Maintenance reservation system, maintenance reservation server, maintenance reservation method and program

Abstract

A maintenance reservation system according to a first embodiment comprises: an equipment information acquisition unit that acquires equipment information including information relating to equipment; a

Description

Maintenance reservation system, maintenance reservation server, maintenance reservation method, and program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a maintenance reservation system, a maintenance reservation server, a maintenance reservation method, and a program.

[0002] Conventionally, various services have been provided for the maintenance of air conditioners, for example. For example, if a user's air conditioner breaks down, the user requests maintenance from the manufacturer, and the manufacturer or a maintenance company other than the manufacturer provides maintenance services such as repairs of the air conditioner. The number of companies providing maintenance services includes, for example, authorized dealers of the manufacturer and companies other than the manufacturer, and the number is increasing. Therefore, a technology has been proposed that enables users to request maintenance services from a maintenance company.

[0003] For example, in the maintenance service system described in Patent Document 1, when a user accesses a maintenance reception center from a user terminal, the maintenance reception center terminal transmits a fault information table and a maintenance staff management table to the user terminal. The user terminal determines the fault information and the name of the maintenance staff and transmits them to the maintenance reception center terminal. This allows the maintenance staff to handle the fault.

[0004] For example, in the facility maintenance support method described in Patent Document 2, a customer transmits the details of the maintenance service they wish to receive for their facility and facility information to a server. The server analyzes the details of the maintenance service and the facility information to determine whether the conditions for performing maintenance are met and selects a maintenance technician.

[0005] JP 2002-149863 A JP 2003-150732 A

[0006] The technologies described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 transmit information such as fault information, the name of the maintenance person, the details of the maintenance service, and facility information from a user terminal. However, the user is not able to specify the details of what he or she wants and select a maintenance company according to the specified details. Furthermore, it is desirable for maintenance companies to have a system that allows them to acquire repeat customers by offering services in which they excel.

[0007] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a maintenance reservation system, a maintenance reservation server, and a maintenance reservation method that enable a user to select a maintenance contractor in accordance with their wishes. The present disclosure also aims to provide a maintenance reservation system, a maintenance reservation server, a maintenance reservation method, and a program that enable maintenance contractors to acquire repeat customers by providing services in their specialty.

[0008] The maintenance reservation system according to the first aspect includes an equipment information acquisition unit that acquires equipment information including information about equipment; a maintenance company information acquisition unit that acquires maintenance company information including information about maintenance companies that provide maintenance services based on information sent from a maintenance company terminal; a reservation information acquisition unit that acquires reservation information including desired conditions for the maintenance service based on information sent from a user terminal; a processing unit that selects candidates for the maintenance company based on the equipment information and the maintenance company information, and narrows down the candidates based on the desired conditions and the maintenance company information corresponding to maintenance companies included in the candidates; and a notification unit that notifies the user terminal of the candidates narrowed down by the processing unit.

[0009] The maintenance reservation method according to the second aspect includes the steps of acquiring equipment information including information about the equipment, acquiring maintenance contractor information including information about maintenance contractors who provide maintenance services based on information sent from a maintenance contractor terminal, acquiring reservation information including desired conditions for the maintenance services based on information sent from a user terminal, selecting candidates for the maintenance contractor based on the equipment information and the maintenance contractor information, narrowing down the candidates based on the maintenance contractor information corresponding to the maintenance contractors included in the candidates and the desired conditions, and notifying the user terminal of the candidates.

[0010] The maintenance reservation server according to the third aspect includes an acquisition unit that acquires information about a maintenance company that provides maintenance services based on information sent from a maintenance company terminal and reservation information including desired conditions for work other than maintenance of equipment based on information sent from a user terminal; a processing unit that narrows down candidate maintenance companies selected based on equipment information including information about the equipment and a first available task of the maintenance company related to maintenance work for the equipment, based on a second available task of the maintenance company related to work other than maintenance of the equipment and the desired conditions; and a notification unit that notifies the user terminal of the candidates narrowed down by the processing unit.

[0011] A maintenance reservation method according to a fourth aspect includes the steps of: acquiring information about a maintenance company that provides maintenance services based on information transmitted from a maintenance company terminal; and acquiring reservation information including desired conditions regarding work other than maintenance of equipment based on information transmitted from a user terminal; narrowing down candidate maintenance companies selected based on equipment information including information about the equipment and a first available task of the maintenance company related to maintenance work for the equipment based on a second available task of the maintenance company related to work other than maintenance of the equipment and the desired conditions; and notifying the candidate companies to the user terminal.

[0012] The program of the fifth aspect causes a computer to execute the steps of acquiring information about maintenance companies that provide maintenance services based on information sent from a maintenance company terminal and reservation information including desired conditions for work other than equipment maintenance based on information sent from a user terminal; narrowing down candidate maintenance companies selected based on equipment information including information about the equipment and a first available task of the maintenance company related to maintenance work for the equipment based on a second available task of the maintenance company related to work other than equipment maintenance and the desired conditions; and notifying the candidate companies of the candidates to the user terminal.

[0013] According to the present disclosure, a maintenance contractor can be selected in accordance with the user's wishes. Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, the maintenance contractor can acquire repeat customers by providing services in their specialty.

[0014] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a maintenance reservation system according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a maintenance reservation system according to the first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which a maintenance company inputs maintenance company information; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which maintenance staff information is input; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of error information; FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of sensor data; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which reservation information is input; FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an operation procedure according to the first embodiment; FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of a maintenance reservation system according to a second embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which reservation information according to a third embodiment;

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments and can be modified as desired within the scope of the technical concept of the present disclosure. In addition, in the following drawings, the scale and number of each structure may differ from the scale and number of the actual structure in order to make each configuration easier to understand.

[0016] (Configuration of Maintenance Reservation System) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a maintenance reservation system according to a first embodiment. The maintenance reservation system includes, for example, one or more air conditioners 100, an equipment management server 200, one or more user terminals 300, multiple maintenance contractor terminals 400, a maintenance contractor server 500, and a maintenance reservation server 600. The air conditioners 100 are connected to a network NW such as the Internet via a communication device such as a router. The communication device may be, for example, a communication device installed in the home and later added to the air conditioner 100, such as an access point. The equipment management server 200, the user terminal 300, the maintenance contractor terminal 400, the maintenance contractor server 500, and the maintenance reservation server 600 each have a communication interface (not shown), such as a network interface card (NIC) or a wireless communication module, for connecting to the network NW. In the following explanation, the user of the air conditioner 100 will be referred to as the "user," the person who provides maintenance services for the air conditioner 100 as a business will be referred to as the "maintenance company," and the person who actually performs the maintenance work will also be referred to as the "maintenance worker."

[0017] In the embodiment, the servers are equipped with an equipment management server 200, a maintenance company server 500, and a maintenance reservation server 600, but this is not limited to this, and the functions of the equipment management server 200, the maintenance company server 500, and the maintenance reservation server 600 may be consolidated into a single server, or the functions of the equipment management server 200, the maintenance company server 500, and the maintenance reservation server 600 may be distributed in a form different from that in the embodiment, and some of the functions of the equipment management server 200, the maintenance company server 500, and the maintenance reservation server 600 may be provided in the user terminal 300 or the maintenance company terminal 400.

[0018] The air conditioner 100 is an example of equipment that is subject to maintenance. The air conditioner 100 includes, for example, an outdoor unit and an indoor unit that are connected to each other by a circulation path through which a refrigerant circulates. The air conditioner 100 adjusts the temperature of the indoor air by performing heat exchange between the refrigerant flowing through the circulation path and the air in the room where the indoor unit is located.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a maintenance reservation system according to the first embodiment. The air conditioner 100 includes, for example, a sensor 110, a drive unit 120, and a control unit 130. The sensor 110 includes sensors for detecting the ambient temperature, indoor temperature, and refrigerant temperature of the air conditioner 100, as well as sensors for detecting the operating status of the air conditioner 100. The drive unit 120 includes drive components such as fans, compressors, and valves in the outdoor and indoor units. The control unit 130 controls the drive unit 120 based on command values ​​received from a remote control and sensor data detected by the sensor 110. The control unit 130 also transmits device information indicating the type of the air conditioner 100, sensor data, operating data of the air conditioner 100, error information based on the sensor data, and the like to the device management server 200. The operating data of the air conditioner 100 includes, for example, information on the operating mode (e.g., heating, cooling, or dehumidification) and the operating time.

[0020] The equipment management server 200 is an information processing device such as a server device that performs management processing for the air conditioners 100. The equipment management server 200 includes, for example, an equipment information storage unit 210 and an operating data storage unit 220. The equipment information storage unit 210 accumulates equipment information for the air conditioners 100 that are the targets of management in the maintenance reservation system. The operating data storage unit 220 stores operating data, sensor data, and error information for the air conditioners 100 that are the targets of management in the maintenance reservation system. The equipment management server 200 transmits the accumulated equipment information, operating data, sensor data, and error information to the maintenance contractor server 500 as necessary.

[0021] The user terminal 300 is a smartphone, personal computer, or the like operated by a user who uses the air conditioner 100. The user terminal 300 includes, for example, a user interface unit (UI unit) 310 and a processing unit 320. The user interface unit 310 includes, for example, a display unit and an operation unit. The processing unit 320 is realized by a processor, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), executing a program stored in a program memory. Software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware is written as a program, and the program is stored in the program memory. The processing unit 320 performs various processes according to a reservation application for processing to reserve maintenance service. The processing unit 320 generates reservation information including the user's request and transmits the generated reservation information to the maintenance reservation server 600.

[0022] The maintenance agent terminal 400 is a smartphone, personal computer, or the like operated by the maintenance agent. The maintenance agent terminal 400 includes, for example, a user interface unit (UI unit) 410 and a processing unit 420. The user interface unit 410 includes, for example, a display unit and an operation unit. The processing unit 420 is realized by a processor such as a CPU executing a program stored in a program memory. Software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware is written as a program, and the program is stored in the program memory. The processing unit 420 performs various processes in accordance with a maintenance agent registration application for performing a process of registering a maintenance agent in the maintenance agent server 500.

[0023] The maintenance contractor server 500 is an information processing device such as a server device that performs management processing for maintenance contractors. The maintenance contractor server 500 includes, for example, a maintenance contractor information storage unit 510 and an equipment information storage unit 520. The maintenance contractor information storage unit 510 accumulates maintenance contractor information based on information transmitted from the maintenance contractor terminal 400. The maintenance contractor information includes information about the maintenance contractor based on the information transmitted from the maintenance contractor terminal 400. The equipment information storage unit 520 accumulates equipment information, operating data, sensor data, error information, etc., of the air conditioner 100 that is the target of maintenance service. The maintenance contractor server 500 transmits the accumulated maintenance contractor information, equipment information, operating data, sensor data, and error information to the maintenance reservation server 600 as needed.

[0024] The maintenance reservation server 600 is an information processing device, such as a server device, that manages maintenance contractors based on user requests. The maintenance reservation server 600 includes, for example, an acquisition unit 610, a reservation processing unit 620, a reservation information storage unit 630, a notification unit 640, and a reservation information acquisition unit 650. The acquisition unit 610, the reservation processing unit 620, the notification unit 640, and the reservation information acquisition unit 650 are realized by a processor, such as a CPU, executing a program stored in a program memory. The acquisition unit 610 acquires device information, operating data, sensor data, error information, and maintenance contractor information. The reservation processing unit 620 selects maintenance contractor candidates based on the device information and the maintenance contractor information, and narrows down the candidates based on the maintenance contractor information and reservation information corresponding to the maintenance contractors included in the candidates. The notification unit 640 notifies the user terminal 300 of the candidates narrowed down by the reservation processing unit 620. The reservation information acquisition unit 650 acquires reservation information from the user and transmits it to the reservation information storage unit 630. The reservation information storage unit 630 stores the reservation information transmitted by the reservation information acquisition unit 650 .

[0025] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen on which a maintenance contractor inputs maintenance contractor information. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen on which maintenance personnel information is input. Maintenance personnel information is dynamic information such as schedule information for maintenance personnel. The screen on which maintenance contractor information is input includes fields for inputting fixed information about the maintenance contractor. The screen on which maintenance contractor information is input includes, for example, a company name input field, a base address input field, a telephone number input field, a maintenance-related available work input field, a non-maintenance available work input field, a priority replacement part input field, an available property input field, and a property information input field. The maintenance contractor terminal 400 generates first work information related to work to maintain the air conditioner 100 based on input operations in the available maintenance-related work input field. The available maintenance-related work is, for example, first available work such as installation, inspection, measurement, repair, part replacement, and removal of the air conditioner 100. The maintenance contractor terminal 400 generates second work information related to work other than maintenance of the air conditioner 100 based on input operations in the available non-maintenance work input field. The non-maintenance available work is information indicating a second non-maintenance available work based on a user request. Examples of non-maintenance available work include optional services such as cleaning the air conditioner 100, housekeeping services, various usage advice, network configuration services, and unwanted item collection. The optional services may include conditions such as the gender of the worker, whether they can work in a women's dormitory, whether they have sufficient proficiency, whether they can work at high altitudes, whether they can work on equipment installed on the roof, and whether they have sufficient track record. The priority replacement parts are, for example, the names of parts in which the maintenance company specializes. Note that the maintenance company terminal 400 is not limited to priority replacement parts, and may be capable of accepting input of priority information indicating the work that the maintenance company prioritizes. The available properties indicate, for example, the types of properties that the maintenance company can handle. Property information is, for example, information about properties that the maintenance company has experience with. The maintenance company terminal 400 generates maintenance company information based on the information entered in the input fields shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and transmits the generated maintenance company information to the maintenance company server 500. The maintenance contractor server 500 stores the received maintenance contractor information in the maintenance contractor information storage unit 510, thereby registering the maintenance contractor.

[0026] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of error information. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of sensor data. The error information is, for example, information in which an error code is associated with occurrence time information indicating the time when the error occurred. The error code is, for example, information corresponding to a symptom detected in the air conditioner 100. The air conditioner 100 determines whether a condition for generating error information is met. The condition for generating error information is, for example, a condition that the sensor data detected by the sensor 110 exceeds a threshold value and that the driving state of the driving unit 120 satisfies a set condition. The error information is transmitted from the air conditioner 100 to the device management server 200 along with sensor data corresponding to the error code. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the air conditioner 100 acquires sensor data sampled every minute for 10 minutes after the error occurred, as sensor data corresponding to error code "15" that occurred at 1:45 PM on January 19, 2022, as shown in FIG. 5, and transmits the sensor data to the device management server 200.

[0027] This allows the air conditioner 100 to transmit device information, error information, sensor data, and the like to the device management server 200. The device management server 200 may select information necessary for maintenance from the information received from the air conditioner 100. The device management server 200 selects device information such as sensor data linked to the error code, operating data, and model information of the air conditioner 100, for example, and transmits the selected information to the maintenance company server 500.

[0028] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for inputting reservation information. The screen for inputting reservation information includes, for example, a name input field, an address input field, a telephone number input field, an email address input field, a purchased equipment input field, a purchase date input field, a malfunction description input field, a non-maintenance request input field, a property information input field, and a desired date and time input field. The purchased equipment input field is used to input information such as the model or serial number of the air conditioner 100. The malfunction description input field is used to input information indicating a first desired condition for maintenance work on the air conditioner 100, such as symptoms recognized by the user or an error code displayed on the remote control or the like. The non-maintenance request input field is used to input information corresponding to non-maintenance available work entered by the maintenance company. The non-maintenance request input field is used to input information indicating a second desired condition for the user to narrow down the maintenance company, such as optional services such as cleaning of the air conditioner 100, housekeeping services, various usage advice, network configuration services, and unwanted item collection. The non-maintenance request input field may be used to input information that does not correspond to non-maintenance available work entered by the maintenance company. For example, the non-maintenance request input field may contain information indicating second desired conditions, such as the building being a women's dormitory or other building with restricted access, the level of expertise of the maintenance personnel desired by the user, the work content, and special environmental conditions such as an outdoor wall-mounted or high-placed object. The property information input field contains information such as the type of building, such as a detached house or apartment building, and the floor on which the air conditioner 100 is installed. Based on the information entered in the input fields, the user terminal 300 generates reservation information including a first request for maintenance of the air conditioner 100 and a second request for work other than maintenance of the air conditioner 100, and transmits the generated reservation information to the maintenance reservation server 600.

[0029] 8 is a diagram showing an example of an operation procedure in the first embodiment described above. The maintenance contractor terminal 400 transmits maintenance contractor information to the maintenance contractor server 500 based on input from the maintenance contractor (step ST10). The maintenance contractor server 500 receives the maintenance contractor information and stores the received maintenance contractor information in the maintenance contractor information storage unit 510, thereby registering the maintenance contractor (step ST12). The air conditioner 100 transmits device information, operating data, and sensor data to the device management server 200, and the device management server 200 accumulates the device information, operating data, and sensor data.

[0030] When an error is detected, the air conditioner 100 transmits error information to the equipment management server 200. In response to receiving the error information from the air conditioner 100, the equipment management server 200 extracts the equipment information and sensor data linked to the error information from the equipment information storage unit 210 and the operating data storage unit 220, and transmits them to the maintenance company server 500 (step ST14).

[0031] The maintenance contractor server 500 selects candidate maintenance contractors by comparing the device information and error information received from the device management server 200 with the maintenance contractor information stored in the maintenance contractor information storage unit 510 (step ST18). For example, the maintenance contractor server 500 may create a list of candidate maintenance contractors capable of handling the area where the air conditioner 100 is installed, and if the model identified by the device information received from the device management server 200 is outside the range of maintenance contractors supported by the maintenance contractors, remove the maintenance contractor from the candidate list to narrow down the list of maintenance contractors. For example, if the work required to address the error identified by the error code is outside the range of work supported by the maintenance contractors, the maintenance contractor server 500 may remove the maintenance contractor from the candidate list. The maintenance contractor server 500 transmits maintenance contractor information about the selected candidate maintenance contractors to the maintenance reservation server 600. Meanwhile, the user terminal 300 receives user input and transmits reservation information including the user's request to the maintenance reservation server 600 (step ST16). This allows the maintenance reservation system to prevent the user from having to make another reservation after finding out that the maintenance company cannot meet the user's request after making the reservation.

[0032] The maintenance reservation server 600 narrows down the candidates for maintenance companies by comparing the reservation information with the maintenance company information corresponding to the maintenance companies included in the candidates (step ST20). The maintenance reservation server 600 compares the desired date and time included in the reservation information with the available maintenance schedule included in the maintenance company information to narrow down the candidates for maintenance companies that can perform maintenance on the desired date and time. Furthermore, the maintenance reservation server 600 compares requests other than maintenance included in the reservation information with available work other than maintenance included in the maintenance company information to narrow down the candidates for maintenance companies that can perform requests other than maintenance.

[0033] The maintenance reservation server 600 notifies the user of the candidates by sending information to the user terminal 300 for displaying a list of maintenance contractors included in the narrowed-down candidates. The user terminal 300 displays the list of candidates, allowing the user to select a desired maintenance contractor. When the user terminal 300 receives an operation to select a maintenance contractor, it sends information based on the selected operation to the maintenance reservation server 600. The maintenance reservation server 600 notifies the maintenance contractor terminal 400 corresponding to the maintenance contractor selected by the user that the maintenance contractor has been selected as a maintenance contractor.

[0034] The maintenance reservation server 600 may compare the maintenance requests included in the reservation information with priority information that indicates the work that the maintenance company will prioritize, and if the maintenance requests and the priority information match, may preferentially select a maintenance company that corresponds to the maintenance company information that includes the priority information. For example, if the compressor of the air conditioner 100 breaks down, the maintenance reservation server 600 may preferentially assign a maintenance company that prioritizes the compressor of the air conditioner 100.

[0035] The maintenance reservation server 600 may determine that the more non-maintenance tasks included in the maintenance contractor information match with the non-maintenance preferences included in the reservation information, the closer the maintenance contractor is to meeting the user's preferences. The maintenance reservation server 600 sorts the maintenance contractors according to the number of matches between the non-maintenance preferences included in the reservation information and the non-maintenance tasks included in the maintenance contractor information. The maintenance reservation server 600 transmits information to the user terminal 300 for displaying a list of maintenance contractors that reflects the sorting results. This allows the user terminal 300 to, for example, prioritize displaying maintenance contractors that are closest to the user's preferences. The user terminal 300 can, for example, display maintenance contractors that are closest to the user's preferences at the top of the maintenance contractor list.

[0036] The user terminal 300 may create reservation information that sets priorities for available work other than maintenance of the air conditioner 100. The maintenance reservation server 600 can display the non-maintenance work on the user terminal 300 preferentially by preferentially selecting maintenance contractors corresponding to maintenance contractor information that includes non-maintenance work that has a high priority. The maintenance reservation server 600 assigns a higher weight to the non-maintenance work that has a high priority, and calculates a score based on the number of matches between requests other than maintenance included in the reservation information and available non-maintenance work included in the maintenance contractor information, as well as the weights. This allows the maintenance reservation server 600 to sort maintenance contractors by score.

[0037] As described above, the maintenance reservation system of the first embodiment selects candidate maintenance companies based on device information and maintenance company information, and narrows down the candidates based on the maintenance company information corresponding to the maintenance companies included in the candidates and the reservation information. Furthermore, the maintenance reservation system of the first embodiment selects candidate maintenance companies based on the device information and the maintenance company information for the air conditioner 100, and narrows down the candidates based on the non-maintenance work corresponding to the maintenance companies included in the candidates and the non-maintenance requests included in the reservation information. This allows the maintenance reservation system to select a maintenance company in accordance with the user's preferences, thereby improving the user's satisfaction with the maintenance. Furthermore, the maintenance reservation system can help acquire repeat customers by providing the services that maintenance companies specialize in.

[0038] Next, a second embodiment will be described. Fig. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of a maintenance reservation system according to the second embodiment. The maintenance reservation system according to the second embodiment differs from the maintenance reservation system according to the first embodiment in that the equipment management server 200 includes an estimation unit 230. The following description will focus on this difference.

[0039] The estimation unit 230 estimates the faulty part of the air conditioner 100 based on information acquired by the air conditioner 100. The estimation unit 230 can estimate the faulty part of the air conditioner 100 based on, for example, the model and error code of the air conditioner 100. The estimation unit 230 may estimate the faulty part based on operating data or sensor data, etc., in addition to the model and error code of the air conditioner 100. The estimation unit 230 may estimate the faulty part based on past failure or maintenance history stored in the device information storage unit 210 and the operating data storage unit 220, and the correspondence between the device information, error codes, and sensor data in the history and the replaced parts in the failure or maintenance history. The estimation unit 230 may train a machine learning model using the faulty part as learning data, based on, for example, the past failure or maintenance history and the correspondence between the device information, error codes, and sensor data in the history and the replaced parts in the failure or maintenance history. As a result, when the estimation unit 230 acquires device information, an error code, and the like from the air conditioner 100, it may input the acquired device information, error code, and the like into a machine learning model and estimate the faulty part based on the output of the machine learning model. The machine learning model may be a model that uses a classification method such as a decision tree, a random forest, or LightGBM. The estimation unit 230 transmits the estimation result of the faulty part to the maintenance company server 500 together with the device information.

[0040] The maintenance contractor server 500 selects a maintenance contractor based on the faulty part estimation result, device information, and maintenance contractor information acquired from the device management server 200. The maintenance contractor server 500 can select, for example, a maintenance contractor that has designated the estimated faulty part as a priority replacement part, or a maintenance contractor that has experience maintaining the estimated faulty part. This allows the maintenance contractor server 500 to select a maintenance contractor that has expertise in repairing or replacing faulty parts, further improving user satisfaction with maintenance.

[0041] Next, a third embodiment will be described. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for inputting reservation information in the third embodiment. The screen for inputting reservation information includes the same screen for inputting reservation information as described in the first embodiment, as well as input fields for a maintenance company and a maintenance technician designated by the user. The user terminal 300 accepts an operation to input the maintenance company and the maintenance technician, generates reservation information including the designated information for the maintenance company and the maintenance technician based on the accepted operation, and transmits the generated reservation information to the maintenance reservation server 600.

[0042] The maintenance reservation server 600 compares the designation information included in the reservation information with the candidate maintenance companies selected by the maintenance company server 500. If the designated maintenance company and maintenance personnel are included in the candidate maintenance companies selected by the maintenance company server 500, the maintenance reservation server 600 transmits information to the user terminal 300 notifying that the designated maintenance company and maintenance personnel can handle the maintenance. If the designated maintenance company and maintenance personnel are not included in the candidate maintenance companies selected by the maintenance company server 500, the maintenance reservation server 600 may transmit information to the user terminal 300 notifying that the designated maintenance company and maintenance personnel cannot handle the maintenance.

[0043] As described above, the maintenance reservation system of the third embodiment can accept an operation by a user to specify a maintenance company or maintenance technician, determine whether the specified maintenance company or technician is included, and notify the user of the determination result. This allows the maintenance reservation system to specify a maintenance company at the user's request, for example, if the user wants to use a maintenance company they have used once again, thereby further improving user satisfaction. Furthermore, the maintenance reservation system can help acquire repeat customers, thereby improving maintenance company satisfaction.

[0044] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configurations are not limited to the above-described embodiments and include designs within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure. The configurations described in the above-described embodiments can be combined as desired. For example, while the embodiment has been described as being directed to an air conditioner 100 as the target of maintenance service, the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the above-described embodiments may be applied to other devices that require maintenance service.

[0045] 100...air conditioner, 110...sensor, 120...drive unit, 130...control unit, 200...equipment management server, 210...equipment information storage unit, 220...operation data storage unit, 230...estimation unit, 300...user terminal, 310...user interface unit, 320...processing unit, 400...maintenance company terminal, 410...user interface unit, 420...processing unit, 500...maintenance company server, 510...maintenance company information storage unit, 520...equipment information storage unit, 600...maintenance reservation server, 610...acquisition unit, 620...reservation processing unit, 630...reservation information storage unit, 640...notification unit, 650...reservation information acquisition unit

Claims

1. A maintenance reservation system comprising: a device information acquisition unit that acquires device information including information about devices; a maintenance company information acquisition unit that acquires maintenance company information including information about maintenance companies that provide maintenance services based on information sent from a maintenance company terminal; a reservation information acquisition unit that acquires reservation information including desired conditions for the maintenance service based on information sent from a user terminal; a processing unit that selects candidates for the maintenance company based on the device information and the maintenance company information, and narrows down the candidates based on the desired conditions and the maintenance company information corresponding to maintenance companies included in the candidates; and a notification unit that notifies the user terminal of the candidates narrowed down by the processing unit.

2. The maintenance reservation system described in claim 1, wherein the maintenance company information includes information indicating a first available task related to maintenance work for the equipment and a second available task related to work other than maintenance of the equipment, the reservation information includes information indicating a first desired condition related to maintenance work for the equipment and a second desired condition related to work other than maintenance of the equipment, and the processing unit selects the candidates based on the equipment information, the first available task, and the first desired condition, and narrows down the candidates based on the second available task corresponding to the maintenance company included in the candidates and the second desired condition.

3. The maintenance reservation system of claim 2, wherein the second desired condition includes a priority for work other than maintenance of the equipment, and the processing unit preferentially selects a maintenance company corresponding to maintenance company information that includes the second available work that matches the non-maintenance work with the high priority.

4. The maintenance reservation system of claim 2, wherein the first available work includes priority information indicating parts or work that the maintenance company will focus on performing, and the processing unit preferentially selects the maintenance company that corresponds to the priority information when the first desired conditions and the parts that the maintenance company will focus on performing match.

5. The maintenance reservation system according to claim 2, further comprising an estimation unit that estimates a faulty part of the equipment based on information relating to the equipment, and wherein the processing unit selects the candidate based on the faulty part estimated by the estimation unit and the first available work.

6. A maintenance reservation system as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the reservation information includes designation information that designates the maintenance company or maintenance personnel, and when the reservation information includes the designation information, the processing unit determines whether the candidates include the designated maintenance company or maintenance personnel, and notifies the user of the determination result.

7. A maintenance reservation method comprising the steps of: acquiring device information including information about a device; acquiring maintenance company information including information about a maintenance company that provides maintenance services based on information sent from a maintenance company terminal; acquiring reservation information including desired conditions for the maintenance service based on information sent from a user terminal; selecting candidates for the maintenance company based on the device information and the maintenance company information; narrowing down the candidates based on the maintenance company information corresponding to maintenance companies included in the candidates and the desired conditions; and notifying the user terminal of the candidates.

8. A reservation server comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires information about a maintenance company that provides maintenance services based on information sent from a maintenance company terminal, and reservation information including desired conditions for work other than equipment maintenance based on information sent from a user terminal; a processing unit that narrows down candidate maintenance companies selected based on equipment information including information about the equipment and a first available work of the maintenance company related to maintenance work for the equipment, based on a second available work of the maintenance company related to work other than equipment maintenance and the desired conditions; and a notification unit that notifies the user terminal of the candidates narrowed down by the processing unit.

9. A maintenance reservation method comprising the steps of: acquiring information about a maintenance company that provides maintenance services based on information sent from a maintenance company terminal, and reservation information including desired conditions for work other than equipment maintenance based on information sent from a user terminal; narrowing down candidate maintenance companies selected based on equipment information including information about the equipment and a first available task of the maintenance company related to maintenance work for the equipment, based on a second available task of the maintenance company related to work other than equipment maintenance and the desired conditions; and notifying the candidate companies to the user terminal.

10. A program that causes a computer to execute the steps of: acquiring information about a maintenance company that provides maintenance services based on information sent from a maintenance company terminal, and reservation information including desired conditions for work other than equipment maintenance based on information sent from a user terminal; narrowing down the candidates for maintenance companies selected based on equipment information including information about the equipment and the first available work of the maintenance company related to maintenance work for the equipment, based on a second available work of the maintenance company related to work other than equipment maintenance and the desired conditions; and notifying the candidates to the user terminal.

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