage unit 112 . The processing unit 13 includes a determination unit 131 , a purchase rhythm determination unit 132 and an accumulation unit 133 .

The storage unit 11 can store various types of information. Various types of information are, for example, purchase history information, non-use type information, and the like. The storage unit 11 may also store timing information indicating the timing for executing the purchase rhythm information production process, which will be described later.

The purchase history information storage unit 111 stores one or more pieces of purchase history information. Each piece of one or more pieces of purchase history information (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "purchase history information") has a user identifier and two or more pieces of purchase information. A user identifier is an identifier that identifies a user. A user identifier is, for example, an e-mail address, a mobile phone number, or the like. However, the user identifier may be a terminal identifier (MAC address, IP address, etc.) that identifies the terminal device 3 owned by the user, and any type of information can be used as long as it can identify the user.

Purchase information is information on purchase of a product. The products also include services such as dining and travel, for example. Each of the two or more pieces of purchase information (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "purchase information") includes timing information. The purchase information also includes one or more of price information and type information. The purchase information may also include, for example, product identifiers that identify products, quantity information that indicates product quantities, and the like. However, the product identifier and quantity information may be omitted, and the data structure of purchase information does not matter.

The time information is information regarding the time when the user purchased the product. The time information is usually information indicating a date such as year, month, day, etc., but may also include information on one or more of time such as hour, minute, second, or day of the week such as day, month, and Tuesday. Also, the period information may be information in units of a period of two days or more, such as July, August, early July, and the second week of August, and may be expressed in any other form.

Price information is information about the purchase price of a product. The price information is usually information indicating the unit price of one product, but may be information indicating the total price of two or more products, for example. Also, the price information may be information indicating a price range such as, for example, less than 10,000 yen, 10,000 yen or more and less than 20,000 yen, or more than 100,000 yen.

The type information is information indicating the type of product. The type information included in the purchase information that constitutes the purchase history information is desirably type information that corresponds to the type of product used to constitute the purchase rhythm information. The type information corresponding to the type of product used to form the purchase rhythm information may be, for example, information indicating the type of expensive product. The types of expensive products include, but are not limited to, watches, bags, cars, wine, and food. The type information is, for example, an identification code corresponding to the type of product such as a watch or a bag, but the form of expression does not matter.

For example, even if the reception unit 12 (to be described later) receives the purchase history information via an input device such as a keyboard, the purchase history information is received from an external device such as a POS terminal in a store or a server of a credit card company in a pair with a user identifier. It does not matter how it is acquired (where and how it is acquired). The purchase information received by the receiving unit 12 is stored in the purchase history information storage unit 111 by the processing unit 13 in association with the user identifier.

The non-use type information storage unit 112 stores one or more pieces of non-use type information. Non-use type information is type information corresponding to types of products that are not used for constructing purchase rhythm information. The types of products that are not used for constructing purchase rhythm information may be, for example, types of products that are purchased only once. Types of products purchased only once include, for example, types of products for events such as Hinamatsuri (dolls, etc.), types of products purchased according to the birth and growth of children (cribs, study desks, etc.) and so on.

However, the usage type information may be stored in the storage unit 11 instead of the non-use type information. The usage type information is type information corresponding to the types of products used for constructing the purchase rhythm information. The types of products used to form the purchase rhythm information are, for example, the types of expensive products. Excluded. In this case, the purchase rhythm information is configured using only purchase information of products belonging to the type indicated by the stored usage type information, and purchase information of other products is not used.

The reception unit 12 receives various kinds of information. Various types of information are, for example, the aforementioned purchase history information, non-use type information, and the like. Receiving means receiving information input from input devices such as keyboards, mice, and touch panels, receiving information sent via wired or wireless communication lines, and reading from recording media such as optical discs, magnetic discs, and semiconductor memories. This is a concept that includes the reception of issued information.

The processing unit 13 performs various types of processing. The various types of processing are, for example, processing of the determination section 131, the purchase rhythm determination section 132, and the storage section 133, which will be described later. The processing unit 13 may also perform processing such as determination described in a flowchart to be described later.

The determination unit 131 determines whether or not one or more of the price information or the type information included in the purchase information satisfies a predetermined condition. The condition may be, for example, a condition for specifying that the product is a high-priced product. Conditions typically include one or more of price or type conditions. A price condition is a condition regarding the price of a product. The price conditions are, for example, conditions such as "100,000 yen or more" and "50,000 yen or more", but are not limited to these. The type condition is a condition regarding the type of product. The type condition is, for example, a condition such as "watch" or "bag", but is not limited to this.

A certain condition may have only a price condition (for example, "200,000 yen or more") and may not have a type condition. Other conditions may include a price condition (eg, "100,000 yen or more") and a type condition (eg, "watch"). Another condition may have only a type condition (eg, "car") and no price condition.

Also, the determination unit 131 determines that one or more types of information stored in the non-use type information storage unit 112 (for example, "doll", "baby bed", etc.) does not satisfy a predetermined condition. .

The purchase rhythm determination unit 132 determines the user's purchase rhythm. A purchase rhythm is a rhythm of a user purchasing a product. The purchase rhythm may be, for example, information indicating a temporal pattern of purchases. The information indicating the temporal pattern may be, for example, information indicating two or more periods (two or more period information), or information indicating a pair of one period and period (one period information and period information). pair). The purchase rhythm is usually information indicating the periodicity or regularity of user purchases, and can also be called, for example, periodicity information or regularity information. However, one user's purchase rhythm can also be estimated using another user's purchase rhythm, in which case the one user's entry rhythm information is information indicating only one period I don't mind.

The time may be, for example, information indicating a month and day such as October 6th or December 27th, or in addition to the month and day, one or more of a year such as 2015 or a time such as 17:30. It can be information. Alternatively, the period may be information indicating only a month such as July and August, or information indicating a season such as the beginning and end of the month, and a week such as the third week and the last week in addition to the month. Alternatively, the time may be information indicating a specific period of the year, such as Obon or the end of the year. The period may be information indicating a period of less than one year, such as every four months, half a year, or every other month, or information indicating a period of more than one year, such as every other year or every five years.

A purchase rhythm indicating two or more times may be a set of two or more times in a year such as October 6th, late December, etc., or July 2nd, 2014. , August 10, 2016, . . . in different years. The purchase rhythm indicating a pair of one period and cycle is, for example, information such as early July and every six months, the fourth week of August and every five years, but is not limited to this.

The purchase rhythm determination unit 132 acquires, for each user identifier, purchase rhythm information indicating the purchase rhythm as described above from one or more pieces of time information included in the purchase information determined by the determination unit 131 to satisfy the conditions. The purchase rhythm information is information that specifies the product purchase rhythm of the user identified by the user identifier. Purchase rhythm information has two or more time information, for example. The time indicated by the time information included in the purchase rhythm information may be different from the time indicated by the time information included in the purchase information described above. The timing information included in the purchase rhythm information usually indicates the timing of a predetermined period (for example, two weeks, one month, etc.) before the timing indicated by the timing information included in the purchase information.

However, the purchase rhythm information may have one period information and period information. Cycle information is information indicating the cycle of purchasing products. Periodic information may be acquired from, for example, two or more period information corresponding to one user identifier. Alternatively, the purchase rhythm information may have two or more pairs of time information and one or more of price information and type information. However, the data structure of purchase rhythm information does not matter.

The purchase rhythm determining unit 132 acquires one piece of timing information from the two or more pieces of timing information when the timings indicated by the two or more pieces of timing information are close enough to satisfy a predetermined timing shift condition, and acquires the purchase rhythm having the one piece of timing information. information may be obtained. The time lag condition is a condition related to the magnitude of the time lag indicated by two or more pieces of time information. The time lag condition is, for example, "within a week" or "less than 10 days", but any form of expression is acceptable.

The purchase rhythm information also has period information of periods that are not regular. The non-regular period is, for example, an irregular period, a temporary period, or the like. Irregular periods refer to three or more periods in which the intervals between two adjacent periods are not constant. Temporary periods are periods that are not related to other periods. The period information of the regular period is, for example, the period corresponding to the period of regular income. Examples of regular income include, but are not limited to, a monthly salary, a bonus paid in a specific month, monthly rental income, and a pension paid bimonthly. The period information of the irregular period is usually the period corresponding to the irregular income period. Irregular income includes, but is not limited to, stock dividends that may or may not be paid depending on performance. The period information of the temporary period is usually the period corresponding to the period of temporary income. Extraordinary income is, for example, profit on sale of stocks, etc., but is not limited to this.

For example, the purchase rhythm determination unit 132 calculates one or more times that are a predetermined period before one or more times indicated by one or more time information included in the purchase information determined to satisfy the condition, and calculates one or more times. Purchasing rhythm information having one or more period information indicating the period may be created. In addition, when calculating the timing, the purchase rhythm determining unit 132 converts timing information indicating dates such as “July 2nd” and “July 7th” into seasonal information such as early July. Alternatively, it may be aggregated into monthly period information such as "July".

The storage unit 133 stores the purchase rhythm information acquired by the purchase rhythm determination unit 132 in the storage unit 11 in association with the user identifier. Note that storing in association also includes the case where the purchase rhythm information has a user identifier. Further, the purchase rhythm information may be accumulated in, for example, the purchase rhythm information storage unit 211 constituting the recommendation device 2 described later, or a cloud server, and the accumulation destination is not limited.

The output unit 14 outputs various information. Various types of information are, for example, the aforementioned purchase rhythm information. Output is a concept that includes transmission to external devices, storage in recording media, delivery to other processing devices and other programs, display on displays, sound output from speakers, printing on printers, etc. be. The output unit 14 normally transmits the purchase rhythm information paired with the user identifier to the terminal device 3 identified by the user identifier. However, the output unit 14 may store the purchase rhythm information paired with the user identifier in a detachable recording medium such as a DVD or a memory card, for example. Note that outputting (for example, transmitting or accumulating) pairwise includes the case where purchase rhythm information has a user identifier.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the recommendation device 2. As shown in FIG. The recommendation device 2 includes a recommendation storage unit 21 , a recommendation reception unit 22 , a recommendation processing unit 23 and a recommendation output unit 24 . The recommendation storage unit 21 includes a purchase rhythm information storage unit 211 , a product information storage unit 212 and a second purchase history information storage unit 213 . The recommendation reception unit 22 includes a price condition reception unit 221 . The recommendation processing unit 23 includes a similar user detection unit 231 , a second determination unit 232 and a second purchase rhythm determination unit 233 . The recommendation output unit 24 includes a recommendation unit 241 .

The recommendation storage unit 21 can store various kinds of information. The various types of information are, for example, purchase rhythm information described above, product information described later, second purchase history information described later, and the like. The recommendation storage unit 21 may also store timing information indicating the timing of executing the recommendation process, which will be described later.

The purchase rhythm information storage unit 211 stores the purchase rhythm information accumulated by the purchase rhythm information production apparatus 1 in association with the user identifier.

The product information storage unit 212 stores one or more product information. Product information is information on products to be recommended. The product information includes, for example, one or more of product name, price, description, photo image, and illustration image. Product information is usually stored in pairs with product identifiers and type information. In addition, product information is provided from an external device such as a server of a department store or an EC site, or a POS terminal of a store, for example, but the provider does not matter.

The second purchase history information storage unit 213 stores two or more pieces of purchase information including a user identifier that identifies the user, two or more pieces of purchase information including time information about when the user purchased the product, and price information about the purchase price. Stores history information. The purchase history information stored in the second purchase history information storage section 213 is the same purchase history information as the purchase history information stored in the purchase history information storage section 111 constituting the purchase rhythm information production apparatus 1 . The same purchase history information is usually purchase history information having the same data format and content, but may be purchase history information having at least one partly different data format or content.

The recommendation reception unit 22 receives various kinds of information. Various types of information may include, for example, purchase rhythm information, product information, purchase history information, and the like. Acceptance includes, for example, acceptance via an input device such as a keyboard, reception via a network, reading from a recording medium, and the like. The recommendation receiving unit 22 normally receives purchase rhythm information and the like from the purchase rhythm information production apparatus 1 and the like and stores it in the purchase rhythm information storage unit 211 and the like. It is also possible to receive the information via an input device and store it in the purchase rhythm information storage unit 211 or the like. However, the purchase rhythm information and the like may be stored in advance in the purchase rhythm information storage section 211 and the like.

The price condition reception unit 221 receives price conditions. The price condition accepted by the price condition accepting unit 221 is a price condition that constitutes a condition for the second purchase rhythm determination unit 233 (to be described later) to acquire purchase rhythm information. This condition is different from the price condition used by the rhythm determining section 132 .

The recommendation processing unit 23 performs various types of processing. The various processes are, for example, processes of the approximate user detection unit 231, the second determination unit 232, and the second purchase rhythm determination unit 233, which will be described later. The recommendation processing unit 23 may also perform processing such as determination described in a flowchart to be described later.

The approximate user detection unit 231 uses two or more pieces of purchase history information stored in the second purchase history information storage unit 213 to detect two pieces of purchase history information that are so similar that they satisfy a predetermined approximation condition. The approximation condition is, for example, that at least a certain number (at least a certain number, at least a certain percentage) of two or more pieces of time information held by one of the two pieces of purchase history information match one of two or more pieces of time information held by the other, or , are close enough to be regarded as matching. Being close to each other means satisfying a time lag condition (within one week, etc.). A certain number or more usually means a certain number or more, or a certain ratio or more, of two or more pieces of time information. A certain number or more is, for example, 2 or more, a majority, or 60% or more, but is not limited thereto.

The second determination unit 232 uses two or more pieces of purchase history information stored in the second purchase history information storage unit 213 to determine, for each user identifier, two or more pieces of purchase history information that constitute the purchase history information corresponding to the user identifier. It is determined whether or not each piece of purchase information satisfies the conditions using the price conditions received by the price condition reception unit 221 .

The second purchase rhythm determination unit 233 acquires the purchase rhythm information described above from one or two or more pieces of time information included in the purchase information determined by the second determination unit 232 to satisfy the conditions. The procedure for acquiring the purchase rhythm information by the second purchase rhythm determination section 233 is the same as the procedure for the purchase rhythm information acquisition by the purchase rhythm determination section 132 constituting the purchase rhythm production apparatus 1 . The second purchase rhythm determination section 233 updates the purchase rhythm information stored in the purchase rhythm information storage section 211 to the new purchase rhythm information thus acquired.

The recommendation output unit 24 outputs various kinds of information. Various types of information are, for example, product information. The recommendation output unit 24 may transmit information such as product information to the terminal device 3, or may output the information via an output device such as a display.

The recommendation unit 241 recommends to the user or the terminal device 3 identified by the user identifier that the purchase rhythm information stored in the product information storage unit 212 is stored in the product information storage unit 212 at the timing indicated by the timing information included in the purchase rhythm information stored in the purchase rhythm information storage unit 211 . Any one of the one or more product information contained in the product information is transmitted. The recommendation unit 241 may, for example, randomly select any one item of item information from among one or more items of item information, or may select using type information included in purchase history information corresponding to the user identifier. , the selection algorithm does not matter. For example, a known algorithm such as collaborative filtering may be used.

When the similar user detection unit 231 detects two pieces of similar purchase history information, the recommendation unit 241 selects purchase rhythm information corresponding to the user identifier included in one of the two pieces of purchase history information. , at the time indicated by the time information of the purchase rhythm information, the user whose purchase history information has any of the product information among the one or more product information stored in the product information storage unit 212 It is transmitted to the terminal device 3 or the user identified by the identifier.

When the second purchase rhythm determination unit 233 acquires new purchase rhythm information and the content of the purchase rhythm information storage unit 211 is updated to the new purchase rhythm information, the recommendation unit 241 is identified by the user identifier. Any product information among one or more product information stored in the product information storage unit 212 is transmitted to the user or the terminal device 3 at the time indicated by the time information included in the new purchase rhythm information.

Although illustration is omitted, the terminal device 3 includes a terminal storage section, a terminal reception section, a terminal processing section, and a terminal output section. Various types of information are stored in the terminal storage unit. Various information is, for example, a user identifier for identifying the user of the terminal device 3 .

The terminal reception unit receives various types of information. Various types of information are, for example, product information. The terminal reception unit normally receives product information from the recommendation device 2 . However, the terminal reception unit can also receive information other than product information, or receive information via an input device such as a touch panel. The terminal processing unit performs various types of processing. Various types of processing include, for example, determination as to whether or not product information has been received, but are not limited to this.

The terminal output unit outputs various information. Various types of information are, for example, product information. The terminal output unit outputs, for example, product information and other information received by the terminal reception unit via an output device such as a display. However, the terminal output unit may transmit product information and the like to, for example, an external device.

Storage unit 11, purchase history information storage unit 111, non-use type information storage unit 112, recommendation storage unit 21, purchase rhythm information storage unit 211, product information storage unit 212, second purchase history information storage unit 213, and a terminal (not shown) The storage unit is preferably a non-volatile recording medium such as a hard disk, but can also be realized by a volatile recording medium such as a RAM.

The process by which various types of information are stored in the storage unit 11 or the like does not matter. For example, information may be stored in the storage unit 11 or the like via a removable recording medium such as a DVD or memory card, and information transmitted via a network, a communication line, or the like may be stored in the storage unit 11 or the like. Alternatively, information input via an input device may be stored in the storage unit 11 or the like. Any input device may be used, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, or the like.

The receiving unit 12, the recommendation receiving unit 22, the price condition receiving unit 221, and the terminal receiving unit (not shown) can be realized by a device driver of such input means, or by an input device and its device driver. Also, the reception unit 12 and the like may have one or more of the communication function and the broadcast reception function. In that case, the receiving unit 12 and the like may or may not include one or more hardware of the communication module or the broadcast receiving module. Functions such as communication can be realized by a device driver such as a communication module, or by a communication module or the like and its device driver or the like.

The processing unit 13, the determination unit 131, the purchase rhythm determination unit 132, the accumulation unit 133, the recommendation processing unit 23, the similar user detection unit 231, the second determination unit 232, the second purchase rhythm determination unit 233, and the terminal processing unit (not shown) are , can usually be realized from an MPU, a memory, or the like. The processing procedure of the processing unit 13 and the like is normally realized by software, and the software is recorded in a recording medium such as a ROM. However, the processing unit 13 and the like may be realized by hardware (dedicated circuit).

The output unit 14, the recommendation output unit 24, the recommendation unit 241, and a terminal output unit (not shown) may or may not include output devices such as displays and speakers. The output unit 14 and the like can be realized by the driver software of the output device, or by the output device and its driver software. Also, the output unit 14 and the like may have one or more functions out of the communication function and the broadcasting function. In that case, the output unit 14 and the like may or may not include one or more hardware of the communication module or the broadcasting module. Functions such as communication can be realized by a device driver such as a communication module, or by a communication module or the like and its device driver or the like.

Next, the operation of the information system will be explained using the flow charts of FIGS. 4 to 9. FIG. Note that descriptions of the matters already mentioned are omitted or simplified.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the overall operation of the purchase rhythm information production apparatus 1. As shown in FIG.

(Step S101) The processing unit 13 determines whether or not the purchase information is received in a pair with the user identifier. If the purchase information has been accepted in pairs with the user identifier, the process proceeds to step S102, and if not, the process proceeds to step S103.

(Step S102) The processing unit 13 stores the purchase information received by the receiving unit 12 in the purchase history information storage unit 111 in association with the user identifier. After that, the process returns to step S101.

(Step S103) The processing section 13 determines whether or not it is time to execute the purchase rhythm information production process, using the timing information stored in the storage section 11, for example. If it is the timing for executing the purchase rhythm information production process, the process proceeds to step S104, and if not, the process returns to step S101.

(Step S104) The processing section 13 executes purchase rhythm information production processing. The purchase rhythm information production process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. After that, the process returns to step S101.

Although omitted in the flowchart of FIG. 4, the purchase information accepted in step S101 is also accumulated in the second purchase history information storage unit 213 of the recommendation device 2. FIG.

In the flowchart of FIG. 4, for example, the process starts when the power of the purchase rhythm information production apparatus 1 is turned on, and ends when the power is turned off or when the process ends. However, the trigger for starting and ending processing does not matter.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the purchase rhythm information production process.

(Step S201) The processing unit 13 sets the initial value "1" to the variable i.

(Step S202) The processing unit 13 determines whether the i-th purchase history information exists in the purchase history information storage unit 111 or not. If the i-th purchase history information exists in the purchase history information storage unit 111, the process proceeds to step S203; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S213.

(Step S<b>203 ) The processing unit 13 acquires the i-th purchase history information from the purchase history information storage unit 111 .

(Step S204) The processing unit 13 sets the initial value "1" to the variable j.

(Step S205) The processing unit 13 determines whether or not the i-th purchase history information includes the j-th purchase information. If there is the j-th purchase information, the process proceeds to step S206; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S209.

(Step S206) The determination unit 131 determines whether or not one or more of the price information or type information included in the j-th purchase information satisfies the condition. Since the conditions have been described above, the same description will not be repeated. If the one or more information satisfies the condition, the process proceeds to step S207; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S208.

(Step S207) The purchase rhythm determination unit 132 acquires the timing information included in the j-th purchase information.

(Step S208) The processing unit 13 increments the variable j. After that, the process returns to step S205.

(Step S209) The processing unit 13 determines whether or not two or more pieces of time information have been acquired from the i-th purchase history information. If two or more pieces of time information have been acquired from the i-th purchase history information, the process proceeds to step S210; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S212.

(Step S210) The purchase rhythm determination unit 132 acquires purchase rhythm information having two or more period information using the two or more period information. Specifically, the purchase rhythm determining unit 132 acquires two or more pieces of timing information acquired from the purchase history information, and purchase rhythm information having two or more piece of timing information indicating a timing earlier than the timing indicated by each piece of timing information. to get However, if the times indicated by two or more pieces of time information acquired from the purchase history information are close enough to satisfy the time lag condition, the purchase rhythm determination unit 132 adopts only one of the time information and does not adopt the other time information. .

(Step S211) The storage unit 133 stores the purchase rhythm information in the storage unit 11, for example, in association with the user identifier included in the i-th purchase history information.

(Step S212) The processing unit 13 increments the variable i. After that, the process returns to step S202.

(Step S213) The processing unit 13 determines whether or not the storage unit 11, for example, stores one or more pieces of purchase rhythm information. If one or more pieces of purchase rhythm information are stored, the process proceeds to step S214, and if not stored, the process returns to the upper process.

(Step S214) The recommendation unit 241 outputs the one or more pieces of purchase rhythm information paired with the user identifier. Specifically, the recommendation unit 241 may transmit, for example, a set of pairs of purchase rhythm information and user identifiers to one or more recommendation devices 2 . Alternatively, the recommendation unit 241 may write a set of pairs of purchase rhythm information and user identifiers in one or more removable recording media. A detachable recording medium storing a set of pairs of purchase rhythm information and user identifiers is distributed to the administrator of the recommendation device 2 later. After that, it returns to the upper process.

Note that in the flowchart of FIG. 5, if it is determined NO in step S209 (that is, two or more pieces of time information have not been acquired from the i-th purchase history information), the purchase rhythm determination unit 132 determines whether the purchase rhythm information If one item of time information is acquired from the i-th purchase history information, although acquisition is not performed, for example, by using the one item of time information to supplement other one or more of the time information, two It is also possible to acquire purchase rhythm information having the above period information.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the overall operation of the recommendation device 2. As shown in FIG.

(Step S301) The recommendation processing unit 23 determines whether or not the recommendation receiving unit 22 has received the purchase rhythm information paired with the user identifier. If the recommendation receiving unit 22 has received the purchase rhythm information paired with the user identifier, the process proceeds to step S302; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S303.

(Step S302) The recommendation processing unit 23 stores the purchase rhythm information in the purchase rhythm information storage unit 211 in association with the user identifier. After that, the process returns to step S301.

(Step S303) The recommendation processing unit 23 determines whether or not the price condition reception unit 221 has received price conditions. If the price condition accepting unit 221 has accepted the price condition, the process proceeds to step S304; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S305.

(Step S304) The recommendation processing unit 23 and the like execute purchase rhythm information change processing. The purchase rhythm information update process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
After that, the process returns to step S301.

(Step S305) The recommendation processing unit 23 determines whether or not it is time to execute the recommendation process, using timing information stored in the recommendation storage unit 21, for example. If it is time to execute the recommendation process, the process proceeds to step S306, and if it is not the time to execute the recommendation process, the process returns to step S301.

(Step S306) The recommendation processing unit 23 and the like execute recommendation processing. Note that the recommendation process will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 7 . After that, the process returns to step S301.

In the flowchart of FIG. 6, for example, the process starts when the power of the recommendation device 2 is turned on, and ends when the power is turned off or an interrupt to end the process is detected. However, the trigger for starting and ending processing does not matter.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining recommendation processing.

(Step S401) The recommendation processing unit 23 sets the initial value "1" to the variable m.

(Step S402) The recommendation processing unit 23 determines whether or not the purchase rhythm information storage unit 211 contains m-th purchase rhythm information. If there is the m-th purchase rhythm information, the process proceeds to step S403; otherwise, the process returns to the upper process.

(Step S<b>403 ) The recommendation processing unit 23 acquires the m-th purchase rhythm information from the purchase rhythm information storage unit 211 .

(Step S404) The approximate user detection unit 231 executes approximate user detection processing. Note that the approximate user detection processing will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 8 .

(Step S405) The recommendation processing unit 23 sets the initial value "1" to the variable n.

(Step S406) The recommendation processing unit 23 determines whether or not there is n-th time information in the m-th recommendation information. If there is no n-th time information in the m-th recommendation information, the process proceeds to step S407, otherwise the process proceeds to step S408.

(Step S407) The recommendation processing unit 23 increments the variable m. After that, the process returns to step S402.

(Step S408) The recommendation processing unit 23 determines whether or not the current date and time correspond to the period indicated by the n-th period information. If the current date and time corresponds to the time indicated by the n-th time information, the process proceeds to step S409; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S410.

(Step S409) The recommendation unit 241 acquires any product information from the product information storage unit 212, and transmits it to the user corresponding to the m-th purchase rhythm information. Specifically, the recommendation unit 241, for example, randomly acquires one product information from the product information storage unit 212, and transmits it to the terminal device 3 of the user corresponding to the user identifier included in the m-th purchase rhythm information. good too.

(Step S410) The recommendation processing unit 23 determines whether or not there is an approximate user (specifically, whether or not an approximate user identifier is held). If there is an approximate user, the process proceeds to step S411; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S412.

(Step S411) The recommendation unit 241 acquires any product information from the product information storage unit 212 and transmits it to the approximate user. Specifically, the recommendation unit 241, for example, randomly acquires product information from the product information storage unit 212, and transmits it to the terminal device 3 of the user corresponding to the approximate user identifier acquired in the approximate user detection process. good too.

(Step S412) The recommendation processing unit 23 increments the variable n. After that, the process returns to step S406.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining approximate user detection processing.

(Step S501) The similar user detection unit 231 determines whether or not there is other purchase history information matching or similar to the m-th purchase history information in at least a certain amount of the two or more pieces of purchase history information. If there is such other purchase history information, the process proceeds to step S502; otherwise, the process returns to the upper process.

(Step S502) The user identifier of the other purchase history information is retained as an approximate user identifier for identifying similar users whose purchase history information is similar to the user corresponding to the m-th purchase history information. After that, it returns to the upper process.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining purchase rhythm update processing.

(Step S601) The recommendation processing unit 23 sets the initial value "1" to the variable i.

(Step S602) The recommendation processing unit 23 determines whether or not the second purchase history information storage unit 213 has i-th purchase history information. If there is the i-th purchase history information, the process proceeds to step S603; otherwise, the process returns to the upper process.

(Step S<b>603 ) The recommendation processing unit 23 acquires the i-th purchase history information from the second purchase history information storage unit 213 .

(Step S604) The recommendation processing unit 23 sets the initial value "1" to the variable j.

(Step S605) The recommendation processing unit 23 determines whether or not the i-th purchase history information includes the j-th purchase information. If there is j-th purchase information, the process proceeds to step S606; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S609.

(Step S606) The second determination unit 232 determines whether or not one or more of the price information or type information included in the j-th purchase information satisfies the condition using the price condition. Since the conditions and price conditions have been described above, the same description will not be repeated. If one or more of the price information or type information included in the j-th purchase information satisfies the condition using the price condition, the process proceeds to step S607; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S608.

(Step S607) The second purchase rhythm determining section 233 acquires the timing information included in the j-th purchase information.

(Step S608) The recommendation processing unit 23 increments the variable j. After that, the process returns to step S605.

(Step S609) The recommendation processing unit 23 determines whether or not two or more pieces of time information have been acquired from the i-th purchase history information. If two or more pieces of time information have been acquired from the i-th purchase history information, the process proceeds to step S610; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S612.

(Step S610) The second purchase rhythm determining section 233 acquires new purchase rhythm information having the two or more period information.

(Step S611) The recommendation processing unit 23 changes the purchase rhythm information stored in the purchase rhythm information storage unit 211, which corresponds to the i-th purchase history information, to the new purchase rhythm information. .

(Step S612) The recommendation processing unit 23 increments the variable i. After that, the process returns to step S602.

A specific operation example of the information system according to the present embodiment will be described below. However, this example does not limit the present invention in any way, and it goes without saying that it can be modified as appropriate. In addition, descriptions of matters already mentioned are omitted or simplified.

A conceptual diagram of the information system is shown in FIG. The information system in this example includes a purchase rhythm information production device 1 , two recommendation devices 2 , and two or more terminal devices 3 . The purchase rhythm information production device 1 is a server of the operating company of this system. One recommendation device 2 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “recommendation device 2a”) is a department store server. The other recommendation device 2 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "recommendation device 2b") is a server of an automobile dealer. The terminal device 3 is a portable terminal carried by a user who purchases merchandise at a department store or the like.

FIG. 10 is a data structure diagram of purchase history information. Purchase history information has a user identifier and two or more pieces of purchase information. The purchase history information is associated with an ID (here, 1, 2, 3, . . . indicating the order). Purchase information includes timing information, price information, and type information. However, the data structure of purchase history information does not matter. The purchase history information storage unit 111 of the purchase rhythm information production apparatus 1 stores three or more pieces of purchase history information as shown in FIG. Also, the same three or more pieces of purchase history information are stored in the second purchase history information storage unit 213 of both of the recommendation devices 2 .

Among the three or more pieces of purchase history information stored in the purchase history information storage unit 111 or the like, the first purchase history information (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “purchase history information 1”) has a user identifier “aa”. , and 5 or more purchase information. Among the five or more pieces of purchase information forming the purchase history information 1, the first purchase information includes time information "October 20", price information "300,000 yen", and type information "-". Note that "-" indicates that the information does not exist (same below). The second purchase information includes time information "January 10", price information "-", and type information "car". The third purchase information includes time information "February 1st", price information "-", and type information "doll". The fourth purchase information includes time information "April 22nd", price information "150,000 yen", and type information "clock". The fifth purchase information includes time information "April 23", price information "20,000 yen", and type information "wine".

The second purchase history information (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “purchase history information 2”) has a user identifier “bb” and four or more pieces of purchase information. Among the four or more pieces of purchase information forming the purchase history information 2, the first purchase information includes time information "October 25", price information "100,000 yen", and type information "bag". The second purchase information includes time information "November 9", price information "80,000 yen", and type information "baby bed". The third purchase information includes time information "April 20", price information "50,000 yen", and type information "restaurant". The fourth purchase information includes time information "June 4", price information "6,000 yen", and type information "wine".

The third purchase history information (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "purchase history information 3") has a user identifier "cc" and two or more pieces of purchase information. Of the two or more pieces of purchase information forming the purchase history information 3, the first purchase information includes time information "November 23", price information "100,000 yen", and type information "-". The second purchase information includes time information "November 9", price information "80,000 yen", and type information "baby bed". The third purchase information includes time information "April 20", price information "50,000 yen", and type information "restaurant". The fourth purchase information includes time information "June 4", price information "6,000 yen", and type information "wine".

FIG. 11 is a data structure diagram of conditions. Conditions have a price condition and a type condition. Conditions are associated with IDs (here, 1, 2, 3, . . . indicating the order). However, the data structure of the condition does not matter. Storage unit 11 of purchase rhythm information production apparatus 1 stores six or more conditions as shown in FIG. In addition, the same five or more conditions may be stored in the recommendation storage unit 21 of either recommendation device 2 . However, the price conditions stored in the recommendation storage unit 21 can be changed for each recommendation device 2 .

Of the six or more conditions stored in the storage unit 11 or the like, the first condition (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "condition 1") is the price condition "200,000 yen or more" and the type condition "-". including. The second condition (“condition 2”) includes the price condition “100,000 yen or more” and the type condition “watch”. The third condition (“condition 3”) includes the price condition “50,000 yen or more” and the type condition “bag”. The fourth condition (“condition 4”) includes the price condition “30,000 yen or more” and the type condition “food and drink”. The fifth condition (“condition 5”) includes the price condition “10,000 yen or more” and the type condition “wine”. The sixth condition ("condition 6") includes the price condition "-" and the type condition "car".

FIG. 12 is a data structure diagram of non-use type information. The non-use type information is associated with an ID (here, 1, 2, 3, . . . indicating the order). However, the data structure of the non-use type information does not matter. The storage unit 11 of the purchase rhythm information production apparatus 1 stores two or more pieces of non-use type information as shown in FIG. In addition, the same two or more pieces of non-use type information may be stored in the recommendation storage unit 21 of either recommendation device 2 . The first non-use type information (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "non-use type information 1") includes "doll". The second non-use type information (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "non-use type information 2") includes "baby bed". Further, the storage unit 11 and the like also store a time shift condition indicating "one week" and an approximation condition indicating "majority".

The operation of the purchase rhythm information production apparatus 1 is shown in the flow charts of FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. For example, when the receiving unit 12 receives new purchase information paired with the user identifier “aa”, the processing unit 13 stores the new purchase information in the purchase history information storage unit 111 in association with the user identifier “aa”. accumulate. As a result, for example, the sixth purchase history is added to the purchase history information 1 corresponding to the user identifier "aa" shown in FIG. The new purchase information is also added to the purchase history information 1 on the recommendation device 2 side.

When the timing for producing purchase rhythm information arrives, purchase rhythm information production processing is executed in accordance with the flowchart of FIG. In the purchase rhythm information production process, steps S202 to S211 are executed for each of the purchase history information 1 to 6 shown in FIG. Stored.

FIG. 13 is a data structure diagram of purchase rhythm information. Purchase rhythm information has a user identifier and timing information. This time information indicates the time two weeks before the time indicated by the time information included in the purchase history information described above.

Specifically, first, regarding the purchase history information 1, the price information of the first purchase information is "300,000 yen", which satisfies the condition 1. Acquire the time information “October 20th”. The information included in the second purchase information is "car", which satisfies condition 6. Therefore, the purchase rhythm determining unit 132 acquires the time information "January 10" included in the second purchase information. The type information included in the third purchase information is "Hina doll", which corresponds to non-use type information 1. Therefore, the purchase rhythm determining unit 132 determines that neither condition is satisfied, and the third purchase information is The time information "February 1st" is not acquired. The pair of price information and type information included in the fourth purchase information is "150,000 yen" and "clock", which satisfies condition 2. Get "April 22nd". The pair of price information and type information included in the fifth purchase information is "20,000 yen" and "wine", which satisfies condition 5. Acquire "April 23rd".

After that, the purchase rhythm determining section 132 obtains rhythm information corresponding to the purchase history information 1 using the price information thus obtained. However, the time information "April 22nd" obtained from the fourth purchase information and the time information "April 23rd" obtained from the fifth purchase information satisfy the time lag condition "within one week". , only one (in this example, the time information "April 22nd" indicating the earlier time) is used for acquisition of purchase rhythm information, and the other is not used. Therefore, the purchase rhythm determining unit 132 adopts three pieces of timing information “October 20,” “January 10,” and “April 22,” out of the four pieces of timing information acquired from the purchase history information 1. , three time information "October 6", "December 27", and "April 8" indicating the time two weeks before. Then, the purchase rhythm determination unit 132 acquires the purchase rhythm information having the user identifier "aa" and the obtained three time information "October 6", "December 27" and "April 8". Then, the acquired purchase rhythm information is stored in the storage unit 11 in association with the ID "1".

Next, regarding purchase history information 2, the pair of price information and type information in the first purchase information is "100,000 yen" and "bag", which satisfies condition 3. Acquire the time information “October 25th” included in the second purchase information. The type information included in the second purchase information is "crib", which corresponds to non-use type information 2. Therefore, the purchase rhythm determination unit 132 selects the timing information "November 9" included in the second purchase information. does not get The pair of price information and type information included in the third purchase information is "50,000 yen" and "eating and drinking". Get "April 20th". The pair of price information and type information included in the fourth purchase information is "6,000 yen" and "wine", which does not satisfy any conditions. The time information “June 4th” is not acquired.

After that, the purchase rhythm determination unit 132 uses the two pieces of time information “October 25th” and “April 20th” thus acquired from the purchase history information 2 to create two pieces of time information indicating the time two weeks before. Obtain "October 11" and "April 4". Then, the purchase rhythm determination unit 132 acquires the purchase rhythm information having the user identifier “bb” and the obtained two pieces of time information “October 11” and “April 4”, and acquires the acquired purchase rhythm information. is stored in the storage unit 11 in association with the ID "2".

Next, regarding the purchase history information 3, the first purchase information has only the price information “100,000 yen” and none of the conditions are satisfied. "November 23rd" is not acquired. The pair of price information and type information included in the second purchase information is "60,000 yen" and "clock", and none of the conditions are satisfied. I don't get April 19th either. Even after that, if the time information is not acquired from the purchase history information 3, the purchase rhythm information corresponding to the purchase history information 3 is not acquired. As a result, purchase rhythm information 1, purchase rhythm information 2, . . . are stored in the storage unit 11 in this way.

The purchase rhythm information 1, the purchase rhythm information 2, and so on acquired by the purchase rhythm information production device 1 are accumulated in the purchase rhythm information storage unit 211 of either recommendation device 2 via a network or a removable recording medium. . The product information storage unit 212 of the recommendation device 2a stores product information of various products handled in the department store, such as watches, bags, wine, and food service. The product information storage unit 212 of the recommendation device 2b stores product information of various products such as automobiles and maintenance services handled by the car dealer.

The operation of the recommendation device 2 is shown in the flow charts of FIGS. 6 to 9. FIG. For example, when the recommendation receiving unit 22 receives new purchase rhythm information paired with the user identifier "cc", the processing unit 13 associates the new purchase rhythm information with the user identifier "cc" and stores the purchase rhythm information. Stored in unit 211 .

Also, when the price condition reception unit 221 receives the price condition, the purchase rhythm information change process of FIG. 9 is executed. For example, if a new price condition indicating a half price of the existing price condition is received, the price conditions "200,000 yen", "100,000 yen", "50,000 yen", " 30,000 yen” and “10,000 yen” will be changed to new price conditions of “100,000 yen”, “50,000 yen”, “25,000 yen”, “15,000 yen”, and “5,000 yen” Be changed. In the purchase rhythm information change process, the same processes as steps S201 to S212 of the purchase rhythm information production process shown in FIG. 5 are performed using the changed price conditions. As a result, the third period information "June 4" is also obtained from the purchase history information 2 shown in FIG. "April 19th" is newly acquired, and the purchase rhythm information 1 to 3 shown in FIG. 14 are stored in the purchase rhythm information storage unit 211 instead of the purchase rhythm information 1 and 2 shown in FIG. result.

When the timing for executing the recommendation processing arrives, the recommendation processing according to the flowchart of FIG. 7 is executed by the recommendation processing unit 23 and the like. In the recommendation process, the recommendation processing unit 23 determines whether or not the current date and time corresponds to the period indicated by each period information for each of the purchase rhythm information 1, 2, . . . shown in FIG. 13 or FIG. In this case, the recommendation unit 241 acquires any product information from the product information storage unit 212 and transmits it to the terminal device 3 identified by the user identifier of the purchase rhythm information including the timing information determined to correspond.

Also, the approximate user detection unit 231 uses two or more pieces of purchase rhythm information stored in the purchase rhythm information storage unit 211 to perform the approximate user detection process of FIG. For example, between the purchase history information 1 and the purchase history information 2 shown in FIG. 10, the timing information "October 6" and "October 11" are so close that they satisfy the timing shift condition "within a week". In addition, the timing information "April 8" and "April 4" are close enough to satisfy the timing shift condition "within one week". Therefore, in the purchase history information 1, two of the three pieces of time information are similar to those in the purchase history information 2, and the approximation condition "majority" is satisfied. It is held as an approximate user identifier corresponding to the user identifier "aa".

For example, if the timing for executing the recommendation process is 11:30 every day, the recommendation process is executed when the current date and time reaches 11:30 on October 6th. Then, since the purchase rhythm information 1 includes the time information "October 6" corresponding to the current date and time, the recommendation unit 241 of the recommendation device 2a acquires product information such as a clock from the product information storage unit 212, It is transmitted to the user or the terminal device 3 identified by the user identifier "aa" included in the purchase rhythm information 1 including the timing information. The watch product information is also transmitted to the user or the terminal device 3 identified by the approximate user identifier “bb”. Also, the recommendation unit 241 of the recommendation device 2b acquires, for example, the product information of automobiles from the product information storage unit 212, and transmits it to the user or the terminal device 3 similarly identified by the user identifier “aa”. The automobile product information is also transmitted to the user or the terminal device 3 identified by the approximate user identifier "bb". As a result, user aa and its close user bb receive product information on products such as watches and automobiles on October 6th of each year.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, one or more purchase history information having a user identifier and two or more pieces of purchase information including one or more of time information and price information or type information is stored. determines whether or not one or more of price information or type information included in the purchase information satisfies a predetermined condition, and 1 or 2 included in the purchase information determined to satisfy the condition for each user identifier Purchasing rhythm information production that acquires purchase rhythm information, which is information specifying the purchase rhythm of the user identified by the user identifier, from the above period information, and stores the acquired purchase rhythm information in association with the user identifier. The device 1 can easily acquire information on product purchase rhythms.

Further, in the purchase rhythm information production apparatus 1, the purchase history information includes type information, and stores one or more type information corresponding to the types of products not used to form the purchase rhythm information. By judging that one or more types of information provided does not satisfy a predetermined condition, it is possible to acquire purchase rhythm information of products excluding a certain type of product.

In the purchase rhythm information producing apparatus 1, the purchase rhythm information has two or more pieces of timing information, and if the timings indicated by the two or more pieces of timing information are close enough to satisfy a predetermined condition, the two or more pieces of timing information are used. By acquiring one piece of period information and acquiring purchase rhythm information having one piece of period information, the piece of period information for which the period is not open can be collected and the purchase rhythm information can be appropriately acquired.

Further, the purchase rhythm information accumulated by the purchase rhythm information production apparatus 1 is stored in association with the user identifier, and one or more product information, which is the information of the product to be recommended, is stored and identified by the user identifier. A recommendation device 2 that transmits any one of one or more stored product information to a user or a terminal device 3 at a time indicated by time information included in the purchase rhythm information. can be used to make recommendations to the user at the appropriate time.

In addition, in the recommendation device 2, two pieces of purchase history information that are similar enough to satisfy a predetermined condition are detected, and purchase rhythm information corresponding to the user identifier possessed by one of the two pieces of purchase history information is included in the purchase history information. is used to identify one of the one or more stored product information at the time indicated by the time information included in the purchase rhythm information by the user identifier included in the other purchase history information. 3 or by sending it to the user, it is possible to make recommendations using other people's purchase rhythm information.

In addition, in the recommendation device 2, two or more pieces of purchase history information having a user identifier and two or more pieces of purchase information including time information and price information are stored, and price conditions are received and two or more pieces of purchase information are stored. determines whether or not the conditions are satisfied using the received price conditions, and purchase rhythm of the user identified by the user identifier based on one or more timing information contained in the purchase information determined to satisfy the conditions. and acquires purchase rhythm information having one or more timing information, and sends the user or terminal device 3 identified by the user identifier to the timing indicated by the timing information included in the acquired purchase rhythm information, By transmitting any product information out of one or more stored product information, the recommendation device 2 side can change the price threshold and dynamically generate purchase rhythm information.

Furthermore, the processing in this embodiment may be realized by software. Then, this software may be distributed by software download or the like. Also, this software may be recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM and distributed. Note that this also applies to other embodiments in this specification.

The software that implements the rhythm information production apparatus 1 in this embodiment is, for example, the following program. In other words, the computer-accessible recording medium contains at least one of a user identifier that identifies the user, time information about when the user purchased the product, price information about the purchase price, and type information that indicates the type of product. and a purchase history information storage unit 111 that stores one or more purchase history information having two or more purchase information including From the judgment unit 131 for judging whether or not one or more information satisfies a predetermined condition, and one or more timing information contained in the purchase information judged by the judgment unit 131 to satisfy the condition for each user identifier. a purchase rhythm determination unit 132 that acquires purchase rhythm information that is information specifying the purchase rhythm of the user identified by the user identifier; and associates the purchase rhythm information acquired by the purchase rhythm determination unit 132 with the user identifier. It is a program for functioning as an accumulation unit 133 for accumulating by

Also, the software that implements the recommendation device 2 in the present embodiment is, for example, the following program. In other words, the computer-accessible recording medium is the purchase rhythm information storage unit 211, which stores the purchase rhythm information accumulated by the purchase rhythm information production apparatus 1 in association with the user identifier, and the information of the product to be recommended. and a product information storage unit 212 in which one or more product information is stored. This program causes the computer to send the user or the terminal device 3 identified by the user identifier to the time indicated by the time information included in the purchase rhythm information. , to function as a recommendation unit 241 that transmits any one of product information among one or more product information stored in the product information storage unit 212 .

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of a computer system 900 that implements the purchase rhythm information production device 1, the recommendation device 2, etc. by executing the program according to the present embodiment. The embodiments can be implemented by computer hardware and computer programs executed thereon. In FIG. 15, computer system 900 comprises computer 901 including disk drive 905 , keyboard 902 , mouse 903 and display 904 . The entire system including the keyboard 902, mouse 903, and display 904 may be called a computer.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the computer system 900. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 16, in addition to the disk drive 905, a computer 901 is connected to an MPU 911, a ROM 912 for storing programs such as a boot-up program, and the MPU 911 to temporarily store instructions of application programs and temporarily A RAM 913 that provides storage space, a storage 914 that stores application programs, system programs, and data, a bus 915 that interconnects the MPU 911, ROM 912, etc., and provides connections to networks such as external networks and internal networks. a network card 916; Storage 914 is, for example, a hard disk, solid state drive, flash memory, or the like.

A program that causes the computer system 900 to execute the functions of the purchase rhythm information production apparatus 1 and the like may be stored on a disk 921 such as a DVD or CD-ROM, inserted into the disk drive 905, and transferred to the storage 914. good. Alternatively, the program may be transmitted to computer 901 over a network and stored in storage 914 . Programs are loaded into RAM 913 during execution. Note that the program may be loaded directly from disk 921 or from the network. Also, the program may be read into the computer system 900 via another removable recording medium (eg, DVD, memory card, etc.) instead of the disk 921 .

The program does not necessarily have to include an operating system (OS) or a third-party program that executes the functions of the purchase rhythm information producing apparatus 1 or the like in the computer details 901 . A program may contain only those portions of instructions that call the appropriate functions or modules in a controlled manner to produce the desired result. How the computer system 900 operates is well known and will not be described in detail. In the above program, the transmission step for transmitting information and the reception step for receiving information are performed by hardware. not included).

Also, the number of computers that execute the above programs may be singular or plural. That is, centralized processing may be performed, or distributed processing may be performed.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, two or more communication means (a communication module that realizes the receiving function of the reception unit 12, a communication module that realizes the transmission function of the output unit 14, etc.) existing in one device are physically Needless to say, it may be realized by a single medium.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, each process (each function) may be implemented by centralized processing by a single device (system), or may be implemented by distributed processing by a plurality of devices. may be

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and that various modifications are possible and are also included within the scope of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the purchase rhythm information production apparatus and the like according to the present invention have the effect of being able to acquire the purchase rhythm information of the user's product and make a recommendation using the purchase rhythm information, and are useful as a purchase rhythm information production apparatus and the like. is.

1 purchase rhythm information production device 2, 2a, 2b recommendation device 3 terminal device 11 storage unit 12 reception unit 13 processing unit 14 output unit 21 recommendation storage unit 22 recommendation reception unit 23 recommendation processing unit 24 recommendation output unit 111 purchase history information storage unit 112 non-use type information storage unit 131 determination unit 132 purchase rhythm determination unit 133 accumulation unit 211 purchase rhythm information storage unit 212 product information storage unit 213 second purchase history information storage unit 221 price condition reception unit 231 approximate user detection unit 232 second Determination unit 233 Second purchase rhythm determination unit 241 Recommendation unit

Claims (8)

a user identifier for identifying a user; and two or more pieces of purchase information including one or more of time information about when the user purchased the product, price information about the purchase price, and type information indicating the type of product. a purchase history information storage unit that stores one or more pieces of purchase history information;
a determination unit that determines whether or not price information included in purchase information satisfies a condition for specifying that a product corresponding to the purchase information is a high-priced product ;
For each user identifier, the purchasing rhythm of the user identified by the user identifier is specified based on the timing information contained in the purchase information of two or more products determined by the determination unit to satisfy the conditions. a purchase rhythm determination unit that acquires purchase rhythm information that is information to
an accumulation unit for accumulating the purchase rhythm information acquired by the purchase rhythm determination unit in association with the user identifier;
The purchase history information includes type information,
further comprising a non-use type information storage unit for storing one or more type information corresponding to types of products that are products that are not used to form purchase rhythm information and that are purchased only once ;
The determination unit
A purchase rhythm information production apparatus for determining that one or more types of information stored in the non-use type information storage unit do not satisfy a predetermined condition. The conditions for identifying the high-priced item are:
including price terms relating to the price of goods corresponding to each of the one or more types of goods;
The purchase information has type information,
The determination unit
2. The purchase rhythm information producing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not price information contained in said purchase information matches price conditions corresponding to a product type indicated by said type information contained in said purchase information. The purchase rhythm information has time information of a time that is not regular,
The time information of the irregular time is information of time when the interval between two adjacent times is not constant for three or more times, or other time that is not related to one time and the one time. 3. The purchase rhythm information producing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is temporary information. a purchase rhythm information production device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ;
a purchase rhythm information storage unit that stores the purchase rhythm information accumulated by the purchase rhythm information production apparatus in association with a user identifier;
a product information storage unit that stores one or more product information, which is information about products to be recommended;
Any product information out of one or more product information stored in the product information storage unit is sent to the user or terminal device identified by the user identifier at the time indicated by the time information included in the purchase rhythm information. a recommendation device comprising a recommendation unit for transmitting ;
An information system comprising a user identifier for identifying a user; and two or more pieces of purchase information including one or more of time information about when the user purchased the product, price information about the purchase price, and type information indicating the type of product. A purchase history information storage unit that stores one or more pieces of purchase history information, and stores one or more type information corresponding to the types of products that are purchased only once and that are not used to form purchase rhythm information. A purchase rhythm information production method performed by a non-use type information storage unit, a judgment unit, a purchase rhythm determination unit, and a storage unit, comprising:
a judgment step in which the judging unit judges whether or not the price information included in the purchase information satisfies a condition for specifying that the product corresponding to the purchase information is a high-priced product;
The purchase rhythm determination unit selects, for each user identifier, purchase information determined to satisfy the condition in the determination step, and the user identified by the user identifier from time information included in purchase information of two or more products. a purchase rhythm determination step of acquiring purchase rhythm information that is information specifying the purchase rhythm of the product;
an accumulation step in which the accumulation unit accumulates the purchase rhythm information acquired in the purchase rhythm determination step in association with a user identifier;
The purchase history information includes type information,
In the judgment step,
A method for producing purchase rhythm information, wherein one or more types of information stored in the non-use type information storage unit do not satisfy a predetermined condition. a purchase rhythm information production method according to claim 5;
A purchase rhythm information storage unit that stores the purchase rhythm information accumulated by the purchase rhythm information production apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 in association with a user identifier, and information on recommended products. A recommendation method performed by a product information storage unit storing one or more product information and a recommendation unit,
The recommending unit instructs the user or terminal device identified by the user identifier to select one or more pieces of product information stored in the product information storage unit at the time indicated by the timing information included in the purchase rhythm information. a recommendation method including a recommendation step for transmitting product information ;
An information processing method comprising : a user identifier for identifying a user; and two or more pieces of purchase information including one or more of time information about when the user purchased the product, price information about the purchase price, and type information indicating the type of product. A purchase history information storage unit for storing one or more pieces of purchase history information, and one or more type information corresponding to the types of products that are not used to form purchase rhythm information and are purchased only once. a computer accessible to the stored non-use type information store,
a determination unit that determines whether or not price information included in purchase information satisfies a condition for specifying that a product corresponding to the purchase information is a high-priced product ;
For each user identifier, the purchasing rhythm of the user identified by the user identifier is specified based on the timing information contained in the purchase information of two or more products determined by the determination unit to satisfy the conditions. a purchase rhythm determination unit that acquires purchase rhythm information that is information to
A program for functioning as an accumulation unit for accumulating purchase rhythm information acquired by the purchase rhythm determination unit in association with a user identifier,
The purchase history information includes type information,
The determination unit
A program for causing the computer to function as one that determines that one or more types of information stored in the non-use type information storage unit do not satisfy a predetermined condition. a user identifier for identifying a user; and two or more pieces of purchase information including one or more of time information about when the user purchased the product, price information about the purchase price, and type information indicating the type of product. A purchase history information storage unit for storing one or more pieces of purchase history information, and one or more type information corresponding to the types of products that are not used to form purchase rhythm information and are purchased only once. a stored non-use type information storage unit; a purchase rhythm information storage unit that stores the purchase rhythm information accumulated by the purchase rhythm information production device according to claim 1 or claim 2 in association with a user identifier; a computer that can access a product information storage unit that stores one or more product information, which is information about products to be purchased;
a determination unit that determines whether or not price information included in purchase information satisfies a condition for specifying that a product corresponding to the purchase information is a high-priced product;
For each user identifier, the purchasing rhythm of the user identified by the user identifier is specified based on the timing information contained in the purchase information of two or more products determined by the determination unit to satisfy the conditions. a purchase rhythm determination unit that acquires purchase rhythm information that is information to
A program for functioning as an accumulation unit for accumulating purchase rhythm information acquired by the purchase rhythm determination unit in association with a user identifier,
The purchase history information includes type information,
The determination unit
A program for causing the computer to function as one that determines that one or more types of information stored in the non-use type information storage unit do not satisfy a predetermined condition,
Any product information out of one or more product information stored in the product information storage unit is sent to the user or terminal device identified by the user identifier at the time indicated by the time information included in the purchase rhythm information. A program for functioning as a recommendation part to be sent.

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