Information processing apparatus and method

• US 9,092,795 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2012
• Issued: 07/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Inagawa, Nobuhiro, Sambe, Masanori
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Jay
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huang, Frank
• Application Number:
  US13/627,008
• Publication Number:
  US 20130093869A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,035 Days
• Field of Search: 348/77, 705/7.11, 705 714- 25, 705 729- 734
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4126 The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41415 involving a public display, viewable by several users in a public space outside their home, e.g. movie theatre, information kiosk
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

According to an embodiment, an information processing apparatus comprises a customer specification section, a salesclerk specification section and a notification section. The customer specification section specifies a customer as a received target is watching an advertising information displayed on an advertising apparatus advertising a commodity. The salesclerk specification section specifies a salesclerk as a notified target based on at least one of the advertising information that the customer as the received target is watching specified by the customer specification section and the position of each salesclerk. The notification section notifies the existence of the customer as the received target specified by the customer specification section to a portable communication terminal carried by the salesclerk as the notified target specified by the salesclerk specification section.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus, comprising:

a customer specification section configured to specify a customer as a received target is watching an advertising information displayed on an advertising apparatus advertising a commodity;

a salesclerk specification section configured to specify a salesclerk as a notified target based on at least one of the advertising information that the customer as the received target is watching specified by the customer specification section and the position of each salesclerk;

a notification section configured to notify the existence of the customer as the received target specified by the customer specification section to a portable communication terminal carried by the salesclerk as the notified target specified by the salesclerk specification section; and

a determination section configured to determine, after the notification section notifies the existence of the customer as the received target specified by the customer specification section to the portable communication terminal carried by the salesclerk as the notified target specified by the salesclerk specification section, whether the notified target salesclerk has actually received the received target customer,

wherein when the determination section determines that the notified target salesclerk has not still received the received target customer by determining each current position of the portable communication terminal;

wherein the each current position of the portable communication terminal is specified by utilizing an indoor GPS technology to determine that the notified target salesclerk has not still received the received target customer by a change of position from determining each current position of the portable communication terminal;

wherein the notified target salesclerk has not still received the received target customer is determined by comparing the change of position to a threshold value, the notification section sends a reminder of receiving the received target customer to the portable communication terminal carried by the notified target salesclerk.

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

the customer specification section specifies the customer as the received target according to the form of the customer included in a captured image captured by a image capturing apparatus.

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

the salesclerk specification section specifies the salesclerk near the advertising apparatus displayed the advertising information that the customer as the received target is watching as the salesclerk as the notified target.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the salesclerk specification section specifies the salesclerk presiding over the sell of the commodity propagandized by the advertising information that the customer as the received target is watching as the salesclerk as the notified target.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the notification section notifies the characteristic of the customer as the received target and the advertising information that is watching by the customer.

6. A method, comprising:

specifying a customer as a received target is watching an advertising information displayed on an advertising apparatus advertising a commodity;

specifying a salesclerk as a notified target based on at least one of the advertising information that the customer as the received target is watching specified and the position of each salesclerk;

notifying the existence of the customer as the received target specified to a portable communication terminal carried by the salesclerk as the notified target specified; and

determining, after notification of the existence of the customer as the received target specified to the portable communication terminal carried by the salesclerk as the notified target specified, whether the notified target salesclerk has actually received the received target customer,

wherein when it is determined that the notified target salesclerk has not still received the received target customer by determining each current position of the portable communication terminal;

wherein the each current position of the portable communication terminal is specified by utilizing an indoor GPS technology to determine that the notified target salesclerk has not still received the received target customer by a change of position from determining each current position of the portable communication terminal;

wherein the notified target salesclerk has not still received the received target customer is determined by comparing the change of position to a threshold value, sending a reminder of receiving the received target customer to the portable communication terminal carried by the notified target salesclerk.