COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, AND PROGRAM

Abstract

To provide an information processing device capable of easily providing a commodity as a present among users.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes: a setting unit configured to set a commodity in which a user of a first account of a first terminal is interested as items of interest; a determination unit configured to determine a recommended item related to the items of interest based on the items of interest; a transmission unit configured to transmit information on the items of interest and the recommended item to a second terminal; a reception unit configured to receive information on a provision item specified from among the items of interest and the recommended item transmitted from the second terminal; and a provision processing unit configured to perform processing for providing the provision item to the user of the first account.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, a communication system, an information processing method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] In a method for generating a chat message corresponding to product information on a web page, at a server, based on a request received from a device or a web server, recognizing a selection for an identifier displayed on a web page of the device; obtaining product information on the web page and user account information related to the selection based on the request; adding the product information to a wish list of the user based on the account information; activating a chat session between the server account and the user account based on the account information; generating a chat message corresponding to the product information; providing the chat message to the device through the chat session; and when the provided chat message is selected by the device, providing information related to the wish list to the device. A chat message generation method including these steps is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] According to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is possible to provide a service that allows a product placed in the wish list of a web page, that is, an item that a certain user is interested in, to be presented from another user through a mobile device. However, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the wish list, that is, the list of items of interest to a certain user does not include items suitable for presents from other users, it becomes difficult to receive presents from other users.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve such problems. The object is to provide an information processing apparatus, a communication system, an information processing method, and a program that can easily provide products and the like as presents between users.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The information processing apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a setting unit that sets a product that a user of a first account of a first terminal is interested in as an item of interest, a determination unit that determines a recommended item related to the item of interest based on the item of interest, a transmission unit that transmits information about the item of interest and the recommended item to a second terminal, a reception unit that receives information about a donation item specified from among the item of interest and the recommended item transmitted from the second terminal, and a donation processing unit that performs processing for donating the donation item to the user of the first account.

[0007] Further, the communication system according to the present disclosure is a communication system including the above information processing apparatus, the first terminal, and the second terminal, and the second terminal displays the item of interest and the recommended item transmitted from the information processing apparatus in a distinguishable manner.

[0008] In addition, the information processing method according to the present disclosure is an information processing method executed by a computer, including setting, as an item of interest, a product that a user of a first account of a first terminal is interested in; determining, based on the item of interest, a recommended item related to the item of interest; transmitting information regarding the item of interest and the recommended item to a second terminal; receiving information regarding a provided item specified from among the item of interest and the recommended item, which is transmitted from the second terminal; and performing processing for providing the provided item to the user of the first account.

[0009] In addition, the program according to the present disclosure causes a computer to execute setting, as an item of interest, a product that a user of a first account of a first terminal is interested in; determining, based on the item of interest, a recommended item related to the item of interest; transmitting information regarding the item of interest and the recommended item to a second terminal; receiving information regarding a provided item specified from among the item of interest and the recommended item, which is transmitted from the second terminal; and performing processing for providing the provided item to the user of the first account.

Advantages of the Invention

[0010] According to the information processing apparatus, communication system, information processing method, and program according to the present disclosure, there is an effect that it is easy to provide products and the like as presents and the like between users.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Modes for carrying out the information processing apparatus, communication system, information processing method, and program according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each figure, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions are appropriately simplified or omitted. In the following description, for convenience, the positional relationship of each structure may be expressed based on the illustrated state. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments, and within the scope not departing from the gist of the present disclosure, any combination of the embodiments, modification of any component of each embodiment, or omission of any component of each embodiment is possible.

[0013] Embodiment 1. Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the communication system. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a terminal included in the communication system. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a server included in the communication system. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a terminal included in the communication system. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of processing in the communication system.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 400 according to this embodiment includes a server 100 and terminals 200. In the communication system 400, the server 100 and the terminals 200 are communicably connected via a network 300. The terminals 200 include at least a first terminal 200a and a second terminal 200b. In the configuration example described herein, the server 100 provides a service that enables the terminals 200 owned by a user to send and receive messages between the terminals 200 via the network 300. However, the server 100 does not necessarily provide a message sending / receiving service to the terminals 200. Note that the number of terminals 200 connected to the network 300 is not limited to two and may be two or more. In the description of the present disclosure, the first terminal 200a and the second terminal 200b are collectively referred to as the terminal 200.

[0015] The network 300 plays a role of connecting one or more terminals 200 and one or more servers 100. That is, the network 300 means a communication network that provides a connection path so that data can be transmitted and received after the terminal 200 is connected to the server 100. One or more portions of the network 300 may or may not be a wired network or a wireless network.

[0016] The network 300 can include, for example, an Ad Hoc Network, an intranet, an extranet, a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wireless LAN (WLAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Wireless WAN (WWAN), a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), a part of the Internet, a part of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a mobile phone network, ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Networks), a wireless LAN, LTE (Long Term Evolution), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or satellite communication, etc., or a combination of two or more of these. The network 300 can include one or more networks 300.

[0017] The terminal 200 (the first terminal 200a, the second terminal 200b) can be any terminal as long as it can implement the functions of the embodiments according to the present disclosure. The terminal 200 includes, for example, a smartphone, a mobile phone (feature phone), a computer (e.g., a desktop PC, a laptop PC, a tablet PC, etc.), a media computer platform (e.g., a cable, a satellite set-top box, a digital video recorder), a handheld computer device (e.g., a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), an email client, etc.), a wearable terminal (a glasses-type device, a watch-type device, etc.), or other types of computers, or a communication platform. Also, the terminal 200 may be expressed as an information processing terminal.

[0018] Server 100 is equipped with a function to provide a predetermined service to terminal 200. Server 100 can be any device as long as it is an information processing device that can realize the functions of the embodiments according to the present disclosure. Server 100 includes, for example, a server device, a computer (e.g., a desktop PC, a laptop PC, a tablet PC, etc.), a media computer platform (e.g., a cable, a satellite set-top box, a digital video recorder), a handheld computer device (e.g., a PDA, an email client, etc.), or other types of computers, or a communication platform. Also, Server 100 may be expressed as an information processing device. When there is no need to distinguish between Server 100 and terminal 200, Server 100 and terminal 200 may each be expressed as an information processing device, or may not be.

[0019] The configurations of the first terminal 200a and the second terminal 200b are basically the same. Next, the configuration of terminal 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. Terminal 200 includes a terminal control unit 230, a terminal storage unit 220, a terminal communication unit 210, an input / output unit 240, a display unit 250, a microphone 260, a speaker 270, and a camera 280. Each component of the hardware of terminal 200 is interconnected, for example, via a bus. Note that it is not essential to include all the components described here as the hardware configuration of terminal 200. For example, terminal 200 may be configured to remove individual components such as the microphone 260, the camera 280, or a plurality of components, or may not be.

[0020] The terminal communication unit 210 transmits and receives various data via the network 300. Such communication may be performed either by wire or wirelessly, and any communication protocol may be used as long as mutual communication can be executed. The terminal communication unit 210 has a function of communicating with the server 100 via the network 300. The terminal communication unit 210 includes a terminal transmission unit 211 and a terminal reception unit 212. The terminal transmission unit 211 transmits various data to the server 100 according to an instruction from the terminal control unit 230. The terminal reception unit 212 receives various data transmitted from the server 100 and transmits it to the terminal control unit 230. Also, the terminal communication unit 210 may be expressed as a terminal communication I / F (interface). Also, when the terminal communication unit 210 is composed of physically structured circuits, it may be expressed as a terminal communication circuit.

[0021] The input / output unit 240 includes an input unit and an output unit. The input unit is a device for inputting various operations to the terminal 200. The output unit is a device for outputting the processing result processed by the terminal 200. The input / output unit 240 may have the input unit and the output unit integrated, may be separated into the input unit and the output unit, or may not be so.

[0022] The input unit is realized by any one or a combination of all types of devices that can receive an input from a user and transmit information related to the input to the terminal control unit 230. The input unit includes, for example, hardware keys such as a touch panel, a touch display, a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, a camera (operation input via moving images), and a microphone (operation input by voice).

[0023] The output unit is realized by any one or a combination of all types of devices that can output the processing result processed by the terminal control unit 230. The output unit includes, for example, a touch panel, a touch display, a speaker (voice output), a lens (for example, 3D (Three Dimensions) output or hologram output), a printer, and the like.

[0024] The display unit 250 is implemented by any one of all types of devices that can display according to the display data written to the frame buffer, or a combination thereof. The display unit 250 includes, for example, a touch panel, a touch display, a monitor (e.g., a liquid crystal display, an OELD (Organic Electroluminescence Display), etc.), a head-mounted display (HDM: Head Mounted Display), projection mapping, a hologram, a device capable of displaying image, text information, etc. in the air (it may be vacuum or not). Note that these display units 250 may or may not be able to display the display data in 3D.

[0025] Note that when the input / output unit 240 has a touch panel, the input / output unit 240 and the display unit 250 may be arranged to face each other with substantially the same size and shape.

[0026] The terminal control unit 230 has a circuit physically structured to execute functions realized by codes or instructions included in a program, and is realized, for example, by a data processing device built into hardware. Therefore, the terminal control unit 230 may or may not be expressed as a control circuit.

[0027] The terminal control unit 230 includes, for example, a central processing unit (CPU: Central Processing Unit), a microprocessor, a processor core, a multiprocessor, an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), etc.

[0028] The terminal memory unit 220 has a function of storing various programs and various data required for the operation of the terminal 200. The terminal memory unit 220 includes various storage media such as, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), a flash memory, a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a ROM (Read Only Memory). Further, the terminal memory unit 220 may or may not be expressed as a memory.

[0029] The terminal 200 stores a program in the terminal memory unit 220 and executes this program, so that the terminal control unit 230 executes processes as each unit included in the terminal control unit 230. That is, the program stored in the terminal memory unit 220 enables the terminal 200 to realize each function executed by the terminal control unit 230. In other words, the processor executes the program stored in the memory in the terminal 200, and the functions of each unit provided in the terminal 200 are realized by the cooperation of the hardware and software of the terminal 200. Note that this program may or may not be expressed as a program module.

[0030] The microphone 260 is used for input of audio data. The speaker 270 is used for output of audio data. The camera 280 is used for acquisition of moving image data and / or still image data.

[0031] Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the configuration of the server 100 will be described. The server 100 includes a server control unit 130, a server memory unit 120, and a server communication unit 110. Each component of the hardware of the server 100 is interconnected via, for example, a bus.

[0032] The server control unit 130 has a physically structured circuit for executing functions realized by codes or instructions included in a program, and is realized, for example, by a data processing device built into hardware. The server control unit 130 is typically a central processing unit (CPU), and may alternatively be a microprocessor, a processor core, a multiprocessor, an ASIC, an FPGA, etc., or not. In the present disclosure, the server control unit 130 is not limited thereto.

[0033] The server storage unit 120 has a function of storing various programs and various data required for the operation of the server 100. The server storage unit 120 is realized by various storage media such as an HDD, an SSD, and a flash memory. However, in the present disclosure, the server storage unit 120 is not limited thereto. Also, the server storage unit 120 may or may not be expressed as a memory.

[0034] The server communication unit 110 transmits and receives various data via the network 300. The communication may be performed either wired or wirelessly, and any communication protocol may be used as long as mutual communication can be executed. The server communication unit 110 has a function of communicating with the terminal 200 via the network 300. The server communication unit 110 includes a server transmission unit 111 and a server reception unit 112. The server transmission unit 111 transmits various data to the terminal 200 according to an instruction from the server control unit 130. Also, the server communication unit 110 receives various data transmitted from the terminal 200 and transmits them to the server control unit 130. Also, the server communication unit 110 may be expressed as a server communication I / F (interface). Also, when the server communication unit 110 is composed of a physically structured circuit, it may be expressed as a server communication circuit.

[0035] Note that the server 100 may include an input / output unit and a display as its hardware configuration. The input / output unit is realized by a device that inputs various operations to the server 100. The input / output unit is realized by any one or a combination of all types of devices that can receive an input from a user and transmit information related to the input to the server control unit 130. The display is typically realized by a monitor (e.g., a liquid crystal display, an OELD, etc.). In this case, for example, the hardware of the server 100 may or may not be configured to remove the display.

[0036] The server 100 stores a program in the server storage unit 120 and executes this program, so that the server control unit 130 executes processes as each part included in the server control unit 130. That is, the program stored in the server storage unit 120 enables the server 100 to realize each function executed by the server control unit 130. In other words, the processor executes the program stored in the memory in the server 100, and the functions of each part provided in the server 100 are realized by the cooperation of the hardware and software of the server 100. Note that this program may or may not be expressed as a program module.

[0037] Note that the terminal control unit 230 of the terminal 200 and / or the server control unit 130 of the server 100 may or may not realize each process by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration), etc.) or a dedicated circuit, in addition to a CPU having a control circuit. Further, these circuits may be realized by one or a plurality of integrated circuits, and it is also possible or not that a plurality of processes shown in the embodiments according to the present disclosure are realized by one integrated circuit. Further, depending on the degree of integration, LSI may also be referred to as VLSI, super LSI, ultra LSI, etc.

[0038] Also, the program (e.g., software program, computer program, or program module) according to the embodiments of the present disclosure may or may not be provided in a state stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium can store the program in a "non-transitory tangible medium". Also, the program may or may not be for realizing a part of the functions of the embodiments according to the present disclosure. Further, it may or may not be a so-called differential file (differential program) that can realize the functions of the embodiments according to the present disclosure in combination with a program already recorded in the storage medium.

[0039] The storage medium can include one or more semiconductor-based or other integrated circuits (ICs) (e.g., field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or application-specific ICs (ASICs), etc.), hard disk drives (HDDs), hybrid hard drives (HHDs), optical disks, optical disk drives (ODDs), magneto-optical disks, magneto-optical drives, floppy disks, floppy disk drives (FDDs), magnetic tapes, solid-state drives (SSDs), RAM drives, secure digital cards, or drives, any other suitable storage medium, or any suitable combination of two or more of these. The storage medium may, where appropriate, be volatile, non-volatile, or a combination of volatile and non-volatile. Note that the storage medium is not limited to these examples and can be any device or medium that can store the program. Also, the storage medium may or may not be expressed as memory.

[0040] Also, the program of the present disclosure may or may not be provided to the server 100 and / or the terminal 200 via any transmission medium (such as a communication network or broadcast wave) capable of transmitting the program. When the program is provided via the transmission medium, the server 100 and / or the terminal 200 can realize the functions of the plurality of functional units shown in each embodiment, for example, by executing the program downloaded via the Internet or the like.

[0041] In addition, the embodiments according to the present disclosure can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission. Further, at least a part of the processing in the server 100 and / or the terminal 200 may or may not be realized by cloud computing constituted by one or more computers. Also, at least a part of the processing in the terminal 200 may or may not be performed by the server 100. In this case, at least a part of the processing of each functional unit of the terminal control unit 230 of the terminal 200 may or may not be performed by the server 100. Also, at least a part of the processing in the server 100 may or may not be performed by the terminal 200. In this case, at least a part of the processing of each functional unit of the server control unit 130 of the server 100 may or may not be performed by the terminal 200.

[0042] Note that the program of the present disclosure can be implemented using, for example, script languages such as ActionScript and JavaScript (registered trademark), object-oriented programming languages such as Objective-C and Java (registered trademark), markup languages such as HTML5, and the like.

[0043] In the communication system 400 according to this embodiment, the first terminal 200a is the terminal 200 operated by the user of the first account. The second terminal 200b is the terminal 200 operated by the user of the second account. The first account and the second account are different accounts. Hereinafter, the user of the first account is also referred to as the first user. Similarly, the user of the second account is also referred to as the second user. In the communication system 400 according to the configuration example described herein, the first terminal 200a and the second terminal 200b can transmit and receive content via the messaging service provided by the server 100.

[0044] In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the terminal 200 including the first terminal 200a and the second terminal 200b has, as functions realized by the terminal control unit 230, a talk participation unit 231, a message processing unit 232, and a display processing unit 233. The talk participation unit 231 has a function of performing processing for participating in a desired talk room. One can participate in the talk room on an individual basis or on a group basis. Also, a new talk room can be created. By sending (speaking) a message while in a state of participating in a talk room, the message is sent to the terminals 200 of other participants in the talk room via the server 100.

[0045] The message processing unit 232 has a function of performing processing such as sending and receiving messages in a talk room and generating a display screen of the received and sent messages on the own terminal. As a general message display screen generated by the message processing unit 232, received messages are displayed on the left side and sent messages are displayed on the right side with respect to the time axis going from top to bottom. The display processing unit 233 performs processing for causing the display unit 250 to display, for example, the display data generated by the message processing unit 232. The display processing unit 233 has a function of converting display data into pixel information and writing it into the frame buffer of the display unit 250.

[0046] In the communication system 400 according to the configuration example described herein, the server 100 is an information processing device that causes terminals 200 to transmit and receive content via a messaging service. As shown in FIG. 3, the server storage unit 120 of the server 100 includes a service information storage unit 121. The service information storage unit 121 stores various types of information used for providing the messaging service. Examples of the various types of information used for providing the messaging service include user information of users who operate the terminal 200 to use the messaging service. The user information is information of a user associated with an account used by the user in the messaging service. The user information includes, for example, information associated with the user, such as the name of the user input by the user or assigned by the messaging service, the icon image of the user, the age of the user, the gender of the user, the address of the user, the hobbies and interests of the user, the identifier of the user, etc., and may be any one of these or a combination thereof, or not.

[0047] Further, as a function realized by the server control unit 130, the server 100 includes a service providing unit 131. The service providing unit 131 has functions necessary for providing the messaging service, such as a talk room management function, a message processing function, etc. The talk room management function includes a function of managing talk rooms and participants in the talk rooms. The message processing function includes a function of transmitting (transferring) the same message to the terminal 200 of another participant as the destination when the message transmitted in a specific talk room is received from the terminal 200.

[0048] In the communication system 400 according to this embodiment, the terminal 200 further includes an interest item information acquisition unit 234 as a function realized by the terminal control unit 230. The interest item information acquisition unit 234 has a function of performing processing related to acquisition of information related to interest items. The interest item is a product that the user of the terminal 200 is interested in.

[0049] The interest item information acquisition unit 234 generates display data for an input screen that causes a user operating the terminal 200 to input information regarding an interest item. The display processing unit 233 causes the display unit 250 to display the display data generated by the interest item information acquisition unit 234. Then, the interest item information acquisition unit 234 acquires information regarding the interest item in response to an operation performed on the input / output unit 240 while the input screen is being displayed. The information regarding the interest item acquired by the interest item information acquisition unit 234 includes at least information capable of specifying the interest item.

[0050] The terminal transmission unit 211 of the terminal 200 transmits the information regarding the interest item acquired by the interest item information acquisition unit 234 to the server 100. The server reception unit 112 of the server 100 receives the information regarding the interest item transmitted from the terminal 200.

[0051] In the communication system 400 according to this embodiment, the server 100 further includes an interest item list setting unit 132 and a recommended item determination unit 133 as functions realized by the server control unit 130. The interest item list setting unit 132 sets an interest item list based on the information regarding the interest item received by the server reception unit 112. The interest item list is a list of interest items. That is, the interest item list includes one or more interest items. Each interest item included in the interest item list consists of information about a product that the user of the terminal 200 is interested in and information about the price of the product. The interest item list is set for each user account that operates the terminal 200. The server storage unit 120 includes an interest item list storage unit 122. The interest item list storage unit 122 stores the interest item list set by the interest item list setting unit 132.

[0052] The recommendation item determination unit 133 determines a recommendation item based on the list of items of interest stored in the item-of-interest list storage unit 122. The recommendation item is an item related to the items of interest included in the list of items of interest.

[0053] In the present disclosure, "related to" an item of interest means that, for example, the following relationships are recognized between the item of interest and another item. · Similar to the item of interest · Belonging to the same product category as the item of interest · Having relevance in terms of use with the item of interest · Many users purchase it as a set with the item of interest · Registered in the item-of-interest lists of other users who have registered the item of interest in their item-of-interest lists, and different from the item of interest · Of the same type as the item of interest but with a different price

[0054] The server storage unit 120 includes a recommended item information storage unit 123. The recommended item information storage unit 123 stores candidates for recommended items related to each item of interest. In the information stored in the recommended item information storage unit 123, an item of interest is associated with candidates for recommended items related to the item of interest.

[0055] The recommendation item determination unit 133 determines a recommendation item based on the list of items of interest stored in the item-of-interest list storage unit 122. At this time, the recommendation item determination unit 133 refers to the information stored in the recommended item information storage unit 123 to determine the recommendation item. That is, the recommendation item determination unit 133 selects from among the candidates for recommended items stored in association with the item of interest in the recommended item information storage unit 123 for the items of interest included in the item-of-interest list, and determines the recommendation item.

[0056] The server transmission unit 111 of the server 100 transmits to the terminal 200 the list of items of interest stored in the item-of-interest list storage unit 122 and information regarding the recommended items determined by the recommendation item determination unit 133. Here, the terminal 200 that transmits to the server 100 the information regarding the items of interest acquired by the item-of-interest information acquisition unit 234 is a different terminal from the terminal 200 that transmits the item-of-interest list and the information regarding the recommended items from the server 100.

[0057] In the present disclosure, for convenience of explanation, the terminal 200 that transmits to the server 100 the information regarding the items of interest acquired by the item-of-interest information acquisition unit 234 is taken as the first terminal 200a used by the user of the first account. And the terminal 200 that transmits the item-of-interest list and the information regarding the recommended items from the server 100 is taken as the second terminal 200b used by the user of the second account.

[0058] In this case, the item-of-interest list setting unit 132 sets an item-of-interest list which is a list of items of interest to the user of the first account of the first terminal 200a, the items of interest consisting of information on the products and the prices of the products. Also, the server transmission unit 111 transmits the item-of-interest list and the information regarding the recommended items to the second terminal 200b. The terminal reception unit 212 of the second terminal 200b receives the item-of-interest list and the information regarding the recommended items transmitted from the server 100.

[0059] In the communication system 400 according to this embodiment, the terminal 200 further includes a provided item information acquisition unit 235 as a function realized by the terminal control unit 230. The provided item information acquisition unit 235 has a function of performing processing related to the acquisition of information regarding the provided items. The provided items are products that the second user using the second terminal 200b provides to the first user using the first terminal 200a, for example, as a present or the like.

[0060] The provision item information acquisition unit 235 generates display data for an input screen that causes a second user operating the second terminal 200b to input information regarding a provision item. The display processing unit 233 causes the display unit 250 to display the display data generated by the provision item information acquisition unit 235. Then, the provision item information acquisition unit 235 acquires information regarding the provision item in response to an operation performed on the input / output unit 240 while the input screen is being displayed. The information regarding the provision item acquired by the provision item information acquisition unit 235 includes at least information that can identify the provision item.

[0061] FIG. 4 shows an example of an input screen for causing input of information regarding a provision item. In the illustrated example, the user name of the first user, the list 501 of the first user's interested items, the recommended item 502, etc. are displayed on the display unit 250 of the second terminal 200b. The second user operating the second terminal 200b can select the tapped item as the provision item by tapping any of the interested items in the list 501 of the first user's interested items or the recommended item 502. Thereafter, when the provision item selected by a predetermined operation is input, the provision item information acquisition unit 235 acquires information regarding the input provision item. In this way, the provision item is specified from among the interested items and the recommended items included in the interested item list.

[0062] In the screen example shown in FIG. 4, in particular, the items of interest in the list of items of interest 501 of the first user and the recommended items 502 are displayed in a distinguishable manner from each other. In the illustrated example, a separator line is displayed between the items of interest in the list of items of interest 501 and the recommended items 502. Also, a heart mark is displayed on the items of interest in the list of items of interest 501, and the characters "Recommended" are displayed on the recommended items 502. By displaying in this way, these items can be clearly distinguished. That is, the second terminal 200b displays the items of interest in the list of items of interest and the recommended items, which are transmitted from the server 100 that is an information processing device, in a distinguishable manner from each other. By doing so, the second user can easily grasp the items of interest that the first user has spontaneously or intentionally added to the list and the recommended items that are not.

[0063] Note that on the screen for input of donation items generated by the donation item information acquisition unit 235, the display order of the items of interest in the list of items of interest 501 and the recommended items 502 may be rearranged or the displayed items may be narrowed down by a predetermined operation of the second user. In this case, for example, it is conceivable to enable selection of the ascending / descending order of prices or the like for the display order of the items. Narrowing down of the displayed items can be performed, for example, by price range, type, genre, or the like.

[0064] The terminal transmission unit 211 of the terminal 200 (second terminal 200b) transmits information regarding the donation items acquired by the donation item information acquisition unit 235 to the server 100. The server reception unit 112 of the server 100 receives the information regarding the donation items transmitted from the terminal 200 (second terminal 200b).

[0065] In the communication system 400 according to this embodiment, the server 100 further includes a provision processing unit 134 as a function realized by the server control unit 130. The provision processing unit 134 performs processing for providing the provision item to the user of the first account based on the information regarding the provision item received by the server reception unit 112. Further, the provision processing unit 134 also performs settlement processing for the product of the provision item for the second user who is the provider, if necessary.

[0066] Examples of the processing for providing the provision item to the user include, for example, processing for issuing a gift certificate that can be exchanged for the product of the provision item. In this case, the gift certificate may be a discount coupon or the like that can receive a discount for the product of the provision item. Further, the gift certificate may be an online coupon that can be issued and used online, or may be one in which identification information such as a barcode is printed on paper or a plastic card, etc. Further, the identification information may be recorded using magnetism. Note that, instead of performing processing for issuing a gift certificate or the like in the provision processing unit 134, the provision processing unit 134 may perform processing for making an already issued gift certificate or the like available to the user.

[0067] Examples of the processing for providing the provision item to the user also include, for example, processing for shipping the product of the provision item to the user. In this case, the provision processing unit 134 acquires shipping destination information such as the address that is the shipping destination of the product of the provision item. This shipping destination information may be input by the first user who is the recipient, or may be input by the second user who is the provider. Further, when the server 100 provides a messaging service, if the address of the first user is included in the information stored in the service information storage unit 121, it may or may not be used.

[0068] Note that the provision processing unit 134 may perform processing for providing the second user with the same item as the provision item for which processing for providing to the first user has been performed. That is, the side providing the item may also receive the item such as a product given from the providing side to the receiving side.

[0069] According to the server 100 included in the communication system 400 configured as described above, based on the list of items of interest of the user on the receiving side, it is possible to present to the providing side recommended items recommended as options for the item to be provided to the user. For this reason, while reflecting the interests of the user on the receiving side, the options for the item to be provided increase for the providing side. Therefore, for example, it becomes easier to select a provision item according to the budget of the providing side. Thus, it is possible to facilitate the provision of items such as products between users as presents or the like.

[0070] Next, some modifications of the server 100 included in the communication system 400 according to this embodiment will be described. First, in the first modification, when the number of items of interest included in the list of items of interest of the first user stored in the item-of-interest list storage unit 122 is less than or equal to the first reference number, the recommended item determination unit 133 of the server 100 determines a recommended item based on the list of items of interest. The value of the first reference number is set in advance. The first reference number is, for example, 3. On the other hand, when the number of items of interest included in the list of items of interest of the first user is greater than the first reference number, the recommended item determination unit 133 does not determine a recommended item based on the list of items of interest.

[0071] According to such a first modification, particularly when the number of items included in the list of items of interest of the user on the receiving side is small, it is possible to increase the number of items that the providing side can select. Therefore, the selection of the provision item for the user on the providing side becomes easier, and it is possible to facilitate the provision of items such as products between users as presents or the like.

[0072] In the second modification example, the server 100 further includes an extraction unit as a function realized by the server control unit 130. When the number of interest items included in the interest item list stored in the interest item list storage unit 122 is equal to or greater than the second reference number, the extraction unit extracts some interest items from the interest item list. The value of the second reference number is preset. The value of the second reference number can be set independently of the value of the first reference number described above. That is, the value of the second reference number may be the same as or different from the value of the first reference number.

[0073] For example, the extraction unit extracts a predetermined number of interest items in order from the ones with the latest registration date in the interest item list among the interest items included in the interest item list. Alternatively, for example, the extraction unit may extract some interest items from the interest item list based on the behavior history information of the first user. The behavior history information of the first user used at this time includes at least any one of information such as a product purchase history, an advertisement viewing history, and a product viewing history.

[0074] The recommendation item determination unit 133 of the server 100 determines a recommendation item related to the interest item based on some of the interest items extracted by the extraction unit. Then, the server transmission unit 111 of the server 100 transmits information about some of the interest items extracted by the extraction unit and the recommendation items determined by the recommendation item determination unit 133 to the second terminal 200b. The terminal reception unit 212 of the second terminal 200b receives the information about some of the interest items and the recommendation items transmitted from the server 100.

[0075] In this case, on the screen for input of donation items generated by the donation item information acquisition unit 235 of the second terminal 200b, some of the extracted items of interest and recommended items are displayed. Therefore, the second user who operates the second terminal 200b selects a donation item from among some of the extracted items of interest and recommended items. Then, the donation item information acquisition unit 235 acquires information regarding the donation item specified from among some of the items of interest and recommended items. The information regarding the donation item acquired by the donation item information acquisition unit 235 is transmitted from the terminal transmission unit 211 of the second terminal 200b to the server 100.

[0076] The server reception unit 112 receives the information regarding the donation item transmitted from the second terminal 200b. That is, the server reception unit 112 receives the information regarding the donation item specified from among some of the items of interest and recommended items transmitted from the second terminal 200b. Then, the donation processing unit 134 of the server 100 performs processing for donating the donation item to the first user based on the information regarding the donation item received by the server reception unit 112.

[0077] Particularly, when the number of items included in the item-of-interest list of the user on the receiving side of the donation is large, it is conceivable that the number of items that the donating side can select will become enormous and the donating side will be confused. According to the second modification example as described above, when the number of items included in the item-of-interest list of the user on the receiving side of the donation is large, it is possible to reduce the number of items presented to the user on the donating side. Therefore, the selection of the donation item by the user on the donating side becomes easy, and it becomes easy for users to donate goods, etc. as presents, etc. among each other.

[0078] In addition, in this second modification example, the server transmission unit 111 may transmit not only some of the interest items extracted by the extraction unit but also all of the interest items included in the interest item list to the second terminal 200b. In this case, on the screen for inputting donation items generated by the donation item information acquisition unit 235 of the second terminal 200b, it is preferable to display some of the interest items and recommended items extracted in the initial state. Then, when a predetermined operation is performed on the screen for inputting donation items, it is preferable to also display the remaining interest items that were not displayed in the initial state.

[0079] In the third modification example, the server storage unit 120 further includes a user behavior history information storage unit that stores user behavior history information. The user behavior history information stored in the user behavior history information storage unit includes at least one of the product purchase history, advertisement viewing history, and product viewing history of the user of the first account. Note that the product viewing history is, for example, the history of a user viewing the product purchase page in the past.

[0080] Then, the recommendation item determination unit 133 determines the recommendation items based on not only the interest item list but also the user behavior history information stored in the user behavior history information storage unit. For example, when the product purchase history is included in the user behavior history information, the recommendation item determination unit 133 determines the items related to the products purchased in the past as the recommendation items. Also, when the advertisement viewing history is included in the user behavior history information, the recommendation item determination unit 133 determines the products in the advertisements viewed in the past or the items related to the products as the recommendation items. Then, when the product viewing history is included in the user behavior history information, the recommendation item determination unit 133 determines the products viewed in the past or the items related to the products as the recommendation items.

[0081] According to such a third modification example, even for products and the like that are not registered in the list of items of interest by the user on the receiving side, products and the like that the user on the receiving side may be interested in can be presented as options to the user on the providing side based on the behavior history of the user on the receiving side. For this reason, it is possible to increase the number of items that can be selected by the providing side, making it easier for the user on the providing side to select the items to be provided, and facilitating the provision of products and the like as gifts and the like between users.

[0082] In the configuration example of the communication system 400 described so far, the server 100 provides a messaging service. The fourth and fifth modification examples described below utilize the messaging service provided by the server 100. First, in the fourth modification example, the recommended item determination unit 133 of the server 100 determines recommended items based on, in addition to the list of items of interest, also the message history of the user of the first account in the messaging service. In this case, for example, products mentioned in messages posted in the past by the first user or items related to the products are determined as recommended items.

[0083] Also, in the fifth modification example, the recommended item determination unit 133 of the server 100 determines recommended items based on, in addition to the list of items of interest, also the chat history between the user of the first account and the user of the second account in the messaging service. In this case, for example, products mentioned in the messages of the chat exchanged between the first user and the second user in the past or items related to the products are determined as recommended items.

[0084] According to such fourth and fifth modified examples, even for products and the like that the user has not registered in the list of items of interest, products and the like that the user on the giving side may be interested in, which are provided from the previous message exchanges and the like, can be presented as options to the user on the giving side. For this reason, it is possible to increase the number of items that the giving side can select, making it easier for the user on the giving side to select the items to be given, and facilitating the giving of products and the like as presents and the like between users.

[0085] Next, an example of the processing in the communication system 400 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5. First, in step S11, the item-of-interest information acquisition unit 234 of the first terminal 200a acquires the item-of-interest information input by an operation on the first terminal 200a. In the subsequent step S12, the terminal transmission unit 211 of the first terminal 200a transmits the item-of-interest information acquired in step S11 to the server 100.

[0086] In step S21, the server reception unit 112 of the server 100 receives the item-of-interest information transmitted from the first terminal 200a in step S12. In the subsequent step S22, the item-of-interest list setting unit 132 of the server 100 sets an item-of-interest list based on the item-of-interest information received in step S21. The set item-of-interest list of the first user is stored in the item-of-interest list storage unit 122 of the server storage unit 120. Note that each time item-of-interest information is input by an operation on the first terminal 200a, the processes of steps S11, S12, S21, and S22 are performed, and the item-of-interest list of the first user stored in the item-of-interest list storage unit 122 is updated.

[0087] After step S22, the server control unit 130 then performs the process of step S23. In step S23, the recommendation item determination unit 133 determines the recommendation items for the first user based on the list of the first user's interested items set in step S22. In the subsequent step S24, the server transmission unit 111 of the server 100 transmits information regarding the list of the first user's interested items set in step S22 and the recommendation items for the first user determined in step S23 to the second terminal 200b.

[0088] In step S31, the terminal reception unit 212 of the second terminal 200b receives the information regarding the list of the first user's interested items and the recommendation items transmitted from the server 100 in step S24. In the subsequent step S32, the list of the first user's interested items and the recommendation items received in step S31 are displayed on the display unit 250 of the second terminal 200b, and the donation item information acquisition unit 235 acquires the donation item information specified by an operation on the second terminal 200b. Then, in step S33, the terminal transmission unit 211 of the second terminal 200b transmits the donation item information acquired in step S32 to the server 100.

[0089] In step S25, the server reception unit 112 of the server 100 receives the donation item information transmitted from the second terminal 200b in step S33. In the subsequent step S26, the donation processing unit 134 of the server 100 performs a process for donating the donation item to the first user based on the donation item information received in step S26.

[0090] In the above, an example of managing the items of interest in a list format has been described. However, in the information processing apparatus (server 100), communication system 400, information processing method, and program according to the present disclosure, the items of interest do not necessarily have to be managed in a list format. In this case, for example, in the server 100, by managing a flag indicating whether a first user has selected each product item as an item of interest in a database, table, etc. that manages all product items, the items of interest may be managed.

[0091] In this case, the server 100, which is an information processing apparatus, includes an item-of-interest setting unit instead of the item-of-interest list setting unit 132. The item-of-interest setting unit sets the items of interest based on the information regarding the items of interest received by the server receiving unit 112. That is, the item-of-interest setting unit sets the products that the user of the first account of the first terminal is interested in as the items of interest. Further, the server storage unit 120 includes an item-of-interest storage unit instead of the item-of-interest list storage unit 122. The item-of-interest storage unit stores the items of interest set by the item-of-interest setting unit.

[0092] And when managing the items of interest without using the item-of-interest list, the configurations and processes related to the "item-of-interest list" and the "items of interest included in the item-of-interest list" described so far simply become the configurations and processes related to the "items of interest" or the "items of interest set by the item-of-interest setting unit". That is, the recommended item determination unit 133 determines the recommended items related to the items of interest based on the items of interest stored in the item-of-interest storage unit, that is, the items of interest set by the item-of-interest setting unit.

[0093] In addition, the server transmission unit 111 transmits information regarding the items of interest and the recommended items to the second terminal 200b. The terminal reception unit 212 of the second terminal 200b receives the information regarding the items of interest and the recommended items transmitted from the server 100. On the display unit 250 of the second terminal 200b, an input screen for inputting information regarding the provided item is displayed. On this input screen, for example, the items of interest and the recommended items are displayed in a distinguishable manner from each other. The provided item is specified from among the items of interest and the recommended items. The terminal transmission unit 211 of the second terminal 200b transmits information regarding the provided item to the server 100. The server reception unit 112 of the server 100 receives the information regarding the provided item transmitted from the second terminal 200b. That is, the server reception unit 112 receives the information regarding the provided item specified from among the items of interest and the recommended items transmitted from the second terminal 200b.

[0094] Furthermore, in the first modification example described above, when the number of items of interest set by the item-of-interest setting unit is equal to or less than the first reference number, the recommended-item determination unit 133 determines the recommended items based on the items of interest. Also, in the second modification example described above, when the number of items of interest set by the item-of-interest setting unit is equal to or greater than the second reference number, the extraction unit extracts some of the items of interest set by the item-of-interest setting unit.

[0095] Although the invention according to the present disclosure has been described based on the drawings and the embodiments, it should be noted that those skilled in the art can easily make various modifications and corrections based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and corrections are included in the scope of the invention according to the present disclosure. For example, the functions and the like included in each part, each means, each step, etc. can be rearranged so as not to be logically contradictory, and a plurality of means and steps, etc. can be combined into one or divided. Also, it is possible to appropriately combine the configurations shown in the embodiments described above.

[0096] The information processing apparatus, communication system, information processing method, and program according to the present disclosure can be utilized as an information processing apparatus, communication system, information processing method, and program that are advantageous when a user of one terminal provides goods or the like to a user of another terminal.

Explanation of Signs

[0097] 100 Server 110 Server communication unit 111 Server transmission unit 112 Server reception unit 120 Server storage unit 121 Service information storage unit 122 List of items of interest storage unit 123 Recommended item information storage unit 130 Server control unit 131 Service providing unit 132 List of items of interest setting unit 133 Recommended item determination unit 134 Provision processing unit 200 Terminal 200a First terminal 200b Second terminal 210 Terminal communication unit 211 Terminal transmission unit 212 Terminal reception unit 220 Terminal storage unit 230 Terminal control unit 231 Talk participation unit 232 Message processing unit 233 Display processing unit 234 Items of interest information acquisition unit 235 Provision item information acquisition unit 240 Input / output unit 250 Display unit 260 Microphone 270 Speaker 280 Camera 300 Network 400 Communication system 501 List of items of interest of the first user 502 Recommended item

Claims

1. A communication system including an information processing device, a first terminal, and a second terminal, The information processing device includes: A setting unit that sets a product in which a user of a first account of the first terminal is interested as an item of interest; a determination unit that determines a recommended item related to the items of interest based on the items of interest set by the setting unit when the number of the items of interest set by the setting unit is equal to or smaller than a first reference number that is set in advance; A transmitter for transmitting information regarding the items of interest and the recommended items to the second terminal; a receiving unit for receiving information about a donating item identified from the items of interest and the recommended items transmitted from the second terminal; a providing processing unit that performs a process of issuing or validating a gift certificate that can be exchanged for the provided item as a process for providing the provided item to a user of the first account, the determination unit determines, as the recommended item, an item other than the item of interest among items registered in an interest item list of a user other than the user of the first account and in which the item of interest is registered; The second terminal displays the item of interest and the recommended item transmitted from the information processing device in a manner that allows them to be distinguished from each other.

2. 2. The communication system according to claim 1, The method further includes: extracting a part of the items of interest from the items of interest set by the setting unit when the number of the items of interest set by the setting unit is equal to or greater than a second reference number; The determining unit determines a recommended item related to the item of interest based on the portion of the items of interest; The transmission unit transmits information regarding the part of the items of interest and the recommended items to the second terminal; The receiving unit receives information about a donating item identified from among the portion of the items of interest and the recommended items transmitted from the second terminal.

3. The communication system according to claim 1 or 2, Further comprising a storage unit that stores user behavior history information including at least one of a product purchase history, a product viewing history, and an advertisement viewing history of the user of the first account; The determination unit determines the recommended items further based on the user action history information.

4. A communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the information processing device transmits and receives content between terminals via a messaging service; The determination unit determines the recommended items further based on a message history of a user of the first account in the messaging service.

5. 5. The communication system according to claim 4, The determination unit determines the recommended items further based on a chat history between a user of the first account in the messaging service and a user of a second account of the second terminal.

6. An information processing method executed by a computer of an information processing device and a computer of a second terminal, The computer of the information processing device Setting a product that a user of a first account of the first terminal is interested in as an item of interest; When the number of the set items of interest is equal to or less than a first reference number, determining a recommended item related to the items of interest based on the set items of interest; transmitting information about the items of interest and the recommended items to a second terminal; receiving information about the items of interest and the donor items identified from the recommended items transmitted from the second terminal; The method includes performing a process of issuing or validating a gift certificate that can be exchanged for the provided item as a process for providing the provided item to the user of the first account; The computer of the information processing device further includes determining, as the recommended item, an item other than the item of interest among items registered in an interest item list of a user other than the user of the first account, in which the item of interest is registered; and The method includes displaying the item of interest and the recommended item transmitted from the information processing device in a manner that allows them to be distinguished from each other by the computer of the second terminal.

7. A program, Setting a product that a user of a first account of the first terminal is interested in as an item of interest; When the number of the set items of interest is equal to or less than a first reference number, determining a recommended item related to the items of interest based on the set items of interest; transmitting information about the items of interest and the recommended items to a second terminal; receiving information about the items of interest and the donor items identified from the recommended items transmitted from the second terminal; causing a computer of an information processing device to execute a process of issuing or validating a gift certificate that can be exchanged for the provided item as a process for providing the provided item to the user of the first account; The method further causes the computer of the information processing device to determine, as the recommended item, an item other than the item of interest among items registered in an interest item list of a user other than the user of the first account in which the item of interest is registered, and The computer of the second terminal is caused to display the item of interest and the recommended item transmitted from the information processing device in a manner that allows them to be distinguished from each other.

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