Portable information communication terminal, entertainment system, and storage medium

• US 6,792,292 B1
• Filed: 03/30/2000
• Issued: 09/14/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Chatani, Masayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): D AGOSTA, STEPHEN M
• Application Number:
  US09/538,875
• Time in Patent Office: 1,629 Days
• Field of Search: 455/566, 455/414.1, 455/420, 455/556.1, 455/556.2, 455/557, 705/20, 705/26, 235/378, 235/385, 340/5.61, 340/5.65, 340/5.91, 340/5.92
• US Class Current: 455/566
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/201 Price look-up processing, e.g. updating
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation

Abstract

A portable information communication terminal can easily be combined with an existing industrial system. Article discount information is broadcast from a central computer of the headquarters of a convenience store via a broadcasting system, and received by a portable information communication terminal. An image of the article and a discount price represented by the article discount information are displayed on a display screen of a display monitor. When the user purchases the displayed image, the user selects the desired article displayed on the display screen of a display monitor by a manual controller. A bar code corresponding to the selected article is displayed on a display screen of the portable information communication terminal. The user takes the portable information communication terminal with the bar code displayed on the display screen to the convenience store. In the convenience store, a bar-code reader reads a discount code displayed on the display screen, and the user can purchase the article at a discount price.

Claims

1. A portable information communication terminal comprising:

a wireless signal receiver for receiving basic data relative to a particular code and related-information data including information related to said basic data;

a code data converter for converting the basic data received by said wireless signal receiver into an optically readable code-related data;

a display unit having a display screen; and

a display controller for displaying said related information data on the display screen of said display unit, and in response to a subsequent user command, then displaying the optically readable particular code represented by said code-related data corresponding to said related-information data on the display screen of said display unit;

wherein said displayed related information data includes pictorial information illustrating an article associated with said particular code, and said displayed related information data comprises photographic article data.

2. A portable information communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising:

a memory for storing data relative to an individual identification code indicative of the portable information communication terminal;

said code converter comprising means for reading the data relative to the individual identification code from said memory and converting the read data into optically readable individual identification code data when converting the basic data into the optically readable code-related data;

said display controller comprising means for displaying an optically readable individual identification code represented by the individual identification code data when displaying the optically readable particular code represented by the code-related data on the display screen of said display unit.

3. A portable information communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising:

a memory for storing data relative to a user identification code indicative of the user of the portable information communication terminal;

said code data converter comprising means for reading the data relative to the user identification code from said memory and converting the read data into optically readable user identification code data when converting the basic data into the optically readable code-related data;

said display controller comprising means for displaying an optically readable user identification code represented by the user identification code data when displaying the optically readable particular code represented by the code-related data on the display screen of said display unit.

4. A portable information communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising:

a memory for storing at least one of data relative to an individual identification code indicative of the portable information communication terminal and data relative to a user identification code indicative of the user of the portable information communication terminal;

said code data converter comprising means for reading at least one of the data relative to the individual identification code and the data relative to the user identification code from said memory and converting at least one of the read data into optically readable individual identification code data and optically readable user identification code data when converting the basic data into the optically readable code-related data;

said display controller comprising means for displaying at least one of an optically readable individual identification code represented by the individual identification code data and an optically readable user identification code represented by the user identification code data when displaying the optically readable particular code represented by the code-related data on the display screen of the display unit.

5. A portable information communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein said optically readable particular code comprises a bar code.

6. A portable information communication terminal according to claim 5, wherein said bar code comprises a bar code for use in discounting an article for sale.

7. A portable information communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the pictorial information received as displayed related information data comprising photographic article data is received in a compressed format.

8. A portable information communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the displayed related information further includes as textual information price and discount information.

9. A portable information communication terminal comprising:

a wireless signal receiver for receiving a plurality of basic data relative to a plurality of particular codes and a plurality of related-information data including information related to said plurality of basic data, respectively;

a code data converter for converting the plurality of basic data received by said wireless signal receiver into respective optically readable code-related data;

a display unit for displaying said plurality of related information data on a display screen;

a related-information selector for selecting a desired one of the plurality of related-information data displayed on said display screen; and

a display controller for displaying an optically readable particular code represented by said code-related data corresponding to the related-information data selected by said related-information selector, on said display screen of said display unit;

wherein each of said plurality of displayed related information data includes pictorial information illustrating a respective article associated with one of the plurality of particular codes, and each of said displayed related information data comprises photographic article data.