Method, program and apparatus for collecting purchase information using network

• US 8,612,338 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2001
• Issued: 12/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Kishi, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Apple, Kristen
• Application Number:
  US09/986,026
• Publication Number:
  US 20020143651A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,423 Days
• Field of Search: 705/16, 705/38, 705/26, 705/20, 705/21, 705/22
• US Class Current: 705/38
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

A purchase information collecting method collecting reliable purchase information about any kind of commodity using a network. In the purchase information collecting method, a server apparatus is used, which communicates with a seller computer and a purchaser computer, and which stores received sales information in the first storing part when the sales information identifies a deal about a commodity and is generated and transmitted by the seller computer. The server apparatus, when receiving purchase information, which consists of personal information of a purchaser of a commodity and the sales information that is presented to the purchaser by a seller of the commodity, judges whether the sales information included in the received purchase information is stored in the first storing part. If the sales information is stored, the server apparatus stores the received purchase information as valid purchase information in the second storing part.

Claims

1. A purchase information collecting method for collecting information on a purchaser of one or more commodities using a network with a server apparatus, the method comprising:

executing using a processing device;

receiving a first sales information, which identifies a deal of a first commodity, from a retail seller of the first commodity, wherein the first sales information is generated by the retail seller of the first commodity and identifies the retail seller of the first commodity and identifies a time and place at which the first commodity was sold by the retail seller of the first commodity;

storing the received first sales information in a first storing part;

receiving purchase information, which comprises personal information of a purchaser of a second commodity and a second sales information, from the purchaser of the second commodity, where the second sales information is generated by a retail seller of the second commodity when the second commodity is sold, and where the second sales information identifies the retail seller of the second commodity and identifies a time and place at which the second commodity was sold by the retail seller of the second commodity;

based on the retail sellers, times and places identified by the first sales information and the second sales information, determining whether the second sales information included in the received purchase information is stored in said first storing part;

storing the received purchase information as valid purchase information in a second storing part upon the second sales information being stored in the first storing part;

extracting sales information containing a first information of the purchase information from said first storing part upon the second sales information included in the received purchase information not being stored in the first storing part, including a range of deal numbers of a second information between a minimum deal number of the second information to a maximum deal number of the second information;

storing the purchase information as invalid purchase information in the second storing part upon the second information of the purchase information having a deal number that is within the a range of deal numbers of a second information between a minimum deal number of the second information to a maximum deal number of the second information; and

storing the purchase information as unidentified validity purchase information in the second storing part upon the second information of the purchase information not having a deal number within the range of deal numbers.

2. A purchase information collecting method according to claim 1, wherein the purchase information further comprises:

the first information for identifying the seller of the second commodity;

the second information for identifying a deal made by the seller of the second commodity; and

a third information for identifying the second commodity.

3. A purchase information collecting method according to claim 2, wherein the second information included in the purchase information indicates a time order of deals made by the seller of the second commodity identified with the first information.

4. A purchase information collecting method according to claim 3, wherein the second information included in the purchase information further comprises information indicating a date of the deal.

5. A purchase information collecting method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting to a computer operated by the purchaser a screen data that makes a browser program executed in the computer display a screen containing an input area for inputting the purchase information and an item for inputting an instruction to submit the purchase information in the input area to said server apparatus.

6. A computer readable storage medium that stores a purchase information collecting program for causing a computer capable of communicating with other computers to perform processing comprising:

receiving a first sales information, which identifies a deal of a first commodity, from a retail seller of the first commodity, wherein the first sales information is generated by the retail seller of the first commodity and identifies the retail seller of the first commodity and identifies a time and place at which the first commodity was sold by the retail seller of the first commodity;

storing the received first sales information in a first storing part;

receiving purchase information, which comprises personal information of a purchaser of a second commodity and a second sales information, from the purchaser of the second commodity, where the second sales information is generated by a retail seller of the second commodity when the second commodity is sold, and where the second sales information identifies the retail seller of the second commodity and identifies a time and place at which the second commodity was sold by the retail seller of the second commodity;

storing the received purchase information as valid purchase information in a second storing part when, based on the retail sellers, times and places identified by the first sales information and the second sales information, the second sales information included in the received purchase information is stored in said first storing part;

extracting sales information containing a first information of the purchase information from said first storing part upon the second sales information included in the received purchase information not being stored in the first storing part, including a range of deal numbers of a second information between a minimum deal number of the second information to a maximum deal number of the second information;

storing the purchase information as invalid purchase information in the second storing part upon the second information of the purchase information having a deal number that is within the range of deal numbers between the minimum deal number of the second information and the maximum deal number of the second information; and

storing the purchase information as unidentified validity purchase information in the second storing part upon the second information of the purchase information not having a deal number within the range of deal numbers.

7. The computer readable storage medium that stores the purchase information collecting program according to claim 6, wherein the purchase information further comprises:

the first information for identifying the seller of the second commodity;

the second information for identifying a deal made by the seller of the second commodity; and

a third information for identifying the second commodity.

8. The computer readable storage medium that stores the purchase information collecting program according to claim 7, wherein the second information included in the purchase information indicates a time order of deals made by the seller of the second commodity identified with the first information.

9. A purchase information collecting method for collecting a deal between a purchaser and a seller, comprising:

executing using a processing device;

receiving from a retail seller a first deal identifying information that identifies the retail seller of a first commodity and identifies a time and place at which the first commodity was sold by the retail seller of the first commodity;

storing the first deal identifying information in a first storing part;

receiving from a purchaser a second deal identifying information and personal information, where the second deal identifying information was generated by a retail seller when selling a second commodity and then inputted by the purchaser, and where the second deal identifying information identifies the retail seller of the second commodity and identifies a time and place at which the second commodity was sold by the retail seller of the second commodity;

comparing the second deal identifying information and the first deal identifying information stored in said first storing part using the retail sellers, times and places identified by the first and second deal identifying information;

extracting sales information including a range of deal numbers of the second deal identifying information between a minimum deal number of the second deal identifying information to a maximum deal number of the second deal identifying information;

storing, when it is judged that the deal number of the second deal identifying information falls within the range of deal numbers, the second deal identifying information, together with an identifier as invalid information, in a second storing part; and

storing, when it is judged that the deal number of the second deal identifying information does not fall within the range of deal numbers, the second deal identifying information together with an identifier indicating a validity of the information is not identified.

10. A purchase information collecting method according to claim 9, further comprising:

storing, when an equal comparison is made, the second deal identifying information and the personal information in a second storing part.

11. A computer readable storage medium that stores the purchase information collecting program for causing a computer to perform processing comprising:

receiving from a retail seller a first deal identifying information that identifies the retail seller of a first commodity and identifies a time and place at which the first commodity was sold by the retail seller of the first commodity;

storing the first deal identifying information in a first storing part;

receiving from a purchaser a second deal identifying information and personal information, where the second deal identifying information was generated by a retail seller when selling a second commodity and was then inputted by the purchaser, and where the second deal identifying information identifies the retail seller of the second commodity and identifies a time and place at which the second commodity was sold by the retail seller of the second commodity;

comparing the second deal identifying information and the first deal identifying information stored in said first storing part using the retail sellers, times and places identified by the first and second deal identifying information;

extracting sales information including a range of deal numbers of the second deal identifying information between a minimum deal number of the second deal identifying information to a maximum deal number of the second deal identifying information;

storing, when it is judged that the deal number of the second deal identifying information falls within the range of deal numbers, the second deal identifying information, together with an identifier as invalid information, in a second storing part; and

storing, when it is judged that the deal number of the second deal identifying information does not fall within the range of deal numbers, the second deal identifying information together with an identifier indicating a validity of the information is not identified.

12. A purchase information collecting apparatus for collecting information on a deal between a purchaser and a seller, comprising:

a unit that receives from a retail seller first deal identifying information that identifies the retail seller of a first commodity and identifies a time and place at which the first commodity was sold by the retail seller of the first commodity;

a unit that stores the first deal identifying information in a first storing part;

a unit that receives from a purchaser second deal identifying information and personal information, where the second deal identifying information was generated by a retail seller when selling a second commodity and was then inputted by the purchaser, and where the second deal identifying information identifies the retail seller of the second commodity and identifies a time and place at which the second commodity was sold by the retail seller of the second commodity;

a unit that compares the second deal identifying information and the first deal identifying information stored in said first storing part using the retail sellers, times and places identified by the first and second deal identifying information;

a unit that extracts sales information including a range of deal numbers of the second deal identifying information between a minimum deal number of the second deal identifying information to a maximum deal number of the second deal identifying information;

a unit that stores, when it is judged that the deal number of the second deal identifying information falls within the range of deal numbers, the second deal identifying information, together with an identifier as invalid information, in a second storing part; and

a unit that stores, when it is judged that the deal number of the second deal identifying information does not fall within the range of deal numbers, the second deal identifying information together with an identifier indicating a validity of the information is not identified.

13. A method performed by a computing system of a commodity seller to obtain from an end purchaser personal information of the end purchaser, where the end purchaser has purchased, from a retailer, a commodity of the commodity seller at a retailer'"'"'s point-of-sale (POS) system that transacts retail sales to end purchasers of commodities that were previously purchased by the retailer from commodity sellers, the POS system generating corresponding electronic sale transactions, where an electronic sale transaction has information to allow identification of a time and place of the transaction and a commodity sold to an end purchaser and a commodity seller from who the retailer purchased the commodity sold, the method comprising:

at the computing system of the commodity seller, electronically receiving the electronic sales transactions corresponding to the commodities that the retailer previously purchased from the commodity seller, electronically receiving, from an end purchaser'"'"'s terminal, transaction information and personal information of the end purchaser entered at the terminal, where the transaction information is related to a commodity of the commodity seller that the end purchaser purchased from the retailer with the retailer'"'"'s POS system and includes a time and place of the corresponding transaction, and then the computing system of the commodity seller, based on the transaction information received from the end purchaser and a corresponding received electronic sale transaction of the commodity and based on the times and places thereof, storing the end purchaser'"'"'s personal information and information relating the personal information to information about the commodity purchased by the end purchaser;

extracting sales information containing first information of the purchase information from said first storing part upon the second sales information included in the received purchase information not being stored in the first storing part including a range of deal numbers of second information between a minimum deal number of second information to a maximum deal number of second information;

storing the purchase information as invalid purchase information in the second storing part upon second information of the purchase information having a deal number that is within the range of deal numbers between the minimum deal number of second information and the maximum deal number of second information; and

storing the purchase information as unidentified validity purchase information in the second storing part upon the second information of the purchase information not having a deal number within the range of deal numbers.

14. A method performed by a retailer'"'"'s point-of-sale (POS) system on a computing system, the POS system generating corresponding electronic sale transactions, where an electronic sale transaction has information to allow identification of a time and place of the transaction and a commodity sold to an end purchaser and a commodity seller from who a retailer previously purchased the commodity sold, the method comprising:

at the computing system of the commodity seller, electronically receiving the electronic sales transactions corresponding to the commodities that the retailer previously purchased from the commodity seller, electronically receiving, from an end purchaser'"'"'s terminal, transaction information and personal information of the end purchaser entered at the terminal, where the transaction information is related to a commodity of the commodity seller that the end purchaser purchased from the retailer with the retailer'"'"'s POS system and includes data corresponding transaction;

evaluating the data at the computing system of the commodity seller, based on the transaction information received from the end purchaser and a corresponding received electronic sale transaction of the commodity and based on the data, identifying sales information that has been already used for verifying the purchase information, storing the end purchaser'"'"'s personal information and information relating the personal information to information about the commodity purchased by the end purchaser;

extracting sales information containing first information of the purchase information from a first storing part upon the second sales information included in the received purchase information not being stored in the first storing part including a range of deal numbers of second information between a minimum deal number of second information to a maximum deal number of second information;

storing the purchase information as invalid purchase information in a second storing part upon second information of the purchase information having a deal number that is within the range of deal numbers between the minimum deal number of second information and the maximum deal number of second information; and

storing the purchase information as unidentified validity purchase information in the second storing part upon the second information of the purchase information not having a deal number within the range of deal numbers.