Shopping assistant method and system

• US 20060143091A1
• Filed: 07/07/2005
• Published: 06/29/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Inventors: Chang, Leii H., Luo, Yi-Fei, Chou, Hon-Yue, Wu, Chuan-Shun, Wu, Teh-Chang, Yuan, Chii-Yah
• Application Number:
  US11/175,151
• Publication Number:
  US 20060143091A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/343 Cards including a counter
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/02 by keys or other credit registering devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0081 the reader being a portable scanner or data reader G07G1/009 takes precedence

Abstract

A shopping assistant method and system provides a consumer with a mobile terminal in a shopping mall as a shopping assistant. The consumer can input a shopping list to the mobile terminal in advance and login at an entrance of the shopping mall in a wireless way for sending the shopping list to a remote server in the shopping mall. The remote server finds goods in the shopping list from its database that have identical names and other goods having information that meets with a pre-stored preference condition, and then sends the information found to the mobile terminal for display. Accordingly, the consumer can conveniently compare prices among numerous goods and quickly get the desired goods, or the closest ones. When the consumer finishes shopping, the remote server further deducts the amount from a personal financial account so as to complete an e-commerce.

Claims

1. A shopping assistant method, which is used in a shopping mall that sells plural goods, comprising the steps:

(A) providing a mobile terminal to be portable in a shopping mall;

(B) establishing a shopping list in the mobile terminal, the shopping list having at least one goods name to be purchased;

(C) sending the shopping list from the mobile terminal to a remote server with a database, the database storing a plurality of goods information associated with selling goods available in the shopping mall, each goods information having a goods name, a price and at least one detail data; and

(D) searching the database for the goods, thereby finding a goods information with goods name identical to the goods name in the shooping list and at least one detail data meeting with a preference condition and then sending the goods information found to the mobile terminal for displaying the identical goods name and its price at least.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps:

(E) using the mobile terminal to confirm the goods information found, sum up a total amount based on the goods information found, and input a personal financial account;

(F) using the mobile terminal to send both the total amount and the personal financial account to the remote server; and

(G) using the remote server to deduct and transfer the total amount from the personal financial account through a banking network for payment.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the personal financial account is one selected from a credit card account, an electronic wallet account and an electronic coupon number.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one detail data and the preference condition are one or more selected from:

(1) a package of a goods and a package tolerance;

(2) a brand of the goods and an other brand having the same quality as the brand;

(3) a price of the goods and a price tolerance;

(4) a reservation period of the goods and a reservation tolerance; and

(5) the goods and an other goods having the same quality as the goods.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the preference condition is established by one as follows:

(1) pre-storing the preference condition in the remote server; and

(2) inputting the preference condition in step (B) and sending it to the remote server in step (C).

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the goods information stored in the database further comprises an information of stored locations of the selling goods available in the shopping mall, and the information of stored locations is displayed on the mobile terminal in the step (D).

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the step (B), the shopping list is established in the mobile terminal by one as follows:

(1) using a network electric appliance to establish the shopping list and sending it to the mobile terminal;

(2) using a different mobile terminal to send the shopping list to the mobile terminal;

(3) using a personal computer to link the Internet for browsing a Website established by the shopping mall in order to establish the shopping list by click and send it to the mobile terminal; and

(4) using an input device of the mobile terminal to directly input the shopping list.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal is one selected from:

a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a smart phone and a web pad.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the step (C) the mobile terminal uses a wireless communication device to send the shopping list to the remote server in a wireless way.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each selling goods available in the shopping mall further adds an electronic identification label containing a respective goods name, price and at least one detail data, the mobile terminal further comprises a reader and pre-stores a different preference condition, and the step (D) further comprises a step (D1):

using the reader to read all electronic identification labels of the selling goods available in the shopping mall for comparison and thus finding a desired label with at least one detail data meeting with the different preference condition, thereby displaying a content of the desired label on the mobile terminal.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the electronic identification label is one selected from:

a radio frequency identification (RFID) label, a bar code, a magnetic stripe and an IC card.

12. A shopping assistant system, which is used in a shopping mall that sells plural goods, the system comprising:

at least one mobile terminal having a microprocessor, a display and a first data communication device and storing a shopping list with at least one goods name to be purchased; and

a remote server having a database and a second data communication device, the database storing a plurality of information associated with selling goods available in the shopping mall, each information having a goods name, a price and at least one detail data;

wherein the mobile terminal uses the first data communication device to send the shopping list to the second data communication device, the remote server accordingly searches the database for the goods in order to find a goods information with goods name identical to the goods name in the shopping list and at least one detail data meeting with a preference condition, thereby sending the goods information found to the mobile terminal for at least displaying the goods name identical and its price on the display.

13. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the mobile terminal further comprises an input device to confirm the goods information found for purchase and input a personal financial account such that after the microprocessor sums up a total amount based on the goods information confirmed, the first data communication device sends both the total amount and the personal financial account to the second data communication device to further deduct the total amount from the personal financial account for payment.

14. The system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the personal financial account is one selected from a credit card account, an electronic wallet account and an electronic coupon number.

15. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least one detail data and the preference condition are one or more selected from:

(1) a package of a goods and a package tolerance;

(2) a brand of the goods and an other brand having the same quality as the brand;

(3) a price of the goods and a price tolerance;

(4) a reservation period of the goods and a reservation tolerance; and

(5) the goods and an other goods having the same quality as the goods.

16. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the preference condition is established by one as follows:

(1) pre-storing the preference condition in the remote server; and

(2) using the input device to input the preference condition and send it to the remote server.

17. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the goods information stored in the database further comprises an information of stored locations of the selling goods available in the shopping mall, and the information of stored locations is displayed on the display.

18. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the shopping list stored is established in the mobile terminal by one as follows:

(1) using a network electric appliance to establish the shopping list and sending it to the mobile terminal;

(2) using a different mobile terminal to send the shopping list to the mobile terminal;

(3) using a personal computer to link the Internet for browsing a Website established by the shopping mall in order to establish the shopping list by click and send it to the mobile terminal; and

(4) using an input device of the mobile terminal to directly input the shopping list.

19. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the mobile terminal is one selected from:

a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a smart phone and a web pad.

20. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the first and second data communication devices are wireless communication devices.

21. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein each selling goods available in the shopping mall further adds an electronic identification label containing a respective goods name, price and at least one detail data, the mobile terminal further comprises a reader and pre-stores a different preference condition, such that the mobile terminal uses the reader to read all electronic identification labels of the selling goods available in the shopping mall for comparison and thus finding a desired label with at least one detail data meeting with the different preference condition, thereby displaying a content of the desired label on the display.

22. The system as claimed in claim 21, wherein the electronic identification label is one selected from:

a radio frequency identification (RFID) label, a bar code, a magnetic stripe and an IC card.