JP2002297980A - Service reserving system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a service reserving system providing a user with quick reservation and a desired service at a particular facility without waiting time. SOLUTION: The service reserving system providing reservation of the service at the particular facility from a client terminal is provided with a data base associating reservation dates and hours of the particular facility with menus of services which can be provided at the reservation dates and hours and storing them, a service menu updating means updating the service menus stored in the data base in accordance with situations, and a service menu providing means selecting a service menu associated with a reservation date and hour sent from the client terminal from the data base and sending it to the client terminal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a service reservation system for reserving / confirming a service in a specific facility.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are known various systems for making reservations by contacting the use time from a telephone or the Internet when a customer uses various facilities such as a restaurant and an amusement facility. For example, JP 08
JP-A-106497 discloses a system for making a reservation for a facility from a portable terminal, writing the reservation contents into the portable terminal, adapting the reservation contents at the time of entry, and permitting entry when the number of persons in the facility is less than a predetermined number. It has been disclosed. Also,
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 05-120292 discloses a system for providing a venue guidance schedule with a minimum waiting time to visitors based on the latest entry status.

[0003]

However, in the conventional service reservation system, for example, even if a user has reserved a restaurant, an order must be made after actually entering the restaurant. In some cases, food was cooked and waited for a long time.
In addition, when there is no desired dish in a restaurant, or when the desired dish is sold out, the desired dish may not be able to be eaten even if the person enters the restaurant with great effort. Further, in the conventional service reservation system, the number of users and the number of dishes cannot be grasped in advance at the restaurant side, and the service cannot be efficiently provided at the time of congestion.

[0004] In addition, dishes cooked due to malicious mischievous reservations and the like may be wasted. In order to prevent this, conventionally, a system for transmitting a personal authentication ID and a service request from a client terminal to a reservation server at the time of reservation is known, as disclosed in, for example, JP-A-09-204581. In such a system, when a reservation cannot be made, there is no use for the user to select a service again at the client terminal and transmit a request for the service.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above technical problem, and allows a user to receive a desired service at a specific facility without waiting time, and to make a reservation quickly from a client terminal. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a service reservation system that can perform the service reservation.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a service reservation system capable of reserving a service at a specific facility from a client terminal.
A database that stores the reservation date and time of the specific facility and a service menu that can be provided at the reservation date and time in association with each other, a service menu update unit that updates the service menu stored in the database according to the situation, , A service menu providing means for selecting a service menu associated with the reservation date and time transmitted from the client terminal from the database and transmitting the service menu to the client terminal. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the service menu providing means sets the latest service menu before a predetermined time before the reservation date and time transmitted from the client terminal. Is transmitted to the client terminal.

[0008] Further, the invention according to claim 3 of the present application is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising, upon access from the client terminal, authenticating the client identification information transmitted together with the reservation date and time. A client identification information authenticating means for connecting the client terminal to the database, the client identification information authenticating means issues the client identification information at the first access from the client terminal, and registers the client identification information. It is characterized by the following.

Further, the invention according to claim 4 of the present application is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 3, the client identification information authentication means can correspond to a plurality of specific facilities. .

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a service menu transmission method used in a service reservation system for enabling a service reservation from a client terminal at a specific facility. Storing the service menu in association with the service menu that can be provided, updating the service menu stored for each reservation date and time according to the situation, and storing the service menu associated with the reservation date and time transmitted from the client terminal. And transmitting to the client terminal.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a service menu transmission program executed by a service reservation system for enabling a service reservation at a specific facility from a client terminal. A procedure for storing the reservation date and time in association with the service menu that can be provided at the reservation date and time, a procedure for updating the service menu stored for each reservation date and time according to the situation, and a procedure for updating the reservation menu transmitted from the client terminal. And selecting a service menu associated with the date and time and transmitting the service menu to the client terminal.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiment 1 FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a service reservation system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The service reservation system 10 has, as a basic configuration,
A portable terminal 2 as a client terminal to which a user inputs and transmits information at the time of reservation, a reservation device 5 installed at a facility side where the user intends to make a reservation, and a communication between the reservation device 5 and the portable terminal 2 And a mobile terminal base station 3 to be connected. The reservation device 5 includes a communication unit 6 for connecting to the mobile terminal base station 3, an authentication server 7 for performing personal authentication, a transmission / reception instruction to the communication unit 6, an authentication instruction to the authentication server 7, and a database. And a database 8 for storing the reservation date and time of a specific facility and a service menu that can be provided at the reservation date and time in association with each other. ing. The database 8 stores a user's current reservation status, use history, and the like, along with the reservation date and time of a specific facility and a service menu that can be provided in connection therewith. Although not shown, the mobile terminal 2 is a liquid crystal device (Graphic User (Graphic User)) as an interface for displaying various information.
Interface), and the user makes various input settings via this GUI.

In the first embodiment, a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a notebook personal computer is taken as a client terminal. However, the present invention is not limited to this. May be used. Further, without being limited to the mobile terminal, a telephone or a desktop personal computer installed in each home or office can be used.

In the service reservation system 10, a user can make a reservation for a specific facility using the portable terminal 2, and at the time of reservation, the user accesses the reservation device 5 from the portable terminal 2. This access is performed via the mobile terminal base station 3 in, for example, an electronic mail format or a Web format. The reservation device 5 provides subsequent operation screens to the mobile terminal 2 only in response to access of a user who can be authenticated.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show a service reservation system 10.
It is an operation diagram for. Here, a case where the user makes a reservation for a restaurant will be described as an example. In this operation, first, communication is started between the mobile terminal 2 and the reservation device 5 (strictly, the reservation server 8) in accordance with a request from the mobile terminal 2. The access of the portable terminal 2 to the reservation device 5 is performed in an e-mail format or a Web format. After the start of communication, the user inputs personal authentication information (noted as a personal authentication ID in the figure) acquired at the first visit when the visit is not the first visit (S21). When this is transmitted to the reservation server 8, the reservation server 8
A user authentication request is made to the authentication server 7.

Although not shown, when the user visits for the first time, a personal authentication ID is provided by performing a predetermined registration procedure.
Thereafter, in S21, the user enters this personal authentication ID.
Enter

The authentication server 7 receives the input personal authentication I
D authenticates the user (S22), and transmits the result to the reservation server 8. The reservation server 8 judges the result (S23), and when it is "authentication impossible", creates an authentication impossible message (S24) and notifies the user. Thereafter, the portable terminal 2 checks with the user whether or not to perform authentication again (S22). As a result, when the authentication is to be performed again, the process returns to S21, and the subsequent processes are repeated. On the other hand, when the authentication is not performed again, the communication line between the portable terminal 2 and the reservation device 5 is disconnected (S25), and the process ends.

When the personal information is authenticated as a result of S23, the reservation information is requested to the database 9 and the history information relating to the user such as the number of times of use and the preference is stored in the database 9 for example. Is confirmed (S2
6). Subsequently, the reservation date and time are confirmed (S27).
The reservation status is confirmed (S28). These S26 to S2
The history information, reservation status information and reservation date and time confirmed in step 8 are transmitted to the reservation server 8, and the reservation server 8 creates a service menu selection screen with reservation status based on the transmitted information (S29). ).

Subsequently, the service menu selection screen information created in S29 is transmitted to the portable terminal 2, and the menu selection screen is displayed on the GUI of the portable terminal 2. The user performs menu selection and reservation date input via this screen (S30). After that, the setting contents (reservation registration / deletion information) on the menu selection screen are transmitted to the database 9 via the reservation server 8. The reservation status is confirmed in the database 9 (S31), and the reservation status information is transmitted to the reservation server 8. The reservation server 8 determines whether or not a reservation can be made based on the transmitted information (S32). If it is determined that the reservation can be made, the reservation server 8 outputs a reservation registration / deletion instruction to the database 9. Then, the reservation status is updated in the database 9 (S34).

When the reservation status is updated, the reservation server 8
Is notified of the reservation status update completion. The reservation server 8 creates a reservation completion message based on the transmitted update completion information (S35). This reservation completion message is transmitted to the mobile terminal 2. Thereafter, the mobile terminal 2 checks whether or not to make a reservation again (S3).
6).

If it is determined that the reservation is impossible as a result of S32, the reservation server 8 continues to create a reservation impossible message (S33), and transmits this message to the portable terminal 2. Thereafter, the mobile terminal 2 checks whether or not to make a reservation again (S36). As a result, when the reservation is redone, the process returns to S30, and the subsequent processes are repeated. On the other hand, when the reservation is not redone, the communication line between the portable terminal 2 and the reservation device 5 is disconnected (S37), and the process ends.

Next, FIGS. 4A to 4F show examples of operation screens displayed on the GUI of the portable terminal 2 corresponding to the above-described operation diagrams. First, on the operation screen shown in FIG. 4A, restaurants A, B, and C are displayed as candidates for reservable facilities in a state where communication between the mobile terminal 2 and the reservation device 5 is established. .
The user can select one of the displayed restaurants A, B and C. The screen shown in FIG. 4A is in a state where “restaurant A” is displayed in reverse video. When a decision is made in this state, “restaurant A” is selected as a facility to be reserved and the process proceeds to the next operation screen.

In FIG. 4B, an operation screen for inputting a personal authentication ID and a reservation date and time (reservation date and time) is displayed. The user can input a personal authentication ID, a reservation date, and a reservation time in input boxes provided for each item. When all the items are input and transmitted to the reservation device 5, the user is authenticated based on the personal authentication ID. If the user is authenticated, then it is determined whether or not the reservation of “restaurant A” at the input reservation date and time is possible. If the reservation is possible, the process proceeds to the next operation screen.

In FIG. 4 (c), the user is shown in FIG.
A service menu that can be provided at the reservation date and time input on the operation screen shown in FIG. These service menus are prepared in the reservation device 5 corresponding to the reservation date and time input by the user. For example, in the reservation device 5, when the reservation date and time is acquired from the mobile terminal 2, it is referred to as “lunch time”, “dinner time” and “XX”.
Day service ”is determined. Then, the service menu prepared corresponding to the corresponding item is transmitted to the mobile terminal 2 as a service menu that can be provided. However, when one of the service menus (“Menu 2” is highlighted and selected in FIG. 4C) on the operation screen shown in FIG. 4C, the next operation screen is displayed. Proceed to.

In the operation screen shown in FIG. 4D, the contents of the "menu 2" selected on the operation screen shown in FIG. 4B and the charge "Hamburg / 700 yen" are displayed. When "Next" at the bottom of the screen is selected, the operation proceeds to the next operation screen. In the operation screen shown in FIG.
Is displayed, a message asking whether or not to select "Do you want to select? YES / NO" is displayed. In this screen, "YES" is displayed in a highlighted state, and when the determination is made in this state, the process proceeds to the next screen. On the screen shown in FIG. 4 (f), a message indicating that the reservation has been completed is displayed. Thus, the reservation is completed.

As described above, in the service reservation system 10, the service menu that can be provided in each time zone of a specific facility is variable according to the situation, and the user always selects from the services that can be provided. It is possible to receive a desired service reliably and without waiting for a long time. In the service reservation system 10,
Since only the service menu that can be provided according to the reservation date and time set in the mobile terminal 2 is transmitted to the mobile terminal 2,
The user can make a reservation promptly. In this case, communication costs can be saved.

Embodiment 2 FIG. In the second embodiment, a reservation system 10 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to a system for reserving a print service of a captured image of a digital still camera or a business document from a portable terminal 2 to a print shop. In each print shop that provides the print service, the service that can be provided is variable according to the use time specified by the user, as in the restaurant in the first embodiment described above.

For example, during the time period when the administrator stays at the print shop (for example, from 8:00 to 18:00), the editing process (color correction, filtering, Resolution correction,
All services including editing operations such as mask operation, image modification, correction of image size / rotation, addition of special effects, etc. are available. Note that the editing process using the default setting using the image processing software can be automatically performed even when the clerk is absent, so that the service can be received all the time.

In a time period when the manager is not present at the print shop (for example, from 18:00 to 8:00), there is a possibility that the stack capacity in the paper discharge tray for printing out may be out of paper. So limit the number of copies. Furthermore, in this time zone, a print mode in which a printer trouble such as double-sided printing is likely to be induced and a mode in which toner empty is easily induced (for example, solid black printing and reverse mode) are restricted.

Basically, the service menu set in this way is selected according to each time zone, and a service menu screen transmitted to the portable terminal 2 is created. However,
The menu that can be provided at each time zone changes due to the occurrence of a machine trouble of the printer or the number of ordered services increases rapidly. Further, the menu that can be ordered changes due to the absence of a printer manager / image processing person. The service menu changes depending on the situation. Therefore, access to the database is performed at predetermined time intervals.

The mode for changing the service menu at each time is not limited to this.
A monochrome printer and a color printer may be used during the day, and only a monochrome printer may be used at night. In general, a monochrome printer is a high-speed printer capable of mounting a large amount of paper / toner, and a color printer is a low-speed printer in which such mounting is impossible.

In the second embodiment, it is necessary to transmit print job data to be printed from the portable terminal together with information on the personal authentication ID and the reservation date and time. As the print job data, print job data including print job control information, page control information, and print data described in a page description language is transmitted.

An example of the structure of the print job data is shown in Table 1 below.

FIGS. 5A to 5F show the GU of the portable terminal.
3 shows an example of an operation screen displayed on I. First, on the operation screen shown in FIG. 5A, print shops A, B, and C are displayed as candidates for facilities that can be reserved in a state where communication between the mobile terminal and the reservation device is established. The user can select one of the displayed print shops A, B, and C. The screen shown in FIG. 5A is in a state where “Print Shop B” is highlighted, and if a decision is made in this state, “Print Shop B” is selected as a facility to be reserved and the next operation screen is displayed. move on.

In FIG. 5B, an operation screen for inputting a personal authentication ID and a reservation date and time is displayed. The user
The personal authentication ID and the reservation date and time can be input in input boxes provided for each item. When both items are input, the user is authenticated based on the personal authentication ID. If the user is authenticated, then it is determined whether or not the reservation of “Print Shop B” at the inputted reservation date and time is possible. If the reservation is possible, the process proceeds to the next operation screen.

In FIG. 5 (c), the user is shown in FIG. 5 (b)
A service menu that can be provided at the reservation date and time input on the operation screen shown in FIG. These service menus are stored in the reservation device 5 in FIG.
Are prepared corresponding to the reservation date and time inputted on the input operation screen shown in FIG. For example, in the reservation device 5, when the reservation date and time is acquired from the mobile terminal 2, for example, it is "8:00 to 18:00" and "18:00 to 8:00".
Is determined. Then, the service menu prepared corresponding to the corresponding time zone is transmitted to the mobile terminal 2 as a service menu that can be provided. When any one of the service menus (“Menu 3” is highlighted and selected in FIG. 5C) is selected on the operation screen shown in FIG. 5C, the process proceeds to the next operation screen. .

In the operation screen shown in FIG. 5D, the content of "Menu 3" selected on the operation screen shown in FIG. 5B "No duplex printing / A4 / color / filtering"
Is displayed. When "Next" at the bottom of the screen is selected, the operation proceeds to the next operation screen. The contents of "Menu 1"
“Duplex printing / A3 / monochrome / filtering”, and the content of “menu 2” is “duplex printing / A4
/ Monochrome / no filtering ".

In the operation screen shown in FIG. 5 (e), a message "Select? YES / NO" for confirming whether to select "Menu 3" is displayed. On this screen, “YES” is displayed in reverse video. When the determination is made in this state, print job data as shown in Table 1 is formed and transmitted to the reservation device 5. On the screen shown in FIG. 5 (f), a message notifying the reservation completion is displayed. Thus, the reservation is completed. For the reception of the finished print, for example, when the user inputs an ID at a terminal in the print shop, the key of the box containing the printout may be opened.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the service menu that can be provided in each time zone of the print shop is variable according to the situation, and the user always selects from the services that can be provided. It is possible to receive a desired service reliably and without waiting for a long time.

Embodiment 3 FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a service reservation system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. In FIG. 6, the same components as those shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and further description is omitted. In the service reservation system 30, a plurality of reservation devices 32 and 33 are provided, and an authentication server 35 is provided.
Are not incorporated in each of the reservation devices 32 and 33, and are directly connected to the mobile terminal base station 3.

In the service reservation system 30, the authentication server 35 can refer to the databases in the reservation devices 32 and 33 prepared for different facilities via the mobile terminal base station 3. The user can make a reservation from the mobile terminal 2 to a plurality of facilities.

The present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and it goes without saying that various improvements and design changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the data transfer between the authentication server and the reservation device is performed via the portable terminal base station. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is possible to use a dedicated line, a commercial LAN, or the like. Is also good.

[0043]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the service reservation system which enables the reservation of the service at the specific facility from the client terminal, the reservation of the specific facility is performed. A database that stores the date and time and a service menu that can be provided at the reservation date and time in association with each other, a service menu updating unit that updates the service menu stored in the database according to a situation, and a service menu transmitted from the client terminal. Service menu providing means for selecting a service menu associated with the reservation date and time from the database and transmitting the service menu to the client terminal,
The service menu that can be provided in each time zone of a specific facility is variable according to the situation, and the user can always select from the services that can be provided, ensuring the desired service for a long time. You can receive without waiting. According to the present invention, only the service menu that can be provided according to the reservation date and time set in the client terminal is transmitted to the client terminal.
Reservations can be made quickly.

According to the invention of claim 2 of the present application, the service menu providing means transmits the latest service menu to the client terminal a predetermined time before the reservation date and time transmitted from the client terminal. Therefore, the user can select a desired one from the service menu that can be provided, and reliably receive the service.

Further, according to the invention of claim 3 of the present application, upon access from the client terminal, the client identification information transmitted together with the reservation date and time is authenticated, and the client terminal is connected to the database. Client identification information authenticating means for causing the client terminal to issue client identification information at the first access from the client terminal and register the client identification information. , The service reservation system can be used immediately.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4 of the present application, since the client identification information authentication means can correspond to a plurality of specific facilities, the user can send a plurality of facilities from the client terminal. Reservations can be made.

According to the invention according to claim 5 of the present application, in a service menu transmission method used in a service reservation system that enables a service reservation from a client terminal to a specific facility, the reservation date and time of the specific facility, A step of storing the service menus that can be provided at the reservation date and time in association with each other, a step of updating the service menu stored for each reservation date and time according to the situation, and a step of correlating with the reservation date and time transmitted from the client terminal. Selecting a service menu and transmitting it to the client terminal.
The service menu that can be provided in each time zone of a specific facility is variable according to the situation, and the user can always select from the services that can be provided, ensuring the desired service for a long time. You can receive without waiting. According to the present invention, only the service menu that can be provided according to the reservation date and time set in the client terminal is transmitted to the client terminal.
Reservations can be made quickly.

According to the invention according to claim 6 of the present application, in a service menu transmission program executed by a service reservation system that enables a service reservation from a client terminal in a specific facility, the program is provided in the service menu transmission program. A procedure for storing the reservation date and time in association with the service menu that can be provided at the reservation date and time, a procedure for updating the service menu stored for each reservation date and time according to the situation, and a procedure for updating the reservation menu transmitted from the client terminal. And a procedure for selecting a service menu associated with the date and time and transmitting the service menu to the client terminal, so that the service menu that can be provided in each time zone of the specific facility is variable depending on the situation,
It is possible to always select from the services that can be provided, and to receive a desired service reliably and without waiting for a long time. Further, according to the present invention, since only the service menu that can be provided according to the reservation date and time set in the client terminal is transmitted to the client terminal, the user can make a reservation quickly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a service reservation system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a first operation diagram of the service reservation system.

FIG. 3 is a second operation diagram of the service reservation system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operation screen of the mobile terminal at the time of reservation by the service reservation system.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an operation screen of a portable terminal at the time of reservation according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a service reservation system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 mobile terminal 3 mobile terminal base station 5 reservation device 6 communication unit 7 authentication server 8 reservation server 9 database 10 service reservation system

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5K067 AA21 BB36 DD17 EE02 EE10 EE22 EE23 FF05 FF23 GG01 HH22 HH23 KK15

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A service reservation system which enables a client terminal to reserve a service at a specific facility, comprising: a database storing a reservation date and time of the specific facility and a service menu which can be provided at the reservation date and time; A service menu updating means for updating the service menu stored in the database according to the situation; and a service for selecting a service menu associated with the reservation date and time transmitted from the client terminal from the database and transmitting the service menu to the client terminal. A service reservation system comprising a menu providing means. 2. The service reservation according to claim 1, wherein the service menu providing means transmits the latest service menu to the client terminal a predetermined time before the reservation date and time transmitted from the client terminal. system. 3. A client identification information authentication means for connecting the client terminal to a specific facility after authenticating the client identification information transmitted together with the reservation date and time when accessing from the client terminal, 3. The service reservation system according to claim 1, wherein the client identification information authentication unit issues client identification information at the first access from the client terminal and registers the client identification information. 4. The client identification information authenticating means,
4. The service reservation system according to claim 3, wherein the service reservation system can correspond to a plurality of specific facilities. 5. A service menu transmission method for use in a service reservation system which enables a service reservation system for a specific facility from a client terminal, wherein the reservation date and time of the specific facility and the service menu that can be provided at the reservation date and time are provided. Associating and storing; updating a service menu stored for each reservation date and time according to the situation; selecting a service menu associated with the reservation date and time transmitted from the client terminal and transmitting to the client terminal And transmitting the service. 6. A service menu transmission program executed by a service reservation system that enables a client terminal to reserve a service at a specific facility, wherein the program can provide the reservation date and time of the specific facility and the reservation date and time. A procedure for storing the service menu associated with a specific service menu, a procedure for updating the service menu stored for each reservation date and time according to the situation, and a procedure for selecting the service menu associated with the reservation date and time transmitted from the client terminal. And a procedure for transmitting to the client terminal.