JP2018124739A - Seat reservation apparatus and seat reservation method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a seat reservation system of a time slot reservation system for making it possible to appropriately determine whether or not a seat reservation request is acceptable in view of a running operation situation of the day in question.SOLUTION: A seat reservation device 20 includes a storage unit 230 for storing reservation information on: a number of acceptable reservations which is the number of reservation seats acceptable for each combination of a time zone and a seat designated section; a number of accepted reservations which is the number of reservations already accepted for each combination of the time zone and the seat designated section; and the time zone, the seat designated section and the number of seats accepted in connection with each reservation. The seat reservation device further includes: a reservation processing unit 214 for receiving a reservation request booking a combination of a time zone and a seat designated section and determining acceptance or refusal of the reservation request according to the number of acceptable reservations and the number of accepted reservations; and a travel prediction information reflection unit 216 for determining a number of available seats of transportation services to be allocated to the reservation request booking the combination of the time zone and the seat designated section on the basis of operation prediction information including future operation situations of the transportation services and updating the number of the available reservations for each pair of the time zone and the seat designated section in accordance with the number of the available seats.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a seat reservation apparatus and a seat reservation method, and more particularly to a seat reservation apparatus and a seat reservation method used for seat reservation in a transportation facility such as a railway or a bus.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a reservation system in which seats can be effectively used by accepting reservations with designated time zones in order to improve passenger convenience and improve profitability of operators when making seat reservations for transportation. And proposed in Patent Document 2.

  These systems allow the same statistical treatment as airline ticket reservation by appropriately planning the number of reservations allowed and the number of seats reserved based on demand forecasts, and separating the timing of seat reservation and seat confirmation. .

JP 2006-172145 A JP 2007-188386 A

  Since the systems proposed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 determine whether or not to accept a seat reservation request based on the number of reservations allowed at the time of planning, the number of seats as originally planned cannot be secured due to operational disturbance on the day. In some cases, an appropriate judgment could not be made.

  For example, if a train is delayed due to speed restrictions due to bad weather, the number of seats that can be allocated may decrease for reservations in the time zone that the train originally planned to leave, and disruption of operation may occur. If an operation such as suspension is made in order to recover the vehicle, the number of seats that can be allocated for reservations during the time zone when the canceled train was originally scheduled to depart will decrease.

In this way, the number of seats that can be allocated in each time zone can change according to the operation status of the day, but in the systems proposed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the number of seats as originally planned is secured. As a result, it is determined whether or not the seat reservation request can be accepted. Therefore, the reservation request may be excessively received for the number of seats that can be actually allocated.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a time slot reservation type seat reservation system that can appropriately determine whether or not a seat reservation request can be accepted in view of the operation status of the day.

The seat reservation device of the present invention that solves the above-described problem is a seat reservation device that processes a reservation request that specifies a set of a time zone and a seat designation section for a predetermined transportation facility, Reservation allowed number that is the number of seats that can be reserved, reservation acceptance number that is the number of reservations accepted for each set of the time zone and seat designation section, and the time zone and seat designation section relating to each accepted reservation A storage unit for storing reservation information including the number of seats; and a reservation request specifying a set of the time zone and a seat specified section; and receiving the reservation request according to the reservation allowable number and the reservation acceptance number The traffic that can be allocated to a reservation request that designates a set of the time zone and seat designation section based on a reservation processing unit that determines acceptance or apologization, and operation prediction information including a future operation status of the transportation facility In the number of seats on the institution's flights An operation prediction information reflecting unit that determines the number of allocatable seats to be updated, and updates the reservation allowable number for each set of the time zone and the seat designation section according to the allocatable seat number. .

  Further, the seat reservation method of the present invention is such that a computer that processes a reservation request for a time zone reservation method with respect to a predetermined transportation means a reservation allowable number that is the number of seats that can be reserved for each set of a time zone and a seat designation section, A step of storing a reservation acceptance number, which is the number of reservations received for each set of time zone and seat designation section, and reservation information including the time zone, the seat designation section and the number of seats relating to each accepted reservation Receiving a reservation request designating a set of the time zone and seat designation section, determining accepting or abandoning the reservation request according to the reservation allowable number and the reservation acceptance number, and the future of the transportation On the basis of the operation prediction information including the operation status of the vehicle, the number of assignable seats, which is the number of seats of the transportation facility that can be allocated to the reservation request specifying the set of the time zone and the seat specification section, is determined; Said allocation And to execute and updating the reservation allowable number of each set of the time zone and seat assignment section according to ability number of seats, the.

  According to the present invention, when accepting a reservation for a seat with a specified time zone, whether or not the reservation should be accepted can be appropriately determined based on the operation status of the day.

It is a figure explaining the composition of the seat reservation system concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of the seat reservation apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the operation | movement outline | summary of the seat reservation system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement regarding a time slot | zone reservation process among the operation | movement of the seat reservation system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement regarding a seat allocation process among the operation | movement of the seat reservation system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. In the seat allocation process which concerns on 1st Embodiment, it is the figure which showed the example of notification of the train in which seat allocation is possible. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement regarding a seat allocation possible train list creation process among operation | movement of the seat reservation system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement regarding a seat allocation availability determination process among the operation | movement of the seat reservation system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the method of calculating the priority of a reservation in the seat allocation availability determination process among operation | movement of the seat reservation system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement regarding operation prediction information reflection process among operation | movement of the seat reservation system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement regarding the reservation allowable number update necessity determination process among operation | movement of the seat reservation system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement regarding a seat distribution update process among operation | movement of the seat reservation system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of a seat distribution update process among operation | movement of the seat reservation system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement regarding a reservation information list update process among operation | movement of the seat reservation system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the intention which extends the end time of a reservation time slot | zone in the reservation information list update process among operation | movement of the seat reservation system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating how the reservation information list is updated in the reservation information list update process among the operations of the seat reservation system according to the first embodiment. It is the figure which showed the example of notification of the seat allocation result in the reservation information list update process which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement regarding a seat change process among operation | movement of the seat reservation system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the example of an input screen of the reservation information as information input into the seat reservation system which concerns on the modification of 1st Embodiment.

--- System configuration example ---

  Hereinafter, a seat reservation system 1 including a seat reservation device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The seat reservation system 1 of the present embodiment is a system for reserving train seats in a railway as a transportation facility.

  In the seat reservation system 1 according to the present embodiment, a system for reserving a seat by specifying a set of a time zone and a section on which the user gets on (hereinafter referred to as a time zone reservation method) It is assumed that the seat is reserved. However, the application scene of the present invention is not limited to the case where the reservation system for all seats of all trains is the time slot reservation system, and can be used in combination with an existing reservation system. In that case, seats of each train are assigned to each reservation method in advance by a predetermined method (for example, maximizing expected profit), and in each reservation method, only the seats assigned to the reservation method are targeted. Accept reservations from users and assign seats to users. In addition, about the existing reservation system and the seat allocation method for each reservation system, since a well-known method is used, description is abbreviate | omitted here.

  In the time slot reservation method, a predetermined number of seats (hereinafter referred to as “the number of seats”) for each set of train and seat specified section is determined based on the result of demand prediction, that is, the predicted result of the number of passengers who wish to board each seat specified section of each train. The number of seats that can be allocated is set, and the number of reservations accepted (hereinafter referred to as a reservation allowable number) is set for each set of time zone and seat designation section. The reservation allowance may be the same as the total number of allocatable seats included in the train included in the time period, but in order to suppress the occurrence of vacant seats (that is, seats that are not assigned seats) caused by demand prediction errors, The allowable number may be set to be larger than the total number of allocatable seats of the train included in the time zone (overbooking). For the setting of the reservation allowable number, a known technique (for example, Patent Document 2) may be applied, and detailed description is omitted, but the number of passengers waiting for boarding in each seat designated section of each train is By setting the parameters so that the waiting time of all passengers is within the specified tolerance, the waiting for passengers The waiting time of passengers can be suppressed to about one or two trains while maintaining the presence of the seats and suppressing the occurrence of empty seats. In the present embodiment, reservation time zones are allowed to overlap (that is, a certain train is included in a plurality of reservation time zones), so the number of seats that can be allocated is not "per set of train and seat designation section" The number of allocatable seats is set and managed in “Reservation time period and train and seat specified section pair”, but in order to avoid complicated explanation below, simply “Each train and seat specified section pair” ".

  The seat reservation system 1 according to the present embodiment is used when a train operation is disturbed (hereinafter referred to as “operation disruption”) (that is, when one or more trains are delayed), recovery from operation disruption, or the like. Reservation allowance for time zone reservation method based on the prediction result of operation status after the current time (hereinafter referred to as operation prediction result) The number is changed appropriately. As a result, in the seat reservation system 1 of the present embodiment, even if the number of allocatable seats included in a certain reservation time zone is reduced due to operational disturbance or the like, the “reservation set based on the allocatable seat number in the initial plan” It is possible to prevent the “situation where reservations are continuously received excessively” by continuously determining whether or not the reservations can be accepted based on the allowable number. Details will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a seat reservation system 1. The seat reservation system 1 according to the present embodiment includes an operation management system 10, a mobile terminal 11, a station terminal 12, and a seat reservation device 20. The operation management system 10, the mobile terminal 11, the station terminal 12, and the seat reservation device 20 are connected to each other via a communication network 30 so that they can communicate with each other. The communication network 30 is, for example, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a VAN (Value Added Network), or the like. For example, an Ethernet (registered trademark), a public telephone line network, a dedicated telephone line network, a wireless communication path, a mobile phone line network. It is constructed by etc.

  The operation management system 10 is a computer used to manage the operation plan and operation status (arrival time and departure time of each station of each train) of each train traveling in the railway network, such as a personal computer or a workstation. It is. The operation management system 10 operates based on an operation plan created in advance by an operation plan creation system (not shown) or changed by operation arrangement, and the operation of each train up to the present using the traveling results of each train on the operation day. Calculate (predict) the situation and future operating status of each train. The operation management system 10 presents the calculated operation status to the commander in charge of operation management, thereby assisting the commander to correct the operation plan (operation arrangement) based on the actual operation status. The contents of the operation arrangement include suspension of the whole or a part of the traveling section of a certain train, increase in the number of temporary trains, change of the traveling order of the two trains between stations where the two trains travel in common, and the like. In addition, operation arrangement | positioning is not necessarily performed by a commander, but the operation management system 10 may be automatically performed according to a predetermined algorithm.

  The operation management system 10 includes a performance acquisition unit 101, a diagram management unit 102 and an operation prediction unit 103, which are functional units related to the above-described processing, and a user interface for performing the operation arrangement, which is a computer used for the above-described processing. An organizing terminal 104 is provided. Note that these functional units may be provided in different computers, and the operation plan and operation status may be managed by exchanging information via a network. About the management of the train operation plan and the operation status by the operation management system 10, the description is omitted here because a known method is used.

  The mobile terminal 11 is a portable computer that is operated by a user who wants to reserve a seat, or to receive a seat assignment or change, such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet computer, or a notebook computer. . For input of information from the user using the portable terminal 11 and provision of information to the user, a general program such as a web browser is used via a program installed in these computers or from these computers. By accessing a predetermined website, information can be exchanged with the seat reservation device 20 (a detailed description is omitted because a known technique may be used). In the present embodiment, the following description will be given on the assumption that the user uses the mobile terminal 11 for both the seat reservation and the seat assignment / change. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a dedicated terminal such as a desktop personal computer or an automatic ticket vending machine installed at a station may be used for either or both of time slot reservation and seat assignment / change.

  The station terminal 12 is an example of the dedicated terminal, has an IC card reader function, and can read information that can specify a user ID described later from the IC card. In the present embodiment, the functions of the station terminal 12 are essentially equivalent to the functions of the mobile terminal 11 described above, except for the method for specifying the user ID.

The seat reservation device 20 is a computer that performs a process of accepting a reservation specifying a set of a time zone and a seat specified section, and a process of assigning those reservations to actual train seats. The seat reservation device 20 is, for example, a personal computer or a workstation.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the seat reservation device 20. The seat reservation device 20 includes a CPU 201, a memory 202, a storage device 203, a communication interface 204, an input device 205, and an output device 206. The storage device 203 is, for example, a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, or a flash memory that stores various data and programs.

  The communication interface 204 is an interface for connecting to the communication network 30, for example, an adapter for connecting to Ethernet (registered trademark), a modem for connecting to a public telephone line network, and a wireless communication device for performing wireless communication A USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector for serial communication, an RS232C connector, or the like.

  The input device 205 is a device for receiving data input from an operator or the like of the seat reservation device 20, and is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a button, a microphone, or the like. The output device 206 is a device for presenting information to an operator or the like of the seat reservation device 20, and is, for example, a display, a printer, a speaker, or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the seat reservation device 20 includes a communication unit 211, a demand prediction unit 212, a seat arrangement unit 213, a reservation processing unit 214, a seat allocation unit 215, an operation prediction information reflection unit 216, and a storage unit 230. I have.

  The communication unit 211, the demand prediction unit 212, the seat arrangement unit 213, the reservation processing unit 214, the seat allocation unit 215, and the operation prediction information reflection unit 216 are included in the seat reservation device 20 and stored in the storage device 203 by the CPU 201 described above. This is realized by reading the stored program into the memory 202 and executing it. The storage unit 230 is realized as a part of a storage area provided by the memory 202 and the storage device 203 provided in the seat reservation device 20.

  Among these, the storage unit 230 stores transportation plan data 231, a reservation control parameter 232, a passenger model 233, a reservation counter 234, a seat counter 235, a reservation information list 236, and operation prediction information 237.

  Of the information stored in the storage unit 230, the transportation plan data 231 is information related to a plan related to passenger transportation by train. The transportation plan data 231 includes, for example, train schedules (hereinafter referred to as “reference schedules”), charges (fares for each boarding section / seat-designated section, and various charges) for use in calculating the allowable number of reservations; However, it generally includes the number of reserved seats (capacity), the number of reserved seats (capacity), and the number of seats available for time slot reservations. The reference schedule includes the departure and arrival stations for each train, the planned arrival and departure times for each of these stations, and the arrival and departure times predicted from the operation status. The departure / arrival time predicted from the operation status is the same as the planned time until the previous day, and is updated as appropriate in the operation prediction information reflection process described later (FIG. 10 and the like) according to the operation status. The In addition, when using a well-known technique such as revenue management, the fee information may be managed for each reservation timing (that is, how long the reservation is made before the desired date and time). .

The reservation control parameter 232 is information for controlling reception of a reservation. The reservation control parameter 232 includes a list of reservation time zones, a reservation reception period (that is, a value “from when to when seat reservation is possible”), a reservation reception flag indicating whether or not a reservation is currently being received, and a wait The cost (for example, the amount converted value) required for time, a train type addition rule, and a new reservation acceptable time zone are included. It also includes parameters necessary to implement known technologies, such as how many times the standard deviation of the number of passengers expected to be estimated is estimated, and how many trains are allowed to wait The reservation control parameter 232 is configured.

Here, the list of reservation time zones includes a list of time zones that can be accepted as a reservation and a list of reservation time zones corresponding to the received reservation information (after receiving the reservation, the time in the process of step S5163 described later) (Including those in which the end time of the belt is extended) are managed separately. Further, in the present embodiment, when the reservation acceptance flag is “false” (a value indicating that the reservation is not currently accepted), the seat reservation device 20 can select any of the time slot reservation request, the seat assignment request, and the seat change request. Also apologize for.

  The train type addition rule is information that is used to expand the range of trains that are subject to seat assignment in the event of disruption of operation, etc., and associates the condition for adding the train type with the train type to be added. Manage it. For example, the information is “when a delay of 30 minutes or more occurs in a train of train type TB” and “add train type TA and TC as seat allocation targets”.

  In addition, the new reservation acceptance time zone is determined by the earliest time zone in which the reservation acceptance number is less than the reservation allowable number for each set of train type and seat designation section in the operation prediction information reflection process described later. In this process, the information is used as a reference when extending the end time of the reservation time zone included in the reservation information.

  The passenger model 233 is information for determining the number of seats that can be allocated and the allowable number of reservations. Here, the number of seats that can be allocated is the number of seats reserved for time slot reservations for each train and seat specified section pair, and the reservation allowable number is the number of reserved time slots and seat specified sections. It is the number of seats that can accept reservations for a group. The passenger model 233 includes a demand model 2331 and a train selection model 2332.

  The demand model 2331 is information for predicting the number of seats for which a reservation occurs (hereinafter referred to as the demand number) for each set of a reservation time zone and a seat designation section. In the present embodiment, the demand model 2331 is a predicted value of the number of demands calculated in advance based on the trend of each season or day of the week from the past reservation / sales performance data for each set of the reservation time zone and the seat designation section. It shall be. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, for the demand model 2331, the reservation time zone, the seat designation section, and the reservation time (reserving days or hours before the time zone where the seat is desired to be reserved) The model may be associated with the number of seats for which reservations are expected to occur based on past performance, etc., and in that case, the prediction accuracy of the number of demands depends on the sales progress of seat reservations. In addition to the improvement, it is possible to appropriately change the seat reservation fee to lead to the optimization of profits (the profit optimization is a well-known technique called “revenue management” etc., and detailed description is omitted). The demand model 2331 may be a prediction model (prediction formula) for predicting the number of demands. Moreover, you may make it use a different model at the time of the regular operation of a train, and the time of operation disorder.

In addition, the train selection model 2332 determines which train the reserved person selects for each set of reserved time zone and seat designation section, that is, for example, which train arrives at a convenient time for boarding. It is information for estimating whether to do. In the present embodiment, the train selection model 2332 includes a probability that a reservation person (user) selects a certain train (hereinafter referred to as a train selection probability). The train selection model 2332 may be calculated and held in advance, for example, as a probability based on the user's past reservation record and ticket issue record, or may be calculated and stored in advance based on a questionnaire or the like. Note that the train selection model 2332 may have different probabilities for each time zone and seat designation section, and may have different probabilities for regular train operation and disrupted operation. In addition, in case of disruption of operation, “get on the earliest train that can be boarded” “get on the train that arrives the earliest station at the end of the seating section” “select another route if another route is available What defines the probability that these patterns will be selected for each passenger behavior pattern such as “” may be used as the train selection model 2332.

In the present embodiment, in order to allow overlapping of reserved time zones, the probability of selection of a reserved time zone by a user who designates a set of a train and a seat designated section (hereinafter referred to as a time zone selection probability) Are also included as a train selection model 2332.
In addition, the reservation counter 234 holds the reservation allowable number and the received reservation number (reservation reception number) for each reservation time zone and seat designation section group.

  In addition, the seat counter 235 holds the number of assignable seats and the number of seats assigned for each set of train and seat designation section. The number of seats that can be allocated is the number of seats that can be allocated to a user who has made a time slot reservation. The number of assignable seats is created in advance in consideration of the capacity of each train. For example, a predetermined number of seats may be set for each seat designated section of each train, or the number of seats may be different depending on the train or the seat designated section based on the demand prediction result. In the present embodiment, as will be described later, the allocatable seat number can be updated according to the train operation status. The seat allocation number is the number of seats that are actually allocated reservations for the train and seat designation section.

  The reservation information list 236 is a list of accepted reservation information. The reservation information is information indicating who has reserved which seat designation section of a train of which train type for which seat in which time zone. The reservation information is further configured to include information indicating which seat of which train is assigned (if the assigned train or seat is not confirmed, a value indicating “unassigned” is registered. ). In addition to this, the reservation information can include various types of information related to the reservation. In the present embodiment, the current “reservation state” is included. The reservation status includes “Reserved” that accepts reservations that specify the boarding time zone but does not assign a specific train seat to the user, and “Ticket issued” that assigns a specific train seat to the user (electromagnetic) Data management for securing a typical ticket, and does not necessarily mean physical ticketing of a reserved seat ticket), and “ridden” that the user has boarded. In the present embodiment, as a reservation state, a “provisional ticket” indicating a state in which a specific train seat is allocated to a user but the allocation can be changed may be taken. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the reservation information list 236 is extracted separately from the reservation information for the trains operating on the day, and is managed by a known technique (for example, Patent Document 2). The date data is omitted. Hereinafter, the handling of reservation information for the day will be mainly described.

  The operation prediction information 237 is information indicating the latest operation status of each train. The operation prediction information 237 is based on the current time of each train using the latest train schedule that is the result of reflecting the operation arrangement such as suspension in the train schedule of the original plan and the actual schedule obtained by the current time. It includes a “prediction diagram” which is a train diagram as a result of predicting up to and future operation conditions. As the operation prediction information 237, the result calculated by the operation management system 10 is acquired via the network. The prediction diagram includes departure / arrival stations for each train, arrival / departure times predicted from planned arrival / departure times and operation statuses for the respective stations.

  Of the functional units provided in the seat reservation apparatus 20, the demand prediction unit 212 predicts how much passengers are desired to ride for each set of train and seat designation section (that is, demand for seats). In the present embodiment, the demand prediction unit 212 uses the publicly known method based on the passenger model 233 and the reference diagram (that is, the prediction diagram at the time of predicting the number of passengers desired to ride). The number of demand prediction methods is not described here. Note that the demand prediction unit 212 can use an appropriate model from among the models included in the passenger model 233 according to the operation status of the train, such as during steady operation or when operation is disrupted.

  Note that the demand prediction unit 212 may perform demand prediction in consideration of the reservation information list 236 when predicting seat demand. In other words, it is possible to grasp the progress of seat sales at the time of demand forecasting, and when the status of accepted reservation information is “allocated” or “temporary allocation”, the reservation information is currently allocated. By treating it as confirmed by boarding a certain train, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the part that becomes the probability calculation.

  Further, in the operation prediction information reflection process described later (FIG. 10), the reference diagram may be updated based on the operation prediction information. In such a case, the demand prediction unit 212 reserves the reference diagram and reservation before the update. After ascertaining the demand that is known at the time of demand prediction using the information list 236, the demand for seats may be predicted based on the updated reference diagram based on the demand.

  The seat arrangement unit 213 determines the number of seats that can be allocated by the time slot reservation method for each set of train and seat designation section based on the number of passengers desired to be obtained using the demand prediction unit 212, and With reference to the reservation control parameter 232 and the passenger model 233, the number of seats that can be allocated for each set of reservation time zone, train, and seat designation section is determined. A method of allocating the number of seats that can be allocated by the time slot reservation method to each reservation time slot may be allocated based on the time slot selection probability included in the train selection model 2332, for example.

  The seat arranging unit 213 determines the reservation allowable number for each set of the reserved time zone and the seat designation section after determining the reservation time zone and the number of assignable seats for each set of the train and the seat designated section. It may be carried out by a method similar to a known technique such as Patent Document 2 with reference to the number of assignable seats in each train and each seat designation section for each reservation time zone, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Of the functional units included in the seat reservation device 20, the reservation processing unit 214 receives a seat reservation request from the mobile terminal 11, and responds by determining whether the reservation is accepted or abandoned according to the status of the reservation counter 234. When the reservation processing unit 214 further determines to accept the seat reservation request, the reservation processing unit 214 counts up the number of reservations held by the reservation counter 234 by the number of seats related to the seat reservation request. Details of the processing executed by the reservation processing unit 214 will be described later (FIG. 4 and the like).

  Also, the seat allocation unit 215 responds to a seat allocation request (hereinafter referred to as a seat allocation request) or a seat change request (hereinafter referred to as a seat change request) according to the number of allocatable seats and the allocated seat number. On the other hand, it decides which train seat to assign. Details of processing executed by the seat allocation unit 215 will be described later (FIG. 5 and the like). Although detailed description is omitted, in the present embodiment, the seat assignment unit 215 determines which seat of the train is specifically assigned after determining which train the seat is assigned to. Specifically, for example, when it is determined which train seat to assign, a seat that is not assigned to any reservation may be searched and assigned arbitrarily. Alternatively, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, the timing of train determination and seat determination is separated, and the user gets on the train that secures the seat, finds a vacant seat, and determines the seat when seated. Good. In any case, it can be carried out using a known technique. In addition, you may make it fix a seat by methods other than illustrated.

The operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 adjusts reservation when the operation prediction information 237 changes. As will be described later, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 adjusts the reservation when the train operation is disturbed, for example. Details of processing by the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 will be described later (FIG. 10 and the like).
--- Flow example ---

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of processing executed by the seat reservation device 20 according to the present embodiment. In this flow, when the seat reservation device 20 receives a reservation request (hereinafter referred to as a time zone reservation request) specifying a time zone from the mobile terminal 11 (S31: YES), the reservation processing unit 214 performs the processing shown in FIG. The time slot reservation process shown is executed (S32).

  When the seat reservation device 20 receives a seat allocation request from the mobile terminal 11 (S33: YES), the seat allocation unit 215 executes the seat allocation process shown in FIG. 5 (S34), and the seat reservation device 20 is a mobile terminal. When the seat change request is received from 11 (S35: YES), the seat assignment unit 215 executes the seat change process shown in FIG. 18 (S36). Furthermore, the seat reservation device 20 executes the operation prediction information reflection process shown in FIG. 10 every time a predetermined time has elapsed (S37: YES) (S38).

  The seat reservation device 20 determines whether or not to end the processing after the processing of steps S31 to S38. As a result of the determination, if it is determined that the process is to be ended (S39: YES), the seat reservation device 20 ends the process. If it is not determined to end the process (S39: NO), the seat reservation device 20 returns to the process of step S31 and continues the process. For example, it is assumed that the determination in step S39 is based on whether or not a processing end command is input from the input device 205 included in the seat reservation device 20, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a general method can be used.

  Here, the details of the time slot reservation process (S32) in the flow of FIG. 3 described above will be described with reference to FIG. First, the reservation processing unit 214 receives information (member information) for specifying a user from the mobile terminal 11 (S411). In this embodiment, a user ID and a password are assumed as member information.

  Subsequently, the reservation processing unit 214 authenticates the user using the received member information (S412). The reservation processing unit 214 can authenticate the user by a general method. For example, the seat reservation device 20 can be provided with a database that associates a user ID and password for each user, and the reservation processing unit 214 can perform authentication by comparing member information with the database.

  If the authentication is successful (S412: YES), the reservation processing unit 214 receives reservation information from the mobile terminal 11 (S413). The reservation information includes the desired boarding date, the reservation time zone, the seat designation section, and the number of seats. On the other hand, if the authentication fails (S412: NO), the reservation processing unit 214 proceeds to the process of step S419.

  Subsequently, the reservation processing unit 214 determines whether or not a reservation is being accepted (S414). For example, with reference to the reservation control parameter 232, the reservation processing unit 214 determines that the reservation is not being received when the desired boarding date and the reservation time zone are not within the reservation reception period in light of the current date and time. Furthermore, the reservation processing unit 214 determines that the reservation is not being received when the reservation reception flag is false (a value indicating that the current reservation is not being received) when the current date and time is the desired boarding date. To do. In other cases, the reservation processing unit 214 determines that the reservation is being accepted. If the reservation is not being accepted (S414: NO), the reservation processing unit 214 proceeds to the process of step S419.

Subsequently, the reservation processing unit 214 accepts the reservation depending on whether or not the sum of the number of reservations accepted by the reservation counter 234 and the number of seats related to the reservation request (the number of reservation requests) is equal to or less than the reservation allowable number of the reservation counter 234. It is determined whether or not to perform (S415). That is, if the sum of the number of reservations accepted and the number of seats related to the reservation request is equal to or less than the reservation allowable number of the reservation counter 234, it is determined that “accept the reservation request” (S415: YES), otherwise Is determined to apologize the reservation request (S415: NO).
If the reservation processing unit 214 determines to accept the reservation (S415: YES), the reservation processing unit 214 performs a settlement process related to the reservation (S416).

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that seat reservation by the time slot reservation method is a membership system service (which can improve the accuracy of demand prediction). For this reason, this payment process assumes charging to a credit card previously registered in association with the user ID. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this, and any method can be used for the settlement process. For example, if the user performs a reservation operation using the station terminal 12, the station terminal 12 is equipped with a function of performing a payment process using cash, a prepaid card, a credit card not associated with the user ID, or the like. The payment processing may be performed at the station terminal 12. Since these settlement processes are performed by a general method, the description is omitted here.

  Next, the reservation processing unit 214 adds the number of reservation requests to the reservation acceptance number of the reservation counter 234 (S417), sets a reserved status in the reservation information, and adds it to the reservation information list 236 (S418).

  After the processing of S411 to S418 is completed, the reservation processing unit 214 responds to the portable terminal 11 with the result related to the reservation processing (S419). If the reservation processing unit 214 determines in step S415 that the reservation is accepted (S415: YES), the reservation processing unit 214 responds to the reservation content, and if it determines that the reservation is not accepted (S415: NO), the reservation processing unit 214 cannot make a reservation. A message can be answered. The reservation processing unit 214 can also respond with a message indicating that the authentication has failed in addition to a message indicating that the reservation cannot be made when the authentication fails in step S412 (S412: NO). If the reservation processing unit 214 has not received a reservation in step S414 (S414: NO), the reservation processing unit 214 can respond with a message indicating that the reservation is not being received in addition to a message indicating that the reservation is not possible.

  Next, details of the seat assignment process (S34) in the flow of FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. In this case, the seat assignment unit 215 receives member information for identifying the user from the mobile terminal 11 (assuming the user ID and password as described above) (S611). The seat allocation unit 215 authenticates the user using the received member information (S612).

  Subsequently, when the authentication is successful (S612: YES), the seat assignment unit 215 specifies reservation information corresponding to the seat assignment request (S613). In the process of step S613, for example, the seat assignment unit 215 extracts reservation information corresponding to the user from the reservation information list 236, and when there is one or more extracted reservation information, transmits them to the mobile terminal 11. In the mobile terminal 11, reservation information is displayed as a list, designation of a reservation to be seated is accepted from the user, and information for specifying the designated reservation information is transmitted to the seat reservation device 20. When there is only one reservation information corresponding to the user, the seat assignment unit 215 may determine that the reservation information is designated without making an inquiry to the user. Note that the seat assignment unit 215 refers to the reservation acceptance flag included in the reservation control parameter 232, and if the value is “false” (a value indicating that no reservation is currently accepted), The corresponding reservation information is treated as not existing.

  Next, when the corresponding reservation information exists in the reservation information list 236 (S614: YES), the seat assignment unit 215 executes the seat assignable train list creation process shown in FIG. A list of trains to which seats can be assigned is created (S615).

Next, the seat assignment unit 215 identifies a train to be assigned from the trains registered in the seat assignable train list (S616). The seat assignment unit 215 transmits, for example, a list of trains registered in the seat assignable train list and information related to those trains to the mobile terminal 11, and the trains that are candidates for seat assignment to the mobile terminal 11. By displaying a list and accepting a train designation from the user, the train to be assigned is specified.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a train designation screen displayed on the mobile terminal 11 in the process of step S616. The seat assignment unit 215 transmits to the portable terminal 11 information related to the trains that can be assigned seats and the trains registered in the lists. For example, the information that the seat assignment unit 215 transmits to the mobile terminal 11 includes seat specification in addition to information specifying the seat specification section (start station and end station of the section) and information specifying the train (train name). The departure time from the start station of the section, the arrival time at the end station of the seat designation section, and the seat availability are included. Here, regarding the departure time and arrival time, in addition to the departure and arrival times on the train schedule at the time of the initial plan, the departure and arrival times on the prediction schedule are also included. By including the arrival and departure times in the prediction schedule, the user can easily select the train that is expected to arrive at the destination the earliest, so that convenience is improved.

  The mobile terminal 11 displays the train designation screen 600 and the train designation screen 601 shown in FIG. 6 on the basis of the seat allocatable train list received from the seat reservation device 20 and information accompanying it, and tries to receive seat assignment. Accept designation of train from user. The mobile terminal 11 transmits information specifying the train received from the user to the seat reservation device 20, and the seat assignment unit 215 specifies the train designated by the user based on the information received from the mobile terminal 11.

  The train designation screen 600 is an example of a screen in a state where there is no disruption of operation. In the display of the departure time and arrival time, the upper row indicates the time in the train schedule at the time of the initial plan, and the lower row (in parentheses) indicates the time in the prediction diagram. ing. Regarding the seat availability, the train designation screen 600 is in a state where sufficient seats are secured for all trains (“○” is displayed as the seat availability), but in the time slot reservation method, demand forecast The number of seats that can be allocated is determined based on the number of seats, so as the departure time approaches, there are few seats remaining (a state where “△” is displayed as the seat availability) or no seats ( It is predicted that the state will change to a state in which “x” is displayed (actually, it depends on how much room the number of seats that can be allocated is determined with respect to the predicted demand).

  On the other hand, the train designation screen 601 is an example of a screen in the case where operation disturbance occurs. In the case where an operation disturbance occurs on the route (described later: FIG. 13) on which “Tsubaki” of the train type TB is operated, this embodiment intends an early recovery from the operation disturbance as described later (FIG. 14). In addition, the seat of “Azalea” of train type TC that operates on another route can be assigned. For this reason, the seat availability of “Tsubaki”, which is involved in the disruption of operation, is “Slightly Remaining (△)”, while the seat availability of “Azalea” operating normally is “ Sufficiently secured (○) ”. In the present embodiment, trains that can be assigned seats are sorted and presented in order of the predicted arrival time at the end station of the designated seat section, so which train is expected to arrive at the destination the earliest. It is easier for the user to understand. As described above, in the present embodiment, even when operation disturbance occurs, the user can select a train that receives seat allocation by checking the seat availability and the predicted arrival time at the destination.

  Now, the description returns to the flow of FIG. The seat allocation unit 215 adds the number of seats included in the reservation information to the seat allocation number, and updates the seat counter 235 (S617). The seat allocation unit 215 updates the reservation information list 236 so as to set “ticketed” in the state of the reservation information (S618).

In addition, the seat assignment unit 215 responds to the portable terminal 11 with the seat assignment result (S619). When the seat allocation unit 215 fails authentication (S612: NO), or when the target reservation information does not exist in the reservation information list 236 (S614: NO), a message to that effect is sent to the mobile terminal 11. In the case of transmission and assignment of seats, information (including train departure time and arrival time, seat number, etc.) relating to the assigned train seats is transmitted to the portable terminal 11.
As described above, a specific seat is assigned to the user.
Here, details of the seat allocatable train list creation process (S615) in the flow of FIG. 5 described above will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the seat assignable train list creation process, the seat assigning unit 215 first sets the seat assignable train list to an empty set (S6151). After that, the seat allocation unit 215 determines whether seat allocation is possible by executing the seat allocation determination process shown in FIG. 8 for each train of the train type that is the allocation target of the reservation information of interest. If it is determined that seat assignment is possible (S6153: YES), the train is added to the seat assignable train list (S6154).

  Here, it is determined whether or not the reservation information to which a certain train pays attention (that is, reservation information to be assigned to seats) is the allocation type for which the train type of the train is the allocation target of the reservation information. It may be determined by whether it is included in (see FIG. 16 and the like).

  Of these seat allocatable train list creation processes, details of the seat allotability determination process (S6152) will be described with reference to FIG. The seat assignment availability determination process is a process for determining whether or not there is a vacant seat that can be assigned to the reservation in the train of interest. In this embodiment, the seat assignment unit 215 starts the seat designation section of the train of interest. In addition to reservation information in which the estimated departure time of the station is included in the reserved time zone, priority is also set low for reservation information where the predicted departure time of the seat designation section start station of the train of interest is outside the reserved time zone. To be able to assign seats. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible for the user to make reservation reservations only for trains in the late hours due to congestion when trying to change reservations. Even if it was determined that the seat allocation can be reserved if there is a vacant seat that can be secured in the priority order corresponding to the reservation information at the time of the seat confirmation request, There is a possibility of getting on a train at an earlier time, which improves convenience.

  In the seat assignment permission / inhibition determination process, the seat assignment unit 215 first determines the priority order of the reservation time period according to the end time and start time of the reservation time period (S61521). Specifically, the seat allocation unit 215 lowers the priority of the reserved time zone in which the predicted departure time of the seat designation section start station of the train of interest is before the start time or after the end time of the reserved time zone, When the predicted departure time of the seat specified section start station of the train of interest is after the start time of the reservation time zone and before the end time, the earlier the end time of the reservation time zone, the more equal the end time of the reservation time zone The priority of the reservation time zone for the train of interest is determined so that the priority is higher as the start time of the reservation time zone is earlier.

  Therefore, for example, the seat allocation unit 215 refers to a list of reservation time zones corresponding to accepted reservation information managed as part of the reservation control parameter 232, and for each of the reservation time zones, If the estimated departure time of the seat specified section start station is not included in the reservation time zone, an overtime penalty is set, the overtime penalty is the first key, the end time of the reservation time zone is the second key, and the start of the reservation time zone Priorities are determined in the order of ascending order using the time as the third key.

By assigning the end time of the reservation time zone to the second key, seats are preferentially assigned to reservation information that is approaching the end time of the reservation time zone (more seats can be assigned). Can do.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the above-described priority determination method.

  In the example of FIG. 9, assuming that the predicted departure time of the seat designation section start station of the train of interest is 12:45, the seat allocation unit 215 has a reserved time whose start time is later than the predicted departure time. A non-time penalty of “1” is set for the time zone, that is, reservation time zones with start times “13:00”, “15:00”, and “13:30”, and the end time is earlier than the predicted departure time. A non-time penalty of “1” is set for a certain reservation time zone, that is, a reservation time zone whose end time is “11:00”, and an non-time penalty of “0” is set for the other reservation time zones (FIG. 9). (See the left figure).

  Next, the seat allocation unit 215 sorts the overtime penalty as the first key, the reservation time zone end time as the second key, and the reservation time zone start time as the third key in ascending order. It looks like the figure. In this way, the priority order of each reserved time zone can be determined.

  Returning to the description of FIG. The seat assignment unit 215 determines whether or not there is a seat that can be assigned to the reservation information that is the current determination target after determining the priority order of the reservation time period as described above. Specifically, the priority of the reservation time zone corresponding to the reservation information is referred to, and the number of remaining seats corresponding to the reservation time zone that has a priority lower than or equal to the priority order (from the assignable seat number to the seat allocation number). When the sum of the values (which are managed for a set of time zone, train, and seat designation section) is equal to or greater than the number of seats related to the reservation information that is currently determined (S61522: YES), When it is determined that the allocation is possible (S61523), and the total number of remaining seats corresponding to the reservation time period that is set to the priority order equal to or lower than the priority order is less than the number of seats related to the reservation information currently being determined (S61522: NO), it is determined that seat allocation is not possible (S61524). For example, in the situation as shown in FIG. 9, if the reservation information that is currently determined is “3 seats in the reservation time zone from 12:00 to 14:00”, the reservation time zone has priority. Since the rank is 3rd, if the total number of remaining seats (the number obtained by subtracting the number of allocated seats from the number of allocatable seats) of 3rd to 8th priority is 3 or more, “allocation possible”, 2 or less If there is, it becomes “allocation impossible”. In the case of “assignable”, if the train currently focused on is selected in step S616 and the seat counter 235 is updated in step S617, the seat assignment unit 215 has a high priority. The value of the allocated seat number is preferentially increased from the seat counter 235 corresponding to the reserved time zone. For example, the number of remaining seats corresponding to the 3rd to 8th priorities is “2 seats (3rd place)” “0 seats (4th place)” “0 seats (5th place)” “1 seat (6th place)” In the case of “1 seat (7th place)” and “1 seat (8th place)”, the number of remaining seats after allocation for 3 seats is “0 seats (3rd place)” “0 seats (4th place)” “0 seats” The seat counter 235 may be updated so that it becomes (5th place), “0 seats (6th place)”, “1 seat (7th place)” and “1 seat (8th place)”. Therefore, the priority order of the reserved time period for the train of interest obtained in step S61521 is retained in the storage unit 230 as intermediate data until the process in step S617 is completed so that it can be referred to in the process in step S617.

  Next, details of the operation prediction information reflection process (S38) in the flow of FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the operation prediction information reflection process is periodically executed. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this, and the operation prediction information reflection unit 216 operates the train by an arbitrary method. You may make it detect that there was a change in a schedule and perform operation prediction information reflection processing.

In the flow of FIG. 10, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 acquires the prediction diagram calculated by the operation management system 10 and updates the operation prediction information 237 in the storage unit 230 (S511). The prediction schedule may be obtained by making a calculation request to the operation management system 10 each time and receiving the calculation result, or the operation management system 10 is sequentially updated using the latest calculation result. The operation prediction information reflection unit 216 may refer to and acquire a prediction diagram stored in a storage device in the operation management system 10 or a storage device (not shown) outside the operation management system 10.

  Subsequently, the operation prediction information reflection unit 216 executes reservation reservation number update necessity determination processing shown in FIG. 11 described later (S512). If the operation prediction information reflection unit 216 determines that the reservation allowable number needs to be updated as a result of the reservation allowable number update necessity determination process in step S512 (S513: YES), the operation prediction information reflection unit 216 performs the processes of steps S514 to S518. When the reservation allowable number needs to be updated (S513: YES), the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 first performs a process of stopping the new reservation and the new ticketing (S514). Here, a known process can be adopted as a process related to a new reservation and a new ticket issuance. The operation prediction information reflection unit 216 sets the reservation acceptance flag included in the reservation control parameter 232 to “false” (a value indicating that no reservation is currently accepted) in the process of stopping new reservations and new ticketing. To do. In addition, when it is determined that it is not necessary to update the reservation allowable number (S513: NO), the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 ends the operation prediction information reflecting process.

  Subsequently, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 executes the seat allocation update process shown in FIG. 12 (S515), and after executing the reservation information list update process shown in FIG. 14 (S516), restarts the new reservation and the new ticketing. (S517). Note that the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 sets the reservation acceptance flag included in the reservation control parameter 232 to “true” (a value indicating that a current reservation is accepted) during the process of resuming a new reservation and a new ticketing. ).

  Here, details of the above-described reservation allowable number update necessity determination processing (S512) will be described with reference to FIG. In this case, the operation prediction information reflection unit 216 compares the reference diagram included in the transportation plan data 231 with the prediction diagram included in the operation prediction information 237, and there is an increase / decrease in the number of trains and travel sections with respect to the reference diagram. It is determined whether or not (S5121). Causes when there is an increase or decrease in trains or travel sections in the prediction diagram relative to the reference diagram include, for example, suspension, partial suspension, and setting of a temporary train.

  Subsequently, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 compares the reference diagram and the prediction diagram to determine whether or not the delay state has changed (S5122). The operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 calculates, for example, the difference between the departure time of each station of each train in the prediction diagram and the corresponding departure time in the reference diagram, and if it exceeds a predetermined threshold value, “there is a change (S5122 : YES) ", and in other cases," no change (S5122: NO) "may be determined.

  Subsequently, the operation prediction information reflection unit 216 performs reservation allowable number variation presence / absence determination processing (S5123). That is, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 calculates, for each set of the reserved time zone and the seat designation section, the sum (a) of the number of allocatable seats of the train predicted to travel in the time zone, and the calculated sum (A) is compared with the number of seats (b), which is currently the calculation standard for the allowable number of reservations in the relevant time zone, and the time zone where “| (a) − (b) |> Δ” and the seat designation If there is even one set of sections, it is determined that there is “change” (S5123). As the threshold value Δ, a given value registered in the reservation control parameter 232 is used. Alternatively, an average value M of the number of seats that can be allocated for trains traveling in the time zone of interest in the reference timetable is obtained, and for example, N trains traveling in the time zone (N is, for example, 1 or 2) based on the average value M The value “M × N” may be used as the threshold value Δ as a value that approximates the total number of allocated seats. In such a configuration, it is possible to more appropriately determine whether or not the reservation allowable number fluctuates even on a route in which the value of M greatly varies depending on the time zone. Note that the value of the threshold Δ is not limited to these values, and values obtained by other methods may be used.

By performing such reservation allowable number variation presence / absence determination processing, the update frequency of the reservation allowable number described later can be suppressed. Therefore, when it is allowed to increase the update frequency of the reservation allowable number, Δ may be set to a small number such as 0 in step S5123.

  As a result of the reservation allowable number variation presence / absence determination process, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 determines that the reservation allowable number needs to be updated (S5125: YES), and determines the current prediction diagram. The reference diagram is updated so that is the reference diagram. On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no change as a result of the reservation allowable number variation presence / absence determination process (S5124: NO), the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 determines that the reservation allowable number need not be updated (S5126).

  Next, details of the seat distribution update process (S515) in the flow of FIG. 10 described above will be described with reference to FIG. In the seat distribution update process, the operation prediction information reflection unit 216 first acquires the train type that is the update target of the seat distribution with reference to the reservation control parameter 232, and refers to the prediction diagram to determine the train type. For trains that are not assigned seats at the current time in the section from the station that is predicted to depart in the time zone after the current time to the end station, for reservations in the time zone reservation method Are temporarily reserved as assignable seats (that is, temporary restriction is applied so as not to be assigned to reservations of other reservation methods) (S5151). Note that the temporarily secured number of seats is registered in the transportation plan data 231 for each train and section group in order to return to the original state when there is a surplus in the seats.

  The operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 can secure seats of trains on different routes as seats that can be assigned to reservations in the time zone reservation method when securing seats. Here, the assignment of seats for trains on different routes is a measure intended for early recovery from disruption due to the effect of transfer transportation. However, when using train seats on different routes, the seat designation fee may differ even if the start station and end station of the seat designation section are the same (for example, set to a higher fee than the originally reserved route) In this embodiment, seats of trains on different routes are used only as seat assignment targets for reservations that have already been reserved in the time slot reservation method, and as seat assignment targets for new reservations. In other words, the seat allocation process and the operation prediction information reflection process (described later: corresponding to step S5162 in FIG. 14) are configured. In addition, embodiment of this invention is not restricted to this, It is good also considering the seat of the train of a different route as an allocation object also with respect to a new reservation. The management range of the train type to be allocated may be changed from the reservation information unit to the set unit of the reservation time zone and the seat allocation section, and such a change is easy.

  FIG. 13 shows a schematic diagram of routes related to three types of trains TA, TB, and TC. The train of type TA and the train of type TB are trains on the same route, and only the stop station is different. Specifically, the train of type TA departs from station A and arrives at station E after stopping at stations B, C and D. Without stopping, after leaving A station, stop at C station and arrive at E station. The train of type TC is a train of a different route from that of types TA and TB. After leaving A station, it arrives at E station via F station. Here, when considering the case where the train of type TB has been greatly delayed due to the occurrence of disruption of operation, for users who were going to board the type TB train from station A to station E, It is considered that moving using a train of type TC that is a train or a train on another route can be an option.

According to the seat reservation system 1 of the present embodiment, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 has a seat of a train of a different train type or a train of a different route when the allowable number of reservations in a certain time zone decreases due to suspension or delay. As a seat allocation target, the number of seat allocation candidates related to reservations that specify a time zone is increased, and the user who uses the time zone reservation is initially expected The difference between the arrival time and the actual arrival time can be reduced. In addition, from the viewpoint of train operators, transportation demand on routes where turbulence occurs is reduced by passing passengers on routes that are not affected by turbulence (that is, routes operated by type TC trains). As a result, the trains of type TA and type TB can be easily suspended, and effects such as early recovery from operational disturbance can be obtained.

  Returning to the description of the flow in FIG. The operation prediction information reflection unit 216 refers to the transportation plan data 231 and obtains the number of seats that can be used for time zone reservation for each set of train and seat designation section, including the seats temporarily reserved in step S5151 (S5152). .

  Next, the seat arrangement unit 213 performs demand prediction using the demand prediction unit 212. The demand prediction unit 212 predicts the number of seats required for each train and each section based on the passenger model 233, the reference diagram included in the transportation plan data 231 and the reservation information list 236 (S5153).

  The seat arrangement unit 213 refers to the reservation control parameter 232, and reserves the capacity included in the transportation plan data 231 for the time slot reservation according to the result of the demand prediction obtained as described above. Is again determined, and the number of allocatable seats is obtained (S5154). The process in step S5154 may be performed using a known technique.

  When the number of allocatable seats is reduced, the seat arrangement unit 213 releases the reduced number of seats (S5155). These seats can be used for securing seats by a reservation method other than time slot reservation, for example.

  Subsequently, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 determines the reservation allowable number for each set of the time zone and the seat designation section based on the reservation time zone, the number of available seats for each set of the train and the seat designation section, and the result of the demand prediction. The reservation allowable number of the reservation counter 234 is updated with the determined number (S5156).

  In addition, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 calculates a reservation acceptance number, which is the number of reservation information registered in the reservation information list 236, for each set of a reservation time zone and a seat specification section, and a certain reservation time zone and a seat specification. If the number of reservations accepted for a set of segments exceeds the allowable number of reservations, it is assumed that the number of reserved seats in the specified seat section for that time zone is the allowable number of reservations, and the difference between the allowable number of reservations and the acceptable number of reservations The number is added to the number of reservations accepted in the designated seat section in the “next” time zone (S5157). In this embodiment, by creating a list of time zones that can be accepted as reservations so that the end time of one time zone matches the start time of another time zone, the “next time zone” is set. Make sure you can identify it. For example, time periods that can be accepted as reservations are set to “10: 0 to 11:00”, “10:30 to 11:30”, “11: 0 to 12:00”, “11:30 to 12:30”, and the like. As a result, the “next” time zone of a certain time zone can be uniquely obtained for each of the time series that are exactly hourly and the time series of 30 minutes per hour. For the last time zone of each series, a sufficient number can be allocated because the reservation acceptance number cannot be forwarded to the “next” time zone when the reservation acceptance number exceeds the reservation allowable number. The seat distribution is set so that the number of seats can be secured. In this way, the reservation allowable number for each set of the reservation time zone and the seat designation section is updated according to the change of the operation prediction information, and the reservation acceptance number for each set of the reservation time zone and the seat designation section is also updated. If the number of reservations accepted may exceed the allowable number of reservations, such as when the train is greatly delayed, should the reservation be accepted when accepting a reservation for a seat with a specified time zone? Whether or not can be appropriately determined based on the operation status of the day.

  Next, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 determines, for each set of train type and seat designation section, the earliest time zone out of the time zones in which the reservation acceptance number is less than the reservation allowable number as a new reservation acceptable time zone. Then, the new reservation acceptable time zone corresponding to the seat designation section of the train type of the reservation control parameter 232 is updated with the determined time zone (S5158).

  Details of the reservation information list update process (S516) in the flow of FIG. 10 will be described with reference to FIG. In the reservation information list update process, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 first sets the state of the reservation information registered in the reservation information list 236 to “provisional ticketing” for the reservation information whose state is “ticketed”. (S5161).

  By performing the process of step S5161, for the user who has reserved a seat in a specific train before the train operation is disturbed (that is, who has received a seat assignment), the operation disorder is performed as described later. Since it is possible to provide an opportunity to change the train that secures the seat, it is possible to improve convenience for the user.

  Subsequently, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 determines whether the reservation information registered in the reservation information list 236 has a status of “provisional ticketing” or “reserved” according to the seat designation section. The train type to be added is added (S5162). As already described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 13, by performing such processing, the number of seat allocation candidates related to the reservation specifying the time zone is increased, and the user who uses the time zone reservation is initially assumed. In addition to reducing the difference between the arrival time at the end station of the designated seat section and the actual arrival time, it is possible to support early recovery from disruption of operation. Note that the seat reservation device 20 manages the train type that is the seat assignment target by using a data structure that can distinguish the train type at the time of accepting the reservation and the train type added in step S5162. For example, as described later (FIG. 16), by managing the train types in the order of registration, the train type registered first is the one at the time when the reservation is accepted, and otherwise, the processing in step S5162 is performed later. They can be distinguished as added ones.

  In addition, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 extends the end time of the reservation time zone for reservation information whose status is “provisional ticketing” or “reserved” among the reservation information registered in the reservation information list 236 ( S5163). When extending the end time, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 registers the reservation time zone with the extended end time in the reservation time zone list of the reservation control parameter 232.

When extending the end time of the reserved time zone, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 determines the length of time to be extended according to the number of allocatable seats determined again as described above. For example, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 determines the reservation control parameter 232 when the number of seats as a basis for calculating the reservation allowable number (that is, the total number of assignable seats in the corresponding train / seat designation section) decreases. The end time is extended to the later one of the end time of the current reservation time zone and the end time of the new reservation acceptance time zone. FIG. 15 shows an example in which the end time of the reservation time zone included in the reservation information is updated in the reservation information list update process (step S516) executed when the reservation allowable number is updated. Specifically, when a reservation is made in the reservation time zone “14:00 to 16:00” before the reservation allowable number is updated, the reservation time included in the corresponding reservation information after the reservation allowable number is updated. In this example, the end time of the band is extended to “18:00”. As will be described later, in the reservation of the time zone reservation method according to the present embodiment, the priority of seat allocation is higher for the trains included in the designated reservation time zone, but in the reservation time zone actually due to delay or suspension, etc. If the number of trains predicted to depart decreases and the number of seats that can be allocated in the reserved time period decreases, there is a possibility that unfairness will occur between users even if there is no trouble on the user side. In other words, there are no trains that can be assigned seats due to a shortage of seats due to a decrease in the number of trains that can be selected within the range of the original reservation time zone. By only becoming a train that departs later, there is a possibility that a user who makes a reservation in a reservation time zone later than the user is preferentially assigned a seat. In that case, the user who booked in the later reservation time zone will be assigned a seat to the train that departs earlier than the user who was assigned to the seat in the original reservation time zone, which is unfair A feeling will arise. According to the present embodiment, by extending the end time of the reservation time zone to at least after the new reservation acceptance time, seat allocation is given priority to all of the users who have been “reserved” or “ticketed”. However, as many seats as possible can be secured, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of unfairness that does not depend on the user's inconvenience as described above. Furthermore, by using the start time of the reserved time zone as a selection key, a seat can be assigned more preferentially to a user who has reserved in the early time zone.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of updating the reservation information list 236 in the case where a disturbance of operation occurs (however, information not used in the following description such as the number of seats is omitted from the information included in each reservation information) did). Reservation information 236A shown in FIG. 16 is an example of reservation information registered in the reservation information list 236 before the occurrence of operation disturbance. When the reservation allowable number is updated with the occurrence of the disturbance of the operation, the reservation information 236A is updated as the reservation information 236B, for example. Reservation information 236B is an example in the case where operation disturbance occurs on the route related to train type TA and train type TB, and it is the earliest to get on train 2 from station A to station C on the prediction schedule. This is an example when it is predicted to arrive. In this case, among the reservation information whose states are “Reserved” and “Ticketed”, the reservation information whose reservation ID is “R003-0” is the train type TC, so the information before the occurrence of the disruption of operation. Not updated from. In addition, for the reservation information whose reservation ID is “R002-0”, since the seat is assigned to the train that is predicted to arrive the earliest at the station C, which is the end station of the seat designation section, before the operation disturbance occurs Not updated from information. On the other hand, for the reservation information whose reservation ID is “R004-0”, the state is such that the user whose member ID is “KF1121” can take the option of moving to E station using a train different from the train 4. It is updated to “provisional ticketing”, the end time of the reservation time zone is extended to “18:00”, and further, as a selectable train type, it is a train type that stops at both the A station and the E station. “TA” and “TC” are added. As a result, for the reservation of “R004-0”, seats are secured in the train 4 affected by the disturbance of operation, while the train type “TA”, “TB” or “TC” trains from 18:00 to the time zone Thus, it becomes possible to preferentially receive seat assignments again. The user whose member ID is “KF1121” is notified of the seat assignment result as described in FIG. 17 because the state is “provisional ticketing”.

  Returning to the description of FIG. The seat assignment unit 215 assigns a train seat corresponding to the train type with respect to reservation information whose status is “provisional ticketing” among the reservation information registered in the reservation information list 236 (S5164). The seat assignment unit 215 assigns seats by executing the same processing as steps S615 to S617 of the seat assignment processing of FIG. 5 described above for reservation information whose state is “provisional ticketing”. Since the seat reservation device 20 needs to automatically assign a seat without intervention, the contents of steps S616 and S617 are different as follows.

  In the process corresponding to step S616, instead of receiving the train designation from the user, the seat assignment unit 215, for example, in the train of the same train type, the predicted departure time of the seat designation section start station is the time when the seat is assigned. The train that is after the predicted departure time and has the earliest predicted arrival time at the end station of the seat designation section is automatically selected. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the conditions related to the train type may be relaxed, and the train may be selected from all train types that are the allocation targets on the same route. And you may make it select from the train of all the train types used as allocation object.

  In the process corresponding to step S617, the seat assignment unit 215 subtracts the number of seats included in the reservation information from the number of seat assignments corresponding to the originally assigned train / seat designation section, and newly assigns the seats. The seat counter 235 is updated by adding to the seat allocation number corresponding to the train / seat allocation section.

  The seat assignment unit 215 updates the seat counter 235 when the train / seat assignment section originally assigned and the train / seat assignment section newly assigned in the process corresponding to step S616 are the same. It is good also as a structure which notifies to the operation prediction information reflection part 216 that it is the same without doing. In such a configuration, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 updates the reservation information when the notification is received. Specifically, the reservation state is updated from “provisional ticketing” to “ticketed” (that is, the state before the update in the process of step S5161), and the train type to be seat assigned is set in step S5162. Update to the value before being added in the process. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a phenomenon in which a meaningless notification is sent to the user when the seat assigned train that is expected to be optimal for the user does not change before and after the reflection of the operation prediction information. be able to.

  The operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 notifies the mobile terminal 11 of the seat assignment result for the reservation information whose state is “provisional ticketing” after the processing of step 5164 is completed (S5165), thereby newly assigning it. The user is prompted to confirm the seat that has been received and to request a seat change if necessary.

  If there is a seat change request from the user in response to the notification, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 assigns a seat to the designated train by the process of step S36 in FIG. After releasing the automatically assigned seat, the status of the reservation information is updated to “ticketed”. When seat allocation and seat release are performed, the operation prediction information reflection unit 216 also updates the seat allocation number of each seat designation section of each train according to the number of seats allocated and released.

  Next, the details of the seat change process (S36) in the flow of FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. In this case, the seat assignment unit 215 receives member information for identifying the user from the mobile terminal 11 (assuming the user ID and password as described above) (S711). The seat assignment unit 215 authenticates the user using the received member information (S712).

  Subsequently, when the authentication is successful (S712: YES), the seat assignment unit 215 specifies reservation information corresponding to the seat change request (S713). In the process of step S713, the seat allocation unit 215 extracts, for example, the reservation information corresponding to the user from the reservation information list 236 with reservation information whose status is “allocated” or “temporary allocation”, and extracts the reservation When there is one or more pieces of information, they are transmitted to the mobile terminal 11. The mobile terminal 11 displays a list of the transmitted reservation information, receives a designation of a reservation to be seated from the user, and transmits information specifying the designated reservation information to the seat reservation device 20. When there is only one reservation information to be transmitted, the seat assignment unit 215 may determine that the reservation information is designated without making an inquiry to the user. The seat allocation unit 215 refers to the reservation acceptance flag included in the reservation control parameter 232, and if the value is “false” (a value indicating that the reservation is not currently accepted), The corresponding reservation information is treated as not existing.

  Next, if the corresponding reservation information exists in the reservation information list 236 (S714: YES), the seat assignment unit 215 executes a seat changeable train list creation process and includes a list of trains to which seats can be assigned. A train allocatable train list is created (S715). The seat changeable train list creation process is the same as the seat assignable train list creation process shown in FIG. 7 and will not be described in detail. However, seats have already been assigned to the train related to the reservation information of interest. Therefore, if the train is not included in the seat allocatable train list, the seat allotment unit 215, unless part or all of the seat designation section related to the reservation information of the train cannot be used due to suspension, etc. Is different from the train assigned to the reservation information in that the number of remaining seats is set to “0” and added to the seat assignable train list.

  Next, the seat assignment unit 215 identifies a train to be assigned from the trains registered in the seat assignable train list (S716). The seat assignment unit 215 may, for example, list trains registered in the seat assignable train list, information related to those trains, and which trains are assigned trains in the current reservation information. Information is transmitted to the mobile terminal 11, the list of trains that are candidates for seat assignment is displayed on the mobile terminal 11, and the train to be assigned is specified by receiving designation of the train from the user. The process in step S716 is the same as the process in step S516, but the mobile terminal 11 changes the seat as shown in FIG. 17 instead of the input screens 600 and 601 in FIG. An input screen 602 for prompting is displayed. Like the input screen 602, by presenting which train is currently assigned a seat, the user can easily grasp the current situation.

  Note that FIG. 17 shows an example of an input screen for a reservation whose reservation information status is “provisional allocation”, but there are also subtle differences such as different messages displayed for reservations whose status is “allocated”. However, essentially the same information as in the “provisional allocation” may be presented.

  Subsequently, the seat allocation unit 215 updates the seat counter 235 (S717). Specifically, referring to the reservation information related to the seat change request, the number of seats related to the reservation information is added to the seat allocation number of the seat designation section related to the reservation information of the train specified in step S716, and the initial ( That is, the number of seats related to the reservation information is subtracted from the number of seats allocated in the seat designation section related to the reservation information of the train (before change).

  The seat allocation unit 215 further updates the reservation information list 236 (S718). Specifically, with respect to the reservation information related to the seat change request, the assigned seat information is registered, and the reservation state is set to “ticketed”.

  Thereafter, the seat assignment unit 215 responds to the portable terminal 11 with the seat change result (S719). When the seat allocation unit 215 fails in authentication (S712: NO), or when the target reservation information does not exist in the reservation information list 236 (S714: NO), a message to that effect is sent to the mobile terminal 11. In the case of transmission and assignment of seats, information (including train departure time and arrival time, seat number, etc.) relating to the assigned train seats is transmitted to the portable terminal 11.

  As described above, the seat reservation apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment reserves the number of seats that can be reserved for each set of a reservation time zone and a seat designation section when reserving a train seat in a railway as a transportation facility. A storage unit that stores a reservation request number that is the number of reservations received for each set of the reservation time zone and the seat designation section, and a reservation request that specifies the combination of the reservation time zone and the seat specification section A reservation processing unit that determines whether the reservation request is accepted or abandoned according to the reservation allowable number and the reservation acceptance number, and based on operation prediction information that indicates a future operation status of the transportation facility, For each set of seat designation sections, calculate the number of seats that can be actually allocated in response to the reservation request of the time slot reservation method, and according to the number of seats, the reservation time slot and the seat designation section for each set Number of reservations allowed And a travel prediction information reflecting unit to be updated. Therefore, even when there is a disruption in transportation operations, such as delays or suspension, and the combination of trains actually included in the reservation time zone changes, the number of seats that can be allocated decreases or increases. It is possible to determine whether to accept the reservation by appropriately updating the reservation allowable number based on the number of seats that can be allocated later. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a risk that reservations are excessively received with respect to the number of seats that can be actually allocated.

Moreover, in the seat reservation apparatus 20 of this embodiment, the said operation prediction information reflection part estimates a demand number for every group of a train and a seat designation | designated area based on the said operation prediction information, Based on the said demand number, The number of allocatable seats, which is the number of seats that can be allocated to a reservation that specifies a reservation time zone and a set of seat specified sections, can be determined for each set of train and seat specified section. Therefore, even when the train operation schedule changes from the original plan, it is possible to secure the number of seats suitable for the demand and update the reservation allowable number based on this. Therefore, even if there is an excess or deficiency in the number of seats initially secured for a certain period of time due to disruption of operation, etc., the number of seats will be adjusted in the direction to correct the excess and deficiency, and an appropriate number of reservations will be made Can be accepted.

  In addition, in the seat reservation device 20 of the present embodiment, when the train is suspended or a significant delay occurs, the operation prediction information reflecting unit applies to each of the reservation information that is already reserved by the time slot reservation method. The reservation information has been updated so that seats can also be assigned to vacant seats on trains that are different from the train type that was initially targeted in the reservation information, or on trains that are different from the route related to the train type. It was set as the structure to do. With such a configuration, even when a train is suspended or a significant delay occurs, it is possible to provide a seat early to the user related to the time slot reservation.

  Moreover, in the seat reservation apparatus 20 of this embodiment, the said operation prediction information reflection part ensures the seat of the train different from the said train, when the train which allocated a seat is no longer operated about the reservation by which seat allocation was carried out. It was set as such. By adopting such a configuration, even when the train is suspended with the intention of early recovery from disruption of operation, etc., it is possible to continue to secure seats for users who have already been assigned seats.

  In addition, the seat reservation device 20 of the present embodiment includes a seat allocation unit that allocates a seat in response to the reservation request of the time slot reservation method, and the seat allocation unit relates to the reservation for each of the reservations received. Whether the reservation priority is calculated according to at least one of the start time and end time of the time zone and the predicted departure time of the train, and whether the reservation can be assigned to the seat of the train according to the priority I decided to decide. With this configuration, seats can be allocated preferentially to train seats that are predicted to depart at the reserved time specified at the time of reservation, while trains that are earlier than the reserved time Even for a user who wants to receive seat assignment for a slow train, although the priority order is lowered, it is possible to secure a train seat close to the best at that time. Therefore, the convenience of the user can be improved in terms of reducing the time for re-reserving when the train that the user wants to change due to a change in the situation changes, and reducing the risk of reservation expiration.

  Moreover, in the seat reservation apparatus 20 of this embodiment, the said operation prediction information reflection part updated the said reservation permissible number, when the said number of seats which can be allocated changes exceeding a predetermined threshold value. In reality, there are many routes in which all trains rarely operate exactly as planned. In such a case, the actual running results of the train are sometimes faster or later than planned. When the running results of each train fluctuate in that way, the predicted departure time of each station of each train obtained as a result of operation prediction also fluctuates, and depending on the timing of operation prediction, the predicted departure time of a certain train is a predetermined reservation The phenomenon of being included or not included in the time zone occurs (especially such a phenomenon is likely to occur when the predicted departure time of a certain train is close to the start time and end time of the reservation time zone described above) . By adopting the configuration as in the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress a phenomenon in which the reservation allowable number is frequently updated as the above-described phenomenon occurs. That is, the calculation load associated with the update of the reservation allowable number is reduced, and the frequency of changing the seat allocation accompanying the update of the reservation allowable number is suppressed, so that the time slot reservation can be provided stably.

As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, the said embodiment is for making an understanding of this invention easy, and is not for limiting and interpreting this invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and the present invention includes equivalents thereof.
---- Modified example ---

  For example, in the above embodiment, a system for reserving a train seat in a railroad as a transportation facility has been described. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this, and the operation status of individual flights such as buses is managed. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to a seat reservation system for various transportations in which a future operation situation can be predicted. In the above-described embodiment, a train on another route can be selected when the operation is disturbed, but a bus on another route may be selected in addition to the train on another route.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the time zone is specified by the start time and the end time. However, when the operation status of the train before the transfer can be acquired from the operation management system 10 or the like, the transfer is performed. It may be specified based on the arrival time of the previous train.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the reservation information input screen 610 when the time zone is specified by the arrival time of the train before transit. An input screen 610 shown in FIG. 19 is displayed on the mobile terminal 11 and receives an input from the user. When an input specifying a train before transit is made from the input screen 610 in FIG. 19, the seat reservation device 20 performs reservation processing and reflects operation prediction information by the following processing, for example. At that time, in order to distinguish between reservations that specify a normal time zone and reservations that specify a train before transit, a flag indicating which time zone is specified in each reservation information Try to keep. Here, in the case of a reservation that specifies a train before transit, it is necessary to retain information (such as the route and train number related to the train) to identify the “train before transit”. Actually, the information for specifying the train before the transfer is held in each reservation information, and “if the train is specified, the reservation specifying the train before the transfer” “the train is specified. If not, it can be handled as “reservation specifying a normal time zone”. As a method for specifying a train before connection, for example, a method of specifying a route and an arrival time at a station to be connected can be used as shown in FIG. Here, since it is desirable to use a time that can be grasped by the user, the arrival time at the station scheduled to be connected is determined using the planned arrival time described in the train schedule. If the reservation request specifying the train before the transfer is received, the reservation processing unit 214 uses the information related to the specified train before the transfer and uses the information before the transfer included in the reservation information related to the reservation Register information to identify trains.

  When a train before connection is designated, the reservation processing unit 214 obtains a time (predicted arrival time) expected to arrive at the connecting station with reference to the prediction diagram, and makes a reservation with reference to the reservation control parameter 232 Acquires a list of time zones and responds to the predicted arrival time according to a predetermined conversion rule (for example, “the scheduled arrival time with the latest end time including the time required for transit to the predicted arrival time”). Ask for a reservation time zone. By using the reservation time zone obtained in this way, the subsequent time zone reservation processing can be performed in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment.

  In addition, in the operation prediction information reflection process, the operation prediction information reflection unit 216 compares the estimated arrival time of the train before connection with the reservation time zone for each reservation information specified by specifying the train before connection. And satisfying a predetermined condition (for example, “the time obtained by adding the time required for the transfer to the predicted arrival time of the train before the transfer is after the end time of the current reserved time zone”). In this case, the reservation time zone related to the reservation information is updated. In other words, a new reservation time zone is calculated based on the latest predicted arrival time, and the number of seats related to the reservation information is calculated from the number of reservations received for the set of the reservation time zone and the seat designation section related to the reservation information to be updated. Subtracting, updating the reservation time zone related to the reservation information with the new reservation time zone, and adding the number of seats related to the reservation information to the number of reservations accepted for the combination of the new reservation time zone and the seat designation section Do.

In this way, by specifying the start time of the time zone by the train instead of the specific time, if the train operation before changing to the train related to the time zone reservation has changed, board the train after the transfer Since the time zone is also changed in conjunction with it, it becomes possible to foresee a change to the demand of the train after the connection, so that the accuracy of the demand prediction can be improved. In addition, the user can designate a seat in the priority time zone without a reservation change procedure.

  In the above-described embodiment, the operation management system 10 and the seat reservation device 20 are separated from each other. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and one entity or a virtual computer includes the operation management system 10 and the seat reservation device 20. You may make it provide all the structures of these. In the above embodiment, the seat reservation system 1 includes the operation management system 10 and the seat reservation device 20, and the configuration in which the seat reservation device 20 performs processing using the prediction diagram provided from the operation management system 10 has been described. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when there is a data server in which the latest prediction diagram is updated, such as an information system for passengers, the seat reservation device 20 may refer to the prediction diagram held by the server. .

  The seat reservation device 20 may be realized by a plurality of entities or a virtual computer. For example, the storage unit 230 can be realized by a database server different from the seat reservation device 20. In this case, various data can be read by accessing the database server from the seat reservation device 20.

  Further, for example, the demand prediction unit 212 is provided in another computer different from the seat reservation device 20, the other computer performs the demand prediction process, and accesses the other computer from the seat reservation device 20 to obtain the demand prediction result. You may make it do.

  Further, for example, the seat assignment unit 215 may be provided in another computer different from the seat reservation device 20, and the other computer may perform the seat assignment process and the seat change process. In that case, for example, the reservation information list 236 is updated via the seat reservation device 20, and the seat assignment unit 215 is operated from the seat reservation device 20 for processing such as seat reassignment when reflecting the operation prediction information. A command may be transmitted to and controlled by the other computer provided.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, as demonstrated in FIG. 3, although it was set as the structure which the seat reservation apparatus 20 performs in order the time slot | zone reservation process, seat allocation process, seat change process, and operation prediction information reflection process, The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a plurality of time slot reservation processes, seat assignment processes, and seat change processes may be performed asynchronously. In that case, the seat reservation apparatus 20 controls reading and writing of the information stored in the storage unit using a known technique such as a semaphore so that inconsistency does not occur in the information stored in the storage unit.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the example which confirms simultaneously the specific seat allocated to a user at the timing which determined the train which allocates a seat, embodiment of this invention is not restricted to this. It is easy to adopt a configuration in which train determination and seat determination are performed at different timings as in the known technique such as Patent Document 2.

In the above embodiment, when determining the priority order of the reservation information at the time of seat assignment, the seat assignment unit 215 does not include the predicted departure time of the seat designation section start station of the train of interest in the reservation time zone. In this case, the priority order is lowered, but the seat assignment may not be performed because “the seat assignment to the train outside the reservation time period is invalid”. In this case, the seat allocation unit 215 makes a reservation only for a train that departs after the reserved time zone when the end time of the time zone is before the predicted departure time of the seat designation section start station of the train of interest. May be invalidated, or reserved only for trains that depart from the predicted departure time of the seat specified section start station of the train of interest, that is, before the reserved time zone May be invalidated.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the overtime penalty is “0” or “1” in the seat allocation process, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the reserved time zone and The degree of deviation from the predicted departure time of the train of interest may be used as an off-time penalty. In this case, although the processing load increases, the seat allocation unit 215 determines the priority by increasing the out-of-hours penalty as it arrives earlier or later than the reserved time zone. The reservation in the predicted time zone that deviates greatly from the predicted departure time of the train of interest has a lower seat allocation priority, and seat allocation with less unfairness can be performed.

  In the above embodiment, in the seat allocation process, priority is obtained for all reserved time zones and the number of remaining seats is calculated. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. . For example, for all time zones that do not include the predicted departure time of the train of interest between the start time and the end time, the priority is set at the lowest level, and the predicted departure time of the train of interest is also set for the number of assignable seats. Instead of individually setting each time zone not included between the start time and the end time, a predetermined number of seats may be assigned to all the time zones. With such a configuration, the calculation cost can be reduced.

  In the above embodiment, in the seat distribution update process described with reference to FIG. 12, a train for which no seat is currently allocated in a section from a station predicted to depart in a time zone after the current time to a terminal station. -Regarding the seats in the section, the processing is provisionally secured as a seat that can be allocated to the reservation of the time slot reservation method. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the seat is provisionally secured. The target train / section may be limited to a section from a station predicted to depart for a predetermined time width from the current time to a terminal station. In that case, the time width may be stored in the reservation control parameter 232, for example.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the example reflecting the influence of the increase / decrease in the number of trains of the day, or a delay, embodiment of this invention is not restricted to this. For example, the present invention can be similarly applied to cases where the number of trains is increased or decreased for reasons such as “the reservation status is different from the demand forecast result at the time of planning” or the like before the scheduled operation date. In such a case, there is no need for a process for the convenience of the user who has already accepted the reservation at the time of delay, so in the reservation information list update process, the process of adding the train type or the end of the reservation time zone There is no need to extend the time. By applying the present invention to such a case, it is possible not only to the day of operation but also to change the flexible operation plan according to demand and to make a seat reservation.

  In the above embodiment, when a seat assignment train is specified in step S616, a train that is a candidate for seat assignment is presented to the user, and the process waits for the user's selection input. This is not a limitation. For example, the seat assigning unit 215 may automatically select and assign a train based on a predetermined rule such as “the train having the earliest predicted arrival time at the end station of the seat designation section among the assignable trains”. Good. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the time and effort required by the user for seat assignment and to make seat assignment more promptly.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, when adding the train classification made into seat allocation object to each reservation information by step S5162, it is only as a train classification addition object, when the start station and end station of a seat designation | designated area correspond. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 adds the train type to a train that stops at a “near station” near the start station or a “near station” near the end station based on a predetermined rule. May be. When it is set as such a structure, those trains are included also about the object which the operation prediction information reflection part 216 temporarily reserves a vacant seat by step S5151. By setting it as such a structure, the convenience of the user who receives the influence of operation disturbance can be improved.

  Further, in the above embodiment, in the process of step S5123, whether or not the reservation allowable number has changed is determined based on the magnitude of the change in the number of seats. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, in the time direction It may be determined in consideration of blurring. For example, a time width δ that allows deviation from the plan is determined in advance, and the reservation control parameter 232 is configured to include the time width δ, and from “reservation time zone start time−δ1” to “reservation time zone The total number (c) of allocatable seats of the train predicted to travel in the time zone between “end time + δ2” and the number of seats (b) that are currently used as a calculation criterion for the allowable number of reservations in the time zone. In comparison, if there is δ1 (≦ δ) and δ2 (≦ δ) satisfying (c) = (b), it may be determined that there is “no variation”, and if there is no variation, “there is variation”.

  Further, in the above embodiment, when determining whether or not the reservation allowable number update is necessary in step S512, the necessity is determined by comparing the reference diagram and the prediction diagram. However, the embodiment of the present invention is limited to this. It is not a thing. For example, the operation prediction information reflection unit 216 is configured to receive from the operation management system 10 that “operation arrangement has been started” and “operation arrangement has been completed”, and the operation prediction information reflection unit 216 The process of stopping the new reservation and the new ticketing is performed at the time of receiving “Operation arrangement started” (Step S514), and the process of Steps S515 to S518 is performed at the time of receiving the “Operation arrangement completed” May be performed. With such a configuration, when the operation disturbance is large and a plurality of driving arrangements are executed in the operation management system 10, the reservation allowable number update process (steps S514 to S518) is frequently executed. The phenomenon can be suppressed. In other words, in addition to reducing the computational burden associated with updating the reservation allowance, especially when driving arrangements including suspension are made for the purpose of early recovery from disruption of operation, the seat allocation change accompanying the update of the reservation allowance The frequency is suppressed and the time slot reservation can be provided stably. In addition, when driving arrangement is performed over a long period of time, the operation prediction information reflecting unit 216 receives a train or a time zone in which the contents of the driving arrangement are confirmed from the operation management system 10, and the operation prediction information The reflection unit 216 may execute the processing from step S515 to step S518 only for the train for which the details of the driving arrangement are determined. In this case, the reservation acceptance flag included in the reservation control parameter 232 is configured so that it can be set true or false for each train.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Seat reservation system 10 Operation management system 101 Results acquisition part 102 Diagram management part 103 Operation prediction part 104 Operation arrangement | positioning terminal 11 Portable terminal 12 Station terminal 20 Seat reservation apparatus 30 Communication network 201 CPU
202 memory 203 storage device 204 communication interface 205 input device 206 display device 211 communication unit 212 demand prediction unit 213 seat arrangement unit 214 reservation processing unit 215 seat allocation unit 216 operation prediction information reflection unit 230 storage unit 231 transportation plan data 232 reservation control parameter 233 Passenger model 2331 Demand model 2332 Train selection model 234 Reservation counter 235 Seat counter 236 Reservation information list 237 Operation prediction information

Claims (20)

A seat reservation device that processes a reservation request that specifies a set of time zone and seat specified section for a predetermined transport,
Reservation allowed number that is the number of seats that can be reserved for each set of time zone and seat designation section, the number of reservation accepted that is the number of reservations accepted for each set of time period and seat designation section, and each reservation received A storage unit for storing reservation information including the time zone, the seat designation section, and the number of seats according to
A reservation processing unit that receives a reservation request specifying a set of the time zone and a seat specified section, and determines whether to accept or abandon the reservation request according to the reservation allowable number and the reservation acceptance number;
Assignable seats, which are the number of seats of the transportation flights that can be assigned to a reservation request that designates a set of the time zone and seat designation section based on operation prediction information including the future operation status of the transportation An operation prediction information reflecting unit that determines the number and updates the reservation allowable number for each set of the time zone and the seat designation section according to the allocatable seat number;
A seat reservation apparatus comprising: The operation prediction information reflecting unit predicts the demand number of the transportation facility based on the operation prediction information, and determines the assignable seat number for each flight of the transportation facility based on the demand number.
The seat reservation apparatus according to claim 1. When determining the number of seats that can be allocated for each flight, the operation prediction information reflecting unit transfers a vacant seat of a flight of a type different from the flight or a flight of a route different from the route related to the flight. Processing for securing as a seat for use, and determining the number of allocatable seats based on the number of empty seats of the flight and the number of seats for transfer transport,
The seat reservation device according to claim 2. The reservation information is configured to further include a state relating to the seat allocation of the flight;
When the operation prediction information reflecting unit performs a process of securing a seat for the transfer transportation, the state is indicated as the transfer transportation for the reservation information in which the state indicates that the seat has already been allocated. Update to a state that indicates that the seat can be changed
The seat reservation apparatus according to claim 3. The reservation information is configured to further include the type of flight to which seats are allocated,
When the operation prediction information reflecting unit performs a process of securing a seat for the transfer transportation, the flight prediction information reflecting section secures the seat for the transfer transportation as a type of the flight to which the seat is assigned with respect to the reservation information. Updating the type of flight to be assigned to the seat included in the reservation information to include the type of
The seat reservation apparatus according to claim 3. The operation prediction information reflecting unit updates the reservation information so as to extend an end time of a time zone related to the reservation information, according to the number of allocatable seats,
The seat reservation apparatus according to claim 1. The reservation information is configured to further include a state relating to the seat assignment of the flight and information for specifying the flight to which the seat is assigned,
The operation prediction information reflecting unit is in a state indicating that the state has already been allocated the seat, or in a state indicating that the state can be changed to the seat for transfer transportation. For the reservation information, if the flight to which the seat is assigned is not operated in a part or all of the seat designated section related to the reservation information, the seat of a flight different from the flight for the reservation information The seat reservation device according to claim 1, wherein: A seat allocation unit that allocates seats in response to a reservation request of the time slot reservation method;
The seat allocation unit calculates a priority of the time zone according to at least one of a start time and an end time of a time zone according to each of the received reservations and a departure time of a flight, and sets the priority to the priority level. Accordingly, determining a flight to which a seat can be allocated for the reservation according to the reservation request;
The seat reservation apparatus according to claim 1. The operation prediction information reflecting unit receives information indicating the end of operation arrangement from the operation management system when the total number of allocatable seats of the train included in the time zone changes beyond a predetermined criterion. Updating the allowable number of reservations in at least one of the following cases:
The seat reservation apparatus according to claim 1. The reservation information further includes information for determining whether or not to specify the time zone based on the operation status of the flight before the transfer, and information for specifying the flight before the transfer Composed of
The operation prediction information reflecting unit relates to the reservation information based on the operation status of the flight before the transfer, regarding the reservation information that is specified based on the operation status of the flight before the transfer Updating the time zone,
The seat reservation apparatus according to claim 1. A computer that processes a reservation request for a time zone reservation method for a given transportation system,
Reservation allowed number that is the number of seats that can be reserved for each set of time zone and seat designation section, the number of reservation accepted that is the number of reservations accepted for each set of time period and seat designation section, and each reservation received Storing the reservation information including the time zone, the seat designation section and the number of seats according to:
Receiving a reservation request designating a set of the time zone and seat designation section, and determining acceptance or abandonment of the reservation request according to the reservation allowable number and the reservation acceptance number;
Assignable seats, which are the number of seats of the transportation flights that can be assigned to a reservation request that designates a set of the time zone and seat designation section based on operation prediction information including the future operation status of the transportation Determining the number, and updating the reservation allowable number for each set of the time zone and seat designation section according to the number of seats that can be allocated;
The seat reservation method characterized by performing. The computer predicts the demand number of the transportation facility based on the operation prediction information, and determines the assignable seat number for each flight of the transportation facility based on the demand number.
The seat reservation method according to claim 11. When the computer determines the number of seats that can be allocated for each flight, a seat of a different type of flight or a flight of a route different from the route related to the flight is used as a seat for transfer transportation. Processing for securing, and determining the allocatable seat number based on the number of vacant seats of the flight and the number of seats for the transfer transport,
The seat reservation method according to claim 12. The reservation information is configured to further include a state relating to the seat allocation of the flight,
When the computer performs the process of securing the transfer transportation seat, the state is transferred to the transfer transportation seat with respect to the reservation information indicating that the state has already been assigned the seat. Update to a state that indicates that changes can be made,
The seat reservation method according to claim 13. The reservation information is configured to further include the type of flight to which seats are allocated,
When the computer performs the process of securing a seat for the transfer transportation, the reservation information includes the type of the flight for which the seat for the transfer transportation is secured as the type of flight to which the seat is allocated. Updating the type of flight to be assigned to the seat included in the reservation information,
The seat reservation method according to claim 13. The computer updates the reservation information according to the number of allocatable seats so as to extend an end time of a time zone related to the reservation information.
The seat reservation method according to claim 11. The reservation information is configured to further include a state relating to the seat assignment of the flight and information for specifying the flight to which the seat is assigned,
The reservation information, wherein the computer is in a state indicating that the state has already been assigned the seat, or in which the state is a state indicating that a change to a seat for transfer transportation is possible When the flight to which the seat is assigned is not operated in part or all of the seat designation section according to the reservation information, a seat of a flight different from the flight is assigned to the reservation information.
The seat reservation method according to claim 11. The computer calculates the priority of the time zone according to at least one of the start time and end time of the time zone according to each of the received reservations, and the departure time of the flight, and according to the priority Determining a flight to which a seat can be allocated for the reservation according to the reservation request;
The seat reservation method according to claim 11. When the computer changes the total number of allocatable seats of the train included in the time zone exceeding a predetermined criterion, or when receiving information indicating the end of operation arrangement from the operation management system, at least In any case, update the reservation allowance,
The seat reservation method according to claim 11. The reservation information further includes information for determining whether or not to specify the time zone based on the operation status of the flight before the transfer, and information for specifying the flight before the transfer Is composed of
The computer updates the time zone according to the reservation information based on the operation status of the flight before the transfer for the reservation information that is specified based on the operation status of the flight before the transfer. To
The seat reservation method according to claim 11.

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