Information selling method and information selling system

• US 6,021,390 A
• Filed: 09/29/1997
• Issued: 02/01/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Satoh, Kazuo, Kadooka, Yoshimasa, Ishizaki, Masayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Tkacs, Stephen R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): KALINOWSKI, ALEXANDER G
• Application Number:
  US08/940,272
• Time in Patent Office: 855 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/21, 705/26, 705/28, 235/381, 364/479.04, 364/479.06, 364/479.01, 364/479.02, 364/479.03
• US Class Current: 705/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/16 for devices exhibiting advertisements, announcements, pictures or the like

Abstract

An information center transmits information as the object of sales to each information vending machine in advance through a communication line and stores it in the information storage portion of each information vending machine. Each information vending machine stores correspondence list which specifies the correspondence of each information vending machine with the information as the object of sales which is stored therein. When the information vending machine operated does not store the information requested by a purchaser in the information storage portion thereof, the information vending machine refers to the correspondence list, finds other information vending machine which stores the requested information, receives the information from the other information vending machine through the communication line and copies the information on a recording medium so as to sell the information. It is thus possible to increase the number of kinds of information sold by each information vending machines without increasing the capacity of the storage unit thereof.

Claims

1. An information selling system for transmitting information to be sold comprising:

a plurality of information vending machines interconnected by communication lines, one of which is a main information vending machine and the others are subordinate information vending machines said main vending machine is privy to all communication of subordinate vending machines and is directly connected to all subordinate vending machines; and

an information center for transmitting information including first information and second information to be sold to the main information vending machine, the first information is a correspondence list for specifying correspondence between second information and an information vending machine for storing said second information, wherein

said main information vending machine including;

a receiving portion for receiving said first information and second information from the information center;

an identifying portion for identifying a subordinate information vending machine for storing the second information by referring to the correspondence list; and

an information transmitting portion for transmitting the second information to said identified subordinate information vending machine and transmitting the correspondence list to all the subordinate information vending machines; and

each of the subordinate information vending machines and the main information vending machine including;

a first storage means for storing second information;

a second storage means for storing said correspondence list;

an operating portion for specifying second information to be supplied to a purchaser;

a control portion, coupled to said first and second storage means, and to said operating portion, for searching said correspondence list stored in the second storage means to find another information vending machine which stores second information specified by said operating portion when said first storage means of the operated information vending machine does not store said specified information, and for requiring the another information vending machine to transfer said specified second information to said operated information vending machine; and

an information outputting portion, coupled to and controlled by said control portion, for copying said information received from the another information vending machine on a recording medium.

2. An information selling system according to claim 1, and further comprising a first group of information vending machines and a second group of information vending machines in which the first group includes said main information vending machine and said subordinate information vending machines and the second group includes another main information vending machine and other subordinate information vending machines, wherein said main information vending machine of said first group is connected to the main information vending machine of said second group of information vending machines, said information center transmitting a correspondence list which specifies the correspondence of each information vending machine in said second group with the second information as the object of sales which is stored therein to said main information vending machine of said first group, and said main information vending machine of said first group transferring said correspondence list and said second information destined for said second group to said main information vending machine of said second group.

3. An information selling system according to claim 1, wherein said second information includes at least an information code as an information identifier, an information name, a selling price and information data, and said first information includes at least correspondence between an information code and an identification code of an information vending machine for storing and selling the second information specified by said information code.

4. An information selling method in an information selling system which includes a plurality of information vending machines and an information center for transmitting information to be sold to the plurality of information vending machines, comprising the steps of:

making one of the information vending machines be a main information vending machine and making the others be subordinate information vending machines;

interconnecting all the information vending machines by communication lines said main information vending machine is directly connected to each subordinate vending machine and privy to all communication between subordinate vending machines;

transmitting information including first information and at least one second information of a plurality of second information, said second information is available for sale by each information vending machine, from the information center to the main information vending machine, the first information being a correspondence list for specifying correspondence between said plurality of information vending machines;

receiving said first information and said transmitted at least one second information of said plurality of second information by the main information vending machine;

identifying at least one subordinate information vending machine for storing at least one second information of said plurality of second information received by the main vending machine by referring to the received correspondence list in the main information vending machine;

transmitting at least one second information of said plurality of second information received by the main information vending machine to said at least one identified subordinate information vending machine and transmitting the correspondence list from the main information vending machine to the identified at least one subordinate information vending machine;

receiving and storing at least one second information of said plurality of second information transmitted from the main information vending machine and said correspondence list in said at least one identified subordinate information vending machine; and

selling at least one second information specified by a purchaser at at least one information vending machine.

5. An information selling method according to claim 4, further comprising steps of:

searching said correspondence list to find an information vending machine which stores second information specified by a purchaser when an information vending machine from which the purchaser intends to purchase the second information does not store said specified second information;

requiring the searched information vending machine to transfer said specified second information; and

selling the specified second information from the information vending machine to the purchaser.