INFORMATION PROVIDING APPARATUS, INFORMATION PROVIDING METHOD, AND USER DEVICE

• US 20140195375A1
• Filed: 12/13/2013
• Published: 07/10/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yahoo Japan Corporation (A Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo Japan Corporation (A Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: TAKUSARI, Tomohito
• Granted Patent: US 9,760,937 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26.8
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing

Abstract

An information providing apparatus receives wish information relevant to a wish item that a user wishes to have and position information of the user. The information providing apparatus transmits the wish information to a provider device used by a provider who provides items. The information providing apparatus receives provision information relevant to provision of the wish item from the provider device. The information providing apparatus determines whether a moving cost, which is required for moving from a position indicated by the position information to a providing place at which the provider provides the wish item, satisfies a predetermined condition. The information providing apparatus notifies a user device of the provision information corresponding to a provider in which the moving cost satisfies the predetermined condition.

Claims

1. An information providing apparatus comprising:

a wish information receiving unit configured to receive wish information relevant to a wish item or a wish service that a user wishes to have and position information of the user from a user device that the user uses;

a transmitting unit configured to transmit the wish information received by the wish information receiving unit to a provider device used by a provider who provides items or services;

a provision information receiving unit configured to receive provision information relevant to provision of the wish item or the wish service from the provider device;

a determining unit configured to determine whether a moving cost, which is required for moving from a position indicated by the position information to a providing place at which the provider provides the wish item or the wish service, satisfies a predetermined condition; and

a notifying unit configured to notify the user device of the provision information corresponding to a provider in which the determining unit determines that the moving cost satisfies the predetermined condition.

2. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the transmitting unit transmits the wish information received by the wish information receiving unit to a provider device of the provider in which the determining unit determines that the moving cost satisfies the predetermined condition,

the provision information receiving unit receives the provision information as a response to reception of the wish information transmitted by the transmitting unit from the provider device, and

the notifying unit notifies the user device of the provision information received by the provision information receiving unit as the provision information of the provider in which the moving cost satisfies the predetermined condition.

3. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the transmitting unit transmits the wish information received by the wish information receiving unit to the provider device of the provider of which the distance from the position indicated by the position information to the providing place is a predetermined value or smaller,

when the provision information is received by the provision information receiving unit, the determining unit determines with respect to the provider corresponding to the provider device that transmitted the provision information whether the moving cost satisfies the predetermined condition, and

the notifying unit notifies the user device of the provision information of the provider in which the determining unit determines that the moving cost satisfies the predetermined condition among the respective pieces of provision information received by the provision information receiving unit.

4. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a price storage unit configured to store the price of each of the items or the services, wherein

the determining unit changes the predetermined condition according to the price stored in the price storage unit in correlation with the wish item or the wish service and determines whether the moving cost satisfies the predetermined condition.

5. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a provision information storage unit configured to store the provision information received by the provision information receiving unit; and

a publicizing unit configured to publicize the provision information stored in the provision information storage unit to a plurality of provider devices, wherein

the wish information receiving unit receives a wish time-limit until which the user wishes to have the wish item or the wish service from the user device together with the wish information and the position information,

the transmitting unit transmits the wish information received by the wish information receiving unit to the plurality of provider devices,

the publicizing unit publicizes the provision information stored in the provision information storage unit to the plurality of provider devices until the wish time-limit is reached,

when provision information with a higher condition than the provision information publicized by the publicizing unit is received from the provider device until the wish time-limit, the provision information receiving unit updates the provision information stored in the provision information storage unit with the provision information with the high condition, and

the notifying unit notifies the user device of the provision information stored in the provision information storage unit when the wish time-limit is reached.

6. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a pre-order unit configured to transmit, when a pre-order request for pre-ordering the wish item or the wish service provided by a predetermined provider is received from the user device, pre-order information for pre-ordering the wish item or the wish service to a provider device of the predetermined provider.

7. The information providing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein

the notifying unit notifies the user device of the moving cost which is determined by the determining unit to satisfy the predetermined condition and notifies the user device of the provision information corresponding to a pre-ordered provider when the pre-order unit receives a pre-order request from the user device.

8. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

when respective users of a plurality of user devices have relations, the determining unit determines whether the sum of moving costs corresponding to the pieces of position information transmitted by the plurality of user devices satisfies a predetermined condition, and

the notifying unit notifies the plurality of user devices of the provision information corresponding to a provider in which the determining unit determines that the sum of the moving costs satisfies the predetermined condition.

9. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the wish information receiving unit receives a present location of the user device or information relevant to a position at which the user is likely to be present in the future as the position information.

10. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the determining unit uses at least one of a transportation cost, a travel time, and a travel labor based on a moving method as the moving cost and determines that the moving cost satisfies the predetermined condition when the transportation cost, the travel time, or the travel labor is a predetermined threshold value or smaller.

11. An information providing method executed by an information providing apparatus, comprising:

receiving wish information relevant to a wish item or a wish service that a user wishes to have and position information of the user from a user device that the user uses;

transmitting the wish information received by the wish information receiving unit to a provider device used by a provider who provides items or services;

receiving provision information relevant to provision of the wish item or the wish service from the provider device;

determining whether a moving cost, which is required for moving from a position indicated by the position information to a providing place at which the provider provides the wish item or the wish service, satisfies a predetermined condition; and

notifying the user device of the provision information corresponding to a provider in which the determining unit determines that the moving cost satisfies the predetermined condition.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein an executable information providing program causing a computer to execute a process, the process comprising:

receiving wish information relevant to a wish item or a wish service that a user wishes to have and position information of the user from a user device that the user uses;

transmitting the wish information received by the wish information receiving process to a provider device used by a provider who provides items or services;

receiving provision information relevant to provision of the wish item or the wish service from the provider device;

determining whether a moving cost, which is required for moving from a position indicated by the position information to a providing place at which the provider provides the wish item or the wish service, satisfies a predetermined condition; and

notifying the user device of the provision information corresponding to a provider in which the determining process determines that the moving cost satisfies the predetermined condition.

13. A user device comprising:

a requesting unit that transmits wish information relevant to a wish item or a wish service that a user wishes to have and position information of the user to an information providing apparatus to request the information providing apparatus to transmit provision information relevant to provision of the wish item or the wish service;

a receiving unit that transmits the wish information to a provider device used by a provider who provides items or services to receive provision information corresponding to a provider, in which a moving cost required for moving from a position indicated by the position information to a providing place at which the wish item or the wish service is provided by the provider satisfies a predetermined condition, from the information providing apparatus that received the provision information from the provider device; and

a display control unit that controls a predetermined display unit to display the provision information received by the receiving unit.