KR20180111451A - Controlling method for retrieval device, server and retrieval system - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a control method of a product retrieval device, a server, and a retrieval system capable of conveniently recognizing a product name. The control method of a product retrieval device comprises the steps of: obtaining a product information image; identifying texts included in the obtained product information image; highlighting and displaying an area related to the identified texts; displaying a text corresponding to a selected area of the identified texts in a field if at least a part of the highlighted area is selected; transmitting the text displayed in the field to an external server, receiving association information of the product and price information searched based on the transmitted text from the server; and displaying the association information and the price information of the received product.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a product retrieval apparatus, a server, and a control method for a retrieval system,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a product search apparatus, a server, and a control method of a search system, and more particularly, to a product search apparatus, a server, and a control method of a search system.

As technology develops, many products and distribution methods are being developed. Many products are sold in off-line shops or in online shops. Even the same product is sold at various prices depending on distribution channels. Consumers want to buy goods at a lower cost. Thus, in the past, consumers visited various offline shops, checked the prices of the products, and then visited the shop for selling the products at the lowest prices to purchase the products.

Recently, the number of online shops has increased due to the development of electronic and communication technologies. In addition, the consumer can access the online shop through the internet anytime and anywhere using the electronic device to check the price. However, in many cases, official product names often include various characters or various modifiers so that they can be distinguished from other products. Accordingly, when the consumer finds a product desired to be purchased, he must check the official product name, enter the official product name into the electronic device, and then perform the search. If an error occurs in the process of entering the official product name by the consumer, the error must be corrected or re-entered to perform the search. The process of entering and searching for an official product name by consumers is time consuming and inconvenient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a product search apparatus, a server, and a control method of a search system that conveniently recognize a product name using an electronic device and a server and search for a lowest price.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure for achieving the above object, there is provided a method for processing a document, the method comprising: obtaining a product information image; identifying text included in the obtained product information image; Displaying a text corresponding to a selected one of the identified texts in a field when at least some of the highlighted areas are selected, transmitting the text displayed in the field to an external server, Receiving association information of goods searched based on transmitted text and price information of the goods from the server; and displaying association information of the received goods and the price information, to provide.

The step of displaying the text corresponding to the selected area in the field may include sequentially selecting at least a part of each of the plurality of highlighted areas when the highlighted area is a plurality of areas, A corresponding plurality of texts may be displayed together in the field in the selected order.

In addition, the step of highlighting and displaying may visually distinguish the area for the identified text from the other areas, or may display the identifier at each of the start and end points of the area for the identified text.

If the server determines that an error is included in the transmitted text, the control method of the product search apparatus further includes receiving modified text from the server, and displaying the modified text, The modified text may be at least one of a product name, a brand name, or a model name of the product.

The step of displaying the association information of the received goods and the price information may switch the display of the association information of the goods and the price information to a screen that displays the list.

In addition, the step of displaying the association information and the price information of the received goods may display the price information on the goods information image screen.

In addition, the step of displaying the association information and the price information of the received goods may deactivate the goods information image screen and display the price information in a separate window.

The association information of the goods includes sales site information and may include at least one of a product name, a brand name, a model name, or a product image.

The control method of the product search apparatus may further include a step of connecting and displaying the corresponding sales site when the price information is selected.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure for achieving the above object, there is provided a method for displaying a text, comprising the steps of: identifying text included in an obtained product information image; highlighting and displaying an area relating to the identified text; Displaying text corresponding to a selected one of the identified texts in a field when at least some of the regions are selected; transmitting the text displayed in the field to an external server; Receiving the association information of the goods and the price information of the goods from the server, and displaying the association information of the received goods and the price information, the computer readable non-transitory medium Lt; / RTI >

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of searching for a product, the method comprising: receiving text from a product search apparatus; determining whether the received text is erroneous; Retrieving the related information and the price information of the corresponding goods based on the received text or the modified text, and comparing the related information of the retrieved goods and the price information To the goods searching apparatus, the method of controlling the server.

The association information of the goods may include at least one of a product name, a brand name, a model name, and a product image.

In addition, the step of determining whether or not the error exists may include determining that the received text is an error if there is no association information of the goods matching the received text.

In addition, the step of acquiring the modified text may acquire, as the modified text, at least one of text stored in a database matching characters at a predetermined ratio or more, pre-input text or pre-retrieved text.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of determining whether an error has occurred in a received text, Searching for related information and price information of the corresponding goods on the basis of the received text or the corrected text, and transmitting the related information of the goods and the price information to the goods search apparatus Readable non-volatile storage medium containing instructions for performing the method of the present invention.

As described above, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the method of controlling a goods search apparatus, a server, and a search system can conveniently search for the lowest price and perform purchase.

Then, it is possible to conveniently search for the late information of the goods search apparatus, the server, and the control method goods of the search system.

Further, the product search apparatus, the server, and the control method of the search system can promptly receive the goods information associated with the frequently purchased goods.

1 is a diagram for explaining a goods information search system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
2 is a block diagram of a product search apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
3 is a block diagram of a server in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for searching for the lowest price according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
5A to 5C are diagrams for explaining a screen for displaying retrieved price information.
6A to 6B are diagrams for explaining a process of modifying a product name.
FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a product purchase process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.
FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a process of searching for late information of a product according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
9 is a diagram for explaining a process of receiving additional information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
10 is a flowchart of a method of controlling a goods searching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
11 is a flowchart of a server control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
12 is a timing diagram of a goods information search system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Various embodiments will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described herein can be variously modified. Specific embodiments are described in the drawings and may be described in detail in the detailed description. It should be understood, however, that the specific embodiments disclosed in the accompanying drawings are intended only to facilitate understanding of various embodiments. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the technical idea is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed in the accompanying drawings, but includes all equivalents or alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Terms including ordinals, such as first, second, etc., may be used to describe various elements, but such elements are not limited to the above terms. The above terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

In this specification, the terms "comprises" or "having ", and the like, are intended to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, parts, or combinations thereof, But do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof. It is to be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, . On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there are no other elements in between.

In the meantime, "module" or "part" for components used in the present specification performs at least one function or operation. Also, "module" or "part" may perform functions or operations by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Also, a plurality of "modules" or a plurality of "parts ", other than a" module "or" part ", to be performed in a specific hardware or performed in at least one processor may be integrated into at least one module. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

In addition, in the description of the present invention, when it is judged that the detailed description of known functions or constructions related thereto may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be abbreviated or omitted.

1 is a diagram for explaining a goods information search system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, a product information search system includes a product search apparatus 100 and a server 200. The product search apparatus 100 photographs product information. The commodity includes a trade name or a unique identification code. Alternatively, a tag or the like in which the product information is written may be placed in a portion adjacent to the product. The goods searching apparatus 100 can photograph nearby objects together with the goods. The product information image taken by the product search apparatus 100 may include a product name, a unique identification code, or other information.

The product information image refers to a photographed image including information capable of identifying a product or information capable of distinguishing a specific product from another product. For example, the product information image may include product information. The product information may include a product name, a brand name, a model name, a unique identification code or a product image. That is, the product information image may be an image of a product on which product information is recorded on the surface, an image of a tag on which product information is recorded, or an image of a packaging material on which product information is described.

The goods search apparatus 100 identifies text in the photographed image. For example, the merchandise search apparatus 100 can identify the text by reading the entire image area. Alternatively, the product search apparatus 100 may provide the user with a guide area for displaying the product information in a certain area, and may identify the text by reading only the guide area in the product information image. In one embodiment, the product search apparatus 100 can detect text in an image by using an optical character recognition method or the like.

The goods searching apparatus 100 can transmit the identified text to the server 200. [ The identified text transmitted by the product search apparatus 100 to the server 200 can be used as a search keyword. That is, the server 200 can search for goods or goods information using the text received from the goods search apparatus 100 as a search keyword. Alternatively, the merchandise search apparatus 100 may receive a user selection for the identified text. For example, the product search apparatus 100 may receive a gesture that touches a point from a user and moves to another point while maintaining the touch. For example, a gesture that touches a point and moves to a different point while maintaining a touch may be referred to as a swipe, drag, or flick gesture. The product search apparatus 100 can transmit text corresponding to the area selected by the user to the server 200. [

The server 200 receives text from the goods search apparatus 100. [ The server 200 determines whether or not an error has occurred in the received text. The server 200 can determine whether or not the received text matches based on data including a product name and the like stored in the database. If the server 200 does not match the product name stored in the database, the server 200 can determine the received text as an error text. On the other hand, the server 200 may not find a stored product name matching the received text. However, the server 200 can search for a brand name of one of the stored trademarks and one or two characters of the stored text. The server 200 may provide the user with the text having the matching degree of the received text and the text stored in the database equal to or greater than a predetermined ratio as a corrected text. For example, the predetermined ratio may be set to an absolute value such as 90% or 95%. Alternatively, the server 200 may determine whether the text matches four characters if the text is within 5 characters, 9 characters match if the text is within 10 characters, and 13 characters if the text is 15 characters, A predetermined ratio may be set at a different ratio. The database in which the text to be compared with the received text is stored may be included in the server 200. In another embodiment, the product search apparatus 100 may determine whether the text is erroneous. The database used by the product search apparatus 100 to determine an error may be included in the product search apparatus 100 or may be included in the server 200. [ The product search apparatus 100 can determine an error of a text using at least one of a database in the product search apparatus 100 and a database in the server 200.

The server 200 can retrieve the goods information for the corresponding goods based on the received text or the modified text. For example, the product information may include a product name, a brand name, a model name, a product image, selling site information, price information, and the like.

Meanwhile, as another embodiment, the server 200 can search for product information from an external server via the Internet network in addition to the database of the server. The server 200 can retrieve the product information based on both the received text and the modified text. The server 200 may sort the retrieved price information according to a predetermined criterion. For example, the predetermined criteria may be ascending or descending order. That is, the server 200 can arrange the corresponding goods information in the lowest order or the highest order based on the retrieved price information.

The server 200 transmits the retrieved product information and the sorted price information to the product retrieval apparatus 100. The product search apparatus 100 can display sorted price information in a list format. Alternatively, the product search apparatus 100 may display price information of the highest position among the sorted price information.

On the other hand, the server 200 can transmit the sales site information together with the price information to the product search apparatus 100. The goods searching apparatus 100 can display the selling site information together with the price information. The product search apparatus 100 can link and display price information and sales site information. The user can select one price information or sales site information from the displayed information.

The product search apparatus 100 connects to a linked sales site based on the selected price information or sales site information. The product search apparatus 100 can perform a process of purchasing a product according to a user's selection.

That is, the product search apparatus 100 can quickly perform the product search and the lowest cost search by photographing the product information, recognizing the text, and searching for and displaying the lowest price. In addition, the product search apparatus 100 has an advantage of being able to purchase the lowest priced merchandise by linking the sales site information.

A block diagram of the product search apparatus 100 will be described below.

2 is a block diagram of a product search apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 2, the product search apparatus 100 includes a camera 110, an input unit 120, a processor 130, a communication unit 140, and a display 150.

The camera 110 photographs the product information. When photographing the product information, the camera 110 can photograph the text including the product name described in the product and the tag adjacent to the product to be photographed together. That is, the image captured by the camera 110 may include an object such as a product, a text including a product name, and a product tag adjacent to the product.

The input unit 120 receives a selection command for a partial area in the photographed product information image screen. For example, the input unit 120 may be implemented as a touch screen on the display 150. The input unit 120 may receive a gesture that touches one of the points and moves to another point while maintaining the touch. For example, a gesture that touches a point and moves to a different point while maintaining a touch may be referred to as a swipe, drag, or flick gesture.

The input unit 120 may include an audio input unit (e.g., a microphone) for inputting audio signals, and a user input unit (e.g., a touch key, a touch key, etc.) for receiving information from a user.

The processor 130 identifies the text in the photographed product information image. Processor 130 identifies text located within a predetermined area of the merchandise information image. Alternatively, the processor 130 may read the entire image and identify the entire text contained within the product information image. For example, the processor 130 can identify text in an image using an Optical Character Recognition scheme. The processor 130 may receive a selection command for the identified text area through the input unit 120. [ The processor 130 may control the communication unit 140 to transmit the text contained in the selected area to the server.

The communication unit 140 may transmit the selected text to the server. The server can retrieve the product information based on the text information received from the product retrieval apparatus 100. [ The server can retrieve product information from the included database. Alternatively, the server can search for a product for each sales site, obtain product information, price information, and sales site information. Alternatively, the server may receive product information from an external separate server. The server can sort the acquired price information in ascending or descending order. That is, the server can sort the acquired price information in the order of lowest price or highest price. The server can transmit the sorted price information and the acquired sales site information to the product search apparatus 100. [ The communication unit 140 can receive price information and sales site information from the server.

The display 150 displays sorted price information. The display 150 can display the price information and the link information of the corresponding sales site together. Meanwhile, as described above, the display 150 may have a mutual layer structure with the touch sensor or may be integrally formed to realize a touch screen. The touch screen may function as the input unit 120 of the product search apparatus 100 and may function as the display 150.

On the other hand, as another embodiment, the server may transmit the acquired price information, sales site information, and the like to the product search apparatus 100, and the goods search apparatus 100 may sort the received price information according to a certain criterion have.

For example, the merchandise search apparatus 100 may include a smart phone, a notebook computer, a terminal for digital broadcasting, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a navigation, a tablet PC, a wearable device, A digital TV, a desktop computer, a kiosk, or the like, which may be operated by the user.

3 is a block diagram of a server in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

Referring to FIG. 3, the server 200 may include a communication unit 210, a processor 220, and a storage unit 230. The communication unit 210 receives text from the goods search apparatus.

The storage unit 230 stores a database containing product information.

The processor 220 determines whether the received text is erroneous. Processor 220 may retrieve product information in the database that matches the received text. The database may include text transmitted from a product retrieval apparatus, or text transmitted from a product retrieval apparatus.

The processor 220 may determine that an error is included in the received text if there is no item information matching the received text. The processor 220 may determine the corrected text if it determines that the received text contains an error. For example, the modified text may include text stored in a database whose characters match at a predetermined rate or more, pre-entered text or pre-retrieved text, and the like.

Processor 220 may retrieve product information based on the received text or modified text. For example, the product information may include a product name, a brand name, a model name, a product image, a sale site, price information, and the like. The processor 220 may sort the retrieved price information according to a predetermined criterion. Then, the processor 220 can transmit the sorted price information and the retrieved product information to the product retrieval apparatus.

In the following, a specific embodiment in which the goods searching apparatus 100 searches for a price will be described.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for searching for the lowest price according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to Fig. 4 (a), a product search apparatus 100 for photographing product information is shown. As described above, the product search apparatus 100 may include a smart phone, a notebook computer, a terminal for digital broadcasting, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a navigation, a tablet PC, a wearable device, A digital TV, a desktop computer, a kiosk, etc., which can be operated separately. The product search apparatus 100 can be installed by executing application software including a product information search function. When the installed application software is executed, the product search apparatus 100 can drive the camera. Alternatively, the product search apparatus 100 may perform a product information search function through a selection menu after a camera is driven and an image is captured.

The product search apparatus 100 can display a guide message to photograph the product information. The product search apparatus 100 may drive a camera to display an image input through the camera as a preview. As shown in FIG. 4 (a), the product search apparatus 100 may display a preview of an image of a tag 10 in which a product, a product name, and a price are displayed. The user can shoot the product information image by using the photographing button.

On the other hand, the product search apparatus 100 can display a guide message to photograph product information. The product search apparatus 100 may drive a camera to display an image input through the camera as a preview. The product search apparatus 100 can display, on the preview screen, a guide indicating the area where the product information is located. The user can shoot the product information image by using the photographing button.

Referring to Fig. 4 (b), a product search apparatus 100 for identifying a text in a photographed product information image is shown. The product search apparatus 100 acquires a product information image by photographing. The product search apparatus 100 can identify the text by reading the entire area of the photographed product information image. Alternatively, the product search apparatus 100 may display a guide area when photographing the product information image, and may identify only the text in the guide area in the picked product information search image. The product search apparatus 100 can identify a plurality of texts. When the product search apparatus 100 identifies text, it can display an indicator indicating the identified text. In other words, the product search apparatus 100 can display the highlighted area for the identified text. For example, the highlight may be a closed curve, such as a square surrounding the identified text. That is, the product search apparatus 100 can visually distinguish an area for the identified text from another area. Alternatively, the merchandise search apparatus 100 may display an identifier at each of the start and end points of the area for the identified text.

Referring to FIG. 4 (c), a product search apparatus 100 receiving a selection command for a specific region is shown. The user can select a specific area of the photographed product information image. In one embodiment, a particular area may be selected using a gesture that touches one point and moves to another point while maintaining a touch. For example, a gesture that touches one point and moves to another point while maintaining a touch can be called a swipe, a drag, a flick gesture, and so on. Referring to FIG. 4C, the product search apparatus 100 selects a product name AAA CREAM area on the tag 10 object in the product information image.

The goods searching apparatus 100 displays the identified text corresponding to the selected area in the field. Field may be a predetermined area on the screen. For example, the field may be a certain upper region of the screen of the product search apparatus 100. On the other hand, the product search apparatus 100 can display a plurality of areas for the identified text. That is, the product search apparatus 100 can display a plurality of highlighted areas. The goods searching apparatus 100 can sequentially select at least a part of each of the plurality of highlighted areas. Then, the product search apparatus 100 can display a plurality of identified texts corresponding to a sequentially selected partial area together in a field in a selected order.

The product search apparatus 100 can transmit text corresponding to the selected area to the server as a search keyword. The goods searching apparatus 100 may transmit a plurality of the identified texts to the server. That is, the server can search the information of the goods or the goods using the text received from the goods search apparatus 100 as a search keyword.

The server can retrieve the product information based on the received text, sort the price information, and transmit the sorted price information and the retrieved product information to the product retrieval apparatus 100. The product search apparatus 100 can display price information and product information received in various ways.

5A to 5C are diagrams for explaining a screen for displaying retrieved price information.

Referring to FIG. 5A, an embodiment of a product search apparatus that displays searched price information is shown. Upon receiving the goods information and the price information from the server, the goods searching apparatus can display only one price information. The product search apparatus may display a separate window 21 containing the received price information and corresponding product information on the deactivated product information image. The price information displayed by the goods searching apparatus may be one of the lowest price information or the highest price information. FIG. 5A shows a screen in which one price information and product information are displayed. However, the product search apparatus displays product information corresponding to a plurality of price information and price information sorted in accordance with a preset reference such as three or five .

Referring to FIG. 5B, another embodiment of the goods search apparatus for displaying the searched price information is shown. Referring to FIG. 5B, there is shown a product search apparatus that sorts and displays searched products in order of lowest order. The goods searching apparatus can display the sorted price information and the corresponding goods information by switching to a screen showing a list. In another embodiment, the product search apparatus may display price information sorted in ascending order of price and corresponding product information.

Referring to FIG. 5C, another embodiment of the goods searching apparatus for displaying the searched price information is shown. The product search apparatus can identify the text by reading the photographed image. Then, the product search apparatus can identify the text corresponding to the product information from the text identified through the server. That is, the merchandise search apparatus transmits all of the identified text to the server, and the server can determine the text associated with the merchandise information from the received text. For example, the product search apparatus can identify the general information text 26 and the product information text 25 included in the tag object. The goods search apparatus can display the identified goods information in the search article name display area 28. [

The server can retrieve the product information and the price information based on the received text and transmit it to the product retrieval apparatus. The goods search apparatus can determine the lowest price information among the plurality of received price information and display the lowest price information 27 near the goods information text 25 in the image. Alternatively, the goods searching apparatus can display the lowest price information 27 received from the server in the vicinity of the goods information text 25 in the image.

On the other hand, the server can retrieve the product information based on the received text. Then, information of the goods related to the received text can be retrieved. For example, an associated product may include a product corresponding to the received text, a same-type product, a same-brand product, a family product, a latest product, a similar product, or an alternative product. The server may transmit information of the goods related to the received text to the goods search apparatus. The goods searching apparatus can receive and display information on related goods. The product search apparatus may separately display or additionally display the product information of the product related to the price information of the related product.

On the other hand, the server 200 or the goods search apparatus 100 may determine the error of the received text and suggest the corrected text.

6A to 6B are diagrams for explaining a process of modifying a product name.

Referring to FIG. 6A, a database 230 of a server is shown. The server can receive the selected text from the goods search apparatus. As shown in Fig. 6A, the server can receive the text RO170206CKET14 (31). The server may search the database 230 for merchandise information that matches the received text. The product information may include a product name, a brand name, a model name, and the like. The server can determine that there is no product information in the database matching the received text 31 as an error. Then, the server can judge the product information in the database matching the received text 31 by a predetermined ratio as the modified text.

For example, the preset ratio may be a case where the non-matching character is 2 or less characters. The database 230 of the server stores three texts, and the text whose characters do not match the identified text is 2 or less characters is RO172016CKET14 (32). Therefore, the server can judge RO170206CLET14 (32) as modified text. The server can retrieve the product information based on the modified text RO170206CLET14 (32).

As another embodiment, the product search apparatus 100 may modify the text.

Referring to FIG. 6B, a database 160 of a product search apparatus, a database 230 of a server, and a product search apparatus 100 are shown. As described above, the product search apparatus 100 identifies text in an image. As shown in FIG. 6B, the product search apparatus 100 can identify the text RO170206CKET14 (36). The goods search apparatus 100 and the server may include a database, and the database may include various goods information. For example, the product information may include a product name, a model name, or a brand name.

The goods searching apparatus 100 can search the database based on the identified text. The database retrieved by the product retrieval apparatus 100 may include a database 160 of the product retrieval apparatus or a database 230 of the server. The product search apparatus 100 can judge the identified text as an error when there is no product information in the database matching the identified text.

Then, the product search apparatus 100 can recommend the corrected text. For example, the merchandise search apparatus 100 can search for a text matching the identified text with a predetermined rate or more, a previously-input text, or a previously-retrieved text. Then, the product search apparatus 100 can determine the searched text as a corrected text. The goods search apparatus 100 can display the corrected text.

As a specific example, referring to FIG. 6B, the goods search apparatus 100 has identified RO170206CKET14 (36). Then, the product search apparatus 100 can search the database 160 of the product search apparatus and the database 230 of the server. In FIG. 6B, the predetermined ratio may be a case where the unmatched character is 2 characters or less. The database 160 of the goods search apparatus stores three texts, and the text whose character does not match the identified text is 2 or less characters is RO170206CLET14 (37). Then, the database 230 of the server stores three texts, and the text whose character does not match the identified text is 2 or less characters is RO172016CKET14 (38). Accordingly, the goods search apparatus 100 can display one of the modified text (or the recommendation text) RO170206CLET14 (37) or RO172016CKET14 (38), or can display two texts together.

The product search apparatus 100 transmits the modified text to a server, and the server can search for product information such as a product, price, and sales site information based on the received text. The server may sort the searched price information according to a predetermined criterion, and transmit the sorted price information and the searched product information to the product search apparatus 100. The goods searching apparatus 100 can display received goods information and price information.

When the product search apparatus 100 receives a selection instruction for the lowest price information, the product search apparatus 100 can be connected to the linked sales site.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a product purchase process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.

Referring to FIG. 7 (a), a product search apparatus 100 receiving a selection instruction for the lowest price information displayed is shown. The product search apparatus 100 can display a screen for displaying prices and sales site information in a list form by switching screens. Alternatively, the product search apparatus 100 may display the lowest price within the photographed image. The product search apparatus 100 may include corresponding sales site information by linking to price information. The product search apparatus 100 can receive a selection command on the displayed product information.

7 (b) shows a goods search apparatus 100 connected to a linked sales site. The product search apparatus 100 may be connected to a sales site linked to the selected product information. The user can view additional merchandise information or purchase merchandise on the connected sales site.

According to the above-described method, the product search apparatus 100 can promptly display the lowest price information, and can help the user to easily purchase the goods.

On the other hand, the product search apparatus 100 can display late information of a product in addition to the lowest price.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a process of searching for late information of a product according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 8 (a), an image of product information is shown. When the product information is photographed, the product search apparatus 100 can display a menu for selecting the price and the latter.

There are cases where a user sees a particular product in an off-line shop and wants to purchase at the lowest price, and sometimes wants to know a usage evaluation of a specific product. However, since the use evaluation generally exists for each sales site, it is difficult to easily search for the use evaluation. The product search apparatus 100 can display a menu for selecting a price and a latter term. When the price is selected, the product search apparatus 100 can search for and display the above-mentioned lowest price information. Alternatively, when the latter is selected, the product search apparatus 100 can search for and display the use evaluation information.

Referring to Fig. 8 (b), there is shown a goods search apparatus 100 in which usage evaluation is indicated. When the latter is selected, the product search apparatus 100 may transmit the product information and the late search request to the server. Alternatively, if the server knows product information, the product search apparatus 100 may transmit a later search request to the server. The server can retrieve usage evaluation information (or later information) related to the product information. For example, a server can search a sales site, a blog, a café, a homepage of a merchandise seller, and the like and use the evaluation. The server may transmit the retrieved usage evaluation to the product search apparatus 100. [ The goods searching apparatus 100 can display the transmitted usage evaluation. For example, the product search apparatus 100 can sort in the latest date order and in the site order including the product evaluation. Alternatively, the product search apparatus 100 may divide and display the pages using the use evaluation page searched from the sales site, the usage evaluation page searched from the blog, the usage evaluation page searched in the cafe, and the usage evaluation page searched from the homepage of the goods seller.

According to the embodiment described above, the product search apparatus 100 can conveniently provide evaluation information on a specific product to a user. On the other hand, the product search apparatus 100 may provide useful information to the user based on the big data.

9 is a diagram for explaining a process of receiving additional information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9, a server database 230 and a goods search apparatus 100 are shown. The server may receive a unique identification number each time a user searches for a product. The database 230 of the server may store a unique identification number and a goods retrieval history together. The server can recognize a specific product when a specific product is searched for more than a predetermined number of times. For example, the server may recognize AAA goods with user A if user A retrieves AAA product more than 10 times. The server can recognize the AAA product by setting the flag to 1 in the AAA product information and recognize the AAA product by displaying the tag in the AAA product information. On the other hand, the server may recognize not only completely identical goods but also related goods set according to a certain standard as a group and recognize the product group in the above-described manner.

The server may receive release information of the AAA 'product associated with the AAA product. For example, the associated merchandise may include the same kind of merchandise, same brand merchandise, family merchandise, similar merchandise, or substitute merchandise as the merchandise searched for a predetermined number of times or more.

The server can transmit the release information of the AAA 'goods to the product search apparatus 100 of the A user. On the other hand, the release information of the goods and the related goods searched for a predetermined number of times or more is one embodiment, and the server can transmit various additional information to the goods search apparatus 100. For example, the various additional information may include event information or latest article information related to the AAA product.

According to the above-described embodiment, the product search apparatus 100 can promptly and conveniently provide product information related to a product that the user is interested in.

Various embodiments of the product search apparatus 100 have been described so far. Hereinafter, a flow chart of the retrieval method of the product retrieval apparatus 100 will be described.

10 is a flowchart of a method of controlling a goods searching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The goods searching apparatus obtains the goods information image including the goods information (S1010). The goods searching apparatus identifies the text included in the obtained goods information image (S1020). For example, the identified text may include a brand name, a model name, or a brand name. The product search apparatus can detect text in an image using an optical character reading method or the like. In another embodiment, the product search apparatus 100 can identify the text by reading all or part of the image when the image including the product information is photographed.

The goods search apparatus highlights an area related to the identified text and displays it (S1030). For example, the goods search apparatus can visually distinguish an area for an identified text from another area. Alternatively, the goods retrieval device may display an identifier at each of the start and end points of the area for the identified text.

If at least some of the highlighted areas are selected, the item search apparatus displays the text corresponding to the selected area of the identified text in the field (S1040). The goods searching apparatus can recognize the area selected by the user's touch gesture. Field may be a predetermined area on the screen. In one embodiment, the field may be a certain upper region of the product search apparatus screen.

The goods search apparatus transmits the text displayed in the field as a search keyword to an external server (S1050). The merchandise search apparatus receives the related information of the searched merchandise based on the transmitted text and the price information of the merchandise from the server (S1060). In one embodiment, the merchandise related information may include sales site information. The product related information may include at least one of a product name, a brand name, a model name, or a product image.

The goods searching apparatus displays the related information and the price information of the received goods (S1060). The product search apparatus can receive a plurality of price information sorted from the server. Then, the product search apparatus can switch the display of the product related information and the sorted price information to a screen showing a list, and display it. Alternatively, some price information among the price information sorted on the photographed product information image screen may be displayed.

11 is a flowchart of a server control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 11, the server receives text as a search keyword from the goods search apparatus (S1110). The server may receive text of one word and may receive text containing a plurality of words. The server can search the related information of a commodity or a commodity using the received text as a search keyword.

The server determines whether the received text is an error (S1120). The server retrieves the database that matches the received text. If there is no product name or the like matching the received text, the server judges the received text as an error.

If the server determines that the received text includes an error, the server obtains the corrected text (S1130). For example, the server can judge the text whose characters match at a predetermined ratio or more, pre-entered text or pre-retrieved text as modified text.

The server retrieves the associated information and price information of the corresponding goods based on the received text or the modified text (S1140). The server may sort the searched price information according to a predetermined criterion. The server transmits the related information and price information of the goods to the goods search apparatus (S1150).

12 is a timing diagram of a goods information search system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 12, the product search apparatus 100 photographs a product information image including product information (S1210). The product search apparatus 100 identifies the text in the photographed product information image (S1220).

The product search apparatus 100 may receive a selection instruction from the user for the identified text. The product search apparatus 100 can determine the area in which the selection instruction is input among the identified texts as the selection area. The goods searching apparatus 100 transmits text corresponding to the selected area of the identified text to the server 200 (S1230).

The server 200 determines whether the received text is erroneous (S1240). If the server 200 determines that the received text includes an error, the server 200 determines the corrected text (S1250). The server 200 may judge the data that matches the received text among the goods related information data in the database by a predetermined ratio or more as modified text.

The server 200 retrieves the associated information and price information of the corresponding goods based on the received text or modified text (S1260). The server 200 arranges the searched price information according to a predetermined criterion (S1270). The server 200 transmits the goods association information and the sorted price information to the product search apparatus 100 (S1280).

The goods searching apparatus 100 displays the related information of the received goods and the sorted price information (S1290). Various embodiments of the retrieval system including the goods retrieval apparatus and the server have been described above, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The retrieval method of the product retrieving apparatus according to the above-described various embodiments may be implemented as a program, and a non-transitory computer readable medium in which the program is stored may be provided.

A non-transitory readable medium is a medium that stores data for a short period of time, such as a register, cache, memory, etc., but semi-permanently stores data and is readable by the apparatus. In particular, the various applications or programs described above may be stored on non-volatile readable media such as CD, DVD, hard disk, Blu-ray disk, USB, memory card, ROM,

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

100: goods search apparatus 200: server
110: camera 120: input unit
130: processor 140:
150: Display

Claims (15)

A method of controlling a goods searching apparatus,
Obtaining a product information image;
Identifying text included in the obtained product information image;
Highlighting and displaying an area associated with the identified text;
Displaying at least some of the highlighted areas in a field corresponding to a selected area of the identified text;
Transmitting the text displayed in the field to an external server;
Receiving association information of goods searched based on the transmitted text and price information of the goods from the server; And
And displaying the association information and the price information of the received goods. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the step of displaying the text corresponding to the selected area in the field comprises:
When at least a part of the plurality of highlighted areas is selected, a plurality of texts corresponding to the sequentially selected partial areas are displayed together with the highlighted areas in the selected order A method of controlling a product retrieval apparatus. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the highlighting and displaying comprises:
Displaying an area for the identified text visually different from another area or displaying an identifier at each of start and end points of the area for the identified text. The method according to claim 1,
Receiving the modified text from the server if the server determines that the transmitted text includes an error; And
And displaying the modified text,
Wherein the modified text is at least one of a product name, a brand name, or a model name of the product. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the step of displaying the association information of the received goods and the price information comprises:
And switching the display of the product related information and the price information to a screen that displays a list. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the step of displaying the association information of the received goods and the price information comprises:
And displaying the price information on the product information image screen. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the step of displaying the association information of the received goods and the price information comprises:
And displaying the price information in a separate window by deactivating the product information image screen. The method according to claim 1,
The association information of the goods is,
Includes sales site information,
A product name, a brand name, a model name, or a product image. 9. The method of claim 8,
And connecting and displaying the corresponding sales site when the price information is selected. Identifying text included in the obtained product information image;
Highlighting and displaying an area associated with the identified text;
Displaying at least some of the highlighted areas in a field corresponding to a selected area of the identified text;
Transmitting the text displayed in the field to an external server;
Receiving association information of goods searched based on the transmitted text and price information of the goods from the server; And
And displaying the association information of the received goods and the price information. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 19 > In a server control method,
Receiving text from a merchandise search device;
Determining whether the received text is erroneous;
Obtaining corrected text if it is determined that the received text includes an error;
Retrieving association information and price information of corresponding goods based on the received text or the modified text; And
And transmitting the retrieved product related information and the price information to the product retrieving apparatus. 12. The method of claim 11,
The association information of the goods is,
A product name, a brand name, a model name, or a product image. 13. The method of claim 12,
The method of claim 1,
And judging that the received text is an error if there is no association information of the goods matching the received text. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the step of obtaining the modified text comprises:
Wherein the at least one of the text stored in the database, the pre-entered text, or the pre-retrieved text is acquired as the modified text. Determining whether the received text is erroneous;
Obtaining corrected text if it is determined that the received text includes an error;
Retrieving association information and price information of corresponding goods based on the received text or the modified text; And
And transmitting the associated information of the searched product and the price information to the product search apparatus. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 19 >

Images