JP2002215640A - System and method for providing goods price information, and system and method for registering goods price information - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To grasp information on which retail store sells goods at a low price which is best for both general consumers and the retail store by collecting goods price information on specific goods in retail stores in a commercial area to provide information for the general consumers. SOLUTION: When receiving a goods price information retrieval request from a user terminal 3 through the Internet 100, a server 2 extracts goods price information in the bargain sale period of insertion advertisement from a goods price database 25 on the basis of retrieval condition information including a commercial area, trade names and the bargain sale period, sorts the extracted goods price information in order from the low price and transmits it to the user terminal 3. Then the user terminal 3 displays the received price information on a screen. An information providing device 1 registers the goods price information including the commercial area, trade names, the names of retail stores, prices and bargain sale period through the Internet 100, in the goods price database 25, and insertion advertisement image data in an insertion advertisement database 26 respectively.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and a method for providing commodity price information and a method and a method for registering commodity price information, and more particularly to providing commodity price information of retail stores in a trade area competing for "cheap" price information. The present invention relates to a product price information providing method and method, and a product price information registration method and method for registering product price information of a retail store in a trade area competing for "cheap" price information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method of obtaining product information from an insert advertisement, a consumer knows the price of a product for sale at each retail store in a commercial area by using an insert advertisement in a newspaper, goes to the retail store, and goes to the retail store. To buy. On the other hand, the retailer knows the prices of the commodities sold by competing retailers in the commercial area through newspaper advertisements and the like, and sets the merchandise prices of its own stores with reference to the commodities offered by competitors.

As a method of obtaining product information using a network, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-63749.
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication, a store or product (special sale item) is selected from a menu screen, and when a product is selected, a jungle name of the product is displayed. Is displayed. Further, when one of the officer names is selected (for example, fruit), the image of the fruit, the price, and the shop name are displayed over a plurality of products. Furthermore, if you find a product that interests you while looking at many products and want to see detailed information about it,
When the display position is designated, information on the product is displayed.

[0004]

However, both the general consumer and the retail store are extremely sensitive to the commodity price information, and whether or not the commodity price in the trade area is a "bargain item" depends on the general consumer's willingness to purchase. In addition, retailers are also pricing based on price information of competing retailers.

In the conventional method of obtaining product information from an insert advertisement, since price information of a product for sale is obtained from limited media such as an insert advertisement from a newspaper store,
Although price information for each retail store can be obtained, there is a problem in that it is difficult to directly obtain integrated price comparison information throughout the entire retail store of a specific product. In other words, since there is no information that summarizes the product prices of specific products in the retail area at retail stores, it is possible to grasp the information on which retailers selling at the cheapest price from general consumers and retailers are selling There is a problem that it is difficult to do.

In the conventional method of obtaining information from an insertion advertisement, information such as a trade area, a retail store, a price, and a selling period for selling a bargain product is arranged, and a retail store setting a bargain product price is found. It takes too much time and money. That is, there is a problem that it is difficult for general consumers and retail stores to organize all of the enormous price information of retail stores in the commercial area by themselves.

Further, a method of obtaining product information using a network (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-63749)
In spite of knowing the product you want, you have to search the screen visually to narrow down the product for each product, and even if you narrow down the product, where is the cheapest in the commercial area There is a problem that it is difficult to see where the store is next. That is, there is a problem that the consumer and the retail store need to spend time and money to arrange information such as a trade area, a retail store, a price, and a selling period for selling a bargain product.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide general consumer information in which merchandise price information of a specific merchandise in a retail area is provided at a retail store, and to provide the most affordable general consumers and retailers. Another important thing is that you can get information about where retailers are selling at low prices.

Another object of the present invention is to reduce the load of time and expense for knowing the trade area, retail store, price, and selling period for selling a bargain product in view of the above problems.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a service which is convenient for general consumers and retail stores by making the added value information, which is the above object, available via a network.

Another object of the present invention is to register via a network in a server that provides a service of merchandise price information of an insert advertisement.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, a commodity price information providing system according to the present invention provides a commodity price information database by searching a commodity price information database when retrieval condition information is received via a network. A product price information providing method for providing price information, wherein the search condition information includes a trade area, a product name, and a sales period, and the product price information database is used during the sales period of the insert advertisement based on the search condition information. It is characterized by having first extraction means for searching and extracting the commodity price information, and display means for displaying the commodity price information extracted by the first extraction means via the network in the order of price.

[0013] Further, in the above-mentioned method of providing commodity price information, the commodity price information includes advertisement information, and storage means for storing insert advertisement image data; and information that the advertisement information displayed on the display means is clicked. A second extracting unit that extracts the insert advertisement image data corresponding to the information from the storage unit when received through the network; and inserts the insert advertisement image data extracted by the second extract unit through the network. And output means for outputting the output.

Further, in the above-mentioned commodity price information providing system, there is provided a conversion means for converting a commodity name into a common common commodity name, and the commodity name used as search information by the first extracting means is converted by the conversion means. It is characterized by being a converted common product name.

Further, in the above-mentioned commodity price information provision system, the search condition includes a search method for selecting a period or a date, and the display means displays the specified selling period within the specified search method if the search method selects the period. Are displayed in the order of price, and if the search method is to select the date, for each date within the specified selling period, the product corresponding to the date is displayed in the order of price.

Further, in the above-mentioned commodity price information providing system, if any of the commodity price information registered in the commodity price information database has passed the selling period, the corresponding commodity name is retrieved from the commodity price information database. Is characterized by having a first deleting means for deleting the commodity price information.

Further, in the above-mentioned method of providing commodity price information, if any of the insert advertisement image data stored in the storage means has passed the selling period, the insert means of the relevant retail store name is sent from the storage means. It has a second deletion unit for deleting image data.

Further, in the above-mentioned method of providing commodity price information, the commodity price information includes a trade area, a commodity name, a retail store name, a price, and a selling period.

Further, the above-mentioned commodity price information providing system is characterized in that it has an authentication confirmation means for performing an authentication check of a user ID and a password before providing the commodity price information.

Further, the first commodity price information registration method of the present invention provides a commodity including a trade area, a commodity name, a retail store name, a price, and a selling period from a file attached when an e-mail is received via a network. It is characterized by having registration means for extracting and registering price information.

Further, according to a second commodity price information registration method of the present invention, a commodity including a trade area, a commodity name, a retail shop name, a price and a selling period is obtained from a file attached when an electronic mail is received via a network. It is characterized by having registration means for extracting and registering price information and insert advertisement image data.

A third product price information registration system according to the present invention is a product price information registration system for connecting a device of a product price information provider and a server for providing product price information via a network. A display means for receiving the price information registration screen information from the server and displaying the price information registration screen; and a product including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sale period outputted at the time of creating the insert advertisement. Transmitting means for inputting price information and insert advertisement image data to the price information registration screen and transmitting the price information and the insert advertisement image data to the server, wherein the server transmits the product price information and insert advertisement image data transmitted by the transmit means; And a registration unit for registering the received commodity price information and the inserted advertisement image data when the information is received.

Further, in the above-mentioned first, second or third commodity price information registration system, there is provided a conversion means for converting a commodity name into a common common commodity name, and the registration means uses the commodity name as registration information. The product name is a common product name converted by the conversion means.

Further, in the above-mentioned first or second commodity price information registration method, the commodity price information is information at the time of creating an insertion advertisement.

Further, in the second commodity price information registration method, the insert advertisement image data is image data when a insert advertisement is created.

Further, in the first product price information registration method, if any of the product price information registered by the registration means has passed the selling period, the corresponding product price information is stored in the product price information database. It is characterized by having a deletion means for deleting the commodity price information of the name.

Further, in the above-mentioned second or third commodity price information registration system, if any of the commodity price information and the insert advertisement image data registered by the registration means has passed the selling period, then It is characterized in that it has a deletion means for deleting the product price information of the corresponding product name and the insert advertisement image data of the retail store name from the registration means.

Further, in the above-mentioned first or second commodity price information registration method, when an e-mail is received via a network, it is checked whether the source e-mail address is a pre-registered e-mail address. It is characterized by having means.

Further, the method for providing commodity price information of the present invention comprises:
A product price information providing method for providing product price information to the device by searching a product price information database when a server receives a product price information search request based on search condition information from a device via a network, The search condition information includes a trade area, a product name, and a sale period, and the server receives the product price information search request and, during the sale period of the insert advertisement, from the product price information database based on the search condition information based on the search condition information. Extract product price information,
The extracted product price information is sorted in the order of price and transmitted to the device, and the device displays the sorted product price information on the screen when receiving the sorted product price information.

Further, in the above-mentioned method for providing commodity price information, the commodity price information includes advertisement information, and a folded advertisement image data database for storing a selling period and a folded advertisement image data for each retail store name is prepared in the server. When the item of the advertisement information in the product price information displayed on the screen by the device is clicked, the server requests the server for the clicked insertion advertisement, and the server requests the clicked insertion advertisement. When the apparatus receives the inserted image data, the apparatus extracts the corresponding inserted advertisement image data and transmits it to the server. When the apparatus receives the extracted image data, the apparatus outputs the received inserted advertisement image data.

Further, in the above-described method for providing commodity price information, a conversion dictionary for converting a commodity name into a common commodity name is prepared in the server, and the server receives the commodity price information search request when the server receives the commodity price information search request. The product name of the condition information is converted into a common product name by a conversion dictionary, and the insert price of the insert advertisement is converted from the product price information database based on the converted product name, the trade area of the search condition information, and the selling period of the search condition information. It is characterized by extracting commodity price information during the selling period.

Further, in the method for providing commodity price information, the search condition includes a retrieval method for selecting a period or a date, and the server receives the commodity price information retrieval request including the retrieval method for selecting the period. In this case, the extracted commodity price information is sorted in the order of the lowest price using the commodities that are within the selling period of the retrieval condition information as a key and transmitted to the apparatus, and the commodity price information retrieval including the retrieval method that selects the period is performed. When a request is received, for each date within the selling period of the search condition information, the extracted product price information is sorted in the order of the lowest price using the product corresponding to the date as a key and transmitted to the device.

Further, in the above-mentioned method of providing commodity price information, if any of the commodity price information registered in the commodity price information database has passed the selling period, the corresponding commodity name is retrieved from the commodity price information database. This is characterized in that the product price information is deleted.

Further, in the above-mentioned method of providing commodity price information, if any of the insert advertisement image data registered in the insert advertisement image database has passed the selling period, the name of the corresponding retail store is read from the insert advertisement database. Is characterized by deleting the insertion advertisement image data.

Further, in the above-described method for providing commodity price information, the commodity price information includes a trade area, a commodity name, a retail store name, a price, and a selling period.

Further, in the above-mentioned method for providing commodity price information, an authentication check of a user ID and a password is performed before providing the commodity price information.

The first method for registering product price information of the present invention is a method for registering product price information, which connects a device of a product price information provider and a server for providing service of product price information via a network. Prepare a product price information database that stores product price information including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sale period in the server, and when the server receives an email from the device via a network, The present invention is characterized in that merchandise price information including a trade area, a merchandise name, a retail store name, a price, and a selling period is extracted from the attached file and registered in the merchandise price information database.

A second method for registering product price information according to the present invention is a product price information registration method for connecting a device of a product price information provider and a server for providing product price information via a network. A server for storing, in the server, a commodity price information database for storing commodity price information including a trade area, a commodity name, a retail store name, a price, and a selling period, and an image database for storing the retail store name, the selling period, and insert advertisement image data; Preparing, when the server receives an e-mail from the device via a network, extracts the commodity price information including the trade area, the commodity name, the retail store name, the price, and the selling period from the attached file, and Register in the product price information database, extract the retail store name, sales period, and insert advertisement image data from the attached file, and It is characterized in that for registering in the database.

A third method for registering product price information of the present invention is a product price information registration method for connecting a device of a product price information provider and a server for providing service of product price information via a network. A server for storing, in the server, a commodity price information database for storing commodity price information including a trade area, a commodity name, a retail store name, a price, and a selling period, and an image database for storing the retail store name, the selling period, and insert advertisement image data; Preparing, the device receives the price information registration screen information from the server, displays the price information registration screen, and includes a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sale period that the device outputs at the time of creating the insert advertisement. The commodity price information and the insert advertisement image data are input to the price information registration screen and transmitted to the server. Upon receiving the broadcast and advertising inserts image data, and registers the commodity price information to the received to the commodity price information database, is characterized in that to register the advertising inserts image data thus received to the advertising inserts database.

Further, in the first or second commodity price information registration method, a conversion dictionary for converting a commodity name into a common commodity name is prepared in the server, and the commodity name registered in the commodity price information database is When the server receives the electronic mail from the device, the server is a common product name obtained by converting the product name of the attached file by the conversion dictionary.

Further, in the third commodity price information registration method, a conversion dictionary for converting a commodity name into a common commodity name is prepared in the server, and the commodity name registered in the commodity price information database is stored in the server. Is a common product name obtained by converting the product name of the product price information by the conversion dictionary when the product price information is received from the device.

Further, in the above-mentioned first or second method for registering commodity price information, the commodity price information is information at the time of creating an insertion advertisement.

Further, in the above-mentioned first method for registering commodity price information, it is characterized in that the insert advertisement image data is image data when a insert advertisement is created.

Further, in the above first method for registering commodity price information, if there is any commodity price information registered in the commodity price information database that has passed the selling period, the corresponding commodity price information is retrieved from the commodity price information database. It is characterized in that the product price information of the product name to be deleted is deleted.

Further, in the above-mentioned second or third method for registering commodity price information, the selling period of the commodity price information registered in the commodity price information database and the insert advertisement image data registered in the image database is set. If there is any product that is past the middle, the product price information database deletes the product price information of the product name corresponding to the product name and the insert advertisement image data of the product from the image database.

Further, in the above-mentioned first or second method for registering commodity price information, when an e-mail is received via a network, it is checked whether the source e-mail address is a pre-registered e-mail address. It is characterized by.

[0047]

Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, according to a first embodiment of the present invention, an information providing apparatus 1 for providing price information of a product during a selling period, a server 2 for providing price information of a product, a product, Terminal 3 to receive price information service
The Internet 100 (communication network) connecting the information providing apparatus 1, the server 2, and the terminal 3;
, A user information database 24, a product price database 25, an insert advertisement database 26, a conversion dictionary 27, and a screen information database 28 connected to the server 2. The user information database 24, the commodity price database 25, the insert advertisement database 26, the conversion dictionary 27, and the screen information database 28 are allocated to an area in a nonvolatile readable and writable storage medium device (for example, a magnetic disk). ing. In this case, they may be allocated in different storage medium devices.

The server 2 is an information processing device such as a workstation, and includes a control unit 21 operated by a processor under program control, an interface unit 22 for exchanging data with the Internet 100, and a storage unit for reading and writing. 23.

The information providing device 1 is an information processing device such as a personal computer operated by a processor under program control. The information providing apparatus 1 stores the input product price information such as the trade area, the name of the retail store, the product name, the product code, the maker name, the price, and the selling period (first day, all day) in a storage unit (not shown) as a file. Means for storing the inserted advertisement read from the scanner as a file in the storage unit, and means for transmitting these files to the server 2 of the service provider using electronic mail.

In the user information database 24, the user ID, password, and the like of the user who has contracted for the commodity price information service are registered, and the user ID, password, e-mail address, and the like of the information provider are registered.

In the commodity price database 25, the commodity price information inputted from the information providing apparatus 1, namely, trade area, retail store name, commodity name (registered with common commodity name), commodity code, manufacturer name, price, first day (sale) Data such as the first day of the period), the last day (the last day of the selling period), and the insert advertisement (the storage location of the insert advertisement is displayed by URL) are registered.

In the insert advertisement database 26, insert advertisement image data input from the information providing apparatus 1 is registered for each retail store name together with the validity period (including the insert advertisement sale period) of the insert advertisement (including the flyer).

The conversion dictionary 27 converts the input product name into a common product name in order to unify the product name input from the use terminal 3 and the information providing device 1 into one fixed product name under management of the server 2. Are registered in advance for each common product name.

The screen information database 28 stores various screen information to be displayed on the screens of the user terminal 3 and the information providing apparatus 1 connected via the Internet.

When receiving the e-mail, the control unit 21 of the server 2 extracts merchandise price information including a trade area, a merchandise name, a merchandise code, a maker name, a retail store name, a price, and a selling period from the attached file. Means for extracting the name of the retail store, the selling period, and the insert advertisement image data from the attached file and registering them in the insert advertisement database 26. Means for searching for and extracting product price information during the sale period of the insert advertisement from the product price database 25 based on the search condition information; and extracting the product price information extracted based on the search method of the search condition information after the extraction. A means for sorting the item prices in the order of price and sending the sorted product price information as a search result to the requester; a means for displaying the search result on the screen of the sender; It reads the advertising inserts image data corresponding the advertising inserts database 26 at the request of the advertisement and a means for transmitting to the requester. Further, the control unit 21 performs means for checking the authentication of the user ID and the password based on the user information database 24 before receiving the search service. Means for confirming whether or not the information is registered in the database 24, and if any of the product price information in the product price database 25 and the insert advertisement image data in the insert advertisement database 26 have passed the selling period, the respective databases are used. And means for performing maintenance management (correction, deletion, etc.) of the commodity price information.

The use terminal 3 is an information processing device such as a personal computer operated by a processor under program control. The user terminal 3 launches the browser software (software for connecting to the Internet) to activate the server 2.
Means for requesting the server 2 to perform a search using the search condition information including the trade area (city, town, town and village), product name, product code, maker name, and sale period; Means for displaying the extracted product price information on the screen of its own terminal in a state of being sorted by the search method specified by the user; Means for acquiring the image data and outputting it as an insert advertisement.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, a mechanism for obtaining product price information from the information providing device 1 will be described. The product price information provider starts up the spreadsheet software of the information providing apparatus 1 and, from the insert advertisement, trade area, retail store name, product name, product code, maker name, price, and the like, according to a format determined in advance with the service provider. When the product price information such as the selling period is input from an input unit (for example, a keyboard) (not shown) and a file name and a storage location are designated, the information providing apparatus 1 stores the information on the storage unit (for example, own device). On a magnetic disk within the product) as a commodity price information file. Further, the product price information provider starts up the image editing software, inputs an insertion advertisement (image data) by an input unit (for example, a scanner) (not shown), reads the file, specifies a file name, and a storage location. The providing device 1 stores the input data in a storage unit as an insert advertisement image file. That is, the information providing device 1
Means that two files, a product price information file and an insert advertisement image file, are stored in the storage unit by the operation of the product price information provider from the input unit (keyboard and scanner) (sequence A1 in FIG. 2).

Thereafter, the commodity price information provider starts up the e-mail software incorporated in the information providing apparatus 1 and connects to the Internet 100, and converts the commodity price information file and the insert advertisement file into the server 2 as an attached file of the e-mail. When a mail address is set and the transmission button on the screen is input, the information providing apparatus 1 transmits an e-mail with an attached file to the server 2 managed by the service provider via the Internet 100 (sequence A2).

The control unit 21 of the server 2 which has received the e-mail via the interface unit 22 checks whether the source e-mail address read from the e-mail header is registered in the user information database 24, and checks the attached file ( Check the format of the product price information file and the insert advertisement image file). If each check is normal, the control unit 21 registers the insertion advertisement image file in the insertion advertisement database 26 together with the selling period read from the commodity price information file. Further, the control unit 21 extracts a common product name by searching the conversion dictionary 27 from the product name in the product price information from the product price information file, and classifies each common product name based on the extracted common product name. The product price information read from the product price information file into
Register for each product. When registering in the commodity price database 25, the control unit 21 registers the content (URL format) indicating the storage location of the insert advertisement stored in the insert advertisement database 26 in the insert advertisement column. That is, the server 2 registers the product price information in the product price database 25 from the e-mail transmitted from the information providing device 1 and registers the insert advertisement image data in the insert advertisement database 26 (sequences A3 and A4). .

On the other hand, the control unit 21 sets the all-day column of the product price database 25 and the all-day column of the insert advertisement database 26 in order to check whether or not the expired information of the product price database 25 and the insert advertisement database 26 remains. The contents are read out, and the contents of the read all-day columns and the current date are checked once a day. If expired information remains, the information is deleted. In this case, the time to be checked by the control unit 21 does not have to be particularly defined, but is preferably set to midnight.

Next, a description will be given of a mechanism in which a retail store company or a general consumer retrieves desired product price information from a product database and obtains it. A user who is a retail store company or a general consumer launches browser software built in the use terminal 3 and inputs the URL of the server 2 on the screen, and the use terminal 3 accesses the server 2 via the Internet 100. The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has been accessed via the interface unit 22 reads out the login input screen information from the screen information database 28 and transmits it to the user terminal 3 via the interface unit 22 and the Internet 100. User terminal 3 that received login input screen information
Displays a login input screen on the screen.

The user enters the user I issued by the service provider on the login input screen displayed on the use terminal 3.
D, when the password is input, the usage terminal 3 transmits the input authentication information to the server 2 via the Internet 100. The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has received the authentication information via the interface unit 22 searches the user information database 24 based on the received authentication information (user ID and password).
, The menu screen information for the user is read out and transmitted to the user terminal 3 via the interface unit 22 and the Internet 100. That is, a communication path that can use this service is set between the use terminal 3 and the server 2. The usage terminal 3 that has received the menu screen information displays the menu screen on the screen.

When the user selects a search item from the menu screen displayed on the use terminal 3, the use terminal 3 transmits the selected search item information (information linked to the URL of the server 2) to the server 2. The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has received the search item information reads the search input screen information from the screen information database 28 based on the search item information, and transmits the screen to the user terminal 3. The use terminal 3 that has received the search input screen information displays the search input screen on the screen (sequence A11 in FIG. 3).

The user wants to know on the search input screen displayed on the use terminal 3 a trade area (select a preset municipality), a product name, a product code, a maker name (if blank, all maker targets ), The search period information including the selling period (first day and all day), and the sorting method (selection of the period and date) are input, the user terminal 3 transmits the information to the server 2 (sequences A12 and A13 in FIG. 3).

When the search condition information is received, the control unit 21 of the server 2 searches the exchange dictionary 27 based on the product name in the search condition information when the product code is blank (blank), and If there is, the product price database 25 is searched based on the common product name, the trade area of the search condition information, and the selling period, and each time the corresponding item is detected (extracted), the detected (extracted) information (trade area, retail store name, Product name, product code,
Maker name, price, sale period, storage location)
To save. When a product code is input in the received search condition information, the control unit 21 stores the product price database 25 based on the trade area, the product code, the maker name, and the selling period in the search condition information. Each time a search is performed and a corresponding item is detected (extracted), the detected (extracted) information (trade area, retail store, product name, product code, manufacturer name, price, selling period, insert advertisement) is stored in the storage unit 23. I will do it. Eventually, when all searches are completed and saved in the storage unit 23, the control unit 21 sorts the contents of the storage unit 23 as search results in a low-cost order according to a sorting method. In this case, the sorting by the control unit 21 means “sorting” in the order of low price within the designated period if “period”, and sorting in low order by date if “date”. When the sorting is completed, the control unit 21 stores the search result format from the screen information database 28 into the storage unit 23.
From the search terminal by adding the search results read out to the search result format and adding the search results to the search result format (trade area, retail store, product name, product code, manufacturer name, price, selling period, insert advertisement) 3 (sequences A14 to A17).

[0086] The use terminal 3 receiving the search result information displays the search result on the screen. That is, in the use terminal 3,
Product price information data such as trade area, retail store name, product name, product code, maker name, price, and sale period are displayed on the screen as a list according to the specified sorting method (sequences A18 and A19).

As described above, the user views the search results displayed in the order of the cheapest price on the screen of the use terminal 3 so that the retailer who sells the desired product during the desired use period or every day at a low price can be displayed. You can know somewhere.

Further, the user clicks the insert advertisement (the URL linked to the URL of the server 2 to indicate the storage location of the insert advertisement) from the search result displayed on the screen of the use terminal 3 by the input unit (mouse). Then, the usage terminal 3 transmits the clicked-in advertisement request information (information that the item of the insertion advertisement has been clicked) to the server 2. The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has received the insert advertisement request information reads out (extracts) the insert advertisement (insert advertisement image data) from the insert advertisement database 26 and transmits the read advertisement to the user terminal 3.

When the use terminal 3 receives the insert advertisement, it displays it on the screen. When the user prints the insert advertisement displayed on the screen, the user terminal launches the insert advertisement using a printer (not shown).

In this way, by outputting the insert advertisement, the user can grasp, by looking at the insert advertisement, what kind of other products the retail store selling cheaply sells the product to buy. can do.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 4, the second embodiment of the present invention is different from the first embodiment in that the information providing device 1 of FIG. 1 showing the first embodiment is replaced with an information providing device 4. In other words, the information providing device 4 is an information processing device such as a personal computer operated by a program by a processor similarly to the information providing device 1 of FIG. This is different from the information providing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 in that the product price information and the image data of the insert advertisement are created by going.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5 and 3.

First, a mechanism for obtaining product price information from the information providing device 4 will be described. Product price information provider,
Launch the advertisement creation software of the information providing device 4 and, according to the format determined in advance with the service provider,
Input area (for example, keyboard, scanner, etc.) to trade area,
Creates product price information such as retail store name, product name, product code, manufacturer name, price, sales period, etc., and inserts image information based on the created product price information and performs image editing operations to insert and insert advertisement image data. Create. At this time, the information providing device 4 creates the product price information and the image data of the insertion advertisement through the operation of the product price information provider from a screen and an input unit (not shown) on the program of the advertisement creation software. .
When the file name and the storage location are specified after the creation, the information providing device 4 saves the input data in a storage unit (for example, a magnetic disk) as a product price information file and a folded advertisement image file. That is, the information providing device 4 stores two files, a product price information file and an insert advertisement image file, in a storage unit in the device by operating the input unit (keyboard, scanner, or the like) of the product price information provider through the user interface. This means that the data has been saved (sequence B1 in FIG. 5).

Although the two files were created using the software dedicated to the insert advertisement, the product price information file was created using spreadsheet software, and the insert advertisement and the insert advertisement image file were created using the image editing software. You may.

The processing of the sequences A2 to A4 in FIG. 5 is the same as that described in the first embodiment (the sequence A2 to A4 of FIG. The processing is the same as that described above, and a description thereof will be omitted.

Next, a description will be given of a mechanism in which a retail store company or a general consumer retrieves desired product price information from a product price database. In this case, a mechanism for searching for product price information is the same as the mechanism for searching for product price information in FIG. 3 described in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 1, the third embodiment of the present invention differs from the information providing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 according to the first embodiment in that an Internet function is added in addition to an e-mail function. I do. Otherwise, it is the same as FIG.

Next, referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 6,
The operation of the third embodiment will be described.

First, a mechanism for obtaining product price information from the information providing device 1 will be described. Product price information provider,
The spreadsheet software of the information providing apparatus 1 is started up, and in accordance with a format determined in advance with the service provider, product price information such as trade area, retail store name, product name, product code, maker name, price, selling period, etc. from the insert advertisement. Is input from an input unit (for example, a keyboard) (not shown), and a file name and a storage location are designated, and the information providing apparatus 1 stores the product in a storage unit (for example, a magnetic disk in the device) (not shown). Save as price information file. Further, the product price information provider starts up the image editing software, and an input unit (for example, a scanner) not shown.
When an insert advertisement (image data) is input and read, and a file name and a storage location are specified, the information providing apparatus 1 stores the input data as an insert advertisement image file in a storage unit. That is, the information providing apparatus 1 saves two files, the product price information file and the insert advertisement image file, in the storage unit by operating the input unit (keyboard and scanner) of the product price information provider (FIG. 6 sequence A1).

Thereafter, the commodity price provider starts up the browser software incorporated in the information providing apparatus 1 and inputs the URL of the server 2 on the screen, and the use terminal 3 accesses the server 2 via the Internet 100. The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has been accessed via the interface unit 22 reads out the login input screen information from the screen information database 28 and transmits it to the user terminal 3 via the interface unit 22 and the Internet 100. The usage terminal 3 that has received the login input screen information displays the login input screen on the screen.

The user enters the user I issued by the service provider on the login input screen displayed on the use terminal 3.
D, when the password is input, the usage terminal 3 transmits the input authentication information to the server 2 via the Internet 100. The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has received the authentication information via the interface unit 22 searches the user information database 24 based on the received authentication information (user ID and password).
Read the menu screen information for the product price provider from
The interface unit 22 and the Internet 1
Send via 00. That is, a communication path that can use this service is set between the use terminal 3 and the server 2. User terminal 3 that received menu screen information
Displays a menu screen on the screen.

When the user selects a price registration item from the menu screen displayed on the user terminal 3, the user terminal 3 sends the selected price registration item information (the UR of the server 2) to the server 2.
L). The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has received the price registration item information reads out the price registration input screen information from the screen information database 28 based on the price registration item information, and transmits it to the use terminal 3. The use terminal 3 that has received the price registration input screen information displays the price registration input screen on the screen (sequence C1 in FIG. 6).

When a file is designated on the price registration input screen displayed on the information providing device 1, the product price information provider displays the product price information in an input field for prompting the user to input the storage location of the two displayed files. When the storage location of the file and the insertion advertisement file is input and the transmission button on the screen is pressed, the information providing apparatus 1 reads out the commodity price information file and the insertion advertisement file from the storage unit of the information providing apparatus 1 and transmits them to the server 2. (Sequence C2).

The control unit 21 of the server 2 having received the two files via the interface unit 22 checks the formats of the received commodity price information file and the inserted advertisement image file. If the check is normal, the control unit 21 registers the insert advertisement image file in the insert advertisement database 26 together with the selling period read from the commodity price information file. Further, the control unit 21 extracts a common product name by searching the conversion dictionary 27 from the product name in the product price information from the product price information file, and classifies each common product name based on the extracted common product name. The merchandise price information read from the merchandise price information file is registered in the merchandise price database 25 for each merchandise. In addition,
When registering in the commodity price database 25, the control unit 21 registers the content (URL format) indicating the storage location of the insert advertisement stored in the insert advertisement database 26 in the insert advertisement column. That is, the server 2 registers the product price information transmitted from the information providing apparatus 1 connected to the Internet in the product price database 25, and registers the insert advertisement image data in the insert advertisement database 26 (sequence C3). , C4).

In the above sequence C1, when data entry is specified on the price registration input screen displayed on the information providing apparatus 1, the trade area, retail store name, and product name on which the product price information provider is displayed are displayed. , Product code, manufacturer name, price, sales period, etc., enter the necessary information, and enter the storage location of the insert advertisement file in the input field that prompts for the storage location of the insert advertisement file, and send it on the screen When the button is pressed, the information providing apparatus 1 may read out the commodity price information file and the insert advertisement file from the storage unit of the information providing apparatus 1 and transmit the file to the server 2.

On the other hand, the control unit 21 checks the all-day column of the commodity price database 25 and the all-day column of the insert advertisement database 26 in order to check whether or not the expired information of the commodity price database 25 and the insert advertisement database 26 remains. The contents are read out, and the contents of the read all-day columns and the current date are checked once a day. If expired information remains, the information is deleted. In this case, the time to be checked by the control unit 21 does not have to be particularly defined, but is preferably set to midnight.

Next, a description will be given of a mechanism in which a retail store company or a general secretary obtains desired product price information from a product database by searching. In this case, a mechanism for searching for product price information is the same as the mechanism for searching for product price information described in the first embodiment of the present invention, and a description thereof will be omitted.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 4, the fourth embodiment of the present invention differs from the information providing apparatus 4 of FIG. 4 showing the second embodiment in that an Internet function is added in addition to an e-mail function. I do. Other than that is the same as FIG.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 7 and 3.

First, a mechanism for obtaining product price information from the information providing device 4 will be described. The sequence B1 in FIG. 7 is the same as the sequence B1 in FIG. 5 described in the second embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. The processes in the sequences C1 to C4 in FIG. 7 are the same as those described in the third embodiment (the processes in the sequences C1 to C4 in FIG. 6) by replacing the information processing device 1 in FIG. The description is omitted because it is the same.

Next, a description will be given of a mechanism in which a retail store company or a general consumer retrieves desired product price information from a product price database and obtains it. This is the same as the mechanism for searching for the product price information in FIG. 3 described in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In the first to fourth embodiments, the use terminal 3 is an information processing device such as a personal computer. However, it is needless to say that the present invention includes a case where a mobile phone is used as a use terminal. . In this case, Internet 1
00 is an Internet connection through a wireless network connection (including a service “for example, i-mode” supported by a wireless telephone company).

[0095]

As described above, according to the present invention, the product price information during the sale period of the insert advertisement is searched from the product price database based on the search condition information including the trade area, the product name, and the sale period. Since it is displayed in order,
It is easy and inexpensive to find out where the bargain prices are set in the commercial area for consumers and retailers, and it is a great value-added information for busy housewives and retailers. And convenience can be provided.

Further, according to the present invention, when an item in the displayed product price information is clicked, the image data of the insert advertisement of the retail store can be obtained. Do you handle such affordable products? "

Further, according to the present invention, since the server which provides the commodity price information searches for the requested commodity name by replacing the common commodity name using the conversion dictionary, the general consumer In addition, there is an effect that a simple operation can be performed without a retail store company being conscious of a common product name.

Further, according to the present invention, a database for storing product price information including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a selling period is prepared in a server, and an electronic mail or a mail is sent to a device of a product price information provider. Since the merchandise price information and the insert advertisement image data are registered through the Internet connection, there is no need for the service provider to input the insert advertisement every time, and there is an effect that the insert advertisement service can be provided.

Further, according to the present invention, if the server which provides the service of the commodity price information has any of the commodity price information registered in the database that has passed the selling period, the corresponding commodity name is stored in the database. Since the merchandise price information is deleted, there is an effect that the merchandise price information provider does not have to delete each one after the selling period.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of first and third embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating a schematic operation of a mechanism for obtaining commodity price information according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating a schematic operation of a mechanism for searching for commodity price information according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second and a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a schematic operation of a mechanism for obtaining commodity price information according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating a schematic operation of a mechanism for obtaining commodity price information according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating a schematic operation of a mechanism for obtaining commodity price information according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 4 Information providing device 2 Server 3 User terminal 21 Control unit 22 Interface unit 23 Storage unit 24 User information database 25 Product price database 26 Insertion advertisement database 27 Conversion dictionary 28 Screen information database 100 Internet

Claims (35)

[Claims] 1. A product price information providing system for providing product price information by searching a product price information database when search condition information is received via a network, wherein the search condition information includes a trade area and a product name. A first extraction unit that retrieves and extracts product price information during the sale period of the insert advertisement from the product price information database based on the search condition information. A method for providing product price information, comprising display means for displaying the extracted product price information in the order of the lowest price through the network. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said commodity price information includes advertisement information, wherein said storage means for storing insert advertisement image data, and information that said advertisement information displayed on said display means is clicked is received via said network. A second extraction unit that extracts the insert advertisement image data corresponding to the information from the storage unit; and an output unit that outputs the insert advertisement image data extracted by the second extraction unit via the network. 2. A method for providing product sales price information according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A conversion device for converting a product name into a common common product name, wherein the product name used as search information by the first extraction unit is a common product name converted by the conversion unit. 2. A method for providing commodity price information according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The search condition includes a search method for selecting a period or a date, and if the search method has selected the period, the display means displays, within a specified selling period, products in the specified selling period in the order of price. 2. The commodity price information providing system according to claim 1, wherein if the retrieval method is a selection of the date, the commodity corresponding to the date is displayed in the order of the cheapest price for each date within the designated selling period. 5. If there is any item price information registered in the item price information database that has passed the selling period, the item price information of the corresponding item name is deleted from the item price information database. 2. A method for providing commodity price information according to claim 1, further comprising a deletion unit. 6. A second deletion of deleting the insert advertisement image data of the corresponding retail store name from the save means if any of the insert advertisement image data stored in the storage means has passed the selling period. 3. A method according to claim 2, further comprising means. 7. The product price information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the product price information includes a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a selling period. 8. The product price information providing system according to claim 1, further comprising an authentication confirmation unit for performing an authentication check of a user ID and a password before providing the product price information. 9. A registration means for extracting and registering product price information including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a selling period from a file attached when an e-mail is received via a network. A product price information registration method characterized by the following. 10. Extraction of merchandise price information including a trade area, a merchandise name, a retail store name, a price and a sale period, and insert advertisement image data from a file attached when an e-mail is received via a network. A product price information registration method comprising a registration unit for registering. 11. A product price information registration system for connecting a device of a product price information provider and a server for providing product price information via a network, wherein the device comprises:
Display means for receiving the price information registration screen information from the server and displaying the price information registration screen; product price information including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sale period to be output at the time of creating the insert advertisement; Transmitting means for inputting the advertisement image data to the price information registration screen and transmitting the price information registration screen to the server, wherein the server receives the commodity price information and the insert advertisement image data transmitted by the transmitting means A product price information registration method, comprising a registration unit for registering the product price information and the insert advertisement image data. 12. A conversion apparatus for converting a product name into a common common product name, wherein a product name used as registration information by said registration means is a common product name converted by said conversion means. The product price information registration method according to claim 9, 10 or 11. 13. The product price information according to claim 9, wherein the product price information is information at the time of creating an insert advertisement.
0 described product price information registration method. 14. The merchandise price information registration method according to claim 10, wherein the insert advertisement image data is image data when an insert advertisement is created. 15. A deletion means for deleting the commodity price information of the corresponding commodity name from the commodity price information database if any of the commodity price information registered by the registration means has passed the selling period. 10. The commodity price information registration system according to claim 9, wherein: 16. If any of the product price information and the insert advertisement image data registered by the registration means has passed the selling period, the registration means outputs the product price information of the corresponding product name and the retail store name. 12. The commodity price information registration method according to claim 10, further comprising a deletion unit that deletes the inserted advertisement image data. 17. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a confirmation unit for confirming whether or not the source e-mail address is a pre-registered e-mail address when an e-mail is received via the network. Product price information registration method. 18. A method for providing product price information to a device by searching a product price information database when a server receives a product price information search request based on search condition information from a device via a network. Wherein the search condition information includes a trade area, a product name, and a selling period, and the server, when receiving the product price information search request, inserts an insertion advertisement from the product price information database based on the search condition information. Extracting the product price information during the selling period of the product, sorting the extracted product price information in the order of the lowest price, transmitting the sorted product price information to the device, and displaying the sorted product price information on the screen when the device receives the sorted product price information. Product price information providing method characterized by the following. 19. The product price information includes advertisement information,
The server prepares an insert advertisement image data database for storing a sale period and insert advertisement image data for each retail store name, and when an item of the advertisement information in the commodity price information displayed on the screen by the device is clicked. The server makes a request for the clicked insertion advertisement to the server, and when the server receives the request for the clicked insertion advertisement, extracts the corresponding insertion advertisement image data and transmits it to the server. 19. The method according to claim 18, wherein upon receiving the extracted image data, the received insert advertisement image data is output. 20. A conversion dictionary for converting a product name into a common product name is prepared in the server, and the server converts the product name of the search condition information into a conversion dictionary when receiving the product price information search request. Converted to a common product name, and extracts product price information during the sale period of the insert advertisement from the product price information database based on the converted product name, the trade area of the search condition information, and the sale period of the search condition information. 19. The method for providing commodity price information according to claim 18, wherein: 21. The search condition includes a search method for selecting a period or a date, and the server sells the search condition information when receiving the product price information search request including the search method for selecting the period. The extracted product price information is sorted in the order of the lowest price using the products included in the period as a key, transmitted to the device, and when the product price information search request including the search method in which the period is selected is received, the search condition is set. 19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the extracted commodity price information is sorted in the order of the lowest price using the commodity corresponding to the date as a key for each day within the information selling period, and transmitted to the apparatus. . 22. If there is any product price information registered in the product price information database that has passed the selling period, delete the product price information of the corresponding product name from the product price information database. 19. The method for providing commodity price information according to claim 18, wherein: 23. If any of the insert advertisement image data registered in the insert advertisement image database has passed the selling period, delete the insert advertisement image data of the corresponding retail store name from the insert advertisement database. 20. The method for providing commodity price information according to claim 19, wherein: 24. The method according to claim 18, wherein the product price information includes a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a selling period. 25. The method for providing product price information according to claim 18, wherein an authentication check of a user ID and a password is performed before providing the product price information. 26. A product price information registration method for connecting a device of a product price information provider and a server for providing product price information via a network, comprising: a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a selling period. Prepare a product price information database that stores product price information including, in the server, from the attached file when the server receives an email from the device via a network, the trade area, product name, and retail store name A product price information registration method, wherein product price information including a price and a selling period is extracted and registered in the product price information database. 27. A product price information registration method for connecting a device of a product price information provider and a server for providing product price information via a network, comprising: a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a selling period. The server is provided with a product price information database for storing product price information including the following, and an image database for storing the retail store name, the selling period, and the insert advertisement image data, wherein the server is connected to the apparatus via a network. When an e-mail is received from the attached file, the product price information including the trade area, the product name, the retail store name, the price, and the selling period is extracted and registered in the product price information database, and from the attached file, It is characterized by extracting a retail store name, a sale period, and insert advertisement image data and registering them in an image database. How to register product price information. 28. A product price information registration method for connecting a device of a product price information provider and a server for providing product price information via a network, comprising: a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a selling period. The server is provided with a product price information database for storing product price information including the following, and an image database for storing the retail store name, sale period, and insert advertisement image data. Upon receiving the information, a price information registration screen is displayed, and the apparatus outputs product price information including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sale period, which are output when the insert advertisement is created, and the insert advertisement image data to the price. When the information is entered on the information registration screen and transmitted to the server, and the server receives the commodity price information and the insert advertisement image data from the device, Registering the received product price information in the product price information database and registering the received insert advertisement image data in the insert advertisement database. 29. A conversion dictionary for converting a product name into a common product name is prepared in the server, and a product name registered in the product price information database is stored in the server when the server receives an e-mail from the device. 28. The commodity price information registration method according to claim 26, wherein the commodity name is a common commodity name obtained by converting the commodity name of the attached file by the conversion dictionary. 30. A conversion dictionary for converting a product name into a common product name is prepared in the server, and the product name registered in the product price information database is the same as when the server receives the product price information from the device. 29. The product price information registration method according to claim 28, wherein the product price information is a common product name obtained by converting the product name of the product price information by the conversion dictionary. 31. The method according to claim 26, wherein the product price information is information at the time of creation of the insert advertisement. 32. The product price information registration method according to claim 26, wherein said insert advertisement image data is image data when an insert advertisement is created. 33. If there is any item price information registered in the item price information database that has passed the selling period, delete the item price information of the corresponding item name from the item price information database. The method for registering commodity price information according to claim 26, characterized in that: 34. If there is any of the product price information registered in the product price information database and the insert advertisement image data registered in the image database that has passed the selling period, the product price information database 29. The method according to claim 27 or 28, wherein the merchandise price information of the corresponding merchandise name and the insert advertisement image data of the merchandise are deleted from the image database. 35. The merchandise price information registration according to claim 26, wherein when an e-mail is received via a network, it is confirmed whether or not the source e-mail address is a pre-registered e-mail address. Method.