Service providing device, program, method, and system

• US 8,150,910 B2
• Filed: 07/06/2009
• Issued: 04/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Tatsubori, Michiaki
• Primary Examiner(s): BILGRAMI, ASGHAR H
• Application Number:
  US12/497,746
• Publication Number:
  US 20100011105A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,002 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 705/14.49
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements

Abstract

A service providing device, program, method and system. The service providing device receives, from the different service providing device, an additional information piece including at least one of: (i) advertising information to be provided to a user of the different service, and (ii) a terms of use agreement for the different service. This allows the service providing device to output or provide, to the user, advertising information and/or terms of use agreement associated with the different service, simultaneously with providing a separate new service by using the different service.

Claims

1. A device for providing a service, the device comprising:

a request receiving unit for receiving a processing request message for the service from a service request source;

a processing unit for processing the service according to the processing request message;

a request transmitting unit for transmitting, during the processing of the service, a different processing request message for a different service to a different service providing device, wherein the different service is used by the service to be provided to the service request source;

a response receiving unit for receiving a processing result of the different service from the different service providing device;

an additional information receiving unit for receiving an additional information piece from the different service providing device, wherein the additional information piece includes a terms of use agreement for the different service;

a response transmitting unit for transmitting back to the service request source a processing result of the service;

an additional information transmitting unit for transmitting to the service request source the additional information piece received from the different service providing device;

an additional information storage unit for storing a terms of use agreement for the service provided by the service providing device; and

a generating unit for generating a merged terms of use agreement by merging;

(i) the terms of use agreement for the service provided by the service providing device and stored in the additional information storage unit and (ii) the terms of use agreement for the different service provided by the different service providing device and received by the additional information receiving unit.

2. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a generating unit for generating screen data that includes the additional information piece;

wherein the screen data is used for displaying a screen on a terminal of a user of the service; and

wherein the additional information transmitting unit transmits back the screen data to the service request source.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the additional information receiving unit receives from the different service providing device:

(i) an advertising information if provided by the different service providing device, and (ii) the terms of use agreement if provided by the different service providing device;

wherein the terms of use agreement includes an output condition under which the advertising information is outputted to the terminal; and

wherein the generating unit generates the screen data for outputting the advertising information to the terminal under the output condition.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the output condition includes at least one of:

(i) a condition that respectively specifies a position, a size, a time and a frequency of displaying the advertising information on the terminal as an image and (ii) a condition that respectively specifies a time, a sound volume and a frequency of outputting the advertising information to the terminal as a sound.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein:

the request transmitting unit transmits a plurality of the different processing request messages for a plurality of the corresponding different services to a plurality of the corresponding different service providing devices that process the plurality of corresponding different services;

the response receiving unit receives a plurality of processing results of the respective plurality of different services;

the additional information receiving unit receives, with each of the plurality of different services, (i) at least one advertising information piece provided by the corresponding different service providing device and (ii) at least one terms of use agreement, wherein the terms of use agreement includes the output condition specifying how to output the advertising information piece to the terminal; and

the generating unit generates the screen data for outputting all the advertising information pieces to the terminal under respective corresponding output conditions included in each terms of use agreement.

6. The device of claim 3, further comprising:

a selecting unit for selecting one different service providing device from two or more of the different service providing devices;

wherein the one different service providing device transmits the output condition with which the generating unit can generate screen data for outputting the advertising information related to the different service;

wherein the additional information receiving unit receives the terms of use agreement including the output condition from each of the different service providing devices and before the request transmitting unit transmits the different processing request message to any of the two or more different service providing devices; and

wherein the request transmitting unit transmits the different processing request message to the different service providing device that the selecting unit selects.

7. The device of claim 3, further comprising:

an additional information storage unit for storing;

(i) an advertising information piece that the service providing device is to provide to a user and (ii) a terms of use agreement including an output condition under which the advertising information piece is outputted to the terminal;

wherein the generating unit generates screen data for outputting, to the terminal, the advertising information piece received from the different service providing device and the advertising information piece stored in the additional information storage unit and generates screen data in a way that the respective corresponding output conditions are satisfied.

8. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

an acceptance condition receiving unit for receiving an acceptable terms of use agreement, which is a terms of use agreement to which the service request source agrees, from the service request source;

wherein the response transmitting unit transmits back the processing result of the service to be provided to the service request source to the service request source as long as the merged terms of use agreement for the service complies with the acceptable terms of use agreement.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein:

the additional information receiving unit receives, from each of the different service providing devices and before the request transmitting unit transmits the different processing request message to any of two or more different service providing devices, the terms of use agreement for the corresponding different service; and

the generating unit generates the merged terms of use agreement by calculating (i) a logical conjunction of terms of use agreement for the service that is provided by the service providing device and the terms of use agreement that is stored in the additional information storage unit, and (ii) the logical disjunction of the two or more terms of use agreements for the different services that the additional information receiving unit received from the two or more different service providing devices.

10. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a program storage unit for storing a service providing program for processing the service;

an additional information storage unit for storing an additional information piece on the service providing device, wherein the information piece includes at least one of;

(i) an advertising information piece that the service providing device is to provide to a user, and (ii) a terms of use agreement for the service provided by the service providing device; and

a generating unit for generating a merged terms of use agreement by merging;

(i) the additional information on the service providing device read out from the additional information storage unit, and (ii) the additional information on the different service providing device received by the additional information receiving unit;

wherein the processing unit reads out, from the program storage unit, the service providing program for processing the service specified by the processing request message, and executes the read-out program;

wherein the request transmitting unit transmits the different processing request message to the different service providing device, if the processing unit executes a calling process in the service providing program to call the different service; and

wherein the additional information transmitting unit transmits the merged additional information to the service request source.

11. A method for providing a service by a service providing device, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, by a request receiving unit, a processing request message for the service from a service request source computer;

processing, by a processing unit, the service according to the processing request message;

transmitting, by a request transmitting unit, a different processing request message for a different service to a different service providing device, wherein the transmitting is during the processing of the service by the processing unit and wherein the different service is used by the service to be provided to the service request source;

receiving, by a response receiving unit, a processing result of the different service from the different service providing device;

receiving, by an additional information receiving unit and from the different service providing device, an additional information piece including a terms of use agreement for the different service;

transmitting, by a response transmitting unit, back the processing result of the service to the service request source;

transmitting, by an additional information transmitting unit and to the service request source, the additional information piece received from the different service providing device;

storing, by an additional information storage unit, a terms of use agreement for the service provided by the service providing device; and

generating, by a generating unit, a merged terms of use agreement by merging;

(i) the terms of use agreement for the service provided by the service providing device and stored in the additional information storage unit and (ii) the terms of use agreement for the different service provided by the different service providing device and received by the additional information receiving unit.

16. A computer program product embodying a non-transitory medium including a computer readable code which, when executed, causes a computer to provide a service according to the steps of the method of claim 11.

12. A system for providing a service, the system comprising:

a first service providing device for processing a first service upon receipt of a processing request for the first service, and for transmitting back a processing result of the service to a request source;

a second service providing device for requesting the first service providing device to process the first service and processing a second service which uses the first service when the second service providing device receives a processing request for the second service; and

a plurality of the first service providing devices;

wherein, before receiving the processing request for the first service, each of the plurality of first service providing devices transmits, to the second service providing device, a terms of use agreement for the first service in the first service providing device; and

wherein the second service providing device selects, from the plurality of first service providing devices, such a first service providing device that transmits a terms of use agreement with which the second service providing device is to comply, and transmits a processing request for the first service to the selected first service providing device;

wherein the first service providing device transmits a terms of use agreement for the first service to the second service providing device before receiving the processing request for the first service;

wherein the second service device accepts the processing request for the second service, provided the second service complies with the terms of use of the first service;

wherein the first service providing device transmits, to the second service providing device, an advertising information piece to be provided to a user of the first service;

wherein the second service providing device provides a user of the second service with the advertising information piece related to the first service and received from the first service providing device;

wherein the second service providing device also provides and advertising information piece related to the second service;

wherein the first service providing device (i) request a different service providing device to process a different service that the first service uses while the first service providing device is processing the first service and (ii) transmits, to the second service providing device, an information piece received from the different service providing device to be provided to a user of the different service and the advertising information piece related to the first service;

wherein the second service providing device provides the user of the second service with the advertising information pieces related to the different service and the first and second services, wherein the advertising information pieces related to the different service and the first service are received from the first service providing device; and

wherein first service providing device transmits to the second service providing device, before receiving the processing request for the first service, a first merged terms of use agreement obtained by merging the terms of use agreement for the first service and a terms of use agreement for the different service received from the different service providing device; and

the second service providing device accepts the processing request for the second service, provided that the second service providing device complies with the first merged terms of use agreement.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the second service providing device (i) generates a second merged terms of use agreement by further merging the first merged terms of use agreement with a terms of use agreement for the second service and (ii) accepts a processing request for the second service, provided that the second service providing device complies with the second merged terms of use agreement.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein:

the terms of use agreements for the first, second, and different services include output conditions under which advertising information pieces related to the first, second, and different services, are outputted to a user'"'"'s terminal; and

the second service providing device accepts the processing request for the second service, provided that the second service providing device can output, to a terminal of users of the second service, the advertising information pieces related to the first, second and different services under the corresponding output conditions, respectively.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein each of the output conditions includes at least one of:

(i) conditions respectively specifying a position, a size, a time and a frequency of displaying the advertising information on the terminal as an image; and

(ii) conditions respectively specifying a sound volume, a time and a frequency of outputting the advertising information to the terminal as a sound.