Information providing method and electronic device

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for providing information by an electronic device for providing an item delivery service. Specifically, the method for providing information by an electronic device may comprise the steps of: identifying a store search request received from a terminal of a user; identifying multiple stores corresponding to the store search request; determining, on the basis of equidistant map data for each of the multiple stores, a distance corresponding to a route from each of the multiple stores to the user's location; determining an arrangement order related to the multiple stores by using a score calculated on the basis of the distance; and providing, to the terminal, information on the multiple stores arranged on the basis of the arrangement order.

Description

Information provision methods and electronic devices

[0001] Embodiments of the present specification relate to an information providing method of an electronic device providing an item delivery service and an electronic device therefor.

[0002] In an item delivery service, users can search for stores via their terminals. The item delivery service can provide users with information about stores that match their search among nearby stores. One of the criteria for sorting the information about stores provided to users may be the distance between the store and the user's location. Here, the distance between the store and the user's location may be the straight-line distance between the store and the user's location.

[0003] The straight-line distance between a store and a user's location may differ from the actual distance from the store to the user's location due to various factors, such as road conditions. Consequently, stores that are actually located further away may appear higher on the user's device than stores that are actually located closer.

[0004] The present disclosure has been proposed to address the aforementioned problems, and the disclosed embodiments aim to provide a method for providing information on an electronic device providing an item delivery service, and an electronic device therefor. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to a method for providing information on a plurality of stores, and an electronic device therefor, by determining a distance corresponding to a path from each of the plurality of stores to a user's location based on equidistant map data for each of the plurality of stores, and determining a sorting order associated with the plurality of stores using a score calculated based on the determined distance.

[0005] The technical tasks to be achieved by this embodiment are not limited to the technical tasks described above, and other technical tasks can be inferred from the following embodiments.

[0006] As a technical means for achieving the above-described task, an information providing method of an electronic device providing an item delivery service according to the first aspect of the present disclosure may include: a step of confirming a store search request received from a user's terminal; a step of confirming a plurality of stores corresponding to the store search request; a step of determining a distance corresponding to a path from each of the plurality of stores to a location of the user based on equidistant map data for each of the plurality of stores; a step of determining a sorting order related to the plurality of stores using a score calculated based on the distance; and a step of providing information on the plurality of stores sorted based on the sorting order to the terminal.

[0007] According to one embodiment, the equidistant map data for a first store among a plurality of stores includes location data of the first store and location data of a plurality of points located a set distance from the first store, and the set distance may be a distance corresponding to a path from the first store to any one of the plurality of points based on road data included in the equidistant map data.

[0008] According to one embodiment, the equidistant map data includes a polygon composed of a plurality of points, and when the set distance includes a plurality of set distances, the equidistant map data may include a plurality of polygons corresponding to the plurality of set distances.

[0009] In one embodiment, the plurality of set distances can be determined based on a set interval.

[0010] In one embodiment, the set interval may be determined based on whether the time at which the store search request is confirmed falls within a set time frame.

[0011] In one embodiment, in response to a change in road data, a polygon composed of a plurality of points may be updated to a first polygon composed of a plurality of first points spaced a set distance apart from a first store.

[0012] In one embodiment, the plurality of stores may include a store that responds to a store search request among the stores searched based on the user's location.

[0013] In one embodiment, a map for a first store may include a plurality of compartments separated by a plurality of polygons, and a score may be determined based on which of the plurality of compartments a user is located in.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the score may be determined based on a first algorithm among a plurality of scoring algorithms that take as input which section among a plurality of sections a plurality of users are located in, and the first algorithm may be an algorithm determined based on orders related to the item delivery service and delivery personnel related to the item delivery service among the plurality of scoring algorithms.

[0015] In one embodiment, the step of determining the sort order may include determining a sort order associated with the plurality of stores based on the scores and at least one first score.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the at least one first score may include at least one of a score related to a coupon provided by each of the plurality of stores, a score related to a new store among the plurality of stores, a score related to a user rating of each of the plurality of stores, a score related to whether each of the plurality of stores provides an image, a score related to an order history of users near the user's location, a score related to a user's behavior history on an item delivery service, and a score related to a preferred store identified based on the behavior history.

[0017] An information providing method of an electronic device providing an item delivery service according to a second aspect of the present disclosure may include: a step of confirming a store search request received from a user's terminal; a step of confirming a plurality of stores corresponding to the store search request; a step of determining a distance corresponding to a path from each of the plurality of stores to a user's location based on equidistant map data for each of the plurality of stores; a step of determining a delivery amount for each of the plurality of stores based on the distance; and a step of providing information about the plurality of stores including information about the delivery amount to the terminal.

[0018] An electronic device according to a third aspect of the present disclosure includes a transceiver; one or more processors; and a storage storing one or more instructions executed by the one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors, by executing the one or more instructions, can identify a store search request received from a user's terminal, identify a plurality of stores corresponding to the store search request, determine a distance corresponding to a path from each of the plurality of stores to a location of the user based on equidistant map data for each of the plurality of stores, determine a sorting order associated with the plurality of stores using a score calculated based on the distance, and provide information about the plurality of stores sorted based on the sorting order to the terminal.

[0019] The recording medium according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure may be a non-transitory recording medium readable by a computer that records a program for executing a method for providing information of an electronic device on a computer.

[0020] According to the proposed embodiment, one or more of the following effects can be expected.

[0021] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a sorting order associated with multiple scores is determined using scores calculated based on the distance corresponding to the path from the store to the user's location, rather than the straight-line distance between the store and the user's location. This allows for more effective recommendations of stores more appropriate for the user. Furthermore, since stores with shorter distances corresponding to the path from the store to the user's location are recommended higher, the user's waiting time for food can be reduced, and the delivery person can travel a shorter distance from the store to the delivery destination. Furthermore, since the delivery fee is calculated based on the distance corresponding to the path from the store to the user's location, the item delivery service can charge the user a reasonable delivery fee.

[0022] The effects of the invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

[0023] FIG. 1 is a drawing for explaining a system in which an information providing method of an electronic device according to one embodiment can be implemented.

[0024] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing information of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0025] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining equidistant map data according to one embodiment.

[0026] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a method for determining a distance corresponding to a path based on equidistant map data according to one embodiment and calculating a score based on the distance.

[0027] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing information of an electronic device according to another embodiment.

[0028] Figure 6 is a drawing illustrating a page displaying information about a store, including information about shipping costs and distance.

[0029] FIG. 7 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an electronic device for performing an information providing method according to one embodiment.

[0030] The terms used in the embodiments have been selected from widely used and common terms, taking into account the functions of the present disclosure. However, these terms may vary depending on the intentions of those skilled in the art, precedents, the emergence of new technologies, etc. Furthermore, in certain cases, terms may be arbitrarily selected by the applicant, in which case their meanings will be described in detail in the relevant description. Therefore, the terms used in this disclosure should not be defined simply as names of terms, but rather based on the meanings of the terms and the overall content of the present disclosure.

[0031] When a part of the specification is said to "include" a component, this does not exclude other components, but rather implies the inclusion of other components, unless otherwise specifically stated. Furthermore, terms such as "part" and "module" used in the specification mean a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0032] The expression “at least one of a, b, and c” described throughout the specification may encompass ‘a alone’, ‘b alone’, ‘c alone’, ‘a and b’, ‘a and c’, ‘b and c’, or ‘all of a, b, and c’.

[0033] The "terminal" mentioned below may be implemented as a computer or portable terminal that can connect to a server or other terminal via a network. Here, the computer includes, for example, a notebook, desktop, laptop, etc. equipped with a web browser, and the portable terminal may include, for example, a wireless communication device that guarantees portability and mobility, and may include all types of handheld-based wireless communication devices such as communication-based terminals such as IMT (International Mobile Telecommunication), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), W-CDMA (W-Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), smartphones, tablet PCs, etc.

[0034] Below, embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail with reference to the attached drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure may be implemented in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0035] In describing the embodiments, descriptions of technical details that are well known in the technical field to which the present invention pertains and are not directly related to the present invention will be omitted. This is to avoid obscuring the gist of the present invention by omitting unnecessary explanations and to convey the gist more clearly.

[0036] For the same reason, some components in the attached drawings are exaggerated, omitted, or schematically depicted. Furthermore, the dimensions of each component do not entirely reflect its actual size. Identical or corresponding components in each drawing are assigned the same reference numbers.

[0037] The advantages and features of the present invention, and the methods for achieving them, will become clearer with reference to the embodiments described in detail below together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and may be implemented in various different forms. These embodiments are provided only to ensure that the disclosure of the present invention is complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the invention, and the present invention is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification.

[0038] At this time, it will be understood that each block of the processing flowchart drawings and combinations of the flowchart drawings can be performed by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be installed in a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing equipment, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing equipment create a means for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s). These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-available or computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to implement the functions in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-available or computer-readable memory can also produce a manufactured item that includes an instruction means for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s). Since the computer program instructions may be installed on a computer or other programmable data processing device, a series of operational steps may be performed on the computer or other programmable data processing device to create a computer-executable process, and the instructions that cause the computer or other programmable data processing device to perform the steps for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s) may also provide steps for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s).

[0039] Additionally, each block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code that contains one or more executable instructions for performing a specific logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative implementation examples, the functions described in the blocks may occur out of order. For example, two blocks depicted in succession may actually be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in reverse order, depending on their respective functions.

[0040] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0041] FIG. 1 is a drawing for explaining a system (10) in which an information providing method of an electronic device (100) according to one embodiment can be implemented.

[0042] Referring to FIG. 1, a system (10) according to various embodiments may be a system (10) for implementing an information provision method of an electronic device (100) that provides an item delivery service. The system (10) may include an electronic device (100) and a user terminal (110). The system (10) illustrated in FIG. 1 only illustrates components related to the present embodiment. Therefore, those skilled in the art related to the present embodiment will understand that other general-purpose components may be included in addition to the components illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0043] Each of the electronic device (100) and the terminal (110) may include a transceiver, storage, and a processor. In addition, each of the electronic device (100) and the terminal (110) refers to a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Meanwhile, throughout the embodiments, each of the electronic device (100) and the terminal (110) is referred to as a separate device or server, but this may be a logically divided structure, and at least some of them may be implemented by a separate function in one device or server.

[0044] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (100) and the terminal (110) may include a plurality of computer systems or computer software implemented as network servers. For example, at least some of the electronic device (100) and the terminal (110) may refer to a computer system and computer software that are connected to a lower device that can communicate with other network servers through a computer network such as an intranet or the Internet, receive a task execution request, perform the task accordingly, and provide the execution result. In addition, at least some of the electronic device (100) and the terminal (110) may be understood as a broad concept that includes a series of application programs that can operate on a network server, and various databases built on other internal or connected nodes. For example, at least some of the electronic device (100) and the terminal (110) may be implemented using a network server program that is provided in various ways according to an operating system such as DOS, Windows, Linux, UNIX, or MacOS.

[0045] The electronic device (100) and the terminal (110) can communicate with each other through a network (not shown). The network includes a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a value-added network (VAN), a mobile radio communication network, a satellite communication network, and a combination thereof, and is a comprehensive data communication network that allows each network component shown in FIG. 1 to communicate smoothly with each other, and may include wired Internet, wireless Internet, and mobile radio communication networks. Wireless communication may include, but is not limited to, wireless LAN (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, Zigbee, Wi-Fi Direct (WFD), ultra wideband (UWB), infrared communication (IrDA, infrared Data Association), NFC (Near Field Communication), etc., for example.

[0046] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (100) may verify a store search request received from a user's terminal (110), verify a plurality of stores corresponding to the store search request, determine a distance corresponding to a path from each of the plurality of stores to the user's location based on equidistant map data for each of the plurality of stores, determine a sorting order associated with the plurality of stores using a score calculated based on the distance, and provide information about the plurality of stores sorted based on the sorting order to the terminal (110). In addition, the electronic device (100) may verify a store search request received from the user's terminal (110), verify a plurality of stores corresponding to the store search request, determine a distance corresponding to a path from each of the plurality of stores to the user's location based on equidistant map data for each of the plurality of stores, determine a shipping amount for each of the plurality of stores based on the distance, and provide information about the plurality of stores including information about the shipping amount to the terminal.

[0047] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (100) may be a device for providing and managing an item delivery service. The electronic device (100) may be a server for providing and managing an item delivery service, but is not limited thereto.

[0048] In the present specification, equidistant map data for a store may be map data generated based on location data of points adjacent to the store. Specifically, the equidistant map data for a store may include location data of the store and location data of a plurality of points located a set distance from the store among the points. Among the points on the equidistant map data, a plurality of points located the same set distance from the store may be grouped. Here, the set distance may be equal to the distance corresponding to a path from the store to any one of the plurality of points, determined based on road data included in the equidistant map data. In this regard, a polygon composed of a plurality of points may be displayed on the equidistant map data, and the vertices of the polygon may be points located an equal distance from the location of the store. Below, a specific method for effectively arranging information on a plurality of stores using equidistant map data and providing it to the terminal (110) will be described.

[0049] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an information providing method of an electronic device (100) according to one embodiment.

[0050] Referring to FIG. 2, it can be clearly understood that some operations of the information providing method of the electronic device (100) may be changed or substituted, or some of the order between operations may be changed, within a range clearly understandable to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains.

[0051] In step S210, the electronic device (100) can confirm a store search request received from the user's terminal (110).

[0052] In step S220, the electronic device (100) can check multiple stores corresponding to the store search request.

[0053] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (100) may receive a store search request from the user's terminal (110) and check multiple stores corresponding to the store search request. The store search request received from the user's terminal (110) may include information about a page related to the store search request and keyword information related to the store displayed on the corresponding page. For example, when the user clicks a specific keyword among keywords displayed on a tab on the SRP (e.g., Korean food, chicken, snack food), the electronic device (100) may check the store search request and check multiple stores corresponding to the specific keyword. However, the page provided to the terminal (110) is not limited to the SRP, and a similar process may be applied when the user navigates a detailed page for a specific store through the terminal (110).

[0054] According to one embodiment, the plurality of stores may include stores corresponding to the store search request among stores searched based on the user's location. The electronic device (100) may determine the user's current location based on location information received from the user's terminal (110). The plurality of stores may include stores corresponding to the store search request among stores located near the user's current location. For example, the plurality of stores may include stores corresponding to keywords included in the store search request among stores within the user's current location (e.g., Gangnam-gu). Alternatively, the plurality of stores may include stores corresponding to the store search request among stores located within a set straight-line distance (e.g., 10 km) based on the user's current location. As another example, the plurality of stores may include stores corresponding to the store search request among stores located within a set time period (e.g., 20 minutes) based on the user's current location. More specifically, the electronic device (100) may include stores corresponding to the store search request among stores located within a set time period based on isochrones map data based on the user's current location. Here, the equitemporal map data for a store may be map data generated based on the location data of points adjacent to the store. Specifically, the equitemporal map data for a store may include the location data of the store and the location data of multiple points located a set amount of time away from the store. That is, equitemporal map data is similar to equidistant map data except that it is based on time, and thus, the equitemporal map data can be generated through a process similar to equidistant map data.

[0055] In step S230, the electronic device (100) can determine a distance corresponding to a path from each of the plurality of stores to the user's location based on equidistant map data for each of the plurality of stores.

[0056] As discussed above, equidistant map data for a store may include location data for the store and location data for multiple points spaced a set distance from the store among the points. Here, the distance corresponding to the shortest path from the store to any one of the multiple points may be the set distance. The equidistant map data may display a polygon composed of multiple points. Furthermore, the set distance may be multiple set distances. That is, if the set distance includes multiple set distances, the equidistant map data may display multiple polygons. For example, if the set distance includes multiple set distances at set intervals (e.g., 500 m), such as 500 m, 1 km, 1.5 km, 2 km, etc., the equidistant map data may display multiple polygons. For example, a polygon corresponding to a first group may be composed of points 500 m away from a store, a polygon corresponding to a second group may be composed of points 1 km away from a store, a polygon corresponding to a third group may be composed of points 1.5 km away from a store, and a polygon corresponding to a fourth group may be composed of points 2 km away from a store. That is, multiple polygons may be displayed in the equidistant map data, and a point on the equidistant map data may be included in any one of multiple sections divided by the multiple polygons. Specifically, if the number of multiple polygons is n, the number of multiple sections may be n+1. An embodiment of generating equidistant map data for a store based on location data of points adjacent to the store will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 3.

[0057] In one embodiment, the user's current location may correspond to the item's delivery location, but is not limited thereto. If the user sets the item's delivery location to be different from the user's current location, the distance may be determined as the distance corresponding to the route from each of the multiple stores to the set item's delivery location.

[0058] In step S240, the electronic device (100) can determine a sorting order associated with multiple stores using a score calculated based on the distance.

[0059] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (100) may calculate a score based on the distance determined in step S230. More specifically, the electronic device (100) may calculate a score based on which of the plurality of compartments the user is located in. When calculating a score based on which of the plurality of compartments the user is located in, a first scoring algorithm, which is one of the plurality of scoring algorithms, may be used. The first algorithm may be determined based on the amount of work pending within the item delivery service among the plurality of scoring algorithms. More specifically, the first algorithm may be adaptively determined based on information about pending orders within the item delivery service and information about delivery personnel performing delivery work through the item delivery service among the plurality of scoring algorithms. For an embodiment where the set distance is 500 m and the number of polygons is 20, each of the plurality of scoring algorithms may be based on Mathematical Expressions 1, 2, and 3.

[0060] [Mathematical Formula 1]

[0061] Score = IF(MD 3) then 1.5 Else 1.0

[0062] [Equation 2]

[0063] Score = 1 - (ND / 20)

[0064] [Equation 3]

[0065] Score = min(1-ND / 20,0.4)

[0066] The Score may be a score calculated based on distance. The ND may be a value indicating in which of a plurality of compartments divided by a plurality of polygons the user is located. The closer the user is to the compartment, the smaller the ND may be. For an embodiment in which the number of polygons is 20, the ND may correspond to an integer from 0 to 20, which is the number of polygons. The Scores according to Equations 1, 2, and 3 may be similar in that the smaller the ND, the larger the Scores calculated. However, Equation 1 calculates the Score as 1.5 when the user is located within 1.5 km of the store, and otherwise calculates the ND as 1, so it may correspond to a scoring algorithm in which the Score has a large difference depending on whether the user is located near the store. Equation 2 may correspond to a scoring algorithm in which the Score is calculated so that it gradually decreases in proportion to the distance the user is away from the store. Additionally, Equation 3 may be a scoring algorithm that calculates a Score of 0.4 when the user is located within 6 km of the store, and if not, the Score is calculated to be gradually lowered as the user's distance from the store. Here, coefficients such as 3, 1.5, 1.0, 20, and 0.4 may be adaptively determined based on the number of multiple polygons on the equidistant map data, information about pending orders on the item delivery service, and information about delivery personnel performing delivery work through the item delivery service.

[0067] According to one embodiment, when it is determined that the number of orders to be processed through the item delivery service is large based on information about pending orders on the item delivery service and information about delivery personnel performing delivery work through the item delivery service, the electronic device (100) may calculate a score based on mathematical expression 1 corresponding to a scoring algorithm that calculates a large score when the user is located near the store. Accordingly, a score for a store located near the user's location may be calculated to be high. In addition, when it is determined that the number of orders to be processed through the item delivery service is average based on information about pending orders on the item delivery service and information about delivery personnel performing delivery work through the item delivery service, the electronic device (100) may calculate a score based on mathematical expression 2 corresponding to a scoring algorithm that calculates a score that gradually decreases in proportion to the distance the user is away from the store. In addition, when it is determined that the number of orders to be processed through the item delivery service is small based on information about orders pending on the item delivery service and information about delivery personnel performing delivery work through the item delivery service, the electronic device (100) may calculate a score based on mathematical expression 3 corresponding to a scoring algorithm that does not significantly differentiate scores if the user is not far from the store. That is, the scoring algorithm used for score calculation may be adaptively determined depending on whether the amount of work to be processed through the item delivery service is large.

[0068] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (100) may determine a sorting order associated with a plurality of scores using scores calculated based on distances. However, the embodiment of determining the sorting order associated with a plurality of scores is not limited thereto, and the electronic device (100) may also determine the sorting order associated with a plurality of scores based on at least one first score in addition to the scores calculated based on distances. A method of determining a sorting order associated with a plurality of scores based on the scores and at least one first score may be based on the following mathematical expression 4.

[0069] [Equation 4]

[0070] final score =

[0071] The final score may be the final score used to determine the sort order associated with multiple stores. That is, the sort order of multiple scores may be based on the final score for each score. Specifically, a store with a higher final score may be determined to have a higher order in the sort order. n may correspond to the number of factors that influence the determination of the sort order associated with multiple stores. In this regard, , may be a weight and score corresponding to the ith factor. For example, a score calculated based on distance may correspond to any one of the 1st to nth factors. can be variably set based on business policies related to item delivery services. For example, if a changed business policy prioritizes ranking stores located close to users, the weighting of the distance-based score may be set higher. Similarly, if a changed business policy is associated with a specific score, the weighting associated with that score may be adjusted.

[0072] According to one embodiment, the at least one first score may include at least one of a score related to coupons provided by each of the plurality of stores, a score related to a new store among the plurality of stores, a score related to a user rating of each of the plurality of stores, a score related to whether each of the plurality of stores provides an image, a score related to the order history of users near the user's location, a score related to the user's behavior history on the item delivery service, and a score related to a preferred store identified based on the user's behavior history. In this regard, a store among the plurality of stores that provides coupons on its own may have a high score. A store among the plurality of stores that has a high user rating may have a high score. A store among the plurality of stores that provides an image for an item may have a high score. A popular store among the plurality of stores that is identified based on the order history of nearby users may have a high score. A store among the plurality of stores that corresponds to a user's action (e.g., clicking on a page for a specific store, ordering an item from a specific store) may have a high score. A preferred store among the plurality of stores that is identified based on the user's action may have a high score. The factors that influence the sort order associated with multiple stores are not limited to those described above, and new factors may be added as business policies change.

[0073] In step S250, the electronic device (100) can provide information about a plurality of stores sorted based on the sorting order to the terminal (110).

[0074] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (100) may provide a page including information about a plurality of stores sorted based on a sorting order to the terminal (110). An embodiment of providing information about a plurality of stores sorted based on a sorting order to the terminal (110) according to one embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6.

[0075] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining equidistant map data according to one embodiment.

[0076] Equidistant map data (300) may be map data including location data of a store located at a first location (301) and a plurality of points located a set distance from the store. Referring to FIG. 3, a point corresponding to a vertex of a polygon (330) in the equidistant map data (300) may be a point located a set distance from a store located at the first location (301). For example, a first point at a second location (302) and a second point at a third location (303) may be included in the polygon (330). In this regard, the set distance may be a distance corresponding to a shortest path from the first store to any one of the plurality of points based on road data included in the equidistant map data (300). For example, the shortest path from the first location (301) to the second location (302) of the first point may be a path (311). Additionally, the shortest path from the first location (301) to the third location (303) of the second point may be the path (312). On the other hand, the path (313) from the first location (301) to the third location (303) of the second point is not the shortest path, so the distance when moving from the first location (301) to the third location (303) of the second point via the path (313) may be longer than the set distance.

[0077] In one embodiment, an algorithm for identifying a plurality of points spaced apart by a set distance from a first location (301) may, when moving outward from the first location (301) and encountering a branch point (e.g., a three-way intersection or a four-way intersection), exclude a path moving inward from the first location (301) and select at least one path moving outward from the first location (301). For example, when moving along a path (312), which is a shortest path from the first location (301) to the third location (303), a fourth location (320) on the path (312) may be a branch point. In this regard, moving in the second direction (322) and the third direction (323) from the fourth location (320) may correspond to a path moving outward from the first location (301), and thus may correspond to a path selected by the algorithm. In relation to this, a third point of a fourth location (304) that is a distance set apart from the first location (301) may be located on a path moving in a second direction (322) based on the fourth location (320). In addition, a second point of a third location (303) that is a distance set apart from the first location (301) may be located on a path moving in a third direction (323) based on the fourth location (320). Conversely, moving in a first direction (321) based on the fourth location (320) may be a path moving inward based on the first location (301), and thus may be excluded by the algorithm. More specifically, moving in a fourth direction (325) based on the fifth location (324) may be a shorter path than moving in a first direction (321) based on the fourth location (320), and thus moving in a first direction (321) based on the fourth location (320) may be excluded by the algorithm.That is, as there are more branch points in the vicinity of the first location (301), the number of multiple points spaced apart by a set distance from the first location (301) can increase.

[0078] Although not illustrated in FIG. 3 , the equidistant map data (300) may include a plurality of polygons corresponding to a plurality of set distances. The plurality of set distances may be set at specific intervals, and the specific intervals may be determined based on whether the time of confirming the store search request falls within a set time period. For example, the set intervals may be adaptively adjusted depending on whether the time of confirming the store search request or the time of receiving the store search request falls within a set time period (e.g., lunch time or dinner time) that is typically frequent for user orders. In this regard, the equidistant map data for the store for each of the plurality of set intervals may be generated in advance and stored in the electronic device (100). That is, two or more equidistant map data for the store may be generated in advance. The set interval in a typical time period may be 500 m, and the set interval in a set time period may be set to a larger value of 100 m, but is not limited thereto.

[0079] Additionally, when road data included in the equidistant map data changes, the polygon can be updated. For example, if a road on a route moving in the second direction (322) based on the fourth location (320) is under construction, the road data corresponding to the road can be changed to indicate that it is unavailable. Accordingly, since the third point of the fourth location (304) may be located at a distance further than the set distance based on the first location (301), the updated polygon may not include the third point. Conversely, if a specific road is newly constructed, the updated polygon may include new points. That is, if there is a change in road data, such as a new road being constructed near the store or construction on an existing road, the equidistant map data for the store can be updated.

[0080] As in the embodiment of FIG. 3, calculating the distance corresponding to the path from the store to the user's location based on the equidistant map data (300) may be closer to the actual travel distance of the delivery person than the straight-line distance from the store to the user's location. In addition, although the accuracy of calculating the distance corresponding to the path from the store to the user's location based on the equidistant map data (300) may increase when more external information (e.g., real-time traffic information) is used, the cost and time required to calculate the distance corresponding to the path from the store to the user's location based on the equidistant map data (300) may significantly increase, which may be inefficient. That is, calculating the distance corresponding to the path from the store to the user's location based on the equidistant map data (300) according to the embodiment of FIG. 3 may be efficient.

[0081] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a method for determining a distance corresponding to a path based on equidistant map data according to one embodiment and calculating a score based on the distance.

[0082] The equidistant map data (400) of FIG. 4 may include six polygons each composed of a plurality of points spaced at distances of 1 km, 2 km, 3 km, 4 km, 5 km, and 6 km from a store located at a first location (410). The equidistant map data (400) may be divided into a total of seven sections by the six polygons. For example, the sixth section may be a section divided by polygons (430) and polygons (440). The sixth section may include points located further than 5 km and closer than 6 km from the store located at the first location (410). That is, the distance from the store located at the first location (410) to the first user located at the second location (420) may be calculated to be further than 5 km and closer than 6 km. In relation to mathematical expressions 1 to 3 of step S240, the ND of the first user located at the second location (420) included in the sixth section can be calculated as 5.

[0083] According to one embodiment, the distance from the store located at the first location (410) to the first user located at the second location (420) may be determined as 5 km, which is a set distance corresponding to a polygon (440) located close to the store located at the first location (410). As one embodiment for calculating the distance more accurately, the distance from the store located at the first location (410) to the first user located at the second location (420) may be calculated based on the shortest distance from the second location (420) to the polygon (440) and the shortest distance from the second location (420) to the polygon (430). For example, if the shortest distance from the second location (420) to the polygon (440) and the shortest distance from the second location (420) to the polygon (430) are 0.6 km and 0.4 km, respectively, then the distance from the store located at the first location (410) to the first user located at the second location (420) can be calculated as 5.6 km. Alternatively, if the shortest distance from the second location (420) to the polygon (440) and the shortest distance from the second location (420) to the polygon (430) are 0.6 km and 0.4 km, respectively, then the distance from the store located at the first location (410) to the first user located at the second location (420) can be calculated as 6 km, which is a set distance corresponding to the polygon (430) located closer to the user.

[0084] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing information of an electronic device (100) according to another embodiment.

[0085] Referring to FIG. 5, it can be clearly understood that some operations of the information providing method of the electronic device (100) may be changed or substituted, or some of the orders between operations may be changed, within a scope clearly understandable to a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains. Since steps S510, S520, and S530 overlap with steps S210, S220, and S230 of FIG. 2, detailed descriptions of steps S510, S520, and S530 will be omitted.

[0086] In step S540, the electronic device (100) can determine the delivery amount for each of the plurality of stores based on the distance.

[0087] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (100) may determine the shipping amount for each of the plurality of stores based on which of the plurality of sections of equidistant map data the user is located in. More specifically, the distance from the store to the user's location may be calculated according to various embodiments described in FIG. 4, and the electronic device (100) may determine the shipping amount for each store based on the calculated distance. Each of the plurality of shipping amount-related algorithms according to one embodiment may be based on Mathematical Equations 5 and 6.

[0088] [Equation 5]

[0089] Delivery fee = 3000 + 1000 distance(km)

[0090] [Equation 6]

[0091] Delivery fee = 1500 distance(km)

[0092] The delivery fee may be the amount paid to the delivery person when the delivery person picks up an item from a store and delivers the item to the delivery location. That is, the delivery fee should be calculated higher the farther the distance from the store to the item's delivery location, so Equations 5 and 6 may be similar in that the delivery fee is calculated higher the farther the distance from the store to the item's delivery location. However, Equation 5 may differ from Equation 6 in that it includes a basic delivery fee (e.g., KRW 3,000). In this regard, the delivery fee according to Equation 5 may be calculated higher when the distance from the store to the item's delivery location is less than 6 km, and the delivery fee according to Equation 6 may be calculated higher when the distance from the store to the item's delivery location is greater than 6 km. Here, coefficients such as 3,000, 1,000, and 1,500 are not fixed values ​​and may be determined adaptively.

[0093] Among the plurality of scoring algorithms, a first algorithm among the plurality of delivery amount-related algorithms may be determined based on information about orders pending on the item delivery service and information about delivery personnel performing delivery work through the item delivery service, and the delivery amount may be calculated based on the first algorithm. For example, when it is determined that the number of orders to be processed through the item delivery service is large based on the information, the electronic device (100) may calculate the delivery amount based on mathematical expression 5 to increase the delivery efficiency of the delivery personnel. In another example, when it is determined that the number of orders to be processed through the item delivery service is small based on the information, the electronic device (100) may calculate the delivery amount based on mathematical expression 6 to charge a reasonable delivery amount to users.

[0094] In step S550, the electronic device (100) can provide information about a plurality of stores including information about delivery amounts to the terminal (110).

[0095] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (100) may provide the terminal (110) with a page displaying information about a plurality of stores, including information about the delivery amount determined by step S540. In addition, the page provided to the terminal (110) may also display information about the distance corresponding to the path from each of the plurality of stores to the user's location.

[0096] As illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 5, since the delivery fee is calculated using the distance corresponding to the path from the store to the user's location, determined based on equidistant map data (300), the electronic device (100) managing the item delivery service can charge the user a more reasonable delivery fee. Furthermore, since the electronic device (100) managing the item delivery service calculates the delivery fee based on the distance corresponding to the path actually traveled by the delivery person, it can pay the delivery person a more reasonable delivery fee.

[0097] Figure 6 is a drawing illustrating a page displaying information about a store, including information about shipping costs and distance.

[0098] Page (600) may be a page that the electronic device (100) provides to the terminal (110) in response to the user selecting a Korean food category through the terminal (110). Specifically, information on a plurality of stores corresponding to the Korean food category may be displayed on the page (600).

[0099] In the first area (610), information about a new store that has been open for business within a set period of time (e.g., 1 month) among multiple stores corresponding to the Korean food category based on the user's current location may be displayed. In the second area (620), information about a store that is ranked first among the multiple confirmed stores may be displayed. In this regard, Store D provides its own first coupon that gives a 1,000 won discount to users who order through the item delivery service, and a second coupon that supports a 500 won delivery fee. Store D has a high rating of 4.9 points, the preparation time for items at Store D is short at 17-27 minutes, and the distance from Store D to the user's location may also be short at 1.1 km. By comprehensively considering these factors, Store D may be determined to be the store with the highest final score among the multiple stores. Information about the distance from the store displayed in the first sub-area (621) to the user's current location may be calculated according to various embodiments described in FIG. 4. Additionally, information regarding the shipping cost displayed in the second sub-area (622) may be calculated according to the embodiment described in FIG. 5. More specifically, when the shipping cost is calculated based on mathematical expression 5, the shipping cost for store D may be determined as 3,600 won, which is the sum of the basic shipping cost of 3,000 won and the additional shipping cost based on distance of 1,100 won, minus the 500 won supported by the second coupon.

[0100] FIG. 7 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an electronic device (100) for performing an information providing method according to one embodiment.

[0101] The electronic device (100) of FIG. 7 may be an electronic device (100) for performing an information provision method. According to one embodiment, the electronic device (100) may include a transceiver (101), storage (102), and one or more processors (103). The electronic device (100) illustrated in FIG. 7 only illustrates components related to the present embodiment. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art related to the present embodiment that other general-purpose components may be included in addition to the components illustrated in FIG. 7.

[0102] For example, the electronic device (100) may include a transceiver (101) according to an embodiment. The transceiver (101) is a device for performing wired / wireless communication and may communicate with an external electronic device. In addition, the communication technologies used by the transceiver (101) may include GSM (global system for mobile communication), CDMA (code division multi access), LTE (long term evolution), 5G, WLAN (wireless LAN), Wi-Fi (wireless-fidelity), Bluetooth, RFID (radio frequency identification), infrared data association (IrDA), ZigBee, and NFC (near field communication). According to an embodiment, the transceiver (101) may receive various information from the user's terminal (110). Specifically, the transceiver (101) can receive information about a store search request from a user's terminal (110) and provide information about multiple stores to the terminal (110). In addition, the transceiver (101) can receive information about changes in road data from an external server.

[0103] Storage (102) may store information for performing at least one of the methods described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. Storage (102) may store one or more commands executed by one or more processors (103). Storage (102) may be referred to as memory and may be volatile memory or non-volatile memory. Equidistant map data for each of the stores registered for the item delivery service may be stored in storage (102). In addition, storage (102) may store multiple scoring algorithms and multiple delivery amount-related algorithms.

[0104] One or more processors (103) can control the overall operation of the electronic device (100) and process data and signals. The one or more processors (103) can perform one of the methods described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. The one or more processors (103) can be configured as at least one hardware unit. In addition, the one or more processors (103) can operate by one or more software modules generated by executing one or more commands stored in the storage (102). The one or more processors (103) can control embodiments performed by the electronic device (100) through interaction with the transceiver (101) and the storage (102), and further with components that the electronic device (100) may include.

[0105] According to one embodiment, the processor (103) may execute one or more commands to confirm a store search request received from a user's terminal (110), identify a plurality of stores corresponding to the store search request, determine a distance corresponding to a path from each of the plurality of stores to the user's location based on equidistant map data for each of the plurality of stores, determine a sorting order associated with the plurality of stores using a score calculated based on the distance, and provide information about the plurality of stores sorted based on the sorting order to the terminal (110). In addition, the processor (103) may execute one or more commands to confirm a store search request received from the user's terminal (110), identify a plurality of stores corresponding to the store search request, determine a distance corresponding to a path from each of the plurality of stores to the user's location based on equidistant map data for each of the plurality of stores, determine a shipping amount for each of the plurality of stores based on the distance, and provide information about the plurality of stores including information about the shipping amount to the terminal.

[0106] Meanwhile, the present specification and drawings disclose preferred embodiments of the present invention. Although specific terms have been used, they are used in a general sense only to easily explain the technical contents of the present invention and to assist in understanding the invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other modified examples based on the technical concept of the present invention are possible in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0107] The electronic device or terminal according to the above-described embodiments may include a processor, a memory for storing and executing program data, permanent storage such as a disk drive, a communication port for communicating with an external device, a user interface device such as a touch panel, a key, an icon, etc. The methods implemented as software modules or algorithms may be stored on a computer-readable recording medium as computer-readable codes or program commands that can be executed on the processor. Here, the computer-readable recording medium includes a magnetic storage medium (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), floppy disk, hard disk, etc.) and an optical reading medium (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)). The computer-readable recording medium may be distributed to computer systems connected to a network, so that the computer-readable code can be stored and executed in a distributed manner. The medium is readable by a computer, stored in a memory, and executed by a processor.

[0108] The present embodiment may be represented by functional block configurations and various processing steps. These functional blocks may be implemented by various hardware and / or software configurations that perform specific functions. For example, the embodiment may employ integrated circuit configurations such as memory, processing, logic, look-up tables, etc., which may perform various functions under the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, the present embodiment may be implemented in a programming or scripting language such as C, C++, Java, assembler, Python, etc., including various algorithms implemented as a combination of data structures, processes, routines, or other programming configurations. Functional aspects may be implemented as algorithms that execute on one or more processors. Furthermore, the present embodiment may employ conventional techniques for electronic configuration, signal processing, and / or data processing. Terms like "mechanism," "element," "means," and "composition" can be used broadly and are not limited to mechanical or physical components. These terms can also encompass a series of software routines, such as those associated with a processor.

[0109] The above-described embodiments are merely examples, and other embodiments may be implemented within the scope of the claims set forth below.

Claims

1. In the method of providing information on an electronic device that provides an item delivery service, A step of confirming a store search request received from a user's terminal; A step of checking multiple stores corresponding to the above store search request; A step of determining a distance corresponding to a path from each of the plurality of stores to the user's location based on equidistant map data for each of the plurality of stores; A step of determining a sorting order related to the plurality of stores using a score calculated based on the distance; and A step of providing information about the plurality of stores sorted based on the sorting order to the terminal, How to provide information.

2. In paragraph 1, Equidistant map data for the first store among the above multiple stores, Includes location data of the first store and location data of a plurality of points located a set distance away from the first store, The distance set above is, A distance corresponding to a path from the first store to any one of the plurality of points based on road data included in the equidistant map data, How to provide information.

3. In paragraph 2, The above equidistant map data is, Contains a polygon composed of the above plurality of points, When the above set distance includes multiple set distances, the equidistant map data is, Containing a plurality of polygons corresponding to the plurality of set distances, How to provide information.

4. In paragraph 3, The above multiple set distances are, Determined based on the set interval, How to provide information.

5. In paragraph 4, The above set interval is, It is determined based on whether the time at which the above store search request is confirmed falls within the set time zone. How to provide information.

6. In paragraph 2, In response to changes in the above road data, the polygon composed of the plurality of points is Updated with a first polygon composed of a plurality of first points spaced apart by the set distance based on the first store. How to provide information.

7. In paragraph 1, The above multiple stores are, Including a store corresponding to the store search request among the stores searched based on the user's location. How to provide information.

8. In paragraph 3, The map for the above first store is: comprising a plurality of compartments separated by the plurality of polygons, The above score is, is determined based on which of the plurality of compartments the user is located in; How to provide information.

9. In paragraph 8, The above score is, It is determined based on a first algorithm among a plurality of scoring algorithms that input which compartment among the plurality of compartments the user is located in, The above first algorithm is, An algorithm determined based on orders related to the item delivery service and delivery personnel related to the item delivery service among the plurality of scoring algorithms, How to provide information.

10. In paragraph 1, The step of determining the above sorting order is: A step of determining a sorting order associated with the plurality of stores based on the score and at least one first score, How to provide information.

11. In paragraph 10, At least one of the first scores above, Including at least one of a score related to a coupon provided by each of the plurality of stores, a score related to a new store among the plurality of stores, a score related to a user rating of each of the plurality of stores, a score related to whether each of the plurality of stores provides an image, a score related to an order history of users adjacent to the user's location, a score related to a behavioral history of the user on the item delivery service, and a score related to a preferred store identified based on the behavioral history. How to provide information.

12. In the method of providing information on electronic devices for item delivery services, A step of confirming a store search request received from a user's terminal; A step of checking multiple stores corresponding to the above store search request; A step of determining a distance corresponding to a path from each of the plurality of stores to the user's location based on equidistant map data for each of the plurality of stores; A step of determining a delivery amount for each of the plurality of stores based on the distance; and Comprising a step of providing information about the plurality of stores including information about the delivery amount to the terminal, How to provide information.

13. As an electronic device, transceiver; one or more processors; and comprising storage for storing one or more instructions executed by said one or more processors; The one or more processors, by executing the one or more instructions, Check the store search request received from the user's terminal, Check multiple stores corresponding to the above store search request, Based on the equidistant map data for each of the plurality of stores, a distance corresponding to a path from each of the plurality of stores to the user's location is determined, Using the score calculated based on the above distance, determine the sorting order associated with the plurality of stores, and Providing information about the plurality of stores sorted based on the sorting order to the terminal, Electronic devices.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method of any one of clauses 1 to 12 on a computer.

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