Area-based content delivery method and system

• US 7,264,157 B2
• Filed: 01/13/2004
• Issued: 09/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation, Oakville Trading Hong Kong Limited
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Ishizuka, Eiichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Walsh; Daniel
• Application Number:
  US10/755,274
• Publication Number:
  US 20040140353A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,330 Days
• Field of Search: 235381-383, 235/385, 235/378, 235/375, 705/26, 705/14, 705/16, 705 21- 23, 705/27, 455/456.1, 455/410
• US Class Current: 235/383
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A content usage right issuing terminal (2) issues a content usage right to a portable terminal (3) of a user who visits a store. In response to a request from the portable terminal (3) that has the content usage right, an in-store server (1) sends a content to the portable terminal (3) via a wireless LAN (7). Because the in-store server (1) limits the content transmission area to within a store (5), only portable terminals in the store (5) can receive the delivery of the content. When a user carrying the portable terminal (3) that has the content usage right leaves the store (5), the in-store server (1) detects the fact and invalidates the content usage right issued to the portable terminal (3).

Claims

1. An area-based content delivery method comprising the steps of:

(a) issuing, by a content usage right issuing terminal, a content usage right to a portable terminal of a user who visits a store, the content usage right including a maximum elapsed use time;

(b) in response to a request from the portable terminal having the content usage right, sending a content to the requesting portable terminal by an in-store server whose content transmission area covers inside of the store;

(c) detecting, by said in-store server, that the portable terminal having the content usage right has left the store and invalidating the content usage right issued to the portable terminal in response to the detection that the portable terminal has left the store; and

(d) the in-store server subtracting elapsed time from the maximum elapsed use time and closing a connection to the portable terminal in response to a result of the subtracting being that the maximum elapsed use time has been reached.

2. The area-based content delivery method as defined by claim 1 wherein, in said step (c), said in-store server regularly sends inquiry data to the portable terminal having the content usage right and detects that the portable terminal has left the store in response to failure of the portable terminal to reply to the inquiry data.

3. The area-based content delivery method as defined by claim 1 wherein, in said step (a), said content usage right issuing terminal issues the content usage right in response to a content usage right issuing request, for which a total amount paid by a customer is specified, that is received from a cash register terminal, the maximum elapsed use time being determined according to the total amount.

4. The area-based content delivery method as defined by claim 1 wherein, in said step (b), said in-store server acquires the content to be sent to said portable terminal from a content server installed outside the store and sends the content to said portable terminal.

5. An area-based content delivery method comprising the steps of:

(a) issuing, by a content usage right issuing terminal, a content usage right to a portable terminal of a user who visits a store, the content usage right including a use condition composed of at least one of a maximum use time and a maximum use count;

(b) in response to a request from the portable terminal having the content usage right, an in-store server whose content transmission area covers inside of the store checks the use condition to determine whether to send a content, acquires the content to be sent to said portable terminal from a content server installed outside the store, and sends the content to the requesting portable terminal;

(c) detecting, by the in-store server, that the portable terminal having the content usage right has left the store and invalidating the content usage right issued to the portable terminal in response to the detection that the portable terminal has left the store,

wherein the content sent by said content server to said in-store server is an advertisement-including content provided by one of a plurality of content providing servers, wherein said content server creates a content-based store-by-store access record for each content providing server and sends the created record to the content providing server, and wherein the content providing server calculates an advertisement rate to be paid to each store based on the received content-based store-by-store access record; and

(d) paying each store an amount based on the advertising rate.

6. An area-based content delivery system comprising:

a content usage right issuing terminal that issues a content usage right to a portable terminal of a user who visits a store, the content usage right including a maximum elapsed use time; and

an in-store server whose content transmission area covers inside of the store and which, in response to a request from the portable terminal having the content usage right, sends a content to the requesting portable terminal,

wherein said in-store server comprises;

a detecting unit detecting that the portable terminal having the content usage right has left the store,

a usage right invalidating unit invalidating the content usage right issued to the portable terminal in response to said detecting unit detecting that the portable terminal has left the store, and

a content delivery unit subtracting elapsed time from the maximum elapsed use time and closing a connection to the portable terminal in response to a determination that the maximum elapsed use time has been reached.

7. The area-based content delivery system as defined by claim 6 wherein said detecting unit regularly sends inquiry data to the portable terminal having the content usage right and detects that the portable terminal has left the store in response to failure of the portable terminal to reply to the inquiry data.

8. The area-based content delivery system as defined by claim 6 wherein said content usage right issuing terminal issues the content usage right when a content usage right issuing request is received from a cash register terminal.

9. The area-based content delivery system as defined by claim 6 wherein said content usage right issuing terminal issues the content usage right when a content usage right issuing request, for which a total amount paid by a customer is specified, is received from a cash register terminal, said maximum elapsed use time being determined according to the total amount.

10. The area-based content delivery system as defined by claim 6 wherein said in-store server acquires the content to be sent to the portable terminal from a content server installed outside the store and sends the content to said portable terminal.

11. An area-based content delivery system comprising:

a content usage right issuing terminal that issues a content usage right to a portable terminal of a user who visits a store; and

an in-store server whose content transmission area covers inside of the store and which, in response to a request from the portable terminal having the content usage right, acquires a content to be sent to the portable terminal from a content server installed outside the store and sends the content to said portable terminal, said in-store server comprising,

a detecting unit detecting that the portable terminal having the content usage right has left the store, and

a usage right invalidating unit invalidating the content usage right issued to the portable terminal in response to said detecting unit detecting that the portable terminal has left the store,

wherein the content sent by said content server to said in-store server is an advertisement-included content provided by one of a plurality of content providing servers, wherein said content server creates a content-based store-by-store access record for each content providing server and sends the created record to the content providing server, and wherein the content providing server calculates an advertisement rate to be paid to each store based on the received content-based store-by-store access record.

12. An in-store server comprising:

a content sending unit whose content transmission area is limited to within a store and which, in response to a request from a portable terminal having a content usage right that includes a maximum elapsed use time, sends a content to the requesting portable terminal;

a detecting unit detecting that the portable terminal having the content usage right has left the store;

a usage right invalidating unit invalidating the content usage right of the portable terminal in response to said detecting unit detecting that the portable terminal has left the store, and

a content delivery unit subtracting elapsed time from the maximum elapsed use time and closing a connection to the portable terminal in response to a determination that the maximum elapsed use time has been reached.

13. The in-store server as defined by claim 12 wherein said detecting unit regularly sends inquiry data to the portable terminal having the content usage right and detects that the portable terminal has left the store in response to failure of the portable terminal to reply to the inquiry data.

14. A content server comprising:

a content delivery unit connected to a plurality of in-store servers via a network and delivering a content that is sent from any one of said in-store servers to a portable terminal, to said in-store server, wherein, in response to a request from a portable terminal having a content usage right, said in-store server whose transmission area is limited to within a store sends the content to the requesting terminal, detects that the portable terminal having the content usage right has left the store, and invalidates the content usage right of the portable terminal in response to a detection that the portable terminal has left the store;

an access recording unit monitoring the content delivery status of said content delivery unit and for generating a content-based store-by-store access record;

a content receiving unit receiving the content, which will be delivered to said in-store server, from a content providing server; and

an access record sending unit sending the content-based store-by-store access record of contents, which are received from said content providing server, to said content providing server.

15. A program in a computer-readable medium that causes a computer, which constitutes an in-store server, to perform a method comprising the steps of:

providing a content sending unit whose content transmission area is limited to within a store and which, in response to a request from a portable terminal having a content usage right that includes a maximum elapsed use time, sends a content to the requesting portable terminal;

providing a detecting unit which detects that the portable terminal having the content usage right has left the store;

providing a usage right invalidating unit which invalidates the content usage right of the portable terminal that has left the store;

sending a content, in response to a request from a portable terminal to the requesting portable terminal;

detecting that said portable terminal has left the store;

invalidating the content usage right of said portable terminal; and

subtracting elapsed time from the maximum elapsed use time and closing a connection to the portable terminal in response to a result of the subtracting being that the maximum elapsed use time has been reached.

16. The program as defined by claim 15, further causing the computer to perform the steps of regularly sending inquiry data to the portable terminal having the content usage right and detecting that the portable terminal has left the store in response to failure of the portable terminal to reply to the inquiry data.