Information distribution method, information distribution server, and charging device

• US 9,613,366 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2015
• Issued: 04/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Fujita, Koudai, Itou, Ryousuke, Hayashi, Junji, Asano, Masanari, Misawa, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Sittner, Matthew T
• Application Number:
  US14/593,721
• Publication Number:
  US 20150127462A1
• Time in Patent Office: 816 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/80 involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/90 involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00036 Charger exchanging data with battery

Abstract

An information distribution server 50 acquires owner information on owners of a plurality of electronic devices 1 charged by a charging device 20 from the electronic devices 1 through the charging device 20, determines a configuration of a group constituted by a plurality of owners who are charging the electronic devices 1 by the charging device 20, by using the plurality of pieces of acquired owner information, acquires information corresponding to the determined configuration of the group from a database 40 that stores information according to a configuration of a group constituted by a plurality of owners, and causes the acquired information to be transmitted to the electronic devices 1 charged by the charging device 20 from the charging device 20.

Claims

1. An information distribution method of distributing information to an electronic device including a battery charged through wireless power feeding, a display unit displaying information, and a wireless communication unit, the information distribution method comprising:

an owner information acquisition step of causing a computer to acquire owner information on owners of electronic devices from the electronic devices via at least one charging device, the electronic devices being charged by the at least one charging device that includes a communication unit communicating with the wireless communication unit of the electronic device and a charging unit capable of charging the batteries of a plurality of the electronic devices through wireless power feeding;

a group configuration determination step of causing the computer to determine a configuration of a group constituted by a plurality of owners who are charging the electronic devices by the same charging device, by determining which of a plurality of group configurations recorded in advance in a database is met by the owner information acquired from the electronic devices charged by the same charging device, the plurality of group configurations being divided based on at least one of a number of owners and a ratio of men to women of the number of owners;

an information acquisition step of causing the computer to acquire information corresponding to the determined configuration of the group from a storage unit that stores information according to a configuration of a group constituted by a plurality of owners; and

an information transmission step of causing the computer to transmit the information acquired in the information acquisition step to the electronic devices charged by the same charging device.

2. The information distribution method according to claim 1,

wherein the computer acquires the owner information on the owners of the electronic devices charged by the charging device from the electronic devices through the charging device in the owner information acquisition step, and

the computer transmits the information acquired in the information acquisition step to the electronic devices charged by the same charging device through the same charging device in the information transmission step.

3. The information distribution method according to claim 1,

wherein a plurality of the charging devices are used,

the method further comprises a grouping step of causing the computer to group the plurality of charging devices together, and

the computer regards the plurality of grouped charging devices as the same charging device and determines the configuration of the group in the group configuration determination step.

4. The information distribution method according to claim 3, wherein in the grouping step, the computer groups the plurality of charging devices together when the same electronic device moves between the plurality of charging devices.

5. The information distribution method according to claim 3, wherein when there are a plurality of specific charging devices which are charging devices having one electronic device being charged, the computer groups the plurality of specific charging devices together in the grouping step.

6. The information distribution method according to claim 3, wherein when there are a plurality of specific charging devices which are charging devices having one electronic device being charged, the computer groups the specific charging devices together in which a difference in a charging start time between the electronic devices being charged is equal to or less than a value which is determined in advance, among the plurality of specific charging devices, in the grouping step.

7. The information distribution method according to claim 3, wherein when there are a plurality of specific charging devices which are charging devices having one electronic device being charged, the computer groups the specific charging devices together disposed at a distance equal to or less than a value which is determined in advance, among the plurality of specific charging devices, in the grouping step.

8. An information distribution server used in a system that distributes information to an electronic device including a battery charged through wireless power feeding, a display unit displaying information, and a wireless communication unit, the information distribution server comprising:

a computer that performs the steps of the information distribution method according to claim 1.