Information processing device

Abstract

To propose a facility suitable for work desired by a user of a vehicle to the user.SOLUTION: An information processing device comprises a control unit configured to execute the steps of: accepting a specification of desired work which is work on a vehicle desired by a user; determining whether or not a first facility associated with the user can cope with the desired work; outputting information for recommending the first facility as a facility for performing the desired work to a terminal related to the user according to the determination that the first facility can cope with the desired work; and outputting information for recommending a second facility other than the first facility as the facility for performing the desired work to the terminal related to the user according to the determination that the first facility cannot cope with the desired work.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device. [Background technology]

[0002] A system is known in which manufacturers and dealers have websites on the Internet, and when a general consumer accesses the manufacturer's website, all registered dealers are introduced, and when a general consumer accesses the manufacturer's website via a dealer's website, only the dealer whose website the general consumer accessed via the dealer's website is introduced (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-099753 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] An object of the present disclosure is to suggest to vehicle users facilities suitable for the work they desire. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing device including a control unit configured to perform the following: accept a designation of a desired work, which is work on a vehicle desired by a user; determine whether a first facility associated with the user is capable of performing the desired work; and, in response to determining that the desired work can be performed at the first facility, output information to a terminal associated with the user for recommending the first facility as a facility for performing the desired work; and, in response to determining that the desired work cannot be performed at the first facility, output information to a terminal associated with the user for recommending a second facility other than the first facility as a facility for performing the desired work.

[0006] The present disclosure can also be regarded as an information processing method in which a computer executes the processing of the information processing device. Also, the present disclosure can be regarded as an information processing program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method, or a non-transitory storage medium for storing the information processing program. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to suggest facilities suitable for the desired work to a vehicle user. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a transition of a proposal Web page in the embodiment. [Diagram 3] 4 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a user information DB and a facility information DB. FIG. [Figure 4] 11 is a flowchart showing a processing routine executed by the server when a user accesses the URL of an input page through a web browser on a user terminal. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] For example, when a vehicle user desires to have the vehicle maintained, the user may request the maintenance from the store where the user purchased the vehicle. However, the store that sold the vehicle may not have the equipment to perform vehicle maintenance. In such a case, the user may search for a facility that can perform vehicle maintenance and request the maintenance from that facility. However, it is not always possible to find such a facility immediately. In addition, it is time-consuming for the user to check for himself or herself whether the facility can handle the work that the user desires.

[0010] In contrast, in the information processing device according to the present disclosure, the control unit accepts designation of a desired task, which is a task desired by the user for a vehicle. In one example, the control unit may output a user interface screen including an input field for the task desired by the user (desired task) through a web browser of a terminal related to the user, and cause the desired task to be input into the input field. The terminal related to the user may be a computer carried by the user, such as a smartphone, or may be a computer mounted on the user's vehicle. The desired task may be, for example, a statutory inspection, repair, tire replacement, battery replacement, brake pad replacement, item installation, or software update.

[0011] The control unit also determines whether a first facility associated with the user is capable of handling the desired work. The first facility is, for example, a facility stored in the storage unit in association with the user. The first facility is, for example, a store that sold the vehicle to the user, a facility to which the user previously requested vehicle maintenance, a facility where the user went to pick up a vehicle purchased online, a facility where the user went to pick up a vehicle leased online, or a facility where a vehicle purchase contract or lease contract was made. Whether the first facility is capable of handling the desired work may be stored in the storage unit.

[0012] Furthermore, when the control unit determines that the desired work can be performed at the first facility, the control unit outputs information for recommending the first facility as a facility for performing the desired work to a terminal associated with the user. In one example, the control unit may output a user interface screen including information for recommending the first facility through a web browser of the terminal associated with the user. The user interface screen may be configured to display the name, address, and contact information of the first facility of the first facility.

[0013] Meanwhile, in response to determining that the desired work cannot be performed at the first facility, the control unit outputs information for recommending a second facility other than the first facility as a facility for performing the desired work to a terminal related to the user. In one example, the control unit may output a user interface screen including information for recommending the second facility through a web browser of the terminal related to the user. The user interface screen may be configured to display the name, address, and contact information of the second facility of the second facility, etc.

[0014] The second facility is a facility other than the first facility where the desired work can be performed. The second facility may be, for example, a facility related to the first facility. The second facility may be, for example, a facility with the same capital as the first facility, or a facility of a group company or an affiliated company of the company that operates the first facility. The second facility may be, for example, a facility that is also beneficial to the company that operates the first facility. The second facility may be a facility that is registered to be proposed instead of the first facility. In this way, the second facility is a facility that has some kind of relationship with the first facility, or a facility that is associated with the first facility.

[0015] In this way, the user of the vehicle can learn about the facility (the first facility or the second facility) that can handle the desired work by specifying the work that the user desires. This saves the user the trouble of having to search for a facility to request work by himself / herself.

[0016] Specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Unless otherwise specified, the hardware configuration, module configuration, functional configuration, and the like described in the following embodiments are not intended to limit the technical scope of the disclosure to only those.

[0017] <Embodiment> DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, an example in which an information processing device according to the present disclosure is applied to a system that provides services for vehicles will be described.

[0018] (System Configuration) Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration example of a system 1 according to the present embodiment. The system 1 according to the present embodiment provides services for a vehicle 10, and includes a user terminal 100 and a server 200. In the example shown in Fig. 1, only one user terminal 100 is shown, but multiple user terminals 100 may be included in the system 1.

[0019] The user terminal 100 is a terminal used by a user of the vehicle 10, and is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a wearable terminal, a PC (Personal Computer), or the like. In the embodiment, a browser application program is installed on the user terminal 100.

[0020] The server 200 is a computer operated by a provider of a service such as inspection or maintenance of the vehicle 10. As an example, the service provider may be a business that has sold or leased the vehicle 10 to the user. As another example, the service provider may be a repairer of the vehicle 10, a seller of items to be installed on the vehicle 10, or a business that performs installation work on the vehicle 10. The server 200 can be configured as a computer having a processor such as a CPU or GPU, a main storage device such as a RAM and a ROM, and an auxiliary storage device such as an EPROM, a hard disk drive, or a removable medium. The auxiliary storage device of the server 200 stores an operating system (OS), various programs, and various tables. The processor of the server 200 loads a program stored in the auxiliary storage device into an installation work area of ​​the main storage device and executes it to realize each function that matches a predetermined purpose, as described later. However, some or all of the functions of the server 200 may be realized by a hardware circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0021] The server 200 in this embodiment is configured to be capable of implementing a Web server for interacting with the user terminal 100. The server 200 interacts with the user terminal 100 through the execution of the Web server, thereby accepting a designation of a task desired by the user of the vehicle 10 (desired task) and providing the user with information recommending facilities suitable for performing the desired task. The server 200 may provide the above-mentioned services by means of a means other than a Web server. For example, a service that interacts with dedicated application software installed in the user terminal 100 through a predetermined protocol may be executed in the server 200.

[0022] The server 200 that realizes the above-mentioned functions includes a communication unit 210, a control unit 220, and a storage unit 230, as shown in FIG.

[0023] The communication unit 210 is a communication interface for connecting the server 200 to the network N1. The communication unit 210 connects to the network N1 via, for example, a LAN or Wi-Fi (registered trademark), and communicates with the user terminal 100 via the network N1. The network N1 may be, for example, a WAN, which is a global public communication network such as the Internet, or Other communication networks.

[0024] The control unit 220 is a software module that is realized by the processor of the server 200 executing a program stored in an auxiliary storage device. The control unit 220 interacts with the user terminal 100 through the execution of a Web server. In this embodiment, the control unit 220 displays an input page on the browser of the user terminal 100. In one example, the input page includes input fields for a user ID and a vehicle ID, an input field for a desired operation, and the like.

[0025] When the user ID, the vehicle ID, and the desired work are input on the input page, the control unit 220 generates recommended information. The recommended information is information about facilities recommended as a request destination for the desired work. In generating such recommended information, the control unit 220 first identifies a first facility associated with the user according to the user ID and the vehicle ID input on the input page. The first facility is a store or the like where the user purchased the vehicle 10. Furthermore, the control unit 220 determines whether the first facility can handle the desired work. For example, the control unit 220 may determine whether the first facility can handle the desired work by determining whether the first facility has a technical level required for the desired work. The technical level required for the desired work includes having the equipment required to perform the desired work and having the worker have the skills required to perform the desired work. If the first facility does not support the desired work, the control unit 220 identifies a second facility that can handle the desired work. The second facility is, for example, a facility linked to the first facility. The control unit 220 may determine whether the second facility is capable of performing the desired work by determining whether the second facility has a skill level required for the desired work.

[0026] The above-mentioned first facility and second facility are identified based on information stored in the storage unit 230 (information registered in the user information DB 231 and information registered in the facility information DB 232) described later.

[0027] When the control unit 220 has finished identifying the first facility or the second facility that can handle the desired work, it generates recommendation information. The recommendation information is information for recommending that the desired work be requested from the first facility or the second facility. In one example, the recommendation information may include information regarding, for example, the name, location, and contact information of the first facility or the second facility. When the control unit 220 has finished generating the recommendation information, it outputs an output page including the generated recommendation information through the web browser of the user terminal 100.

[0028] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the transition of the proposal Web page in this embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 2, an output page is output based on the contents input by the user to the input page. The input page includes a field (G1 in FIG. 2) for inputting a user ID and a vehicle ID, a pull-down menu (G2 in FIG. 2) for selecting a desired work, and a GUI component (G3 in FIG. 2) representing a button for requesting a search for a facility corresponding to the desired work. The user ID is an identification symbol of the user, and is given by the control unit 220 of the server 200 at the time of user registration, for example. The vehicle ID is an identification symbol of the vehicle 10, and is, for example, the number of the vehicle registration plate (number plate) corresponding to the vehicle 10. The desired work is configured so that the user can select it from the pull-down menu. As another example, a field for the user to input the desired work may be provided, and the user may input the desired work. When the user taps the button displayed as "Search for facility" in the input page shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 220 identifies the first facility or the second facility. Then, the identified result is output to the output page.

[0029] The output page includes a display field for recommended information (G4 in FIG. 2) and a GUI component (G5 in FIG. 2) representing a button for reserving the first facility or the second facility. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the display field for recommended information (G4 in FIG. 2) includes a user ID, a vehicle ID, a work name (the name of the desired work), a name of the work shop (the name of the facility where the work will be performed), a location of the work shop (the location of the facility where the work will be performed), and and the contact information of the work shop (contact information of the facility where the work is performed). As another example, for example, the first facility or the second facility may be displayed in real time based on the user's input (i.e., without the user tapping the button displayed as "Find facility"). In this case, the location of the first facility or the second facility may be shown in real time by displaying an icon of the first facility or the second facility on the map. Then, the name of the first facility or the second facility may be displayed by the user tapping the icon displayed on the map.

[0030] 2, when the user taps a button indicating "Make a reservation" through the user terminal 100, the control unit 220 transmits information related to the reservation to the terminal of the corresponding facility through the communication unit 210. In one example, the information related to the reservation includes information such as the user ID, the vehicle ID, and the desired work.

[0031] The configuration of the proposal Web page is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 2, and the display contents can be flexibly changed according to the embodiment.

[0032] Next, the storage unit 230 is a storage area constructed in an auxiliary storage device of the server 200. In the present embodiment, a user information DB 231 and a facility information DB 232 are constructed in the storage unit 230. The user information DB 231 and the facility information DB 232 are relational databases constructed by the processor of the server 200 executing a DBMS (Database Management System) program.

[0033] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the user information DB 231 and the facility information DB 232. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the user information DB 231 has fields for a user ID, a vehicle ID, a location, and a first facility ID. The user ID field stores a user ID, which is identification information for identifying a user. The vehicle ID field stores a vehicle ID, which is identification information for identifying the vehicle 10. The location field stores the location of the user. The location of the user is, for example, the address of the user or the storage location of the vehicle 10. Information on the location of the user includes information on the address or coordinates. The first facility ID field stores a facility ID, which is identification information of a facility linked to the user and the vehicle 10. The facility ID corresponding to the facility where the user purchased the vehicle 10 or the facility where the user previously requested work on the vehicle 10 is stored here. The user information DB 231 stores information collected, for example, when the user purchases the vehicle 10 or when the user makes a lease contract for the vehicle 10. As another example, if the first facility ID stores a facility ID corresponding to a facility to which a user previously requested work to be performed on vehicle 10, the facility ID may be transmitted from a terminal of the facility where the work was performed to server 200 each time the work is performed, and the first facility ID field may be updated.

[0034] In the example shown in FIG. 3, the facility information DB232 has fields for facility ID, name, location, contact, available work, and group. The facility ID field stores a facility ID, which is identification information of the facility. The name field stores information related to the name of the facility. The location field stores information related to the location of the facility. The information related to the location of the facility includes information related to the address or coordinates. The contact field stores information related to the contact information of the facility. The contact information includes a telephone number, an email address, an SNS account, a homepage address, or the like. The available work field stores information related to work that the facility can handle. For example, information related to work that can be handled from a terminal of each facility may be input into the available work field, or information related to work corresponding to the facilities owned by each facility may be input into the available work field. A plurality of available work may be input into the available work field. The group field stores information related to the group to which the facility belongs. Each facility corresponds to, for example, capital, a group company, an affiliated company, etc. The items are grouped according to the following criteria:

[0035] (Processing flow) The process flow executed by the server 200 in this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing a process routine executed by the server 200 when a user accesses the URL of an input page through a web browser of the user terminal 100. Note that the process routine in Fig. 4 is executed by the processor of the server 200, but the following description will be given assuming that the software module of the server 200 is the executing entity.

[0036] When the user accesses the URL of the input page through the web browser of the user terminal 100, the control unit 220 of the server 200 outputs the input page to the user terminal 100. As a result, the control unit 220 causes the input page to be displayed on the web browser of the user terminal 100 (step S101). As described above, the input page includes input fields for the user ID and vehicle ID, and a pull-down menu of desired work. In response to the user's input on the input page, the control unit 220 accepts the designation of the desired work. After completing the processing of step S101, the control unit 220 executes the processing of step S102.

[0037] In step S102, the control unit 220 determines whether or not the user has tapped a button displayed as "Find Facility" on the input page. If the button has not been tapped (negative determination in step S102), the control unit 220 waits until the button is tapped. On the other hand, if the user has tapped the button displayed as "Find Facility" (positive determination in step S102), the control unit 220 executes the process of step S103.

[0038] In step S103, the control unit 220 identifies a first facility associated with the user based on the information entered on the input page and the information stored in the user information DB 231. Specifically, the control unit 220 first accesses the user information DB 231 based on the user ID and vehicle ID entered on the input page, and identifies a record corresponding to the entered user ID and vehicle ID. The control unit 220 identifies the first facility by extracting the first facility ID from the identified record.

[0039] After completing the process of step S103, the control unit 220 executes the process of step S104. In step S104, the control unit 220 determines whether the first facility identified in step S103 can handle the desired work. Specifically, the control unit 220 accesses the facility information DB 232 based on the first facility identified in step S103, and identifies a record corresponding to the first facility ID. The control unit 220 determines whether the desired work can be handled according to the information stored in the available work field of the identified record.

[0040] If the first facility can handle the desired work (positive determination in step S104), the control unit 220 determines in step S105 that the facility where the desired work will be performed (hereinafter also referred to as the work facility) is the first facility. After completing the process of step S105, the control unit 220 executes the process of step S108.

[0041] On the other hand, if the first facility is not capable of handling the desired work (negative determination in step S104), the control unit 220 identifies a second facility in step S106. Specifically, the control unit 220 accesses the facility information DB 232 based on the first facility identified in step S103, and extracts records corresponding to facilities that have the same information as the first facility stored in the group field and that are capable of handling the desired work. In this way, facilities that belong to the same group as the first facility and are capable of handling the desired work are identified.

[0042] The second facilities extracted from the facility information DB 232 may be limited to facilities existing within a predetermined range including the user's location. The predetermined range is a range to which the user may travel to perform work on the vehicle 10. The predetermined range may be a range defined by time, such as a range that can be traveled in one hour, or a range defined by distance, such as 30 km. The predetermined range may be a range registered in advance by the user, or may be a range determined in advance by the server 200.

[0043] When there are a plurality of facilities that have the same information as the first facility stored in the group field and that correspond to the desired work, the control unit 220 identifies one of them. At this time, the control unit 220 may identify, for example, the facility closest to the user's location as the second facility. In this case, based on the information stored in the location field of the user information DB 231 and the information stored in the location field of the facility information DB 232, the facility that is the shortest distance between the user's location and the facility's location is identified as the second facility. In addition, when a corresponding facility does not exist within a predetermined range, the second facility may be extracted including facilities outside the predetermined range. When there are a plurality of facilities outside the predetermined range, the facility closest to the user's location may be identified as the second facility.

[0044] After completing the process of step S106, the control unit 220 executes the process of step S107. In step S107, the control unit 220 determines the work facility to be the second facility identified in step S106. After completing the process of step S107, the control unit 220 executes the process of step S108.

[0045] In step S108, the control unit 220 generates recommendation information. The recommendation information is information that recommends that the desired work be requested from the first facility or the second facility. In one example, the recommendation information may include information on the name, location, contact information, etc. of the work facility. The control unit 220 extracts information on the first facility determined in step S105 or the second facility determined in step S107 from the facility information DB 232 to generate the recommendation information. After completing the process of step S108, the control unit 220 executes the process of step S109.

[0046] In step S109, the control unit 220 outputs an output page including the recommended information generated in step S108 through the web browser of the user terminal 100. As illustrated in Fig. 2 above, the output page includes a display field for the recommended information (G4 in Fig. 2) and a GUI component (G5 in Fig. 2) representing a button for requesting a reservation for the desired work at the work facility (a button indicating "Reserve"). After completing the processing of step S109, the control unit 220 executes the processing of step S110.

[0047] In step S110, the control unit 220 judges whether or not the user has tapped a button displayed as "Make a reservation" on the output page through the user terminal 100. If the button displayed as "Make a reservation" has been tapped (positive judgment in step S110), the control unit 220 executes the process of step S111. On the other hand, if the button displayed as "Make a reservation" has not been tapped (negative judgment in step S110), the control unit 220 waits until the button is tapped. Note that if viewing of the output page is terminated without the button being tapped (when execution of the Web browser is terminated in the user terminal 100, or when the display target of the Web browser of the user terminal 100 is shifted from the output page to another Web page, etc.), the control unit 220 may terminate execution of the processing routine of FIG. 4.

[0048] In step S111, the control unit 220 transmits a reservation request to the terminal of the work facility via the communication unit 210. The reservation request is a reservation request to perform the desired work on the vehicle 10. The reservation request includes information necessary for the reservation. For example, a user ID, a vehicle ID, and information regarding the desired work may be transmitted to the terminal of the work facility. The control unit 220 then transmits the reservation request to the terminal of the work facility. The control unit 220 may obtain information on the date and time when the work is available and present it to the user terminal 100. Furthermore, the control unit 220 may obtain information on the date and time when the work is desired from the user terminal 100 and request the terminal of the work facility to reserve the date and time. After completing the process of step S111, the control unit 220 ends the execution of this processing routine.

[0049] (Actions and Effects of the Embodiments) In the embodiment described above, when the user of the vehicle 10 specifies a desired task on the input page, the server 200 causes the output page to be displayed on the web browser of the user terminal 100. This allows the user of the vehicle 10 to know the work facilities that can handle the desired task. In other words, the user of the vehicle 10 can know the facilities that are suitable for the desired task.

[0050] In this embodiment, the server 200 corresponds to an "information processing device" according to the present disclosure. The control unit 220 of the server 200 corresponds to a "control unit" according to the present disclosure. Furthermore, the storage unit 230 of the server 200 corresponds to a "storage unit" according to the present disclosure.

[0051] <Other embodiments> The above-described embodiment is merely an example, and the present disclosure may be modified as appropriate within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the processing performed by the server 200 may be performed by the user terminal 100. That is, the user terminal 100 may output a user interface screen similar to the input page, identify a first facility, determine a work facility, generate recommended information, and output a user interface screen similar to the output page through the execution of a dedicated application program. In this case, the user terminal 100 corresponds to the "information processing device" according to the present disclosure. Also, the "control unit" according to the present disclosure is achieved by the processor of the user terminal 100 executing a dedicated application program.

[0052] In addition, the processes and configurations described in this disclosure can be freely combined and implemented as long as no technical contradictions arise. Furthermore, a process described as being performed by one device may be shared and executed by multiple devices. Furthermore, a process described as being performed by different devices may be executed by one device. In a computer system, the hardware configuration for implementing each function can be flexibly changed. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 100 User terminal, 200 Server, 210 Communication unit, 220 Control unit, 230 Storage unit, 231 User information DB, 232 Facility information DB

Claims

1. Accepting a designation of a desired operation, which is an operation on a vehicle desired by a user; determining whether a first facility associated with the user is capable of handling the desired activity; outputting, in response to determining that the desired work can be performed at the first facility, information for recommending the first facility as a facility for performing the desired work to a terminal related to the user; outputting, in response to determining that the desired work cannot be performed at the first facility, information for recommending a second facility other than the first facility as a facility for performing the desired work to a terminal related to the user; A control unit configured to execute Information processing device.

2. Outputting information for recommending the second facility Identifying the second facility that is located within a predetermined range including the location of the user; and outputting information for recommending the second facility identified within the predetermined range when the second facility is present within the predetermined range; Including, The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. Outputting information for recommending the second facility When the second facility is not present within the predetermined range, identifying the second facility that is present outside the predetermined range; and outputting information for recommending the second facility identified outside the predetermined range; Further comprising: The information processing device according to claim 2 .

4. The second facility is a facility associated with the first facility. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

5. Location information for multiple facilities; Information regarding the desired work that each of the plurality of facilities can handle; and Information about the first facility associated with the user; and Information regarding the location of the user; Further comprising a storage unit for storing Outputting information for recommending the second facility Identifying the second facility corresponding to the desired work, the second facility being closest to a location of the user; and outputting information for recommending the identified second facility; Further comprising: The information processing device according to claim 1 .

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