KR101501032B1 - A service providing system using beacon and sevice providing methods using the system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for providing various types of services by allowing a smart device of a visitor entering a store in which a beacon is installed to access an inside network of a company. The system comprises: a gateway terminal which is installed at an entrance of a store, and functions as an access point to allow a smart device to access a network when the smart device touches the gateway terminal; a beacon which is installed in the store, and performs short range communications with the smart device; a server connected to the beacon over the network; and a storage unit which is connected to the server, and stores data, wherein the beacon obtains the location information of the smart device, transmits the information to the server, and performs short range communications with the smart device, and the smart device does not access the network when the smart device enters the store but does not touch the gateway terminal. Also, the present invention provides the method for providing services including navigation, finding kids, and asking help services in a designated indoor area by using the service providing system.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a service providing system using a beacon and a service providing method using the beacon,

The present invention relates to a service providing system and a service providing method using a beacon, more particularly, to a smart device of a visitor who enters a store where a beacon is installed, And a method of providing a service including navigation, a child search, and a help request service to only an authorized area within the system using the system.

In recent years, beacon is expected to replace the near field communication (NFC), which has attracted attention as a smartphone near-field communication technology. A beacon is a short-range communication technology that uses Bluetooth communication to communicate information and locate smartphone users.

Beacons can communicate with handsets (smart devices including smart phones) up to 50 m radius in the building, so instant guidance service or mobile coupon is provided when visitors enter a specific place or store where beacon is installed without having to tag the terminal . In addition, smartphone battery consumption is low because it uses a beacon terminal that supports low-power Bluetooth low energy (BLE) technology.

GPS has a tolerance of several tens of meters, while a beacon is capable of precise position measurement up to 5 cm, which is particularly advantageous for locating smartphone users in the room. For example, even if you are in the same building, you can receive other information and coupons depending on the location, and store information can be checked in the direction of walking.

Thanks to these advantages, the adoption of beacon systems is rapidly spreading around the world. The beacon service, which is being offered at shops and supermarkets, is a service that automatically sends product information or discount coupons to smartphones so that smartphone users can check product information instantly when they enter a store or receive discount coupons. In addition, when the passengers approach the departure gate or the airport security checkpoint at the airport, the smartphone automatically displays the boarding pass.

However, if the beacon service currently being used or disclosed goes past the place where the beacon is installed, the data is automatically transmitted to the smart phone without the consent of the customer, and the location information is collected, thereby posing a problem of protecting personal information.

In addition, since the beacon in which the Bluetooth communication with the smartphone is connected is connected to the public Internet network, anyone can access the information and receive data from outside the permitted area, which is very weak in stability and security.

On the other hand, in terms of marketing, the attractiveness of customers for offline stores is gradually diminishing as the same products are displayed and sold in the same way as offline stores in department stores or large-scale online shopping sites. However, there is a need for a solution that can attract customers by providing special information or services that are only available at the store when they enter the offline store.

The present invention provides a service providing system using an internal network of an existing Internet network, so that a beacon which can maintain a high level of security and stability in a process of exchanging information in real time between a customer and an enterprise Service providing system.

The present invention intends to provide a system for gathering personal information such as a consumer's purchasing tendency and location information under the conscious consent of the consumer.

The present invention provides a navigation service for collecting location information and purchase information of a customer in real time to provide high quality shopping guide information.

The present invention is to provide a service using a beacon that can quickly find a lost child and provide a service using a beacon to quickly connect an employee to a customer who needs assistance.

A service providing system using a beacon of the present invention is a system for providing a service using a beacon,

A gateway terminal installed at an entrance of the store and serving as an access point for connecting the smart device to the network when the smart device is contacted; A beacon installed in the store and performing close-range communication with the smart device; A server connected to the beacon via the network; And a storage unit connected to the server and storing data, wherein the beacon collects location information of the smart device and transmits the collected location information to the server, wherein the smart device contacts the gateway terminal at the time of entering the store It is not connected to the network.

Wherein the network is an internal network of a company, the gateway terminal is installed at all entrances of the store, an app for providing services is installed and executed in the smart device, and the smart device contacts the gateway terminal, And a service is started, and communication with the server is performed through the internal network.

After the smart device is connected to the internal network, the smart device is given a unique identification number from the server, and after receiving the unique identification number, a location search button is activated to request a location search of the app of the smart device When the customer requests the location search, the location information of the customer is collected in real time by the beacon and transmitted to the server.

The method of providing a navigation service using the service providing system may include: determining a product to be purchased in the app; Touching a navigation start button in the app; The information on the product to be purchased from the smart device is transmitted to the server; Calculating a position value of the prospective purchase item using the position of the prospective purchase item extracted from the storage unit by the server; Calculating a shortest path for purchase of a commodity using a position of a customer and a location of a customer collected by the beacon; The server transmitting information of the shortest path for purchasing goods through the internal network to the smart device; And displaying the shortest path along with a store map on the app screen.

Before the step of determining a product to be purchased in the app, a list of goods available for purchase from the server is transmitted and displayed on the app screen of the smart device; Selecting a product by touching a specific product from the product list; And transmitting information of the selected merchandise from the server to the smart device and displayed on the app screen.

In addition, while the customer is moving along the shortest path, the customer's location is displayed on the store map in real time, and the server analyzes the purchased product determined by the customer to calculate a recommended product, When the customer selects the recommended product displayed in the application, if the position of the recommended product is present on the current path determined by the beacon and the current position determined by the shortest path, the same route is continued If the position of the recommended product is not on the current path, the shortest path is re-calculated using the position value of the recommended product, the current position of the customer obtained through the beacon and the position value of the product to be purchased determined in the previous step And transmits the re-calculated shortest path to the smart device, and transmits the re-calculated shortest path Is preferably displayed.

Preferably, the recommendation product is calculated using a customer purchase pattern or customer information stored in the storage unit.

A method of providing a child finding service using the service providing system includes: a customer clicking on a find eye button; The server requests the smart device to receive the dress information and the physique information of the child; Selecting normalized eye information including a dress and a physique in an app of a smart device; Transmitting the selected eye information to a server through an internal network; Providing a surveillance server with the child information, a customer's in-store navigation path and a CCTV number associated with the navigation path; Transmitting a signal for confirming receipt of the eye search service to the client's smart device when the confirmation signal for confirming reception of the information is transmitted to the server; And transmitting the position of the child to the smart device of the employee located at the shortest distance from the customer and the customer, wherein the movement path of the customer in the store is collected by a beacon.

A method of providing a help request service using a service providing system of the present invention includes: transmitting a help request signal to the server from the smart device when a customer presses a help request button on a screen of the smart device; Analyzing the location information of the customer and the location information of the customers collected by the beacon, and transmitting the help request signal to the smart devices of the employees relatively adjacent to the customer; Receiving a help request signal, activating a response request button in an application of the smart device; A response signal is transmitted to the server when an employee presses the response request button; Wherein the smart device of the adjacent employee to which the help request signal is transmitted comprises a plurality of smart devices that are selected in order of closeness to the customer, It is preferable that it is a smart device.

The navigation service providing method may further include displaying a path to the restaurant on the app screen having the shortest path displayed at a predetermined time.

The service providing system using the beacon of the present invention and the service providing method using the beacon according to the present invention collects customer information only when the customer selects it and provides various services and information to protect the personal information of the customer, There is an effect of obtaining trust.

It provides superior security by providing services using company's internal network rather than open network. Even when large amount of information intersects, information processing is not delayed, and data processing can be performed immediately, thus providing excellent service quality.

The navigation service according to the present invention provides the best purchase guide to the customer by providing the shortest route using the location information of the customer and the goods to be purchased by the customer.

In the help request service according to the present invention, an employee at an optimal position in the shortest time can respond to a request of a customer, thereby improving service quality.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an internal / external network relationship diagram and a data movement path of a service providing system using the beacon of the present invention.
2 is a conceptual diagram of a service providing system using a beacon according to the present invention.
3 is a flowchart of a service providing method of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a navigation service according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a diagram illustrating a screen configuration of a smartphone application and a method of exchanging information with an internal network in providing a navigation service according to the present invention.
6 is a flowchart of a method of providing the eye search service of the present invention.
7 is a conceptual diagram of a method of providing a child search service of the present invention.
8 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional help request service and a help request service providing method of the present invention.

It is because of stability and security that a company or a public institution establishes a separate private internal communication network in addition to the public communication network. In other words, since an enterprise needs to protect internal resources and shared resources in order to share internal resources and share resources among PCs in the company, an internal network is constructed separately from the disclosed external Internet network. Is a private network that is not disclosed outside the enterprise. Conventionally, there is no recognition that the internal network is used for marketing, and therefore, the service for the customer has been provided by using the open network. However, in this case, the security is weak and the stability becomes poor. In particular, when providing advanced services that exchange various complex information in real time between a customer with a smart device and a service providing server, the amount of information exchanged increases to the level of Big Data, There is a limit to the service provision in order to secure an appropriate level of security and stability in order to prevent the leakage risk.

The beacon service of the present invention deals with personal information including not only the data base of the company but also the purchasing propensity of the consumer. In a process of exchanging real-time information between the consumer and the enterprise, The security level must be kept high at all times. The beacon service of the present invention maintains double security by using an internal network, thereby maintaining a higher level of security than the public methods of other services. Even if the amount of exchanged information increases, the internal network developed for security enters a specific area By using the service for customer service, it is possible to provide differentiated and stable service for the offline store.

Hereinafter, the beacon service of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

A gateway terminal is installed at the entrance of a store such as a department store, a large-sized mart, a wholesale store, or a retail store, and a beacon is installed inside the store. The number and location of the beacon are determined according to the size and structure of the store. In the case of a large mart or department store, a plurality of beacons are installed in order to detect a moving route of visitors (customers, shop staff, managers, company representatives, etc. entering the store) in real time.

Visitors have smart devices including smart phones and tablet PCs, and smart devices have applications that can receive beacon services. For the first visitor who has not downloaded the app, the QR code for downloading the app is placed at one side of the gateway terminal or at another position in the entrance of the store so that the app can be downloaded at any time.

On the other hand, a visitor entering the store connects to the internal network by contacting the smart device with the sensing unit of the gateway terminal installed at the store entrance. This is because the existing beacon service provides various information at random in the store irrespective of the user's intention and obtains the information that the user does not want, and the problem that the visitor's location information is collected by the beacon without the consent of the visitor is solved . If the visitor does not want the beacon service, the visitor simply passes through the entrance without touching the smart device to the gateway terminal. In this case, the visitor is not connected to the internal network and receives no beacon service. Only a visitor who wants to receive a service using a beacon contacts a gateway terminal, connects to an internal network, receives various information from a server connected to the internal network via a beacon, transmits position information or search information to the server via an internal network via a beacon The service will be available through the app.

The server processes various information, stores collected data in a storage (DB), and provides information requested by a user through an internal network. At this time, the server can process various data using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution, and data transmission and response are performed by ETL (Extraction, Transformation, Loading).

Referring to FIG. 3, steps for receiving a service from a visitor will be described in detail. If the smart device held by the visitor does not contact the gateway terminal, the service is not provided because the smart device is not connected to the internal network. On the other hand, when the smart device contacts the terminal, the smart device is connected to the internal network. Visitors are guided through an authentication process (not shown) to receive different services on the smart device app, depending on whether they are employees or customers. To do this, different apps can be provided for employees and customers, but different ways of activating the same app are possible. Employees have different DB information and privileges that can be accessed depending on whether they are representatives, computer administrators, and sellers, and different apps or app screens are displayed on the smart device according to the unique IDs identified in the authentication procedure.

 On the other hand, the customer can receive various services such as navigation, searching for missing persons, auction, and shopping assistance service. In this case, the customer's smart device is connected to the internal network and then receives a unique identification number from the server.

After receiving the unique identification number, the location search button is activated so that the customer can select the location search request. When the customer requests the location search, the location information of the customer is acquired in real time by the beacon and stored in the location storage unit of the server .

Below. A method of providing a navigation service using the beacon of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

When the customer connects to the internal network by touching the gateway terminal and the customer selects the navigation function in the app of the smart device, i.e., touches the navigation button, the navigation screen is displayed.

In the navigation screen, a list of items is provided so that an item can be selected, and the customer selects a product to be purchased. A search window for inputting a product name may be additionally provided for direct product selection rather than through a product list. Information on the product such as the product, the expiration date, and the product description of the product selected by the customer is displayed on the application, and when the customer who wants to purchase the specific product wants to purchase the product, the product is touched on the application screen to determine the product to be purchased.

This process is performed by a server that extracts data from a database (DB) in which various kinds of information about a product are recorded, and a beacon communication through an internal network with a smart device. That is, the customer selects the navigation function on the application screen. A list of goods available for purchase from the server is transmitted and displayed on the app screen of the smart device; Selecting a product by touching a specific product from the product list; The product information of the product selected by the customer is transmitted from the server and displayed on the app; And a step of the customer determining a product to be purchased. The step of determining a product to be purchased may be implemented in various manners such as a method of pressing an activated purchase scheduled button on a screen displaying product information or a method of checking a corresponding product in a product list again. In addition, another item is searched and it repeats the above steps or it goes to the navigation stage after it decides a product to be purchased without a separate search.

4, the navigation step includes a step of the customer touching the navigation start button, a step in which the information on the product to be purchased is transmitted from the smart device to the server, the server extracts and analyzes the location of the goods to be purchased from the DB, Calculating a shortest path for purchasing a plurality of or a single commodity by analyzing a position of the customer obtained by the server based on the calculated position value and the beacon, And displaying the shortest path on the app screen together with the store map.

On the other hand, when the customer moves along the route displayed on the application, the location of the customer is displayed on the navigation screen in real time, and the server analyzes the purchased product determined by the customer and calculates a recommended product. For example, when a customer selects a steak material as a commodity to be purchased, it is preferable to calculate a wine corresponding to the selected commodity as a recommended commodity. Also, the recommended product may be calculated using the customer's conventional purchase pattern or customer information stored in a storage unit (DB) connected to the server.

When the customer selects the recommended product, the position of the recommended product continues to be guided by the same route if the position of the recommended product is on the current progress route determined by the customer's current position and the shortest route. If the position of the recommended product is not on the current path, the shortest path is calculated again by analyzing the position value of the recommended product, the current position of the customer obtained through the beacon and the position value of the purchased products determined in the previous step.

When the customer moves to the position of the final product along the route, the server calculates the estimated amount of the purchased product and displays the route to the calculation corner at the end of the shopping.

On the other hand, the server can transmit the advertisement of the recommended product again to the moving customer after guidance of the route to the calculation corner. In this case, if the customer receives the recommended product advertisement and selects no (no) The shortest path is calculated and displayed on the app screen by analyzing the position value of the product and the current customer position, and the route guidance to the calculation corner is continued when the customer selects the end of shopping.

When the calculation is completed, the information is automatically sent to the server by the calculation counter, and the server transmits a calculation completion signal to the customer's smart device, thereby displaying the vehicle presence / absence selection screen in the app. If you have a car at your choice, you can also get to the car location.

Meanwhile, in addition to the navigation service providing process, a restaurant guide service (not shown) may be provided. That is, when using the navigation service, when the lunch time (for example, 12:00 in the evening), the evening time (for example, 6:00 pm) and the snack time (for example, 3:00 pm) The route to the restaurant can be displayed. The route recommendation to the restaurant is a method in which a window indicating a route different from the shortest route is provided or a restaurant recommendation route is displayed in a different color on the same map. If the customer does not want to, the restaurant recommendation route deletion button may be activated so that the restaurant route recommendation is not displayed on the screen.

In addition, in the above navigation service providing process, various customer information acquired by the server, for example, customer information such as entrance, exit, purchase history, and travel route of a customer entering and leaving the store is stored in the server DB, Based on the data of the customers when they enter the store, they provide recommendation routes and recommended products according to the customers' tendencies, so customers can feel differentiated from others by receiving differentiated services.

A child search service will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. The child search service allows a parent with a child to shop without worrying about losing a child, It is aimed at inducing membership in the process of installing and having children when providing member information.

When the customer clicks the Find a child button, the server requests the parent's client with the child information including the child's clothing and physique, and if the parent provides the standardized child information including the dress and the physique in the smart device app, The device transmits the eye information to the server through the internal network, and the server provides the eye information, the movement route of the customer in the store, and the CCTV number associated with the movement route to the monitoring unit (monitoring server) of the monitoring team. When a confirmation signal for confirming reception of the information including the eye information, the movement route, and the CCTV number is transmitted to the server, the server transmits a signal for confirming whether the eye search service is accepted .

If the position of the child is confirmed by the first CCTV analysis, the server transmits the position of the child to the smart device of the employee located at the shortest distance from the customer and the customer, and the position of the child is confirmed by the first analysis CCTV analysis associated with the movement path is performed in addition to the CCTV analysis that is arranged in a larger range. If the location of the child is confirmed, the server sends the location of the child to the smart device of the employee located at the shortest distance from the customer and the customer, and the child search service ends. At this time, the position of the child can be transmitted to the employee located at the shortest distance from the child. Even when the service is terminated, the progress time and the situation analysis log are transmitted to the analysis team, and the analyzed data is stored in the server or the DB so that it can be read later.

 A method of providing a help request service will be described with reference to FIG. Customers with disabilities, seniors, or foreigners who have difficulty using the store or using the app can request help request service.

The help request service is provided as a menu in the app on the smart device, and it can provide quick service to customers who need help based on the accurate current location information of customers and employees by beacon.

When the customer presses the help request button in the app of the smart device, the server analyzes the location information of the customer and the location information of the employees, and transmits a help request signal to the smart devices of employees located relatively close to the customer. At this time, the smart device to which the help request signal is transmitted may be added if necessary, if the smart device is about 3 to 5 smart devices in the order closest to the customer. In response to the help request signal, the response button of the smart device is activated and the smart device makes a specific sound. When the employee presses the response request button, the response signal is transmitted to the server, and the customer who has made the help request transmits the response schedule message for the help and the information of the employee who pressed the response button. At this time, the server also transmits a response signal to the smart devices of the other employees who received the help request signal so that the server does not cope with the help request.

Hereinafter, a method of using the beacon service from the viewpoint of the manager will be described. The record of customer searching in the navigation is collected through the server and helps to analyze customer orientation. For example, in a situation where a specific brand is not available, many customers search for the brand in the smart device to confirm the product information, the search record is transmitted to the server, and the representative, through analysis of the data, The customer can be judged whether or not the customer is satisfied with the event, or a discount event can be held at the event.

In addition, the manager, for example, the representative of the store can check the activity history of each employee (the response rate to the help request, etc.) in real time and the sales performance, and can use the customer information obtained in real- .

The visitor service providing method using the beacon of the present invention deals with not only the DB of the company that operates the store but also the purchase propensity of consumers, personal information, and the like. It is already verified that the Tabicons service is vulnerable to security by using an open network. Therefore, this service is a service that exchanges information based on high security using existing internal network. Based on these basic technologies, we provide services such as product search, child finding, auction, help request, product information, product recommendation, gift voucher, coupon deposit box, event announcement etc. through high security, This can provide excellent service.

Claims (10)

A service providing system using a beacon,
A gateway terminal installed at an entrance of the store and functioning as an access point for connecting the smart device to a communication network when the smart device is recognized by a touch;
A beacon installed in the store and performing close-range communication with the smart device;
A server connected to the beacon through the communication network; And
And a storage unit connected to the server and storing data,
Wherein the beacon collects location information of the smart device and transmits the location information to the server, and when the smart device is not recognized by the gateway terminal when entering the store,
The communication network is a company internal communication network,
Wherein the smart device is installed with an app for providing a service from the server,
Wherein the smart device is connected to the internal communication network by contacting the gateway terminal, and a service is started, and communication with the server is performed through the internal communication network.
The method according to claim 1,
After the smart device is connected to the internal communication network, the smart device receives a unique identification number from the server, receives a unique identification number, and a location search button is activated to request a location search of the app of the smart device. Wherein the location information of the customer is collected in real time by the beacon and transmitted to the server when the search request is made.
A method for providing a service using a beacon in which a server, a storage unit, and a beacon are connected through a communication network,
The gateway terminal installed at the entrance of the store recognizes the touch of the smart device;
Connecting the smart device recognized by the gateway terminal to the communication network;
Performing beacon communication with the smart device connected to the communication network;
Collecting location information of the smart device from the beacon and transmitting the collected location information to the server; And
Wherein the smart device is installed with an app for providing a service from the server,
When the smart device is not recognized by the gateway terminal when entering the store, the smart device is not connected to the communication network,
The communication network is a company internal communication network,
Wherein the smart device is connected to the internal communication network by being in contact with the gateway terminal and a service is started, and communication with the server is performed through the internal communication network.
The method of claim 3,
Determining a product to be purchased in the app;
Touching a navigation start button in the app;
The information on the product to be purchased from the smart device is transmitted to the server;
Calculating a position value of the prospective purchase item using the position of the prospective purchase item extracted from the storage unit by the server;
Calculating a shortest path for purchase of a commodity using a position of a customer and a location of a customer collected by the beacon;
Transmitting, by the server, information on the shortest path for purchasing goods through the internal communication network to the smart device; And
Displaying the shortest path along with a store map on the app screen;
And transmitting the beacon information to the service center.
The method of claim 4,
Before the step of determining a product to be purchased in the app,
A list of goods available for purchase from the server is transmitted and displayed on the app screen of the smart device;
Selecting a product by touching a specific product from the product list; And
The information of the selected goods is transmitted from the server to the smart device and displayed on the app screen;
A service providing method using a beacon which further includes a beacon.
The method of claim 4,
The customer's position is displayed on the store map in real time while the customer moves along the shortest path, the server analyzes the purchased product determined by the customer, calculates a recommended product, transmits the recommended product information to the smart device When the customer selects the recommended product displayed in the application, if the position of the recommended product is on the current path determined by the beacon and the current position of the customer detected by the beacon, the same route is continued to be displayed If the position of the recommended product is not on the current path, the shortest path is re-calculated using the position value of the recommended product, the current position of the customer obtained through the beacon, and the position value of the product to be purchased, And transmits the re-calculated shortest path to the smart device, and transmits the re-calculated shortest path from the smart device's app Display is a service providing method using a beacon.
The method according to claim 6, wherein the recommendation product is calculated using a customer purchase pattern or customer information stored in the storage unit.
The method of claim 3,
The customer clicks the find eye button;
The server requests the smart device to receive the dress information and the physique information of the child;
Selecting normalized eye information including a dress and a physique in an app of a smart device;
Transmitting the selected eye information to a server through an internal communication network;
Providing a surveillance server with the child information, a customer's in-store navigation path and a CCTV number associated with the navigation path;
Transmitting a signal for confirming acceptance of the eye search service to the smart device of the customer when the confirmation signal for confirming reception of the information is transmitted to the server; And
And transmitting the position of the child to the smart device of the employee located at the shortest distance from the customer and the customer, wherein the route of the customer in the store is the beacon.
The method of claim 3,
Transmitting a help request signal to the server from the smart device when the customer presses a help request button on the screen of the smart device;
Analyzing the location information of the customer and the location information of the customers collected by the beacon, and transmitting the help request signal to the smart devices of the employees relatively adjacent to the customer;
Receiving a help request signal, activating a response request button in an application of the smart device;
A response signal is transmitted to the server when an employee presses the response request button;
Further comprising the step of the server transmitting information of the customer who pressed the service response button and the service response message to the customer,
Wherein the smart device to which the help request signal is transmitted is a plurality of smart devices selected in order close to the customer.
The method of claim 4,
And a route to the restaurant is additionally displayed on the app screen having the shortest path at a predetermined time.

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