Customer solicitation support system and information provision server

• US 7,580,865 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2003
• Issued: 08/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yoshida, Masanori
• Primary Examiner(s): Zeender; F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALMATRAHI, FARIS S
• Application Number:
  US10/669,717
• Publication Number:
  US 20040064378A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,161 Days
• Field of Search: 705/28
• US Class Current: 705/26.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

The customer solicitation support system includes: a portable apparatus carried by a customer; a plurality of client computers installed in shops; and a server for exchanging information among the plurality of client computers. The server manages desired product information, which indicates a product desired by a customer in association with customer information of each customer, and stocked product information, which indicates stocked products of each shop, in a database in association with shop information. When the customer goes around shops carrying the portable apparatus, the customer information is sent to the server from the portable apparatus of the customer via the client computer wirelessly communicating with the portable apparatus. The server having received the customer information compares the desired product information associated with the received customer information and the stocked product information, and sends information on shops holding the desired product to the portable apparatus of the customer via the client computer communicating with the portable apparatus.

Claims

1. A customer solicitation support system, comprising:

a portable apparatus which is carried by a customer;

a plurality of client computers which are installed in shops and wirelessly communicate with the portable apparatus; and

an information provision server which communicates with the plurality of client computers,

the portable apparatus comprises;

a portable apparatus transmission device which sends desired product information which indicates a desired product which the customer who carries the portable apparatus desired to purchase and customer information for specifying the customer to one of the client computers which is closest to the customer who carries the portable device;

a portable apparatus reception device which receives shop information which indicates shops having stock of the desired product indicated by the customer information from said one of the client computers;

a portable apparatus display device which displays the shop information which is received by the portable apparatus reception device; and

a portable device input device which inputs the desired product information associated with the product desired by the customer wherein the portable device input device enables inputting a face image of the customer together with the desired product information and the customer information, and wherein the portable apparatus transmission device sends the inputted face image together with the desired product information and the customer information to said one of the client computers;

each of the client computers comprises;

a first client computer reception device which receives the desired product information and the customer information from the portable apparatus;

a first client computer transmission device which sends the desired product information and the customer information to the server;

a second client computer reception device which receives the shop information which indicates the shops having stock of the desired product indicated by the customer information from the server; and

a second client computer transmission device which sends the shop information to the portable apparatus,

the server comprises;

a server reception device which receives the desired product information and the customer information from said one of the client computer;

a customer information database which stores the desired product information in association with the customer information of each customer;

a stock information database which stores stocked product information indicating stocked products of each shop in association with the shop information of each shop in which the client computer is installed;

a retrieving device which retrieves the stocked product information which coincides with the desired product information from the stock information database; and

a server transmission device which sends the shop information associated with the retrieved stocked product information which is retrieved by the retrieving device to said one of the client computers.

2. The customer solicitation support system as defined in claim 1, wherein each of the client computers comprises a client computer display device which displays the face image of the customer and desired product information,

wherein the retrieving device of the server retrieves the stocked product information which coincides with the desired product information from the stock information database, and

wherein the server transmission device sends the face image of the customer and the desired product information to the client computer which is installed in the shop which is indicated by the shop information associated with the retrieved stocked product information.

3. The customer solicitation support system as defined in claim 1, wherein the shop information includes location information of the shops.

4. The customer solicitation support system as defined in claim 3,

wherein the server comprises a customer existing location detection device which detects an existing location of the customer, and

wherein the server transmission device sends the shop information of the shop close to the existing location of the customer, which is detected by the customer existing location detection device, preferentially to the portable apparatus via said one of the client computers among the shop information associated with the retrieved stocked product information.

5. The customer solicitation support system as defined in claim 4,

wherein each of the portable apparatus transmission device, the portable apparatus reception device, the first client computer reception device and the second client computer transmission device is a short-range wireless communication device which performs wireless communication only in a predetermined communication area, and

wherein the customer existing location detection device of the server detects the customer existing location based upon an installation location of the client computer which has sent the customer information to the server.

6. The customer solicitation support system as defined in claim 5, wherein each of the portable apparatus transmission device, the portable apparatus reception device, the first client computer reception device and the second client computer transmission device is a short-range wireless communication device of the Bluetooth standard.

7. The customer solicitation support system as defined in claim 1,

wherein the stocked product information managed by the stock information database includes prices of the stocked products, and

wherein the server transmission device sends the shop information of the shop, which sets low prices to the stocked products, preferentially to the portable apparatus via said one of the client computers among the shop information associated with the retrieved stocked product information.

8. The customer solicitation support system as defined in claim 1,

wherein each of the client computers comprises an input device which inputs stocked product information,

wherein each of the client computers sends the shop information to the server together with the stocked product information, and

wherein the server comprises a database management device which, upon receiving the stocked product information and the shop information, registers the stocked product information in the stock information database in association with the shop information.

9. The customer solicitation support system as defined in claim 1,

wherein each of the client computers comprises a client computer input device which inputs product purchase information indicating that the customer has purchased the desired product,

wherein each of the client computers sends the customer information to the server together with the product purchase information inputted by the client computer input device, and

wherein the server comprises a database management device which, upon receiving the product purchase information and the customer information inputted by the client computer input device, deletes the desired product information, which is registered in association with the customer information, from the customer information database together with the received customer information.

10. The customer solicitation support system as defined in claim 1,

wherein the server comprises a database management device which manages terms of validity for the desired product information registered in the customer information database and terms of validity for the stocked product information registered in the stock information database, respectively,

wherein the database management device deletes the desired product information from the customer information database if the term of validity for the desired product information has expired, and

wherein the database management device deletes the stock product information from the stock information database if the term of validity for the stock product information has expired.

11. The customer solicitation support system as defined in claim 1,

wherein each of the portable apparatus transmission device, the portable apparatus reception device, the first client computer reception device and the second client computer transmission device is a short-range wireless communication device which performs wireless communication only in a predetermined communication area,

wherein each of the client computers sends information which indicates whether or not the each of the client computer is wirelessly connected to the portable apparatus to the server, and

wherein the server comprises a database management device which deletes the customer information corresponding to the portable apparatus from the customer information database if the server receives the information which indicates that the portable apparatus is not wirelessly connected to the each of the client computers.

12. A customer solicitation support system comprising:

a portable apparatus which is carried by the customer;

a plurality of client computers which are installed in shops and wirelessly communicate with the portable apparatus; and

an information provision server which communicates with the plurality of client computers,

the portable apparatus comprises;

a portable apparatus transmission device which sends desired product information which indicates a desired product which the customer who carries the portable apparatus desired to purchase and customer information for specifying the customer to one of the client computers which is closest to the customer who carries the portable device;

a portable apparatus reception device which receives shop information which indicates shops having stock of the desired product indicated by the customer information from said one of the client computers; and

a portable apparatus display device which displays the shop information which is received by the portable apparatus reception device,

each of the client computers comprises;

a first client computer reception device which receives the desired product information and the customer information from the portable apparatus;

a first client computer transmission device which sends the desired product information and the customer information to the server;

a second client computer reception device which receives the shop information which indicates the shops having stock of the desired product indicated by the customer information from the server; and

a second client computer transmission device which sends the shop information to the portable apparatus,

the server comprises;

a server reception device which receives the desired product information and the customer information from said one of the client computer;

a customer information database which stores the desired product information in association with the customer information of each customer;

a stock information database which stores stocked product information indicating stocked products of each shop in association with the shop information of each shop in which the client computer is installed;

a retrieving device which retrieves the stocked product information which coincides with the desired product information from the stock information database;

a server transmission device which sends the shop information associated with the retrieved stocked product information which is retrieved by the retrieving device to said one of the client computers; and

,

a customer information input apparatus which comprises;

an input device which inputs a face image of the customer carrying the portable apparatus together with the desired product information associated with the desired product desired by the customer; and

a customer information input apparatus communication device which communicates with the server and sends the desired product information and the face image of the customer inputted by the input device to the server.

13. The customer solicitation support system as defined in claim 12, wherein each of the client computers comprises a client computer display device which displays the face image of the customer and the desired product information,

wherein the retrieving device of the server retrieves the stocked product information which coincides with the desired product information sent by the customer information input apparatus from the stock information database, and

wherein the server transmission device sends the face image of the customer and the desired product information to the client computer which is installed in the shop which is indicated by the shop information associated with the retrieved stocked product information.

14. The information provision server as defined in claim 12, further comprising:

a database management device which manages terms of validity for the desired product information registered in the customer information database and terms of validity for the stocked product information registered in the stock information database, respectively,

wherein the database management device deletes the desired product information from the customer information database if the term of validity for the desired product information has expired, and

wherein the database management device deletes the stock product information from the stock information database if the term of validity for the stock product information has expired.