Shoe rental management apparatus and shoe rental management method

Abstract

To provide a shoe rental management apparatus configured to cope with a situation in which shoes of a size requested by a user are out of inventory of a rental company.SOLUTION: A shoe rental management apparatus 10A includes: a receiving unit 111A which receives first information indicating first shoes desired to be rent by a user U; an acquisition unit 112 which acquires inventory information indicating inventory of available shoes; and a recommendation unit 116 which recommends, when the first shoes indicated by the first information do not exist in the inventory indicated by the inventory information, second shoes and cushions to the user U, the second shoes being of the same kind, held in stock, larger than the first shoes.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a shoe lending management device and a shoe lending management method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a management device used when lending an item to a user has been used.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a terminal lending management device including a reservation management server that manages the inventory of terminals or the lending reservation information of terminals. Further, Non-Patent Document 1 discloses the service contents of a shop that rents out mornings.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

[0005]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] In the technology according to Patent Document 1, terminals of various sizes are lent out, but it has not been assumed that a user borrows a terminal of a desired size. On the other hand, when the item to be lent out is shoes, it is assumed that the shoes of the size that the user wants to borrow do not exist in the inventory of the lending business that lends out shoes.

[0007] In the service according to Non-Patent Document 2, when a morning suit in a size suitable for the user is not prepared, some size adjustment can be made by using the adjuster attached to the morning suit. However, when the item to be lent is shoes, an adjuster for adjusting the size is generally not attached to the shoes.

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a shoe lending management apparatus and a shoe lending management method that can handle the case where shoes in the size desired by the user do not exist in the inventory of the lending company.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] A shoe lending management apparatus according to a preferred aspect of the present invention includes a reception unit that receives first information indicating a first shoe that a user wishes to lend, an acquisition unit that acquires inventory information indicating the inventory of lendable shoes, and when the first shoe indicated by the first information does not exist in the inventory indicated by the inventory information, a second shoe that is in the inventory, has a larger size than the first shoe, and has the same type as the first shoe, and a cushion, and a recommendation unit that recommends them to the user.

[0010] Further, a shoe lending management method according to a preferred aspect of the present invention receives first information indicating a first shoe that a user wishes to lend, acquires inventory information indicating the inventory of lendable shoes, and when the first shoe indicated by the first information does not exist in the inventory indicated by the inventory information, recommends to the user a second shoe that is in the inventory, has a larger size than the first shoe, and has the same type as the first shoe, and a cushion.

Effects of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it becomes possible to provide a shoe lending management apparatus that can handle the case where shoes in the size desired by the user do not exist in the inventory of the lending company.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, various embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The shoe rental management device of the present disclosure can, as an example, handle the case where the shoes of the size that the user wants to borrow do not exist in the inventory of the rental company. More specifically, the shoe rental management device of the present disclosure can effectively utilize the shoes of a larger size when the shoes of the size that the user wants to borrow do not exist in the inventory of the rental company but the shoes of a size larger than the size that the user wants to borrow exist in the inventory.

[0014] 1: First Embodiment Hereinafter, the shoe rental management system 1A according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

[0015] 1-1: Configuration of the First Embodiment 1-1-1: Overall Configuration FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the shoe rental management system 1A according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the shoe rental management system 1A includes a shoe rental management device 10A and n terminal devices 20[1], terminal device 20[2],... terminal device 20[k],... terminal device 20[n]. n is an integer of 1 or more. k is an integer of 1 or more and n or less. In the following description, the terminal devices 20[1] to 20[n] may be collectively referred to as the "terminal device 20". In FIG. 1, it is assumed that the user U uses the terminal device 20. Also, it is assumed that the user U[k] uses the terminal device 20[k].

[0016] The shoe rental management device 10A is a device used by a merchant who rents out shoes to manage the shoes to be rented out. Here, "shoes" means an article used for walking by wearing on the feet. For example, sneakers, men's shoes, women's shoes, pumps, boots, sandals, slippers, geta, straw sandals, trekking suits, hiking boots, and ski boots fall under "shoes". Also, in the present disclosure, "shoes" are classified, as an example, by two elements: the manufacturer that manufactured the shoes and the model of the shoes. Therefore, if the manufacturer that manufactured the shoes and the model of the shoes are the same, the types of shoes are the same. Shoes manufactured by different manufacturers have different types of shoes. Also, shoes with different models have different types of shoes. However, there are shoes of multiple sizes among the "shoes" classified into the same type. However, "shoes" may be classified by other elements. For example, "shoes" may be classified by the material of the shoes or the price of the shoes as other elements. Also, "shoes" may be classified by one element or by three or more elements.

[0017] The terminal device 20[k] is a device used by the user U[k] to borrow shoes from a merchant who lends shoes. The user U[k] inputs to the terminal device 20[k] the type of shoes classified by the manufacturer and model of the shoes he / she wants to borrow. The information indicating the type of the shoes is transmitted from the terminal device 20[k] to the shoe lending management device 10A. Also, the user U[k] may input to the terminal device 20[k] the size of the shoes he / she wants to borrow. The terminal device 20[k] may be, for example, a PC (Personal Computer), or a portable terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet. The same applies to other terminal devices 20 other than the terminal device 20[k].

[0018] 1-1-2: Configuration of Shoe Lending Management Device 10A FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the shoe lending management device 10A. As shown in FIG. 2, the shoe lending management device 10A includes a processing device 11A, a storage device 12A, a communication device 13, a display device 14, and an input device 15. Each element of the shoe lending management device 10A is interconnected by one or more buses for communicating information. Note that the term "device" in this specification may be read as other terms such as a circuit, a device, or a unit.

[0019] The processing device 11A is a processor that controls the entire shoe lending management device 10A. The processing device 11A is configured using, for example, one or more chips. Also, the processing device 11A is configured using, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, an arithmetic unit, and registers. Note that some or all of the functions of the processing device 11A may be realized by hardware such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), and an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The processing device 11A executes various processes in parallel or sequentially.

[0020] The storage device 12A is a recording medium that can be read from and written to by the processing device 11A. The storage device 12A includes, for example, a non-volatile memory and a volatile memory. The non-volatile memory is, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), and an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). The volatile memory is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory). Further, the storage device 12A stores a control program PR1A executed by the processing device 11A, an inventory information database SDB, and a history information database HDB. Further, the storage device 12A functions as a work area of the processing device 11A.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the inventory information database SDB. In the inventory information database SDB, inventory information indicating the inventory of shoes to be lent is stored for each type and size of shoes. The inventory information database SDB has, as its items, a manufacturer name, a model name, a size, and an inventory quantity. The "manufacturer name" indicates the manufacturer name of the shoes. The "model name" indicates the model name of the shoes. The "size" indicates the size of the shoes. The "inventory quantity" indicates the inventory quantity of the shoes of the size indicated by the "size" among the types of shoes indicated by the "manufacturer name" and the "model name".

[0022] The inventory information database SDB shown in FIG. 3 has, as an example, inventory information indicating that the inventory quantity of shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model name of "Pa", and a size of "25.0" is 4.

[0023] Figure 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the history information database HDB. The history information database HDB stores history information indicating the history of shoes lent to user U in the past. In other words, the history information database HDB stores history information indicating the history of shoes borrowed by user U in the past. The history information database HDB has, as its items, the user ID of user U who lent the shoes, the lending date and time, the manufacturer name, the model name, and the size. "User ID" indicates the identifier of user U. "Lending date and time" indicates the date and time when the shoes were lent to user U. "Manufacturer name" indicates the manufacturer name of the shoes lent to user U. "Model name" indicates the model name of the shoes lent to user U. "Size" indicates the size of the shoes lent to user U.

[0024] The history information database HDB shown in Figure 4, as an example, has history information indicating that shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model name of "Pa", and a size of "25.0" were lent to user U with a user ID of "008" on August 19, 2023.

[0025] In addition, if the merchant who lends shoes using the shoe lending management device 10A is also engaged in the business of selling shoes, the history information database HDB may store, in addition to the history of shoes lent to user U in the past, history information indicating the history of shoes sold to user U in the past. Generally speaking, the history information database HDB may store history information indicating the history of shoes used by user U in the past.

[0026] In FIG. 2, the communication device 13 is hardware as a transceiver device for communicating with other devices. The communication device 13 is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module. The communication device 13 may include a connector for wired connection and an interface circuit corresponding to the connector. Further, the communication device 13 may include a wireless communication interface. Examples of the connector for wired connection and the interface circuit include products compliant with wired LAN, IEEE1394, and USB. Examples of the wireless communication interface include products compliant with wireless LAN and Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0027] The display device 14 is a device for displaying images and character information. The display device 14 displays various images under the control of the processing device 11A. For example, various display panels such as a liquid crystal display panel and an organic EL display panel are suitably used as the display device 14.

[0028] The input device 15 is a device that receives operations from the administrator of the shoe rental management device 10A. For example, the input device 15 includes a pointing device such as a keyboard, a touch pad, a touch panel, or a mouse. Here, when the input device 15 includes a touch panel, it may also serve as the display device 14.

[0029] By reading and executing the control program PR1A from the storage device 12A, the processing device 11A functions as a reception unit 111A, an acquisition unit 112, a first determination unit 113, a second determination unit 114, a specification unit 115, and a recommendation unit 116.

[0030] The reception unit 111A receives first information indicating the shoes that the user U wishes to rent. The first information includes designation information indicating the type of the shoes and size information indicating the size of the shoes. The shoes that the user U wishes to rent are an example of "the first shoes".

[0031] The reception unit 111A receives, as an example, the types of shoes classified by manufacturer and model from the terminal device 20 used by the user U. Specifically, the reception unit 111A receives the specified information transmitted from the terminal device 20 via the communication device 13. The specified information indicates the type of shoes specified by the user U. The specified information is determined in the terminal device 20, for example, when the user U specifies the type of shoes that the user U wishes to rent while browsing the website provided by the shoe rental management device 10A. Specifically, when the user U inputs the type of shoes on the screen for inputting the type of shoes that the user wishes to rent on the website, or when the user U clicks the rent button on the screen where the manufacturer and model are displayed on the website, the terminal device 20 determines the specified information.

[0032] Furthermore, the reception unit 111A receives size information indicating the shoe size of the user U from the terminal device 20 used by the user U. The shoe size of the user U is determined in the terminal device 20, for example, when the user U specifies the shoe size that the user U wishes to rent while browsing the website provided by the shoe rental management device 10A. Specifically, when the user U inputs the shoe size on the screen for inputting the shoe size that the user wishes to rent on the website, or when the user U clicks the rent button on the screen where the shoe size is displayed on the website, the terminal device 20 determines the size information.

[0033] The acquisition unit 112 acquires inventory information indicating the inventory of rentable shoes from the inventory information database SDB.

[0034] The acquisition unit 112 may acquire history information indicating the history of shoes used by the user U in the past from the history information database HDB. When the type of shoes received by the reception unit 111A is included in the history information acquired by the acquisition unit 112, size information indicating the size of the shoes included in the history information may be acquired. In this case, instead of receiving size information indicating the size of the user U's shoes from the terminal device 20 used by the user U, the reception unit 111A receives the size information acquired by the acquisition unit 112.

[0035] The first determination unit 113 determines a first determination condition indicating whether there is a first shoe indicated by the first information received by the reception unit 111A among the available shoe stocks indicated by the inventory information acquired by the acquisition unit 112.

[0036] When the determination result of the first determination condition is negative, the second determination unit 114 determines a second determination condition indicating whether there is an inventory of shoes of the same type as that received by the reception unit 111A and having a size larger than the size received by the reception unit 111A among the available shoe stocks. The shoes of the larger size are an example of the "second shoes".

[0037] In the example of the inventory information database SDB shown in FIG. 3, when the type of shoes received by the reception unit 111A is the type of shoes with the manufacturer name "Aaa" and the model name "Pa", and the size received by the reception unit 111A is "25.0", the determination result of the first determination condition is affirmative. On the other hand, when the type of shoes received by the reception unit 111A is the type of shoes with the manufacturer name "Aaa" and the model name "Qa", and the size received by the reception unit 111A is "25.0", the determination result of the first determination condition is negative. Also, in this case, since the inventory quantity of shoes of the type with the manufacturer name "Aaa" and the model name "Qa" and the size "25.5" is "3", the determination result of the second determination condition is affirmative.

[0038] When the result of the first determination condition is affirmative, the specifying unit 115 specifies shoes of the same type as the type received by the receiving unit 111A and of the size received by the receiving unit 111A. Further, when the result of the first determination condition is negative and the result of the second determination condition is affirmative, the specifying unit 115 specifies shoes of the same type as the type received by the receiving unit 111A and of a size larger than the size received by the receiving unit 111A. When there are shoes of a plurality of sizes as shoes of a size larger than the size received by the receiving unit 111A, it is preferable that the specifying unit 115 specifies, as an example, the shoe of the smallest size among these shoes of a plurality of sizes. Furthermore, when the result of the first determination condition is negative and the result of the second determination condition is negative, the specifying unit 115 does not specify shoes.

[0039] When the specifying unit 115 specifies shoes of the same type as the type received by the receiving unit 111A and of the size received by the receiving unit 111A, the recommending unit 116 recommends the specified shoes to the user U. On the other hand, when the specifying unit 115 specifies shoes of the same type as the type received by the receiving unit 111A and of a size larger than the size received by the receiving unit 111A, the recommending unit 116 recommends the shoes of the larger size. Furthermore, the recommending unit 116 recommends to the user U a cushion corresponding to the difference between the size of the shoes of the larger size and the size of the shoes received by the receiving unit 111A, together with the shoes of the larger size.

[0040] Here, the "cushion" means an article that is used auxiliary to fill the difference between the size of the user's own foot and the size of the shoe when the user wears shoes of a size larger than the size of their own foot. For example, insoles, insoles, footbeds, and heel pads correspond to "shoes".

[0041] When the recommending unit 116 recommends a cushion to the user U, the user U may be prompted to select one cushion from a plurality of cushions by recommending a plurality of cushions of different types. In this case, at least one of the color and the function of the plurality of cushions is different from each other.

[0042] 1-1-3: Configuration of Terminal Device 20 FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the terminal device 20. As shown in FIG. 5, the terminal device 20 includes a processing device 21, a storage device 22, a communication device 23, a display device 24, and an input device 25. Each element included in the terminal device 20 is interconnected by one or a plurality of buses for communicating information.

[0043] The processing device 21 is a processor that controls the entire terminal device 20. The processing device 21 is configured using, for example, one or a plurality of chips. Further, the processing device 21 is configured using, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, an arithmetic unit, and registers. Note that some or all of the functions of the processing device 21 may be realized by hardware such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), and an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The processing device 21 executes various processes in parallel or sequentially.

[0044] The storage device 22 is a recording medium that can be read from and written to by the processing device 21. The storage device 22 includes, for example, a non-volatile memory and a volatile memory. The non-volatile memory is, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), and an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). The volatile memory is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory). Further, the storage device 22 stores a control program PR2 executed by the processing device 21. Further, the storage device 22 functions as a work area for the processing device 21.

[0045] The communication device 23 is hardware as a transceiver device for communicating with other devices. The communication device 23 is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module. The communication device 23 may include a connector for wired connection and an interface circuit corresponding to the connector. Further, the communication device 23 may include a wireless communication interface. Examples of the connector and the interface circuit for wired connection include products compliant with wired LAN, IEEE1394, and USB. Examples of the wireless communication interface include products compliant with wireless LAN and Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0046] The display device 24 is a device for displaying images and character information. The display device 24 displays various images under the control of the processing device 21. For example, various display panels such as a liquid crystal display panel and an organic EL display panel are preferably used as the display device 24.

[0047] The input device 25 is a device that receives operations from the user U. For example, the input device 25 includes a pointing device such as a keyboard, a touch pad, a touch panel, or a mouse. Here, when the input device 25 includes a touch panel, it may also serve as the display device 24.

[0048] The processing device 21 functions as a reception unit 211, a communication control unit 212, and a display control unit 213 by reading and executing the control program PR2 from the storage device 22.

[0049] The reception unit 211 receives designation information indicating the type of shoes classified by the manufacturer and the model from the user U. Specifically, the user U inputs information indicating the type of the shoes using the input device 25. The reception unit 211 receives the designation information indicating the type of the shoes input from the input device 25.

[0050] Further, the reception unit 211 may receive size information indicating the size of the shoes from the user U.

[0051] The communication control unit 212 causes the communication device 23 to transmit to the shoe lending management device 10A the designation information indicating the type of shoe received by the reception unit 211. Further, the communication control unit 212 may cause the communication device 23 to transmit to the shoe lending management device 10A the size information indicating the size of the shoe received by the reception unit 211. In addition, the communication control unit 212 causes the communication device 23 to receive from the shoe lending management device 10A the information indicating the shoes recommended by the shoe lending management device 10A. Further, the communication control unit 212 may cause the communication device 23 to receive from the shoe lending management device 10A the information indicating the cushion recommended by the shoe lending management device 10A.

[0052] The display control unit 213 causes the display device 24 to display the information indicating the shoes received from the shoe lending management device 10A. Further, the display control unit 213 may cause the display device 24 to display the information indicating the cushion received from the shoe lending management device 10A.

[0053] 1-2: Operations of the Shoe Lending Management Device 10A FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the shoe lending management device 10A according to the first embodiment.

[0054] In step S1, the processing device 11A functions as the reception unit 111A. The processing device 11A receives from the user U the designation information indicating the type of shoe classified by the manufacturer and model.

[0055] In step S2, the processing device 11A functions as the reception unit 111A. The processing device 11A receives the size information indicating the size of the user U's shoes.

[0056] In step S3, the processing device 11A functions as the acquisition unit 112. The processing device 11A acquires the inventory information indicating the inventory of shoes available for lending.

[0057] In step S4, the processing device 11A functions as the first determination unit 113. The processing device 11A determines a first determination condition indicating whether there is an inventory of shoes of the type received in step S1 and of the size received in step S2 among the inventories indicated by the inventory information acquired in step S3. In other words, the processing device 11A determines a first determination condition indicating whether there is a first pair of shoes indicated by the first information among the inventories indicated by the inventory information. When there is an inventory of such shoes, that is, when the answer in step S4 is YES, the processing device 11A executes the operation in step S5. When there is no inventory of such shoes, that is, when the answer in step S4 is NO, the processing device 11A executes the operation in step S7.

[0058] In step S5, the processing device 11A functions as the specifying unit 115. The processing device 11A specifies the shoes that were determined to exist in step S4.

[0059] In step S6, the processing device 11A functions as the recommendation unit 116. The processing device 11A recommends the shoes specified in step S5 to the user U. Then, the processing device 11A ends all processing.

[0060] In step S7, the processing device 11A functions as the second determination unit 114. The processing device 11A determines a second determination condition indicating whether there is an inventory of shoes of a type that matches the type received in step S1 and of a size larger than the size received in step S2 among the inventories of lendable shoes. When there is an inventory of such shoes, that is, when the answer in step S7 is YES, the processing device 11A executes the operation in step S8. When there is no inventory of such shoes, that is, when the answer in step S7 is NO, the processing device 11A ends all processing.

[0061] In step S8, the processing device 11A functions as the specifying unit 115. The processing device 11A specifies the shoes of the larger size that were determined to exist in step S7.

[0062] In step S9, the processing device 11A functions as a recommendation unit 116. The processing device 11A recommends to the user U a cushion corresponding to the difference between the size of the large-sized shoes specified in step S8 and the size of the shoes received in step S2, together with the large-sized shoes. Then, the processing device 11A ends all the processing.

[0063] 1-3: Effects achieved by the first embodiment The shoe lending management device 10A according to the present embodiment includes a reception unit 111A, an acquisition unit 112, and a recommendation unit 116. The reception unit 111A receives first information indicating a first pair of shoes that the user U wishes to lend. The acquisition unit 112 acquires inventory information indicating the inventory of lendable shoes. When the first pair of shoes indicated by the first information does not exist in the inventory indicated by the inventory information, the recommendation unit 116 recommends to the user U a second pair of shoes that exists in the inventory, has a larger size than the first pair of shoes, and has the same type, and a cushion.

[0064] By having the above-described configuration, the shoe lending management device 10A can handle the case where the shoes of the size that the user U wants to borrow do not exist in the inventory of the lending company. More specifically, when the shoes of the size that the user U wants to borrow do not exist in the inventory of the lending company, but shoes of a size larger than the size of the shoes that the user U wants to borrow exist in the inventory, the shoe lending management device 10A can effectively utilize the larger-sized shoes by lending them out together with a cushion.

[0065] Also, in the shoe lending management device 10A, the above-described cushion has a size corresponding to the difference between the size of the second pair of shoes and the size of the first pair of shoes.

[0066] The shoe lending management device 10A can effectively utilize the second pair of shoes by compensating for the difference between the size of the first pair of shoes that the user U originally wanted to borrow and the size of the second pair of shoes lent to the user U with a cushion.

[0067] In the shoe rental management device 10A, the above-described first information includes designation information indicating the type of the first shoe and size information indicating the size of the first shoe.

[0068] By having the above-described configuration, the shoe rental management device 10A can handle the case where shoes of the size that the user U wants to borrow do not exist in the inventory of the rental company, in terms of the manufacturer that the user U wants to borrow and the type of the model of shoes that the user U wants to borrow.

[0069] In the shoe rental management device 10A, the reception unit 111A receives the size of the shoes included in the history of the shoes used by the user U in the past.

[0070] The shoe rental management device 10A can save the trouble of the user U manually inputting the size of the shoes by deriving the size of the shoes of the user U from the history of the shoes used by the user U in the past.

[0071] In the shoe rental management device 10A, the above-described shoe history is a history of shoes of the same type as the type of shoes received by the reception unit 111A.

[0072] When the type of shoes that the user U wants to borrow this time is included in the history of the shoes used by the user U in the past, the shoe rental management device 10A can use the size of the type of shoes included in the history of the shoes as the size of the shoes of the user U.

[0073] In the shoe rental management device 10A, the recommendation unit 116 recommends a plurality of cushions having different types from each other, thereby prompting the user U to select one cushion from the plurality of cushions. At least one of color and function of the above-described plurality of cushions is different from each other.

[0074] By having the above-described configuration, the shoe rental management device 10A enables the user U to select one cushion from the plurality of cushions, and expands the user U's options regarding the color and function of the cushion.

[0075] The shoe lending management method according to this embodiment receives first information indicating a first pair of shoes that user U wishes to lend out, obtains inventory information indicating the inventory of lendable shoes, and when the first pair of shoes indicated by the first information does not exist in the inventory indicated by the inventory information, recommends to user U a second pair of shoes that exists in the inventory, has a size larger than that of the first pair of shoes, and the same type, and a cushion.

[0076] By having the above-described configuration, the shoe lending management method can handle the case where the shoes of the size that user U wants to borrow do not exist in the inventory of the lending merchant. More specifically, even though the shoes of the size that user U wants to borrow do not exist in the inventory of the lending merchant, if there are shoes of a size larger than the size of the shoes that user U wants to borrow in the inventory, the shoe lending management method can effectively utilize the larger-sized shoes by lending them out together with a cushion.

[0077] 2: Second Embodiment Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9, the shoe lending management system 1B according to the second embodiment will be described. For the sake of simplicity of explanation hereinafter, mainly, the differences between the shoe lending management system 1B and the shoe lending management system 1A according to the first embodiment will be described. Also, among the components provided in the shoe lending management system 1B, for the components that are the same as those provided in the shoe lending management system 1A according to the first embodiment, the same reference numerals will be used, and the description of their functions may be omitted.

[0078] 2-1: Configuration of the Second Embodiment 2-1-1: Overall Configuration The shoe lending management system 1B according to the second embodiment is different in that it includes a shoe lending management device 10B instead of the shoe lending management device 10A as compared with the shoe lending management system 1A according to the first embodiment. In other respects, since the overall configuration of the shoe lending management system 1B is the same as the configuration of the shoe lending management system 1A shown in FIG. 1, its illustration is omitted.

[0079] 2-1-2: Configuration of the Shoe Lending Management Device 10B FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the shoe rental management device 10B. The shoe rental management device 10B is different from the shoe rental management device 10A according to the first embodiment in that it includes a processing device 11B instead of the processing device 11A and a storage device 12B instead of the storage device 12A.

[0080] The storage device 12B stores a control program PR1B executed by the processing device 11B instead of the control program PR1A in the storage device 12A according to the first embodiment. In addition to the inventory information database SDB and the history information database HDB, the storage device 12B further stores a compatibility information database CDB. The storage device 12B also functions as a work area for the processing device 11B.

[0081] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the compatibility information database CDB. Compatibility information indicating the size compatibility between shoe types is stored in the compatibility information database CDB. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the compatibility information database CDB includes p data sets of compatibility information data sets CDS[1] to CDS[p]. The p compatibility information data sets CDS[1] to CDS[p] correspond one-to-one to p types of shoes. In other words, each of the p compatibility information data sets CDS[1] to CDS[p] indicates compatibility information corresponding to one type of shoe.

[0082] In the example shown in FIG. 8, the compatibility information dataset CDS[1] indicates the compatibility information of shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model name of "Pa", and a size of "25.0". The compatibility information dataset CDS[1] defines the compatibility information indicating the size compatibility between shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model name of "Pa", and a size of "25.0" and other types of shoes. Specifically, in FIG. 8, the compatibility information dataset CDS[1] indicates that shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model name of "Pa", and a size of "25.0" are the same size as shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model name of "Qa", and a size of "25.0". Similarly, the compatibility information dataset CDS[1] indicates that shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model name of "Pa", and a size of "25.0" are the same size as shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model name of "Ra", and a size of "25.0". The compatibility information dataset CDS[1] indicates that shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model name of "Pa", and a size of "25.0" are the same size as shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model name of "Sa", and a size of "25.5". The compatibility information dataset CDS[1] indicates that shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model name of "Pa", and a size of "25.0" are the same size as shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model name of "Ta", and a size of "25.0". The compatibility information dataset CDS[1] indicates that shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model name of "Pa", and a size of "25.0" are the same size as shoes with a manufacturer name of "Bbb", a model name of "Ab", and a size of "25.5". The compatibility information dataset CDS[1] indicates that shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model name of "Pa", and a size of "25.0" are the same size as shoes with a manufacturer name of "Bbb", a model name of "Bb", and a size of "25.0". The compatibility information dataset CDS[1] indicates that shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model name of "Pa", and a size of "25.0" are the same size as shoes with a manufacturer name of "Bbb", a model name of "Cb", and a size of "25.0".The compatibility information dataset CDS[1] indicates that shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model name of "Pa", and a size of "25.0" have the same size as shoes with a manufacturer name of "Bbb", a model name of "Db", and a size of "26.0". The compatibility information dataset CDS[1] indicates that shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model name of "Pa", and a size of "25.0" have the same size as shoes with a manufacturer name of "Ggg", a model name of "Zg", and a size of "25.0". The same applies to other compatibility information datasets CDS[2] to CDS[p].

[0083] In FIG. 7, the processing device 11B functions as a reception unit 111B, an acquisition unit 112, a first determination unit 113, a second determination unit 114, a specification unit 115, a recommendation unit 116, a third determination unit 117, and an output unit 118 by reading and executing the control program PR1B from the storage device 12B.

[0084] The reception unit 111B receives, from the terminal device 20 used by the user U, designation information indicating the type of shoes, in the same manner as the reception unit 111A. On the other hand, unlike the reception unit 111A, the reception unit 111B does not directly receive size information indicating the size of the shoes from the terminal device 20 indicated by the user U.

[0085] The acquisition unit 112 acquires inventory information from the inventory information database SDB, in the same manner as the acquisition unit 112 according to the first embodiment. The acquisition unit 112 also acquires history information from the history information database HDB.

[0086] The third determination unit 117 determines a third determination condition indicating whether the history information acquired by the acquisition unit 112 includes history information in which the user U used the type of shoes included in the designation information received by the reception unit 111B.

[0087] When the determination result of the third determination condition is negative, the output unit 118 outputs the shoe size of the user U corresponding to the type of shoe received by the reception unit 111B based on the shoe size included in the history of shoes used by the user U in the past and the compatibility information indicating the size compatibility between the shoe sizes and the types of shoes.

[0088] For example, assume that user U with user ID "008" is browsing the website provided by the shoe lending management device 10B and specifies shoes with a manufacturer name of "Bbb" and a model of "Ab" as the type of shoes that user U wishes to lend. However, assume that the history information database HDB shown in FIG. 4 does not store the history information that user U with user ID "008" has used shoes with a manufacturer name of "Bbb" and a model of "Ab".

[0089] In this case, the output unit 118 extracts from the history information database HDB the history information that on August 19, 2023, user U with user ID "008" used shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model of "Pa", and a size of "25.0" as the history information of user U.

[0090] Next, the output unit 118 refers to the compatibility information database CDB shown in FIG. 8 and outputs that the size of the shoes with a manufacturer name of "Bbb" and a model of "Ab" that is the same size as the shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa", a model of "Pa", and a size of "25.0" is "25.5". That is, the output unit 118 outputs that the size of the shoes that user U wishes to lend is "25.5".

[0091] In this case, the reception unit 111B receives the size information of "25.5", which is the shoe size output by the output unit 118.

[0092] On the other hand, when the determination result of the third determination condition is positive, the output unit 118 outputs the shoe size corresponding to the type of shoe indicated by the specified information received by the reception unit 111B in the history information indicating that user U has used it.

[0093] For example, while user U with a user ID of "008" is browsing the website provided by the shoe lending management device 10B, assume that user U specifies shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa" and a model of "Pa" as the type of shoes they wish to lend. In the history information database HDB shown in FIG. 4, history information of user U with a user ID of "008" using shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa" and a model of "Pb" is stored.

[0094] In the said history information, the size of the shoes with a manufacturer name of "Aaa" and a model of "Pb" used by user U with a user ID of "008" is "25.0". The output unit 118 outputs that the size of the shoes user U wishes to lend is "25.0".

[0095] In this case, the reception unit 111B receives the size information of "25.0", which is the size of the shoes output by the output unit 118.

[0096] 2-2: Operation of the shoe lending management device 10B FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the shoe lending management device 10B according to the second embodiment.

[0097] Step S11 is the same operation as step S1 shown in FIG. 6, so the description is omitted.

[0098] In step S12, the processing device 11B functions as the acquisition unit 112. The processing device 11B acquires history information of user U using shoes from the history information database HDB.

[0099] In step S13, the processing device 11B functions as the third determination unit 117. The processing device 11B determines a third determination condition indicating whether the history information acquired in step S12 includes history information of the type of shoes included in the designated information received in step S11. In other words, the processing device 11B determines whether the type of shoes received in step S11 is included in the history of shoes used by the user U in the past. When the type of shoes is included, that is, when YES in step S13, the processing device 11B executes the process of step S14. When the type of shoes is not included, that is, when NO in step S13, the processing device 11B executes the process of step S15.

[0100] In step S14, the processing device 11B functions as the output unit 118. The processing device 11B outputs the shoe size of the user U corresponding to the type of shoes received in step S11, which is included in the history information acquired in step S12.

[0101] In step S15, the processing device 11B functions as the output unit 118. The processing device 11B outputs the shoe size of the user U corresponding to the type of shoes received in step S11 based on the shoe size included in the history information acquired in step S12 and the compatibility information indicating size compatibility between the shoe size and the type of shoes.

[0102] In step S16, the processing device 11B functions as the reception unit 111B. The processing device 11B receives size information indicating the shoe size. More specifically, when the processing device 11B executes the process of step S14, the processing device 11B receives size information indicating the shoe size output in step S14. When the processing device 11B executes the process of step S15, the processing device 11B receives size information indicating the shoe size output in step S15.

[0103] Steps S17 to S23 are the same operations as steps S3 to S9 shown in FIG. 6, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

[0104] 2-3: Effects Achieved by the Second Embodiment The shoe lending management device 10B according to the present embodiment further includes an output unit 118. When the type of shoe received by the reception unit 111B is not included in the history of shoes used by the user U in the past, the output unit 118 is based on the shoe sizes included in the history of shoes used by the user U in the past and the compatibility information indicating size compatibility between the shoe sizes and the types of shoes. The output unit 118 outputs the shoe size of the user U corresponding to the type of shoe received by the reception unit 111B. The reception unit 111B receives the shoe size of the user U output by the output unit 118.

[0105] By having the above-described configuration, when the shoes to be lent to the user U are shoes of a combination of a manufacturer and a model that have never been lent out in the past, the shoe lending management device 10B can convert the shoe size of the user U used in the past into the shoe size of the shoes to be newly lent out using the compatibility information, so that it becomes possible to receive the size information indicating the shoe size of the user U.

[0106] 3: Modification Example The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments exemplified above. Specific modification modes are exemplified below.

[0107] 3-1: Modification Example 1 The shoe lending management device 10A according to the first embodiment may include a third determination unit 117 provided in the shoe lending management device 10B according to the second embodiment. In this case, if the determination result of the third determination condition is affirmative, the reception unit 111A receives the type of shoe included in the designated information and the shoe size included in the history information indicating that the user U has used it. If the determination result of the third determination condition is negative, the reception unit 111A receives the shoe size from the terminal device 20.

[0108] 3-2: Modification Example 2 The shoe rental management device 10A according to the first embodiment included two databases, an inventory information database SDB and a history information database HDB, in the storage device 12A. Further, the shoe rental management device 10B according to the second embodiment included three databases, an inventory information database SDB, a history information database HDB, and a compatibility information database CDB, in the storage device 12B. However, each of the shoe rental management device 10A and the shoe rental management device 10B may include other databases.

[0109] For example, each of the shoe rental management device 10A and the shoe rental management device 10B may further include a cushion history information database in addition to the two databases, an inventory information database SDB and a history information database HDB. The cushion history information database stores cushion history information indicating the history of cushions rented to the user U in the past.

[0110] In this case, the recommendation unit 116 recommends one cushion or a plurality of cushions to the user U based on the cushion history information.

[0111] For example, when the size of the shoe received by the reception unit 111A is "25.5" and the size of the shoe identified by the identification unit 115 is "26.0", the recommendation unit 116 extracts, from the cushion history information database, cushion history information in which a cushion with a size of "26.0" and corresponding to a difference of "0.5" was rented to the user U in the past. Then, the recommendation unit 116 recommends one cushion selected from the cushions rented to the user U in the past to the user U based on the cushion history information. Alternatively, the recommendation unit 116 recommends a plurality of cushions rented to the user U in the past to the user U based on the cushion history information.

[0112] 4: Others (1) In the above-described embodiments, the storage devices 12A, 12B, and 22 are exemplified by ROM, RAM, etc., but flexible disks, magneto-optical disks (e.g., compact disks, digital versatile disks, Blu-ray (registered trademark) disks), smart cards, flash memory devices (e.g., cards, sticks, key drives), CD-ROM (Compact Disc-ROM), registers, removable disks, hard disks, floppy (registered trademark) disks, magnetic strips, databases, servers, and other appropriate storage media.

[0113] (2) In the above-described embodiments, the information, signals, etc. described may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0114] (3) In the above-described embodiments, the input / output information, etc. may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or may be managed using a management table. The input / output information, etc. may be overwritten, updated, or appended. The output information, etc. may be deleted. The input information, etc. may be transmitted to other devices.

[0115] (4) In the above-described embodiments, the determination may be made based on a value represented by 1 bit (0 or 1), a truth value (Boolean: true or false), or a numerical comparison (e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

[0116] (5) The processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. exemplified in the above-described embodiments may be reordered as long as there is no contradiction. For example, regarding the methods described in the present disclosure, the elements of various steps are presented using an exemplary order and are not limited to the specific order presented.

[0117] (6) Each function illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 9 is realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Also, the realization method of each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using one physically or logically combined device, or two or more physically or logically separated devices may be directly or indirectly (for example, using wired, wireless, etc.) connected and realized using these multiple devices. The functional block may be realized by combining software with the above-mentioned one device or the above-mentioned multiple devices.

[0118] (7) The program exemplified in the above-described embodiments should be broadly interpreted to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, procedures, functions, etc., regardless of whether it is called software, firmware, middleware, microcode, a hardware description language, or is called by another name.

[0119] Also, software, instructions, information, etc. may be transmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, when software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using at least one of wired technologies (coaxial cable, optical fiber cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), etc.) and wireless technologies (infrared rays, microwaves, etc.), at least one of these wired and wireless technologies is included within the definition of the transmission medium.

[0120] (8) In each of the foregoing embodiments, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

[0121] (9) The information, parameters, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using absolute values, relative values from a predetermined value, or in terms of corresponding other information.

[0122] (10) In the above-described embodiments, the terminal device 20 may include a case where it is a mobile station (MS: Mobile Station). A mobile station may be referred to by those skilled in the art as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable term. Also, in this disclosure, terms such as "mobile station", "user terminal", "user equipment (UE)", "terminal", etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0123] (11) In the above-described embodiments, the terms "connected" and "coupled", or any variations thereof, mean any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and it is possible to include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be a physical coupling or connection, a logical coupling or connection, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "accessed". When used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other using at least one of one or more electric wires, cables, and printed electrical connections, and also, as some non-limiting and non-inclusive examples, electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency region, microwave region, and optical (both visible and invisible) region.

[0124] In the above-described embodiments, unless otherwise specified, the description "based on" does not mean "only based on". In other words, the description "based on" means both "only based on" and "at least based on".

[0125] (13) The terms "determining" and "deciding" as used in the present disclosure may include a variety of operations. "Determining" and "deciding" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, inquiring (e.g., searching in a table, database, or another data structure), and considering something as having "determined" or "decided" something ascertained. Also, "determining" and "deciding" may include considering something as having "determined" or "decided" something received (e.g., receiving information), transmitted (e.g., transmitting information), input, output, accessed (e.g., accessing data in a memory). Further, "determining" and "deciding" may include considering something as having "determined" or "decided" something resolved, selected, chosen, established, compared, etc. That is, "determining" and "deciding" may include considering something as having "determined" or "decided" some action. Also, "determining (deciding)" may be replaced with "assuming", "expecting", "considering", etc.

[0126] (14) In the above-described embodiments, when terms such as "include", "including" and their variants are used, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising". Further, the term "or" used in the present disclosure is not intended to be an exclusive disjunction.

[0127] (15) In the present disclosure, for example, when articles are added by translation, such as a, an and the in English, the present disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.

[0128] (16) In the present disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other". Note that the term may also mean "A and B are each different from C". Terms such as "separate", "coupled" etc. may be interpreted in the same way as "different".

[0129] (17) Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched during execution. Also, the notification of predetermined information (for example, the notification of "being X") is not limited to the explicitly made notification, and may be made implicitly (for example, without making the notification of the predetermined information).

[0130] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described in the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be implemented as modified and changed aspects without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is for illustrative purposes and has no restrictive meaning for the present disclosure.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0131] 1A, 1B: Shoe lending management system, 10A, 10B: Shoe lending management device, 11A, 11B: Processing device, 12A, 12B: Storage device, 13: Communication device, 14: Display device, 15: Input device, 20: Terminal device, 21: Processing device, 22: Storage device, 23: Communication device, 24: Display device, 25: Input device, 111A, 111B: Reception unit, 112: Acquisition unit, 113: First determination unit, 114: Second determination unit, 115: Identification unit, 116: Recommendation unit, 117: Second determination unit, 118: Output unit, 211: Reception unit, 212: Communication control unit, 213: Display control unit, CDB: Compatibility information database, CDS: Compatibility information dataset, HDB: History information database, PR1A, PR1B, PR2: Control program, U: User

Claims

1. A receiving unit that receives first information indicating a first shoe that a user wishes to lend out; An acquisition unit that acquires inventory information indicating the inventory of lendable shoes; When the first shoe indicated by the first information does not exist in the inventory indicated by the inventory information, a second shoe that exists in the inventory, has a size larger than that of the first shoe, and has the same type as the first shoe, and a cushion, are recommended to the user by a recommendation unit; A shoe lending management device comprising the above.

2. The cushion has a size corresponding to the difference between the size of the second shoe and the size of the first shoe, The shoe lending management device according to Claim 1.

3. The first information includes designated information indicating the type of the first shoe and size information indicating the size of the first shoe, The shoe lending management device according to Claim 1.

4. The receiving unit receives the size of the shoes included in the history of the shoes used by the user in the past, The shoe lending management device according to Claim 3.

5. The history of the shoes is a history of shoes of the same type as the type of shoes received by the receiving unit, The shoe lending management device according to Claim 4.

6. When the type of the shoes received by the receiving unit is not included in the history of the shoes used by the user in the past, based on the size of the shoes included in the history of the shoes used by the user in the past and compatibility information indicating size compatibility between the types of shoes, an output unit that outputs the size of the user's shoes corresponding to the type of shoes received by the receiving unit is further provided, The receiving unit receives the size of the user's shoes output by the output unit, The shoe lending management device according to Claim 3.

7. The recommendation unit recommends a plurality of cushions with different types to prompt the user to select one cushion from the plurality of cushions, Among the plurality of cushions, at least one of color and function is different from each other, The shoe lending management device according to Claim 1.

8. Receiving first information indicating a first shoe that a user wishes to lend out, Acquiring inventory information indicating the inventory of lendable shoes, When the first shoe indicated by the first information does not exist in the inventory indicated by the inventory information, recommending to the user a second shoe that exists in the inventory, has a size larger than that of the first shoe, and has the same type as the first shoe, and a cushion, A shoe lending management method.

Images