CN113841169A

CN113841169A - Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and information processing program

Info

Publication number: CN113841169A
Application number: CN202080035015.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 木森正浩; 佐沟哲平
Original assignee: Zensho Holdings Co Ltd
Current assignee: Zensho Holdings Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-05-10
Filing date: 2020-04-28
Publication date: 2021-12-24
Also published as: WO2020230634A1; JPWO2020230634A1

Abstract

The information processing device is provided with: a utilization information receiving unit that receives utilization information of a facility desired to be utilized from an external terminal; an article information receiving unit that receives, from a terminal, article information relating to an article that a user desires to provide at a facility; a rotation notification unit that notifies the terminal that the user has come in turn when the user having the terminal has come in turn in the waiting sequence; and an article information notification unit that notifies the facility of the article information received by the article information reception unit when the waiting order is the turn of the user holding the terminal.

Description

Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and information processing program

Technical Field

The invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and an information processing program.

Background

Conventionally, in facilities such as restaurants, when a large number of users arrive at a store, the users sometimes wait in line. In this case, a predetermined reservation sheet is prepared in the restaurant to allow the user to record the name and the number of persons in order, and the user is guided to the seat or the like in the order of the records.

In the above-described reservation management method, the burden on each of the facility side and the user side becomes large, and the technique described in patent document 1 is configured such that a sequence management terminal is disposed in the facility and the input of the queue is received by the sequence management terminal. The order management terminal can display the queued state in the display section and can present the approximate waiting time to the user.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2017-68457

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The technique described in patent document 1 is dedicated to a device for accepting a user's queue. For example, in a restaurant, a computer system is used in various scenarios such as inputting a user's order, presenting the order content to a kitchen, issuing a payment slip related to the order content, and performing a payment process based on the payment slip. Therefore, a computer system used in a uniform shop is required in a shop such as a restaurant.

For example, when the user waits in line at a restaurant, the menu is handed to a food which the user decides to order, and when the user is guided to a seat, the worker takes an order and hands the order to the kitchen. When congestion in line is generated, the workload of workers is relatively increased, and therefore, it is required to increase the efficiency of the work.

An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and an information processing program that can aim to increase the efficiency of a job when a facility is congested.

Means for solving the problems

An information processing device according to one embodiment includes: a utilization information receiving unit that receives utilization information of a facility desired to be utilized from an external terminal; an article information receiving unit that receives, from a terminal, article information relating to an article that a user desires to provide at a facility; a rotation notification unit that notifies the terminal that the user has come in turn when the user having the terminal has come in turn in the waiting sequence; and an article information notification unit that notifies the facility of the article information received by the article information reception unit when the waiting order is the turn of the user holding the terminal.

In the information processing apparatus according to one aspect, when the usage information is received from each of the plurality of terminals by the usage information receiving unit, the information transmission control unit may transmit at least one of the waiting order, the number of waiting persons, and the waiting time to the terminals as the predetermined information based on the number of the usage information and the number of persons included in the usage information.

In the information processing device according to one aspect, the article information notification unit may notify the facility of the article information when receiving the payment information related to the payment of the article corresponding to the article information.

In the information processing device according to one aspect, the article information notification unit may notify the facility of the article information when the response information is received from the terminal in response to the notification to the terminal by the sequential notification unit.

The information processing apparatus according to one aspect may further include another facility proposing unit that acquires the amount of the usage information of one or more other facilities and proposes, to the terminal, another facility in which the amount of the usage information of the other facility is smaller than a preset second threshold value, when the amount of the usage information is equal to or greater than a preset first threshold value in a case where the usage information is received from the plurality of terminals by the usage information receiving unit.

The information processing apparatus according to one aspect may further include: a utilization determination unit that determines whether or not a facility is utilized in response to the notification when the notification is made by the order notification unit; and a preferential treatment information control unit that transmits preferential treatment information for preferential treatment of the user at the next time of using the facility to the terminal, based on the determination result of the use determination unit.

In one embodiment, an information processing method includes a computer executing: a usage information reception step of receiving usage information relating to queuing of facilities from an external terminal; an information transmission control step of transmitting predetermined information to the terminal when the usage information is received in the usage information receiving step; an item information reception step of receiving, from a terminal, item information relating to an item that a user desires to provide at a facility; a round notification step of notifying the terminal that the user is in turn when the user holding the terminal is in turn in the waiting order; and an article information notification step of notifying the facility of the article information received in the article information reception step when the waiting order is the turn of the user having the terminal.

An information processing program according to one embodiment causes a computer to realize the following functions: a usage information reception function for receiving usage information related to queuing of facilities from an external terminal; an information transmission control function that transmits predetermined information to the terminal when the usage information is received by the usage information receiving function; an article information reception function for receiving article information relating to an article which a user desires to provide at a facility from a terminal; a rotation notification function of notifying the terminal that the user is rotated when the user holding the terminal is rotated in the waiting sequence; and an article information notification function that notifies the facility of the article information received by the article information reception function when the waiting order is due to the user having the terminal.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

When the terminal of the user who desires to use the facility receives the use information and the article information, and the waiting order turns to the user having the terminal, the information processing apparatus of one aspect notifies the terminal of the turn to the user and notifies the facility of the article information.

The information processing method and the information processing program according to one embodiment can achieve the same effects as those of the information processing apparatus according to the above-described one embodiment.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an information processing system according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an information processing device according to an embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a first diagram for explaining an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal.

Fig. 4 is a second diagram for explaining an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the terminal.

Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of a screen displayed on the display unit of the information processing apparatus.

Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining the amount of utilization information of other restaurants.

Fig. 7 is a first flowchart for explaining an information processing method according to an embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a second flowchart for explaining an information processing method according to an embodiment.

Detailed Description

One embodiment of the present invention is explained below.

In this specification, the term "information" is used, but the term "information" can be converted into "data", and the term "data" can be converted into "information".

The information processing system 1 includes a terminal 10 and an information processing device 100. In fig. 1, only one terminal 10 is shown. However, the number of terminals 10 of the information processing system 1 is not limited to one as illustrated in fig. 1, and may be plural.

The information processing apparatus 100 is disposed in various facilities. The facility is, for example, a facility for providing a service to a user, and specifically, a restaurant such as a restaurant. Note that the facility is not limited to the above-described specific example, and may be various stores such as financial institutions including banks and post offices. A facility is one where queuing of users is likely to occur.

In the following description, the restaurant 20 is described as an example of a facility.

In the restaurant 20, for example, when a large number of users arrive at a store, the users sometimes wait in line before sitting. In such a case, the information processing apparatus 100 receives a queue of the user who cannot sit. Further, while the user is waiting in line, the information processing apparatus 100 accepts food ordering from the user, and notifies the kitchen of the food ordering content when the user is seated.

The following describes the information processing apparatus 100 in detail.

The information processing device 100 includes a communication unit 101, a storage unit 102, a display unit 103, a usage information reception unit 111, an information transmission control unit 112, an article information reception unit 113, a sequence notification unit 114, an article information notification unit 115, another facility proposing unit 116, a usage determination unit 117, and a preferential treatment information control unit 118.

The communication unit 101 is a communication device capable of communicating with one or more terminals 10. The communication unit 101 may communicate with the information processing apparatus 100a disposed in another restaurant 21. Here, when communicating with the terminal 10, the communication unit 101 may transmit and receive information via a network, or may transmit and receive information via a local area network in the restaurant 20.

The storage unit 102 is a storage device such as a memory or a hard disk.

The display unit 103 is a display device.

The usage information receiving unit 111 receives usage information that the user desires to use the restaurant 20 from the external terminal 10 via the communication unit 101.

The usage information receiving unit 111 can use various methods as a method for receiving the usage information.

For example, the terminal 10 is previously installed with an application program provided by the restaurant 20, and the application program performs processing based on the operation of the user, thereby transmitting the utilization information to the information processing apparatus 100. The user operation is, for example: a screen for requesting use is displayed on the display unit 11 of the terminal 10, and a use request button ("new acceptance button 12 (see fig. 3)) displayed on the screen is operated.

Specifically, a transmission unit (not shown) that transmits a beacon signal is disposed in the restaurant 20. The beacon signal includes information on the utilization status (status of waiting in line) of the restaurant 20. Upon receiving the beacon signal, the terminal 10 displays a screen as illustrated in fig. 3 based on the operation of the application. Among the plurality of users who are in line, the number of groups of users who are scheduled to be guided next (next guidance schedule number) and users who are in line are displayed in the screen illustrated in fig. 3. The lead reservation number is the number provided to the user by the restaurant 20. On the screen illustrated in fig. 3, a "new acceptance" button 12 to be operated when the user of the terminal 10 desires to wait in line is displayed.

Further, when the user uses the restaurant 20, the terminal 10 may transmit the use information to the information processing apparatus 100 by performing short-range wireless communication with the communication unit 101 (or via a local area network).

In addition, the terminal 10 may transmit the use information to the information processing apparatus 100 via a public communication network (internet). That is, the terminal 10 can also apply for the queue of the restaurant 20 at a stage before entering the restaurant 20.

The terminal 10 may display a two-dimensional information code (for example, a QR code (registered trademark) or a barcode) in which useful information is recorded on the display unit 11, and transmit (transfer) the useful information from the terminal 10 to the information processing apparatus 100 by reading the two-dimensional information code with a reading unit (camera unit) (not shown) of the information processing apparatus 100.

The terminal 10 is not limited to the above example, and may transmit the usage information to the information processing apparatus 100 by various methods.

The utilization information is, for example, information indicating a desire to utilize the restaurant 20. The use information may include the number of persons in the group (the number of persons waiting for queuing, etc.) and various pieces of information of desired seats such as a smoking prohibition seat and a smoking seat. Such information is input to the terminal 10 (application program) based on, for example, a user operation.

The usage information may include identification information for identifying the terminal 10 (user), for example. The information processing apparatus 100 can specify the terminal 10 (user) by the identification information. The usage information may include, for example, contact destination information (for example, a pre-registered address) for transmitting information from the information processing apparatus 100 to the terminal 10.

Further, the terminal 10 may request confirmation of the health status of the user (for example, whether the user generates heat or not) based on the above-described processing of the application program when the user uses the restaurant 20. For example, the terminal 10 may perform an operation of requesting confirmation from the user by displaying a button for selecting whether the health status is "good" or "bad" on the display unit 11, or displaying a button for selecting whether the symptom of "heat generation" is present or "no" is present on the display unit 11. The terminal 10 may include health state information indicating the health state of the user or the like as a result of the confirmation in the usage information. In this case, the information processing apparatus 100 may display a warning for the staff of the restaurant 20 to confirm the health status of the user in detail on the display unit 103 when the user with a poor health status arrives at the store based on the use information (health status information). For example, when the user has a symptom of fever based on the health status information, the staff in the restaurant 20 may check the body temperature of the user on the spot, or may check whether or not the user has a symptom other than fever. For example, if there is no problem with the health status of the user, the staff of the restaurant 20 may provide the service in the restaurant 20, and if there is a problem with the health status of the user, the staff of the restaurant 20 may notify the healthcare authority that the user with a problem with the health status has arrived at the store and refuse to provide the service to the user.

When the usage information is received by the usage information receiving unit 111, the information transmission control unit 112 transmits predetermined information to the terminal 10. As a specific example, when the usage information reception unit 111 receives the usage information from each of the plurality of terminals 10, the information transmission control unit 112 transmits at least one of the waiting order, the number of waiting persons, and the waiting time to the terminals 10 as predetermined information based on the number of the usage information and the number of persons included in the usage information.

The information processing apparatus 100 can receive the use information from the plurality of terminals 10. When the usage information is received, the information transmission control unit 112 counts the number of pieces of received usage information (the number of waiting times (the number of groups)) and the number of persons in the group. The information processing device 100 can grasp, for example, that the waiting queue (the number of groups waiting in the queue and the number of waiting people in the queue) has occurred when the number of the usage information received is larger than the number of seats in the restaurant based on the number of the usage information received and the information on the seats in the restaurant 20.

In addition, a seated user may check out when, for example, eating a cuisine and leaving a store. The information processing apparatus 100 can grasp the stay time of the user by acquiring the time when the user performs the checkout (the leaving time) and the time input when the user enters the store (the entering time). The store entry time is, for example, a time at which the use information is received by the use information receiving unit 111 or a time at which the user enters the store and the staff member inputs the use information to the information processing apparatus 100. The leaving time is not limited to the above example, and may be a time input by a worker to the information processing apparatus 100 when the user leaves the store.

The use information transmitted from the terminal 10 may not include identification information. The seat number that guides the user holding the terminal 10 may be input to the information processing apparatus 100 by an operator. When the user leaves the store, the staff member may input the seat number of the user leaving the store to the information processing apparatus 100. This enables the user who enters the store to be associated with the user who leaves the store.

The information transmission control unit 112 acquires the average stay time based on, for example, acquisition of stay times of a plurality of users. The information transmission control unit 112 may acquire a plurality of average stay times for each day of the week, each time zone, each user's sex, or each number of people in a group, for example.

When the restaurant 20 is waiting in line, the information transmission control unit 112 controls the communication unit 101 so as to transmit the number of waiting users and the number of group people who have already been waiting in line to the terminal 10 of the user whose usage information has been received by the usage information reception unit 111.

The information transmission control unit 112 estimates the waiting time based on the number of waiting users who have performed the line waiting, the number of groups, and the average staying time, and controls the communication unit 101 so as to transmit the waiting time to the terminal 10 of the user who has received the usage information by the usage information reception unit 111.

The information transmission control unit 112 may update the waiting number, the number of waiting persons, and the waiting time when the users who are waiting in line are seated in sequence, and control the communication unit 101 so that the updated information is transmitted to the terminal 10. When the first user who is waiting in line is seated, the information transmission control unit 112 may subtract the information of the first user who is waiting in line from the number of waiting times, the number of waiting persons, and the waiting time, and transmit the subtracted result to the terminal 10 of the second and subsequent users who are waiting in line.

The terminal 10 may display the screen illustrated in fig. 4 on the display unit 11 as a screen different from the screen illustrated in fig. 3. That is, when receiving the information of the number of waiting times, the number of waiting persons, and the waiting time transmitted from the information processing device 100, the terminal 10 displays the number of waiting times, the number of waiting persons, and the waiting time on the display unit 11 as illustrated in fig. 4.

The item information receiving unit 113 receives, from the terminal 10, item information relating to an item that the user wishes to provide at the restaurant 20. The item is, for example, a cuisine provided by the restaurant 20. The user can order the food while the restaurant 20 is in line.

The terminal 10 can start the above-described application program based on an operation by the user, for example, and can order food via the application program. As a specific example, the terminal 10 displays a meal ordering screen of a meal based on an operation by the user, and transmits information of the selected meal to the information processing apparatus 100 as article information.

The article information receiving unit 113 receives article information via the communication unit 101. The article information receiving unit 113 stores article information in the storage unit 102.

When the user holding the terminal 10 is due to the usage waiting order of the restaurant 20 whose usage information is received by the usage information receiving unit 111, the order notification unit 114 notifies the terminal 10 that the user is due.

As illustrated in fig. 5, the information processing apparatus 100 may display the users who are waiting in line on the display unit 103. In the case illustrated in fig. 5, the display unit 103 displays the order, the number of users who are waiting in line, and the number of people who wish to prohibit cigarette seats or smoking seats. In addition, in the case illustrated in fig. 5, a button (call button ("select" button 201)) for guiding the user to the seat is displayed adjacent to the column of the user who is waiting in line. Based on the operation of the "select" button 201 by the operator, the sequence notification unit 114 notifies the terminal 10 of the corresponding user.

The display unit 103 may display information (for example, an image 202 described as "completion") indicating that the order notification unit 114 has notified the user (terminal 10) whose turn is notified.

When the user (terminal 10) is notified of the arrival of the turn but is absent from the turn notification unit 114, information indicating the absence (an image (not shown) described as "absent") may be displayed on the display unit 103. The case where the user is absent includes, for example, a case where the user has gone to a toilet or a case where the user has temporarily gone out.

When receiving the notification from the sequence notification unit 114, the terminal 10 outputs a sound or voice indicating that the turn is coming from a speaker, or displays an image indicating that the turn is coming on the display unit 11, for example.

The terminal 10 may respond to the notification from the order notification unit 114 by operating the application program described above based on an operation by the user, for example. For example, when receiving a notification from the sequence notification unit 114, the terminal 10 may display a "response" button (not shown) on the display unit 11, and when the "response" button is operated by the user, the terminal 10 may transmit response information to the information processing apparatus 100. For example, when the information processing apparatus 100 receives the response information, it may display information indicating that the user is waiting in line in the restaurant 20 on the display unit 103. This allows the worker to recognize that the user is in the restaurant 20 and to guide the user to the seat.

Here, when the restaurant 20 is empty, the order notification unit 114 may notify the user who is actively waiting in line that the order is due. For example, the order notification unit 114 may display information indicating that guidance is possible on the screen illustrated in fig. 5 based on the seat information (information on tables and seats) and the use information (information on the number of people in the group) about the seats of the restaurant 20 stored in the storage unit 102, so as to guide the users who are waiting in line immediately. More specifically, when a dining table with more seats than the number of people in the group is left empty, the round order notification unit 114 displays information indicating that guidance is possible in or adjacent to the column of the user who is the fastest ranking in line. Further, the information processing apparatus 100 can grasp that the seat is vacant by being linked to a checkout system (not shown) or when the user is input by the staff to leave the store. In this case, the order notification unit 114 may display a seat number that can be guided. Examples of the information indicating that guidance is possible include an image, a logo, and a change in color. The worker who sees the information operates, for example, a "select" button 201 illustrated in fig. 5 to guide the user corresponding to the information.

When the waiting order is the turn of the user having the terminal 10, the article information notification unit 115 notifies the kitchen of the restaurant 20 of the article information received by the article information reception unit 113. The item information notification unit 115 notifies the kitchen of the item information in the restaurant 20 via, for example, a local area network. An output device (not shown) such as a display unit or a printer is disposed in the kitchen of the restaurant 20. The output device outputs the article information (the contents of the food order).

For example, when the order notification unit 114 notifies the terminal 10 and the staff member can immediately guide the user to the seat, the item information notification unit 115 reads the order contents of the user from the storage unit 102 and transmits the order contents to the output device in the kitchen.

Here, for example, when the response information from the terminal 10 is received through the communication unit 101, the item information notification unit 115 may transmit the order content to the output device. That is, when the response information is received from the terminal 10 in response to the notification to the terminal 10 by the order notification unit 114, the item information notification unit 115 notifies the kitchen of the restaurant 20 of the item information.

Alternatively, for example, after the terminal 10 of the user is notified by the order notification unit 114, the order notification unit 114 may transmit the order content to the output device based on the operation of the staff.

In addition, the article information notification unit 115 may notify the kitchen of the article information to the restaurant 20 when receiving the payment information related to the payment of the article corresponding to the article information.

When the item information (contents of the ordered dishes) is transmitted to the information processing device 100, the terminal 10 can pay the payment of the ordered dishes based on the operation of the user. The terminal 10 can pay the payment for the prepared goods by various settlement methods such as electronic money settlement and credit card settlement. When settling the payment for cooking, the terminal 10 transmits payment information indicating that the settlement has been made to the information processing device 100.

When receiving the payment information from the terminal 10 via the communication unit 101, the item information notification unit 115 transmits the contents of the order of the user having the terminal 10 to an output device in the kitchen. In this case, the item information notification unit 115 notifies the kitchen of the item information in the restaurant 20 when the user is seated or when the staff guides the user to the seat. As a specific example, when the worker guides the user to the seat and inputs the seat (for example, a seat number or the like) of the user to the information processing device 100, the item information notification unit 115 notifies the kitchen of the restaurant 20 of the item information ordered by the user in association with the seat number.

The information processing apparatus 100 may further include another facility proposing unit 116.

That is, when the number of pieces of usage information is equal to or greater than a first threshold value set in advance when the usage information is received from the plurality of terminals 10 by the usage information receiving unit 111, the other facility proposing unit 116 acquires the number of pieces of usage information of one or more other restaurants 21. In addition, the other facility proposing section 116 proposes, to the terminal 10, other restaurants 21 in which the number of pieces of utilization information of other restaurants 21 is less than a preset second threshold value. In the case where a large number of users wait in line at the restaurant 20, there is a user who wants to eat at another restaurant 21 in consideration of not eating at the restaurant 20 that has arrived at the store. In this case, the other facility proposing section 116 proposes another store to the user when the number of queued waits of the own store is large.

Specifically, when the usage information is received from each of the plurality of terminals 10, the different facility proposing unit 116 determines whether or not the number of pieces of usage information received is equal to or greater than a first threshold value. The first threshold is set appropriately. The first threshold value is suitably set, as an example, such that the time of the line waiting is shorter than the time at which the user starts to feel painful to the line waiting. The first threshold value may be changed as appropriate depending on the day of the week and the time period. Alternatively, the first threshold value may be appropriately changed according to the expected stay time of the user. The other-facility proposing unit 116 may acquire transition information on the transition of past visitors to the local store (restaurant 20) and predict the future number of visitors to the local store based on the transition information. The other-facility proposing unit 116 may change the first threshold value as appropriate in accordance with the expectation when the number of visitors is expected to increase in the future. For example, the other facility proposing unit 116 may decrease the first threshold value when it is expected that the number of visitors will increase.

When the number of use information is equal to or greater than the first threshold value, the other facility proposing department 116 acquires the number of use information of the other store (other restaurant 21) adjacent to the own store. The other facility proposing part 116 acquires the number of the utilization information of the restaurant 21 from the information processing apparatus 100a disposed in the restaurant.

In the case illustrated in fig. 6, the other facility proposing part 116 acquires the number of utilization information of each of restaurant a, restaurant B, and restaurant C … as information of other stores (other restaurants 21) adjacent to the own store. The other facility proposing section 116 can acquire the status of waiting in line of another store by acquiring the use information of the other store. In a case where the amount of utilization information of the other store (other restaurant 21) is less than the second threshold value, the other facility proposing section 116 proposes the other store (other restaurant 21) to the user. In the case illustrated in fig. 6, the other facility proposing section 116 determines whether or not each of the number of utilization information of restaurant a (5), the number of utilization information of restaurant B (9), and the number of utilization information of restaurant C (2) … is less than a second threshold value, and proposes to the user a restaurant whose number of utilization information is less than the second threshold value.

The second threshold is set appropriately. The second threshold value is set to a number smaller than the first threshold value, for example. The other facility proposing part 116 may acquire past visitor transition information of another store (another restaurant 21) and predict the future number of visitors to the other store based on the past transition information. The other-facility proposing section 116 may change the second threshold value as appropriate in accordance with the expectation when the number of visitors to another store is expected to increase in the future. For example, the other facility proposing department 116 may decrease the second threshold value when it is expected that the number of visitors to another store will increase.

Further, the other facility proposing section 116 may acquire the amount of utilization information of a plurality of other stores (other restaurants 21) and propose one or more other stores.

Here, when the usage information of another restaurant 21 is acquired, the other facility proposing unit 116 may first acquire the number of pieces of usage information of another restaurant 21 located within a predetermined first distance from the own store and determine whether or not the number is smaller than the second threshold value. In the case where there is another restaurant 21 whose amount of utilization information is smaller than the second threshold value, the other facility proposing section 116 proposes the other restaurant 21 to the user. On the other hand, in the case where there is no other restaurant 21 whose number of utilization information is smaller than the second threshold value, the other facility proposing department 116 may also acquire the number of utilization information of the other restaurant 21 that is within the second distance (second distance > first distance) from the own store. In the case where there is another restaurant 21 whose amount of utilization information is smaller than the second threshold value, the other facility proposing section 116 proposes the other restaurant 21 to the user. On the other hand, in the case where there is no other restaurant 21 whose number of usage information is smaller than the second threshold value, the information transmission control unit 112 may transmit predetermined information of the own restaurant to the terminal 10.

The information processing apparatus 100 may further include a use determination unit 117 and a preferential treatment information control unit 118.

It is possible that the user leaves the store (abandons the queue) before turning himself, although he has already queued up at the restaurant 20. In addition, the user may leave the store just before sitting although the food is ordered. In such a case, there is no problem in leaving the store after the user notifies the staff of the intention to leave the store. However, when the user leaves the store without notifying the staff of the intention to leave the store, the user must remain in line and wait, which causes a burden on the restaurant 20. In order to reduce such a burden, the information processing apparatus 100 includes a usage determination unit 117 and a preferential treatment information control unit 118.

When notified by the order notification unit 114, the use determination unit 117 determines whether or not the restaurant 20 is used in response to the notification. When notified by the order notification unit 114, the terminal 10 returns the response information to the information processing apparatus 100 as described above. The determination unit 117 determines whether or not the response information is received.

The preferential treatment information control unit 118 transmits the preferential treatment information of the preferential treatment user at the next use of the restaurant 20 to the terminal 10 based on the determination result of the use determination unit 117. When the use determination unit 117 determines that the response information is received, the preferential treatment information control unit 118 controls the communication unit 101 so that the preferential treatment information is transmitted to the terminal 10. For example, when the same user uses the restaurant 20 a plurality of times and receives response information from the terminal 10 held by the user a plurality of times, the preferential treatment information control unit 118 may transmit the preferential treatment information to the terminal 10 when the number of times is equal to or greater than the third threshold value. The preferential treatment information control unit 118 may, for example, sum the number of pieces of response information received when the same user has used the same or different restaurants 20 a plurality of times, and transmit the preferential treatment information to the terminal 10 when the counted number is equal to or greater than a third threshold value. The third threshold value is set appropriately. The preferential treatment information is, for example, coupon information such as a coupon when the restaurant 20 is used and a coupon for free of charge for providing a side dish. The preferential treatment information is not limited to the above example, and may be various kinds of information that can give preferential treatment to the user.

By providing this preferential treatment, it is thus assumed that the user does not leave the restaurant 20 and continue to wait in line.

Each part of the information processing apparatus 100 described above may be realized as a function of an arithmetic processing unit of a computer or the like. That is, the usage information receiving unit 111, the information transmission control unit 112, the article information receiving unit 113, the order notification unit 114, the article information notification unit 115, the other facility proposing unit 116, the usage determination unit 117, and the preferential treatment information control unit 118 of the information processing device 100 may be implemented as a usage information receiving function, an information transmission control function, an article information receiving function, an order notification function, an article information notification function, another facility proposing function, a usage determination function, and a preferential treatment information control function, respectively, of a computer arithmetic processing device or the like.

The information processing program enables the computer to realize the above-described functions. The information processing program may be recorded in a non-transitory recording medium readable by a computer, such as an external memory or an optical disk.

As described above, each part of the information processing apparatus 100 may be realized by an arithmetic processing unit of a computer or the like. The arithmetic processing device and the like are constituted by, for example, an integrated circuit and the like. Therefore, each part of the information processing apparatus 100 can be realized as a circuit constituting an arithmetic processing unit or the like. That is, the use information receiving unit 111, the information transmission control unit 112, the article information receiving unit 113, the order notification unit 114, the article information notification unit 115, the other facility proposal unit 116, the use determination unit 117, and the preferential treatment information control unit 118 of the information processing device 100 may be implemented as a use information receiving circuit, an information transmission control circuit, an article information receiving circuit, an order notification circuit, an article information notification circuit, another facility proposal circuit, a use determination circuit, and a preferential treatment information control circuit, which constitute an arithmetic processing unit of a computer or the like. The communication unit 101, the storage unit 102, and the display unit 103 of the information processing apparatus 100 may be implemented as a communication circuit, a storage circuit, and a display circuit.

Next, an information processing method according to an embodiment will be described.

First, a first information processing method (overall flow of processing) will be described.

In step ST101, the usage information receiving unit 111 receives usage information that the user desires to use the restaurant 20 from the external terminal 10.

In step ST102, when the usage information is received in step ST101, the information transmission control unit 112 transmits predetermined information to the terminal 10. Specifically, when the usage information is received from each of the plurality of terminals 10, the information transmission control unit 112 transmits at least one of the waiting order, the number of waiting persons, and the waiting time to the terminals 10 as predetermined information based on the number of the usage information and the number of persons included in the usage information.

In step ST103, the article information receiving unit 113 receives, from the terminal 10, article information (information indicating the contents of the ordered dishes) related to the dish that the user wishes to provide at the restaurant 20. The article information receiving unit 113 stores article information in the storage unit 102.

In step ST104, the turn notification unit 114 determines whether or not the waiting order is the turn of the user of the holding terminal 10. If the user is in turn ("yes"), the process proceeds to step ST 105. If the user does not turn (no), the process proceeds to the determination of step ST104 again.

In step ST105, the order notification unit 114 notifies the terminal 10 that the user is in turn.

The terminal 10 may respond to the notification from the order notification unit 114 by operating the application program described above based on an operation by the user, for example. In this case, the terminal 10 transmits response information to the information processing apparatus 100, for example.

In step ST106, the article information notification unit 115 determines whether payment of the ordered food is completed or whether the terminal 10 has responded to the notification in step ST 105. That is, the article information notification unit 115 determines whether payment information (information indicating completion of payment for food ordered by the user) corresponding to the article information is received or whether response information is received from the terminal 10 in response to the notification to the terminal 10 in step ST 105. If payment of the goods is completed or if the terminal 10 responds (yes), the process proceeds to step ST 107. In a case where payment of the money is not completed or in a case where the terminal 10 does not respond ("no"), the processing proceeds to step ST 108.

In step ST107, the item information notification unit 115 notifies the kitchen (the output device described above) of the restaurant 20 of the item information received in step ST 103.

In step ST108, the article information notification unit 115 eliminates the article information received in step ST 103. For example, the article information notifying unit 115 discards the article information.

Here, the article information notifying unit 115 may discard the article information after a predetermined time has elapsed from the processing of step ST 106. Alternatively, the article information notification unit 115 may discard the article information when the determination in step ST106 is no after the determination in step ST107 is performed a predetermined number of times or more.

In step ST109, the use determination unit 117 determines whether or not the restaurant 20 is used.

For example, when the terminal 10 responds to the notification in step ST105 (when the information processing apparatus 100 receives response information from the terminal 10), the use determination unit 117 may determine that the user uses the restaurant 20. Alternatively, when the article information is notified to the output device in the kitchen in step ST107, the use information determination unit may determine that the user uses the restaurant 20. On the other hand, when the information processing device 100 does not receive the response information from the terminal 10 or when the article information is eliminated in step ST108, the determination unit 117 may determine that the user does not use the restaurant 20.

If the user utilizes the restaurant 20 (yes), the process proceeds to step ST 110. In a case where the user does not utilize the restaurant 20 ("no"), the processing ends.

In step ST110, the preferential treatment information control unit 118 transmits to the terminal 10 the preferential treatment information that can be used by the user next time the restaurant 20 is used.

Next, a second information processing method (flow in the case of proposing another restaurant 21) will be described.

In step ST201, the usage information receiving unit 111 receives usage information that the user desires to use the restaurant 20 from the external terminal 10. The process of step ST201 may be the same as the process of step ST 101.

In step ST202, the other facility proposing section 116 determines whether or not the number of users waiting in line at the restaurant 20 is equal to or greater than a first threshold value. That is, the different-facility proposing unit 116 determines whether or not the number of pieces of usage information that have been already received from the different one or more terminals 10 is equal to or greater than the first threshold value, before the process of step ST 201. If the number of queued waits is equal to or greater than the first threshold value (yes), the process proceeds to step ST 203. In the case where the number of queued waits is not equal to or greater than the first threshold value ("no"), the processing proceeds to step ST102 shown in fig. 7.

In step ST203, the other facility proposing section 116 acquires the number of pieces of utilization information of other restaurants 21 (other facilities) existing in the vicinity of the own store.

In step ST204, the other facility proposing section 116 determines whether the number of queued waits in the other restaurant 21 (other facility) is less than a second threshold value. That is, the other facility proposing part 116 determines whether the amount of the utilization information of the other restaurant 21 acquired at step ST203 is less than the second threshold value. In the case where the number of queued waits for other restaurants 21 is less than the second threshold value ("yes"), the processing proceeds to step ST 205. In the case where the number of queued waits for other restaurants 21 is not less than the second threshold value ("no"), the processing proceeds to step ST102 shown in fig. 7.

In step ST205, the other facility proposing section 116 proposes the other restaurant 21 (other facility). That is, the other facility proposing section 116 proposes, to the terminal 10 (user), the other restaurants 21 whose number of pieces of utilization information is determined to be smaller than the second threshold value by step ST 204.

Next, the effects of the present embodiment will be described.

The information processing apparatus 100 includes: a usage information reception unit 111 that receives usage information from the terminal 10; an article information receiving unit 113 that receives article information from the terminal 10; a sequence notification unit 114 that notifies the terminal 10 that the user has come in turn when the user holding the terminal 10 has come in turn in the waiting sequence; and an item information notification unit 115 that, when the waiting order is due to the user holding the terminal 10, notifies the restaurant 20 of the item information received by the item information reception unit 113 through the item information notification unit 115.

When the restaurant 20 is crowded, the information processing apparatus 100 receives a queue from the user (terminal 10) and receives the contents of food ordering (item information) from the user (terminal 10). The information processing apparatus 100 notifies the kitchen of the meal order contents of the restaurant 20 when the user is seated. Thus, the information processing apparatus 100 can efficiently perform the customer waiting work of the staff when the restaurant 20 is crowded.

In addition, since the user can order the food while waiting in line, the food can be provided in a short time as compared with the case where the user decides the food after sitting and orders the food.

In the information processing device 100, the article information notification unit 115 may notify the restaurant 20 of the article information when receiving the payment information corresponding to the article information.

The information processing apparatus 100 notifies the kitchen of the meal ordering content to the restaurant 20 when the payment for the meal ordered by the user has been paid. In the case where the payment has been made, the possibility that the user leaves the store (returns during the waiting period) without contacting the staff is low. This prevents the restaurant 20 from losing the cooking process by the information processing device 100.

In the information processing device 100, the item information notification unit 115 may notify the restaurant 20 of the item information when the response information is received from the terminal 10 in response to the notification to the terminal 10 by the order notification unit 114.

In the case where the user responds to the call notification (notification of the arrival turn) from the restaurant 20, the user is considered to be seated and have a meal. This prevents the restaurant 20 from losing the cooking process by the information processing device 100.

The information processing apparatus 100 may further include another facility proposing unit 116, and when the number of the use information is equal to or greater than a preset first threshold value when the use information is received from the plurality of terminals 10 by the use information receiving unit 111, the another facility proposing unit 116 may acquire the number of the use information of one or more other restaurants 21 and propose another restaurant 21 to the terminal 10 whose number of the use information of the other restaurant 21 is smaller than a preset second threshold value.

The information processing apparatus 100 proposes the other restaurant 21 in a case where there are many self-stores, and therefore can suppress the possibility that the user will be unhappy due to a relatively long waiting in line.

The information processing apparatus 100 may include: a use determination unit 117 that determines whether or not the restaurant 20 is used in response to the notification when the order notification unit 114 notifies that; and a preferential treatment information control unit 118 that transmits preferential treatment information of the preferential treatment user at the next use of the restaurant 20 to the terminal 10, based on the determination result of the use determination unit 117.

Thus, the information processing apparatus 100 can suppress the possibility that the user leaves the restaurant (abandons the waiting in line) without contacting the staff of the restaurant 20.

In the information processing method, a computer executes the steps of: a usage information reception step of receiving usage information from the terminal 10; an article information reception step of receiving article information from the terminal 10; a round notification step of notifying the terminal 10 that the user is in turn when the user holding the terminal 10 is in turn in the waiting order; and an item information notification step of notifying the restaurant 20 of the item information received in the item information reception step when the waiting order is the turn of the user holding the terminal 10.

In the information processing method, when a restaurant 20 is crowded, a user (terminal 10) receives a queue and receives the contents of food ordering (item information) from the user (terminal 10). In the information processing method, the contents of ordering are notified to the kitchen of the restaurant 20 while the user is seated. Thus, the information processing method can make the job of waiting for a customer by the staff efficient when the restaurant 20 is crowded.

The information processing program causes a computer to realize the following functions: a usage information reception function for receiving usage information from the terminal 10; an article information reception function for receiving article information from the terminal 10; a rotation notification function of notifying the terminal 10 that the user is rotated when the user holding the terminal 10 is rotated in the waiting sequence; and an article information notification function for notifying the restaurant 20 of the article information received by the article information reception function when the waiting order is the turn of the user holding the terminal 10.

The information processing program receives a queue from a user (terminal 10) when a restaurant 20 is crowded, and receives the contents of food ordering (item information) from the user (terminal 10). The information processing program notifies the kitchen of the restaurant 20 of the contents of the order while the user is seated. This makes it possible to efficiently perform the customer service work by the staff when the restaurant 20 is crowded.

Description of the reference numerals

1: an information processing system; 10: a terminal; 11: a display unit; 100: an information processing device; 111: a utilization information receiving unit; 112: an information transmission control unit; 113: an article information receiving unit; 114: a sequence notification unit; 115: an article information notification unit; 116: other facility propositions; 117: a utilization determination unit; 118: a preferential treatment information control section; 119: a display unit.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus includes:

a utilization information receiving unit that receives utilization information of a facility desired to be utilized from an external terminal;

an article information receiving unit that receives article information relating to an article that a user desires to provide at a facility from the terminal;

a round notification unit that notifies the terminal that the user has come in turn when the user holding the terminal has come in turn in the waiting order; and

and an article information notification unit that notifies the facility of the article information received by the article information reception unit when the waiting order is due to the user having the terminal.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

the article information notification unit notifies the facility of the article information when receiving the payment information related to the payment of the article corresponding to the article information.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,

the item information notification unit notifies a facility of item information when response information is received from the terminal in response to the notification to the terminal by the sequence notification unit.

4. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the terminal device further includes a different facility proposing unit that acquires the amount of usage information of one or more different facilities when the amount of usage information is equal to or greater than a first threshold value set in advance when the usage information is received from the plurality of terminals by the usage information receiving unit, and proposes, to the terminal, a different facility in which the amount of usage information of the different facility is less than a second threshold value set in advance.

5. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising:

a utilization determination unit that determines whether or not a facility is utilized in response to the notification when the notification is made by the order notification unit; and

and a preferential treatment information control unit that transmits preferential treatment information for preferential treatment of the user for the next use of the facility to the terminal, based on a determination result of the use determination unit.

6. An information processing method in which a computer executes the steps of:

a usage information reception step of receiving usage information relating to queuing of facilities from an external terminal;

an item information reception step of receiving, from the terminal, item information relating to an item that a user desires to provide at a facility;

a round notification step of notifying the terminal that the user is in turn when the user holding the terminal is in turn in the waiting order; and

and an item information notification step of notifying the facility of the item information received in the item information reception step when the waiting order is the turn of the user having the terminal.

7. An information processing program that causes a computer to realize functions of:

a usage information reception function for receiving usage information related to queuing of facilities from an external terminal;

an article information receiving function for receiving article information relating to an article which a user desires to provide at a facility from the terminal;

a round notification function of notifying the terminal that the user is in turn when the user holding the terminal is in turn waiting for the round; and

and an article information notification function that notifies the facility of the article information received by the article information reception function when the waiting order is the turn of the user having the terminal.