Control method for server, server, and control program for server

Abstract

To control an information providing system so as to properly guide a user to a shop in a vacant status.SOLUTION: A server connectable to a storage unit in which a shop status table associating, for each of a plurality of shops, status information indicating whether or not the shops are vacant with one another is stored, and a user terminal is controlled in such a way as to: receive a vacant status notification signal including shop identification information identifying each shop and notifying that each shop is vacant; when the vacant status notification signal is received, set status information of the shop identified by the shop identification information to a vacant status for a predetermined time; when a search request is received from the user terminal, extract the shop set in the vacant status and transmit the shop to the user terminal; and set the status information to a vacant status for a predetermined time only when the number of times the vacant status notification signal for each shop is received within a certain period does not exceed an upper limit, or only when a total of times for which the status information of each shop is set to a vacant status does not exceed an upper time limit, in the setting.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control method for a server connectable to a storage unit and a user terminal, a server, and a control program for the server. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art There is known an information providing system in which a server holds the availability status of a plurality of stores and provides a user with information on stores that are currently available in response to a search request from the user.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a method of searching based on availability information input at a store and making a reservation at a store that has availability.

[0004] Patent Document 2 also describes that when a search is performed based on availability information registered by a store terminal, stores where the number of users exceeds the number of available spaces by a standard value or less are also treated as available. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 01 / 063474 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-071703 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In an information provision system, when store availability information is determined based on notifications from the store, even if there are no vacant seats at the moment, if it is predicted that there will be vacant seats after a specified time, it may be notified that the seat is vacant.

[0007] However, in this case, contrary to prediction, the store may not be available, and a user who visited the store based on the availability information may not be able to enter the store. In other words, the operator of the information providing system may not be able to properly guide the user to an available store. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] A first control method of a server according to the present invention includes: A method for controlling a server connectable to a storage unit and a user terminal, comprising: the storage unit stores a store status table for each of a plurality of stores, the store status table associating each store with status information indicating whether the store is vacant or not; The server: receiving a vacancy notification signal including store identification information that identifies each store and notifying that each store is vacant; When the vacancy notification signal is received, the status information of the store specified by the store specification information is set to vacant for a predetermined period of time; Upon receiving a search request from a user terminal, extracting a store whose status information is set to vacant and transmitting the extracted store to the user terminal; In the setting, the status information is set to vacant for a predetermined time only if the number of times that the vacant status notification signal including the store identification information that identifies each store has been received within a certain period of time does not exceed an upper limit number. It is characterized by:

[0009] A second control method for a server according to the present invention comprises: A method for controlling a server connectable to a storage unit and a user terminal, comprising: the storage unit stores a store status table for each of a plurality of stores, the store status table associating each store with status information indicating whether the store is vacant or not; The server: receiving a vacancy notification signal including store identification information that identifies each store and notifying that each store is vacant; When the vacancy notification signal is received, the status information of the store specified by the store specification information is set to vacant for a predetermined period of time; Upon receiving a search request from a user terminal, extracting a store whose status information is set to vacant and transmitting the extracted store to the user terminal; In the setting, the status information is set to vacant for a predetermined time only if the total time during which the status information of each store is set to vacant does not exceed an upper limit time within a certain period. It is characterized by: [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the control method of the present invention, it is possible to control the information providing system so as to appropriately guide the user to a store that is vacant. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overview of an information providing system including a server according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a server. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the hardware configuration of a user terminal. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a server. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a store status table stored in a storage unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of setting state information based on a vacancy notification. [Figure 7] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating different examples of setting state information based on an availability notification. [Figure 8] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating different examples of setting state information based on an availability notification. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of setting status information based on an availability notification and a cancellation notification. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a search request screen displayed on a user terminal. [Figure 11]FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a search result screen displayed on a user terminal. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a search request and availability setting based on a geographic range. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of vacancy setting based on a vacancy notification signal and a cancellation notification signal in a store corresponding to a specific geographical area. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of ranking in a store list. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an overview of an information providing system including a server according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a server. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a store status table stored in a storage unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of setting state information based on a vacancy status notification according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of setting state information based on a vacancy status notification according to the second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, however, it should be understood that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

[0013] First, an information provision system including a server according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 14. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overview of an information provision system including a server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the information provision system 1, a server 2 is connected to a storage unit 3, and is connected to a user terminal 4 via a network 5. The server 2 is also connected via the network 5 to switches 7 and 7' installed in stores 6 and 6'.

[0014] When the switch 7 of store 6 (store A) and the switch 7' of store 6' (store B) are operated, a notification signal notifying that the store is vacant is sent to the server 2. In the information provision system including the server according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the server 2 sets the store 6 (store A) whose remaining number of times is 2 to vacant status based on the number of notification signals notifying that the store is vacant that the server 2 receives within a certain period of time, and does not set the store 6' (store B) whose remaining number of times is 0 to vacant status.

[0015] The user terminal 4 requests the server 2 to search for available stores using the content shown on the search request screen 410, and displays a search result screen 420 based on the response from the server 2. The search result screen 420 includes the store 6 (store A) that has been set to available, but does not include the store 6' (store B) that has not been set to available. The configurations of the server 2 and the user terminal 4 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The search request screen 410 and the search result screen 420 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

[0016] The storage unit 3 is a device that can read written data. The storage unit 3 is configured with a nonvolatile storage device such as a hard disk drive or flash memory. In addition to the nonvolatile storage device, the storage unit 3 may also include a storage control means for controlling the nonvolatile storage device. The storage control means can be configured by executing a predetermined program on a processor in a computer that includes, for example, a processor, memory, an input / output interface, a communication interface, etc. Furthermore, the storage unit 3 may be configured integrally with the server 2.

[0017] In an embodiment of the present invention, a store status table that associates each store with status information indicating whether the store is vacant or not is stored in the storage unit 3. The store status table will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0018] The network 5 connects the server 2 and the user terminal 4 so that they can communicate with each other. The network 5 is, for example, the Internet, where communication is performed using TCP / IP, and devices communicating via the network 5 are connected by wire or wirelessly. The wireless connection may be, for example, a wireless LAN connection such as IEEE802.11ac, or a wireless WAN connection such as a 4G line.

[0019] The store 6 is a facility that can accept visiting customers up to capacity and provide services, and may be, for example, a restaurant that provides food and drink services. The store 6 may be equipped with a store terminal (not shown) that is connected to the network 5 and can communicate with the server 2.

[0020] When the switch 7 is operated, a notification signal including store identification information identifying each store 6 and notifying the status of the store 6 is transmitted to the server 2. The switch 7 is a device that outputs a predetermined signal in response to a user operation. The switch 7 may be a device equipped with an input unit that identifies the user operation and a connection unit that can be directly connected to the network 5. The connection unit may also be a device connection interface such as USB (registered trademark) that connects to a store terminal such as a personal computer installed in the store. The switch 7 may also be configured by executing predetermined software on an information processing device such as a personal computer or smartphone connected to the network 5 to output a predetermined signal in response to an input such as a predetermined operation on a GUI component displayed on the screen. The operation on the switch 7 may be any operation that can be identified by the input unit of the switch 7, such as pressing a push button switch, tapping a predetermined area on a touch panel, or a gesture on a camera. The notification signal may be transmitted from the switch 7 connected to the network 5 or from the store terminal to which the switch 7 is connected.

[0021] The store identification information for each store included in the notification signal may be a store identifier unique to each store 6. The store identification information may also be a switch identifier unique to each switch 7. For example, by referencing a switch store table stored in the storage unit 3, which associates switch identifiers with store identifiers, the store identifier can be identified based on the switch identifier. In this way, a notification signal related to each store is transmitted by operating the switch 7.

[0022] When the switch 7 is operated, a notification signal (hereinafter also referred to as a "vacancy notification signal") is transmitted to notify that the store 6 is vacant. Furthermore, when the switch 7 is operated, a notification signal (hereinafter referred to as a "cancellation notification signal") to cancel the vacancy notification signal may be transmitted. It is preferable that the operation of the switch 7 to transmit the cancellation notification signal be different from the operation of the switch 7 to transmit the vacancy notification signal. Specifically, when the operation of the switch 7 to transmit the notification signal is the pressing of a push button switch, the cancellation notification signal may be transmitted in response to an operation such as simultaneous pressing with the mode switching button, a long press, or a double click.

[0023] Furthermore, a switch for transmitting a cancel notification signal may be provided separately from the switch 7 for transmitting a vacancy notification signal. Furthermore, when the switch 7 is configured by executing predetermined software on an information processing device, the cancel notification signal may be transmitted when a GUI component different from the GUI component for transmitting the vacancy notification signal is operated. When a switch for transmitting a cancel notification signal is provided, the vacancy notification signal and the cancel notification signal can be distinguished by having different state information (for example, one is true and the other is false). Furthermore, when a switch for notifying a cancel notification signal is provided separately from the switch 7 for notifying a vacancy notification signal, it may be possible to identify whether the notification signal is a vacancy notification signal or a cancel notification signal based on a switch identifier.

[0024] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the hardware configuration of the server 2. Referring to Fig. 2, the server 2 includes a processor 21, a main memory 22, a storage 23, and a communication interface 24. The server 2 executes various processes by loading a program stored in the storage 23 into the main memory 22 and executing it with the processor 21, and by controlling the communication interface 24.

[0025] The processor 21 is configured by, for example, a CPU. The main memory 22 is configured by, for example, a volatile storage device such as a DRAM. The storage 23 is configured by, for example, a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk drive or flash memory. The communication interface 24 is, for example, a USB interface or a LAN interface, and provides connection with external devices.

[0026] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the hardware configuration of the user terminal 4. Referring to Fig. 3, the user terminal 4 includes a processor 41, a main memory 42, a storage 43, a communication interface 44, an input interface 45, and a display 46. The user terminal 4 loads a program stored in the storage 43 into the main memory 42, executes the program, controls the communication interface 44 and the input interface 45 to execute various processes, and displays the processing results on the display 46.

[0027] The processor 41 is configured, for example, by a CPU. The main memory 42 is configured, for example, by a volatile storage device such as a DRAM. The storage 43 is configured, for example, by a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk drive or flash memory. The communication interface 44 is, for example, a LAN interface or a WAN interface, and provides connection to external devices. The input interface 45 is, for example, a touch panel superimposed on the display 46, and accepts user operations. The display 46 is, for example, a liquid crystal display panel, and displays the processing results of the processor 41 so that the user can visually recognize them.

[0028] Specifically, the user terminal 4 can be configured as a personal computer, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, etc., but is not limited to these. For example, a chip implanted in the user's body can be made to function as a user terminal by interacting with the user's body.

[0029] Next, the functions of the server 2 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a functional block diagram of the server 2. Referring to Fig. 4, the server 2 includes a notification receiving unit 201, a status setting unit 202, a search receiving unit 203, and an extraction transmitting unit 204 as functional blocks.

[0030] The notification receiving unit 201 receives a vacancy notification signal that includes store identification information that identifies each store and notifies that each store is vacant. The notification receiving unit 201 can be configured by running a predetermined program to operate the processor 21 and control the communication interface 24.

[0031] When the status setting unit 202 receives the vacant status notification signal, it sets the status information of the store specified by the store specifying information to vacant status for a predetermined period of time.

[0032] The status setting unit 202 further sets the status information to vacant for a predetermined time only if the number of times a notification signal for each store is received within a certain period of time does not exceed an upper limit. In other words, if the number of times a notification signal for each store is received within a certain period of time exceeds an upper limit, the status information for that store will not be set to vacant even if a notification signal for that store is received within that certain period of time.

[0033] By the status setting unit 202 operating in this manner, the number of times that the availability status is notified is limited for each store.

[0034] The state setting unit 202 can be configured by causing the processor 21 to operate by executing a predetermined program and controlling the communication interface 24 .

[0035] The search receiving unit 203 receives a search request from the user terminal 4. The search receiving unit 203 can be configured by causing the processor 21 to operate by executing a predetermined program and controlling the communication interface 24.

[0036] The extraction transmission unit 204 extracts stores whose status information is set to vacant, and transmits the extracted stores to the user terminal 4. The extraction transmission unit 204 can be configured by causing the processor 21 to operate by executing a predetermined program and controlling the communication interface 24.

[0037] By adopting the above hardware configuration, status information from multiple stores can be collected in a unified manner in the server 2, enabling efficient information processing.

[0038] Next, the store status table stored in the storage unit 3 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a store status table stored in the storage unit 3. As shown in Fig. 5, in the store status table, for each of a plurality of stores, an identifier of each store is associated with status information indicating whether the store is vacant or not.

[0039] Specifically, in Figure 5, for store A, the identifier "1111" is associated with the status information "vacant," for store B, the identifier "2222" is associated with the status information "," and for store C, the identifier "3333" is associated with the status information "vacant."

[0040] The identifier is information for uniquely identifying the store whose status information is to be notified by the notification signal. The identifier included in the received notification signal allows the server 2 to identify which store's status information the notification signal is notifying.

[0041] Status information is information that indicates whether a store is vacant or not. In the example of FIG. 5, the string "vacant" is stored in the status information of a vacant store, and the status information of a non-vacant store is blank. However, the information stored in the status information is not limited to this. For example, the logical value "true" may be stored in the status information of a vacant store, and the logical value "false" may be stored in the status information of a non-vacant store, as long as it is possible to distinguish between a vacant store and a non-vacant store. In this specification, changing the status information of a store to a state that indicates it is vacant is referred to as "setting the status to vacant." Setting the vacant status will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS. 6-8.

[0042] Furthermore, in the store status table, as shown in FIG. 5, store A may be associated with location "Area P", available time "30 minutes", and remaining number of times "2", store B may be associated with location "Area P", available time " ", and remaining number of times "0", and store C may be associated with location "Area P", available time "15 minutes", and remaining number of times "1".

[0043] The location is information indicating the location of the store. It may be information specifying a geographical range including the location of the store, as shown in Fig. 5, or it may be location information specifying the location of the store by latitude and longitude, etc.

[0044] The vacant time is information indicating the time until a store currently set as vacant will no longer be vacant. As shown in Fig. 5, the time until the store will no longer be vacant may be stored as the vacant time, or the time at which the vacant information will no longer be displayed (for example, "20:30") may be stored as the vacant time.

[0045] Furthermore, the vacant time of a store that is not vacant is blank in the example of FIG. 5, but the vacant time from the previous vacant state (for example, "19:00") may be stored.

[0046] The remaining number of times is the remaining number of times that the status information of each store can be set to vacant. The remaining number of times can be calculated by subtracting the number of times that a notification signal for the store is received within a certain period (e.g., 12 hours), which is stored separately, from an upper limit value (e.g., 3 times) that indicates the upper limit of the number of times that the status information of each store can be set to vacant when a notification signal for the store is received. In the example of FIG. 5, the difference obtained by subtracting the number of times that a notification signal is received from the upper limit value is stored as the remaining number of times, but it is also possible to store the number of times that a notification signal is received within a certain period of time as the remaining number of times and subtract it from the upper limit value as necessary.

[0047] 6A and 6B are diagrams showing an example of setting status information based on a vacancy status notification. Fig. 6A shows a state in which the server 2 has received a notification signal from store A. The server 2 has not received a notification signal from store A within a certain period of time (e.g., 12 hours) up to the present. Because the number of times the notification signal has been received does not exceed an upper limit (e.g., 3), the server 2 sets the status information of store A to vacant for a predetermined time (e.g., 30 minutes) and decrements the remaining number of times for store A by one.

[0048] FIG. 6(b) shows the state in which server 2 has received the notification signal from store B. Server 2 has received the notification signal from store B three times within a certain period up to the present. Since the fourth reception exceeds the upper limit of three in this example, server 2 does not set store A's status information to vacant.

[0049] FIG. 7 shows different examples of setting status information based on availability notification, and the server 2 changes the predetermined time for setting the status information of each store to available depending on the remaining number of times that the status information can be set to available.

[0050] 7(a) shows the state in which server 2 has received a notification signal from store A. Server 2 has not received a notification signal from store A within a certain period up to the present, and because the upper limit of 3 in this example has not been exceeded, server 2 sets store A's status information to vacant for a predetermined period of time. With the reception of this notification signal, the remaining number of times that the status can be set to vacant decreases by 1 from 3 to 2.

[0051] FIG. 7(b) shows the state in which server 2 has received a notification signal from store B. Server 2 has received two notification signals from store B within a certain period up to the present, and since the upper limit in this example is three, the remaining number of times is one. Since the third reception does not exceed the upper limit of three in this example, server 2 sets store B's status information to vacant. With the reception of this notification signal, the remaining number of times that it can be set to vacant decreases by one from one to zero.

[0052] In the example of FIG. 7, the remaining number of times that store A can be set to an available state is 2, and the remaining number of times that store B can be set to an available state is 0. The server 2 may change the predetermined time for setting the available state according to the remaining number of times. In the example of FIG. 7, store A, which has 2 remaining times, is set to an available state for 30 minutes, and store B, which has 0 remaining times, is set to an available state for 45 minutes. Changing the predetermined time according to the remaining number of times is not limited to this, and for example, store A, which has 2 remaining times, may be set to an available state for 45 minutes, and store B, which has 0 remaining times, may be set to an available state for 30 minutes.

[0053] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a different example of setting the status information based on the availability status notification, and the server 2 changes the predetermined time period to be set as availability status depending on the time period in which the notification signal is received.

[0054] FIG. 8 shows the state in which server 2 receives a vacant status notification signal for store A. Server 2 receives the notification signal for store A at 18:00 and 20:00. In this example, if a notification signal is received between 17:00 and 19:00, the store is set to be vacant for 45 minutes; a notification signal received at 18:00 sets the store to be vacant for 45 minutes, and a notification signal received at 20:00 sets the store to be vacant for 30 minutes. In this way, server 2 sets the predetermined time for setting the store to be vacant for notification signals received in a predetermined time period to be longer or shorter than the predetermined time for setting the store to be vacant for notification signals received in other time periods.

[0055] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of setting state information based on an availability notification and a cancellation notification.

[0056] 9(a) shows a state in which server 2 receives a vacancy notification signal from store A after receiving a vacancy notification signal and a cancellation notification signal from store A. At this time, server 2 changes the predetermined time for which it sets the availability status based on the later received vacancy notification signal from the predetermined time for which it sets the availability status based on the vacancy notification signal before the cancellation notification signal. In the example of FIG. 9(a), server 2 sets the time for which it sets the availability status based on the later received vacancy notification signal to 15 minutes, which is shorter than the 30 minutes for which it sets the availability status based on the vacancy notification signal before the cancellation notification signal.

[0057] 9(b) shows a state in which the server 2 receives a vacancy notification signal from store A after having received both a vacancy notification signal and a cancellation notification signal from store A multiple times. In this case, the server 2 sets the predetermined time for store A to the average time from when it receives the vacancy notification signal to when it receives a cancellation notification signal that cancels the vacancy set based on the vacancy notification signal.

[0058] Specifically, in the example of Figure 9(b), the time from receiving the first availability notification signal to receiving the first cancellation notification signal that cancels it is t1. Also, the time from receiving the second availability notification signal to receiving the second cancellation notification signal that cancels it is t2. Server 2 sets the average of these times, (t1 + t2) / 2, as the predetermined time required for store A. When setting store A to availability based on the last availability notification signal received, the status information of store A is set to availability for the period of (t1 + t2) / 2.

[0059] In this way, the status information can be controlled in accordance with the seat turnover situation at each store. If a seat is filled while it is set to vacant, customers who come to the store after seeing a search result that shows it is vacant will have to wait, which is undesirable. By controlling the status information in accordance with the seat turnover situation at each store in this way, the vacant status will end at an appropriate length based on the past performance of each store, without the store having to manually issue a cancellation notice while keeping track of the in-store situation.

[0060] Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a search request screen displayed on the user terminal 4. Referring to Fig. 10, a search request screen 410 including a search request instruction button 411 is displayed on the user terminal 4.

[0061] When the user operates the search request instruction button 411, the user terminal 4 transmits a search request based on the selected search conditions to the server 2.

[0062] In this specification, the term "button" includes GUIs in general. The search request instruction button 411 does not need to be a physical button, and does not need to have an appearance that corresponds to pressing a physical button when selected.

[0063] Therefore, the search request instruction button 411 can be configured by a GUI, and can be operated by tapping on a predetermined area of ​​a touch panel superimposed on the display 46, for example.

[0064] Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a search result screen 420 displayed on the user terminal 4. Referring to Fig. 11, the search result screen 420 including a store list 421 that displays a list of extracted stores is displayed on the user terminal 4. The store list 421 includes information 422 about each store.

[0065] It is preferable that the store information 422 includes information that is useful for the user to decide which store to visit from among the stores displayed in the store list 421. In the example of Fig. 11, a link to a store map and the characteristics of the store are displayed as the store information 422, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0066] 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a search request and availability setting based on a geographical range. Referring to FIG. 12, a user terminal 4 transmits a search request specifying an area P as the geographical range. The server 2 extracts store B, which corresponds to area P, from among stores B, F, and G whose availability information is set to available, and transmits the extracted search result to the user terminal 4.

[0067] The geographical range specified in the search request needs only to be associated with the location associated with each store in the store status table. In the store status table shown in FIG. 5 and the example search request shown in FIG. 12, the correspondence is established by matching the area name "Area P." Alternatively, for a store table in which location information specifying the location of a store by latitude, longitude, etc. is associated as the store's location, the geographical range may be specified by latitude and longitude, for example, "within 200 meters from the current location of the user terminal 4." Alternatively, the user terminal 4 may specify the geographical range by area name in the search request, and the server 2 may convert the specified area name into a range specification by latitude, longitude, etc. using a predetermined database.

[0068] The server 2 may transmit to a given store status information of other stores located within a predetermined distance from the location of the given store. In the example of FIG. 12, the server 2 transmits to store A status information of other stores B, C, and D located in the same area P. Store personnel can refer to the status information of neighboring stores transmitted in this way and decide when to notify the availability status of their own store.

[0069] When the server 2 receives a notification signal including an identifier of a store that corresponds to a specific geographical range, the server 2 may change the predetermined time for setting a store whose location corresponds to the specific geographical range to an available state. In the example of FIG. 12, when the server 2 receives a notification signal including an identifier of store A that corresponds to area P, which is a specific geographical range, the predetermined time for setting a store to an available state is changed from 30 minutes, and store A is set to an available state for 45 minutes. On the other hand, when the server 2 receives a notification signal including an identifier of store E that does not correspond to the specific geographical range, the predetermined time is not changed, and store E is set to an available state for 30 minutes. The change of the predetermined time is not limited to this example, and the predetermined time for a store that corresponds to a specific geographical range may be shortened.

[0070] 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of setting availability status based on availability notification signals and cancellation notification signals in stores corresponding to a specific geographical range. Referring to FIG. 13, stores A, B, C, and D correspond to a specific geographical range, for example, within region P. When server 2 receives cancellation notification signals from a predetermined number or more stores corresponding to the specific geographical range, the cancellation notification signals notifying a request to cancel the setting of the status information of the stores that received availability notification signals as available, server 2 sets the average of the time from when it received the availability notification signal at each store to when it received the cancellation notification signal as the predetermined time required for the stores corresponding to the specific geographical range.

[0071] Specifically, server 2 receives a vacancy notification signal for store A, and receives a cancellation notification signal a time later, ta. Similarly, the times from when the vacancy notification signal is received until the cancellation notification signal is received for stores B and C are tb and tc, respectively. That is, vacancy notification signals and corresponding cancellation notification signals have been received from three stores, A, B, and C, corresponding to area P. Here, assuming the predetermined number is 3, since signals have been received from more than the predetermined number of stores, the average of the time from when the vacancy notification signal is received at each store until the cancellation notification signal is received, i.e., (ta+tb+tc) / 3, is set as the predetermined time required for the stores corresponding to area P. Therefore, the time set as vacant based on the vacancy notification signal for store D is (ta+tb+tc) / 3.

[0072] In this way, the time for which the facility is vacant can be set in accordance with the congestion situation specific to the area (for example, after an event has ended).

[0073] When the server 2 extracts multiple stores whose status information is set to vacant, it is preferable to transmit a list of stores in which the multiple stores are ranked according to a predetermined criterion to the user terminal 4. Fig. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of ranking in the list of stores.

[0074] Figure 14(a) shows an example of ranking when multiple stores with different available times are extracted as search results. Store A is set to be available for 30 minutes based on a notification signal sent 5 minutes in advance, and its available time is 25 minutes when it receives a search request from user terminal 4. Store B is set to be available for 30 minutes based on a notification signal sent 15 minutes in advance, and its available time is 15 minutes when it receives a search request from user terminal 4. In the example of Figure 14(a), Store A and Store B are set to be available when the search request is received, and are therefore extracted in response to the search request.

[0075] The server 2 may determine the order in which the extracted stores are displayed in the store list according to the available time, which indicates the time until the status information set to available changes to unavailable. In the example of FIG. 14(a), the available times of the extracted stores A and B are 25 minutes and 15 minutes, respectively. In the example of FIG. 14(a), the order in which the stores are displayed in the store list according to this available time is such that store B, which has the shorter available time, is at the top and store A, which has the longer available time, is at the bottom. The order in which the stores are displayed according to the remaining time is not limited to this, and may be determined, for example, so that stores with longer available times are displayed at the top.

[0076] Figure 14(b) shows an example of setting and ranking the vacancy status of stores that have different numbers of times that notification signals have been received within a specified period. The notification signal from store A has been received once within the specified period. The notification signal from store B has been received three times within the specified period.

[0077] The server 2 may set a longer predetermined time for setting the specific store to an available state and may also set a higher ranking for displaying the specific store in the list of stores the more times the server 2 receives a notification signal from the specific store within a predetermined period. In the example of Figure 14(b), the time for which store B, which receives a notification signal more times within a predetermined period, is set to an available state is 45 minutes, which is longer than the 30 minutes for which store A, which receives a notification signal less frequently, is set to an available state. In addition, store B, which receives a notification signal more times within a predetermined period, is displayed higher than store A, which receives a notification signal less frequently.

[0078] As described above, when a predetermined program is executed on server 2 to control server 2, the number of times that availability notification is sent is limited for each store, so that information provision system 1 can appropriately guide users to stores that have availability.

[0079] Next, an information providing system including a server according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 15 to Fig. 19. Fig. 15 is a schematic diagram showing an overview of an information providing system including a server according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In describing the second embodiment, parts common to the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0080] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing an overview of an information provision system including a server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The information provision system 20 according to the second embodiment and the information provision system according to the first embodiment have similar configurations, and are also similar in that the server 21 responds to a vacant store search request from a user terminal 4 by referring to the status information of each store that is set based on a notification signal from the store 6. However, this differs from the first embodiment in that the server 21 controls the status information of each store to be vacant based on the vacant status notification signal from the store 6 only if the total time during which the status information of each store is set to vacant within a certain period of time does not exceed the upper limit time. The configuration and operation related to this difference will be described below.

[0081] Fig. 16 is a functional block diagram of the server 21 according to the second embodiment. Referring to Fig. 16, the server 21 includes, as functional blocks, a notification receiving unit 201, a status setting unit 212, a search receiving unit 203, and an extraction transmitting unit 204. The notification receiving unit 201, the search receiving unit 203, and the extraction transmitting unit 204 are similar to the functional blocks included in the server 2 according to the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0082] When the notification signal is received, the status setting unit 212 sets the status information of the store corresponding to the identifier included in the notification signal to vacant for a predetermined period of time.

[0083] The status setting unit 212 further sets the status information to vacant for a predetermined period of time only if the total time during which the status information of each store is set to vacant does not exceed the upper limit of time within a certain period of time. In other words, if the time during which the status information of each store is set to vacant based on a notification signal exceeds the upper limit of time within a certain period of time, the status information of that store will not be set to vacant even if a notification signal is received from that store within that certain period of time.

[0084] By the status setting unit 212 operating in this manner, the time for which the status is set to vacant is limited for each store.

[0085] Next, a store status table stored in the storage unit 3 in the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 17. Fig. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a store status table stored in the storage unit 3 in the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 17, in the store status table, for each of a plurality of stores, an identifier of each store is associated with status information indicating whether the store is vacant or not.

[0086] The store status table in the second embodiment differs from the store status table in the first embodiment in that instead of the remaining number of times that the status information of each store can be set to vacant, the remaining time that the status information of each store can be set to vacant is associated with it.

[0087] In the example of FIG. 17, the remaining time is associated with store A as "90 minutes," store B as "0 minutes," and store C as "60 minutes." The remaining number of times can be calculated by subtracting the total time for which the store has been set to an available state within a certain period of time (for example, 12 hours) from an upper limit time (for example, 90 minutes) that indicates the upper limit of the total time for which the status information is set to an available state in response to a notification signal received within the certain period of time, which is stored separately. In the example of FIG. 17, the difference obtained by subtracting the number of times the notification signal has been received from the upper limit value is stored as the remaining number of times, but it is also possible to store the total time for which the status information has been set to an available state within the certain period of time as the remaining time and subtract it from the upper limit time as necessary.

[0088] Fig. 18 is a diagram showing an example of setting status information based on a vacant status notification. Fig. 18(a) shows a state in which the server 2 has received a notification signal from store A. The server 2 has not received a notification signal from store A within a certain period of time (for example, 12 hours) up to the present, and store A has not been set to vacant. Since the total time that store A has been set to vacant does not exceed the upper limit time (for example, 90 minutes), the server 2 sets store A's status information to vacant for a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes).

[0089] 18(b) shows the state in which server 2 has received the notification signal for store B. Server 2 has received the notification signal for store B three times within a certain period up to the present, and has set the status to vacant for 30 minutes each time. Since the total time set to vacant exceeds the upper limit of 90 minutes in this example, and the remaining time is 0, server 2 does not set the status information of store A to vacant.

[0090] Figure 19 is a diagram showing different examples of setting status information based on availability notification in the second embodiment of the present invention, in which the server 21 changes the specified time for setting the status information of each store to available depending on the remaining time for which the status information can be set to available.

[0091] FIG. 19 shows the state in which server 2 has received a notification signal from store A. Server 2 has received three notification signals from store A within a certain period up to the present. When the first notification signal is received, the remaining time is 90 minutes, which is the upper limit time. Based on the first notification signal, the store is set to be available for 30 minutes. When the second notification signal is received, the remaining time is 60 minutes, which is the upper limit time minus 30 minutes. Based on the second notification signal, the store is set to be available for 30 minutes.

[0092] When the third notification signal is received, the remaining time is 30 minutes, which is the previous remaining time minus 30 minutes. In this example, when the remaining time is 30 minutes or less, the predetermined time for that store is changed, and store A is set to an available state of 15 minutes. Changing the predetermined time for setting each store to an available state according to the remaining time for which each store can be set to an available state is not limited to this.

[0093] Furthermore, the control based on the store location, the control based on the cancellation notification signal, and the control for determining the display order in the store list, which have been described in the first embodiment, can also be applied to the second embodiment.

[0094] As described above, when a predetermined program is executed on server 21 to control server 21, the information provision system 20 can appropriately guide the user to a store that is available, since the time that each store can be set to an available state is limited.

[0095] In this specification, as embodiments of the present invention that solve the problem of appropriately guiding users to vacant stores, a first embodiment in which the number of times that vacant status notifications are sent is limited for each store, and a second embodiment in which the time that vacant status can be set is limited for each store have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0096] 1, 20 Information provision system 2, 21 servers 3 Storage section 4. User terminal 5. Network 6, 6' store 7, 7′ switch 410 Search request screen 411 Search request instruction button 420 Search Results Screen 421 Store List 422 Store Information

Claims

1. A method for controlling a server connectable to a storage unit and a user terminal, comprising: The storage unit stores a store status table for each of a plurality of stores, the store status table associating each store with status information indicating the availability of the store; The server: receiving a vacancy notification signal including store identification information for identifying each store and notifying the vacancy status of each store; setting the status information associated with the store from which the vacancy notification signal was received to vacant for a predetermined period of time based on information about the vacancy notification signal received from the store within a certain period up to the present; A server control method that includes, when receiving a search request for vacant stores from a user terminal, extracting the vacant stores from the plurality of stores based on the time when the vacant stores will no longer be available and transmitting the extracted stores to the user terminal.

2. The control method described in claim 1, wherein in the setting, the predetermined time required for the store is changed according to the remaining number of times that the store can be set to the vacant state, which is calculated by subtracting the number of times that the vacant state notification signal has been received from each store within a certain period up to the present from the upper limit number of times that the store can be set to the vacant state, and the store is set to the vacant state for the predetermined time.

3. The control method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the setting includes changing the predetermined time period according to a geographical range included in a store corresponding to the received vacancy notification signal, and setting the store to the vacant state for the predetermined time period.

4. A server connectable to a storage unit and a user terminal, The storage unit stores a store status table for each of a plurality of stores, the store status table associating each store with status information indicating the availability of the store; a notification receiving unit that receives a vacancy notification signal including store identification information that identifies each store and notifies the vacancy status of each store; a status setting unit that sets the status information associated with the store from which the vacant status notification signal was received to vacant for a predetermined period of time; a search receiving unit that receives a search request for vacant stores from a user terminal; and an extraction and transmission unit that extracts the vacant store from the plurality of stores based on the time when the vacant store will no longer be available and transmits the extracted store to the user terminal.

5. A control program for a server connectable to a storage unit and a user terminal, The storage unit stores a store status table for each of a plurality of stores, the store status table associating each store with status information indicating the availability of the store; The server, receiving a vacancy notification signal including store identification information for identifying each store and notifying the vacancy status of each store; setting the status information associated with the store from which the vacancy notification signal was received to vacant for a predetermined period of time based on information about the vacancy notification signal received from the store within a certain period up to the present; receiving a search request for an available store from a user terminal; A control program that executes the steps of: extracting the vacant store from the plurality of stores based on the time when the vacant store will no longer be available, and transmitting the extracted store to the user terminal.

6. A method for controlling a server connectable to a storage unit and a user terminal, comprising: The storage unit stores a store status table for each of a plurality of stores, the store status table associating each store with status information indicating the availability of the store; The server: receiving a vacancy notification signal including store identification information for identifying each store and notifying the vacancy status of each store; setting the status information associated with the store from which the vacancy notification signal was received to vacant for a predetermined period of time; a server control method including transmitting the status information of other stores among the plurality of stores that are located within a predetermined distance from the location of the store to the store.

7. A server connectable to a storage unit and a user terminal, The storage unit stores a store status table for each of a plurality of stores, the store status table associating each store with status information indicating the availability of the store; a notification receiving unit that receives a vacancy notification signal including store identification information that identifies each store and notifies the vacancy status of each store; a status setting unit that sets the status information associated with the store from which the vacant status notification signal was received to vacant for a predetermined period of time; an extracting and transmitting unit that transmits to the store, among the plurality of stores, the status information of other stores that are located within a predetermined distance from the store; A server comprising:

8. A control program for a server connectable to a storage unit and a user terminal, The storage unit stores a store status table for each of a plurality of stores, the store status table associating each store with status information indicating the availability of the store; The server, receiving a vacancy notification signal including store identification information for identifying each store and notifying the vacancy status of each store; setting the status information associated with the store from which the vacancy notification signal was received to vacant for a predetermined period of time; transmitting the status information of other stores that are located within a predetermined distance from the location of the store to the store; A control program that executes the following:

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