WO2004051547A1 - System for providing shopping information using cart - Google Patents

System for providing shopping information using cart Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2004051547A1
WO2004051547A1 PCT/KR2003/000007 KR0300007W WO2004051547A1 WO 2004051547 A1 WO2004051547 A1 WO 2004051547A1 KR 0300007 W KR0300007 W KR 0300007W WO 2004051547 A1 WO2004051547 A1 WO 2004051547A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
section
contents
information
shopping
location information
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/KR2003/000007
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Se-Do Jang
Yong-Lyun Jang
Original Assignee
Spad Co.,Ltd.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Spad Co.,Ltd. filed Critical Spad Co.,Ltd.
Priority to AU2003201766A priority Critical patent/AU2003201766A1/en
Publication of WO2004051547A1 publication Critical patent/WO2004051547A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
    • G06Q30/0241—Advertisements
    • G06Q30/0251—Targeted advertisements
    • G06Q30/0267—Wireless devices
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
    • G06Q30/0241—Advertisements
    • G06Q30/0251—Targeted advertisements
    • G06Q30/0261—Targeted advertisements based on user location
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W84/00—Network topologies
    • H04W84/18—Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a system for providing shopping information using carts, more particularly to a system for providing advertisement and/or information about goods necessary for shopping through terminals that are installed on the carts.
  • the huger shopping mall can make the customer buy various kinds of goods in a shopping mall.
  • the shopping mall dose not have an appropriate advertising means even though the shopping is a place where the effect of the advertisement for the goods can be maximized.
  • an advertising method for providing shopping information including the advertisement by installing an advertising panel on a cart or a huge multi-vision.
  • a various goods are displayed in the shopping mall and the customer has his/her own interest different from that of other customer. So, it is difficult to attract the customer's concern by providing the advertisement by installment of the advertising panel on the cart or through the huge multi-vision. Since almost of the customers does not give his/her attention to such one-side advertisement, the effect of the advertisement may be very insignificant.
  • the present invention relates to a method for maximizing the effect of the advertisement by outputting different advertisement according to area where goods are displayed, and a system utilizing the same.
  • the present invention is made to solve such the problems, it is an object of the invention to provide a system for installing a terminal on a cart and providing shopping information including an advertisement through the terminal.
  • the present invention provides a system for providing shopping information using carts according to an embodiment of the present invention includes terminals, installed in a plurality of shopping carts respectively, for storing shopping information contents, and a plurality of access points (AP) for providing the terminals belonged to a signal transmission area a location information identification signal and a wireless LAN access, wherein the terminals receive the location information identification signal from the access points and display the shopping information contents corresponding to the received signal.
  • AP access points
  • the system according to the embodiment of the present invention further include a contents transmitting server for storing the shopping information contents and providing the shopping information contents to the terminals.
  • the contents transmitting server can transmit the shopping information contents even when the shopping mall is under the off-line.
  • the contents transmitting server may include a contents transmitting section for the shopping information contents to a preset multicasting address and port, a schedule programming section for providing an interface which an operator can program a shopping information display schedule and storing the shopping information programming schedule programmed by the operator, and a packet transmitting section for transmitting a packet requested from the terminals to the terminals when a loss packet request signal is received.
  • the terminal may include a location information receiving section for receiving the location information identification signal from the access points, a contents shopping information contents receiving section for receiving the shopping information contents that the contents transmitting server transmitted from the preset multicasting address and port, a shopping information storing section for storing the shopping information contents received to the shopping information contents receiving section, a goods category determining section for determining a category of goods of which shopping information is to be displayed by the received location information identification signal, a schedule data storing section for storing a shopping information schedule to be displayed by goods category, a goods selecting section for selecting goods of which shopping information is to be displayed by using the schedule information of the goods category determined by the goods category determining section, and a discount coupon displaying section for outputting a discount coupon information at random regardless of the shopping information of the goods selected by the goods selecting section being displayed.
  • the shopping information contents receiving section may include a multicasting receiving section for a shopping information contents packet from the preset multicasting address and port, a packet loss determining section for determining whether there is a loss in the packet received by the multicasting section or not, and a loss packet receiving section for receiving a loss packet by requesting the loss packet to the contents transmitting server when there it is determined to be a loss in the packet.
  • a system for providing shopping information which includes terminals, installed in a plurality of shopping carts respectively, for storing shopping information contents, a plurality of access points (AP) for providing a wireless LAN connection to the terminals belonged to a signal transmission area, a plurality of location information transmitters for transmitting a location information identification signal to a preset area, and a plurality of location information receivers, built in the terminals or coupled to the terminals, for receiving the location information identification signal from the location information transmitters and transmitting the location information identification signal to the terminals, wherein the terminals receive the location information identification signal from the location information receivers and display a shop information contents among the pre-stored shopping information contents corresponding to the received location information identification signal.
  • AP access points
  • the system for providing shopping information may include a content transmitting server for storing the shopping information contents and for providing the shopping information contents to the terminals.
  • the location information transmitter further include a location code generating section for generating a preset location code, a data converting section for converting a signal being recognizable by the location code receiver, a reference frequency generating section for generating a reference frequency to transmit the location information identification signal, a frequency modulating section for performing a frequency modulation with respect to an output signal from the data converting section by using the generated reference frequency signal, and an infrared ray signal converting section for converting the output signal from the frequency modulating section into an infrared ray signal.
  • a location code generating section for generating a preset location code
  • a data converting section for converting a signal being recognizable by the location code receiver
  • a reference frequency generating section for generating a reference frequency to transmit the location information identification signal
  • a frequency modulating section for performing a frequency modulation with respect to an output signal from the data converting section by using the generated reference frequency signal
  • an infrared ray signal converting section for converting the output signal from the frequency modulating
  • the location information receiver may include an infrared ray signal receiving section for receiving the location information identification signal from the location information transmitter and converting the location information identification signal into an electric signal, a frequency demodulating section for performing a frequency demodulation with respect to the converted electric signal, and a data converting section for converting an output signal from the frequency demodulating section into a signal being recognizable by the terminal and providing the converted signal to the terminal.
  • an infrared ray signal receiving section for receiving the location information identification signal from the location information transmitter and converting the location information identification signal into an electric signal
  • a frequency demodulating section for performing a frequency demodulation with respect to the converted electric signal
  • a data converting section for converting an output signal from the frequency demodulating section into a signal being recognizable by the terminal and providing the converted signal to the terminal.
  • a system for providing shopping information which includes a transmitting server for transmitting a plurality of shopping information contents, terminals installed in shopping carts respectively, and a plurality of access points (AP) for providing a location information identification signal and a wireless LAN connection to the terminals belonged to a signal transmitting area, wherein the terminals receive the location information identification signal from the access points and display a shopping information contents corresponding to the received location information identification signal among a plurality of shopping information contents transmitted by the contents transmitting server.
  • AP access points
  • the contents transmitting server may include a streaming processing section for converting the shopping information contents to be transmitted into streaming data, a schedule programming section for providing an interface that an operator can program a shopping information display schedule and for storing the shopping information display schedule programmed by the operator by a category of goods, a category/multicasting address and port mapping section for storing information of the multicasting address and port where the shopping information contents of each category of goods will be transmitted to, and a contents broadcasting section for selecting a plurality of shopping information contents to be broadcasted by using data of the schedule programming section, for selecting the multicasting addresses and ports where the shopping information contents that are selected through the category/multicasting address and port mapping section will be transmitted to respectively, and for transmitting streaming data of a corresponding shopping information contents to the selected multicasting address and ports.
  • a streaming processing section for converting the shopping information contents to be transmitted into streaming data
  • a schedule programming section for providing an interface that an operator can program a shopping information display schedule and for storing the shopping information display schedule programmed by the operator by
  • the terminals may include a location information receiving section for receiving the location information identification signal from the access points, a multicasting/port selecting section for selecting the multicasting address and port from which the shopping information contents are received by using the received location information identification signal, a streaming data receiving section for receiving and displaying the streaming data of the shopping information contents transmitted by the contents server from the selected multicasting address and port, and a discount coupon displaying section for outputting discount coupon information at random regardless of the discount coupon concerning the shopping information to be displayed or the shopping information.
  • a system for providing shopping information which includes a transmitting server for transmitting a plurality of shopping information contents, terminals respectively installed in a plurality of shopping carts, a plurality of access points (AP) for providing a wireless LAN connection to the terminals belonged to a signal transmitting area, a plurality of location information transmitters for transmitting a location information identification signal to a preset area, and a plurality of location information receivers, built in or coupled to the terminals, for receiving and providing the location information identification signal from the location information transmitters, wherein the terminals receive the location information identification signal from the location information receiver and display the shopping information contents corresponding to the received location information identification signal among the plurality of shopping information contents that the contents transmitting server transmits.
  • AP access points
  • FIG. 1 is a view illustrating whole construction of a system for providing shopping information using carts according to an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 2 is a view illustrating the construction of a system for providing shopping information using carts according to other embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the construction of a contents transmitting server of according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of the contents transmitting server according to other embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating procedures of providing advertising data to terminals when a shopping mall is under off-line according to an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of schedule information that is programmed through a schedule programming section according to an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a field construction of a contents database according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating procedures of providing advertising data to terminals in real time according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 9 a prospective view of a shopping cart in which a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed.
  • FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a terminal according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the construction of an advertising data receiving section according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating of a location information transmitter according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of the location information receiver according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the construction of the system for providing shopping information using carts according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the system for providing shopping information using carts according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention may include a transmitting server 100, a plurality of access points (hereinafter referred to AP) 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, and 112, and a cart in which a terminal capable of receiving information such as an advertisement is installed.
  • the cart is installed with the terminal and the terminal transmits advertising information corresponding to a shopping location so that shopping information is transmitted to a customer. The customer can watch the advertising information displayed on the terminal during the shopping with carrying the cart.
  • AP access points
  • the terminal displays a ramen advertisement.
  • a system for providing shopping information according to the conventional art provides information to the customer unilaterally regardless of the customer's location
  • the system for providing shopping information of the present invention is to detect the customer's location and display the advertising information of goods displayed at the place where the customer is located.
  • the system shown in FIG. 1 can provide the advertisement information according to two embodiments.
  • the system is that the contents transmitting server 100 transmits the advertisement information to the terminal, and the terminal displays the received advertisement data when the shopping mall is under off-line.
  • the system is that the contents transmitting server 100 broadcasts the advertisement information corresponding to the location where the customer is in real time.
  • the operation of the system for providing shopping information of the first embodiment will be described.
  • the contents transmitting server 100 serves the function of providing the terminal advertising data to be provided to the customer when the shopping mall is under off-line.
  • the content transmitting server 100 the advertising data to the terminals by using a wireless LAN. Therefore, the advertising data transmitted by the contents server is transmitted to the plurality of APs 100 to 112, and each of the APs 102 to 112 transmits the advertising data transmitted from the terminals belonged to the area of the respective APs.
  • the data transmission and reception on a network including the Internet is performed in a unicast method.
  • the unicast method is a method that a server sends packets a receiver of receiving data respectively. Therefore, according to the unicast method, if one hundred receivers demand same packet simultaneously, one hundred packets must be transmitted to each receiver.
  • the unicast method may be utilized effectively when various users request various information different each other, but not effectively when a plurality of terminals, like the present invention, receive same data.
  • the multicast method is a method that one packet is transmitted to a preset multicasting address and port and receivers receive the packet from the corresponding address and port. Therefore, since, if using the multicast method, only one packet is transmitted, the bandwidth can be utilized effectively.
  • the multicast transmission method may be utilized effectively, but it is only an embodiment, it should be understood that a case of using other transmission within the spirit and scope of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art.
  • the terminals scattered in the shopping mall keep the connection with the contents transmitting server 100 through the APs 102 to 112, and receive and store the advertising data from the contents transmitting server 100 through the APs 102 to 112.
  • the APs 102 to 112 installed in the shopping mall have own identification number, and the terminal installed on the cart 130 determines a kind of advertisement to be displayed by using the identification numbers of the APs 102 to 112.
  • the terminal on the cart 130 keeps the connection with a network through an AP1 102 and receives an identification number the AP1 102 from the AP1 102.
  • the terminal displays the advertising information related to goods between the showcase No. 1 114 and the showcase No. 2 116.
  • the terminal on the cart 130 receives the identification number from an AP2 104. Received the identification number from the AP2 104, the terminal determines the category of goods to be displayed by using the mapping table and displays the advertisement for goods corresponding to the category of the determined goods.
  • the content transmitting server 100 does not transmit the advertising data
  • the terminal determines an advertisement to be displayed by using the identification transmitted from the APs 102 to 104 and displays the advertising data received from the contents transmitting server 100 when the shopping mall is under off-line. Therefore, since it is not required to transmit a moving picture advertising data with a relative large capacity when the shopping mall is under on-line, the network can be utilized effectively.
  • the contents transmitting server 100 transmits the advertising data to the terminal on the carts in real time.
  • the contents transmitting server 100 transmits the advertising data by using the multicast method.
  • the terminals collectively installed on the carts receive the advertising data when the shopping mall is under off-line, there is no necessary that the contents transmitting server 100 transmits a variety kind of advertising data.
  • the terminal should receive directly other advertising data from the contents transmitting server 100 according to the location.
  • the contents transmitting server 100 transmits other kind of advertisement corresponding to number of the APs 102 to 112. Since the data transmission is performed by the multicast method, the contents transmitting server 100 transmits respective advertising data to the corresponding multicasting address and port. In other words, the advertising data is transmitted to other multicasting address and port, respectively.
  • the terminals installed in the carts receive the identification number from the APs 102 to 112.
  • mapping table for recording the multicasting address and port information corresponding to the identification number of the AP is stored.
  • the terminal on the cart 130 receives the identification number from the AP1 102, and determines the multicasting address and port information from which the terminal has received the data by using the mapping table.
  • the terminal installed on the cart receives the identification number from the AP2 104 and the advertising data from the multicasting address and port corresponding to the identification number of the AP2
  • the terminal can provide the advertisement of goods corresponding to the location of the cart to the customer.
  • FIG. 2 is a view illustrating the construction of the system for providing shopping information using carts according to another embodiment of the present invention.
  • the system for providing shopping information according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a contents transmitting server 200, a plurality of APs 202, 204, and 205, and a plurality of location information transmitters 224, 226, 228, 230, 232, 234, 236, and 238.
  • FIG. 1 has illustrated the system for determining the location of the cart 130 by using the identification number transmitted from the AP and displaying the advertising information corresponding to the determined location.
  • the APs 202 to 206 only serves the role of relaying the data transmitted from the contents transmitting server 200 to the terminal through the wireless communication, and does not provide the location information.
  • the AP since the AP provides the location information, in order to provide twelve different advertisements in accordance with the location of the carts, twelve APs are required. However, since the AP is expensive equipment, it is inefficient in the economic view to install a plurality of APs mere the purpose of provision of the location information.
  • the APs 202, 204, and 206 take only charge of data relay as their own role in the wireless LAN, and the location information is transmitted to the terminal by the location information transmitters 224 to 238.
  • a large number of APs like in the system as shown in FIG. 1 are not installed in the system as shown in FIG. 2, only minimum numbers of the APs 202, 204, and 206 capable of transmitting the wireless data to the whole area of the shopping mall are installed.
  • the first embodiment of the present invention that is, that the terminal receives an stores the advertising data will be described as following.
  • a plurality of location information transmitters 224 to 238 the preset location information identification signal to the terminal installed on the cart. It is preferred that the respective location information transmitters 224 to 238 transmit a signal with a proper size so that the location information identification signal does not interfere other location information identification signal.
  • the location information transmitter can be realized as an infrared ray transmitter.
  • the terminal in the cart 240 receives the location information identification signal from a first location information transmitter 224.
  • the information for the category of goods corresponding the location information identification signal is stored, and the terminal determines the category of goods to be displayed by using the received location information identification signal and displays the advertisement of the corresponding goods. For example, if a kind of ramen is displayed left side of the showcase No. 1 208 and the showcase No. 2 210, the terminal displays the advertisement for the ramen.
  • the terminal on the cart 240 receives the location information identification signal from a second location information transmitter 226.
  • the terminal which has received the location information identification signal from the second location information transmitter 226, determines the corresponding category of goods and the advertisement of corresponding goods.
  • the second embodiment that the content transmitting server 200 provides the advertising data to the terminal in real time will be described in detail as following.
  • the terminal on the cart 240 receives the location information identification signal from the first location information transmitter 224.
  • the terminal determines the multicasting address and port from which the terminal receives the advertising data corresponding to the location information identification signal.
  • the terminal receives the advertising data from the determined multicasting address and port and displays the received advertising data.
  • the terminal on the cart 240 receives the location information identification signal from the second information transmitter 226.
  • the terminal which has received the location information identification signal from the second information transmitter 226, receives the advertising data from the corresponding multicasting address and port, so that can provide the advertisement for goods corresponding to the changed location to the customer.
  • FIGs. 1 and 2 show the case that the contents transmitting server provides the advertising data or the terminal displays the pres-stored advertising data corresponding to the location, it will become apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of information in addition to the advertisement can be provided.
  • the content transmitting server 200 may provide the information for the shopping mall and news information regardless of the location of the cart to the terminal on the cart.
  • FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of the content transmitting server according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the content transmitting server may include a content receiving section 300, a contents transmitting section 302, a schedule programming section 304, a loss packet transmitting section 306, a shopping mall/news information transmitting section 308, and a discount coupon information transmitting section 312.
  • FIG. 3 shows the construction of the contents server in a case that the contents server provides the advertising data to the terminal when the shopping mall is under off-line.
  • the contents receiving section 300 plays a role of receiving the advertising data to be provided to the terminal from an external server. Since the advertising data being provided to the terminals should be updated continuously, the contents receiving section 300 receives new advertising data. Since the advertising data being provided to the terminals should not be downloaded from the external server through on-line, but can be stored directly under the off-line by the operator, the contents receiving section 300 is not an essential element of the content transmitting server according to the present invention.
  • the contents receiving section 300 which has received the advertising data from the external server, provides the same to a contents database 310.
  • the contents transmitting section 302 plays a role of transmitting the advertising data to the terminal on the cart in the shopping mall when the shopping mall is under off-line.
  • the contents transmitting section 302 transmits the advertising data in the multicast method.
  • the contents transmitting server and the terminal store the address and port information from and to which the multicasting packet is provided and received, and the contents transmitting section 302 transmits the advertising data to the preset multicasting address and port.
  • the schedule programming section 304 provides an interface for programming information which advertisement of goods is displayed at a specific time zone by the operator, and stored the programmed schedule information.
  • the schedule information programmed by the operator through the schedule programming section is transmitted to the terminal.
  • FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of the schedule information programmed through the schedule programming section according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the schedule information may contain a goods category, a time zone, and the goods information of which advertisement will be displayed at the corresponding time zone.
  • FIG. 6 shows the schedule information about an advertisement for the ramem, as shown in FIG. 6, the schedule information is programmed to display a different advertisement of the ramen by one hour.
  • the schedule information is programmed by the goods category.
  • the terminal receives the location information from the AP or the location information transmitter and determines the category of goods to be displayed, but may display the advertisement of goods belonged to the correspond goods after determination of the category of goods.
  • the loss packet transmitting section 306 plays a role of providing a packet requested by the terminal to the terminal when receives a loss packer request signal from the terminal.
  • the terminals monitor whether all packet is exactly received while receiving data in the multicast method. If an error is occurred in reception of the packet in consequence of the monitor, the terminals request the contents transmitting server to retransmit the packet with an error, an the loss packet transmitting section 306 provides the loss packet, which the terminals have requested, to the terminals.
  • the loss packet transmitting section 306 provides the loss packet to the terminals to request the loss packet.
  • the collective transmission of the advertising data is performed in the multicast method, since the loss packet must be transmitted only to the terminal requesting the packet, it is preferred that the loss packet is transmitted in TCP/IP method.
  • the shopping mall/news information transmitting section 308 plays a role of providing information such as sale information of the shopping mall and news information in addition to the advertising information to the terminals in the shopping mall.
  • the shopping mall/news information may be provided regardless of the locations of the terminals.
  • the shopping mall/news information can be provided in a usual transmitting method such as TCP/IP, and UDP/IP as well as the multicast method.
  • the news information can be provided to the terminals through not the contents transmitting sever but other linked external server.
  • the contents database 310 stores the advertising data to be provided to the terminals.
  • the discount coupon information transmitting section 312 provides the information about an image of the discount coupon and a discount price to the terminal installed on the cart.
  • the discount coupon is displayed on the terminal installed on the cart.
  • the discount coupon information transmitting 312 transmits the information about the discount coupon to be displayed like that.
  • the discount coupon information can be transmitted when the shopping mall is under off-line, and can be transmitted to the respective terminals when the shopping mall is under on-line.
  • FIG. 7 is a view illustrating the construction of fields of the contents database according to the embodiment of the present invention.
  • the contents database of the embodiment of the present invention includes a goods category field 700, a goods name field 702, a storing location field 704, a contents meta information field 706, and an advertisement data field 708.
  • Goods names are stored in the goods name field 702, and a category identification information of the corresponding goods is stored in the goods category field 700.
  • the location information about the location where the advertising data is stored is stored in the storing location information field 704, and the advertising data information, which is performed in the terminal, is stored in the advertising data field 708.
  • an abstract information about advertising contents and information required to perform the contents are stored.
  • the information for a title, a copyright, a bandwidth, producing data, a length of a file, a codec, and a screen size of the advertising contents may be stored in the content meta information field.
  • FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of the contents transmitting server according to another embodiment of the present invention.
  • the contents transmitting server includes a contents receiving section 400, a streaming processing section 402, a contents broadcasting section 404, a schedule programming section 406, a category/multicasting address and port mapping section 408, a shopping mall/news information transmitting section 410, and a discount coupon information transmitting section 414.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates the construction of the contents transmitting server in a case that the contents transmitting server provides the advertising information in real time.
  • the contents receiving section 400 performs the function of receiving the advertising data to be provided to the terminal from the external server.
  • the advertising data being provided to the terminals should not be downloaded from the external server through on-line, but can be stored directly under the off-line by the operator, the contents receiving section 400 is not an essential element of the content transmitting server according to the present invention.
  • the streaming processing section 402 performs the function of converting the advertising data stored in the contents database 412 stream data. Since the advertising data should be provided to the terminal in real time, it is required the operation for making the stored data into streaming.
  • the contents broadcasting section 404 performs the function of transmitting the streaming data to a plurality of multicasting addresses and ports by using the schedule information stored in the schedule programming section 406 and an output information from the category/multicasting address and port mapping section 408.
  • the contents broadcasting section 404 inquires the information of the schedule programming section 406 and generates the multicasting packet as many as the preset number of the goods category.
  • the contents broadcasting section 404 determines which is the multicasting address and port where a packet of a certain goods category through the category/multicasting address and port mapping section are transmitted.
  • the contents broadcasting section 404 transmits a plurality of packets corresponding to all goods category to the respective determined multicasting addresses and ports.
  • FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating procedures of providing advertising data to terminals when a shopping mall is under off-line according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the contents transmitting server generates a multicasting packet (Step S500).
  • the generated multicasting packet may contain the sequence information, and size information of a file, and the like.
  • the contents transmitting server transmits the generated packet to the preset multicasting address and port (Step S502).
  • the terminal receives the packet fro the preset multicasting address and port
  • Step S504 The time when the contents transmitting server transmits the packet to the multicasting address and port is stored in the contents server and the terminal in advance, and the terminal receives the packet from the multicasting address and port on the corresponding time.
  • the terminal monitors whether the packet has a loss while receives the packet from the multicasting address and port (Step S506).
  • the terminal If there is the packet loss, the terminal requests the TCP connection to the content transmitting server and forms a TCP session (Step S508).
  • the terminal requests the loss packet to the contents transmitting server (Step S510).
  • the contents transmitting server which has received the packet request signal from the terminal, transmits the loss packet to the terminal which has requested the packet in the TCP/IP method (Step S512).
  • FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating procedures of providing advertising data to terminals in real time according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the contents transmitting server selects the advertising contents to be broadcasted by using the information of the schedule programming section (Step S800). Since the schedule programming information is stored by each goods category, the contents transmitting server selects the advertising contents to be broadcasted by each goods category by inquiring the schedule information of all goods categories.
  • the contents transmitting server determines the multicasting address and port to which each contents will be transmitted through the category/multicasting address and port mapping section (Step S802).
  • the contents transmitting server transmits the streaming data of the selected advertising contents to the corresponding multicasting address and port (Step S804).
  • the terminal installed on the cart receives the identification number from the AP corresponding to the present location (Step S806).
  • the terminal determines the multicasting address and port from which the terminal receives the advertising contents data by using the receive AP identification number (Step S808). If the multicasting address and port from which the terminal receives the data is determined, the terminal receives the streaming data transmitted from the contents server from the corresponding address and port.
  • the terminal receives the identification number from the AP corresponding to the changed location and the procedures of Steps S804 to S808 are repeated.
  • FIG. 9 a prospective view of a shopping cart in which a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed.
  • the terminal is preferably installed on a grip bar of the cart so that the customer can easily watch the advertisement and the shopping information during the movement of the cart.
  • FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a terminal according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the terminal includes a location information receiving section 1000, a goods category determining section 1002, an output advertisement selecting section 1004, a schedule data storing section 1006, an advertising information storing section 1008, an advertising data outputting section 1010, an advertising data receiving section 1012, a discount coupon displaying section 1014, an advertisement/discount coupon link information storing section 1016, and a discount coupon storing section 1018.
  • the terminal in FIG. 10 is shown as the construction of the terminal used in the first embodiment stores the advertising contents data in advance and displays the advertising contents according to the location of the cart.
  • the location information receiving section 1000 performs the function of receiving the location information signal transmitted from the AP or the location information transmitter. If the location information signal is received from the AP, the terminal can receive the location information by using the wireless LAN. If the infrared transmitter as described above is used as the location information transmitter, the terminal can receive the location information signal through an infrared sensor.
  • the goods category determining section 1002 determines the category of goods of which advertisement is displayed by using the location information signal that is received by the location information receiving section 1000.
  • the category of goods determined by the goods category determining section is the category of goods which are displayed in the area where the terminal is located.
  • the terminal stores a mapping table of the location information signal and the goods category, and the goods category determining section 1002 determines the category of goods of which advertisement is displayed by using the mapping table.
  • the schedule data storing section 1006 performs the function of storing the schedule information provided fro the contents transmitting server.
  • the schedule information can be transmitted in a state that the schedule information is contained in a header information of the contents to be transmitted, or can be transmitted as a separated schedule data.
  • the schedule data storing section 1006 analyses the header information of the received contents and stores the schedule information by extracting the schedule information therefrom.
  • the schedule information is stored by goods categories.
  • the output advertisement selecting section 1004 performs the function of selecting goods of which advertisement is displayed by using the schedule information of the category of goods determined by the goods category determining section 1002. Let assume that the goods category determined by the goods category determining section 1002 is a ramen and the schedule data of the ramen is stored as shown in FIG. 6. In this case, if the present time is eleven o'clock, the output advertisement selecting section 1004 selects a C ramen.
  • the advertising information outputting section 1010 performs the function of displaying the advertising data of the selected goods by the output advertisement selecting section.
  • the advertising information outputting section 1010 calls an image reproducing tool such as a media player in order to display the advertisement and displays the corresponding advertisement by the called image reproducing tool.
  • the advertising data receiving section 1012 receives the advertising data transmitted from the contents transmitting server when the shopping mall is under off-line, and the advertising data received by the advertising data receiving section is stored in the advertising information storing section 1008.
  • the discount coupon storing section 1018 stores the discount coupon information transmitted from the contents server.
  • the discount coupon information contains the image information of the discount coupon and the discount price information.
  • the advertisement/discount coupon link information storing section 1016 stores the information about which discount coupon is displayed when a specific advertisement is displayed.
  • the advertisement/discount coupon link information storing section 1016 can store a link information so that the discount coupon of a specific ramen is displayed when the ramen advertisement is displayed because the customer is in a ramen mall.
  • the advertisement/discount coupon link information storing section 1016 is not an essential element, and it is possible for the discount coupon to be displayed at random regardless of the advertisement.
  • the discount coupon displaying section 1014 displays the image of the discount coupon on the terminal. As described above, the discount coupon displaying section 1014 can display the discount coupon according to the advertisement/discount coupon link information or the discount coupon at random.
  • the customer can watch the terminal for the purpose of obtain the benefit of the discount when the discount coupon is displayed on the terminal, it is advantageous that the effect of the advertisement according the area can be enhanced.
  • the customer selects the discount coupon being displayed through a touch screen, so that he/she can use the displayed discount coupon.
  • the selection information of the discount coupon by the customer is stored in the terminal, and the customer can be benefited by the discount by using the stored discount information for the settlement.
  • the customer's discount coupon selection information is transmitted from the terminal to the server so that the customer can be benefited by the discount for the settlement.
  • a barcode corresponding to the discount price is displayed on the terminal. Since the technology for reading the barcode displayed on the terminal is well known, the sum of money corresponding to the discount coupon selected by the customer is discounted by reading the barcode displayed on the terminal when the settlement.
  • the discount method is not limited to the barcode display as described above and the customer's discount coupon selecting information can be stored in the terminal or the contents transmitting server by a variety of methods.
  • FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 11 illustrates a case that the terminal stores the advertising data in advance and displays the stored advertising data according to the location.
  • Step S1100 If the terminal installed on the cart is not located within the area of the AP or the location information transmitter, the terminal displays a general advertisement set in a default mode (Step S1100).
  • the terminal determines whether the location information signal is received from the location information transmitter such as the AP or the infrared transmitter (Step S1102).
  • the terminal determines the category of goods of which advertisement is displayed by using the received location information signal (Step S1104).
  • the terminal inquires the schedule information of the determined category of goods (Step S1106) and selects the goods of which advertisement is displayed (Step S1108). The terminal determines whether the advertisement of the selected goods is displayed in the present time or not (Step S1110).
  • the terminal interrupts the reproducing of the advertisement being reproduced in the present time (Step S1112) and reproduces the selected advertisement (Step S1114). If the selected advertisement is reproduced already, the advertisement keeps on being reproduced.
  • FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the construction of an advertising data receiving section according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the advertising data receiving section includes a multicasting receiving section 1200, a data loss determining section 1202, and a loss data receiving section 1204.
  • the multicasting receiving section 1200 receives packet data transmitted by the contents transmitting server from the preset multicasting address and port.
  • the packet loss determining section 1202 determines whether there is a loss in the packet which is received by the multicasting receiving section or not. Since a sequence information is contained in the packet to be received, the data loss determining section determines the data loss through the sequence information.
  • the loss packet receiving section 1204 performs the function of receiving the loss packet by requesting the loss packet to the contents server when the pack has a loss. As described above, it is preferred that the TCP/IP method is utilized for the request and reception of the loss packet.
  • FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention.
  • the terminal according to the other embodiment of the present invention includes a location information receiving section 1300, a multicasting address an port selecting section 1302, a streaming data receiving section 1304, a discount coupon storing section 1306, an advertisement/discount coupon link information storing section 1308, and a discount coupon displaying section 1310.
  • FIG. 13 illustrates the construction of the terminal receiving and displaying the advertising contents from the contents transmitting server in real time.
  • the location information receiving section 1300 performs the function of receiving the location information signal from the AP or the location information transmitting section like the case shown in FIG. 10.
  • the multicasting address and port selecting section 1302 the multicasting address and port from which the advertising data is received by using the location information received by the location information receiving section 1300 in real time.
  • the terminal selects the multicasting address and port from which the advertising data is received among a plurality of multicasting addresses and ports by using the location information signal transmitted from the AP or the location information transmitter.
  • the streaming data receiving section 1304 performs the function of receiving and displaying the streaming data transmitted from the selected multicasting address and port in real time.
  • FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating of a location information transmitter according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the location information transmitter according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a location code generating section 1400, a data converting section 1402, a frequency modulating section 1404, a reference frequency generating section 1406, and an infrared ray signal converting section 1408.
  • the location code generating section 1400 generates a preset location information code. It is preferred that the location code generated by the location code generating section can be set at free by the operator.
  • the data converting section 1402 performs the function of converting the location code information generated by the location code generating section 1400 into a signal that a receiver can recognize.
  • the code conversion can be achieved by using a usual microprocessor.
  • the reference frequency generating section 1406 generates a reference frequency of a wireless signal loading the location information, and the frequency modulating section 1404 performs the frequency modulation of the frequency by mixing the frequency generated from the reference frequency generating section 1406 and an output signal from the data converting section 1402.
  • the infrared ray signal converting section 1408 outputs an electric signal outputted from the frequency modulating section 1404 into an infrared ray signal.
  • FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of the location information receiver according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the location information receiver includes an infrared ray signal receiving section 1500, a frequency demodulating section 1502, and a data converting section 1504.
  • the infrared ray signal receiving section 1500 receives an infrared ray signal transmitted from the location information transmitter and converts the same into an electric signal.
  • the frequency demodulating section 1502 performs the frequency demodulation with respect to the signal converted by the infrared ray receiving section 1500.
  • the data converting section 1504 converts the demodulated signal into a signal which is recognizable to the terminal.
  • the location information receiver can be installed in the terminal or equipped out the terminal. If the location information receiver is equipped outside of the terminal, an output signal from the data converting section 1504 can be inputted into the terminal through a port of the terminal.
  • the present invention has been described in detail. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. For example, the present invention has been mainly described in detail for the case that the advertising information is transmitted to the terminal. However, it should be understood that a case of providing other shopping information in addition to the advertising information is within the spirit and scope of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
  • the system for providing shopping information using carts has advantages that since the advertising data information for the goods placed where the cart is located is provided, the effect of the advertisement can be maximized. Moreover, the enhancement of the effect of the advertisement and the increment of selling can be achieved by displaying the discount coupon on the terminal for the customer to continuously watch the discount coupon.

Abstract

Disclosed a system for providing advertisement and/or information about goods necessary for shopping through terminals that are installed on the carts. The system includes terminals, installed in a plurality of shopping carts respectively, for storing shopping information contents, and a plurality of access points (AP) for providing the terminals belonged to a signal transmission area a location information identification signal and a wireless LAN access. The terminals receive the location information identification signal from the access points and display the shopping information contents corresponding to the received signal. The system has advantages that since the advertising data information for the goods placed where the cart is located is provided, the effect of the advertisement can be maximized. The enhancement of the effect of the advertisement and the increment of selling can be achieved by displaying the discount coupon on the terminal for the customer to continuously watch the discount coupon.

Description

SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING SHOPPING INFORMATION USING
CARTS
Background of the Invention 1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for providing shopping information using carts, more particularly to a system for providing advertisement and/or information about goods necessary for shopping through terminals that are installed on the carts. 2. Prior Art
Recent, huge discount stores such as the Emart and the Walmart increase the number of their branches rapidly, and not only such huge discount stores but also almost discount shopping malls show a tendency to become huger and huger.
The huger shopping mall can make the customer buy various kinds of goods in a shopping mall.
However, there are displayed so many kinds of goods in the shopping mall, that the customer has difficulty of obtaining information for the displayed goods.
Moreover, the shopping mall dose not have an appropriate advertising means even though the shopping is a place where the effect of the advertisement for the goods can be maximized.
According to the conventional art, it is used an advertising method for providing shopping information including the advertisement by installing an advertising panel on a cart or a huge multi-vision.
A various goods are displayed in the shopping mall and the customer has his/her own interest different from that of other customer. So, it is difficult to attract the customer's concern by providing the advertisement by installment of the advertising panel on the cart or through the huge multi-vision. Since almost of the customers does not give his/her attention to such one-side advertisement, the effect of the advertisement may be very insignificant.
Therefore, there is required to an advertising method for providing an advertisement for goods that a customer concerns individually, then the present invention relates to a method for maximizing the effect of the advertisement by outputting different advertisement according to area where goods are displayed, and a system utilizing the same.
Summary of the Invention
Therefore, the present invention is made to solve such the problems, it is an object of the invention to provide a system for installing a terminal on a cart and providing shopping information including an advertisement through the terminal.
It is other object of the present invention to provide a system for providing information about goods which are displayed where a customer is by detecting the location of the customer in a shopping.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system for providing different shopping information according to the location where the customer is by using a wireless LAN.
It is a still object of the present invention to provide a system for providing shopping information, which displays advertisement information with a discount coupon on a terminal so as to maximize the effect of the advertisement. In order to accomplish the objects, the present invention provides a system for providing shopping information using carts according to an embodiment of the present invention includes terminals, installed in a plurality of shopping carts respectively, for storing shopping information contents, and a plurality of access points (AP) for providing the terminals belonged to a signal transmission area a location information identification signal and a wireless LAN access, wherein the terminals receive the location information identification signal from the access points and display the shopping information contents corresponding to the received signal.
The system according to the embodiment of the present invention further include a contents transmitting server for storing the shopping information contents and providing the shopping information contents to the terminals.
The contents transmitting server can transmit the shopping information contents even when the shopping mall is under the off-line.
The contents transmitting server may include a contents transmitting section for the shopping information contents to a preset multicasting address and port, a schedule programming section for providing an interface which an operator can program a shopping information display schedule and storing the shopping information programming schedule programmed by the operator, and a packet transmitting section for transmitting a packet requested from the terminals to the terminals when a loss packet request signal is received.
The terminal may include a location information receiving section for receiving the location information identification signal from the access points, a contents shopping information contents receiving section for receiving the shopping information contents that the contents transmitting server transmitted from the preset multicasting address and port, a shopping information storing section for storing the shopping information contents received to the shopping information contents receiving section, a goods category determining section for determining a category of goods of which shopping information is to be displayed by the received location information identification signal, a schedule data storing section for storing a shopping information schedule to be displayed by goods category, a goods selecting section for selecting goods of which shopping information is to be displayed by using the schedule information of the goods category determined by the goods category determining section, and a discount coupon displaying section for outputting a discount coupon information at random regardless of the shopping information of the goods selected by the goods selecting section being displayed.
The shopping information contents receiving section may include a multicasting receiving section for a shopping information contents packet from the preset multicasting address and port, a packet loss determining section for determining whether there is a loss in the packet received by the multicasting section or not, and a loss packet receiving section for receiving a loss packet by requesting the loss packet to the contents transmitting server when there it is determined to be a loss in the packet.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a system for providing shopping information which includes terminals, installed in a plurality of shopping carts respectively, for storing shopping information contents, a plurality of access points (AP) for providing a wireless LAN connection to the terminals belonged to a signal transmission area, a plurality of location information transmitters for transmitting a location information identification signal to a preset area, and a plurality of location information receivers, built in the terminals or coupled to the terminals, for receiving the location information identification signal from the location information transmitters and transmitting the location information identification signal to the terminals, wherein the terminals receive the location information identification signal from the location information receivers and display a shop information contents among the pre-stored shopping information contents corresponding to the received location information identification signal.
The system for providing shopping information, according to another embodiment of the present invention, may include a content transmitting server for storing the shopping information contents and for providing the shopping information contents to the terminals.
The location information transmitter further include a location code generating section for generating a preset location code, a data converting section for converting a signal being recognizable by the location code receiver, a reference frequency generating section for generating a reference frequency to transmit the location information identification signal, a frequency modulating section for performing a frequency modulation with respect to an output signal from the data converting section by using the generated reference frequency signal, and an infrared ray signal converting section for converting the output signal from the frequency modulating section into an infrared ray signal.
The location information receiver may include an infrared ray signal receiving section for receiving the location information identification signal from the location information transmitter and converting the location information identification signal into an electric signal, a frequency demodulating section for performing a frequency demodulation with respect to the converted electric signal, and a data converting section for converting an output signal from the frequency demodulating section into a signal being recognizable by the terminal and providing the converted signal to the terminal. According to still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a system for providing shopping information which includes a transmitting server for transmitting a plurality of shopping information contents, terminals installed in shopping carts respectively, and a plurality of access points (AP) for providing a location information identification signal and a wireless LAN connection to the terminals belonged to a signal transmitting area, wherein the terminals receive the location information identification signal from the access points and display a shopping information contents corresponding to the received location information identification signal among a plurality of shopping information contents transmitted by the contents transmitting server. The contents transmitting server, according to the still another embodiment of the present invention, may include a streaming processing section for converting the shopping information contents to be transmitted into streaming data, a schedule programming section for providing an interface that an operator can program a shopping information display schedule and for storing the shopping information display schedule programmed by the operator by a category of goods, a category/multicasting address and port mapping section for storing information of the multicasting address and port where the shopping information contents of each category of goods will be transmitted to, and a contents broadcasting section for selecting a plurality of shopping information contents to be broadcasted by using data of the schedule programming section, for selecting the multicasting addresses and ports where the shopping information contents that are selected through the category/multicasting address and port mapping section will be transmitted to respectively, and for transmitting streaming data of a corresponding shopping information contents to the selected multicasting address and ports.
The terminals, according to the still another embodiment of the present invention, may include a location information receiving section for receiving the location information identification signal from the access points, a multicasting/port selecting section for selecting the multicasting address and port from which the shopping information contents are received by using the received location information identification signal, a streaming data receiving section for receiving and displaying the streaming data of the shopping information contents transmitted by the contents server from the selected multicasting address and port, and a discount coupon displaying section for outputting discount coupon information at random regardless of the discount coupon concerning the shopping information to be displayed or the shopping information.
According to still another embodiment, there is provided a system for providing shopping information which includes a transmitting server for transmitting a plurality of shopping information contents, terminals respectively installed in a plurality of shopping carts, a plurality of access points (AP) for providing a wireless LAN connection to the terminals belonged to a signal transmitting area, a plurality of location information transmitters for transmitting a location information identification signal to a preset area, and a plurality of location information receivers, built in or coupled to the terminals, for receiving and providing the location information identification signal from the location information transmitters, wherein the terminals receive the location information identification signal from the location information receiver and display the shopping information contents corresponding to the received location information identification signal among the plurality of shopping information contents that the contents transmitting server transmits.
Brief Description of the Drawings
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings, in which like components are referred to by like reference numerals. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating whole construction of a system for providing shopping information using carts according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a view illustrating the construction of a system for providing shopping information using carts according to other embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the construction of a contents transmitting server of according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of the contents transmitting server according to other embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating procedures of providing advertising data to terminals when a shopping mall is under off-line according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of schedule information that is programmed through a schedule programming section according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a field construction of a contents database according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating procedures of providing advertising data to terminals in real time according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9 a prospective view of a shopping cart in which a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed;
FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a terminal according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the construction of an advertising data receiving section according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating of a location information transmitter according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of the location information receiver according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment
Hereinafter a system for providing shopping information using carts according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail by referring to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the construction of the system for providing shopping information using carts according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , the system for providing shopping information using carts according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention may include a transmitting server 100, a plurality of access points (hereinafter referred to AP) 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, and 112, and a cart in which a terminal capable of receiving information such as an advertisement is installed. According to the present invention, the cart is installed with the terminal and the terminal transmits advertising information corresponding to a shopping location so that shopping information is transmitted to a customer. The customer can watch the advertising information displayed on the terminal during the shopping with carrying the cart. For example, if the customer is the place in the shopping where ramen (Chinese noodle) is displayed located, the terminal displays a ramen advertisement. Though a system for providing shopping information according to the conventional art provides information to the customer unilaterally regardless of the customer's location, the system for providing shopping information of the present invention is to detect the customer's location and display the advertising information of goods displayed at the place where the customer is located.
The system shown in FIG. 1 can provide the advertisement information according to two embodiments. According to a first embodiment, the system is that the contents transmitting server 100 transmits the advertisement information to the terminal, and the terminal displays the received advertisement data when the shopping mall is under off-line.
According to a second embodiment, the system is that the contents transmitting server 100 broadcasts the advertisement information corresponding to the location where the customer is in real time. First, the operation of the system for providing shopping information of the first embodiment will be described.
According to the first embodiment, the contents transmitting server 100 serves the function of providing the terminal advertising data to be provided to the customer when the shopping mall is under off-line. According to the preferred embodiment, the content transmitting server 100 the advertising data to the terminals by using a wireless LAN. Therefore, the advertising data transmitted by the contents server is transmitted to the plurality of APs 100 to 112, and each of the APs 102 to 112 transmits the advertising data transmitted from the terminals belonged to the area of the respective APs. According to the preferred embodiment, in order to reduce load of the server and utilize bandwidth effectively, it is preferred to transmit the advertising data in a multicasting way.
The data transmission and reception on a network including the Internet is performed in a unicast method. The unicast method is a method that a server sends packets a receiver of receiving data respectively. Therefore, according to the unicast method, if one hundred receivers demand same packet simultaneously, one hundred packets must be transmitted to each receiver.
The unicast method may be utilized effectively when various users request various information different each other, but not effectively when a plurality of terminals, like the present invention, receive same data.
The multicast method is a method that one packet is transmitted to a preset multicasting address and port and receivers receive the packet from the corresponding address and port. Therefore, since, if using the multicast method, only one packet is transmitted, the bandwidth can be utilized effectively.
In the present invention, the multicast transmission method may be utilized effectively, but it is only an embodiment, it should be understood that a case of using other transmission within the spirit and scope of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art. The terminals scattered in the shopping mall keep the connection with the contents transmitting server 100 through the APs 102 to 112, and receive and store the advertising data from the contents transmitting server 100 through the APs 102 to 112.
The APs 102 to 112 installed in the shopping mall have own identification number, and the terminal installed on the cart 130 determines a kind of advertisement to be displayed by using the identification numbers of the APs 102 to 112.
For example, if the cart 130 is located between a showcase No. 1 114 and a showcase No. 2 116, the terminal on the cart 130 keeps the connection with a network through an AP1 102 and receives an identification number the AP1 102 from the AP1 102. In the terminal, a mapping table set for a category of goods displayed between the showcase No. 1 and the showcase No. 2 to be corresponded to the identification information of the AP1.
Therefore, if the identification number is received from the AP1 102, the terminal displays the advertising information related to goods between the showcase No. 1 114 and the showcase No. 2 116.
If the customer moves with his/her cart 130 to between the showcase No. 2 and a showcase No. 3, the terminal on the cart 130 receives the identification number from an AP2 104. Received the identification number from the AP2 104, the terminal determines the category of goods to be displayed by using the mapping table and displays the advertisement for goods corresponding to the category of the determined goods.
According to the first embodiment of the present invention, if the shopping mall is under on-line, the content transmitting server 100 does not transmit the advertising data, and the terminal determines an advertisement to be displayed by using the identification transmitted from the APs 102 to 104 and displays the advertising data received from the contents transmitting server 100 when the shopping mall is under off-line. Therefore, since it is not required to transmit a moving picture advertising data with a relative large capacity when the shopping mall is under on-line, the network can be utilized effectively.
In the first embodiment, though the case of transmitting the advertising data to the terminals through the wireless LAN when the shopping mall is under off-line, it is understood that other methods for storing advertising contents into the terminal within the spirit and scope of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art.
Hereinafter the second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail by referring to FIG. 1.
As described above, according to the second embodiment, the contents transmitting server 100 transmits the advertising data to the terminal on the carts in real time.
Even in the case of the second embodiment, it is preferred that the contents transmitting server 100 transmits the advertising data by using the multicast method. In the first embodiment, since the terminals collectively installed on the carts receive the advertising data when the shopping mall is under off-line, there is no necessary that the contents transmitting server 100 transmits a variety kind of advertising data.
However, in a case of providing the advertising data in real time, the terminal should receive directly other advertising data from the contents transmitting server 100 according to the location.
Therefore, according to the second embodiment, the contents transmitting server 100 transmits other kind of advertisement corresponding to number of the APs 102 to 112. Since the data transmission is performed by the multicast method, the contents transmitting server 100 transmits respective advertising data to the corresponding multicasting address and port. In other words, the advertising data is transmitted to other multicasting address and port, respectively.
Similar to the case of the first embodiment, even in the second embodiment, the terminals installed in the carts receive the identification number from the APs 102 to 112.
In the terminal, a mapping table for recording the multicasting address and port information corresponding to the identification number of the AP is stored.
For example, if the cart 130 is between the showcase No. 1 114 and the showcase No. 2 116, the terminal on the cart 130 receives the identification number from the AP1 102, and determines the multicasting address and port information from which the terminal has received the data by using the mapping table.
If the customer moves with his/her cart then is located between the showcase
No. 2 and the showcase No. 3, the terminal installed on the cart receives the identification number from the AP2 104 and the advertising data from the multicasting address and port corresponding to the identification number of the AP2
104, and displays the advertising data.
If the location of the cart is changed, since the terminal receives the identification from other AP and the advertising data from the multicasting address and port corresponding to the identification number of the respective identification information, the terminal can provide the advertisement of goods corresponding to the location of the cart to the customer.
FIG. 2 is a view illustrating the construction of the system for providing shopping information using carts according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the system for providing shopping information according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a contents transmitting server 200, a plurality of APs 202, 204, and 205, and a plurality of location information transmitters 224, 226, 228, 230, 232, 234, 236, and 238.
FIG. 1 has illustrated the system for determining the location of the cart 130 by using the identification number transmitted from the AP and displaying the advertising information corresponding to the determined location. However, according the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the APs 202 to 206 only serves the role of relaying the data transmitted from the contents transmitting server 200 to the terminal through the wireless communication, and does not provide the location information.
According to the system as shown in FIG. 1 , since the AP provides the location information, in order to provide twelve different advertisements in accordance with the location of the carts, twelve APs are required. However, since the AP is expensive equipment, it is inefficient in the economic view to install a plurality of APs mere the purpose of provision of the location information.
Therefore, in the system as shown in FIG. 2, the APs 202, 204, and 206 take only charge of data relay as their own role in the wireless LAN, and the location information is transmitted to the terminal by the location information transmitters 224 to 238. Thus, a large number of APs like in the system as shown in FIG. 1 are not installed in the system as shown in FIG. 2, only minimum numbers of the APs 202, 204, and 206 capable of transmitting the wireless data to the whole area of the shopping mall are installed.
The first embodiment of the present invention, that is, that the terminal receives an stores the advertising data will be described as following.
A plurality of location information transmitters 224 to 238 the preset location information identification signal to the terminal installed on the cart. It is preferred that the respective location information transmitters 224 to 238 transmit a signal with a proper size so that the location information identification signal does not interfere other location information identification signal.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the location information transmitter can be realized as an infrared ray transmitter.
If the cart is located left side of the showcase No. 1 208 and the showcase No. 2 210, the terminal in the cart 240 receives the location information identification signal from a first location information transmitter 224. In the terminal, the information for the category of goods corresponding the location information identification signal is stored, and the terminal determines the category of goods to be displayed by using the received location information identification signal and displays the advertisement of the corresponding goods. For example, if a kind of ramen is displayed left side of the showcase No. 1 208 and the showcase No. 2 210, the terminal displays the advertisement for the ramen.
If the customer moves the cart 240, then the cart 240 is located right side of the showcase No. 1 208 and the showcase No. 2 210, the terminal on the cart 240 receives the location information identification signal from a second location information transmitter 226. The terminal, which has received the location information identification signal from the second location information transmitter 226, determines the corresponding category of goods and the advertisement of corresponding goods. The second embodiment that the content transmitting server 200 provides the advertising data to the terminal in real time will be described in detail as following.
If the cart 240 is located left side of the showcase No. 1 208 and the showcase No. 2 210, the terminal on the cart 240 receives the location information identification signal from the first location information transmitter 224. The terminal determines the multicasting address and port from which the terminal receives the advertising data corresponding to the location information identification signal. The terminal receives the advertising data from the determined multicasting address and port and displays the received advertising data.
If the customer moves the cart 240 to the right side of the showcase No.1 208 and the showcase No. 2 210, the terminal on the cart 240 receives the location information identification signal from the second information transmitter 226. The terminal, which has received the location information identification signal from the second information transmitter 226, receives the advertising data from the corresponding multicasting address and port, so that can provide the advertisement for goods corresponding to the changed location to the customer.
Though FIGs. 1 and 2 show the case that the contents transmitting server provides the advertising data or the terminal displays the pres-stored advertising data corresponding to the location, it will become apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of information in addition to the advertisement can be provided.
Moreover, the content transmitting server 200 may provide the information for the shopping mall and news information regardless of the location of the cart to the terminal on the cart.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of the content transmitting server according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 3, the content transmitting server according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention may include a content receiving section 300, a contents transmitting section 302, a schedule programming section 304, a loss packet transmitting section 306, a shopping mall/news information transmitting section 308, and a discount coupon information transmitting section 312.
FIG. 3 shows the construction of the contents server in a case that the contents server provides the advertising data to the terminal when the shopping mall is under off-line.
As shown in FIG. 3, the contents receiving section 300 plays a role of receiving the advertising data to be provided to the terminal from an external server. Since the advertising data being provided to the terminals should be updated continuously, the contents receiving section 300 receives new advertising data. Since the advertising data being provided to the terminals should not be downloaded from the external server through on-line, but can be stored directly under the off-line by the operator, the contents receiving section 300 is not an essential element of the content transmitting server according to the present invention. The contents receiving section 300, which has received the advertising data from the external server, provides the same to a contents database 310. The contents transmitting section 302 plays a role of transmitting the advertising data to the terminal on the cart in the shopping mall when the shopping mall is under off-line. As described above, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the contents transmitting section 302 transmits the advertising data in the multicast method. The contents transmitting server and the terminal store the address and port information from and to which the multicasting packet is provided and received, and the contents transmitting section 302 transmits the advertising data to the preset multicasting address and port.
The schedule programming section 304 provides an interface for programming information which advertisement of goods is displayed at a specific time zone by the operator, and stored the programmed schedule information. The schedule information programmed by the operator through the schedule programming section is transmitted to the terminal.
FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of the schedule information programmed through the schedule programming section according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 6, the schedule information may contain a goods category, a time zone, and the goods information of which advertisement will be displayed at the corresponding time zone. FIG. 6 shows the schedule information about an advertisement for the ramem, as shown in FIG. 6, the schedule information is programmed to display a different advertisement of the ramen by one hour.
As shown in FIG. 6, the schedule information is programmed by the goods category. The terminal receives the location information from the AP or the location information transmitter and determines the category of goods to be displayed, but may display the advertisement of goods belonged to the correspond goods after determination of the category of goods.
The loss packet transmitting section 306 plays a role of providing a packet requested by the terminal to the terminal when receives a loss packer request signal from the terminal. The terminals monitor whether all packet is exactly received while receiving data in the multicast method. If an error is occurred in reception of the packet in consequence of the monitor, the terminals request the contents transmitting server to retransmit the packet with an error, an the loss packet transmitting section 306 provides the loss packet, which the terminals have requested, to the terminals.
According to the preferred embodiment, the loss packet transmitting section 306 provides the loss packet to the terminals to request the loss packet. Though the collective transmission of the advertising data is performed in the multicast method, since the loss packet must be transmitted only to the terminal requesting the packet, it is preferred that the loss packet is transmitted in TCP/IP method.
The shopping mall/news information transmitting section 308 plays a role of providing information such as sale information of the shopping mall and news information in addition to the advertising information to the terminals in the shopping mall. The shopping mall/news information may be provided regardless of the locations of the terminals. The shopping mall/news information can be provided in a usual transmitting method such as TCP/IP, and UDP/IP as well as the multicast method.
The news information can be provided to the terminals through not the contents transmitting sever but other linked external server.
The contents database 310 stores the advertising data to be provided to the terminals.
The discount coupon information transmitting section 312 provides the information about an image of the discount coupon and a discount price to the terminal installed on the cart.
According to the embodiment of the present invention, in order for the customer to continuously watch the advertisement, the discount coupon is displayed on the terminal installed on the cart.
The discount coupon information transmitting 312 transmits the information about the discount coupon to be displayed like that. The discount coupon information can be transmitted when the shopping mall is under off-line, and can be transmitted to the respective terminals when the shopping mall is under on-line.
FIG. 7 is a view illustrating the construction of fields of the contents database according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the contents database of the embodiment of the present invention includes a goods category field 700, a goods name field 702, a storing location field 704, a contents meta information field 706, and an advertisement data field 708. Goods names are stored in the goods name field 702, and a category identification information of the corresponding goods is stored in the goods category field 700. The location information about the location where the advertising data is stored is stored in the storing location information field 704, and the advertising data information, which is performed in the terminal, is stored in the advertising data field 708.
In the content meta information field 706, an abstract information about advertising contents and information required to perform the contents are stored. For example, the information for a title, a copyright, a bandwidth, producing data, a length of a file, a codec, and a screen size of the advertising contents may be stored in the content meta information field.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of the contents transmitting server according to another embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 4, the contents transmitting server according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a contents receiving section 400, a streaming processing section 402, a contents broadcasting section 404, a schedule programming section 406, a category/multicasting address and port mapping section 408, a shopping mall/news information transmitting section 410, and a discount coupon information transmitting section 414.
FIG. 4 illustrates the construction of the contents transmitting server in a case that the contents transmitting server provides the advertising information in real time.
In FIG. 4, the contents receiving section 400, like the case shown in FIG. 3, performs the function of receiving the advertising data to be provided to the terminal from the external server. As described above, since the advertising data being provided to the terminals should not be downloaded from the external server through on-line, but can be stored directly under the off-line by the operator, the contents receiving section 400 is not an essential element of the content transmitting server according to the present invention.
The streaming processing section 402 performs the function of converting the advertising data stored in the contents database 412 stream data. Since the advertising data should be provided to the terminal in real time, it is required the operation for making the stored data into streaming.
The contents broadcasting section 404 performs the function of transmitting the streaming data to a plurality of multicasting addresses and ports by using the schedule information stored in the schedule programming section 406 and an output information from the category/multicasting address and port mapping section 408.
Since the advertising information different to each other is provided according to the location, the contents broadcasting section 404 inquires the information of the schedule programming section 406 and generates the multicasting packet as many as the preset number of the goods category.
Additionally, the contents broadcasting section 404 determines which is the multicasting address and port where a packet of a certain goods category through the category/multicasting address and port mapping section are transmitted.
If the multicasting address and port where the packet is transmitted is determined, the contents broadcasting section 404 transmits a plurality of packets corresponding to all goods category to the respective determined multicasting addresses and ports.
Since the functions of the shopping mall information transmitting section 410 and the discount coupon information transmitting section 414 are the same that is described in FIG. 3, their description will be omitted.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating procedures of providing advertising data to terminals when a shopping mall is under off-line according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, first, the contents transmitting server generates a multicasting packet (Step S500). The generated multicasting packet may contain the sequence information, and size information of a file, and the like.
The contents transmitting server transmits the generated packet to the preset multicasting address and port (Step S502). The terminal receives the packet fro the preset multicasting address and port
(Step S504). The time when the contents transmitting server transmits the packet to the multicasting address and port is stored in the contents server and the terminal in advance, and the terminal receives the packet from the multicasting address and port on the corresponding time. The terminal monitors whether the packet has a loss while receives the packet from the multicasting address and port (Step S506).
If there is the packet loss, the terminal requests the TCP connection to the content transmitting server and forms a TCP session (Step S508).
If the TCP session is formed between the terminal and the contents transmitting server, the terminal requests the loss packet to the contents transmitting server (Step S510).
The contents transmitting server, which has received the packet request signal from the terminal, transmits the loss packet to the terminal which has requested the packet in the TCP/IP method (Step S512).
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating procedures of providing advertising data to terminals in real time according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 8, at first, the contents transmitting server selects the advertising contents to be broadcasted by using the information of the schedule programming section (Step S800). Since the schedule programming information is stored by each goods category, the contents transmitting server selects the advertising contents to be broadcasted by each goods category by inquiring the schedule information of all goods categories.
If the advertising contents are selected, the contents transmitting server determines the multicasting address and port to which each contents will be transmitted through the category/multicasting address and port mapping section (Step S802).
The contents transmitting server transmits the streaming data of the selected advertising contents to the corresponding multicasting address and port (Step S804). The terminal installed on the cart receives the identification number from the AP corresponding to the present location (Step S806).
The terminal determines the multicasting address and port from which the terminal receives the advertising contents data by using the receive AP identification number (Step S808). If the multicasting address and port from which the terminal receives the data is determined, the terminal receives the streaming data transmitted from the contents server from the corresponding address and port.
If the customer moves the cart and the location of the cart is changed, the terminal receives the identification number from the AP corresponding to the changed location and the procedures of Steps S804 to S808 are repeated.
FIG. 9 a prospective view of a shopping cart in which a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed.
As shown in FIG. 9, the terminal is preferably installed on a grip bar of the cart so that the customer can easily watch the advertisement and the shopping information during the movement of the cart.
The terminal receives the signal from the AP or the location information transmitter, and displays the advertisement or the shopping information corresponding to the received signal. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a terminal according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 10, the terminal according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a location information receiving section 1000, a goods category determining section 1002, an output advertisement selecting section 1004, a schedule data storing section 1006, an advertising information storing section 1008, an advertising data outputting section 1010, an advertising data receiving section 1012, a discount coupon displaying section 1014, an advertisement/discount coupon link information storing section 1016, and a discount coupon storing section 1018. The terminal in FIG. 10 is shown as the construction of the terminal used in the first embodiment stores the advertising contents data in advance and displays the advertising contents according to the location of the cart.
In FIG. 10, the location information receiving section 1000 performs the function of receiving the location information signal transmitted from the AP or the location information transmitter. If the location information signal is received from the AP, the terminal can receive the location information by using the wireless LAN. If the infrared transmitter as described above is used as the location information transmitter, the terminal can receive the location information signal through an infrared sensor.
The goods category determining section 1002 determines the category of goods of which advertisement is displayed by using the location information signal that is received by the location information receiving section 1000. The category of goods determined by the goods category determining section is the category of goods which are displayed in the area where the terminal is located. The terminal stores a mapping table of the location information signal and the goods category, and the goods category determining section 1002 determines the category of goods of which advertisement is displayed by using the mapping table.
The schedule data storing section 1006 performs the function of storing the schedule information provided fro the contents transmitting server. As described above, the schedule information can be transmitted in a state that the schedule information is contained in a header information of the contents to be transmitted, or can be transmitted as a separated schedule data.
If the schedule information is transmitted with being contained in the header information, the schedule data storing section 1006 analyses the header information of the received contents and stores the schedule information by extracting the schedule information therefrom.
As shown in FIG. 6, the schedule information is stored by goods categories. The output advertisement selecting section 1004 performs the function of selecting goods of which advertisement is displayed by using the schedule information of the category of goods determined by the goods category determining section 1002. Let assume that the goods category determined by the goods category determining section 1002 is a ramen and the schedule data of the ramen is stored as shown in FIG. 6. In this case, if the present time is eleven o'clock, the output advertisement selecting section 1004 selects a C ramen.
As described above, without the procedure of selecting the advertisement to be displayed by using the schedule information, the advertisement of the goods contained the corresponding category can be displayed at random. The advertising information outputting section 1010 performs the function of displaying the advertising data of the selected goods by the output advertisement selecting section. The advertising information outputting section 1010 calls an image reproducing tool such as a media player in order to display the advertisement and displays the corresponding advertisement by the called image reproducing tool. The advertising data receiving section 1012 receives the advertising data transmitted from the contents transmitting server when the shopping mall is under off-line, and the advertising data received by the advertising data receiving section is stored in the advertising information storing section 1008.
The discount coupon storing section 1018 stores the discount coupon information transmitted from the contents server. As described above, the discount coupon information contains the image information of the discount coupon and the discount price information.
The advertisement/discount coupon link information storing section 1016 stores the information about which discount coupon is displayed when a specific advertisement is displayed. For example, the advertisement/discount coupon link information storing section 1016 can store a link information so that the discount coupon of a specific ramen is displayed when the ramen advertisement is displayed because the customer is in a ramen mall. The advertisement/discount coupon link information storing section 1016 is not an essential element, and it is possible for the discount coupon to be displayed at random regardless of the advertisement.
The discount coupon displaying section 1014 displays the image of the discount coupon on the terminal. As described above, the discount coupon displaying section 1014 can display the discount coupon according to the advertisement/discount coupon link information or the discount coupon at random.
Like this, since the customer can watch the terminal for the purpose of obtain the benefit of the discount when the discount coupon is displayed on the terminal, it is advantageous that the effect of the advertisement according the area can be enhanced. The customer selects the discount coupon being displayed through a touch screen, so that he/she can use the displayed discount coupon.
The selection information of the discount coupon by the customer is stored in the terminal, and the customer can be benefited by the discount by using the stored discount information for the settlement. The customer's discount coupon selection information is transmitted from the terminal to the server so that the customer can be benefited by the discount for the settlement.
According to the embodiment, if the customer selects the discount coupon, a barcode corresponding to the discount price is displayed on the terminal. Since the technology for reading the barcode displayed on the terminal is well known, the sum of money corresponding to the discount coupon selected by the customer is discounted by reading the barcode displayed on the terminal when the settlement.
However, it will become apparent to those skilled in the art that the discount method is not limited to the barcode display as described above and the customer's discount coupon selecting information can be stored in the terminal or the contents transmitting server by a variety of methods.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 illustrates a case that the terminal stores the advertising data in advance and displays the stored advertising data according to the location.
If the terminal installed on the cart is not located within the area of the AP or the location information transmitter, the terminal displays a general advertisement set in a default mode (Step S1100).
If the customer moves the cart, the terminal determines whether the location information signal is received from the location information transmitter such as the AP or the infrared transmitter (Step S1102).
If the location information signal is received from the AP or the location information transmitter, the terminal determines the category of goods of which advertisement is displayed by using the received location information signal (Step S1104).
After determination of the category of goods, the terminal inquires the schedule information of the determined category of goods (Step S1106) and selects the goods of which advertisement is displayed (Step S1108). The terminal determines whether the advertisement of the selected goods is displayed in the present time or not (Step S1110).
If the advertisement of the selected goods is not displayed, the terminal interrupts the reproducing of the advertisement being reproduced in the present time (Step S1112) and reproduces the selected advertisement (Step S1114). If the selected advertisement is reproduced already, the advertisement keeps on being reproduced.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the construction of an advertising data receiving section according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 12, the advertising data receiving section according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a multicasting receiving section 1200, a data loss determining section 1202, and a loss data receiving section 1204.
The multicasting receiving section 1200 receives packet data transmitted by the contents transmitting server from the preset multicasting address and port.
The packet loss determining section 1202 determines whether there is a loss in the packet which is received by the multicasting receiving section or not. Since a sequence information is contained in the packet to be received, the data loss determining section determines the data loss through the sequence information.
The loss packet receiving section 1204 performs the function of receiving the loss packet by requesting the loss packet to the contents server when the pack has a loss. As described above, it is preferred that the TCP/IP method is utilized for the request and reception of the loss packet.
FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 13, the terminal according to the other embodiment of the present invention includes a location information receiving section 1300, a multicasting address an port selecting section 1302, a streaming data receiving section 1304, a discount coupon storing section 1306, an advertisement/discount coupon link information storing section 1308, and a discount coupon displaying section 1310.
FIG. 13 illustrates the construction of the terminal receiving and displaying the advertising contents from the contents transmitting server in real time.
The location information receiving section 1300 performs the function of receiving the location information signal from the AP or the location information transmitting section like the case shown in FIG. 10.
The multicasting address and port selecting section 1302 the multicasting address and port from which the advertising data is received by using the location information received by the location information receiving section 1300 in real time.
As described above, since the contents server transmits the each category of goods to respective different multicasting addresses and ports, the terminal selects the multicasting address and port from which the advertising data is received among a plurality of multicasting addresses and ports by using the location information signal transmitted from the AP or the location information transmitter.
The streaming data receiving section 1304 performs the function of receiving and displaying the streaming data transmitted from the selected multicasting address and port in real time.
Since the functions of the discount coupon storing section 1306, the advertisement/discount coupon link information storing section 1308, and the discount coupon displaying section 1310 are like as the ones shown in FIG. 10, their descriptions will be omitted.
FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating of a location information transmitter according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the location information transmitter according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a location code generating section 1400, a data converting section 1402, a frequency modulating section 1404, a reference frequency generating section 1406, and an infrared ray signal converting section 1408.
The location code generating section 1400 generates a preset location information code. It is preferred that the location code generated by the location code generating section can be set at free by the operator.
The data converting section 1402 performs the function of converting the location code information generated by the location code generating section 1400 into a signal that a receiver can recognize. The code conversion can be achieved by using a usual microprocessor. The reference frequency generating section 1406 generates a reference frequency of a wireless signal loading the location information, and the frequency modulating section 1404 performs the frequency modulation of the frequency by mixing the frequency generated from the reference frequency generating section 1406 and an output signal from the data converting section 1402. The infrared ray signal converting section 1408 outputs an electric signal outputted from the frequency modulating section 1404 into an infrared ray signal.
FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of the location information receiver according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 15, the location information receiver includes an infrared ray signal receiving section 1500, a frequency demodulating section 1502, and a data converting section 1504.
The infrared ray signal receiving section 1500 receives an infrared ray signal transmitted from the location information transmitter and converts the same into an electric signal.
The frequency demodulating section 1502 performs the frequency demodulation with respect to the signal converted by the infrared ray receiving section 1500.
Since the demodulated signal is not a signal which is recognizable to the terminal, the data converting section 1504 converts the demodulated signal into a signal which is recognizable to the terminal.
The location information receiver can be installed in the terminal or equipped out the terminal. If the location information receiver is equipped outside of the terminal, an output signal from the data converting section 1504 can be inputted into the terminal through a port of the terminal. The present invention has been described in detail. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. For example, the present invention has been mainly described in detail for the case that the advertising information is transmitted to the terminal. However, it should be understood that a case of providing other shopping information in addition to the advertising information is within the spirit and scope of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
As described above, the system for providing shopping information using carts according to the present invention has advantages that since the advertising data information for the goods placed where the cart is located is provided, the effect of the advertisement can be maximized. Moreover, the enhancement of the effect of the advertisement and the increment of selling can be achieved by displaying the discount coupon on the terminal for the customer to continuously watch the discount coupon.

Claims

What is claimed is:
1. A system for providing shopping information using carts, comprising: terminals, installed in a plurality of shopping carts respectively, for storing shopping information contents; and a plurality of access points (AP) for providing the terminals belonged to a signal transmission area a location information identification signal and a wireless LAN access; wherein the terminals receive the location information identification signal from the access points and display the shopping information contents corresponding to the received signal.
2. The system as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a contents transmitting server for storing the shopping information contents and providing the shopping information contents to the terminals.
3. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the contents transmitting server can transmit the shopping information contents even when the shopping mall is under the off-line.
4. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the contents transmitting server includes: a contents transmitting section for the shopping information contents to a preset multicasting address and port; a schedule programming section for providing an interface which an operator can program a shopping information display schedule and storing the shopping information programming schedule programmed by the operator; and a packet transmitting section for transmitting a packet requested from the terminals to the terminals when a loss packet request signal is received.
5. The system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the terminal includes: a location information receiving section for receiving the location information identification signal from the access points; a contents shopping information contents receiving section for receiving the shopping information contents that the contents transmitting server transmitted from the preset multicasting address and port; a shopping information storing section for storing the shopping information contents received to the shopping information contents receiving section; a goods category determining section for determining a category of goods of which shopping information is to be displayed by the received location information identification signal; a schedule data storing section for storing a shopping information schedule to be displayed by goods category; a goods selecting section for selecting goods of which shopping information is to be displayed by using the schedule information of the goods category determined by the goods category determining section; and a discount coupon displaying section for outputting a discount coupon information at random regardless of the shopping information of the goods selected by the goods selecting section being displayed.
6. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the shopping information contents receiving section includes: a multicasting receiving section for a shopping information contents packet from the preset multicasting address and port; a packet loss determining section for determining whether there is a loss in the packet received by the multicasting section or not; and a loss packet receiving section for receiving a loss packet by requesting the loss packet to the contents transmitting server when there it is determined to be a loss in the packet.
7. A system for providing shopping information using carts, comprising: terminals, installed in a plurality of shopping carts respectively, for storing shopping information contents; a plurality of access points (AP) for providing a wireless LAN connection to the terminals belonged to a signal transmission area; a plurality of location information transmitters for transmitting a location information identification signal to a preset area; and a plurality of location information receivers, built in the terminals or coupled to the terminals, for receiving the location information identification signal from the location information transmitters and transmitting the location information identification signal to the terminals; wherein the terminals receive the location information identification signal from the location information receivers and display a shop information contents among the pre-stored shopping information contents corresponding to the received location information identification signal.
8. The system as claimed in claim 7, further comprising a content transmitting server for storing the shopping information contents and for providing the shopping information contents to the terminals.
9. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the contents transmitting server can transmit the shopping information contents even when the shopping mall is under the off-line.
10. The system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the contents transmitting server includes: a contents transmitting section for the shopping information contents to a preset multicasting address and port; a schedule programming section for providing an interface which an operator can program a shopping information display schedule and storing the shopping information programming schedule programmed by the operator; and a packet transmitting section for transmitting a packet requested from the terminals to the terminals when a loss packet request signal is received.
11. The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the terminal includes: a location information receiving section for receiving the location information identification signal from the access points; a contents shopping information contents receiving section for receiving the shopping information contents that the contents transmitting server transmitted from the preset multicasting address and port; a shopping information storing section for storing the shopping information contents received to the shopping information contents receiving section; a goods category determining section for determining a category of goods of which shopping information is to be displayed by the received location information identification signal; a schedule data storing section for storing a shopping information schedule to be displayed by goods category; a goods selecting section for selecting goods of which shopping information is to be displayed by using the schedule information of the goods category determined by the goods category determining section; and a discount coupon displaying section for outputting a discount coupon information at random regardless of the shopping information of the goods selected by the goods selecting section being displayed.
12. The system as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the shopping information contents receiving section includes: a multicasting receiving section for a shopping information contents packet from the preset multicasting address and port; a packet loss determining section for determining whether there is a loss in the packet received by the multicasting section or not; and a loss packet receiving section for receiving a loss packet by requesting the loss packet to the contents transmitting server when there it is determined to be a loss in the packet.
13. The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the location information transmitter comprises: a location code generating section for generating a preset location code; a data converting section for converting a signal being recognizable by the location code receiver; a reference frequency generating section for generating a reference frequency to transmit the location information identification signal; a frequency modulating section for performing a frequency modulation with respect to an output signal from the data converting section by using the generated reference frequency signal; and an infrared ray signal converting section for converting the output signal from the frequency modulating section into an infrared ray signal.
14. The system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the location information receiver comprises: an infrared ray signal receiving section for receiving the location information identification signal from the location information transmitter and converting the location information identification signal into an electric signal; a frequency demodulating section for performing a frequency demodulation with respect to the converted electric signal; and a data converting section for converting an output signal from the frequency demodulating section into a signal being recognizable by the terminal and providing the converted signal to the terminal.
15. A system for providing shopping information using carts, comprising: a transmitting server for transmitting a plurality of shopping information contents; terminals installed in shopping carts respectively; and a plurality of access points (AP) for providing a location information identification signal and a wireless LAN connection to the terminals belonged to a signal transmitting area; wherein the terminals receive the location information identification signal from the access points and display a shopping information contents corresponding to the received location information identification signal among a plurality of shopping information contents transmitted by the contents transmitting server.
16. The system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the contents transmitting server comprises: a streaming processing section for converting the shopping information contents to be transmitted into streaming data; a schedule programming section for providing an interface that an operator can program a shopping information display schedule and for storing the shopping information display schedule programmed by the operator by a category of goods; a category/multicasting address and port mapping section for storing information of the multicasting address and port where the shopping information contents of each category of goods will be transmitted to; and a contents broadcasting section for selecting a plurality of shopping information contents to be broadcasted by using data of the schedule programming section, for selecting the multicasting addresses and ports where the shopping information contents that are selected through the category/multicasting address and port mapping section will be transmitted to respectively, and for transmitting streaming data of a corresponding shopping information contents to the selected multicasting address and ports.
17. The system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the terminals comprise: a location information receiving section for receiving the location information identification signal from the access points; a multicasting/port selecting section for selecting the multicasting address and port from which the shopping information contents are received by using the received location information identification signal; a streaming data receiving section for receiving and displaying the streaming data of the shopping information contents transmitted by the contents server from the selected multicasting address and port; and a discount coupon displaying section for outputting discount coupon information at random regardless of the discount coupon concerning the shopping information to be displayed or the shopping information.
18. A system for providing shopping information using carts, comprising: a transmitting server for transmitting a plurality of shopping information contents; terminals respectively installed in a plurality of shopping carts; a plurality of access points (AP) for providing a wireless LAN connection to the terminals belonged to a signal transmitting area; a plurality of location information transmitters for transmitting a location information identification signal to a preset area; and a plurality of location information receivers, built in or coupled to the terminals, for receiving and providing the location information identification signal from the location information transmitters, wherein the terminals receive the location information identification signal from the location information receiver and display the shopping information contents corresponding to the received location information identification signal among the plurality of shopping information contents that the contents transmitting server transmits.
19. The system as claimed in claim 18, wherein the contents transmitting server comprises: a streaming processing section for converting the shopping information contents to be transmitted into streaming data; a schedule programming section for providing an interface that an operator can program a shopping information display schedule and for storing the shopping information display schedule programmed by the operator by a category of goods; a category/multicasting address and port mapping section for storing information of the multicasting address and port where the shopping information contents of each category of goods will be transmitted to; and a contents broadcasting section for selecting a plurality of shopping information contents to be broadcasted by using data of the schedule programming section, for selecting the multicasting addresses and ports where the shopping information contents that are selected through the category/multicasting address and port mapping section will be transmitted to respectively, and for transmitting streaming data of a corresponding shopping information contents to the selected multicasting address and ports.
20. The system as claimed in claim 20, wherein the terminals comprise: a location information receiving section for receiving the location information identification signal from the access points; a multicasting/port selecting section for selecting the multicasting address and port from which the shopping information contents are received by using the received location information identification signal; a streaming data receiving section for receiving and displaying the streaming data of the shopping information contents transmitted by the contents server from the selected multicasting address and port; and a discount coupon displaying section for outputting discount coupon information at random regardless of the discount coupon concerning the shopping information to be displayed or the shopping information.
21. The system as claimed in claim 18, wherein the location information transmitter comprises: a location code generating section for generating a preset location code; a data converting section for converting a signal being recognizable by the location code receiver; a reference frequency generating section for generating a reference frequency to transmit the location information identification signal; a frequency modulating section for performing a frequency modulation with respect to an output signal from the data converting section by using the generated reference frequency signal; and an infrared ray signal converting section for converting the output signal from the frequency modulating section into an infrared ray signal.
22. The system as claimed in claim 18, wherein the location information receiver comprises: an infrared ray signal receiving section for receiving the location information identification signal from the location information transmitter and converting the location information identification signal into an electric signal; a frequency demodulating section for performing a frequency demodulation with respect to the converted electric signal; and a data converting section for converting an output signal from the frequency demodulating section into a signal being recognizable by the terminal and providing the converted signal to the terminal.
PCT/KR2003/000007 2002-11-29 2003-01-03 System for providing shopping information using cart WO2004051547A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU2003201766A AU2003201766A1 (en) 2002-11-29 2003-01-03 System for providing shopping information using cart

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
KR10-2002-0075391A KR100497597B1 (en) 2002-11-29 2002-11-29 System for Providing Shopping Information Using Cart
KR10-2002-0075391 2002-11-29

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2004051547A1 true WO2004051547A1 (en) 2004-06-17

Family

ID=32464462

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/KR2003/000007 WO2004051547A1 (en) 2002-11-29 2003-01-03 System for providing shopping information using cart

Country Status (3)

Country Link
KR (1) KR100497597B1 (en)
AU (1) AU2003201766A1 (en)
WO (1) WO2004051547A1 (en)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20090043626A1 (en) * 2007-08-07 2009-02-12 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. System and method for providing product information in lan
WO2009064206A2 (en) * 2007-11-14 2009-05-22 Cabco Group Limited Shopping cart with variable search function
WO2010144054A1 (en) * 2009-06-10 2010-12-16 Store Of The Future Pte Ltd Communications-enabled shopping cart
CN107846662A (en) * 2016-09-20 2018-03-27 上海掌门科技有限公司 For the method and apparatus based on WAP push marketing message

Families Citing this family (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP5216192B2 (en) * 2006-02-28 2013-06-19 富士通フロンテック株式会社 Information terminal device, information terminal device control method, information terminal program, and information output system
KR100788955B1 (en) * 2007-06-04 2007-12-27 (주)디엠씨미디어 Method of providing target advertisement service for customer in mart and system therof
KR101013366B1 (en) * 2008-04-21 2011-02-14 동국대학교 산학협력단 Mart information system using rfid
US9773268B2 (en) 2008-06-16 2017-09-26 Sunrise R&D Holdings, Llc System of acquiring shopper insights and influencing shopper purchase decisions
KR101508305B1 (en) * 2008-09-17 2015-04-03 에스케이플래닛 주식회사 System and method for changing background picture of wireless communication terminal
CA2741654C (en) * 2008-10-31 2019-03-19 Sunrise R&D Holdings, Llc Methods of influencing shoppers at the first moment of truth in a retail establishment

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
KR20000053959A (en) * 2000-05-13 2000-09-05 박은일 The general shopping cart system and a reservation method for the on-line purchasing
KR20010016412A (en) * 2000-12-08 2001-03-05 이옥현 Intelligent logistics allocation system (ilas) and method of logistics allocation, and method of logistics transportation using the ilas and recording medium storing the method
KR20010050434A (en) * 1999-09-23 2001-06-15 포만 제프리 엘 Method for conveying a location of a product within a defined (retail) environment
WO2002011074A2 (en) * 2000-08-02 2002-02-07 Nokia Mobile Phones Ltd. Electronic device cover with embedded radio frequency (rf) transponder and methods of using same

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5250789A (en) * 1991-10-31 1993-10-05 Johnsen Edward L Shopping cart
JPH05189454A (en) * 1992-01-10 1993-07-30 Oki Joho Syst:Kk Shopping cart with goods retriever
JPH0840276A (en) * 1994-08-02 1996-02-13 Mitsubishi Denki Bill Techno Service Kk Shopping cart
JPH11152041A (en) * 1997-11-20 1999-06-08 Fujitsu General Ltd Display system for shopping cart
WO2001093150A1 (en) * 2000-05-25 2001-12-06 Smartmedia, Inc. Self-service shopping cart

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
KR20010050434A (en) * 1999-09-23 2001-06-15 포만 제프리 엘 Method for conveying a location of a product within a defined (retail) environment
KR20000053959A (en) * 2000-05-13 2000-09-05 박은일 The general shopping cart system and a reservation method for the on-line purchasing
WO2002011074A2 (en) * 2000-08-02 2002-02-07 Nokia Mobile Phones Ltd. Electronic device cover with embedded radio frequency (rf) transponder and methods of using same
KR20010016412A (en) * 2000-12-08 2001-03-05 이옥현 Intelligent logistics allocation system (ilas) and method of logistics allocation, and method of logistics transportation using the ilas and recording medium storing the method

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20090043626A1 (en) * 2007-08-07 2009-02-12 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. System and method for providing product information in lan
EP2849141A1 (en) * 2007-08-07 2015-03-18 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd System and method for providing product information in LAN
WO2009064206A2 (en) * 2007-11-14 2009-05-22 Cabco Group Limited Shopping cart with variable search function
WO2009064206A3 (en) * 2007-11-14 2009-08-06 Cabco Group Ltd Shopping cart with variable search function
WO2010144054A1 (en) * 2009-06-10 2010-12-16 Store Of The Future Pte Ltd Communications-enabled shopping cart
CN107846662A (en) * 2016-09-20 2018-03-27 上海掌门科技有限公司 For the method and apparatus based on WAP push marketing message

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
KR20040047249A (en) 2004-06-05
AU2003201766A1 (en) 2004-06-23
KR100497597B1 (en) 2005-07-01

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US5909439A (en) Satellite communications system
USRE42103E1 (en) Apparatus and method of automatically accessing on-line services in response to broadcast of on-line addresses
US20020133393A1 (en) Viewing information collection system and method using data braodcasting, and broadcast receiver, viewing information server, shop terminal, and advertiser terminal used therein
US6636896B1 (en) Method and apparatus for utilizing an audibly coded signal to conduct commerce over the internet
US20150213495A1 (en) System, method, apparatus and computer media for user control of advertising
KR20020043239A (en) Method of enhancing rendering of a content item, client system and server system
KR20110099211A (en) Apparatus and method for transmitting content related to advertising goods
US20110321107A1 (en) System and Method for Interactive Use of Cable Television Devices and Other Devices
WO2004051547A1 (en) System for providing shopping information using cart
US20020065715A1 (en) Integrated broadcasting and impulse purchasing system
JPWO2007105750A1 (en) Advertising system and product sales system
JP2011530853A (en) Advertising method and system adapted for data broadcasting
JP2002027344A (en) Mail interlocked program broadcasting system
US8411655B2 (en) System and method for implementing personalized interaction
EP1166559A1 (en) System and method for serving local and global media content
JP2002063103A (en) Method for displaying additional information and device for the same, and computer-readable recording medium
JP2002236838A (en) Coupon ticket distributing method, coupon ticket distributing system and computer readable program
KR101191177B1 (en) Method for registering fan cafe using mobile communication terminal and Mobile communication terminal thereof
KR20050012360A (en) Method for electronic commerce using wireless terminals
WO2005039080A1 (en) Information distribution system
KR100377922B1 (en) System for target advertising and electronic commerce service accompanied with a television broadcasting
JP2005094788A (en) Goods information distribution method and goods information acquisition instrument
JP2003046983A (en) Method and apparatus for providing information
KR20090098374A (en) Method of providing a purchasing information, system thereof and server thereof
JP2006133878A (en) Audiovisual information collection system

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AK Designated states

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): AE AG AL AM AT AU AZ BA BB BG BR BY BZ CA CH CN CO CR CU CZ DE DK DM DZ EC EE ES FI GB GD GE GH GM HR HU ID IL IN IS JP KE KG KP KZ LC LK LR LS LT LU LV MA MD MG MK MN MW MX MZ NO NZ OM PH PL PT RO RU SC SD SE SG SK SL TJ TM TN TR TT TZ UA UG US UZ VC VN YU ZA ZM ZW

AL Designated countries for regional patents

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): GH GM KE LS MW MZ SD SL SZ TZ UG ZM ZW AM AZ BY KG KZ MD RU TJ TM AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HU IE IT LU MC NL PT SE SI SK TR BF BJ CF CG CI CM GA GN GQ GW ML MR NE SN TD TG

121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application
32PN Ep: public notification in the ep bulletin as address of the adressee cannot be established
32PN Ep: public notification in the ep bulletin as address of the adressee cannot be established

Free format text: COMMUNICATION PURSUANT TO RULE 69 EPC (EPO FORM 1205A OF 060905)

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase
NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: JP

WWW Wipo information: withdrawn in national office

Country of ref document: JP