JPH11175631A - Shopping supporting system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make guidable a costomer relating the content of food with sales floor of merchandise by extracting a menu name list, food name list, and place information from a data base, and displaying them on a terminal equipment. SOLUTION: For example, a customer selects curry rice from a menu name list on the screen of a terminal equipment, and operates the button of pork curry. Picture information is extracted from the data base of the server, and transmitted to a terminal equipment, and a screen 40 is displayed. A desired food name is selected by operating a check button displayed before each displayed food name. Detail 61 of the selected food(port) is displayed by operating a button 41. An arrangement diagram 51 for indicating the place (food place) of a rack for selling the selected food is displayed by operating a button 43. The hatching part indicates the sales place of pork.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a shopping support system using a computer network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, information for shopping at department stores, supermarkets and the like has been provided using a wide area network such as a LAN. In a shopping system performed by such an information guide system, terminals are installed at various places in a sales floor, and shopping information stored in a host computer, for example, a bargain notice, a sales floor guide for each type of product is provided to the terminal. it's shown.

[0003]

In a conventional shopping support system, when a customer wants to make a certain shopping, a map showing the sales floor on each floor is displayed, and the name of the sales floor where the user sells the desired product is found. . Such an operation is performed by trial and error, and if the desired sales floor is not displayed on the map of a certain floor, the customer displays the next floor so that the customer can display the map until the desired sales floor is found. You have to repeat the operation.

[0004] Further, the information on the sales floor is general information, and detailed information is often not displayed. For example, when a housewife buys food for dinner, he considers a menu in advance and purchases food that meets the menu. If the sales floor of this food is not known, in the conventional system, only the food sales floor is shown in the map of the sales floor guide, and it is not displayed where the food is sold in the food sales floor.

[0005] Therefore, the customer must search for desired food while walking around the food section by himself or ask a store clerk for the section.

[0006] Therefore, a first object of the present invention is to provide a shopping support system that meets the needs of the user and that can provide more detailed information guidance on food.

[0007] A second object of the present invention is to provide a shopping support system that can guide a user by associating the guidance of the contents of food with the sales floor of the product, and assists the customer to make a purchase that meets the budget.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, a communication is performed between a plurality of terminal devices and a server, and the server transmits the plurality of terminal devices to the terminal device. In a shopping support system that provides guidance regarding the location of food to a terminal device connected to the server, a menu name list, a food name list used for each menu name,
A database storing storage location information indicating a storage location corresponding to the food name is installed in the server, the terminal device displays the menu name list, and selects a menu name from the display, A food name list corresponding to the selected menu name is displayed, a food name is selected from the display, information on the location of the selected food name is displayed, and the server displays the terminal device. The menu name list, the food name list, and the storage location information provided for the terminal device are retrieved from the database and provided to the terminal device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the shopping support system according to the first aspect, the storage location information is a layout drawing.

[0010] According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the shopping support system according to the first aspect, the terminal device can input a food name, and the server stores location information on the food name input from the terminal. Is retrieved from the database and provided to the terminal device, and the terminal device can display the provided storage location information.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 6 shows a system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, a telephone line (a public telephone line,
(Any dedicated telephone line is acceptable.) 101 has 10 or more terminals
0 is connected. A plurality of terminals are installed at a plurality of locations in a store. A personal computer owned by each home can also be used as the terminal device 100.

In this embodiment, a description will be given on the assumption that the telephone line is a dedicated telephone line and the terminal device 100 is installed in a store. The telephone line 101 is further connected to the WWW server 10
2 is connected. The WWW server 102 is a terminal device 10
0 is a server that provides food guidance information according to the present invention. This guidance information is transmitted to computer systems 103, 1 having an AP server and a host computer.
04 and is stored in a storage device in the WWW server 102. The AP server is a server that edits characters and images indicating the guide information, and the host computer accepts input of characters from a keyboard or the like, and draws and inputs images. This computer system is installed in stores at different locations. At each store, computer systems 103 and 104 provide guidance information on products handled at their own stores so that they can carry comprehensive guidance that is commonly provided to all stores, and guidance information (described later) that provides detailed guidance within their stores.
And registered in the WWW server 102.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the appearance of the terminal device 100 installed at the store side. The terminal device shown in FIG. 7 is a fixed type, and has a keyboard for inputting information and a display 102 for displaying information. The terminal device shown in FIG. 7 is connected to the telephone line 101 by wire.

The terminal device 100 shown in FIG. 8 is mobile, and the portable terminal device 100 is mounted on a shopping cart. The terminal device 100 is also a keyboard 10
1 and a display 102. The portable terminal device 100 is wirelessly connected to a telephone line.

In the WWW server 102, display information for displaying window screens for product guidance as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and display information for displaying on these window screens as shown in FIGS. A database having data is stored in advance.

This database has various data corresponding to the types of data as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (d) and FIGS. 5 (e) to 5 (f). In the present embodiment, when the customer selects a desired menu from the menu list on the screen of the terminal device 100, a list of food names related to the menu is displayed. The data relating to the type, unit price, and the position of the shelf where the food is stored can be retrieved from the database and displayed on the terminal device 100.

The shopping support process for foods executed in such a system configuration will be described below. FIG. 9 shows a procedure performed on the terminal device 100 side. FIG. 10 is WW
The processing procedure executed on the W server 102 will be described.

When the power of the terminal device 100 is turned on, the WWW server 102 and the terminal device 100 are connected in the same manner as the connection between the conventional terminal device (so-called client) and the server.
(S10 in FIG. 9, S1 in FIG. 10)
10). Thereafter, the main menu screen 10 of FIG. 1 stored in the WWW server 102 is transferred to the terminal device 100 and displayed (S20 in FIG. 9, S12 in FIG. 10).
0).

The display screen shown in FIG.
2 and a button 13 are displayed. The button 11 is a button for instructing the menu screen display screen 20. When the button 11 is operated using the keyboard, the screen shifts to the menu menu screen. Button 12 is an index screen 70 (described later) in FIG.
Is a button for instructing to shift to. The button 13 is a button for instructing display of a food name (described later), an amount, and a total amount selected by the customer. In the present embodiment, when a customer operates a button, the operation of the button is transmitted to the WWWWW server 102 via the terminal device 110,
The WWW server 102 performs transfer of a screen corresponding to the button and various types of information processing.

First, menu selection processing will be described. When the customer operates the button 11, the instruction is transferred to the WWW 102, and the WWW server 102 transfers the information for the display screen indicated by the reference numeral 20 in FIG. 1 to the terminal device 100 to be displayed (FIG. 9).
S30 → S40 → S50 → S70 of FIG. 10, S130 of FIG.
→ S140 → S150 → S170). The menu screen is provided with buttons for selecting a plurality of menus. For example, when the customer operates the button 21 of curry and rice, a plurality of dish selection screens belonging to the category of curry and rice (30 in FIG. 1) Is displayed (S30 → S40 in FIG. 9).
→ S50 → S70, S130 → S140 → S1 in FIG.
50 → S170).

When the customer, for example, presses button 3 of pork curry
1 is operated, and the WWW server 10 is operated in the same manner as described above.
2 and the screen information of FIG. 2 is displayed on the terminal device 100. On the screen 40, a plurality of food names necessary for creating pork curry are displayed, and a check button indicating necessity is displayed before each food name. When the customer operates the check button using the keyboard, a check mark is displayed on the check button to indicate that the food has been selected. Also, the total amount (800 yen) of the selected food is displayed. The price of the selected food is retrieved from the database by the WWW server 102, and the total price is calculated by the WWW server 102. Button 4 on the screen
1, 42, 43, and 44 are prepared. When the customer operates the button 41 with a desired food name selected, details of the selected food (reference numeral 61 in FIG. 2) are displayed. W
The WW server 102 searches the database for the selected food name, extracts relevant information from the menu file ((d) of FIG. 4), and transfers it to the terminal device 100 as display information.

This button 42 is a button for designating that the selected food is unnecessary. When this button is operated, the check mark in front of the selected food is erased. When the button 43 is operated in a state where the food name is selected, a layout diagram indicating the location of the shelf (the location of the food) where the selected food is sold is displayed (reference numerals 50 (layout diagram), 51 in FIG. 2). (Duplicate display screen).) In the screen 40 of FIG. 2, pork is selected, and in the layout diagram of the screen 51, the hatched portion indicates a portion where pork is sold. Button 44
Is a button for instructing the registration of the selected food. The name of the food and the total price (or the price for each food) selected in response to the operation of this button 44 are stored in the shopping list of the WWW server 102. When the customer selects a plurality of menus and registers the food name and the total price, the menu is cumulatively stored in the shopping list. When the customer wants to see the contents of the shopping list, he operates the button 13 on the screen 10 of FIG.

In response to this operation, the registered food name and amount (or total amount for each menu) are read from the shopping list and displayed on the terminal device 100. Also, the total sum is calculated by the WWW server 102 and the terminal device 1
Displayed at 00.

A layout diagram showing such a sales floor or a place for placing a product may be prepared in the WWW server 102 for each food, or the position information of the shelf in the database in the WWW server (( In this case, the WWW server 102 may search the database with the selected food name, obtain the shelf position information, and obtain the rectangle of the corresponding shelf position portion on the layout drawing. Creates an arrangement that indicates the sales area of the product by processing the shape by filling it with a specific color, etc. In this way, the customer can know the sales area for each food item, and can also know the required food item from the menu. Therefore, it is not necessary to search for the food name written on the layout drawing as in the conventional case.

The operation of these buttons is performed by the WWW server 10
2, the process of detecting the instruction to display the place (button 43) according to the present invention is performed in S150 of FIG.
Acquisition and transfer processing of the location map is performed in S16 of FIG.
0. The operation of the button 43 on the terminal device 100 side is detected in S70 of FIG. 9, and the type of the button is identified in S50. The processing of the buttons 41 and 42 is described in FIGS.
Although not shown as 0, the assigned processing is executed after the button identification processing as described above.

Next, the product guide button 1 on the screen 10 of FIG.
The guidance process when the user operates No. 2 will be described. When this button is operated, the screen changes to the screen 70 of FIG. 3 (FIG. 9).
S30 → S40 → S50 → S70 of FIG. 10, S130 of FIG.
→ S140 → S150 → S170). This screen has buttons for the index of ~ ~, for example,
When the customer operates the “SU” button, a list of food names starting with “SU” is displayed (see screen 80). In this list, the above-mentioned item button and a button for instructing the display of the storage location are prepared, and the customer can always know the detailed content of the food and the storage location by operating this button. When the item button is operated, the display is screen 9
The display shifts to 0, and the type of the single item and the unit price for each type are displayed. A button is also provided for instructing the display of the storage location in the single item list display. Therefore, the customer can know the location of the desired product on any of the screens 80 and 90.

As described above, in this embodiment, the user can know the desired food storage location, food type, unit price, etc. from either the menu name list or the Japanese syllabary food name. The user can quickly meet and provide information that the user wants to know and useful information.

In the above description, the terminal device installed in the store or the terminal device movable in the store is used. However, if the terminal device installed in the home is connected to the WWW server 102, Before going to the store, it is possible to find out which food counter to go to.

The following example can be implemented in addition to the present embodiment.

1) In the above-mentioned example, the place where a single product is placed is shown. However, for example, in the above-mentioned example, the place where all foods used for pork curry are placed may be displayed. In this case, it is possible to display the optimal walking route for shopping. In this case, a layout diagram (including a walking route) for displaying a storage location is prepared in the WWW server 102 for each selected menu.

2) In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the terminal device 100 and the WWW server 102 are connected by a telephone line. However, it goes without saying that communication means such as a LAN (wide area network) may be used. .

3) In the above example, the food guidance is provided for each store. However, if it is desired to cover all the stores, a store list is displayed first, and after the customer selects a store, the store is displayed. Embodiment will be implemented.

4) In the above-described embodiment, after selecting one sound (for example, "su") from the Japanese syllabary (reference numeral 70 in FIG. 3), a plurality of food name lists having this sound as an initial letter Is displayed, and a desired food name is selected from among the displayed names to input the food name from the terminal device. However, if the food name is not in the list, the user can input the food name by inputting a character string indicating the food name.

5) In the above-described embodiment, the display of the location of the food name is instructed by the instruction button in order to guide various kinds of information. However, the purpose is to guide only the location to the customer. For example, immediately when a food name is selected,
You may make it arrange | position the arrangement | positioning drawing of a place.

[0036]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the customer can select the desired food name step by step from the menu name and know the location of the food indicated by the desired food name. Since it is possible, compared to the conventional system for searching for a food name from a layout drawing, the time required to know the location is shortened and the labor is reduced. In addition, it is possible to sequentially know the location of the food used for the menu.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the location of the initial product is displayed in the form of arrangement, so that the location of the location in the food counter can be easily confirmed visually.

According to the invention of claim 3, since the customer can know the location by inputting the food name itself, it is useful for the location search when the number of foods is large and the food cannot be displayed on one screen. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a change in display according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a change in display according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a change in display according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing contents of information registered in a database according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing contents of information registered in a database according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a system configuration according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a fixed terminal device.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the mobile terminal device.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the terminal device 100. FIG.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the WWW server 102.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 100 terminal device 101 telephone line 102 WWW server 103 computer system

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A shopping support system for communicating between a plurality of terminal devices and a server, and providing guidance on a place to place food from the server to a terminal device connected to the server among the plurality of terminal devices. In the system, a menu storing a list of menu names, a list of food names to be used for each menu name, and storage location information indicating a storage location corresponding to the food name is installed in the server; Display the name list, select the menu name from the display, display the food name list corresponding to the selected menu name, select the food name from the display, select the selected food Displaying the name storage location information, the server retrieves the menu name list, food name list and storage location information to be displayed on the terminal device from the database, and provides the terminal device with the list. Shopping support system characterized by the following. 2. The shopping support system according to claim 1, wherein the storage location information is a layout drawing. 3. The shopping support system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device allows input of a food name, and the server retrieves, from the database, storage location information relating to the food name input from the terminal. A shopping support system provided to the terminal device, and the provided storage location information can be displayed on the terminal device.