Purchasing on-line using a parameter in a database
First Claim
1. A communication system comprising:
- a communications network;
a terminal connected to the communications network;
a message database which is connected to the communications network and which stores messages including at least one of images, texts, sounds and combinations thereof;
a transmitter for reading out a message from the message database and transmitting the message to the terminal;
a display for displaying the message transmitted to the terminal by the transmitter;
a storage for storing a parameter which indicates an amount of messages transmitted to the terminal;
an adder for increasing a value of the parameter as the message is displayed on the display;
a detector for detecting whether a user of the terminal is actively recognizing the message displayed on the display; and
a stop means for preventing the value of the parameter from being increased by the adder when the detector detects that the user is not actively recognizing the displayed message.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In the communication network for distributing messages such as advertisements to terminal users, an information providing system provides the suitable information to each user. The system includes a terminal connected to a communications network, a user database for storing the characteristics of each user, a message database for storing messages, and a transmittal condition database for storing the user characteristics of the class of suitable recipients for each message. A message searcher searches for messages from the transmittal condition database based on the characteristics read out from the user database. A reader reads the retrieved messages from the message database and a transmitter transmits the messages to the terminal. An adder increases the value of a parameter associated with each user when the transmitted message is displayed on the terminal. A detector detects whether the user is active, and a stop means prevents the value of the parameter from being increased when the user is inactive.
-
Citations
46 Claims
-
1. A communication system comprising:
-
a communications network;
a terminal connected to the communications network;
a message database which is connected to the communications network and which stores messages including at least one of images, texts, sounds and combinations thereof;
a transmitter for reading out a message from the message database and transmitting the message to the terminal;
a display for displaying the message transmitted to the terminal by the transmitter;
a storage for storing a parameter which indicates an amount of messages transmitted to the terminal;
an adder for increasing a value of the parameter as the message is displayed on the display;
a detector for detecting whether a user of the terminal is actively recognizing the message displayed on the display; and
a stop means for preventing the value of the parameter from being increased by the adder when the detector detects that the user is not actively recognizing the displayed message. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20)
-
-
16. A communication system comprising:
-
a communications network;
a terminal connected to the communications network;
a message database which is connected to the communications network and which stores messages including at least one of images, texts, sounds and combinations thereof, in association with a message ID for identifying each message;
a transmitter for reading a message out of the message database and transmitting the message to the terminal;
a display for displaying the message transmitted from the transmitter to the terminal;
a user database which is connected to the communications network and which stores characteristics of each user of the terminal, in association with a user ID for identifying each user;
a receiver for receiving the user ID from the terminal through the communications network;
a characteristics reader for reading the characteristics from the user database based on the user ID received by the receiver; and
a statistics recording means for storing the characteristics read out by the characteristics reader, in association with the message ID of the message being displayed on the display by the user whose characteristics were read out by the characteristics reader.
-
-
19. A communication system comprising:
-
a communications network;
a terminal connected to the communications network a message database which is connected to the communications network and which stores multiple messages in association with respective a message ID for identifying the messages, the messages including at least one of images, texts, sounds and combinations thereof;
a user database which is connected to the communications network and which stores characteristics of each user of the terminal in association with respective user ID for identifying the users;
a transmittal condition database which is connected to the communications network and which stores, for each message, the characteristics of the class of users to whom it would be appropriate to transmit the message, in association with a message ID for that message;
a receiver for receiving the user ID of the user from the terminal through the communications network;
a characteristics reader for reading out the characteristics from the user database based on the user ID;
a message searcher for retrieving a message ID from the transmittal condition database based on the characteristics read out from the user database;
a transmitter for reading out the messages which are associated with the message ID retrieved by the message searcher and transmitting those messages to the terminal; and
a display for displaying the messages transmitted to the terminal by the transmitter.
-
-
21. A host computer connected to a terminal through a communications network comprising:
-
a transmittal condition database for storing a message ID which identifies a message to be transmitted to the terminal, the message including at least one of images, texts, sounds and combinations thereof;
a transmitter for transmitting the message ID read out from the transmittal condition database;
a storage for storing a parameter which indicates an amount of access made by a user of the terminal to the messages transmitted to the terminal;
an adder for increasing the value of the parameter when a message transmitted by the transmitter is displayed on the terminal;
a detector for detecting whether the user is actively recognizing a displayed message; and
a stop means for preventing the value of the parameter from being increased when the user is not actively recognizing the displayed message. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
-
-
30. A host computer connected to a terminal through a communications network, comprising:
-
a message database which is connected to the communications network and which stores a message in association with a message ID for identifying each of the messages, the messages including at least one of images, texts, sounds and combinations thereof;
a transmitter for reading out a message from the message database and transmitting the message to the terminal;
a user database which is connected to the communications network and which stores characteristics of a user of the terminal in association with a user ID for identifying the user;
a receiver for receiving the user ID from the terminal through the communications network;
a characteristics reader for reading out the characteristics of the user from the user database based on the user ID received by the receiver; and
a statistics recording means for storing the characteristics read out by the characteristics reader, in association with the message ID of the message transmitted to the terminal being used by the user whose characteristics were read out by the characteristics reader. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
-
-
33. A host computer connected to a terminal through a communications network comprising:
-
a message database which is connected to the communications network and which stores messages in association with a message ID for identifying each message, the messages including at least one of images, texts, sounds and combinations thereof;
a user database which is connected to the communications network and which stores characteristics of users of the terminal, in association with a user ID for identifying the user;
a transmittal condition database which is connected to the communications network and which stores the message ID in association with the characteristics of the class of users to whom it would be appropriate to transmit the message;
a receiver for receiving the user ID from the terminal through the communications network;
a characteristics reader for reading out the characteristics from the user database based on the user ID;
a message searcher for retrieving the message ID from the transmittal condition database using the characteristics read out from the user database by the characteristics reader; and
a transmitter for reading out the messages corresponding to the message ID retrieved by the message searcher, from the message database and transmitting the messages to the terminal. - View Dependent Claims (34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
-
-
35. A recording medium storing a program to be executed by a terminal connected to a communications network, the communications network being further connected to a message database which stores messages including at least one of images, texts, sounds and combinations thereof and a user database storing a parameter for each user, which represents the extent to which the user accessed messages, the program comprising:
-
a message ID receiving means for causing the terminal to receive a message ID identifying a specific message, from the communications network;
means for causing the terminal to request the specific message from the message database, based on the message ID received by the message ID receiving means;
a message receiving means for causing the terminal to receive the specific message read out from the message database;
a display means for causing the terminal to display the specific message received by the message receiving means;
means for causing the terminal to instruct the user database to increase the value of the parameter when the specific message is displayed on the terminal;
detection means for causing the terminal to detect whether the user is actively recognizing the specific message; and
stop means for causing the terminal to prevent the parameter from being increased when the detection means detects that the user is not actively recognizing the specific message.
-
Specification