JP2002288526A - Information collecting device, facility information providing device, information providing device, information collecting method, facility information providing method and information providing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smooth the operation of an information source and improve the convenience of a customer by collecting information from the information source and providing the information for the customer. SOLUTION: An information source is requested to transmit its own information about vacancies and the like, and the information is stored, so that information is collected at a predetermined time. The collected information is searched with a location desired by a customer as the key for an appropriate information source, and the result is provided for the customer.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information collecting apparatus and method for easily collecting information, a facility information providing apparatus for providing information on facilities available and useful for reservations, and a facility information providing apparatus. The present invention relates to an information providing apparatus and an information providing method for facilitating providing information on a destination and facilities related thereto.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a parking lot, for example, there is known a method of collecting information as to whether or not there is a new parking space, that is, information on an empty or full parking state.
In such facilities, equipment is installed in each parking lot so that the parking status can be automatically recognized, and the equipment is connected to a center that collects the parking status in each parking lot by a communication line or the like. There has been proposed a configuration in which parking status information sent from an automatic parking facility is collected at a center. In addition, in response to a telephone call from the center or an inquiry using a communication line represented by the Internet, the parking lot manager may input the parking status verbally by telephone or by keyboard input on the Internet. Or a system in which the parking lot manager reports to the center at a predetermined time using the same means as above using a telephone or the Internet Is considered.

The parking conditions collected at the center in this way are provided to the user through radio broadcasting or the like, or in such a manner that the parking conditions of each parking lot are displayed on a bulletin board installed on the street corner. Have been.

[0004]

However, the method of collecting information by connecting a center with a facility for automatically recognizing a parking situation has a problem that the cost of the facility is high. Furthermore, even if the time for transmitting the parking status is predetermined, if the manager of the parking lot forgets to report to the center, the center side cannot accurately grasp the parking status.

[0005] On the other hand, in the method of providing the parking situation from the center through radio broadcasting or the like, there is a possibility that the user may miss it, and if the information is displayed on a bulletin board on the street corner, if the user does not go to that position, the user may know the parking situation. Can not.

In addition to the above-mentioned parking lot, the situation of vacant seats at restaurants such as restaurants and the waiting time at counters such as government offices and banks are collected at one place like the above-mentioned center. There is no known way to do this, and in order to know the status of vacancies and waiting times, users must actually go to restaurants and government offices or make inquiries by phone etc. Is the current situation.

Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to easily collect information from various information sources, and to easily provide the collected information on parking lots, restaurants, government offices and the like to customers. If the customer has a destination, information on an appropriate combination of the destination and a facility related to the destination can be easily provided to the customer.

[0008]

That is, according to the present invention for collecting information, information for accessing an information acquisition destination is stored, and the information acquisition destination is determined based on the information stored at a predetermined time. When access is made and information transmitted from the information source is received, the received information is stored and information from the information source is collected.

Here, the "information source" refers to various things including facilities such as a parking lot, a restaurant such as a restaurant, a supermarket, a government office, a bank, and the like. The term "access" includes, for example, making a telephone call to an information source, sending an e-mail to the information source computer using the Internet or the like. The "information for accessing" includes, for example, the telephone number of the information source in the case of a telephone, and the e-mail address of the computer from which the information is obtained in the case of an e-mail. In addition, "transmitted information" means information transmitted by a predetermined operation on a telephone or a computer from which information is obtained, whether wired or wireless, in response to the access or by the voluntary act of the information source. Is included,
“Receiving” includes receiving the transmitted information regardless of whether it is wired or wireless. Further, "accumulating information" means not only adding new information to the storage device, but also including overwriting the location where the information was previously written.

[0010] In such a case, information such as a parking situation, a vacant seat situation, and a waiting time is required for facilities such as a parking lot, a restaurant, a supermarket, and a government office, which are information acquisition destinations as viewed from the information collecting side. And provide the information to the information gathering side, and if the customer (including potential customers) can provide the above information to the customer, the smooth use of the customer can be promoted. You can plan. On the other hand, for those who collect information, it is possible to efficiently collect information by collectively collecting the information, and if the number of opportunities for using information from the customers increases, the number of information sources may increase. As they grow, they will be able to collect more complete information.
Furthermore, since the information source is accessed at a predetermined time, information can be obtained periodically when collecting information from the information source.

[0011] When the information source is accessed to prompt the information source to transmit the information, the information source is prevented from forgetting to transmit the information. For example, when prompting for transmission, it is preferable to take the following measures. For example, when making a call to the information source, it is usually expected that the receiver will pick up if the phone rings at the information source, so record a message prompting you to send the information and record the message. One is that the message automatically flows when connected. Also, when making a call, if the phone from which information is obtained has a number display function, set the information source so that a message indicating that information will be sent is displayed on the display when an incoming call is received. There is also a thing that did. Furthermore, when sending an e-mail or the like to the information source, the information collection side or the information source may set such that a ringtone or the like is generated when the computer of the information source receives the e-mail. .

Furthermore, when information from an information source is received, not only the information is simply stored, but also the means for updating the information up to the received new information is always used. Keep up to date information.
At that time, if the new information has the same content as the old information, it is also effective not to update the new information.

Further, in order to be able to always collect new information by a simple method, in the above-mentioned method, it is necessary to access the information acquisition destination a certain time after receiving the information from the information acquisition destination last. Is preferable.

In order to optimize the number of accesses to the information source, that is, to optimize the opportunity for information collection, the amount of unused or unreserved resources that the information source prepares for providing to customers. It is desirable to change the access interval to the information source according to.

Here, the "amount of resources" refers to the amount of empty cars or empty seats in, for example, a parking lot or a restaurant.
In the case of a government office or a bank, the number of staff members corresponding to the waiting time at the counter is included. Specifically, for example, in a parking lot, if there are many "unused" spaces, that is, spaces where cars are not parked, or "unreserved" spaces, that is, empty spaces where cars are not scheduled to be stopped, Since it is unlikely that the vehicle will be full soon, it is necessary to increase the interval between accesses to the parking lot. Conversely, when there are few "vacant", the access interval may be shortened.

In particular, in the case of accessing a telephone set possessed by an information source, it is necessary to simplify the transmission of information at the information source and to receive information from the information source in a simpler manner. Is receiving the information
It is preferable to receive the transmitted information by inputting information corresponding to the amount of the resource at the telephone from which the information is obtained. Specifically, for example, when a call is made to a telephone at a parking lot to access the parking lot, information indicating the status of “vacant car”, which is the “amount of resources” at the parking lot, is the number of cars that can be newly parked at that time. , Vacancy rate or vacancy rate, or whether there is vacancy, etc., so that it can be transmitted by pressing and inputting the number button of the telephone,
The information collected by the push input can be received on the information collecting side.

[0017] Further, specific preferable examples of the "information for accessing the information source" include those in which the information includes at least the telephone number of the information source.

Further, according to the present invention for providing facility information to a customer, for example, when location information relating to a customer's location or a destination including a facility intended by the customer is received, the received location information is used as a key. By sending search results to the customer's side by searching the facility availability database,
The facility information will be provided.

Here, the "facility" includes various things such as a parking lot, a restaurant, a window of a government office or a bank, and the "vacancy information database" refers to an empty car or a vacant seat in these facilities. And "vacancy information" including information such as waiting time and the like, collected from the facility and compiled into a database. On the other hand, "customer" refers to a user of the facility, and includes a potential user who may become a customer in the future. The “customer location” includes not only the current location of the customer at that time but also the location notified by the customer, and the “destination” includes the location and information that the customer intends to go to. And the position at which the user wants to know the information, and the "position information" means any of these positions. Further, "search" refers to information such as whether or not there is "vacancy" in the facility related to the location or the facility based on the "location information" received from the customer, from the "vacancy information database". This is to find out, and the "search result" obtained by this search is transmitted to the customer. In addition,
“Transmission” and “reception” include, as described above, exchanging information via the Internet or a telephone network regardless of whether it is wired or wireless. Then, for example, when the customer has a mobile terminal and the information is transmitted from the mobile terminal, the "position information" may be the position of the mobile terminal, or the customer has mounted an in-vehicle terminal such as a car navigation system. If you are in a car and the information is transmitted from the in-vehicle terminal, the “location information” may be used as the location of the in-vehicle terminal. Can also be displayed.

In this way, for the customer,
If the user transmits his / her current location, destination, or the like, the user can easily know a facility based on the location or a vacant facility. On the other hand, facilities will not only be able to advertise their presence at locations related to the customer's location information, but will be able to increase the number of customers by notifying their customers if there is space available. It is possible to improve the possibility of smooth operation and profit increase. Also, for the information provider, if the number of customers to which information is provided and the number of facilities to which information is obtained increase, more detailed information can be collected and more appropriate information can be provided.

Further, in order to allow the customer to visually grasp his own position, the position of the destination, and the position of the facility, when transmitting the search result to the customer similarly to the above-mentioned present invention, It is preferable to transmit information for displaying the search result over the map information.
Here, “map information” refers to information for visually displaying a map on various screens such as a computer, a telephone including a mobile phone, and a navigation terminal of a customer, a navigation terminal, and the like. Such information may include, for example, data composed of coordinate data and text data, data composed of bitmap data, or data composed of both data. To “display the search result over the map information”, for example, the position information of the customer or the position of the facility obtained by the search or the vacant information thereof is
Display on a map as iconified icons or the like is included.

Further, when the customer transmits the location information,
If there is a vacancy in the facility obtained as a result of searching the facility database using it, in order to automatically make a reservation to use that facility, it is necessary to make a reservation to the facility based on the search result It is desirable to transmit information for the facility to the facility side. Here, the "facility database" includes the "database of the vacancy information of the facility" and a database including information such as the position of the facility. "Reservation information" is information for a customer to reserve the use of the facility.
Includes the customer's name, contact information, usage time, number of people, car number, and the like.

Furthermore, when the customer transmits the location information, if the facility obtained as a result of searching the facility database using the location information has a vacancy, the customer is provided with information necessary for using the facility. In order to allow the customer to make a reservation for the facility, it is desirable to transmit information for reservation to the facility to the customer based on the search result. Here, the "information for making a reservation to a facility" includes a detailed location of the facility, a usage fee, business hours, a telephone number, an E-mail address, a homepage address, and the like.

Further, when the facility is reserved in this way, the availability of the facility is changed,
When transmitting the information for reservation of the facility, it is preferable to update the vacancy information of the reserved facility in the facility database.

Further, when transmitting facility information, that is, information such as the name and location of a facility, availability, fees and business hours, to the customer side, the facility or destination, or facilities or related facilities near those facilities or destinations. In order to provide guidance regarding the information, it is preferable to transmit the advertisement information together with the facility information. Where "advertising information"
Includes information on various types of advertisements including the various guidance described above.

Further, according to the present invention for providing information, when a category or condition of a first facility serving as a destination is received, a database of the first facility is searched based on the received information, and the search is performed. A database of the first facility is searched based on the position information of the first facility, and a combination of the searched first facility and the searched second facility is searched from a position represented by the received information for a combination of the searched first facility and the searched second facility. The sum of the time required to move to the second facility and the time required to move from the second facility to the first facility is obtained, and the search result or the processing information on all or a part of the combination is obtained on the customer side. The information will be provided by sending it to.

Here, "facility", "customer", "search",
“Transmission” and “reception” are as described above. Of the "categories or conditions of the first facility", the "category" may be the name of the place where the first facility as the destination is located, or the destination of the facility such as a restaurant, an amusement park or a shrine or temple. While the type is also included, the “condition” includes various conditions such as, for example, “a range within which a customer can arrive from a current position within a predetermined time” and “business hours of a destination”. Further, the “processing information” includes information obtained by performing processing such as adding some other information to the search result as it is.

In such a case, when a customer wants to go to a park as a destination by car, for example, the information and the current location of the customer are transmitted by a portable terminal or the like, and the receiver receives the information. From the database and the parking lot around the park from the database or another database, and the time required to drive to the parking lot by car from the combination of the searched park and parking lot. And the time required to walk from the parking lot to the park is calculated, and at least a part of the combination of the park and the parking lot is transmitted to the customer side. It is very convenient to use the above method when you want. It is effective that the information to be transmitted is, for example, in ascending order of the sum of the calculated times. On the other hand, facilities will be able to attract more customers, and those who collect and provide information will be able to collect and provide more detailed information.

When there are a plurality of places where the customer wants to go, the search condition is received, and a database of one or more facilities is searched according to the received search conditions. For each set of facilities, the required time for moving to all the facilities constituting the set of facilities may be obtained, and further, search results or processing information on all or a part of the set of facilities may be transmitted. it can.

For example, if the customer wants to stop by three bookstores, greengrocers, and restaurants, the user searches for a combination of bookstores, greengrocers, and restaurants, and finds time to stop at all of them. All or a part of the result is transmitted. It is also desirable to transmit the time required for stopping at all of the three facilities, and it is also desirable to transmit the time in ascending order of the required time.

[0031]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 includes an information collecting device C1 for collecting information on a parking lot and an information providing device C2 for providing information on the parking lot to customers (including potential customers) of the parking lot in this embodiment. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an entire system.

In FIG. 1, C1 is an information collection device C installed at a center X for collecting and providing information on a parking lot.
A TI (Computer Telephony Integration) server computer (hereinafter abbreviated as CTI server), which utilizes a so-called personal computer connected to a telephone network T-NET via an appropriate path control device. The CTI server C1 includes a keyboard 101, a mouse 102, a CPU 10 as shown in FIG.
3, a display 104, an internal memory 104, an external storage device 106 such as an HD, a database device 107, a communication interface 108, and the like.

C2 is a service server computer (hereinafter abbreviated as a service server) as an information providing device connected to the CTI server C1 at the center X by, for example, a LAN or the like, and is connected to the Internet via a route control device such as a router. It uses a so-called personal computer connected to I.NET. The service server C2 has a WEB server function and the like.
Although not shown, it has a device configuration substantially similar to that of the CTI server.

T is a telephone set in each of the parking lots (A to C... In the illustrated example) corresponding to the information source viewed from the center X. For example, a telephone network T / N is connected via a normal telephone line.
Connected to ET. The telephone T has a push button unit Ta displaying numbers 0 to 9 and symbols such as # and *.
And a so-called number display type ordinary telephone having a display unit Tb capable of displaying a telephone number or the like of the other party when receiving a telephone call, such as a number or a symbol corresponding to the button pressed by the push button unit Ta, Preferably, the display unit Tb may not be provided if the push button unit Ta is provided. In addition, any other type of telephone may be used as long as it has a normal telephone function.

Further, C3 is a client computer as an information processing device used by a customer who wants to use the parking lot. Although not shown, the client computer C3 includes an input unit, a display unit, a CPU, a memory, a communication interface, and the like, like the service server C2 and the like.
It can be connected to the Internet I.NET, and specifically includes a so-called personal computer and a mobile phone as shown in the figure, but also includes a mobile information terminal, a car navigation system mounted on a car, and the like. It does not matter.

As described above, the present system uses the telephone network TN
CTI server C1 and service server C communicably connected to each other via ET or Internet I / NET
2. It is configured using a telephone T and a client computer C3.

The CTI server C1, which is an information collection device in the present embodiment, operates the CPU 103 and peripheral devices by a program or the like stored in the storage device 106 or the like, and as shown in FIG. It functions as a storage unit 2, a reminder information storage unit 3, an access unit 4, a first reception unit 5, and an update unit 6. Similarly, the service server C2, which is the information providing device in the present embodiment, also has a second receiving unit 7, a third receiving unit 8, a first searching unit 9, and a second searching unit as shown in FIG. The function as the means 10, the arithmetic means 11, and the transmitting means 12 is exhibited. Although not shown, the program is, for example, a CD.
-The above-described units may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a ROM and installed in each computer, or may be received and installed by electronic distribution. In the present embodiment, the CTI server C1 has the function as the storage unit 2. However, the same function may be provided in the service server C2. Server C1 and service server C
Various embodiments can be adopted, such as installing a database server (not shown) connected to the LAN 2 via a LAN or the like so that the database server has a function as the storage unit 2.

Each means will be described.
Are set in at least one of the storage device 106 and the database device 107, and the telephones of the telephones T in the respective parking lots are used to call the telephones T in the parking lots A to C ... registered in the center X. The parking lot name A
.. C are stored in pairs. FIG. 5 shows a case where the telephone number is stored as a parking lot database in the database device 107 together with the information stored in the storage means 2 described below. As shown in the figure, the contents stored by the storage means 1 in this parking lot database include parking lot name and telephone number, parking lot position information (address, latitude and longitude), business hours (opening time and Closing time), parking fee (basic fee and formula), date and time of last update of availability, and the like. In addition to these, for example, the ID number of each parking lot, the maximum number of vehicles that can be accommodated, an advertisement, and the like may be stored.

The storage means 2 is set in the database device 107 together with the storage means 1, and stores the information on the vacancy status sent from each parking lot in the parking lot database shown in FIG. I am trying to do it.
In addition, in FIG. 5, "vacancy rate 0%" represents the full state where there is no parking space at that time. In the present embodiment, the vacancy status is indicated by the vacancy rate (the ratio of vacant spaces that can be parked), but the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of vacancies (the number of vacant spaces) or simply Alternatively, it may be possible to indicate only whether or not there is. Although not shown, information such as the expected waiting time can also be stored at the same time.

The prompting information storage means 3 stores the telephone T of the parking lot.
If you take off the handset at the parking lot when you call
Record a voice guide so that a voice guide with the meaning of "Please push the vacancy rate" is automatically played in order to prompt the manager of the parking lot to transmit the availability. Storage device 1
06 or the like.

The access means 4 calls the telephone T of the corresponding parking lot at a predetermined time based on the telephone number of the parking lot obtained from the storage means 1 and stores it in the prompting information storage means 3. An audio guide is transmitted. In addition to making a call at a predetermined time, a call may be made after a certain time from the time when the latest empty state is obtained, or the interval for making a call may be appropriately changed according to the empty state (congestion condition). You can also.

The first receiving means 5 receives the information on the empty state transmitted from the telephone T in the parking lot in response to the telephone call to the parking lot. In addition, even when the center X does not make a call to the parking lot and the empty state is voluntarily transmitted from the parking lot, the empty state is also received.

The updating means 6 updates the vacant state of the corresponding parking lot already stored in the parking lot database based on the vacant state received by the first receiving means 5. The update date and time are updated at the same time as the update. In addition, when the empty state already stored and the newly received empty state are the same, the update date and time are updated.

The second receiving means 7 receives the access from the client computer C3, and receives the customer position information transmitted from the client computer C3. The customer location information may be the current location entered by the customer into the client computer C3, the address of the destination, the latitude and longitude automatically acquired by GPS or the like, or the client computer C3 may use a mobile phone or car navigation system. In the case of, if the position where the information is transmitted can be automatically identified by the second receiving means 7, the identified position may be used.

The third receiving means 8, when receiving access from the client computer C3, receives the destination information transmitted from the client computer C3 regarding the destination to which the customer is going. The destination information includes, for example, types of various facilities such as restaurants, cinemas, and parks as destination categories,
The destination condition includes a destination name and business hours of the destination of the customer, and particularly includes information on the position of the destination. Furthermore, when the destination is a specific facility and its position can be clearly understood from its name, the name of the destination can be used as the destination information.

The first searching means 9 specifies the position of the destination based on the destination information received by the third receiving means 8. Therefore, the database device 107
Has a destination database including place name information and facility information as shown in FIG. 6 as an example. In this example, the place name information includes a place name, latitude, longitude, and the like, and the facility information includes a name, a position (address, latitude, longitude),
Although the business hours, the category, and the like are included, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may include other information. The first search means 9 searches the destination database for a corresponding item based on the received destination information, and extracts the search result as the location information of the destination.

The second search means 10 is provided with the first search means 9
The parking lot database is searched based on the location information of the destination, which is the search result obtained in the above, and a parking lot that matches the location information of the destination is extracted as the search result.
The number of parking lots obtained as a search result may be one or more. In addition, there is “vacancy” (vacancy rate is 0%
Other parking lots may be extracted, or parking lots that are full (vacancy rate 0%) may also be extracted.

If the customer wants to know the parking lot near the current location, the customer does not have to bother sending the destination, so if the second receiving means 7 receives the current location of the customer, As shown by the broken line arrow in FIG. 4, the second search means 10 may search for a corresponding parking lot based on the received customer position information.

The calculating means 11 calculates each position from the position received from the client computer C3 based on the customer position information received by the second receiving means 7 and the position of each parking lot searched by the second searching means 10. The time required to travel by car to the parking lot is determined, and the time required to get off the car from each parking lot and move on foot to the destination position specified by the first search means 9 is determined. Then, the expected time is obtained, and for the combination of the destination and each parking lot, the calculation result of the sum of the travel time by car and the travel time by foot is calculated as the required time. In the case where the corresponding parking lot is directly searched by the second searching means 10 without passing through the first searching means 9 as shown by the broken line arrow in FIG. The travel time on foot to the destination on foot may be set to 0, and only the travel time by car may be used as the calculation result.

The transmitting means 12 comprises the first searching means 9 and the second
With respect to the combination of the destination and the parking lot obtained from the search means 10 of the above, the required time, which is the calculation result obtained by the calculation means 11, is received, and a predetermined number of parking lots are arranged in ascending order of time required. Is transmitted to the client computer C3 which has requested access. Further, the transmitting means 12 transmits a map screen around the destination together with the search result and the calculation result.
For this purpose, information obtained by converting a map into data is stored in a predetermined storage area of the service server C2. In transmitting the information, the position is specified on the map based on the position information of the parking lot or the destination obtained from the search result and the calculation result, and the parking lot or the destination is further specified at the specified position. , And then superimpose the icon on a map screen displayed on the display of the client computer C3.

Next, a main flow of an example of a method of using the present system will be described below.

First, it is necessary that the center X has information on the parking lot. Therefore, it is assumed that the center X has a contract relationship with a plurality of parking lots A to C, and informs the parking lots A to C of a method of transmitting the availability. On the other hand, for the customer, the center X may set up a home page on the Internet I.NET so that the customer can freely access the home page.

FIG. 7 shows a flow chart for collecting the vacancy status of the parking lot in the center X, for example. First, based on the telephone number of the parking lot stored in the parking lot database, the CTI server C1 sends a telephone T of the parking lot.
Is called (step S1). When the receiver is picked up at the parking lot where the call is received, the above-mentioned voice guide is transmitted (step S2), and the vacant state is urged to be transmitted back from the parking lot as an empty rate. The manager of the parking lot receiving the reminder performs an operation according to a predetermined operation method and transmits the vacancy rate. As the operation method, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, if the vacancy rate is 75%, “75 #” is displayed on the push button unit Ta of the telephone T.
Press each button like so. At this time, since “75 #” corresponding to the pressed button is displayed on the display unit Tb, the administrator can confirm the content transmitted by himself. When this transmission is completed, CTI server C
1 receives the transmitted vacancy rate (step S3), updates the vacancy rate of the parking lot until the reception in the parking lot database to the newly received vacancy rate, and accumulates it (step S4). In this way, the center X collects new vacancies in each parking lot.

On the other hand, in order for the customer to use this system,
First, it is necessary to access the service server C2 using its own client computer C3. When the service server C2 receives an access from the client computer C3 (step S10 in FIG. 8)
1) First, an initial screen is transmitted (step S10).
2). At this stage, the service server C2 requests the client computer C3 to input and transmit destination information and customer location information (current location and address). Upon receiving this, an initial screen W1 as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed on the display of the client computer C3.
On the initial screen W1, the customer can input the category and condition as the destination information, and can input the customer position information. For these inputs, it is convenient to be able to select the input contents from, for example, a pull-down menu. When the user completes the input and clicks the “send” button, the input destination information and customer position information are transmitted to the service server C2.

The transmission of the destination information and the customer location information from the client computer C3 is received (step S in FIG. 8).
103), the service server C2 searches the destination database for the corresponding destination, and specifies the position of the destination (step S104). Further, according to the search result, that is, the position information of the specified destination, the parking lots around the position are searched from the parking lot database, and the position of each parking lot is specified (step S10).
5). Then, the search result of the parking lot and the step S10
Based on the customer location information received in step 3, the time required for the customer to travel to each parking lot by car is determined,
The time required to travel on foot from each parking lot to the destination is determined, and the required time, which is the sum of the calculated results, is calculated (step S106).

Further, a process of arranging the required time for each combination of the parking lot and the destination obtained in step S106 in ascending order is performed (step S107), and the required time corresponding to each parking lot is vacant in that order. Is transmitted to the client computer C3 together with the rate (step S10).
8).

The result display screen W2 shown in FIG. 9 is displayed on the display of the client computer C3 which has received the information. On the result display screen W2, the name of each parking lot, the availability (vacancy rate), the update date and time, and the required time are displayed in ascending order of the required time. Here, the “vacancy status” is displayed as the vacancy rate, but when the vacancy rate is 0%, it is displayed in a state where it is processed into a display of “almost full”. Further, the displayed names of the parking lots are buttons for requesting information for reserving the respective parking lots (reservation information button b1), and the position of each parking lot is displayed along with a map at the bottom of the screen. A button (map information button b2) for requesting display is set. The end button b also set at the bottom of the screen
If you click 3 and specify (hereinafter click),
Further information provision from the service server C2 is stopped. The same applies to each end button b3 described below.

When any of the reservation information buttons b1 is clicked on the result display screen W2, a signal requesting the reservation information is transmitted from the client computer C3. The request is received (step S10 in FIG. 8).
9) In the service server C2, the step S10
For each of the parking lots searched in step 5, the telephone number, business hours, parking fee, advertisement, and other information necessary for the customer to make a reservation for the parking lot are obtained (step S110), and the client acquires these as the reservation information. The data is transmitted to the computer C3 (step S111). The display of the client computer receiving this reservation information is shown in FIG.
Since the reservation information screen W3 shown in FIG. 5 is displayed, the customer can see the information and make a reservation by calling the parking lot. Customer information for reservation may be automatically transmitted when the reservation button is clicked. By clicking the "return" button b4 set at the bottom of the reservation information screen W3,
By displaying the original result display screen W2 again, the reservation information screen of another parking lot can be called. The functions of the map information button b2 and the end button b3 are the same as described above.

On the other hand, when the map information button b2 is clicked on the result display screen W2 or the reservation information screen W3, a signal requesting the map information is transmitted from the client computer C3. The service server C2 that has received the request (step S109 in FIG. 8) selects a map including the destination and the parking lot based on the position information of each parking lot and the position of the destination searched in step S105. A process of superimposing the parking lot and the destination as an icon on the position corresponding to each parking lot and the destination on the map is performed (step S112), and the map thus processed is transmitted to the client computer C3 as map information. (Step S113). On the display of the client computer C3 that has received the map information, a map screen W4 as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed. On the map screen W4, the destination input and transmitted by the customer at the beginning of the access is displayed almost at the center of the screen (shaded area), and the searched parking lots are displayed as icons. If you want to see a more detailed map,
4 is clicked, a signal to request a detailed map is sent to the service server C.
2 and then the detailed map is transmitted from the client server C2, and the detailed map screen W5 (FIG. 9) is displayed on the client computer C2.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, at the stage of searching for a corresponding parking lot based on the destination information received from the client computer, a reservation is automatically made for the parking lot closest to the destination among the available parking lots, and Alternatively, the location of the parking lot (which may be shown as map information or the location may be displayed in characters) and the fact that the reservation has been made can be transmitted.

Further, the present invention can be applied not only to the empty car information of the parking lot, but also to a mode in which the vacant seat status in a restaurant such as a restaurant or a pub is collected and provided to the customer.

Further, the present invention can be applied to a form of collecting and providing information on waiting time at a counter of a government office. In this case, for example, a telephone call is made from the center to the office of the government office and the waiting time at that time is transmitted, and the information on the waiting time is appropriately updated on the Internet homepage established by the center. Then, just by visiting the home page, customers can see the waiting time at a glance.
For this reason, it is possible for the government office to eliminate the congestion at the counter and to provide a smooth service, and for the customer to check the vacant time before going to the government office, it will save time.

In addition, the specific configuration of each part is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0065]

According to the present invention, according to the information collecting apparatus of the present invention described above, information sources such as parking lots, restaurants, supermarkets, and government offices can provide information by providing their own vacant information, for example. If the information is provided to the customer, the information can be provided to the customer, and when the customer is full, the customer will not come and when there is space, the customer can be actively encouraged to use the customer. It will be able to operate smoothly and expect to use more customers and increase sales.

Further, according to the facility information providing apparatus or the information providing apparatus of the present invention, by accessing a place where vacant information such as facilities is collected, the customer can determine which facility is currently vacant, In addition, since it is easy to know which facility is more advantageous to use to go to the destination of the user, it is possible to avoid the congestion and the increase in cost in advance and use the facility smoothly.

On the other hand, the information collecting side can collect information at a high efficiency by collectively collecting the information of the information providing destinations on a regular basis. It is expected that the number of destinations will increase, and it is possible to collect and provide more complete information.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic internal configuration diagram of a CTI server computer according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a functional configuration diagram according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a functional configuration diagram of the same.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing contents of a parking lot database in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the destination database.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an information collection procedure in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the information providing procedure.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary view showing an example of a screen displayed on the client computer of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 C1: Information collecting device (CTI server) C2: Information providing device (service server) T: Telephone 1 ... Storage means 2 ... Storage means 3 ... Reminder information storage means 4 ... Access means 5 ... (First) receiving means 6 ... Updating means 7 Second receiving means 8 Third receiving means 9 First searching means 10 Second searching means 11 Computing means 12 Transmitting means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 17/30 170 G06F 17/30 170Z 340 340A // G08G 1/0969 G08G 1/0969 F term (reference) 2F029 AA02 AB07 AB13 AC02 AC14 AC16 AC20 5B075 KK07 KK13 KK33 KK37 ND03 ND20 ND23 PP02 PP03 PP13 PP30 PQ02 PQ13 PQ66 PQ67 PQ69 UU14 UU40 5H180 AA01 BB05 EE02 FF05 FF13 FF22 KK27 FF27 KK

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. A storage means for storing information for accessing an information source, and an access means having a function of accessing the information source based on information read from the storage means at a predetermined time. An information collecting apparatus comprising: a receiving unit that receives information transmitted from the information source; and a storage unit that stores information received by the receiving unit. 2. A storage means for storing information for accessing an information acquisition destination, and the information acquisition based on the information read out from the storage means a fixed time after the information is last received from the information acquisition destination. An information collecting apparatus comprising: an access unit having a function of accessing a destination; a receiving unit that receives information transmitted from the information obtaining source; and a storage unit that stores information received by the receiving unit. 3. The access interval to the information source is changed according to the amount of unused or unreserved resources that the information source prepares to provide to the customer. Information collection device as described. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the unreserved resource is a parking lot or an office of a government office. 5. The receiving means for receiving information transmitted by inputting information corresponding to the amount of the resource in a telephone set of the information acquisition source. Information collection device as described. 6. The information collecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information for accessing the information source is information including at least a telephone number. 7. A second receiving means for receiving position information, a search means for searching a database of facility free information using the position information received by the second receiving means as a key,
A facility information providing apparatus, comprising: a transmission unit that transmits a search result searched by the search unit. 8. A second receiving means for receiving position information, a search means for searching a database of facility free information using the position information received by said second receiving means as a key,
A facility information providing apparatus, comprising: a transmission unit that transmits information for displaying a search result searched by the search unit over map information. 9. A second receiving means for receiving position information, a searching means for searching a facility database using the position information received by the second receiving means, and a facility based on a search result of the searching means. A facility information providing apparatus, comprising: means for transmitting information for making a reservation to the facility; and means for transmitting the search result of the search means. 10. A second receiving means for receiving position information,
Searching means for searching a facility database using the position information received by the second receiving means, and means for transmitting information for reservation to a facility based on a search result of the searching means. Facility information providing device. 11. A facility information providing apparatus characterized in that, when transmitting information for reserving a facility, the facility database updates the vacancy information of the reserved facility in the facility database. 12. The facility information providing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the advertisement information is transmitted together with the facility information. 13. A third receiving means for receiving a category or condition of a first facility, and a first searching means for searching a database of the first facility based on information received by the third receiving means. And second search means for searching a database of the same location or a different facility based on the location information of the first facility searched by the first search means,
The first facility searched by the first search means and the second facility
The time required to move from the position represented by the information received by the third receiving means to the second facility for the combination of the second facilities searched by the searching means and the second time
Information providing means for calculating the sum of the time required to travel from the facility to the first facility, and transmitting means for transmitting search results or processing information on all or a part of the combination. apparatus. 14. A set of a receiving means for receiving a search condition, a search means for searching a database of one or a plurality of facilities according to the search condition received by the receiving means, and a set of facilities searched by the search means. Means for determining the time required to move to all facilities constituting the set of facilities for each set of facilities, and transmission means for transmitting search results or processing information on all or a part of the set of facilities. An information providing device, comprising: 15. A facility information providing apparatus, wherein, when location information is received, a facility information database is searched using the received location information as a key, and the searched result is transmitted. Method. 16. When the category or condition of the first facility is received, the database of the first facility is searched based on the received information, and the second database is searched based on the location information of the searched first facility. The database of one facility is searched, and for the combination of the searched first facility and the searched second facility, the time required to move from the position represented by the received symbol to the second facility is calculated. An information providing method, wherein a sum of required times for moving from the second facility to the first facility is obtained, and a search result or processing information on all or a part of the combination is transmitted. 17. A program for realizing an apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14 or a method according to any one of claims 15 to 16. 18. A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 17 is recorded.