U.S. patent application number 10/245559 was filed with the patent office on 2003-01-23 for shopping basket presentation method for an online shopping system.
This patent application is currently assigned to Hitachi, Ltd.. Invention is credited to Kawabe, Ryouji, Rissen, Kazumi, Yonezawa, Kay, Yoshida, Akihiro.
Application Number | 20030018545 10/245559 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 17318194 |
Filed Date | 2003-01-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030018545 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yonezawa, Kay ; et
al. |
January 23, 2003 |
Shopping basket presentation method for an online shopping
system
Abstract
In an online shopping system having a shopping basket function
capable of conducting an order process in onetime by storing items
to be purchased in a purchase list, an interface for the shopping
basket function is provided as a shopping basket window separate
from a catalog window for displaying item data of the online
shopping. The shopping basket window is placed near a pointer
displayed on the catalog window and a display position thereof is
moved in linkage with the movement of the pointer. The shopping
basket function includes a list of items to be purchased which is a
main body of the shopping basket, a function to add item data to
the list, and a function to change the item information registered
in the list. Preferably, the shopping basket main body is not
constantly displayed. Instead, an interface function to recall the
content display of the shopping basket is provided in the shopping
basket window.
Inventors: |
Yonezawa, Kay;
(Kawasaki-shi, JP) ; Rissen, Kazumi;
(Kawasaki-shi, JP) ; Kawabe, Ryouji;
(Yokohama-shi, JP) ; Yoshida, Akihiro;
(Yokohama-shi, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MATTINGLY, STANGER & MALUR, P.C.
1800 DIAGONAL ROAD
SUITE 370
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Assignee: |
Hitachi, Ltd.
|
Family ID: |
17318194 |
Appl. No.: |
10/245559 |
Filed: |
September 18, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10245559 |
Sep 18, 2002 |
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09262095 |
Mar 4, 1999 |
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09262095 |
Mar 4, 1999 |
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08939338 |
Sep 29, 1997 |
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5905973 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/26.81 ;
705/27.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0641 20130101;
G06Q 30/0635 20130101; G06Q 30/0643 20130101; G06Q 30/06 20130101;
G06F 3/04812 20130101; G06Q 30/0633 20130101; G06Q 30/0603
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/27 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 30, 1996 |
JP |
08-258289 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A shopping basket presentation method in an online shopping
system provided with a server having item data including
information on items presented to a consumer and shopping basket
data including information on items specified by the consumer, a
client operated by the consumer and including a display device and
an input device, and a network for connecting said server and said
client, comprising the steps of: transferring the item data from
said server to said client; displaying the item data in a catalog
window on a screen of said display device in said client;
displaying a shopping basket window which is different from said
catalog window as an interface for conducting an operation of the
shopping basket data; and moving a pointer displayed on said
display device in accordance with the operation of said input
device by the consumer and moving a display position of the
shopping basket window in linkage with the movement of the
pointer.
2. A shopping basket presentation method according to claim 1
wherein a first button to display the information on the items
registered in the shopping basket data and a second button to
register the item in the shopping basket data are displayed in the
shopping basket window for the user's selection.
3. A shopping basket presentation method according to claim 2
further comprising the steps of: acquiring information on the item
registered in the shopping basket data in response to the selection
of said first button; and displaying the acquired information on
the items in the shopping basket window.
4. A shopping basket presentation method according to claim 3
further comprising the steps of: receiving a change command for the
information on the items displayed in the shopping basket window;
transferring a change request for the shopping basket data in
accordance with the received change command from said client to
said server; and changing the information registered in the
shopping basket data in accordance with the change request.
5. A shopping basket presentation method according to claim 2
further comprising the steps of: transferring the information on
the items specified by the consumer from said client to said server
in response to the selection of said second button; and
additionally registering the information on the items to the
shopping basket data in said server.
6. A shopping basket presentation method according to claim 1
wherein the information on the items registered in the shopping
basket data is displayed in said shopping basket window.
7. A shopping basket presentation method according to claim 1
further comprising the step of: detecting a predetermined operation
conducted to said input device; and moving the pointer
independently from the shopping basket window in response to the
predetermined operation.
8. An online shopping system comprising: a network; a shopping
server connected to said network and having an item data file for
storing item data on sale items and a shopping basket data file for
holding information on selected items designated by a consumer as
shopping basket data; and a shopping client connected to said
network and having a display device, an input device, catalog
display means for displaying an item catalog on said display device
based on item catalog data sent from said shopping server and
shopping basket window control means for controlling the display of
a shopping basket window which is a different window from that for
displaying the item catalog and functions as an interface for an
operation of the shopping basket data, wherein said shopping basket
window control means moves a display position of the shopping
basket window in linkage with a pointer moved and displayed on said
display device in accordance with the operation of said input
device.
9. An online shopping system according to claim 8 wherein said
shopping basket window control means displays in said shopping
basket window a first button for displaying the information on the
selected items registered in said shopping basket data file and a
second button for registering the selected items in said shopping
basket data file.
10. An online shopping system according to claim 9 wherein said
shopping basket window control means acquires the information on
the selected item registered in said shopping basket data file in
response to the selection of said first button by said input device
and displays acquired information on the selected items in said
shopping basket window.
11. An online shopping system according to claim 10 wherein said
shopping basket window control means receives a change command for
the information on the selected items displayed in said shopping
basket window and sends a change request for said shopping basket
data file to said server in accordance with the received change
command.
12. An online shopping system according to claim 9 wherein said
shopping basket window control means transfers the item data on the
selected items designated by the consumer in response to the
selection of said second button.
13. An online shopping system according to claim 8 wherein said
shopping basket window control means displays the information on
the selected items registered in said shopping basket data
file.
14. An online shopping system according to claim 8 wherein said
shopping basket window control means displays said shopping basket
window independently from the movement of said pointer in response
to the predefined operation of said input device.
15. A terminal device connected to a shopping server through a
network used by a consumer for online shopping, comprising: a
display device; an input device; catalog display means for
displaying an item catalog on said display device in accordance
with item catalog data sent from said shopping server; and shopping
basket window control means for controlling the display of a
shopping basket window which is a different window from that for
displaying said item catalog and functions as an interface for the
operation of shopping basket data including information on items
selected by the consumer, the shopping basket data being held in
said shopping server; wherein said shopping basket window control
means moves a display position of the shopping basket window in
linkage with a pointer moved and displayed on said display device
in accordance with the operation of said input device.
16. A terminal device according to claim 15 wherein said shopping
basket window control means displays in said shopping basket window
a first button for displaying the information on the selected items
and a second button for registering the selected items in said
shopping basket data.
17. A terminal device according to claim 16 wherein said shopping
basket window control means acquires the information on the
selected items registered in said shopping basket data in response
to the selection of said first button using said input device and
displays acquired information on the selected items in said
shopping basket window.
18. A terminal device according to claim 17 wherein said shopping
basket window control means receives a change command for the
information on the selected items displayed in said shopping basket
window from said input device and sends a change request of said
shopping basket data to said server in accordance with the received
change command.
19. A terminal device according to claim 16 wherein said shopping
basket window control means transfers the item data on the selected
items designated by the consumer in response to the selection of
said second button.
20. A terminal device according to claim 15 wherein said shopping
basket window control means displays the information on the
selected items registered in said shopping basket data.
21. A terminal device according to claim 15 wherein said shopping
basket window control means displays said shopping basket window
independently from the movement of said pointer in response to the
predefined operation of said input device.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to an online shopping system
for a consumer to order and purchase items by using a computer, and
more particularly to a method for providing an online shopping
system having an interface function for allowing an consumer to
efficiently select and confirm items to be purchased and such an
interface function.
[0002] Recently, an online shopping system which allows
examination, selection and order of items through a computer has
been put into practice. In such an online shopping system, in order
to supplement a disadvantage by a gap from ordinary shopping caused
by the use of electronic means such as not capable of directly
touching the item and not capable of getting assistance of a real
salesman, various devices for a user interface have been made. As
one of such devices, a so-called shopping basket function which has
some analogy with shopping basket used in a shop such as
supermarket is proposed. In this function, items on the online
shopping are temporarily added to a purchase list and a process of
order and purchase is conducted when all items to be purchased are
registered on the list, as items to be purchased in the supermarket
are once put into a shopping basket and lastly the account is
settled at a counter. In this manner, by preparing the purchase
list to order a plurality of items one time, a time required to
purchase may be substantially saved. Further, the consumer may
prevent the failure of shopping and stop the purchase of
unnecessary items by checking the list once before the purchase.
Further, because of feel of easiness that the items once added on
the purchase list may be finally changed in any way before the
purchase, there is a psychological effect that the consumer may
proceed shopping readily.
[0003] The elements which constitute the shopping basket are a
shopping basket main body (purchase list) and a function for taking
in and out items for the shopping basket. As functions associated
with the shopping basket, there are a function to take the items
into the shopping basket (add to the purchase list), a function to
check the contents of the shopping basket (display the purchase
list), a function to return the item in the shopping basket (change
the purchase list) and a function to purchase the items in the
shopping basket. However, for the function to purchase the items,
only the order is accepted because the delivery of the items is
made later except a portion of items which can be downloaded as
digital data and the shopping is not completed until the items are
received and the account is settled.
[0004] As one of methods for proving the shopping basket to the
consumer, there is a method of displaying a button for the shopping
basket on the same display page as a catalog which the consumer
watches as it is realized in the online shopping system mainly on
the World Wide Web. As another method of proving the shopping
basket, there is a method for separately displaying an item catalog
area and a shopping basket area. Such a function is used in the
shopping system provided by a CD-ROM.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] A main stage of the online shopping is an item catalog
screen on which information on the items is provided. The consumer
examines the item on the screen and if he or she likes it, he or
she takes it into the shopping basket. During the shopping, he or
she examines the content of the shopping basket as required to
check the item scheduled to purchase and the pay amount of the
items. Accordingly, it is not necessary to always display the
purchase list on the screen, but the functions to access to the
shopping basket for taking in the items and to display the contents
should be available to the consumer any time during the
shopping.
[0006] As described above, when the button for the shopping basket
is on the same page as the item catalog, the entire length of the
page changes depending on the amount of item data described on the
catalog, the page may not be accommodated on the display screen. In
such a case, it is necessary for the consumer to scroll the page to
press the button to display the button for the shopping basket in
order to display the button. The same is true when the button is
located at the top end of the page, and when the item of interest
is at a lower portion of the page, the screen must be scrolled
upward in order to take the item into the shopping basket after the
confirmation. The state in which the necessary function is not
displayed without scrolling not only imposes a burden to the
operation of scroll, and when the consumer first uses the system,
the operation to be conducted next is hard to understand and cause
anxiety to the user. On the other hand, in the method of always
displaying the button in a specified area by dividing the screen,
the above problem is solved. However, the specified area on the
display is occupied for the display of the button. Thus, there is a
disadvantage that the area on the display available for the display
of the item catalog is narrowed.
[0007] Further, as a feature of an application on the Internet such
as the World Wide Web, high freedom of both information provider
and user is pointed out. For example, the user cannot previously
limit the length of one page of the contents prepared by the
information provider. The environment of the user such as a
resolution of the display, a type of browser software used and the
setting of font varies from user to user and the information
provider cannot know it. As a result, however the information
provider devises the amount of information and the layout described
on the page to accommodate it in the screen, the intended effect is
not always achieved depending on the environment of the user. In
the method of placing the button for the shopping basket on the
same page as the catalog, some degree of scrolling is unavoidable.
On the other hand, the method of dividing the screen and sharing
the roles by the respective sub-areas restricts the method for
preparing the contents. It may be good that the user interface is
uniform in one online shop but when it is applied across a
plurality of online shops of various items and scales, free design
cannot be conducted. This forces to the user a specific environment
such as to watch the window of the browser at a specified size and
hence it does not conform to the Internet.
[0008] It is an object of the present invention to provide a
shopping basket presentation method capable of simply utilizing a
shopping basket while a consumer browses an item catalog.
[0009] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
shopping basket presentation method capable of effectively
utilizing an online shop screen as an item catalog.
[0010] In accordance with the present invention, an interface for
providing the shopping basket function is provided as a separate
shopping basket window from a catalog window on which online shop
item data is displayed. The shopping basket window is displayed on
the catalog window and a display position is moved in linkage with
the movement of a mouse pointer. The shopping basket includes a
list of items to be purchased which is a main body of the shopping
basket, a function to add the item data to the list, and a function
to change the item data registered in the list. In one embodiment
of the present invention, the shopping basket main body is not
always displayed. Instead, an interface function to display the
shopping basket contents on the screen is provided on the shopping
basket window.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system configuration in
one embodiment of a online shopping system in accordance with the
present invention,
[0012] FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a functional configuration
of a client shopping program of a consumer,
[0013] FIG. 3 shows a screen configuration of one example of a
screen displayed on a client display of the consumer during the
shopping,
[0014] FIG. 4 shows a screen configuration of an example of a
screen displaying the content of the shopping basket,
[0015] FIG. 5 shows a data structure of an example of an item
database structure,
[0016] FIG. 6 shows a data structure of an example of shopping
basket data stored in a shopping server,
[0017] FIG. 7 shows a flow chart of a procedure of a process
conducted when displaying the item catalog, and
[0018] FIG. 8 shows a flow chart of an example of a procedure of a
process when a mouse operation is conducted for the shopping
window.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0019] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an example of a system
configuration of the online shopping system in accordance with the
present invention. In FIG. 1, numeral 100 denotes a shopping client
which a consumer uses for online shopping. Numeral 102 denotes a
display device used to display catalog data of the items. Numeral
104 denotes a keyboard and a numeral 106 denotes a mouse. They are
used by the consumer for the operation of the catalog and the
shopping basket. Numeral 108 denotes a speaker which outputs audio
information when information by audio is included in the catalog.
Numeral 110 denotes a control unit which realizes various functions
of the shopping client 100 in accordance with a program stored in a
main memory 112. The shopping client 100 exchanges data with a
shopping server to be described later thorough a network 120 such
as PSTN (public switched telephone network) or Internet via the
communication unit 114 to realize the shopping process. As the
shopping client 100, a dedicated terminal device as well as a
general purpose information terminal device such as a so-called
personal computer (PC) may be used.
[0020] Numeral 130 denotes a shopping server of the online
shopping. The shopping server 130 comprises a display device 132, a
keyboard 134, a main memory 136, a communication unit 138 and a
control unit 140. The control unit 140 transmits catalog data 142
in response to a request from the shopping client 100. When the
shopping basket function is required by the shopping client, it
changes the content of the shopping basket data by using the
information stored in the item database 144. The catalog data 142,
the item database 144 and the shopping basket data 145 are stored
in a memory unit such as a disk device which is accessed by the
control unit 140. The display device 132 and the keyboard 134 are
used for the maintenance of the program and the data in the
shopping server 130. The shopping client 100 is connected to the
network 120 through the communication unit 138.
[0021] In the present embodiment, there are a plurality of shopping
servers 130 and the shopping clients 100, respectively connected to
the network 120 Each shopping client 100 may access to any shopping
server 130. The shopping basket data is maintained for each
shopping server 130 and the shopping is completed in each shopping
server 130.
[0022] FIG. 2 shows a functional configuration of a shopping
program provided in the shopping client 100 (consumer client) in
the online shopping system in accordance with the present
invention. In FIG. 2, numeral 200 denotes a shopping basket window
program for providing the shopping basket function and comprises a
display control unit 202, a communication management unit 204 and
an event management unit 206. The event management unit 206
receives and interprets the information on the event sent from the
operating system 212 generated by the mouse 106 and the keyboard
104 and delivers the messages related to the display change and the
communication control to the display control unit 202 and the
communication management unit 204. The display control unit 202
receives the message on the change of display from the event
management unit 206 to control the display position of the shopping
basket window which is an interface to provide the shopping basket
function. The communication management unit 204 conducts the
communication with the shopping server 130 in response to the
message on the communication control from the event management unit
206. Numeral 208 denotes an item data management program which
sends to the shopping basket window program 200 the information on
the selected items on the item catalog displayed on the display
device 102 by the catalog browser 210, that is, the information on
the items to be added to the shopping basket.
[0023] The catalog browser 210, the item data management program
208 and the shopping basket window program 200 may be distributed
in a form stored in a carrigeable storage medium such as a compact
disk or a floppy disk. They may be distributed from the shopping
server 130 or other computer through the network 120 to the
shopping client 100.
[0024] The configurations shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are mere examples
to implement the present invention and other configurations may be
adopted. For example, in the present embodiment, the shopping
basket main body, that is, the list of the purchase items selected
by the consumer from the item catalog is stored on the shopping
server 130 as the shopping basket data 146 but it may be held in
the shopping client 100 and transferred to the server 130 when the
order process is designated. The catalog browser 210 is not
necessarily the application program dedicated to the online
shopping but the item catalog may be browsed in the, same manner as
that to browse the page of other World Wide Web in the window
shopping by using the World Wide Web browser and if an item to be
purchased is found, the operation to the shopping basket may be
conducted by using the item management program and the shopping
basket window program.
[0025] FIG. 3 shows an example of a consumer screen displayed on
the display device 102 during the shopping in the online shopping
system in accordance with the present embodiment. In FIG. 3,
numeral 300 denotes a catalog browser window (hereinafter referred
to as a catalog window) the display of which is controlled by the
catalog browser 210, and the item data (item catalog) expressed by
character or image is displayed thereby. Numeral 310 denotes an
area displayed by the item data management program 208 and it is
displayed inline in the catalog window 300. In the present
embodiment, when the consumer inputs the number of items to be
purchased, the item data management program 208 informs the item
data of the item corresponding to the area and the input number of
item to the shopping basket window 200. Numeral 330 denotes a
shopping basket window which is always displayed in front of the
catalog window 300 and is moved on the screen to follow the mouse
pointer 320. The information on the items to be purchased and the
button to operate the shopping basket are displayed on the shopping
basket window 330. In the present embodiment, a total payment
amount 332 in the information on the items to be purchased, a
button 334 for calling the display of the contents of the shopping
basket, a button 336 for taking the item into the shopping basket,
and a button 338 for ordering the items of the shopping basket are
displayed.
[0026] FIG. 4. shows an example of a screen displaying the content
of the shopping basket in the online shopping system in accordance
with the present embodiment. The display screen is displayed when
the button 334 of the shopping basket window is depressed. In FIG.
4, numeral 400 denotes a shopping basket content display screen,
numeral 401 denotes information on the item scheduled to purchase,
numeral 402 denotes an item code of an item to be purchased,
numeral 404 denotes an item name, numeral 406 denotes a unit price,
numeral 408 denotes the number of items to be purchased, numeral
410 denotes a sub-total of a purchase amount for each item and
numeral 412 denote a total pay amount for all items. The number of
items to be purchased 408 may be changed by the consumer on the
screen. In this case, when a recalculation button 420 is depressed
by the consumer, the information on the changed number of items to
be purchased is sent to the shopping server 130 and the change of
the content of the shopping basket and the recalculation of the
purchase amounts 410 and 412 are conducted. The consumer may
depress a button 422 for empty the shopping basket to clear all
items in the shopping basket. Numeral 424 denotes a button for
conducting an order process of the items in the shopping basket and
numeral 426 denotes a button for erasing the display of the content
of the shopping basket and returning to the catalog to continue the
shopping.
[0027] FIG. 5 shows an example of information on the items stored
in the item database 144 and FIG. 6 shows an example of the
contents of the shopping basket of each consumer stored in the
shopping basket data 146. In FIG. 5, numeral 500 denotes a shop
code for identifying a shop which handles the items, numeral 502
denotes an item code applied to identify individual item, numeral
504 denotes an item name of individual item and numeral 506 denotes
an area for storing a unit price of the item. In FIG. 6, numeral
600 denotes a shopping basket table which stores information on one
shopping basket, numeral 602 denotes a shopping basket ID for
identifying each of the consumers, numeral 604 denotes a shop code,
numeral 606 denotes an item code and numeral 608 denotes an area
which stores the number of items to be purchased. In the present
embodiment, a shopping basket ID is assigned for each shopping
client 100. The shopping basket table 600 is prepared and managed
for each shopping basket ID. When data is exchanged between the
shopping client 100 and the shopping server 130, the shopping
basket ID is sent together with the data so that the shopping
basket data corresponding to the shopping basket ID is managed. In
the present embodiment, in this manner, each consumer may utilize
the dedicated shopping basket. In the present embodiment, the
shopping basket data 146 holds the information on the item names
placed in the shopping basket and the number of items thereof. The
information necessary to display the content of the shopping basket
and to order the items is generated by using the shopping basket
data 146 as well as the information held in the item database
144.
[0028] FIG. 7 shows a flow chart of a process conducted when the
item catalog is displayed in the shopping client in the online
shopping system in accordance with the present embodiment. In
conducting the shopping, the consumer starts the catalog browser
210 of the shopping client 100 to connect with a desired shopping
server 130. When the connection to the shopping server 130 is made,
the catalog browser 210 requests the item catalog data to the
shopping server 130 (step 700).
[0029] When the item catalog data is requested from the catalog
browser 210 of the shopping client 100, the shopping server 130
checks the presence or absence of the shopping basket ID assigned
to shopping client 100 prior to the sending of the item catalog
data to the shopping client 100 (step 702). If the shopping basket
ID is absent, a shopping basket ID is newly generated (step 704).
Then, whether the shopping basket table 600 corresponding to the
shopping basket ID is present in the shopping basket data 146 on
the shopping server 130 or not is determined (step 706). If the
corresponding shopping basket table 600 is absent, a new shopping
basket table for the shopping basket ID is prepared (step 708).
After the above process, the shopping server 130 extracts the item
catalog information to be transferred to the shopping client from
the item catalog data 142 and transfers the item catalog data to
the shopping client 100. At this time, the step 704 has been
conducted and if a new shopping basket ID has been generated, the
shopping basket ID is sent to the shopping client 100 together with
the item catalog information (step 710). The shopping basket ID
transferred to the shopping client 100 is held in the catalog
browser 210 and the shopping basket window program 200, and
subsequently it is used when the data is transferred from the
shopping client 100 to the shopping server 130.
[0030] When the shopping client 100 receives the item catalog data
from the shopping server 130, it determines whether the shopping
basket window program 200 has been started or not (step 712). If
the shopping basket window program 200 has not been started, it
starts the shopping basket window program 200 to display the
shopping basket window 330 on the display device 102 (step 714). In
the present embodiment, it is assumed that only one shopping basket
window 330 is present at one time and the shopping basket window
program 200 is terminated when the catalog browser 210 is
terminated.
[0031] The item catalog data sent from the shopping server 130
includes information for explaining the items using characters and
images as well as the item data used for the order such as the shop
codes and the item codes. The catalog browser 210 displays the item
explanation information included in the sent item catalog data and
displays the screen corresponding to the item explanation
information in the catalog window of the display device 102 (step
716). Further, the catalog browser 210 starts the item data
management program 208 to deliver the item data in the item catalog
data. The item data management program 208 displays the item data
on the display device 102 in accordance with the received item data
(step 718).
[0032] FIG. 8 shows a flow chart of a process flow when the mouse
operation is conducted by the consumer. It is desirable that a
method of operation conducted by the consumer on the catalog
browser window 330 in the shopping is uniform whether or not the
shopping basket window 330 is displayed. In the present embodiment,
when the mouse 106 is moved in a normal state, the mouse pointer on
the screen is moved and the shopping basket window 330 also follows
the mouse pointer 320. However, in the operation to the shopping
basket such as taking the item into the shopping basket, it is
necessary to bring the mouse pointer 320 on the shopping basket
window 330. In the present invention, a specific input method, for
example, the operation to move and click the mouse 106 while
depressing a shift key of the keyboard is handled as the operation
to the shopping basket window 330. This operation method to the
shopping basket window 330 may be other method so long as it does
not conflict to the normal window operation and the operation to
the catalog browser window 300 and a method convenient to use for
the user may be set.
[0033] When a mouse event occurs by the operation of the mouse 106
by the consumer (step 800), whether the mouse event has been
defined as an operation of the shopping basket window 300 or not is
determined (step 802). If it is not the operation to the shopping
basket, such a mouse event is handled as an ordinary mouse event.
If it is determined as the ordinary mouse event in the step 802,
whether the generated mouse event is the movement of the mouse 106
or not is determined (step 804). If the mouse event is the movement
of the mouse 106, the control unit 110 moves the display position
of the mouse pointer 320 on the screen in accordance with the
movement of the mouse 106 (step 806). It also moves the display
position of the shopping basket window 330 by the same amount as
the amount of movement of the mouse pointer 320 (step 808). In the
step 804, if it is determined that the generated mouse event is
other than the movement of the mouse 106, the corresponding event
process is conducted (step 810).
[0034] In the step 802, if it is determined that the mouse event is
the input to the shopping basket window 330, whether the generated
mouse event is the selection of the button 336 to take the item
into the shopping basket or not is determined (step 812). If it is
the selection of the button 336 to take the item into the shopping
basket, the catalog browser 210 sends the item data of the items
the number of which are input in a field 310 to the shopping server
130 together with the held shopping basket ID (step 814). When the
shopping server 130 receives the information sent from the shopping
client 100, it selects the corresponding shopping basket table 600
based on the shopping basket ID included in the information and
adds the sent item data (step 816). When the item data is added to
the shopping basket, the current total pay amount is calculated on
the shopping server 130 based on the updated shopping basket table
600 and the item database 144 and the information thereof is sent
to the shopping client 100. In the shopping client 100, the
shopping basket window program 200 updates the display 332 of the
shopping basket window 330 based on this information and clears the
item number field 310 through the item data management program 208
(step 818).
[0035] In the step 812, if it is determined that the generated
mouse event is not the selection of the button 336 to take the item
into the shopping basket, whether the button 334 to check the
contents of the shopping basket has been selected or not is
determined (step 820). If the button 334 to check the contents of
the shopping basket has been selected, the transfer of the
information on the items taken into the shopping basket is
requested to the shopping server 130. In response to the request,
the shopping server 130 generates the information necessary to
display the contents of the shopping basket from the item data
registered in the corresponding shopping basket table 600 and the
information in the item database 144 corresponding to the items and
sends it to the shopping client. The client 100 conducts a display
process of the screen 400 on which the content of the shopping
basket is displayed based on the information sent from the shopping
basket window program 200 (step 822). On the other hand, if it is
not the selection of the button 334 to check the contents of the
shopping basket, whether the order button 338 has been selected or
not is determined (step 824). If the mouse event is the selection
of the order button 338, a process to order the item in the
shopping basket is conducted (step 826). If the decision is
negative in the step 824, the mere movement process of the mouse
pointer 320 is conducted. At this time, the movement of the display
position of the shopping basket window is not conducted. Such a
mouse event occurs, for example, when the consumer attempts to move
the mouse pointer into the shopping basket window 330 in order to
utilize the shopping basket function (step 828).
[0036] In accordance with the present invention, since the shopping
basket window is displayed to follow the mouse button, the shopping
basket function is always displayed immediately close to the mouse
pointer. Accordingly, the consumer simply may utilize the shopping
basket function while watching the items on the online shopping.
For example, when the consumer looks at the item and wants to
purchase it, he or she may immediately take it into the shopping
basket on site and confirm the contents of the shopping basket so
that the operation and the time to use the shopping basket function
is reduced. In this manner, the consumer may conduct the shopping
on the online shopping with a sense close to that of the real
shopping and may concentrate to the shopping without being puzzled
since the necessary function is always visible. Further, since the
shopping basket window is displayed on the separate window from
that of the online shopping main body and it may be moved to a
non-disturbing location by moving the mouse when the items are to
be checked, the area on the screen available to display the item
data as the catalog may be widened. Further, since only the
information on the items may be described as the catalog contents
and the shopping basket function may be separated, the preparation
of the item catalog is easy and the speedy update may be
attained.
[0037] In the embodiment described above, only the total price is
displayed on the shopping basket window as the information on the
items in the shopping basket, other information, for example, the
number of items in the shopping basket may be displayed. Such
information is aid for the consumer to grasp the amount of shopping
but it need not be always displayed. As another method to make the
consumer recognize the contents of the shopping basket and prevent
the taking of items into the shopping basket in failure and finally
overpurchase, there is a method for displaying the content of the
shopping basket on the screen 400 each time the item is taken into
the shopping basket. Further, in addition to the buttons for taking
the item into the shopping basket, displaying the content, and
sending order, other function, such as a button to empty the
content of the shopping basket, which functions to change the
content of the shopping basket may be provided. However, in order
to utilize the advantage that the consumer may operate the shopping
basket while browsing the item catalog, at least the button to take
the item into the shopping basket is to be provided.
[0038] In the above embodiment, the shopping basket window is
always in the visible state, but the user who has no intention to
immediately purchase but merely watching the items may feel it
hinder. As countermeasure for such a case, the display of the
shopping basket window may be erased in response to the indication
by the consumer or it may be brought to the back of the browser and
displayed on the front when called to move it together with the
mouse.
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