JP6408978B2 - Voting point system, voting point management method, voting point management device, and voting point management program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a voting point system, a voting point management method, a voting point management device, and a voting point management program.

  In recent years, in public competitions such as horse racing, boat racing, bicycle racing, auto racing, etc., as a service to users, voting points are given when a registered user performs a vote, and the accumulated points are exchanged for gifts etc. A voting point system has been introduced. In the conventional voting point system, a point service is provided by a point server installed for each place. For example, a user who has previously registered as a member and obtained a membership card is given voting points according to the contents of the vote by using the membership card when voting at a voting terminal.

  In a totalizer system that releases and refunds public ballots, the specifications of the interface and control method between the voting terminal and the host computer differ from industry to industry. For this reason, it was not possible to purchase voting tickets of different industries with one voting terminal device. Thus, for example, a system has been proposed in which a common center or communication device is provided for each type of business, and a multi-voting terminal is connected to a host computer of any business type via the common center or communication device. However, voting points, one of the services, were managed for each industry.

JP 2005-258527 A JP 2012-141771 A

  The voting points provided as a service to members vary depending on the type of industry, such as the conditions for granting points and the point grant rate. However, if the voting point system is introduced for each industry, the user must manage the voting points for each industry, which is inconvenient.

  In addition, when an incorrect vote is made, the wrongly purchased vote is cancelled. At this time, it is also necessary to subtract the voting points given at the time of voting. In the following, the process associated with canceling a wrong purchase vote is referred to as a subtraction process. The subtraction process is generally performed using a dedicated manned machine provided for each industry. A user who desires a subtraction process must go to a dedicated manned machine in the target industry, which is inconvenient. In general, users tend to vote immediately before the start of a competition, and in many cases, the period during which subtraction processing can be performed is limited in the case of erroneous purchase. If it is necessary to go to the dedicated manned machine for the subtraction process, there is a risk that a subtraction opportunity will be missed if an incorrect purchase is made.

  On the other hand, there is a problem for the operation side that provides point services in each industry, that it requires capital investment such as a dedicated point server for managing voting points and a dedicated manned machine for subtraction processing. .

  In one aspect, the present invention provides a voting point system that manages voting points in different industries, thereby improving user convenience.

  In one aspect, a voting point system having a host computer, a terminal device, and a voting point management device is provided. A host computer is provided for each public competition industry. The terminal device generates a message according to the user's operation. The voting point management device includes a point management information storage unit, a host communication unit, and a member point management unit. The point management information storage unit stores point management information for recording the voting points held by the members for each type of business in association with the member identification information. The host communication unit receives from the terminal device a subtraction request that includes a subtraction request for canceling a voting mistakenly purchased by the user and the member identification information of the user, and specifies the target industry of the request destination based on the subtraction message. Send a subtraction message to the host computer in the target industry. The member point management unit calculates a subtraction point based on the subtraction message, and subtracts the subtraction point from the voting point of the user of the point management information.

In one aspect, a voting point management method executed by a computer is provided.
In one aspect, a voting point management apparatus having a point management information storage unit, a host communication unit, and a member point management unit is provided.

  Moreover, in one aspect, a voting point management program that causes a computer to execute the following processing is provided.

  According to one aspect, voting point subtraction processing for an arbitrary industry can be executed by a common terminal device. This eliminates the need for the user to operate a dedicated terminal for each type of business, and can easily perform the subtraction process. In addition, since the voting point management device updates the voting points in real time, the user can know the voting points held at any time. In this way, it is possible to improve user convenience.

It is a figure which shows the structure of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the totalizer system of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of a terminal and center communication apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the processing function of a terminal and center communication apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of a member number table. It is a figure which shows an example of the relationship between a terminal and center communication apparatus and the information of a business type host. It is a figure which shows an example of point management information. It is a figure which shows the structure of a message | telegram. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of the data in a login process. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of the data in a point subtraction process. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the login process of a terminal and center communication apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the subtraction process of a terminal and center communication apparatus.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the first embodiment. The voting point system of the first embodiment includes a voting point management device 1, an industry type A host 2 a, an industry type B host 2 b, and a terminal device 3. The voting point management device 1, the business type A host 2a, the business type B host 2b, and the terminal device 3 are connected via a network. Industry A and industry B correspond to different public competitions.

  The voting point management device 1 includes a host communication unit 11, a terminal communication unit 12, a point management information storage unit 13, and a member point management unit 14. The host communication unit 11, the terminal communication unit 12, and the member point management unit 14 are processors such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), for example. However, the host communication unit 11, the terminal communication unit 12, and the member point management unit 14 may include an electronic circuit for a specific application such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The voting point management device 1 may be composed of a plurality of devices.

  The host communication unit 11 controls communication between the business type A host 2a and the business type B host 2b. The host communication unit 11 analyzes the electronic message received from the terminal device 3 and identifies the target business type to which the terminal device 3 requests connection. The business type A host 2a and the business type B host 2b having different types of business have different communication specifications such as a communication interface and a communication control method. For example, the message format used by the industry A host 2a is different from the message format used by the industry B host 2b. For example, the host communication unit 11 identifies a target industry based on a message format that differs for each industry. In addition, when the message includes the target industry, it may be referred to. The host communication unit 11 converts the message received from the terminal device 3 into a message format that matches the specifications of the target industry as necessary, and transmits it to the target industry of the industry A host 2a or the industry B host 2b. When a response is received from the business type A host 2a or the business type B host 2b, the response is transmitted to the requesting terminal device 3 via the terminal communication unit 12.

  The terminal communication unit 12 controls communication with the terminal device 3. The terminal communication unit 12 receives a message from the terminal device 3 and outputs it to the host communication unit 11 and the member point management unit 14. In addition, a message received a transmission instruction from the member point management unit 14 and the host communication unit 11 is transmitted to the terminal device 3.

The point management information storage unit 13 stores point management information 13a in which voting points held by members for each type of business are recorded in association with member identification information.
The member point management unit 14 updates the point management information 13 a based on the message received from the terminal device 3. For example, when the user has voted, the point management unit 14 adds voting points. When the user uses voting points, the voting points for the usage are subtracted. When the user performs an operation for canceling the voting wrongly purchased, the terminal device 3 includes a subtraction request for requesting the voting point management device 1 to cancel the voting purchased by mistake and the member identification information of the user. A subtraction message is sent. The subtraction request includes a subtraction amount for subtraction. The member point management unit 14 calculates a subtraction point based on the subtraction message, and subtracts the subtraction point from the user's voting point recorded in the point management information 13a.

  The industry type A host 2a and the industry type B host 2b are host computers that manage the operation of any of public competitions such as horse racing, boat racing, bicycle racing, and auto racing. Each type of competition is called an industry. In public competitions, host computers are installed for each industry. The host computers for different industries have different communication interfaces and communication control methods.

  The terminal device 3 generates a telegram corresponding to the user's operation and transmits it to the voting point management device 1. The electronic message is generated, for example, at the time of login operation, at the time of voting, at the time of canceling a wrongly purchased vote, and the like.

The operation of such a voting point system will be described using the example of FIG.
The point management information storage unit 13 stores point management information 13a. In the example of the point management information 13a, each of “member” indicating member identification information of a member, “industry A” indicating voting points held in the industry A, and “industry B” indicating voting points held in the industry B Have items. For example, regarding the member “a”, it is recorded that the voting point “1,000” for the industry A and the voting point “20” for the industry B are recorded. Similarly, regarding the member “b”, it is recorded that the voting point “500” for the business type A and the voting point “500” for the business type B are held.

  Here, it is assumed that the member “a” operates the terminal device 3 and requests cancellation of the voting “200 yen” of the business type A that has been purchased incorrectly. The terminal device 3 generates a subtraction message for the industry A including the member identification information “a” and the subtraction amount “200 yen”, and transmits it to the voting point management device 1.

  In the voting point management device 1, the terminal communication unit 12 receives the subtraction message. The host communication unit 11 analyzes the subtraction message, specifies the target industry as industry A, and transmits the subtraction message to the industry A host 2a. The member point management unit 14 extracts the point information of the member “a” based on the member identification information included in the subtraction message. For example, regarding the voting points held by the member “a”, it is extracted that the business type A has “1,000” and the business type B has “20”. The member point management unit 14 calculates a subtraction point corresponding to the subtraction amount based on the subtraction amount “200 yen” included in the subtraction message. For example, if 100 yen = 1 point, the subtraction point “2” is calculated for the subtraction amount “200 yen”. The member point management unit 14 subtracts the subtraction points from the voting points and updates the point management information 13a. For example, the member point management unit 14 subtracts the subtraction point “2” from the voting point “1,000” of the business type A of the member “a” to obtain “998”. The subtraction process may be performed on the voting points of the business type B or may be subtracted from both the business type A and the business type B. The voting points to be subtracted are appropriately determined according to a predetermined rule.

  In such a voting point system, the voting point management device 1 specifies a target industry for subtraction, makes a subtraction request to the host computer of the target industry, and subtracts voting points. Subtraction processing can also be performed from 3. In addition, since the voting point subtraction process is performed simultaneously with the voting cancellation process by the host computer, the voting point can be updated in real time. Thereby, a user's convenience can be improved.

  In addition, the management side of the game can also use the voting point management device 1 that is common between different industries. As a result, it is not necessary to install a point server individually for each type of business, and point services can be easily introduced.

[Second Embodiment]
In the second embodiment, a totalizer system for public competitions including a voting point system will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a totalizer system according to the second embodiment.

  The totalizer system of the second embodiment includes a terminal / center communication device 10, a business type A host 21, a business type B host 22, a business type C host 23, a business type D host 24, and a sales place 30 provided for each type of business. The installed cashless terminals 31 a, 31 b, 31 c, the deposit / withdrawal machine 32 and the subtraction terminal 33 are connected via the network 40. The sales office 30 is one of a plurality of sales offices including the sales offices of the stadiums of the business types A, B, C, and D and the off-site sales sites. In the following description, the host 20 and the cashless terminal 31 are used when there is no need to specify a device. The host 20 is any one of the business type A host 21, the business type host B22, the business type host C23, and the business type D host 24.

  The terminal / center communication apparatus 10 relays a message exchanged between the host 20 and the cashless terminal 31, the deposit / withdrawal machine 32, and the subtraction terminal 33. The terminal / center communication apparatus 10 performs conversion of telegrams and collection of operation information in accordance with communication interfaces and control methods that are different for each type of business. Moreover, it is one Example of the voting point management apparatus which manages a voting point, and when the message regarding a voting point is detected in the message to relay, the management process of a voting point is performed.

  The host 20 manages the sale of voting tickets for each type of business, and tabulates and manages the competition results. It also distributes operational information regarding the content of the competition. The business type A host 21, the business type B host 22, the business type C host 23, and the business type D host 24 individually manage information, and information is not shared between the hosts. The industry A, industry B, industry C, and industry D are, for example, horse racing, boat racing, bicycle racing, and auto.

  The cashless terminal 31 reads the membership number from the membership card held by the user and transmits it to the terminal / center communication device 10. The member number is an example of member identification information for identifying a member. In addition, the voting card is read, and voting information corresponding to the received voting content is transmitted to the terminal / center communication device 10. Cashless voting is performed by exchanging data with the host 20 via the terminal / center communication device 10. The deposit / withdrawal machine 32 reads the membership number from the membership card held by the user and accepts the deposit / withdrawal operation by the member.

  The subtraction terminal 33 is a terminal device that performs an operation for canceling an erroneously purchased vote when the user has voted incorrectly. The subtraction terminal 33 reads the membership number from the membership card held by the user. Further, based on the user's operation, the contents of the vote to be canceled and the subtraction amount to be canceled are detected to generate a subtraction message. The subtraction message includes information for identifying the race that requires subtraction, the subtraction amount, and the user's membership number. The subtraction terminal 33 may be either a manned machine operated by an operator or an unmanned machine operated by a user.

Next, the hardware configuration of the terminal / center communication apparatus 10 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the terminal / center communication apparatus.
The entire terminal / center communication device 10 is controlled by the CPU 101. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 102 and a plurality of peripheral devices are connected to the CPU 101 via a bus 108.

  The RAM 102 is used as a main storage device of the terminal / center communication device 10. The RAM 102 temporarily stores at least part of an OS (Operating System) program and application programs to be executed by the CPU 101. The RAM 102 stores various data necessary for processing by the CPU 101.

  Peripheral devices connected to the bus 108 include a hard disk drive (HDD) 103, a graphic processing device 104, an input interface 105, an optical drive device 106, and a communication interface 107.

  The HDD 103 magnetically writes and reads data to and from the built-in disk. The HDD 103 is used as a secondary storage device of the terminal / center communication device 10. The HDD 103 stores an OS program, application programs, and various data. Note that a semiconductor storage device such as a flash memory can also be used as the secondary storage device.

  A monitor 15 is connected to the graphic processing device 104. The graphic processing device 104 displays an image on the screen of the monitor 15 in accordance with a command from the CPU 101. Examples of the monitor 15 include a display device using a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and a liquid crystal display device.

  A keyboard 16 and a mouse 17 are connected to the input interface 105. The input interface 105 transmits signals sent from the keyboard 16 and the mouse 17 to the CPU 101. The mouse 17 is an example of a pointing device, and other pointing devices can be used. Examples of other pointing devices include a touch panel, a tablet, a touch pad, and a trackball.

  The optical drive device 106 reads data recorded on the optical disk 18 using laser light or the like. The optical disk 18 is a portable recording medium on which data is recorded so that it can be read by reflection of light. The optical disk 18 includes a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a DVD-RAM, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a CD-R (Recordable) / RW (ReWritable), and the like.

  The communication interface 107 is connected to the network 40. The communication interface 107 transmits / receives data to / from other computers or communication devices via the network 40.

  With the hardware configuration as described above, the processing function of the terminal / center communication apparatus 10 can be realized. 3 shows the hardware configuration of the terminal / center communication apparatus 10, the hardware configurations of the host 20, the cashless terminal 31, the deposit / withdrawal machine 32, and the subtraction terminal 33 are the same.

  Next, processing functions of the terminal / center communication apparatus 10 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing processing functions of the terminal / center communication apparatus. Here, the process regarding a voting point is demonstrated among the processing functions which the terminal and center communication apparatus 10 perform.

  The terminal / center communication device 10 includes a host communication unit 110, a terminal communication unit 120, a member management unit 130 having a member information processing unit 131 and a member information storage unit 132, a point processing unit 141, and a point information storage unit 142. And a point management unit 140. The host communication unit 110, the terminal communication unit 120, the member information processing unit 131, and the point processing unit 141 are processors such as the CPU 101, for example. The member information storage unit 132 and the point information storage unit 142 can be realized as a storage area secured in the RAM 102 or the HDD 103, for example.

  The host communication unit 110 communicates with the business type A host 21, the business type B host 22, the business type C host 23, and the business type D host 24. The business type A host 21, the business type B host 22, the business type C host 23, and the business type D host 24 are hosts installed at centers that operate public competitions of the respective types of business, and perform processing such as acceptance of votes and refunds. . The communication control methods are different, for example, the business type A host 21 performs communication using TCP / UDP (Transmission Control Protocol / User Datagram Protocol), and the business type B host 22 performs communication using HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). The host communication unit 110 converts the message received from the cashless terminal 31 or the subtraction terminal 33 according to the specification of the destination host 20 and transmits the converted message. For example, the host communication unit 110 transmits a message to the industry A host 21 by TCP / UDP, and transmits a message to the industry B host 22 by HTTP.

The terminal communication unit 120 communicates with the cashless terminal 31 and the subtraction terminal 33.
Based on the member number table stored in the member information storage unit 132, the member information processing unit 131 identifies the user from the member number read by the cashless terminal 31 and the subtraction terminal 33 from the user's member card. For the identified user, point information such as voting points and point granting conditions held for each type of business is extracted.

  Based on the point management information stored in the point information storage unit 142, the point processing unit 141 manages the voting points that the user holds for each type of business. When the point processing unit 141 receives a voting message requesting a vote from the cashless terminal 31, the point processing unit 141 identifies the target industry based on the voting message, and transmits the voting message to the host 20 of the target industry. When the voting is accepted by the host 20 of the target industry, the grant points corresponding to the vote amount are calculated, and the grant points are added to the user's vote points. In addition, when the point processing unit 141 receives a subtraction message requesting cancellation of a wrongly purchased vote from the subtraction terminal 33, the point processing unit 141 specifies a target industry based on the vote message, and sends a subtraction message to the host 20 of the target industry. Send. When the subtraction is accepted by the host 20 of the target industry, a subtraction point corresponding to the subtraction amount is calculated, and the subtraction point is subtracted from the user's voting point.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the membership number table. In the member number table 1321, a common member number, a business type A member number, a business type B member number, a business type C member number, and a business type D member number held by each member are recorded for each member.

  The common member number is a number assigned by the terminal / center communication device 10. The industry type A membership number is a number given by the user from the industry type A host 21. The business type A host 21 manages the information of this user with the business type A member number. The industry B member number is a number given by the user from the industry B host 22. The industry B host 22 manages the information of this user by the industry B member number. The industry C member number is a number given by the user from the industry C host 23. The industry C host 23 manages the information of this user by the industry C member number. The industry D member number is a number given by the user from the industry D host 24. The industry D host 24 manages the information of this user by the industry D member number.

  Based on the member number table 1321, the member information processing unit 131 can convert the member number written on the member card read by the cashless terminal 31 and the subtracting terminal 33 into a member number of a desired industry. For example, when a nine-digit member number is acquired from the cashless terminal 31 or the subtracting terminal 33, the member is identified by checking with the industry type B member number in the member number table 1321. Based on the membership number table 1321, the member information processing unit 131 can extract information on user points held by the host 20 of each industry.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between the terminal / center communication apparatus and the information on the business type host.
In the example of FIG. 6, the member number table 1321 and the member table 1322 are information stored in the member information storage unit 132 by the terminal / center communication apparatus 10. The member table 1322 is generated when a user registers as a member in the terminal / center communication apparatus 10. In the member table 1322, a common member number assigned by the terminal / center communication device 10 is registered in addition to information such as the name, address, and age of the user who registered the member. In the member number table 1321, as shown in FIG. 5, the industry A member number, the industry B member number, the industry C member number, and the industry D member number are registered in association with the common member number of the user. The membership number assigned for each business type is registered, for example, when the user performs membership registration with the terminal / center communication device 10.

  The business type A member number table 1323 is held by the business type A host 21. In the business type A member number table 1323, information on the business type A member number, member rank, and points is registered. The industry type A membership number is given to the user by the industry type A host 21 when the user registers as a member of the industry type A host 21. The member rank is given, for example, by the industry A host 21 according to the vote amount that the user has voted for the industry A race. The vote point grant rate for the vote amount changes according to the rank, and the higher the rank, the higher the vote point grant rate. The rank is also referred to when the subtraction point is calculated in the subtraction process. The point is the number of points that the user holds in the industry A.

The industry B member number table 1324, the industry C member number table 1325, and the industry D member number table 1326 are the same as the industry A member number table 1323.
Based on the membership number table 1321, the member information processing unit 131 can cope with, for example, a case where the user accesses the subtraction terminal 33 with a business card of the business type A and makes a subtraction request of the business type B. The member information processing unit 131 searches the member number table 1321 based on the user's business type A member number acquired from the subtraction terminal 33, and acquires the user's business type B member number. By requesting the business type B host 22 via the host communication unit 110, the member rank registered in the business type B member number table 1324 can be acquired.

  In the above description, the member rank of the target industry is acquired every time the subtraction point is calculated, but the present invention is not limited to this. The terminal / center communication device 10 may acquire the member rank from the host 20 in advance and register it in the point management information when the device is started up.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of point management information. The point management information in FIG. 7 shows an example in which the member rank is acquired in advance from the host 20 of each industry and registered.
In the point management information 1421, information on points that the member holds in each business type is registered for each member. In the example of FIG. 7, ranks, votes, basic points, extra points, and total points of industry A1422, industry B1423, industry C1424, and industry D1425 are registered in association with members. In the total 1426, a total value of votes, basic points, additional points, and total points of all industries is registered.

  The rank is given to the user by the host 20 of each industry according to the voting amount, for example. In the example of FIG. 7, three ranks of gold, silver, and normal are set in descending order of rank. Gold is the highest rank, and the extra points are set to double. In this example, twice the basic point is an extra point. Silver is the next higher rank than gold, and the extra points are set to 1x. In this example, 1 point of the basic point is an extra point. Normal is the lowest rank and there is no extra point.

  The vote is a cumulative value of the vote amount for a predetermined period. For example, the voting amount used by the user during a predetermined period such as one year or one month is shown. A basic point is a voting point given according to the voting amount. In the example of FIG. 7, 1 point is awarded for a voting amount of 100 yen. The extra points are points given to users according to basic points and ranks. The total point is a point value obtained by adding the basic points and the extra points, and is a value of the voting points held by the user.

  In the point management information 1421 shown in FIG. 7, ranks are given for each type of industry, but a common rank may be given for each type of industry. For example, the voting amounts for each industry are added together, and a common rank is set based on the entire voting amount. In this case as well, the extra points are calculated based on the common rank as with the individual ranks.

Next, messages received from the cashless terminal 31 and the subtraction terminal 33 will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of a message.
The telegram 111 has a header part 111a and a data part 111b. The size of the header part 111a varies depending on the type of business. In the example of FIG. 8, industry A is 30 bytes, industry B is 28 bytes, industry C is 32 bytes, and industry D is 18 bytes.

  The host communication unit 110 can identify the target business by analyzing the electronic message and determine the host 20 as the transmission destination. For example, if the size of the header part 111a of the received electronic message 111 is 30 bytes, the business type A is the target business type, and the business type A host 21 is the transmission destination. Similarly, the point processing unit 141 can specify a target industry for which point processing is performed.

Next, the processing flow of each part of the totalizer system when canceling an erroneously purchased vote will be described.
FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating a data flow in the login process. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating processing between devices when a user logs in by operating the subtraction terminal 33 and data exchanged between the devices.

  The subtraction terminal 33 reads the membership number written on the membership card presented by the user. The subtraction terminal 33 connects to the terminal / center communication device 10 and transmits a log-in request message to which the read member number is added (401).

  In the terminal / center communication apparatus 10, the terminal communication unit 120 receives a log-in request message. The terminal communication unit 120 sends the received login request message to the member management unit 130 (402).

  The member management unit 130 collates the member number added to the received log-in request message with the member number registered in the member number table 1321, and outputs the collation result to the terminal communication unit 120 (403). When a matching member number is detected by the collation, the member management unit 130 identifies the corresponding member and outputs a collation result such as “has a member number” or “login permitted”. In addition, when a matching member number is not detected by collation, the member management unit 130 outputs a collation result such as “no member number” or “login not possible”.

The terminal communication unit 120 transmits the collation result received from the member management unit 130 to the requesting subtraction terminal 33 (404).
The subtraction terminal 33 receives the collation result transmitted from the terminal communication unit 120. When the subtraction terminal 33 determines that login is possible based on the collation result, the subtraction terminal 33 transmits an inquiry message for inquiring about voting points held by the user (Pt inquiry in FIG. 9) to the terminal / center communication device 10 (405). ). If the subtraction terminal 33 determines that login is not possible based on the collation result, the subtraction terminal 33 notifies the user that login is impossible, and ends the process. FIG. 9 shows the flow of point inquiry processing executed when login is possible.

In the terminal / center communication apparatus 10, the terminal communication unit 120 receives the inquiry message, and outputs the inquiry message to the point management unit 140 (406).
The point management unit 140 extracts, from the point management information 1421, the member point information specified based on the member number acquired from the login request message. The point management unit 140 outputs the extracted point information (Pt information in FIG. 9) to the terminal communication unit 120 (407).

The terminal communication unit 120 transmits the point information acquired from the point management unit 140 to the subtraction terminal 33 (408).
The subtraction terminal 33 receives the point information, and displays the status of the voting points held by the user based on the point information, for example, on a display screen.

  FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing a data flow in the point subtraction process. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating processing between the devices when the subtraction terminal 33 issues a request for canceling the voting for the business category A, and data exchanged between the devices.

  The user operates the subtraction terminal 33 to specify the race to be subtracted and the voting amount to be subtracted. In the example of FIG. 10, a subtraction process is performed to cancel 1,000 yen worth of voting for the race of industry A that has been purchased incorrectly.

  The subtraction terminal 33 generates a subtraction message including the subtraction amount (1,000 yen) and the membership number based on the user's operation, and transmits it to the terminal / center communication device 10 (411). Note that the header of the subtraction message is in the format of business type A.

In the terminal / center communication device 10, the terminal communication unit 120 receives the subtraction message. The terminal communication unit 120 sends the received subtraction message to the host communication unit 110 (412).
The host communication unit 110 analyzes the header part of the received subtraction message, and determines that the message is for business type A. The host communication unit 110 transmits the received subtraction message to the industry A host 21 in accordance with the industry A communication control method (413).

  The business type A host 21 receives the subtraction message and determines whether or not the instructed subtraction is possible. The business type A host 21 transmits the determination result to the terminal / center communication apparatus 10 (414).

The host communication unit 110 transmits the determination result received from the business type A host 21 to the terminal communication unit 120 (415).
The terminal communication unit 120 transmits the determination result acquired from the host communication unit 110 to the subtraction terminal 33 (416). The terminal communication unit 120 stores the determination result.

  The subtraction terminal 33 receives the determination result and performs processing according to the determination result. FIG. 10 shows a case where the determination result can be subtracted. When the determination result is subtractable, the subtraction message is transmitted again to the terminal / center communication device 10 (417). Note that when the determination result indicates that the subtraction is not possible, the subtraction terminal 33 notifies the user that the subtraction is not possible and ends the process.

  In the terminal / center communication apparatus 10, the terminal communication unit 120 receives the subtraction message again. Since the determination result can be subtracted, the terminal communication unit 120 sends the received subtraction message to the point management unit 140 (418). At this time, the electronic message is analyzed to identify the business type, and the specified business type is notified to the point management unit 140. The point management unit 140 may specify the type of business.

  The point management unit 140 calculates a subtraction point based on the subtraction amount included in the subtraction message. For example, the point management unit 140 reads the rank of the user from the point management information 1421 based on the target business type and the membership number. The point management unit 140 calculates a subtraction basic point corresponding to the subtraction amount and a subtraction premium point based on the subtraction amount and the rank. The point management unit 140 subtracts the subtraction basic points corresponding to the subtraction amount from the basic points registered in the point information corresponding to the user of the point management information 1421 to update the basic points. Similarly, the subtraction premium point corresponding to the subtraction amount is subtracted from the premium point, and the premium point is updated. The point management unit 140 further calculates the total of updated basic points and additional points, and updates the total points. After completing the subtraction of the voting points, the point management unit 140 outputs a message indicating the completion of the subtraction to the terminal communication unit 120 (419).

The terminal communication unit 120 transmits completion of subtraction to the subtraction terminal 33 that has made the request (420).
When the subtraction terminal 33 obtains the subtraction completion message, the subtraction terminal 33 notifies the user that the subtraction has been completed, and ends the process.

Next, processing of the terminal / center communication apparatus 10 will be described.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the login process of the terminal / center communication apparatus. Processing is started upon receipt of a login request message.

[Step S01] The terminal communication unit 120 acquires the user's membership number from the log-in request message received from the subtraction terminal 33.
[Step S02] The member management unit 130 compares the acquired member number with the member number table 1321, and searches for a matching member number.

  [Step S03] The member management unit 130 determines whether or not the acquired member number is registered in the member number table 1321. When the member management unit 130 is registered, the member management unit 130 proceeds with the process to step S04. If it is not registered, the process proceeds to step S08.

[Step S04] The member management unit 130 transmits a log-in permission message to the subtraction terminal 33 via the terminal communication unit 120.
[Step S05] The terminal communication unit 120 determines whether or not a point inquiry message has been received from the subtraction terminal 33. When the terminal communication unit 120 receives the point inquiry message, the process proceeds to step S06. If the point inquiry message has not been received, wait for reception.

[Step S06] The point management unit 140 reads the member point information corresponding to the member number from the point management information 1421.
[Step S07] The point management unit 140 transmits the read member point information to the subtraction terminal 33 via the terminal communication unit 120, and ends the process.

[Step S08] The member management unit 130 transmits login failure to the subtraction terminal 33 via the terminal communication unit 120, and ends the process.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a procedure of subtraction processing of the terminal / center communication apparatus.

A subtraction message is received from the subtraction terminal 33 and processing is started.
[Step S11] The terminal communication unit 120 receives the subtraction message and sends it to the host communication unit 110.

  [Step S12] The host communication unit 110 analyzes the acquired subtraction message and identifies the transmission destination industry. The message transmitted to the host 20 of each industry has different header sizes depending on the industry. The host communication unit 110 checks the size of the header part and identifies the transmission destination of the message.

[Step S13] The host communication unit 110 transmits the subtraction message to the host 20 of the specified destination industry.
[Step S14] The host communication unit 110 receives a response from the host that has transmitted the subtraction message, and determines whether or not the received response is subtraction permitted. The host communication unit 110 proceeds with the process to step S15 when the response is permitted to subtract, and proceeds with the process to step S20 when not permitted to subtract.

[Step S15] Upon receiving the subtraction permission response from the host communication unit 110, the terminal communication unit 120 transmits a subtraction permission message to the subtraction terminal 33 that has transmitted the subtraction message.
[Step S16] The terminal communication unit 120 receives the subtraction message again from the subtraction terminal 33. The terminal communication unit 120 sends the received subtraction message to the point management unit 140.

  [Step S17] The point management unit 140 extracts the member number and subtraction amount of the user from the subtraction message, specifies the target industry, and calculates the subtraction points. The point management unit 140 identifies the target industry by the size of the header part of the subtraction message. The point management unit 140 searches the point management information 1421 based on the target industry and the membership number, and extracts the rank of the user in the target industry. The point management unit 140 calculates a subtraction basic point based on the subtraction amount, and calculates a subtraction premium point based on the subtraction basic point and the rank.

  [Step S18] The point management unit 140 updates the point management information 1421 by subtracting the subtraction basic point and the subtraction extra point from the basic point and the extra point held by the user.

  [Step S19] Upon receiving completion of the subtraction process from the point management unit 140, the terminal communication unit 120 transmits a subtraction completion message to the subtraction terminal 33 that has transmitted the subtraction message, and ends the process.

[Step S20] Upon receiving a non-subtractable response from the host communication unit 110, the terminal communication unit 120 transmits a non-subtractable message to the subtraction terminal 33 that has transmitted the subtraction message, and ends the process.
According to the above processing procedure, the terminal / center communication device 10 performs the voting according to the subtraction message when performing relay processing for relaying the subtraction message performed by the user operating the subtraction terminal 33 to the host 20 of the target industry. Subtract points. Since the terminal / center communication device 10 analyzes the message to identify the target industry, the subtraction terminal 33 can request subtraction processing for an arbitrary industry. In addition, voting points can be updated in real time upon receiving subtraction permission from the host 20 of the target industry.

  As described above, according to the terminal / center communication apparatus 10, a request can be made from any subtraction terminal 33, and the subtraction is immediately reflected in the voting points, so that the convenience for the user can be improved.

  Moreover, since it is not necessary for the operating side providing the point service to provide an individual subtraction terminal and a voting point management device for each business type, the service can be easily provided.

  The above processing functions can be realized by a computer. In that case, a program describing the processing contents of the function that the voting point management apparatus should have is provided. By executing the program on a computer, the above processing functions are realized on the computer. The program describing the processing contents can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include a magnetic storage device, an optical disk, a magneto-optical recording medium, and a semiconductor memory. Magnetic storage devices include HDDs, flexible disks (FD), and magnetic tapes. Optical discs include DVD, DVD-RAM, CD-ROM / RW, and the like. Magneto-optical recording media include MO (Magneto-Optical disk).

  When distributing the program, for example, a portable recording medium such as a DVD or a CD-ROM in which the program is recorded is sold. It is also possible to store the program in a storage device of a server computer and transfer the program from the server computer to another computer via a network.

  The computer that executes the program stores, for example, the program recorded on the portable recording medium or the program transferred from the server computer in its own storage device. Then, the computer reads the program from its own storage device and executes processing according to the program. The computer can also read the program directly from the portable recording medium and execute processing according to the program. In addition, each time a program is transferred from a server computer connected via a network, the computer can sequentially execute processing according to the received program.

  Further, at least a part of the above processing functions can be realized by an electronic circuit such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an ASIC, or a PLD (Programmable Logic Device).

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the components without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, all the constituent elements shown in the embodiment may be appropriately combined. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined. Various modifications and applications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vote point management apparatus 2a Industry A host 2b Industry B host 3 Terminal device 11 Host communication part 12 Terminal communication part 13 Point management information storage part 13a Point management information 14 Member point management part

Claims (8)

A host computer set up for each type of public competition,
A terminal device that generates a message according to the user's operation;
A point management information storage unit for storing point management information for recording the voting points held by each member for each type of business in association with the member identification information, a subtraction request for requesting cancellation of the voting mistakenly purchased by the user, and the use A host communication unit that receives a subtraction message including member identification information of a person from the terminal device, specifies a target business type of a request destination based on the subtraction message, and transmits the subtraction message to a host computer of the target business type; A voting point management device comprising: a member point management unit that calculates a subtraction point based on the subtraction message and subtracts the subtraction point from the voting point of the user of the point management information;
A voting point system. The member point management unit reads the subtraction amount set in the subtraction message, and the subtraction points according to the subtraction amount based on the point grant rate for the voting amount set according to the target industry and the member To calculate,
The voting point system according to claim 1. The host communication unit receives a result of determination of whether or not subtraction processing based on the subtraction message is possible from the host computer,
The member point management unit subtracts the voting points of the user when subtraction processing is possible based on the result of the determination of availability.
The voting point system according to claim 1 or 2. The host communication unit, when transmitting a message received from the terminal device to a host computer of the target industry, converts the message into a format that can be received by the host computer of the target industry, and transmits.
The voting point system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. In the subtraction message, the header part is different for each industry, and the host communication part analyzes the header part to identify the target industry.
The voting point system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A host computer provided for each type of public competition, a terminal device that generates a telegram according to the user's operation, and a voting point management device to be connected,
Receiving a subtraction message including a subtraction request for requesting cancellation of a vote erroneously purchased by the user and member identification information of the user from the terminal device;
Based on the subtraction message, specify the target industry of the request destination and send the subtraction message to the host computer of the target industry,
Based on the member identification information included in the subtraction message, from the point management information storage unit that stores the point management information that records the voting points that the member holds for each type of business in association with the member identification information, the user Voting points for
Calculating a subtraction point based on the subtraction message, and subtracting the subtraction point from the voting point of the user;
Voting point management method. A point management information storage unit for storing point management information for recording the voting points held by each member for each type of business in association with the member identification information;
A subtraction request for requesting cancellation of a vote mistakenly purchased by the user and a member computer connected to a host computer provided for each type of public sports industry and a terminal device that generates a message according to the user's operation A host communication unit that receives a subtraction message including identification information from the terminal device, specifies a target business type of a request destination based on the subtraction message, and transmits the subtraction message to a host computer of the target business type;
A member point management unit that calculates a subtraction point based on the subtraction message and subtracts the subtraction point from the voting point of the user of the point management information;
A voting point management device. On the computer,
A subtraction request for requesting cancellation of a vote mistakenly purchased by the user and a member computer connected to a host computer provided for each type of public sports industry and a terminal device that generates a message according to the user's operation A subtraction message including identification information is received from the terminal device,
Based on the subtraction message, specify the target industry of the request destination and send the subtraction message to the host computer of the target industry,
From the point management information storage unit that stores the point management information that records the voting points that the member holds for each type of business in association with the member identification information, based on the member identification information included in the subtraction message, the user's Extract voting points,
Calculating a subtraction point based on the subtraction message, and subtracting the subtraction point from the voting point of the user;
A voting point management program that executes processing.

Images