Free Sample Distributing System, Free Sample Distributing Device, Free Sample Distribution Information Server, Free Sample Distributing Method, Free Sample Distributing Information Processing Program and Computer Readable Medium

• US 20100131096A1
• Filed: 05/01/2008
• Published: 05/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Original Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Inventors: Koyano, Takeshi
• Application Number:
  US12/452,569
• Publication Number:
  US 20100131096A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/236
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A free sample distributing system comprises a plurality of free sample distributing devices and a free sample distribution information server. Each free sample distributing device imports identification information of a user desiring acquisition of a free sample, and sends the identification information to the free sample distribution information server. The free sample distribution information server decides a type of a free sample to be provided for the user, by searching a user information storage unit, by recognizing personal information of the user pertaining to the identification information, and by comparing the personal information with the free sample distribution conditions of free sample types. The free sample distributing device dispenses the free sample of the decided type from a housing unit and provides the user with the free sample.

Claims

1. A free sample distributing system comprising:

a plurality of free sample distributing devices, each of the free sample distributing devices comprises

a housing unit that houses plural types of free samples such that they are respectively dischargeable,

a user identification information importing unit that imports, and transmits to the free sample distribution information server, identification information of a user who wants to acquire a free sample, and

a free sample providing unit that dispenses from the housing unit and supplies to the user a type of free sample that has been instructed from a free sample distribution information server, and

the free sample distribution information server comprises

a user information storing unit that stores personal information of a user to whom it is allowed to provide a free sample in association with identification information of the user,

a free sample distribution condition storing unit that stores free sample distribution conditions configured by combinations of item contents of the personal information that are determined in regard to the respective types of the free samples, and

a provided free sample type deciding unit which, when identification information of a user has been transmitted thereto from any of the free sample distributing devices, searches the user information storing unit, recognizes personal information of the user pertaining to the identification information, and compares the personal information with the free sample distribution conditions stored in the free sample distribution condition storing unit to thereby obtain a free sample distribution condition that becomes established in regard to the user, and instructs the free sample distributing device from which the identification information of the user was transmitted to provide a type of free sample pertaining to the established free sample distribution condition.

2. A free sample distribution information server that configures a free sample distributing system together with a plurality of free sample distributing devices, each of which comprises a housing unit that houses plural types of free samples such that they are respectively dischargeable, a user identification information importing unit that imports and transmits identification information of a user who wants to acquire a free sample and a free sample providing unit that dispenses from the housing unit and supplies to the user a type of free sample that has been instructed, the free sample distribution information server comprising:

a user information storing unit that stores personal information of user to whom it is allowed to provide a free sample in association with identification information of the user;

a free sample distribution condition storing unit that stores free sample distribution conditions configured by combinations of item contents of the personal information that are determined in regard to the respective types of the free samples; and

a provided free sample type deciding unit which, when identification information of a user has been transmitted thereto from any of the free sample distributing devices, searches the user information storing unit, recognizes the personal information of the user pertaining to the identification information, and compares the personal information with the free sample distribution conditions stored in the free sample distribution condition storing unit to thereby obtain a free sample distribution condition that becomes established in regard to the user, and instructs the free sample distributing device from which the identification information of the user was transmitted to provide a type of free sample pertaining to the established free sample distribution condition.

3. The free sample distribution information server according to claim 2, wherein all or some of the identification information of the user that is supplied from the free sample distributing device is biometric information of the user.

4. The free sample distribution information server according to claim 2, wherein the provided free sample type deciding unit instructs the free sample distributing device from which the identification information of the user was transmitted to provide all of the types of free samples pertaining to the established free sample distribution condition.

5. The free sample distribution information server according to claim 2, wherein the personal information of the user stored in the user information storing unit further includes information of other person around the user, and the free sample distribution conditions further use information of the other person around the user as a comparison target.

6. The free sample distribution information server according to claim 2, wherein the personal information of the user stored in the user information storing unit includes an email address, and the free sample distribution information server further comprises an email message dispatching unit that dispatches, with respect to the user who fits an email message dispatching condition configured by a combination of item contents of the personal information, an email message for free sample distribution notification or for advertisement.

7. The free sample distribution information server according to claim 6, further comprising an undelivered email message user provision restricting unit that manages a delivery status of the dispatched email message per user and restricts provision of the free sample to a user for whom there are many undelivered email messages.

8. The free sample distribution information server according to claim 2, further comprising a distribution history managing unit that manages a free sample distribution history of each user and prohibits provision of the same type of free sample to the same user at different timings.

9. The free sample distribution information server according to claim 2, further comprising

a questioning unit that asks a question via any of the free sample distributing devices in regard to an item that differs from an item when initially registering the personal information of the user in the user information storing unit, and

a personal information updating unit that updates the user information storing unit on the basis of a response with respect to the question that has been supplied from the free sample distributing device.

10. The free sample distribution information server according to claim 9, further comprising a non-response user provision restricting unit that manages the history of the response with respect to the question that has been supplied from the free sample distributing device and restricts provision of the free sample to the user for which there are many non-responses.

11. A free sample distributing device comprising:

a housing unit that houses plural types of free samples such that they are respectively dischargeable;

a user identification information importing unit that imports, and transmits to a free sample distribution information server, identification information of a user who wants to acquire a free sample;

a free sample providing unit that dispenses from the housing unit and supplies to the user a type of free sample that has been instructed from the free sample distribution information server;

a question asking unit that asks a question in regard to an item that has been instructed from the free sample distribution information server in regard to a user who is already initially registered in the free sample distribution information server; and

a responding unit that imports, and sends back to the free sample distribution information server, a response from the user with respect to the question.

12. A method of distributing a free sample in a free sample distributing system which comprises a plurality of free sample distributing devices and a free sample distribution information server, wherein

each of the free sample distributing devices comprises a housing unit that houses plural types of free samples such that they are respectively dischargeable, a user identification information importing unit, and a free sample providing unit, and

the free sample distribution information server comprises a user information storing unit that stores personal information of a user to whom it is allowed to provide a free sample in association with identification information of the users, a free sample distribution condition storing unit that stores free sample distribution conditions configured by combinations of item contents of the personal information that are determined in regard to the respective types of the free samples, and a provided free sample type deciding unit,

the method comprising:

the user identification information importing unit importing, and transmitting to the free sample distribution information server, identification information of a user who wants to acquire a free sample,

when identification information of a user has been transmitted to the provided free sample type deciding unit from any of the free sample distributing devices, the provided free sample type deciding unit searching the user information storing unit, recognizing personal information of the user pertaining to the identification information, and comparing the personal information with the free sample distribution conditions stored in the free sample distribution condition storing unit to thereby obtain a free sample distribution condition that becomes established in regard to the user, and instructing the free sample distributing device from which the identification information of the user was transmitted to provide a type of free sample pertaining to the established free sample distribution condition, and

the free sample providing unit dispensing from the housing unit and supplying to the user a type of free sample that has been instructed from the free sample distribution information server.

13. A computer-readable medium storing a program that causes free sample distribution information processing to be executed in a computer that constructs a free sample distribution information server that configures a free sample distributing system together with a plurality of free sample distributing devices, each of the plurality of free sample distributing devices comprises a housing unit that houses plural types of free samples such that they are respectively dischargeable, a user identification information importing unit that imports and transmits identification information of a user who wants to acquire a free sample, and a free sample providing unit that dispenses from the housing unit and supplies to the user a type of free sample that has been instructed, the free sample distribution information processing comprising:

storing personal information of a user to whom it is allowed to provide a free sample in association with identification information of the user;

storing free sample distribution conditions configured by combinations of item contents of the personal information that are determined in regard to the respective types of the free samples; and

when identification information of a user has been transmitted from any of the free sample distributing devices, searching the stored personal information, recognizing personal information of the user pertaining to the identification information, and comparing the personal information with the stored free sample distribution conditions to thereby obtain a free sample distribution condition that becomes established in regard to the user, and instructing the free sample distributing device from which the identification information of the user was transmitted to provide a type of free sample pertaining to the established free sample distribution condition.

14. (canceled)