Electronic commerce system and method for providing commercial information in electronic commerce system

• US 20020133428A1
• Filed: 05/23/2002
• Published: 09/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Akira Kumomura, Daisaku Mori, Masafumi Okojima
• Original Assignee: Akira Kumomura, Daisaku Mori, Masafumi Okojima
• Inventors: Kumomura, Akira, Okojima, Masafumi, Mori, Daisaku
• Granted Patent: US 7,031,934 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3221 Access to banking information through M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3226 Use of secure elements separate from M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

Log information concerning an electronic transaction performed between a transaction device and a business connection server through a network is compared with information concerning a predetermined business connection down-loaded from the server, and the log information is recorded in an IC card accepted by the transaction device when the log information is related to the information concerning a predetermined business connection. Predetermined commodity information is provided to a user in accordance with a request by the user of the IC card when the log information stored in the IC card satisfies a predetermined condition.

Claims

1. In an electronic commerce system having a transaction device, a business connection server for performing a transaction with said transaction device, and a network for connecting said transaction device to said business connection server so that a commercial transaction is performed between said transaction device and said business connection server through said network, an information providing method for providing information concerning a predetermined commodity to a user operating said transaction device, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) making said transaction device accept a portable information recording medium possessed by the user operating said transaction device;

(b) obtaining information concerning a business connection in a transaction between said transaction device and said business connection server through said network;

(c) determining whether the information concerning the business connection obtained in the step (b) is set as business connection monitoring information prepared in advance or not;

(d) obtaining history of information concerning transaction with respect to a business connection performed between said transaction device and said business connection and recording the obtained history into said portable information recording medium when the step (c) makes a determination that the information concerning the business connection obtained in the step (b) is set as business connection monitoring information prepared in advance;

(e) determining whether the history of information concerning the transaction with respect to the business connection recorded in said portable information recording medium satisfies a predetermined condition; and

(f) providing information concerning said predetermined commodity when the step (e) makes a determination that the history of information concerning the transaction with respect to the business connection satisfies the predetermined condition.

2. An information providing method according to claim 1, wherein

in said step (a), said transaction device accepts, as said portable information recording medium, a card type information recording medium having a central processing unit and a memory.

3. An information providing method according to claim 1, wherein

in said step (b), address information identifying said business connection is obtained as said information concerning said business connection.

4. An information providing method according to claim 3, wherein

in said step (c), an address of a predetermined business connection is set as said business connection monitoring information.

5. An information providing method according to claim 1, wherein

in said step (b), address information identifying a transaction scence sent from said business connection is obtained as said information concerning said business connection.

6. An information providing method according to claim 1, wherein in said transaction device, said step (a) includes:

a substep of obtaining, from said portable information recording medium, a server address of a server held by said portable information recording medium and connected to said network; and

a substep of obtaining at least one of a monitoring program, said business connection monitoring information, and said predetermined condition for executing said steps (c) through (f), from said server identified by said obtained server address through said network.

7. An information providing method according to claim 1, wherein in said transaction device, said step (a) includes a substep of judging whether a password recorded in said portable information recording medium coincides with a password inputted by the user whereby said steps (b) through (f) are executed when coincidence between said two passwords is proved in said substep.

8. An information providing method according to claim 1, wherein

said step (d) includes a substep of obtaining, as said information concerning transaction, information concerning the business connection with which the transaction has been performed and information concerning the number of times of access to said business connection with which said transaction has been performed, and

said step (e) determines whether or not said business connection with which said transaction has been performed and the number of times of access to said business connection with which said transaction has been performed satisfy said predetermined condition.

9. An information providing method according to claim 1, wherein

said step (d) includes a substep of obtaining, as said information concerning transaction, information concerning a transaction account generated with respect to a business connection with which a transaction has been performed and information concerning a settlement method used in said transaction.

10. An information providing method according to claim 9, wherein

said step (e) includes a substep of selecting commodity information to be provided to thereby provide said commodity information as information concerning said predetermined commodity, on the basis of the information concerning the transaction account and the information concerning said settlement method used in said transaction.

11. An information providing method according to claim 1, wherein

said step (f) includes:

a substep of making an inquiry to said user as to whether said user requires or not to be provided with information concerning said predetermined commodity before providing the information concerning said predetermined commodity when a determination is made so that the history of the information concerning the transaction with respect to the business connection satisfies said predetermined condition; and

a substep of adding one (1) to an accumulation value of negative answers when a negative answer is obtained to said inquiry from said user so that said user does not require providing of the information concerning said predetermined commodity.

12. An information providing method according to claim 11, wherein

said step (f) includes

a substep of erasing the history of information concerning the transaction with respect to the business connection when said accumulation value of negative answers reaches a predetermined value.

13. An information providing method according to claim 1, wherein

said step (f) includes

a substep of accepting user'"'"'s selection with respect to one of a plurality of methods for providing the information concerning said predetermined commodity;

and

a substep of providing the information concerning said predetermined commodity in accordance with the method selected by said user.

14. An information providing method according to claim 13, wherein:

in said step (f), said plurality of methods for providing the information concerning said predetermined commodity includes an information providing method by electronic mail through said network and an information providing method by ordinary mail; and

said step (f) incudes a substep of transferring, through said transaction device, an electronic mail address or a mail address recorded in said recording medium to the server which provides the information concerning said predetermined commodity, in accordance with said selected method.

15. An information providing method according to claim 1, wherein said step (f) includes a substep of dividing a display scence of said transaction device indicating a state of transaction into a plurality of regions so as to display the information concerning said predetermined commodity in one of said plurality of regions of said divided display scence.

16. An information providing method according to claim 1, wherein said step (f) includes a substep of dividing a display scence of said transaction device indicating a state of transaction into a plurality of regions so as to display information from said business connection server in one of said plurality of regions of said divided display scence and to display information from another business connection server which is different from said first-mentioned business connection server and connected to said network in another one of said plurality of regions.

18. An electronic commerce system according to claim 17, wherein

said portable information recording medium is a card type information recording medium having a central processing unit and a memory.

19. An electronic commerce system according to claim 17, wherein

said control unit obtains address information identifying said business connection as said information concerning said business connection.

20. An electronic commerce system according to claim 17, wherein

said system further comprises a program storage server connected to said network and having a program for performing control by said control unit, and

said control unit performs said control by downloading said program for performing control by said control unit from said program storage server through said network.

21. An electronic commerce system according to claim 17, wherein

said system further comprises a information storage server connected to said network for storing at least one of said business connection monitoring information and said commodity information providing condition, and

said control unit obtains at least one of said business connection monitoring information and said commodity information providing condition from said information storage server through said network.

17. An electronic commerce system comprising:

a transaction device;

a business connection server for performing a transaction with said transaction device; and

a network for connecting said transaction device to said business connection server so as to make it possible to perform a commercial transaction between said transaction device and said business connection server;

wherein

said transaction device includes;

a reader/writer for accepting a portable information recording medium possessed by a user operating said transaction device to perform data transfer between said reader/writer and said recording medium;

a display unit for displaying scence information sent in through said network; and

a control unit which obtains business connection monitoring information having information concerning a business connection to be monitored, a commodity information providing condition used to be a reference for providing commodity information concerning a predetermined commodity, and information concerning a business connection of a transaction performed through said network, which determines whether the obtained information concerning the business connection is set in said business connection monitoring information or not and obtains history of the information concerning the transaction with respect to the business connection performed between said business connection and said transaction device when said obtained information concerning said business connection is set in said business connection monitoring information and records said history in said portable information recording medium through said reader/writer, and which determines whether said history of the information concerning the transaction with respect to the business connection recorded in said portable information recording medium satisfies said commodity information providing condition or not and displays the information concerning said predetermined commodity on said display unit when it is determined that said history of the information concerning the transaction with respect to the business connection satisfies said commodity information providing condition.

22. An electronic commerce system in which a commercial transaction is performed between a transaction device and a business connection server through a network, so that information concerning a predetermined commodity is provided to a user operating said transaction device, said transaction device comprising:

a reader/writer for accepting a portable information recording medium possessed by a user operating said transaction device to perform data transfer between said reader/writer and said recording medium;

a display unit for displaying scence information sent in through said network; and

a control unit which obtains business connection monitoring information having information concerning a business connection to be monitored, a commodity information providing condition used to be a reference for providing commodity information concerning a predetermined commodity, and information concerning a business connection of a transaction performed through said network, which determines whether the obtained information concerning the business connection is set in said business connection monitoring information or not and obtains history of the information concerning the transaction with respect to the business connection performed between said business connection and said transaction device when said obtained information concerning said business connection is set in said business connection monitoring information and records said history in said portable information recording medium through said reader/writer, and which determines whether said history of the information concerning the transaction with respect to the business connection recorded in said portable information recording medium satisfies said commodity information providing condition or not and displays the information concerning said predetermined commodity on said display unit when it is determined that said history of the information concerning the transaction with respect to the business connection satisfies said commodity information providing condition.

23. A computer program product comprising:

a computer useable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for performing a commercial transaction between a transaction device and a business connection server through a network and for providing information concerning a predetermined commodity to an user operating said transaction device;

the computer readable program code means in the computer program product comprising;

computer readable program code means for making said transaction device accept a portable information recording medium possessed by a user operating said transaction device;

computer readable program code means for obtaining information concerning a business connection of a transaction performed between said transaction device and said business connection server through said network;

computer readable program code means for determining whether the obtained information concerning the business connection is set as previously prepared business connection monitoring information or not;

computer readable program code means for obtaining history of the information concerning the transaction with respect to the business connection performed between said business connection and said transaction device when it is determined that said obtained information concerning said business connection is set as said previously prepared business connection monitoring information and for recording said history in said portable information recording medium;

computer readable program code means for determining whether said history of the information concerning the-transaction with respect to the business connection recorded in said portable information recording medium satisfies a predetermined condition or not; and

computer readable program code means for providing information concerning said predetermined commodity when it is determined that said history of the information concerning the transaction with respect to the business connection satisfies said predetermined condition.