WO2001084411A1

WO2001084411A1 - Electronic commerce system and method thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2001084411A1
Application number: PCT/KR2000/000551
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jae-Ho Kim
Original assignee: Cyberpia Korea Co., Ltd
Priority date: 2000-03-28
Filing date: 2000-05-29
Publication date: 2001-11-08
Also published as: KR20010093037A; AU2000251105A1

Abstract

Upon access to a main web server on the network, the user is linked to the initial homepage and the local shopping mall servers. On the homepage of a local shopping mall, the user can acquire information about the products available in the local shopping mall and purchase products of interest. Thus the local shopping malls are enabled to have a common brand through the main web server without a special technique and secure the superiority in brand power and competitiveness on the markets. The user can choose a desired local shopping mall to order and pay for products of interest, which guarantees rapid delivery of the products and other concerned services. This system is applicable to the Internet lecture site of a university so that students are free to attend lectures of an excellent university.

Description

Electronic Commerce System and Method Thereof

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electronic commerce system and

a method thereof.

(b) Description of the Related Art

The spread of Internet has recently expanded electronic commercial

transactions on the Internet and commercial transactions in Internet

shopping malls. The electronic commercial transactions are more activated

because they solve the problem with the conventional transaction system

that customers has to spend much time in purchase of product, and enable

the customers to freely buy products irrespective of time.

Numerous Internet shopping malls are prevalent in Korea. However,

only a few Internet shopping malls are operated in the form of a general

shopping mall mostly by major companies based on ample funds and have

the superiority in regard to brand power and competitiveness on the markets

over the other competitors.

In this situation, a small company that lacks in funds cannot afford

an enormous expense of initial investment for construction of an Internet

shopping mall and eventually encounters impossibility in competing with

leading companies that secure the superiority in competitiveness on the markets.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic

commerce system that secures a name value on the markets at a low

investment expense in constructing an Internet shopping mall.

To achieve the above object, the present invention links a

purchasing unit to a shopping mall server through a connection unit

including a main web server, the main web server having the same domain

name as the shopping mall servers.

In one aspect of the present invention, an electronic commerce

system, in which a user has access to a shopping mall server via a network

using a purchasing unit and buys products of interest, includes: a local

shopping mall database for storing URL (Uniform Resource Locator)

information of a plurality of shopping mall servers on the network; and a

main web server for providing information about the plural shopping mall

servers to the user connected via the network and, upon the user's choosing

one of the shopping mall server, providing URL information of the selected

shopping mall server.

The shopping mall server includes: a product information database

for storing information about a plurality of products for sales; a user

information database for storing information of users registered as membership; and a purchase processor for purchasing the products stored

in the product information database on the network. The information stored

in the product information database and the user information database can

be shared among the main web server and the plural shopping mall servers.

Preferably, the main web server has the same domain name as the

shopping mall servers.

In another aspect of the present invention, an electronic commerce

method, in which a user has access to a shopping mall server based on URL

(Uniform Resource Locator) information of the shopping mall server from a

local shopping mall database via a network using a purchasing unit and buys

products of interest, includes: upon the user's having access to a main web

server on the network, providing information about a plurality of shopping

mall servers; upon the user's selecting one shopping mall server, searching

for URL information of the selected shopping mall server; and linking the

purchasing unit of the user to the shopping mall server based on the URL

information of the shopping mall server.

Preferably, the main web server has the same domain name as the

shopping mall servers.

With an Internet shopping mall constructed using the electronic

commerce system according to the present invention, the main web server of

the connection unit links the initial homepage of the user to the individual

local shopping mall servers, which operate the actual shopping malls. The local shopping malls are therefore enabled to have a common brand through

the main web server without a special technique and form a big shopping

mall, securing the superiority in regard to brand power and competitiveness

on the markets. The local shopping malls also reduce a management

expense through common marketing, promotion and advertisement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and

constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the

invention, and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles

of the invention:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic commerce system in

accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the communications between the web

server of an Internet shopping mall and a user in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the conception of the electronic

commerce system in accordance with an embodiment of the present

invention;

FIG. 4a is a flow chart of an electronic commerce method in

accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4b is a flow chart of a process for a user's purchasing a product

in the electronic commerce system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a detailed flow chart of the purchase procedure in FIG. 4b.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description, only the preferred embodiment

of the invention has been shown and described, simply by way of illustration

of the best mode contemplated by the inventor(s) of carrying out the

invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modification in

various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention.

Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative

in nature, and not restrictive.

Hereinafter, a description will be given to an electronic commerce

system according to an embodiment of the present invention in detail with

reference to FIGS. 1 , 2 and 3.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic commerce system

according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram

showing the communications between the web server of an Internet

shopping mall and a user in FIG. 1 ; and FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining

the conception of the electronic commerce system according to the

embodiment of the present invention.

The electronic commerce system according to the embodiment of the

present invention comprises: a purchasing unit 10 that enables a user to order a product; an Internet 20 connected to the purchasing unit 10; a

connection unit 30 connected to the user via the Internet 20; and a plurality

of local shopping mall servers 71 , 72 and 73 connected to the user via the

connection unit 30 for selling a product ordered by the purchasing unit 10.

The purchasing unit 10 comprises a terminal such as a computer

that can be linked to the connection unit 30 via the Internet 20.

The connection unit 30 comprises a local shopping mall DB

(database) 32 for storing URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information of the

local shopping mall servers 71 , 72 and 73 on the Internet 20 and rough

information about the local shopping malls; and a main web server 31 for

linking one of the local shopping mall servers 71 , 72 and 73 to the

purchasing unit 10 of the user based on the URL information stored in the

local shopping mall DB 32 to provide information about the local shopping

mall.

The local shopping mall servers 71 , 72 and 73, which are operated

by plural local shopping malls that actually sell products, comprise sales

processors 41 , 42 and 43, and DBs 51 , 52, 53, 61 , 62 and 63.

The databases 51 , 52, 53, 61 , 62 and 63 may comprises user

information DBs 51 , 52 and 53 that store the personal particulars, ID

(membership number), password and account number of a user who holds

membership in a local shopping mall site; and product information DBs 61 ,

62 and 63 that store a list of products available in the local shopping mall and detailed information about the products.

The user information DBs 51 , 52 and 53 allow each local shopping

mall server to share information about membership with the main server and

the other local shopping mall servers. So, a user who holds membership in a

local shopping mall server is eligible to membership of the other local

shopping mall servers without separate registration. Data of the product

information DBs 61 , 62 and 63 are also shared among the main web server

and the local shopping mall servers, so that a user can search for products

in all the local shopping malls.

The sales processors 41 , 42 and 43 provide information about

products stored in the product information DBs 61 , 62 and 63 to the user's

purchasing unit 10, which is linked to the sales processors 41 , 42 and 43 via

the connection unit 30, to enable the user to purchase products, and process

transactions of products and settlement.

The main web server 31 has the same domain name as the local

shopping mall servers 71 , 72 and 73, such as "citimall".

Now, a description will be given as to a commercial transaction using

the electronic commerce system according to the embodiment of the present

invention.

Such an electronic commerce system has a plurality of independent

web servers under the same domain name so that the user can log in the

individual local shopping mall servers with a single domain name. The individual local shopping malls in each local shopping mall servers 71 , 72

and 73 are independently operated. Thus, when connecting to the main web

server 31 , the user is automatically linked to the individual local shopping

mall servers 71 , 72 and 73 to purchase products in each local shopping mall.

More specifically, as the user has access to the main web server 31

of the connection unit 30 on the Internet 20 through the purchasing unit 10,

an initial homepage showing a list of local shopping mall servers appears.

When the user is linked to one of the local shopping mall servers 71 , 72 and

73, the homepage of the local shopping mall server is displayed so that the

user acquires information about the products in the local shopping mall

server to purchase products.

Now, such a product purchasing method using the shopping mall site

of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4a, 4b and 5.

FIG. 4a is a flow chart of an electronic commerce method according

to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4b is a flow chart of a

process for a user's purchasing a product in the electronic commerce

system according to an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 5 is a

detailed flow chart of the purchase procedure in FIG. 4b.

Once the user has access to the main web server 31 of the shopping

mall site according to the embodiment of the present invention via the

Internet 20 using the purchasing unit 10, the initial homepage of the

shopping mall site is displayed on the browser of the user, in step 1 10. Upon the user's choosing his/her desired local shopping mall site, the mam web

server 31 provides URL information of the local shopping malls registered as

a member agency, in step 120 When the user selects a specific local

shopping mall, in step 130, the mam web server 31 provides URL

information of the corresponding local shopping mall with reference to the

local shopping mall DB 32, in step 140 Based on the URL information, the

corresponding shopping mall server is then linked to the purchasing unit 10

of the user, in step 150 Here, the browser of the user is connected to the

local shopping mall server to display the homepage of the local shopping

mall When the user has access to one of the local shopping mall servers 71 ,

72 and 73, in step 210, the local shopping mall server provides information

about the products chosen by the user with reference to the product

information DB, in step 220 The local shopping mall server may check the

user information DB at this time to determine whether the user holds

membership That is, the local shopping mall server requests the user to

enter his/her ID and password If the user holds membership, he/she enters

his/her ID and password, otherwise, he/she has only to go through a

registration procedure for determining his/her ID, password and account for

payment Here, the account may be an account of the existing bank, a credit

card, or any existing electronic payment system For membership, the user is

given an opportunity to participate in various events scheduled by the

shopping mall Even non-membership may search for and purchase goods The user orders his/her desired goods, in step 230, and goes through

electronic settlement, in step 240, after which the goods are delivered to the

user.

Now, a detailed description will be given to the product searching

procedure with reference to FIG. 5.

When the user as membership enters the name of his/her desired

product, in step 202, the local shopping mall server searches for the

corresponding product from the product information DB and displays a list of

products searched out, in step 203. Upon the user choosing his/her desired

product, in step 204, information about the product is displayed. The

information displayed on the screen may include model number,

manufacturer, price, or others. When the user clicks on his/her desired

product, in step 205, detailed information about the product is displayed, in

step 206, and the user clicks on a purchase button. Here, the local shopping

mall allows the user to confirm the purchase. The user's clicking on the

purchase button completes the order of the product. If the user's desired

product is not included in the list of products displayed, the user may move

to the next local shopping mall or another one that he/she wants, in step 207.

At this time, an icon for moving to another local shopping mall is displayed

instead of the homepage of the existing local shopping mall, so that the user

can be linked to another local shopping mall by clicking on the icon. The

subsequent procedure is the same as described above. The main web server 31 constructs the individual local shopping

malls under the same domain name, and the local shopping malls allow a

commission and bear an investment expense. Thus the local shopping malls

are enabled to have a common brand through the main web server 31

without a special technique and form a big shopping mall, which secures the

superiority in regard to brand power and competitiveness on the markets. In

addition, the user can choose the local shopping mall near to his/her

residential area or his/her desired local shopping mall to order and pay for

products of interest, which guarantees rapid delivery of the products and

other concerned services. The local shopping malls can reduce the expense

of management through common marketing, promotion and advertisement

and still maintain the independent operation. The local shopping malls

operated in each area also contribute to activation of the regional economy.

This electronic commerce system is applicable to construction of the

Internet lecture site of a university as well as the shopping mall site.

Some domestic or foreign universities provide lectures on the

Internet and such an Internet lecture service is promising due to a rapid

increase in the Internet users. The existing Internet lecture system, however,

allows the students to attend lectures only provided by their own university,

which give a limitation to the university to cope with the open-door and

globalization tendencies. With the above-stated electronic commerce system

adapted to the Internet lecture system, a plurality of universities form a community under a single domain name and the students are free to apply

for the lectures of different universities. Then, the universities are operated

independently as the local shopping malls so that the students can attend

lectures of any university. Here, the user information DB stores the individual

student's personal information and major field of study, and the product

information DB stores subjects of lectures such as major subjects and

cultural subjects.

Besides, the electronic commerce system is applicable to other

industrial fields to group a plurality of business units into a community under

the same domain name and allow independent operations of the business

units.

As described above, the present invention groups a plurality of

business units of the same type into a community under the same domain

name to reduce an investment expense for construction of the initial site,

allow the independent operations of the individual business unit, and

maximize the effect of promotion through common marketing, promotion and

events.

While this invention has been described in connection with what is

presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is

to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed

embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications

and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An electronic commerce system, in which a user has access

to a shopping mall server via a network using a purchasing unit and buys

products of interest, the electronic commerce system comprising:

a local shopping mall database for storing URL (Uniform Resource

Locator) information of a plurality of shopping mall servers on the network;

and a main web server for providing information about the plural

shopping mall servers to the user connected via the network and, upon the

user's choosing one of the shopping mall servers, providing URL information

of the selected shopping mall server.

2. The electronic commerce system as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein the shopping mall server comprises: a product information database

for storing information about a plurality of products for sales; a user

information database for storing information of users registered as

membership; and a purchase processor for purchasing the products stored

in the product information database on the network.

3. The electronic commerce system as claimed in claim 2,

wherein the information stored in the product information database and the

user information database is shared among the main web server and the plural shopping mall servers.

4. The electronic commerce system as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein the main web server has the same domain name as the shopping

mall servers.

5. An electronic commerce method, in which a user has access

to a shopping mall server based on URL (Uniform Resource Locator)

information of the shopping mall server from a local shopping mall database via a network using a purchasing unit and buys products of interest, the electronic commerce method comprising: upon the user's having access to a main web server on the network,

providing information about a plurality of shopping mall servers; upon the user's selecting one shopping mall server, searching for

URL information of the selected shopping mall server; and

linking the purchasing unit of the user to the shopping mall server

based on the URL information of the shopping mall server.

6. The electronic commerce method as claimed in claim 5,

wherein the main web server has the same domain name as the shopping

mall servers.