Order processing system and order processing method

Abstract

To enable executing flexible delivery by generating information for selecting a delivery method according to the state of a self-propelled robot 70.SOLUTION: An order processing system 10 includes: an order information acquisition part 12 which acquires order information from a user terminal 62 of a user 60 who uses one of a plurality of rooms in a building; a delivery information acquisition part 13 which acquires delivery information of a self-propelled robot 70 delivering articles corresponding to the order information to the room of the user 60; and a determination processing part 17 which performs determination processing to determine whether the delivery by the self-propelled robot 70 from a restaurant to the room of the user 60 based upon at least the order information and the delivery information to generate determination result information. The order information includes identification information for identifying the room of the user 60 having made the order, and detail information related to order details. The delivery information includes information related to a delivery state of the self-propelled robot 70 of immediately before the determination processing is executed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an order processing system and an order processing method.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, in facilities including customer service locations such as hotels, nursing facilities, apartments, and office buildings, a delivery system using autonomous driving delivery robots that move to rooms, restaurants, conference rooms, etc. has been put into practical use (for example, Patent Document 1). In such a system, when a hotel guest orders food, drinks, etc. using a mobile applet (smartphone, tablet, etc.), the robot can autonomously move to the delivery location and deliver the ordered items in a state where they are accommodated.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the conventional delivery system, although it is possible to instruct the robot to make a delivery, it has not been possible to appropriately determine whether or not to select the delivery by the robot according to the situation of the robot.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention can execute flexible delivery by generating information for selecting an appropriate delivery method according to the situation of the robot.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve at least a part of the above-described problems, and can be realized as the following aspects or application examples.

[0007] [1]One aspect of the order processing system according to the present invention is an order information acquisition unit that acquires order information from a user terminal of a user who uses any of a plurality of rooms in a building, a delivery information acquisition unit that acquires delivery information of a self-propelled robot that delivers an article according to the order information to the room where the user is located, a determination processing unit that executes a determination process of determining whether delivery by a self-propelled robot from a restaurant to the room where the user is located is possible based on at least the order information and the delivery information, and generates determination result information, and includes the order information includes identification information for identifying the room where the ordering user is located and content information regarding the order content, the delivery information is characterized by including information regarding the delivery status of the self-propelled robot immediately before the determination process is executed.

[0008] [2]In one aspect of the above order processing system, the order processing system further acquires route information of a delivery route from the restaurant to the room where the ordering user is located, the route information is information regarding the time required for the self-propelled robot to travel the delivery route, the determination process can determine whether delivery is possible by the self-propelled robot by further adding the route information.

[0009] [3]In one aspect of the above order processing system, the route information can include at least one of information regarding the number of people in the delivery route, information regarding obstacles in the delivery route, and information regarding traffic restrictions in the delivery route.

[0010] [4]In any of one aspect of the above order processing system, the order processing system acquires usage information including the usage end time used by the ordering user, The determination process can determine whether an order of the order information is acceptable based on information based on the usage information.

[0011] [5]In one aspect of the order processing system, The identification information can be obtained by the user terminal through wireless communication from an RF (Radio Frequency) tag installed in advance in the room to be used.

[0012] [6]The order processing method according to the present invention includes a step of obtaining order information from a user terminal of a user who uses any one of a plurality of rooms in a building, a step of obtaining delivery information of a self-propelled robot that delivers an article corresponding to the order information to the room where the user is located, a step of executing a determination process of determining whether delivery by the self-propelled robot from a restaurant to the room where the user is located is possible based on at least the order information and the delivery information, and generating determination result information, and the order information includes identification information for identifying the room where the ordering user is located and content information regarding the order content, the delivery information is characterized by including information regarding the delivery status of the self-propelled robot immediately before the determination process is executed.

Advantages of the Invention

[0013] According to one aspect of the order processing system or one aspect of the order processing method according to the present invention, since information for selecting delivery by the self-propelled robot can be generated according to the situation of the self-propelled robot, flexible and appropriate delivery from a restaurant to a room can be executed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below do not unduly limit the content of the present invention described in the claims. Also, not all of the configurations described below are essential constituent elements of the present invention.

[0016] The order processing system according to this embodiment includes an order information acquisition unit that acquires order information from a user terminal of a user who uses any one of a plurality of rooms in a building, a delivery information acquisition unit that acquires delivery information of a self-propelled robot that delivers an article corresponding to the order information to the room where the user is located, and a determination processing unit that executes a determination process of determining whether delivery by the self-propelled robot from a restaurant to the room where the user is located is possible based on at least the order information and the delivery information and generates determination result information. The order information includes identification information for identifying the room where the ordering user is located and content information regarding the order content. The delivery information includes information regarding the delivery status of the self-propelled robot immediately before the determination process is executed.

[0017] The order processing method according to this embodiment includes a step of obtaining order information from a user terminal of a user who uses any one of a plurality of rooms in a building, a step of obtaining delivery information of a self-propelled robot that delivers an article corresponding to the order information to the room where the user is located, and a determination process of determining whether it is possible to deliver by the self-propelled robot from a restaurant to the room where the user is located based on at least the order information and the delivery information, and generating determination result information. The order information includes identification information for identifying the room where the ordering user is located and content information regarding the order content. The delivery information includes information regarding the delivery status of the self-propelled robot immediately before the determination process is executed.

[0018] 1. Order processing system The order processing system 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the order processing system 10 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block diagram of the order processing system 10 according to this embodiment.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the order processing system 10 is communicably connected to various electronic devices in a building (office building 40 in this embodiment), a conference room management system 80, a visitor management system 82, etc. via a network such as the Internet 30 or a LAN. The order processing system 10 can determine whether an article ordered from a restaurant (café 42 in this embodiment) can be delivered to any one of a plurality of rooms (conference rooms 50a to 50f in this embodiment) in the office building 40 based on a plurality of pieces of information.

[0020] The office building 40 has a café 42 and a plurality of meeting rooms 50a to 50f arranged at a distance that can be delivered by the self-driving robot 70 from the café 42. The office building 40 also has a reception 44 for receiving visitors and a facility 46 on the delivery route of the self-driving robot 70 provided between the café 42 and the plurality of meeting rooms 50a to 50f. In this embodiment, the office building 40 is described as an example of a building, but it can also be applied to buildings such as hospitals, schools, and large commercial facilities. In that case, according to the type of building, the meeting rooms can be replaced with rooms, and the visitors can be replaced with visitors, school visitors, entrants, etc.

[0021] The food and beverage store provides food and beverages according to the orders from users. The food and beverage store may be a food and beverage store with an independent business form from the room used by the user, or may be a kitchen or cooking area in a single business form (such as a karaoke store) for responding to orders from the room used by the user. For example, the café 42 can deliver an item (such as coffee) ordered according to the order information from the user terminal 62 of the user 60 using one of the plurality of meeting rooms 50a to 50f in the office building 40 to the meeting room 50a where the user 60 is located. A café terminal 43 is arranged in the café 42, and there is a store clerk 41 who checks and operates the café terminal 43. The café terminal 43 includes at least a display unit for displaying the determination result by the order processing system 10. The café terminal 43 is, for example, a personal computer equipped with a display, a tablet terminal, or the like.

[0022] The reception 44 receives visitors to the office building 40. Information such as the affiliation, name, purpose of visit, reception time, and number of people of the user 60 who has passed through the reception 44 is transmitted from the reception 44 via the Internet 30 to, for example, the visitor management system 82, and the information is managed by the visitor management system 82.

[0023] The delivery route is a route along which the self-driving robot 70 travels between a food and beverage store and a plurality of rooms. The delivery route may have a plurality of routes set in advance, or may be a route autonomously selected by the self-driving robot 70. The plurality of routes may be shared by both the order processing system 10 and the self-driving robot 70. The facility 46 on the delivery route may be, for example, a waiting room or a museum equipped with exhibits or the like.

[0024] Rooms used by users, for example, the plurality of conference rooms 50a to 50f, are the plurality of rooms to which items are delivered from the café 42. The plurality of conference rooms 50a to 50f are equipped with RF (Radio Frequency) tags 52 installed in advance in each conference room. The RF tag can provide the user terminal 62 with identification information for identifying which conference room the location equipped with the RF tag is. As long as the identification information can be provided, other authentication devices may be adopted instead of the RF tag. As the authentication device, for example, known NFC (Near Field Communication) devices, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) devices, etc. and terminals corresponding thereto can be adopted. For the NFC device and the BLE device, the devices disclosed in JP-A-2022-133494 can be adopted.

[0025] The user terminal 62 can be a portable terminal held by the users 60 of the conference rooms 50a to 50f, for example, a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The user terminal 62 can obtain the identification information of the conference rooms 50a to 50f from the RF tag 52. The identification information can be further transmitted from the user terminal 62 to the order processing system 10. In addition, the user terminal 62 has a function of selecting the order content for the café 42 and placing an order for the café 42. This function may be executed by connecting to the order processing system 10 using general-purpose software for Internet browsing, such as a web browser installed on the user terminal 62, and inputting order information. Alternatively, order information may be transmitted to the order processing system 10 using an order program pre-installed on the user terminal 62.

[0026] The self-propelled robot 70 can adopt, for example, a known delivery robot or a meal delivery robot that has a storage unit for storing items from the café 42 and self-propelling means. The self-propelled robot 70 can automatically avoid obstacles and can self-propel along a delivery route to, for example, the meeting room 50a instructed by the clerk 41 of the café 42. The self-propelled robot 70 stores delivery routes corresponding to the meeting rooms 50a to 50f (identification information) and can autonomously move along the said delivery routes. The self-propelled robot 70 may perform delivery according to instructions from the order processing system 10 instead of the clerk 41. In this embodiment, an example where there is one self-propelled robot 70 will be described, but a plurality of self-propelled robots 70 may be arranged.

[0027] The order processing system 10, the meeting room management system 80, and the visitor management system 82 are, for example, a cloud server, an ASP server, etc. Note that the order processing system 10 is not limited to this, and may be a server computer or a personal computer in the office building 40 connected to a terminal or the like via a network as long as the programs of each system are executable.

[0028] The meeting room management system 80 has a function of managing the usage information of a plurality of meeting rooms 50a to 50f. Before using the meeting rooms 50a to 50f, the user 60 can reserve the usage date and time with the meeting room management system 80 after specifying one of the meeting rooms 50a to 50f in advance. The meeting room management system 80 can store the usage end time of the reserved meeting rooms 50a to 50f in the usage information. The meeting room management system 80 can output to the order processing system 10 the usage information including at least the usage end time of, for example, the meeting room 50a where the ordering user 60 is located. Since this embodiment is about the meeting rooms 50a to 50f, the meeting room management system 80 is used, but it may be a management system according to the type of room used by the user 60. The said management system can store the usage information including the usage end time of the room to be managed. Examples of the type of room to be used include multi-purpose rental rooms, shared spaces such as universities and condominiums, and party rooms.

[0029] The visitor management system 82 has a function of managing route information of a delivery route from, for example, a conference room 50a where a user 60 who has placed an order from a café 42 is located. The route information can include information regarding the number of users 60 staying at a facility 46 on the delivery route. The number of users 60 can be measured or estimated using a known sensor. For example, an in-building permit handed to the user 60 when passing through a reception 44 can be incorporated with a UWB (Ultra Wide Band) tag, and the number of people staying at the facility 46 on the delivery route can be measured from the position information of the user 60 using UWB anchors arranged at multiple locations within an office building 40. The visitor management system 82 can calculate information regarding the number of users 60 using the measurement (estimation) information, and can output route information including the information regarding the number of users 60 to an order processing system 10.

[0030] The order processing system 10 shown in FIG. 2 includes at least an order information acquisition unit 12, a delivery information acquisition unit 13, and a determination processing unit 17. The order processing system 10 may further include a route information acquisition unit 14, a usage information acquisition unit 15, an orderable time calculation unit 16, and a display information generation unit 18. The types of hardware and software of the order processing system 10 are not limited as long as the functions of the above-described units can be executed.

[0031] The order information acquisition unit 12 acquires order information from the user terminal 62 of the user 60 who uses one of the plurality of conference rooms 50a to 50f in the office building 40. The order information includes identification information that identifies, for example, the conference room 50a where the ordering user 60 is located, and content information regarding the order content. The identification information is information unique to each room that identifies which of the plurality of conference rooms 50a to 50f it is. The identification information can be acquired wirelessly by the user terminal 62 from the RF tag 52 installed in advance in the room where the user 60 is located, for example, the conference rooms 50a to 50f, and can be transmitted from the user terminal 62 to the order information acquisition unit 12. The content information can include the ordering user 60, the ordered items, and the quantity thereof. When there are multiple stores of the café 42 in the office building 40, the content information may further include information that can identify the store to which the order is placed. Also, the order information may include whether the ordering user 60 desires delivery by the self-driving robot 70.

[0032] The delivery information acquisition unit 13 acquires delivery information of the self-driving robot 70 that delivers the items corresponding to the order information acquired by the order information acquisition unit 12 to the room where the user 60 is located, for example, the conference room 50a. The delivery information includes information regarding the delivery status of the self-driving robot 70 immediately before the determination process in the determination processing unit 17 is executed. The delivery information may include, in addition to the information regarding the delivery status, for example, failure information of the self-driving robot 70. Examples of the information regarding the delivery status include information on whether the self-driving robot 70 is in the process of delivery, information on whether the self-driving robot 70 is on standby (completing the previous delivery), information on whether the self-driving robot 70 is returning to the café 42, and information inferred from the current delivery status of the self-driving robot 70. The inferred information may be future delivery status inferred based on signals output by the self-driving robot 70 to the café terminal 43 or the order processing system 10 periodically or in response to a predetermined situation. For example, if a signal indicating that the items ordered from the self-driving robot 70 have been taken out in the conference room 50a is output to the café terminal 43, the self-driving robot 70 Information estimated to be the information for estimating the time required for the return trip to Café 42 may also be used as the estimated information. Further, the estimated future time may be set, for example, from the time required for cooking the ordered dish. The delivery information is the latest information that can be obtained by the delivery information acquisition unit 13 immediately before the determination process. The delivery information may be transmitted from the café terminal 43 of Café 42 to the order processing system 10, or may be transmitted from the self-driving robot 70 to the order processing system 10. For example, the store clerk 41 may visually confirm that the self-driving robot 70 is returning to Café 42, and transmit the delivery information to the order processing system 10 using the café terminal 43.

[0033] The route information acquisition unit 14 can acquire route information of a delivery route from a food and beverage store, for example, Café 42, to a room used by the user 60 who placed the order, for example, Conference Room 50a. The route information can be acquired from the visitor management system 82. The route information can be used as an index for determining whether it is difficult for the self-driving robot 70 to move. The route information can be, for example, information regarding the time required for the self-driving robot 70 to travel the delivery route. The route information can include at least one of, for example, information regarding the number of people on the delivery route, information regarding obstacles on the delivery route, and information regarding traffic restrictions on the delivery route. Therefore, for example, it may include both information regarding the number of people and information regarding traffic restrictions.

[0034] When the number of users 60 staying at the delivery route, for example, Facility 46, increases, the movement of the self-driving robot 70 from Café 42 to Conference Rooms 50a to 50f is hindered, the difficulty of delivery increases, and as a result, the time required for the self-driving robot 70 to travel becomes longer. The number of people on the delivery route can be calculated by the visitor management system 82 according to, for example, the number of visitors who have passed through the reception 44. Further, the number of people on the delivery route may be calculated by the visitor management system 82 by measuring the number of users 60 using a sensor such as a camera installed at the delivery route, for example, Facility 46.

[0035] The self-propelled robot 70 is programmed to move while avoiding obstacles on the delivery route. However, when there are many users 60 and obstacles indoors, it becomes difficult to move while avoiding them. Therefore, the information about the obstacles on the delivery route is, for example, the number of obstacles and the area occupied on the route.

[0036] The information regarding restrictions on passage of the delivery route is, for example, information such as a prohibited passage area due to construction of the facility 46. For example, when one of the plurality of pre-set delivery routes is prohibited from passage, the time taken for the self-propelled robot 70 to travel becomes longer by detouring around that route. Also, when the number of delivery routes decreases due to passage prohibition, even if the number of users 60 is the same, the impact on the time taken for the self-propelled robot 70 to travel may become greater. The information regarding passage restrictions may be input by, for example, the administrator of the facility 46 into the order processing system 10, or may be obtained using input signals from cameras installed on the delivery route or the camera of the self-propelled robot 70. Also, the store clerk 41 may input information about the prohibited passage area into the self-propelled robot 70, and the order processing system 10 may obtain the information from the self-propelled robot 70.

[0037] The usage information acquisition unit 15 can acquire usage information including the end time of use of the room used by the ordering user 60, for example, the meeting room 50a. The usage information can be obtained from the meeting room management system 80. The orderable time calculation unit 16 can calculate the orderable time as information based on the usage information acquired by the usage information acquisition unit 15. The determination processing unit 17 can determine whether an order of order information is acceptable based on information based on the usage information. As the information based on the usage information, the orderable time calculated by the orderable time calculation unit 16 based on the usage information can be used. The orderable time is the latest time at which the user 60 can operate the user terminal 62 to place an order at the café 42, and is calculated by subtracting at least the maximum time required from the end time of use until the café 42 receives the order and delivers it to the meeting room 50a. It is output. For example, even if it is the self-propelled robot 70 or the store clerk 41, if the time required from receiving an order to delivery is 10 minutes, considering, for example, 10 minutes, which is the time required until the user 60 finishes drinking the coffee ordered, the orderable time is calculated as 20 minutes before the end time of use. Thereby, it is possible to reduce waste such as discarding the ordered article without being able to consume it, and it is possible to contribute to achieving the SDGs goal by reducing food loss.

[0038] The determination processing unit 17 executes a determination process of determining whether delivery by the self-propelled robot 70 is possible from a food and drink store, for example, a café 42, to a room where the user 60 is located, for example, a conference room 50a, based on at least the order information and the delivery information, and generating determination result information. The determination process in the determination processing unit 17 may further add at least one of the route information and the usage information to determine whether delivery by the self-propelled robot 70 is possible. The determination result information can include information to such an extent that the store clerk 41 can determine whether delivery by the self-propelled robot 70 is possible or not. Further, based on the determination result information, the order processing system 10 may directly output an instruction to execute delivery to the self-propelled robot 70.

[0039] According to the order processing system 10 according to the present embodiment, since it is possible to generate information for selecting a delivery method according to the situation of the self-propelled robot 70, flexible and appropriate delivery from a food and drink store, for example, a café 42, to a room, for example, a conference room 50a, can be executed. Thereby, the work of the store clerk 41 in the café 42 can be reduced, and selection mistakes in the delivery method can be prevented.

[0040] When it is determined by the store clerk 41 whether delivery by the self-propelled robot 70 is possible, the display information generation unit 18 can generate information for display on the display unit of the café terminal 43. The display information is, for example, "Delivery by robot is possible", "Delivery by robot is impossible", etc.

[0041] 2. Order processing method Using FIGS. 3 and 4, an order processing method executable using the above order processing system 10 will be described. FIG. 3 is an example of a flowchart of the order processing method according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is an example of a flowchart of the determination processing in the order processing method according to the present embodiment. In the following description, an example using the order processing system 10 will be described, but it is not limited to the order processing system 10.

[0042] The order processing method shown in FIG. 3 includes at least a step S10 of acquiring order information, a step S20 of acquiring delivery information, and a step S50 of executing determination processing. In the present embodiment, the order processing method may further include a step S30 of acquiring route information and a step S40 of acquiring usage information. The order of S10 to S40 is not limited to FIG. 3. For example, some or all of S10 to S40 may be executed in parallel. Also, the number of executions of S10 to S40 can be set as appropriate. For example, before executing S10, some or all of other processes, such as S20 to S40, may be executed multiple times. It is only necessary that the order processing system 10 can acquire the information obtained by S10 to S40 before the processing of S50.

[0043] S10: In the step of acquiring order information, the order information acquisition unit 12 acquires order information from the user terminal 62 of the user 60 who uses any one of a plurality of rooms in the building (in the present embodiment, a plurality of conference rooms 50a to 50f in the office building 40). The order information includes identification information for identifying the room where the ordering user 60 is located, for example, the conference room 50a, and content information regarding the order content. When the user 60 using the conference room 50a orders food and drink, for example, coffee, to the café 42, when the user terminal 62 is brought close to the RF tag 52, the unique identification information assigned to the conference room 50a is received by the user terminal 62 through wireless communication. The user 60 operates the user terminal 62 to connect to the order processing system 10, for example, through wireless communication, and performs a process of ordering coffee for the number of people according to the guidance displayed on the user terminal 62. The order processing system 1 During the process, 0 acquires the identification information of the meeting room 50a where the user 60 is located, together with the content information regarding the order content, from the user terminal 62. By using the RF tag 52, the operation of the user 60 can be simplified, preventing misinput and suppressing troubles caused by delivery.

[0044] S20: In the step of acquiring delivery information, the delivery information acquisition unit 13 acquires the delivery information of the self-driving robot 70 that delivers the article according to the order information to the room where the user 60 is located, for example, the meeting room 50a. The delivery information includes information regarding the delivery status of the self-driving robot 70 immediately before the execution of the determination process S50 described later. By setting it to be immediately before the execution of the determination process S50, the determination process S50 can be executed based on the latest delivery information among the acquired multiple delivery information. From the time when the self-driving robot 70 starts delivering from the café 42 until it returns, for example, the delivery information is "the robot cannot deliver". When the self-driving robot 70 returns to the café 42, for example, the delivery information is "the robot is on standby". Also, when the self-driving robot 70 cannot be used due to some failure, for example, the delivery information is "the robot is not normal". Further, the delivery information may be information that estimates the delivery status at a future time when, for example, cooking will be completed, from the current delivery status of the self-driving robot 70. These delivery information are examples, and any information appropriate for determining whether the self-driving robot 70 can deliver in the determination process S50 may be used. The delivery information may be sent to the order processing system 10 by the store clerk 41 operating the café terminal 43, or may be directly sent to the order processing system 10 by the self-driving robot 70 according to its own position and status.

[0045] S30: In the step of acquiring route information, the route information acquisition unit 14 acquires, as route information, information regarding the time required for the self-driving robot 70 to travel the delivery route. The route information can be generated by the visitor management system 82 according to, for example, the number of users 60 estimated to be in the facility 46 on the delivery route, and output to the route information acquisition unit 14. The route information is preferably the information immediately before S50.

[0046] S40: In the step of acquiring utilization information, the utilization information acquisition unit 15 acquires the utilization information of the plurality of conference rooms 50a to 50f. The user 60, for example, reserves a conference room in the conference room management system 80 in advance before using the conference rooms 50a to 50f using the user terminal 62. The conference room management system 80 can output the utilization information to the utilization information acquisition unit 15, for example, every time the utilization information of the conference rooms 50a to 50f is updated. The utilization information is preferably the information immediately before S50. The orderable time calculation unit 16 can calculate the orderable time based on the utilization information. The orderable time is stored by the utilization information acquisition unit 15 as part of the utilization information.

[0047] Prior to the process of S50 described later, the determination processing unit 17 may determine whether to execute S50 according to whether the user 60 desires delivery by the self-driving robot 70. Regarding whether the user 60 desires delivery by the self-driving robot 70, the user 60 may select it using the user terminal 62 and include it in the order information. If the user 60 desires delivery by the self-driving robot 70, S50 is executed. If the user 60 does not desire delivery by the self-driving robot 70, the process ends without executing S50.

[0048] Prior to the process of S50 described later, when the order information acquisition unit 12 acquires the order information from the user 60, it may determine whether the order information is acceptable based on the information (for example, the orderable time) based on the previously acquired utilization information. For example, if the time when the order information acquisition unit 12 acquires the order information is before the orderable time calculated by the orderable time calculation unit 16, the order of the order information is accepted and S50 is executed using the information acquired in S10 to S40. Also, for example, if the time when the order information acquisition unit 12 acquires the order information exceeds the orderable time, the order of the order information is not accepted, the user terminal 62 is notified that the order cannot be placed, and S50 is not executed. By this determination, the loss of food and drinks ordered can be reduced.

[0049] Step S50: The step of executing the determination process is to execute a determination process that determines whether it is possible to deliver from a food and beverage store, for example, café 42, to the room where the user 60 is located, for example, conference room 50a, by the self-driving robot 70 based on at least the order information and the delivery information, and generates determination result information. The step S50 of executing the determination process may further determine whether delivery is possible based on at least one of the route information and the usage information (for example, the orderable time). An example of the step S50 of executing the determination process will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 4.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 4, the step S50 of executing the determination process includes determination processes from S51 to S54 and execution processes of S55 and S56. The processes of S51 to S54 do not have to be in this order, and for example, a plurality of processes may be executed in parallel.

[0051] S51: The determination processing unit 17 determines whether the self-driving robot 70 is on standby based on the acquired delivery information. If the self-driving robot 70 is on standby (Yes), S52 is executed; if not (No), S56 is executed. For example, if there is information in the delivery information immediately before the determination process that the self-driving robot 70 has returned to the café 42, it is determined that it is on standby (Yes). Also, when a plurality of self-driving robots 70 are installed, if one or more self-driving robots 70 are on standby (Yes), S52 may be executed; if all the self-driving robots 70 are in the process of delivery (No), S56 may be executed.

[0052] S52: The determination processing unit 17 determines whether the self-driving robot 70 is normal based on the acquired delivery information. If the self-driving robot 70 is normal (Yes), S53 is executed; if, for example, the self-driving robot 70 is not normal due to a failure (No), S56 is executed.

[0053] S53: The determination processing unit 17 determines whether the number of orders is an appropriate quantity based on the acquired order information. If the number of orders is the number of items that can be delivered by one self-driving robot 70 (Yes), S54 is executed; if it exceeds the number of items that can be delivered (No), S56 is executed.

[0054] S54: The determination processing unit 17 determines whether delivery is possible based on the acquired route information. For example, if the route information is equal to or less than a preset threshold value (Yes), the determination processing unit 17 executes S55; if it exceeds the threshold value (No), the determination processing unit 17 executes S56. If, for example, there are a large number of people or obstacles included in the route information, the running of the self-driving robot 70 will be hindered, and if there are, for example, traffic restrictions, the self-driving robot 70 will have to detour, thus affecting the delivery time. The threshold value of the route information may be set from the upper limit of the delivery time. It is also possible to make a determination based on any one or a combination of two or more of the number of people, obstacles, and traffic restrictions.

[0055] S55: The determination processing unit 17 determines that the self-driving robot 70 is capable of delivery and generates determination result information. S55 is executed when S51 to S54 are Yes.

[0056] S56: The determination processing unit 17 determines that the self-driving robot 70 is not capable of delivery and generates determination result information. S56 is executed when at least one of S51 to S54 is No.

[0057] The determination result information generated by the determination processing unit 17 is generated as information included in the display information by the display information generation unit 18. The order processing system 10 can output the display information to, for example, the café terminal 43. The store clerk 41 can determine whether to deliver the ordered item by the self-driving robot 70 based on the determination result information displayed on the café terminal 43. Further, the order processing system 10 may directly output the determination result information to the self-driving robot 70. In that case, it is desirable to enable the store clerk 41 to recognize the determination result information by looking at the self-driving robot 70.

[0058] According to the order processing method according to this embodiment, since information for selecting a delivery method can be generated according to the situation of the self-driving robot 70, flexible and appropriate delivery from the café 42 to the room can be executed. Thereby, the work load of the store clerk 41 can be reduced and the labor cost can be suppressed.

[0059] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are further possible. For example, the present invention includes a configuration that is substantially the same as the configuration described in the embodiment (for example, a configuration having the same functions, methods, and results, or a configuration having the same objectives and effects). In addition, the present invention includes a configuration in which a non-essential part of the configuration described in the embodiment is replaced. Further, the present invention includes a configuration that exhibits the same operational effects as the configuration described in the embodiment or a configuration that can achieve the same objective. Also, the present invention includes a configuration in which a known technique is added to the configuration described in the embodiment.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0060] 10... Order processing system, 12... Order information acquisition unit, 13... Delivery information acquisition unit, 14... Route information acquisition unit, 15... Usage information acquisition unit, 16... Calculation unit for orderable time, 17... Judgment processing unit, 18... Display information generation unit, 30... Internet, 40... Office building, 41... Store clerk, 42... Café, 43... Café terminal, 44... Reception, 46... Facilities on the delivery route, 50a to 50f... Conference rooms, 52... RF tag, 60... User, 62... User terminal, 70... Self-propelled robot, 80... Conference room management system, 82... Visitor management system

Claims

1. An order information acquisition unit that acquires order information from a user terminal of a user who uses any one of a plurality of rooms in a building; A delivery information acquisition unit that acquires delivery information of a self-driving robot that delivers an article corresponding to the order information to the room where the user is located; A determination processing unit that executes a determination process of determining whether delivery by a self-driving robot from a restaurant to the room where the user is located is possible based on at least the order information and the delivery information, and generates determination result information; comprising; The order information includes identification information for identifying the room where the ordering user is located and content information regarding the order content; The delivery information includes information regarding the delivery status of the self-driving robot immediately before the determination process is executed. An order processing system characterized by this.

2. In the order processing system according to Claim 1, The order processing system further acquires route information of a delivery route from the restaurant to the room where the ordering user is located, The route information is information regarding the time required for the self-driving robot to travel the delivery route, The determination process further adds the route information and determines whether delivery by a self-driving robot is possible. An order processing system characterized by this.

3. In the order processing system according to Claim 2, The route information includes at least one of information regarding the number of people in the delivery route, information regarding obstacles in the delivery route, and information regarding traffic restrictions in the delivery route. An order processing system characterized by this.

4. In the order processing system according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, The order processing system acquires usage information including the usage end time of the room used by the ordering user, The determination process determines whether the order information can be accepted based on information based on the usage information. An order processing system characterized by this.

5. In the order processing system according to Claim 4, The identification information is acquired by the user terminal by wireless communication from an RF (Radio Frequency) tag installed in advance in the room where the user is located. An order processing system characterized by this.

6. A step of acquiring order information from a user terminal of a user who uses any one of a plurality of rooms in a building; A step of acquiring delivery information of a self-driving robot that delivers an article corresponding to the order information to the room where the user is located; Execute a determination process that determines whether delivery is possible from a restaurant to the room where the user is located by a self-driving robot based on at least the order information and the delivery information, and generates determination result information. including The order information includes identification information for identifying the room where the ordering user is located and content information regarding the order content. The delivery information includes information regarding the delivery status of the self-driving robot immediately before the determination process is executed. An order processing method, characterized by including the above.

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