Digital Gift Management System

Abstract

To provide a digital gift management system that can easily present a digital gift to a presentee without a human error.SOLUTION: A digital gift management system includes a server S of a digital gift presenter, a terminal 4 of a presenter, and a management server 2 that can communicate via a public communication network to them respectively. The server 2 includes: storage means 21 that stores a plurality pieces of unique address information that allows each digital gift to be received, and that can store the address information of the digital gift that has been ordered from the terminal 4 of the presenter in association with identification information corresponding to the terminal 4 of the presenter; display means 20 that can display a list of digital gifts corresponding to the terminal 4 of the presenter; and generation means 20 that generates link information that can be connected to the address information of the digital gift selected for presentation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a digital gift management system using a public communication network.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there has been a custom of giving gifts as greetings or as a token of gratitude, and in some cases, instead of an item, a voucher that allows the recipient to receive an item at an appropriate timing may be given. Such vouchers are not currency or subsidiary currency, but are negotiable securities that circulate in a form similar to currency. For example, various vouchers according to their uses, such as commodity vouchers, library cards, gift cards, etc., are issued in the form of a physical medium such as paper.

[0003] In recent years, instead of the conventional cash settlement, so-called cashless settlement has become widespread in Japan. Even for the above-mentioned vouchers, instead of a physical medium such as paper, digital gifts in the form of codes such as address information in the form of a URL or a two-dimensional barcode, which digitize information on specific products or gift cards, have also begun to spread (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Among such digital gifts, especially those that can be used for payments at convenience stores, etc., they can also be utilized, for example, as an entertainment expense for the purpose of promoting camaraderie within the company and given to employees.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Because digital gifts are not physical media such as paper, the giver must send the recipient an address or code via email or chat app. Therefore, when trying to manage multiple digital gifts, the process of distinguishing them based on address information and codes is not only cumbersome, but there is also a risk of sending a digital gift to the wrong person due to human error.

[0006] This invention addresses these problems and aims to provide a digital gift management system that can easily and safely present digital gifts to recipients without human error. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the aforementioned problems, the digital gift management system of the present invention is: The system includes a management server that can communicate with the server of the digital gift provider and the terminal of the gift giver via the public communication network. The management server is characterized by having: a storage means that stores multiple unique address information that allows each digital gift to be received from the supplier server, and when an order is received from the giver's terminal, it can store identification information corresponding to the giver's terminal associated with the address information of the digital gift corresponding to the order; a display means that can display a list of the digital gifts associated with the identification information corresponding to the giver's terminal; and a generation means that, when a digital gift is selected to be gifted from the list, generates link information that can be connected to the address information of the selected digital gift. This feature allows the giver to select a digital gift from a list of multiple digital gifts displayed, without having to distinguish between recipients using address information that allows each digital gift to be received from the supplier's server. This eliminates the risk of human error, such as accidentally sending the same digital gift to multiple recipients. Recipients can connect to the digital gift's address information using the generated link information and receive the digital gift directly from the supplier's server.

[0008] The management server is characterized by having detection means that can detect when there has been access to the link information. This feature allows for the detection of access to link information, and based on this detection, it can be determined that the recipient took action to receive the digital gift.

[0009] The link information has a set period during which it is possible to connect. The management server makes it impossible to select the digital gift corresponding to the link information in the list until after the period has elapsed. If the detection means does not detect access to the link information within the connection period, it restores the state in the list to one where it is possible to select the digital gift corresponding to the link information. This feature allows for the reuse of digital gifts that were not received by the recipient.

[0010] Each of the aforementioned digital gifts has an expiration date set for when it can be received, and the management server is characterized by making it impossible to select the gifting of any of the aforementioned digital gifts in the list whose expiration date is not valid until after the period during which the link information can be connected has elapsed. This feature allows you to select only digital gifts that the recipient can receive within their validity period, ensuring that the digital gift is delivered to the recipient. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram illustrating the digital gift management system in the embodiment. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the login screen provided by the server and displayed on the user's information terminal. [Figure 3] This diagram shows the user page displayed on the user's information terminal. [Figure 4] This diagram shows the purchase screen displayed on the user's information terminal. [Figure 5] This diagram shows the gift presentation screen displayed on the user's information terminal. [Figure 6] This diagram shows the recipient selection screen displayed on the user's information terminal. [Figure 7] This diagram shows the text of an email sent to the recipient's information terminal. [Figure 8] This diagram shows the gift receipt guidance screen displayed on the recipient's information terminal. [Figure 9] This diagram shows the code screen displayed on the user's information terminal. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] The embodiments for implementing the digital gift management system according to the present invention will be described below based on examples. [Examples]

[0013] The digital gift management system 1 of this embodiment is a system that operates an Internet service used when a donor presents a digital gift owned by the donor to the recipient. As shown in FIG. 1, the digital gift management system 1 mainly includes a server 2, which is a management server owned by a service provider, and a number of information terminals 4,... such as smartphones, personal computers, and tablet terminals, which are individually owned by a large number of users capable of data communication via a public communication network, the Internet. The server 2, which is a management server owned by a service provider, connects to the server S, which is the source of supply for digital gifts, via the Internet, appropriately purchases digital gifts, and manages the inventory status of digital gifts in a gift data DB 23, which will be described later.

[0014] Note that in this embodiment, the information terminals 4,... are commercially available terminals such as general smartphones, personal computers, and tablets that can be connected to the Internet, but are not limited thereto, and may be dedicated terminals used only for the purpose of transmitting and receiving information to and from the server 2.

[0015] The server 2 performs various controls according to the program of the digital gift management system 1, and includes a control unit 20 capable of communicating with the information terminals 4,... via a public communication network, and a storage medium 21. The storage medium 21, which is a storage means, includes a user data DB 22 in which data of the donor, that is, the user of the digital gift management system 1, is registered, a gift data DB 23 (storage means) in which information on digital gifts is registered, and a gift owner DB 24 (storage means) capable of storing by associating the unique identification information of the digital gift with the user ID.

[0016] In addition, in this embodiment, the server 2 is described as having three types of databases for registering each data, namely, the user data DB22, the gift data DB23, and the gift owner DB24. However, the configuration and types of each database are not limited to this and may be changed as appropriate. In this embodiment, the digital gift is electronic money, each has an expiration date set, and is managed in the gift data DB23 together with the unique identification information and unique address information set for each.

[0017] Hereinafter, an explanation will be given based on the usage procedure of the digital gift management system 1. In this explanation, the digital gift management system 1 is described as providing services to users in the form of a publicly available website. However, it is not limited to this, and services may be provided in the form of an app registered on the information terminal 4, or services may be provided by using both the website and the app in combination. As long as it can be provided through a public communication network, the form may be changed as appropriate.

[0018] First, the procedure when the giver, who is a user of the digital gift management system 1, purchases a digital gift will be explained. The service user first accesses the login page 5 (see Figure 2) of the website that provides the service of the digital gift management system 1 by entering the URL (Uniform Resource Locator), which is address information, or by using various search systems, etc. The website is provided by the server 2, and the control unit 20 of the server 2 displays the login page 5 (see Figure 2) on the display unit 41 of the information terminal 4 of the accessed service user.

[0019] On the login page 5, a form 51 for entering the account name, a form 52 for entering the password, and a "login" icon 53 are displayed. When the "login" icon 53 is selected with the account name and password entered, the control unit 20 of the server 2 refers to the user data DB22 using the account name and password, and if it can be confirmed that the user is a legitimate service user, the user page 6 is displayed (see Figure 3).

[0020] The user page 6 displays a list 61, which is a list of the digital gifts that the service user currently possesses. The user page 6 also displays a "Buy Gift" icon 62 for purchasing digital gifts, a "Gift Purchase History" icon 63 for viewing purchase history, a "Give Gift" icon 64 for sending digital gifts, and a "Given History" icon 65 for viewing gift history.

[0021] In the digital gift management system 1 of this embodiment, all digital gifts sold by the service provider and held by the service user are the same cashless payment points, and multiple types of digital gift amounts are available. Furthermore, the digital gifts sold by the service provider may be diverse.

[0022] When the "Login" icon 53 is selected, the control unit 20 of server 2 refers to the gift owner DB 24, retrieves all the unique identification information of digital gifts stored in association with the user ID, and displays this digital gift information on the list display 61 of user page 6. In the list display 61, items with the same set amount and expiration date are grouped together, and the "Set Amount," "Number of Gifts," and "Expiration Date" are displayed side by side. The "Number of Gifts" is the number of digital gifts the user currently possesses that can be gifted.

[0023] When the "Buy a Gift" icon 62 on the user page 6 is selected, the purchase screen 7 shown in Figure 4 is displayed. On the purchase screen 7, the user can select a digital gift of the desired amount and choose the quantity to purchase. Although not described in detail here, once the selection of the desired digital gift and payment are completed, the purchased digital gifts are reflected in the list display 61 (see Figure 3).

[0024] Next, the process of gifting digital gifts will be explained using Figures 5 to 9. If a service user wishes to gift a digital gift to another person, they select the "Give a Gift" icon 64 on the user page 6. When the "Give a Gift" icon 64 is selected, a predetermined signal linked to the user's user ID is sent from the user's information terminal 4 to the control unit 20 of the server 2. Upon receiving this predetermined signal, the control unit 20 starts the gifting process.

[0025] When the control unit 20 of server 2 starts the gifting process, it first displays the gifting screen 8 shown in Figure 5 on the display unit 41 of the service user's information terminal 4. The gifting screen 8 displays a list of the digital gifts held by the user, and for each digital gift, it displays the set amount, expiration date, number held, "Notified" which indicates the number of digital gifts for which a gifting notification has been sent, and "Available to send" which indicates the number of digital gifts that can be sent at that time by subtracting the number of "Notified" from the number held.

[0026] Additionally, on the gifting screen 8, a "Send by email" icon 81 and a "Give by code" icon 82 are displayed for each digital gift. The "Send by email" icon 81 is selected when notifying the recipient of the digital gift via email, while the "Give by code" icon 82 is selected when giving the digital gift to the recipient using a QR code.

[0027] First, let's explain what happens when the "Send by email" icon 81 is selected. When the "Send by email" icon 81 is selected, the control unit 20 of server 2 looks up the identification information of the digital gift corresponding to that icon in the gift owner DB 24 and temporarily stores the ones that can be sent. At this time, if there are multiple digital gifts that correspond to the selected "Send by email" icon 81 and can be sent at that time, all of them are temporarily stored as to be sent.

[0028] Furthermore, when the "Send by email" icon 81 is selected, the control unit 20 of the server 2 displays the recipient selection screen 9, which constitutes the gift sending screen shown in Figure 6, instead of the gifting screen 8. The recipient selection screen 9 displays an email address input field 91 for entering the recipient's email address, a name input field 92 for entering the recipient's name, an "Add" icon 93 for adding / registering guest data, and "Confirm" and "Back" icons 95.

[0029] When the email address input field 91 and the name input field 92 are filled in and the "Add" icon 93 is tapped, the control unit 20 links the recipient's name and email address to one of the identification information of the digital gift temporarily stored as the gift to be presented, accepts it as the gift to be presented, and temporarily stores it.

[0030] In addition, the recipient selection screen 9 displays a list 96 of recipients who are scheduled to receive a gift. The list 96 displays the identification information, expiration date, and the name and email address of the recipient associated with the digital gift, which were selected to be sent by selecting the "Send by email" icon 81 on the previous gifting screen 8.

[0031] When the "Add" icon 93 is selected, the email address input field 91 and name input field 92 are reset, allowing you to enter a new email address and name. You can add as many email addresses and names as there are identification details for the digital gifts that can be sent.

[0032] Additionally, selecting the "Back" icon 95 returns you to the gifting screen 8, where you can select another digital gift to be given, in addition to the digital gifts that have already been accepted as gifts to be given.

[0033] Furthermore, when the "Confirm" icon 94 is selected, the control unit 20 terminates the acceptance of email address and name input and displays a sending confirmation screen (not shown) which constitutes the gift sending screen instead of the recipient selection screen 9.

[0034] The confirmation screen displays a list of all digital gifts, each associated with an email address and name, along with their expiration dates. Once confirmation is confirmed and the server 2 is notified by selecting the "Send" icon or similar, the control unit 20 links these email addresses and names with the digital gift identification information and temporarily stores this as the finalized combination of digital gifts to be sent to the recipient.

[0035] Next, as shown in Figure 7, the control unit 20 generates receiving link information 11 corresponding to the identification information of the digital gift (generation means), includes it in the email body along with a sentence indicating that the digital gift, including the recipient's name, has been sent by the giver, and automatically sends the email to the recipient's email address.

[0036] Furthermore, based on the completion of sending the email as described above, the control unit 20 updates the display in the list display 61 of the user page 6 shown in Figure 3 to decrease the number of digital gifts that can be sent. In addition, the control unit 20 also updates the display in the list of owned digital gifts on the gifting screen 8 shown in Figure 5 to increase the number of "notified" digital gifts and decrease the number of "sendable" digital gifts. In other words, digital gifts that have been sent to the recipient become unavailable for selection as gifts once the email has been sent.

[0037] When the recipient receives an email from Server 2 and accesses the redemption link 11 in the email body, a gift redemption guidance screen 14, as shown in Figure 8, is displayed. The gift redemption guidance screen 14 displays the type of digital gift that can be received, the set amount, and an icon 15 for receiving the digital gift. The icon 15 is a link button, and the link destination is the unique address information of the digital gift, which is linked to the recipient in the Gift Owner DB 24 and stored in the Gift Data DB 23. In other words, it is an external page from Server 2's perspective, provided by Server S, the provider of the digital gift. The recipient accesses the unique address information of the digital gift and receives the digital gift from the provider.

[0038] Thus, the unique link information 11 contained in the email body is link information that can connect to unique address information at the supplier, and its URL is for displaying the gift redemption guidance screen 14 provided by server 2. Therefore, the control unit 20 of server 2 can detect when the URL of the link information has been accessed. In other words, the service provider that owns server 2 can determine whether the recipient who received the email has taken action to receive the digital gift based on whether or not they accessed the link information contained in the email from their information terminal 4.

[0039] Furthermore, Server 2 has prepared a page to access in case the recipient does not wish to receive the gift (not shown in the diagram), and the link information 13 for this page is also displayed in the email body. Server 2 can detect when the link information 13 has been accessed by its control unit 20, and thereby determine that the digital gift was not received.

[0040] Next, we will explain the case where the "Send by Code" icon 82 is selected on the gifting screen 8 shown in Figure 5. When the "Send by Code" icon 82 is selected, the control unit 20 of the server 2 refers to the unique address information of the digital gift corresponding to the icon 82 in the gift data DB 23 and generates link information that can connect to this unique address information (generation means).

[0041] Then, the display unit 41 of the user's information terminal, which is the gift giver, displays a code screen 16 as shown in Figure 9. The code screen 16 displays a two-dimensional code 17 and a "Reading Complete" icon 18, which is selected to notify the user that the two-dimensional code has been read. The two-dimensional code 17 is link information converted from the unique address information of the digital gift provided by the digital gift supplier.

[0042] Based on the completion of the conversion of the unique URL into a two-dimensional code 17, the control unit 20 updates the display in the list display 61 of the user page 6 shown in Figure 3 to decrease the number of digital gifts that can be sent. In addition, the control unit 20 also updates the display in the list of owned digital gifts on the gifting screen 8 shown in Figure 5 to increase the number of "notified" digital gifts and decrease the number of "sendable" digital gifts. In other words, digital gifts that have been sent to the recipient become unavailable for selection as gifts based on the completion of the email sending or the completion of the conversion of the unique URL into a two-dimensional code.

[0043] The user, as the gift giver, sends the two-dimensional code 17 displayed on the code screen 16 to the recipient via email, social media, etc., or by directly showing the code screen 16 to the recipient, so that the recipient's information terminal 4 can scan the two-dimensional code 17. By scanning the two-dimensional code 17, the recipient can access the unique address information of the digital gift and receive the digital gift from the digital gift provider.

[0044] Furthermore, users can select the "Loading Complete" icon 18 as appropriate, and when the "Loading Complete" icon 18 is selected, the control unit 20 of server 2 updates the display in the list of owned digital gifts on the gifting screen 8 shown in Figure 5 to decrease the number of "owned" items.

[0045] As described above, Server 2 has a Gift Owner DB 24, which is a storage means that stores multiple unique address information that allows each digital gift to be received from the supplier server, and when an order is received from the giver's terminal, it can store the address information of the digital gift corresponding to this order in association with the identification information corresponding to the giver's information terminal 4; a display means (control unit 20) that displays a list display 61 (see Figure 3) of digital gifts associated with the identification information corresponding to the giver's information terminal 4; and a receiving means (control unit 20) that receives unique identification information, which is the information of the digital gift selected to be gifted from the list display 61, from the giver's information terminal 4. When the control unit 20 of Server 2 receives digital gift information from the giver's information terminal 4 using the receiving means, it generates link information 13 (see Figure 8) or a two-dimensional code 17 (see Figure 9), which is link information that can be connected to the address information of the digital gift. According to this, the giver can issue a gifting instruction using the list display 61 without having to distinguish between recipients using address information that allows them to receive digital gifts from the supplier's server. This allows for the gifting of digital gifts without human error, such as accidentally sending the same digital gift to multiple recipients. Furthermore, recipients can connect to the digital gift's address information using the generated link information and receive the digital gift directly from the supplier's server, thus preventing human error on the giver's side.

[0046] Furthermore, when the control unit 20 of server 2 receives an instruction to send a digital gift using a list from the giver's information terminal 4, it generates link address information for a link page that can be accessed using the unique address information of the digital gift, and provides this link address information to the giver's information terminal 4. As a result, the unique address information of the digital gift is not directly provided to the giver, and when they access the link address information, they are connected to the link page, thus preventing the sender from mistakenly receiving the digital gift themselves.

[0047] Furthermore, the control unit 20 of server 2 converts the link address information provided to the sender into a two-dimensional code 17 before providing it. This makes it highly versatile, as, for example, if you don't know the recipient's email address, you can send the two-dimensional code image using a social networking service (SNS).

[0048] The control unit 20 of server 2 sets the period during which this unique link information is accessible when generating it. For example, if this period is set to 3 days (72 hours), and 72 hours have passed without any detection of access to this link information, the control unit 20 of server 2 updates the display in the list of owned digital gifts on the gifting screen 8, decreasing the number of "notified" digital gifts and increasing the number of "sendable" digital gifts. Similarly, it updates the display in the list display 61 on user page 6 to increase the number of digital gifts that can be sent. In other words, it restores the digital gift corresponding to this link address information in the list to a state where it can be selected to send. In this way, digital gifts that were not received by the recipient can be reused.

[0049] Furthermore, the control unit 20 of server 2 is configured to prevent the selection of digital gifts in the gifting screen 8 list for gifts whose expiration date is not valid until after the period during which the link address can be connected has elapsed. This ensures that only digital gifts that the recipient can receive within their expiration date are selected, guaranteeing that the digital gifts are sent to the recipient.

[0050] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, the specific configurations are not limited to these embodiments, and any changes or additions that do not depart from the spirit of the present invention are also included.

[0051] For example, in the above embodiment, digital gift data was described as electronic money, but it is not limited to this. For example, it may be data of a voucher that can be exchanged for goods by presenting it at a store, or a coupon that allows the user to receive various services such as discounts, and may be changed as appropriate as long as it has monetary value.

[0052] Furthermore, the server may be configured using multiple computers that are physically separated. In particular, the server providing the website to which users connect may be operated on a different computer, as long as it can communicate with the server containing the control unit.

[0053] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the two-dimensional code 17 displayed on the code screen 16 is link information converted from the unique address information of the digital gift provided by the digital gift supplier. However, the two-dimensional code is not limited to this, and may also be link information for connecting to the gift receipt guidance screen 14 shown in Figure 8. With this configuration, the control unit 20 of the server 2 can detect when the two-dimensional code is read by the recipient and when the URL of the link information is accessed. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0054] 1. Digital Gift Management System 2. Server (Management Server) 4. Information terminals 5 Login Page 6. User Page 7 Purchase screen 8. Presentation screen 9. Recipient Selection Screen 11 Link Information 14. Gift redemption guidance screen 16 Code Screen 17. Two-dimensional barcode (code) 20 Control unit (display means, generation means) 21 Storage medium (storage means) 41 Display section 61 List View

Claims

1. The system includes a management server that can communicate with the server of the digital gift provider and the terminal of the gift giver via the public communication network. The management server includes: a storage means that stores multiple unique address information that allows the recipient to receive digital gifts from the supplier server, and when an order is received from the giver's terminal, it associates the address information of the digital gift corresponding to the order with identification information corresponding to the giver's terminal, thereby storing the digital gift as a digital gift previously purchased by the giver; a display means that can display a list of the digital gifts stored in the storage means and associated with the identification information corresponding to the giver's terminal as a gift screen that the giver has previously purchased and possesses; and a generation means that, when a specific digital gift is selected to be gifted from the list of digital gifts on the gift screen, generates link information that can be connected to the address information of the specific digital gift. The aforementioned link information is a unique URL stored in the storage means, associated with the recipient to whom the specific digital gift is given. A digital gift management system characterized in that the management server can detect when there has been access to the link information, and based on the detection of access, it determines that an operation has been performed to receive the specific digital gift associated with the link information, the link information has a set period during which it is possible to access it, and the management server makes it impossible to select the digital gift corresponding to the link information in the list until after the period has elapsed, and if no access to the link information is detected within the period during which it is possible to access it, it restores the state in the list to one where it is possible to select the digital gift corresponding to the link information.

2. The digital gift management system according to claim 1, wherein each digital gift has an expiration date set for when it can be received, and the management server makes it impossible to select a digital gift in the list whose expiration date is not valid until after the period during which it can connect to the link information has elapsed.

Images