JP3669488B2 - Product price information provision method and method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a commodity price information providing method and method. To the law In particular, product price information provision methods and methods that provide product price information for retail stores in competing trade areas for “cheap” price information. To the law Related.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as a method of obtaining product information from an insertion advertisement, a consumer knows the price of a product sold at each retail store in the trade area by means of a newspaper insertion advertisement, and goes to the retail store to purchase the desired product. On the other hand, the retail store knows the prices of the products sold by competing other retail stores in the commercial area through newspaper insert advertisements, etc., and sets the product price of its own store with reference to the product sales prices of the competing other stores.
[0003]
In addition, as a method for obtaining product information using a network, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-63749, a store or a product (sale item) is selected from a menu screen, and the product is selected. Is displayed, the jungle name of the product is displayed, and if one of them is supported, the small item name of the genre is displayed. Furthermore, when one of the officer names is selected (for example, fruit), the image of the fruit, the price, and the store name are displayed across a plurality of products. Further, when a user finds a product of interest while viewing many products and wants to see detailed information about the product, when the display position is designated, information on the product is displayed.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, both general consumers and retail stores are extremely sensitive to product price information, and whether or not the product price in the trade area is a “purchase” leads to general consumers' willingness to purchase. The price is set by referring to the retailer price information.
[0005]
In the conventional method of obtaining product information from insert advertisements, the price information of products for sale can be obtained from limited media such as insert advertisements from newspaper dealers. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to directly obtain integrated price comparison information throughout the retail stores of a specific product. In other words, since there is no information that summarizes the product price at a retail store for a specific product in the business area, it is possible to grasp the information that indicates which retail store sells at the best price and the lowest price for general consumers and retailers. There is a problem that it is difficult to do.
[0006]
In addition, in the conventional method of obtaining information from insert advertisements, it is possible to organize information such as trade area, retail store, price, sales period, etc. for selling good-priced products, and discover retail stores that have set low-priced product prices. Too much time and money. In other words, general consumers and retail stores have a problem that it is difficult to organize all of the huge price information of retail stores in the business area.
[0007]
In addition, in a method for obtaining product information using a network (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-63749), a screen is displayed for narrowing down the products for each product even though the desired product is known. In addition, there is a problem that even if the products are narrowed down, it is difficult to clearly see where is the cheapest store in the trade area and where is the next. That is, there is a problem that consumers and retail stores have to organize information such as trade areas, retail stores, prices, sales periods, etc., for selling products that can be bought at an expensive time.
[0008]
In view of the above problems, the object of the present invention is to provide information for general consumers, which summarizes product price information at retail stores of specific products in the business area, and is the most affordable and cheapest for consumers and retailers. It is to be able to grasp the information of where the retailer selling at the price.
[0009]
Another object of the present invention is to reduce the burden of time and cost for knowing the trade area, retail store, price, and sale period for selling a good-value product in view of the above problems.
[0010]
In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a service that is convenient for general consumers and retail stores by making it possible to use value-added information, which is the above object, via a network.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the commodity price information providing method of the present invention is connected via a network. From the requesting terminal A product price information providing method for providing product price information by searching a product price information database when receiving search condition information, wherein the search condition information includes a trade area, a product name, and a sales period, and the search Product price information database based on condition information Search for During the insertion period of insert ads At least include product name, retailer name and price Product price information Extract all Out Sort the extracted product price information in ascending order The first extraction means and the product price information extracted by the first extraction means via the network To the requesting terminal In ascending order List display Make Display means When, It is characterized by having.
[0013]
Furthermore, in the product price information providing method, the product price information includes advertisement information,
Storage means for storing inserted advertising image data; and information received when the advertisement information displayed on the display means is clicked from the storage means when received via the network. Clicked A second extracting means for extracting the inserted advertising image data corresponding to the information, and the inserted advertising image data extracted by the second extracting means via the network To the requesting terminal Output means to output When, It is characterized by having.
[0014]
Furthermore, in the above product price information provision method, Of the search condition information Having a conversion means for converting the product name into a common product name,
In the first extraction means When searching Search conditions The product name used as information is a common product name converted by the conversion means.
[0015]
Further, in the product price information providing method, the search condition information Includes a search method to select a period or date, First extraction If the means is a search method in which the period is selected, the means is within the specified sales period. Said Product price information in ascending order sort If it is a search method in which the date is selected, it corresponds to that date for each date within the specified sales period. Said Product Price information In ascending order sort It is characterized by doing.
[0016]
Further, in the product price information providing method, if there is product price information registered in the product price information database that has passed the sales period, the product price of the corresponding product name from the product price information database It has the 1st deletion means to delete information, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
[0017]
Further, in the product price information providing method, if there is an insert advertisement image data stored in the storage means that has passed the sales period, insert advertisement image data of the corresponding retail store name is stored from the storage means. It has the 2nd deletion means to delete, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
[0018]
Further, in the product price information providing method, the product price information is a trade area. And sell It is characterized by including a delivery period.
[0019]
Furthermore, the above-described product price information providing method is characterized by comprising an authentication confirmation means for performing a user ID and password authentication check before providing the product price information.
[0029]
Also, the product price information providing method of the present invention provides the product price information to the device by searching the product price information database when the server receives a product price information search request based on the search condition information from the device via the network. A method of providing product price information, wherein the search condition information includes a trade area, a product name, and a sales period, and the server receives the product price information search request based on the search condition information. Product price information database Search for During the insertion period of insert ads At least include product name, retail store and price Product price information all Extract, sort the extracted product price information in ascending order and send to the device, and the device displays the sorted product price information on the screen when receiving the sorted product price information. List It is characterized by displaying.
[0030]
Further, in the above-described product price information providing method, the product price information includes advertisement information, and prepares an insert advertisement image data database for storing a sales period and insert advertisement image data for each retail store name in the server, When the advertisement information item in the product price information displayed on the screen is clicked, the clicked advertisement is requested to the server, and the server receives the clicked advertisement request. The corresponding inserted advertisement image data is extracted and transmitted to the server, and when the extracted image data is received by the apparatus, the received inserted advertisement image data is output.
[0031]
Furthermore, in the above product price information providing method, Of the search condition information A conversion dictionary for converting product names into common product names is prepared in the server, and when the server receives the product price information search request, the server converts the product name of the search condition information into a common product name in the conversion dictionary. Converting the product name, the trade area of the search condition information, and the sale period of the search condition information from the product price information database Said It is characterized by extracting product price information.
[0032]
Further, in the product price information providing method, the search condition includes a search method for selecting a period or a date, and the server receives the product price information search request including the search method for selecting the period. The extracted product price information is sorted in ascending order using the products that are within the sales period of the search condition information as a key and transmitted to the device, and the product price information search request including the search method for selecting the period is received. In this case, the extracted product price information is sorted in ascending order of price using the products corresponding to that date as a key for each date within the sales period of the search condition information, and transmitted to the device.
[0033]
Further, in the above-described product price information providing method, if there is product price information registered in the product price information database that has passed the sales period, the product price of the corresponding product name from the product price information database It is characterized by deleting information.
[0034]
Furthermore, in the product price information providing method described above, if there is an insert advertisement image data registered in the insert advertisement image database that has passed the sales period, the insert advertisement of the corresponding retail store name from the insert advertisement database It is characterized by deleting image data.
[0035]
Further, in the product price information providing method, the product price information is a trade area. And sell It includes a delivery period.
[0036]
Further, in the product price information providing method described above, an authentication check of a user ID and a password is performed before providing the product price information.
[0047]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0048]
Referring to FIG. 1, in the first embodiment of the present invention, an information providing apparatus 1 that provides price information of a product during a sales period, a server 2 that provides a service of product price information, and price information of the product A user terminal 3 that receives the service, an Internet 100 (communication network) that connects the information providing apparatus 1, the server 2, and the terminal 3, a user information database 24 that is under the server 2 and connected to the server 2, The product price database 25, the insert advertisement database 26, the conversion dictionary 27, and the screen information database 28 are configured. The user information database 24, the product price database 25, the insert advertisement database 26, the conversion dictionary 27, and the screen information database 28 are allocated to areas in a nonvolatile storage medium device (for example, a magnetic disk). ing. In this case, they may be allocated in separate storage medium devices.
[0049]
The server 2 is an information processing apparatus such as a workstation, and includes a control unit 21 that operates under program control by a processor, an interface unit 22 that exchanges data with the Internet 100, and a storage unit 23 that can read and write. Composed.
[0050]
The information providing apparatus 1 is an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer that operates under program control by a processor. The information providing apparatus 1 stores product price information such as the input trade area, retail store name, product name, product code, manufacturer name, price, sales period (first day, all day) as a file in a storage unit (not shown). 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.
[0051]
In the user information database 24, the user ID, password, etc. of the user who has contracted for the product price information service are registered, and the user ID, password, e-mail address, etc. of the information provider are registered.
[0052]
In the product price database 25, the trade area, retail store name, product name (registered with a common product name), product code, manufacturer name, price, and first day date (first day of the sales period) that are the product price information input from the information providing device 1 Date), all-day date (all-day date of the sales period), insert advertisement (displaying storage location of insert advertisement by URL), and the like are registered.
[0053]
In the insert advertisement database 26, insert advertisement image data input from the information providing apparatus 1 is registered together with a validity period (insert advertisement sale period) of insert advertisements (including flyers) for each retail store name.
[0054]
Since the conversion dictionary 27 unifies the product name input from the use terminal 3 and the information providing device 1 into one fixed product name in the management of the server 2, a term for converting the input product name into a common product name is used. Each common product name is registered in advance.
[0055]
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.
[0056]
When receiving the e-mail, the control unit 21 of the server 2 extracts product price information including the trade area, the product name, the product code, the manufacturer name, the retail store name, the price, and the sale period from the attached file. Means for registering in the database 25 and means for extracting the retail store name, the sales period and the inserted advertisement image data from the attached file and registering them in the inserted advertisement database 26; Based on the condition information, the product price database 25 retrieves and extracts the product price information during the insertion advertisement sale period, and then extracts the product price information extracted based on the search condition information search method after the extraction. A means for sending the sorted product price information as a search result to the requester, a means for displaying the search result on the sender's screen, and a request for insertion advertisement And means for transmitting relevant advertising inserts image data read by the requester more from advertising inserts database 26. The control unit 21 also includes a means for checking the authentication of the user ID and password based on the user information database 24 before receiving the search service, and when the e-mail is received, the source e-mail is sent to the user information database. 24. If there is a means for confirming whether or not it is registered in 24, and the product price information in the product price database 25 and the insert advertisement image data in the insert advertisement database 26, there are those that have passed the sales period. And means for deleting the corresponding data, and means for performing maintenance management (modification, deletion, etc.) of the product price information.
[0057]
The usage terminal 3 is an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer that operates under program control by a processor. The use terminal 3 has a search condition including means for connecting to the server 2 by starting up browser software (software connected to the Internet), a trade area (city), a product name, a product code, a manufacturer name, and a sales period. Means for requesting a search for product price information from the server 2 by information, means for displaying the product price information extracted by the search request on the screen of the terminal in a state sorted by a user-specified search method, When the area of the insert advertisement of the product price information displayed on the screen is clicked, the insert advertisement image data is obtained from the server 2 and output as the insert advertisement.
[0058]
Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0059]
First, a mechanism for obtaining product price information from the information providing apparatus 1 will be described.
The product price information provider starts up the spreadsheet software of the information providing device 1, and in accordance with the format determined in advance by the service provider, from the insert advertisement to the trade area, retail store name, product name, product code, manufacturer name, price, When the product price information such as the sales period is input by an input unit (not shown) (for example, a keyboard) and a file name and a storage location are designated, the information providing device 1 displays a storage unit (for example, its own device). To the product 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, specifies a file name, and a storage location. The providing device 1 stores the input data as a folded advertisement image file in the storage unit. That is, the information providing apparatus 1 stores two files, that is, the product price information file and the insert advertisement image file in the storage unit by an operation from the input unit (keyboard and scanner) of the product price information provider (see FIG. 2 sequence A1).
[0060]
Thereafter, the product price information provider starts up the e-mail software built in the information providing device 1 and connects to the Internet 100, and uses the e-mail address of the server 2 with the product price information file and the insert advertisement file attached to the e-mail. When setting and inputting a send button on the screen, the information providing apparatus 1 sends an email with an attached file to the server 2 managed by the service provider via the Internet 100 (sequence A2).
[0061]
The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has received the e-mail via the interface unit 22 checks whether the source e-mail address read from the header of the e-mail is registered in the user information database 24, and an attached file (product price information File and insert advertisement image file) format. If each check is normal, the control unit 21 registers the insert advertisement image file in the insert advertisement database 26 together with the sales period read from the product price information file. Furthermore, the control unit 21 extracts the 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 the common product name for each common product name based on the extracted common product name. The product price information read out from the product price information file is registered in the product price database 25 for each product. 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 in the product price database 25 from the electronic mail transmitted from the information providing apparatus 1, and registers the insert advertisement image data in the insert advertisement database 26 (sequence A3, A4). .
[0062]
On the other hand, the control unit 21 reads the all-day column of the product price database 25 and the all-day column of the insert advertisement database 26 in order to confirm whether or not the expired information of the product price database 25 and the insert advertisement database 26 remains. The contents of each read all-day column and the current date are checked once a day, and if expired information remains, the information is deleted. In this case, the time to be checked by the control unit 21 need not be specified, but it is desirable to set it at midnight.
[0063]
Next, we will describe the mechanism that retail store companies and general consumers retrieve and obtain product price information that they want to know from the product database.
When a user such as a retail store company or a general consumer starts up browser software built in the use terminal 3 and inputs the URL of the server 2 on the screen, 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 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 user terminal 3 that has received the login input screen information displays the login input screen on the screen.
[0064]
When the user inputs the user ID and password issued by the service provider on the login input screen displayed on the use terminal 3, the use terminal 3 transmits the entered authentication information to the server 2 via the Internet 100. To do. 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, password), and if it matches, the screen information database 28 uses it. 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 user terminal 3 that has received the menu screen information displays the menu screen on the screen.
[0065]
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 it to the user terminal 3. The user terminal 3 that has received the search input screen information displays the search input screen on the screen (sequence A11 in FIG. 3).
[0066]
The user wants to know on the search input screen displayed on the terminal 3 (select a preset city), product name, product code, manufacturer name (if blank, for all manufacturers), sales When the search condition information including the period (first day and all day) and the sorting method (selection of period and date) is input, the user terminal 3 transmits it to the server 2 (sequences A12 and A13 in FIG. 3).
[0067]
If the product code is blank (blank), the control unit 21 of the server 2 that has received the search condition information searches the exchange dictionary 27 based on the product name in the search condition information, and if there is a match, Each time the product price database 25 is searched based on the common product name, search condition information trade area, and sales period, and the corresponding product is detected (extracted), the detected (extracted) information (trade area, retail store name, product name, Product code, manufacturer name, price, sales period, storage location) are stored in the storage unit 23. 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, product code, manufacturer name, and sale period in the search condition information. Each time it searches and detects (extracts) the corresponding information, the detected (extracted) information (trade area, retail store, product name, product code, manufacturer name, price, sales period, insert advertisement) is stored in the storage unit 23 I will do it. Eventually, the control unit 21 sorts the contents of the storage unit 23 as the search results in the order of low cost according to the sorting method when all the searches are completed and stored in the storage unit 23. In this case, the sorting by the control unit 21 means “low-order sorting within a specified period if“ period ”” and “low-order sorting by date if“ date ””. When the sorting is completed, the control unit 21 reads the search result format from the screen information database 28, the search result from the storage unit 23, and adds the read search result to the search result format, thereby adding the search result information (trade area, (Retail store, product name, product code, manufacturer name, price, sales period, insert advertisement) are transmitted to the use terminal 3 (sequences A14 to A17).
[0068]
The user terminal 3 that has received the search result information displays the search result on the screen. That is, the usage terminal 3 displays product price information data such as a trade area, a retail store name, a product name, a product code, a manufacturer name, a price, a sale period, and the like as a list on the screen by a designated sorting method. (Sequence A18, A19).
[0069]
In this way, the user sees the search results displayed on the screen of the user terminal 3 in the order of the lowest price, so that the user can find out which retail store sells the product he / she wants to buy during the desired period of use or day by day. I can know.
[0070]
Further, when the user clicks on the insert advertisement (the place where the insert advertisement is stored by the URL linked to the URL of the server 2) from the search result displayed on the screen of the use terminal 3, the user uses the input section (mouse). The terminal 3 transmits the clicked insertion advertisement request information (information that the item of the insertion advertisement is clicked) to the server 2. The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has received the insert advertisement request information reads (extracts) the corresponding insert advertisement (insert advertisement image data) from the insert advertisement database 26 and transmits it to the user terminal 3.
[0071]
When the use terminal 3 receives the insert advertisement, the use terminal 3 displays it on the screen. When the user designates printing of the insert advertisement displayed on the screen, the user terminal issues the insert advertisement with a printer (not shown).
[0072]
In this way, the user can grasp what other products the retail store selling the products he / she wants to buy cheaply by viewing the insert advertisements by outputting the insert advertisements. it can.
[0073]
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 in that the information providing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 showing the first embodiment is replaced with an information providing apparatus 4. That is, the information providing apparatus 4 is an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer that operates by a program using a processor, as in the information providing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1, but inputs product price data and image information (for example, a photograph of the product). 1 is different from the information providing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 in that product price information and image data of insert advertisements are created.
[0074]
Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG.
[0075]
First, a mechanism for obtaining product price information from the information providing apparatus 4 will be described.
The product price information provider starts up the advertisement creation software of the information providing device 4, and according to the format determined in advance by the service provider, from the input unit (for example, keyboard, scanner, etc.), the trade area, retail store name, product name, Product price information such as product code, manufacturer name, price, and sales period is created, and insert advertisement and insert advertisement image data are created by inputting image information and image editing operation based on the created product price information. At this time, the information providing apparatus 4 creates product price information and image data of the insert advertisement on the program of the advertisement creation software via the screen (not shown) and the operation of the product price information provider from the input unit. . When the file name and the storage location are designated after the creation, the information providing device 4 stores the input data as a product price information file and a inserted advertisement image file in a storage unit (for example, a magnetic disk). That is, the information providing device 4 stores two files, a product price information file and an insertion advertisement image file, in a storage unit in the device by an operation from an input unit (keyboard, scanner, etc.) of the product price information provider through a user interface. This means that it has been saved (sequence B1 in FIG. 5).
[0076]
Although two files were created with insert advertising software, product price information files were created using spreadsheet software, and insert advertisements and insert advertisement image files were created using image editing software. good.
[0077]
5 is replaced with the information providing apparatus 4 in FIG. 2 to replace the information providing apparatus 1 in FIG. 2 with the contents described in the first embodiment (the processes in the sequences A2 to A4 in FIG. 2). Since it becomes the same, description is abbreviate | omitted.
[0078]
Next, a mechanism will be described in which retail store companies and general consumers retrieve product price information that they want to know from the product price database.
The mechanism obtained by searching for the product price information in this case is the same as the mechanism for searching for the product price information of FIG. 3 described in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.
[0079]
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 is different in that the information providing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 showing the first embodiment is added with an Internet function in addition to an electronic mail function. To do. Other than that, it is the same as FIG.
[0080]
Next, the operation of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG.
[0081]
First, a mechanism for obtaining product price information from the information providing apparatus 1 will be described.
The product price information provider starts up the spreadsheet software of the information providing device 1, and in accordance with the format determined in advance by the service provider, from the insert advertisement to the trade area, retail store name, product name, product code, manufacturer name, price, When the product price information such as the sales period is input by an input unit (not shown) (for example, a keyboard) and a file name and a storage location are designated, the information providing device 1 displays a storage unit (for example, its own device). To the product 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, specifies a file name, and a storage location. The providing device 1 stores the input data as a folded advertisement image file in the storage unit. That is, the information providing apparatus 1 stores two files, that is, the product price information file and the insert advertisement image file in the storage unit by an operation from the input unit (keyboard and scanner) of the product price information provider (see FIG. 6 sequence A1).
[0082]
Thereafter, when the product price provider starts up the browser software built in the information providing apparatus 1 and inputs the URL of the server 2 on the screen, 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 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 user terminal 3 that has received the login input screen information displays the login input screen on the screen.
[0083]
When the user inputs the user ID and password issued by the service provider on the login input screen displayed on the use terminal 3, the use terminal 3 transmits the entered authentication information to the server 2 via the Internet 100. To do. 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, password). Menu screen information for the price provider is read 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 user terminal 3 that has received the menu screen information displays the menu screen on the screen.
[0084]
When the user selects an item for price registration from the menu screen displayed on the usage terminal 3, the usage terminal 3 transmits the price registration 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 price registration item information reads the price registration input screen information from the screen information database 28 based on the price registration item information, and transmits it to the user terminal 3. The user 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).
[0085]
When specifying a file on the price registration input screen displayed on the information providing apparatus 1, the product price information file and the product price information file are inserted into the input column prompting the storage location of the two files displayed. When the storage location of the advertisement file is input and the transmission button on the screen is pressed, the information providing apparatus 1 reads the commodity price information file and the insertion advertisement file from the storage unit of the own apparatus and transmits them to the server 2 (sequence) C2).
[0086]
The control unit 21 of the server 2 that has received the two files via the interface unit 22 checks the format of the received product price information file and insert 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 sales period read from the product price information file. Furthermore, the control unit 21 extracts the 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 the common product name for each common product name based on the extracted common product name. The product price information read out from the product price information file is registered in the product price database 25 for each product. 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 via the Internet in the product price database 25, and registers the insert advertisement image data in the insert advertisement database 26 (sequence C3). , C4).
[0087]
In the 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, product name, product code in which the product price information provider is displayed. Enter the required information in the input fields such as manufacturer name, price, sales period, etc., enter the storage location of the insert advertisement file in the input field prompting the input of the storage location of the insert advertisement file, and press the send button on the screen Then, the information providing apparatus 1 may read the product price information file and the insert advertisement file from the storage unit of the own apparatus and transmit them to the server 2.
[0088]
On the other hand, the control unit 21 reads the all-day column of the product price database 25 and the all-day column of the insert advertisement database 26 in order to confirm whether or not the expired information of the product price database 25 and the insert advertisement database 26 remains. The contents of each read all-day column and the current date are checked once a day, and if expired information remains, the information is deleted. In this case, the time to be checked by the control unit 21 need not be specified, but it is desirable to set it at midnight.
[0089]
Next, a description will be given of a mechanism in which a retail store company or a general secretary retrieves product price information desired to know from a product database.
Since the mechanism for obtaining product price information in this case is the same as the mechanism for retrieving product price information described in the first embodiment of the present invention, the description thereof is omitted.
[0090]
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 is different in that the information providing apparatus 4 of FIG. 4 showing the second embodiment is added with an Internet function in addition to an electronic mail function. To do. Other than that, it is the same as FIG.
[0091]
Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4, FIG. 7, and FIG.
[0092]
First, a mechanism for obtaining product price information from the information providing apparatus 4 will be described.
Since the sequence B1 in FIG. 7 is the same as the sequence B1 in FIG. 5 described in the second embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.
The processing of the sequences C1 to C4 in FIG. 7 is performed by replacing the information processing device 1 in FIG. 6 with the information processing device 4 and the contents described in the third embodiment (processing in the sequences C1 to C4 in FIG. 6). Since it becomes the same, description is abbreviate | omitted.
[0093]
Next, a mechanism will be described in which retail store companies and general consumers retrieve product price information that they want to know from the product price database.
Since it is the same as the product price information search mechanism of FIG. 3 described in the first embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.
[0094]
As described above, in the first to fourth embodiments, the use terminal 3 is an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer. However, it is needless to say that the present invention also includes a case where a mobile phone is used as a use terminal. In this case, the Internet 100 is an Internet connection by wireless network connection (including services “for example, i-mode” supported by the wireless telephone company).
[0095]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention searches the product price information during the insertion advertisement sale period from the product price database based on the search condition information including the trade area, the product name, and the sale period, and displays them in the order of the lowest price. As a result, it is easy for consumers and retailers to find out where they set the best prices for their products in the trade area without spending time and money, and for busy housewives and retailers. It has the effect of providing large value-added information and convenience.
[0096]
In addition, the present invention can obtain image data of the insert advertisement of the retail store when an item in the displayed product price information is clicked. The effect is that it is possible to grasp whether or not a product is handled.
[0097]
Further, according to the present invention, since the server that provides the product price information service searches for the requested product name by replacing the common product name using the conversion dictionary, the general consumer and the retail store There is an effect that companies can perform simple operations without being aware of common product names.
[0098]
Further, the present invention prepares a database for storing product price information including a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, a price, and a sales period in a server, and connects the product price information provider device to an electronic mail or the Internet. Since the product price information and the insert advertisement image data are registered, there is no need for the service provider to input from the insert advertisement one by one, and there is an effect that the insert advertisement service can be performed.
[0099]
Further, according to the present invention, if there is a product price information registered in the database for which the server providing the product price information has passed the sales period, the product price information of the corresponding product name from the database. Therefore, there is an effect that it is not necessary for the product price information provider to delete items that have passed the sales period.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of first and third embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing a schematic operation of a mechanism for obtaining commodity price information in the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing a schematic operation of a mechanism for searching for product price information in the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing configurations of second and fourth embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a schematic operation of a mechanism for obtaining commodity price information according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing a schematic operation of a mechanism for obtaining commodity price information in the third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing a schematic operation of a mechanism for obtaining commodity price information in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1,4 Information providing device
2 servers
3 Use terminal
21 Control unit
22 Interface section
23 Memory unit
24 User information database
25 Product Price Database
26 Insert advertising database
27 Conversion Dictionary
28 Screen information database
100 Internet

Claims (16)

A product price information providing method for providing product price information by searching a product price information database when search condition information is received from a requesting terminal via a network,
The search condition information includes a trade area, a product name, a retail store name, and a sales period,
The product price information database is searched based on the search condition information to extract all product price information including at least the product name, retail store name, and price during the insertion advertisement sale period, and the extracted product price information is sorted in the order of the lowest price. A first extraction means for sorting ;
Product pricing information providing method characterized by having a display unit that causes listed inexpensive order of the request source terminal via the first of the network the extracted item price information extracting means. The product price information includes advertising information,
A storage means for storing insert advertising image data;
Second extraction means for extracting inserted advertisement image data corresponding to the clicked information from the storage means when information indicating that the advertisement information displayed by the display means is clicked is received via the network; ,
The commodity sales price information providing method according to claim 1 , further comprising: output means for outputting the inserted advertisement image data extracted by the second extraction means to the request source terminal via the network. Conversion means for converting the product name of the search condition information into a common product name,
3. The product price information providing method according to claim 1, wherein a product name used as search condition information when searching by the first extraction unit is a common product name converted by the conversion unit. The search condition information includes a search method for selecting a period or a date,
Wherein said first extracting means, the commodity price information entering specified within the offering period as long as the search method selecting the period sorted in inexpensive order specified as long as the search method selects the date 4. The product price information provision method according to claim 1 , wherein the product price information corresponding to the date is sorted in order of price for each date within the sales period.   If there is product price information registered in the product price information database that has passed the sales period, the product price information database has first deletion means for deleting the product price information of the corresponding product name from the product price information database. The product price information providing method according to claim 1, wherein:   A second deletion unit that deletes the inserted advertisement image data of the corresponding retail store name from the storage unit if there is any of the inserted advertisement image data stored in the storage unit that has passed the sales period. The product price information providing method according to claim 2, wherein the product price information is provided. The commodity price information, according to claim 1, 3, 4 or 5 commodity price information provision system according, characterized in that it comprises a time out sales and trading area.   2. The product price information providing method according to claim 1, further comprising authentication confirmation means for performing an authentication check of a user ID and a password before providing the product price information. 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 the device via a network,
The search condition information includes a trade area, a product name, and a sales period,
The server, products containing at least the trade name and a retail shop price in the commodity price information the search request on the basis of the search condition information when subjected to a commodity price information database search and advertising inserts of the offering period Extract all price information,
The extracted product price information is sorted into the lowest price and sent to the device,
The apparatus displays a list on the screen when the sorted commodity price information is received, and provides the commodity price information providing method. The product price information includes advertising information,
Preparing an insert advertisement image data database in the server for storing a sales period and insert advertisement image data for each retail store name;
When an item of advertisement information in the product price information displayed on the screen by the device is clicked, the clicked advertisement is requested to the server,
When the server receives the clicked insertion advertisement request, it extracts the corresponding insertion advertisement image data and sends it to the server,
10. The product price information providing method according to claim 9, wherein when the device receives the extracted image data, the received insert advertisement image data is output. Preparing a conversion dictionary for converting the product name of the search condition information into a common product name in the server;
The server converts the product name of the search condition information into a common product name in a conversion dictionary when receiving the product price information search request,
Claims, characterized in that extracting the product price information in the converted product name and the commodity price information selling season database advertising inserts from the basis of the sale period of trade area and the search condition information of the search condition information Item 9. The method for providing product price information according to Item 9 or 10 . The search condition information includes a search method for selecting a period or a date,
When the server receives the product price information search request including the search method for selecting the period, the server sorts the extracted product price information in ascending order using the products within the sales period of the search condition information as a key. To the device,
When the product price information search request including the search method for selecting the period is received, for each date within the search period information sales period, the extracted product price information is used in order of the products corresponding to that date as a cheap price. 12. The product price information providing method according to claim 9, 10, or 11 , wherein the product price information is sorted and transmitted to the device. The product price information of the corresponding product name is deleted from the product price information database if there is product price information registered in the product price information database that has passed the sales period. 9. Product price information providing method according to 9 . The insert advertisement image data of the corresponding retail store name is deleted from the insert advertisement database if there is any insert advertisement image data registered in the insert advertisement image database that has passed the sales period. Item 10. The method for providing product price information according to Item 10 . The commodity price information, according to claim 9, 10, 11, 12 or 13 commodity price information providing method according to characterized in that it comprises a time out sales and trading area. The product price information providing method according to claim 9, wherein an authentication check of a user ID and a password is performed before providing the product price information.

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