Information processing device, method for controlling the information processing device, and control program for the information processing device

Abstract

To eliminate vacant reservations at facilities and provide efficient facility management methods. [Solution] The information processing device includes a storage unit that stores the start time when the facility is to be used, the end time when the facility is to be used, and at least one user who will be using the facility as reservation information for a facility installed in a building; a reception unit that receives start time information indicating that the facility has been used; a location information acquisition unit that acquires location information of the communication terminal of the user using the facility; a notification unit that, based on the location information, determines that the user's communication terminal has moved more than a predetermined distance away from the facility before the end time, and sends a predetermined notification to the user's communication terminal; and a reservation management unit that changes the facility usage status to available if it does not receive a response to the predetermined notification from the user's communication terminal, or if it receives end time information indicating that the facility is to be used as a response to the notification from the user's communication terminal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a control method for the information processing apparatus, and a control program for the information processing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there exists a system that can search for and reserve rental conference rooms using a computer system (for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] An information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a storage unit that stores, as reservation information of facilities installed in a building, a start time to start using the facilities, an end time to end using the facilities, and at least one or more users who use the facilities; a reception unit that receives use start information indicating that the use of the facilities has started; a position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of a communication terminal of a user who uses the facilities; and a notification unit that, based on the position information, when it is determined that the communication terminal of the user has separated from the facilities by a predetermined distance or more before the end time, transmits a predetermined notification to the communication terminal of the user. When a response to the predetermined notification is not received from the communication terminal of the user, or when use end information indicating that the use of the facilities is to be ended is received from the communication terminal of the user as a response to the notification, a reservation management unit that changes the use status of the facilities to an available state.

[0005] In the information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the reservation management unit receives, as a response to the notification, use continuation information indicating that the use of the facilities is to be continued from the communication terminal of the user, the reservation management unit does not have to change the use status of the facilities to an available state.

[0006] In an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention, the location information acquisition unit may calculate the location information of the user's communication terminal based on predetermined information acquired periodically from the user's communication terminal.

[0007] In an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention, the location information acquisition unit may acquire location information based on the radio wave intensity from multiple radio wave transmitting devices installed in a building, which is received by the user's communication terminal, as predetermined information.

[0008] In an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention, the location information acquisition unit may acquire location information based on atmospheric pressure information of the location where the facility is located, which is stored in advance, and atmospheric pressure measured by the user's communication terminal as predetermined information.

[0009] In an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention, the location information acquisition unit may acquire location information based on at least one of images and sound acquired by an information acquisition device installed in a building.

[0010] In an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention, the location information acquisition unit may change the interval at which it periodically acquires predetermined information from the user's communication terminal based on the start time and end time.

[0011] In an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention, the notification unit may send a predetermined notification to a reception terminal installed at the facility when a predetermined time has passed since the end time, regardless of the location information of the user's communication terminal.

[0012] In an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention, if there are multiple users using the facility, the notification unit sends a predetermined notification to each of the multiple users' communication terminals, and if the reservation management unit receives usage continuation information from at least one of the multiple users' communication terminals as a response to the notification, it does not need to change the facility usage status to available.

[0013] A control method for an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of: the information processing device storing, as reservation information for a facility installed in a building, the start time when the facility is to be used, the end time when the facility is to be used, and at least one user who will use the facility; receiving start time information indicating that the facility has been used; acquiring location information of the communication terminal of the user who will use the facility; if, based on the location information, it is determined that the user's communication terminal has moved more than a predetermined distance away from the facility before the end time, sending a predetermined notification to the user's communication terminal; and if no response to the predetermined notification is received from the user's communication terminal, or if end time information indicating that the facility is to be used is received from the user's communication terminal as a response to the notification, changing the facility's usage status to available.

[0014] A control program for an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention causes the information processing device to execute: a function to store as reservation information for a facility installed in a building, the start time when the facility is to be used, the end time when the facility is to be used, and at least one user who will use the facility; a function to receive start information indicating that the facility has been used; a function to acquire location information of the communication terminal of the user using the facility; a function to send a predetermined notification to the user's communication terminal if it is determined, based on the location information, that the user's communication terminal has moved more than a predetermined distance away from the facility before the end time; and a function to change the facility's usage status to available if no response to the predetermined notification is received from the user's communication terminal, or if end information indicating that the facility is to be used is received from the user's communication terminal as a response to the notification. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0015] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the reservation system configuration according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figures 2(a) and 2(b) show examples of information stored in a reservation system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] Figures 3(a) to 3(d) illustrate the outline of a reservation system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows an example of the user terminal display screen. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows an example of a user terminal display screen. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is an example of a functional block diagram of a server (information processing device) and a user terminal (communication device) according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing an example of server operation according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0016] Hereafter, an embodiment of the invention described herein (also referred to as the present invention) will be explained using the figures. Note that the figures are examples, and the present invention is not limited to those shown in the figures. For example, the number of servers, user terminals, database servers, facilities, and reception terminals shown, as well as the datasets (tables), flowcharts, and display screens, are examples, and the present invention is not limited to these.

[0017] A problem has arisen with so-called "empty reservations," where facilities such as meeting rooms are not used as scheduled. For example, empty reservations of meeting rooms can occur when a meeting is booked in advance for a regular meeting, but the meeting is not held as scheduled, or when a meeting or training session ends earlier than scheduled, but the departure procedure is not completed. In addition, situations occur where meeting rooms are not used for their intended purpose, such as being booked as a temporary storage room, and no one is inside, leading to a decrease in the utilization rate of meeting rooms. To address these problems, according to one embodiment of the present invention, when a facility is used as scheduled, the presence or absence of a user inside the facility is determined, and if no user is inside the facility despite the departure procedure not being completed, the reservation is canceled. As a result, other users can use the facility, enabling efficient operation of the facility.

[0018] <System Configuration> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The reservation system 600 may be a system for managing reservations for facility use. In the following description, it will be described by taking as an example that the reservation system 600 manages reservations for using a conference room as an example of a facility. Note that the facility to be managed by the reservation system 600 is not limited to a conference room, and may be a facility including a space used upon reservation. Examples of the facility may include, for example, a conference room, a reception room, a private booth, a sauna, a gym, a shower room, a rest room, a recreation room, an event space, and the like.

[0019] The reservation system 600 may at least include a server (information processing device) 100, a user terminal (communication terminal) 200, and a database server 101. Further, the reservation system 600 may further include a reception terminal 300 installed in the facility for receiving check-in / check-out of the facility by the user. Note that the reception terminal 300 is not essential in the present disclosure.

[0020] The server 100, the user terminal 200, the reception terminal 300, and the database server 101 may be connected via a network 500. The network 500 may include a wireless network or a wired network. Specifically, for example, the network 500 may be a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), LTE (long term evolution), a fourth generation communication (4G), a fifth generation communication (5G), and a mobile communication system after the sixth generation communication (6G), and the like. Note that the network 500 is not limited to these examples, and may be, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark), an optical line, or the like. Further, the network 500 may be a combination of these.

[0021] Server 100 may be able to execute various processes related to the reservation service of facilities (hereinafter also simply referred to as "reservation service") realized by the reservation system 600. Note that the various processes related to the reservation service may include utilization reservation processes of facilities, reservation cancellation processes, utilization start (check-in) and end (check-out) processes associated with the entry and exit of users, etc.

[0022] In FIG. 1, only one server 100 is shown, but it is not limited thereto. That is, each function described as being provided in server 100 may be realized by a plurality of servers. Further, server 100 may be, for example, a distributed server system that cooperates by communicating via a network, or a so-called cloud server. That is, server 100 is not limited to a physical server and may include a virtual server by software.

[0023] User terminal 200 may be a communication terminal of a user who uses the reservation service. User terminal 200 may receive input of information necessary for reserving the use of facilities from the user and transmit the information to server 100. Note that these information may be transmitted to server 100 via an application installed in user terminal 200 for using the reservation service, for example. Alternatively, installation of an application in user terminal 200 is not essential, and the user may access a web page for using the reservation service from user terminal 200 via a web browser or the like and transmit the necessary information to server 100.

[0024] In FIG. 1, a smartphone is shown as user terminal 200, but user terminal 200 may be any terminal as long as it can realize the functions described in each embodiment.

[0025] The reception terminal 300 may be installed in any location, for example, at the entrance or reception area of ​​a facility. Furthermore, user check-in / check-out may be achieved by any method other than the reception terminal 300, as long as it is possible to identify the user using the facility. Also, entering and leaving the facility may refer to the start and end of facility use.

[0026] The database server 101 may store various information (data) used by the reservation system 600. In Figure 1, only one database server 101 is shown separately from the server 100, but it may be integrated with the server 100. That is, the database server 101 may be the volatile memory or non-volatile memory of the server 100. The database server 101 may also consist of multiple storage devices. The database server 101 may be connected to the server 100 via a dedicated internal network different from the network 500, or it may be connected to the server 100 via the network 500.

[0027] The database server 101 may store, for example, user information relating to users who use the reservation service. User information is information for identifying each user and may include, for example, a user ID (IDentifier) ​​(an example of an identifier) ​​that uniquely identifies the user, a username, an email address, etc.

[0028] Other information stored in the database server 101 will be explained using Figures 2(a) and (b). Figure 2(a) is an example of a reservation information table for meeting room reservations, as an example of a facility. The reservation information table TB10 may be a table that stores information about the start time when the facility is used, the end time when the facility is used, and information about at least one user who will use the facility, as reservation information for a facility installed in a building. For example, the reservation information table TB10 may be a dataset that associates a reservation ID that uniquely identifies each reservation with a meeting room ID that uniquely identifies the reserved meeting room, the user ID of the user who made the reservation, the reservation date, the reservation time slot (start time and end time), etc. For example, a reservation identified by reservation ID "rsv_001" indicates that a user identified by user ID "user_001" will use the meeting room identified by meeting room ID "mr_L01" on "2024 / 10 / 04" from "11:00-12:00".

[0029] The reservation information table TB10 is not limited to the example shown in Figure 2(a), and may be stored in any manner as long as each reservation can be identified. Furthermore, the information stored in the reservation information table TB10 is not limited to what is shown in the figure, and may be more or less than what is shown. For example, information about participants attending the meeting may be stored separately from the user who made the reservation. The reservation information table TB10 may be updated whenever a new reservation is set or a reservation is changed.

[0030] Figure 2(b) shows an example of a meeting room information table containing details of a meeting room. The meeting room information table TB20 may be a dataset that associates the meeting room ID with the meeting room name, location, atmospheric pressure information, etc. For example, a meeting room identified by meeting room ID "mr_N01" has "N01" as its name and its location is "23rd floor, latitude ***, longitude ***". In the figure, "*" represents a numerical value, etc. Furthermore, the figure is just an example, and the meeting room information table TB20 may also store information such as the meeting room's capacity, area, equipment, etc.

[0031] Hereafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described using Figures 3 and 4. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the overview of a reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, as shown in Figure 3(a), suppose a meeting room reservation is set for "9:00-12:00". Then, as shown in Figure 3(b), suppose a user starts using the meeting room at "9:00" and leaves the meeting room at "11:00", before the end time of "12:00". Also, at this time, the user has not performed the checkout process for the meeting room, and the meeting room remains reserved until the original end time of "12:00". In such a situation, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the user's location information may be acquired periodically to determine whether or not the user is in the meeting room.

[0032] The user's location information may be GPS (Global Positioning System) information acquired by the user terminal 200. Alternatively, the location information may be acquired based on the strength of radio waves received by the user terminal 200 from access points located within the building where the conference room is located. Specifically, the server 100 may calculate the relative position of the user terminal 200 to each access point based on the direction and strength of the radio waves received by the user terminal 200 from multiple access points. Then, the server 100 may calculate the location information of the user terminal 200 by referring to the locations within the building where each access point is installed, which are stored in advance in the database server 101 or the like. This enables highly accurate location estimation. If the location of the user terminal 200 is far from the location of the conference room, the server 100 may determine that the user is not in the conference room.

[0033] Alternatively, location information may be obtained based on atmospheric pressure measured by a barometric pressure sensor installed in the user terminal 200. Specifically, the server 100 may calculate the elevation of the user terminal 200 from sea level using the atmospheric pressure measured by the user terminal 200 and the sea level pressure. This enables position estimation in the height direction. The server 100 may determine that the user is not in the conference room if the elevation of the user terminal 200 is far from the elevation of the conference room.

[0034] Then, if it is determined that the user is located more than a predetermined distance away from the meeting room, that is, that the user is not in the meeting room, a predetermined notification may be sent to the user at "11:15", as shown in Figure 3(c). Figure 4 may be an example of the screen of the user terminal 200 on which the notification is displayed. Screen 10 may display a notification 11 with the text "Checkout operation has not been performed. Please make a selection within 5 minutes", along with a button 12 for selecting to check out the meeting room and a button 13 for selecting to continue using the room. Note that the figures are just examples, and the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the time available for the user to select may be 3 minutes or 1 minute instead of 5 minutes.

[0035] Then, if the user terminal 200 to which the notification was sent selects the "Checkout" button 12, or if neither button is selected, the server 100 performs a checkout process to terminate the use of the meeting room, as shown in Figure 3(d), and the meeting room may be set to an empty state from "11:20" onward.

[0036] Thus, according to one embodiment of the present invention, whether or not a user who has reserved a meeting room is present in the meeting room within the reserved time after they begin using the meeting room can be determined based on the user's location information. If it is determined that the user is not present in the meeting room despite the check-out process not having been completed, a notification prompting the user to complete the check-out process may be sent to the user terminal 200. Furthermore, the check-out process for the meeting room may be performed based on the user's response to the notification. This prevents empty reservations of meeting rooms and enables efficient operation of meeting rooms.

[0037] Furthermore, if the user selects the "Continue Use" button 13 in response to the notification in Figure 4, the checkout process by the server 100 will not be performed, and the meeting room reservation may remain set. Thus, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a reservation system with high usability can be provided by allowing the user to choose whether or not to continue using the meeting room.

[0038] Furthermore, the information used to acquire the location information of the user terminal 200 (such as radio wave strength from the access point and atmospheric pressure information) may be transmitted periodically from the user terminal 200. The periodic transmission interval may be 10 to 20 minutes, but is not limited to this. Thus, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the user's location information is acquired periodically and the user's presence in the room is determined, making it possible to quickly detect when a meeting room is vacant.

[0039] The aforementioned periodic transmission intervals may be such that they do not consume power on the user terminal 200 and allow for rapid detection of the meeting room being vacant. Therefore, the server 100 may change the interval at which it requests each piece of information from the user terminal 200 depending on the length of the reservation time (i.e., from the start time to the end time of use). For example, assuming that meetings and other events are generally held for at least 30 minutes from the start time of use, the server 100 may not acquire radio wave strength and atmospheric pressure information from the user terminal 200. Then, the server 100 may acquire information at intervals of, for example, 20 minutes from 30 minutes after the start time, and at intervals of, for example, 10 minutes from 30 minutes before the end time. This makes it possible to quickly detect vacant meeting room reservations while suppressing power consumption on the user terminal 200.

[0040] Furthermore, performing the above-described automatic checkout process for short-term reservations is undesirable from the perspective of processing load on server 100 and user terminal 200, as well as from a usability standpoint. Therefore, the above process does not need to be performed for all reservations. Specifically, the automatic checkout process may be executed for reservations with a reservation time of a certain duration or longer (for example, it may be 3 hours, but is not limited to this). Whether or not to perform the automatic checkout process may be set by the meeting room administrator.

[0041] Alternatively, the user may be able to choose whether or not to perform automatic checkout processing when making a reservation for a meeting room on the user terminal 200. Figure 5 is an example of a meeting room reservation screen on the user terminal 200. As shown in Figure 5, a selection field 21 for the automatic checkout function may be displayed on the reservation screen 20 where the user selects or enters the information necessary for reserving a meeting room (for example, the meeting room to be used, the date, the time slot (start time and end time, etc.), information about the participants, etc.). The user may then be able to choose whether or not to enable or disable the automatic checkout function.

[0042] Furthermore, the notification prompting the user to choose whether or not to perform checkout may be sent to the reception terminal 300 installed at the facility when a predetermined time remains until the end time, regardless of the location information of the user terminal 200. The predetermined time until the end time may be, for example, 15 minutes, but is not limited to this. This allows for the determination of whether or not to perform automatic checkout without burdening the user terminal 200 or bothering the user by displaying a notification on their own terminal 200. In addition, whether or not to send a notification to the reception terminal 300 may be set by the administrator, similar to whether or not to send a notification to the user terminal 200 as described above.

[0043] Here, we can consider the case where a meeting room is used by multiple users. According to one embodiment of the present invention, when a meeting room is reserved, information of multiple users who will use the meeting room may be stored. Then, the notification shown in Figure 4 may be sent to each of the user terminals 200 of the multiple users. In addition, if at least one user terminal 200 of the multiple users chooses to continue using the meeting room, the server 100 does not need to perform the meeting room checkout process. This ensures fairness when multiple people use a meeting room, as users will not be checked out without their consent.

[0044] <Structure> Figure 6 will be used to explain the hardware and functional configurations of server 100 and user terminal 200.

[0045] <User terminal> (1) Hardware configuration of the user terminal The user terminal 200 includes a control unit 210, a communication unit 220, a display unit 230, an input / output unit 240, a location information acquisition unit 250, a radio wave receiving unit 251, a barometric pressure measurement unit 252, and a storage unit 270.

[0046] The control unit 210 is typically a processor and may be implemented by a central processing unit (CPU), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), etc. The control unit 210 may perform the functions and methods shown in each embodiment by reading a program stored in the storage unit 270 and executing code or instructions contained in the program.

[0047] The storage unit 270 stores various programs and data necessary for the operation of the user terminal 200. The storage unit 270 may include, for example, flash memory. The storage unit 270 may also include memory (such as RAM (Random Access Memory) or ROM (Read Only Memory)) that provides a working area for the control unit 210.

[0048] The communication unit 220 may be implemented as hardware such as a NIC (Network Interface Card) or network adapter, communication software, or a combination thereof. The communication unit 220 may send and receive various types of data to and from the server 100 via the network 500. If the communication unit 220 is composed of a physically structured circuit, it may be referred to as a communication circuit.

[0049] The display unit 230 is a monitor that displays data according to the display data written to the frame buffer, and may be, for example, a touch panel, a touch display, etc.

[0050] The input / output unit 240 may include an input device for inputting various operations to the user terminal 200, and an output device for outputting processing results processed by the user terminal 200. The input device may include, for example, a touch panel, a touch display, a camera, and a microphone, and the output device may include, for example, a display, a touch panel, a speaker, and the like.

[0051] (2) Functional configuration of user terminals The user terminal 200 may include a display processing unit 212 and an input / output processing unit 213 as functions implemented by the control unit 210. Note that some of the functional units shown in Figure 2 that are not essential in each embodiment may be omitted. Furthermore, the functions or processes of each functional unit may be implemented by machine learning or AI (Artificial Intelligence) to the extent feasible. Note that some of the various processes described as being performed by the user terminal 200 may be performed by the server 100.

[0052] The display processing unit 212 may control the display of data on the display unit 230. For example, the display processing unit 212 may cause the display unit 230 to display notification 11 in Figure 4 in accordance with the information transmitted from the server 100.

[0053] The input / output processing unit 213 may control the transmission of various types of information to external devices via the input / output unit 240. For example, the input / output processing unit 213 may transmit various types of information to each functional unit in response to user input operations received by the input device, or transmit information from each functional unit to output devices (not shown) such as touch panels, monitors, and speakers. For example, the input / output processing unit 213 may receive input from the user of information necessary for reserving the above-mentioned conference room.

[0054] <server> (1) Server hardware configuration The server 100 may include a control unit 110, a communication unit 120, and a storage unit 170.

[0055] The control unit 110 is typically a processor, and may include a central processing unit (CPU), MPU, GPU, microprocessor, etc., and may be implemented by logic circuits (hardware) or dedicated circuits formed on an integrated circuit chip (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)), etc.

[0056] The storage unit 170 stores various programs and data necessary for the server 100 to operate. The storage unit 170 may include, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), flash memory, etc. The storage unit 170 may also include memory that provides a workspace for the control unit 110.

[0057] The communication unit 120 may be implemented as hardware such as a NIC or network adapter, communication software, or a combination thereof. The communication unit 120 may send and receive various types of data to and from the user terminal 200 and the reception terminal 300 via the network 500.

[0058] (2) Server Functional Configuration The server 100 may include a reservation setting unit 111, a reception unit 112, a location information acquisition unit 113, a determination unit 114, a notification unit 115, and a reservation management unit 116, as functions implemented by the control unit 110. Note that among the functional units shown in Figure 2, functional units that are not essential in each embodiment may be omitted. Furthermore, the functions or processing of each functional unit may be implemented by machine learning or AI to the extent feasible.

[0059] The reservation setting unit 111 may receive information regarding facility reservations, including the start time for facility use, the end time for facility use, and information about at least one user who will be using the facility. In other words, the reservation setting unit 111 may receive information necessary for facility reservations transmitted from the user terminal 200.

[0060] The reception unit 112 may receive information indicating that the facility has been put into use. This information may include, for example, information indicating that the user has checked in, or information indicating that the user has entered the room at the reception terminal 300, or information indicating that the user has selected to begin using the conference room at the user terminal 200.

[0061] The location information acquisition unit 113 may acquire location information of the user terminal 200 that is using the facility. The location information acquisition unit 113 may calculate the location information of the user terminal 200 based on predetermined information that is periodically acquired from the user terminal 200. In this case, the location information acquisition unit 113 may change the interval at which it periodically acquires the predetermined information from the user terminal 200 based on the start time and end time.

[0062] Furthermore, the location information acquisition unit 113 may acquire location information based on the signal strength from multiple radio wave transmitting devices installed in the building, which is received by the user terminal 200, as predetermined information. Here, the radio wave transmitting devices may be, for example, Wi-Fi® access points. The location information acquisition unit 113 may also acquire location information based on pre-stored atmospheric pressure information of the location where the facility is located, and atmospheric pressure measured by the user terminal 200, as predetermined information.

[0063] The determination unit 114 may perform various determination processes. For example, the determination unit 114 may determine, based on location information, whether the user terminal 200 has moved more than a predetermined distance away from the facility before the end time of the reservation. The predetermined distance may be, for example, a distance in the direction of gravity or a horizontal distance, indicating that there is no user on the floor where the facility is located. The predetermined distance may also be set according to the size of the reserved facility, and should be a distance at which it is possible to determine that there is no user inside the facility.

[0064] The notification unit 115 may send a predetermined notification to the user terminal 200 if it determines that the user terminal 200 has moved more than a predetermined distance away from the facility. The predetermined notification may be, for example, one of those shown in Figure 4.

[0065] If the reservation management unit 116 does not receive a response from the user terminal to a predetermined notification, or if it receives termination information from the user terminal as a response to the notification, indicating that the use of the facility has ended, it may change the facility's usage status to available. That is, it may update the table TB10 shown in Figure 2(a) to change it to a state where there are no reservations.

[0066] Furthermore, if the reservation management unit 116 receives information from the user terminal 200 indicating that the user will continue to use the facility as a response to a prescribed notification, it does not need to change the facility's usage status to available.

[0067] Furthermore, the notification unit 115 may send a predetermined notification to the reception terminal 300 installed at the facility when a predetermined amount of time has passed since the scheduled end time, regardless of the location information of the user terminal 200.

[0068] Furthermore, if there are multiple users using the facility, the notification unit 115 may send a predetermined notification to each of the user terminals 200 of the multiple users. In this case, if the reservation management unit 116 receives information from at least one user terminal 200 of the multiple users indicating that they wish to continue using the facility, it does not need to change the facility's usage status to available.

[0069] <Server control flowchart> The control method for the server 100 described above will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 7. First, the server 100 may store the start time for facility use, the end time for facility use, and at least one user using the facility as reservation information for the facility installed in the building in the storage unit (database server 101) (step S11). This information may be stored in the database server 101 as the reservation information table TB10 described above. The reception unit 112 may receive start information indicating that facility use has begun (step S12). The location information acquisition unit 113 may acquire location information of the communication terminal of the user using the facility (step S13). The determination unit 114 may determine whether the user terminal has moved beyond a predetermined distance from the facility before the end time (step S14). If it is not determined that the user terminal has moved beyond a predetermined distance from the facility (NO in step S14), the system may return to step S13 and continue acquiring location information of the user terminal 200. If it is determined that the user terminal has moved more than a predetermined distance away from the facility (YES in step S14), the notification unit 115 may send a predetermined notification to the user terminal (step S15). The determination unit 114 may then determine whether or not it has received a response to the predetermined notification from the user terminal 200 (step S16). If it is determined that a response to the predetermined notification has been received from the user terminal 200 (YES in step S16), the determination unit 114 may determine whether or not the response to the notification was usage termination information indicating that the use of the facility has ended (step S17). If the response to the notification was usage termination information indicating that the use of the facility has ended (YES in step S17), the reservation management unit 116 may change the facility usage status to available (step S18). If it is not determined that a response to the predetermined notification has been received from the user terminal 200 (NO in step S16), the process proceeds to step S18, and the reservation management unit 116 may change the facility usage status to available. If the response to the notification is not information indicating the end of use of the facility (NO in step S17), the process may return to step S13 and continue acquiring the location information of the user terminal 200.

[0070] While the present invention has been described based on various drawings and embodiments, it should be noted that those skilled in the art will find it easy to make various modifications and alterations based on this disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and alterations are within the scope of the present invention. For example, the functions included in each component, step, etc., can be rearranged in a logically consistent manner, and multiple components or steps, etc., can be combined into one or divided. Furthermore, the configurations shown in the above embodiments may be combined as appropriate. For example, each component described as being provided by server 100 may be implemented by multiple servers in a distributed manner. Also, each process described as being performed by user terminal 200 may be performed by server 100. Conversely, each process described as being performed by server 100 may be performed by user terminal 200.

[0071] Furthermore, the location information of the user terminal 200 may be obtained using images and audio acquired by cameras, microphones, etc., installed in the building, through predetermined image recognition processing or audio recognition processing. The images and audio may be acquired in a manner that protects the user's personal information.

[0072] Furthermore, the above description outlines a scenario in which, when a facility is reserved for use by multiple users, each user receives a notification regarding whether or not they wish to check out. However, the notification regarding whether or not to check out may be sent only to the representative user designated at the time of reservation. Also, when multiple users use the facility, the location information of all users may be acquired, or only the representative user may be acquired.

[0073] The programs of each embodiment of this disclosure may be provided stored in a storage medium readable by the information processing device. The storage medium is a “non-temporary tangible medium” capable of storing programs. The programs include, for example, software programs and control programs. When each functional unit of the server 100 is implemented by software, the server 100 functions as a reservation setting unit 111, a reception unit 112, a location information acquisition unit 113, a determination unit 114, a notification unit 115, and a reservation management unit 116 by having the processor execute a program loaded into memory.

[0074] The storage medium may, where appropriate, include one or more semiconductor-based or other integrated circuits (ICs) (e.g., field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), hard disk drives (HDDs), hybrid hard drives (HHDs), optical disks, optical disk drives (ODDs), magneto-optical disks, magneto-optical drives, floppy diskettes, floppy disk drives (FDDs), magnetic tape, solid-state drives (SSDs), RAM drives, secure digital cards or drives, any other suitable storage medium, or two or more suitable combinations thereof. The storage medium may, where appropriate, be volatile, non-volatile, or a combination of volatile and non-volatile.

[0075] Furthermore, the program disclosed herein may be provided to the server 100 via any transmission medium capable of transmitting the program (such as a communication network or broadcast waves).

[0076] Furthermore, each embodiment of this disclosure can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, where the program is embodied by electronic transmission. The programs of this disclosure may be implemented using, for example, scripting languages ​​such as JavaScript® and Python®, or languages ​​such as C, Go, Swift®, Koltin®, and Java®.

[0077] According to each aspect of this disclosure described above, by providing users with a more user-friendly work environment, we can contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11, "Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and inclusive, safe [Explanation of symbols]

[0078] 100 Servers (Information Processing Devices) 110 Control Unit 111 Reservation Settings Section 112 Reception Department 113 Location information acquisition unit 114 Judgment section 115 Notification Department 116 Reservation Management Department 120 Communications Department 170 Storage device 101 Database Server 200 User terminals (communication devices) 210 Control Unit 212 Display Processing Unit 213 Input / Output Processing Unit 220 Communications Department 230 Display section 240 Input / output section 250 Location information acquisition section 251 Radio wave receiving section 252 Atmospheric pressure measurement section 270 Storage section 300 Reception terminals 500 Networks 600 Reservation System

Claims

1. A storage unit that stores reservation information for a facility installed in a building, including the start time when the facility is to be used, the end time when the facility is to be used, and at least one user who will use the facility. A reception desk that receives information indicating that the facility has come into use, A location information acquisition unit that acquires location information of the communication terminals of users using the aforementioned facility, Based on the location information, if it is determined that the user's communication terminal has moved more than a predetermined distance away from the facility before the end time, a notification unit sends a predetermined notification to the user's communication terminal. If no response to the aforementioned predetermined notification is received from the user's communication terminal, or if, as a response to the aforementioned notification, information indicating the termination of use of the facility is received from the user's communication terminal, the reservation management unit changes the usage status of the facility to available. An information processing device equipped with the following features.

2. If the reservation management unit receives information from the user's communication terminal indicating that the user intends to continue using the facility in response to the notification, it shall not change the facility's usage status to available. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The location information acquisition unit calculates the location information of the user's communication terminal based on predetermined information periodically acquired from the user's communication terminal. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

4. The location information acquisition unit acquires location information based on the signal strength from multiple radio wave transmitting devices installed in the building, which is received by the user's communication terminal, as predetermined information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.

5. The location information acquisition unit acquires the location information based on atmospheric pressure information of the location where the facility is located, which is stored in advance, and the atmospheric pressure measured by the user's communication terminal, which is the predetermined information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.

6. The location information acquisition unit acquires the location information based on at least one of the images and sound acquired by the information acquisition device installed in the building. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

7. The location information acquisition unit changes the interval at which it periodically acquires the predetermined information from the user's communication terminal based on the start time and the end time. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.

8. Regardless of the location information of the user's communication terminal, the notification unit transmits the predetermined notification to the reception terminal installed in the facility when a predetermined time has passed since the scheduled end time. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

9. If there are multiple users using the facility, the notification unit sends the predetermined notification to each of the communication terminals of the multiple users. If the reservation management unit receives information from at least one of the users' communication terminals indicating that they wish to continue using the facility, in response to the notification, it shall not change the facility's usage status to available. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

10. Information processing device, The steps include storing reservation information for a facility installed in a building, including the start time when the facility is to be used, the end time when the facility is to be used, and at least one user who will use the facility. A step of receiving information indicating that the use of the aforementioned facility has commenced, The steps include obtaining location information of the communication terminal of a user using the aforementioned facility, If, based on the location information, it is determined that the user's communication terminal has moved more than a predetermined distance away from the facility before the end time, the user sends a predetermined notification to the user's communication terminal. If no response to the aforementioned predetermined notification is received from the user's communication terminal, or if, as a response to the aforementioned notification, information indicating the termination of use of the facility is received from the user's communication terminal, the usage status of the facility is changed to available. A method for controlling an information processing device to perform the following actions.

11. In an information processing device, A function that stores reservation information for a facility installed in a building, including the start time when the facility is to be used, the end time when the facility is to be used, and at least one user who will be using the facility. A function to receive information indicating that the use of the aforementioned facility has commenced, A function to acquire location information of the communication terminal of a user using the aforementioned facility, Based on the location information, if it is determined that the user's communication terminal has moved more than a predetermined distance away from the facility before the end time, the function sends a predetermined notification to the user's communication terminal. If no response to the aforementioned predetermined notification is received from the user's communication terminal, or if, as a response to the aforementioned notification, information indicating the termination of use of the facility is received from the user's communication terminal, the facility's usage status is changed to available. A control program for an information processing device that executes a command.

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