JP2005092845A - Real-time information retrieval system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable centralization of individual availability information of each tourism facility on a host computer through a dedicated terminal arranged in various tourism facilities in a fully automatic manner, without requiring any entry operation to the dedicated terminal, allowing providing real time availability information for each purpose and condition to users of the tourism facility. <P>SOLUTION: The individual availability information is collected from an availability information management device or the like of the facility by wire or wireless to the dedicated terminal. The individual availability information is centralized on a database server in a host computer from the dedicated terminal through a wide area network such as Internet. The user of the facility sends a retrieval condition with respect to a purpose to the database server through a mobile telephone terminal or PC and obtains individual availability information corresponding to the retrieval condition. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention accumulates the presence information of a customer-collecting facility in a database server on a wide area network such as the Internet, and provides facility users with real-time presence information of the facility using a network terminal such as a mobile phone or a PC. It is about the system.

  Conventionally, when various types of customer-acquisition facilities transmit occupancy information to Web servers, database servers, etc. on the Internet and wide area networks, it is necessary to manually operate buttons, switches, keys, etc. of dedicated terminals, PCs, etc. In addition, it is extremely complicated and burdensome for facility employees and the like, and there is a possibility of erroneous information distribution due to erroneous operation of equipment.

In addition, when a facility user wants to obtain information on the occupancy of various facilities, he / she has to put inquiries into the facility one by one, or use a PC etc. to check individual facilities from the homepage. Therefore, it is extremely inferior in terms of convenience and quickness of search.
JP 2001-256145 A

  With the above-described conventional technology, it is impossible to escape from the risk of deterioration in workability of facility employees or the like due to manual operation of a dedicated terminal or the like and transmission of erroneous information due to erroneous operation of equipment.

  In addition, when a facility user wants to obtain information on the presence of various customer-collecting facilities, the user must enter search conditions every time using a mobile phone terminal, PC, etc. It has become a thing.

  Moreover, even for the facility side, even if an advertisement is placed to increase the facility operation rate, there is a reality that does not lead to attracting customers so much. Even if new equipment is introduced to increase the rate of attracting customers, it must be announced to users at the expense of advertising expenses. In addition, the advertising itself may not be possible due to legal regulations or guidance. The exposure of information will leak information to competitors.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention automatically collects individual occupancy information of various customer-collecting facilities by connecting a special dedicated terminal to the facility management device and then using communication means such as a continuous connection line. The database server that sent the information to the database server on the wide area network such as the Internet and received the information centrally manages it, and the facility user accesses the database server using a network terminal such as a mobile phone terminal or a PC, The present invention relates to a system configured to be able to transmit individual occupancy information according to a search condition transmitted to a database server by a facility user to a facility user's network terminal.

The real-time information retrieval system of the present invention aggregates individual occupancy information of various customer-collecting facilities in a real-time database server using a connection line or the like, and the facility user accesses the database server using a mobile phone terminal or a PC. By doing so, it is possible to obtain current customer-collection facility individual occupancy information under conditions desired by the facility user.
In addition, since the facility information that can be used when the desire to use the facility is increased, the facility is used immediately, thereby increasing the sales of the customer-collecting facility.

Prior to the project implementation, the project operator prepares the following system.
1. A database server will be built on a wide area network such as the Internet to centrally manage individual occupancy information for various customer-collecting facilities.
2. The business operator contracts with various facility managers and registers the contract facility information in the database server in advance.
3. A dedicated terminal will be connected to the facility's occupancy information management device, and adjustments will be made so that individual occupancy information can be sent to the database server using a permanent connection line.
4). The dedicated terminal transmits the occupancy information collected from the occupancy information management device as needed, and the database server creates the individual occupancy information of all contracted facilities at the present time.
5). The facility user uses a mobile phone terminal or a network terminal such as a PC to access the business operator homepage obtained through various advertisements, etc., and transmits a search condition for requested facility presence information via the homepage.
6). The database server searches from the database in accordance with the search condition obtained from the facility user, further selects individual occupancy information, and transmits it to the facility user's network terminal.
7). The facility user selects the facility information to be obtained from the received one or more pieces of individual occupancy information, and obtains detailed information from a facility homepage prepared separately by the business operator.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration of a real-time information search system according to the present invention.

The real-time information search system is a system in which facility users can acquire individual occupancy information of various customer-collecting facilities in real time using a wide area network such as the Internet.
The real-time information retrieval system includes a business operator side database server 3, a business operator side facility homepage web server 7, a dedicated terminal 2, a mobile phone terminal or a facility user side device 4 such as a PC, and a facility side individual vacancy. Management device 1, sensor 6 for transmitting individual airborne signals from the facility-side individual airborne management device 1 to the dedicated terminal 2, a LAN (not shown), a terminal device 8 such as an ADSL modem, and a continuous connection line such as ADSL (Not shown), a wide area network (not shown), and a general public line (PSTN) (not shown).

  The business operator side database server 3 is a device having database software, database management software, web server software, web server management software, data transmission / reception software, a host computer for accommodating them, and a LAN interface.

  The business operator-side facility homepage web server 7 is a device having web server software, web server management software, data transmission / reception software, a computer for accommodating them, and a LAN interface.

  The dedicated terminal 2 is a device having data processing software for converting an individual airborne signal into an IP packet, data transmission / reception software, a dedicated terminal device for accommodating them, and a contact for connecting the LAN interface and the sensor 6.

  The facility user side device 4 such as a mobile phone terminal or a PC is a network terminal device such as a mobile phone terminal or a PC having a function capable of accessing a wide area network such as the Internet.

  The facility-side individual occupancy management device 1 is a device having a function of clearly indicating individual occupancy information in various facilities to facility users or facility employees.

  In the following, the operation of the real-time information search system of the present invention will be described using a search for information on the presence of a love hotel as an example.

  A sensor 6 is installed on the room information panel which is the individual occupancy management device 1 of the love hotel, and the signal output destination is connected to the contact of the dedicated terminal 2. The sensor 6 is an optical sensor module, and has a one-to-one correspondence with the lamp 5 representing the occupancy information of each room of the individual occupancy management device 1 of the facility.

  The dedicated terminal device 2 has one or more contacts, and one photosensor module corresponds to one contact.

  When the love hotel guest room A is used and the lamp 5 of the guest room A of the individual occupancy management device 1 is turned off, the light sensor module 6 corresponding to the guest room A sends a signal indicating that the lamp is turned off to the contact corresponding to the guest room A of the dedicated terminal 2. Output.

The dedicated terminal 2 converts the contact signal into the corresponding individual occupancy information of the guest room using data processing software, and outputs it to the LAN interface using the data transmission / reception software.
In addition, when there is no change in the facility occupancy information after a predetermined time, an IP packet is output to the LAN interface to inform the business operator that the dedicated terminal 2 is operating normally.

  The LAN interface transmits individual occupancy information to the terminal device 8 such as an ADSL modem by wire or wireless.

  If a permanent connection line such as ADSL cannot be prepared due to individual circumstances on the facility side, a flat-rate Internet connection service using a general public line network is used.

  The terminal device 8 such as an ADSL modem, which has received the individual presence information, transmits the individual presence information to the wide area network using an always connected line such as ADSL.

The individual presence information reaches the business operator side database server 3 through the wide area network.
The business operator-side database server 3 takes in the individual presence information from the LAN interface by data transmission / reception software, and the database management software records the individual presence information in the database software.
When the individual occupancy information is different from the previous information, it is updated.

  The database software records and manages the facility detailed information received from the facility side by the business operator in advance.

  By updating the facility information recorded in advance and the individual occupancy information with the information from the dedicated terminal 2 as needed, the information in the database software is always kept up-to-date.

  When the facility user accesses the business operator side database server 3 in this state using the mobile phone terminal or the facility user side device 4 such as a PC, real-time information retrieval becomes possible.

First, the facility user accesses the top page of the real-time information search system 1 of the present invention using, for example, the mobile phone terminal 4.
The top page is a web page that is the entrance when using the real-time information search system.

  The top page is in the menu format, and links are pasted on the main menu page of various facilities, new arrival information page, service explanation page, operation method explanation page, terms of service page, business operator homepage, etc., by selecting the item Each page can be accessed.

For example, when “love hotel search” is selected, a main menu of “love hotel search” is displayed, and a search condition can be entered.
The operation of this system will be described below using the “love hotel search” menu screen.

  First, the facility user selects one of accommodation, rest, and FT (free time). If another item is selected first, the main menu is forcibly returned.

  Next, select “Area Search”. In the “love hotel search”, the input of “area search” is indispensable. If the search area is not specified here, the search for individual occupancy information cannot be started. However, it is not indispensable if the search conditions have been saved before in the next and subsequent searches.

  “Area search” is divided into a method of specifying an area from a hierarchical menu screen and “location information search” using a location information notification function of the mobile phone terminal.

  The method of designating an area is to first select a region, and then select a prefecture in that region. If the “Search by prefecture” check box is checked at this time, the search is set from the entire area of the selected prefecture, and the screen moves to the main menu screen.

If the “Search by prefecture” checkbox is not checked, the menu will move to the menu one level below.
Hierarchies below prefectures are divided into areas at the municipal level, but the way of dividing is determined by the business operator. Therefore, it is not necessarily according to the actual administrative unit.

  When the area is selected at the prefectural level or the municipality level, if the “Use again” check box is checked, the selected area is recorded in the database software 11. The recorded area can be used by using “History Search” after the next time. “History search” will be described later.

  In “area search”, if “location information search” is used, the location information acquisition function of each mobile phone terminal company can be used to acquire current location information. By using this information, the area setting can be omitted.

  When “location information search” is selected, the location information search server of each mobile phone terminal company transmits a location information transmission confirmation screen.

  A confirmation message appears asking whether the current position can be transmitted to the information provider (business operator).

  When the facility user selects consent, the position information search server transmits the current position information to 3.

The database management software of the location information search server 3 selects an area at the municipal level closest to the received current location information and transmits it to the mobile phone terminal 4.
When the facility user selects an area, the user moves to the main menu screen again.

When the area is specified, detailed search conditions can be set by “discretionary search”.
When you select items such as price, hotel type, and various facilities from the menu list on the “Find Search” screen, you will move to the screen one level below. It is not essential to enter “discerning search”.

  Detailed search conditions are used to further narrow down the hotels within the area specified by “Area Search”. Enter the room conditions to be selected on each condition setting screen. The input value and method follow the representation on each screen.

  For example, in the “charge search” screen, a desired charge range, or an upper limit and a lower limit are entered numerically in the input field.

  In the “Room Equipment” screen, check the checkbox of the desired equipment.

  If “Use next time” is checked on the “Finding search” screen, after selecting an area in “Area search”, all the input and selected detailed search conditions are recorded in the database software. The detailed search conditions recorded can be used without inputting the same conditions again by using “history search” from the next time. “History search” will be described later.

  When the “OK” button is selected on the “Finding Search” screen, detailed search conditions are transmitted to the business operator database server 3 and the database management software, and the detailed search conditions are recorded in the memory. This completes the search criteria.

  When “Start Search” is selected in the main menu, a search for vacant rooms in the hotel is started under the conditions selected in “Area Search” and “Finding Search”. If any of “Use next time” is checked, it will ask you to enter your PIN for “History search”. After the input, a position information transmission confirmation screen is displayed. When the facility user selects consent, the search is started. At the same time, the search condition, password and serial number are recorded in the database management software 12.

  In the second and subsequent searches, if you have previously checked “Use next time” as well, you can use “History search”.

  When using “History Search”, enter the password in the password input field on the main menu screen, and then select “Start Search”. A screen requesting permission to transmit serial numbers (excluding PC etc.) of network terminals 4 such as mobile phone terminals and PCs will appear. When permission is selected, search for hotel vacancies will be started using the search conditions recorded in the database management software. To do.

  Upon receiving the search start signal from the mobile phone terminal or the network terminal 4 such as a PC, the business operator side database server 3 passes the search start signal to the database management software by the data transmission / reception software and conforms to the search conditions transmitted before that. The database management software lists the vacant rooms in the hotel to be listed from the database software.

  The database management software shapes the listed vacant room information into a web page “search result” and transmits it to the network terminal 4.

  The “search result” is a list of character strings consisting of a hotel name and a room number of a vacant room, which itself is a link to the home page of the hotel. The number of vacant rooms included in the “search results” is limited to the number determined in advance by the business operator. When there is more or no vacant rooms, a message requesting re-search is sent to the network terminal 4 such as a mobile phone terminal or a PC. The

  The network terminal 4 such as a mobile phone terminal or a PC can view the homepage of the hotel by selecting one from the received “search result” list.

  If the URL of the selected hotel is a homepage stored in the business operator-side facility homepage web server 7, the homepage of the corresponding hotel is transmitted to the network terminal 4 such as a mobile phone terminal or a PC. Otherwise, connect to the appropriate website.

  There are two types of hotel websites, one created by a business operator and one existing by a hotel. In the case of a business operator, the rank is divided according to the content.

  The contents of the home page consist of a map image, address, telephone number, e-mail address, number of parking lots, room list, fee, usage time, facilities, service, etc., and a photo image of the room, a panoramic image, etc. are added to this. Specific contents and the number of images differ depending on the rank.

  The facility user can obtain the current hotel vacancy information that meets the desired conditions in real time from the “search results”, and by selecting any hotel from the vacant room list, By accessing, more detailed information including image information can be obtained. As a result, facility users who obtain timely, accurate and diverse information will be more motivated to visit the store and contribute to the increase in hotel profits.

Since the present invention is configured as described above, individual occupancy information of various customer-collecting facilities is collected in a database server in real time using a continuous connection line or the like, and a facility user uses a mobile phone terminal or a PC or the like. By accessing the database server, it is possible to obtain timely information on the individual occupancy of the customer-collecting facility that the facility user currently desires.
Since the present invention can promptly provide facility information that can be used when the willingness to use the facility is increasing, the facility can be used immediately and contribute to an increase in sales of customer-collecting facilities.

  It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of embodiment of a real-time information search system.

Explanation of symbols

1 Facility side individual occupancy management device (room information panel, etc.)
2 Dedicated terminal 3 Business operator database server (host computer)
4 Facility user side device such as mobile phone terminal or PC 5 Facility management terminal (lamp, etc.)
6 Sensor (light sensor module, etc.)
7 Business server web site for facility website 8 ADSL modem and other terminal devices (or dial-up router)

Claims (5)

  The dedicated terminal 2 for collecting individual occupancy information installed in the individual occupancy management device 1 of various customer collection facilities such as accommodation facilities, amusement facilities, parking lots, eating and drinking facilities, and individual occupancy information transmitted by the dedicated terminal 2 It consists of a database server 3 of a host computer for centralized management and a mobile phone terminal or a network terminal 4 such as a PC that can access a wide area network such as the Internet, and the presence signals acquired from the presence information management devices 1 of various customer collection facilities are wired. Alternatively, the dedicated terminal 2 received wirelessly transmits individual occupancy information to the database server 3 in the host computer on the Internet using a communication line such as a constant connection or a dial-up connection. Receives individual occupancy information from the facility and centrally manages it. On the other hand, the facility user can use the network terminal 4 such as a mobile phone terminal or a PC to transmit search conditions for various desired facilities to the database server 3 and obtain individual occupancy information according to the search conditions. A real-time information retrieval system characterized by   2. The real-time information search system according to claim 1, wherein the individual occupancy information can be obtained by using the search condition input to the database 3 by the facility user without input from the next time.   Reservation of various customer-acquisition facilities on a wide-area network such as the Internet, and the information fee can be withdrawn from the first-class telecommunications carrier as a reservation fee, and the information fee is returned to various facilities as a reservation fee The real-time information search system according to claim 1.   2. The dedicated terminal 2 installed in various customer-collecting facilities acquires opening / closing store signals such as entrances and exits of the facility so that facility users can obtain information on opening and closing of the facility. Real-time information retrieval system.   A signal for acquiring an individual presence signal is processed through an optical sensor or other sensor 6 provided in the management terminal 5 of the individual individual presence information management device 1 manually, and an individual presence signal or the like is transmitted through these signals. Is configured with hardware for converting the IP packet into an IP packet, and upon receiving a signal input from the individual vacant management device 1 or the management terminal 5, the IP packet is automatically operated to send out the IP packet. The dedicated terminal according to claim 1.

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