Information providing apparatus, information providing method, and user device

• US 9,760,937 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2013
• Issued: 09/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yahoo Japan Corporation (A Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo Japan Corporation (A Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Takusari, Tomohito
• Primary Examiner(s): Hayles, Ashford S
• Application Number:
  US14/105,910
• Publication Number:
  US 20140195375A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,369 Days
• Field of Search: 705 268
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing

Abstract

An information providing apparatus receives wish information relevant to a wish item that a user wishes to have and position information of the user. The information providing apparatus transmits the wish information to a provider device used by a provider who provides items. The information providing apparatus receives provision information relevant to provision of the wish item from the provider device. The information providing apparatus determines whether a moving cost, which is required for moving from a position indicated by the position information to a providing place at which the provider provides the wish item, satisfies a predetermined condition. The information providing apparatus notifies a user device of the provision information corresponding to a provider in which the moving cost satisfies the predetermined condition.

Claims

1. An information providing apparatus comprising:

a processor programmed to;

receive wish information relevant to a wish item or a wish service that a user wishes to have and position information of the user from a user device that the user uses;

determine whether a moving cost, which is required for moving from a position indicated by the position information to a providing place at which a provider provides the wish item or the wish service, satisfies a predetermined condition;

transmit the received wish information to a provider device of the provider when the moving cost corresponding to the provider is determined as satisfying the predetermined condition;

receive provision information relevant to provision of the wish item or the wish service from the provider device; and

notify the user device of the provision information corresponding only to the provider in which the moving cost is determined as satisfying the predetermined condition, wherein;

when respective users of a plurality of user devices have relations, the processor determines whether the sum of moving costs corresponding to the pieces of position information transmitted by the plurality of user devices satisfies a predetermined condition, and

the processor notifies the plurality of user devices of the provision information corresponding to a provider in which the processor determines that the sum of the moving costs satisfies the predetermined condition.

2. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the processor transmits the wish information to a provider device of the provider in which the processor determines that the moving cost satisfies the predetermined condition,

the processor receives the provision information as a response to reception of the wish information transmitted by the provider device, and

the processor notifies the user device of the received provision information as the provision information of the provider in which the moving cost satisfies the predetermined condition.

3. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the processor transmits the received wish information to the provider device of the provider of which the distance from the position indicated by the position information to the providing place is a predetermined value or smaller,

when the provision information is received by the processor, the processor determines with respect to the provider corresponding to the provider device that transmitted the provision information whether the moving cost satisfies the predetermined condition, and

the processor notifies the user device of the provision information of the provider in which the moving cost is determined as satisfying the predetermined condition among the respective pieces of provision information.

4. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a memory storing the price of each of the items or the services, wherein

the processor changes the predetermined condition according to the price stored in the memory in correlation with the wish item or the wish service and determines whether the moving cost satisfies the predetermined condition.

5. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a memory storing the received provision information; and

the processor is programmed to publicize the provision information stored in the memory to a plurality of provider devices, wherein

the processor receives a wish time-limit until which the user wishes to have the wish item or the wish service from the user device together with the wish information and the position information,

the processor transmits the received wish information to the plurality of provider devices,

the processor publicizes the provision information stored in the memory to the plurality of provider devices until the wish time-limit is reached,

when provision information with a higher condition than the provision information publicized by the processor is received from the provider device until the wish time-limit, the processor updates the provision information stored in the memory with the provision information with the high condition, and

the processor notifies the user device of the provision information stored in the memory when the wish time-limit is reached.

6. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

to transmit, when a pre-order request for pre-ordering the wish item or the wish service provided by a predetermined provider is received from the user device, pre-order information for pre-ordering the wish item or the wish service to a provider device of the predetermined provider.

7. The information providing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein

the processor notifies the user device of the determined moving cost to satisfy the predetermined condition and notifies the user device of the provision information corresponding to a pre-ordered provider when the pre-order unit receives a pre-order request from the user device.

8. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the processor receives a present location of the user device or information relevant to a position at which the user is likely to be present in the future as the position information.

9. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the processor uses at least one of a transportation cost, a travel time, and a travel labor based on a moving method as the moving cost and determines that the moving cost satisfies the predetermined condition when the transportation cost, the travel time, or the travel labor is a predetermined threshold value or smaller.

10. An information providing method executed by an information providing apparatus, the method comprising:

receiving wish information relevant to a wish item or a wish service that a user wishes to have and position information of the user from a user device that the user uses;

transmitting the wish information received by the wish information receiving unit to a provider device used by a provider who provides items or services;

receiving provision information relevant to provision of the wish item or the wish service from the provider device;

determining whether a moving cost, which is required for moving from a position indicated by the position information to a providing place at which the provider provides the wish item or the wish service, satisfies a predetermined condition; and

notifying the user device of the provision information corresponding only to a provider in which the moving cost is determined as satisfying the predetermined condition, wherein;

when respective users of a plurality of user devices have relations, the sum of moving costs corresponding to the pieces of position information transmitted by the plurality of user devices is determined on whether a predetermined condition is satisfied, and

the plurality of user devices of the provision information corresponding to provider is notified if the sum of the moving costs satisfies the predetermined condition.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein an executable information providing program causing a computer to execute a process, the process comprising:

receiving wish information relevant to a wish item or a wish service that a user wishes to have and position information of the user from a user device that the user uses;

transmitting the wish information received by the wish information receiving process to a provider device used by a provider who provides items or services;

receiving provision information relevant to provision of the wish item or the wish service from the provider device;

determining whether a moving cost, which is required for moving from a position indicated by the position information to a providing place at which the provider provides the wish item or the wish service, satisfies a predetermined condition; and

notifying the user device of the provision information corresponding only to a provider in which the moving cost is determined as satisfying the predetermined condition, wherein;

when respective users of a plurality of user devices have relations, the sum of moving costs corresponding to the pieces of position information transmitted by the plurality of user devices is determined on whether a predetermined condition is satisfied, and

the plurality of user devices of the provision information corresponding to a provider is notified if the sum of the moving costs satisfies the predetermined condition.

12. A user device comprising:

a processor programmed to;

transmit wish information relevant to a wish item or a wish service that a user wishes to have and position information of the user to an information providing apparatus to request the information providing apparatus to transmit provision information relevant to provision of the wish item or the wish service;

transmit the wish information to a provider device used by a provider who provides items or services to receive provision information corresponding only to a provider, in which a moving cost required for moving from a position indicated by the position information to a providing place at which the wish item or the wish service is provided by the provider satisfies a predetermined condition, from the information providing apparatus that received the provision information from the provider device; and

control a predetermined display to display the received provision information, wherein;

when respective users of a plurality of user devices have relations, the processor determines whether the sum of moving costs corresponding to the pieces of position information transmitted by the plurality of user devices satisfies a predetermined condition, and

the processor notifies the plurality of user devices of the provision information corresponding to a provider in which the processor determines that the sum of the moving costs satisfies the predetermined condition.