Patent Application Titled “Server Device, Terminal Device, Information Processing Program, And Information Processing Method” Published Online (USPTO 20230140630): Sony Group Corporation

2023 MAY 24 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- According to news reporting originating from Washington, D.C., by NewsRx journalists, a patent application by the inventors MORI, Masashi (Tokyo, Japan); NISHI, Ayaka (Kanagawa, Japan); SHIMIZU, Yusuke (Kanagawa, Japan), filed on March 23, 2021, was made available online on May 4, 2023.

The assignee for this patent application is Sony Group Corporation (Tokyo, Japan).

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “A premium is basically decided on the basis of a past record and current and future records, and a mechanism in which a reduced premium is given back to the user is also provided. The past record is a situation at the time point when the user signs the insurance contract, and in the examples of automobile insurance, the pay-as-you-drive insurance based on the age, attribute, vehicle, travel distance, and the like of the user corresponds. Furthermore, the current and future records are situations after the time point when the user has signed the insurance contract, and in the examples of automobile insurance, the pay-how-you-drive insurance based on how the user has traveled, sensing information in the vehicle, and the like corresponds.

“Conventionally, in a case where a user who purchases insurance makes an effort to suppress premium payment and the user is not paid the premium, the premium that the user has paid to the insurer leads to a profit of the insurer, and the policyholder has been dissatisfied. On the other hand, a mechanism has been proposed in which, in a case where payment of a premium is suppressed due to safe driving or the like, the profit of the automobile insurer is contributed to a predetermined donation recipient to give it back to society (for example, Patent Document 1).”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent application, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “SUMMARY:

“Problems to be Solved by the Invention

“However, with the technology of Patent Document 1, it is difficult to reflect the user’s behavior and preference as well as the user’s decision into designation of the donation recipient, and there is a concern that an unwilling donation recipient for the user is set.

“The present disclosure provides a server device, a terminal device, an information processing program, and an information processing method capable of giving the premium back to a purpose appropriate for the user.

“Solutions to Problems

“A server device according to the present disclosure includes a generation section that acquires insurance type information indicating a type of insurance that a user purchases and pertaining information related to the insurance, and generates a candidate list of donation recipients including information regarding one or more donation recipients on the basis of the insurance type information and the pertaining information that have been acquired.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A server device comprising: a generation section that acquires insurance type information indicating a type of insurance that a user purchases and pertaining information related to the insurance, and generates a candidate list of donation recipients including information regarding one or more donation recipients on a basis of the insurance type information and the pertaining information that have been acquired.

“2. The server device according to claim 1, wherein the donation recipient is a public and non-profitable organization.

“3. The server device according to claim 1, wherein the generation section generates the candidate list by further using preference information indicating preference of the user.

“4. The server device according to claim 1, wherein the generation section generates the candidate list by further using attribute information indicating an attribute of the user.

“5. The server device according to claim 1, wherein the generation section generates the candidate list by further using information transmitted from an individual to an Internet.

“6. The server device according to claim 1, wherein the generation section generates the candidate list on a basis of a model created by machine learning using the pertaining information as learning data and information regarding the donation recipient as evaluation data.

“7. The server device according to claim 1, further comprising: an insurance information accumulation section that accumulates at least insurance type information indicating a type of the insurance purchased by the user and the pertaining information related to the insurance, wherein the generation section generates the candidate list on a basis of the insurance type information and the pertaining information accumulated in an insurance information accumulation section.

“8. The server device according to claim 1, further comprising: an insurance information management section that manages premium information indicating a premium to be paid by the user for the insurance, wherein the insurance information management section sets a part of the premium to a donation money to be donated to the donation recipient indicated by information regarding the donation recipient on a basis of the premium information.

“9. The server device according to claim 8, further comprising: a donation recipient information management section that manages information regarding the donation recipient, wherein the donation recipient information management section notifies the user of execution of the donation to the donation recipient, in a case where donation is executed to the donation recipient indicated by information regarding the donation recipient selected from the candidate list generated on a basis of the insurance type information and the pertaining information corresponding to the user.

“10. The server device according to claim 1, further comprising: a web app storage section that stores a web app to be read via a network by a browser application installed in a terminal device, wherein by being executed on the browser application, the web app causes a screen of the terminal device to display a first input region for inputting the insurance type information, to display a second input region for inputting pertaining information on an item corresponding to the insurance type information having been input, in response to input of the insurance type information to the first input region, and to display a candidate list of donation recipients including information regarding one or more donation recipients, the candidate list having been transmitted from the server device according to the insurance type information input to the first input region and the pertaining information input to the second input region, the insurance type information and the pertaining information having been transmitted to the server device by a communication unit.

“11. A terminal device comprising: a communication unit that communicates with a server device; and a display control unit that controls display of a screen with respect to a display section, wherein the display control unit causes the screen to display a first input region for inputting an insurance type, to display a second input region for inputting pertaining information on an item corresponding to the insurance type having been input, in response to an input of the insurance type to the first input region, and to display a candidate list of donation recipients including information regarding one or more donation recipients, the candidate list having been transmitted from the server device according to insurance type information indicating the insurance type input to the first input region and the pertaining information input to the second input region, the insurance type information and the pertaining information having been transmitted to the server device by the communication unit.

“12. The terminal device according to claim 11, wherein the communication unit transmits, to the server device, information regarding the donation recipient of the donation recipient designated according to the candidate list displayed on the screen, and receives notification of execution of a donation to the donation recipient transmitted from the server device in response to transmission of information regarding the donation recipient.

“13. The terminal device according to claim 11, wherein at least the display control unit of the communication unit and the display control unit is configured by a processor executing, on the terminal device, an application program received via a network and installed in the terminal device.

“14. The terminal device according to claim 11, wherein a browser application is installed, and at least the display control unit of the communication unit and the display control unit is configured by a web program operating on the browser application, the web program having been read from the server device via a network.

“15. An information processing program for causing a computer to execute a communication step of communicating with a server device, and a display control step of controlling display of a screen with respect to a display section, wherein the display control step causes the screen to display a first input region for inputting an insurance type, to display a second input region for inputting pertaining information on an item corresponding to the insurance type having been input, in response to input of the insurance type to the first input region, and to display a candidate list of donation recipients including information regarding one or more donation recipients, the candidate list having been transmitted from the server device according to insurance type information indicating the insurance type input to the first input region and the pertaining information input to the second input region, the insurance type information and the pertaining information having been transmitted to the server device by the communication step.

“16. An information processing method comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring insurance type information indicating a type of insurance that a user purchases and pertaining information related to the insurance, and a generation step of generating a candidate list of donation recipients including information regarding one or more donation recipients on a basis of the insurance type information and the pertaining information that have been acquired, the steps being executed by a processor.”

For more information, see this patent application: MORI, Masashi; NISHI, Ayaka; SHIMIZU, Yusuke. Server Device, Terminal Device, Information Processing Program, And Information Processing Method. U.S. Patent Application Number 20230140630, filed March 23, 2021 and posted May 4, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(20230140630)&db=US-PGPUB&type=ids

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