JPH086959A - Electronic catalog device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the generation of overlapped ordering due to a user's miss by displaying commodity information read out from a recording medium, selecting a commodity based upon the information, preparing ordering information, and at the time of ordering the same commodity, displaying an alarm. CONSTITUTION:When a consumer requests the sending of a catalog to a trader, the trader registers the consumer in a customer data base 81 and sends the catalogs (CD-ROM 10) in accordance with the the request. The consumer reproduces the catalog, displays commodity information on a monitor 2 and retrieves commodities. At the time of detecting a commodity to be purchased, the consumer transmits/receives data to/from a computer 8 through a public line 6 to execute purchasing processing. The ordered commodity information is written in a nonvolatile memory in a CD-ROM player 1. At the time of specifying the purchase of the commodity, a purchase flag area in the nonvolatile memory is checked, and when the same commodity was ordered in the past, an alarm picture is displayed on the monitor 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a novel electronic catalog device using a recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As one form of mail order, a catalog book is regularly sent to consumers, the ordered product is filled in on the attached form, the order form is shipped, and the product is shipped accordingly. There is something.

In such a system, the amount of information in the catalog book has become extremely large due to the subdivision and diversification of products, and it takes a lot of time and effort to obtain the necessary information. Is coming.

For the same reason as described above, the catalog books are very thick or divided into separate volumes, which results in an increase in catalog book production costs and delivery costs that mail-order companies bear. .

In response to the large-scale catalog book and complicated search as described above, the catalog data is recorded in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM to reduce the weight of the catalog and reduce the delivery cost. , An electronic catalog system has been proposed that simplifies editing and revision to reduce production costs and eliminates the complexity of information retrieval. (JP 62-55767, JP 2-18669, JP 2
-268369)

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic catalog device having a new ordering information creating function in such an electronic catalog system, in which the user mistakenly duplicates the same product. The purpose is to provide a device that is not ordered.

[0007]

An electronic catalog device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a recording medium on which information on a plurality of products is recorded, and a means for reading the recording information from the recording medium.
Display means for displaying the read product information, means for selecting a product related to the displayed information, means for creating ordering information for the selected product, and means for ordering a product based on the ordering information, It comprises a means for storing the ordered product information and a control means for controlling to display a warning when an order for the same product is made more than once based on the contents of the storage means.

A second aspect of the invention is a recording medium on which information on a plurality of products is recorded, a means for reading the recorded information from the recording medium, a display means for displaying the read product information, and the displayed information. Means for selecting a product related to the product, means for creating ordering information related to the selected product, means for connecting to the communication means of the seller of the product via a communication network, and the ordering information for using the means. It is provided with a means for transmitting to the communication means of the seller and a control means for controlling to display the warning when the warning of the duplicate order is received from the communication means of the seller.

[0009]

In the first aspect of the present invention, the warning can be displayed before the user duplicately creates the order information.

In the second invention, it is possible to prevent duplicate orders based on the past order history stored in the computer of the seller.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a system using an electronic catalog device of the present invention. A computer 8 of a mail-order company is connected to a public line 6 via a modem 7,
A number of consumer modems 5 (one consumer is shown in the figure) are connected here. The computer 8 has databases 81 and 82 of customer information and product information.
The core of this system is the CD-ROM player 1
Therefore, it is possible to transmit / receive data to / from the modem 5, and thus to / from the computer 8. CD
The ROM player 1 is loaded with a catalog of the CD-ROM 10 sent from a vendor every month or every four seasons and played.

An input device 3 such as a mouse and a control pad is connected to the CD-ROM player 1, and a CD-RO
The M10 reproduction instruction, screen change, ordering instruction, etc. are performed by this. CD in the CD-ROM player 1
A monitor 2 for displaying information read from the ROM 10, input information from the input device 3, and the like, and a printer 4 for printing order information are connected.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the CD-ROM player 1. The MPU 11 is a control center of the player 1, and controls the ROM 12 storing the control program of the CD-ROM player 1, the RAM 13 as a work memory, the non-volatile memory 14 for storing order information, and the CD-ROM reproducing device 18. Auxiliary storage control device 19, input device 3
An input control device 15 which is an interface of the printer, an output control device 16 which is an interface of the printer 4, a communication control device 17 which transmits and receives to and from the modem 5, and a video which stores image information and audio information to be displayed on the monitor 2 respectively. It is connected to the bus together with the memory 20 and the voice buffer 21 and enables data transmission / reception between them. The other video D / A converter 22 converts the digital data in the video memory 20 into analog data when it is given to the monitor 2, and also the audio D / A converter 2
Reference numeral 3 is for converting the digital data in the audio buffer 21 into analog data when it is given to the monitor 2.

Next, the information recorded on the CD-ROM 10 will be described. Table 1 shows an example of product information stored in the CD-ROM 10. That is, the CD
-In order to organize in the ROM 10, it has display data that makes use of the characteristics of the CD-ROM in addition to the number, the large classification, the small classification to which each product belongs, the product name (including the model number etc.), the price, and the product code. That is, it includes text, image information (still images such as photographs, computer graphics, moving images such as videos) displayed on the monitor 2 screen, and voice information (music, narration) to be output from the speaker.

[0015]

[Table 1]

Further, the CD-ROM 10 includes a control program for operating the electronic catalog system and a CD-ROM.
ID information for identifying the ROM 10 is stored, and MP
U11 reads the control program first and then RAM13
, And perform control as will be described later.

When the CD-ROM player 1 is constructed as a dedicated machine for the electronic catalog system, its control program may be stored in the ROM 12. Also CD-
It is also possible to record only the product information as described above in the ROM 10 and provide the control program with a memory card or the like.

Next, the entire system will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining how to use the entire system. When the consumer requests the trader for the catalog by telephone, mail or the like (S37), the trader checks whether the consumer is registered as a customer in the customer database 81 of the computer 8 (S47), and does not register. In the case of, this consumer is registered (S48). Then, the catalog (CD-ROM 10) is shipped in response to the request (S49). The consumer loads the sent CD-ROM 10 into the player 1 and reproduces it (S38). Then, the recorded product information is displayed on the monitor 2 to search for the product (S39, S40, S43). Inquiries about the stock of commodities are made if necessary (S41, S42).
For this purpose, communication using the public line 6 is performed with the computer 8 of the trader. In response to this inquiry, the computer 8 searches the product database 82 and provides inventory information (S50). This inquiry includes not only inventory information but also delivery date and other information.

If there is a purchased product (S44), a purchase process (S45) is performed. In this case as well, data transmission / reception with the computer 8 is performed via the public line 6, and the computer 8 performs the order acceptance process (S51). After that, the product is shipped (S52) and the price is paid (S46).

Next, the record information of the CD-ROM 10 is displayed, and the operation for searching for a desired product and the MPU 11 are performed.
The procedure of the processing by will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

When the CD-ROM 10 is loaded into the player 1 and the power is turned on (S53), it is determined whether the CD-ROM 10 is the same as the one used before, and the nonvolatile memory 1
The ID recorded in 4 is checked (S54). I
If it is recognized that the D is different, that is, the CD-ROM 10 is different from the existing one, the purchase flag area provided in the nonvolatile memory 14 is cleared and the ID of the new CD-ROM is stored (S55). , S56).
If the same CD-ROM is recognized, nothing is done and the main menu shown in FIG. 7 is displayed (S5).
7). An operation of selecting a desired menu may be performed by operating the input device 3 (S58), but as the menu, the products are displayed in the order of products (S67), and the desired product is searched [There are two ways, only the items are searched. Item search (S5
9) and a condition search (S60) for searching by a plurality of conditions (such as item and price)], and a mode (S61) for displaying only the purchase specified. These modes will be described later. These modes are selected by operating the input device 3 (clicking the mouse, etc.).

The product order display (S67) mode is one product
Each screen is sequentially displayed according to the operation of the input device 3, and an example thereof is shown in FIG. Still image information is displayed on the screen, and the product introduction narration is output by voice.
Soft function keys are displayed at the bottom of the screen. By operating this soft function key, the user can sequentially view the products, as will be described later.

When "Search for product" is selected in the main menu (S57), a menu for product search as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed. Item search as shown (S5
When (corresponding to 9) is selected, the item search screen as shown in FIG. When the soft key “Select” is selected, the designated large category is selected, and a small category product list as shown in FIG. 10B is displayed. The soft key "Return" returns to the main menu. When the soft key “display” is selected in the state of FIG. 10B, the instructed sub-category list display (S62) is performed. When the soft key “Select” is selected, the lower classification of the designated small classification is displayed, and when it is the lowest classification, a list display (S6
2). The soft key "Return" returns to the screen of FIG. 11 and 12 show examples of the list display screen,
The former is a list display in the text mode, and the latter is a list display in the image mode.

The soft keys "image mode" and "text mode" are used to switch the display modes. When the soft key “Display” is selected, the instructed product is displayed as shown in FIG. 8 (S65). The soft key “search” is re-searched (S62) and the screen returns to the screen of FIG. The softkey "Exit" returns to the main menu. (S57) FIG.
Reference numerals 3 and 14 show screens when the condition retrieval (S60) mode is selected. First, a list of search condition items is displayed (FIG. 13A), and the conditions of the corresponding item are displayed in a list by selecting an item and operating the soft key “select”. (Fig. 1
3 (b)) FIG. 14 (a) shows a case where "item" is selected. "Return" with the soft keys in FIG. 13 is for instructing to return to the previous screen. The soft key “add condition” is for instructing to add a further narrowing condition, and returns to the condition item selection screen in FIG. 13A to select another item. 14
(A) shows a state in which two conditions of item and price are set.
The soft key “condition deletion” is for instructing deletion of the already set item, and the soft key “start of search” is for instructing search under the set condition. When this search is instructed, the MPU 11 detects the condition of the setting condition from the product information of the CD-ROM 10, and displays the number of searches as shown in FIG. 14 (b). The soft key “display” displays a list of the search results as shown in FIG. 11 or 12.

In the case of selecting [View products to be purchased] in the menu for searching for products (FIG. 9) (S6
In 1), the MPU 11 detects a product for which purchase is set from the product information of the CD-ROM 10, and displays the number of searches as shown in FIG. 14B.

Next, the display of products (S65, S67) will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 5 in which this operation is further detailed.

When "view product" is selected on the main menu screen of FIG. 7 or when "display" is selected on the search result list display screen of FIGS. 11 and 12, the MPU 11 displays the product as shown in FIG. (S6
9), then wait for input by soft key.

In the screen of FIG. 8, softkeys "next product" and "previous product" are used to instruct display of products next and previous to those in FIGS. The soft key “Return” is for instructing to return to FIG. 11 or 12.

When the soft key "Purchase" is instructed, the purchase flag area provided in the non-volatile memory 14 is checked to confirm whether the product has been instructed to be purchased in the past (S73). If the purchase flag is 0, indicating that there is no order history in the past, the process proceeds to the purchase process (S76). Also,
If the purchase flag is not 0 and an order has been placed in the past, a warning screen is displayed (S74). FIG. 21 shows a warning screen. If "Purchase" is instructed on this screen,
When “cancel” is instructed in the purchase process (S76), the purchase process is not performed and the screen returns to the screen shown in FIG. In the purchase process (S76), the product designated for purchase is stored in the purchased product list. This list is provided in either the RAM 13 or the non-volatile memory 14. When it is provided in the RAM 13, it is written in the nonvolatile memory 14 after being transferred to the computer 8.

When the "end" or "return" soft key is selected, the routine exits from S77 and the routine shown in FIG.
Return to S66 or S68.

Next, the purchase flag area provided in the non-volatile memory 14 will be described. FIG. 6 schematically shows this purchase flag area. The address of the memory is paired with the product number, and 1 bit is allocated to 1 product (1 address). Initially, all 0s are written in this area, but as described with reference to FIG. 5, it is set to 1 when the purchase process is performed (S76). Therefore, it can be seen that the product whose memory area value is 0 has never been ordered.

As will be described later, this purchase flag is rewritten when the purchase is canceled.

FIG. 15 to FIG. 17 are flowcharts showing the procedure of the purchase process when "order product" is selected in the main menu.

First, the contents of the above list of purchased commodities are displayed on the monitor 2 (S1). FIG. 18 shows an example of the display screen. In this example, the number, the item, the number, and the price are displayed, and the total price including tax is also displayed. For product confirmation (S2), when the product information is displayed, the product and the soft key "display" are selected and instructed (S3).
If there is a product to be canceled that has been stored in the purchased product list (S4), the product and soft key "Delete" are selected and instructed. As a result, the product is deleted from the purchased product list, and the purchase flag is set to 0 (S5). To cancel the purchase of all products, select the function key "Cancel purchase" (S)
6). Also in this case, the purchase flag of each product is set to 0 (S29).

When ordering after finishing the above processing (S7)
In order to make an offline order, that is, to order by mail, select and instruct the soft key "Print" (S)
8). When "print" is instructed, the order information is printed by the printer 4 (S30). The ordering information includes the orderer's address, name, ordering date, etc. in addition to the contents of the purchased product list. The address and name of the orderer may be provided by the CD-ROM 10, or may be provided by a control program separately provided by a memory card or the like. When a keyboard is provided as the input device 3, it may be performed by the input operation of the orderer.

When the soft key "order" is selected and instructed, an online order is made, and the MPU 11 sets the communication control unit 17
To issue a predetermined command to call processing of the telephone number of the trader. By this call, the player 1 is connected to the computer 8 via the modem 5, the public line 6 and the modem 7 (S
9). Then, the order information is transmitted (S10). Upon receipt of this, the computer 8 checks the product database 82, and returns information such as the presence or absence of stock, the delivery date when there is no stock, and the unavailability (sold out) (S31). The player 1 sets this in FIG.
The monitor 2 is displayed as shown in (S11). Even at this stage, some products can be deleted, previous products can be deleted, and previous products can be deleted by using the soft keys (S12, S13, S1).
4). These processes not only correct the purchased product list in the player 1 at this stage, but also send it to the computer 8 side to request the correction. Further, the purchase flag in the player 1 is set to 0.

On the other hand, when the soft key "order" is instructed to be selected, the purchased product list is confirmed and the ordering process is performed (S15). In response to this, the computer 8 requests the password (S32). FIG. 20 shows the display screen of the monitor 2 when this request is received, and the password is input here (S16). When a keyboard is not provided as the input device 3, a method of selecting characters one by one by clicking and confirming one digit at a time is adopted. When the password is transmitted, the computer 8 checks the received password from the customer information in the database 81 (S33). If the password is inappropriate, the computer 8 sends an order refusal signal, and the player 1 receiving this signal disconnects the line (S1).
7, S23). If the password is correct (S1
8) The computer 8 searches the purchase list of the customer stored in the customer database 81 to check whether there is a duplicate order (S34). If duplicate orders are received, the player 1 is instructed to display a warning (S35). In response to this, the player 1 displays the warning display shown in FIG. 21 and waits for input (S20). If there is an instruction, a purchase instruction or a cancellation instruction is given to the computer 8 based on the instruction of the user. When there are a plurality of duplicate ordered products, the above work is performed for all products.

After confirmation of all duplicate ordered products,
Order confirmation data is sent from the computer 8 (S3
6) Received because it comes. Computer 8
After confirming that the receipt completion data has been sent from, the line is disconnected (S23). The signal form used for data communication is arbitrary.

When an order is placed (S24), the order information is stored in the RAM 13 and transferred to the nonvolatile memory 14 (S22). (When the order list is provided in the RAM 13) Further, the printer 4 prints it so as to retain it as confirmation information (S23). In addition, during this time, it is also displayed on the monitor 2 (S24).

If no order is placed, the purchase flag is set to 0.
And then finish.

Although the CD-ROM is used as the storage medium in the above-described embodiment, any other random access such as a semiconductor memory can be used.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, when duplicate orders are placed, a warning is displayed based on the information stored in the purchase area flag area, so that the user mistakenly places an order. Things can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an entire electronic catalog system using an apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electronic catalog device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the entire system.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of processing for searching and displaying products.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of processing for displaying a product.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a purchase flag area.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a main menu screen.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a product screen.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a menu screen in the case of product search.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a large classification display screen in the case of product search.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a result screen in the case of product search.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a result screen in the case of product search.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen in the case of condition search.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen in the case of conditional search.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a purchase process.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of a purchase process.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a purchase process.

FIG. 18 is a screen display example during the purchase process.

FIG. 19 is an example of a screen display during the purchase process.

FIG. 20 is an example of a screen display during the purchase process.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing a confirmation screen for duplicate purchase processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 CD-ROM player 2 monitor 3 input device 4 printer 5 modem 10 CD-ROM 11 MPU 12 ROM 13 RAM 14 non-volatile memory 18 CD-ROM playback device

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Miyake 2-5-5 Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Seiichi Horiguchi 2-chome Keihan-hondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No. 5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A recording medium on which information on a plurality of products is recorded, a unit for reading the recorded information from the recording medium, a display unit for displaying the read product information, and a product for the displayed information. Based on the contents of the storage means, means for creating order information for the selected product, means for ordering the product based on the order information, means for storing the ordered product information, An electronic catalog device comprising control means for displaying a warning when an order for the same product is made twice or more. 2. A recording medium on which information on a plurality of products is recorded, a means for reading the recorded information from the recording medium, a display means for displaying the read product information, and a product for the displayed information. Selecting means, means for creating ordering information related to the selected product, means for connecting to the communication means of the seller of the product via a communication network, and the ordering information for the seller using the means. The electronic catalog device, which is provided with a control unit that controls to display the warning when a warning indicating that there is a duplicate order is received from the communication unit of the seller and the communication unit of the seller. 3. The electronic catalog device according to claim 1, wherein when detecting that the recording medium has been replaced, and when detecting that the recording medium has been replaced,
An electronic catalog device comprising: means for clearing the contents of means for storing product information for which order information is created by the order information creating means.