JP2007041642A - Information distribution system, information distribution method and information distribution device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To distribute information relevant to a place near a customer or visitor as a user to a portable terminal owned by the user when the user is present in such a facility as a supermarket or an event hall or the like. <P>SOLUTION: This information distribution system includes equipment 1 for a user equipped with a radio element having a radio communication function, and configured so as to be shared by a plurality of users, a base station means 9 for communicating with the radio element and a control means 5. The control means 5 is provided with a location detecting means 51 for detecting the current location of the user equipment, an address associating means 52 for storing the corresponding relation of terminal identification information assigned to a portable terminal owned by the user and the equipment identification information of the equipment for a user to be used by the user, an information storage means 56 for storing distribution information as information to be distributed by the unit of a radio zone where a base station means is formed and an information distributing means 53 for transmitting distribution information corresponding to the radio zone where the equipment for a user to be used by the user is located to the portable terminal owned by the user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides an information distribution system for distributing information related to a location near a customer or a visitor who is a user to a portable terminal held by the user and information used for the user when the user is in a facility such as a supermarket or an event venue The present invention relates to a distribution device.

One of the conventional techniques for distributing sales floor information to customers in stores such as supermarkets and shopping centers is to divide the store into small areas, for example, by sales floor, and provide shopping carts with wireless functions and indicators, and the location of the cart. Information on the area where the cart is located, such as sales floor information, is distributed to the cart, and the information is displayed on the cart display so that the desired product can be quickly found even in unfamiliar or large stores. There is something you can buy. (For example, see Patent Document 1)
The second conventional technology is efficient by extracting customers who want to receive advertisement information based on the customer's current location and attribute information, and distributing the advertisement information by e-mail to mobile terminals owned by the customer There are some that enable effective advertisement distribution. (For example, see Patent Document 2)
In the third prior art, the user has both a position detection terminal and a mobile phone, associates them with each other, detects the user's position with the position detection terminal, and responds to the user's position. In some cases, a user can easily obtain a URL without storing the surrounding information by himself / herself by searching the mobile phone for a URL in which the stored information is stored and accessing the URL to obtain advertisement information. (For example, see Patent Document 3)
JP 2002-304671 A JP 2002-334258 A JP 2002-351905 A

  In the first conventional technology, it is necessary to provide the cart with an indicator and a wireless function, so that the price of the cart is high, and it is expensive in general supermarkets where a large number of carts need to be always provided. There were no drawbacks.

  In the second prior art, since the store advertisement information is distributed according to the current position of the mobile phone user and its attributes, the terminal for detecting the position and the terminal for receiving the advertisement information are the same. Assuming that the cart is a large number of carts, there is a drawback similar to that of the first prior art.

  In the third prior art, since the position detection terminal and the mobile phone are associated with each other at the time of purchase of the terminal, the use is limited when the both have the same owner, and many customers share it like a shopping cart. There was a disadvantage that it was not suitable for the system. In addition, there is a description of an example where a plurality of mobile phone owners share one location detection terminal, but since there is only one location detection terminal, a lot of information according to the current location of the terminal is available. However, there is no idea that a plurality of users share a position detection terminal. In this example, the mobile phone has the disadvantage that it is inconvenient to log in to the contract site and manually enter the mobile phone ID and the like in order to associate with the position detection terminal.

    The present invention is a use provided in a facility for use by a user like a shopping cart in a shopping facility in order to distribute advertisement information etc. to a user at a shopping facility such as a supermarket or an event venue at a low price. For example, unique device identification information such as an e-mail address is assigned to the user device, and an inexpensive wireless element such as a wireless tag is provided, and the user device used by the user and the identification number of the mobile terminal held by the user The position of the user device is detected using the wireless element, and advertisement information related to a location near the current position of the user device is distributed to the mobile terminal. The delivery means include e-mail and web, and the delivery time includes various timings such as when the user moves from the sales floor or the booth (wireless zone), when a certain time has elapsed after arrival, and periodically transmitted after arrival. The above association can be performed by means such as sending an e-mail from the user's mobile terminal to the user device when the user selects the user device provided in the facility, which is easier than before. In addition, the sales floor information and advertisement information in the facility can be distributed economically to the user.

  As described above, in the present invention, a user device shared by a plurality of users and a mobile terminal that receives and displays advertisement information are configured separately, and the position of the user device is detected and Since the corresponding information is distributed to the user's mobile terminal, only a small wireless tag for position detection needs to be arranged in the user device, so that the user device can be manufactured at low cost. At the same time, since the user equipment can be shared by a plurality of users, an extremely economical system can be constructed, and an inexpensive service can be provided.

  In addition, when associating a user device with a mobile terminal by sending a specific e-mail, it is possible to associate with only the e-mail address without using the model information such as the identification number of the mobile terminal, so it is simple and excellent in security. A system can be realized.

  FIG. 1 shows a system configuration that is the gist of the present invention. This is an example of a shopping center or a supermarket, but of course it also applies to large department stores and event venues. Reference numeral 1 denotes a shopping cart which is an example of a user device, and includes an inexpensive wireless element such as a wireless tag for use in position detection. This includes not only a shopping cart but also a shopping basket with a wireless tag, a small device equipped with a wireless tag (for example, a pendant including a tag), and the like. In short, the user device is equipped with a small wireless element such as a wireless tag, and any form can be used as long as it has a function of detecting its current position. Each user device is assigned unique device identification information such as an email address or other identification number. In the following, a cart is taken as an example of a user device, and an e-mail address is taken as an example of the device identification information. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Reference numeral 2 denotes a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone owned by a customer, which has a communication function for receiving advertisement information and the like from a facility such as a supermarket. Examples of communication functions include mail and Internet connection functions. A typical example of the latter is web communication using the HTTP protocol or the like. It also has a browser and mobile application functions as a user interface. For example, 3 is a wireless access point (AP) or base station provided at an important point in the facility, and 4 is a wireless zone formed by the AP. The position of a shopping cart (hereinafter referred to as a cart) 1 which is an example of a user device is detected for each wireless zone. Reference numeral 5 denotes a control device for controlling the system, which performs operations such as detection of the position of the cart 1, association between the cart 1 and the portable terminal 2, and communication control. Reference numeral 6 denotes a server such as a mail or web, 7 is an Internet network, 8 is a mobile communication network, and 9 is a base station installed in an area near the store in the mobile communication network 8.

  Hereinafter, as a specific example, a case will be described in which this system is implemented in a supermarket and a cart 1 is used as a user device and mail is used as a communication function of a mobile terminal.

  When the customer comes to the store and selects the cart 1, the cart 1 and the mobile terminal 2 held by the customer are associated with each other. Specifically, for example, a sticker that describes the e-mail address of the cart 1 is pasted on an easily visible portion such as the vicinity of the handle of the cart, and the customer reads this e-mail address, A predetermined mail is transmitted from 2. This mail may be a blank mail or a mail with a specific subject (for example, “customer registration”). When this mail reaches the control device 5 via the mobile communication network 8 and the Internet network 7, the control device 5 associates and stores the customer's mobile terminal 2 and the mail address or identification number of the cart 1. At this time, the store entry time can also be stored. An example of the associated data is shown in FIG. (In this figure, the display of the store entry time is omitted for simplification.) This is an example of a table that stores the identification number and the mail address of the cart 1 and the portable terminal 2 in association with each other. This table is also possible. In short, it is only necessary to associate the mail address of the portable terminal 2 with the mail address of the cart 1. In addition, when associating using e-mail as in this example, it is necessary to retain the e-mail address of the cart in addition to the cart ID, but when associating by a method that does not use e-mail as described later Does not need to keep the cart's email address. Also, for mobile terminals, when receiving advertisement information by e-mail, it is necessary to retain the e-mail address of the mobile terminal, but when receiving advertisement information by the Web browsing method as in the example of using a browser, There is no need to keep the device's email address. In this way, various forms of association tables can be configured according to the embodiment, and all are within the scope of the present invention. There are also various association methods, details of which will be described later.

  When the store is configured with a wireless LAN, each sales floor is provided with an AP3, from which the AP identification number is transmitted with weak radio waves, and the radio tag provided in the cart 1 adds the received radio wave with the tag identification number. Then, it returns as it is, and the position of the wireless tag, that is, the cart 1 is determined by the AP 3 receiving it. Specifically, each AP 3 that has received the signal transmitted from the wireless tag transmits information on the received radio wave (including the reception level) having the same tag identification number to the control device 5, and the control device 5 receives the information from each AP. It can be determined that the user is in the wireless zone 4 of the AP having the maximum reception level among the received signals. This is the most well-known position detection method. As another position detection method, when the function of the wireless tag is improved, the reception level of the radio wave received from each AP 3 by the wireless tag is compared, and the identification number of the AP having the maximum reception level is returned. is there. This is a method in which the wireless tag directly determines the in-zone zone and notifies the control device 5 of the determination result instead of the control device 5. Alternatively, instead of a method of comparing radio wave reception levels, each AP reports an identification number, and a wireless tag transmits a zone change signal to AP3 when the received AP identification number changes. You can also In any case, the control device 5 stores the position of the cart 1 in units of the wireless zone 4. Thus, the position detection method does not matter here. As in some examples above, all location detection methods are included. Furthermore, the unit of area for managing the position can be managed not only in the wireless zone formed by the AP but also in a narrow zone such as a product shelf. This will also be described later.

  When the control device 5 detects that the cart 1 has switched to the wireless zone 4 (sales floor), the control device 5 checks whether there is information to be distributed such as special sales information on the sales floor of the transfer destination. When the information is transmitted to the mail address of the customer's mobile phone, the distribution information is transmitted to the mobile phone 2 according to the normal mail operation. FIG. 3 shows an example of information to be distributed. Here, the case where the Internet uses the Internet has been described, but it goes without saying that non-Internet mail such as a so-called short message may be used. Moreover, you may use the portable internet connection function using a portable browser, without using mail. This case will be described below.

  The mobile Internet communication function includes a function of browsing a mobile phone site using a mobile browser provided in the mobile phone, and a function of executing an application such as a game on the mobile phone. Is available. For example, in the case of using a portable browser, when a user connects to a site of a specific address (URL) after associating a user device such as a cart with an identification number of his / her mobile phone, it is used as a trigger. Since advertisement information about a place near the user is transmitted to the mobile phone, it may be received and displayed on the mobile browser.

  Also, the distribution timing of advertising information should be executed not only when the user connects to a specific address as described above, but also when the user equipment switches to a wireless zone such as a sales floor or a booth, or at a regular timing. You can also. In this case, since it is different from mail, it is typical that the user turns on the portable browser and is delivered while connected to the above specific address, but even if not connected, the location after the transition by the principle of push delivery Information about can also be distributed. As described above, the delivery timing does not matter.

  When using a mobile phone application, for example, when an application such as a game is started, an information request is triggered to the system, and information close to the user is transmitted based on the information request, and the information is received. The portable application can display the received information after performing necessary processing. Of course, it can be displayed as it is without processing.

  Similarly to the case of mobile browsers, not only when the application is started but also when the application is being executed, the current location of the user device is changed when the user's current location is switched to a different wireless zone or at a regular timing. Information can also be distributed automatically. That is, the timing at which information is distributed does not matter. As described above, the mobile phone application includes not only an application such as a game additionally provided with the function of the present invention but also an application dedicated to the implementation of the present invention. In short, as long as the function of implementing the present invention is provided, the mode and type of provision of the mobile phone application are not limited.

  As described above, there are various types of communication functions for transmitting advertisement information to the mobile terminal 2, and all of them are included in the present invention.

  In the above example, the case of a wireless LAN as the network configuration in the facility has been described. However, a configuration in which a base station is provided at a specific location, such as a mobile phone system for premises, or a minimal zone configuration, such as Bluetooth or infrared communication A system that takes In short, the type of system is not limited as long as it is a system that can divide the facility into small areas and manage the position of the user in each area.

  FIG. 4 is an example of a basic operation flow of the present invention. In particular, the procedure is described with a focus on the operation of the control device 5. This also shows the case where a cart is used in a supermarket, but of course it is not limited thereto. The customer arrives at the store and selects either cart 1 or shopping basket (step S1). Next, if the customer wants to receive the service of the present invention, he / she uses his / her mobile phone to send a specific mail such as a blank mail or a specific subject to the mail address of the cart 1 or shopping basket, and the control device When 5 receives the specific mail from the mail server 6, it associates the cart 1 with the portable terminal 2 as shown in FIG. 2 (step S2). As a result, at least an email address can be associated between the cart 1 and the mobile terminal 2 of the customer. In the system, the position of the cart 1 in which this association is performed is detected constantly or periodically (step S3). Although the position detection method has already been described, there is no feature of the present invention, and an existing method can be used. When the cart 1 changes the sales floor, if advertising information or shopping information related to the sales floor at the transfer destination is registered, the information is transmitted to the portable terminal 2 associated with the cart 1 using an e-mail ( Step S4). In addition, although it is the case where one mobile phone is associated with one cart 1, for example, when shopping with a family, it is possible to associate a plurality of mobile phones with one cart 1, in which case It is also possible to send an email to all mobile phones associated with the cart 1. When the customer finishes shopping and stores the cart 1 or the shopping basket in a predetermined place, the control device 5 detects it and resets the information in the association table (step S5). Thereby, this cart 1 can be used by another customer in the same manner. The association can be reset by other methods. For example, it is also possible to reset when the cart 1 has passed a certain time after going out of the store such as a parking lot of the store. This is possible by having a means for detecting that the control device 5 cannot receive the radio wave from the cart 1 for a certain period of time and resetting the association in that case.

  FIG. 5 is a configuration example of the control device. A position detection management unit 51 that detects and manages positions of the cart 1 and the shopping basket as user devices, an association table 52 that manages association between the cart 1 and the portable terminal 2, and distribution information that controls transmission / reception of distribution information Manages advertisement information to be distributed in units of location areas, a communication control unit 54 that performs communication with an external device such as a transmission / reception unit 53, an access point (AP) 3 or a server 6, and a control unit 55 that controls the entire device. The advertisement information management unit 56 is configured.

  A configuration example of the position management memory 51a of the position detection management unit 51 is shown in FIG. For each cart, the wireless zone ID in which it is located and preferably the name of the sales floor are stored in association with each other. Here, the image is described as managing only carts held by customers who want to distribute sales floor information. However, all carts may be managed, and each cart may have a flag indicating whether or not to distribute. An example of data held by the advertisement information management unit 56 is shown in FIG. Although the advertisement information to be distributed is stored for each wireless zone number, only the wireless zone number with the advertisement information to be distributed can be stored.

  When the fact that the customer has transmitted a specific mail to the identification information (email address) of the cart 1 via the distribution information transmission / reception unit 53, the control unit 55 determines the identification information (email address) of the portable terminal 2 and the address of the cart 1 Are stored in the association table 52, and the position detection management unit 51 is instructed to manage the position of the cart 1. In response to this, the position detection management unit 51 stores the identification information of the corresponding cart 1 in the position management memory 51a, detects the position of the cart 1, and records the current position in the position management memory 51a. When the position management detection unit 51 detects the identification information (cart ID) of the cart whose wireless zone ID has been changed, the cart ID and the wireless zone ID are transferred to the control unit 55, and the control unit 55 receives the advertisement and receives the advertisement. The information memory 56 is accessed to check whether there is advertisement information to be distributed to the wireless zone ID. If there is advertisement information, the advertisement information is transferred to the distribution information transmission / reception unit 53, and the association table 52 is accessed so that the e-mail address of the portable terminal 2 associated with the cart ID is transmitted to the distribution information transmission / reception unit 53. When the advertisement information is transmitted to the mail address of the portable terminal 2 by the distribution information transmitting / receiving unit 53, the advertisement information is transferred via the communication control unit 54 via the server 6 and the Internet network 7.

Next, several methods for associating the cart 1 as the user device with the portable terminal 2 will be described.
For example, a sticker in which a QR code is written near the handle of the cart 1 is pasted, and the customer can associate by reading the QR code with the portable terminal 2 and transmitting a blank mail. A method of associating the cart 1 and the portable terminal 2 by the customer sending a blank mail will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a case where a customer transmits a blank mail. FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating a signal transmitted from the mobile terminal 2 to the cart 1. FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating details of the control unit 55. FIG. 8C is a flowchart for sending an empty mail from the mobile terminal 2 to the cart 1.

  When the customer selects the cart 1 (step S11), the portable terminal 2 reads the QR code pasted near the handle of the cart 1 and sends a blank email to the cart mail address described in the QR code (step S11). S12), the address extraction unit 552 in the control unit 55 extracts the mobile terminal mail address and the cart mail address from the signal shown in FIG. 8A from the mobile terminal 2 via the server interface 551 (step S13). The portable terminal mail address is written in the area corresponding to the cart mail address of the association table 52 shown in FIG. 2 (step S14).

  In addition, a non-contact IC reader is installed near the place where the cart 1 is placed, and when the customer visits the store, the non-contact IC chip information (for example, information on Felica (registered trademark) chip) in the portable terminal is stored in the non-contact IC reader. On the other hand, by inputting the cart ID of the cart 1, the mail address of the portable terminal 2 and the cart ID can be associated with each other. A method of associating the cart 1 and the portable terminal 2 by using the contactless IC chip information built in the portable terminal will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the case of using the non-contact IC chip information in the mobile terminal. FIG. 9A is a diagram illustrating details of the mobile terminal 2, the non-contact IC reader 61, and the control unit 55. FIG. 9B is a flowchart when the non-contact IC chip information in the portable terminal is used.

  When the customer selects the cart 1 (step S21), the non-contact IC chip identification information is read by the non-contact IC reader 61 by the non-contact compatible application of the portable terminal 2 (step S22). The non-contact IC reader 61 transmits the read non-contact IC chip identification information and the cart ID of the selected cart to the control unit 55 (step S23). In the control unit 55, the address extraction unit 552 extracts the mail address of the portable terminal 2 from the member table 554 using the non-contact IC chip identification information as a key via the reception unit 553 (step S24). Thereafter, the controller 55 writes the mobile terminal mail address in the area corresponding to the cart ID of the association table 52 shown in FIG. 2 (step S25).

  Further, instead of the non-contact IC chip information, an RFID, a magnetic card, or an IC card can be used. A card reader is installed near the place where the cart 1 is placed, and when the customer visits the store, the card reader can read the magnetic card or IC card, and the mail address of the portable terminal 2 can be associated with the cart ID. A method in which the customer associates the cart 1 with the portable terminal 2 using a magnetic card or an IC card will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a case where magnetic card or IC card information is used. FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating details of the magnetic card, the IC card 63, the card reader 64, and the control unit 55. FIG. 10B is a flowchart in the case of using a magnetic card or an IC card.

  When the customer selects the cart 1 (step S31), the card reader 64 reads the subscriber information of the magnetic card or IC card 63 (step S32), and the card reader 64 identifies the subscriber of the read magnetic card or IC card. The information and the cart ID of the selected cart are transmitted to the control unit 55 (step S33). In the control unit 55, the address extraction unit 552 extracts the mail address of the mobile terminal 2 from the member table 554 using the subscriber information as a key via the reception unit 553 (step S34). Thereafter, the control unit 55 writes the mail address of the portable terminal in the area corresponding to the cart mail address of the association table 52 shown in FIG. 2 (step S35).

  The above is the first example. Next, a modification thereof will be described. In this example, distribution of advertisement information and the like to the portable terminal 2 is performed not only when the wireless zone 4 is shifted but also when a certain time has elapsed since the arrival. For this purpose, the control device 5 requires a timer 57. Specifically, after the user enters the store or visits, when the association between the selected user device such as the cart 1 and the portable terminal 2 is completed, the delivery timer in the timer 57 is set. The control unit 55 periodically checks the distribution timer 57, and when a predetermined time (for example, 10 minutes) elapses, distributes information related to the sales floor near the customer to the mobile terminal 2 of the customer. That is, in this example, the information distribution is not started when the customer changes the sales floor, but is distributed after a predetermined time has elapsed after entering the store.

  It is also possible to distribute information about sales floors near customers at regular intervals. For example, it can be transmitted to a customer whose association with the cart 1 can be confirmed by the association table 52, that is, a customer who is shopping in the store. This is possible. In this case, in order to detect the position of the store clerk, it is essential that the store clerk also has a position detection terminal and an RFID tag. Further, for example, it is necessary to provide a clerk management table in the control device 5.

  Furthermore, information on coupons for products handled at sales floors near customers can be transmitted to a certain percentage of customers shopping in the store. Customers who receive a coupon can be randomly selected from the customers registered in the association table 52, or can be sent to a customer at a specific sales floor. In the latter case, it is possible to weight each sales floor and transmit it to a customer at an important sales floor at a high rate. Therefore, a customer to be distributed is selected based on the data in the association table 52 and the location management memory. When the customer finishes shopping and makes a payment at the cash register, he / she can receive a predetermined service such as a discount by causing the store clerk to check the coupon information stored in the mobile terminal 2.

  In addition, a point system can be used instead of a coupon. In the case of points, in principle, all customers in the store are eligible for distribution. For example, customers who send information that doubles points to all customers in the sales floor of products that want to sell cheaply, and actually purchased the products The points can be doubled. Specifically, for example, when a point service is performed at a meat sales floor, a customer in the meat sales floor is detected by the location management memory during the service target time zone, and the sales floor name and the service target product name are assigned to the customer's mobile terminal 2. The point double information is transmitted, and the customer presents the information to the store clerk at the cash register. The clerk can give the customer twice the points by confirming the purchase of the corresponding product.

  In the following example, alarm information is transmitted at the time registered by the customer. That is, in this example, the alarm information is transmitted when the customer is in the store using the function of detecting the position of the cart 1 used by the customer. When the customer enters the store or in the store, alarm setting information including an alarm transmission time desired by the customer for the identification number of the cart 1 is transmitted. When receiving the information, the control device 5 stores the alarm transmission time in the association table 52. An example of this is shown in FIG. It is convenient if a plurality of alarm transmission times can be stored. Based on this information, the control device 5 can transmit alarm information to the customer at a set time. Specifically, for example, if the control unit 55 reads the alarm transmission time data set in the association table 52 and sets the transmission time in the timer 57, the control unit 55 refers to the timer 57 and the association table 52. Thus, it is possible to send an email to a predetermined customer in the store at the set time. If the customer leaves the store before the set time, the customer information is deleted from the association table 52, and no alarm information is transmitted.

  In another example, only appropriate advertisement information can be distributed to the customer using the purchase history of the customer. For this purpose, for example, it is desirable to include the purchase history data section 58 in the control device 5, but of course, a server including purchase history data can be externally attached, and this case is also included in the scope of the present invention. . The purchase history data can be created from POS data, for example, and its configuration example is shown in FIG. For example, the history of purchased products can be recorded in units of identification information (for example, e-mail addresses) of the mobile terminal 2 held by the customer. This example also uses the position detection function of the cart 1, and when the customer is in the store or distributes information about the sales floor near the customer, the product with the larger purchase history is preferentially transmitted or the purchase history is larger. In the case where the product corresponds to the campaign product of the day, the advertisement information may be distributed immediately after the customer enters the store. For this purpose, for example, at the time of entering the store, when the association data shown in FIG. 2 is created, the purchase history data section 58 is searched using the email address of the mobile terminal 2 as a key, and a product with a large purchase record and the product When the sales floor is detected and the location management memory is accessed to detect that the customer's cart 1 is in this sales floor, information on the sales floor can be read from the advertisement information memory and transmitted. Further, as a result of detecting the advertisement information memory 56 for a product with a large purchase record, if it is detected that the product is a campaign product, the campaign information can be distributed immediately after entering the store. In the example of FIG. 12, the purchase record product and the sales floor are recorded in association with each other. However, the purchase history data unit 58 records only the purchase product record and separately provides a table for associating the product with the sales floor. It is also possible to detect sales floors with a large amount. This is an effective method in the case where the installation location of goods is frequently changed.

  In the above example, the position of the cart 1 as a user device is detected and managed in units of sales floors that are relatively large areas. For example, the position of the cart 1 is determined in units of a narrow area such as a product shelf. It can also be detected. An example of this is shown in FIG. In this example, the product shelf is equipped with a wireless transmitter, the product ID and product shelf ID are transmitted from this wireless transmitter, and the cart ID is returned when this information is received by the IC tag provided with the cart 1 having the wireless reception function. By doing so, the position of the cart 1 can be managed in units of product shelves, so that the advertisement information set in units of product shelves can be received. The specific processing method is the same as in the first example. In the case of this example, the wireless zone ID portion in the advertisement information memory, the position management memory, and the purchase history data portion may be replaced with the product shelf ID.

  Next, an example in which the cart 1 and the portable terminal 2 are associated by transmitting the cart ID and the portable terminal ID from the portable application to the control unit using the portable application (application) will be described. This example corresponds to an operation in which the mobile terminal downloads the advertisement information by a Web browsing method using a mobile application or a browser, instead of transmitting the advertisement information to the mobile terminal using e-mail. Therefore, this is an example in which an ID for identifying a portable terminal that is not a mail address is also used as the ID of the portable terminal. Specifically, it is a telephone number or machine identification number of a portable terminal, or a number or code for identifying another portable terminal.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a case where the cart 1 and the mobile terminal 2 are associated using the mobile application. FIG. 14A is a diagram illustrating details of the mobile terminal 2, the base station 9, and the control unit 55. FIG. 14B is a flowchart for transmitting the cart ID and the portable terminal ID from the portable application of the portable terminal 2 to the association table 52.

  When the customer cart 1 is selected (step S41), the portable application activated on the portable terminal 2 transmits the cart ID and portable terminal ID (for example, portable terminal telephone number) to the control unit 55 (step S42). The cart ID is manually input on the mobile browser or is read by reading a QR code attached to the handle of the cart 1 or the like. The controller 55 writes the mobile terminal ID in the area corresponding to the cart ID of the association table 52 shown in FIG. 2 using the cart ID as a key (step S43).

  Next, an example in which the cart 1 and the portable terminal 2 are associated with each other by transmitting the cart ID and the portable terminal ID from the portable browser to the control unit using the portable browser will be described.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a case where the cart 1 and the mobile terminal 2 are associated with each other using a mobile browser. FIG. 15A is a diagram illustrating details of the mobile terminal 2, the base station 9, and the control unit 55. FIG. 15B is a flowchart for transmitting the cart ID and the portable terminal ID from the portable browser of the portable terminal 2 to the association table 52.

  When the customer selects the cart 1 (step S51), the mobile browser activated by the mobile terminal 2 transmits the cart ID and the mobile terminal ID (for example, the mobile terminal phone number) to the control unit 55 (step S52). The cart ID is manually input on the mobile browser or is read by reading a QR code attached to the handle of the cart 1 or the like. The control unit 55 writes the mobile terminal ID in the area corresponding to the cart ID of the association table 52 shown in FIG. 2 using the cart ID as a key (step S53). Here, the mobile terminal ID is not necessarily the same type of identification code as the mobile terminal ID in the embodiment using the mobile application.

  In these examples, information other than the mail address is used as the identification information of the cart 1. In short, in the present invention, the type of information is not limited as long as it is unique device identification information that can identify a user device.

  The present invention can operate with various configurations as described above. Of course, the configurations of the association table 52, the position management table, and the advertisement information memory 56 are not limited to the configurations already shown, and there are various configuration examples. For example, an identification code (ID) of a cart or a portable terminal can use not only an email address but also an appropriate type of ID according to the embodiment, and the association table 52 can be configured in various types accordingly. .

This is a system configuration that is the subject of the present invention. It is an example of the table which associates a mobile terminal with the mail address of a cart. It is an example of the advertising information to deliver. It is a basic operation | movement flow of this invention. It is a structural example of the control apparatus used for this invention. It is a structural example of the position management memory used for this invention. It is a structural example of the advertisement information memory used for this invention. It is an example of the association in the present invention. It is a further another example of the association in the present invention. It is a figure explaining the case where magnetic card or IC card information is used. It is a modification of the correlation table used for this invention. It is an example of a structure of the purchase history data part used for this invention. It is a simple block diagram of the example which manages a position by the goods shelf unit which is a modification of this invention. It is a modification of the association in the present invention. It is another modification of the association in the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Shopping cart 2 Mobile terminal 3 Wireless access point (AP) and base station 4 Wireless zone 5 Control apparatus 6 Server 7 Internet network 8 Mobile communication network 9 Base station 51 Location detection management part 52 Association table 53 Distribution information transmission / reception part 54 Communication control Unit 55 Control unit 56 Advertising information management unit 57 Delivery timer 58 Purchase history data unit 61 Non-contact IC reader 63 Magnetic card or IC card 64 Card reader 551 Server interface 552 Address extraction unit 553 Receiving unit 554 Member table 555 Mobile application interface 556 Browser interface

Claims (4)

A wireless device having a wireless communication function, a unique device identification information is assigned, and a user device that can be shared by multiple users;
Base station means arranged at a predetermined position to form a wireless zone and communicate with the wireless element;
Position detecting means for detecting a current position of the user device;
An address association means for storing a correspondence relationship between the terminal identification information assigned to the mobile terminal held by the user and the device identification information of the user device used by the user;
Information storage means for storing distribution information that is information to be distributed in units of radio zones formed by the base station means;
An information distribution system comprising: information distribution means for transmitting the distribution information corresponding to a wireless zone in which the user device used by the user is located to a portable terminal held by the user. An information distribution method for distributing information related to a location where a user is located on a mobile terminal held by the user,
Device identification information for identifying the user device after a user device that can be shared by a plurality of users is selected by the user, and terminal identification of the mobile terminal held by the user who uses the user device Correlate the correspondence with information,
Detecting the current position of the user device, extracting distribution information corresponding to the current position,
An information distribution method comprising: transmitting the distribution information to a mobile terminal associated with device identification information of the user device based on the correspondence relationship. 3. The information distribution method according to claim 2, wherein the correspondence relationship is reset when the user device is returned to a predetermined storage location. An information distribution device used in a system including a plurality of wireless zones,
Position management means for receiving a signal including information for identifying the wireless terminal from a first wireless terminal having unique identification information and detecting a wireless zone in which the wireless terminal is located;
An association table for storing the identification information of the first wireless terminal and the identification information of the second wireless terminal in association with each other;
Distribution information storage means for storing distribution information corresponding to the wireless zone in association with the wireless zone;
Control means for extracting distribution information corresponding to a wireless zone in which the first wireless terminal located by the position management means is located from the distribution information storage means and generating distribution information;
An information distribution apparatus comprising: information transmission / reception means for transmitting the distribution information to the second wireless terminal.

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