JP2023008340A - Privilege providing system, control method for privilege providing system, server and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a privilege providing system, a control method for the privilege providing system, a server and a program, capable of increasing a turnover ratio of customers in a shop to increase sales of the shop.SOLUTION: A privilege providing system 1 includes: a stay determination unit 121a that determines start and end of a stay of a customer in a shop on the basis of information from an information output unit (a short-range radio communication unit 118, a position detection unit 126) that outputs information that can determine the stay of the customer in the shop; a stay time calculation 121b that calculates a stay time when the customer stays in the shop on the basis of the determination result of the stay determination unit 121a; and a privilege providing unit 121c that executes processing for providing a privilege for the customer on the basis of a fact that the stay time is shorter than a preset setting time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a privilege providing system, a privilege providing system control method, a server, and a program for providing a privilege to a customer based on the use of a store.

Conventionally, systems are known that offer benefits to customers based on store usage. For example, Patent Literature 1 below describes an information management system that calculates the length of time a customer stays in a store and gives the customer a benefit that is more advantageous the longer the calculated length of stay is.

JP 2012-203529 A

Store sales are affected not only by an increase in customer purchase opportunities, but also by customer turnover (replacement rate) and repeat rate. For example, at a restaurant during lunchtime, the higher the turnover rate of customers, the higher the number of purchases per hour and the higher the sales. Therefore, in such a case, it is preferable to give the customer a motivation to increase the turnover rate. In the above system, the longer the stay time is, the more advantageous benefits are provided to the customer, so the customer's turnover rate decreases.

In view of such problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a privilege providing system, a privilege providing system control method, a server, and a program capable of increasing the turnover rate of customers in a store and increasing the sales of the store. .

A first aspect of the present invention relates to a privilege providing system. The benefit provision system according to this aspect includes a stay determination unit that determines the start and end of the customer's stay at the store based on the information from the information output unit that outputs information that enables determination of the customer's stay at the store. a stay time calculation unit that calculates the stay time of the customer at the store based on the determination result of the stay determination unit; and a privilege providing unit that executes processing for providing the customer with.

According to the privilege providing system according to this aspect, a privilege is provided to the customer based on the stay time being shorter than the set time. Therefore, the customer is urged to leave the store as soon as possible after receiving the service. Therefore, it is possible to increase the turnover rate of customer replacement in the store, and as a result, it is possible to increase the profits of the store while increasing the merits of the customer by giving benefits.

The privilege providing system according to this aspect may be configured to further include a notification processing unit that performs processing for informing the customer of at least one of the length of stay, the set time, and the privilege.

According to this configuration, the customer can grasp the content of the privilege, the set time for obtaining the privilege, the remaining time, and the like. Therefore, the customer can be effectively urged to leave the store by the set time.

Alternatively, the privilege providing system according to this aspect may be configured to further include a notification processing unit that executes processing for notifying the customer of information indicating the relationship between the length of stay, the set time, and the privilege.

According to this configuration, the customer can grasp the relationship between his stay time and the set time for obtaining the privilege. This prompts the customer to leave the store by the set time. Therefore, it is possible to effectively increase the turnover rate of customers in the store while surely giving the customer an opportunity to obtain the privilege.

In this configuration, the notification processing unit may be configured to execute processing for notifying the customer of information regarding the remaining time obtained by subtracting the stay time from the set time.

According to this configuration, the customer can accurately grasp the remaining time to obtain the privilege. This may encourage the customer to complete in-store activities within the time remaining to obtain the reward. Therefore, the customer can obtain the privilege more reliably, and the store can effectively increase the customer turnover rate.

In the privilege providing system according to this aspect, the stay determination unit may be configured to determine at least one of start and end of the stay based on information from a medium possessed by the customer.

In general, information from a medium possessed by a customer can identify the customer more accurately than when the customer is identified by face recognition or the like. Therefore, according to the above configuration, at least one of the start and end of the stay can be set more accurately.

Alternatively, the stay determiner may be configured to determine the start and/or end of the stay based on information originating from the customer himself.

According to this configuration, the customer does not need to separately present a medium or the like owned by the customer. Therefore, the determination of at least one of the start and end of the stay can be made by the customer through simpler work, and convenience for the customer can be improved.

The privilege providing system according to this aspect further includes a storage unit that stores a history of the length of stay of the customer at the store, and the privilege providing unit stores a preset length of the length of stay stored in the history. Based on the fact that the number of staying times shorter than the set time is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, a process for providing benefits to the customer may be executed.

According to this configuration, benefits are provided to customers who frequently visit the store and who tend to stay for a short time. As a result, customers who tend to stay for a short time can be encouraged to use the store repeatedly. Therefore, store sales and profits can be effectively increased.

The privilege providing system according to this aspect further includes a payment unit that performs payment processing for the price at the store, and the privilege providing unit further provides the privilege based on the fact that the payment unit has settled the price of the customer. It may be configured to perform processing for providing to said customer.

According to this configuration, if the customer only stays at the store and does not make a purchase, the customer is prevented from being provided with the privilege. Therefore, the sales of the store and the provision of benefits to the customer can be mutually linked, and the merits of both can be achieved smoothly.

In this case, the privilege providing unit may be configured to set the privilege higher according to an increase in the settlement amount settled by the settlement unit.

According to this configuration, the higher the settlement amount, the higher the privilege, so that the customer is more likely to be encouraged to purchase the product with the high settlement amount. As a result, store sales can be increased.

A second aspect of the present invention relates to a control method for a benefit providing system that provides benefits to customers visiting a store. This control method includes a step of determining the start and end of the customer's stay at the store based on the information from an information output unit that outputs information that can determine the customer's stay at the store, and based on the determination result. a step of calculating the length of stay of the customer in the store; and a step of providing benefits to the customer based on the fact that the length of stay is shorter than a preset set time.

According to the control method according to this aspect, the same effects as those of the first aspect can be obtained.

A third aspect of the present invention is based on the information from the information output unit that outputs information that can determine the customer's stay at the store to the control unit of the benefit providing system that provides benefits to customers who have visited the store. , a process of determining the start and end of the stay of the customer at the store, a process of calculating the stay time of the customer at the store based on the determination result, and a set time in which the stay time is preset. and a process for providing benefits to the customer based on being shorter.

According to the program according to this aspect, the same effects as those of the first aspect can be achieved.

A fourth aspect of the present invention relates to a server capable of communicating with a mobile terminal via an external communication network. The server related to this aspect includes a process of receiving information from the portable terminal that can determine the customer's stay in the store, a process of calculating the customer's stay time in the store based on the information, and the calculated stay time is shorter than a preset set time, transmitting information about the privilege to the mobile terminal.

According to the server according to this aspect, the same effects as those of the first aspect can be achieved.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, based on the information from the information output unit that outputs information that enables determination of the customer's stay at the store to the control unit of the portable terminal, the customer's stay at the store is started. A function of determining the end, a function of calculating the length of stay of the customer in the store based on the determination result, and a privilege based on the fact that the calculated length of stay is shorter than a preset set time. A function to issue and a program to execute.

According to the program according to this aspect, the same effects as those of the first aspect can be achieved.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a privilege providing system, a privilege providing system control method, a server, and a program capable of increasing the turnover rate of customers in a store and increasing the sales of the store. .

The effects and significance of the present invention will become clearer from the description of the embodiments shown below. However, the embodiment shown below is merely one example of the implementation of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a privilege providing system according to Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing configurations of a ticket vending machine, a mobile terminal, and a server according to the first embodiment. FIGS. 3A to 3C are diagrams showing configurations of store management information, store visit history, and customer management information, respectively, stored in the storage unit of the server according to the first embodiment. FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing configurations of a store list and store information stored in the storage unit of the portable terminal according to the first embodiment. 5(a) and 5(b) are flowcharts showing processes performed by the control unit of the ticket vending machine and the control unit of the portable terminal, respectively, when issuing a use ticket according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing performed by the control unit of the mobile terminal when it is determined that the customer has started staying at the store, according to the first embodiment. FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams showing notification screens displayed on the operation display unit of the portable terminal in the notification process according to the first embodiment, respectively. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing privilege issuing processing according to the first embodiment. 9 is a block diagram showing configurations of a ticket vending machine, a mobile terminal, and a server according to a modification of the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of a privilege providing system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing configurations of a face adjustment device and a gate device according to the second embodiment. 12(a), 12(b), and 12(c) respectively show configurations of privilege setting information, store visit history, and customer management information stored in the storage unit of the face adjustment device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing; FIG. 13A is a flowchart showing processing performed by the control unit of the face adjustment device at the time of adjustment according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13(b) is a flowchart showing a process performed by the control unit of the gate device when receiving a coming-to-store notification according to the second embodiment. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing processing performed by the control unit of the face adjustment device when it is determined that the customer has started staying at the store, according to the second embodiment. 15(a) and 15(b) are diagrams showing a settlement screen and a notification screen, respectively, according to the second embodiment. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the configuration of a privilege providing system according to a modification of the second embodiment. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the configuration of a privilege providing system according to the third embodiment. FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing configurations of an order terminal and a management device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a process performed by the control unit of the order terminal when a privilege is issued, according to the third embodiment. FIGS. 20(a) and 20(b) are flowcharts showing processing for determining the start and end of stay of a customer, respectively, according to the third embodiment. FIG. 21(a) is a diagram showing an order screen according to the third embodiment. 21(b) to 21(d) are diagrams showing notification screens according to the third embodiment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Embodiment 1>
In Embodiment 1, the present invention is applied to a benefit providing system that provides benefits to customers based on their use of restaurants. In Embodiment 1, the privilege providing system of the present invention is applied to a store that provides food and drink based on ticket issuance and payment by a ticket vending machine. However, the store to which the privilege providing system according to the present invention is applied is not limited to such stores, and may be other types of stores.

In Embodiment 1 below, the short-range wireless communication unit 118 and the position detection unit 126 correspond to the "information output unit" described in the claims. However, this association is merely an example and does not limit the scope of the claims.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a privilege providing system 1 according to Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the privilege providing system 1 includes a ticket vending machine 11 , a mobile terminal 12 and a server 13 . A ticket vending machine 11 is installed in the store 2 . The store 2 is a restaurant that provides food and drink based on ticket issuance. The ticket vending machine 11 has functions of ticket issuing and payment, as well as a function of short-range wireless communication with the portable terminal 12 such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

The ticket vending machine 11 has a substantially cubic housing 11a that constitutes the outer shell of the device. A touch panel 11b for receiving a ticket issuing operation is arranged on the front upper portion of the housing 11a. The touch panel 11b has a configuration in which a transparent touch sensor is arranged on the upper surface of the display. The display is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and the touch sensor is, for example, a pressure-sensitive (resistive film type) touch pad. The configuration of the touch panel 11b is not limited to this. For example, the touch sensor may be a capacitive touch pad.

A banknote deposit/withdrawal port 11c for depositing/withdrawing banknotes, a coin deposit/withdrawal port 11d for depositing coins, and a coin dispensing port 11e for dispensing coins are provided at the center of the front surface of the housing 11a. A ticket issuing port 11f for issuing a ticket is arranged. Furthermore, a human sensor 11g is arranged below the touch panel 11b. The human sensor 11g detects that a customer faces the front of the ticket vending machine 11. - 特許庁

When the human sensor 11g detects that the customer is facing the front of the ticket vending machine 11, the touch panel 11b displays an object to be selected. Here, the selection items are selection items of food and drink that the store can provide. The customer touches a desired selection target among a plurality of selection targets displayed on the touch panel 11b, and deposits banknotes or coins in the amount necessary for purchasing the selected target into the banknote deposit/withdrawal port 11c or the coin deposit port 11d. do. As a result, a ticket corresponding to the selected object is issued from the ticket issuing port 11f. If there is change, bills or coins corresponding to the change are dispensed from the bill deposit/withdrawal port 11c or the coin withdrawal port 11e. This completes the transaction for one step.

The mobile terminal 12 is a mobile phone owned by a customer. The mobile terminal 12 may be another mobile information device such as a tablet. The mobile terminal 12 can be connected to an external communication network 14 via wireless communication with a router 15 installed inside the store 2 . External communication network 14 is, for example, the Internet. Also, the mobile terminal 12 can be connected to an external communication network 14 via wireless communication with a router 16 or a base station 17 installed outside the store 2 . The mobile terminal 12 has a touch panel 12a for inputting and displaying information.

The server 13 manages information necessary for the privilege providing system 1 . The server 13 can communicate with the mobile terminal 12 via the external communication network 14 . The server 13 and the mobile terminal 12 each hold address information for exchanging information with each other. The mobile terminal 12 appropriately acquires information necessary for providing benefits according to use of the store 2 from the server 13 .

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing configurations of the ticket vending machine 11, the mobile terminal 12 and the server 13. As shown in FIG.

The ticket vending machine 11 includes a control unit 111 , a storage unit 112 , an operation display unit 113 , a sensor unit 114 , a bill processing unit 115 , a coin processing unit 116 and a ticket issuing processing unit 117 .

Control unit 111 includes an arithmetic processing circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and controls each unit according to a program stored in storage unit 112 . The storage unit 112 includes storage media such as ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), and hard disk, and stores programs executed by the control unit 111 and various data. Further, the storage unit 112 is used as a work area when the control unit 111 performs control.

The operation display unit 113 includes the touch panel 11b shown in FIG. 1 and its processing circuit. The operation display unit 113 displays a predetermined screen according to the control from the control unit 111 and outputs to the control unit 111 information regarding the operation performed by the customer on the screen. The sensor unit 114 includes various sensors such as the human sensor 11g shown in FIG.

The banknote processing unit 115 includes a banknote storage unit for storing banknotes of various denominations, a transport unit for transporting banknotes, and a denomination determination unit for determining the denomination of the transported banknotes. bills are conveyed between the bill storage unit and the bill deposit/withdrawal port 11c (see FIG. 1). The coin processing unit 116 includes a coin storage unit for storing coins of various denominations, a transport unit for transporting coins, and a denomination determination unit for determining the denomination of the transported coins. , the coins are transported between the coin storage unit and the coin inlet 11d and the coin outlet 11e (see FIG. 1).

The ticket issuing processing unit 117 includes a band generation unit that generates a paper band and a printing unit that prints on the band. It is sent to the ticket issuing port 11f.

The short-range wireless communication unit 118 is a wireless communication module for short-range wireless communication. The short-range wireless communication unit 118 performs short-range wireless communication with the short-range wireless communication unit 128 of the mobile terminal 12 under the control of the control unit 111 .

The mobile terminal 12 includes a control unit 121, a storage unit 122, an operation display unit 123, an audio output unit 124, an audio input unit 125, a position detection unit 126, a wireless communication unit 127, and a short-range wireless communication unit. 128.

The control unit 121 includes an arithmetic processing circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and controls each unit according to a program stored in the storage unit 122 . The storage unit 122 includes storage media such as ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory), and stores programs executed by the control unit 121 and various data. Further, the storage unit 122 is used as a work area when the control unit 121 performs control.

In this embodiment, the application program 122a of the privilege providing system 1 is installed in the storage unit 122. FIG.

The operation display unit 123 includes the touch panel 12a shown in FIG. 1 and its processing circuit. The operation display unit 123 displays a predetermined screen according to the control from the control unit 121 and outputs to the control unit 121 information regarding the operation performed by the customer on the screen.

Audio output unit 124 includes a speaker and its processing circuit. Audio input unit 125 includes a microphone and its processing circuit. The position detection unit 126 has a GPS (Global Positioning System) and acquires the current position of the mobile terminal 12 at any time.

The wireless communication unit 127 is a wireless communication module for performing wireless communication with the router 15, the base station 17, and the like. The wireless communication unit 127 communicates with the server 13 via the router 15 and the base station 17 under the control of the control unit 121 .

The short-range wireless communication unit 128 is a wireless communication module for performing short-range wireless communication with the ticket vending machine 11 and the like. The short-range wireless communication unit 128 performs short-range wireless communication with the short-range wireless communication unit 118 of the ticket vending machine 11 under the control of the control unit 121 .

The server 13 includes a control section 131 , a storage section 132 and a communication section 133 .

The control unit 131 includes an arithmetic processing circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and controls each unit according to a program stored in the storage unit 132 . The storage unit 132 includes a storage medium such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a hard disk, and stores programs executed by the control unit 131 and various data. Further, the storage unit 132 is used as a work area when the control unit 131 performs control.

In this embodiment, the application program 132a of the benefit providing system 1 is installed in the storage unit 132. FIG. Various management information for operating the privilege providing system 1 is stored in the storage unit 132 by the application program 132a.

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing the structure of store management information stored in the storage unit 132 of the server 13. As shown in FIG.

The store management information is configured by associating a store ID, a set time, a settlement threshold value, privilege information, location information, a store visit history, and a threshold number of times with each other.

The store ID is identification information of the store. The set time is the upper limit of the staying time set to give the privilege. As will be described later, when the customer's staying time at the store is shorter than the set time, the customer is provided with a privilege. The settlement threshold is a threshold for settlement amount. Here, the content of the privilege changes according to the settlement amount. Privilege information is associated with each settlement threshold. The privilege information is a discount coupon. The privilege information may be points or the like.

For example, in the store management information of FIG. 3(a), in the store with the store ID S1, if the settlement amount is less than the settlement threshold M11, the privilege of the privilege information B11 is provided, and the settlement amount is higher than the settlement threshold M11. If the amount is M12 or less, the privilege of privilege information B12 is provided, and if the settlement amount is higher than the settlement threshold value M12, the privilege of privilege information B13 is provided. In this case, the higher the settlement amount, the more advantageous privilege is provided.

The location information is information indicating the location of the store. The store visit history is information indicating the customer's store visit history at the store with the store ID. The threshold number of times is a threshold for providing benefits to customers based on the number of visits with a shorter stay time than the set time, which is acquired from the store visit history.

The visit history has a structure shown in FIG. 3(b). The customer ID is customer identification information. The customer ID is arbitrarily set by the customer, for example. The customer ID may be an e-mail address set in the customer's mobile terminal 12, or may be a Mac address set in the wireless communication unit 127 (wireless communication module) of the customer's mobile terminal 12. good.

The date of visit, length of stay, and settlement amount are the date the customer with the customer ID visited the store, the length of time the customer stayed at the store on that day, and the amount of money settled on that day, respectively. Acquired privilege is information indicating the details of the privilege provided to the customer during the stay of the day, and corresponds to any of the privilege information in FIG. 3(a).

When participating in the privilege providing system 1, the store manager accesses the home page of the server 13 from his/her own mobile terminal 12, and, among the items of the store management information, stores the store ID, set time, settlement threshold, privilege information, Register location information and threshold number of times. The set time, settlement threshold, privilege information, and threshold number of times are arbitrarily set by the administrator. The administrator also arbitrarily sets the settlement threshold and the number of categories of privilege information. The server 13 provides an administrator's portable terminal 12 with a reception screen for setting these. This registration may be performed via an information processing terminal other than the mobile terminal 12 .

As for the location information, information acquired by the location detection unit 126 of the administrator's mobile terminal 12 may be transmitted to the server 13 at the time of registration. Alternatively, the reception screen provided by the server 13 may include an address input item, and the server 13 may acquire the position information corresponding to the input address. Alternatively, a map with a variable scale may be displayed on the reception screen provided by the server 13, and the position information may be registered by the administrator specifying the position on the map.

The visit history is acquired by the server 13 through communication with the mobile terminal 12 of the customer. As will be described later, the mobile terminal 12 of the customer measures the length of stay at the store by using short-range wireless communication with the ticket vending machine 11 as a trigger. and the information indicating the privilege obtained by the stay is transmitted to the server 13 together with the customer ID and the shop ID. The server 13 registers the received information as history information in the store management information.

FIG. 3C is a diagram showing the configuration of customer management information stored in the storage unit 132 of the server 13. As shown in FIG.

The customer management information is configured by associating customer IDs, address information, and passwords. As described above, the customer ID is customer identification information. The address information is information for the server 13 to communicate with the mobile terminal 12 of the customer. The password is set by the customer. The password is used, for example, when the customer refers to his or her visit history.

When a customer participates in the privilege providing system 1 , the customer accesses the homepage of the server 13 from his/her mobile terminal 12 and downloads and installs the application program 122 a of the privilege providing system 1 onto the mobile terminal 12 . The application program 122a contains address information of the server 13 for the mobile terminal 12 to communicate with the server 13. FIG.

When the customer starts the application program 122a for the first time, the control unit 121 causes the operation display unit 123 (touch panel 12a) to display a customer information registration screen. On this registration screen, the customer sets his/her own customer ID and password, and further sets address information such as his/her e-mail address. After the setting is completed, the control unit 121 transmits the set information to the server 13 . At this time, the control unit 121 also transmits address information necessary for communication such as push notification, such as the MAC address of the wireless communication unit 127 , to the server 13 . The server 13 registers the received information in customer management information. Also, the control unit 121 of the mobile terminal 12 causes the storage unit 122 to store the information set by the customer.

FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a store list stored in the storage unit 122 of the mobile terminal 12. As shown in FIG.

When the registration of the customer management information is completed as described above, the server 13 stores only the store ID and location information among the information managed by the store management information shown in FIG. Send to The control unit 121 of the mobile terminal 12 stores the received store ID and position information in the storage unit 122 as the store list shown in FIG. 4(a). After that, when the server 13 registers the information about the new store in the store management information, the server 13 transmits the newly registered store ID and position information to the portable terminal 12 . This transmission is performed, for example, when the application program 122a is activated and the mobile terminal 12 accesses the server 13 in response to a push notification or the like.

The control unit 121 of the mobile terminal 12 adds the received store ID and location information to the store list shown in FIG. 4(a). Thus, the store list stored in the storage unit 122 of the mobile terminal 12 is updated. Note that, at the time of updating, not the added store IDs and location information, but all store IDs and location information on the store management information may be transmitted to the mobile terminal 12 . In this case, the storage unit 122 of the mobile terminal 12 replaces the existing store list information with the newly received store ID and location information.

Returning to FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the control unit 111 of the ticket vending machine 11 is provided with the function of the payment unit 111a by the program stored in the storage unit 112 in order to provide the customer with a privilege according to the length of stay. be done. Further, the control unit 121 of the mobile terminal 12 is provided with the functions of the stay determining unit 121a, the staying time calculating unit 121b, the privilege providing unit 121c, and the notification processing unit 121d by the application program 122a stored in the storage unit 122.

The settlement unit 111a performs settlement processing for the price at the store.

Based on the information from the short-range wireless communication unit 128 and the position detection unit 126, the stay determination unit 121a determines the start and end of the customer's stay at the store. The stay time calculation unit 121b calculates the stay time of the customer staying at the store based on the determination result of the stay determination unit 121a. The privilege providing unit 121c performs processing for providing a privilege to the customer based on the fact that the stay time is shorter than the preset set time. The notification processing unit 121d executes processing for notifying the customer of at least one of the stay time, the set time, and the privilege. In addition, the notification processing unit 121d performs processing for notifying the customer of information indicating the relationship between the staying time, the set time, and the privilege.

The privilege providing system 1 includes the functions of the payment unit 111a, the stay determination unit 121a, the length of stay calculation unit 121b, the privilege provision unit 121c, and the notification processing unit 121d, and the functions of the application program 132a stored in the storage unit 132 of the server 13. By doing so, the processing of providing benefits to the customer is performed. This processing will be described below.

FIG. 5(a) is a flow chart showing processing performed in the control unit 111 of the ticket vending machine 11 when issuing a use ticket. This processing is performed by the control unit 111 using the function of the settlement unit 111a.

When the control unit 111 completes the issuance of a use ticket according to the customer's operation and the settlement thereof (S101: YES), the control unit 111 communicates with the mobile terminal 12 via the short-range wireless communication unit 128 to obtain the store ID and the settlement amount. is transmitted to the mobile terminal 12 (S102).

Here, the store ID is registered in the ticket vending machine 11 in advance by the manager of the store along with the registration process described above. This registration may be performed by short-range wireless communication between the administrator's mobile terminal 12 and the ticket vending machine 11, and the administrator operates the registration screen displayed on the operation display unit 123 of the ticket vending machine 11. may be done. The registered store ID is stored in the storage unit 112 of the ticket vending machine 11 . In step S<b>102 , the control unit 111 reads the store ID from the storage unit 112 and transmits it to the portable terminal 12 together with the settlement amount.

FIG. 5(b) is a flow chart showing the processing performed by the control unit 121 of the mobile terminal 12 when issuing a use ticket.

When the control unit 121 receives the information transmitted in step S102 of FIG. 5(a) (S201: YES), the received store ID and the store list stored in its own storage unit 122 (FIG. 4(a) )) and determines whether or not the received store ID is included in the store list (S202). If the received store ID is not included in the store list (S202: NO), the control unit 121 terminates the process. On the other hand, if the received shop ID is included in the shop list (S202: YES), the control unit 121 determines that the stay at the shop has started (S203), and sends a request to send the shop information of the shop to the server. 13 (S204). This transmission request includes the store ID received in step S201.

When the server 13 receives this transmission request, the server 13 compares the store ID included in the transmission request with the store management information shown in FIG. (store information) is transmitted to the mobile terminal 12 of the transmission source.

When receiving store information corresponding to the store ID (S205: YES), the control unit 121 of the mobile terminal 12 stores the received store information in the storage unit 122 (S206). For example, when the store ID of the store is S1, the store information shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing processing performed in the control unit 121 of the mobile terminal 12 when it is determined that the customer has started staying at the store.

6, the processing of steps S211 and S216 is performed by the control unit 121 by the function of the stay determination unit 121a, and the processing of steps S212, S217, and S218 is performed by the control unit 121 by the function of the stay time calculation unit 121b. The processing of steps S213 to S215 is performed by the control unit 121 by the function of the notification processing unit 121d, and the processing of steps S219 and S220 is performed by the control unit 121 by the function of the privilege providing unit 121c. In the following description, each processing step in FIG. 6 is performed by the control unit 121 using these functions.

When the control unit 121 determines that the stay has started in step S203 of FIG. 5(b) (S211: YES), the control unit 121 starts measuring the stay time (S212), and executes privilege notification processing (S213). In step S213, the control unit 121 notifies the content and conditions of the privilege. This notification may include at least one of benefits, staying time, and set time. Alternatively, this notification may include information indicating the relationship between the length of stay, the set length of time, and the privilege. This notification is performed, for example, by causing the operation display unit 123 to display a notification screen.

FIG. 7(a) is a diagram showing a notification screen P1 displayed on the operation display unit 123 (touch panel 12a) of the mobile terminal 12 in the notification process of step S213 of FIG. 5(b).

The notification screen P1 includes a message M1 and a button B1. The message M1 informs that a discount coupon (privilege) can be obtained on condition that the staying time is within a predetermined time (within a set time). Here, the customer refers to the message M1 to understand the content and conditions of the privilege, and then operates the button B1. As a result, the notification screen P1 disappears. A notification sound such as a chime sound may be output from the mobile terminal 12 along with the display of the notification screen P1.

Returning to FIG. 6, the control unit 121 calculates the remaining time for obtaining the privilege by subtracting the current length of stay for which the clocking was started in step S212 from the set time which is the condition for obtaining the privilege. Then, the control unit 121 determines whether or not the calculated remaining time has reached a preset threshold time (for example, 10 minutes) (S214). When the remaining time reaches the threshold time (S214: YES) before the stay ends (S216: NO), the control unit 121 notifies the remaining time as information indicating the relationship between the stay time and the set time. Processing is executed (S215).

FIG. 7(b) is a diagram showing a notification screen P2 displayed on the operation display unit 123 (touch panel 12a) of the mobile terminal 12 in the notification process of step S215 of FIG. 5(b).

The notification screen P2 includes a message M2 and a button B2. The message M2 has the content of notifying the remaining time during which the discount coupon (privilege) can be acquired. The customer refers to the message M2 and operates the button B2 after grasping the remaining time for obtaining the privilege. As a result, the notification screen P2 disappears. A notification sound such as a chime sound may be output from the mobile terminal 12 along with the display of the notification screen P2.

Returning to FIG. 6, after that, the control unit 121 determines whether or not the customer's stay at the store has ended, that is, whether or not the customer has left the store (S216). The control unit 121 makes this determination based on the location information input from the location detection unit 126 (see FIG. 2) as needed and the location information in the store information illustrated in FIG. Compare with.

Specifically, the control unit 121 determines that the stay has ended (the customer has left the store) when the positions based on these two pieces of position information are separated by a predetermined threshold distance or more. The threshold distance may be set to a uniform value (eg, 100m, etc.) for all stores. Alternatively, the threshold distance may be set for each store according to the size of the store. When the threshold distance is set for each store, the threshold distance is stored in association with the store ID together with the position information in the store management information of FIG. 3(a). As a result, the store information in FIG. 4B also includes the threshold distance of the store.

When the customer's stay at the store ends (S216: YES), the control unit 121 finishes counting the stay time and determines the stay time (S218). Note that in steps S212 and S217, the start time and end time of the stay may be held respectively. In this case, in step S218, the staying time at the time of leaving the store is calculated from the difference between the start time and the end time. In this case, in step S214, the difference between the current time and the start time is subtracted from the set time to calculate the remaining time.

When the staying time is determined in this way, the control unit 121 determines whether or not the determined staying time is shorter than the set time (S219). If the confirmed stay time is shorter than the set time (S219: YES), the control section 121 executes privilege issuing processing (S220). On the other hand, if the confirmed stay time is equal to or longer than the set time (S219: NO), the control unit 121 advances the process to step S211 without performing the privilege issuing process.

After that, the control unit 121 transmits the history information related to the current stay to the server 13 together with the shop ID and the customer ID (S221), and ends the process. The history information is information for one line in FIG. 3(b). If the privilege is not obtained, a flag to that effect is set in the acquired privilege. The server 13 associates the received history information with the received shop ID and adds it to the shop management information. As a result, the server 13 manages history information related to stays at the store.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the privilege issuing process in step S220 of FIG.

The control unit 121 compares the settlement amount for the current stay with the store information shown in FIG. judge. Then, the control unit 121 extracts, from the store information, privilege information associated with the range of thresholds including the current settlement amount (S231).

For example, in the example of FIG. 4B, when the current settlement amount is less than the settlement threshold M11, privilege information B11 is extracted, and when the settlement amount is higher than the settlement threshold M11 and less than the settlement threshold M12, privilege information B12 is extracted. If the settlement amount is higher than the settlement threshold value M12, privilege information B13 is extracted.

Next, the control unit 121 refers to the visit history of the store information shown in FIG. 4(b), and counts how many times the stay time was shorter than the set time in past visits to the store (S232). ). Then, the control unit 121 determines whether or not the counted number of stays is equal to or greater than the threshold number of times included in the store information (S233).

If the counted number of stays is equal to or greater than the threshold number of times (S233: YES), the control unit 121 increases the benefits based on the privilege information extracted in step S232 (S234), and stores the increased benefits in the storage unit 122 ( S235). On the other hand, if the counted number of times of stay is less than the threshold number of times (S233: NO), the control unit 121 causes the storage unit 122 to store the privilege based on the privilege information extracted in step S232 as it is (S235). Thus, the control unit 121 terminates the privilege issuing process. In step S235, the acquired benefit may be displayed on the operation display unit 123 to notify the customer.

For example, when the customer visits the store next time, the customer performs an operation on the mobile terminal 12 to use the acquired benefit. As a result, the benefit information to be used is transferred from the mobile terminal 12 to the ticket vending machine 11 through communication between the short-range wireless communication units 118 and 128 . As a result, the customer can receive a discount on the settlement amount due to the privilege (discount coupon). However, the usage form of the privilege is not limited to this.

In step S234 of FIG. 8, for example, a bonus privilege (discount coupon) is added to the privilege (here, discount coupon) based on the privilege information extracted in step S232. Alternatively, in step S234, the privilege (discount coupon) based on the privilege information extracted in step S232 is multiplied by a predetermined magnification greater than 1 (for example, 1.5) to enhance the content of the privilege.

Also, the set time applied in step S232 may be set to a different time than the set times shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 4(b). That is, the set time for obtaining privilege information in FIG. 3A may be different from the set time for counting the number of times of stay compared with the threshold number of times based on the visit history. In this case, the set time for counting the number of times of stay to be compared with the threshold number of times is further stored in association with the store ID in FIG. 3(a).

In this way, by providing special benefits to customers based on their visit histories, it is possible to increase the repeat rate of customers visiting the store while reducing the time spent in the store.

<Effect of Embodiment 1>
According to Embodiment 1, the following effects can be achieved.

As shown in FIG. 6, the functions of the stay determination unit 121a, the stay time calculation unit 121b, and the benefit provision unit 121c, which are given to the control unit 121 by the application program 122a, determine that the stay time is shorter than the set time ( S219: YES), a privilege is provided to the customer (S220). Therefore, the customer is urged to leave the store as soon as possible after receiving the service. Therefore, it is possible to increase the turnover rate of customer replacement in the store, and as a result, it is possible to increase the profits of the store while increasing the merits of the customer by giving benefits.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the privilege providing system 1, the control unit 121 is given the function of the notification processing unit 121d by the application program 122a. Then, in step S213 of FIG. 6, the notification processing unit 121d executes processing for notifying the customer of at least one of the stay time, the set time, and the privilege, as illustrated in FIG. 7A. This allows the customer to grasp the content of the privilege, the set time for obtaining the privilege, the current stay time, and the like. Therefore, the customer can be effectively urged to leave the store by the set time. Note that the current stay time may be displayed on the notification screen of FIG. 7(a).

In addition, in step S215 of FIG. 6, the notification processing unit 121d executes processing for notifying the customer of information indicating the relationship between the staying time, the set time, and the privilege, as illustrated in FIG. 7B. . This allows the customer to grasp the relationship between his/her stay time and the set time for obtaining the privilege. This prompts the customer to leave the store by the set time. Therefore, it is possible to effectively increase the turnover rate of customers in the store while surely giving the customer an opportunity to obtain the privilege.

More specifically, in the example of FIG. 7B, the notification processing unit 121d performs processing for notifying the customer of information regarding the remaining time obtained by subtracting the stay time from the set time. Thereby, the customer can accurately grasp the remaining time to obtain the privilege, and can be urged to complete the actions in the store within the remaining time in order to obtain the privilege. Therefore, the customer can obtain the privilege more reliably, and the store can effectively increase the customer turnover rate.

In steps S211 and S216 of FIG. 6, the stay determination unit 121a determines the start and end of stay based on information generated from the customer himself/herself. That is, in step S211, the stay determination unit 121a determines the start of stay based on the information (information received by short-range wireless communication) based on the operation performed by the customer on the ticket vending machine 11, and in step S216, the customer The end of the stay is determined based on the information based on the movement of the user (information from the position detection unit 126). This eliminates the need for the customer to separately present a medium or the like owned by the customer. Therefore, the determination of at least one of the start and end of the stay can be made by the customer through simpler work, and convenience for the customer can be improved.

As shown in FIG. 8, the privilege providing unit 121c determines that the number of stay times shorter than the preset set time out of the stay times stored in the visit history of FIG. 4B is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. Based on this (S233: YES), a process for providing a privilege to the customer is executed (S234). As a result, the privilege is provided to customers who frequently visit the store and who tend to stay for a short time, so that customers who tend to stay for a short time can be encouraged to use the store repeatedly. Therefore, store sales and profits can be effectively increased.

Based on the fact that the settlement unit 111a has settled the customer's payment through the process of FIG. 5(a) (S101: YES, S102), the privilege providing unit 121c provides a privilege through the processes of FIGS. 5(b) and 6. Perform processing to provide to customers. As a result, if the customer only stays at the store and does not make a purchase, it is possible to avoid providing the customer with a privilege. Therefore, the sales of the store and the provision of benefits to the customer can be mutually linked, and the merits of both can be achieved smoothly.

In this case, the privilege providing unit 121c sets a higher privilege according to an increase in the settlement amount settled by the settlement unit 111a. That is, in step 231 of FIG. 8, the privilege providing unit 121c provides a privilege according to the privilege information corresponding to the settlement amount of the privilege information shown in FIG. 4(b). According to this configuration, the higher the settlement amount, the higher the privilege, so that the customer is more likely to be encouraged to purchase the product with the high settlement amount. As a result, store sales can be increased.

Note that, in the present embodiment, since the settlement threshold is arbitrarily set for each store, depending on the store, only one piece of privilege information may be set without setting the settlement threshold. In this case, the customer is provided with a privilege based on one piece of privilege information regardless of the settlement amount.

<Modification of Embodiment 1>
In the above-described first embodiment, the stay determination unit, stay time calculation unit, privilege provision unit, and notification processing unit are realized as functions of the control unit 121 of the mobile terminal 12, but some or all of these are implemented by the privilege provision system 1 may be located in other devices that make up the

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing configurations of the ticket vending machine 11, the mobile terminal 12, and the server 13 according to the modification.

In this modification, the application program 132a stored in the storage unit 132 of the server 13 controls the functions of the stay determination unit 131a, the stay time calculation unit 131b, the privilege provision unit 131c, and the notification processing unit 131d. 131.

When the control unit 121 of the mobile terminal 12 receives the store ID and the settlement amount from the control unit 111 (settlement unit 111a) of the ticket vending machine 11 via short-range wireless communication in response to the completion of settlement, the received store The settlement information including the ID and settlement amount is transmitted to the server 13 . After that, the control unit 121 of the mobile terminal 12 transmits the position information input from the position detection unit 126 to the server 13 at any time.

The control unit 131 of the server 13 executes substantially the same processing as the processing of FIG. 6 in the first embodiment by the functions of the stay determination unit 131a, stay time calculation unit 131b, privilege provision unit 131c, and notification processing unit 131d.

That is, the control unit 131 of the server 13 performs determinations similar to steps S211 and S216 by the function of the stay determination unit 131d. That is, the control unit 131 determines whether or not the store ID included in the settlement information received from the mobile terminal 12 is included in the store management information shown in FIG. It is determined that the customer has started to stay at the store ID, and time counting of the staying time is started. In addition, the control unit 131 compares the location information received from the mobile terminal 12 as needed with the location information associated with the store ID, and determines whether the customer possessing the mobile terminal 12 has left the store. is determined, and when the customer leaves the store, the clocking of the staying time is terminated.

Also, the control unit 131 of the server 13 performs the same processing as steps S213 to S215 by the function of the notification processing unit 131d. That is, when the control unit 131 starts measuring the length of stay, the control unit 131 transmits information for notifying at least one of the benefits, the set time, and the length of stay to the mobile terminal 12 by push notification or e-mail. Further, when the remaining time obtained by subtracting the stay time from the set time reaches the threshold time, the control unit 131 transmits information about the remaining time to the mobile terminal 12 by push notification or e-mail.

Further, the control unit 131 of the server 13 performs the same processing as in step S218 by the function of the staying time calculating unit 131b to determine the staying time, and the function of the privilege providing unit 131c performs the same processing as in steps S219 and S220. to issue a privilege based on the settlement threshold value, privilege information, and store visit history associated with the store ID. The privilege is issued by sending information indicating the content of the privilege to the mobile terminal 12 by push notification or e-mail.

Then, instead of step S221, the control unit 131 of the server 13 adds the information about the current visit to the visit history associated with the store ID in the store management information of FIG. A process of transmitting an end notification indicating that the process has ended to the mobile terminal 12 is executed. Thereby, the control unit 121 of the mobile terminal 12 ends the process of transmitting the position information to the server 13 . Thus, a series of processes in the privilege providing system 1 are completed.

This modification can also provide the same effects as the first embodiment.

Further, in this modification, the portable terminal 12 does not have to update and store the store list in FIG. . Therefore, the processing load on the mobile terminal 12 can be reduced.

In addition to this modification, part or all of the stay determination unit, stay time calculation unit, privilege provision unit, and notification processing unit may be arranged in the ticket vending machine 11 . In this case, the ticket vending machine 11 may be connected to the external communication network 14 so as to be able to communicate with the server 13 and receive necessary information from the server 13 as appropriate.

Alternatively, another control device that constitutes the privilege providing system 1 may be arranged, and part or all of the stay determination unit, the stay time calculation unit, the privilege provision unit, and the notification processing unit may be arranged in this control device. . Also in this case, the information necessary for the processing may be sent from the server 13 to the control device as appropriate.

These configurations can also provide the same effects as those of the first embodiment.

<Embodiment 2>
In Embodiment 2, the cameras 22b and 23b correspond to the "information output unit" described in claims. However, this association is merely an example and does not limit the scope of the claims.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of the privilege providing system 1 according to the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 10 , the privilege providing system 1 includes a cash register 21 , a face checkout device 22 and a gate device 23 . A cash register 21 , a face settlement device 22 and a gate device 23 are installed in the store 3 . The cash register 21, the face settlement device 22, and the gate device 23 are connected so as to be able to communicate with each other via a LAN (Local Area Network). Store 3 is a cafeteria-style restaurant. The customer brings the food and drink selected by him/herself to the register 21 and receives payment for the food and drink. The settlement amount is transmitted from the cash register 21 to the face settlement device 22 .

The face adjustment device 22 is, for example, a tablet terminal. The face adjustment device 22 is installed near the cash register 21 . The face adjustment device 22 displays the adjustment amount received from the register 21 on the touch panel 22a. After confirming the displayed settlement amount, the customer holds his or her face over the camera 22b of the face settlement device 22.例文帳に追加The face settlement device 22 applies face recognition processing to the captured face image of the customer, and compares face information of the recognized face with pre-registered face information. After matching of the face information is completed, the face settlement device 22 performs settlement based on payment information (for example, credit card information) registered in advance in association with this customer. When the payment is completed, the face payment device 22 transmits the face information of the customer who has paid the payment to the gate device 23 together with the customer ID.

The gate device 23 includes a control unit 23a and a camera 23b. The gate device 23 is installed at the exit of the store 3 and monitors the exit of customers. The gate device 23 captures an image of the face of the customer exiting the store with the camera 23b, and applies face recognition processing to the captured face image. The gate device 23 collates the face information of the recognized face with the face information received from the face adjustment device 22, and if the two match, the gate device 23 exits including the customer ID received together with the face image from the face adjustment device 22. A notification is sent to the face adjustment device 22 .

In response to this, the face adjustment device 22 calculates the customer's staying time at the store 3 and issues a benefit to the customer when the calculated staying time is shorter than the set time. The issuance of the privilege is transmitted to the customer's mobile terminal 12 via the router 15 and the external communication network 14 . The mobile terminal 12 can communicate with the face adjustment device 22 via a router 15 installed in the store 3, an external communication network 14, a base station 17, and a router 16 outside the store. An application program of the privilege providing system 1 is installed in the mobile terminal 12 .

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing configurations of the face adjustment device 22 and the gate device 23. As shown in FIG.

The face adjustment device 22 includes a control section 221 , a storage section 222 , an operation display section 223 , an audio output section 224 , an imaging section 225 , a communication section 226 and a wireless communication section 227 .

The control unit 221 includes an arithmetic processing circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and controls each unit according to a program stored in the storage unit 222 . The storage unit 222 includes storage media such as ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory), and stores programs executed by the control unit 221 and various data. Further, the storage unit 222 is used as a work area when the control unit 221 performs control.

In this embodiment, a face recognition engine 222a and an application program 222b of the privilege providing system 1 are stored in the storage unit 222. FIG.

The operation display unit 223 includes the touch panel 22a shown in FIG. 10 and its processing circuit. The operation display unit 223 displays a predetermined screen according to control from the control unit 221 and outputs information regarding operations on the screen to the control unit 221 . Audio output unit 224 includes a speaker and its processing circuitry.

The imaging unit 225 includes the camera 22b shown in FIG. 10 and its processing circuit. The imaging unit 225 performs imaging under the control of the control unit 221 and transmits the captured image to the control unit 221 . The communication unit 226 communicates with the cash register 21 and the gate device 23 via the LAN under the control of the control unit 221 . A wireless communication unit 227 is a wireless communication module for performing wireless communication with the router 15 . The wireless communication unit 227 communicates with the mobile terminal 12 via the router 15 or the external communication network 14 under the control of the control unit 221 .

The gate device 23 includes a control section 231 , a storage section 232 , an imaging section 233 and a communication section 235 .

The control unit 231 includes an arithmetic processing circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and controls each unit according to a program stored in the storage unit 232 . The storage unit 232 includes storage media such as ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory), and stores programs executed by the control unit 231 and various data. Further, the storage unit 232 is used as a work area when the control unit 231 performs control.

The imaging unit 233 includes the camera 22b shown in FIG. 10 and its processing circuit. The imaging unit 233 performs imaging under the control of the control unit 231 and transmits the captured image to the control unit 231 . The communication unit 234 communicates with the face adjustment device 22 via the LAN under the control of the control unit 231 .

FIG. 12A is a diagram showing the configuration of privilege setting information stored in the storage unit 222 of the face adjustment device 22. As shown in FIG. FIG. 12(b) is a diagram showing the configuration of the visit history included in the privilege setting information. FIG. 12(c) is a diagram showing the configuration of customer management information stored in the storage unit 222 of the face adjustment device 22. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 12(a), the privilege setting information is configured by removing the store ID and the location information from the information for one store in the store management information of FIG. 3(a). The store visit history shown in FIG. 12(b) has the same configuration as the store visit history shown in FIG. 3(b). The customer management information shown in FIG. 12(c) has a configuration in which face images and payment information are added to the customer management information shown in FIG. 3(c).

Of the privilege setting information shown in FIG. 12A, the set time, settlement threshold, privilege information, and threshold number of times are set by the manager of the store by operating the face settlement device 22 . One line of information is added to the store visit history according to the customer's use of the store. The customer management information is registered by the manager of the store by operating the face settlement device 22 when the customer participates in the privilege providing system 1 . A face image is registered by capturing an image of the customer's face via the imaging unit 225 . The payment information is information for adjusting the customer's payment amount (eating and drinking charges), such as customer credit card information and bank account information.

As shown in FIG. 11, in the second embodiment, the application program 222b stored in the storage unit 222 executes the functions of the stay determining unit 221a, the staying time calculating unit 221b, the privilege providing unit 221c, the notification processing unit 221d, and the settlement unit 221e. is given to the control unit 221 of the face adjustment device 22 . The functions of the stay determining unit 221a, the staying time calculating unit 221b, the privilege providing unit 221c, the notification processing unit 221d, and the settlement unit 221e are the same as those of the stay determining unit 121a, the staying time calculating unit 121b, the privilege The functions are substantially the same as those of the providing unit 121c, the notification processing unit 121d, and the settlement unit 111a.

FIG. 13(a) is a flow chart showing the processing performed by the control unit 221 of the face adjustment device 22 at the time of adjustment. This processing is performed by the control unit 221 using the function of the settlement unit 221e.

Upon receiving the settlement amount from the register 21, the control unit 221 determines that face settlement has started (S301: YES), and performs face recognition processing on the image input from the imaging unit 225 (S302). When the control unit 221 extracts the facial image by this process, the extracted facial image (hereinafter referred to as "extracted facial image") is the facial image registered in the customer management information shown in FIG. 12(c) (hereinafter referred to as " (referred to as “registered face image”)) (S303).

If the extracted face image does not match any of the registered face images (S303: NO), the control unit 221 terminates the settlement by face recognition. In this case, the customer pays by cash using the cash register 21, for example.

If the extracted face image matches any of the registered face images (S303: YES), the control unit 221 performs settlement processing using the extracted face image (S304). Specifically, the control unit 221 performs settlement using the payment information associated with the registered face image that matches the extracted face image in the customer management information of FIG. 12(c). Then, when this settlement processing is completed (S305: YES), the control unit 221 determines that the customer's stay at the store 3 has started (S306). to the gate device 23 (S307).

FIG. 13(b) is a flow chart showing the processing performed by the control unit 231 of the gate device 23 when receiving the notice of coming to the store.

When the controller 231 receives the store visit notification transmitted in step S307 of FIG. 13A (S401: YES), the registered face image included in the store store notification The image is compared (S402), and it is determined whether or not the two images match (S403). If the two images do not match (S403: NO), the control unit 231 returns the process to S402 and repeats the same process. If both images match (S403: YES), the control unit 231 sends an exit notification indicating that the customer of the registered face image has left the store 3 together with the customer ID included in the store visit notification. 22 (S404).

FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing processing performed by the control unit 221 of the face adjustment device 22 when it is determined that the customer has started staying at the store 3 .

14, the processing of steps S311 and S316 is performed by the control unit 221 by the function of the stay determination unit 221a, and the processing of steps S312, S317, and S318 is performed by the control unit 221 by the function of the stay time calculation unit 221b. The processing of steps S313 to S315 is performed by the control unit 221 by the function of the notification processing unit 221d, and the processing of steps S319 and S320 is performed by the control unit 221 by the function of the privilege providing unit 221c.

The processing of steps S311 to S320 of FIG. 14 is the same as the processing of steps S211 to S220 of FIG. 6, except for the determination methods of steps S311 and S316.

The control unit 221 determines YES in step S311 by determining the start of stay in step S306 of FIG. 13(a). Moreover, the control part 221 makes determination of step S316 YES by having received the notice of leaving transmitted by FIG.13(b) S404.

FIG. 15(a) is a diagram showing a settlement screen P3 displayed on the face settlement device 22 when settlement is made using a face image. FIG. 15(b) is a diagram showing the notification screen P4 displayed in step S313 of FIG.

In step S302 of FIG. 13(a), the settlement screen P3 shown in FIG. 15(a) is displayed. An image captured by the imaging unit 225 is displayed in the upper half of the settlement screen P3, and the settlement amount and its breakdown are displayed in the lower half of the settlement screen P3. When the settlement is completed and the start of stay is determined, the determination in step S311 of FIG. 14 becomes YES, and in step S313, instead of the settlement screen P3, the notification screen P4 of FIG. 15(b) is displayed for a certain period of time. . The notification screen P4 includes a stay time (set time) for obtaining a privilege and a message M3 for notifying the details of the privilege. The customer can refer to the message M3 to grasp the relationship between his stay time and the privilege. A message voice indicating the content of the message M3 may be output from the face adjustment device 22 together with the notification screen P4.

Returning to FIG. 14, in step S315, information indicating the remaining time for obtaining the privilege is transmitted from the control unit 221 of the face adjustment device 22 to the customer's mobile terminal 12 by push notification, e-mail, or the like. In step S320, information indicating the issued benefit is transmitted from the control unit 221 of the face adjustment device 22 to the customer's mobile terminal 12 by push notification, e-mail, or the like. As in step S220 of the first embodiment, the privilege issuance method is performed using the settlement threshold value, the store visit history, and the threshold number of times shown in FIG. 12(a).

After issuing the privilege in this way, the control unit 221 associates one line of history information related to the visit to the store with the customer ID of the customer who visited the store, and adds it to the visit history in FIG. 12(b) (S321). . As a result, the control unit 221 terminates the privilege issuing process based on the customer's stay at the store 3 .

<Effect of Embodiment 2>
Also in the second embodiment, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained. That is, by the processing of FIG. 14, the privilege is provided to the customer based on the stay time being shorter than the set time (S319: YES). Therefore (S320), the customer is urged to leave the store as soon as possible after receiving the service. Therefore, it is possible to increase the turnover rate of customer replacement in the store, and as a result, it is possible to increase the profits of the store while increasing the merits of the customer by giving benefits.

<Modification of Embodiment 2>
In Embodiment 2 above, both the start and end of the customer's stay at the store are determined by the customer's facial image, which is information generated by the customer himself/herself. It may be determined based on information from media possessed by the customer.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the configuration of the privilege providing system 1 in this case.

In the configuration of FIG. 16, the reading units 24b and 25b correspond to the "information output section" described in the claims. However, this association is merely an example and does not limit the scope of the claims.

In this configuration, the face checkout device 22 is changed to the checkout device 24 and the gate device 23 is changed to the gate device 25 . The settlement device 24 has a control unit 24a and a reading unit 24b, and the gate device 25 has a control unit 25a and a reading unit 25b.

The reading units 24b and 25b read the customer ID from the medium owned by the customer. The medium is, for example, a card issued by the store 3. An IC chip, for example, is arranged on the card, and a customer ID is stored in this IC chip. The card is, for example, a contactless card with a built-in antenna coil. In this case, the reading units 24b and 25b are equipped with a non-contact communication section that communicates with the antenna coil on the card side.

The card may be a contact card having contact terminals. Alternatively, the card may carry the customer ID in some other form, such as a barcode. Also, the medium is not limited to a card, and may be another medium such as the mobile terminal 12 or the like. For example, the mobile terminal 12 may display a bar code holding the customer ID on the screen. In these cases, the reading units 24b and 25b may have a configuration of a reading method according to the customer ID holding form.

The control unit 24a executes the same processing as the face adjustment device 22 described above. In this case, the control unit 24a executes settlement processing based on the customer ID read from the medium instead of settlement processing based on the customer's face image.

The control unit 25a performs the same processing as the gate device 23 described above. In this case, the control unit 25a executes the leaving determination based on the customer ID read from the medium instead of the leaving determination based on the customer's face image.

The customer holds his/her own card issued by the store 3 over the reading unit 25b at the time of payment. If the control unit 24a is a tablet or the like, the settlement amount may be displayed on the display. After confirming the displayed settlement amount, the customer can hold his or her own card over the reading unit 24b. As a result, when the customer ID is obtained from the card, settlement processing is performed by the same processing as described above, and the start of the customer's stay is determined.

When the customer finishes eating and drinking at the store 3 and leaves the store 3 , the customer holds his/her own card over the reading unit 25 b of the gate device 25 . Accordingly, when the customer ID is acquired from the card, it is determined that the customer has left, and a notification of leaving is sent from the control unit 25a to the control unit 24a. The control unit 24a performs the same notification processing and privilege issuing processing as described above based on the determination of the start of stay and the end of stay.

This modification can also provide the same effects as the second embodiment.

Also, in this modification, the start and end of the stay are determined based on information from media carried by the customer. In general, information from a medium possessed by a customer can identify the customer more accurately than when the customer is identified by face recognition or the like. Therefore, according to the structure of the said modification, the start and end of stay can be determined more correctly.

In the modified example above, both the start and end of the customer's stay at the store 3 were determined based on the information from the medium possessed by the customer. It may be determined based on information from the medium in possession. For example, only the start of stay may be determined based on information from media possessed by the customer, and the end of stay may be determined based on information originating from the customer himself (for example, the customer's facial image). In this case, in the configuration of FIG. 16, the gate device 25 may be replaced with the gate device 23 of FIG.

In addition, in the second embodiment, one store 3 is targeted by the privilege providing system 1. However, if a plurality of stores constitute a group, such as when there is a head office and a branch office, the group can be managed. A server may be connected to the external communication network 14 .

In this case, among the information shown in FIGS. 12A to 12C, the store visit history and customer management information may be linked to the store ID and collectively managed by the server. In this configuration, the face settlement device 22 of each store transmits the face information of the customer who has visited the store to the server, acquires the customer management information and the store visit history of the customer from the server, and acquires the acquired customer management information and store visit history. Based on, the above-mentioned face adjustment processing and privilege issuance processing are performed.

Alternatively, all the information shown in FIGS. 12A to 12C may be linked to the store ID and collectively managed by the server. In this case, the face adjustment device 22 of each store transmits the face information of the customer visiting the store to the server, acquires the customer management information of the customer from the server, and performs the above face adjustment based on the acquired customer management information. process. When the settlement processing is completed, the face settlement device 22 transmits a settlement completion notification to the server, and further transmits the notification to the server when the gate device 23 detects the customer's face. The server determines the start of stay of the customer corresponding to the previously received face image based on the reception of the settlement completion notification, and the end of the stay of the customer based on the reception of the detection notification of the gate device 23. judge. Based on these determination results, the server executes processing similar to that in FIG. 14 to issue a privilege. In this case, the notification process may be executed by the server sending a push notification or e-mail to the mobile terminal 12 of the customer.

In the configuration of FIG. 10, the register 21 and the face adjustment device 22 are separate units, but they may be integrated. Also, as in the configuration of the modification shown in FIG. The payment may be made by the provided payment application.

<Embodiment 3>
In Embodiments 1 and 2 above, the privilege providing system 1 is applied to a store where payment is made before eating and drinking. On the other hand, in Embodiment 3, the privilege provision system 1 is applied to the store where the payment is made upon completion of eating and drinking.

In Embodiment 3, the imaging unit 315 and the operation display unit 313 correspond to the "information output unit" described in the claims. However, this association is merely an example and does not limit the scope of the claims.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the configuration of the privilege providing system 1 according to the third embodiment.

The privilege providing system 1 has a plurality of order terminals 31 and a management device 32 . Each order terminal 31 is installed at each seat in the store, and the management device 32 is installed in a staff room or the like of the store. The order terminal 31 and the management device 32 are connected to each other via a LAN. The order terminal 31 is, for example, a tablet terminal, and the management device 32 is, for example, a personal computer. The order terminal 31 includes a touch panel 31a and a camera 31b, and is installed so that the camera 31b substantially faces the front of the customer sitting on the seat.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the order terminal 31 and the management device 32. As shown in FIG.

The order terminal 31 includes a control unit 311 , a storage unit 312 , an operation display unit 313 , an audio output unit 314 , an imaging unit 315 and a communication unit 316 .

The control unit 311 includes an arithmetic processing circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and controls each unit according to a program stored in the storage unit 312 . The storage unit 312 includes storage media such as ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory), and stores programs executed by the control unit 311 and various data. Further, the storage unit 312 is used as a work area when the control unit 221 performs control.

In this embodiment, the application program 312a of the privilege providing system 1 is stored in the storage unit 312. FIG.

The operation display unit 313 includes the touch panel 31a shown in FIG. 17 and its processing circuit. The operation display unit 313 displays a predetermined screen according to the control from the control unit 311 and outputs information regarding operations on the screen to the control unit 311 . Audio output unit 314 includes a speaker and its processing circuitry.

The imaging unit 315 includes the camera 31b shown in FIG. 17 and its processing circuit. The imaging unit 315 performs imaging under the control of the control unit 311 and transmits the captured image to the control unit 311 . The communication unit 316 communicates with the management device 32 via the LAN according to control from the control unit 311 .

The management device 32 includes a control section 321 , a storage section 322 , an operation section 323 , a display section 324 and a communication section 325 . Since these configurations are well known as configurations of personal computers, description thereof is omitted.

In the third embodiment, the application program 312a stored in the storage unit 312 provides the control unit 311 of the order terminal 31 with the functions of the stay determination unit 311a, the stay time calculation unit 311b, the privilege provision unit 311c, and the notification processing unit 311d. be done. The basic functions of the stay determining unit 311a, the staying time calculating unit 311b, the privilege providing unit 311c, and the notification processing unit 311d are the stay determining unit 121a, the staying time calculating unit 121b, and the privilege providing unit shown in FIG. The functions are the same as those of the unit 121c and the notification processing unit 121d.

Further, in the third embodiment, the storage unit 312 of each order terminal 31 stores privilege setting information similar to that shown in FIG. 12(a). The privilege setting information is set in each order terminal 31 by operating the management device 32 by the manager of the store. Thereby, the same privilege setting information is set in all the order terminals 31 .

FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing processing performed by the control unit 311 of the order terminal 31 when issuing a privilege.

19, the processing of steps S501 and S506 is performed by the control unit 311 by the function of the stay determination unit 311a, and the processing of steps S502, S507, and S508 is performed by the control unit 311 by the function of the stay time calculation unit 311b. The processing of steps S503 to S505 and S511 is performed by the control unit 311 by the function of the notification processing unit 311d, and the processing of steps S509, S510 and S512 is performed by the control unit 221 by the function of the privilege providing unit 221c.

The control unit 311 determines whether or not the customer's stay has started (S501).

FIG. 20(a) is a flow chart showing the process for determining the start of a customer's stay. The control unit 311 acquires images from the imaging unit 315 at any time (S521), analyzes the acquired images, and determines whether or not the customer is seated in the seat where the order terminal 31 is installed (S522). . When the control unit 311 determines that the customer is seated on the seat based on the analysis of the image (S513: YES), it determines that the customer has started staying (S523), and makes the determination in step S501 of FIG. 19 YES. .

Note that the method of determining the start of stay is not limited to this. For example, it may be determined that the customer's stay has started when the customer operates the order terminal 31 for the first time to place an order.

Returning to FIG. 19, when the determination in step S501 becomes YES through the above process, the control unit 311 sequentially executes the processes in steps S502 to S505. The processing of steps S502 to S505 is the same as the processing of steps S212 to S215 in FIG. In step S503, for example, the control unit 311 causes the notification screen P6 shown in FIG. 21(b) to be superimposed on the order screen P5 shown in FIG. 21(a).

As shown in FIG. 21(a), the order screen P5 includes a plurality of buttons B3 for selecting food and drink, a button B4 for returning one screen, a button B5 for forwarding one screen, It includes a button B6 for making a payment. Further, as shown in FIG. 21(b), the notification screen P6 includes a message M4 for notifying the content of the privilege (discount of the settlement amount) and the stay time (set time) for obtaining the privilege, and the notification screen P6. and a button B7 for closing the By referring to the notification screen P6, the customer can grasp the contents of the privilege and the staying time (set time) for obtaining the privilege.

Further, in step S505 of FIG. 19, the control unit 311 displays, for example, the notification screen P7 shown in FIG. 21(c) overlaid on the order screen P5. The notification screen P7 includes a message M5 for notifying the remaining time to obtain the privilege, and a button B8 for closing the notification screen P7. By referring to the notification screen P7, the customer can accurately grasp the remaining time for obtaining the privilege.

FIG. 20(b) is a flow chart showing the stay end determination process in step S506 of FIG.

The control unit 311 monitors whether or not the checkout button B6 included in the order screen P5 has been operated (S531). When detecting that the button B6 has been operated, the control unit 311 determines that the customer's stay has ended (S532), and determines YES in step S506 of FIG.

Returning to FIG. 19, the processing of steps S507-S509 is the same as the processing of steps S217-S219 of FIG. The control unit 311 calculates the time measured from the start of time measurement (S502) to the end of time measurement (S507) as the stay time (S508), and the calculated stay time is the set time of the privilege setting information (see FIG. 12A). It is determined whether or not it is shorter (S509). If the determination in S509 is YES, the control unit 311 issues a privilege according to the settlement amount based on the settlement threshold of the privilege setting information (S510). If the determination in S509 is NO, the control unit 311 determines not to issue the privilege (S512).

The control unit 311 performs processing for notifying whether or not a privilege has been issued (S511). When a privilege is issued in step S510, the control section 311 displays, for example, a notification screen P8 shown in FIG. 21(d) so as to be superimposed on the order screen P5. The notification screen P8 includes a message M6 for notifying the content of the obtained privilege, and a button B9 for closing the notification screen P8. By referring to the notification screen P8, the customer can grasp the content of the privilege obtained. When the customer operates the button B9, the settlement amount after application of the privilege is displayed together with the settlement amount after application of the privilege, and settlement is performed.

When it is decided not to issue the privilege in step S512 of FIG. 19, the control unit 311 notifies the order screen P5 in step S511 that the privilege was not issued because the staying time was longer than or equal to the set time. Overlap the screens. As a result, the customer understands that he or she did not receive the benefit this time because the customer stayed for a long time.

<Effect of Embodiment 3>
Also in the third embodiment, the same effects as in the first and second embodiments can be obtained. By the processing of FIG. 19, based on the fact that the staying time is shorter than the set time (S509: YES), the customer is provided with a privilege (S510), and the customer is urged to leave the store as soon as possible. Therefore, it is possible to increase the turnover rate of customer replacement in the store, and as a result, it is possible to increase the profits of the store while increasing the merits of the customer by giving benefits.

<Modification of Embodiment 3>
In step S510 of FIG. 19, a discount based on a privilege was applied to the settlement amount and the settlement was made. For example, a QR code ( registered trademark) may be displayed. In this case, the customer obtains the coupon by reading the QR code (registered trademark) with his/her mobile terminal 12 .

Also in the third embodiment, as in the second embodiment, when a plurality of stores form a group, a server that manages these groups may be connected to the external communication network 14 . In this case, each order terminal 31 may be connected to the external communication network 14 via a router, appropriately communicate with the server, and acquire necessary information from the server.

Also in Embodiment 3, each order terminal 31 or management device 32 may manage the visit history of the customer to the store. In this case, customers may be managed by face images, or by customer IDs stored in cards or the like issued by the store. When a customer is managed by a face image, the face image of the customer is imaged by the camera 31b at the start of stay and face recognition processing is performed. If the customer is managed by a card or the like, the card is read by a reader attached to the order terminal 31 at the start of the stay, and the customer ID is obtained. In these cases, as in Embodiments 1 and 2 above, a process of adding a privilege may be executed based on the customer's visit history.

<Other modification examples>
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and the embodiments of the present invention can be modified in various ways other than those described above.

For example, in Embodiments 1 to 3 above, the privilege provided to the customer was the privilege available at the store where the customer stayed. However, without being limited to this, if there is merit for the customer, the customer may be provided with a benefit that can be used widely, including at other stores. In addition, benefits are not limited to discount coupons, points, etc., which provide customers with benefits for the price, for example, those that provide customers with services of a higher rank than usual (for example, use of relaxation rooms, etc.) may be included.

Further, the form in which the notification processing unit notifies at least one of the privilege, stay time, and set time is not limited to the forms shown in the first to third embodiments. For example, the privilege and the set time may be presented by a poster or the like displayed at the store, and the notification processing unit may notify the current staying time or the remaining time until the set time.

In addition, the information indicating the relationship between the length of stay, the set time, and the benefits is not necessarily limited to the remaining time to obtain the benefit, but is information that enables the understanding of the relationship between the length of stay, the set length of time, and the benefit. I wish I had. For example, a message indicating that the privilege can be acquired at the present time may be output from the mobile terminal 12 or the like, or when the privilege decreases with the lapse of stay time, the content of the privilege at the present time may be notified.

Further, the notification method by the notification processing unit is not limited to the methods shown in the first to third embodiments, and may be performed by SMS (Short Message Service) or the like.

In addition, in the first embodiment, information output by the short-range wireless communication unit 128 and the position detection unit 128 when the ticket vending machine 11 is operated for payment is used as the "information generated by the customer" used to determine the start or end of the stay. In the second embodiment, the customer's facial image output from the cameras 22b and 23b is shown.In the third embodiment, the image output from the camera 31b and the operation of the button B6 are shown. Although the information output from the touch panel 31a in response is shown, the "information originating from the customer" used to determine the start or end of the stay is not limited to this. "Information originating from the customer" can include information that is derived from the customer or from the customer's actions or behavior and that can be used to determine the beginning or end of a stay at a store.

Also, the method of determining the start or end of a stay may be changed as appropriate. For example, in the configuration of the first embodiment, the end of stay may be performed using the gate device 23 shown in the second embodiment.

Also, the privilege provided based on the set time and the privilege provided based on the store visit history may be mutually unrelated. In addition, the settlement amount to be compared with the settlement threshold may be an amount obtained by dividing the settlement amount by the number of people in the group when the settlement is made for a group of a plurality of customers.

Further, in the first to third embodiments, the store to which the privilege providing system 1 is applied is a restaurant, but the store to which the privilege providing system 1 is applied is not necessarily limited to a restaurant, but a bookstore. For example, it may be a store of another type whose sales increase according to an increase in the turnover rate of customers.

Moreover, the stay determination unit, stay time calculation unit, privilege provision unit, notification processing unit, and settlement unit may not necessarily be realized by functions of programs, and may be realized by using hardware such as logic circuits. .

In addition, the embodiments of the present invention can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the claims.

1 Privilege Providing System 12 Portable Terminal 13 Server 111a, 221e Payment Unit 121a, 131a, 221a, 311a Stay Determining Unit 121b, 131b, 221b, 311b Staying Time Calculating Unit 121c, 131c, 221c, 311c Privilege Providing Unit 121d, 131d, 221d , 311d Notification processing unit 122a, 132a, 222b, 312a Application program

Claims (13)

a stay determination unit that determines the start and end of the customer's stay at the store based on the information from the information output unit that outputs information that enables determination of the customer's stay at the store;
a stay time calculation unit that calculates the stay time of the customer at the store based on the determination result of the stay determination unit;
a privilege providing unit that executes processing for providing a privilege to the customer based on the fact that the stay time is shorter than a preset set time;
A benefit providing system characterized by: Further comprising a notification processing unit that performs processing for notifying the customer of at least one of the stay time, the set time and the benefit,
The privilege providing system according to claim 1, characterized by: Further comprising a notification processing unit that performs processing for notifying the customer of information indicating the relationship between the stay time, the set time, and the privilege,
The privilege providing system according to claim 1, characterized by: The notification processing unit executes processing for notifying the customer of information regarding the remaining time obtained by subtracting the stay time from the set time.
4. The privilege providing system according to claim 3, characterized by: The stay determination unit determines at least one of start and end of the stay based on information from a medium possessed by the customer.
The privilege providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The stay determination unit determines at least one of the start and end of the stay based on information generated from the customer himself/herself;
The privilege providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. further comprising a storage unit that stores a history of the customer's stay time at the store,
The privilege providing unit provides the customer with a privilege based on the fact that, among the stay times stored in the history, the number of stay times shorter than a preset set time is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. perform processing for the
7. The privilege providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by: Furthermore, it has a payment unit that performs payment processing at the store,
The privilege provision unit further executes processing for providing the privilege to the customer based on the payment of the customer by the settlement unit.
8. The privilege providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by: The privilege providing unit sets the privilege higher according to an increase in the settlement amount settled by the settlement unit.
9. The privilege providing system according to claim 8, characterized by: A control method for a benefit providing system that provides benefits to customers visiting a store,
Determining the start and end of the customer's stay at the store based on the information from an information output unit that outputs information that can determine the customer's stay at the store;
calculating the length of time the customer stayed at the store based on the determination result;
and providing benefits to the customer based on the stay time being shorter than a preset set time.
A control method for a privilege providing system characterized by: In the control unit of the privilege provision system that provides benefits to customers who visit the store,
A process of determining the start and end of the customer's stay at the store based on the information from the information output unit that outputs information that can determine the customer's stay at the store;
a process of calculating the length of time the customer stayed at the store based on the determination result;
a program for executing a process for providing a benefit to the customer based on the fact that the stay time is shorter than a preset set time. A server capable of communicating with a mobile terminal via an external communication network,
A process of receiving information from the portable terminal that can determine the customer's stay at the store;
A process of calculating the stay time of the customer in the store based on the information;
Based on the fact that the calculated stay time is shorter than a preset set time, a process of transmitting information about benefits to the mobile terminal;
A server characterized by: In the control part of the mobile terminal,
A function of determining the start and end of the customer's stay at the store based on the information from the information output unit that outputs information that can determine the customer's stay at the store;
A function of calculating the length of time the customer stayed at the store based on the determination result;
A function of issuing a privilege based on the fact that the calculated stay time is shorter than a preset set time;
program to run.

Images