Patent Publication Number: US-2020302897-A1

Title: Business card management system and card case

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a continuation application of International Application number PCT/JP2018/044769, filed on Dec. 5, 2018, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C § 119(a) to Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-234935, filed on Dec. 7, 2017. The contents of this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     There is a custom of exchanging business cards between people who meet for the first time in business or the like. If one person exchanges business cards with many people and sees them later, it may be difficult to remember people from whom he/she received the business cards. 
     Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-283895 discloses a business card case that includes a camera for capturing images of a business card and a face of the other party when exchanging business cards and can record and display the images of the face and the business card in association with each other. According to the technique described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-283895, a person can record the face of the other party when exchanging business cards, which may help the person to remember the person later. 
     However, the technique described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-283895 only records the images of the business card and the face of the person in association with each other, and does not acquire content of the business card. It is convenient not only to record the business card but also to acquire information related to the other party when exchanging business cards. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention focuses on these points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a business card management system and a business card case which can acquire information related to a person who provided a business card when the business card is accommodated in the business card case. 
     A business card management system of the first aspect of the present invention includes a business card case, and a display control device, wherein the business card case includes an accommodation part that is capable of accommodating a plurality of business cards in a stacked manner, and a reading part that reads an image of a business card accommodated in the accommodation part, and the display control device causes a display to display additional information related to character information acquired from the image of the business card read by the reading part. 
     A business card case of the second aspect of the present invention includes an accommodation part that accommodates a plurality of business cards in a stacked manner, a reading part that reads an image of the business card accommodated in the accommodation part, and a display part that displays additional information related to character information acquired from the image of the business card read by the reading part. 
     A method for displaying information of the third aspect of the present invention includes the steps of reading an image of a business card accommodated in a business card case including an accommodation part that accommodates a plurality of business cards in a stacked manner, and displaying additional information related to character information acquired from the image of the business card read in the reading. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a business card management system according to the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2B  show an appearance of a business card case according to the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the business card case according to the first embodiment accommodating business cards. 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the business card case according to the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram of a business card management apparatus according to the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a front view of a display part of the business card case displaying character information. 
         FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B  are front views of the display part of the business card case displaying history information and common point information. 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram of a message sent by the business card management apparatus according to the first embodiment to a person who provided the business card. 
         FIG. 9  is a sequence diagram of a business card management method performed by the business card management system according to the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic diagram of the business card management system according to a variation of the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic diagram of user&#39;s profile information stored in a memory. 
         FIG. 12  is a block diagram of the business card management apparatus according to the second embodiment. 
         FIG. 13  shows an image of a business card of a user stored in the memory. 
         FIG. 14A  and  FIG. 14B  are front views of the display part of the business card case displaying the character information and additional information. 
         FIG. 15  is a flowchart illustrating the business card management method performed by the business card management apparatus according to the second embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through exemplary embodiments of the present invention, but the following exemplary embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all of the combinations of features described in the exemplary embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution means of the invention. 
     The First Embodiment 
     [An Outline of a Business Card Management System S] 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a business card management system S according to the present embodiment. The business card management system S includes a business card case  100  and a business card management apparatus  200 . The business card management system S may include other devices such as a server, a terminal, and the like. 
     The business card case  100  is a business card case (also referred to as a card case) that can accommodate a plurality of business cards in a stacked manner. The business card case  100  captures an image of a surface of an accommodated business card, and displays information relating to the captured business card. Further, the business card case  100  is configured to be able to perform wireless communication with a network N. 
     The business card management apparatus  200  is a computer that manages information on the business card. Further, the business card management apparatus  200  is a display control device that performs control for acquiring character information from an image of the business card, acquiring additional information related to the acquired character information, and displaying the information on a display part of the business card case  100 . The character information is information written on the business card, and includes personal information such as his/her name, telephone number, e-mail address, and a name of an organization to which he/she belongs. The additional information is information related to the character information acquired from the image of the business card, and includes, for example, at least one of i) history information indicating the character information stored in the past related to the character information acquired this time, and ii) common point information indicating a common point between the character information and a user of the business card case  100 . The business card management apparatus  200  is connected to the network N by a wired or wireless connection. 
     [An Appearance of the Business Card Case  100 ] 
       FIGS. 2A and 2B  show an appearance of the business card case  100  according to the present embodiment.  FIG. 2A  shows the business card case  100  in a closed state, and  FIG. 2B  shows the business card case  100  in an open state. The business card case  100  includes a housing  101  and an accommodation part  103 . 
     A support part  102  for rotatably supporting the accommodation part  103  is provided on the housing  101 . Rotating the accommodation part  103  with the support part  102  as a base point allows the business card case  100  to switch between the open state and the closed state. If the business card case  100  is in the closed state, the accommodation part  103  is supported substantially parallel (0 degrees) to the housing  101 . If the business card case  100  is in the open state, the accommodation part  103  is supported at a predetermined angle of greater than 0 degrees and less than 180 degrees with respect to the housing  101 . 
     The accommodation part  103  functions as a lid of the housing  101 , and can accommodate a plurality of business cards in a stacked manner. The accommodation part  103  is provided with a through-hole  104  for allowing communication between the inside and the outside of the business card case  100 . 
     The housing  101  supports a control part  110 , a reading part  120 , and a display part  130 . The reading part  120  includes an image capturing device such as a camera and a scanner for capturing and reading the business card accommodated in the accommodation part  103 . The reading part  120  passes captured content as an image to the control part  110 . 
     The business card case  100  may further include a light emitting part such as LEDs for irradiating the business card accommodated in the accommodation part  103  with infrared rays (infrared light). In this instance, the reading part  120  includes an image capturing device (e.g., an infrared camera) capable of receiving the infrared rays. The light emitting part irradiates the business card with the infrared rays at a time when the reading part  120  reads the business card. Thus, the reading part  120  can read the business card with high accuracy even in a dark environment where sufficient light quantity cannot be obtained, or in an environment where it is too bright to read characters on the business card correctly. 
     The display part  130  includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display and an organic electroluminescent (OLED: Organic Light Emitting Diode) display, which displays information relating to the business card read by the reading part  120 . The display part  130  may be configured to function as an operation part by using a touch screen capable of detecting a position of contact by a user. 
     The control part  110  is electrically connected to the reading part  120  and the display part  130  to control their operation. The function of the control part  110  will be described later. 
       FIG. 3  shows an A-A-line cross section of the business card case  100  according to the present embodiment accommodating business cards C. When the accommodation part  103  that is parallel to the housing  101 , which means the business card case  100  is in the closed state, is assumed to be 0 degrees, the accommodation part  103  is supported at a predetermined angle of greater than 0 degrees and less than 180 degrees with respect to the housing  101  when the business card case  100  is in the open state. 
     If the business card accommodated in the accommodation part  103  is supported at a steep angle with respect to the housing  101 , the reading part  120  may acquire a greatly distorted image and the character information may not be correctly acquired from the image. Therefore, in order to improve the accuracy of acquiring the character information from the image of the business card, the accommodation part  103  is preferably supported at a predetermined angle of 90 degrees or more and 150 degrees or less with respect to the housing  101 . 
     The user operates a button (not shown in figures) or the display part  130 , which is a touch screen, to cause the reading part  120  to capture the business card. The reading part  120  captures a business card C 1  set at the innermost side (i.e., the side closest to the reading part  120 ) of the business cards C accommodated in the accommodation part  103 , and passes the captured content as an image to the control part  110 . The display part  130  then displays the information relating to the business card C 1  read by the reading part  120 . 
     With such a configuration, the business card case  100  can read the business card accommodated in the accommodation part  103 , and therefore, the information on the business card can be acquired by the user just putting the business card received from the other party into the business card case  100 . As a result, there is no need to put a business card in or out for reading. 
     A business card C 2  set at the outermost side (i.e., the side closest to the accommodation part  103 ) of the business cards C accommodated in the accommodation part  103  faces the through-hole  104  on the accommodation part  103 . The user can take out the business card C 2  from the accommodation part  103  by touching and sliding the business card C 2  accommodated in the accommodation part  103  via the through-hole  104 . 
     The user accommodates his/her business card in the accommodation part  103 . When exchanging business cards, the user takes out the business card C 2  set at the outermost side as his/her own business card and gives the card to the other party, and puts the business card received from the other party at the innermost side of the business cards C accommodated in the accommodation part  103 . As a result, the business card C 1  at the innermost side is the business card of the other party, and can be read by the reading part  120 . 
     At this time, one of the user&#39;s business cards is taken out from the accommodation part  103  when one business card of the other party is added to the accommodation part  103 . That is, the accommodation part  103  is configured to be shared by the user&#39;s business card and the business card of the other party. As a result, the distance between the reading part  120  and the business card C 1  (i.e., the business card of the other party) at the innermost side is kept constant, and so it is possible to suppress a change in the condition under which the image is captured, thereby improving the accuracy of acquiring the character information from the image. 
     [A Configuration of the Business Card Case  100 ] 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the business card case  100  according to the present embodiment. In  FIG. 4 , arrows indicate main data flows, and there may be data flows not shown in  FIG. 4 . In  FIG. 4 , each block shows a functional unit configuration, not a hardware (device) unit configuration. As such, the blocks shown in  FIG. 4  may be implemented in a single device or separately in multiple devices. Transfer of data between blocks may be through any means, such as a data bus, network, portable storage medium, or the like. 
     The business card case  100  includes an operation part  140 , a memory  150 , and a communication part  160  in addition to the control part  110 , the reading part  120 , and the display part  130  described above. 
     The communication part  160  is a communication interface for communicating with the business card management apparatus  200  via the network N. The communication part  160  includes an antenna, a processor, a circuit, and the like for performing radio communication. The communication part  160  acquires data by performing a predetermined process on a communication signal received from the outside, and inputs the acquired data to the control part  110 . Further, the communication part  160  performs a predetermined process on the data inputted from the control part  110  to generate a communication signal, and transmits the generated communication signal to the outside. 
     The operation part  140  includes members such as a button, a switch, and a dial for receiving an operation by a user. The display part  130  and the operation part  140  may be integrally formed by using a touch screen capable of detecting a position of contact by the user as the display part  130 . 
     The memory  150  is a storage medium including a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), and the like. The memory  150  previously stores programs to be executed by the control part  110 . 
     The control part  110  is a processor such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), and functions as a reading control part  111 , an image transmission part  112 , a character information receiving part  113 , an additional information receiving part  114 , and a display control part  115  by executing the programs stored in the memory  150 . At least some of the functions of the control part  110  may be performed by an electronic circuit. Further, at least some of the functions of the control part  110  may be executed by the programs executed via the network. 
     The reading control part  111  controls the reading part  120  to capture and read a business card. The reading control part  111  acquires the content captured by the reading part  120  as an image, and stores the image in the memory  150 . The image transmission part  112  retrieves the image of the business card read by the reading part  120  from the memory  150 , and transmits the image to the business card management apparatus  200  via the communication part  160 . 
     The character information receiving part  113  receives the character information, read from the image of the business card in the business card management apparatus  200 , via the communication part  160 , and stores the character information in the memory  150 . The additional information receiving part  114  receives the additional information, related to the character information read from the images of the business card, via the communication part  160 , and stores the additional information in the memory  150 . The content of the character information and the additional information will be described later. 
     The display control part  115  controls the display part  130  to display the character information and the additional information received by the character information receiving part  113  and the additional information receiving part  114 . 
     The business card case  100  according to the present embodiment is not limited to the specific configuration shown in  FIG. 4 . The business card case  100  is not limited to one device, and may be configured by connecting two or more separated devices by wire or wirelessly. 
     [A Configuration of the Business Card Management Device  200 ] 
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram of the business card management apparatus  200  according to the present embodiment. In  FIG. 5 , arrows indicate main data flows, and there may be data flows not shown in  FIG. 5 . In  FIG. 5 , each block shows a functional unit configuration, not a hardware (device) unit configuration. As such, the blocks shown in  FIG. 5  may be implemented in a single device or separately in multiple devices. Transfer of data between blocks may be through any means, such as a data bus, network, portable storage medium, or the like. 
     The business card management apparatus  200  includes a control part  210 , a memory  250 , and a communication part  260 . The communication part  260  is a communication interface for communicating with the business card case  100  via the network N. The communication part  260  includes a processor, a connector, a circuit, and the like for performing communication. The communication part  260  acquires data by performing a predetermined process on a communication signal received from the outside, and inputs the acquired data to the control part  210 . Further, the communication part  260  performs a predetermined process on the data inputted from the control part  210  to generate a communication signal, and transmits the generated communication signal to the outside. 
     The memory  250  is a storage medium including a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk drive, and the like. The memory  250  previously stores programs to be executed by the control part  210 . 
     The control part  210  is a processor such as a CPU, and functions as an image receiving part  211 , a character information acquisition part  212 , an additional information acquisition part  213 , and an information transmission part  214  by executing the programs stored in the memory  250 . At least some of the functions of the control part  210  may be performed by an electronic circuit. Further, at least some of the functions of the control part  210  may be executed by the programs executed via the network. 
     The image receiving part  211  receives the image of the business card transmitted from the business card case  100  via the communication part  260 , and stores the image in the memory  250 . The character information acquisition part  212  retrieves the image of the business card received by the image receiving part  211  from the memory  250 , and acquires the character information showing characters written on the business card from the retrieved image. 
     Specifically, first, the character data acquisition part  212  corrects the image retrieved from the memory  250  so that the characters can be recognized. In the business card case  100  according to the present embodiment, the reading part  120  captures an image of a business card accommodated in the accommodation part  103  from an oblique direction, and so a trapezoidal distortion occurs. As described with reference to  FIG. 3 , the accommodation part  103  is supported at the predetermined angle with respect to the housing  101 , and the distance between the business card accommodated in the accommodation part  103  and the reading part  120  is kept constant. The angle and distance corresponding to the configuration of the business card case  100  are previously set in the business card management apparatus  200 . The character information acquisition part  212  performs a trapezoidal correction on the image of the business card, on the basis of the angle of the accommodation part  103  with respect to the housing  101  and the distance between the business card accommodated in the accommodation part  103  and the reading part  120 . 
     As described above, in the present embodiment, the image of the business card can be corrected by using the known angle and distance, so that the character information can be acquired with higher accuracy than in a case where the correction is performed when the imaging condition is undefined. The character information acquisition part  212  may omit the correction if the character information can be acquired without performing the correction. 
     The character information acquisition part  212  then acquires the character information from the corrected image of the business card, and stores the acquired character information in the memory  250  together with an acquisition time (registration time). Known character recognition techniques, such as an optical character reader (OCR), can be used to acquire the character information from the image. 
     The character information includes personal information such as his/her name, telephone number, e-mail address, and a name of an organization to which he/she belongs (i.e., a name of a corporation, a group, a school, or the like) written on the business card. Further, if information such as career information, identification information on a social networking service (SNS), and the like is written on the business card in addition to the personal information, the character information acquisition part  212  may acquire such information as the character information. 
     The control part  110  of the business card case  100  may acquire the character information from the image of the business card. In this case, the character information acquisition part  212  acquires the character information by receiving the character information from the business card case  100 . 
     If the character information acquisition part  212  succeeded in acquiring the character information, the additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the additional information related to the character information on the basis of the character information acquired by the character information acquisition part  212 . 
     The additional information includes at least one of i) history information indicating the character information stored in the past related to the character information acquired this time by the character information acquisition part  212  and ii) common point information indicating a common point between the character information acquired this time by the character information acquisition part  212  and the user of the business card case  100 . 
     As the history information, the additional information acquisition part  213  acquires, from the character information stored in the memory  250  in the past, the past character information including at least a portion (e.g., a name of an organization to which he/she belongs or a domain name of an e-mail address) of the character information that the character information acquisition part  212  acquires this time. The history information should include a time when past character information was stored (registered) in the memory  250 . 
     As the common point information, the additional information acquisition part  213  detects and acquires a common point between attributes of the person who provided the business card and the user of the business card case  100 , on the basis of the character information acquired by the character information acquisition part  212 . The attribute for which a common point is detected includes, for example, a scholastic career, an occupational career, a hobby, a place of residence, and the like. The attribute of the user of the business card case  100  is previously set to the business card management apparatus  200 . 
     The additional information acquisition part  213  may acquire the attribute of the person who provided the business card from the character information acquired by the character information acquisition part  212  in order to detect the common point. There may be a business card including an attribute such as a career and a hobby of a person who provided the business card in some cases. In this situation, the additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the attribute of the person who provided the business card from the character information acquired by the character information acquisition part  212 . The additional information acquisition part  213  then acquires the common point information by detecting at least a corresponding portion between the attribute of the person who provided the business card acquired from the character information and the attribute of the user of the business card  100  which is previously set. 
     In order to detect the common point, the additional information acquisition part  213  may acquire the attribute of the person who provided the business card from an external system such as an SNS. In this instance, the additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the attribute of the person who provided the business card from the SNS by searching the SNS using the personal information (e.g., his/her name and a name of an organization to which he/she belongs) included in the character information acquired by the character information acquisition part  212 . If the business card contains SNS identification information (such as his/her account name), the additional information acquisition part  213  may search through the SNS using the identification information. 
     The additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the common point information by detecting at least a corresponding portion between the attribute of the person who provided the business card acquired from an external system such as an SNS and the attribute of the user of the business card  100  that is previously set. 
     The information transmission part  214  transmits the character information and the additional information acquired by the character information acquisition part  212  and the additional information acquisition part  213  to the business card case  100  via the communication part  260 . Further, if the character information acquisition part  212  failed to acquire the character information, the information transmission part  214  transmits information indicating the failure to acquire the character information to the business card case  100  via the communication part  260 . 
       FIG. 6  is a front view of the display part  130  of the business card case  100  displaying the character information. When receiving the character information acquired by the character information acquisition part  212  from the business card management apparatus  200 , the business card case  100  displays received character information  132  and a message  131  indicating that the reading was successful on the display part  130 . When receiving information indicating that the character information failed to be acquired from the business card management apparatus  200 , the business card case  100  may display a message indicating that the reading failed on the display part  130 . 
       FIG. 7A  is a front view of the display part  130  of the business card case  100  displaying the history information. When the history information is received from the business card management apparatus  200  as the additional information, the business card case  100  displays received history information  134  and the message  133  indicating that the history information exists. As a result, the user of the business card case  100  can know that the user has previously received a business card from a person belonging to the same organization as the person who provided the business card read this time. 
     If someone belonging to the same organization as the user of the business card case  100  has already received the business card from the person who provided the business card read this time, the business card case  100  may display this fact on the display part  130 . In this situation, the memory  250  of the business card management apparatus  200  stores the character information of the business card, read by a plurality of business card cases  100  owned by a plurality of users, in association with the user having the business card case  100  that has already read said business card. In addition, the memory  250  pre-stores the personal information, such as his/her name, a name of an organization to which he/she belongs, and the like, of the user who have the business card case  100 . 
     If the character information acquired by the character information acquisition part  212  this time has already been stored in the memory  250 , the additional information acquisition part  213  of the business card management apparatus  200  specifies another user (i.e., someone who received the business card from the same person in the past) associated with said character information. The additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the personal information of the specified other user and the personal information of the user of the business card case  100  from the memory  250 . 
     If the personal information acquired from the memory  250  indicates that the user of the business card case  100  and the other user belong to the same organization (the names of a corporation, department, or the like are the same), the additional information acquisition part  213  passes the personal information of the other user to the information transmission part  214  as the history information. The information transmission part  214  transmits the history information acquired by the additional information acquisition part  213  to the business card case  100  via the communication part  260 . 
     If the personal information of the other user is received, as the history information, from the business card management apparatus  200 , the business card case  100  displays the received personal information of the other user on the display part  130 . Thus, the user of the business card  100  can know that the other user, belonging to the same organization as the user of the business card  100 , has already received the business card from the person who provided the business card read this time. 
       FIG. 7B  is a front view of the display part  130  of the business card case  100  displaying the common point information. If the common point information is received from the business card management apparatus  200  as the additional information, the business card case  100  displays received common point information  136  and a message  135  indicating that there is a common point. This allows the user of the business card case  100  to know the content of the common point if there is a common point between the person who provided the business card read this time and the user. 
     If the additional information acquisition part  213  acquires both the history information and the common point information as the additional information, the business card case  100  may switch the display on the display part  130  between the history information and the common point information according to the user&#39;s operation or the time passage. 
     In addition, if an e-mail address of the person who provided the business card is included in the character information acquired by the character information acquisition part  212 , the information transmission part  214  sends a message including the personal information of the user of the business card  100  to the e-mail address. The information transmission part  214  may send the message by using a Short Message Service (SMS) addressed to a telephone number or an SNS message addressed to SNS identification information instead of sending an e-mail. 
       FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram of a message M sent by the business card management apparatus  200  according to the present embodiment to the person who provided the business card. The message M is received by a communication terminal owned by the person who provided the business card and is displayed on a communication terminal display. When the message M is received from the business card management apparatus  200 , the communication terminal owned by the person who provided the business card displays personal information M 2  of the user of the business card case  100  and a message M 1  indicating that the message M has been sent from the user of the business card case  100 . This allows the person who provided the business card to receive the information of the user of the business card case  100  in an electronic data state, thereby eliminating efforts required for registering the business card of the user of the business card case  100 . 
     The business card management apparatus  200  according to the present embodiment is not limited to the specific configuration shown in  FIG. 5 . The business card management apparatus  200  is not limited to one apparatus, and may be configured by connecting two or more separated apparatuses connected by wire or wirelessly. 
     Each function of the business card management apparatus  200  may be built in the business card case  100 . In this instance, the control part  110  of the business card case  100  functions as a display control device for acquiring the character information on the basis of the image of the business card and acquiring the additional information on the basis of the character information, and displaying the acquired additional information on the display part  130  without transmitting/receiving the image of the business card. 
     [A Sequence of a Business Card Management Method] 
       FIG. 9  is a sequence diagram of a business card management method performed by the business card management system S according to the present embodiment. In the business card case  100 , the reading control part  111  first controls the reading part  120  to capture and read the business card accommodated in the business card case  100  (step S 11 ). The reading control part  111  acquires the content captured by the reading part  120  as an image, and stores the image in the memory  150 . The image transmission part  112  retrieves the image of the business card read by the reading part  120  in step S 11  from the memory  150 , and transmits the image to the business card management apparatus  200  via the communication part  160  (step S 12 ). 
     In the business card management apparatus  200 , the image receiving part  211  receives the image of the business card transmitted from the business card case  100  via the communication part  260 , and stores the image in the memory  250 . The character information acquisition part  212  retrieves the image of the business card received by the image receiving part  211  from the memory  250 , and acquires the character information indicating characters written on the business card from the retrieved image (step S 13 ). 
     The additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the additional information related to the character information on the basis of the character information acquired by the character information acquisition part  212  in step S 13  (step S 14 ). The information transmission part  214  transmits the character information and the additional information acquired by the character information acquisition part  212  and the additional information acquisition part  213  in steps S 13  to S 14  to the business card case  100  via the communication part  260  (step S 15 ). 
     If the character information acquired by the character information acquisition part  212  in step S 13  includes destination such as an e-mail address of the person who provided the business card, the information transmission part  214  sends a message including personal information of the user of the business card case  100  to that destination (step S 16 ). 
     In the business card case  100 , the character information receiving part  113  receives the character information transmitted from the business card management apparatus  200  via the communication part  160 , and stores the character information in the memory  150 . The additional information receiving part  114  receives the additional information transmitted from the business card management apparatus  200  via the communication part  160 , and stores the additional information in the memory  150 . The display control part  115  controls the display part  130  to display the character information and the additional information received by the character information receiving part  113  and the additional information receiving part  114  (step S 17 ). 
     The First Variation of the Present Embodiment 
     In the business card management system S described above, the display part  130  provided to the business card case  100  displays various types of information, but a display device external to the business card case  100  may display the various types of information.  FIG. 10  is a schematic diagram of the business card management system S according to a variation of the present embodiment. The business card management system S includes, in addition to the business card case  100  and the business card management apparatus  200  described above, a communication terminal  300  as a display device external to the business card case  100 . 
     The communication terminal  300  is a communication device capable of communicating with the business card case  100  and the business card management apparatus  200 , and is, for example, a portable terminal such as a smartphone or a personal computer. The communication terminal  300  has a display part  310  that includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display, an organic electroluminescent display, or the like. The communication terminal  300  may communicate with the business card case  100  or the business card management apparatus  200  via the network N, or may communicate with the business card case  100  or the business card management apparatus  200  via a short-range radio network such as Bluetooth. 
     The business card management apparatus  200  is pre-associated with the communication terminal  300  owned by the user of the business card case  100 . The information transmission part  214  of the business card management apparatus  200  transmits the character information acquired by the character information acquisition part  212  and the additional information acquired by the additional information acquisition part  213  to the communication terminal  300 . The communication terminal  300  then displays the same information as the information shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7  on the display part  310 . With such a configuration, the business card case  100  does not need the display part thereby reducing the weight. 
     The Second Variation of the Present Embodiment 
     In the above-described business card management system S, the additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the common point information on the basis of the character information written on the business card or the information from the external system such as the SNS, but may acquire the common point information on the basis of the profile information of each user previously registered in the business card management system S. 
       FIG. 11  is a schematic diagram of profile information D of the user stored in the memory  250 . The profile information D is shown in character string for visibility in  FIG. 11 , but each piece of data may be recorded in any format such as character string data, numeric data, and binary data. The profile information D may be recorded as a database or as a list enumerating data. 
     The profile information D includes public information D 1  and private information D 2 . The public information D 1  is information about the user disclosed to the other party regardless of the profile information D of the other party who exchanged the business cards. The private information D 2  is information about the user disclosed to the other party only if the private information D 2  has a common point with the profile information D of the other party who exchanged the business cards. For example, the user sets information that may be disclosed regardless of the other party in the public information D 1 , and sets information that should be disclosed only to another party that has a common interest or the like in the private information D 2 . 
     The profile information D is inputted by the user and is previously stored in the memory  250  in association with a user ID that is identification information for identifying the user. The user ID is pre-associated with the character information (his/her name, telephone number, e-mail address, and the like) written on the user&#39;s business card. The user ID may be the character information written on the user&#39;s business card. The profile information D may be inputted to the business card case  100  or to a communication terminal associated with the business card case  100 . 
     The additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the additional information on the basis of (i) the profile information of the user (a first user) of the business card case  100  stored in the memory  250  and (ii) the profile information of the user (a second user who provided the business card to the first user) associated with the character information acquired this time by the character information acquisition part  212 . 
     Specifically, the additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the profile information of the first user from the memory  250  using the user ID set in the business card case  100 . Further, the additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the profile information of the second user from the memory  250  using the user ID associated with the character information acquired this time by the character information acquisition part  212 . 
     Among the private information indicated by the profile information of the second user, the additional information acquisition part  213  acquires, as the common point information, the private information having a common point with the private information indicated by the profile information of the first user. For example, if the private information of the first user includes “animation” and the private information of the second user includes “animation,” the additional information acquisition part  213  acquires “animation” as the common point information. The additional information acquisition part  213  may acquire not only identical private information between the users but also similar private information between the users as the common point information. 
     The additional information acquisition part  213  may acquire the common point information only when the business cards are exchanged between the users. The time (registration time) of acquiring the character information stored in the memory  250  corresponds to the time at which the business card case  100  reads the business card. Therefore, the additional information acquisition part  213  determines, on the basis of the time of acquiring the character information stored in the memory  250 , that the first user and the second user exchanged the business cards when the difference between the time at which the first user&#39;s business card case  100  reads the second user&#39;s business card and the time at which the second user&#39;s business card case  100  reads the first user&#39;s business card is within a predetermined time (for example, within 5 minutes). 
     If it is determined that the first user and the second user exchanged the business cards, the additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the private information having a common point between the first user and the second user as the common point information. As a result, even if a third party acquires the business card of the user, the private information of the user is not disclosed to the third party unless the business card case  100  of the user reads the business card of the third party, thereby preventing the private information of the user from being unintentionally browsed. 
     The additional information acquisition part  213  may acquire the private information if the operations of the first user and the second user, when having the business card cases  100  read the business cards, each satisfy a predetermined condition. In this case, each of the business card cases  100  of the first user and the second user has, as the operation part  140 , a button or a switch for performing an operation for permitting or not permitting provision of the private information. The first user and the second user perform a predetermined operation on the button or the switch when they cause the reading part  120  of the business card case  100  to read the business card if they intend to allow the private information to be provided to the person who provided the business card. Alternatively, the first user and the second user perform the predetermined operation on the button or the switch when they cause the reading part  120  of the business card case  100  to read the business card if they do not intend to allow the private information to be provided to the person who provided the business card. The timing for performing the predetermined operation may be before reading the business card, while reading the business card, or after reading the business card. 
     The business card cases  100  transmit the content of operations, performed by the first user and the second user on the operation parts  140  while the reading parts  120  are reading the business cards, to the business card management apparatus  200  via the communication parts  160 . The additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the private information having a common point between the first user and the second user if the operations received from the business card case  100  of the first user and the business card case  100  of the second user satisfy the predetermined condition (for example, if an operation permitting the provision of the private information is performed, or an operation not permitting the provision of the private information is not performed). Thus, the business card management system S can disclose the private information common to two users only if the two users who have exchanged the business cards permit the provision of the private information. 
     The additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the common point information acquired in this manner as the additional information. The additional information acquisition part  213  may acquire the public information indicated by the profile information as the additional information, in addition to the common point information. 
     The information transmission part  214  transmits the additional information acquired by the additional information acquisition part  213  to the business card case  100  via the communication part  260 . The business card case  100  displays the common point information on the display part  130  as shown in  FIG. 7B  on the basis of the additional information received from the business card management apparatus  200 . 
     According to the business card management system S of the present variation, setting a hobby and the like that the user does not want to disclose to an unspecified other party as the private information enables disclosing the user&#39;s private information only to the other party who has set his/her private information having a common point with the user&#39;s private information. As a result, the user can smoothly communicate with the other party while restricting the disclosure of the profile information of the user. Further, if the user has many hobbies and the like, disclosing all of them to the other party may cause excessive information, but the business card management system S can suppress the amount of information disclosed between the users because it discloses only a portion of the private information common to the user and the other party. 
     Effects of the First Embodiment 
     In the business card management system S according to the present embodiment, the business card case  100  can read the business card accommodated in the accommodation part  103 , thereby eliminating putting in and taking out of the business card for reading. Therefore, the labor required for registering the information relating to the business card can be reduced. 
     In addition, the business card management apparatus  200  can display not only the character information written on the business card but also the additional information related to the character information on the business card case  100  or an external display part. For example, if the user of the business card case  100  received, in the past, a business card from a person belonging to the same organization as the person who provided the business card read this time, the user can obtain the history information indicating this fact as the additional information. For example, if there is a common point between the person who provided the business card read this time and the user of the business card  100 , the user can obtain the common point information indicating the content of the common point as the additional information. As a result, the user of the business card case  100  can immediately know the information about the other party with whom he/she has exchanged the business cards, thereby facilitating communication. 
     The Second Embodiment 
     The business card management system S according to the first embodiment acquires the character information by performing the character recognition process on the image of the business card, whereas the business card management system S according to the present embodiment acquires the character information by matching the image of the business card with an image that is previously registered. Differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described below. 
     [A Configuration of the Business Card Management Apparatus  200 ] 
       FIG. 12  is a block diagram of the business card management apparatus  200  according to the present embodiment. The control part  210  of the business card management apparatus  200  according to the present embodiment further includes an image comparing part  215  in addition to the configuration shown in  FIG. 5 . The memory  250  of the business card management apparatus  200  pre-stores the character information written on the business card of each user having the business card case  100 , the image (registered image) of the business card of the each user, and the profile information of the each user in association with each user. 
       FIG. 13  shows an image of a business card P of the user stored in the memory  250 . The image of the business card P may be captured by the user&#39;s business card case  100 , or may be captured by the user&#39;s communication terminal or camera. The image of the business card P of the user includes the character information such as his/her name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and a name of an organization to which he/she belongs. The memory  250  may store, instead of the image P, features (such as contours) calculated on the basis of the image P. 
     The user captures the image of the business card using the business card case  100 , and then the image receiving part  211  receives the image of the business card transmitted from the business card case  100  via the communication part  260 , and stores the image in the memory  250 . The image comparing part  215  retrieves the image (captured image) of the business card received by the image receiving part  211  from the memory  250 . 
     The image comparing part  215  compares the captured image with each of the registered images stored in the memory  250 , and specifies a registered image similar to the captured image. Specifically, the image comparing part  215  calculates the similarity indicating the degree of similarity between the captured image and the registered images. For example, the image comparing part  215  calculates the degree of similarity on the basis of the difference between each pixel value of the captured image and each pixel value of the registered images. The image comparing part  215  may calculate a feature amount of the captured image and the feature amounts of the registered images, and calculate the similarity on the basis of the calculated feature amounts. Then, the image comparing part  215  specifies a registered image whose similarity satisfies a predetermined condition (for example, the similarity is equal to or greater than a predetermined value) as a registered image similar to the captured image. 
     Alternatively, the image comparing part  215  may specify the registered image similar to the captured image on the basis of learning data previously obtained by machine-learning the images of the business cards. 
     If the image comparing part  215  succeeded in specifying a registered image similar to the captured image, the character information acquisition part  212  acquires, from the memory  250 , the character information of the user (the person who provided the business card) associated with the registered image similar to the captured image specified by the image comparing part  215 . The character information acquisition part  212  stores the acquired character information in the memory  250  together with the acquisition time (registration time). As described above, if the person who provided the business card uses the business card management system S according to the present embodiment, the image comparing part  215  and the character information acquisition part  212  specify the character information written on the business card by making a comparison to the image of the business card, and so the character information can be acquired with high accuracy without being affected by the character recognition error. 
     If the image comparing part  215  failed to specify a registered image similar to the captured image, the character information acquisition part  212  acquires the character information by performing the character recognition process on the captured image, as in the first embodiment. The character information acquisition part  212  stores the acquired character information in the memory  250  together with the acquisition time (registration time). Thus, even if the person who provided the business card does not use the business card management system S according to the present embodiment, the character information acquisition part  212  can acquire the character information written on the business card by using the character recognition. 
     If the image comparing part  215  succeeded in specifying a registered image similar to the captured image, the additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the additional information on the basis of the profile information shown in  FIG. 11 , as in the second variation of the first embodiment. Specifically, the additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the profile information of the user (the first user) associated with the business card case  100  from the memory  250  using the user ID set in the business card case  100 . Further, the additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the profile information of the user (i.e., the second user associated with the provided business card) associated with the registered image that is similar to the captured image from the memory  250 , using the user ID specified on the basis of the registered image similar to the captured image. In the present embodiment, the user ID is pre-associated with the image of the user&#39;s business card. 
     The additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the additional information on the basis of the profile information of the first user and the profile information of the second user. In the present embodiment, the profile information includes introduction information in addition to the public information and the private information shown in  FIG. 11 . The introduction information is information indicating an introduction of the user by other users. The introduction information is shown by a character string, a score, or the like. The other users set the introduction information about the user when they exchange business cards with the user. The introduction information is inputted by the other users who exchanged the business cards with the user and stored in the memory  250 . 
     The additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the public information and the introduction information indicated by the user&#39;s profile information associated with the registered image similar to the captured image. Further, the additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the private information common between the first user and the second user as the common point information. The additional information acquisition part  213  uses, for example, the same methods as those of the second variation of the first embodiment to acquire the common point information. 
     The information transmission part  214  transmits the character information acquired by the character information acquisition part  212  to the business card case  100  via the communication part  260 . Further, the information transmission part  214  transmits the public information, the common point information, and the introduction information acquired by the additional information acquisition part  213  as the additional information to the business card case  100  via the communication part  260 . 
       FIG. 14A  is a front view of the display part  130  of the business card case  100  displaying the character information. The business card case  100  displays the character information  132  received from the business card management apparatus  200  on the display part  130 . The business card case  100  transitions to the screen shown in  FIG. 14B  if the user performs a predetermined operation (for example, pressing a button) using the operation part  140  while displaying the screen shown in  FIG. 14A . 
       FIG. 14B  is a front view of the display part  130  of the business card case  100  displaying the additional information. The business card case  100  causes the display part  130  to display public information  137 , common point information  138 , and introduction information  139  indicated by the additional information received from the business card management apparatus  200 . Thus, the user of the business card case  100  can refer to the profile information of the person who provided the business card read this time. 
     By referring to the common point information  138  of the person who provided the business card, the user can know that the person who provided the business card has the same interest and the like with the user thereby facilitating a conversation when exchanging the business cards. Further, the user can know that the person who provided the business card has a connection with the other user by referring to the introduction information  139  of the person who provided the business card made by said other user. 
     Further, the business card case  100  may accept an input of the introduction information from the user. In this case, the business card case  100  causes the display part  130  to display an input field of the introduction information as shown in  FIG. 14B . The business card case  100  may accept the input of the introduction information via the operation part  140  of the business card case  100 , or may accept the input of the introduction information via the communication terminal associated with the business card case  100 . 
     The business card case  100  transmits the introduction information inputted by the user to the business card management apparatus  200  via the communication part  160 . The business card management apparatus  200  adds the introduction information received from the business card case  100  to the profile information about the person who provided the business card, and stores the profile information in the memory  250 . 
     [A Flow of the Business Card Management Method] 
       FIG. 15  is a flowchart illustrating a business card management method performed by the business card management apparatus  200  according to the present embodiment. When the user captures the image of the business card using the business card case  100 , the image receiving part  211  receives the image (captured image) of the business card transmitted from the business card case  100  via the communication part  260  (S 21 ), and stores the image in the memory  250 . 
     The image comparing part  215  compares the captured image received by the image receiving part  211  with the registered images stored in the memory  250  (step S 22 ). The image comparing part  215  specifies a registered image similar to the captured image (step S 23 ). 
     If the image comparing part  215  succeeded in specifying a registered image similar to the captured image (YES in step S 24 ), the character information acquisition part  212  acquires the character information of the user (the person who provided the business card) associated with the registered image similar to the captured image specified by the image comparing part  215  from the memory  250  (step S 25 ). 
     The additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the profile information of the user of the business card case  100  and the profile information of the user associated with the registered image similar to the captured image from the memory  250  (step S 26 ). The additional information acquisition part  213  then acquires the additional information on the basis of the profile information of the user of the business card  100  and the profile information of the user associated with the registered image similar to the captured image. 
     Specifically, the additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the public information and the introduction information indicated by the profile information of the user associated with the registered image similar to the captured image (step S 27 ). In addition, among the private information indicated by the profile information of the user associated with the registered image similar to the captured image, the additional information acquisition part  213  acquires the private information common to the private information indicated by the profile information of the user of the business card  100  as the common point information (step S 28 ). 
     The information transmission part  214  transmits the character information and the additional information acquired by the character information acquisition part  212  and the additional information acquisition part  213  to the business card case  100  via the communication part  260  (step S 29 ). 
     If the image comparing part  215  failed to specify a registered image similar to the captured image (NO in step S 24 ), the character information acquisition part  212  acquires the character information by performing the character recognition process on the captured image (step S 30 ). The information transmission part  214  transmits the character information acquired by the character information acquisition part  212  to the business card case  100  via the communication part  260  (step S 31 ). 
     Effects of the Second Embodiment 
     According to the business card management system S of the present embodiment, if the person who provided the business card uses the business card management system S, the business card management apparatus  200  specifies the character information written on the business card by making a comparison to the image of the business card, and so the character information can be acquired with high accuracy without being affected by the character recognition error. 
     The present invention is explained on the basis of the exemplary embodiments. The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope explained in the above embodiments and it is possible to make various changes and modifications within the scope of the invention. For example, the specific embodiments of the distribution and integration of the apparatus are not limited to the above embodiments, all or part thereof, can be configured with any unit which is functionally or physically dispersed or integrated. Further, new exemplary embodiments generated by arbitrary combinations of them are included in the exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Further, effects of the new exemplary embodiments brought by the combinations also have the effects of the original exemplary embodiments. 
     Processors of the business card case  100  and the business card management apparatus  200  are the core of each step (process) included in the business card management method shown in  FIGS. 9 and 15 . That is, the processors of the business card case  100  and the business card management apparatus  200  execute the business card management method shown in  FIGS. 9 and 15  by i) retrieving the program for executing the business card management method shown in  FIGS. 9 and 15  from the memories and ii) executing the program to control the parts of the business card case  100  and the business card management device  200 . The steps included in the business card management method shown in  FIGS. 9 and 15  may be partially omitted, the order of the steps may be changed, or a plurality of steps may be performed in parallel.