Image display system, server apparatus, and terminal apparatus

• US 8,296,188 B2
• Filed: 07/10/2009
• Issued: 10/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rakuten Group, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Omori, Yusuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Zare, Scott
• Assistant Examiner(s): CRAWLEY, TALIA F
• Application Number:
  US12/501,073
• Publication Number:
  US 20100030664A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,201 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 348/208.3, 705/26, 705/26.1, 705/14
• US Class Current: 705/26.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

Commodity images that tend to be selected by a user can be smoothly and efficiently displayed on the user'"'"'s terminal without requiring the user'"'"'s effort. A server acquires a plurality of commodity images to be transmitted to a mobile terminal from a commodity DB based on a purchase history stored in a user DB and an image feature amount of image DB, and transmits the acquired commodity images to the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal receives the commodity images transmitted from the server and sequentially displays the received commodity images one by one as a slide show on the entire screen of a monitor. Therefore, the visual images of the commodities can be easily displayed without causing the user to perform special operations and without displaying extra information such as text.

Claims

1. An image display system including a server apparatus and a customer mobile terminal, wherein

the server apparatus comprises:

a commodity database in which images of commodities, detailed information about the commodities, and link information to the detailed information are stored in association with each other;

a commodity group determination device that determines a group of commodities to be transmitted to the mobile terminal among the commodities stored in the commodity database; and

a server-side transmission device that transmits, to the mobile terminal, images of the group of commodities determined by the commodity group determination device and link information to detailed information about the commodities corresponding to the images, and

the mobile terminal comprises;

a display device;

a terminal-side reception device that receives the images of the group of commodities and the link information to the detailed information about the commodities corresponding to the images, transmitted from the server apparatus;

a first display control device that sequentially displays the images of the group of commodities received by the terminal-side reception device one by one as a slide show on the display device, the first display control device controlling the display of the images of the commodities so that the entire image of each commodity displayed one by one is displayed on the entire display device;

a reception device that receives selection input for an image displayed on the display device;

a detailed information acquisition device that acquires, in response to the reception device receiving the selection input, detailed information about a commodity corresponding to the image for which the reception device has received the selection input, from the commodity database based on the link information received by the terminal-side reception device; and

a second display control device that displays the detailed information acquired by the detailed information acquisition device on the display device, wherein

the mobile terminal further comprises a customer information transmission device that transmits information about a customer having the mobile terminal, and

the server apparatus further comprises;

a customer information reception device that receives the information about the customer transmitted by the customer information transmission device; and

a customer database that stores the information about the customer received by the customer information reception device and a purchase history of a commodity purchased by the customer, in association with each other, wherein

the commodity group determination device determines the group of commodities to be transmitted to the mobile terminal among the commodities stored in the commodity database based on the commodity purchase history stored in the customer database, wherein

the customer database stores detailed information about the commodity purchased by the customer as the purchase history of the commodity purchased by the customer, and

the commodity group determination device compares the detailed information about the commodities stored in the commodity database with the detailed information about the commodity stored in the customer database and determines, as the group of commodities, commodities associated with detailed information that substantially matches the detailed information stored in the customer database, among the commodities stored in the commodity database.

2. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein

the server apparatus further comprises a determination device that determines whether an image of a new commodity has been stored in the commodity database, and

the commodity group determination device determines the group of commodities to be transmitted to the mobile terminal among the commodities stored in the commodity database if the determination device determines that an image of a new commodity has been stored.

3. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein

the mobile terminal further comprises a request transmission device that requests data transmission from the server apparatus,

the server apparatus further comprises a request reception device that receives the data transmission request transmitted from the request transmission device, and

the commodity group determination device determines the group of commodities to be transmitted to the mobile terminal among the commodities stored in the commodity database in response to the request reception device receiving the data transmission request.

4. An image display system including a server apparatus and a customer mobile terminal, wherein

the server apparatus comprises:

a commodity database in which images of commodities, detailed information about the commodities, and link information to the detailed information are stored in association with each other;

a commodity group determination device that determines a group of commodities to be transmitted to the mobile terminal among the commodities stored in the commodity database; and

a server-side transmission device that transmits, to the mobile terminal, images of the group of commodities determined by the commodity group determination device and link information to detailed information about the commodities corresponding to the images, and

the mobile terminal comprises;

a display device;

a terminal-side reception device that receives the images of the group of commodities and the link information to the detailed information about the commodities corresponding to the images, transmitted from the server apparatus;

a first display control device that sequentially displays the images of the group of commodities received by the terminal-side reception device one by one as a slide show on the display device, the first display control device controlling the display of the images of the commodities so that the entire image of each commodity displayed one by one is displayed on the entire display device;

a reception device that receives selection input for an image displayed on the display device;

a detailed information acquisition device that acquires, in response to the reception device receiving the selection input, detailed information about a commodity corresponding to the image for which the reception device has received the selection input, from the commodity database based on the link information received by the terminal-side reception device; and

a second display control device that displays the detailed information acquired by the detailed information acquisition device on the display device, wherein

the mobile terminal further comprises a customer information transmission device that transmits information about a customer having the mobile terminal, and

the server apparatus further comprises;

a customer information reception device that receives the information about the customer transmitted by the customer information transmission device; and

a customer database that stores the information about the customer received by the customer information reception device and a purchase history of a commodity purchased by the customer, in association with each other, wherein

the commodity group determination device determines the group of commodities to be transmitted to the mobile terminal among the commodities stored in the commodity database based on the commodity purchase history stored in the customer database, wherein

the server apparatus further comprises a feature amount calculation device that calculates a feature amount from a commodity image,

the commodity database stores the image of each commodity and the feature amount calculated by the feature amount calculation device from the image of the commodity, in association with each other,

the customer database stores the feature amount calculated by the feature amount calculation device from an image of the commodity purchased by the customer as the purchase history of the commodity purchased by the customer, and

the commodity group determination device compares the feature amounts stored in the commodity database with the feature amount stored in the customer database and determines, as the group of commodities, commodities having feature amounts such that the difference from the feature amount stored in the customer database is substantially zero or not more than a predetermined threshold, among the commodities stored in the commodity database.

5. The image display system according to claim 4, wherein

the mobile terminal further comprises a terminal information transmission device that transmits information about the mobile terminal, and

the server apparatus further comprises:

a terminal information reception device that receives the information about the mobile terminal transmitted by the terminal information transmission device;

a terminal database that stores information about mobile terminals; and

a number determination device that determines the number of commodity images capable of being transmitted to the mobile terminal based on the information about the mobile terminal received by the terminal information reception device and the information about mobile terminals stored in the terminal database, and

the server-side transmission device transmits, at a time to the mobile terminal, images of the number determined by the number determination device as capable of being transmitted to the mobile terminal, among the images of the group of commodities determined by the commodity group determination device.

6. The image display system according to claim 4, wherein the mobile terminal further comprises a direction input device to which a direction instruction is input by an operator, and wherein the first display control device displays the slide show by sequentially sliding the images of the commodities in the direction input by the direction input device.

7. The mobile terminal according to claim 6, wherein

the direction input device comprises:

an image-taking device that takes an image of a subject in front of the display device;

a recognition device that recognizes the movement of the subject taken by the image-taking device; and

a first direction determination device that identifies the direction of the movement of the subject recognized by the recognition device as the direction instruction input to the direction input device.

8. The mobile terminal according to claim 6, wherein

the direction input device comprises:

a vibration detection device that detects a vibration of the mobile terminal and the direction of the vibration; and

a second direction determination device that identifies the direction of the vibration of the mobile terminal detected by the vibration detection device as the direction instruction input to the direction input device.

9. A server apparatus which transmits information and images about commodities to a mobile terminal via a network, the server apparatus comprising:

a commodity database in which images of commodities, detailed information about the commodities, and link information to the detailed information are stored in association with each other;

a commodity group determination device that determines a group of commodities to be transmitted to the mobile terminal among the commodities stored in the commodity database;

a server-side transmission device that transmits, to the mobile terminal, images of the group of commodities determined by the commodity group determination device and link information to detailed information about the commodities corresponding to the images;

a customer information reception device that receives the information about a customer transmitted from the mobile terminal;

a customer database that stores the information about the customer received by the customer information reception device and a purchase history of a commodity purchased by the customer, in association with each other; and

a feature amount calculation device that calculates a feature amount from a commodity image, wherein

the commodity database stores the image of each commodity and the feature amount calculated by the feature amount calculation device from the image of the commodity, in association with each other,

the customer database stores the feature amount calculated by the feature amount calculation device from an image of the commodity purchased by the customer as the purchase history of the commodity purchased by the customer, and

the commodity group determination device compares the feature amounts stored in the commodity database with the feature amount stored in the customer database as the purchase history and determines, as the group of commodities to be transmitted to the mobile terminal, commodities having feature amounts such that the difference from the feature amount stored in the customer database is substantially zero or not more than a predetermined threshold, among the commodities stored in the commodity database.