JP7430048B2 - Seat reservation system, seat reservation method, and seat reservation program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a seat reservation system, a seat reservation method, and a seat reservation program.

Conventionally, for example, in the train seat reservation system described in Patent Document 1 below, it is possible to easily find a seat that meets your conditions from among the desired train seat conditions that come with a wide variety of conditions. A system is provided to help you search without incurring any costs.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-18369

However, the system described in Patent Document 1 does not take into account the actual individual circumstances surrounding the seat for which the user wishes to reserve.

In general, in means of transportation such as trains, buses, and airplanes, in order to improve transportation efficiency, there is not much space between seats in the front, back, left, and right directions. You can use more legroom and use the armrests freely.

In that case, you can freely go to the toilet without worrying about the passengers sitting next to you, or you can take a nap, stop reading, work on a computer, etc., and change your posture to create space for the passengers sitting next to you to go out into the aisle. There's no need to change it.

On the other hand, means of transportation are usually not always full, and the crowding of passengers generally varies depending on the season, day of the week, time of day, or section.

To provide a seat reservation system capable of providing a more comfortable seating space to users.

In the first aspect of the seat reservation system of the present invention, a terminal (for example, an automatic ticket issuing machine terminal 33a, a station counter terminal 33b, a user terminal 33c, to be described later) connected by a network (for example, a network 39 to be described later) and a server (for example, , seat reservation servers 31a, 31e) to be described later, transports users through multiple sections from the starting point to the final destination, and carries adjacent seat groups (e.g., A seat reservation system for a moving vehicle equipped with a plurality of seats (e.g., a seat group consisting of three seats in columns x, y, and z in the same row, and a seat group consisting of two seats in columns a and b in the same row, described below) system 29), the terminal displays information about the moving vehicle (e.g., train number, starting and ending station information, stop station information, departure time from the station, etc.) to the user, and the terminal The server has a display operation unit (for example, a display device 41 and an input device 43 described later) that are operated to enter a ride section and reserve a seat, and the server can check whether or not each seat is reserved for each section. A reservation information storage unit (for example, the reservation information storage unit 87 described later) that stores reservation information shown in FIG. etc.) (for example, the operation information storage section 89 that stores the section required time table described later), and when the user inputs the riding section (for example, S1 of FIG. 14 described later). When the process is performed), a vacant seat extraction unit (for example, the reservation information extraction unit 81 described later) extracts vacant seats based on the information stored in the reservation information storage unit, and a vacant seat extraction unit (for example, the reservation information extraction unit 81 described later) When a section is input (for example, when the determination in S4 of FIG. 14 described later is "YES"), the seat next to the vacant seat extracted by the vacant seat extraction unit based on the boarding section, reservation information, and travel time value. Based on the calculation result of the adjacent seat time value calculation unit (e.g., the adjacent seat time value calculation unit 83 described below) that calculates the adjacent seat time value (for example, the adjacent seat time described below) regarding the time when the is reserved, It is characterized by having a reserved seat determining section (for example, an automatic seat selecting section 85 described later) that determines a reserved seat from the vacant seats extracted by the vacant seat extracting section.

In the second aspect of the seat reservation system of the present invention, the travel time value is the travel time of each of the plurality of sections (for example, information stored in the section required time table described below) or the travel distance (for example, the information stored in the section required time table described below). (information stored in a distance table), or the same numerical value (for example, 1) assigned to each of a plurality of sections.

In the third aspect of the seat reservation system of the present invention, the vacant seat extracting unit generates an adjacent seat group in which three seats are arranged next to each other (for example, a seat group consisting of three seats in the x, y, and z columns of the same row, which will be described later). ), if the middle seat (for example, the seat in column y described below) is extracted as a vacant seat, the adjacent seat time value calculation unit extracts the two seats at both ends of the adjacent seat group (for example, The seats in rows x and y (described later) are regarded as adjacent seats, two adjacent seat time values are calculated, and the sum of these values is calculated as the adjacent seat time value for the empty seat (for example, S6 in FIG. 14 described later). processing).

In the fourth aspect of the seat reservation system of the present invention, when the vacant seat extracting unit extracts as a vacant seat the middle seat among three seats included in an adjacent seat group in which three seats are arranged next to each other, the adjacent seat time The value calculation unit calculates an adjacent seat time value regarding a time when two seats at both ends of the adjacent seat group are reserved at the same time, or a time when at least one of the two seats is reserved. do.

In the fifth aspect of the seat reservation system of the present invention, when the user specifies a seat at a predetermined position in the adjacent seat group through the display operation unit (for example, the determination in S21 of FIG. 15 described later is "NO") ), the reserved seat determination unit determines the reserved seat based on the designation (for example, performs the process of S26 or S27 in FIG. 15, which will be described later).

A sixth aspect of the seat reservation system of the present invention is characterized in that the reserved seat determination unit determines as the reserved seat the vacant seat with the shortest adjacent seat time value calculated by the adjacent seat time value calculation unit.

A seventh aspect of the seat reservation system of the present invention is characterized in that the reserved seat determination unit determines as the reserved seat the vacant seat with the longest adjacent seat time value calculated by the adjacent seat time value calculation unit.

In the eighth aspect of the seat reservation system of the present invention, the reserved seat determination unit is configured to determine, when one of two seats at both ends of three seats included in an adjacent seat group in which three seats are arranged next to each other, is vacant. , the middle seat among three seats included in an adjacent seat group in which three seats are arranged next to each other is not determined as a reserved seat (for example, the determination is made based on the designation in S22 of FIG. 15, which will be described later). do.

In the seat reservation method of the present invention, a terminal connected to a network and having a display operation section that displays information about a moving vehicle to a user and is operated by the user to input a riding section and reserve a seat; A seat reservation method in a seat reservation system for a moving vehicle that transports users over multiple sections from a departure point to a destination, and that has a plurality of adjoining seat groups in which two or more seats are arranged next to each other. The server includes a reservation information storage unit that stores reservation information indicating whether or not each seat is reserved for each of the plurality of sections, and a section that stores travel time values related to movement of the moving vehicle for each of the plurality of sections. and a travel time value storage section, and when the user inputs a travel section spanning two or more sections, the vacant seat extraction process is performed by the server based on the relevant travel section, reservation information, and travel time value. A reservation process in which a reserved seat is determined from the vacant seats extracted by the vacant seat extraction process based on the calculation results of the neighboring seat time value calculation process and the neighboring seat time value calculation process that calculates the neighboring seat time value regarding the time when the seat next to the vacant seat that has been reserved has been reserved. The method is characterized by comprising a seat determining step.

In the seat reservation program of the present invention, a computer functions as a server in the seat reservation system of the first to eighth aspects of the seat reservation system.

In the seat reservation system of the present invention, the adjacent seat time value calculation unit calculates the adjacent seat time value regarding the time when the seat adjacent to the vacant seat extracted by the vacant seat extraction unit is reserved. The reserved seat determination section determines a reserved seat from the vacant seats extracted by the vacant seat extraction section based on the calculation result of the adjacent seat time value calculation section. Since the adjacent seat time value is one of the indicators that influences the comfort of the user, it becomes possible to provide the user with a more comfortable seating space.

1 is an information screen for each car of the vehicle formation according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of the seat selection screen according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a seat selection screen according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a seat reservation system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configurations of an automatic ticket issuing machine terminal, a station counter terminal, and a user terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing details of an automatic ticket issuing machine terminal, a station counter terminal, and a user terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a seat reservation server according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing details of a seat reservation server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a reservation information table for car No. 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a reservation information table for car No. 5 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a section required time table according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a time information table for car No. 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a time information table of car No. 5 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart showing the operation of the terminal and seat reservation server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of automatic seat selection processing by the seat reservation server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of a seat selection screen according to a second embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of a seat selection screen according to a second embodiment of the present invention. It is a time information table of the 1st car based on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a time information table of car No. 5 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. It is a car number information screen according to a third embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of a seat selection screen according to a third embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of a seat selection screen according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing details of a seat reservation server according to a third embodiment of the present invention. It is a priority order determination table for car No. 1 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. It is a priority order determination table for car No. 5 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. It is a flow chart which shows operation of a terminal and a seat reservation server concerning a 3rd embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the priority determination process by the seat reservation server based on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a car number information screen according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of a seat selection screen according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of a seat selection screen according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. It is a seat selection screen according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. It is a seat selection screen according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. It is a seat selection screen according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. It is a section distance table concerning an 8th embodiment of the present invention. It is a distance information table according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention. It is a section number information table according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiments of the seat reservation system and the like disclosed in the present application will be described below. The following description of each embodiment and each figure do not limit the present invention, but merely show an example. The following embodiments can be combined in part or in whole as appropriate within the scope and consistency of the technical idea of the present invention.

In the following description, descriptions of embodiments that will be described later that overlap with the previously described embodiments will be omitted, and the same or similar configurations and processes will be given the same reference numerals and the descriptions that will be given later will be omitted.

The seat reservation system 29 (the configuration of the system will be described later with reference to FIG. 4), which is used by users of transportation means operated by public transportation to reserve seats on the transportation means, will be explained below. . In the following description, a vehicle train running on a track will be exemplified as a means of transportation, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be an automobile, an airplane, a ship, or the like.

<First embodiment>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIGS. 1 to 15.

FIG. 1 shows each car number information screen 1a of a vehicle formation. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which each car information screen 1a is displayed on a display equipped with a touch panel. Further, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the vehicle formation consists of cars No. 1 to No. 5, but it is also possible to connect only car No. 1 or cars no. 6 or more. Each car information screen 1a displays an automatic ticket issuing machine terminal 33a, a station counter terminal 33b, This screen is displayed on the user terminal 33c (hereinafter collectively referred to as "terminal") and displays information for each car number of the train.

At the top of each car information screen 1a, the train operating date, train name, number of people making reservations, and seat selection conditions for the boarding section, including the boarding station and the alighting station, are displayed, which are input by the user making the seat selection. In the car information display area 3a, the number of vacant seats and the minimum adjoining seat time for each of cars 1 to 5 at the start of the operation for selecting a designated seat are displayed. The user can select a car by referring to this minimum adjoining seat time value.

The adjacent seat time refers to the time during which an empty seat next to the user is reserved, that is, the time when there is a passenger in the next seat in the passenger's boarding section. The minimum adjoining seat time refers to the minimum adjoining time of vacant seats in each car. Note that if the vacancy rate of the train is not 60% or less, the minimum adjoining seat time is not displayed. The vacancy rate is the percentage of seats that are vacant in all sections of the boarding section of a user among all seats in all vehicles, and for example, 60% is one example thereof.

At the bottom of each car information screen 1a, there are provided buttons 5a to 5e for "view car 1" to "view car 5". These buttons 5a to 5e can be operated by touch, and by performing a touch operation, seat selection screens 7a and 7b, which will be described later, can be displayed for the corresponding car number. If you touch the "View Car No. 1" button 5a, a seat selection screen 7a shown in FIG. 2 (described later) will be displayed, and if you touch the "View Car 5" button 5e, a seat selection screen 7b shown in FIG. 3 (described later) will be displayed. be done.

2 and 3 show seat selection screens 7a and 7b. FIG. 2 shows the seat selection screen 7a when car No. 1 is selected, and FIG. 3 shows the seat selection screen 7b when car No. 5 is selected. These seat selection screens 7a and 7b are provided with seat designation selection areas 9a and 9b and an automatic seat selection area 11.

The seat selection selection areas 9a and 9b are areas for users to select their own seats while checking whether seats in each vehicle are reserved or not. The automatic seat selection area 11 is an area for allowing the user to automatically select a seat. When the seat selection conditions are the same, on the seat selection screens 7a and 7b displayed on the terminals 33a to 33c, the display contents of the seat selection selection areas 9a and 9b differ depending on the seat reservation status of the selected car, and the seat selection is automatically performed. The display contents of area 11 will be the same.

The seat designation selection areas 9a, 9b are provided with a "previous car" button 13, a "next car" button 15, and seat touch selection areas 17a, 17b. By touching the "previous car number" button 13 and the "next car number" button 15, the information in the seat touch selection areas 17a, 17b is updated to the information of the previous car number and the next car number.

In the seat touch selection areas 17a and 17b, the arrangement of each seat in the vehicle is displayed, seats 19 that have already been reserved are displayed in gray, and vacant seats 21 that can be reserved are displayed in white with a frame. . For the vacant seat 21, the time of the adjacent seat is displayed.

Here, each vehicle has seats arranged in all 18 rows from rows 01 to 18, and 5 rows of x, y, z, a, and b, but seats in x and z rows The seat next to is the seat in the y column of the same row. The seats adjacent to the seat in column y are the seats in column x and column z in the same row (the two seats at both ends of the neighboring seat group are each regarded as the neighboring seat). Further, the seat next to the seat in row a is the seat in row b in the same row, and the seat next to the seat in row b is the seat in row a in the same row.

For example, 230 is displayed as the adjacent seat time for the vacant seat in "row 02, column y" of the seat touch selection area 17a in FIG. 2, and in the section from station A to station D, "row 02, column This shows that the total time reserved for the row "row" is 230 minutes.

In addition, as described later, if both the seats in rows x and z of the companion are reserved, the time of sitting next to the seat in row x and the time of sitting next to the seat in row z are calculated respectively, and the time of sitting next to the seat in row The value obtained by adding up the times is taken as the time of the seat adjacent to the vacant seat in row y.

In the seat touch selection area 17b of FIG. 3, 0 is displayed as the adjacent seat time for the vacant seat in "row 01, column z", and in the section from station A to station D, "row 01, column y" is displayed as the reserved time. This indicates that the total is 0 minutes, that is, the seat is vacant. In addition, 140 is displayed for the vacant seat in "row 01, column a" in the seat touch selection area 17b, and the total time for which the seat in "row 01, column b" is reserved in the section from station A to station D is It shows that it is 140 minutes.

The seat automatic selection area 11 on the right side of the seat selection screens 7a and 7b is provided with a seat row specification area 23, an "any seat" button 25, and a secondary condition specification area 27. Here, if the seat selection conditions are the same, the contents of the automatic seat selection area 11 displayed on the terminals 33a to 33c will be the same.

In the seat row designation area 23, there are provided a white "From seat x" button, "From seat y" button, "From seat Z" button, "From seat a" button, and "From seat b" button with a frame. ing. By touching these buttons, it is possible to reserve the seat with the shortest adjoining time among the vacant seats in all the vehicles in the corresponding row. A white border indicates that there is an empty seat in that row. Although not shown, if there are no vacant seats in any row of all vehicles, the button corresponding to that row turns gray, indicating that touch operations are not possible.

By touching the "any seat" button 25, the user can reserve the seat with the shortest adjoining time among the vacant seats in all the vehicles. However, if there is only one seat to be reserved and seats other than row y are vacant, the seat in row y will not be reserved.

The secondary condition designation area 27 specifies whether to give priority to the front, center, or rear of the seat in the direction of travel of the vehicle, whether to give priority to the front, center, or rear of the vehicle, and whether to give priority to the seat in the smoking room. This is an area for selecting which to give priority to, near or far. When making a selection in this secondary condition designation area 27, the selection is made before touching the seat row designation area 23 or touching the "any seat" button 25. You can also do it after that touch without having to do it.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the seat reservation system 29. As shown in FIG. In the seat reservation system 29, a seat reservation server 31a that manages train reservation information, etc., an automatic ticket issuing machine terminal 33a operated by the user, a station counter terminal 33b, and a user terminal 33c such as a smartphone are connected through a network 39. It is configured so that it can be connected and exchange information. Although there are actually a plurality of these terminals 33a to 33c, each of them is shown here one by one.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the automatic ticket issuing machine terminal 33a, the station counter terminal 33b, and the user terminal 33c. These terminals 33a to 33c are a communication device 40, a display device 41 such as a display, an input device 43 such as a touch panel or a keyboard, a ticket issuing device 45, a CPU 47 that performs program control, a memory 49, a storage device 51, and a card reader/writer. It is configured to include a card processing device 53. Note that in the case of the user terminal 33c, the ticket issuing device 45 and card processing device 53 as hardware are not provided.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing details of the automatic ticket issuing machine terminal 33a, the station counter terminal 33b, and the user terminal 33c. The communication control unit 55 controls communication with the seat reservation server 31a. The display control section 57 performs display control on a display (not shown, which constitutes a display operation section together with the input reception section 59). The input receiving unit 59 receives inputs such as touch operations from the user. The input processing unit 61 processes the information received by the input reception unit 59. The ticket issuing unit 63 issues paper tickets and electronic tickets. Note that in the case of the user terminal 33c, the ticket issuing unit 63 is implemented by a program.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the seat reservation server 31a. The seat reservation server 31a includes a communication device 65, a display device 67 such as a display, an input device 69 such as a touch panel or a keyboard, a CPU 71 that performs program control, a memory 73, and a storage device 75.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing details of the seat reservation server 31a. The seat reservation server 31a includes a communication control section 77 that controls communication with each terminal 33a to 33c, a reservation information update section 79, a reservation information extraction section 81, an adjacent seat time calculation section 83, an automatic seat selection section 85, and a reservation information storage section. 87, an operation information storage section 89, and a fare information storage section 91.

The reservation information storage section 87 stores reservation information for seats on each train, for example, reservation information tables shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, which will be described later. The operation information storage unit 89 stores operation information for each train and a section required time table shown in FIG. 11, which will be described later. The fare information storage section 91 stores information regarding the fare of each train, and the communication control section 77 transmits the information to each terminal 33a to 33c.

The reservation information update unit 79 receives seat reservations and reservation cancellations for a certain boarding section of a certain train by operating the terminals 33a to 33c, and the seat reservation server 31a receives cancellation information transmitted via the network 39. Then, the information in the reservation information table stored in the reservation information storage section 87 is updated.

The reservation information extracting unit 81 extracts from the reservation information storage unit 87 information on whether each seat in the boarding section of the train that the user desires to ride is reserved or vacant (extracts vacant seats). The extracted information is transmitted by the communication control unit 77 to the terminals 33a to 33c.

Based on the information extracted by the reservation information extraction section 81 and the section required time table shown in FIG. When the vacancy rate in all vehicles is, for example, 60% or less, the time of adjacent seats for each vacant seat is calculated. Specifically, time information tables as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, which will be described later, are created. Information on the calculated adjoining seat time for each vacant seat (information on the time information table) is transmitted by the communication control unit 77 to the terminals 33a to 33c. The automatic seat selection unit 85 performs automatic seat selection processing shown in FIG. 15, which will be described later, based on instruction information transmitted by operating the terminals 33a to 33c.

9 and 10 show examples of reservation information tables. The reservation information table shows that all seats in each car of each train are available for each section from the train's starting station (first departure point) to the last station (final destination) (one section between one stop station and the next stop station). It has information on whether the seats are reserved or vacant. The information in the reservation information table is updated by the reservation information update unit 79 every time a seat reservation is completed. In addition, in the case where the user specifies the boarding section from A station to D station as described later, if the reservation information table is shown in FIG. 9, the screen shown in FIG. 2 is displayed on the terminals 33a to 33c, and 10, the screen shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the terminals 33a to 33c.

Specifically, the reservation information table contains information of "1" indicating a reserved seat or "0" indicating a vacant seat corresponding to the seat ID and section ID for each car of the train. have. The seat ID is information that combines the row number of the seat and the alphabet of the column, and is information for identifying the seat in the vehicle. For example, the seat ID of the seat in the x column of the 01 row is "01x".

The section ID is information that identifies the section between each stop station of the train from the starting station to the terminal station. When a train stops at A station, which is the starting station, and stops at B station, C station, and D station, and then arrives at E station, which is the terminal station, the section ID of the section between A station and B station is "AB". ”, the section ID of the section between B and C stations is “BC”, the section ID of the section between C and D stations is “CD”, and the section ID of the section between D and E stations is “ DE”.

FIG. 9 is a reservation information table for car No. 1. For the seat whose seat ID is "01x", the seat ID is "1" for all section IDs, so it can be seen that the entire section from the starting station, A station, to the terminal station, E station, has been reserved. . Here, when the user specifies a ride section, the seats that are determined to be vacant are seats that are vacant throughout the entire ride section.

In the reservation information table of FIG. 9, seats in rows x, z, a, and b whose section IDs are all "0" for "AB", "BC", and "CD" are Therefore, when a user specifies a boarding section from station A to station D, it is determined that there are no vacant seats in rows x, z, a, and b. For seats in row y, seats whose section IDs are "AB", "BC", and "CD" are all "0", the seat IDs are "02y", "04y" to "06y", and "08y". ~ “10y”, “15y” ~ “18y” seats, and only these seats are determined to be vacant.

FIG. 10 is a reservation information table for car No. 5. For example, for the seat whose seat ID is "03a", the section IDs of "AB", "BC", and "CD" are all "0", indicating that the seat is vacant from station A to station D. In addition, for the seat whose seat ID is "03b", it is "1" when the section ID is "AB" or "CD", and "0" when it is "BC" or "DE", and it is "0" when the section ID is "AB" or "CD". It can be seen that the section between the stations and the section between C and D stations are reserved, and the section between B and C stations and the section between D and E stations are vacant. Therefore, when the user specifies the boarding section from station A to station D, the seat whose seat ID is "03a" is determined to be vacant, and the seat whose seat ID is "03b" is determined to be reserved.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a section required time table. The section required time table is stored in the operation information storage unit 89 for each train, and has information on the required time (time required for travel) between each stop station. Specifically, it has information on the required time for each section ID. The information in this section required time table is used to calculate the time for adjacent seats.

In the example in Figure 11, the time required to travel from station A to station B is 10 minutes, the time required to travel from station B to station C is 90 minutes, and the time required to travel from station C to station D is 40 minutes. , it can be seen that the time required to travel from station D to station E is 20 minutes.

12 and 13 show examples of time information tables. The time information table has information on adjacent seat time corresponding to the seat ID of each seat that is vacant when the user specifies the train and riding section that the user wishes to board. The time information table is created by the adjacent seat time calculation unit 83 based on the information on the boarding section specified by the user, the information on the reservation information table, and the information on the section required time table. Here, if the time information tables shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 are created, the display screens of the terminals 33a to 33c will be as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively.

FIG. 12 is a time information table for car No. 1. In the case where the user specifies the boarding section from station A to D, and the reservation information table is in the situation shown in FIG. 9, the section required time table of FIG. This is a table created using As mentioned above, vacant seats are seats with seat IDs of "02y", "04y" to "06y", "08y" to "10y", and "15y" to "18y", and time information is provided corresponding to each seat. Adjacent seating times are shown.

In FIG. 12, 230 is displayed as time information for the seat ID "02y". The seats adjacent to the seat with the seat ID "02y" are the seats with the seat IDs "02x" and "02z". When the user specifies the section from A station to D station as the boarding section, based on the reservation information table in Figure 9, the seat with seat ID "02x" is reserved for the section from A station to D station. The seat with seat ID “02z” has been reserved for the section from station B to station C.

Referring to the information on the required time in the section required time table in Figure 11, if the section from A station to D station is reserved, that seat will be occupied (designated) for 140 minutes (10+90+40), and from B station to C station. If a station section is reserved, the seat will be occupied for 90 minutes. Therefore, 230 (140+90) is displayed as the time information for the seat ID "02y" in FIG. It is said that

FIG. 13 is a time information table for car No. 5. In the case where the user specifies the riding section from station A to D and the reservation information table is in the situation shown in FIG. 10, the section required time table of FIG. This is a table created using

10 is displayed as time information for the seat ID "07a" in FIG. This means that the seat next to the seat with the seat ID "07a" is the seat with the seat ID "07b", and this seat has been reserved for the section from station A to station B based on the reservation information table in Figure 10. This is because the travel time from station A to station B is 10 minutes, based on the section travel time table in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operations of the terminals 33a to 33c and the seat reservation server 31a.

In step (hereinafter abbreviated as "S") 1, the terminals 33a to 33c accept input of boarding date and time, train number, number of passengers (reserved number of passengers), and riding section through the input device 43. In S2, the terminals 33a to 33c request vacant seat information and adjacent seat time for each vacant seat based on the reception of the input. Specifically, the terminals 33a to 33c transmit the received information on boarding date and time, train number, number of passengers, and riding section to the seat reservation server and make the request.

In S3, the seat reservation server reads the reservation information table based on the boarding date and train number. For example, in the case of the following conditions: boarding date: August 8, 2020, train: Limited Express No. X123, boarding station: A station, and getting off station: D station, for example, the tables shown in FIGS.

In S4, the seat reservation server determines whether the vacancy rate is 60% or less in all vehicles and whether the ride is for two or more sections. That is, it is determined whether the number of reserved seats exceeds 40%. When this determination is "YES", the process moves to S6, and when this determination is "NO", the process moves to S5. In S5, vacant seat information is replied to the terminals 33a to 33c, and the process moves to S8. In S6, based on the boarding section, the section required time table, and the reservation information table, the adjacent seat time of each vacant seat is calculated (a time information table is created), and the process moves to S7. In S7, the seat reservation server responds with vacant seat information, the minimum adjoining seat time of each vehicle, and the adjoining seat time of each vacant seat, and proceeds to S8.

In S8, the terminals 33a to 33c display each car information screen 1a and seat selection screens 7a and 7b based on the received answers. Through this S8, screens such as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are displayed on the terminals 33a to 33c, for example. Subsequently, in S9, it is determined whether automatic seat selection has been accepted. Specifically, the "From seat x" button, "From seat y" button, "From seat Z" button, "From seat a" button, "From seat b" button, "From any seat" button in the automatic seat selection area 11 are available. It is determined whether any of the "Good" buttons 25 have been operated. When this determination is "YES", the process moves to S10, and when the determination is "NO", that is, when a vacant seat that can be reserved in either of the seat touch selection areas 17a, 17b is touched, the process moves to S12.

In S10, the terminals 33a to 33c transmit automatic selection conditions to the seat reservation server. Specifically, information regarding the operated button among the buttons involved in the determination in S9 is transmitted. In S12, the terminals 33a to 33c transmit the received seat information, that is, the information of the vacant seats that can be touched and reserved. Here, if there are multiple passengers, multiple seats will be accepted.

In S11, the seat reservation server performs automatic seat selection processing, which will be explained later with reference to FIG. 15, and proceeds to S13. In S13, the seat is confirmed as a reserved seat and the information in the reservation information table is updated. That is, the seat selected in the seat touch selection areas 17a, 17b or the seat automatically selected through the operation of the automatic seat selection area 11 is confirmed as the reserved seat, and the information in the reservation information table is updated to the latest information. Updated.

In S14, the seat reservation server notifies the terminals 33a to 33c of the completion of the reservation. In S15, the terminals 33a to 33c perform ticket issuing procedures. Specifically, the automatic ticket issuing machine terminal 33a and the station counter terminal 33b issue paper tickets, and the user terminal 33c issues electronic tickets. Subsequently, the terminals 33a to 33c notify the completion of ticket issuance in S16. In S17, the seat reservation server registers the completion of ticket issuance.

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart showing the operation of automatic seat selection processing by the seat reservation server 31a.

In S21, it is determined whether or not the "any seat" button 25 has been designated (touched) based on the information transmitted from the terminals 33a to 33c. When this determination is "YES", the process moves to S22, and when this determination is "NO", the process moves to S23.

In S22, the presence or absence of vacant seats in each row is checked based on a predetermined priority order, and the row is designated. Here, the predetermined priority order is, for example, the order assigned to all five rows of seats: x row, y row, z row, a row, and b row. The 3rd place is placed in the a column, the 4th place is placed in the z column, and the 5th place is placed in the y column.

The availability of seats is determined in order starting from the first place, and the highest row with vacant seats is designated. That is, if a seat in row x or z is vacant, a seat in row y, which has a lower priority, is not designated. Note that it is also possible to specify a plurality of columns in this S22 as a predetermined priority order, with the first place being the x column, the z column, the a column, and the b column, and the second place being the y column.

In S23, the adjacent seat time is calculated for the vacant seats in the designated row. Subsequently, in S24, the vacant seat with the shortest adjoining seat time is extracted. If there are a plurality of empty seats with the minimum adjoining time, the plurality of empty seats (the plurality of empty seats with the same adjoining time) are extracted.

Here, in this embodiment, the maximum number of people who can make a reservation for one terminal operation is three, and a maximum of three seats can be reserved at one time. When the number of people reserved is 1, if any of the seats in rows x, z, a, and b is vacant, the seat in row y is not extracted.

When the number of people reserved is 2, first, if the total time of adjacent seats of the seats in columns a and b in any row is zero, the seats in columns a and b of that row are extracted. If there is no row in which the sum is zero, calculate the sum of the adjoining time of seats in columns x and y of the same row, and the sum of the adjoining times of seats in columns y and z of the same row, and find the sum that is the minimum. Two seats are extracted.

If the total cannot be calculated, that is, if there are no vacant seats in columns x and y of the same row, and seats in columns y and z of the same row, the two seats with the shortest adjoining time will be selected. Ru. In this case, the two seats may have different adjoining times, that is, one seat may have the smallest adjoining time and the other may have the second smallest adjoining time.

If the number of people in the reservation is 3, and the sum of the adjoining time of seats in columns x, y, and z in any row is zero, the seats in columns x, y, and z of that row are extracted. Ru. If there is no row with a total of zero, two processes are performed: one in which the number of people reserved is 1, and one in which the number of people reserved is 2, and three seats are extracted.

In S25, it is determined whether a secondary condition is specified. Specifically, the presence or absence of selection in the secondary condition designation area 27 is determined. When this determination is "YES", the process moves to S26, and when this determination is "NO", the process moves to S27.

In S26, a reserved seat is determined based on the designated secondary conditions and prescribed rules. That is, when a plurality of vacant seats are extracted in S24, designated seats corresponding to the number of reserved seats are randomly determined from among the vacant seats that satisfy the designated secondary condition. Further, if one vacant seat is extracted in S24, that vacant seat is determined as the reserved seat.

In S27, a reserved seat is determined based on prescribed rules. That is, when a plurality of vacant seats are extracted in S24 in a situation where the number of people reserved is 1, a designated seat is randomly determined from among the vacant seats, and the vacant seat is determined as the designated seat. In a situation where there are two or more reserved seats, the reserved seats are determined from among the extracted seats based on the rule that seats for the number of reserved people are preferentially accommodated in the same vehicle.

Here, a certain user Therefore, the time spent sitting next to user X's seat may change. For example, after user X has reserved a seat for the section from A station to D station, while the user A case is assumed in which a seat at a station is reserved.

In such a case, the adjacent seat time of user This makes it possible to prevent a situation where the seat with the longest adjoining time is selected, thereby realizing a more comfortable ride.

<Second embodiment>
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIGS. 16 to 19. The hardware configuration and flowchart contents of the second embodiment are basically the same as those of the first embodiment.

16 and 17 show seat selection screens 7c and 7d of the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the adjacent seat time is displayed on an already reserved seat that is adjacent to an empty seat.

18 and 19 show examples of time information tables according to the second embodiment. In FIGS. 18 and 19, when the user specifies the train and boarding section in which he or she wishes to board, the information on the adjacent seat time is included in correspondence with the seat ID of the seat adjacent to each vacant seat.

The time information table in FIG. 18 is the time information table for car No. 1, and in the case where the user specifies the boarding section from A station to D station and the reservation information table is in the situation shown in FIG. 9 of the first embodiment. , is a table created using the section required time table of FIG. 11 of the first embodiment. Furthermore, based on the time information table of FIG. 18, the seat selection screen 7c of FIG. 16 has a display mode of the seat touch selection area 17c in the seat designation selection area 9c.

As mentioned above, in the reservation information table of the first embodiment shown in FIG. In the time information table of FIG. 18, the adjacent seat time is shown as time information in the seat ID column corresponding to the adjacent seat of those seats.

In FIG. 18, 140 is displayed as time information for the seat ID "02x". The seat with the seat ID "02x" has been reserved for the sections from A station to B station, from B station to C station, and from C station to D station based on the reservation information table of FIG. Referring to the required time information in the section required time table in Figure 11, if the section from A station to D station is reserved, that seat will be occupied for 140 minutes (10+90+40), so the seat ID in Figure 18 is " 02x", 140 is displayed as time information.

The time information table in FIG. 19 is the time information table for car No. 5, and in the case where the user specifies stations A to D as the boarding section and the reservation information table is in the situation shown in FIG. 10 of the first embodiment. , is a table created using the section required time table of FIG. 11 of the first embodiment. Furthermore, based on the time information table of FIG. 19, the seat selection screen 7d of FIG. 17 has a display mode of the seat touch selection area 17d in the seat designation selection area 9d.

In FIG. 19, 50 is displayed as time information for the seat ID "03b". The seat with the seat ID "03b" has been reserved for the sections from A station to B station and from C station to D station based on the reservation information table of FIG. Referring to the required time information in the section required time table in Figure 11, if the sections from A station to B station and from C station to D station have been reserved, the seat will be occupied for 50 minutes (10 + 40). 19 whose seat ID is "03b" has 50 displayed as time information.

Similarly to the first embodiment, the time information table of the second embodiment is generated by the adjacent seat time calculation unit 83 based on the information on the boarding section specified by the user, the information on the reservation information table, and the information on the section required time table. (S6 in FIG. 14).

<Third embodiment>
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIGS. 20 to 27. The basic hardware configuration of the third embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the contents of the flowchart are partially different.

In the third embodiment, instead of directly displaying information on the time of adjacent seats for empty seats as in the first and second embodiments, information on the relative priority within each vehicle based on the time of adjacent seats is displayed. to be displayed on empty seats. Note that the priority order for all of the plurality of vehicles may be determined and that information may be displayed on the vacant seats.

In the third embodiment, the adjacent seat time of each vacant seat, which is the basis of the priority order, is determined as follows.

Regarding the adjoining seating time for empty seats in rows a and b, the seat next to the seat in row a is the seat in row b of the companion, the seat next to the seat in row b is the seat in row a of the companion, and the adjoining time is determined. .

Regarding the adjoining seat time for seats in the x and z rows that are vacant, if the seat in the y row of the companion is reserved, the reserved seat in the y row is set as the adjoining seat and the adjoining seat time is determined. If the companion's seat in row y is vacant, the seat next to the vacant seat in row Determine the time of adjacent seats (hereinafter referred to as "deemed determination").

For example, if the seat in row x of the same row is reserved and the seats in rows y and z are vacant, when you specify the seat in row z, the passenger in row You may need to change your position when exiting.

Also, for example, if the seat in row z of the same row is reserved and the seats in rows x and y are vacant, when you specify the seat in row You may have to take care of your passengers.

Therefore, by performing the "deemed determination", it becomes possible to realize a more comfortable riding experience for the user.

Regarding the adjoining seat time for the empty seat in the y row, the adjoining seat time is determined with the seats in the x and z rows of the same person as the adjoining seats. If seats in rows x and z are both reserved for the same group, calculate the adjoining seating time for the seat in row x and the adjoining seating time for the seat in row z, and then add the two adjoining seating times. , is the time of the seat next to the vacant seat in row y.

The priority is determined so that the shorter the time spent sitting next to an empty seat, the higher the priority (the smaller the number). However, if any of column x, z, a, or b is vacant, and a row in which column y is reserved and a row in which column y is vacant coexist, the seats in column y and the reserved seat in column y coexist. The priority order of the vacant seats in the Note that if any of rows x, z, a, and b is vacant, no priority is given to the vacant seat in row y.

FIG. 20 shows each car information screen 1e of the third embodiment. On this screen, a number is shown in the minimum adjoining seat time column of the car number information display area 3e. This number ranks cars 1 to 5 based on the minimum adjoining seat time, and "1" is shown in the column for car No. 5, indicating that car No. 5 has the shortest adjoining seat time. represents. Furthermore, "2" is shown in the column for car No. 1, indicating that the minimum adjoining seat time for car No. 1 is the second smallest.

21 and 22 show seat selection screens 7e and 7f of the third embodiment. In the seat touch selection areas 17e and 17f of the seat selection selection areas 9e and 9f, the arrangement of each seat in the vehicle is displayed, and seats 19 that have already been reserved are displayed in gray, and vacant seats 21 that can be reserved are displayed in a frame. It is displayed in white with a . Vacant seats are marked with a number in a circle indicating priority. Note that if the vacancy rate of the train is not 60% or less, the time of adjacent seats is not displayed.

In the seat touch selection area 17e in FIG. 21, the empty seat in the "08th row, y column" is given a priority of "1" (1 in a circle), indicating that the seat next to the seat in car No. 1 has the least amount of time.

In the seat touch selection area 17f in FIG. 22, the vacant seats in "02 row, column )", indicating that the time spent sitting next to each other is the least in car No. 5.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing details of the seat reservation server 31e of the third embodiment, in which a priority order determining section 93 is further added to the configuration of FIG. 8. The priority order determination unit 93 performs a priority order determination process shown in FIG. 27, which will be described later. That is, a priority order information table shown in FIGS. 24 and 25, which will be described later, is created. Specifically, the priority order determination section 93 determines the priority order of each vacant seat based on the information extracted by the reservation information extraction section 81 and the calculation result of the adjacent seat time calculation section 83.

24 and 25 show examples of priority order determination tables. The priority order determination table has priority order information corresponding to the seat ID of each seat that is vacant when the user specifies the train and boarding section in which he or she wishes to ride. In the case of the priority order table of FIG. 24, the seat selection screen 7e of FIG. 21 is displayed on the terminals 33a to 33c, and in the case of the priority order table of FIG. 25, the seat selection screen 7f of FIG. 22 is displayed on the terminals 33a to 33c. is displayed.

FIG. 24 is a priority order determination table for car No. 1. In the case where the user specifies stations A to D as the boarding section and the reservation information table is in the situation shown in FIG. 9 of the first embodiment, car No. This is a table created using the section required time table of FIG. 11 of the embodiment.

In the reservation information table (car No. 1) of FIG. 9 of the first embodiment, when the user specifies the boarding section from A station to D station, the only vacant seat is the seat in the y row, and the time for that y row is The information is the same as the time information in the time information table of FIG. 12 of the first embodiment.

That is, the priority information table of FIG. 24 sets the priority of the seat ID for which the time information "20" is shown as "1" and the priority of the seat ID for which the time information "90" is shown in the time information table of FIG. "2", the priority of the seat ID shown as "100" is "3", the priority of the seat ID shown as "130" is "4", the priority of the seat ID shown as "180" "5", the priority of the seat ID shown as "190" is "6", the priority of the seat ID shown as "230" is "7", the priority of the seat ID shown as "260" The priority is set to "8", and the priority of the seat ID for which "280" is shown is "9".

FIG. 25 is a priority order determination table for car No. 5. In the case where the user specifies stations A to D as the boarding section and the reservation information table is in the situation shown in FIG. 10 of the first embodiment, the first This is a table created using the section required time table of FIG. 11 of the embodiment.

Here, the time information table (car No. 5) in FIG. 19 of the second embodiment is based on the situation where the user specifies stations A to D as the boarding section and the reservation information table is shown in FIG. 10 of the first embodiment. In a certain case, this table is created using the section required time table of FIG. 11 of the first embodiment. Further, the time information table (car No. 5) in FIG. 19 has information on the time of the adjacent seat corresponding to the seat ID of the seat adjacent to each vacant seat.

Therefore, the time information that is the basis of the priority order of each vacant seat in row a of car No. 5 in the third embodiment is the time information of the corresponding seat in row b of the time information table (car No. 5) in FIG. 19. Further, the time information that is the basis of the priority of each vacant seat in row b of car No. 5 in the third embodiment is the time information of the corresponding seat in row a of the time information table (car No. 5) in FIG. 19.

Regarding the time information that is the basis of the priority order of each vacant seat in columns x, y, and z of car No. 5 in the third embodiment, the only row in which column y is reserved is row 08, and as mentioned above, If the seat in row y is vacant, a "deeming decision" is made.

Therefore, except for row 08, the time information that is the basis of the priority of each vacant seat in the x column of car No. 5 is the time information of the corresponding seat in the y column of the time information table (car No. 5) in FIG. 19. Further, the time information that is the basis of the priority order of each vacant seat in the y column of car No. 5 in the third embodiment is the time information of the corresponding seat in the x column of the time information table (car No. 5) in FIG. 19.

In the time information table (car No. 5) in Figure 19, there are time information of “0”, “10”, “40”, “50”, “90”, “100”, “130”, and “140”. The time information corresponds to priorities "1" to "8", which are the priorities of each seat in FIG.

In the above-mentioned row 08, since the seat in column y (seat ID is 08y) has been reserved, the seat next to it in column z, which is empty (seat ID is 08z), has the lowest priority, "9". (Lowest change). In addition, in the reservation information table of FIG. 10 of the first embodiment, when the user specifies the boarding section from A station to D station, any of rows x, z, a, and b is vacant. Therefore, priority is not assigned to the vacant seats in the y column in FIG.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing the operations of the terminals 33a to 33c and the seat reservation server 31e of the third embodiment. Operations that are the same as those in the first embodiment are given the same step numbers as in FIG. 14, and explanations thereof will be omitted.

After S1, the terminals 33a to 33c request vacant seat information and priority order information of each vacant seat from the seat reservation server 31e based on the reception of the input (S200). If the determination in S4 is "YES", the seat reservation server 31e performs a priority order determination process (FIG. 27, which will be described later) (S600), and proceeds to S700. In S700, the vacant seat information, the minimum adjoining seat time of each vehicle, and the priority information of each vacant seat are sent to the terminals 33a to 33c, and the process moves to S8. In S8, the terminals 33a to 33c display screens shown in FIGS. 20 to 22, for example.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing priority order determination processing by the seat reservation server 31e.

In S51, it is determined whether any of the seats in the x, z, a, and b rows is vacant. When this determination is "YES", the process moves to S52, and when this determination is "NO", the process moves to S55. In S52, it is determined whether or not there is a vacant seat in row a or row b. When this determination is "YES", the process moves to S53, and when this determination is "NO", the process moves to S54.

In S53, the seat next to the seat in row a is the seat in row b of the same row, and the seat next to the seat in row b is the seat in row a of the same row, and the adjoining time for each vacant seat in rows a and b is determined. Move to. In S54, if the companion's seat in row y is vacant, the seat next to the seat in row x is considered to be row z, the seat next to the seat in row z is considered to be row The seats next to the seats in the x and z rows are set as the y-row seats, and the adjoining seat time of each vacant seat in the x- and z-rows is determined, and the process moves to S57.

In S55, it is determined whether any seat in the y row is vacant. When this determination is "YES", the process moves to S56, and when this determination is "NO", the priority order determination process is ended. In S56, the adjacent seat time for each vacant seat in the y row is determined with both the seats in the x row and the seat in the z row as adjacent seats, and the process moves to S57. In S57, priority order information of each vacant seat is determined for each vehicle based on the time (time information) of the adjacent seat of each vacant seat, and the process moves to S58.

In S58, it is determined whether a row in which seats in column y are reserved and a row in which seats in column y are vacant coexist in the same vehicle. When this determination is "YES", the process moves to S59, and when this determination is "NO", the priority order determination process is ended. In S59, the priority of the vacant seat in the x and z columns of the row where the adjacent seat is in the y column is changed to the lowest (lowest change), and the priority determination process is ended.

<Fourth embodiment>
A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIGS. 28 to 30. The basic hardware configuration and the contents of the flowchart of the fourth embodiment are the same as those of the third embodiment.

In the seat designation selection areas 9g and 9h of the fourth embodiment, instead of indicating the priority order by circled numbers for all vacant seats as in the third embodiment, the seats with the top three priority orders are displayed. A symbol is shown for each. The symbols are a triple circle, a double circle, and a circle, among which the triple circle has the highest priority, and the circle has the lowest priority.

FIG. 28 shows each car information screen 1g of the fourth embodiment. On this screen, unlike the first embodiment, only the top three cars among the five cars with the shortest minimum adjoining seat times are shown with ranking numbers for their minimum adjoining seat times.

29 and 30 show seat selection screens 7g and 7h of the fourth embodiment. In the seat touch selection areas 17g and 17h of the seat selection selection areas 9g and 9h, the arrangement of each seat in the vehicle is displayed, and the seats 19 that have already been reserved are displayed in gray, and the vacant seats 21 that can be reserved are displayed as a frame. It is displayed in white with a . Some vacant seats are marked with triple, double, or circle symbols to indicate priority.

In FIGS. 29 and 30, among the vacant seats in the seat designation selection areas 9e and 9f in FIGS. 21 and 22 of the third embodiment, the vacant seats marked with "1 (1 in a circle)" are marked with a triple circle and " Vacant seats marked with "2 (2 in a circle)" are marked with a double circle, vacant seats marked with "3 (3 in a circle)" are marked with a circle symbol, and "4 (4 in a circle)" ~ Vacant seats marked with "9 (9 in a circle)" are not marked with any symbols. By displaying in this way, it becomes possible to more quickly find out which seats have higher priority.

<Fifth embodiment>
A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIG. 31. The basic hardware configuration and the contents of the flowchart of the fifth embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

In the fifth embodiment, as in the first embodiment, if both the seats in the x row and the z row of the same companion are reserved, the adjoining seating time of the seat in the x row and the adjoining seating time of the seat in the z row are set respectively. Instead of calculating the adjoining time of the seat in row y, which is an empty seat, by adding up the adjoining seating time of the two seats, the adjoining seating time of the seat in row y, which is vacant, is calculated as the adjoining seating time of the seat in row y. It's a certain amount of time.

FIG. 31 shows the seat selection screen 7i of the fifth embodiment. This seat selection screen 7i is a screen that is displayed based on the reservation information table shown in FIG. 9 and the section required time table shown in FIG. 11 when the user specifies boarding from station A to station D as the boarding section. . Note that in this embodiment, illustration of the time information table is omitted.

For example, in the reservation information table shown in FIG. 9, the seats in "04 row x column" are reserved for the section from A station to B station and the section from C station to D station. The seat in “row 04, column z” has been reserved for the section from station C to station D. The section in which the seats in "row 04, column x" and the seat in "row 04, column z" are reserved at the same time is the section from station C to station D. In the section required time table shown in FIG. 11, the required time for the section from C station to D station is "40 minutes". Therefore, "40" is displayed for the vacant seat in "04 row, y column" of the seat touch selection area 17i in FIG. 31.

Further, in the reservation information table shown in FIG. 9, the seats in "10th row x column" are reserved for the section from station B to station C. The seat in “row 10, column z” has been reserved for the section from station C to station D. There is no section in which the seats in “row 10, column x” and the seats in “row 10, column z” are reserved at the same time. Therefore, "0" is displayed for the vacant seat in the "10th row, y column" of the seat touch selection area 17i in FIG. 31.

<Sixth embodiment>
A sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIG. 32. The basic hardware configuration and the contents of the flowchart of the sixth embodiment are the same as those of the third embodiment.

In the sixth embodiment, when calculating the adjoining seat time, which is information that is the basis for determining priority, the adjoining seat time of the seat in the y row is calculated as x This is the time when column and y column are reserved at the same time.

FIG. 32 shows a seat selection screen 7j of the sixth embodiment. A priority order is displayed for the vacant seat on the seat selection screen 7j in accordance with the adjacent seat time indicated in the seat touch selection area 17i of the seat selection screen 7i in FIG. 31 of the fifth embodiment.

<Seventh embodiment>
A seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIG. 33. The basic hardware configuration and the contents of the flowchart of the seventh embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

In the seventh embodiment, as in the first embodiment, if both the seats in the x row and the z row of the same companion are reserved, the adjoining seating time of the seat in the x row and the adjoining seating time of the seat in the z row are set respectively. Instead of calculating and adding up the two adjoining seat times as the adjoining time for the empty seat in row y, the adjoining time for the seat in row y is calculated as the adjoining time for the seats in row x and y. This is the time when at least one of them is reserved.

FIG. 33 shows a seat selection screen 7k of the seventh embodiment. This seat selection screen 7k is a screen that is displayed based on the reservation information table shown in FIG. 9 and the section required time table shown in FIG. 11 when the user specifies boarding from station A to station D as the boarding section. . Note that in this embodiment, illustration of the time information table is omitted.

For example, in the reservation information table shown in FIG. 9, the seat in "row 06 x column" is reserved for the section from station C to station D. The seat in “row 06, column z” is reserved for the section from station B to station C. The sections in which at least one of the seats in "row 06, column x" and the seats in "row 06, column z" are reserved are the sections from station B to station C and from station C to station D. In the section required time table shown in FIG. 11, the required times for the sections from B station to C station and from C station to D station are "90 minutes" and "40 minutes", respectively. Therefore, "130" is displayed for the vacant seat in "06 row, y column" of the seat touch selection area 17k in FIG. 33.

<Eighth embodiment>
An eighth embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIGS. 34 and 35. In the first to seventh embodiments, the section required time table shown in FIG. 11 is used, but in the eighth embodiment, the section distance table shown in FIG. 34 is used instead of the section required time table. Furthermore, in the eighth embodiment, a distance information table shown in FIG. 35 is used instead of the time information table.

FIG. 34 shows an example of the section distance table. The section distance table is stored in the operation information storage unit 89 for each train, and has information on the distance between each stop station. Specifically, it has information on the required distance for each section ID. Information in this section distance table is used to calculate the distance between adjacent seats. The adjacent seat distance refers to the distance at which a seat next to an empty seat is reserved in the passenger's riding section, that is, the distance at which there is a passenger in the adjacent seat.

FIG. 35 shows an example of a distance information table. The distance information table shown in FIG. 35 corresponds to the time information table shown in FIG. 12, and was created using the section distance time table shown in FIG. 34 when the reservation information table is in the situation shown in FIG. It's a table. Based on the information of this section distance time table, the distance between adjacent seats is displayed in the seat touch selection area (not shown).

<Ninth embodiment>
A ninth embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIG. 36. In the ninth embodiment, a section number information table shown in FIG. 36 is used in place of the time information table of the first embodiment. That is, a ward function is used in which "1" is assigned to each of a plurality of sections and adjacent seats are reserved.

In the ninth embodiment, when the reservation information table is in the situation shown in FIG. 9, "4" is displayed as the section number information for the seat ID "02y" in FIG. 36. The seats adjacent to the seat with the seat ID "02y" are the seats with the seat IDs "02x" and "02z". When the user specifies the boarding section from A station to D station, based on the reservation information table in Figure 9, the seat with seat ID "02x" is reserved for "3" sections from A station to D station. The seat with seat ID "02z" has been reserved for "1" section from station B to station C. “4” shown corresponding to seat ID “02y” in FIG. 36 is the result of addition of “3” and “1”.

Although not shown, the information in the section number information table in FIG. 36 is displayed on the terminals 33a to 33c as in the first embodiment.

The same reference numerals as in the first embodiment are used for areas displaying the same contents and buttons having the same functions.

Here, in the first to seventh embodiments, a time information table and a priority order determination table are used, and in the seat touch selection area of the terminals 33a to 33c, the adjacent seat time (the calculation method varies depending on the embodiment) is displayed at the vacant seat position. ) will be displayed, the time of the adjacent seat will be displayed at the position of the reserved seat, and priority information will be displayed at the position of the vacant seat. That is, there are seven types of display modes for the seat touch selection area.

The configuration is such that the adjacent seat time calculation unit 83 of the seat reservation server shown in FIG. By touching, the display mode of the seven types of seat touch selection areas shown in the first to seventh embodiments may be switched and displayed. In this case, multiple types of time information tables and priority order determination tables are transmitted from the seat reservation server 31e to the terminals 33a to 33c, and the display control unit 57 of the terminals 33a to 33c selects the seat reservation based on the operation of the display mode switching button. Switch the display mode of the touch selection area.

Further, a display/hide selection button can be provided for the user to select whether or not to display the adjacent seat time in the seat touch selection area of the terminals 33a to 33c. Based on the operation of the display/hide selection button, the display control unit 57 performs control to switch the display mode.

Further, through the input device 69 of the seat reservation servers 31a and 31e, it is possible to set whether or not to permit the display of adjacent seat time in the seat touch selection area of the terminals 33a to 33c, or to set the conditions for this permission. It may be configured as follows. Specifically, immediately after S3 in FIG. 14, a step is added to determine "Is the display of adjacent seat time permitted?" If the determination is "YES", the process moves to S4, and if it is "NO", the process moves to S4. may be moved to S5. By doing so, for example, if a benefit is given only to a specific user by displaying the time of the adjacent seat, it is possible to improve the service.

Further, through the input device 69, it is possible to set the vacancy rate at which the time of adjacent seats will be displayed. Specifically, in S4 of FIG. 14, it is determined whether the vacancy rate is less than or equal to a set ratio and the passenger is boarding two or more sections.

Furthermore, the configuration may be such that the vacancy rate at which the adjacent seat time will be displayed in the seat touch selection area of the terminals 33a to 33c can be set through the input device 69 of the seat reservation servers 31a and 31e. In this case, in S4 of FIG. 14, it is determined whether the vacancy rate is less than or equal to a set value and the passenger is boarding two or more sections.

In this embodiment, the empty seat with the minimum adjoining time is extracted (S24 in FIG. 15), but the empty seat with the maximum adjoining time may be extracted. Furthermore, the longer the time spent sitting next to each other, the higher the priority can be. When the purpose of using a moving vehicle is travel, one of the purposes of travel is new encounters and interactions between travelers. Therefore, by doing this, it is possible to increase the chances of encounters and exchanges.

Although the embodiments have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned contents. Further, without departing from the spirit of the present invention, modifications, additions, omissions, deletions, substitutions, combinations, integration, distribution, permutations, etc. that can be easily made by those skilled in the art may be made to the above-described configurations and processes. The configuration and processing described above are also included in the scope of the present disclosure.

17a Seat touch selection area 29 Seat reservation system 31a Seat reservation server 33a Automatic ticket issuing machine terminal 33b Station counter terminal 33c User terminal 39 Network 41 Display device 43 Input device 83 Adjacent seat time calculation section 87 Reservation information storage section 89 Operation information storage section

Claims (10)

A moving vehicle that includes terminals and servers connected via a network, transports users over multiple sections from a departure point to a destination, and has a plurality of adjacent seat groups in which two or more seats are arranged next to each other. A seat reservation system,
The terminal has a display operation unit that displays information about the moving vehicle to the user and is operated by the user to input a riding section and reserve a seat;
The server is
a reservation information storage unit that stores reservation information indicating whether or not each seat is reserved for each of the plurality of sections;
a section travel time value storage unit that stores travel time values related to movement of the moving vehicle for each of the plurality of sections;
a vacant seat extraction unit that extracts vacant seats based on information stored in the reservation information storage unit when the user inputs a boarding section;
When the user inputs a boarding section spanning two or more sections, the time during which the seat next to the vacant seat extracted by the vacant seat extraction unit is reserved based on the boarding section, the reservation information, and the travel time value. an adjacent seat time value calculation unit that calculates an adjacent seat time value regarding
A seat reservation system comprising: a reserved seat determining section that determines a reserved seat from the vacant seats extracted by the vacant seat extracting section based on the calculation result of the adjacent seat time value calculating section. The seat reservation system according to claim 1,
The seat reservation system is characterized in that the travel time value is a value related to travel time or travel distance of each of the plurality of sections, or the same numerical value assigned to each of the plurality of sections. The seat reservation system according to claim 1 or 2,
When the vacant seat extracting section extracts the middle seat among three seats included in an adjacent seat group in which three seats are arranged next to each other as a vacant seat, the adjacent seat time value calculation section extracts the middle seat from both ends of the adjacent seat group. A seat reservation system that calculates two adjacent seat time values by regarding each of the two seats as adjacent seats, and calculates the sum of the two adjacent seat time values as the adjacent seat time value of the vacant seat. The seat reservation system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
When the vacant seat extracting section extracts the middle seat among three seats included in an adjacent seat group in which three seats are arranged next to each other as a vacant seat, the adjacent seat time value calculation section extracts the middle seat from both ends of the adjacent seat group. 1. A seat reservation system that calculates an adjacent seat time value regarding a time when two seats are reserved at the same time, or a time when at least one of the two seats is reserved. The seat reservation system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Seat reservation characterized in that when the user specifies a seat at a predetermined position in the adjacent seat group through the display operation section, the reserved seat determination section determines the reserved seat based on the designation. system. The seat reservation system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The seat reservation system is characterized in that the reserved seat determining unit determines, as the reserved seat, the vacant seat with the shortest adjacent seat time value calculated by the adjacent seat time value calculation unit. The seat reservation system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The seat reservation system is characterized in that the reserved seat determining unit determines, as the reserved seat, the vacant seat with the longest adjacent seat time value calculated by the adjacent seat time value calculation unit. The seat reservation system according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
If either of the two seats at both ends of the three seats included in the adjacent seat group in which three seats are arranged next to each other is vacant, the reserved seat determination unit selects the adjacent seat group in which three seats are arranged next to each other. A seat reservation system characterized in that the middle seat among three seats included in the seat is not determined as a reserved seat. A seat reservation method in a seat reservation system for a moving vehicle that transports users over multiple sections between a starting point and a final destination and is equipped with a plurality of adjoining seat groups in which two or more seats are arranged next to each other, the method comprising:
The seat reservation system includes a terminal connected to a network and having a display operation section that displays information about the moving vehicle to the user and is operated by the user to input a riding section and reserve a seat, and a server. including
The server is
a reservation information storage unit that stores reservation information indicating whether or not each seat is reserved for each of the plurality of sections;
a section travel time value storage section that stores travel time values related to movement of the moving vehicle for each of the plurality of sections;
The server performs
When the user inputs a boarding section that spans two or more sections, based on the boarding section, the reservation information, and the travel time value, information regarding the time when the seat next to the vacant seat extracted by the vacant seat extraction process is reserved. The present invention is characterized by comprising: an adjacent seat time value calculation step of calculating an adjacent seat time value; and a reserved seat determination step of determining a reserved seat from the vacant seats extracted by the vacant seat extraction step based on the calculation result of the adjacent seat time value calculation step. How to reserve seats. A program for causing a computer to function as the server in the seat reservation system according to claim 1.