JP4228422B2 - Seat assignment system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a seat designation system that handles from reservation of reserved seats in transportation such as trains and buses to boarding of reserved seat reservation passengers, and more particularly to a dynamic seat assignment system that sufficiently accommodates reservation requests of group passengers. Related.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A conventional railway seat reservation system determines a seat when a reservation request is made, and issues a ticket clearly indicating a seat ID on the spot. In addition, regarding the seat assignment method, seats are determined in the order in which reservation requests are made based on the specified frame and simple rules such as assigning in order from the end, and the seats once determined can be changed. It was not possible to fully respond to reservation requests from group customers that occurred later. In order to solve this problem, we will try to solve the problem by combining a method of confirming the seat at the time of seat reservation and a method of assigning a seat after the seat confirmation deadline has passed and a seat assignment deadline. Although it has been proposed, a specific processing method has not been devised so far.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In conventional railway seat reservation systems, a method of determining seats in the order in which reservation requests are generated based on priorities and simple allocation rules is generally widely used. A certain number of seats are reserved for group guests for a certain period until the service day, but after that period, the reserved seats are released to general customers and individual customers, As the boarding day approaches, it is difficult to reserve a seat that satisfies the requirements. Recently, in order to solve this problem, there is a mixture of a method of confirming a seat at the time of seat reservation and a method of assigning a seat after the seat confirmation deadline and assigning a seat after the seat confirmation deadline has passed. Propose to solve the problem.
[0004]
However, there are some important problems to realize this mixing method. First, there was no specific method for actually allocating seats. Several proposals have been made regarding evaluation criteria and evaluation methods for seat allocation solutions, but no specific processing method has been devised for the allocation method. Secondly, at the time of seat reservation, it must be determined that there is a seat that satisfies the request, but there is no specific method for determining when seats are not actually allocated. Third, the method of transmitting seat confirmation information to the reservation passengers was insufficient. In the previous proposal, the seat confirmation information was communicated to the reservation passenger when the ticket was issued. In practice, therefore, the seat confirmation deadline must be set a few days before the date of use, and as a result, the seat allocation can be optimized. There was a fear that it was not done sufficiently.
[0005]
A first object of the present invention is to provide a seat assignment system capable of seat assignment in consideration of the demands and conveniences of reservation customers.
[0006]
A second object of the present invention is to provide a seat reservation system that is very responsive to reservation requests / reservation cancellation requests of reservation customers. The reason for reducing the waiting time at the reservation terminal is to consider the convenience of passengers.
[0007]
A third object of the present invention is to provide an information transmission system for transmitting seat confirmation information to a reservation passenger.
[0008]
A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a specific processing method for optimizing seat allocation.
[0009]
A fifth object of the present invention is to provide a method for making it easier to select the latter after combining the method for determining the seat position at the time of reservation and the method for determining the seat position immediately before departure. .
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the first object described above, the present invention does not determine the seat position in detail at the time of seat reservation for the seat assignment of the transportation system, but roughly determines the seat position to the extent that the target transportation system can be used. And specific processing means and a specific processing device for optimizing seat allocation until just before using the transportation means.
[0011]
In order to achieve the second object described above, the present invention is provided with a data representation of a vacant seat status and a data operation method that can grasp the vacant seat status at a very high speed for each car of the train. .
[0012]
In order to achieve the third object, the present invention comprises an apparatus and a transmission method for transmitting seat confirmation information to each reservation passenger.
[0013]
In order to achieve the fourth object described above, the present invention solves the seat allocation problem by determining which part of a seat to use for a seat that is continuously vacant in a certain section. It is shown that, after the use section of each vacant seat is determined, it can be easily solved by dividing it into a passenger seat assignment problem for assigning passenger seats.
[0014]
Furthermore, in order to achieve the fifth object, the present invention uses a method for determining the seat position at the time of reservation in the seat designation system and a method for determining later, and gives some preferential treatment to the reservation person who selects the latter. A measure is provided to make it easier to select a method to be selected later.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a seat reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that in the flowchart of this description represents a complicated process, and is described separately using the text or other figures.
[0016]
First, a reservation request processing method of a seat reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
[0017]
When a seat reservation system receives a reservation request (step 101), it is first determined which car to assign to (step 102). Next, it is checked whether or not there are seats for the reserved number of people in the car (step 103). If there is no seat, check other cars. If there is a seat, it is next checked whether the reservation request also determines the seat position (step 104). If the seat position is not determined, the assigned car number is output (step 105). For reservations for which seat positions have not been determined, seats are determined at the time of seat determination (step 106). When the seat confirmation deadline has passed, all seats of the reservation person have been confirmed, so for reservations that come later, seats are simply assigned by referring to the seat availability (step 107). ). Then, when the passenger gets on, the confirmed seat position is notified to each passenger who has not designated a seat (step 108).
[0018]
On the other hand, when the seat position is also determined at the same time as the reservation (when it is the same as the conventional reserved seat), the seat position is determined (step 109) and the assigned car / seat position is output (step 110). By performing processing in this procedure, a method of assigning seats later can be realized, and it can be used in combination with a conventional method of determining seat positions at the time of reservation. Here, when a method for determining a seat later is selected, a method for determining a seat later can be more easily selected by providing a preferential treatment such as discounting a fare. Furthermore, it is possible to guide the reservation car to the target train boarding position by giving the number of the car to the reservation passenger first, and as a result, it is possible to make the assignment decision until just before the departure. This means that a more optimal seat decision can be made.
[0019]
Next, the configuration of the seat designation system will be described with reference to FIG. Since the seat designation system needs to inform the passenger of the seat position in order to determine the seat position later, the seat determination computer 200, the plurality of reservation terminals 201, and the seat position need to be confirmed later. Consists of. A number of reservation terminals, seat position communication terminals, and the like are arranged at each station, all of which are connected to the seat determination computer 200 online. When a reservation request or reservation cancellation is input at the reservation terminal 201, the information is transmitted to the computer 200 online. The computer 200 checks whether the reservation is possible. When the reservation is possible, the reservation enabling process is performed. When the reservation is impossible, the rejection process is performed. When the reservation is cancelled, the cancellation process is performed, and the result is returned to the reservation terminal 201.
[0020]
The seat position communication terminals 202, 203, and 204 receive correspondence information between each reserved passenger and the seat position from the computer 200 after the seat determination deadline, transmit information that the seat has been determined, and receive a seat inquiry from the reserved customer. If there is, report the corresponding seat position. There are several types of seat position communication terminals in order to deal with passengers who have entered the station before the seat confirmation deadline, passengers who enter the station after confirmation, and the like. This will be discussed later.
[0021]
Next, a terminal that executes seat reservation will be described with reference to FIG. As shown at 300, when performing the seat reservation described in FIG. 1, in addition to the type of seat such as the boarding section, the number of reserved passengers, the non-smoking seat, the green car, etc. as input information, the seat position at the time of reservation Whether to confirm. As output information, it is necessary to output the result of the reservation request, if the reservation is possible, the reservation ID, the car to get on, and the seat position only when the seat position is determined. Therefore, in the reservation terminal, in addition to the display device 301, reservation content input unit 302, cash insertion slot 303, reservation cancellation ticket insertion slot 304, ticket printing printer 305, and ticket exit 306 in the conventional terminal, a seat is provided. There is a seat selection button to indicate that it has been determined.
[0022]
The passenger who makes a reservation presses the seat determination button 307 if he / she wants to determine the seat position at that time after inputting the reservation content in the reservation content input unit 302, and does not press it when it is not necessary to determine the seat position. Then, the reservation result is displayed on the display device 301, and when reservation is possible and reservation is possible, the reservation contents such as reservation ID, assigned car number, seat position, etc. are notified. If the passenger accepts the displayed reservation details, a ticket is issued from the ticket exit 306. Here, if the seat position is not decided, only the assigned car number is printed, and if it is decided, the car number and the seat position are printed by the printing machine 305.
[0023]
Next, a terminal for notifying passengers of seat confirmation will be described with reference to FIG. In order to transmit the seat confirmation information to the passengers, a reservation ID is required as input information as 400. In addition, the seat position is naturally necessary as output information, but one more is the seat position confirmation communication information. This indicates that the seat reservation deadline has passed and all the seats of the reservation person have been confirmed. In the two terminals shown in FIG. 4, the upper side is a station premises terminal 40, and the lower side is a ticket gate 41 with a seat position communication 1 function in which seat position communication means is provided on the ticket gate. Both terminals insert a ticket from the ticket slot 403, read the reservation ID written on the ticket, display the corresponding seat position on the display device 402, and print the seat position on the ticket by the printing machine 404.
[0024]
The difference between the two terminals is that, in the terminal for the station premises, the seat position is communicated to the passenger who entered the station premises before the seat position confirmation deadline (the ticket gate 41 is a conventional ticket gate before the deadline). Therefore, a seat position confirmation lamp 401 is provided to inform passengers in the station that the seat has been confirmed and to inform the seat position. When the seat position is confirmed, the confirmation lamp 401 is lit, and then the passenger can know each seat position using the terminal 40.
[0025]
In this case, we decided to use the confirmation lamp to convey the seat confirmation information. By installing this terminal on the platform of the station, it is very clear and informs a large number of passengers that the seat of the next arriving train has been confirmed. Because things are possible. In addition, although it is written that the seat position communication terminal is also placed in the train in FIG. 2, this is mainly for passengers who got on the train in a hurry or passengers on the train, and the terminal 40 is used. It is installed considering the case where it cannot be done. However, since it is functionally the same as the terminal 40, it is omitted here.
[0026]
Thus, the individual processing of the seat reservation system will be described in detail. FIG. 5 shows a specific processing method of the assigned car determination (step 102) in FIG. First, the number of assigned passenger cars is limited to either non-smoking seats or smoking seats (step 501), and the number of cars that meet the conditions is listed (step 502), and the number of passengers getting off at each car is further uniformed. Therefore, the car with the least number of passengers getting off at the same station as the reservation request is selected (step 503).
[0027]
Next, a specific processing method for vacant seat determination (step 103) in FIG. 1 will be described. After selecting the car to be allocated in step 102 in FIG. 1, the number of vacant seats that match the reservation request section in that car is compared with the number of seats that are requested in the reservation (step 601). In order to quickly compare the number of vacant seats, the data is represented as shown in FIG. 71 is a diagram showing in which section each seat is vacant, and 72 expresses the number of seats that are vacant only between the stations. The number of steps required to represent such a data representation format is in proportion to the number of seats, and the conversion itself is very fast. This vacant seat expression 72 is compared with the reservation request (boarding section, number of required seats) (steps 601 and 602). If the number of required seats ≤ the number of vacant seats, {reserved seat number}-{request The number of seats} is set as a new number of empty seats (step 603). If the vacant seat expression 72 is used, step 603 is as 81 in FIG.
[0028]
If the vacant seat section currently being compared is different from the reservation request section due to the operation described below, update the number of vacant seats for the remaining sections excluding the reservation request section from the vacant seat section being compared. Perform (step 604). Finally, it is determined that reservation is possible (step 605). In step 602, if the number of required seats> the number of vacant seats, the number of vacant seats is determined to be 0 with {required seat number}-{number of vacant seats} as the new required seat number for the section being compared. Then (step 606), the number of seats is updated for the remaining section obtained by removing the reservation request section from the vacant seat section being compared (step 607).
[0029]
Further, a search is performed for a section longer than the section currently being compared (steps 608 and 609). In the long section, the vacant seat is first divided into a reservation request section and other sections (step 610), and the comparison is continued. If there is no vacant seat even after comparing the longest section, it is determined that the reservation is impossible (step 611). Steps 606 to 610 are specifically shown at 82 in FIG.
[0030]
A method for updating the vacant seat expression 72 when canceling the reservation will also be described. Reference numeral 91 in FIG. 9 denotes a method of updating the vacant seat expression 72 when canceling a reservation to which a seat has already been assigned. Since seats have already been assigned, refer to the seat availability of the relevant seats and check if seats are available continuously beyond the canceled boarding section. When the number of seats becomes more continuous, the number of seats in the section connected to the canceled section is reduced, and the number of seats in the section of completed seats is increased. When canceling a reservation for which the seat position has not been determined, the number of vacant seats in the cancel section may be simply increased.
[0031]
The greatest advantage of using the vacant seat expression 72 is that the seat reservation is guaranteed without actually arranging the seats. In addition, since the vacant seat expression can be constructed, updated, and manipulated at a very high speed, it is possible to make a very fast response when determining whether or not a seat reservation request can be made.
[0032]
Next, the dynamic seat determination (steps 106 and 109) in FIG. 1 will be described in detail. FIG. 10 shows a detailed procedure for dynamic seat determination. When a vacant seat of the car selected in the assigned car determination is assigned to a reservation request, first, how to use the vacant seat of the car is determined (step 1001). Specifically, as shown by 1101 in FIG. 11, a vacant seat is divided into several sections, and different passengers are assigned to each section. As will be described later, this section division is solved by the GA algorithm (1101 is random). This is because it is explained as the initial solution of GA). Although such a vacant seat division, the data representation is as 1102.
[0033]
Next, a passenger whose seat position has not been determined is assigned to each vacant seat section divided in the seat use section division (step 1002). The specific procedure is also shown in FIG. 12, and the result is shown in FIG. First, all reservations assigned to this car are classified according to the size (≧ 1) of group customers (step 1201). Next, the vacant seats in the car are classified according to the size of the vacant seats that are continuously available (≧ 1 seat) (step 1202). Then, the largest number n having the same size as the group customer and the size of the vacant seat is selected (step 1203).
[0034]
In the case of the selected number n, the number of group groups (number of groups) whose group size is n is compared with the number of vacant seats (number of groups) whose vacant seat size is n (step 1204). If the number of group groups is equal to or less than the number of vacant seat groups, seats having a vacant seat size of n are selected and assigned to all the group groups (step 1205). (This seat selection method is based on the seat selection index, but details will be described later.) Also, if the number of groups is greater than the number of vacant groups, the group size is n for all vacant groups. Is assigned (step 1206).
[0035]
Such an operation is assigned to the smallest group in which the group size and the vacant seat size are equal (steps 1207 and 1208). Next, the largest group is selected (step 1209), a vacant seat larger than the selected group is searched, and if it exists, assignment is executed (step 1210). (Naturally, the selected vacant seat is larger than the selected organization, and the vacant seat will remain after the assignment. Therefore, the vacant seat is updated as a new vacant seat.) Such an operation is performed up to the smallest organization (step 1211). 1212), for the remaining group, the seats are allocated by distributing the customers (step 1213).
[0036]
Note that although there is a method of selecting vacant seats, when a plurality of vacant seats of the same scale exist, the vacant seat evaluation value shown in FIG. 14 is used. The evaluation value of a seat that is vacant in a section is based on the vacant seat size to which the seat belongs in the section. Referring to the example of FIG. 14, the vacant seat evaluation value of the section [A station, C station] (vacant seat scale 7) at the end seat is [A station, B station] vacant seat scale 7, [B station, Since C station] vacant seat size 17, (7 + 17) / 7 ([vacant seat size of [A station, C station]) = 3.43. By assigning from the seats with the lowest vacant seat evaluation value obtained in this way, the output solution becomes a group of vacant seats.
[0037]
The solution obtained as a result of steps 1001 and 1002 in FIG. 10 is not necessarily assigned to all groups. Therefore, the solution will be improved. Before that, an evaluation method for the output solution will be described. FIG. 15 shows a specific evaluation index of the solution. In this evaluation index, there should be no groups / customers that could not be assigned to the output solution (1505), group customers should be placed together (1502), and vacant seats existed together. It is better (1503). An evaluation value for the output solution is determined using these evaluation indexes.
[0038]
As described above, a plurality of solutions are simultaneously generated in the same manner as one solution output through steps 1001 to 1003 in FIG. 10, and an evaluation value of the solution is determined for each. Based on the evaluation value, the seat usage category is evaluated, and the GA is used to search for a solution for the seat usage category. Finally, when a solution that satisfies a certain criterion is output, the solution search is terminated and the dynamic seat reservation is completed.
[0039]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, it is possible to assign seats for passengers who want to make a seat reservation for a group immediately before using a transportation facility.
[0040]
Further, according to the present invention, as such only train if No. car number at the time of booking, by telling the reservation customers leave roughly determine the seat position, to induce a reservation customers to transport riding position of purpose Therefore, there is no need to determine a detailed seat position until immediately before departure, and as a result, the seat position can be optimized until immediately before departure.
[0041]
Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to determine whether or not there is a seat that satisfies the reservation request even when there are already some reservations whose seat positions are not determined. As a result, the responsiveness of the reservation terminal is improved, and the reservation processing time can be shortened.
[0042]
Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to notify the reservation person that the seat position has been determined and to inform each reservation customer of the seat position.
[0043]
Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the number of cases where the reservation person selects a method for determining the seat position later is increased, the seat allocation can be more optimized, and as a result, the number of passengers can be increased.
[0044]
Due to the effects of these inventions, seat allocation can be made in consideration of passengers' demands and conveniences compared to conventional seat assignment systems, and since the transportation capacity is increased, it is possible to provide a route with a high profit rate.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a flow of overall processing from a reservation request to boarding in a railway seat reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram for performing overall processing from a reservation request to boarding in a railway seat reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an apparatus configuration diagram for realizing a reservation request in a railway seat reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is an apparatus configuration diagram for notifying a reservation customer of a seat position in a railway seat reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a method for assigning reserved car number cars in a railway seat reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a process for checking whether a reserved passenger can be assigned to a selected car in the railway seat reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a data format of a vacant seat expression provided for determining at high speed the vacant seat status of each car in the railway seat reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a method for operating a vacant seat expression in a railway seat reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a method for operating a vacant seat expression in a railway seat reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a procedure of a seat assignment method in a railway seat reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a vacant seat division method and a division data representation method in a railway seat reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a procedure for assigning reservation customers to divided vacant seats in the railway seat reservation system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example in which reserved customers are assigned to divided vacant seats in a railway seat reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a specific example of a method for determining the priority of vacant seat use in the railway seat reservation system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a specific example of an evaluation index for a vacant seat assignment solution in a railway seat reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
101 ... Reservation request received, 102 ... Assigned car decision, 103 ... Reserved seats,
106: Dynamic seat determination 107: Simple seat determination

Claims (3)

In a seat assignment system that reserves seats for transportation in response to a reservation request from a user,
A calculator,
A reservation terminal for communicating with the computer and for the user to make a reservation request;
Seat position communication means for communicating with the computer and for allowing the user to confirm a seat position;
Means for notifying a section of a vehicle of transportation as a seat position candidate when the user makes a reservation request, and determining a seat position from within the section a predetermined time before the start of provision of transportation; Prepared,
For the sections of traffic provided, define the number of seats that are vacant only in each section as the number of seats in the section,
The reservation terminal comprises means for transmitting the reservation request including a section and the number of seats to the computer,
The calculator is
Based on the reservation request, from each section of the vehicle, a section selecting means for selecting a section with the least number of users who terminate use at the end point of the section where the reservation is requested,
Based on the reservation request, the number of seats comparing means for comparing the number of vacant seats in the section requested for reservation with the number of seats requested for reservation in the section selected by the section selecting means;
If the requested number of seats is less than or equal to the available number of seats as a result of the seat number comparing means, the requested number of seats is subtracted from the number of available seats in the section of the section for which the reservation is requested. If the requested number of seats is greater than the number of vacant seats, the number of vacant seats is subtracted from the requested number of seats to obtain a new requested number of seats, and the number of vacant seats is set to zero. When the number of vacant seats in the section is compared with the new number of required seats for a section longer than the section including the determined section, and the new required number of seats is equal to or less than the number of vacant seats, the number of vacant seats And the number of vacant seats update means for adding a new requested seat number to the number of vacant seats for a section other than the requested section among sections for which the new requested seat number is compared; ,
Means for transmitting the reservation ID and the section uniquely corresponding to the reservation request to the reservation terminal when it is determined that the reservation is possible after the processing of the vacant seat number update means;
Means for allocating a number of seats corresponding to the reservation request from within the section and transmitting a seat position to the seat position contact means a predetermined time before the start of provision of transportation,
The seat designation system outputs the seat position when the reservation ID is inputted after the seat position is received after the seat position is received. In the seat assignment system according to claim 1,
The calculator is
Each reservation assigned to the section is classified for each required number of seats and a set of consecutive vacant seats in the section for each required number of seats before a predetermined time from the start of the provision of transportation. A selection means for selecting a value with the same number of seats;
A comparison means for comparing the number of reservations in which the required number of seats is a value selected by the selection means and the number of sets of vacant seats in which the number of consecutive vacant seats is a value selected by the selection means;
As a result of the comparison means, if the number of reservations is less than or equal to the number of vacant seat pairs, a vacant seat is assigned to each reservation, and if the number of reservations is greater than the number of vacant seat pairs, Means for assigning said reservation to a set of
After repeating the selection means, the comparing means, and the assigning means, the reservation and the vacant seat set in which the required number of seats is less than the vacant seat number is searched from the reservation and the vacant seat pair that are not subject to assignment processing. Means to
A seat designation system comprising: means for allocating vacant seats corresponding to the requested number of seats from the searched vacant seat set to the reservation searched by the searching means. In the seat assignment system according to claim 1 or 2,
It features a method that determines seat position at the time of reservation and a method that does not determine seat position at the time of reservation. Seat selection system to do.

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