JP2002259516A - Information processing unit and its method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that in a conventional system possible to reserve a seat with inquiring about vacant seats of transportations through Internet, a single inquiry about vacant seats can often obtain only information on one- way, so that it is troublesome for inquiring about vacant seats for business trips which are round-trips and multiple trips because of necessity of a repetition of the same inquiries in several times. SOLUTION: An inquiry system 6 about vacant seat communicates to a user terminal 1 via a network 2 to search a database 5 of inquiry about vacant seats according to a searched result, a screen information displaying information on the vacant seats of transportations is provided to the terminal 1 according to the searched result. In the provided information, information on the vacant seats of outward and homeward routes in a predetermined period appropriate to inquiry conditions is included.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, and more particularly, to an information processing apparatus and method for providing vacant seat information of transportation using a network such as the Internet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A system has been operated which can refer to vacant seats of transportation means (airplanes, ships, railways, buses, etc.) and reserve seats using the Internet.
This system allows transportation users and travel agents (hereinafter referred to as “users”) to specify a “specific date and time and flight”, “a specific date, departure and destination”, etc. The system searches for vacant seats on flights such as trains and trains, and presents vacant seat status by displaying symbols such as ○ △ × according to the percentage of vacant seats.

In the above system, only one-way information is often obtained by one vacancy inquiry (search). Also,
Although there is a system that can inquire the vacant seats of the round trip at one time, the vacant seats of a business trip that makes multiple round trips cannot be queried at once. Therefore, when inquiring for a vacant seat such as a business trip a plurality of times, the same inquiry is repeated many times, which is troublesome. And if there is no vacancy on the desired flight or date and time, you will be referred to the vacancy on another flight or date and time again.
This is also troublesome.

[0004] Such annoyance has a disadvantage that a travel agency or a company operating a transportation system (hereinafter referred to as a "transport company") misses customers.

[0005] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned system, since the waiting for cancellation is not realized, the transportation company misses the opportunity to fill in the gap when the cancellation occurs.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems individually or collectively, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to refer to vacant seat information a plurality of times at a time.

It is another object of the present invention to enable at least one seat reservation and / or waiting for cancellation.

Another object is to make effective use of the cancel wait information.

[0009]

The present invention has the following configuration as one means for achieving the above object.

[0010] An information processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a communication means for communicating with a terminal device via a network, a search means for searching a database based on a query condition input from the terminal device, and a transportation facility based on the search result. Generating means for generating screen information representing the vacant seat information of the terminal device to provide the terminal device with the vacant seat information, wherein the screen information includes vacant seat information of an outbound route and a return route for a predetermined period matching the inquiry condition. It is characterized by.

[0011] Also, an interface means for interfacing with the network, and a search means for searching a database based on an inquiry condition supplied from the interface means and supplying vacant seat information of transportation means to the interface means. An information processing apparatus, wherein the search means provides vacant seat information on an outbound route and a return route for a predetermined period matching the inquiry condition.

Preferably, the search means supplies the interface means with screen information representing the vacant seat information and form information for accepting at least one seat reservation and / or cancellation wait. And

[0013] Preferably, there is further provided a management means for accepting a cancellation wait according to the form information and, when the number of accepted cancellation waits satisfies a predetermined condition, generating a request for additional flights related to the cancellation wait. I do.

[0014] Preferably, furthermore, a management means for accepting a cancellation wait based on the form information and, when a vacant seat is generated due to the cancellation, generating information indicating a reservation possibility associated with the cancel wait related to the vacant seat, Transmitting means for transmitting information indicating that reservation is possible to the network.

An information processing method according to the present invention communicates with a terminal device via a network, searches a database based on an inquiry condition input from the terminal device, and indicates vacant seat information of a transportation facility based on the search result. Screen information,
The screen information includes steps for generating the information to be provided to the terminal device, and the screen information includes vacant seat information on a forward route and a return route for a predetermined period matching the inquiry condition.

Each step of receiving inquiry conditions via a network, searching a database on the basis of the received inquiry conditions, and returning vacancy information of transportation means based on the search results is provided. And vacant seat information on an outbound route and a return route for a predetermined period that matches the inquiry condition is included.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In the following, an empty seat inquiry system for inquiring and reserving empty seats of a bus will be described as an embodiment. However, the present invention is applicable not only to buses but also to empty seat inquiry and reservation of other transportation means.

[Configuration] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the vacancy inquiry system according to the embodiment.

A user (transportation user or travel agency) of the vacancy inquiry system is a user terminal 1 such as a personal computer.
To access the Web server 4 connected to the vacancy inquiry database (DB) 5 via a network such as the Internet 2. Then, according to the screen information and form information supplied from the Web server 4, the vacant seat inquiry DB 5 is accessed to perform vacant seat inquiry, seat reservation, and cancellation waiting, which will be described later.

Although the details of the Web server 4 will not be described, on the Web server 4, in addition to the Web server software 7 operating as a front end, an application server and an e-mail system constituting the vacancy inquiry system 6 are operating. . Note that the Web server 4 is not necessarily configured as one piece of hardware (computer), but can also be configured by interconnecting a plurality of pieces of hardware each running different software.

In the user terminal 1, client software such as a Web browser for displaying a screen based on hypertext data transmitted from the Web server 4 by the hypertext transfer protocol is operating. Therefore, information is input in an input box of a screen display example described later.
Processing such as selecting information using radio buttons, etc.
For example, it is realized by an HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) form tag. The information input or selected by the user is, for example, the CGI (Common G
ateway Interface) and Java (trademark of Sun Microsystems), etc., to the vacancy inquiry system 6.

[Process] Hereinafter, the process executed by the vacancy inquiry system 6 will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

First, the vacancy inquiry process will be described.

The user accesses the vacant seat inquiry system 6 running on the Web server 4 and selects a bus type for which vacant seats are to be inquired from its top page, for example, a highway bus, a limousine bus, and a sightseeing bus.

When the vacant seat inquiry of "Express bus" is selected,
The vacancy inquiry system 6 supplies an vacancy inquiry input screen, an example of which is shown in FIG. 2, to the user terminal 1 (S1).

The user sets with the radio button 11 whether the inquiry is to be made on a bus or on a course (in FIG. 2, "Inquiry by course" is selected). Next, a desired course is selected by using a pop-up menu of a selection frame 12 of “Express Bus Course”. When “inquire by flight” is selected, “flight” can be selected in the selection frame 12. Then, the user selects the month for which he / she wants to check the vacant seat in the selection frame 13. When the selection for inquiring about the vacant seat is completed, the user presses the send button 14. If you press the cancel button 15, the vacancy inquiry will be canceled and the terminal device will be canceled.
The screen of 1 returns to the previous page, for example.

When the send button 14 is pressed, the vacant seat inquiry system 6 supplies the user terminal 1 with a screen showing the vacant seat inquiry results shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 (S2). That is, the vacancy inquiry system 6 running on the Web server 4 uses the information, flight or course, and inquiry month entered by the user as keys,
The vacant seat is searched from the vacant seat inquiry database 5, and the result is sent to the terminal device 1 as screen information as shown in FIG.

The vacant seat inquiry result screen shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is divided into upper and lower frames. In the upper frame 21, the vacancy inquiry result 23 of the round trip (up and down) of the inquiry month 23
And 24 are displayed in calendar format. The inside of the frame of each day of the calendar is painted in, for example, light blue (vacant seats), yellow (slightly remaining seats), pink (full seats) and gray (reservation impossible), so that the vacant seat status of the day and availability of reservation can be seen at a glance. It has become. The details of the vacancy status are as follows. Available seats: Thresholds set for vacant seats (for example, 10 seats) or more Remaining seats: Less than thresholds set for vacant seats (for example, 10 seats)

Reservation is disabled, for example, on days when the reservation has not been started or on a day when the bus is not operated.
FIG. 3 is a screen showing the result of the inquiry on the vacant seats in April on April 5, so reservations cannot be made before April 5.

The upper frame 21 of the vacant seat inquiry result screen
Scroll to the next month (Fig. 4
May) will be displayed. The month that can be displayed by scrolling is, for example, the inquiry month and the following month, or a range in which a reservation can be made, for example, from this month to March. If the results of the vacancy inquiry for a plurality of months can be displayed on one screen in this way, it is convenient for vacancy inquiry when going back and forth across the month (going out at the end of the month and returning at the beginning of the month).

In the above, an example has been described in which “month” (inquiry month) is set in the selection frame 13 shown in FIG. However, depending on the type of transportation, it may be desirable to set a date and time, a week, a month, and a combination thereof. When using a month other than the inquiry month, the period displayed on the vacancy inquiry result screen is appropriately changed to several hours, several days, or several weeks.

A request for reservation and cancellation waiting A reservation screen is displayed in the lower frame 22 of the vacant seat inquiry result screen. Using this reservation screen, the user can apply for a reservation for a seat with a vacant seat. Also,
If no seats are available, you can apply for a waitlist. Specifically, the user can specify the date and number of seats
After setting 26 and 27, and radio button 28 of reservation or waiting for cancellation, by pressing application button 29,
Reservations and / or waitlists can be requested.

The input line for application has two lines in order to correspond to the up and down flights of the displays 23 and 24 in the calendar format. The user can use this two lines to reserve a round trip seat. Figure 3 shows the outbound route for April 20
This is an example of applying for a reservation for two seats of “Nara → Yokohama” on the day and two seats of “Yokohama → Nara” on April 22 for the return trip.

There are cases where it is desired to make reservations for days with different dates, such as a regular business trip. In such a case, the user scrolls the lower frame 22 to display the second (see display 25) application input frame shown in FIG.
Figure 4 shows a reservation for one seat of “Nara → Yokohama” on April 27 as an outbound route and a waiting list for one seat of “Yokohama → Nara” on May 6 as a return route for the second application. It is an example. Please note that reservations cannot be made on May 6 because they are full.

Further, by scrolling the lower frame 22, the third and subsequent applications can be made. If you scroll in the opposite direction, you can also refer to the contents of the second or first application. When performing the application for a plurality of times, the user presses the application button 29 after setting the input frame for the application. When the return button 30 is pressed, the application is canceled and the screen of the terminal device 1 returns to, for example, the screen shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the vacant seat inquiry system 6 of the present embodiment, the reservation and cancellation waiting for a round trip, and the reservation and cancellation waiting for a plurality of days with different dates are continuously performed in a short time. , You can easily apply.

● Registration of reservation and cancellation waiting When the application button 29 or the return button 30 is pressed, the vacancy inquiry system 6 operating on the Web server 4 branches the processing according to the user's request (S3).

When the application button 29 is pressed, the vacant seat inquiry system 6 based on the information input to the lower frame 22, stores a tentative reservation record in the vacant seat inquiry database 5 when making a reservation, and temporarily cancels when waiting for cancellation. Each waiting record is registered (S4, S5). Then, based on the tentative reservation record, the number of remaining seats for the entire application (schedule) is checked (S6). At this point, if a seat cannot be reserved for the reservation application, the vacancy inquiry system 6 displays a temporary application confirmation screen shown in FIG.
And display it (S7).

In the provisional application confirmation screen shown in FIG. 5, a cross is displayed in the reservation column for April 27 of the process for which a reservation has been applied, indicating that a seat could not be secured.
The user selects whether to wait or cancel the process on the same day using the radio button adjacent to the X mark. Of course, all other processes can be canceled, and when the user selects cancellation and presses the send button 14, the vacancy inquiry system 6 deletes the temporary reservation records of all the processes (S8-S
Ten). In addition, if it is changed to the waiting state in step S8, a temporary waiting record is registered (S18), and if the reservation is not canceled in step S9, the temporary reserved record for the target is deleted (S19).

The vacancy inquiry system 6 determines whether or not there is a temporary record (temporary reservation record and / or temporary cancellation wait record), including a case where the reservation is changed to a wait-for-cancel or partially canceled (S11). . If there is a temporary record, the vacant seat inquiry system 6 supplies the user terminal 1 with a reservation screen and / or a cancel wait application screen, examples of which are shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and displays the screen (S12). The user
Select a boarding station and alighting station in selection fields 31 and 32, and enter detailed information such as name, telephone number, e-mail address, and passenger name. The input to these screens is indispensable whether "reservation" or "waiting for cancellation".

When detailed information is input on the screens shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 and the send button 14 is pressed, the vacancy inquiry system 6
Supplies and displays an application confirmation screen 37, an example of which is shown in FIG. 8, to the user terminal 1 (S13). Although FIG. 8 shows an example of a confirmation screen for a reservation application, the confirmation screen for a cancellation wait corresponds to a display in which the display 33 is changed from “course reservation confirmation” to “cancel wait confirmation”.

The user confirms the application contents on the confirmation screen shown in FIG. 8, and if correct, inputs the e-mail address again and presses the send button 14. If the e-mail address input on the screen shown in FIG. 6 or 7 matches the e-mail address input on the screen shown in FIG. 8 (S14), the vacancy inquiry system 6 shows an example in FIG. The application end screen 35 is supplied to the user terminal 1 and displayed (S15). If the input e-mail addresses do not match, an error notification screen 34, an example of which is shown in FIG. 8, is supplied to the user terminal 1 and displayed (S16).
When the HOME button 36 is pressed, the top page of the vacancy inquiry system 6 is displayed on the user terminal 1.

When the input e-mail addresses match, the vacancy inquiry system 6 displays a screen 35 (S15), registers a reservation record or a cancellation waiting record in the vacancy inquiry database 5, and stores the corresponding provisional reservation record. Or delete the temporary cancellation waiting record (S
17). If the cancel button 15 is pressed on the screen 37 or 34, the corresponding record is displayed in the vacancy inquiry database 5
Remove from.

Although not described in detail, the above reservation and cancellation wait processing is repeated by the number of reservations and cancellation waits applied on the screens shown in FIGS. At that time, the vacant seat inquiry system 6 reflects the information input on the screens shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 on the next reservation application screen or cancellation wait application screen in order to reduce the trouble of the user to input information.

● Arrangement of Additional Flights Each time the above-mentioned cancellation waiting process is completed for each user, that is, every time a cancellation waiting record is registered (S21), the vacancy inquiry system 6 sets the cancellation waiting for each course or flight. It is determined whether or not the number of cases exceeds a preset threshold (S22). Then, when there is a wait-for-cancel exceeding the threshold value, the information (course, flight number, etc.) is notified to the person in charge of vehicle allocation (vehicle allocation person) using e-mail or the like (S23).

Upon receiving this notification, the dispatcher examines an increase in the number of flights according to the situation. Immediately after the increase in the number of flights is determined, the vacancy inquiry system 6 executes the increase in number of flights and inputs information such as the course name and date ( S24).

Shift from Cancellation Waiting to Reservation When a reservation has been canceled or a flight increase has occurred (S31), the vacancy inquiry system 6 compares the vacant seat information and the cancellation wait information (S32). The user waiting for cancellation whose conditions match is notified that reservation is possible (S33). An e-mail or the like is used for this notification, and FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a screen display example of the e-mail.

This notification is issued in the order of registration of the cancellation waiting records. In other words, a notification is issued to the registrant (user) of the oldest cancellation wait record that matches the above conditions, and then waits for a predetermined time and if no reservation is made,
Next, a similar notification is issued to the registrant of the old cancellation waiting record (S34-S36). Then, after issuing the same notification for all the applicable waiting queue records, if there is no reservation even after a lapse of a predetermined time, those cancel waiting records are deleted and the above vacancy inquiry is performed Reservation is enabled (S37-S39). Of course, as soon as a reservation is made for the notice (waiting for cancellation), the issue of the notice ends.

When the user who has received the notification accesses the URL (Uniform Resource Locator, which is different for each registrant of the waiting record, the address of the vacancy inquiry system 6) described in the e-mail shown in FIG. An appointment screen from the wait list showing an example is displayed (S1
2). Since the information input at the time of applying for the cancellation wait is displayed on the reservation screen, the user only needs to press the send button 14 if there is no change in the input information. It is also possible to modify the input information.

When the send button 14 is pressed, the vacant seat inquiry system 6 supplies and displays a reservation confirmation screen 37, an example of which is shown in FIG. 11, to the user terminal 1 (corresponding to S13). The user
Confirm the reservation contents on the reservation confirmation screen shown in FIG. 11, and if correct, enter the e-mail address again and press the send button 14.

If the e-mail address entered at the time of the application for waiting for cancellation matches the e-mail address entered on the screen shown in FIG.
Supplies a screen 35 whose example is shown in FIG. If the input e-mail addresses do not match, a screen 34 shown in FIG. 11 is supplied to the user terminal 1 and displayed. If the input e-mail addresses match, the vacancy inquiry system 6 displays the screen 35, registers the reservation record in the vacancy inquiry database 5, and deletes the corresponding cancellation wait record. When the cancel button 15 is pressed on the screen 37 or 34, the corresponding record is deleted from the vacancy inquiry database 5 (corresponding to S14-S17).

The method of notifying that the cancellation has occurred by e-mail is an example of the notifying method, and various other notifying methods, telephone, facsimile, electronic bulletin board, and the like are conceivable. In such a case, in order to authenticate that the applicant is a cancel waiter, an authentication number or the like may be issued when the cancel wait is accepted.

Also, the vacancy inquiry system is made a membership system,
Only members registered in the system may be allowed to access the vacancy inquiry system 6. In this case, since the member number is issued to the member, authentication can be performed using a combination of the member number and the password.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) Since the vacant seat inquiry result is provided as calendar-like screen information for the user, the vacant seat status of another day can be immediately determined, such as when there is no vacant seat on the desired date, and the convenience is improved. improves.

(2) The user is provided with the vacant seat inquiry results for a plurality of months as calendar-like screen information.
It is also convenient when there is a possibility of crossing months, such as at the beginning or end of the month.

(3) The user can apply for a plurality of reservations and cancellation waits at once while referring to the calendar-like screen information. The convenience when booking is improved. In other words, it is possible to apply for reservation and cancellation waiting for a round trip, and reservation and cancellation waiting for a plurality of days with different dates continuously, in a short time, and easily.

(4) For the user, when the desired date is full, the user can apply for a waiting list to increase the options.

(5) For the provider of the vacant seat inquiry system 6, for example, a transportation company, providing the above-mentioned collective application can reduce the trouble of the user in applying (inputting). Conventionally, we reserved only the outbound route because of the above-mentioned inconvenience,
Some customers use other means of transportation on the return trip, but these customers are expected to book a round trip.

(6) The provider of the vacancy inquiry system 6, for example, a transportation company, accepts a cancellation wait and notifies the user that reservation is possible when a cancellation occurs, thereby improving customer service and acquiring customers. In addition to the above, it is possible to easily obtain an opportunity to fill a gap when a cancellation occurs.

(7) For a transportation company, it is possible to improve customer service and increase sales by grasping the actual situation of waiting for cancellation and increasing the number of flights if possible.

[0062]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to refer to the vacancy information for a plurality of times at a time.

Further, it is possible to reserve at least one seat and / or wait for cancellation.

Further, the cancellation wait information can be effectively used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a vacancy inquiry system according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an empty seat inquiry input screen;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen showing a vacancy inquiry result;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen showing a vacancy inquiry result;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a provisional application confirmation screen,

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a reservation screen;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a cancel wait application screen,

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an application confirmation screen,

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an e-mail screen display;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a reservation screen from a wait for cancellation;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a reservation confirmation screen.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed by the vacancy inquiry system;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating processing executed by the vacancy inquiry system;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed by the vacancy inquiry system.

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. Communication means for communicating with a terminal device via a network, search means for searching a database based on a query condition input from the terminal device, and screen information representing vacant seat information of transportation based on the search result Generating means for generating the information to the terminal device, wherein the screen information includes information on vacant seats on a forward route and a return route for a predetermined period matching the inquiry condition. . 2. Searching a database based on interface means for interfacing with a network and a query condition supplied from the interface means,
An information processing apparatus having a search unit that supplies vacant seat information of a transportation facility to the interface unit, wherein the search unit provides vacant seat information of an outbound route and a return route for a predetermined period that meets the inquiry condition. Information processing device. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the inquiry condition includes at least a course or a flight of the transportation means and an inquiry month. 4. The search means includes screen information representing the vacant seat information, and at least one seat reservation and
4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein form information for accepting a cancellation wait is supplied to the interface unit. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a management unit that receives a cancel wait according to the form information and, when the number of received cancel waits satisfies a predetermined condition, generates a request for additional flights related to the cancel wait. An information processing apparatus according to claim 4. 6. A management means for accepting a cancellation wait according to the form information and, when a vacancy occurs due to the cancellation, generating information indicating a reservation possibility associated with the cancellation wait related to the vacant seat; 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: transmission means for transmitting information indicating the possibility to the network. 7. The vacant seat information is provided as screen information displayed in a calendar form.
7. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. 8. A terminal device that communicates with a terminal device via a network, searches a database based on an inquiry condition input from the terminal device, and displays screen information representing vacant seat information of a transportation facility based on the search result. An information processing method, comprising the steps of: generating information to be provided to a user; and wherein the screen information includes vacant seat information on an outbound route and a return route for a predetermined period that matches the inquiry condition. 9. Each step of receiving an inquiry condition via a network, searching a database based on the received inquiry condition, and returning vacancy information of transportation based on the search result. And information including vacant seat information on an outbound route and a return route for a predetermined period that meets the inquiry condition. 10. A program for controlling an information processing apparatus to execute the information processing according to claim 8 or 9. 11. A storage medium storing the program according to claim 10.