Information providing system, information terminal and information providing server, to update delivery information based on behavioral trends of plural terminals

• US 9,723,432 B2
• Filed: 12/26/2013
• Issued: 08/01/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Kawase, Tsutomu, Ueda, Yuichiro, Fujii, Tatsuya, Nishizaki, Yoshiaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Rivero, Alejandro
• Application Number:
  US14/652,538
• Publication Number:
  US 20150334514A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,314 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/61 for local area broadcast, e.g. instore broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/18 between terminal devices

Abstract

An information providing system provides delivery information using identification information of an object equipped with a wireless communication function. The information providing system includes a registering unit that registers in advance first link information linking the identification information of the object to the delivery information; a generating unit that generates second link information linking the identification information of the object to delivery information different from the delivery information of the first link information, based on the identification information of the object and identification information of a plurality of information terminals, acquired by communication with the information terminals, which can communicate with the object; and an information providing unit that delivers the delivery information linked by the second link information.

Claims

1. An information providing system, which provides delivery information to an information terminal which has communicated with a particular object that is equipped with a wireless communication function, comprising:

a registering unit that registers, prior to providing said delivery information to the information terminal, first link information which associates identification information of the object equipped with the wireless communication function to service information corresponding to a service provided by or at the object, the registering unit additionally registering plural timestamps indicating when each of plural information terminals has communicated with a registered object;

a generating unit that generates second link information which specifies particular delivery information to be transmitted to the information terminal, determined based on behavioral trends of plural information terminals which have communicated with the particular object, said behavioral trends having been determined from (i) the first link information and (ii) identification information obtained from the plural information terminals which have communicated with the particular object, the second link information establishing an association which was not previously registered in the registering unit between the identification of the object equipped with the wireless communication function information and service information;

an analyzing unit that obtains the plural timestamps registered by the registering unit, and causes the generating unit to generate the second link information when the analyzing unit determines, based on the plural timestamps indicating when each of the plural information terminals has communicated with a registered object, that a predetermined number of the plural information terminals that have communicated with a registered object have each communicated with a particular sequence of a plurality of objects equipped with the wireless communication function within a predetermined time period; and

an information providing unit that delivers the particular delivery information to the information terminal.

2. The information providing system, as claimed in claim 1, wherein one or more information terminals enter in a first region, and one or more information terminals enter in a second region.

3. The information providing system, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the behavioral trends are determined based on when the plural information terminals which have communicated with the particular object are within communication range of the object equipped with the wireless communication function, so that the delivery information is delivered, and acquire the identification information of the object equipped with the wireless communication function.

4. The information providing system, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the generating unit generates the second link information based on at least the identification information of the plurality of objects equipped with wireless communication function and the identification information of the plural information terminals which have communicated with the particular object, transmitted from the plural information terminals which have communicated with the particular object, which enter a second region where communication with the plurality of objects equipped with wireless communication function is possible.

5. The information providing system, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the generating unit generates the second link information based on the identification information of the object equipped with the wireless communication function, the identification information of the plural information terminals which have communicated with the particular object, and attribute information of the plural information terminals which have communicated with the particular object.

6. The information providing system, as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a log accumulating unit configured to accumulate at least the identification information of the object equipped with the wireless communication function and the identification information of the plural information terminals which have communicated with the particular object, acquired by the communication with the plural information terminals which have communicated with the particular object, wherein the registering unit updates the second link information based on the information accumulated by the log accumulating unit.

7. The information providing system, as claimed in claim 6, wherein the registering unit updates the second link information or changes the second link information to the first link information, according to a status of a delivery of the delivery information linked by the second link information.

8. The information providing system, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information providing unit provides the second link information to a delivery information server, which supplies a piece of the delivery information or a plurality of pieces of the delivery information.

9. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the analyzing unit analyzes data registered by the registering unit, and when the analyzing unit determines that a new relationship exists between a first registered object associated with delivery information corresponding to a relatively older timestamp and a different second registered object associated with delivery information corresponding to a relatively newer timestamp, the analyzing unit generates an extended link that links the delivery information associated with the second registered object and corresponding to the newer timestamp to the delivery information associated with the first registered object and corresponding to the older timestamp.

10. An information providing server, which provides delivery information to an information terminal which has communicated with a particular object that is equipped with a wireless communication function, comprising:

a registering unit that registers, prior to providing said delivery information to the information terminal, first link information which associates identification information of the object equipped with the wireless communication function to service information corresponding to a service provided by or at the object, the registering unit additionally registering plural timestamps indicating when each of plural information terminals has communicated with a registered object;

a generating unit that generates second link information which specifies particular delivery information to be transmitted to the information terminal, determined based on behavioral trends of plural information terminals which have communicated with the particular object, said behavioral trends having been determined from (i) the first link information and (ii) identification information obtained, the second link information from the plural information terminals which have communicated with the particular object establishing an association which was not previously registered in the registering unit between the identification of the object equipped with the wireless communication function information and service information;

an analyzing unit that obtains the plural timestamps registered by the registering unit, and causes the generating unit to generate second link information when the analyzing unit determines based on the plural timestamps indicating when each of the plural information terminals has communicated with a registered object, that a predetermined number of the plural information terminals that have communicated with a registered object have each communicated with a particular sequence of a plurality of objects equipped with the wireless communication function within a predetermined time period; and

an information providing unit that delivers the particular delivery information to the information terminal.