JP2017102753A - Busyness information providing method, busyness information providing device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow the busy/unbusy state of a store to be easily learned.SOLUTION: A computer executes: a calculation procedure of periodically calculating a busyness level of a store on the basis of the numbers of sales people and customers in the store input repetitively at any timing and a preset coefficient according to an attribute of the store; a first storage procedure for storing history of the busyness level calculated in the calculation procedure in a first storage unit; and a transmission procedure for sending the terminal information corresponding to the latest busyness level in the history stored in the first storage unit upon receiving an inquiry about the busyness level of the store from a terminal capable of communication via a network.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a busy information providing method, a busy information providing apparatus, and a program.

  Information can be obtained from various media such as TV, magazines, and the Internet. On the other hand, users with visual impairments have many barriers to obtaining information, but various technologies and services have been developed to solve this problem. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique aimed at providing a speech reading apparatus and a program that do not take a long time to reach an unread portion (unread portion) in content.

JP 2006-317875 A

  However, with the prior art, it is difficult to convey a lot of real-world visual information to a user with visual impairment. For example, it is difficult to convey the busy situation of a store to a visually impaired user.

  When trying to shop and eat at a store, how busy the store clerk seems to be, how likely it is to have room for new customers, that is, how busy the store is, whether or not to use the store one of. If the store you visited was crowded and the store clerk would not be happy with it, you may stop entering the store and search for another store. However, the visually impaired cannot judge the busy situation by visually checking the congestion of the store and the state of the store clerk.

  Further, even for a user who does not have a visual impairment, for example, depending on the store layout or the like, it may be difficult to grasp the busy situation at a glance.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily grasp the busy state of a store.

  Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the busyness of the store is periodically calculated based on the number of store clerk and number of customers repeatedly input at arbitrary timing and a coefficient set in advance according to the attribute of the store. A calculation procedure to be performed, a first storage procedure for storing the history of busyness calculated in the calculation procedure in a first storage unit, and a busyness inquiry about the store from a terminal communicable via a network Is received, the computer executes a transmission procedure in which information corresponding to the latest busyness in the history stored in the first storage unit is transmitted to the terminal.

  It is possible to easily grasp the busy situation of the store.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the busy information provision system in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of the busyness calculation apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of the busy information provision system in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of the process sequence of the reception process of the number of customers and the number of shop assistants. It is a figure which shows the structural example of customer number store clerk DB in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the relationship between coefficient (alpha) and the attribute of a store. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of the process sequence of the calculation process of busyness. It is a figure which shows the structural example of busyness DB in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of the process sequence which a busy information production | generation apparatus performs in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the input screen of a store name. It is a figure which shows the structural example of store DB in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of notification sentence DB in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of the busy information provision system in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of the process sequence which a busy information production | generation apparatus performs in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the input screen of user ID and a shop name. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the visit history DB in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of notification sentence DB in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of the process sequence which a busy information production | generation apparatus performs in 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of notification sentence DB in 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of the process sequence which a busy information generation apparatus performs in 4th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of store DB in 4th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the shop comparison data of an initial state. It is a figure which shows the example of the shop comparison data after rewriting of comparison shop ID. It is a figure which shows the structural example of notification sentence DB in 4th Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a busy information providing system according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, the busy information providing system 1 includes a busyness calculating device 10 and a busy information generating device 20. The busyness calculating device 10 and the busy information generating device 20 are connected via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet. The busyness calculation device 10 is connected to one or more store terminals 30 via a network such as the Internet. The busy information generating apparatus 20 is connected to one or more user terminals 40 via a network such as the Internet.

  The store terminal 30 is a terminal installed for each store. For example, a PC (Personal Computer), a dedicated terminal, or the like may be used as the store terminal 30. Each store terminal 30 is connected to a camera 50. For example, the camera 50 is installed so as to be able to image a store entrance and the like, and captures image data indicating the entrance and exit of a customer to the store. The store terminal 30 repeats the number of customers in the store measured based on image data captured by the camera 50 and the number of store employees input by the store clerk at an arbitrary timing (for example, at regular intervals). Transmit to the computing device 10.

  Based on the number of customers and the number of store staff transmitted from each store terminal 30, the busyness calculation device 10 indicates an index value (hereinafter “busy”) indicating a busy state or congestion state of a store (hereinafter, “unify in a busy state”). The degree of busyness is calculated periodically, for example.

  The user terminal 40 is a terminal carried by a user visiting the store. For example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a mobile phone, or the like may be used as the user terminal 40. The user terminal 40 transmits an inquiry about the busyness of the store visited by the user to the busy information generating device 20 according to the operation by the user.

  In response to an inquiry from the user terminal 40, the busy information generation device 20 transmits (responds) information indicating the busy situation regarding the store related to the inquiry (hereinafter referred to as “busy information”) to the user terminal 40. In the first embodiment, the busy information is information based on the latest busyness calculated by the busyness calculation device 10 for the store related to the inquiry. The busy information may be the busyness itself, but in this embodiment, a character string indicating a message generated based on the busyness is used as the busy information.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the busyness calculation apparatus according to the first embodiment. 2 includes a drive device 100, an auxiliary storage device 102, a memory device 103, a CPU 104, an interface device 105, and the like that are mutually connected by a bus B.

  A program for realizing the processing in the busyness calculation device 10 is provided by a recording medium 101 such as a CD-ROM. When the recording medium 101 storing the program is set in the drive device 100, the program is installed from the recording medium 101 to the auxiliary storage device 102 via the drive device 100. However, the program need not be installed from the recording medium 101 and may be downloaded from another computer via a network. The auxiliary storage device 102 stores the installed program and also stores necessary files and data.

  The memory device 103 reads the program from the auxiliary storage device 102 and stores it when there is an instruction to start the program. The CPU 104 executes a function related to the busyness calculation device 10 according to a program stored in the memory device 103. The interface device 105 is used as an interface for connecting to a network.

  The busy information generation apparatus 20 may also be configured by a computer having the hardware configuration shown in FIG. In addition, the busyness calculation device 10 and the busy information generation device 20 may be realized by using one or more common computers.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the busy information providing system according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 3, the busyness calculating device 10 includes a customer number clerk number receiving unit 11 and a busyness calculating unit 12. Each of these units is realized by processing that one or more programs installed in the busyness calculation device 10 cause the CPU 104 to execute. The busyness calculation device 10 also uses databases such as the number of customers clerk DB13 and the busyness DB14. Each of these databases can be realized using, for example, the auxiliary storage device 102 or a storage device that can be connected to the busyness calculation device 10 via a network.

  The number-of-customers-number reception unit 11 receives from each store terminal 30 the number of customers in the store detected by the store entrance / exit detection unit 31 of the store terminal 30 and the number of store employees input to the store terminal 30 by the store clerk. . The customer number clerk number receiving unit 11 stores the received number of customers and the number of clerk in the customer number clerk number DB 13 for each store.

  The busyness calculation unit 12 calculates the busyness for each store based on the number of customers and the number of salesclerks stored in the number-of-customer-counter DB 13 for each store. The calculated busyness is stored in the busyness DB 14. The busyness is calculated periodically, for example. The busyness DB 14 stores a history of calculated busyness.

  On the other hand, the busy information generation device 20 includes a busyness acquisition unit 21 and a busy information generation unit 22. Each of these units is realized by a process in which one or more programs installed in the busy information generating device 20 are executed by the CPU of the busy information generating device 20. The busy information generation apparatus 20 also uses a database such as a store DB 23 and a notification sentence DB 24. Each of these databases can be realized by using, for example, an auxiliary storage device of the busy information generation device 20 or a storage device that can be connected to the busy information generation device 20 via a network.

  The busyness acquiring unit 21 acquires the busyness calculated for the store relating to the store name transmitted from the user terminal 40 from the busyness DB 14.

  Based on the busyness acquired by the busyness acquisition unit 21 and the notification sentence DB 24, the busy information generation unit 22 sends a sentence for notifying the user of busy information (hereinafter referred to as “busy information notification sentence”). The busy information notification sentence is generated and transmitted to the user terminal 40. The notification sentence DB 24 stores a busy information notification sentence template (hereinafter referred to as “notification sentence template”) according to the busyness.

  Hereinafter, a processing procedure executed by the busyness calculation device 10 and the busy information generation device 20 in the first embodiment will be described. First, a processing procedure executed by the busyness calculation device 10 will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the processing procedure of the reception process of the number of customers and the number of shop assistants.

  The number-of-customers-number clerk receiving unit 11 of the busyness calculation device 10 waits for reception of the number of customers or the number of clerk from each store terminal 30. Upon receiving the number of customers transmitted from the store entrance / exit detection unit 31 of one of the store terminals 30 (Yes in step S101), the customer number clerk number receiving unit 11 associates the number of customers with the store ID received together with the number of customers. The customer number clerk DB 13 is stored (step S102).

  The entrance / exit detection unit 31 uses, for example, a technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-33142 to measure the number of customers entering and exiting the store, and calculates the number of customers in the store based on the measurement result. May be. That is, the number of entrances / exits may be measured based on an image captured by the camera 50. The entrance / exit detection unit 31 calculates the number of customers at a preset time interval such as every 1 minute or every 5 minutes, and transmits the calculated number of customers to the customer number clerk reception unit 11.

  In addition, when the number of customers clerk receiving unit 11 receives the number of clerk transmitted from the clerk number transmitting unit 32 of one of the store terminals 30 (Yes in step S103), the store that received the number of clerk together with the number of clerk In association with the ID, the number of customers is stored in the store clerk DB 13 (step S104). When the number of salesclerks who are currently serving customers is input to the store terminal 30 by a salesclerk or the like, the salesclerk number transmission unit 32 transmits the number of salesclerks to the customer number salesclerk reception unit 11. The input of the number of salesclerks to the store terminal 30 may be performed when the number of salesclerks changes, or may be performed periodically.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a customer clerk DB according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, a record is stored for each store in the customer count clerk DB 13. Each record includes items such as store ID, coefficient α, number of customers, and number of store clerk.

  The store ID is identification information for each store. The number of customers and the number of clerk are the number of customers and the number of clerk memorized by the processing of FIG. That is, in step S102 or S104, the record related to the store ID received together with the number of customers or the number of salesclerks among the records of the customer count salesclerk DB13 is updated.

  The coefficient α is a coefficient used for calculation of busyness, and the value becomes larger as the scale of the store is smaller, as shown in FIG. 6, for example. The coefficient α is set in advance according to attributes such as the size and business type of each store.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a processing procedure of busyness calculation processing. The process of FIG. 7 is executed for each store at predetermined time intervals such as every 1 minute or every 5 minutes. In FIG. 7, stores that are subject to calculation of busyness are referred to as “target stores”.

  In step S111, the busyness calculation unit 12 acquires the number of customers, the number of salesclerks, and the coefficient α of the record including the store ID of the target store among the records in the customer count salesclerk DB13.

  Subsequently, the busyness calculating unit 12 calculates the busyness of the target store by applying the acquired number of customers, the number of store clerk, and the coefficient α to the following formula (step S112).

Busyness = α (number of customers ÷ number of shop assistants)
The above formula basically shows that the number of customers per store clerk is busy. However, it is considered that the number of customers per store clerk and whether the degree of busyness is high differ depending on the store size and business type. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a coefficient α corresponding to an attribute such as a store size or a business condition is set in advance, and the busyness is calculated by multiplying the coefficient α by “number of customers / number of store staff”.

  Subsequently, the busyness calculating unit 12 stores a record including the calculated busyness, the store ID and coefficient α of the target store, and the current date and time in the busyness DB 14 (step S113).

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the busyness DB according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, each record of the busyness DB 14 includes a store ID, a coefficient α, a date and time, a busyness, and the like. In step S113, a new record is generated in the busyness DB 14, and the store ID and coefficient α of the target store, the current date and time, and the calculated busyness are stored for the record. That is, the calculated busyness history is stored in the busyness DB 14.

  Next, a processing procedure executed by the busy information generation apparatus 20 will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a processing procedure executed by the busy information generation device according to the first embodiment.

  In step S <b> 210, the busyness acquisition unit 21 receives from the user terminal 40 an inquiry about the busy situation of the store, including the store name. The store name input to the user terminal 40 is performed via a screen as shown in FIG. For example, the user inputs the store name of the store to enter. When the “send button” on the screen is pressed, an inquiry about the busy state of the store including the input store name is transmitted to the busyness acquiring unit 21. FIG. 10 shows an example in which “A cafe” is input as the store name. In addition, when the user of the user terminal 40 is a visually impaired person, the user terminal 40 may assist the user's operation by voice guidance or the like.

  Subsequently, the busyness acquiring unit 21 acquires a store ID corresponding to the received store name from the store DB 23 (step S220).

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a store DB in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 11, store ID and store name are stored in the store DB 23 in association with each store. For example, if the store name is “A cafe”, the store ID “a” is acquired.

  Subsequently, the busyness acquiring unit 21 acquires the latest busyness related to the acquired store ID from the busyness DB 14 (FIG. 8) (step S230). The latest busyness related to a certain store ID refers to the busyness that is included in the record that has the latest value of “date and time” among the records that include the store ID. For example, for the store ID “a”, the busyness “25” at the time of 2015.9.001 15:40 is acquired.

  Subsequently, the busyness acquiring unit 21 transmits the store name “A cafe” and the latest busyness “25” to the busy information generating unit 22 (step S240).

  Subsequently, the busy information generation unit 22 generates a sentence for notifying the busy information (hereinafter referred to as “busy information notification sentence”) based on the store name, the busy degree, and the notification sentence DB 24 (step S250). ).

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the notification sentence DB according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, the notification sentence DB 24 stores notification sentence templates according to the busyness range. For example, if the busyness is “25”, “crowded” is acquired as the notification sentence template. The busy information generation unit 22 generates a busy information notification sentence such as “A cafe is busy” by combining the store name “A cafe” with the notification sentence template.

  Subsequently, the busy information generation unit 22 transmits a busy information notification sentence (“A cafe is crowded”) to the user terminal 40 that is the inquiry source of the busy situation (step S260).

  When the user terminal 40 receives the busy information notification sentence (“A cafe is crowded”), the user terminal 40 outputs the busy information notification sentence. For example, the busy information notification sentence may be output by voice synthesis, may be displayed on the display of the user terminal 40, may be output on a braille display, or may be output by other methods. .

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the busyness is calculated almost based on the number of customers and the number of store staff at the present time, and the busy information notification text based on the busyness is output at the user terminal 40. The Therefore, the user can easily grasp the busy situation of the store.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, differences from the first embodiment will be described. Points that are not particularly mentioned in the second embodiment may be the same as those in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the busy information providing system according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 13, the same parts as those in FIG.

  In FIG. 13, the busy information generation device 20 further includes a visit history management unit 25. The visit history management unit 25 is realized by a process in which one or more programs installed in the busy information generating device 20 are executed by the CPU of the busy information generating device 20. The busy information generating apparatus 20 also uses the visit history DB 26. The visit history DB 26 can be realized by using, for example, an auxiliary storage device of the busy information generation device 20 or a storage device that can be connected to the busy information generation device 20 via a network.

  The visit history management unit 25 records a visit history to each store by each user in the visit history DB 26. The visit history management unit 25 also specifies the time when the user last visited the store related to the inquiry about the busy situation with reference to the visit history DB 26, and stores the busy degree at that time in the busy degree DB 14. Identify by reference.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a processing procedure executed by the busy information generation device according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 14, the same steps as those in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same step numbers, and the description thereof is omitted as appropriate. That is, in the second embodiment, the processing procedure of FIG. 14 is executed instead of the processing procedure of FIG.

  In step S <b> 210 a, the busy degree acquisition unit 21 receives from the user terminal 40 an inquiry about the busy state of the store including the user ID in addition to the store name. The user ID and the store name are input to the user terminal 40 via a screen displayed on the user terminal 40 as shown in FIG. For example, the user inputs his / her user ID and the store name of the store to be entered. When the “send button” on the screen is pressed, an inquiry about the busy state of the store including the input user ID and the store name is transmitted to the busyness acquiring unit 21. FIG. 15 shows an example in which “user 01” is input as the user ID and “A cafe” is input as the store name.

  In subsequent steps S220 and S230, as described in FIG. 9, the store ID “a” and the busyness “25” are acquired. The busyness acquired in step S230 is hereinafter referred to as “current busyness”.

  Subsequently, the busyness acquisition unit 21 transmits the user ID “user 01”, the store name “A cafe”, the store ID “a”, and the current busyness “25” to the visit history management unit 25. (Step S231).

  Subsequently, the visit history management unit 25 acquires the last (latest) visit date and time from the visit history DB 26 by the user with the user ID “user 01” to the store with the store ID “a” ( Step S232).

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the visit history DB according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 16, a record is stored in the visit history DB 26 for each visit of any store by each user. Each record includes items such as a user ID, a store ID, and a visit date and time. The user ID is the user ID of the user who visited the store. The store ID is the store ID of the visited store. The visit date is the date when the visit was made. In the example of FIG. 16, “2015.08.03 08:02” is the last (last) visit date and time to the store with the store ID “a” by the user with the user ID “user 01”. To be acquired.

  Subsequently, the visit history management unit 25 records a record including the user ID “user 01”, the store ID “a”, and the current date and time in the visit history DB 26 (step S233). That is, the current visit history is recorded in the visit history DB 26.

  Subsequently, the visit history management unit 25 acquires the busyness at the date and time closest to the last visit date and time “2015.08.03 08:02” from the busyness DB 14 (FIG. 8) for the store ID “a”. (Step S234). In the example of FIG. 8, the busy degree “5” of the date “2015.08.03 08: 00” closest to “2013.08.03 08:02” is acquired.

  Subsequently, the visit history management unit 25 stores the store name “A cafe”, the current busy degree “25”, and the busy degree of “2015.08.03 08:00” (hereinafter referred to as “previous busy degree”). .) “5” is transmitted to the busy information generating unit 22 (step S240a).

  Subsequently, the busy information generation unit 22 generates a busy information notification sentence based on the store name “A cafe”, the current busy degree “25”, the previous busy degree “5”, and the notification sentence DB 24. (Step S250a).

  FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a notification sentence DB according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 17, in the second embodiment, a notification sentence template is stored in the notification sentence DB 24 in accordance with the magnitude relationship between the current busy degree and the previous busy degree.

  Therefore, the busy information generation unit 22 compares the current busy degree with the previous busy degree, and acquires a notification sentence template corresponding to the comparison result from the notification sentence DB 24. For example, for the current busy degree “25” and the previous busy degree “5”, “busy than the previous time” is acquired as the notification sentence template. The busy information generation unit 22 generates a busy information notification sentence, for example, “A cafe is crowded from the previous time” by combining the store name “A cafe” with the notification sentence template.

  The subsequent steps are as described in the first embodiment.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, for a store related to an inquiry about the busy situation, the busyness based on the comparison between the busyness level at the present time and the busyness level when the user last visited the store. An information notification sentence is presented. That is, in the first embodiment, a busy information notification sentence as an absolute value is presented, but in the second embodiment, a busy information notification sentence as a relative value is presented. Therefore, the user can grasp the current busy situation by comparing with the busy situation that he / she felt when he / she visited the store last time.

  Next, a third embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, differences from the second embodiment will be described. Points that are not particularly mentioned in the third embodiment may be the same as those in the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, only the previous busy degree is used, but in the third embodiment, the busy degree at the time of all past visits by the user regarding the store related to the inquiry is used.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a processing procedure executed by the busy information generation device according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 18, the same steps as those in FIG. 14 are denoted by the same step numbers, and the description thereof is omitted as appropriate. That is, in the third embodiment, the processing procedure of FIG. 18 is executed instead of the processing procedure of FIG. In FIG. 18, steps S232, S234, S240a, and S250a in FIG. 14 are replaced with S232b, S234b, S240b, and S250b.

  In step S232b, the visit history management unit 25 acquires, from the visit history DB 26, all visit dates and times for the store having the store ID “a” by the user having the user ID “user 01”. In the example of FIG. 16, “2014.12.22 08: 0”, “2015.04.12 08:15”, “2015.08.03 08:02” are acquired.

  In step S234b, the visit history management unit 25 acquires the busyness of the date and time closest to the visit date and time from the busyness DB 14 for each visit date and time, and the average value of the acquired busyness (hereinafter, “ "Average busyness"). In the example of FIG. 8, regarding “2014.12.22 08: 0”, “2015.04.12 08:15”, “2015.08.03 08:02”, the busyness “5”, “8” “5” is acquired, and an average value “6” thereof is calculated as the average busyness.

  In step S <b> 240 b, the busyness level acquisition unit 21 transmits the store name “A cafe”, the current busyness level “25”, and the average busyness level “6” to the busyness information generation unit 22.

  In step S250b, the busy information generation unit 22 generates a busy information notification sentence based on the store name “A cafe”, the current busy degree “25”, the average busy degree “6”, and the notification sentence DB 24. To do.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a notification sentence DB according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 19, a notification sentence template is stored in the notification sentence DB 24 of the third embodiment in accordance with the magnitude relationship between the current busyness level and the average busyness level.

  Therefore, the busy information generation unit 22 compares the current busy degree with the average busy degree, and acquires a notification sentence template corresponding to the comparison result from the notification sentence DB 24. For example, for the current busy degree “25” and the average busy degree “6”, “busy than usual” is acquired as the notification sentence template. The busy information generation unit 22 generates a busy information notification sentence such as “A cafe is more crowded than usual” by combining the store name “A cafe” with the notification sentence template.

  The subsequent steps are as described in the first embodiment.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment, based on a comparison between the busyness level at the present time and the average busyness level when the user has visited the store in the past for the store related to the inquiry about the busy situation. A relative busy information notification sentence is presented. Therefore, the user can grasp the current busy situation by comparing with the busy situation that he / she felt when visiting the store in the past.

  In the above, an example is shown in which the average value of the busy degree at the time of every visit of the user to the store related to the busy situation inquiry is calculated, but for example, all the visits in a predetermined period such as the past month An average of the busyness of time may be calculated.

  Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. In the fourth embodiment, differences from the second embodiment will be described. The points not particularly mentioned in the fourth embodiment may be the same as those in the second embodiment.

  FIG. 20 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a processing procedure executed by the busy information generation device according to the fourth embodiment. In FIG. 20, the same steps as those in FIG. 14 are denoted by the same step numbers, and the description thereof is omitted as appropriate. That is, in the fourth embodiment, the processing procedure of FIG. 20 is executed instead of the processing procedure of FIG.

  The processing content of step S210a is as described in FIG. 14, but here, for convenience, it is assumed that the user ID “user 01” and the store name “super G” have been received.

  In step S220c, the busyness acquiring unit 21 acquires a store ID and a scale value corresponding to the received store name from the store DB 23.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a store DB according to the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 21, in the store DB 23 of the fourth embodiment, a store ID, a scale value, and a store name are stored in association with each store. The scale value is a numerical value indicating the scale of the store, and is set in advance. FIG. 21 shows an example in which the scale value increases as the scale decreases. For example, if the store name is “Super G”, the store ID “g” and the scale value “1” are acquired.

  In step S230, the latest busyness for the store ID “g” is acquired from the busyness DB 14 (FIG. 8). Here, the busyness level “11” at the time of “2015.9.01 15:40” is acquired.

  In step S231c, the busyness acquiring unit 21 obtains the user ID “user 01”, the store name “super G”, the store ID “g”, the scale value “1”, and the current busyness “25”. It transmits to the visit history management part 25.

  In step S232c, the visit history management unit 25 uses the visit history DB 26 (FIG. 16) to display the last (latest) visit date and time for the store with the store ID “g” by the user with the user ID “user 01”. ) And store comparison data.

  FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example of store comparison data in an initial state. The store comparison data is data having items of a target store ID and a store comparison ID, and is generated, for example, in the memory of the busy information generating device 20. As shown in FIG. 22, in the initial state of the store comparison data, the store ID “g” of the target store is written in each of the target store ID and the comparison store ID.

  Here, in the visit history DB 26 (FIG. 16), there is no record having the user ID “user 01” and the store ID “g”. This is because the user related to “user 01” has never visited the target store related to the store ID “g”. In this case, in step S232c, the visit history management unit 25 acquires the last (latest) visit date and time by the user to the store of the same scale as the target store. Specifically, the visit history management unit 25 acquires a store ID having the same scale value as the store ID “g” from the store DB 23 (FIG. 21). In the example of FIG. 21, since the scale value is “1” for the store ID “c”, the store ID “c” is acquired. The visit history management unit 25 acquires the last (latest) visit date and time from the visit history DB 26 by the user with the user ID “user 01” to the store with the store ID “c”. In the example of FIG. 16, “2015.08.14 18:07” is acquired as the last (last) visit date and time to the store whose store ID is “c”. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 23, the visit history management unit 25 rewrites the value of “comparison store ID” in the store comparison data to “c”.

  If there is a record with the store ID “g” in the visit history DB 26 (FIG. 16), that is, the value of the target store ID of the store comparison data and the value of the comparison store ID remain the same. In this case, the same processing procedure as that in the second or third embodiment may be executed thereafter.

  In step S234c, the visit history management unit 25 acquires, from the busyness DB 14 (FIG. 8), the busyness at the date and time closest to the last visit date and time “2015.08.14 18:07” for the store ID “c”. To do. In the example of FIG. 8, the busy degree “20” of the date “2015.08.14 18:05” closest to “2013.08.14 18:07” is acquired.

  In step S240c, the visit history management unit 25 sets the target store ID “g”, the latest busy degree “11” of the target store, the comparative store ID “c”, and the busy degree “ 20 ”is transmitted to the busy information generator 22.

  In step S241, the busy information generation unit 22 acquires store names for the target store ID “g” and the comparison store ID “c” from the store DB 23 (FIG. 21). Here, “Super G” is acquired for the target store ID “g”, and the store name “C Mart” is acquired for the store ID “c”.

  In step S250c, the busy information generating unit 22 updates the latest busyness level “11” of the target store ID “g”, the busyness level “20” when the comparison store ID “c” was visited last time, and the notification sentence DB 24. Based on the above, a busy information notification sentence is generated.

  FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a notification sentence DB according to the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 24, a notification sentence template is stored in the notification sentence DB 24 of the fourth embodiment according to the magnitude relationship between the busyness level of the target store and the busyness level of the comparison store.

  Therefore, the busy information generation unit 22 compares the latest busyness level of the target store with the busyness level when the comparison store was visited last time, and acquires a notification sentence template corresponding to the comparison result from the notification sentence DB 24. For example, for the busy degree “11” of the target store and the busy degree “20” of the comparison store, “not available than the comparison store performed last time” is acquired as the notification sentence template. The busy information generation unit 22 combines the store name “Super G” of the target store and the store name “C Mart” of the comparison store with the notification sentence template, for example, “Super G is vacant than the previous C mart. Busy information notification sentence is generated.

  The subsequent steps are as described in the first embodiment.

  As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, even if the store is visited for the first time by the user, the relative busy information based on the comparison with the busyness at other stores that the user has visited. A notification sentence can be presented.

  In each of the above embodiments, the busyness calculating device 10 and the busy information generating device 20 are examples of a busy information providing device. The busyness calculation unit 12 is an example of a calculation unit. The busyness DB 14 is an example of a first storage unit. The busy information generation unit 22 is an example of a transmission unit. The visit history DB 26 is an example of a second storage unit.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. Deformation / change is possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Busy information provision system 10 Busy degree calculation apparatus 11 Number of customers clerk receiving part 12 Busy degree calculating part 13 Number of customers clerk DB
14 Busyness DB
20 Busy Information Generation Device 21 Busy Level Acquisition Unit 22 Busy Information Generation Unit 23 Store DB
24 Notification sentence DB
25 Visit History Management Unit 26 Visit History DB
30 store terminal 31 entrance / exit detection unit 32 store clerk transmission unit 40 user terminal 50 camera 100 drive device 101 recording medium 102 auxiliary storage device 103 memory device 104 CPU
105 Interface device B bus

Claims (7)

A calculation procedure for periodically calculating the busyness of the store based on the number of store clerk and number of customers repeatedly input at an arbitrary timing, and a coefficient set in advance according to the attribute of the store;
A first storage procedure for storing a history of busyness calculated in the calculation procedure in a first storage unit;
When a busyness inquiry about the store is received from a terminal communicable via a network, information corresponding to the latest busyness in the history stored in the first storage unit is transmitted to the terminal Sending procedure to
A method for providing busy information, characterized in that a computer is executed. The second storage that stores the latest busyness in the history stored in the first storage unit in the second storage unit in association with the user of the terminal every time the inquiry is received from the terminal The computer executes the procedure;
In the transmission procedure, when the inquiry is received from the terminal, the latest busyness in the history stored in the first storage unit is associated with a user of the terminal regarding the inquiry before the inquiry. Transmitting information to the terminal based on a comparison with a part or all of the busyness stored in the second storage unit;
The busy information providing method according to claim 1, wherein: The calculation procedure calculates the busyness of each of a plurality of stores,
The first storage unit stores a history of busyness calculated in the calculation procedure for each store,
Each time the inquiry is received from any one of the stores from the terminal, the latest busyness in the history stored in the first storage unit for the store is indicated, and the scale of the user of the terminal and the store is indicated. The computer executes a second storage procedure for storing in the second storage unit in association with the information,
In the transmission procedure, when the inquiry is received from the terminal with respect to any store, the latest busyness in the history stored in the first storage unit with respect to the store, and other sizes of the same size as the store Sending information to the terminal based on a comparison with the latest busyness stored in the second storage unit for the user of the terminal for the store,
The busy information providing method according to claim 1, wherein: A calculation unit that periodically calculates the busyness of the store based on the number of store clerk and number of customers repeatedly input at an arbitrary timing, and a coefficient set in advance according to the attribute of the store;
A first storage unit for storing a history of busyness calculated by the calculation unit;
When a busyness inquiry about the store is received from a terminal communicable via a network, information corresponding to the latest busyness in the history stored in the first storage unit is transmitted to the terminal A transmitter to
A busy information providing apparatus characterized by comprising: A second storage unit that stores the latest busyness in the history stored in the first storage unit in association with the user of the terminal each time the inquiry is received from the terminal;
When the transmission unit receives the inquiry from the terminal, the transmission unit is associated with a user of the terminal regarding the latest busyness in the history stored in the first storage unit and the inquiry before the inquiry. Transmitting information to the terminal based on a comparison with a part or all of the busyness stored in the second storage unit;
The busy information providing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein: The calculation unit calculates the busyness of each of a plurality of stores,
The first storage unit stores a history of busyness calculated by the calculation unit for each store,
Each time the inquiry is received from any one of the stores from the terminal, the latest busyness in the history stored in the first storage unit for the store is indicated, and the scale of the user of the terminal and the store is indicated. A second storage unit that stores the information in association with the information;
When the transmission unit receives the inquiry about any store from the terminal, the latest busyness in the history stored in the first storage unit with respect to the store, and another of the same size as the store Sending information to the terminal based on a comparison with the latest busyness stored in the second storage unit for the user of the terminal for the store,
The busy information providing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein:   A program for causing a computer to execute the busy information providing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

Images