Information processing device, terminal device, vending machine, information processing method, method for transmitting received information, and program

Abstract

To enable vending machines to be used for purposes other than selling goods. [Solution] The information processing device 1 includes a receiving unit 11 that receives arrival information indicating that a user has reached a vending machine 4, a reward granting unit 14 that grants a reward to a user when the arrival information received by the receiving unit 11 indicates that the user has reached a predetermined vending machine 4, and a transmitting unit 16 that transmits information regarding the reward granted by the reward granting unit 14 to the user's terminal device 2.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and the like that grants a privilege to a user in response to the user arriving at a specific vending machine.

Background Art

[0002] Products and the like can be purchased using vending machines (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Utilization of vending machines for purposes other than purchasing products and the like has been under consideration.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an information processing apparatus and the like that enable vending machines to be used for purposes other than purchasing products and the like.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives arrival information indicating that a user has arrived at a vending machine, a privilege granting unit that grants a privilege to the user when the arrival information received by the receiving unit indicates that the user has arrived at a predetermined vending machine, and a transmitting unit that transmits information related to the privilege granted by the privilege granting unit to a terminal device of the user.

[0007] This configuration allows users to receive rewards when they reach a designated vending machine. Therefore, it encourages users to walk to the vending machine to receive the reward, thus promoting physical activity. Furthermore, since vending machines typically remain in a fixed location, their location can be used to more accurately determine, for example, how far a user has walked.

[0008] Furthermore, in an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention, the arrival information includes a user identifier that identifies a user and a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine to which the user has arrived, and further comprises a storage unit that stores one or more correspondence pieces of information that associate the user identifier that identifies a user with a vending machine identifier that identifies a predetermined vending machine, and a confirmation unit that confirms that the user has arrived at the predetermined vending machine when the user identifier and vending machine identifier included in the arrival information received by the receiving unit are associated by the correspondence piece of information, and the reward granting unit may grant a reward to the user when the confirmation unit confirms that the user has arrived at the predetermined vending machine.

[0009] This configuration allows the system to use correspondence information to confirm whether a user has reached a designated vending machine, and to award rewards based on the confirmation result.

[0010] Furthermore, in an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention, the arrival information includes information indicating that the user has been confirmed to have arrived at a predetermined vending machine, and the reward granting unit may grant a reward to the user corresponding to the arrival information when the arrival information received by the receiving unit includes information indicating that it has been confirmed.

[0011] This configuration allows rewards to be granted based on the results verified on the user's terminal device. Therefore, the information processing device does not need to perform the verification.

[0012] Furthermore, in an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention, the reward granting unit does not need to grant the reward to the user until a predetermined time has elapsed from the time the reward is granted to the user.

[0013] This configuration allows the system to encourage users to exercise at predetermined time intervals.

[0014] Furthermore, in an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention, the transmission unit may transmit suggestion information to the user's terminal device that suggests exercise after a predetermined time has elapsed since the user was granted a benefit.

[0015] This configuration allows users to be encouraged to exercise in response to the submission of suggested information.

[0016] Furthermore, an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention may further include a suggestion information generation unit that generates suggestion information in which the user suggests going to a predetermined vending machine, and a transmission unit may transmit the suggestion information generated by the suggestion information generation unit to the user's terminal device corresponding to the suggestion information.

[0017] This configuration allows, for example, the system to inform users about specific vending machines using suggested information.

[0018] Furthermore, in an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention, the receiving unit may receive the current location of the terminal device from the user's terminal device, and the suggestion information generation unit may identify vending machines located at a predetermined distance or more from the current location received by the receiving unit as predetermined vending machines associated with the user corresponding to the current location, and generate suggestion information that proposes going to the identified vending machine.

[0019] This configuration allows the user to be prompted to walk a predetermined distance or more to the vending machine, depending on their current location.

[0020] Further, a terminal device according to an aspect of the present invention is a terminal device held by a user, and includes a storage unit storing a user identifier for identifying the user, an acquisition unit configured to acquire a vending machine identifier for identifying a vending machine from the vending machine, a transmission unit configured to transmit arrival information indicating that the user has arrived at the vending machine to an information processing apparatus based on the user identifier and the vending machine identifier, and a reception unit configured to receive information related to a benefit granted to the user when the arrival information transmitted by the transmission unit indicates that the user has arrived at a predetermined vending machine.

[0021] With such a configuration, it is possible to encourage the user to walk to the vending machine for the purpose of obtaining a benefit, and to promote the user's exercise.

[0022] Further, in the terminal device according to an aspect of the present invention, the arrival information may include the user identifier and the vending machine identifier.

[0023] With such a configuration, the information processing apparatus can check whether the user has arrived at the predetermined vending machine by using the user identifier and the vending machine identifier included in the arrival information. In addition, by performing the check in the information processing apparatus, the processing load on the terminal device can be reduced.

[0024] Further, in the terminal device according to an aspect of the present invention, the storage unit also stores a vending machine identifier for identifying a predetermined vending machine, the terminal device further includes a check unit configured to check whether the vending machine identifier acquired by the acquisition unit is the vending machine identifier of the predetermined vending machine, and when the check unit confirms that the vending machine identifier acquired by the acquisition unit is the vending machine identifier of the predetermined vending machine, the transmission unit may transmit, to the information processing apparatus, arrival information including information indicating that the arrival of the user at the predetermined vending machine has been confirmed.

[0025] With this configuration, the terminal device can check whether the user has reached a predetermined vending machine using the user identifier and the vending machine identifier. Further, by performing the check on the terminal device, the processing load on the information processing device can be reduced.

[0026] Further, a vending machine terminal according to one aspect of the present invention is a vending machine terminal provided in a vending machine, comprising: a storage unit storing a vending machine identifier for identifying the vending machine; a reception unit configured to receive a user identifier for identifying a user from a terminal device held by the user; and a transmission unit configured to transmit arrival information, which is information indicating that the user has reached the vending machine and includes the vending machine identifier and the user identifier, to an information processing device.

[0027] With this configuration, the arrival information can be transmitted from the vending machine terminal to the information processing device.

[0028] Further, an information processing method according to one aspect of the present invention is an information processing method processed using a reception unit, a privilege granting unit, and a transmission unit, the method comprising the steps of: causing the reception unit to receive arrival information indicating that a user has reached a vending machine; causing the privilege granting unit to grant a privilege to the user when the received arrival information indicates that the user has reached a predetermined vending machine; and causing the transmission unit to transmit information related to the privilege granted in the privilege granting step to the user's terminal device.

[0029] Furthermore, an arrival information transmission method according to one aspect of the present invention is an arrival information transmission method processed in a terminal device held by a user, the terminal device comprising a storage unit that stores a user identifier for identifying the user, an acquisition unit, a transmission unit, and a reception unit, the acquisition unit acquiring a vending machine identifier for identifying a vending machine from a vending machine, the transmission unit transmitting arrival information to an information processing device based on the user identifier and the vending machine identifier, indicating that the user has reached the vending machine, and the reception unit receiving information regarding benefits granted to the user when the transmitted arrival information indicates that the user has reached a predetermined vending machine.

[0030] Furthermore, an arrival information transmission method according to one aspect of the present invention is an arrival information transmission method processed in a vending machine terminal provided on a vending machine, the vending machine terminal comprising a storage unit that stores a vending machine identifier for identifying the vending machine, a reception unit, and a transmission unit, the method comprising: the step of the reception unit receiving a user identifier for identifying the user from a terminal device held by the user; and the step of the transmission unit transmitting arrival information, which is information indicating that the user has reached the vending machine, and which includes a vending machine identifier and a user identifier, to an information processing device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0031] According to one aspect of the present invention, an information processing device can be used to grant a reward to a user when they reach a designated vending machine. Therefore, the user can be motivated to walk to the vending machine in order to receive the reward, thereby promoting exercise for the user. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0032] [Figure 1] A schematic diagram showing the configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing device according to the same embodiment. [Figure 3]Block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal device according to the same embodiment. [Figure 4] Block diagram showing the configuration of a vending machine terminal according to the same embodiment. [Figure 5] Flowchart showing the operation of the information processing device according to the same embodiment. [Figure 6] Flowchart showing the operation of the terminal device according to this embodiment. [Figure 7] A flowchart illustrating the operation of a vending machine terminal according to this embodiment. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of the first correspondence information in the same embodiment. [Figure 9A] This figure shows an example of the second correspondence information in the same embodiment. [Figure 9B] This figure shows an example of the second correspondence information in the same embodiment. [Figure 10] This figure shows an example of how suggested information is displayed in the terminal device in the same embodiment. [Figure 11] Block diagram showing another example of the configuration of the information processing device according to the same embodiment. [Figure 12] Block diagram showing another example of the configuration of the terminal device according to the same embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0033] The information processing device, terminal device, vending machine terminal, information processing method, and arrival information transmission method according to the present invention will be described below using embodiments. In the following embodiments, components and steps denoted by the same reference numerals are the same or equivalent and may not be described again. The information processing device according to this embodiment receives arrival information indicating that a user has reached a vending machine, and when the arrival information indicates that a user has reached a vending machine associated with that user, it grants a reward to that user to encourage exercise corresponding to the user's walking to the vending machine.

[0034] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the information processing system 100 according to this embodiment, Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing device 1 according to this embodiment, Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal device 2 according to this embodiment, and Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vending machine terminal 3 according to this embodiment.

[0035] As shown in Figure 1, the information processing system 100 comprises an information processing device 1, a terminal device 2, and a vending machine terminal 3. Figure 1 shows the case where the information processing system 100 has one terminal device 2 and one vending machine terminal 3, but the information processing system 100 may have one or more terminal devices 2 and one or more vending machine terminals 3. Also, Figure 1 shows the case where the information processing system 100 has both a terminal device 2 and a vending machine terminal 3, but the information processing system 100 may, for example, not have either a terminal device 2 or a vending machine terminal 3. As shown in Figure 1, the information processing device 1, one or more terminal devices 2, and one or more vending machine terminals 3 may be connected to each other via a wired or wireless communication line 500. The communication line 500 may be, for example, the Internet, an intranet, or a public telephone network.

[0036] As shown in Figure 2, the information processing device 1 comprises a receiving unit 11, a storage unit 12, a confirmation unit 13, a reward granting unit 14, a proposed information generation unit 15, and a transmission unit 16. The information processing device 1 can be thought of, for example, as a server in a server-client system.

[0037] The receiving unit 11 receives arrival information indicating that user 9 has reached the vending machine 4. The receiving unit 11 may receive arrival information from, for example, user 9's terminal device 2, or from the vending machine terminal 3. In the former case, for example, the arrival information may be received from user 9's terminal device 2 that has reached the vending machine 4, and in the latter case, for example, the arrival information may be received from the vending machine terminal 3 of the vending machine 4 that user 9 has reached. The arrival information may, as an example, include a user identifier that identifies user 9 and a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine 4 that user 9 has reached. In this embodiment, an example in which the arrival information includes a user identifier and a vending machine identifier will be mainly described, and other examples will be described later.

[0038] The receiving unit 11 may or may not include a wired or wireless receiving device (e.g., a modem or network card) for receiving data. Furthermore, the receiving unit 11 may be implemented by hardware or by software such as a driver for the receiving device.

[0039] The memory unit 12 may store one or more correspondence pieces of information that associate a user identifier that identifies a user 9 with a vending machine identifier that identifies a vending machine 4 associated with that user 9. Hereinafter, this correspondence piece of information may be referred to as the "first correspondence piece of information." In the first correspondence piece of information, one vending machine identifier may be associated with one user identifier, or two or more vending machine identifiers may be associated with one user identifier. This first correspondence piece of information is usually predetermined, but as will be described later, it may be information that changes dynamically according to the current location of the user 9. The user 9 can receive a reward when the arrival information indicates that they have reached a vending machine identified by the vending machine identifier associated with the user identifier of the user 9 by the first correspondence piece of information. Therefore, in order to encourage the exercise of the user 9, the first correspondence piece of information may be set so that the vending machine 4 associated with the user 9 is a vending machine 4 located at a distance of a predetermined distance or more from the location where the user 9 usually resides, for example, the location of the department in the user 9's workplace.

[0040] Furthermore, the memory unit 12 may store information other than the first correspondence information. For example, one or more correspondence information items that associate a user identifier that identifies user 9 with benefit information that indicates the benefits granted to user 9 may be stored. Hereinafter, this correspondence information may be referred to as the "second correspondence information." This second correspondence information links user 9 with the benefit information. The benefit information will be described later. As another example, the second correspondence information may be information that associates a user identifier that identifies user 9 with benefit information that indicates the benefits granted to user 9 and the time when user 9 was last granted benefits. By storing such second correspondence information in the memory unit 12, it becomes possible to identify the time when benefits were last granted for each user 9.

[0041] Furthermore, the storage unit 12 may store one or more correspondence pieces of information that associate a vending machine identifier that identifies a vending machine 4 with the name of that vending machine 4. In this embodiment, the first correspondence piece mainly describes the case in which a user identifier that identifies a user 9, a vending machine identifier that identifies a vending machine 4 associated with that user 9, and the name of that vending machine 4 are associated. The name of the vending machine 4 may be a name that allows the user 9 to understand the location where the vending machine 4 is located. For example, the name of the vending machine 4 may be "vending machine in the elevator hall on the 5th floor".

[0042] Furthermore, the storage unit 12 may store, for example, one or more third correspondence pieces of information that associate a user identifier identifying user 9 with the address of user 9's terminal device 2. This third correspondence piece of information links user 9 with the address of user 9's terminal device 2. By using this third correspondence piece of information, it becomes possible to transmit information to the terminal device of user 9 identified by a certain user identifier.

[0043] The process by which information is stored in the storage unit 12 is not relevant. For example, information may be stored in the storage unit 12 via a recording medium, a communication line, or an input device. The storage unit 12 is preferably implemented using a non-volatile recording medium, but it may also be implemented using a volatile recording medium. The recording medium may be, for example, a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk.

[0044] The confirmation unit 13 confirms that user 9 has reached the vending machine 4 associated with user 9 if the user identifier and vending machine identifier included in the arrival information received by the receiving unit 11 are associated with the first correspondence information stored in the storage unit 12. Otherwise, it does not need to confirm that user 9 has reached the vending machine 4 associated with user 9. The user 9 subject to this confirmation is the user 9 identified by the user identifier included in the arrival information.

[0045] The verification unit 13, for example, searches for one or more first corresponding pieces of information using the user identifier contained in the received arrival information as a search key. If the first corresponding piece of information found contains the vending machine identifier contained in the received arrival information, it confirms that user 9 has reached the vending machine 4 associated with user 9. Otherwise, it does not need to perform this confirmation.

[0046] The reward granting unit 14 grants a reward to user 9 when the arrival information received by the receiving unit 11 indicates that user 9 has reached the vending machine 4 associated with user 9. For example, the reward granting unit 14 grants a reward to user 9 if the confirmation unit 13 confirms that user 9 has reached the vending machine 4 associated with user 9, but does not grant a reward to user 9 if such confirmation is not performed.

[0047] The rewards granted by the reward granting unit 14 to the user 9 may be, for example, points, coupons, collectibles, or other rewards. Points may be, for example, points that can be used to purchase items such as goods or services, points that can be exchanged for collectibles, or other types of points. When points are granted, the user 9 may play a game such as rolling dice to move a piece on a board game, selecting one item from several options, or drawing a lottery ticket, and receive points as a result of that game. In other words, the number of points granted may change depending on the result of the game. Coupons may be, for example, coupons that can be used to obtain items such as goods or services, coupons that can be used to receive some kind of discount, such as a 100 yen discount or a 20% discount, when purchasing items such as goods or services, or other coupons used to promote the sale of goods or the provision of services. Collectibles may be, for example, cards, stamps, badges, etc.

[0048] Information indicating the benefits granted to user 9 may be managed in the information processing device 1. In this case, the benefit granting unit 14 may, for example, when granting a benefit to a user 9, store second correspondence information in the storage unit 12 that associates a user identifier that identifies user 9 with benefit information indicating the benefit granted to user 9. If second correspondence information corresponding to that user 9 is already stored in the storage unit 12, the benefit granting unit 14 may, for example, when granting a benefit to a user 9, update the benefit information associated with the user identifier that identifies user 9 by the second correspondence information. The benefit information may include, for example, information indicating the number of points held by user 9, information indicating coupons held by user 9, or information indicating the collection targets granted to user 9.

[0049] Furthermore, the reward granting unit 14 does not have to grant a reward to user 9 until a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the reward was granted to that user 9. In other words, the granting of rewards to user 9 may be performed, for example, at intervals longer than a predetermined amount of time. For example, if the granting of rewards to user 9 is done as part of a company's employee welfare program, the company may be able to set this time interval. The time interval may be set so as not to interfere with user 9's work. In this case, even if the confirmation unit 13 confirms that a user 9 has reached the vending machine 4 associated with that user 9 based on certain arrival information, the reward granting unit 14 does not have to grant a reward to user 9 if a predetermined amount of time has not elapsed since the last time a reward was granted to that user 9. By doing this, a predetermined amount of time will elapse between the granting of the previous reward and the granting of the next reward, which encourages user 9 to exercise regularly at predetermined intervals. Specifically, if the second correspondence information is information that associates a user identifier with the benefit information and the time when the benefit was last granted, the benefit granting unit 14 does not have to grant the benefit if the time from the time when the benefit was last granted corresponding to the user identifier included in the received arrival information to the current date and time is not longer than a predetermined time. In this case, for example, when the benefit granting unit 14 grants a benefit to user 9, it may update the benefit information and also update the time when the benefit was last granted to the current date and time.

[0050] Furthermore, the reward information associated with the user identifier by the second correspondence information stored in the memory unit 12 may be updated, for example, when the user 9 identified by that user identifier uses points or coupons. In this case, for example, the receiving unit 11 also receives reward usage information which includes the user identifier and information regarding the use of rewards for the user identified by that user identifier, and in response to the receipt of that reward usage information, the reward information associated with the user identifier contained in the reward usage information by the second correspondence information may be updated by an update unit (not shown) according to the information regarding the use of rewards contained in the reward usage information. For example, if the information regarding the use of rewards indicates that 50 points have been used, 50 points may be deducted from the reward information. As another example, if the information regarding the use of rewards indicates that a certain coupon has been used, the coupon may be marked as used in the reward information, and the information regarding that coupon may be deleted.

[0051] Furthermore, for example, if a transmission request is received from a terminal device 2 of a user 9 to transmit the user 9's benefit information, the user 9's benefit information may be read out and transmitted accordingly. If the transmission request received by the receiving unit 11 includes a user identifier, the transmitting unit 16 may, for example, read the benefit information associated with that user identifier from the storage unit 12 and transmit it to the terminal device 2 that sent the transmission request.

[0052] The suggestion information generation unit 15 may generate suggestion information that suggests user 9 go to the vending machine 4 associated with user 9. This suggestion information may include, for example, information about the vending machine 4 associated with user 9. This information may be, for example, the name of the vending machine 4. In this way, by including information about the vending machine 4 in the suggestion information, user 9 can easily understand which vending machine 4 to go to. The suggestion information generation unit 15 may, for example, when generating suggestion information for a user 9, obtain the name of the vending machine associated with the user identifier that identifies user 9, and generate suggestion information that includes the obtained name of the vending machine. The name of the vending machine associated with the user identifier may be, for example, the name of the vending machine directly associated with the user identifier, or the name of the vending machine associated with the vending machine identifier corresponding to the user identifier.

[0053] Furthermore, the proposal information generation unit 15 may generate proposal information for user 9 after a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the last time a benefit was granted to that user 9. Whether a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the last time a benefit was granted to a user 9 may be determined, for example, using the time when the benefit was last granted, which is associated with the user identifier by the second correspondence information. The proposal information generation unit 15 may also generate proposal information at predetermined times, for example, 9:00, 12:00, 15:00, etc. The proposal information generation unit 15 may also generate proposal information only for users 9 for whom a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the last time a benefit was granted at the time of proposal information generation.

[0054] The transmitting unit 16 transmits information regarding the reward granted by the reward granting unit 14 to the user 9's terminal device 2. The information regarding the reward may be, for example, information indicating the content of the granted reward, or information indicating that the reward has been granted. In the former case, information such as the number of points granted or the coupon granted may be transmitted to the user 9's terminal device 2. For example, if the arrival information is transmitted from the user 9's terminal device 2, the transmitting unit 16 may transmit the information regarding the reward to the source of the arrival information, or if the arrival information is transmitted from the vending machine terminal 3, the transmitting unit 16 may transmit the information regarding the reward to the address associated with the user identifier included in the arrival information by the third correspondence information. By transmitting this information, the user 9 will be able to know, for example, that a reward has been granted and the content of the granted reward. In addition, the information regarding the reward may include, for example, reward information that has been updated in accordance with the granting of the reward. If the reward granting unit 14 has not granted a reward in response to the receipt of the arrival information, the transmitting unit 16 may, or may not, transmit information to the user 9's terminal device 2 indicating that the reward was not granted.

[0055] The transmission unit 16 may transmit the proposal information generated by the proposal information generation unit 15 to the terminal device 2 of the user 9 corresponding to that proposal information. The user 9 corresponding to the proposal information is the user 9 to whom it is suggested to go to the vending machine 4 by that proposal information. If proposal information is generated for a certain user 9, that user 9 is the user 9 corresponding to the generated proposal information. For example, the transmission unit 16 may transmit the proposal information suggesting that the user 9 go to the vending machine 4 to the terminal device 2 of that user 9 after a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the user 9 was granted the benefit. For example, the transmission unit 16 may transmit the proposal information to an address associated with the user identifier of the user 9 corresponding to that proposal information by third correspondence information.

[0056] The transmitting unit 16 may or may not include a transmitting device (e.g., a modem or network card) for transmitting data. Furthermore, the transmitting unit 16 may be implemented by hardware or by software such as a driver for operating the transmitting device.

[0057] Terminal device 2 is held by user 9 and, as shown in Figure 3, comprises a storage unit 21, a touch panel 22, an acquisition unit 23, a transmission unit 24, and a reception unit 25. Terminal device 2 may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet device, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a smartwatch, a laptop computer, or any other type of mobile information terminal equipped with communication functions. In this embodiment, the case where terminal device 2 is a smartphone will be described in detail.

[0058] The storage unit 21 stores a user identifier that identifies user 9. This user identifier is the user identifier of user 9 who holds the terminal device 2. In addition, the storage unit 21 may store information other than the user identifier. The process by which information is stored in the storage unit 21 is not specified. For example, information may be stored in the storage unit 21 via a recording medium, a communication line, or an input device. The storage unit 21 is preferably implemented using a non-volatile recording medium, but it may also be implemented using a volatile recording medium. The recording medium may be, for example, a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk.

[0059] The touch panel 22 receives instructions and operations from the user 9. The touch panel 22 may also display the results of operations and information received by the receiving unit 25. The terminal device 2 may also include, for example, an input device such as a keyboard or mouse that accepts input, and a display device that displays images, instead of the touch panel 22. The touch panel 22 may also display, for example, a two-dimensional code of a user identifier stored in the storage unit 21. The two-dimensional code is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, a QR code (registered trademark).

[0060] The acquisition unit 23 acquires a vending machine identifier from the vending machine 4 to identify the vending machine 4. Preferably, this acquisition of the vending machine identifier is performed at the location where the vending machine 4 identified by that vending machine identifier is located. The acquisition of the vending machine identifier by the acquisition unit 23 may be done, for example, by reading from a recording medium, by reading a two-dimensional code, or by receiving it via communication.

[0061] The acquisition unit 23 may, for example, read the vending machine identifier from the recording medium of the vending machine 4. This reading may be performed, for example, by reading the vending machine identifier stored on the recording medium of the vending machine 4 from that recording medium using RFID. The recording medium may be, for example, an IC card or another recording medium. The IC card may be, for example, a contactless card that performs short-range wireless communication such as NFC (Near Field Communication). Thus, the recording medium of the vending machine 4 may be a medium that uses short-range wireless communication. The recording medium may, as an example, be a recording medium having an RF tag such as Felica® or MIFARE®. In this case, the acquisition unit 23 may, for example, read the vending machine identifier from the recording medium using an RFID reader / writer.

[0062] The acquisition unit 23 may, for example, read a two-dimensional code displayed on the vending machine 4 and acquire the vending machine identifier indicated by that two-dimensional code. The acquisition of the vending machine identifier using a two-dimensional code may be performed, for example, by photographing the two-dimensional code with a camera and acquiring the vending machine identifier according to the decoding of the photographed two-dimensional code. The two-dimensional code displayed on the vending machine 4 may have an expiration date of 5 or 10 minutes or so. This is to prevent the reuse of past two-dimensional codes.

[0063] The acquisition unit 23 may, for example, receive the vending machine identifier of the vending machine 4 by communication. In this case, it may be acquired by receiving the vending machine identifier transmitted from the vending machine 4 by a beacon or the like. The vending machine identifier may be transmitted from the vending machine 4 by short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth®.

[0064] The acquisition unit 23 may include, for example, a device such as an RFID reader / writer, a device such as a camera, a receiver such as a beacon, or it may not include any of these. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 23 may be implemented by hardware, or by software such as a driver that drives a device such as a reader / writer.

[0065] The transmitting unit 24 transmits arrival information to the information processing device 1, indicating that user 9 has reached vending machine 4, based on the user identifier stored in the storage unit 21 and the vending machine identifier acquired by the acquisition unit 23. The arrival information may include, for example, the user identifier stored in the storage unit 21 and the vending machine identifier acquired by the acquisition unit 23. Since the acquisition unit 23 cannot acquire the vending machine identifier of vending machine 4 unless user 9 goes to the location of vending machine 4, the arrival information including the user identifier and the vending machine identifier indicates that the user identified by the user identifier has reached the vending machine identified by the vending machine identifier.

[0066] The transmitting unit 24 may, for example, transmit arrival information to the address of the information processing device 1 stored in the storage unit 21 as the destination. The transmitting unit 24 may or may not include a wireless transmitting device for transmission. The transmitting unit 24 may be implemented by hardware or by software such as a driver that drives the transmitting device.

[0067] The receiving unit 25 receives information regarding the benefits granted to user 9 when the arrival information transmitted by the transmitting unit 24 indicates that user 9 has reached the vending machine 4 associated with user 9. If this is not the case, it may receive a message indicating that no benefits will be granted, or it may not receive anything at all. The information received in this manner is transmitted from the information processing device 1. This received information may be displayed on, for example, a touch panel 22, or stored in the storage unit 21.

[0068] The receiving unit 25 may or may not include a wireless receiving device for receiving signals. Furthermore, the receiving unit 25 may be implemented by hardware, or by software such as a driver for operating the receiving device.

[0069] The vending machine terminal 3 is installed on the vending machine 4 and, as shown in Figure 4, comprises a storage unit 31, a reception unit 32, and a transmission unit 33. The vending machine terminal 3 may be, for example, a terminal that is retrofitted to the vending machine 4, or a terminal that is installed on the vending machine 4 from the beginning. The vending machine 4 may include, for example, a selection reception unit that accepts the selection of items to be sold by the user 9, a settlement processing unit that processes payment for the selected items to be sold, and a provisioning unit that provides the selected items to the user 9 when the settlement by the settlement processing unit is completed. The items to be sold by the vending machine 4 may be, for example, food and beverages in containers such as cans or plastic bottles. The vending machine 4 may also further include, for example, a configuration for providing a vending machine identifier to the terminal device 2, such as a recording medium, a means for displaying a two-dimensional code, and a communication means.

[0070] The storage unit 31 stores a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine 4 to which the vending machine terminal 3 is installed. The process by which information is stored in the storage unit 31 is not relevant. For example, information may be stored in the storage unit 31 via a recording medium, a communication line, or an input device. The storage unit 31 is preferably implemented using a non-volatile recording medium, but it may also be implemented using a volatile recording medium. The recording medium may be, for example, a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk.

[0071] The reception unit 32 receives a user identifier that identifies user 9 from the terminal device 2 held by user 9. This user identifier may be received, for example, by reading from the recording medium of the terminal device 2, by reading a two-dimensional code displayed on the touch panel 22 of the terminal device 2, or by receiving a wireless signal transmitted from the terminal device 2.

[0072] The receiving unit 32 may, for example, read the user identifier from the recording medium of the terminal device 2. This reading may be performed in the same way as the reading of the vending machine identifier by the acquisition unit 23. In this case, the terminal device 2 may have a recording medium on which the user identifier is stored. Alternatively, the receiving unit 32 may, for example, read a two-dimensional code displayed on the terminal device 2 and obtain the user identifier indicated by that two-dimensional code. This process of reading the two-dimensional code may be performed in the same way as the process of reading the two-dimensional code by the acquisition unit 23. Furthermore, the receiving unit 32 may, for example, receive the user identifier from the terminal device 2 by wireless communication. This wireless communication may, for example, be short-range wireless communication.

[0073] The receiving unit 32 may include, for example, a device such as an RFID reader / writer, a device such as a camera, a receiver, or it may not include any of these. The acquisition unit 23 may be implemented by hardware, or by software such as a driver that drives a device such as a reader / writer.

[0074] The transmitting unit 33 transmits arrival information to the information processing device 1, which is information indicating that user 9 has reached the vending machine 4, and includes the user identifier received by the receiving unit 32 and the vending machine identifier stored in the storage unit 31.

[0075] The transmission unit 33 may also transmit arrival information to the address of the information processing device 1 stored in the storage unit 31 as the destination. The transmission unit 33 may or may not include a transmission device for performing the transmission. Furthermore, the transmission unit 33 may be implemented by hardware or by software such as a driver that drives the transmission device.

[0076] Next, the operation of the information processing device 1 will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 5. (Step S101) The receiving unit 11 determines whether it has received arrival information. If it has received arrival information, it proceeds to step S102; otherwise, it proceeds to step S106.

[0077] (Step S102) The verification unit 13 checks whether user 9 has reached the vending machine 4 associated with user 9, depending on whether the user identifier and vending machine identifier included in the arrival information are associated with the first correspondence information stored in the storage unit 12. If it is confirmed that user 9 has reached the vending machine 4 associated with user 9, the process proceeds to step S103; otherwise, it returns to step S101.

[0078] (Step S103) The reward granting unit 14 determines whether a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the last time a reward was granted to the user 9 identified by the user identifier included in the arrival information. If that amount of time has elapsed, the unit proceeds to step S104; otherwise, it returns to step S101.

[0079] (Step S104) The reward granting unit 14 grants a reward to the user 9 identified by the user identifier included in the arrival information. In response to the granting of this reward, the reward information associated with the user identifier included in the arrival information may be updated, for example, by the second correspondence information stored in the storage unit 12.

[0080] (Step S105) The transmission unit 16 transmits information regarding the benefits to the user 9's terminal device 2. Then, the process returns to step S101.

[0081] (Step S106) The proposal information generation unit 15 determines whether or not to generate proposal information. If it decides to generate proposal information, it proceeds to step S107; otherwise, it returns to step S101. The proposal information generation unit 15 may, for example, decide to generate proposal information at a predetermined time.

[0082] (Step S107) The proposal information generation unit 15 generates proposal information. The proposal information generation unit 15 may generate proposal information only for users 9 for whom a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the last time a benefit was granted.

[0083] (Step S108) The transmission unit 16 transmits the generated proposal information to the terminal device 2 of the user 9 corresponding to that proposal information. Then, the process returns to step S101.

[0084] Note that the order of processing in the flowchart in Figure 5 is just one example, and the order of each step may be changed if similar results can be obtained. Also, in the flowchart in Figure 5, processing may be terminated by power off or processing termination interrupt.

[0085] Next, the operation of terminal device 2 will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 6. (Step S201) The transmitting unit 24 determines whether to transmit arrival information. If it decides to transmit arrival information, it proceeds to step S202; otherwise, it proceeds to step S206. The transmitting unit 24 may also decide to transmit arrival information if, for example, it receives an instruction to transmit arrival information from the touch panel 22.

[0086] (Step S202) The acquisition unit 23 acquires the vending machine identifier of the vending machine 4. This acquisition of the vending machine identifier may be performed, for example, by the user 9 going to the vicinity of the vending machine 4 and operating the terminal device 2.

[0087] (Step S203) The transmission unit 24 transmits arrival information to the information processing device 1, which includes the user identifier stored in the storage unit 12 and the vending machine identifier acquired by the acquisition unit 23.

[0088] (Step S204) The receiving unit 25 determines whether it has received information regarding the reward. If it has received information regarding the reward, it proceeds to step S205; otherwise, it repeats the process in step S204 until it receives information regarding the reward. If information regarding the reward is not received even after a predetermined period has elapsed since the transmission of the arrival information in step S203, or if information indicating that the reward was not granted is received, it may return to step S201.

[0089] (Step S205) The touch panel 22 displays information about the received reward. The information about the received reward may also be stored in the memory unit 21, for example. Then, the process returns to step S201.

[0090] (Step S206) The receiving unit 25 determines whether it has received the proposal information. If it has received the proposal information, it proceeds to step S207; otherwise, it returns to step S201.

[0091] (Step S207) The touch panel 22 displays the received suggestion information. Then, the process returns to step S201.

[0092] Note that the order of processing in the flowchart in Figure 6 is just one example, and the order of each step may be changed if similar results can be obtained. Also, in the flowchart in Figure 6, processing may be terminated by power off or processing termination interrupt.

[0093] Next, the operation of the vending machine terminal 3 will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 7. (Step S301) The reception unit 32 determines whether it has received the user identifier. If it has received the user identifier, it proceeds to step S302; otherwise, it repeats the process in step S301 until it receives the user identifier.

[0094] (Step S302) The transmission unit 33 transmits arrival information to the information processing device 1, which includes the user identifier received in step S301 and the vending machine identifier stored in the storage unit 31. Then, the process returns to step S301.

[0095] In the flowchart of Figure 7, for example, the process in step S301 may start when a button indicating the start of reading the user identifier on the vending machine terminal 3 is pressed. In this case, for example, the vending machine terminal 3 does not need to perform the process in step S301 from the time the arrival information is transmitted in step S302 until that button is pressed. Also, in the flowchart of Figure 7, the process may end due to a power off or a processing completion interrupt.

[0096] Next, the operation of the information processing system 100 according to this embodiment will be explained using a specific example. In this example, it is assumed that a plurality of first correspondence information shown in Figure 8, a plurality of second correspondence information shown in Figure 9A, and a plurality of third correspondence information including a user identifier and the address of the terminal device 2 are each stored in the storage unit 12 of the information processing device 1. The first correspondence information shown in Figure 8 includes a user identifier, a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine 4 associated with the user 9 identified by that user identifier, and the name of the vending machine 4. The second correspondence information shown in Figure 9A includes a user identifier, reward information for the user 9 identified by that user identifier, and the last time a reward was granted for that user 9. In this example, it is assumed that points are granted when user 9 goes to the vending machine 4 associated with that user 9. Therefore, the reward information is assumed to be information indicating the number of points held by user 9.

[0097] Furthermore, in this specific example, proposal information will be sent at 9:00, 12:00, and 15:00. Also, in this specific example, if more than 3 hours have passed since the last reward was granted, proposal information will be generated and the next reward will be granted.

[0098] First, let's assume that at 3 PM, the proposal information generation unit 15 decides to generate proposal information (step S106). Then, the proposal information generation unit 15 obtains the current date and time "2025 / 3 / 10 15:00" from the calendar unit and clock unit (not shown), and for each of the multiple second correspondence information shown in Figure 9A, it determines whether more than 3 hours have passed from the last time a benefit was granted to the current date and time, and generates proposal information if more than 3 hours have passed (step S107). Specifically, the proposal information generation unit 15 refers to the multiple second correspondence information shown in Figure 9A, determines that more than 3 hours have passed from the last time a benefit was granted associated with the user identifier "U001" to the current date and time, searches for the multiple first correspondence information shown in Figure 8 using the user identifier "U001" as a search key, reads the name of the vending machine "vending machine next to the stairs on the 3rd floor" from the hit first correspondence information, and generates proposal information that includes that name. Furthermore, the proposal information generation unit 15 uses the user identifier "U001" as a search key to search for multiple third-party correspondence information stored in the storage unit 12, and reads the address of the terminal device 2 from the matched third-party correspondence information. The proposal information generation unit 15 then passes the proposal information and the read address to the transmission unit 16. The proposal information generation unit 15 performs the same process for each of the second-party correspondence information for which more than three hours have passed since the last time a benefit was granted.

[0099] When the transmission unit 16 receives a pair of proposal information and an address, it transmits the corresponding proposal information to the received address (step S108). For example, proposal information transmitted to the terminal device 2 of user 9 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "user U001"), identified by the user identifier "U001", is received by the receiving unit 25 of the terminal device 2 and displayed on the touch panel 22 (steps S206, S207). Figure 10 shows an example of the display of the proposal information. As shown in Figure 10, because the name of the vending machine 4 associated with user U001 is included in the proposal information, user U001 can easily understand which vending machine 4 to go to in order to receive the benefit.

[0100] Next, we will explain the process when arrival information is transmitted from the terminal device 2 to the information processing device 1. Suppose that, in response to the display of the suggested information shown in Figure 10, user U001 carries the terminal device 2 and walks to the vending machine 4 whose name is "Vending machine next to the stairs on the 3rd floor," and selects the "Arrived" button displayed on the touch panel 22 of the terminal device 2 to start the process of transmitting arrival information. Then, the transmission unit 24 of the terminal device 2 determines that it is sending arrival information (step S201) and displays a message on the touch panel 22 indicating that the terminal device 2 should be held over the recording medium of the vending machine 4. When user U001 holds the terminal device 2 over the recording medium of the vending machine 4 in response to the message, the acquisition unit 23 reads the vending machine identifier "V001" from the recording medium and passes it to the transmission unit 24 (step S202).

[0101] Upon receiving the vending machine identifier, the transmission unit 24 reads the user identifier "U001" from the storage unit 21 and transmits arrival information including the vending machine identifier and the user identifier to the information processing device 1 (step S203).

[0102] The arrival information transmitted from terminal device 2 is received by the receiving unit 11 of information processing device 1 and passed to the confirmation unit 13 (step S101). Upon receiving the arrival information, the confirmation unit 13 searches for multiple first correspondence information items shown in Figure 8 using the user identifier "U001" contained in the arrival information as a search key, reads the vending machine identifier "V001" from the hit first correspondence information, and determines whether the read vending machine identifier matches the vending machine identifier contained in the arrival information. In this case, they match, so the confirmation unit 13 confirms that the user has reached the vending machine 4 corresponding to that user, and passes the confirmation result and the user identifier contained in the arrival information to the reward granting unit 14 (step S102).

[0103] Upon receiving the confirmation result and user identifier, the reward granting unit 14 uses the user identifier as a search key to search for multiple second-hand correspondence information entries shown in Figure 9A, and reads the last reward grant time "2025 / 3 / 10 11:50" from the hit second-hand correspondence information. The reward granting unit 14 also obtains the current date and time from the calendar and clock units (not shown). Let's assume the current date and time is "2025 / 3 / 10 15:10". Then, the reward granting unit 14 determines that more than 3 hours have passed since the last reward grant time and grants 10 points to user U001 (steps S103, S104). Specifically, the reward granting unit 14 uses the user identifier "U001" as a search key to search for multiple second-hand correspondence information entries stored in the storage unit 12, adds 10 points to the reward information included in the hit second-hand correspondence information to update it to 60 points, and updates the last reward grant time included in that second-hand correspondence information to the current date and time. As a result, multiple second correspondence information entries are shown in Figure 9B. The reward granting unit 14 uses the user identifier "U001" as a search key to search for multiple third correspondence information entries stored in the storage unit 12, and reads the address of the terminal device 2 from the hit third correspondence information entry. The reward granting unit 14 then adds 10 points, which are information related to the reward, to the total points, bringing the total to 60 points, and passes the read address to the transmission unit 16.

[0104] Upon receiving information and an address regarding the reward, the transmitting unit 16 transmits the information regarding the reward to the received address (step S105). The transmitted information regarding the reward is received by the receiving unit 25 of user U001's terminal device 2 and displayed on the touch panel 22 (steps S204, S205). As a result, user U001 can learn that 10 points have been added to the reward information, bringing the total to 60 points.

[0105] Next, we will explain the process when arrival information is transmitted from the vending machine terminal 3 to the information processing device 1. In this case, in response to the display of the suggested information shown in Figure 10, user U001 carries the terminal device 2 and walks to the vending machine 4, whose name is "Vending machine next to the stairs on the 3rd floor," and selects the "Arrived" button displayed on the touch panel 22 of the terminal device 2 to start the process of transmitting arrival information. Then, a two-dimensional code corresponding to the user identifier of user U001 is displayed on the touch panel 22 of the terminal device 2. When user U001 holds the two-dimensional code over the camera of the reception unit 32 of the vending machine terminal 3, the two-dimensional code captured by the camera is decoded, and the user identifier "U001" is received by the reception unit 32 and passed to the transmission unit 33 (step S301). Upon receiving the user identifier, the transmission unit 33 reads the vending machine identifier "V001" of the vending machine 4 from the storage unit 31 and transmits the arrival information, including the user identifier and the vending machine identifier, to the information processing device 1 (step S302). The subsequent processing in the information processing device 1 and terminal device 2 is the same as the processing in the specific example described above, and therefore its explanation is omitted.

[0106] As described above, according to the information processing system 100 of this embodiment, arrival information can be used to confirm that user 9 has reached the vending machine 4 associated with user 9, and a reward can be granted to user 9. Therefore, user 9 can be encouraged to walk to the vending machine 4 for the purpose of receiving the reward, thereby promoting exercise for user 9. In this way, the vending machine 4 can be used for purposes other than purchasing goods. Furthermore, user 9 can not only walk to the vending machine 4, but also take a break by purchasing beverages or other items from the vending machine 4.

[0107] Furthermore, the reward granting unit 14 refrains from granting a reward to user 9 until a predetermined time has elapsed from the time the reward is granted to that user 9. This allows the system to encourage user 9 to exercise at predetermined time intervals. As a result, user 9 can exercise by walking to the vending machine 4, within a range that does not interfere with their work or other activities.

[0108] In this embodiment, the case in which the suggestion information is generated by the suggestion information generation unit 15 has been mainly described, but this is not the case. The transmission unit 16 may, for example, transmit predetermined suggestion information, or it may not transmit any suggestion information. In this case, the information processing device 1 does not need to be equipped with the suggestion information generation unit 15. The predetermined suggestion information may be, for example, suggestion information that suggests exercising. The suggestion information that suggests exercising may be, for example, suggestion information that suggests going to the vending machine 4, that is, exercising to go to the vending machine 4, as described above, or it may be suggestion information that suggests doing other exercises.

[0109] Furthermore, the rewards granted by the reward granting unit 14 may increase in value depending on the number of steps taken by the user 9. For example, when arrival information is transmitted from the user 9's terminal device 2 to the information processing device 1, arrival information including the number of steps taken from the time of transmission of the arrival information to the time of transmission of the previous arrival information may be transmitted to the information processing device 1. The reward granting unit 14 of the information processing device 1 may then grant a greater reward depending on the number of steps included in the arrival information. As another example, in the first correspondence information, two or more pairs of user identifiers, vending machine identifiers, and information indicating the rewards to be granted may be associated. The information indicating the rewards to be granted may be, for example, the number of points awarded when the user reaches the vending machine 4 associated with that user. The information indicating the rewards to be granted may be set such that the greater the distance between the user's usual location and the location of the vending machine 4 identified by the vending machine identifier paired with the information indicating the rewards to be granted, the greater the rewards granted. Furthermore, when user 9 reaches the vending machine 4 associated with user 9, user 9 may be granted a benefit corresponding to the information indicating the benefit to be granted, which is paired with a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine 4. In this way, user 9 can receive benefits according to the level of exercise they perform.

[0110] Furthermore, although this embodiment mainly describes the case where the first correspondence information, which associates a user identifier that identifies user 9 with a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine 4 associated with user 9, is predetermined information, this is not required. The first correspondence information may be dynamically generated information. In this case, for example, the receiving unit 11 of the information processing device 1 may repeatedly receive the current location of the terminal device 2 from the terminal device 2 of user 9. In this case, the terminal device 2 may further include a current location acquisition unit that acquires the current location of the terminal device 2 using, for example, GPS (Global Positioning System), and the transmitting unit 24 may repeatedly transmit the current location acquired by the current location acquisition unit to the information processing device 1. The transmitting unit 24 may also transmit to the information processing device 1 a pair of the user identifier stored in the storage unit 21 and the current location. The receiving unit 11 of the information processing device 1 may also store the received pair of the user identifier and current location in the storage unit 21. In this way, the information processing device 1 may know the latest current location of each terminal device 2.

[0111] Furthermore, the suggestion information generation unit 15 may identify vending machines 4 located at a predetermined distance or more from the current location received by the receiving unit 11 as vending machines 4 associated with the user 9 corresponding to the current location, and generate suggestion information that proposes going to the identified vending machine 4. In this case, the storage unit 12 may store one or more fourth correspondence information that associates a vending machine identifier with the location of the vending machine 4 identified by that vending machine identifier. When generating suggestion information for a user 9, the suggestion information generation unit 15 may use the fourth correspondence information to identify vending machines 4 located at a predetermined distance or more from the user 9's latest current location, store first correspondence information in the storage unit 12 that associates the user identifier of the user 9 with the vending machine identifier of the identified vending machine 4, and generate suggestion information that proposes going to the identified vending machine 4. In this case, for example, the storage unit 12 stores one or more fifth correspondence pieces of information that associate a vending machine identifier with the name of the vending machine 4 identified by that vending machine identifier, and the proposal information generation unit 15 uses the fifth correspondence piece of information to identify the name of the vending machine 4 that corresponds to the vending machine identifier that identifies the specified vending machine 4, and generates proposal information that includes the identified name.

[0112] Furthermore, the suggestion information generation unit 15 may, for example, use map information to identify vending machines 4 whose route from the current location to the vending machine 4 is greater than or equal to a predetermined distance. Alternatively, the suggestion information generation unit 15 may, for example, identify vending machines 4 that are located within a range from a lower limit to an upper limit of distance from the current location. In this way, vending machines 4 that are too far from the user 9's current location will not be identified. Also, if there are multiple vending machines 4 that are located more than or equal to a predetermined distance from the current location, as an example, the vending machine 4 closest to the current location may be identified from among those multiple vending machines 4.

[0113] Even when the suggestion information generation unit 15 identifies a vending machine 4 located at a predetermined distance or more from the user 9's current location, the first correspondence information stored in the storage unit 12 may be predetermined information. In this case, for example, the first correspondence information may associate one user identifier with multiple vending machine identifiers. When the suggestion information generation unit 15 identifies a vending machine 4 located at a predetermined distance or more from a user 9's current location, it may identify a vending machine 4 that is located at a predetermined distance or more from the user 9's current location among the multiple vending machine identifiers associated with the user identifier of that user 9 by the first correspondence information. If no such vending machine 4 exists, the suggestion information generation unit 15 does not need to identify a vending machine 4.

[0114] In this way, by generating suggestion information that proposes going to a vending machine 4 located more than a predetermined distance from the user 9's current location, it is possible to make the user 9 walk more than the predetermined distance, and by appropriately setting the predetermined distance, the effect of the exercise performed by the user 9 can also be enhanced.

[0115] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the arrival information includes a user identifier and a vending machine identifier, and the confirmation unit 13 in the information processing device 1 confirms whether user 9 has reached the vending machine 4 associated with user 9. However, this is not required. This confirmation may be performed, for example, in the terminal device 2. In this case, as shown in Figure 11, the information processing device 1 does not need to have a confirmation unit 13. Also, as shown in Figure 12, the terminal device 2 may further include a confirmation unit 26. The following describes the processing in the information processing device 1 shown in Figure 11 and the terminal device 2 shown in Figure 12.

[0116] In this case, the storage unit 21 of the terminal device 2 may also store a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine 4 associated with user 9, which is identified by the user identifier stored in the storage unit 21. For example, the storage unit 21 may store the user identifier that identifies user 9 of the terminal device 2 and the vending machine identifier of the vending machine 4 associated with that user 9. The verification unit 26 may then use the vending machine identifier stored in the storage unit 21 to verify whether the vending machine identifier obtained by the acquisition unit 23 is the vending machine identifier of the vending machine 4 associated with user 9 of the terminal device 2 when the acquisition unit 23 has obtained the vending machine identifier. For example, if the acquired vending machine identifier is stored in the storage unit 21, the verification unit 26 may verify that the acquired vending machine identifier is the vending machine identifier of the vending machine 4 associated with user 9 of the terminal device 2, but may not perform the verification if it is not.

[0117] For example, if the verification unit 26 confirms that the vending machine identifier acquired by the acquisition unit 23 is a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine 4 associated with user 9, the transmission unit 24 may transmit arrival information to the information processing device 1, which includes information indicating that user 9 has confirmed that they have reached the vending machine 4 associated with user 9. It is preferable that the arrival information transmitted by the transmission unit 24 in this manner includes a user identifier, but it does not necessarily have to include a vending machine identifier.

[0118] In this case, the arrival information received by the receiving unit 11 of the information processing device 1 may include information indicating that it has been confirmed that user 9 has reached the vending machine 4 associated with user 9. The reward granting unit 14 may grant a reward to user 9 corresponding to the arrival information if the arrival information received by the receiving unit 11 includes information indicating confirmation, or it may not grant a reward to user 9 otherwise. Note that user 9 corresponding to the arrival information may be, for example, user 9 identified by the user identifier included in the arrival information. Furthermore, if the information processing device 1 does not have a confirmation unit 13, the first correspondence information does not necessarily have to be stored in the storage unit 12, for example.

[0119] Furthermore, while this embodiment mainly describes a case where a reward is granted to user 9 upon reaching a vending machine 4 associated with user 9, this is not necessarily the case. A reward may be granted to user 9 upon reaching a predetermined vending machine 4. In this case, "vending machine 4 associated with user 9" in this embodiment may be read as "predetermined vending machine 4". The predetermined vending machine 4 may be, for example, a vending machine 4 associated with user 9, or it may be one or more predetermined vending machines 4. For example, in the case of a wide-area campaign, a vending machine 4 located in a predetermined area, such as inside the Yamanote Line, may be set as the predetermined vending machine 4, and a reward may be granted to user 9 upon walking to that predetermined vending machine 4.

[0120] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, each process or function may be implemented by centralized processing by a single device or a single system, or by distributed processing by multiple devices or multiple systems.

[0121] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the exchange of information between each component may, for example, be performed by outputting information from one component and receiving information from the other component if the two components performing the information exchange are physically different, or by moving from the processing phase corresponding to one component to the processing phase corresponding to the other component if the two components performing the information exchange are physically the same.

[0122] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, information related to the processing performed by each component, such as information received, acquired, selected, generated, transmitted, or received by each component, as well as information such as thresholds, formulas, and addresses used by each component in processing, may be temporarily or for a long period of time stored in a recording medium (not shown), even if not explicitly stated in the above description. The storage of information in the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or a storage unit (not shown). The reading of information from the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or a reading unit (not shown).

[0123] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, if the information used in each component, such as thresholds, addresses, and various setting values ​​used by each component in processing, can be changed by the user, then even if not explicitly stated in the above description, the user may be allowed to change such information as appropriate, or not. If the user can change such information, the change may be implemented, for example, by a receiving unit (not shown) that receives change instructions from the user and a changing unit (not shown) that changes the information in response to those change instructions. The receiving unit (not shown) may receive change instructions from an input device, receive information transmitted via a communication line, or receive information read from a predetermined recording medium.

[0124] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, if two or more components included in the information processing device 1, terminal device 2, and vending machine terminal 3 have communication devices, input devices, etc., the two or more components may have a single physical device, or they may have separate devices.

[0125] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, each component may be made up of dedicated hardware, or, if a component can be realized by software, it may be realized by executing a program. For example, each component can be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory. During execution, the program execution unit may execute the program while accessing a storage unit or recording medium. The software that realizes the information processing device 1 in the above embodiment is a program as follows. In other words, this program may be a program that causes a computer to execute the following steps: receiving arrival information indicating that a user has reached a vending machine; granting a benefit to the user when the received arrival information indicates that the user has reached a predetermined vending machine; and transmitting information regarding the benefit granted in the benefit granting step to the user's terminal device.

[0126] Furthermore, the software that implements the terminal device 2 in the above embodiment is a program as follows. That is, this program may be a program that causes a computer that can access a storage unit that stores a user identifier that identifies a user to perform the following steps: obtaining a vending machine identifier that identifies a vending machine from a vending machine; transmitting arrival information that indicates that a user has reached a vending machine based on the user identifier and the vending machine identifier to an information processing device; and receiving information about benefits granted to the user when the transmitted arrival information indicates that a user has reached a predetermined vending machine.

[0127] Furthermore, the software that implements the vending machine terminal 3 in the above embodiment is a program as follows. In other words, this program may be a program that causes a computer that can access a storage unit that stores a vending machine identifier that identifies a vending machine to perform the following steps: receiving a user identifier that identifies a user from a terminal device held by the user; and transmitting arrival information, which is information indicating that the user has reached the vending machine and includes the vending machine identifier and the user identifier, to an information processing device.

[0128] Furthermore, in the above program, steps such as the information transmission step and the information reception step do not include any processes that can only be performed by hardware, such as processes performed by modems or interface cards.

[0129] Furthermore, this program may be executed by being downloaded from a server or the like, or by being read from a predetermined recording medium (for example, an optical disc such as a CD-ROM, a magnetic disc, or a semiconductor memory). This program may also be used as a program constituting a program product.

[0130] Furthermore, the computer running this program may be a single computer or multiple computers. That is, it may perform centralized processing or distributed processing.

[0131] Furthermore, the embodiments described above are illustrative examples for specifically carrying out the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. The technical scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims rather than by the description of the embodiments, and modifications within the literal scope and equivalent meaning of the claims are intended. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0132] 1. Information Processing Device 2 Terminal devices 3. Vending machine terminal 11, 25 Receiving section 12, 21, 31 storage section 13, 26 Verification Section 14. Special Offer Section 15 Proposal information generation section 16, 24, 33 Transmitter 23 Acquisition Department 32 Reception Department

Claims

1. A receiving unit that receives arrival information indicating that a user has reached the vending machine, A reward granting unit grants a reward to a user when the arrival information received by the receiving unit indicates that the user has reached a designated vending machine, An information processing device comprising: a transmission unit that transmits information regarding the benefits granted by the aforementioned benefit granting unit to the user's terminal device.

2. The aforementioned arrival information includes a user identifier that identifies the user and a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine that the user arrived at. A storage unit that stores one or more correspondence pieces of information relating a user identifier that identifies a user and a vending machine identifier that identifies a predetermined vending machine, The system further includes a confirmation unit that confirms that a user has reached a designated vending machine when the user identifier and vending machine identifier included in the arrival information received by the receiving unit are associated with the correspondence information, The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reward granting unit grants a reward to a user when the confirmation unit confirms that the user has reached a predetermined vending machine.

3. The aforementioned arrival information includes information indicating that the user has been confirmed to have reached the designated vending machine. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reward granting unit grants a reward to the user corresponding to the received information when the received information received by the receiving unit includes information indicating that the information has been confirmed.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reward granting unit does not grant the reward to the user until a predetermined time has elapsed from the time the reward is granted to the user.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit transmits suggestion information to the user's terminal device that suggests exercise after a predetermined time has elapsed since the user was granted a benefit.

6. The system further includes a suggestion information generation unit that generates suggestion information in which the user suggests going to a specific vending machine. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the transmitting unit transmits the proposal information generated by the proposal information generation unit to a user's terminal device corresponding to the proposal information.

7. The receiving unit receives the current location of the user's terminal device from the terminal device. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the suggestion information generation unit identifies a vending machine located at a predetermined distance or more from the current location received by the receiving unit as a predetermined vending machine associated with the user corresponding to the current location, and generates suggestion information that suggests going to the identified vending machine.

8. A terminal device held by a user, A storage unit that stores a user identifier to identify a user, An acquisition unit that acquires a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine from the vending machine, A transmission unit transmits arrival information to an information processing device, based on the user identifier and the vending machine identifier, indicating that the user has reached the vending machine. A terminal device comprising: a receiving unit that receives information regarding benefits granted to a user when arrival information transmitted by the transmitting unit indicates that the user has reached a designated vending machine.

9. The terminal device according to claim 8, wherein the arrival information includes the user identifier and the vending machine identifier.

10. The storage unit also stores a vending machine identifier that identifies the predetermined vending machine. The system further includes a verification unit that verifies whether the vending machine identifier obtained by the acquisition unit is the vending machine identifier of the predetermined vending machine. The terminal device according to claim 8, wherein the transmitting unit transmits arrival information to the information processing device, which includes information indicating that the user has arrived at the predetermined vending machine, when the confirmation unit confirms that the vending machine identifier acquired by the acquisition unit is the vending machine identifier of the predetermined vending machine.

11. A vending machine terminal installed in a vending machine, A storage unit that stores a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine, A reception unit that receives a user identifier that identifies the user from the terminal device held by the user, A vending machine terminal comprising: a transmitting unit that transmits arrival information, which is information indicating that a user has reached a vending machine, and which includes the vending machine identifier and the user identifier, to an information processing device.

12. An information processing method that uses a receiving unit, a reward granting unit, and a transmitting unit, The receiving unit receives arrival information indicating that the user has reached the vending machine, The reward granting unit grants a reward to a user when the received arrival information indicates that the user has reached a designated vending machine. An information processing method comprising the step of the transmitting unit transmitting information regarding the benefits granted in the step of granting the benefits to the user's terminal device.

13. A method for transmitting arrival information processed in a terminal device held by a user, the terminal device comprising a storage unit for storing a user identifier that identifies the user, an acquisition unit, a transmission unit, and a reception unit, The acquisition unit performs the step of acquiring a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine from the vending machine, The transmission unit transmits arrival information to an information processing device, based on the user identifier and the vending machine identifier, indicating that the user has reached the vending machine. A method for transmitting arrival information, comprising the step of receiving information that the receiving unit receives information regarding benefits granted to a user when the transmitted arrival information indicates that the user has reached a predetermined vending machine.

14. A method for transmitting arrival information processed in a vending machine terminal provided on a vending machine, the vending machine terminal comprising a storage unit that stores a vending machine identifier for identifying the vending machine, a receiving unit, and a transmitting unit, The receiving unit receives a user identifier from a terminal device held by the user to identify the user, A method for transmitting arrival information, comprising the step of transmitting arrival information to an information processing device, which is information indicating that a user has reached a vending machine, and which includes the vending machine identifier and the user identifier.

15. On the computer, The steps include receiving arrival information indicating that the user has reached the vending machine, The steps include: granting a reward to a user when the received arrival information indicates that the user has reached a designated vending machine; A program for performing the step of sending information regarding the granted benefit to the user's terminal device in the step of granting the aforementioned benefit.

16. A computer that has access to a storage unit that stores a user identifier to identify a user, The steps include obtaining a vending machine identifier from the vending machine to identify the vending machine, The steps include: transmitting arrival information to an information processing device based on the user identifier and the vending machine identifier, indicating that the user has reached the vending machine; A program to perform the steps of receiving information about the benefits granted to a user when the transmitted arrival information indicates that the user has reached a designated vending machine.

17. A computer that can access the storage unit where the vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine is stored, The steps include receiving a user identifier that identifies the user from a terminal device held by the user, A program for causing an information processing device to perform the step of transmitting arrival information, which is information indicating that a user has reached a vending machine, and which includes the vending machine identifier and the user identifier.

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