Information processing device, control device, information processing method, control method, and program

Abstract

This will make it easier to offer vending machines products that can be purchased using reward information such as points and coupons. [Solution] The information processing device 104 includes a storage unit 131 that stores correspondence information associating a user identifier with reward information, a communication unit 124 that receives a set of a user identifier that identifies a user who has selected a product to be sold in the vending machine 101 and a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine 101, and in response to the receipt of the set, transmits the vending machine identifier to the control device 105 that controls the vending machine 101, and in response to the transmission of the vending machine identifier, receives payment request information transmitted from the control device 105 that requests processing related to payment using the reward information, and a reward payment unit 144 that processes payment related to payment using the reward information when payment request information is received, and when the payment processing is completed the communication unit 124 transmits payment completion information to the control device 105.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and the like that perform processing related to provision of sales targets in vending machines.

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

Problem to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In recent years, from the perspectives of promoting product sales, promoting service provision, and the like, users have been granted benefits such as points and coupons in response to product purchases and the like, and users have been able to exchange the points or coupons for products. It is also conceivable to allow users to receive provision of products and the like at vending machines using such benefits as points, but for that purpose, for example, the vending machines need to be controlled by a server that manages the benefits such as points granted to users, and there is a problem that implementation is difficult due to the enormous associated costs.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus and the like that can more easily realize the provision of sales targets from vending machines using benefits such as points and coupons granted to users.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] To achieve the above objective, an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention includes: a storage unit that stores one or more correspondence pieces of information that associate a user identifier that identifies a user with benefit information that indicates a benefit granted to the user; a communication unit that receives a set of a user identifier that identifies a user who has selected a product to be sold in a vending machine and a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine, transmits the vending machine identifier to a control device that controls the vending machine in response to the receipt of the set of user identifier and vending machine identifier, and receives payment request information transmitted from the control device in response to the transmission of the vending machine identifier, which requests processing for payment using the benefit information; and a benefit payment unit that, when the payment request information is received by the communication unit, processes payment using the benefit information that is associated with the user identifier corresponding to the payment request information by correspondence piece of information, wherein the communication unit transmits payment completion information to the control device when the payment processing by the benefit payment unit is completed.

[0007] With this configuration, for example, an information processing device that manages reward information such as points and coupons and a control device that controls the vending machine work together, allowing users to receive items sold by the vending machine using the reward information.

[0008] Furthermore, in an information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, the storage unit also stores payment target information including one or more vending machine identifiers that identify vending machines to which payment using the special offer information is to be made, and the apparatus further includes a determination unit that determines whether the vending machine identifier received by the communication unit is included in the payment target information stored in the storage unit, and the communication unit may transmit the received vending machine identifier to the control device if the determination unit determines that the received vending machine identifier is included in the payment target information.

[0009] This configuration allows for the provision of specific items for sale using the reward information managed by the information processing system, but only for specific vending machines. For example, reward information managed by a hotel operator's information processing system can be made available only for vending machines installed within that hotel.

[0010] Furthermore, in an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention, the reward information includes points, and the reward settlement unit may perform settlement processing using the points included in the reward information in response to the received settlement request information.

[0011] This configuration allows users to use points to obtain items sold by vending machines.

[0012] Furthermore, in an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention, the reward information includes coupons that can be exchanged for items for sale, and the reward payment unit may perform processing related to payment using the coupons included in the reward information in response to the received payment request information.

[0013] This configuration allows users to receive items sold by vending machines using coupons.

[0014] Furthermore, in an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention, the set of user identifier and vending machine identifier received by the communication unit may be transmitted from the user's terminal device, and the vending machine identifier may be obtained by the terminal device from the vending machine via short-range wireless communication.

[0015] With this configuration, the information processing device can receive vending machine identifiers read by terminal devices via, for example, NFC or Bluetooth® (registered trademark).

[0016] Furthermore, a control device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives a vending machine identifier, which identifies a vending machine from which a user intends to obtain a sales item using the benefit information, transmitted from an information processing device that manages benefit information indicating a benefit granted to a user, and a sales item identifier, which identifies a sales item whose selection has been accepted at the vending machine, transmitted from the vending machine identified by the vending machine identifier, and a transmitting unit that transmits payment request information to the information processing device requesting that the processing related to the payment of the sales item identified by the sales item identifier received by the receiving unit be performed using the benefit information. The receiving unit may receive payment completion information from the information processing device in response to the transmission of payment request information, and the transmitting unit may transmit payment completion information to the vending machine corresponding to the payment completion information when the receiving unit has received the payment completion information.

[0017] With this configuration, a control device that controls the vending machine and an information processing device that manages reward information such as points and coupons work together, allowing users to receive items sold by the vending machine using the reward information.

[0018] Furthermore, an information processing method according to one aspect of the present invention is an information processing method that uses a storage unit that stores one or more correspondence pieces of information that associate a user identifier that identifies a user with a benefit information that indicates a benefit granted to the user, a communication unit, and a benefit settlement unit, and includes the steps of: the communication unit receiving a set of a user identifier that identifies a user who has selected a product to be sold at a vending machine and a vending machine identifier that identifies a vending machine; transmitting the vending machine identifier to a control device that manages the vending machine in response to the receipt of the set of user identifier and vending machine identifier; and receiving payment request information transmitted from the control device in response to the transmission of the vending machine identifier, which requests processing related to payment using the benefit information; the benefit settlement unit, when it has received the payment request information, performing processing related to payment using the benefit information that is associated with the user identifier corresponding to the payment request information by correspondence piece of information; and the communication unit, when it has completed the processing related to payment in the step of performing processing related to payment, transmitting payment completion information to the control device in response to the completion of the processing related to payment.

[0019] Furthermore, a control method according to one aspect of the present invention is a control method processed using a receiving unit and a transmitting unit, comprising the steps of: the receiving unit receiving a vending machine identifier that identifies a vending machine from which a user intends to obtain a sales item using the benefit information, transmitted from an information processing device that manages benefit information indicating a benefit granted to a user; the receiving unit receiving a sales item identifier that identifies a sales item whose selection has been accepted at the vending machine, transmitted from the vending machine identified by the vending machine identifier; the transmitting unit transmitting payment request information to the information processing device requesting that the payment processing for the sales item identified by the received sales item identifier be performed using the benefit information; the receiving unit receiving payment completion information from the information processing device in response to the transmission of the payment request information; and the transmitting unit, upon receiving the payment completion information, transmitting payment completion information to the vending machine corresponding to the payment completion information, indicating that the payment has been completed.

[0020] Furthermore, an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention may include a receiving unit that receives arrival information indicating that a user has reached a vending machine, a reward granting unit that grants a reward to a user when the arrival information received by the receiving unit indicates that the user has reached a predetermined vending machine, and a transmitting unit that transmits information regarding the reward granted by the reward granting unit to the user's terminal device.

[0021] 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.

[0022] 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.

[0023] 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.

[0024] Further, in the information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, the arrival information includes information indicating that the user's arrival at a predetermined vending machine has been confirmed, and the privilege granting unit may grant a privilege to the user corresponding to the arrival information when the arrival information received by the receiving unit includes the information indicating that the arrival has been confirmed.

[0025] With such a configuration, it is possible to grant a privilege based on the result confirmed by the user's terminal device. Therefore, the information processing apparatus does not need to perform the confirmation.

[0026] Further, in the information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, the privilege granting unit may not grant a privilege to the user until a predetermined time elapses from the point in time when the privilege was granted to the user.

[0027] With such a configuration, it is possible to encourage the user to exercise while leaving a predetermined time interval.

[0028] Further, in the information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, the transmitting unit may transmit proposal information proposing exercise to the user's terminal device after a predetermined time elapses from the point in time when the privilege was granted to the user.

[0029] With such a configuration, it is possible to encourage the user to exercise in response to the transmission of the proposal information.

[0030] Further, the information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention further includes a proposal information generation unit that generates proposal information proposing that the user go to a predetermined vending machine, and the transmitting unit may transmit the proposal information generated by the proposal information generation unit to the user's terminal device corresponding to the proposal information.

[0031] With such a configuration, for example, it is also possible to inform the user about a predetermined vending machine using the proposal information.

[0032] 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.

[0033] This configuration allows the user to be prompted to walk a predetermined distance or more to the vending machine, depending on their current location. [Effects of the Invention]

[0034] According to one aspect of the present invention, for example, by coordinating an information processing device that manages reward information such as points and coupons with a control device that controls a vending machine, it becomes easier to provide items for sale by a vending machine using reward information. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0035] [Figure 1] A schematic diagram showing the configuration of an information processing system according to Embodiment 1 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. [Figure 13] A schematic diagram showing the configuration of an information processing system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. [Figure 14] Block diagram showing the configuration of a vending machine according to the same embodiment. [Figure 15] Block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal device according to the same embodiment. [Figure 16] Block diagram showing the configuration of a vending machine terminal according to the same embodiment. [Figure 17] Block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing device according to the same embodiment. [Figure 18] Block diagram showing the configuration of the control device according to the same embodiment. [Figure 19] A flowchart illustrating the operation of the vending machine according to this embodiment. [Figure 20] Flowchart showing the operation of the terminal device according to this embodiment. [Figure 21] A flowchart illustrating the operation of a vending machine terminal according to this embodiment. [Figure 22] Flowchart showing the operation of the information processing device according to the same embodiment. [Figure 23] Flowchart showing the operation of the control device according to this embodiment [Figure 24A] This figure shows an example of the sixth correspondence information in the same embodiment. [Figure 24B] This figure shows an example of the sixth correspondence information in the same embodiment. [Figure 25] This figure shows an example of the seventh correspondence information in the same embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0036] The information processing apparatus and the like 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 their further description may be omitted.

[0037] (Embodiment 1) An information processing device, terminal device, vending machine terminal, information processing method, and arrival information transmission method according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 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, thereby encouraging exercise corresponding to the user's walking to the vending machine.

[0038] 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.

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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.

[0041] 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.

[0042] 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.

[0043] 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.

[0044] 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.

[0045] 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".

[0046] 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.

[0047] 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.

[0048] 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.

[0049] 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.

[0050] 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.

[0051] 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.

[0052] 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.

[0053] 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.

[0054] 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.

[0055] 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.

[0056] 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.

[0057] 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.

[0058] 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.

[0059] 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.

[0060] 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.

[0061] 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.

[0062] 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.

[0063] 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).

[0064] 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.

[0065] 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.

[0066] 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.

[0067] 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®.

[0068] 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.

[0069] 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.

[0070] 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.

[0071] 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.

[0072] 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.

[0073] 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.

[0074] 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.

[0075] 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.

[0076] 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.

[0077] 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.

[0078] 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.

[0079] 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.

[0080] 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.

[0081] (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.

[0082] (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.

[0083] (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.

[0084] (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.

[0085] (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.

[0086] (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.

[0087] (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.

[0088] 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.

[0089] 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.

[0090] (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.

[0091] (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.

[0092] (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.

[0093] (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.

[0094] (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.

[0095] (Step S207) The touch panel 22 displays the received suggestion information. Then, the process returns to step S201.

[0096] 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.

[0097] 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.

[0098] (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.

[0099] 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.

[0100] 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.

[0101] 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.

[0102] 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.

[0103] 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.

[0104] 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).

[0105] 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).

[0106] 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).

[0107] 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.

[0108] 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.

[0109] 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.

[0110] 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.

[0111] 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.

[0112] 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.

[0113] 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.

[0114] 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.

[0115] 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.

[0116] 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.

[0117] 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.

[0118] 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.

[0119] 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.

[0120] 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.

[0121] 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.

[0122] 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.

[0123] 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.

[0124] (Embodiment 2) An information processing device, control device, information processing method, and control method according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The information processing device according to this embodiment manages reward information indicating rewards such as points granted to users, and the control device controls the vending machine. By the cooperation of both devices, the vending machine is able to provide items for sale using the reward information.

[0125] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the information processing system 1000 according to this embodiment, Figure 14 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vending machine 101 according to this embodiment, Figure 15 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal device 102 according to this embodiment, Figure 16 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vending machine terminal 103 according to this embodiment, Figure 17 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing device 104 according to this embodiment, and Figure 18 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device 105 according to this embodiment.

[0126] The information processing system 1000 comprises a vending machine 101, a terminal device 102, a vending machine terminal 103, an information processing device 104, and a control device 105. Figure 13 shows the case where the information processing system 1000 comprises one vending machine 101, one terminal device 102, one vending machine terminal 103, and one information processing device 104, but the information processing system 1000 may comprise one or more vending machines 101, one or more terminal devices 102, one or more vending machine terminals 103, and one or more information processing devices 104. Also, Figure 13 shows the case where the information processing system 1000 comprises both a terminal device 102 and a vending machine terminal 103, but the information processing system 1000 may, for example, not comprise either a terminal device 102 or a vending machine terminal 103. As shown in Figure 1, one or more vending machines 101, one or more terminal devices 102, one or more vending machine terminals 103, one or more information processing devices 104, and a control device 105 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.

[0127] As shown in Figure 14, the vending machine 101 may include a recording medium 111, a selection receiving unit 112, a storage unit 113, a communication unit 114, and a dispensing unit 115. The items sold by the vending machine 101 may be, for example, food and beverages in containers such as cans or plastic bottles, or other items. Note that "items sold" is a term used from the seller's perspective, while from the buyer's perspective, they are items to be purchased. Therefore, "items sold" can also be considered as "items to be purchased."

[0128] The recording medium 111 stores a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine 101. This recording medium 111 may, for example, be a card-shaped recording medium. The recording medium 111 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. Thus, the recording medium 111 may be a medium that uses short-range wireless communication. The recording medium 111 may, for example, be a recording medium having an RF tag such as Felica® or MIFARE®. In this embodiment, the case in which the recording medium 111 is an IC card having an RF tag will be mainly described.

[0129] The recording medium 111 is used to transmit the vending machine identifier to the terminal device 102. Therefore, if the vending machine identifier is provided from the vending machine 101 to the terminal device 102 via a means other than the recording medium 111, the vending machine 101 may have other configurations to provide the vending machine identifier to the terminal device 102 instead of the recording medium 111. For example, if the vending machine identifier is provided to the terminal device 102 by a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark), the vending machine 101 may have a display for displaying the two-dimensional code indicating the vending machine identifier, or it may have a sheet or the like on which the two-dimensional code is displayed. Another example is if the vending machine identifier is provided to the terminal device 102 by wireless communication, the vending machine 101 may have a communication device that transmits a wireless signal including the vending machine identifier.

[0130] The selection reception unit 112 accepts the selection of items to be sold by the user 9. The user 9 may select items to be sold, for example, by pressing a selection button on the vending machine 101. The selection reception unit 112 may then accept the selection of items to be sold by the user 9. In response to the user 9 pressing a selection button on the vending machine 101, the selection reception unit 112 may accept information that can identify the items to be sold corresponding to that selection button, i.e., the items to be sold selected by the user 9. The information that can identify the items to be sold may be, for example, a column identifier that identifies the column in the vending machine 101 that contains the items to be sold. The column identifier may be, as an example, a column number. In this embodiment, the case in which the selection reception unit 112 accepts a column identifier, which is a column number that identifies the items to be sold selected by the user 9, will be mainly described. As an example, this column identifier and the vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine 101 may be used as an item identifier that identifies the items to be sold.

[0131] The selection reception unit 112 may accept the selection of a product to be sold via an input interface, such as a physical button on the vending machine 101 or a soft button displayed on the display screen. The selection reception unit 112 may or may not include a device for receiving the selection (e.g., an input interface). Furthermore, the selection reception unit 112 may be implemented by hardware or by software such as a driver that drives a predetermined device.

[0132] The storage unit 113 stores a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine 101. The vending machine identifier stored in the recording medium 111 and the vending machine identifier stored in the storage unit 113 may be the same or different. In this embodiment, the former case will be mainly described, and the latter case will be described later. Furthermore, the process by which information is stored in the storage unit 113 is not specified. For example, information may be stored in the storage unit 113 via a recording medium, a communication line, or an input device. In addition, the storage unit 113 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, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0133] The communication unit 114 transmits to the control device 105 a sales target identifier that identifies the sales target whose selection has been accepted by the selection acceptance unit 112. As an example, the communication unit 114 may transmit to the control device 105 a pair of the sales target identifier, which identifies the sales target whose selection has been accepted by the selection acceptance unit 112, and a vending machine identifier stored in the storage unit 113. This embodiment will primarily describe this case. This transmission may occur, for example, immediately after the selection of a sales target is accepted by the selection acceptance unit 112. The transmitted sales target identifier may include, for example, a column identifier accepted by the selection acceptance unit 112 and a vending machine identifier stored in the storage unit 113. If the sales target identifier includes a vending machine identifier, the transmission of the sales target identifier and the vending machine identifier may be limited to the transmission of only the sales target identifier. As another example, when the communication unit 114 receives a request from the control device 105 to transmit a sales target identifier, it may transmit to the control device 105 a sales target identifier that identifies the sales target whose selection has been accepted by the selection acceptance unit 112. Furthermore, once a transmission request is received, the selection buttons may be locked in the vending machine 101 until payment completion information or a notification that payment was not completed is received, or until a timeout occurs, preventing the selection of the product to be sold from being changed.

[0134] The communication unit 114 may receive payment completion information from the control device 105 indicating the completion of payment for the item identified by the sales target identifier, in response to the transmission of the sales target identifier, or the transmission of the sales target identifier and the vending machine identifier. This payment completion information may also be transmitted when payment is completed in the control device 105 in response to the transmission of the sales target identifier, etc., by the communication unit 114. For example, if the payment is not completed, the communication unit 114 may receive error information from the control device 105 indicating that the payment was not completed, or it may not receive any information at all. As an example, the sales target identifier that identifies the item to be paid for may be included in the payment completion information or error information. This sales target identifier is the sales target identifier transmitted by the communication unit 114.

[0135] The communication unit 114 may or may not include a wired or wireless communication device (e.g., a modem or network card) for communication. Furthermore, the communication unit 114 may be implemented by hardware or by software such as a driver for operating the communication device.

[0136] When payment completion information is received by the communication unit 114, the supply unit 115 provides the sales item selected by the selection acceptance unit 112 to the user 9. The supply unit 115 may, for example, control the mechanism for providing sales items in the vending machine 101 so that when payment completion information is received, the selected sales item 8 is dispensed from the vending machine 101. The mechanism for providing sales items is already publicly known, and a detailed explanation thereof is omitted. By the supply unit 115 controlling the mechanism for providing sales items in the vending machine 101 so that, for example, the sales item 8 for which payment has been completed is dispensed to the dispensing slot, the user 9 can receive the desired sales item 8.

[0137] The terminal device 102 is held by the user 9 and may include a storage unit 121, a touch panel 122, an acquisition unit 123, and a communication unit 124, as shown in Figure 15. The terminal device 102 may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet device, a PDA, a smartwatch, a laptop computer, or any other type of mobile information terminal equipped with communication functions. In this embodiment, the case where the terminal device 102 is a smartphone will be described in detail.

[0138] The storage unit 121 stores a user identifier that identifies user 9. This user identifier is the user identifier of user 9 who holds the terminal device 102. The process by which information is stored in the storage unit 121 is irrelevant. For example, information may be stored in the storage unit 121 via a recording medium, a communication line, or an input device. The storage unit 121 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.

[0139] The touch panel 122 accepts instructions and operations from the user 9. The touch panel 122 may also display the results of operations and information received by the communication unit 124. The terminal device 102 may, instead of the touch panel 122, include, for example, an input device such as a keyboard or mouse that accepts input, and a display device that displays images. The touch panel 122 may also display, for example, a two-dimensional code of a user identifier stored in the storage unit 121. The two-dimensional code is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, a QR code (registered trademark).

[0140] The acquisition unit 123 acquires a vending machine identifier from the vending machine 101. This acquisition of the vending machine identifier is usually performed at the location where the vending machine 101 identified by that vending machine identifier is located. The acquisition of the vending machine identifier by the acquisition unit 123 may be done by reading from the recording medium 111, reading a two-dimensional code, or receiving it via communication.

[0141] The acquisition unit 123 may, for example, read the vending machine identifier from the recording medium 111 of the vending machine 101. This reading may be performed, for example, by reading the vending machine identifier stored on the recording medium of the vending machine 101 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 111 of the vending machine 101 may be a medium that uses short-range wireless communication. In this case, the acquisition unit 123 may, for example, read the vending machine identifier from the recording medium 111 using an RFID reader / writer.

[0142] The acquisition unit 123 may, for example, read a two-dimensional code displayed on the vending machine 101 and acquire the vending machine identifier indicated by the 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.

[0143] The acquisition unit 123 may, for example, receive the vending machine identifier of the vending machine 101 by communication. In this case, it may be acquired, for example, by receiving the vending machine identifier transmitted from the vending machine 101 by a beacon or the like. The vending machine identifier may be transmitted from the vending machine 101 by short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth®.

[0144] The acquisition unit 123 may include, for example, devices such as RFID readers / writers, devices such as cameras, and receiving devices such as beacons, or it may not include them. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 123 may be implemented by hardware, or by software such as drivers that operate devices such as readers / writers.

[0145] The communication unit 124 transmits a pair of a user identifier stored in the storage unit 121 and a vending machine identifier acquired by the acquisition unit 123 to the information processing device 104. This transmission may occur, for example, when user 9 receives a product for sale from the vending machine 101 using reward information such as points or coupons assigned to user 9. Therefore, for example, in the terminal device 102, the acquisition of the vending machine identifier by the acquisition unit 123 and the transmission of the vending machine identifier by the communication unit 124 may occur in accordance with processing such as application software for receiving a product for sale using reward information. The communication unit 124 may also receive, for example, updated reward information in accordance with the provision of a product for sale. This received updated reward information may be displayed, for example, on the touch panel 122.

[0146] The communication unit 124 may, for example, transmit a vending machine identifier or the like to the address of the information processing device 104 stored in the storage unit 121 as the destination. The communication unit 124 may or may not include a wireless communication device for communication. The communication unit 124 may be implemented by hardware or by software such as a driver that drives the communication device.

[0147] In this embodiment, the case in which a pair of user identifiers and vending machine identifiers is transmitted from the terminal device 102 to the information processing device 104 will be mainly described, but these pairs may also be transmitted from the vending machine terminal 103.

[0148] The vending machine terminal 103 is installed on the vending machine 101 and may include a storage unit 131, a reception unit 132, and a transmission unit 133, as shown in Figure 16. The vending machine terminal 103 may be, for example, a terminal that is retrofitted to the vending machine 101, or a terminal that is installed on the vending machine 101 from the beginning.

[0149] The storage unit 131 stores a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine 101 to which the vending machine terminal 103 is installed. The process by which information is stored in the storage unit 131 is not relevant. For example, information may be stored in the storage unit 131 via a recording medium, a communication line, or an input device. The storage unit 131 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.

[0150] The reception unit 132 receives a user identifier that identifies user 9 from the terminal device 102 held by user 9. This user identifier may be received, for example, by reading from the recording medium of the terminal device 102, by reading a two-dimensional code displayed on the touch panel 122 of the terminal device 102, or by receiving a wireless signal transmitted from the terminal device 102.

[0151] The receiving unit 132 may include, for example, a device such as an RFID reader / writer, a device such as a camera, a receiving device, or it may not include any of these. The acquisition unit 123 may be implemented by hardware, or by software such as a driver that drives a device such as a reader / writer.

[0152] The transmitting unit 133 transmits a pair of the vending machine identifier stored in the storage unit 131 and the user identifier received by the receiving unit 132 to the information processing device 104. The transmitting unit 133 may also transmit the vending machine identifier, etc., to the address of the information processing device 104 stored in the storage unit 131 as the destination. The transmitting unit 133 may or may not include a transmitting device for performing the transmission. The transmitting unit 133 may be implemented by hardware or by software such as a driver that drives the transmitting device.

[0153] As shown in Figure 17, the information processing device 104 comprises a storage unit 141, a communication unit 142, a determination unit 143, and a reward settlement unit 144. The information processing device 104 is a device that manages reward information granted to user 9. The granting of rewards to user 9 may be performed, for example, in response to reaching the vending machine 101, as in Embodiment 1, or in response to the purchase of goods or other items for sale. The information processing device 104 may be thought of, for example, as a server in a server-client system.

[0154] Furthermore, since the information processing device 104 does not directly control the vending machine 101, and control of the vending machine 101 is performed via the control device 105, it does not need to have a configuration for controlling the vending machine 101. For example, the information processing device 104 may be a device managed by an entity such as a company that grants reward information such as points to the user 9. As an example, the information processing device 104 may further include a configuration for granting rewards, similar to the information processing device 1 in Embodiment 1. In this case, for example, the information processing device 104 may further include a confirmation unit 13, a reward granting unit 14, and a proposed information generation unit 15, the storage unit 141 may store information similar to the information stored in the storage unit 12, and the communication unit 142 may perform information transmission and reception similar to the receiving unit 11 and the transmitting unit 16.

[0155] The memory unit 141 stores one or more correspondence pieces of information that associate a user identifier that identifies user 9 with benefit information that indicates the benefits granted to user 9. Hereinafter, this correspondence piece of information may be referred to as the "sixth correspondence piece of information." This sixth correspondence piece of information links user 9 with the benefit information. The benefit information may include, for example, points or coupons. Points may be usable to purchase items for sale, for example. For example, 1 point may be used as 1 yen. Coupons may be exchangeable for items for sale. That is, user 9 may be able to receive items for sale without paying any money by using a coupon. Coupons may also have conditions regarding the maximum price of items for which they can be exchanged. For example, a coupon may be exchangeable for items for sale up to 200 yen. In this embodiment, the case where the benefit information is points will be described in detail.

[0156] The memory unit 141 may store information other than the sixth correspondence information. For example, the memory unit 141 may also store payment target information, which includes one or more vending machine identifiers that identify the vending machines 101 that are the target of payment using the reward information. In this case, the information processing device 104 may perform payment using the reward information only for vending machines 101 identified by the one or more vending machine identifiers included in this payment target information. Payment using reward information will be described later. As an example, if the information processing device 104 is managed by a hotel operating company, the vending machines 101 identified by the one or more vending machine identifiers included in the payment target information may be vending machines 101 installed in hotels operated by that operating company.

[0157] The process by which information is stored in the storage unit 141 is not relevant. For example, information may be stored in the storage unit 141 via a recording medium, a communication line, or an input device. The storage unit 141 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.

[0158] The communication unit 142 receives a pair of user identifiers that identify the user 9 who selected the product to be sold at the vending machine 101, and a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine 101. The pair of user identifiers and vending machine identifiers may be transmitted, for example, from the user 9's terminal device 102, or from the vending machine terminal 103. The received pair of user identifiers and vending machine identifiers may be temporarily stored, for example, in the storage unit 141.

[0159] The communication unit 142 transmits the vending machine identifier to the control device 105 that controls the vending machine 101, upon receiving a pair of user identifiers and vending machine identifiers. The communication unit 142 transmits the received vending machine identifier to the control device 105 only if, for example, the determination unit 143 determines that the received vending machine identifier is included in the payment target information stored in the storage unit 141. Otherwise, the communication unit 142 does not need to transmit the received vending machine identifier to the control device 105.

[0160] In response to the transmission of a vending machine identifier to the control device 105, the communication unit 142 receives payment request information transmitted from the control device 105 requesting payment using the reward information. The payment request information may include, for example, the amount of the sales item that is the subject of payment. The payment request information may also include, for example, the vending machine identifier of the vending machine 101 where the sales item that is the subject of payment is provided. Upon receiving this payment request information, if the payment by the reward payment unit 144 is completed, the communication unit 142 transmits payment completion information to the control device 105 indicating that the payment has been completed. The payment completion information transmitted in response to the receipt of the payment request information may include, for example, the vending machine identifier corresponding to that payment request information. The vending machine identifier corresponding to the payment request information may be, for example, the vending machine identifier included in that payment request information. Also, if payment request information is received from the control device 105 in response to the transmission of a certain vending machine identifier to the control device 105, that vending machine identifier may be the vending machine identifier corresponding to that payment request information. If the settlement by the benefit settlement unit 144 is not completed, the communication unit 142 may, for example, send a message to the control device 105 indicating that the settlement was not completed, or it may not.

[0161] Furthermore, the communication unit 142 may, for example, transmit the updated reward information to the terminal device 102 of user 9 identified by the user identifier associated with the updated reward information when the reward information is updated. The updated reward information may be transmitted to the terminal device 102 that transmitted the user identifier, for example, or it may be transmitted to the address associated with the user identifier corresponding to the updated reward information by using correspondence information that associates the user's user identifier with the user's address, and the information may be transmitted to that address. In the latter case, the storage unit 141 may store one or more correspondence pieces of information that associate the user identifier with the address of the terminal device 2.

[0162] The communication unit 142 may or may not include a wired or wireless communication device (e.g., a modem or network card) for communication. Furthermore, the communication unit 142 may be implemented by hardware or by software such as a driver for operating the communication device.

[0163] The determination unit 143 determines whether the vending machine identifier received by the communication unit 142 is included in the payment target information stored in the storage unit 141. The determination unit 143 may then pass the determination result to the communication unit 142. For example, the determination unit 143 may receive the received vending machine identifier from the communication unit 142, use that vending machine identifier as a search key to search the payment target information stored in the storage unit 141, and if a match is found, determine that the received vending machine identifier is included in the payment target information. Note that if a determination is not made using payment target information, the information processing device 104 does not need to have a determination unit 143.

[0164] When the reward payment unit 144 receives payment request information from the communication unit 142, it performs payment using the reward information associated with the user identifier corresponding to the payment request information by the sixth correspondence information. The user identifier corresponding to the payment request information is the user identifier received in combination with the vending machine identifier corresponding to the payment request information.

[0165] Furthermore, if the payment request information includes an amount, the reward payment unit 144 may use the reward information to make a payment corresponding to that amount. This payment may, for example, be a charge to user 9 corresponding to that amount, made using the reward information. In other words, the reward payment unit 144 may make a payment for user 9 to purchase the item for sale using the reward information.

[0166] For example, if the reward information includes points, the reward settlement unit 144 may perform a settlement using the points included in the reward information in accordance with the received settlement request information. The reward settlement unit 144 may, for example, perform a settlement using the reward information by subtracting the amount included in the settlement request information from the points included in the reward information. However, if the balance of points indicated by the reward information is less than that amount, the reward settlement unit 144 may determine that it cannot perform the settlement. In this case, the settlement will not be completed.

[0167] As another example, if the reward information includes a coupon that can be exchanged for the item being sold, the reward payment unit 144 may make a payment using the coupon included in the reward information in accordance with the payment request information received. The reward payment unit 144 may, for example, make a payment for the coupon included in the reward information in accordance with the payment request information. In this case, the reward payment unit 144 may, for example, remove the coupon from the reward information. Also, if the reward information includes multiple coupons, the reward payment unit 144 may, for example, reduce the number of coupons by one. Furthermore, if the coupon has conditions such as a maximum price, the reward payment unit 144 may make a payment for the coupon when those conditions are met, for example, when the amount included in the payment request information is less than or equal to the maximum price set in the coupon's usage conditions.

[0168] Furthermore, if the reward information includes both points and coupons, the user 9 may specify which type of payment to use, or the information processing device 104 may be configured to prioritize which type of payment. In the former case, for example, the terminal device 102 or the vending machine terminal 103 may transmit information indicating whether to use points or coupons, along with a pair of user identifiers and vending machine identifiers. The reward payment unit 144 may then perform payment using the points or coupons included in the reward information according to that information.

[0169] Furthermore, when a payment is made using points or coupons in the information processing device 104, the result of that payment may be stored in the storage unit 141 or the like. The stored payment result may be information that shows, for example, the total amount of the sales items paid using points or coupons. This storage of payment results may be performed, for example, by the reward payment unit 144. Then, for example, a company managing the information processing device 104 may make a payment to a company managing the vending machine 101, etc., in accordance with the result of that payment.

[0170] As shown in Figure 18, the control device 105 comprises a receiving unit 151, a transmitting unit 152, a storage unit 153, and a processing unit 154. The control device 105 can be thought of as, for example, a server in a server-client system. The control device 105 is a device that controls the vending machine 101, and in response to the transmission of payment completion information from the control device 105 to the vending machine 101, the vending machine 101 provides the sales item 8 to the user 9. For example, the control device 105 may be a device managed by an entity such as a company that has installed the vending machine 101.

[0171] The receiving unit 151 receives a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine 101 from which user 9 is trying to obtain a product using the benefit information, which is transmitted from the information processing device 104 that manages benefit information indicating the benefits granted to user 9. The receiving unit 151 also receives a product identifier that identifies the product selected by the vending machine 101, which is transmitted from the vending machine 101 identified by the received vending machine identifier. As described above, the receiving unit 151 may receive, for example, a pair of product identifiers and vending machine identifiers. In this case, the pair of product identifiers and vending machine identifiers transmitted from the vending machine 101 may be received without the transmitting unit 152 sending a transmission request. Alternatively, the receiving unit 151 may receive, for example, only the product identifier. In this case, the product identifier transmitted from the vending machine 101 may be received in response to the transmission request by the transmitting unit 152. Furthermore, if the sales target identifier includes both a vending machine identifier and a column identifier, the reception of the sales target identifier may also serve as the reception of the vending machine identifier.

[0172] For example, if a pair of a sales target identifier and a vending machine identifier is received from vending machine 101, and the vending machine identifier is also received from information processing device 104, the sales target identifier and the information processing device 104 can be linked using the vending machine identifier. In another example, if the vending machine identifier is received from information processing device 104, and the sales target identifier is received from vending machine 101 in response to a transmission request to the vending machine 101 identified by that vending machine identifier, the sales target identifier and the information processing device 104 can also be linked. Then, a payment request for the sales target identified by that sales target identifier can be made to the information processing device 104 linked to that sales target identifier.

[0173] The receiving unit 151 may receive payment completion information from the information processing device 104 in response to the transmission of payment request information by the transmitting unit 152. The payment completion information may include, for example, a vending machine identifier. This vending machine identifier may be a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine 101 that provides the sales item subject to payment. By including the vending machine identifier in the payment completion information, it is possible to easily determine which vending machine 101 the payment for has been completed. If the payment using the reward information is not completed in the information processing device 104 in response to the transmission of the payment request information, the payment completion information may not be received, or a message indicating that the payment was not completed may be received.

[0174] The receiving unit 151 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 151 may be implemented by hardware or by software such as a driver for operating the receiving device.

[0175] The transmitting unit 152 transmits payment request information to the information processing device 104, requesting that the payment for the sales item identified by the sales item identifier received by the receiving unit 151 be made using the reward information. As described above, since the sales item identifier and the information processing device 104 can be linked, the transmitting unit 152 can transmit payment request information requesting payment for the sales item identified by the received sales item identifier to the information processing device 104 linked to that sales item identifier. For example, the transmission of this payment request information may occur after the receiving unit 151 has received the sales item identifier transmitted from the vending machine 101 and the vending machine identifier of the vending machine 101 transmitted from the information processing device 104. The payment request information may include the amount related to the sales item to be paid. This amount may be obtained by the processing unit 154, for example, as described later, or it may be included in the sales item identifier. The payment request information may also include a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine 101 that provides the sales item to be paid. When payment request information is transmitted in response to the receipt of a certain vending machine identifier transmitted from the information processing device 104, for example, the received vending machine identifier may be included in the payment request information.

[0176] When the receiving unit 151 receives payment completion information transmitted from the information processing device 104, the transmitting unit 152 transmits payment completion information to the vending machine 101 corresponding to that payment completion information. If payment request information requesting payment for a sales target identified by a sales target identifier transmitted from a certain vending machine 101 is transmitted to the information processing device 104, and payment completion information is transmitted from the information processing device 104 in response to that transmission, then that vending machine 101 becomes the vending machine 101 corresponding to that payment completion information. Furthermore, if the payment completion information includes a vending machine identifier, the vending machine 101 corresponding to that payment completion information may be the vending machine 101 identified by that vending machine identifier. The payment completion information may include, for example, a sales target identifier that identifies the sales target that was the subject of the payment indicated by that information as having been completed. Furthermore, if payment in accordance with the payment request information is not completed, for example, if the information processing device 104 receives notification that the payment was not completed, or if a timeout occurs, the transmission unit 152 may send error information to the vending machine 101 indicating that the payment was not completed.

[0177] Furthermore, the transmitting unit 152 may, for example, send a transmission request to the vending machine 101 identified by the vending machine identifier transmitted from the information processing device 104 when the receiving unit 151 receives the vending machine identifier. In this case, for example, the storage unit 153 stores one or more correspondence pieces of information associating the vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine 101 with the address of the vending machine 101, and the transmitting unit 152 may use these correspondence pieces of information to obtain the address corresponding to the vending machine identifier received by the receiving unit 151 and send a transmission request to that address.

[0178] The transmitting unit 152 may or may not include a transmitting device (e.g., a modem or network card) for performing transmission. Furthermore, the transmitting unit 152 may be implemented by hardware or by software such as a driver that drives the transmitting device.

[0179] The storage unit 153 may store, for example, information used in processing by the control device 105. For example, one or more correspondence pieces of information that associate a vending machine identifier that identifies a vending machine 101 with the address of the vending machine 101 may be stored in the storage unit 153. Alternatively, one or more correspondence pieces of information that associate a sales item identifier that identifies a sales item with the price of that sales item may be stored in the storage unit 153. Hereinafter, this correspondence piece of information may be referred to as "seventh correspondence piece of information". This seventh correspondence piece of information links the sales item with its price.

[0180] The process by which information is stored in the storage unit 153 is not relevant. For example, information may be stored in the storage unit 153 via a recording medium, a communication line, or an input device. The storage unit 153 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.

[0181] The processing unit 154 may perform processing in the control device 105. For example, when a sales target identifier is received, the processing unit 154 may obtain the price of the sales target identified by that sales target identifier using one or more seventh correspondence information that associates the sales target identifier with the price. The settlement request information transmitted by the transmission unit 152 may include the amount which is the obtained price.

[0182] Next, the operation of the vending machine 101 will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 19. (Step S1101) The selection receiving unit 112 determines whether it has received a selection of the items to be sold. If it has received a selection of the items to be sold, it proceeds to step S1102; otherwise, it repeats the process in step S1101 until it receives a selection of the items to be sold.

[0183] (Step S1102) The communication unit 114 transmits to the control device 105 a sales target identifier that identifies the sales target for which the selection has been accepted, and a vending machine identifier stored in the storage unit 113.

[0184] (Step S1103) The communication unit 114 determines whether it has received payment completion information from the control device 105. If it has received payment completion information, it proceeds to step S1104; otherwise, it repeats the process in step S1103 until it receives payment completion information. If a predetermined period has elapsed since the transmission of the sales target identifier or vending machine identifier and payment completion information has not been received, it may be considered a timeout and the process may return to step S1101. It may also return to step S1101 if information indicating that payment was not completed is received.

[0185] (Step S1104) The supply unit 115 provides the sales item 8 selected in step S1101 to the user 9. For example, the sales item 8 selected in step S1101 may be discharged into the dispensing slot of the vending machine 101. Then, the process returns to step S1101. In the flowchart shown in Figure 19, processing may be terminated by power off or processing termination interrupt.

[0186] Next, the operation of the terminal device 102 will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 20. (Step S1201) The communication unit 124 determines whether to use the special offer information, that is, whether to receive the item to be sold by using the special offer information. If the special offer information is to be used, the process proceeds to step S1202; otherwise, the process in step S1201 is repeated until it is determined that the special offer information should be used. The communication unit 124 may, for example, determine to use the special offer information if an instruction to use the special offer information is received on the touch panel 122.

[0187] (Step S1202) The acquisition unit 123 acquires the vending machine identifier of the vending machine 101. This acquisition of the vending machine identifier may be performed, for example, by the acquisition unit 123 reading the vending machine identifier from the recording medium 111.

[0188] (Step S1203) The communication unit 124 transmits to the information processing device 104 a pair of the user identifier stored in the storage unit 121 and the vending machine identifier acquired by the acquisition unit 123. Then, the process returns to step S1201. If the reward information includes both points and coupons, information indicating which one to use may also be transmitted to the information processing device 104 along with the pair of the user identifier and vending machine identifier. The user 9 may specify whether to use points or coupons.

[0189] Although not included in the flowchart of Figure 20, when payment using the reward information is completed in the information processing device 104, for example, the reward information updated by that payment may be transmitted from the information processing device 104, received by the communication unit 124, and displayed on the touch panel 122. Also, in the flowchart of Figure 20, the process may be terminated by power off or processing termination interrupt.

[0190] Next, the operation of the vending machine terminal 103 will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 21. (Step S1301) The reception unit 132 determines whether it has received the user identifier. If it has received the user identifier, it proceeds to step S1302; otherwise, it repeats the process in step S1301 until it receives the user identifier. The reception unit 132 may also receive the user identifier from the terminal device 2 of user 9.

[0191] (Step S1302) The transmission unit 133 transmits arrival information, including the user identifier received in step S1301 and the vending machine identifier stored in the storage unit 131, to the information processing device 104. Then, the process returns to step S1301. If the reward information includes both points and coupons, information indicating which one to use may also be transmitted to the information processing device 104 along with the user identifier and vending machine identifier pair. In this case, the choice between points and coupons may be received along with the user identifier in step S1301.

[0192] In addition, in the flowchart of Figure 21, for example, the process of step S1301 may start when a button indicating the start of reading the user identifier on the vending machine terminal 103 is pressed. In this case, for example, the vending machine terminal 103 does not need to perform the process of step S301 from the transmission of arrival information in step S1302 until that button is pressed. Also, in the flowchart of Figure 21, the process may end due to power off or processing termination interruption.

[0193] Next, the operation of the information processing device 104 will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 22. (Step S1401) The communication unit 142 determines whether it has received a pair of user identifier and vending machine identifier. If it has received the pair, it proceeds to step S1402; otherwise, it repeats the process in step S1401 until it receives the pair.

[0194] (Step S1402) The determination unit 143 determines whether the received vending machine identifier is included in the payment information stored in the storage unit 141. If the received vending machine identifier is included in the payment information, the process proceeds to step S1403; otherwise, it returns to step S1401. If the process returns to step S1401, no processing is performed for the combination of the received user identifier and vending machine identifier.

[0195] (Step S1403) The communication unit 142 transmits the vending machine identifier received in step S1401 to the control device 105.

[0196] (Step S1404) The communication unit 142 determines whether it has received payment request information transmitted from the control device 105. If it has received payment request information, it proceeds to step S1405; otherwise, it repeats the process in step S1404 until it receives payment request information. If a predetermined period has elapsed since the vending machine identifier was transmitted and payment request information has not been received, it may be considered a timeout and the process may return to step S1401.

[0197] (Step S1405) The reward settlement unit 144 performs a settlement based on the received settlement request information, using the reward information associated with the user identifier received in step S1401.

[0198] (Step S1406) The reward settlement unit 144 determines whether the settlement was completed in step S1405. If the settlement was completed, it proceeds to step S1407; otherwise, it returns to step S1401. If the settlement could not be completed, for example, a message indicating that the settlement could not be completed may be sent to the control device 105.

[0199] (Step S1407) The communication unit 142 transmits payment completion information to the control device 105. Then, the process returns to step S1401. In the flowchart shown in Figure 22, processing may be terminated by power off or processing termination interrupt.

[0200] Next, the operation of the control device 105 will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 23. The flowchart in Figure 23 explains the case where a pair of sales target identifier and vending machine identifier is received from the vending machine 101 without a transmission request being sent.

[0201] (Step S1501) The receiving unit 151 determines whether it has received the pair of sales target identifier and vending machine identifier transmitted from the vending machine 101. If it has received the pair, it proceeds to step S1502; otherwise, it proceeds to step S1503.

[0202] (Step S1502) The receiving unit 151 stores the received pairs of sales target identifiers and vending machine identifiers in the storage unit 153. Then, the process returns to step S1501.

[0203] (Step S1503) The receiving unit 151 determines whether it has received the vending machine identifier transmitted from the information processing device 104. If it has received the vending machine identifier, it proceeds to step S1504; otherwise, it returns to step S1501.

[0204] (Step S1504) The processing unit 154 identifies the pair of sales target identifiers and vending machine identifiers that includes the received vending machine identifier, and obtains the amount of the sales target identified by the sales target identifier included in that pair. The processing unit 154 may, for example, obtain the amount which is the price corresponding to the sales target identifier using one or more seventh correspondence pieces of information that associate sales target identifiers with prices.

[0205] (Step S1505) The transmission unit 152 transmits payment request information, including the amount obtained in step S1504, to the information processing device 104. This payment request information may also include, for example, the vending machine identifier received in step S1503.

[0206] (Step S1506) The receiving unit 151 determines whether it has received payment completion information. If it has received payment completion information, it proceeds to step S1507; otherwise, it repeats the process in step S1506 until it receives payment completion information. If a predetermined period has elapsed since the payment request information was sent and payment completion information has not been received, it may be considered a timeout and the process may return to step S1501. It may also return to step S1501 if it is received that payment was not completed. If it is received that payment was not completed, for example, error information may be sent to the vending machine 101.

[0207] (Step S1507) The transmitting unit 152 transmits payment completion information to the vending machine 101. This vending machine 101 is the vending machine 101 identified by the vending machine identifier received in step S1503. Then, the process returns to step S1501.

[0208] Note that while the flowchart in Figure 23 shows a case where the vending machine identifier is received from the vending machine 101 as a pair of sales target identifiers and vending machine identifiers, and then the vending machine identifier is received from the information processing device 104, this is not required. Alternatively, after the vending machine identifier is received from the information processing device 104, a transmission request may be sent to the vending machine 101 identified by that vending machine identifier, and the sales target identifier may be received in response. Furthermore, in the flowchart in Figure 23, the process may be terminated by power off or processing termination interrupt.

[0209] Next, the operation of the information processing system 1000 according to this embodiment will be explained using a specific example. In this example, it is assumed that a plurality of sixth correspondence information shown in Figure 24A is stored in the storage unit 141 of the information processing device 104, and a plurality of seventh correspondence information shown in Figure 25 is stored in the storage unit 153 of the control device 105. The sixth correspondence information shown in Figure 24A includes a user identifier and benefit information for user 9 identified by that user identifier. In this example, the benefit information is assumed to be information indicating the number of points held by user 9. The seventh correspondence information shown in Figure 25 includes a sales target identifier, the name of the sales target identified by that sales target identifier, and the price of the sales target. In this example, for the sake of explanation, the case in which the name of the sales target is included in the seventh correspondence information is shown, but the name of the sales target does not have to be included in the seventh correspondence information. Also, as shown in Figure 25, it is assumed that the sales target identifier includes a vending machine identifier and a column identifier.

[0210] First, suppose a user identified by user identifier "U001" (hereinafter referred to as "User U001") goes near vending machine 101 identified by vending machine identifier "V001", operates terminal device 102 to launch application software for using reward information, and inputs instructions to exchange points for a beverage that is being sold. In response, terminal device 102 determines that the reward information will be used, and instructions to press the selection button on vending machine 101 are displayed on touch panel 122 (step S1201). In response to these instructions, when User U001 presses the selection button for the beverage "ABC Water" on vending machine 101, selection reception unit 112 receives column identifier "01" corresponding to the beverage "ABC Water" in accordance with the selection, and passes that column identifier to communication unit 114 and provision unit 115 (step S1101).

[0211] Upon receiving the column identifier, the communication unit 114 reads the vending machine identifier "V001" of the vending machine 101 stored in the storage unit 113 and transmits the sales target identifier, which includes the vending machine identifier "V001" and the received column identifier "01", to the control device 105 (step S1102). In this case, since the sales target identifier includes the vending machine identifier, the transmission of the sales target identifier means that both the sales target identifier and the vending machine identifier have been transmitted. Therefore, the following explanation assumes that the vending machine 101 has transmitted a pair of the sales target identifier and the vending machine identifier.

[0212] The pair of a sales target identifier and a vending machine identifier transmitted from the vending machine 101 is received by the receiving unit 151 of the control device 105 and stored in the storage unit 153 (steps S1501, S1502). The receiving unit 151 may also store in the storage unit 153 information associating the source address of the received pair with the vending machine identifier.

[0213] Furthermore, when user U001 selects on the touch panel 122 that the selection button has been pressed on the terminal device 102, an instruction to hold the terminal device 102 over the recording medium 111 of the vending machine 101 is displayed on the touch panel 122. In response to this display, when user U001 holds the terminal device 102 over the recording medium 111, the acquisition unit 123 reads the vending machine identifier "V001" from the recording medium 111 and passes it to the communication unit 124 (step S1202). Upon receiving the vending machine identifier, the communication unit 124 reads the user identifier "U001" stored in the storage unit 121 and transmits the pair of the received vending machine identifier and the read user identifier to the information processing device 104 (step S1203).

[0214] When the vending machine identifier and user identifier are transmitted from the vending machine terminal 103, first, user U001 operates the terminal device 102 to display a 2D code on the touch panel 122. This 2D code corresponds to user U001's user identifier "U001". When user U001 holds the 2D code over the camera of the reception unit 132 of the vending machine terminal 103, the 2D code captured by the camera is decoded, and the user identifier "U001" is received by the reception unit 132 and passed to the transmission unit 133 (step S1301). Upon receiving the user identifier, the transmission unit 133 reads the vending machine identifier "V001" of the vending machine 101 from the storage unit 131 and transmits the pair of user identifier and vending machine identifier to the information processing device 104 (step S1302). In this way, the vending machine terminal 103 can also transmit the vending machine identifier and the user identifier to the information processing device 104. However, if the user identifier is received by the vending machine terminal 103 via a 2D code, there is a risk that the 2D code may be duplicated and misused by a third party. From the standpoint of preventing such misuse, it is preferable for the terminal device 102 to obtain the vending machine identifier from the vending machine 101 via short-range wireless communication such as NFC or Bluetooth (registered trademark), and transmit the pair of the vending machine identifier and the user identifier to the information processing device 104.

[0215] The vending machine identifier and user identifier pair transmitted from terminal device 102 or vending machine terminal 103 is received by the communication unit 142 of the information processing device 104 and stored in the storage unit 141, while the vending machine identifier is passed to the determination unit 143 (step S1401). Upon receiving the vending machine identifier, the determination unit 143 uses that vending machine identifier as a search key to search the payment information stored in the storage unit 141 and determine whether a match is found. In this case, it is determined that a match is found. Then, the determination unit 143 returns to the communication unit 142 that the received vending machine identifier is included in the payment information (step S1402).

[0216] When the communication unit 142 receives confirmation that the received vending machine identifier is included in the payment information, it transmits the received vending machine identifier "V001" to the control device 105 (step S1403).

[0217] The vending machine identifier transmitted from the information processing device 104 is received by the receiving unit 151 of the control device 105 and passed to the processing unit 154 and the transmitting unit 152 (step S1503). Upon receiving the vending machine identifier, the processing unit 154 uses the vending machine identifier as a search key to search for pairs of sales target identifiers and vending machine identifiers stored in the storage unit 141, and obtains the sales target identifiers included in the hit pairs. Then, the processing unit 154 uses the obtained sales target identifier as a search key to search for multiple seventh correspondence information stored in the storage unit 141, obtains the price "130 (yen)" from the hit seventh correspondence information, and passes that price, which is the amount, to the transmitting unit 152 (step S1504). Upon receiving the amount of the sales target, the transmitting unit 152 transmits payment request information, including the received vending machine identifier and amount, to the information processing device 104 that transmitted the vending machine identifier (step S1505).

[0218] The payment request information transmitted from the control device 105 is received by the communication unit 142 of the information processing device 104 and passed to the reward payment unit 144 (step S1404). Upon receiving the payment request information, the reward payment unit 144 uses the vending machine identifier contained in the payment request information as a search key to search for pairs of vending machine identifiers and user identifiers stored in the storage unit 141, and obtains the user identifier "U001" from the hit pairs. Then, using that user identifier as a search key, the reward payment unit 144 searches for multiple sixth-corresponding information and subtracts the amount "130 (yen)" contained in the received payment request information from the points of the reward information contained in the hit sixth-corresponding information (step S1405). Furthermore, since the reward payment unit 144 was able to subtract the points, it determines that the payment is complete and passes the fact that the payment is complete and the vending machine identifier contained in the payment request information received from the communication unit 142 to the communication unit 142 (step S1406). As a result of the deduction of points from the reward information, the multiple sixth-corresponding information items become as shown in Figure 24B. Upon receiving confirmation that payment has been completed and the vending machine identifier, the communication unit 142 transmits the payment completion information, including the vending machine identifier, to the control device 105 (step S1407).

[0219] Furthermore, the communication unit 142 of the information processing device 104 may, for example, transmit to the terminal device 2 of user U001, identified by the user identifier corresponding to the reward information, information such as that payment has been completed, or that 130 points have been deducted and the reward information is now 120 points. The information transmitted in this manner may be received by the communication unit 124 of user U001's terminal device 2 and displayed on the touch panel 122.

[0220] The payment completion information transmitted from the information processing device 104 is received by the receiving unit 151 of the control device 105 and passed to the transmitting unit 152 (step S1506). Upon receiving the payment completion information, the transmitting unit 152 uses the vending machine identifier contained in the payment completion information as a search key to search for information stored in the storage unit 153 that associates addresses with vending machine identifiers, and obtains the address from the hit information. Then, the transmitting unit 152 transmits the payment completion information to the obtained address (step S1507).

[0221] The payment completion information transmitted from the control device 105 is received by the communication unit 114 of the vending machine 101 where user U001 pressed the ABC Water selection button, and is passed to the dispensing unit 115 (step S1103). Upon receiving the payment completion information, the dispensing unit 115 provides user U001 with the beverage "ABC Water" with column identifier "01" which it had received in advance (step S1104). In this way, the ABC Water is dispensed from the dispensing opening, and user U001 can receive the purchased item.

[0222] As described above, according to the information processing system 1000 of this embodiment, the information processing device 104, which manages reward information such as points and coupons, and the control device 105, which controls the vending machine 101, work together, enabling the user 9 to receive the sales target 8 from the vending machine 101 using the reward information. In this way, since the information processing device 104 does not need to directly control the vending machine 101, it is possible to realize the provision of sales target 8 using points and coupons from the reward information at the vending machine 101 at a lower cost. Furthermore, by configuring the information processing device 104 to process only the vending machine 101 identified by the vending machine identifier included in the payment target information, it is possible to narrow down, for example, the vending machines 101 from which the sales target 8 can be provided using the company's reward information. In this way, for example, a hotel operator can use the reward information managed by the information processing device 104 to provide beverages only from the vending machines 101 installed in that hotel, and this can be used for welcome drinks, etc.

[0223] In this embodiment, the case where the vending machine identifier transmitted from vending machine 101 and the vending machine identifier transmitted from terminal device 102 or vending machine terminal 103 are the same for a given vending machine 101 is described, but this is not required. The two vending machine identifiers may be different but linked. In this case, for example, the control device 105 may store one or more correspondence information that associates the two vending machine identifiers, and the two vending machine identifiers may be linked using that correspondence information. The control device 105 may then perform the same processing as described above by converting one of the received vending machine identifiers to the other vending machine identifier using the correspondence information.

[0224] Furthermore, although this embodiment mainly describes the case in which payment is made using reward information in the information processing device 104, this is not required. The information processing device 104 may perform some of the payment processing using reward information. Therefore, when the reward payment unit 144 receives payment request information, it may perform payment processing using the reward information associated with the user identifier corresponding to the payment request information. In this case, the transmission unit 152 of the control device 105 may transmit payment request information requesting that the payment processing for the sales target identified by the received sales target identifier be performed using reward information. The communication unit 142 of the information processing device 104 may also receive payment request information requesting payment processing using reward information. The communication unit 142 may also transmit payment completion information to the control device 105 when the payment processing by the reward payment unit 144 is completed. The receiving unit 151 of the control device 105 may also receive this payment completion information. This payment processing using reward information may be, for example, a payment using reward information, or it may be some of the processing for a payment using reward information. In the latter case, for example, the processing related to payment using reward information is a part of the processing of payment using points or coupons from the reward information, and the final payment may be performed by a control device 30 or the like other than the information processing device 104.

[0225] For example, if the rewards payment unit 144 performs some processing of a payment using points, the communication unit 142 may receive information indicating that a specific number of points (e.g., 50 points) will be used to purchase the item for sale, along with a set of user identifier and vending machine identifier. In this case, the rewards payment unit 144 may, upon receiving the payment request information, subtract the specified number of points from the reward information associated with the user identifier corresponding to the payment request information by the sixth correspondence information. Then, upon completion of the processing, the communication unit 142 may transmit payment completion information to the control device 105, including the points to be used to purchase the item for sale (e.g., 50 points) and the user identifier of the user holding those points. In this case, the control device 105 may maintain one or more correspondence pieces of information associating the user identifier with information on a payment method such as a credit card or electronic money. Then, the control device 105, upon receiving the payment completion information, may use the points included in the payment completion information and the information of the payment method, such as a credit card or electronic money, corresponding to the user identifier included in the payment completion information, to perform payment for the product selected by the user. Once the payment is completed, the payment completion information may be transmitted to the vending machine 101.

[0226] For example, if the rewards payment unit 144 processes part of a payment using a coupon, the communication unit 142 may receive information indicating that a specific coupon (e.g., a free coffee beverage coupon) will be used to purchase an item for sale, along with a set of user identifier and vending machine identifier. In this case, the rewards payment unit 144 may, upon receiving the payment request information, read the specified coupon from the reward information associated with the user identifier corresponding to the payment request information by the sixth correspondence information and pass it to the communication unit 142. The communication unit 142 may then transmit payment completion information including the coupon to the control device 105. In this case, the control device 105, upon receiving the payment completion information, may use the coupon to make a payment for the item for sale selected by the user. For example, if the coupon included in the received payment completion information can be used to purchase the item for sale selected by the user, the payment will be completed; otherwise, the payment will not be completed. Specifically, if a user selects a coffee beverage at the vending machine 101 and the payment completion information includes a coupon for the coffee beverage, the payment will be completed. On the other hand, if a user selects a tea-based beverage, but the payment completion information includes a coupon for a coffee beverage, the payment will not be completed. When the payment is completed, the control device 105 may send a message to the information processing device 104 indicating that the payment has been completed. The information processing device 104 may then remove the coupon information included in the payment completion information from the reward information upon receiving the message indicating that the payment has been completed. Furthermore, when the payment is completed, the control device 105 may send the payment completion information to the vending machine 101.

[0227] As another example, the communication unit 142 may receive information indicating the use of a coupon without specifying a particular coupon, along with a user identifier and a vending machine identifier, instead of information indicating that a specific coupon will be used to purchase the item for sale. In this case, all coupons may be read from the reward information and included in the payment completion information and transmitted to the control device 105. The control device 105 may then use the coupons included in the payment completion information to make a payment for the item selected by the user. For example, if the payment completion information includes a coupon corresponding to the item selected by the user, the payment will be completed using that coupon, and information indicating the coupon used for payment may be transmitted from the control device 105 to the information processing device 104. The information processing device 104 may then update the reward information in response to the receipt of that information. Furthermore, once the payment is completed, the control device 105 may transmit the payment completion information to the vending machine 101.

[0228] Furthermore, although this embodiment mainly describes the case where the sales target identifier is an identifier that can uniquely identify the type of sales target, this is not required. The sales target identifier may be, for example, the price of the sales target. In this case, the sales target identifier can be used to identify the price of the sales target. Also, if the sales target identifier is the price of the sales target, for example, the settlement request information may include the amount of that price. In this case, it is not necessary for one or more seventh correspondence information to be stored in the storage unit 153 of the control device 105.

[0229] Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, 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.

[0230] Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the exchange of information between the components 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.

[0231] Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, 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 an storage unit (not shown). The reading of information from the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or an reading unit (not shown).

[0232] Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, 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.

[0233] Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, if two or more components included in the information processing devices 1, 104, terminal devices 2, 102, vending machine terminals 3, 103, vending machines 4, 101, and control device 105 have communication devices, input devices, etc., the two or more components may have a single physical device or they may have separate devices.

[0234] Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, each component may be configured with dedicated hardware, or, if it is a component that can be implemented by software, it may be implemented by executing a program. For example, each component can be implemented 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 the storage unit or recording medium.

[0235] The software that implements the information processing device 1 in the above embodiment 1 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 reward to the user when the received arrival information indicates that the user has reached a predetermined vending machine; and transmitting information regarding the reward granted in the reward granting step to the user's terminal device.

[0236] Furthermore, the software that implements the terminal device 2 in the above embodiment 1 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 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.

[0237] Furthermore, the software that implements the vending machine terminal 3 in the above embodiment 1 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 the 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.

[0238] Furthermore, the software that implements the information processing device 104 in the above embodiment 2 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 one or more correspondence pieces of information that associate a user identifier that identifies a user with benefit information that indicates a benefit granted to the user, to receive a set of a user identifier that identifies a user who has selected a product to be sold in a vending machine and a vending machine identifier that identifies a vending machine, in response to receiving the set of user identifier and vending machine identifier, to send the vending machine identifier to a control device that manages the vending machine, in response to sending the vending machine identifier, to receive payment request information that requests processing related to payment using benefit information sent from the control device, in response to sending the vending machine identifier, in response to receiving the payment request information, to perform processing related to payment using the benefit information that is associated with the user identifier corresponding to the payment request information by correspondence piece of information, and to send payment completion information to the control device when the processing related to payment in the step of processing payment is completed.

[0239] Furthermore, the software that implements the control device 105 in the above embodiment 2 is a program as follows. In other words, this program may be a program that causes a computer to execute the following steps: receiving a vending machine identifier that identifies a vending machine from which a user is trying to obtain a product using the benefit information, which is transmitted from an information processing device that manages benefit information indicating a benefit granted to the user; receiving a product identifier that identifies a product whose selection has been accepted at the vending machine, which is transmitted from the vending machine identified by the vending machine identifier; sending payment request information to the information processing device requesting that the payment processing for the product identified by the received product identifier be performed using the benefit information; receiving payment completion information from the information processing device in response to the transmission of the payment request information, which indicates the completion of the payment processing; and, when payment completion information is received, sending payment completion information to the vending machine corresponding to the payment completion information, which indicates the completion of the payment.

[0240] Furthermore, in the above program, steps such as sending information, receiving information, and acquiring information do not include processes that can only be performed by hardware, such as processes performed by modems or interface cards.

[0241] 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.

[0242] Furthermore, the computer running this program may be a single computer or multiple computers. That is, it may perform centralized processing or distributed processing.

[0243] 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]

[0244] 104 Information Processing Device 105 Control device 141, 153 Storage section 142 Communications Department 143 Judgment Department 144 Special Offer Payment Department 151 Receiving Unit 152 Transmitter 154 Processing Unit

Claims

1. A storage unit that stores one or more correspondence pieces of information that associate a user identifier that identifies a user with benefit information that indicates the benefits granted to that user, A communication unit receives a set of a user identifier that identifies a user who has selected a product to be sold at a vending machine, and a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine; in response to the receipt of the set of user identifier and vending machine identifier, transmits the vending machine identifier to a control device that controls the vending machine; and in response to the transmission of the vending machine identifier, receives payment request information transmitted from the control device that requests processing related to payment using reward information. The system includes a rewards settlement unit that, when a settlement request information is received by the communication unit, processes settlement information using the rewards information associated with the user identifier corresponding to the settlement request information, as defined by the correspondence information, The communication unit is an information processing device that transmits settlement completion information regarding the completion of settlement processing to the control device when the settlement processing by the benefit settlement unit is completed.

2. The aforementioned storage unit also stores payment target information, which includes one or more vending machine identifiers that identify the vending machines to which payment using the special offer information will be made. The system further includes a determination unit that determines whether the vending machine identifier received by the communication unit is included in the payment target information stored in the storage unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit transmits the received vending machine identifier to the control device when the determination unit determines that the received vending machine identifier is included in the payment target information.

3. The aforementioned benefits information includes points. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the reward settlement unit performs processing related to settlement using points included in the reward information in response to the received settlement request information.

4. The aforementioned special offer information includes coupons that can be exchanged for items purchased. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the reward payment unit processes payment using coupons included in the reward information in response to the received payment request information.

5. The set of user identifier and vending machine identifier received by the communication unit was transmitted from the user's terminal device. The information processing device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the vending machine identifier is obtained from the vending machine by the terminal device via short-range wireless communication.

6. A receiving unit receives a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine from which a user is trying to obtain a product using the benefit information, transmitted from an information processing device that manages benefit information indicating the benefits granted to the user, and also receives a product identifier that identifies the product whose selection has been accepted at the vending machine, transmitted from the vending machine identified by the vending machine identifier. The system includes a transmitting unit that transmits payment request information to the information processing device requesting that the payment processing for the sales target identified by the sales target identifier received by the receiving unit be carried out using the benefit information, The receiving unit, in response to the transmission of the settlement request information, receives settlement completion information from the information processing device regarding the completion of settlement processing. The transmitting unit is a control device that, when payment completion information is received by the receiving unit, transmits payment completion information to the vending machine corresponding to the payment completion information, indicating that the payment has been completed.

7. An information processing method that uses a storage unit that stores one or more correspondence pieces of information that associate a user identifier that identifies a user with benefit information that indicates the benefits granted to the user, a communication unit, and a benefit settlement unit, The communication unit receives a set of a user identifier that identifies a user who has selected a product for sale at a vending machine, and a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine; in response to receiving the set of user identifier and vending machine identifier, it transmits the vending machine identifier to the control device that manages the vending machine; and in response to transmitting the vending machine identifier, it receives payment request information transmitted from the control device that requests processing related to payment using the special offer information. The aforementioned reward settlement unit, upon receiving settlement request information, performs a settlement process using the reward information associated with the user identifier corresponding to the settlement request information by the corresponding information; An information processing method comprising the step of the communication unit transmitting payment completion information relating to the completion of payment processing to the control device when the payment processing in the step of processing the payment is completed.

8. A control method processed using a receiving unit and a transmitting unit, The receiving unit receives a vending machine identifier, which identifies the vending machine from which the user intends to purchase the item using the benefit information, transmitted from an information processing device that manages benefit information indicating the benefit granted to the user. The receiving unit receives a sales target identifier that identifies the sales target selected by the vending machine, transmitted from the vending machine identified by the vending machine identifier, The transmission unit transmits payment request information to the information processing device requesting that the payment processing for the sales target identified by the received sales target identifier be performed using the benefit information, The receiving unit, in response to the transmission of the settlement request information, receives settlement completion information from the information processing device regarding the completion of settlement processing; A control method comprising the step of transmitting payment completion information to a vending machine corresponding to the payment completion information when the transmitting unit receives payment completion information.

9. A computer that can access a storage unit that stores one or more correspondence pieces of information that associate a user identifier that identifies a user with benefit information that indicates the benefits granted to that user, The steps include: receiving a set of a user identifier that identifies a user who has selected a product to be sold at a vending machine, and a vending machine identifier that identifies the vending machine; transmitting the vending machine identifier to a control device that manages the vending machine in response to the receipt of the set of user identifier and vending machine identifier; and receiving payment request information transmitted from the control device in response to the transmission of the vending machine identifier, which requests processing related to payment using the special offer information. The steps include: when payment request information is received, processing related to payment using the benefit information associated with the user identifier corresponding to the payment request information by the aforementioned correspondence information; A program for causing the program to perform the following steps: when the payment processing in the step of processing the payment is completed, transmit payment completion information regarding the completion of the payment processing to the control device.

10. On the computer, The steps include receiving a vending machine identifier, which identifies the vending machine from which the user intends to purchase the item using the benefit information, transmitted from an information processing device that manages benefit information indicating the benefits granted to the user, and The steps include receiving a sales target identifier that identifies the sales target selected at the vending machine, transmitted from the vending machine identified by the vending machine identifier, The steps include: transmitting payment request information to the information processing device requesting that the payment processing for the sale item identified by the received sale item identifier be performed using the reward information; The steps include receiving payment completion information from the information processing device in response to the transmission of the payment request information, A program that, upon receiving payment completion information, sends payment completion information to the corresponding vending machine to indicate that the payment has been completed.

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