DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0037] Detailed description will hereunder be given of the preferred embodiment of a customer solicitation support system and an information provision server according to the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0038] FIG. 1 shows an overall diagram of a customer solicitation support system in accordance with the present invention.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 1 , the customer solicitation system includes a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) 30 carried by a customer 10 , client personal computers (PCs) 80 and 80 A to 80 E which are provided at an entrance of a shopping mall and in shops, an information provision server 90 which is capable of carrying out transmission and reception of information with the client PCs 80 and the like.

[0040] The PDA 30 carried by the customer 10 and the client PCs 80 and the like are provided with a short-range wireless communication device based upon a communication standard such as Bluetooth and are capable of carrying out transmission and reception of information between the apparatuses. The PDA 30 may be a small-sized personal computer, which can be easily carried, or may be a portable apparatus such as an electronic notepad, a cellular phone, or an electronic camera.

[0041] The client PCs 80 and the like are provided with a communication interface for a LAN, the Internet, or the like which is capable of carrying out transmission and reception of information with the server 90 .

[0042] A schematic processing operation of the customer solicitation support system in accordance with the present invention will be hereinafter described.

[0043] The PDA 30 carried by the customer carries out wireless communication with the client PCs 80 and the like, and sends desired product information on a product which the customer desired to purchase and information for specifying the customer (customer information) including a face image of the customer to the client PCs 80 and the like. Next, the client PCs 80 and the like send shop information of the shops (e.g., location information of shops and shop names), where the client PCs are installed, and the customer information to the server 90 .

[0044] The server 90 retrieves stocked product information including a product coinciding with or similar to the desired product information, which is registered in association with the received customer information, sends the shop information, which is registered in association with the retrieved stocked product information, to the client PCs 80 and the like, and sends the face image of the customer included in the customer information to the client PCs 80 and the like.

[0045] The client PCs 80 and the like display the received face image of the customer on the display devices and send the received shop information of shops holding the stocked product to the PDA 30 of the customer.

[0046] The PDA 30 , which has received the information on shops holding stock of the product the customer desires to purchase, is capable of displaying the information on shops holding the product on the display device (names and locations of shops) and notifying the customer of the information.

[0047] FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the client PC 80 .

[0048] As shown in FIG. 2 , the client PC 80 includes a short-range wireless communication device, which includes an antenna 856 transmitting and receiving information to and from the PDA 30 , and a transmission and reception device 865 for a communication network 860 for transmitting and receiving information to and from other communication apparatuses (server 90 , etc.) via the communication network 860 such as the Internet or a LAN.

[0049] The client PC 80 further includes a display device 868 which displays a face image, characters, and other information, a display control device 869 which outputs an image signal for display to the display device 868 based upon a command of a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 880 , and an Input-output (I/O) port 875 which reads various kinds of information inputted by a shop clerk or the like via an input device 874 to transmit the information to the CPU 880 or outputs a display command to a notification device such as an LED based upon an instruction from the CPU 880 .

[0050] The client PC 80 further includes a recording medium mounting section 878 to which a recording medium 877 is mounted and a recording medium interface 879 which records information such as image data in and reads out the information from the recording medium 877 . The recording medium 877 is a detachable recording medium of a magnetic recording system, an optical recording system, or the like.

[0051] The client PC 80 further includes the CPU 880 which performs overall control of the client PC 80 , a memory 881 which is constituted by a ROM having recorded therein a program for operating the CPU 880 and various constants and a RAM serving as a recording device to be a work area when the CPU 880 executes processing, a recording device 886 such as a hard disk which records various constants for processing of the client PC 80 , connection information such as a dial-up telephone number, attribute information, a Uniform Resource Locators (URL), an address, a site address, a gateway information Domain Name System (DNS), and information on a location where the client PC 80 is installed (shop information), and a calendar clock 890 which records the passing moments.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 2 , the CPU 880 in the client PC 80 and peripheral circuits including the display control device 869 , the I/O port 875 , the memory 881 , the recording device 886 , the calendar clock 890 , and the like are connected with each other through a bus 899 . The CPU 880 is capable of controlling the peripheral circuits and is capable of controlling the peripheral circuits based upon a processing program executed by the CPU 880 .

[0053] The above-described short-range wireless communication device is a wireless communication device of the Bluetooth standard. When a PDA carried by a customer enters a predetermined communication area of any one of client PCs, the PDA and the client PC start wireless communication and, when the PDA moves to the outside of the communication area, the communication is disconnected. The short-range wireless communication device is not limited to the wireless communication device of the Bluetooth standard but may be a wireless communication device using ultrasonic waves or infrared rays as a carrier wave.

[0054] The transmission and reception device 857 is capable of carrying out wireless communication with the PDA 30 carried by the client to receive the desired product information on the desired product and the customer information including a face image of the customer.

[0055] On the other hand, the transmission and reception device 865 is capable of sending the customer information received from the PDA 30 carried by the customer, the location information of the shop where the client PC 80 is installed, and the shop information including the shop name to the server 90 . Identification information of the client PC 80 may be sent as shop information instead of the shop information. In this case, the server 90 may be provided with a storage device which stores identification information of a client PC and location information and a name of a shop where the client PC is installed in association with each other to read out the location information and the name of the shop where the client PC is installed from the storage device based upon the received identification information of the client PC.

[0056] The transmission and reception device 865 is capable of receiving customer information including stored product information, shop information, and customer information including a face image of a customer from the server 90 and sending the received shop information to the PDA 30 and is capable of displaying the customer information received from the server 90 on the display device 868 of the client PC.

[0057] Further, the CPU 880 is capable of detecting that wireless communication which has been carried out with the PDA 30 carried by the customer has been disconnected.

[0058] The input device 874 is capable of inputting product purchase information on a product purchased by a customer.

[0059] The transmission and reception device 865 is capable of sending the inputted product purchase information and wireless communication disconnection information indicating disconnection of the wireless communication to the server 90 .

[0060] FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of the server 90 in accordance with the present invention.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 3 , the server 90 includes an antenna 956 which is used as a wireless communication device, a transmission and reception device 957 which converts data into a predetermined format in order to send and receive information wirelessly or by wire, and a transmission and reception device 965 which transmits and receives information to and from other communication apparatuses (the client PC 80 , the PDA 30 , etc.) via a communication network 960 such as a LAN or the Internet.

[0062] The server 90 further includes a display device 968 which displays information such as an image or characters, if necessary, for confirmation, a display control device 969 which outputs an image signal for display to the display device 968 based upon a command of a CPU 980 described later, and an I/O port 975 which reads various kinds of information inputted by an administrator via an input device 974 and transmits the information to the CPU 980 or outputs a display command to an LED or the like based upon an instruction from the CPU 980 .

[0063] The server 90 further includes the CPU 980 which controls the entire server 90 , a memory 981 constituted by a ROM having recorded therein a program and various constants for operating the CPU 980 and a RAM serving as a recording device to be a work area at the time when the CPU 980 executes processing, a recording device 986 such as a hard disk which records various constants for processing of the server 90 , own attribute information on a network, connection information such as a URL, an address, a site address, and a gate way information DNS, customer information, stocked product information, shop information, a management period of the stocked product information, and other various information, and a calendar clock 990 which records the passing moments.

[0064] As shown in FIG. 3 , the CPU 980 and peripheral circuits including the display control device 969 , the I/O port 975 , the memory 981 , the recording device 986 , the calendar clock 990 , and the like are connected by a bus 999 . The CPU 980 is capable of controlling the peripheral circuits and is capable of controlling devices around it based upon a processing program executed by the CPU 980 .

[0065] The recording device 986 is capable of recording stocked product information indicating products which can be sold, a management period for the stocked product information, and shop information on shops holding the products which can be sold in association with each other.

[0066] The transmission and reception device 965 is capable of receiving location information of shops where the client PCs 80 and the like are installed, desired product information on a desired product, and customer information including a face image of the customer from the client PCs 80 and the like.

[0067] Upon receiving the customer information from the client PCs 80 and the like, the CPU 980 is capable of retrieving stocked product information coinciding with or similar to the desired product information registered in association with the received customer information out of the stocked product information recorded in the recording device 986 and reading out shop information associated with the stocked product information.

[0068] The transmission and reception device 965 is capable of sending the shop information and customer information that are read by the CPU 980 to the client PCs 80 and the like.

[0069] The transmission and reception device 965 is capable of receiving customer information, product purchase information, and wireless communication disconnection information from the client PCs 80 and the like.

[0070] The CPU 980 is capable of updating customer information and stored product information based upon the received product purchase information and wireless communication disconnection information.

[0071] Further, the CPU 980 is capable of comparing the management period for the stored product recorded in the recording device 986 and time and date counted by the calendar clock 990 to judge whether or not the management period for the stocked product has expired and, if it is judged that the management period for the stocked product has expired, performing processing for deleting the stocked product information which is recorded in association with the management period.

[0072] FIG. 4 shows an event trace diagram of customer solicitation support processing in accordance with the present invention.

[0073] First, in step S 80 (hereinafter abbreviated as S 80 ) “input stocked product information”, the client PC 80 , 80 A, or the like in each shop performs processing for inputting stored product information on a stored product via the input device 874 such as a keyboard from a shop clerk of the shop. The stocked product information may be inputted via the transmission and reception device 857 from a PDA owned by the shop clerk instead of inputting the stocked product information via the input device 874 . Here, the stocked product information inputted by the client PC 80 or the like is information such as a name of a stocked product, a keyword at the time of product retrieval, a quantity of stock, and a price.

[0074] When the stocked product information is inputted by the shop clerk of the shop and an instruction to send the stocked product information to the server 90 is further inputted, the CPU 880 of the client PC 80 or the like performs processing for sending the inputted stocked product information to the server 90 via the transmission and reception device 865 and the communication network 860 . In sending the stocked product information, the CPU 880 reads out shop information of shops (location information of shops and shop names), where the client PCs are installed, from the recording device 886 , and sends the information to the server 90 together with the stocked product information.

[0075] The CPU 980 of the server 90 receives the stocked product information and the shop information via the transmission and reception device 965 . Then, in S 90 “update database stock information”, the CPU 980 registers the received stocked product information in the stock information database in association with the shop information.

[0076] FIG. 5 shows a structure of the stock information database stored in the recording device 986 of the server 90 .

[0077] In an example shown in FIG. 5 , stocked product information on stocked products and shop information of shops (shop names, shop locations) holding the stocked products are registered in the stock information database in association with each other. The stocked product information includes information such as a product name of a stocked product, a keyword for retrieving the stocked product, a quantity of stock, a price, and a management period (data of registration in the stock information database).

[0078] FIG. 6 shows a conceptual diagram of a shopping mall.

[0079] In an example shown in FIG. 6 , the customer 10 enters the shopping mall from an entrance thereof and enjoys shopping passing the vicinity of shops A, B, C, and D. For example, the customer 10 operates the input device 874 such as a keyboard or a mouse, which is provided in the client PC 80 installed at the entrance of the shopping mall, to input customer information such as a face image of the customer.

[0080] Then, various kinds of customer information is inputted to the CPU 880 of the client PC 80 from the customer 10 via the input device 874 in S 82 “input requested customer information” shown in FIG. 4 . For example, information on a location where the client PC 80 is installed is recorded in the recording device 886 of the client PC 80 , and the CPU 880 reads out the location information from the recording device 886 and sends the location information to the server 90 via the transmission and reception device 865 and a communication network such as the Internet together with the inputted customer information.

[0081] FIG. 7 shows a structure of a customer information database stored in the recording device 986 of the server 90 .

[0082] As shown in FIG. 7 , information on a product name of a product desired by a customer and a keyword for specifying the desired product, a level of desire to purchase, and a method of payment at the time when a product is purchased, and customer information including a face image and a customer ID of the customer are registered in the customer information database. In the case in which the face image of the customer 10 is inputted to the client PC 80 , the client 10 picks up to input the face image by operating an image pickup device constituted by an image pickup lens, a CCD, and the like which is provided in the client PC 80 .

[0083] Instead of the customer 10 directly inputting the customer information by operating the input device 874 of the client PC 80 , the PDA 30 carried by the client 10 and the client PC 80 may communicate wirelessly, whereby the customer information is received from the PDA 30 and inputted to the client PC 80 .

[0084] In that case, the customer 10 inputs the customer information to the PDA 30 in advance in S 30 “input customer information”. Then, when the customer 10 enters a communication zone in which the PDA 30 and the client PC 80 (or the client PCs 80 A, 80 B, etc.) are capable of carrying out short-range wireless communication, for example, the PDA 30 responds to a connection request outputted by the client PC 80 and sends a control packet indicating a device address, clock, and the like to the client PC 80 . Next, the client PC 80 sends and receives an ID packet including a device access code and an inquiry code based upon the response of the PDA 30 and carries out communication connection processing with the PDA 30 (see FIG. 8 ).

[0085] When communication is established between the communication apparatuses, the PDA 30 performs processing for sending the desired product information and the customer information to the client PC 80 . The CPU 880 of the client PC 80 , to which these customer information and the like are inputted via the transmission and reception device 857 , reads out the shop information recorded in the recording device 886 and sends the shop information to the server 90 via the transmission and reception device 865 and the communication network such as the Internet together with the inputted customer information and the like.

[0086] The customer information and the shop information are received by the CPU 980 of the server 90 via the transmission and reception device 965 . Then, in S 92 “retrieve database shop information”, the CPU 980 performs processing for retrieving a product which the customer desired to purchase or a keyword for the desired product out of the stocked product information recorded in the recording device 986 .

[0087] In the case in which the CPU 980 has retrieved a plurality of desired products, the CPU 980 reads out the location information and the price information of shops recorded in the recording device 986 in association with the stocked product information, and prioritizes shops close to the customer 10 to prepare a shop list to be sent or prioritizes shops setting low prices for the desired products to prepare a shop list to be sent.

[0088] When the product desired by the customer 10 is retrieved out of the stocked product information in S 92 , the CPU 980 of the server 90 performs processing for sending a name of the retrieved product, information on a shop selling the product (information on a name and a location of the shop), and information such as a price to the client PC 80 closest to the customer 10 via the transmission and reception device 965 and the communication network.

[0089] The CPU 880 of the client PC 80 having received the stocked product information from the server 90 performs processing for sending the received stocked product information to the PDA 30 carried by the customer via the transmission and reception device 857 . Upon receiving the stocked product information, in S 36 “display a list of stock holding shops”, the PDA 30 emits a calling sound, which indicates that the information on shops holding the stocked product has been received, to the customer 10 and, at the same time, performs processing for displaying the received shop information on the display device of the PDA 30 to notify the customer 10 of the reception.

[0090] The customer 10 looks at the shop information (location information of shops and the product names) displayed on the display device of the PDA 30 , whereby it becomes possible for the customer 10 to learn in which shop in the shopping mall the product which the customer 10 desired to purchase or a product similar to the product is sold.

[0091] The display device of the PDA 30 indicates in which shop in the shopping mall the product which the customer 10 desires to purchase is held, whereby it becomes possible for the customer 10 to immediately head toward the shop holding the product which the customer 10 desired to purchase. In the case in which the product which the customer 10 desires to purchase is held in a plurality of shops, names of the shops and existing locations of the shops are displayed in an order of closeness to a location where the customer 10 presently exists, whereby it becomes possible for the customer 10 to purchase the product in a shop close to the customer 10 .

[0092] A price of the product which the customer 10 desires to purchase is displayed on the display device of the PDA 30 , whereby it becomes possible for the customer 10 to learn the price and decide to purchase the product without actually visiting a shop. In the case in which the product which the customer 10 desires to purchase is held in a plurality of shops, a price of the product is displayed for each shop, whereby it becomes possible to purchase the desired product in a shop providing the product at a lowest price.

[0093] Further, the CPU 980 of the server 90 retrieves customer information in S 94 “retrieve database customer information” to recognize the customer 10 who has approached a predetermined client PC (the client PC 80 A or the like installed in a shop), and performs processing for sending the customer information to the client PC 80 A or the like existing close to the customer 10 .

[0094] In S 88 “display a requesting customer list”, the CPU 880 of the client PC 80 or the like performs processing for displaying the customer information received from the server 90 on the display device 868 . Here, the customer information displayed on the display device 868 is information on the product which the customer 10 desires to purchase, information on desire to purchase, information on a method of payment of a price of the product, information on the face image of the customer 10 , and the like. This customer information may be sent to a PDA carried by a shop clerk of a shop and displayed on a display device of the PDA.

[0095] By displaying the customer information on the PDA of the shop clerk, it becomes possible for the shop clerk calling in customers in front of the shop to immediately learn that the customer 10 will visit the shop. The shop clerk looks at the face image of the customer 10 displayed on the display device, whereby it becomes possible for the shop clerk to immediately specify the customer 10 who desires to purchase the product held in the shop and to serve the customer 10 quickly.

[0096] When the customer 10 has purchased the product in any shop, it is possible to input product purchase information including information on the purchase product or product sales information including information on the product sold by the shop from the client PC 80 or the like via the input device 874 or the like. The product purchase information or the product sales information may be inputted by the shop clerk or the customer via the input device 874 such as a keyboard or a mouse, or may be inputted via the input device 874 such as a barcode reader.

[0097] When input of information on the sales or the like of the product has ended in S 70 “input product purchase information or product sales information”, next, the CPU 880 performs processing for sending the inputted product purchase information or product sales information to the server 90 via the transmission and reception device 865 and the communication network 860 such as the Internet.

[0098] When the server 90 has received the product purchase information via the transmission and reception device 965 , the processing carried out by the CPU 980 of the server 90 proceeds to processing of S 96 “update customer information and stocked product information”, and the CPU 980 performs processing for deleting various kinds of information such as the purchased desired product, desire to purchase, and the method of payment from the “customer information” of the customer who has purchased the desired product and has been satisfied and updating the customer information.

[0099] Further, when the server 90 has received the product sales information via the transmission and reception device 965 , in S 96 “update customer information and stocked product information”, the CPU 980 of the server 90 performs processing for deleting information on the sold product from the stocked product information recorded in the recording device 986 and updating the stocked product information.

[0100] On the other hand, when the customer has inputted information, which indicates that a product desired to be purchased is added or is changed or cancelled, via the input device of the PDA 30 in S 38 “update customer information”, the PDA 30 performs processing for wirelessly transferring the inputted “customer information” to the closest client PC 80 or the like.

[0101] For example, the CPU 880 of the client PC 80 receives the new customer information via the transmission and reception device 857 and sends the customer information to the server 90 via the transmission and reception device 865 . The CPU 980 of the server 90 receives the sent new customer information via the transmission and reception device 865 . Then, when the server 90 has received the product purchase information via the transmission and reception device 965 , the processing carried out by the CPU 980 of the server 90 proceeds to S 96 , and the CPU 980 performs processing for updating the customer information of the customer.

[0102] For example, when the customer leaves the shopping mall and the PDA 30 exits from the wireless communication zone of the client PC 80 , 80 A, or the like, the processing carried out by the CPU 880 of the client PC 80 , 80 A, or the like proceeds to S 72 “disconnect communication” or S 89 “disconnect communication”, and the CPU 880 performs processing for disconnecting the wireless communication, which has been carried out between the client PC 80 , 80 A, or the like and the PDA 30 , and detects that the wireless communication has been disconnected. When the processing for disconnecting the wireless communication has ended, the CPU 880 of the client PC 80 , 80 A, or the like sends information, which indicates that the wireless communication with the PDA 30 carried by the customer has been disconnected, (wireless communication disconnection information) to the server 90 via the transmission and reception device 865 and the communication network 860 .

[0103] When the server 90 has received the wireless communication disconnection information via the transmission and reception device 965 , the processing carried out by the CPU 980 of the server 90 proceeds to S 96 , and the CPU 980 performs update processing for deleting “customer information” of the customer for whom the communication has been disconnected.

[0104] In this way, in the case in which the customer has purchased the product, in the case in which the customer himself/herself has updated the customer information, in the case in which the customer has left the shopping mall, or the like, it becomes possible to update the customer information and the stocked product information in the server 90 , and it becomes possible to dispose of unnecessary data and store and utilize only necessary data.

[0105] Moreover, in the CPU 980 of the server 90 , the processing of S 98 “in the case in which the management period has elapsed, delete customer information and stocked product information” is carried out periodically, whereby it becomes possible to uniformly dispose of unnecessary data. In S 98 , the CPU 980 performs processing for comparing the management period of the stocked product information recorded in the recording device 986 and date or time counted by the calendar clock 990 to judge whether or not the management period has elapsed and, if it is judged that the management period has elapsed, deleting the stocked product information recorded in association with the management period. By performing the processing of S 98 , it becomes possible to uniformly dispose of customer information and stocked product information which have passed a predetermined management period.

[0106] As described above, according to the present invention, information on shops dealing in a product desired by a customer in a shopping mall or the like can be provided to the customer through a portable apparatus carried by the customer and, on the other hand, the shop can acquire information on the customer desiring to purchase a product (stocked product) held by the shop itself and can approach the customer for sale of the product.

[0107] It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, alternate constructions and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.