Queue management apparatus, queue management method, and program

Abstract

To provide an order management device, an order management method, and a program capable of accurately performing order management.SOLUTION: The turn management device receives a turn confirmation request from an information terminal of a customer who has registered turn-waiting, and notifies the information terminal of turn information including a turn of the customer and a situation of a preceding person who is a customer who performs turn-waiting before the customer. Then, it is determined whether or not a condition for transmitting a remind notification for notifying that the turn of the customer is approaching is satisfied, and the remind notification is transmitted to the information terminal of the customer according to the determination result. The order information includes, as the status of the preceding person, post-remind confirmation request information indicating whether an order confirmation request has been received from the information terminal of the preceding person after the remind notification was transmitted to the information terminal of the preceding person.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a queue management device, a queue management method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Various queue management systems have been proposed to manage the queues of customers waiting for service at restaurants, amusement facilities, hospitals, banks, government offices, etc. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a queue management system that grasps the status of users at the time of calling and efficiently optimizes queue management. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2008-527499 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the above queue management system, the contents of the waiting list are updated based on the contents of the reply regarding the user's current status. Therefore, if there is no reply from the user, the contents of the waiting list are not updated, and there is still room for improvement in terms of accurate queue management.

[0005] The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to provide a sequence management device, a sequence management method, and a program that are capable of performing sequence management with high accuracy. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A sequence management device according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises: a turn confirmation request receiving unit that receives a turn confirmation request from an information terminal of a customer who has registered to wait in line; a turn notification unit that notifies the information terminal of turn information including the turn of the customer and the status of a preceding customer who is waiting in line ahead of the customer; a reminder determination unit that determines whether a condition for sending a reminder notification that the customer's turn is approaching is met; a reminder notification unit that transmits the reminder notification to the information terminal of the customer in accordance with the determination result by the reminder determination unit, The order information includes, as the status of the preceding person, post-reminding confirmation request information indicating whether the order confirmation request has been received from the information terminal of the preceding person after the reminder notification has been sent to the information terminal of the preceding person. It is characterized by:

[0007] In addition, in the sequence management device according to the above aspect, The order information further includes, as the status of the preceding person, pre-reminding confirmation request information indicating whether the order confirmation request has been received from the information terminal of the preceding person before the reminder notification is sent to the information terminal of the preceding person. It is characterized by:

[0008] In addition, in the sequence management device according to the above aspect, the remind determination unit determines whether a condition for sending the remind notification is met based on the post-remind confirmation request information. It is characterized by:

[0009] In addition, in the sequence management device according to the above aspect, a cancel instruction receiving unit that receives a cancel instruction to cancel the waiting order; a waiting time estimation unit that estimates a waiting time corresponding to the customer's turn, The waiting time estimation unit calculates a probability that the preceding person will cancel the waiting order based on the number of times the order confirmation request has been received from the preceding person after the reminder notification has been sent to the preceding person and whether or not the cancellation instruction has been received, and estimates the waiting time from an average of the preceding person's past waiting times and the probability, The remind determination unit determines that a condition for transmitting the remind notification is met when the waiting time is less than a predetermined threshold. It is characterized by:

[0010] In addition, in the sequence management device according to the above aspect, The turn notification unit displays the status of the preceding person indicated by the post-reminding confirmation request information in a visually recognizable display mode. It is characterized by:

[0011] In addition, in the sequence management device according to the above aspect, the turn notification unit displays the status of the preceding person indicated by the pre-reminding confirmation request information and the post-reminding confirmation request information in different visually recognizable display modes, respectively. It is characterized by:

[0012] A sequence management method according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises: A queue management method by a queue management device, a turn confirmation request receiving step of receiving a turn confirmation request from an information terminal of a customer who has registered to wait in line; a turn notification step of notifying the information terminal of turn information including the turn of the customer and the status of a preceding customer who is waiting in line ahead of the customer; a reminder determination step of determining whether a condition for sending a reminder notice informing the customer that their turn is approaching is met; a reminder notification step of transmitting the reminder notification to the information terminal of the customer according to the determination result of the reminder determination step, The order information includes, as the status of the preceding person, post-reminding confirmation request information indicating whether the order confirmation request has been received from the information terminal of the preceding person after the reminder notification has been sent to the information terminal of the preceding person. It is characterized by:

[0013] A program according to a third aspect of the present invention comprises: Computer, a turn confirmation request receiving unit that receives a turn confirmation request from an information terminal of a customer who has registered to wait in line; a turn notification unit that notifies the information terminal of turn information including the turn of the customer and the status of a preceding customer who is waiting in line ahead of the customer; a reminder determination unit that determines whether a condition for sending a reminder notice informing the customer that their turn is approaching is met; a reminder notification unit that transmits the reminder notification to the information terminal of the customer in accordance with the determination result by the reminder determination unit; The order information includes, as the status of the preceding person, post-reminding confirmation request information indicating whether the order confirmation request has been received from the information terminal of the preceding person after the reminder notification has been sent to the information terminal of the preceding person. It is characterized by:

[0014] The program may be recorded on a non-transitory recording medium. The non-transitory recording medium can be distributed or sold independently of the computer. Here, a non-transitory recording medium refers to a tangible recording medium. Examples of non-transitory recording media include compact discs, flexible disks, hard disks, magneto-optical disks, digital video disks, magnetic tapes, and semiconductor memories. A transitory recording medium refers to the transmission medium (propagation signal) itself. Examples of transitory recording media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. A temporary storage area is an area for temporarily storing data and programs, such as volatile memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory). [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a sequence management device, a sequence management method, and a program that are capable of performing sequence management with high accuracy. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the queue management device and an information terminal. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a queue management device. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of waiting customer information. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of history information. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a waiting request process and a waiting registration process. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example on an information terminal. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an order management process. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a reminding condition. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example on an information terminal. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example on an information terminal. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an order update process. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of registration in history information. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of an information terminal in a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] (Overall composition) A queue management device, a queue management method, and a program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding parts in the drawings are designated by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 1, a queue management system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is composed of a queue management device 100 and an information terminal 200, which are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate via a computer communication network 400 such as the Internet. To facilitate understanding, this embodiment will be described below using an example of online queueing at a restaurant.

[0018] The queue management device 100 is a computer such as a server, and is capable of communicating with the information terminal 200 via a computer communication network 400. The queue management device 100 has various functions for managing queues, such as a function for providing a registration screen for waiting in line in response to various requests from the information terminal 200, a function for registering queues, a function for providing queue information showing the current queue status, and a function for sending reminder notifications to inform customers that their turn is approaching.

[0019] The information terminal 200 is an information terminal (so-called computer) such as a smartphone, tablet, or PC (Personal Computer) owned by a customer who wishes to wait in line, and is capable of communicating with the queue management device 100 via a computer communication network 400. The information terminal 200 has a function of applying to wait in line to the queue management device 100 based on an operation by a user who is a customer, and a function of sending a queue confirmation request to check the current queue status.

[0020] (Functional configuration of the queue management device) Next, the configuration of the sequence management device 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the sequence management device 100 includes a storage unit 110, a control unit 120, an input / output unit 130, a communication unit 140, and a system bus (not shown) that interconnects these units.

[0022] The storage unit 110 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The ROM stores a program 111 executed by the control unit 120, various data (not shown) required in advance for executing the program 111, waiting customer information 112, and history information 113.

[0023] The program 111 is a program that executes a waiting registration process, a queue management process, and a queue update process, which will be described later, and is stored in the storage unit 110 in advance.

[0024] 3, the waiting customer information 112 includes at least the following: an order indicating the order of the customer in the queue, a customer ID for identifying the customer, presence or absence of a pre-reminder confirmation request indicating whether a queue confirmation request for checking the current queue status was received before the reminder notification was sent, reminder notification information indicating whether a reminder notification was sent, presence or absence of a post-reminder confirmation request indicating whether a queue confirmation request for checking the current queue status was received after the reminder notification was sent, and cancellation information indicating whether a cancellation was made by the customer.

[0025] When a waiting order registration process, which will be described later, is performed, new content is added to the waiting customer information 112. When an order update process, which will be described later, is performed, the content is shifted to the history information 113, and the list of customers waiting in line is updated. That is, when a waiting order registration process is performed, the number of customers waiting in line increases, and when an order update process is performed, the number of customers waiting in line decreases, so that the content of the waiting customer information 112 is updated in each process.

[0026] Returning to FIG. 2, history information 113 is a list showing the history of customers who have been waiting in line up until now. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, history information 113 includes store visit information indicating whether or not a customer has visited the store, in addition to the information included in waiting customer information 112 shown in FIG. 3. When a customer visits the store or cancels, the corresponding information is shifted from waiting customer information 112 and newly added to the history information 113. Although not shown in the figure, history information 113 also includes information on the time elapsed from when the customer started waiting in line until when the customer visited the store, i.e., information on the waiting time.

[0027] 2 is configured with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), etc. The control unit 120 operates in accordance with a program 111 stored in the storage unit 110, and executes processing in accordance with the program 111. The control unit 120 includes, as main functional units provided by the program 111 stored in the storage unit 110, an order acceptance unit 121, an order confirmation request receiving unit 122, an order notification unit 123, a remind determination unit 124, a waiting time estimation unit 125, a remind notification unit 126, and an information update unit 127.

[0028] The queue accepting unit 121 is a functional unit that accepts requests from customers to wait in line at a restaurant. Specifically, the queue accepting unit 121 has a function of providing a registration screen for waiting in line based on receiving a registration screen request transmitted based on an operation by a user who is a customer. The registration screen includes the number of people currently waiting in line, which is acquired by checking the waiting customer information 112. Furthermore, the queue accepting unit 121 has a function of registering a waiting order by adding information about the customer to the waiting customer information 112 based on a waiting registration request transmitted based on an operation by a user who is a customer.

[0029] The queue confirmation request receiving unit 122 is a functional unit that receives queue confirmation requests transmitted based on the operation of a user who is a customer. Specifically, the queue confirmation request receiving unit 122 is a functional unit that receives queue confirmation requests, which are requests to confirm the current queue status, from the information terminal 200 of a customer who is waiting in line. The queue confirmation request receiving unit 122 also has a function of updating the contents of a request history table (not shown) in the storage unit 110 each time it receives a queue confirmation request transmitted from the information terminal 200. The request history table is a table that shows the reception history of queue confirmation requests, and includes the customer ID and the date and time when the queue confirmation request was received from that customer. The queue confirmation request receiving unit 122 adds a new record each time it receives a queue confirmation request; it does not overwrite an existing record. The queue confirmation request receiving unit 122 searches the request history table using the customer ID as a key to obtain all the dates and times when requests were received, and then obtains the maximum value of these values ​​to obtain the "latest request date and time." The queue confirmation request includes at least the customer ID and the date and time when it was sent.

[0030] The turn notification unit 123 is a functional unit that notifies the customer who sent the turn confirmation request of their current turn. Specifically, the turn notification unit 123 identifies the current turn of the customer who sent the turn confirmation request by checking the contents of the waiting customer information 112 at the time of receiving the turn confirmation request, and notifies the customer of the turn. More specifically, the turn notification unit 123 transmits turn information including the turn of the customer who sent the turn confirmation request and a turn display that displays in a visible manner the status of those who are waiting ahead of the customer who sent the turn confirmation request to the information terminal 200 of the customer who sent the turn confirmation request.

[0031] The remind determination unit 124 is a functional unit that determines whether or not a condition for sending a remind notification is met. Specifically, the remind determination unit 124 determines whether or not any of a plurality of preset remind conditions is met. In this embodiment, for example, three conditions are prepared, such as condition 1 to condition 3 shown in FIG. 8. Note that the number of conditions that can be set is arbitrary, and multiple conditions may be combined, such as combining condition 2 and condition 3.

[0032] Returning to FIG. 2 , the waiting time estimation unit 125 is a functional unit that estimates a customer's waiting time. Specifically, the waiting time estimation unit 125 estimates the waiting time of a customer based on the previous waiting times of multiple customers included in the history information 113. The waiting time estimation may be performed using, for example, a learning model trained using the history information 113. In addition to the content of the history information 113, information such as the day of the week, weather, and cancellation rate may also be input to the learning model. The waiting time estimation unit 125 only needs to be able to estimate the probability of a predecessor canceling based on the content of the currently waiting customer information 112 using the learning model. Regarding condition 3 shown in FIG. 8 , the waiting time estimation unit 125 may determine whether the condition is met using the estimated waiting time taking into account the cancellation probability estimated by the waiting time estimation unit 125. Furthermore, for example, the waiting time estimation unit 125 may estimate the probability of each predecessor canceling based on the number of times a queue confirmation request was received after a reminder notification and whether or not there was a cancellation in the history information 113. Furthermore, based on the waiting time information included in the history information 113, the average time (waiting time) elapsed from when each preceding customer waited in line until they arrived at the store may be calculated, and the customer's waiting time may be estimated based on the average waiting time and the estimated cancellation probability.

[0033] The reminder notification unit 126 is a functional unit that sends a reminder notification based on the determination result of the reminder determination unit 124. Specifically, when the reminder determination unit 124 determines that the remind condition is met, the reminder notification unit 126 sends a reminder notification to the information terminal 200 of the customer that their turn is approaching. The reminder notification unit 126 also has a function of registering the date and time when the reminder notification was sent in a reminder table (not shown) in the storage unit 110. The reminder table is a table that shows the reminder notification sending history, and includes the customer ID and the date and time when the reminder notification was sent to the customer. The reminder notification unit 126 may send reminder notifications multiple times. In this case, a new record is added each time a reminder notification is sent, and no overwriting is performed. The reminder table is searched using the customer ID as a key to obtain all the dates and times when reminders were sent, and the maximum value of these dates and times is obtained, thereby obtaining the "latest reminder sending date and time." The reminder notification unit 126 also has a function of updating the item contents of the reminder notification corresponding to the customer to whom the reminder notification is sent, in the waiting customer information 112.

[0034] The information update unit 127 is a functional unit that updates the contents of the waiting customer information 112 and the history information 113 by deleting the contents of the waiting customer information 112 and registering them in the history information 113. Specifically, the information update unit 127 is a functional unit that deletes the contents of the waiting customer information 112 corresponding to a customer and registers them in the history information 113 based on the customer's visit to the restaurant or cancellation. The customer's visit may be determined by inputting, for example, a two-dimensional code, a customer ID, or a waiting code issued when registering for a waiting order into an input device installed in the restaurant. Regarding cancellation, a cancellation request may be sent to the queue management device 100 at the time the customer cancels the reservation through an operation by the customer. Alternatively, the customer's visit may be determined through an operation by an employee of the restaurant.

[0035] The input / output unit 130 is a device that is configured with a keyboard, a mouse, a camera, a microphone, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, and the like, and is used to input and output various types of data.

[0036] The communication unit 140 is a device that enables the queue management device 100 to communicate with other information terminals such as the information terminal 200 via the computer communication network 400. The configuration of the queue management device 100 has been described above.

[0037] (operation) Next, the operation of the queue management device 100 and the information terminal 200 will be described. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a queue request process in the information terminal 200 and a queue registration process in the queue management device 100. The queue request process in this embodiment starts when a customer, who is a user, operates the information terminal 200. As mentioned above, this embodiment will be described below using an example of waiting in line at a restaurant.

[0038] 5 starts, the information terminal 200 transmits a request for a waiting list registration screen to the queue management device 100 (step S11). Specifically, in the processing of step S11, the information terminal 200 transmits, based on an operation by a customer, to the queue management device 100 a request for providing a waiting list registration screen for queuing up at a desired restaurant.

[0039] On the queue management device 100 side, when the registration screen request is received, the queue management device 100 starts a waiting registration process. When the waiting registration process starts, the control unit 120 uses the function of the queue acceptance unit 121 to provide the information terminal 200 with a registration screen including the number of people currently waiting in line (step S12). Specifically, in the process of step S12, the queue acceptance unit 121 checks the waiting customer information 112 to obtain the number of people currently waiting in line, generates a registration screen as shown in FIG. 6 including the number of people waiting in line, and provides it to the information terminal 200 that has sent the registration screen request. When the registration screen is provided, a screen as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the information terminal 200 side.

[0040] When the registration screen is provided, the information terminal 200 determines whether or not the customer user has performed a waiting list registration request operation (step S13). Specifically, in the processing of step S13, the information terminal 200 determines whether or not the customer user has tapped the "register waiting list" button shown in Fig. 6, that is, whether or not an operation has been performed to transmit a waiting list registration request, which is a request to perform waiting list registration.

[0041] If a waiting order registration request operation has not been performed (step S13; No), the information terminal 200 ends the waiting order request process. On the other hand, if a waiting order registration request operation has been performed (step S13; Yes), the information terminal 200 transmits a waiting order registration request (step S14) and ends the waiting order request process. Specifically, in the processing of step S14, the information terminal 200 transmits a waiting order registration request, i.e., a waiting order registration request requesting registration in the waiting order customer information 112, to the queue management device 100 based on the tapping of the "Register waiting order" button.

[0042] After executing the process of step S12, the queue management device 100 determines whether or not a waiting registration request has been received (step S15). If a waiting registration request has not been received (step S15; No), the control unit 120 simply ends the waiting registration process. Note that it may be determined that a waiting registration request has not been received if a waiting registration request has not been received within a predetermined validity period after executing the process of step S12.

[0043] If it is determined in the processing of step S15 that a waiting order registration request has been received (step S15; Yes), the control unit 120 uses the function of the order acceptance unit 121 to register the information included in the waiting order registration request to the waiting order customer information 112 (step S16), and ends the waiting order registration processing. Specifically, in the processing of step S16, the order acceptance unit 121 adds the customer ID included in the waiting order registration request to the waiting order customer information 112 as a new waiting order customer. For example, if seven customers are currently registered in the waiting order customer information 112, in the processing of step S16, the order acceptance unit 121 registers the customer ID included in the waiting order registration request as the eighth customer.

[0044] Next, we will explain the queue management process in the queue management device 100. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the queue management process in the queue management device 100. The queue management process starts execution at a preset time, and ends execution when the waiting acceptance period ends or when an instruction from the restaurant is received.

[0045] When the queue management process starts, first, the control unit 120 determines whether or not a queue confirmation request has been received by using the function of the queue confirmation request receiving unit 122 (step S21). Specifically, in the process of step S21, the queue confirmation request receiving unit 122 determines whether or not a queue confirmation request has been received from a customer registered in the queue customer information 112 by the queue registration process shown in FIG.

[0046] If it is determined by the processing of step S21 that a turn confirmation request has been received (step S21; Yes), the control unit 120 updates the content of the waiting customer information 112 according to whether it is before or after the reminder notification, using the function of the turn confirmation request receiving unit 122 (step S22). Specifically, in the processing of step S22, the turn confirmation request receiving unit 122 updates the information on whether there is a pre-reminder confirmation request to "yes" if it is before the reminder notification, and updates the information on whether there is a post-reminder confirmation request to "yes" if it is after the reminder notification. Also, in the processing of step S22, the turn confirmation request receiving unit 122 adds the customer ID included in the turn confirmation request and the date and time when the turn confirmation request was received to the request history table (not shown), thereby updating the content of the request history table.

[0047] After executing the process of step S22, the control unit 120 transmits queue information to the information terminal 200 using the function of the queue notification unit 123 (step S23). Specifically, in the process of step S23, the queue notification unit 123 checks the contents of the waiting customer information 112 at the time of receiving the queue confirmation request, identifies the current queue for the customer ID corresponding to the queue confirmation request, and transmits the queue information to the information terminal 200 of the customer. The queue information includes a queue display that visually displays the status of the customer and the preceding customers waiting in line. By transmitting the queue information through the process of step S22, the queue information is displayed on the information terminal 200 as shown in FIG. 9. In the illustrated example, the queue display includes a double circle and an x. This allows the customer user to confirm the seriousness of the preceding customers waiting in line, thereby reducing the user's stress about waiting in line. In this embodiment, it is assumed that customers will check their turn after receiving a reminder notification, so it is assumed that customers who do not check their turn after receiving a reminder notification are not serious about waiting in line, and the possibility of cancellation cannot be ruled out.

[0048] Returning to FIG. 7, after executing the process of step S23, or when it is determined in the process of step S21 that a turn confirmation request has not been received (step S21; No), the control unit 120 determines whether the remind condition is met using the function of the remind determination unit 124 (step S24). Specifically, in the process of step S24, the remind determination unit 124 determines whether any of conditions 1 to 3 shown in FIG. 8 is met based on the content of the currently waiting customer information 112. As described above, any number of conditions may be set, and multiple conditions may be combined, such as combining condition 2 and condition 3. Furthermore, if condition 3 is set, the control unit 120 may use the function of the waiting time estimation unit 125 to estimate the probability that a predecessor will cancel using a learning model based on the content of the currently waiting customer information 112, and estimate the waiting time based on the estimated cancellation probability. Then, it may determine whether condition 3 is met using the waiting time estimated by the function of the waiting time estimation unit 125.

[0049] If it is determined in the process of step S24 shown in FIG. 7 that the remind condition is met (step S24; Yes), the control unit 120 uses the function of the remind notification unit 126 to send a remind notification (step S25). Specifically, in the process of step S25, the remind notification unit 126 sends a remind notification to the information terminal 200 of the customer for whom the remind condition is met, informing the customer that their turn is approaching, as shown in FIG. 10. In this embodiment, the remind notification includes, in addition to a display that allows the customer to visually recognize that their turn is approaching, a confirmation button for confirming their current turn (the "Confirm Turn" button shown in the figure) and a cancel button for canceling waiting (the "Cancel Waiting" button shown in the figure). Furthermore, in the process of step S25 in FIG. 7, the date and time when the remind notification was sent is registered in the remind table in the storage unit 110. Specifically, the customer ID and the date and time when the remind notification was sent to the customer are added as a new record to the remind table.

[0050] After executing the process of step S25, the control unit 120 updates the contents of the waiting customer information 112 using the function of the reminder notification unit 126 (step S26). Specifically, in the process of step S26, the reminder notification unit 126 updates the reminder notification item corresponding to the customer among the reminder notification items in the waiting customer information 112 to "sent."

[0051] After executing the process of step S26, or if it is determined in the process of step S24 that the reminding condition is not satisfied (step S24; No), the control unit 120 determines whether or not a cancellation request has been received from the customer (step S27). In this embodiment, the cancellation request is a request transmitted to the queue management device 100 by the customer operating the information terminal 200, and is a request to cancel the queue. The cancellation request can be transmitted at any time by the customer. If it is determined in the process of step S27 that a cancellation request has been received (step S27; Yes), the control unit 120 updates the contents of the waiting customer information 112 (step S28) and returns to the process of step S21. In the process of step S28, the control unit 120 updates the cancellation / non-cancellation field in the waiting customer information 112 corresponding to the customer ID included in the cancellation request to "yes." On the other hand, if it is determined that a cancellation request has not been received (step S27; No), the control unit 120 returns to the process of step S21. It should be noted that if a cancellation request is not received within a predetermined validity period, it may be determined that a cancellation request has not been received.

[0052] Next, we will explain the order update process in the queue management device 100. Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the order update process in the queue management device 100. The order update process starts when a preset time arrives, and ends when the waiting acceptance period ends or when an instruction from the restaurant is received. In other words, the order update process is executed in parallel with the queue management process.

[0053] When the queue management process starts, first, the control unit 120 determines whether or not a customer has arrived at the restaurant (step S31). Specifically, in the process of step S31, the control unit 120 determines whether or not a visit notification indicating that a customer has arrived at the restaurant has been received from the restaurant. The visit notification may be sent by, for example, inputting a two-dimensional code, a customer ID, a waiting code issued when registering for waiting, or the like, into an input device installed in the restaurant.

[0054] If a store visit notification has not been received in the processing of step S31 (step S31; No), the control unit 120 determines whether or not a cancellation request has been received (step S32). Specifically, in the processing of step S32, the control unit 120 determines whether or not a cancellation request transmitted by a customer operating the information terminal 200 has been received. If a cancellation request has not been received (step S32; No), the control unit 120 returns to the processing of step S31.

[0055] When a store visit notification is received in the process of step S31 (step S31; Yes) or when a cancellation request is received in the process of step S32 (step S32; Yes), the control unit 120 deletes the content of the waiting customer information 112 and registers it in the history information 113 using the function of the information update unit 127, thereby transferring the content of the waiting customer information 112 to the history information 113 (step S33), and ends the order update process. Specifically, in the process of step S33, when a customer with customer ID "172T564" visits the store, the information update unit 127 deletes the content of the waiting customer information 112 corresponding to the customer ID "172T564" and registers the content in the history information 113, as shown in FIG. 12. As a result, the order of the customer with customer ID "27Za564", who is next in line after customer ID "172T564", becomes "1" (the order of subsequent customers also moves up by one). The same applies when a cancellation request is received. 12, since the customer with customer ID "Ac256TT" whose turn is "5" has canceled, in the processing of step S33, the information update unit 127 deletes the content of the waiting customer information 112 corresponding to the customer ID "Ac256TT" and registers the content in the history information 113. As a result, the turn positions of customers from turn "6" onwards are moved up by one.

[0056] The above is the operation of the queue management device 100 and the information terminal 200. As described above, the queue management device 100 in this embodiment can visually display the status of customers who are waiting in line ahead of the customer, as shown in Fig. 9, thereby enabling accurate queue management. Furthermore, the queue management device 100 in this embodiment can manage queues taking into account the status after a reminder notification, for example, when condition 2 shown in Fig. 8 is set, enabling accurate queue management.

[0057] (Variation) The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and applications are possible. For example, the sequence management device 100 and the information terminal 200 according to the above-described embodiment do not need to have all of the technical features described above, but may have some of the configurations described in the above-described embodiment so as to solve at least one problem in the prior art. Furthermore, at least a portion of each of the following modifications may be combined.

[0058] In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which information about the user and the preceding customer is displayed as shown in Fig. 9 by transmitting queue information in the processing of step S23 shown in Fig. 7, but this is just one example. For example, as shown in Fig. 13, information about customers who are waiting in line after the user may also be displayed. This allows the user to check the level of seriousness of the preceding customer who is waiting in line ahead of the user, as well as information about customers who are waiting in line behind the user, which can reduce the user's stress about waiting in line and give the user an advantage.

[0059] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, an example was shown in which the information of the user and the preceding person is expressed by display shapes such as "◎" and "×", but this is just one example. In addition, for example, the seriousness of the preceding person who is waiting in line ahead of the user may be displayed by using the same shape but with a darker color or a faster blinking rate. In other words, it is sufficient that the display mode differs depending on the seriousness of the preceding person.

[0060] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, after the reminder notification is sent, an example is shown in which only the status of whether or not the user has confirmed their turn after the reminder notification is visible, as shown in Fig. 9, but this is just one example. Even after the reminder notification, the display may be in a manner that allows the user to recognize the status before the reminder notification. For example, for the preceding user on the far left in the example shown in Fig. 9, both the status before and after the reminder notification may be displayed so that they can be visually recognized, such as "○◎".

[0061] Furthermore, after the reminder notification is sent, it may be possible to receive multiple turn confirmation requests, and the waiting time for each customer may be estimated based on the number of turn confirmation requests received after the reminder notification is sent. In this case, for example, the number of turn confirmation requests received after the reminder notification is sent may be obtained from the request history table based on the reminder table, and the waiting time for each customer may be estimated. The waiting time may be estimated using, for example, a learning model that has been trained based on previous information.

[0062] In the above embodiment, the case of online queuing at a restaurant has been described as an example, but this is just one example. The queue management device 100 is not limited to restaurants and can also be applied to queuing at amusement facilities, hospitals, banks, government offices, online fortune-telling services, consultations with operators, etc.

[0063] In the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which three conditions, Condition 1 to Condition 3 shown in Fig. 8, are prepared as conditions for sending a reminder notification, but this is just an example. In addition to these, for example, Condition 4 may be prepared, such as that the waiting time estimated by the waiting time estimation unit 125 is within 20 minutes. Furthermore, as described above, a plurality of these conditions may be combined.

[0064] The sequence management device 100 and information terminal 200 according to the above-described embodiment can be realized using a normal computer, rather than using a dedicated device. For example, the sequence management device 100 that executes the above-described processes may be configured by installing a program for executing any of the above processes on a computer from a recording medium that stores the program on the computer. Also, one sequence management device 100 and information terminal 200 may be configured by multiple computers operating in cooperation with each other.

[0065] Furthermore, when the above-mentioned functions are realized by sharing the functions between an OS (Operating System) and an application, or by cooperation between the OS and the application, only the parts other than the OS may be stored on the medium.

[0066] It is also possible to superimpose the program on a carrier wave and distribute it via a communication network. For example, the program may be posted on a bulletin board system (BBS) on the communication network and distributed via the network. These programs may then be started and run under the control of an operating system in the same way as other application programs, thereby enabling the above-mentioned processing to be performed.

[0067] Various aspects of the present disclosure are summarized below as appendices.

[0068] (Appendix 1) a turn confirmation request receiving unit that receives a turn confirmation request from an information terminal of a customer who has registered to wait in line; a turn notification unit that notifies the information terminal of turn information including the turn of the customer and the status of a preceding customer who is waiting in line ahead of the customer; a reminder determination unit that determines whether a condition for sending a reminder notification that the customer's turn is approaching is met; a reminder notification unit that transmits the reminder notification to the information terminal of the customer in accordance with the determination result by the reminder determination unit, The order information includes, as the status of the preceding person, post-reminding confirmation request information indicating whether the order confirmation request has been received from the information terminal of the preceding person after the reminder notification has been sent to the information terminal of the preceding person. A sequence management device characterized by:

[0069] (Appendix 2) The order information further includes, as the status of the preceding person, pre-reminding confirmation request information indicating whether the order confirmation request has been received from the information terminal of the preceding person before the reminder notification is sent to the information terminal of the preceding person. 2. The sequence management device according to claim 1,

[0070] (Appendix 3) the remind determination unit determines whether a condition for sending the remind notification is met based on the post-remind confirmation request information. 3. The sequence management device according to claim 1 or 2.

[0071] (Appendix 4) a cancel instruction receiving unit that receives a cancel instruction to cancel the waiting order; a waiting time estimation unit that estimates a waiting time corresponding to the customer's turn, The waiting time estimation unit calculates a probability that the preceding person will cancel the waiting order based on the number of times the order confirmation request has been received from the preceding person after the reminder notification has been sent to the preceding person and whether or not the cancellation instruction has been received, and estimates the waiting time from an average of the preceding person's past waiting times and the probability, The remind determination unit determines that a condition for transmitting the remind notification is met when the waiting time is less than a predetermined threshold. 4. The sequence management device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 3,

[0072] (Appendix 5) The turn notification unit displays the status of the preceding person indicated by the post-reminding confirmation request information in a visually recognizable display mode. 5. The sequence management device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 4.

[0073] (Appendix 6) the turn notification unit displays the status of the preceding person indicated by the pre-reminding confirmation request information and the post-reminding confirmation request information in different visually recognizable display modes, respectively. 3. The sequence management device according to claim 2,

[0074] (Appendix 7) A queue management method by a queue management device, a turn confirmation request receiving step of receiving a turn confirmation request from an information terminal of a customer who has registered to wait in line; a turn notification step of notifying the information terminal of turn information including the turn of the customer and the status of a preceding customer who is waiting in line ahead of the customer; a reminder determination step of determining whether a condition for sending a reminder notice informing the customer that their turn is approaching is met; a reminder notification step of transmitting the reminder notification to the information terminal of the customer according to the determination result of the reminder determination step, The order information includes, as the status of the preceding person, post-reminding confirmation request information indicating whether the order confirmation request has been received from the information terminal of the preceding person after the reminder notification has been sent to the information terminal of the preceding person. A sequence management method characterized by the above.

[0075] (Appendix 8) Computer, a turn confirmation request receiving unit that receives a turn confirmation request from an information terminal of a customer who has registered to wait in line; a turn notification unit that notifies the information terminal of turn information including the turn of the customer and the status of a preceding customer who is waiting in line ahead of the customer; a reminder determination unit that determines whether a condition for sending a reminder notice informing the customer that their turn is approaching is met; a reminder notification unit that transmits the reminder notification to the information terminal of the customer in accordance with the determination result by the reminder determination unit; The order information includes, as the status of the preceding person, post-reminding confirmation request information indicating whether the order confirmation request has been received from the information terminal of the preceding person after the reminder notification has been sent to the information terminal of the preceding person. A program characterized by:

[0076] The present disclosure allows various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are intended to illustrate the present disclosure and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. That is, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, not the embodiments. Various modifications made within the scope of the claims and the meaning of equivalent disclosures are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure. [Industrial Applicability]

[0077] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a sequence management device, a sequence management method, and a program that are capable of performing sequence management with high accuracy. [Explanation of symbols]

[0078] 100 Queue management device 110 Storage section 111 Program 112 Waiting Customer Information 113 History Information 120 control section 121 Queue Reception 122 Order confirmation request receiver 123 Order Notification Section 124 Remind Judgment Section 125 Waiting Time Estimation Unit 126 Remind notification section 127 Information Update Department 130 Input / output section 140 Communications Department 200 Information terminal 400 Computer Network

Claims

1. a turn confirmation request receiving unit that receives a turn confirmation request from an information terminal of a customer who has registered to wait in line; a turn notification unit that notifies the information terminal of turn information including the turn of the customer and the status of a preceding customer who is waiting in line ahead of the customer; a reminder determination unit that determines whether a condition for sending a reminder notification that the customer's turn is approaching is met; a reminder notification unit that transmits the reminder notification to the information terminal of the customer in accordance with the determination result by the reminder determination unit, The order information includes, as the status of the preceding person, post-reminding confirmation request information indicating whether the order confirmation request has been received from the information terminal of the preceding person after the reminder notification has been sent to the information terminal of the preceding person. A sequence management device characterized by:

2. The order information further includes, as the status of the preceding person, pre-reminding confirmation request information indicating whether or not a order confirmation request has been received from the information terminal of the preceding person before the reminder notification is sent to the information terminal of the preceding person.

2. The sequence management device according to claim 1.

3. the remind determination unit determines whether a condition for sending the remind notification is met based on the post-remind confirmation request information.

3. The sequence management device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. a cancel instruction receiving unit that receives a cancel instruction to cancel the waiting order; a waiting time estimation unit that estimates a waiting time corresponding to the customer's turn, The waiting time estimation unit calculates a probability that the preceding person will cancel the waiting order based on the number of times the order confirmation request has been received from the preceding person after the reminder notification has been sent to the preceding person and whether or not the cancellation instruction has been received, and estimates the waiting time from an average of the preceding person's past waiting times and the probability, The remind determination unit determines that a condition for transmitting the remind notification is met when the waiting time is less than a predetermined threshold.

3. The sequence management device according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The turn notification unit displays the status of the preceding person indicated by the post-reminding confirmation request information in a visually recognizable display mode.

3. The sequence management device according to claim 1 or 2.

6. The turn notification unit displays the status of the preceding person indicated by the pre-reminding confirmation request information and the post-reminding confirmation request information in different visually recognizable display modes.

3. The sequence management device according to claim 2.

7. A queue management method by a queue management device, a turn confirmation request receiving step of receiving a turn confirmation request from an information terminal of a customer who has registered to wait in line; a turn notification step of notifying the information terminal of turn information including the turn of the customer and the status of a preceding customer who is waiting in line ahead of the customer; a reminder determination step of determining whether a condition for sending a reminder notice informing the customer that their turn is approaching is met; a reminder notification step of transmitting the reminder notification to the information terminal of the customer according to the determination result of the reminder determination step, The order information includes, as the status of the preceding person, post-reminding confirmation request information indicating whether the order confirmation request has been received from the information terminal of the preceding person after the reminder notification has been sent to the information terminal of the preceding person. A sequence management method characterized by the above.

8. Computer, a turn confirmation request receiving unit that receives a turn confirmation request from an information terminal of a customer who has registered to wait in line; a turn notification unit that notifies the information terminal of turn information including the turn of the customer and the status of a preceding customer who is waiting in line ahead of the customer; a reminder determination unit that determines whether a condition for sending a reminder notice informing the customer that their turn is approaching is met; a reminder notification unit that transmits the reminder notification to the information terminal of the customer in accordance with the determination result by the reminder determination unit; The order information includes, as the status of the preceding person, post-reminding confirmation request information indicating whether the order confirmation request has been received from the information terminal of the preceding person after the reminder notification has been sent to the information terminal of the preceding person. A program characterized by:

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