JP2001331818A - System and method for adjusting traveling expense - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a traveling expenses adjustment system and a traveling expenses adjusting method which can electronically perform settlement and are flexible. SOLUTION: This system is constructed by connecting card readers for reading the information of a card that holds at least an identifier for identifying an individual, transportation company servers for operating a transportation means used by the individual and a credit company server through network communication, the card reader is installed at each connection point of the transportation means and also provided with a function for transmitting the use situation data of the transportation means utilizing the card to one or more servers of the transportation company, and the transportation company servers are provided with a function for transmitting a charge demanded from the individual to the credit company server on the basis of the use situation data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a travel expense settlement system and a travel expense settlement method for electronic settlement of travel expenses.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, many business models for electronic settlement of goods and services on a network have been proposed, but no proposal has been made for human transportation services.

[0003] Conventionally, therefore, the transportation expenses are usually settled before the service or settled in contact with the service. That is, tickets and the like, commuter passes, cash payment when getting off, and the like.

[0004]

However, the conventional transportation cost settlement system and the conventional transportation cost adjustment method have the following problems. When many users purchase a ticket or the like, it is necessary to make a purchase in line in front of the ticket vending machine. In addition, when using multiple transportation companies for transit, it is often the case that a ticket is purchased for each transit point, and it is difficult to predict that such congestion is occurring at the transit point, and It was difficult to arrive at the destination. In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to the purchase, and when the destination or the transportation company to be used needs to be changed, the expenditure may be higher than planned. Similarly, when using a commuter pass, there is little room to change the destination or the transportation company used,
Furthermore, it can be said that it is a limited fixed service limited to one transportation company. In addition, when these are mixed, the excellence is facilitated. In particular, in the case of a kissel action using a plurality of means of transportation, the individual journey using the means of transportation was not specified, and it was difficult to detect accurately. In addition, when performing a payment process such as a business trip, it is necessary to accurately memorize the transportation cost by an individual, and when the transportation cost is high, a certificate or a receipt may be required. On the other hand, in transportation companies, issuance and collection of tickets require sales space, management costs, and the like, and disposal costs after collection are incurred. Attempts to improve the quality of service are physically bouncing.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and has as its object to provide a flexible transportation cost settlement system and a transportation cost settlement method that can be settled electronically.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transportation expense settlement system provided to solve the above-mentioned problems, comprising: a card reader for reading information of a card holding at least an identifier for identifying an individual; A server of a transportation company that operates means of transportation used by the individual and a server of a credit company are connected via network communication, and the card reader is provided at each contact point of the means of transportation. Having a function of transmitting usage data of the means of transportation used by using the card to one or more servers of the transportation company, wherein the server of the transportation company sends the data to the server of the credit company based on the usage data. A feature of transmitting a charge to be charged to an individual is provided.

[0007] By adopting such a configuration, it is not necessary to perform a transportation method that straddles two or more transportation companies, and it is not necessary to make a payment every time a passenger crosses over.
You can use transportation means smoothly. In addition, the user can be identified by the identifier, and the transportation expenses can be electronically charged and settled through the network by the charge calculation software and the credit company.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transportation cost settlement system provided to solve the above-mentioned problem. The user terminal to be enabled is connected to a server of the transportation company via a network so as to be able to transmit and receive.

[0009] The identifier enables the user to be identified, and the fee calculation software and the credit company can electronically charge and settle the transportation expenses through the network. Furthermore,
By enabling the user terminal to acquire the personal use status, erroneous billing can be prevented, and data can be used, for example, downloaded and printed to form a receipt.

[0010] The transportation cost settlement system according to the third invention of the present application, which is provided to solve the above-mentioned problem, is a transportation cost settlement system according to the first invention or the second invention of the present application.
The usage status data is data including at least an identifier, a transportation company used, and a reading time at each contact point of the transportation means.

The user, the place, and the time can be known from the identifier reading device information, the card information, and the reading time.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transportation expense settlement system according to any one of the first to third aspects of the invention. One of the means of transportation is a means of transportation by rail, and the contact point is a ticket gate.

[0013] Since the transportation means is a train and a station, for example, it is not necessary to buy a ticket, and the identifier reading device is a ticket gate.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transportation expense settlement method provided to solve the above-mentioned problem, comprising: a card reader for reading a card holding at least an identifier for identifying an individual who uses transportation means; The server of the transportation company that operates the means and the server of the credit company are connected via network communication, and the card reader is provided at each contact point of the means of transportation, and the card is read into the card reader. The usage data of the transportation means of the individual is transmitted to one or more servers of the transportation company, and based on the usage data, the server of the transportation company uses the server of the credit company to use the transportation method for the individual. And the credit company charges the individual to the individual.

By adopting such a method, it is not necessary to carry out transportation means that straddles two or more transportation companies, and it is not necessary to make a payment every time a passenger crosses over. Can be used.

[0016] In a transportation cost settlement method according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, which is provided to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the transportation cost settlement method according to claim 5, the use status data includes at least an identifier and a used transportation company. And data of reading time at each contact point of the means of transportation.

The user, its location, and its time can be known from the identifier reading device information, the card information, and the reading time.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The configuration of an embodiment of a transportation expense settlement system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, a description will be given by limiting the means of transportation to a railway. Therefore, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the case where the same transportation extends to a plurality of transportation companies. That is, the present invention can be applied to a case of a plurality of transportation means and, conversely, a case of one transportation company. FIG.
It is a block diagram showing composition in one embodiment of a transportation expense settlement system concerning the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the transportation expense settlement system according to the present embodiment includes a K company server 10 and a K1
Station ticket gate 11, K2 station ticket gate 12, K3 station ticket gate 1
3, a communication network 101 such as the Internet for interconnecting a ticket gate and a server in a transportation company, a J company server 20, an E company server 30, and a credit company server 4
0, a user terminal 50, and a communication network 100 such as the Internet for interconnecting these.
The ticket gates 11 to 13 are information processing devices having a card reading function, a time management function, and a communication network function. The ticket gates 11 to 13 read the card information at a ticket gate through which the user gets on or off when the user gets on or off, and records the time of use. The user information, the use time, and the station information are transmitted to the transportation company server as use state data. The transportation company servers 10, 20, 30 are used by transportation companies and are configured by information processing devices such as workstation servers. Transportation company server 10, 2
Reference numerals 0 and 30 have a function of receiving the usage data transmitted by the ticket gate machine, generating a settlement amount, and transmitting the generated settlement amount to the credit company server 40. Credit company server 40
Is set up in a credit company and has a workstation
It is configured by an information processing device such as a server. The credit company server 40 receives the user identification information, the use time, and the settlement amount from the transportation company servers 10, 20, and 30. The credit company performs settlement processing in the user's transaction account based on the settlement amount. The user terminal 50 is an information processing device such as a personal computer. The user terminal 50 has a function of accessing user information provided on the network 100 by the credit company server 40 and displaying the user information on a screen. The user information includes, for example, information such as the date and time when the transportation company was used, the station used and the usage fee. The user terminal 50 further has a function of downloading user information as digital data and editing it with spreadsheet software or the like.

Next, the operation of one embodiment of the transportation expense settlement system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation in one embodiment of the transportation expense settlement system according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a route map of a transportation company. FIG.
, K1 to K4 (51 to 54), J1 to J3 (6
1 to 63) and E1 to E3 (71 to 73) indicate stations of the respective transportation companies K, J and E. In the following description, the user
Get on at 1 and get off at K2.
Get on at 1 and then get off at J2.
And get off at E3. The user carries a card that can be used commonly by each company. First, the user
When card information is input to the K1 ticket gate 11 shown in FIG.
The card information and time are stored in the K1 ticket gate 11. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2, the K1 ticket gate 11 transmits the card information, the use time, and K1 to the K company server 10 shown in FIG. 1 (A1). And K1 (A2). After that, when the user inputs the card information to the K2 ticket gate 12 at the getting off station,
The card information and time are accumulated in the K2 ticket gate 12, and the card information, the use time and K2 are transmitted to the K company server 10 (A3). The K company server 10 stores the card information, the use time, and K2 (A4). Company K server 10
Calculates the usage fee based on the usage data and transmits the settlement amount information to the credit company (A
5). Hereinafter, as shown in FIG. 2, the same processing is performed by the J company server 20 and the E company server 30 shown in FIG. 1 (A7 to A9, A10 to A18). Next, the credit company performs a process of debiting the usage amount from the user's transaction account based on the settlement amount information received from each transportation company (A19). At that time, the usage amount or the above user information may be sent to the user by e-mail or mail. Therefore, the user terminal 50 shown in FIG. 1 is not essential.

However, since information processing equipment and the Internet have recently become widespread, it is not so unrealistic to assume the user terminal 50. Therefore, the configuration shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 may be used. In the following description, the network 10
0 and 101 are the Internet. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of another embodiment of the transportation expense settlement system according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a view showing the displayed user information. As shown in FIG.
To B12 perform the same processing as in FIG. After steps B1 to B9 and B10 to B18, in order to search how the user has used the transportation company, the credit company uses the user terminal 50 shown in FIG. The user accesses the user information homepage established on 100 (B13). In response, the credit company server 40 transmits the user information to the user terminal 50 (B14). The user terminal 50 displays a use date, a use station, a time, a fee, a notice from a transportation company, and the like as shown in FIG. B15 Also, the credit company processes the usage debit amount from the bank account based on the information. (B16) Further, a display switch for downloading a file in a format that can be processed by application software such as spreadsheet software or word processor software is provided on the display screen, and the data is downloaded from the credit company server 40 to allow the user to download the data. Allows the user terminal 50 to edit the data.

[0021]

As described above, according to the transportation expenses settlement system and the transportation expenses settlement method according to the present invention, the user does not have to bother to purchase the first ticket or purchase a new ticket at the time of transfer, and the like. Can arrive at the destination smoothly. Further, even when the destination or the transportation company to be used needs to be changed, the transportation means can be used without worrying about the shortage of the added fee and the like. In addition, it is possible to specify a journey of how to use a plurality of transportation means for each individual, and it is possible to accurately detect, for example, a kissel action. Furthermore, even if the payment required for the means of transportation is performed after using the means of transportation, it is not necessary for the individual to accurately store the transportation costs. In addition, since the number of issued tickets and the like can be reduced, manufacturing costs and management costs of the tickets and the like can be reduced, and the number of devices for selling the tickets can be reduced. In addition, equipment costs can be reduced.

[0022]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a transportation expense settlement system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation in the embodiment of the transportation expense settlement system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation in another embodiment of the transportation expense settlement system according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing displayed user information.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a route map of a transportation company.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 20, 30 Transportation company server 11, 12, 13 Ticket gate 40 Credit company server 50 User terminal

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A card reader for reading information of a card holding at least an identifier for identifying an individual, a server of a transportation company operating transportation means used by the individual, and a server of a credit company perform network communication. The card reading device is provided at each contact point of the means of transportation and transmits usage data of the means of transportation using the card to one or more servers of the transportation company. The transportation expense settlement system having a function, wherein the transportation company server has a function of transmitting a charge to be charged to the individual to the credit company server based on the usage data. 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein a user terminal capable of acquiring personal use status data using said transportation means is connected to a server of said transportation company via a network so as to be able to transmit and receive. The described travel expenses settlement system. 3. The traffic according to claim 1, wherein the use status data is data including at least an identifier and a reading time at each contact point of the used transportation company and the transportation means. Expense settlement system. 4. The transportation expense settlement system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said transportation means is a railway transportation means, and said contact point is a ticket gate. . 5. A card reading device for reading a card holding at least an identifier for identifying an individual who uses a means of transportation, a server of a transportation company operating said transportation means, and a server of a credit company via a network communication. The card reader is provided at each contact point of the means of transportation, and the usage data of the individual means of transportation having the card reader read the card is sent to one or more servers of the transportation company. Transmitting, based on the usage data, the server of the transportation company transmits a fee using the transportation means to the server of the credit company to the individual, and the credit company charges the individual for the fee. Characteristic transportation expense settlement method. 6. The transportation cost settlement method according to claim 5, wherein the usage status data is data comprising at least an identifier, a transportation company used and a reading time at each contact point of the transportation means.