KR100490200B1 - Method of network service supplement using avata - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, in a network system in which a plurality of user terminals and a plurality of provider terminals are connected to each other via a network, the user's avatar can be used to enjoy shopping in a store in the same virtual world as a store in a real location in the real world. A method of providing a service through an avatar is provided.

Description

Method of providing network service through avatar {Method of network service supplement using avata}

The present invention relates to a method of providing a network service through an avatar, which is a user's virtual alteration, and in particular, a method of providing a service that enables a user to be provided with a more realistic service by providing a reality-like experience through an avatar. have.

In order to purchase a desired item, the user visited a store in the real world to purchase the item. However, there is a time and space constraint that a user moves directly to a store to purchase an item, and thus, an internet store has appeared to solve such a problem.

In the past, when a user shops through a network system, the user purchases an item only by a picture and text description of the item updated by the item provider after logging in to the shopping mall.

However, in the case of such an article, especially in the case of clothing or accessories, the provided photographs and text descriptions alone could not easily confirm whether they were suitable when used directly. Therefore, the user has the inconvenience of having to return the purchased goods because they do not really match with the seller, and the seller has a problem that it is difficult to pay for shipping and return and resell the already used.

In addition, in the case of a small store that cannot operate an internet shopping mall on a network, there is a problem in that a shopping mall cannot be easily produced due to problems such as an internet shopping mall construction cost and a management cost.

The present invention is a method of providing a service derived to solve the above-described problem, and provides a product purchase service method that gives a high reality, such as a user visits a store that exists directly in the real world and try to use a desired item directly For the purpose of

In order to achieve the above object, a method of providing a network service through an avatar of the present invention is provided through a network system in which a plurality of user terminals and a plurality of provider terminals are connected to each other via a network.

In the method of providing a network service through an avatar according to the present invention, a step (a) in which a user accesses a service server through a network using a user terminal and performs member registration and / or login, uses the user terminal. (B) selecting an avatar provided by the service server and setting the avatar according to the user's preference, (c) selecting a shopping service provided by the service server through the avatar, and actual store information on the user terminal. (D) loading the linked electronic map; (e) entering a store displayed on the electronic map by moving the avatar displayed on the electronic map; and (f) applying items displayed in the store through the avatar. In step (g), the user decides to purchase the desired item, pays for the item, and enters the delivery information of the item. (H) informing the purchaser of the goods to the provider terminal of the actual store where the user provided the purchased goods, (i) the provider delivering the goods in accordance with the delivery information entered by the user, and the user receiving the goods (J) confirming the purchase and (k) allowing the service server confirming the purchase of the article to apply the article to the avatar in the avatar information.

Here, in step (b) described above, it is preferable that the provided avatar is made based on the actual appearance of the user.

In addition, in the step (c) described above, it is preferable that the user can further select a flea market service capable of buying, selling, or exchanging an item owned by the avatar. Here, the flea market service updates the goods to be sold if (c) -1 and (c) -1 selects the sale in step (c) -1 of selecting a service type including selling, exchanging or purchasing the goods to be used by the user (c). ) Investigating whether to cancel the sale of goods if the goods are not sold in steps (c) -1-2 and (c) -1-2, checking whether the goods have been sold. c) If the exchange is selected in steps 1 to 3 and (c) -1, check whether the exchange is completed in steps (c) -1-4 and (c) -1-4, which update the goods to be exchanged. (c) -1-6 and (c) -1- investigating whether to cancel the exchange of goods if the exchange is not completed in steps (c) -1-5 and (c) -1-5 When the exchange is completed in step 5, the service server preferably further includes (c) -1-7 allowing the avatar to use the exchanged item information.

In addition, in the above-described step (d), it is preferable that the electronic map to be loaded is loaded with an electronic map of a region according to the user's selection, and the loaded electronic map includes advertisement contents of an advertiser who wants advertising in the form of a signboard on the map. This may be indicated further.

In addition, in the step (c) described above, the item information updated in the steps (c) -2 and (c) -2 in which the provider updates the information of the item to be sold to the service server is converted into data for applying to the avatar. It is preferable to further include (c) -2-1.

Avatar means an alter ego and incarnation, and is an animated character that takes the place of a user in cyberspace. The original avatar is a composite of the Sanskrit "Ava" meaning "come down, pass through" and "Terr" which means land below. In ancient India, it used to refer to the incarnation of a god who came down to the ground, but as the internet age began, it refers to a graphic icon representing oneself in 3D, virtual reality games, or chatting on the web. An avatar is a virtual body that represents itself in a graphic-oriented virtual society.

Most of the conventional avatars were two-dimensional drawings. Avatars appearing in mud games and online chats were the most rudimentary levels, and three-dimensional avatars appeared to complement the problem of falling reality. The advantage of 3D characters is that they have a sense of three-dimensionality and reality. Avatars connect the virtual world with the real world and exist somewhere between anonymous and blindness. In the past, netizens were fascinated by the anonymity of cyberspace, but now they have a desire to express themselves and have avatars that satisfy both. Most games and chat services usually provide a combination of a few characters or provide already completed avatars. However, as the graphics technology improves, users don't use ready-made products made by service providers. You can also create your own avatar.

(Preferred embodiment)

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic diagram of a network system according to one embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a service server according to one embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, the service server 100 may transmit and receive data through the network 200, and allow a user to check a provided service. The service server 100 includes a communication device 130 for connecting to the network 200, a storage device 100 for storing various databases, and a processing device for processing data and controlling the communication device 130. 120. In the embodiment of the present invention, the service server 100 uses a hard disk drive as a storage device, a LAN card as a communication device, and a computer using a CPU as the processing device, but the present invention is not limited to this. The data structures of the various databases are described later.

The database according to the embodiment of the present invention is provided with a user database 111, a provider database 112, a financial processing database 113, a parcel delivery service database 114, a map information database 115, and the like. A program database 116.

The user database 111 stores a user's name, contact information, address, avatar information, item information owned by the avatar, and the like.

The provider database 112 stores a provider's name (or business name), contact information, address, photograph of provided goods, item characteristic information, and the like.

The financial processing database 113 stores confirmation of payment or payment from an online payment bank or card company when the user purchases the item.

The courier service database 114 stores whether the provider has delivered the goods, the current process and status of the delivery of the goods, and whether the user has received the goods.

The map information database 115 stores geographic information of the real world. In addition, the geographic information database 115 stores the real world geographic information, a link of an address of a provider contracted with the service server 100, and an advertisement signage of an advertiser contracted with the service server 100.

The provider program database 116 stores programs to be provided to users and providers.

As a method for enabling a user to check a service provided according to an embodiment of the present invention, an Internet homepage through the HTTP protocol is used.

The network 200 provides a line through which the service server 100 and various terminals 300, 400, 500, and 600 can be interconnected, and includes a wired telephone, a mobile telephone, a high speed communication network, a wireless network network, and the like.

The user terminal 300 used by the user is a device connected to another terminal or server through the network 200. This user terminal has a communication device for mutual communication with the network 200. As the user terminal 300 according to the present invention, a personal computer, a PDA, a mobile communication phone, etc., which are equipped with a display device on which graphic information can be displayed, may be used. In one embodiment of the present invention, a computer is used.

When the user purchases the goods, the financial processing terminal 400 may use a bank computer computer or a credit card company computer computer as a terminal for providing a payment service.

The provider terminal 500 is a device connected to another terminal or a service server through the network 200. In particular, the provider terminal 500 downloads a program related to goods management from the service server 100, updates goods information to be sold, and manages the processing unit and the storage unit (the city) so as to manage the sales status, inventory, and sales of the goods. Personal computer) may be used.

The courier service terminal 600 is a device that provides data such as whether or not the goods purchased by the user is delivered, delivery tracking and receipt confirmation.

Hereinafter, a service providing method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8.

3 is a service entry flow diagram of a user side according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a service entry flow diagram of a provider side according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a shopping method according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart of an avatar decorating method according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a service method of an avatar article dexterity field according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the present invention. It is a flowchart of the article registration method which concerns on one embodiment.

First, the user logs in to the service server 100 through the network 200 using a computer (S100). If the user does not have a unique account, after checking the membership registration terms of the service server 100, after entering the user profile information required by the service server 100 and registering, the user logs in.

After completing the login, the user downloads the necessary program from the provided program database 116 of the service server 100 (S110). The program includes a program that enables to view the avatar, decorate the avatar, and view the map. In addition, a program may be additionally included to ensure the security of payment.

Thereafter, the user selects a service item to be used (S120).

Service items include product shopping, avatar decorating and flea market participation services.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the user selects a shopping service (S200), the user first loads his avatar (S210). The avatar may be produced through an avatar editing program provided from the service server 100, or a picture of the user uploaded to the service server 100 by a caricature or the like.

The avatar before decorating is decorated with only basic clothes and accessories provided by the service server 100.

After that, the user selects a shopping area (S220). The shopping area will be selected step by step from the largest administrative area to the lower level administrative area.

When the user selects "Apgujeong-dong" as the shopping area, the service server 100 transmits an electronic map of "Apgujeong-dong" to the user terminal 300. The avatar of the user entering the loaded shopping area may check another avatar entering the loaded shopping area. Each avatar of each user who enters the same shopping area may exchange information such as product information and product price with store information of the currently entered or other shopping area through text chat or voice chat.

Here, the electronic map transmitted to the user terminal 300 is retransmitted from the user's terminal 300 to the user's mobile phone, so that when the user directly finds the actual store, the user's mobile phone directly visits the real store. It is desirable to be able to. Alternatively, store information on an electronic map may be transmitted to a PDA, notebook or built-in navigation system.

The user starts shopping by moving the avatar to the desired store in the transmitted electronic map (S230). The store preferably has a store employee avatar to assist the user in purchasing the goods. The store employee avatar may load the store employee avatar after the real store employee logs in to the service server 100 through the provider terminal 500 or a separate terminal (not shown). The user may check the information of the items displayed or displayed in the store through another avatar in the store or the store staff avatar, or may check the information of the basically provided item by clicking the item in the store. Further, in this embodiment, the store employee avatar may use one or more avatars.

As in a role playing game, the avatar is embodied on the electronic map and moves on the electronic map by actually walking or running. In addition, it is preferable that an advertisement signboard or a banner of an advertiser contracted with a service server side is displayed on a building or a street in the electronic map.

The avatar entering the shop looks at the display goods displayed on the user terminal 300. The display items can be worn or used by the avatar directly through the data conversion process described later. If the user wants to purchase the goods, the payment for the goods (S240). The goods information paid by the user is transmitted from the service server 100 to the provider terminal 500, and the provider delivers the actual goods to the user by using a courier service. When the user who receives the goods confirms delivery, the service server 100 stores the data of the corresponding goods that have undergone the data conversion process in the user database 111 (S250).

In the above-mentioned payment of goods price (S240), the user inputs information such as a credit card to be paid by the user in advance in the personal information of the user created when registering for the service server 100, and pays for the goods. The payment can be made more conveniently by selecting a card to be used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and stores the fingerprint information of the user at the time of electronic signature or membership registration, and when the user wants to pay for the goods, the user can select a card to use after confirming the user by inputting the fingerprint of the user. You can also proceed to any stage.

The user continues shopping at the store or stops shopping (S260).

Next, the service flow when the user selects the avatar decoration (S300) will be described with reference to FIG.

The user searches for an avatar wardrobe provided by the service server 100 (S310).

The closet preferably includes not only the clothing of the avatar but also a space for storing the accessories.

The user applies the items he has purchased to the avatar to execute the style decorating. When the avatar of the desired style is completed, it is determined whether to update the completed avatar information (S320). When the update is selected, the completed avatar is updated, and the items applied to the completed avatar are stored in the wardrobe in an empty state (S330). Will be Of course, the item applied to the avatar while decorating the avatar is stored in the state applied to the avatar, and the item previously applied to the avatar is automatically stored in the closet.

Subsequently, a service flow when the user selects participation in the flea market (S400) will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

First, the user's avatar enters the flea market (S410). The flea market may be provided on a separate service page or may be serviced by providing a separate virtual space for the flea market on a part of the electronic map where the user's avatar is present.

Services provided in the flea market include sales, purchases and exchanges.

When the user selects a service type (S420), the avatar enters the corresponding service item.

If the user selects the sale service (S500), the user updates the product to be sold to the service server 100 (S510). At this time, the item to be updated is preferably only the item stored in the avatar closet, not the item currently applied to the avatar.

After that, it is checked whether the sale of the item updated by the user is completed (S520), and if the sale is not completed, whether the sale is canceled (S530). The completed sale is deleted from the seller's avatar wardrobe and stored in the buyer's avatar wardrobe. In addition, the goods sold are also included in the information of the purchase shop, so that the purchaser who purchased the goods can be easily shopping if you want the actual goods.

At this time, another user who confirms the item to be sold can check additional information in addition to the item information provided by the user who wants to sell the item by chatting with the avatar of the user who wants to sell the item using his avatar. It is preferable. As a result, the trader (buyer and seller) can confirm all the information he / she wants, thereby enabling safer and more reliable transactions.

If the user selects the exchange service (S600), the user updates (S610) the goods to be exchanged to the service server 100. At this time, the item to be updated is preferably only the item stored in the avatar closet, not the item currently applied to the avatar.

In this case, another user who confirms the item that the user wants to exchange can check additional information in addition to the basic information provided by the user who wants to exchange the item by chatting with the avatar of the user who wants to exchange the item using his avatar. It may also be desirable to be able to provide additional information of the goods they wish to exchange. As a result, the trader (exchanger) can confirm all information desired by the trader, thereby enabling safer and more reliable transactions.

Thereafter, it is checked whether the exchange is completed (S620), and if it is not completed, it is investigated whether or not to cancel the exchange (S630).

When the exchange is complete, the exchange item is added and deleted from the exchanger's avatar wardrobe. In addition, the item to be exchanged includes information of a purchase shop, so that the exchanger who exchanges the item can easily shop when the actual item is desired.

If the user selects the purchase service (S700), the user searches 710 for the item to purchase.

It is checked whether a purchased item exists (S720), and if the purchased item exists, the item is purchased. At this time, the purchased item is updated in the avatar closet (S730).

In this case, it is preferable that the user's avatar may check additional information in addition to the basic information of the item to be purchased by chatting with the avatar of another user who sells the item to be purchased. As a result, the trader (buyer and seller) can confirm all the information he / she wants, thereby enabling safer and more reliable transactions.

If you like the purchased item and actually want to purchase it, it is desirable that the information of the purchased item can be displayed if the information of the purchased item is confirmed.

Next, the service flow of the provider side will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

First, the provider logs in to the service server 100 through the network 200 using a computer (S500). If there is no unique account of the provider, after checking the membership registration terms of the service server 100, after entering the user profile information requested by the service server 100 and registering, the user logs in.

After completing the login, the provider downloads the necessary program from the provided program database 116 of the service server 100 (S510). The program includes a program that enables the updating of product information, the inventory of the product, and the sales.

After that, the service item to be used by the provider is selected (S520).

Service items include inventory, sales and product information update services.

Referring to Figure 8 will be described the flow of product information update.

The provider gives an article identification unique code to the article (S810). At this time, the code may be in the form of a barcode.

Then, the provider uploads the information of the article provided by the provider (S820). The information of the item provided at this time includes the item identification unique code, the name or trade name of the photo provider of the article, the contact and address of the provider, and the price, dimensions, material, etc. of the article.

The updated data is converted into graphic information that can be directly applied to the avatar in the service server 100. In this case, the conversion may be directly performed by the provider through a program provided to the provider, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

The information of the goods purchased by the user is transmitted to the provider terminal in the form of a barcode, and the provider decrypts the barcode and delivers the actual product to the user, and the payment made by the user is transferred to the provider's account through the financial processing terminal. Will be.

At this time, since the provider receives the purchase and quantity of goods and the like from the service server 100, the received information is stored in the provider terminal 500, so that the provider can easily determine inventory (S600) and sales (S700) It is possible.

The courier service company, which has requested the delivery of the goods from the provider, updates the service server through the network, whether the goods are requested to be delivered, the current location of the goods, and whether the user receives the goods.

As mentioned above, preferred embodiment of this invention was described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and changes are possible within the spirit and spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, the invention is limited only by the appended claims and not by the preferred embodiments described above.

As described above, according to the present invention, the user can apply the item directly through the avatar, thereby making shopping more realistic.

1 is a schematic diagram of a network system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram of a service server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a service entry flow diagram of a user side according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a service entry flow diagram of a provider side according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart of a shopping method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart of an avatar decorating method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a flowchart of a service method of an avatar article flea market according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a flowchart of an article registration method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Brief description of the main parts of the drawing>

100: service server 110: storage device

111: user database 112: provider database

113: financial processing database 114: courier services database

115: map information database 116: provided program database

120: processing unit 130: communication unit

200: network 300: user terminal

400: financial processing terminal 500: provider terminal

Claims (9)

In a network system in which a plurality of user terminals and a plurality of provider terminals are connected to each other via a network, (A) the user terminal accessing a service server through the network and registering and / or logging in; (B) selecting, by the user terminal, an avatar provided by the service server and setting the avatar according to the taste of the user; (C) selecting a shopping service provided by the service server through the avatar; (D) loading an electronic map in which actual store information is linked to the user terminal; (E) the user terminal moving the avatar displayed on the electronic map to enter a store displayed on the electronic map; (F) applying the items displayed in the store through the avatar; (G) determining, by the user terminal, a purchase of a desired item, paying for the item, and inputting delivery information of the item; (H) notifying, by the service server, the purchase of the goods to the provider terminal of the real store which provided the goods purchased by the user; (I) delivering, by the provider terminal, the article according to the delivery information input by the user; (J) checking, by the user terminal receiving the goods, the purchase of the goods; And And (k) allowing the service server confirming the purchase of the article to apply the article to the avatar in the avatar information. The method of claim 1, wherein in the step (b), the provided avatar is made based on the actual appearance of the user. 2. The network of claim 1, wherein the step (c) further comprises a flea market service that allows the user to buy, sell or exchange goods owned by the avatar. How to Provide Services. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the flea market service comprises the steps of: (c) -1 selecting a type of service including sale, exchange, or purchase of goods to be used by the user; (C) -1-1 updating the goods to be sold if the selling is selected in the step (c) -1; (C) -1-2 examining whether the article has been sold; (C) -1-3 investigating whether to cancel the sale of the article if the article is not sold in step (c) -1-2; (C) -1-4 updating the item to be exchanged when the exchange is selected in step (c) -1; (C) -1-5 checking whether the exchange is completed in (c) -1-4; (C) -1-6 checking whether to cancel the exchange of the article if the exchange is not completed in the step (c) -1-5; And And (c) -1-7, wherein the service server allows the avatar to use the exchanged item information when the exchange is completed in step (c) -1-5. How to provide network services through. The method of claim 1, wherein the step (d) comprises loading the electronic map of an area according to the user's selection of the loaded electronic map. The network service of claim 1, wherein the step (d) further comprises displaying advertisement contents of an advertiser who wants the electronic map to be loaded in the form of a signboard on the map. Way. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) comprises: (c) -2 updating information of an item to be sold by the provider terminal to the service server; And And (c) -2-1 converting the item information updated in step (c) -2 into data for applying to the avatar. The method of claim 1, wherein a chat is possible with another user who accesses the loaded electronic map. The method of claim 1, wherein the user can chat with a store employee of the store.