Delivery management system, ticket gate control device, ticket gate control system, ticket sales device, delivery management method, ticket gate control method, ticket sales method, delivery management program, ticket gate control program, and ticket sales program

Abstract

To obtain a delivery management system that can improve the reliability of delivery of goods by railway users. [Solution] The delivery management system includes a server communication unit 21 that receives delivery requests for delivery items requested by delivery requesters and acquires delivery status information indicating the delivery status of delivery items delivered by railway users, and a server processing unit 23 that determines whether or not railway users can pass through automatic ticket gates based on the delivery status information and outputs instruction information used to control the automatic ticket gates based on the result of the determination.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a delivery item management system, a ticket gate control device, a ticket gate control system, a boarding ticket vending device, a delivery item management method, a ticket gate control method, a boarding ticket vending method, a delivery item management program, a ticket gate control program, and a boarding ticket vending program.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, due to the expansion of services such as Internet shopping, the demand for the delivery of packages has been increasing. Regarding the delivery of packages, Patent Document 1 describes that when delivering a package sent by a delivery requester to the recipient, a plurality of delivery cooperators who can perform delivery not only for a partial section in the middle of the delivery target section but also for the entire delivery target section are combined to perform matching so that the entire delivery target section can be delivered, and a logistics support system in which a plurality of delivery cooperators sequentially deliver packages in a relay format via a delivery locker is described. Further, in the logistics support system described in Patent Document 1, settlement is performed between the delivery requester and the delivery cooperator after the recipient has completed the evaluation of the delivery cooperator.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the logistics support system described in the above Patent Document 1, settlement of the delivery fee is performed after the delivery of the package is completed, but it was possible for a delivery cooperator to steal the package without receiving the delivery fee. That is, in the logistics support system described in the above Patent Document 1, the risk that a delivery cooperator does not fulfill the delivery of the package is not considered, and there is room for improvement from the viewpoint of the certainty of delivery of the delivered items by the deliverer.

[0005] This disclosure is made in view of the above and aims to provide a delivery management system that can improve the reliability of delivery of goods by railway users. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To solve the aforementioned problems and achieve the objectives, the delivery management system described herein comprises: a server communication unit that receives delivery requests for delivery items requested by delivery requesters and acquires delivery status information indicating the delivery status of delivery items delivered by railway users; and a server processing unit that determines whether or not railway users are allowed to pass through automatic ticket gates based on the delivery status information and outputs instruction information used to control the automatic ticket gates based on the result of the determination. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to this disclosure, the effect is to improve the reliability of delivery of goods by railway users. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] A diagram showing an example of the configuration of the delivery management system according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 2] A diagram showing an example of the configuration of the delivery management server according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of an information table in the delivery management database according to Embodiment 1, in which information is stored. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of an information table in the IC (Integrated Circuit) card information database according to Embodiment 1, in which information is stored. [Figure 5] Diagram showing the update details of the tracking status in the delivery management database according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of the configuration of an automatic ticket gate according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 7] A diagram showing an example of the terminal configuration according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 8] A diagram showing an example of the locker configuration according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 9] A first flowchart showing an example of the procedure for managing deliveries in the delivery management system according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 10] This figure shows an example of the connection relationships of the main components in the delivery management system according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 11] This diagram shows an example of the movement of deliveries and the flow of key information in the delivery management system according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 12] A second flowchart showing an example of the procedure for managing deliveries in the delivery management system according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 13] A third flowchart showing an example of the procedure for managing deliveries in the delivery management system according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 14] This diagram shows the configuration in which each function of the control unit according to Embodiment 1 is implemented in hardware. [Figure 15] This diagram shows the configuration in which each function of the control unit according to Embodiment 1 is implemented in software. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The following describes in detail, with reference to the drawings, the delivery management system, ticket gate control device, ticket gate control system, ticket sales device, delivery management method, ticket gate control method, ticket sales method, delivery management program, ticket gate control program, and ticket sales program according to the embodiment.

[0010] Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a delivery item management system according to Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. 1, a delivery item management system 1 according to Embodiment 1 includes a delivery item management server 2 and an automatic ticket gate 3. The delivery item management system 1 manages the delivery of delivery items by using a railway user who holds an IC card 6 as a delivery person of the delivery items from the departure station of the delivery source of the delivery items to the arrival station of the delivery destination of the delivery items, thereby providing a delivery support service that improves the certainty of the delivery of the delivery items. The delivery item management server 2 and the automatic ticket gate 3 are communicably connected via a network 7 such as the Internet, which is a global information communication network.

[0011] A railway user is a person who rides on a railway, such as a passenger who uses the railway for travel or a business customer who uses the railway for business. As will be described later, a railway user who has received a delivery of a delivery item is a delivery person of the delivery item from the departure station of the delivery source of the delivery item to the arrival station of the delivery destination of the delivery item in the delivery item management system 1.

[0012] Railway generally means a land transportation system that runs on rails and transports at least one of passengers and luggage. In Embodiment 1, however, it also includes transportation systems such as monorails, linear railways, and cable cars in a broader sense.

[0013] A delivery requester terminal 4a held by a delivery requester Ua, a railway user terminal 4b held by a railway user Ub, and a recipient terminal 4c held by a recipient Uc are connected to the delivery item management server 2 of the delivery item management system 1 via the network 7. In addition, a locker 5 is connected to the delivery item management server 2 via the network 7.

[0014] The delivery requester Ua is a user of the delivery item management system 1 who requests the delivery item management system 1 to deliver a delivery item, which is a piece of luggage to be delivered, and is a user who wants to use a delivery with high reliability. The delivery requester Ua may be an individual or a delivery company.

[0015] Railway user Ub is a user who, in response to a delivery request for goods via the delivery management system 1, has agreed to the delivery request from the delivery requester Ua and accepted the delivery of the goods. Railway user Ub, having accepted the delivery of the goods, becomes the delivery person.

[0016] Recipient Uc is a user who receives a delivery item delivered by a railway user Ub who has been contracted to deliver the item. Recipient Uc may also designate a proxy recipient to receive the delivery item on their behalf.

[0017] The delivery management server 2 is a server that manages the delivery of packages from the originating station to the destination station. The delivery management server 2 matches delivery requests made by delivery requesters Ua with railway users Ub who purchase electronic tickets, and manages the status of package deliveries based on the matching results. The delivery management server 2 is a server that is built in a cloud environment, for example. Matching delivery requests with railway users Ub who purchase electronic tickets can be said to be matching delivery requests with the electronic tickets purchased by railway users Ub.

[0018] The cloud environment includes computing resources provided on a cloud service platform. The cloud service platform is provided by a cloud service provider and includes, for example, PaaS (Platform as a Service). Since the delivery management server 2 is built in a cloud environment, it is sometimes called a cloud server. However, an on-premises server may also be used for the delivery management server 2.

[0019] The delivery requester terminal 4a is a terminal that can communicate with the delivery management server 2 via the network 7, and is held by the delivery requester Ua. The delivery requester terminal 4a can be a smartphone, tablet PC (Personal Computer), notebook PC, or desktop PC.

[0020] The railway user terminal 4b is a terminal that can communicate with the delivery management server 2 via the network 7 and is held by the railway user Ub. The railway user terminal 4b is a portable terminal such as a smartphone, tablet PC, or notebook PC.

[0021] The recipient terminal 4c is a terminal that can communicate with the delivery management server 2 via the network 7 and is held by the recipient Uc. The recipient terminal 4c can be a smartphone, tablet PC, notebook PC, or desktop PC.

[0022] In Embodiment 1, we will describe the case where the delivery requester terminal 4a, the railway user terminal 4b, and the recipient terminal 4c are all smartphones.

[0023] Locker 5 is a locker that can be unlocked using an electronic key instead of a physical key, and is a so-called smart locker. Locker 5 is installed inside the ticket gate of a station where the delivery of goods by the delivery management system 1 is applied, and each locker has a sensor (not shown) and has the function of managing information on the usage status of the locker and transmitting it to the delivery management server 2 via the network 7. The delivery management server 2 may directly obtain information on the usage status of each locker 5, or it may indirectly obtain information on the usage status of each locker 5 through a management system that aggregates and centrally manages the information from each locker 5.

[0024] Locker 5 includes a departure station-side locker 5a located inside the ticket gate of the departure station where the item is being sent in a delivery request, and a destination station-side locker 5b located inside the ticket gate of the destination station where the item is being sent in a delivery request.

[0025] Automatic ticket gate 3 is a device that monitors and manages the entry and exit of users using a station, which is a facility for boarding and alighting from a railway. Automatic ticket gate 3 includes an automatic ticket gate 3a on the departure station side, which is installed at the departure station of the item being delivered in a delivery request, and an automatic ticket gate 3b on the destination station side, which is installed at the destination station of the item being delivered in a delivery request.

[0026] The configuration of the delivery management system 1 will be explained in more detail below.

[0027] (Configuration of Delivery Management Server 2) Figure 2 shows an example of the configuration of a delivery management server according to Embodiment 1. As shown in Figure 2, the delivery management server 2 comprises a server communication unit 21, a server storage unit 22, a server processing unit 23, and a server control unit 24. Information can be exchanged between each of the components of the delivery management server 2. The server communication unit 21, the server processing unit 23, and the server control unit 24 are components implemented, for example, as software.

[0028] The server communication unit 21 is connected to the network 7 and communicates with external devices of the delivery management server 2 via the network 7. The server communication unit 21 communicates with the delivery requester terminal 4a, the railway user terminal 4b, the recipient terminal 4c, the locker 5, and the automatic ticket gate 3 via the network 7 and exchanges information. The server communication unit 21 receives delivery requests for items requested by the delivery requester Ua and obtains delivery status information indicating the delivery status of items delivered by the railway user Ub.

[0029] The server storage unit 22 stores various types of information used for controlling the delivery management server 2 and the delivery management system 1, including information obtained from outside the delivery management server 2 and information created within the delivery management server 2. The server storage unit 22 includes a delivery management database 221 and an IC card information database 222. Note that databases may sometimes be referred to as DB (Data Base).

[0030] The delivery management database 221 stores various information related to delivery requests in the delivery management system 1. The delivery management database 221 is a first storage unit that stores delivery status information, described later, which indicates the delivery status of a delivery item when it is delivered from the departure station to the destination station by a railway user Ub who uses an IC card 6 as an electronic ticket, linked to the electronic ticket. Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of an information table in which information is stored in the delivery management database according to Embodiment 1. The delivery management DB 221 stores various information such as request ID (Identification), delivery item photo data, contact information of the recipient Uc, departure station information, destination station information, delivery person IC card number, and tracking status. The information recorded in the delivery management DB 221 is stored linked to the corresponding request ID.

[0031] The request ID is a serial number used to manage delivery requests in the delivery management system 1, and is unique identification information for each delivery request.

[0032] The delivery item photograph is a photograph of the delivery item as it is packaged for delivery and stored in locker 5a on the departure station side. The delivery item photograph may be taken by the delivery requester Ua when depositing the delivery item into locker 5a on the departure station side, or it may be taken by a camera installed inside the storage area of ​​locker 5a on the departure station side.

[0033] The recipient's contact information includes, for example, the recipient's email address and their social networking service (SNS) account information.

[0034] The originating station information refers to the information at the originating station of the delivered goods in the delivery management system 1. This information includes the originating station, information about the originating station locker 5a, the date and time of deposit of the goods, the date and time of withdrawal of the goods, the deposit QR code (registered trademark), and the withdrawal QR code. Note that other two-dimensional codes are not limited to QR codes and may be used.

[0035] The information for locker 5a on the departure station side includes the locker number and the box number for locker 5a on the departure station side.

[0036] The locker number of locker 5a on the departure station side is information about the locker 5 used to identify the locker 5a on the departure station side where the delivery requester Ua deposits the delivery item at the departure station, and is unique identification information for locker 5. In other words, the locker number serves as location information indicating the location of the installed locker 5. The box number is the number of the storage box 51 where the delivery item was deposited in locker 5a on the departure station side.

[0037] The delivery date and time information on the departure station side refers to the date and time the delivery was deposited into locker 5a on the departure station side.

[0038] The delivery date and time in the departure station information refers to the date and time the delivery was retrieved from locker 5a at the departure station.

[0039] The QR code for depositing information from the departure station is a two-dimensional code image used to unlock the storage compartment 51 of the locker 5a at the departure station when depositing a delivery item into the locker 5a at the departure station. As mentioned above, the QR code for depositing information from the departure station is an unlocking means used to unlock the storage compartment 51 of the locker 5a at the departure station. The unlocking means used to unlock the storage compartment 51 of the locker 5a at the departure station can be any unlocking means used to unlock the storage compartment 51 of the locker 5a at the departure station, and may be, for example, a two-dimensional code image other than a QR code, a PIN, biometric authentication, etc., and is not limited to these. Furthermore, the unlocking means used to unlock the storage compartment 51 of the locker 5a at the departure station may be linked to the electronic ticket used by the railway user Ub. Unlocking means other than the QR code exemplified can be replaced with the QR code described in the embodiment of the delivery management system 1 described later.

[0040] The QR code for retrieving departure station information is a two-dimensional code image used to unlock the storage compartment 51 of the departure station locker 5a when retrieving a delivery item deposited in the departure station locker 5a. The QR code for retrieving departure station information is an unlocking means used to unlock the storage compartment 51 of the departure station locker 5a.

[0041] The destination station information refers to the information at the destination station of the delivered item in the delivery management system 1. This information includes the destination station, information about the destination station locker 5b, the date and time of deposit of the item, the deposit QR code, and the withdrawal QR code.

[0042] The information for locker 5b on the arrival station side includes the locker number and the box number for locker 5b on the arrival station side.

[0043] The locker number for locker 5b on the arrival station side is information about the locker 5 used to identify locker 5b on the arrival station side where railway user Ub deposits their delivery at the arrival station, and is unique identification information for locker 5. The box number is the number of storage compartment 51 where the delivery was deposited in locker 5b on the arrival station side.

[0044] The delivery date and time in the destination station information refers to the date and time the delivery was deposited into locker 5b at the destination station.

[0045] The QR code for depositing destination station information is a two-dimensional code image used to unlock the storage compartment 51 of the destination station locker 5b when depositing a delivery item into the destination station locker 5b. The QR code for depositing destination station information is also an unlocking means used to unlock the storage compartment 51 of the destination station locker 5b. The unlocking means used to unlock the storage compartment 51 of the destination station locker 5b can be any means used to unlock the storage compartment 51 of the destination station locker 5b, and may be, for example, a two-dimensional code image other than a QR code, a PIN, biometric authentication, etc., and is not limited to these. Furthermore, the unlocking means used to unlock the storage compartment 51 of the destination station locker 5b may be linked to an electronic ticket used by the railway user Ub. Unlocking means other than the QR code exemplified can be replaced with the QR code described in the embodiment of the delivery management system 1 described later.

[0046] The QR code for retrieving destination station information is a two-dimensional code image used to unlock the storage compartment 51 of the destination station locker 5b when retrieving a delivery item deposited in the destination station locker 5b. The QR code for retrieving destination station information is also an unlocking means used to unlock the storage compartment 51 of the destination station locker 5b. A two-dimensional code image other than a QR code may also be used.

[0047] The delivery person's IC card number is the number of the IC card 6 of the railway user Ub who will be the delivery person. It is information used to identify IC card 6 and is unique identification information for IC card 6.

[0048] The tracking status can be described as delivery status information, which indicates the delivery status of an item in a delivery request received by the delivery management system 1 from the delivery requester Ua.

[0049] When a delivery request for an item from a delivery requester Ua is finalized, the delivery reception unit 231 records various information in the delivery management DB 221, including the request ID, contact information of the delivery requester Ua, contact information of the delivery recipient, the departure station, the locker number of the locker 5a at the departure station, the box number of the locker 5a at the departure station, the scheduled date and time for the delivery requester Ua to deposit the item into the locker 5a at the departure station, the destination station, the locker number of the locker 5b at the destination station, the QR code for depositing the item into the locker 5a at the departure station, the QR code for withdrawing the item from the locker 5a at the departure station, and the tracking status: "Not deposited".

[0050] Please note that there are two types of lockers in Locker 5: one where both a deposit QR code and a withdrawal QR code are issued at the time of reservation confirmation, and another where only a deposit QR code is issued at the time of reservation confirmation, and the withdrawal QR code is not issued until luggage is deposited.

[0051] In the case of locker 5a on the departure station side, where both a deposit QR code and a withdrawal QR code are issued when a reservation is confirmed, both the deposit QR code and the withdrawal QR code are recorded in the delivery management DB221 when the delivery request from the delivery requester Ua is confirmed.

[0052] In the case of locker 5a on the departure station side, where a retrieval QR code is not issued until a package is deposited, the retrieval QR code for locker 5a is not issued at the time the delivery request from the delivery requester Ua is completed. In this case, the retrieval QR code for locker 5a is issued when the delivery requester Ua deposits the package into locker 5a on the departure station side, and this is recorded in the package management DB221.

[0053] Additionally, when requesting delivery, the delivery requester Ua can specify the locker number for locker 5b at the destination station.

[0054] When a delivery requester Ua deposits a delivery item into the locker 5a at the departure station, the delivery tracking unit 234 (described later) updates the delivery item management DB 221 with the actual time the delivery item was deposited, and also updates the tracking status from "Not deposited" to "Deposited". Additionally, when a delivery requester Ua deposits a delivery item into the locker 5a at the departure station, the delivery receiving unit 231 records a photo of the delivery item in the delivery item management DB 221.

[0055] As described later, when a delivery request made by a delivery requester Ua is matched with a railway user Ub who purchases an electronic ticket, the delivery management DB221 stores the delivery person's IC card number by the matching unit 233, which will be described later, and updates the tracking status from "Deposited" to "Waiting for Delivery".

[0056] As described later, when a railway user Ub retrieves a package from the locker 5a on the departure station side, the package tracking unit 234 stores the date and time the package was retrieved in the departure station information, and the tracking status is updated from "Waiting for delivery" to "In transit".

[0057] As described later, when a railway user Ub deposits a package into a locker 5b at the destination station, the package tracking unit 234 stores the date and time the package was deposited in the destination station information, and updates the tracking status from "in transit" to "delivered."

[0058] The IC card information database 222 is a database that stores various information about the IC card 6, and stores the member name, payment information, reserved ticket information, and delivery information linked to the IC card number. The IC card information database 222 is a second storage unit that stores the unique identification number of the railway user Ub's IC card 6 and the financial system information linked to that identification number. The IC card information database 222 stores at least the IC card number and member name for all IC card members who possess an IC card 6. Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of an information table in which information is stored in the IC card information database according to Embodiment 1. The IC card information database 222 stores various information such as the IC card number, member name, payment information, ticket information, and delivery information.

[0059] The IC card number is information used to identify IC card 6, and is unique identification information for each IC card 6.

[0060] The member name is the name of the IC card member who possesses IC card 6.

[0061] The payment information refers to information related to payments made via IC card 6, and includes various information such as the credit card number, bank account, and the balance of electronic money charged to IC card 6 that is linked to IC card 6.

[0062] Ticket information refers to information about electronic train tickets purchased by IC card members who possess IC card 6. Ticket information includes various details about the electronic train tickets purchased by the IC card member, such as reservation ID, departure station, departure time, train name, seat number, arrival station, and arrival time. Ticket information can store information for multiple electronic tickets, such as Ticket Information 1, Ticket Information 2, etc.

[0063] The delivery information is the request ID for the delivery request of an item entrusted to an IC card member who possesses IC card 6.

[0064] The server processing unit 23 is responsible for managing the deliveries of the delivery management system 1. The server processing unit 23 comprises a delivery reception unit 231, a ticket sales unit 232, a matching unit 233, a delivery tracking unit 234, and a ticket gate control unit 235. Information can be exchanged between the various components of the server processing unit 23. Based on the delivery status information indicating the delivery status of the deliveries made by the railway user Ub, the server processing unit 23 determines whether the railway user Ub is allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate 3, and outputs instruction information used to control the automatic ticket gate 3 based on the result of the determination. The delivery status information is acquired by the server communication unit 21.

[0065] The delivery reception unit 231 receives delivery request information for delivery items from the delivery requester terminal 4a via dedicated application software of the delivery management system 1 or a World Wide Web (WWW) browser (not shown).

[0066] The delivery request information includes the contact information of the delivery requester Ua, the contact information of the recipient, the departure station, the locker number of locker 5a at the departure station, the scheduled date and time of deposit (when delivery requester Ua plans to deposit the item in locker 5a at the departure station), the arrival station, the locker number of locker 5b at the arrival station, and data on the packaged item for delivery.

[0067] When the delivery reception unit 231 receives a delivery request, it processes a reservation request for the departure station-side locker 5a based on the locker number of the departure station-side locker 5a included in the delivery request information.

[0068] If there is an available storage compartment 51 that can be reserved at the departure station side locker 5a, the reservation for the departure station side locker 5a is confirmed, and the delivery reception unit 231 receives locker reservation confirmation information from the departure station side locker 5a, which is information indicating that the reservation for the departure station side locker 5a has been confirmed. The locker reservation confirmation information includes the locker number of the departure station side locker 5a, the box number of the departure station side locker 5a, the deposit QR code for the departure station side locker 5a, and the withdrawal QR code for the departure station side locker 5a.

[0069] In the case of locker 5a on the departure station side, where a QR code for withdrawal is not issued unless luggage is deposited, the information for the QR code for withdrawal of locker 5a on the departure station side is not included in the locker reservation confirmation information.

[0070] The delivery reception unit 231 then transmits delivery request confirmation information, which is information indicating that the delivery request has been accepted, to the delivery requester terminal 4a via the server communication unit 21, along with a deposit QR code. At the time the delivery reception unit 231 accepts the delivery request, the delivery person and the date and time on which the delivery person will deliver the items have not yet been determined, so the delivery reception unit 231 does not reserve the locker 5b on the destination station side.

[0071] Furthermore, the delivery reception unit 231 records the delivery request information, the locker number of the departure station side locker 5a, the box number of the departure station side locker 5a, the deposit QR code for the departure station side locker 5a, and the withdrawal QR code for the departure station side locker 5a in the delivery item management DB 221 and updates the delivery item management DB 221.

[0072] If there are no available storage units 51 that can be reserved at the departure station side locker 5a, the reservation for the departure station side locker 5a will not be confirmed, and the delivery reception unit 231 will send delivery failure information to the delivery requester terminal 4a, indicating that delivery is not possible.

[0073] The ticket sales unit 232 has the function of receiving a request from railway user Ub, who possesses an IC card 6, to purchase an electronic ticket for a train on a specified date and time, settling the electronic ticket fare, and issuing the electronic ticket to the IC card 6.

[0074] Furthermore, the ticket sales unit 232 has the function of, when a railway user Ub who purchases an electronic ticket accepts a request for delivery of goods, deducting an amount equivalent to the delivery fee for the goods from the payment amount of the electronic ticket and issuing a discounted ticket to the railway user Ub's IC card 6. In other words, when the ticket sales unit 232 receives a request from a railway user Ub to purchase an electronic ticket, it has the function of issuing a discounted ticket to the railway user Ub who has accepted a request for delivery of goods covering the same section as the electronic ticket, with an amount equivalent to the delivery fee for the goods deducted.

[0075] The ticket sales department 232 receives ticket purchase requests from, for example, railway user terminals 4b via dedicated application software of the delivery management system 1 or a web browser (not shown), and accepts the ticket purchase requests.

[0076] A ticket purchase request is information in which a railway user Ub who purchases an electronic ticket requests the delivery management system 1 to purchase an electronic ticket. The ticket purchase request includes various information about the train for which the user wishes to purchase an electronic ticket, such as the departure station, departure time, train name, seat number, arrival station, and arrival time.

[0077] When the ticket sales unit 232 receives a ticket purchase request, it reserves an electronic ticket based on the information in the ticket purchase request. After reserving the electronic ticket, the ticket sales unit 232 searches the delivery management DB 221 via the matching unit 233 to see if there are any delivery requests that can be made for the same section as the reserved electronic ticket. In other words, the ticket sales unit 232 queries the matching unit 233 to search the delivery management DB 221 for the existence of any delivery requests for the same section as the ticket purchase request, and receives a response. The ticket purchase request is the section of the electronic ticket that the railway user Ub is trying to purchase.

[0078] If there is no delivery request for the same section as the travel section included in the ticket purchase request, the ticket sales department 232 will process the regular fare and issue a regular ticket to the railway user Ub's IC card 6.

[0079] When the ticket sales unit 232 receives a delivery request for the same section of travel included in a ticket purchase request, it checks the availability of lockers 5b at the destination station via the matching unit 233 to determine the availability of lockers 5b at the destination station during a predetermined waiting period from the arrival time of the train for which the railway user Ub is purchasing an electronic ticket. The waiting period can be set arbitrarily, for example, from one to three days.

[0080] The ticket sales unit 232 confirms with railway user Ub whether they agree to accept a delivery request for goods in the same section as the travel section included in the ticket purchase request, if there is an available locker 5b at the arrival station during the predetermined waiting time from the arrival time of the train for which railway user Ub is purchasing an electronic ticket. If there is an available locker 5b at the arrival station during the predetermined waiting time from the arrival time of the train for which railway user Ub is purchasing an electronic ticket, this occurs when the matching unit 233 receives a matching notification indicating that the delivery request and the electronic ticket can be matched, that is, that the delivery request recorded in the delivery item management DB 221 can be matched with the ticket purchase request, along with the request ID of the said delivery request.

[0081] When a railway user Ub accepts a delivery request for a delivery item, the ticket sales unit 232 deducts the amount equivalent to the delivery fee from the electronic ticket payment amount and issues a discounted ticket to the railway user Ub's IC card 6. Subsequently, the ticket sales unit 232 obtains the QR code for withdrawal from the departure station locker 5a and the QR code for deposit from the destination station locker 5b via the matching unit 233. The matching unit 233 obtains the QR code for withdrawal from the departure station locker 5a and the QR code for deposit from the destination station locker 5b from the delivery item management DB 221 and transmits it to the ticket sales unit 232. If the QR code for withdrawal from the departure station locker 5a is not stored in the delivery item management DB 221, the matching unit 233 may query the departure station locker 5a and obtain the QR code for withdrawal from the departure station locker 5a. Then, the ticket sales department 232 notifies the railway user Ub of the details of the discounted ticket, the QR code for retrieving tickets from locker 5a at the departure station, and the QR code for depositing tickets into locker 5b at the arrival station.

[0082] Alternatively, the QR code for withdrawal from locker 5a at the departure station and the QR code for deposit from locker 5b at the arrival station may be printed on the statement output from the automatic ticket gate 3a at the departure station and given to the railway user Ub. In this case, the matching unit 233 transmits the QR code for withdrawal from locker 5a and the QR code for deposit from locker 5b at the arrival station to the automatic ticket gate 3a at the departure station via the ticket gate control unit 235, and the QR code for withdrawal from locker 5a and the QR code for deposit from locker 5b at the arrival station are printed on the statement output from the automatic ticket gate 3a at the departure station when railway user Ub enters the ticket gate. Railway user Ub opens the storage compartment 51 by holding the QR code printed on the statement over either locker 5a at the departure station or locker 5b at the arrival station.

[0083] Furthermore, if railway user Ub cancels their electronic ticket after agreeing to accept the delivery request for the delivered goods and the matching process described later is completed, the ticket sales department 232 sends a deletion notice to the matching department 233 requesting the deletion of the IC card number from the delivered goods management DB 221. The deletion notice includes information on the IC card number of the IC card 6 of railway user Ub who canceled their electronic ticket.

[0084] Furthermore, if the ticket sales department 232 determines that railway user Ub has not fulfilled their responsibility for delivering the goods, it will add to the discounted ticket information either that prevents railway user Ub from passing through the automatic ticket gate 3, or information to settle the penalty charge imposed on railway user Ub. The information that prevents railway user Ub from passing through the automatic ticket gate 3, and the information to settle the penalty charge imposed on railway user Ub, are tracking statuses that are linked to the request ID of the delivery request for the goods and recorded in the delivery management DB 221.

[0085] If the matching unit 233 receives a deletion notification from the ticket sales unit 232 after a matching process described later has been completed, it deletes the IC card number of the railway user Ub who canceled their electronic ticket from the delivery management DB 221. The matching unit 233 also cancels the reservation for the destination station locker 5b and deletes the QR code for the destination station locker 5b from the delivery management DB 221. The matching unit 233 also sends a matching cancellation notification to the delivery requester Ua's delivery requester terminal 4a, informing them that the matching has been canceled and the matching process will be restarted. The deletion of the IC card number from the delivery management DB 221 is performed to cancel the matching between the current delivery request and railway user Ub, and to return the request ID state to a state where a new railway user Ub can be matched.

[0086] The matching unit 233 determines whether there is a delivery request for a delivery item that covers the same section as the electronic ticket, and stores the electronic ticket of railway user Ub who has accepted a delivery request for a delivery item that covers the same section as the electronic ticket in the delivery item management DB 221, along with the delivery request. The matching unit 233 matches the delivery of the delivery item by combining the delivery request made by the delivery requester Ua, who is the one who requested the delivery item, with railway user Ub who purchased the electronic ticket. In response to an inquiry from the ticket sales unit 232, the matching unit 233 searches the delivery item management DB 221 for the presence of a delivery request for the same section as the boarding section included in the ticket purchase request from railway user Ub, and transmits the search results to the ticket sales unit 232.

[0087] Furthermore, if there is a delivery request for the same section as the boarding section included in the ticket purchase request, the matching unit 233 checks with the locker 5b at the destination station to check the availability of the locker 5b at the destination station during a predetermined waiting period from the arrival time of the train corresponding to the ticket purchase request.

[0088] The matching unit 233 sends a matching notification to the ticket sales unit 232, indicating that a match can be made between the delivery request and the electronic ticket, that is, that a match can be made between the ticket purchase request and the delivery request recorded in the delivery item management DB 221, along with the request ID of the delivery request, if there is a delivery request for the same section as the section included in the ticket purchase request from railway user Ub, and there is an available storage space 51 in the locker 5b on the arrival station side during the predetermined waiting time for pickup from the arrival time of the train corresponding to the ticket purchase request.

[0089] The matching unit 233 reserves locker 5b at the destination station when it receives consent information from the ticket sales unit 232 indicating that railway user Ub agrees to accept the delivery request for their package. For the reservation of locker 5b at the destination station, the matching unit 233 obtains the locker number, box number, deposit QR code, and withdrawal QR code information for locker 5b from locker 5b. The matching unit 233 then transmits the withdrawal QR code for locker 5a at the departure station and the deposit QR code for locker 5b at the destination station to the ticket sales unit 232. In the case of locker 5b at the destination station where a withdrawal QR code is not issued unless luggage is deposited, the information for the withdrawal QR code for locker 5b is not issued when the locker 5b is reserved. In this case, the matching unit 233 obtains the retrieval QR code for the locker 5b on the destination station side after the delivery item has been deposited into the locker 5b on the destination station side.

[0090] The matching unit 233, in response to a request from the ticket sales unit 232, records the request ID of the delivery request on which the railway user Ub has agreed to the delivery of the delivered item and the details of the issuance of the discounted ticket in the IC card information DB 222, updates the IC card information DB 222, and links the discounted ticket with the delivered item.

[0091] Furthermore, the matching unit 233 refers to the IC card information DB 222 and records in the delivery item management DB 221 the IC card number corresponding to the request ID of the delivery request corresponding to the consent response information, that is, the IC card number corresponding to the request ID of the delivery request to which railway user Ub has consented to the delivery of the delivered item. In addition, the matching unit 233 records in the delivery item management DB 221 the locker number of the destination station side locker 5b, the box number of the destination station side locker 5b, the deposit QR code for the destination station side locker 5b, and the withdrawal QR code for the destination station side locker 5b, which are included in the locker reservation confirmation information. Note that in the case of the destination station side locker 5b, where a withdrawal QR code is not issued unless luggage is deposited, the information for the withdrawal QR code for the destination station side locker 5b is not issued when the destination station side locker 5b is reserved. In this case, after the delivery is deposited into the locker 5b on the destination station side, the matching unit 233 obtains the retrieval QR code for the locker 5b on the destination station side and records it in the delivery management DB 221.

[0092] Furthermore, the matching unit 233 updates the tracking status of the delivery request in the delivery management DB 221, for delivery requests that railway user Ub has agreed to, from "Deposited" to "Waiting for Delivery".

[0093] Furthermore, the matching unit 233 creates matching result information and transmits this matching result information, along with the QR code for withdrawal from the locker 5a at the departure station and the QR code for deposit from the locker 5b at the arrival station, to the ticket sales unit 232 to notify the railway user Ub, who is the delivery person. The matching unit 233 also transmits the matching result information to the delivery requester terminal 4a via delivery management terminal application software or a web browser (not shown).

[0094] The matching result information is a notification that a match has been made between the delivery request accepted by the delivery person (railway user Ub) and the discounted train ticket. It also shows the details of the match between the delivery request accepted by the delivery person (railway user Ub) and the discounted train ticket.

[0095] Alternatively, the matching unit 233 may transmit the QR code for withdrawal from the locker 5a on the departure station side and the QR code for deposit from the locker 5b on the arrival station side to the automatic ticket gate 3a on the departure station side via the ticket gate control unit 235, and have them printed on the statement output by the automatic ticket gate 3a on the departure station side when the railway user Ub, who is the delivery person, enters the station, and hand it over to the railway user Ub.

[0096] When the matching unit 233 receives a deletion notification from the ticket sales unit 232 or the ticket gate control unit 235, it deletes the IC card number of the IC card 6 of the railway user Ub, who is the delivery person, cancels the reservation of the locker 5b at the destination station, and deletes the QR code for the locker 5b at the destination station from the delivery management DB 221. The matching unit 233 also sends a matching cancellation notification to the delivery requester terminal 4a of the delivery requester Ua, informing them that the matching has been canceled and the matching process will be restarted. The deletion of the IC card number from the delivery management DB 221 is done to cancel the matching of the current delivery request with railway user Ub and to return the request ID state to a state where a new railway user Ub can be matched.

[0097] When the delivery tracking unit 234 receives locker status information from locker 5, which is information about the usage status of the storage compartment 51 of the reserved locker 5, it creates a delivery tracking status based on the locker status information and updates the tracking status in the delivery management DB 221, thereby tracking the delivery status of the delivery.

[0098] The locker status information refers to the usage status of storage compartment 51, where packages are stored, which is reserved for locker 5a on the departure station side and locker 5b on the arrival station side.

[0099] The delivery tracking unit 234 updates the tracking status of the delivery in the delivery management DB 221 based on the locker status information of the reserved storage compartment 51 at the reserved locker 5a at the departure station, obtained from the reserved locker 5a at the departure station, and the locker status information of the reserved storage compartment 51 at the reserved locker 5b at the destination station, obtained from the reserved locker 5b at the destination station. In addition, the delivery tracking unit 234 updates the tracking status of the delivery in the delivery management DB 221 based on the locker status information after the delivery has been deposited into the locker 5a at the departure station. Therefore, the locker status information, like the tracking status, can be said to be delivery status information that indicates the delivery status of the delivery in the delivery request that the delivery management system 1 has received from the delivery requester Ua. The tracking status is updated in accordance with the locker status information of either the locker 5a at the departure station or the locker 5b at the destination station. Therefore, both the locker status information ("Reserved," "In Use," "Used") and the tracking status information ("Initial Value," "Not Deposited," "Deposited," "Waiting for Delivery," "In Delivery," "Delivered") can be considered delivery status information that indicates the delivery status of the delivered item.

[0100] Figure 5 shows the update details of the tracking status in the delivery management database according to Embodiment 1. Figure 5 shows the "timing of the tracking status update," the "content of the tracking status update," the "corresponding locker status," and the "component that updates the tracking status." The tracking status of the delivery is set to the "initial value" before the reservation of the locker 5a on the departure station side.

[0101] The tracking status of the delivery is updated by the delivery reception unit 231 from "initial value" to "not deposited" when the reservation of locker 5a at the departure station is completed. When the reservation of locker 5a at the departure station is completed, the locker status information of the storage facility 51 for the reserved locker 5a at the departure station is "reserved".

[0102] The tracking status of the delivery is updated by the delivery tracking unit 234 from "Not deposited" to "Deposited" when the delivery is successfully deposited into locker 5a at the departure station. When the delivery is successfully deposited into locker 5a at the departure station, the locker status information for the storage compartment 51 of the reserved locker 5a at the departure station is "In use".

[0103] The tracking status of the delivery is updated by the matching unit 233 from "Deposited" to "Waiting for Delivery" when the ticket purchase request and the delivery request are successfully matched. When the matching is successful, the locker status information for the storage area 51 of the corresponding reserved locker 5a on the departure station side is "In Use".

[0104] The tracking status of the delivery is updated by the delivery tracking unit 234 from "Waiting for delivery" to "In transit" when the delivery is retrieved from locker 5a at the departure station. When the delivery is retrieved from locker 5a at the departure station, the locker status information for the storage compartment 51 of the reserved locker 5a at the departure station is "Used".

[0105] The tracking status of the delivery is updated by the delivery tracking unit 234 from "In transit" to "Delivered" when the delivery is successfully deposited into locker 5b at the destination station. At the time the delivery is successfully deposited into locker 5b at the destination station, the locker status information for the storage compartment 51 of the reserved locker 5b at the destination station is "In use".

[0106] Furthermore, upon updating the tracking status to "Delivered," that is, upon depositing the delivery item into the locker 5b at the destination station, the delivery tracking unit 234 searches the delivery management DB 221 based on the request ID of the delivery request accepted by the railway user Ub, and sends a delivery completion notification and a QR code for retrieving the delivery item from the locker 5b at the destination station to the email address or SNS account of the delivery recipient, which is the contact information for the delivery recipient corresponding to the delivery request. If a telephone number is registered with the delivery recipient contact, the delivery completion notification and the QR code for retrieving the delivery item from the locker 5b at the destination station may be sent via Short Message Service (SMS). As mentioned above, instead of the QR code for retrieving the delivery item from the destination station, other unlocking means used to unlock the storage compartment 51 of the locker 5b at the destination station may be sent.

[0107] The ticket gate control unit 235 acquires delivery status information indicating the delivery status of items requested by railway user Ub, and configures a ticket gate control device that controls the automatic ticket gate 3 based on information determining whether railway user Ub can pass through the automatic ticket gate 3, which is determined based on the delivery status information.

[0108] The ticket gate control unit 235 is a control unit that determines whether or not railway user Ub is allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate 3b at the destination station when Ub enters through the automatic ticket gate 3a at the departure station using an electronic ticket issued on the IC card 6 and then exits through the automatic ticket gate 3b at the destination station, based on the tracking status of the delivered item, which is delivery status information. Specifically, when railway user Ub holds the IC card 6 over the automatic ticket gate 3, the ticket gate control unit 235 determines whether or not to open or close the gate section 331 at the automatic ticket gate 3, that is, whether or not railway user Ub is allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate 3. When the ticket gate control unit 235 receives information about the IC card number of the IC card 6 held over the automatic ticket gate 3, it searches the IC card information DB 222 based on the IC card number and checks whether the electronic ticket linked to the IC card 6 satisfies the conditions of "the date and time of the electronic ticket valid for the day" and "the station where the automatic ticket gate 3 that the IC card 6 was held over is located is within the purchase section of the electronic ticket".

[0109] If, as a result of the verification, the electronic ticket linked to IC card 6 does not meet the above conditions, the ticket gate control unit 235 transmits information to the automatic ticket gate 3 indicating that passage through the automatic ticket gate 3 is not permitted. When the automatic ticket gate 3 receives the information that passage is not permitted, it closes the gate section 331 and sounds a warning sound, preventing railway user Ub from passing through the automatic ticket gate 3.

[0110] If the verification results show that the electronic ticket linked to IC card 6 meets the above conditions, the ticket gate control unit 235 searches the IC card information DB 222 for whether or not there is a delivery request for an item entrusted to the railway user Ub who held IC card 6 over the automatic ticket gate 3.

[0111] If there are no delivery requests for items entrusted to the railway user Ub, the ticket gate control unit 235 transmits permission information to pass through the automatic ticket gate 3. Upon receiving the permission information, the automatic ticket gate 3 opens the gate section 331, allowing the railway user Ub to pass through the automatic ticket gate 3.

[0112] If there is a delivery request for goods entrusted to the railway user Ub, and the railway user Ub is attempting to "enter the ticket gate area" through the automatic ticket gate 3, the ticket gate control unit 235 transmits permission information to pass through the automatic ticket gate 3. When the automatic ticket gate 3 receives permission information, it opens the gate section 331 and allows the railway user Ub to pass through the automatic ticket gate 3.

[0113] Furthermore, as described above, it is also possible to print the QR code for withdrawal from locker 5a on the departure station side and the QR code for deposit from locker 5b on the arrival station side onto the statement output from the automatic ticket gate 3a on the departure station side and hand it to the railway user Ub. In this case, if there is a delivery request for a package entrusted to the railway user Ub, and the railway user Ub is attempting to "enter the ticket gate area" from the automatic ticket gate 3a on the departure station side, the ticket gate control unit 235 searches for the request ID recorded in the IC card information DB 222 via the matching unit 233, obtains the QR code for withdrawal from locker 5a on the departure station side and the QR code for deposit from locker 5b on the arrival station side corresponding to the request ID from the package management DB 221, and transmits them to the automatic ticket gate 3a on the departure station side.

[0114] When the departure station-side automatic ticket gate 3a receives permission to pass through, the QR code for withdrawal from the departure station-side locker 5a, and the QR code for deposit from the arrival station-side locker 5b, it opens the gate section 331 and allows the railway user Ub to pass through. The departure station-side automatic ticket gate 3a also prints the QR code for withdrawal from the departure station-side locker 5a and the QR code for deposit from the arrival station-side locker 5b on the statement printed from the departure station-side automatic ticket gate 3a when the railway user Ub enters the ticket gate. The railway user Ub opens the storage compartment 51 by holding the QR code printed on the statement over the departure station-side locker 5a or the arrival station-side locker 5b.

[0115] If there is a delivery request for an item entrusted to the railway user Ub, and the railway user Ub is about to "exit the ticket gate" from the automatic ticket gate 3b on the destination station side, the ticket gate control unit 235 searches for the request ID of the delivery request entrusted to the railway user Ub recorded in the IC card information DB 222 via the matching unit 233, and further searches for the tracking status corresponding to the request ID.

[0116] If the tracking status is "Delivered," the ticket gate control unit 235 transmits permission to pass through to the automatic ticket gate 3b at the destination station. If the tracking status is "In Delivery," the railway user Ub, who is the delivery person, has not fulfilled their responsibility to deliver the item. In other words, if the tracking status is "In Delivery," it is assumed that the railway user Ub, who is the delivery person, has not deposited the item in the locker 5b at the destination station. For this reason, the ticket gate control unit 235 transmits information that passage is not permitted to the automatic ticket gate 3b at the destination station. If the tracking status is "Waiting for Delivery," the railway user Ub, who is the delivery person, has not fulfilled their responsibility to deliver the item. In other words, if the tracking status is "Waiting for Delivery," it is assumed that the railway user Ub, who is the delivery person, has not retrieved the item from the locker 5a at the departure station. For this reason, after calculating the penalty charge amount, the ticket gate control unit 235 deducts the penalty charge amount from either the credit card, bank account, or electronic money balance linked to the IC card number of the IC card 6 held over the automatic ticket gate 3b at the destination station, and settles the penalty charge amount.

[0117] In other words, the ticket gate control unit 235 functions as a settlement unit that settles the penalty charge amount to be imposed on railway user Ub, who is a delivery person who has not fulfilled their responsibility to deliver goods, from the financial system linked to the IC card number of the IC card 6 of the railway user Ub.

[0118] If the penalty charge amount is settled, the ticket gate control unit 235 transmits permission to pass through to the destination station-side automatic ticket gate 3b. After the penalty charge amount has been settled, the ticket gate control unit 235 deletes the request ID associated with the IC card number of the IC card 6 held over the destination station-side automatic ticket gate 3b from the IC card information DB 222 and transmits a deletion notification to the matching unit 233 requesting the deletion of the IC card number from the delivery management DB 221. If the penalty charge amount cannot be settled, the ticket gate control unit 235 transmits information that passage is not permitted to the destination station-side automatic ticket gate 3b.

[0119] If the ticket gate control unit 235 has successfully settled the penalty charge, it deletes the request ID associated with the IC card number of the delivery person, railway user Ub's IC card 6, from the IC card information DB 222. The ticket gate control unit 235 also sends a deletion notification to the matching unit 233 instructing it to delete the IC card number of the delivery person, railway user Ub's IC card 6, for the said request ID. The deletion notification includes the IC card number of the delivery person, railway user Ub's IC card 6, who has not fulfilled their delivery obligations, and the request ID associated with that IC card number.

[0120] When the matching unit 233 receives a deletion notification from the ticket gate control unit 235, it deletes the IC card number of the IC card 6 of the railway user Ub, who is the delivery person, from the delivery item management DB 221. The matching unit 233 also cancels the reservation of the locker 5b at the destination station and deletes the QR code for the locker 5b at the destination station from the delivery item management DB 221. The matching unit 233 also sends a matching cancellation notification to the delivery requester terminal 4a of the delivery requester Ua, informing them that the matching has been canceled and the matching process will be restarted. The deletion of the IC card number from the delivery item management DB 221 is done to cancel the matching of the current delivery request with railway user Ub and to return the request ID state to a state where it can match a new railway user Ub.

[0121] Furthermore, when the matching unit 233 sends a matching unlock notification to the delivery requester Ua's delivery requester terminal 4a, it may allow the delivery requester Ua to choose whether or not to cancel the delivery request. If the delivery requester Ua chooses to cancel the delivery request, the matching unit 233 notifies the delivery requester Ua's delivery requester terminal 4a of the QR code for retrieving the locker 5a on the departure station side. This makes it possible to avoid any disadvantage to the delivery requester Ua due to the delivery not being made as scheduled.

[0122] Specifically, the matching unit 233 sends a matching unlock notification, including a delivery cancellation confirmation request, to the delivery requester Ua's delivery requester terminal 4a.

[0123] A delivery cancellation confirmation request is a message asking the delivery requester, Ua, to confirm whether or not they want to cancel the delivery request.

[0124] When the delivery requester terminal 4a receives a matching unlock notification that includes a delivery cancellation confirmation request, it displays the screen of the matching unlock notification on the terminal display unit 43 of the delivery requester terminal 4a, displays the delivery cancellation confirmation request on the terminal display unit 43, and prompts the delivery requester Ua to enter a response to the delivery cancellation confirmation request. When the delivery requester Ua enters confirmation response information, which is the response of whether or not to cancel the delivery request, from the screen of the matching unlock notification, the delivery requester terminal 4a transmits the confirmation response information to the matching unit 233.

[0125] When the matching unit 233 receives confirmation response information sent from the delivery requester terminal 4a, it determines whether or not to cancel the delivery request based on the confirmation response information.

[0126] The matching unit 233 cancels the delivery request from delivery requester Ua if the confirmation response information sent from the delivery requester terminal 4a is a cancellation response indicating that the delivery request has been canceled. The matching unit 233 deletes information related to the delivery request, such as the request ID, from the delivery item management DB 221. The matching unit 233 also sends a cancellation notification that the delivery request has been canceled and a QR code for retrieval from the locker 5a at the departure station to the delivery requester Ua's delivery requester terminal 4a. The delivery requester Ua can retrieve the delivered item from the locker 5a at the departure station by holding the QR code for retrieval from the locker 5a at the departure station.

[0127] The matching unit 233 maintains the delivery request from the delivery requester Ua if the confirmation response information sent from the delivery requester terminal 4a is a maintenance response indicating that the delivery request will be maintained.

[0128] In Embodiment 1, the case where the ticket gate control unit 235 is located on the delivery management server 2 is shown, but it is also possible to have a configuration where the ticket gate control unit 235, which can communicate with the delivery management server 2, is located on the automatic ticket gate 3b on the destination station side.

[0129] The server control unit 24 controls the entire delivery management server 2. The delivery management server 2 stores the delivery management server application software, which is application software for executing the functions of the delivery management system 1 by executing the functions of each component of the delivery management server 2 as described above, in the server storage unit 22. The delivery management server application software includes a delivery management server program that causes the computer to execute the functions of each component of the delivery management server 2 as described above. The delivery management server program is installed in the server storage unit 22.

[0130] (Configuration of automatic ticket gate 3) Figure 6 shows an example of the configuration of an automatic ticket gate according to Embodiment 1. The departure station-side automatic ticket gate 3a and the arrival station-side automatic ticket gate 3b have the same configuration as the standard automatic ticket gate 3 described below. The automatic ticket gate 3 includes an antenna 31, a reader / writer 32, a gate drive unit 33, a display screen drive unit 34, an audio notification unit 35, a printing unit 36, a ticket gate storage unit 37, and a ticket gate drive control unit 38. In addition to the above configuration, the automatic ticket gate 3 also includes a sensor (not shown) for detecting users passing through the automatic ticket gate 3, a ticket processing unit (not shown) for handling tickets, and a power generation circuit (not shown) that generates power to drive each component of the automatic ticket gate 3 from the current generated in the antenna 31 and supplies that power to each component.

[0131] Antenna 31 communicates with IC card 6.

[0132] The reader / writer 32 communicates with the IC card 6 via the antenna 31. The reader / writer 32 reads the IC card number of the IC card 6 held over the reader / writer 32 and transmits the IC card number to the ticket gate control unit 235.

[0133] The gate drive unit 33 includes a gate section 331 that is installed in the passage through which users pass in the automatic ticket gate 3 and opens and closes, and a gate opening and closing control unit 332 that controls the opening and closing operation of the gate section 331, and opens and closes the gate section 331 according to the control of the ticket gate drive control unit 38.

[0134] The display screen drive unit 34 includes a display screen (not shown) that displays information and a display screen drive control unit (not shown) that controls the display screen, and notifies the user of information that should be notified to the user, such as messages, by displaying it on the display screen.

[0135] The voice notification unit 35 notifies the user of information that should be communicated to them by voice.

[0136] The printing unit 36 ​​prints and outputs details such as tickets.

[0137] The ticket gate storage unit 37 stores programs and various information for controlling the automatic ticket gate 3.

[0138] The ticket gate drive control unit 38 controls the entire automatic ticket gate 3. The ticket gate drive control unit 38 controls each component based on the control of the ticket gate control unit 235 of the delivery management server 2. When the ticket gate drive control unit 38 receives the IC card number information of the IC card 6 from the reader / writer 32, it transmits the IC card number information to the ticket gate control unit 235 of the delivery management server 2. The ticket gate drive control unit 38 receives instruction information from the ticket gate control unit 235 corresponding to the IC card number transmitted to the ticket gate control unit 235, and controls the gate drive unit 33 according to the instruction information. In other words, the opening and closing of the gate section 331 in the automatic ticket gate 3 is controlled by the ticket gate drive control unit 38 according to the instruction information transmitted from the ticket gate control unit 235 in accordance with the IC card number transmitted to the ticket gate control unit 235.

[0139] When the ticket gate drive control unit 38 receives permission information from the ticket gate control unit 235 indicating that passage through the automatic ticket gate 3 is permitted, it controls the gate section 331 of the automatic ticket gate 3 to open. When the ticket gate drive control unit 38 receives permission information from the ticket gate control unit 235 indicating that passage through the automatic ticket gate 3 is not permitted, it controls the gate drive unit 33 to close the gate section 331 and the voice notification unit 35 to sound a warning.

[0140] As described above, it is also possible to print the QR code for withdrawing from locker 5 and the QR code for depositing into locker 5 on the statement output from the automatic ticket gate 3 and hand it to the railway user Ub. In this case, the ticket gate drive control unit 38 controls the printing unit 36 ​​to print the QR code for withdrawing from locker 5 and the QR code for depositing into locker 5, which it has received from the ticket gate control unit 235, onto the statement and issue the statement.

[0141] (Configuration: Delivery requester terminal 4a, railway user terminal 4b, and recipient terminal 4c) Figure 7 shows an example of the configuration of a terminal according to Embodiment 1. The delivery requester terminal 4a, the railway user terminal 4b, and the recipient terminal 4c have the same configuration as the standard terminal 4 described below. As shown in Figure 7, the terminal 4 comprises a terminal information communication unit 41, a terminal operation unit 42, a terminal display unit 43, a terminal storage unit 44, and a terminal control unit 45. Information can be exchanged between each component of the terminal 4.

[0142] The terminal information communication unit 41 is connected to the network 7 and communicates with external devices of the terminal 4, such as the delivery management server 2, via the network 7. The terminal information communication unit 41 acquires information from outside the terminal 4. The terminal information communication unit 41 acquires various types of information, including information related to the delivery management system 1. The terminal information communication unit 41 also has the function of acquiring information from external storage devices of the terminal 4.

[0143] The terminal operation unit 42 includes, for example, an input device such as a mouse, keyboard, or touch panel.

[0144] The terminal display unit 43 displays information from within the terminal 4. The terminal display unit 43 displays various types of information, including information related to the delivery management system 1. The terminal display unit 43 is a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (ElectroLuminescence) display.

[0145] The terminal storage unit 44 stores various types of information and programs used for controlling the terminal 4, including information acquired from outside the terminal 4 and information created inside the terminal 4.

[0146] The terminal control unit 45 controls the entire terminal 4.

[0147] Terminal 4 of the railway user terminal 4b stores in terminal storage unit 44 the delivery management terminal application software, which is application software for executing the functions of each component of terminal 4 as described above, and for accessing the delivery management server 2 to purchase electronic tickets. The delivery management terminal application software includes a delivery management terminal program that causes the computer to execute the functions of each component of terminal 4 as described above. The delivery management terminal program is installed in terminal storage unit 44. Note that if a railway user terminal 4b accesses the delivery management server 2 using a web browser (not shown) to purchase an electronic ticket, it is possible to purchase an electronic ticket from the railway user terminal 4b even if the delivery management terminal program is not installed in terminal storage unit 44.

[0148] (Locker 5 configuration) Figure 8 shows an example of the configuration of a locker according to Embodiment 1. The departure station side locker 5a and the arrival station side locker 5b have the same configuration as the standard locker 5 described below. The locker 5 comprises storage compartments 51-1 to 51-N, a touch panel unit 52, a reading unit 53, an electronic lock unit 54, a locker communication unit 55, a locker storage unit 56, and a locker control unit 57.

[0149] Storage compartment 51 is a storage box for storing luggage, and locker 5 is provided with multiple storage compartments 51, from storage compartment 51-1 to storage compartment 51-N.

[0150] The touch panel unit 52 consists of a display unit (not shown) and an operation unit (not shown), and combines the functions of both the operation unit and the display unit. The touch panel unit 52 can display various information such as operations for depositing items, usage fees, and usage periods. Note that the display unit and the operation unit may be provided separately.

[0151] The reading unit 53 reads information such as a two-dimensional code image like a QR code, the IC card 6, and the electronic money card, and transmits it to the locker control unit 57. If the electronic ticket contains information about an unlocking means equivalent to a QR code, the reading unit 53 reads the IC card 6, and the unlocking means equivalent to the QR code plays the role of the QR code in Embodiment 1.

[0152] The electronic lock unit 54 is for locking and unlocking the storage compartment 51, and can be locked and unlocked using, for example, a two-dimensional code image such as a QR code.

[0153] The locker communication unit 55 communicates with devices other than the locker 5. The locker communication unit 55 also communicates with the delivery management server 2.

[0154] The locker memory unit 56 stores various types of information used to control the locker 5, including information acquired from outside the locker 5 and information created inside the locker 5.

[0155] The locker control unit 57 controls the entire locker 5. The locker control unit 57 detects the opening and closing of the storage compartment 51 based on the locking and unlocking information of the electronic lock unit 54, and detects the deposit and withdrawal of luggage. The locker control unit 57 recognizes the usage status of the storage compartment 51 and issues a two-dimensional code, such as a QR code, used to open and close the storage compartment 51, and transmits it to the delivery management server 2. The locker control unit 57 creates locker status information, which is information on the usage status of the storage compartment 51, and transmits it to the delivery management server 2. The locker control unit 57 stores and manages information such as the usage status of the storage compartment 51, the locking status information of the electronic lock unit 54 of each door of the storage compartment 51, and QR codes in the locker storage unit 56.

[0156] The locker control unit 57 creates locker status information for the storage unit 51 from the time the storage unit 51 is reserved until the end of its use and transmits it to the delivery tracking unit 234 of the delivery management server 2.

[0157] For example, when a storage unit 51 is reserved, the locker control unit 57 sets the locker status information of that storage unit 51 to "Reserved". When the locker control unit 57 detects the opening or closing of a storage unit 51 that is "Reserved", it sets the locker status information of that storage unit 51 to "In Use". When the locker control unit 57 detects the opening or closing of a storage unit 51 that is "In Use", it sets the locker status information of that storage unit 51 to "Used".

[0158] In this example, each locker 5 is managed by a locker control unit 57, but a centralized management unit that manages multiple lockers 5 collectively may be located outside the lockers 5.

[0159] Next, the operation of the delivery management system 1 according to Embodiment 1 will be described. Figure 9 is a first flowchart showing an example of the procedure for managing deliveries in the delivery management system according to Embodiment 1. Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of the connection relationships of the main components in the delivery management system according to Embodiment 1. Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of the movement of deliveries and the flow of main information in the delivery management system according to Embodiment 1. In Figure 11, arrows with black circles indicate the flow of deliveries. In Figure 11, arrows with squares indicate the flow of information.

[0160] First, we will explain the process of the delivery management system 1 from when the delivery requester Ua submits a delivery request until the delivery is deposited into locker 5a on the departure station side.

[0161] First, in step S110, the delivery management server 2 of the delivery management system 1 receives the delivery request information sent from the delivery requester terminal 4a. Specifically, the delivery reception unit 231 of the server processing unit 23 of the delivery management server 2 receives the delivery request information sent from the delivery requester terminal 4a via the server communication unit 21 of the delivery management server 2. The delivery requester Ua accesses the delivery management server 2 from the delivery requester terminal 4a using delivery management terminal application software or a web browser (not shown), sends the delivery request information to the delivery management server 2, and starts the delivery request for the delivery of the item.

[0162] When making a delivery request, the delivery requester Ua sends delivery request information from the delivery requester terminal 4a to the delivery management server 2, which includes the following information: the delivery requester Ua's contact information, the recipient's contact information, the departure station, the locker number of the locker 5a at the departure station, the scheduled date and time when the delivery requester Ua plans to deposit the delivery item in the locker 5a at the departure station, the destination station, the locker number of the locker 5b at the destination station, and a photo of the packaged delivery item. The delivery reception unit 231 at the delivery management server 2 receives the delivery request information. By including the locker number of the locker 5b at the destination station in the delivery request information, the delivery requester Ua can specify the locker 5b at the destination station in order to fix its location so that it is easily accessible to the recipient Uc. The process then proceeds to step S120.

[0163] In step S120, the reservation request processing for the departure station side locker 5a is performed. Specifically, the delivery reception unit 231 processes the reservation request for the departure station side locker 5a based on the delivery request information. The delivery reception unit 231 processes the reservation request for the departure station side locker 5a by sending a locker reservation request, which is information requesting a locker reservation, to the departure station side locker 5a based on the locker number of the departure station side locker 5a included in the delivery request information.

[0164] The locker control unit 57 of the departure station-side locker 5a transmits locker reservation confirmation information, which indicates that the reservation for the departure station-side locker 5a has been made, to the delivery reception unit 231 as a reservation response, if there is a reservable storage unit 51 that corresponds to the locker reservation request. The locker reservation confirmation information includes the locker number of the departure station-side locker 5a, the box number of the departure station-side locker 5a, and the QR code information for depositing items into the departure station-side locker 5a. The locker control unit 57 of the departure station-side locker 5a changes the locker status information of the storage unit 51 to "Reserved" when the storage unit 51 is reserved.

[0165] If there are no available storage units 51 that can be reserved to accommodate the locker reservation request, the locker control unit 57 of the departure station-side locker 5a sends a reservation response to the delivery reception unit 231 indicating that the reservation for the departure station-side locker 5a cannot be made. The process then proceeds to step S130.

[0166] In step S130, it is determined whether or not the reservation for locker 5a on the departure station side has been made. Specifically, the delivery reception unit 231 determines whether or not the reservation for locker 5a on the departure station side has been made. The delivery reception unit 231 determines that the reservation for locker 5a on the departure station side has been made if it receives information that the locker reservation has been made. The delivery reception unit 231 determines that the reservation for locker 5a on the departure station side has not been made if it receives information that the locker reservation has not been made.

[0167] If it is determined that the reservation for locker 5a on the departure station side has been confirmed, the answer in step S130 will be Yes, and the process will proceed to step S140. If it is determined that the reservation for locker 5a on the departure station side has not been confirmed, the answer in step S130 will be No, and the process will proceed to step S190.

[0168] In step S190, delivery failure information, which indicates that delivery is impossible, is sent to the delivery requester terminal 4a. Specifically, the delivery reception unit 231 sends delivery failure information, which indicates that delivery is impossible, to the delivery requester terminal 4a. This completes the series of processes for the delivery request. Note that the delivery failure information may also include information indicating that delivery is possible under other conditions.

[0169] In step S140, information confirming that the delivery request has been accepted, and a QR code for depositing items into locker 5a at the departure station, are sent to the delivery requester's terminal 4a. Specifically, the delivery reception unit 231 sends information confirming that the delivery request has been accepted, and a QR code for depositing items into locker 5a at the departure station, to the delivery requester's terminal 4a. The process then proceeds to step S150.

[0170] In step S150, information regarding the delivery request is recorded in the delivery item management DB 221, and the delivery item management DB 221 is updated. Specifically, the delivery reception unit 231 records information regarding the delivery request in the delivery item management DB 221 and updates the delivery item management DB 221. The delivery reception unit 231 records the following information regarding the delivery request in the delivery item management DB 221 as information regarding the delivery request: the request ID, the contact information of the delivery requester Ua, the contact information of the delivery recipient, the departure station, the locker number of the locker 5a at the departure station, the box number of the locker 5a at the departure station, the scheduled date and time of deposit, the destination station, and the QR code for depositing the locker 5a at the departure station, and updates the delivery item management DB 221. Then, the process proceeds to step S160. Note that the request information may also include the locker number of the locker 5b at the destination station.

[0171] In step S160, the tracking status of the delivery in the delivery management DB 221 is updated. Specifically, the delivery reception unit 231 updates the tracking status of the delivery in the delivery management DB 221. The delivery reception unit 231 updates the tracking status of the delivery corresponding to the delivery request in the delivery management DB 221 from "initial value" to "not deposited". Then, the process proceeds to step S170.

[0172] In step S170, the server processing unit 23 of the delivery management server 2 receives locker status information and a QR code for withdrawal from the locker 5a on the departure station side, which have been transmitted from the locker 5a on the departure station side.

[0173] The delivery requester Ua enters the ticket gate at the departure station, holds the QR code for depositing the locker 5a on the departure station side, displayed on the delivery requester terminal 4a, over the reader 53 of the locker 5a for recognition, unlocks the storage compartment 51 of the locker 5a reserved by the delivery management system 1, and deposits the delivery item. The locker control unit 57 of the locker 5a updates the locker status information of the storage compartment 51 from "reserved" to "in use" when the delivery requester Ua deposits the delivery item into the reserved storage compartment 51 of the locker 5a. The locker control unit 57 then transmits the updated locker status information to the delivery tracking unit 234 via the locker communication unit 55.

[0174] Furthermore, the locker control unit 57 of the departure station-side locker 5a issues a QR code for retrieving the reserved storage compartment 51 in the departure station-side locker 5a and transmits it to the matching unit 233 of the server processing unit 23. The matching unit 233 associates the QR code for retrieval from the departure station-side locker 5a with the request ID and records it in the delivery item management DB 221, updating the delivery item management DB 221.

[0175] Furthermore, if the departure station-side locker 5a is a type of locker that issues both a deposit QR code and a withdrawal QR code at the time the reservation is confirmed, the withdrawal QR code may be transmitted from the departure station-side locker 5a to the delivery reception unit 231 at the time the reservation for the departure station-side locker 5a is confirmed and recorded in the delivery item management DB 221.

[0176] Furthermore, when the delivery requester Ua deposits the delivery item into the storage compartment 51 of the locker 5a on the departure station side, for example, the delivery requester terminal 4a's photo function is used to take a picture of the delivery item, and the delivery requester terminal 4a is sent to the delivery reception unit 231 of the delivery management server 2. When the delivery reception unit 231 receives the delivery item photo data, it associates the delivery item photo data with the request ID and records it in the delivery management DB 221. The process then proceeds to step S180.

[0177] When the delivery requester Ua enters the ticket gate area of ​​the departure station, they may enter by holding the special entrance ticket issued by the delivery reception department 231 and transmitted to the delivery requester terminal 4a over the automatic ticket gate 3a on the departure station side; they may enter by showing the special entrance ticket issued by the delivery reception department 231 and passing through the manned passage; or they may enter by paying the entrance ticket fee as an alternative to the delivery fee.

[0178] The delivery reception unit 231 issues, for example, a QR code entry ticket valid for one time only, as an entry ticket specifically for depositing the delivery item. The delivery requester Ua enters by holding the QR code entry ticket displayed on the delivery requester terminal 4a over the automatic ticket gate 3a on the departure station side. The delivery reception unit 231 also issues, for example, an entry ticket exchange coupon image, as an entry ticket specifically for depositing the delivery item. The delivery requester Ua exchanges the entry ticket exchange coupon image for a paper entry ticket by holding it over the ticket vending machine at the station. The delivery reception unit 231 also issues, for example, an entry permission screen, as an entry ticket specifically for depositing the delivery item.

[0179] In step S180, the tracking status of the delivery in the delivery management DB221 is updated. Specifically, the delivery tracking unit 234 updates the tracking status of the delivery in the delivery management DB221. When the delivery tracking unit 234 receives the "In Use" locker status information transmitted from the departure station side locker 5a, it updates the tracking status of the delivery corresponding to the delivery request in the delivery management DB221 from "Not deposited" to "Deposited". With this, the series of processes is completed, and the delivery management system 1 enters a state of waiting for the railway user Ub who will be the delivery person.

[0180] Next, we will explain the process of the delivery management system 1 from when the railway user Ub, who will be the delivery person, purchases an electronic ticket, enters the station through the automatic ticket gate 3a on the departure station side, and retrieves the delivery item from the locker 5a on the departure station side. Figure 12 is a second flowchart showing an example of the procedure for managing a delivery item in the delivery management system according to Embodiment 1.

[0181] First, in step S310, the delivery management server 2 of the delivery management system 1 receives a ticket purchase request sent from the railway user terminal 4b. Specifically, the ticket sales unit 232 of the server processing unit 23 of the delivery management server 2 receives and accepts the ticket purchase request sent from the railway user terminal 4b via the server communication unit 21. The railway user Ub accesses the delivery management server 2 using delivery management terminal application software or a web browser (not shown) and sends a ticket purchase request to the delivery management server 2. When the ticket sales unit 232 receives and accepts the ticket purchase request, it reserves an electronic ticket based on the information in the ticket purchase request. After reserving the electronic ticket, the ticket sales unit 232 sends the ticket purchase request to the matching unit 233. Then, the process proceeds to step S320.

[0182] In step S320, it is determined whether there is a delivery request for the same section as the travel section included in the ticket purchase request. Specifically, the matching unit 233 determines whether there is a delivery request for the same section as the travel section included in the ticket purchase request. The matching unit 233 searches the delivery item management DB 221 based on the travel section information included in the ticket purchase request received from the ticket sales unit 232 and determines whether there is a delivery request for the same section as the travel section included in the ticket purchase request.

[0183] If it is determined that there are no delivery requests for the same route as the boarding section included in the ticket purchase request, the result in step S320 is "No," and the matching unit 233 transmits "No Match" information to the ticket sales unit 232, proceeding to step S410. The "No Match" information indicates that there are no delivery requests for the same route as the boarding section included in the ticket purchase request.

[0184] If it is determined that there is a delivery request for the same section as the boarding section included in the ticket purchase request, the result in step S320 is Yes, and the matching unit 233 transmits the matching information to the ticket sales unit 232, and the process proceeds to step S330. The matching information indicates that there is a delivery request for the same section as the boarding section included in the ticket purchase request.

[0185] In step S410, a regular fare ticket is issued as an electronic ticket. Specifically, the ticket sales unit 232 issues a regular fare ticket. The ticket sales unit 232 settles the regular fare, issues the regular fare ticket to the IC card 6 of the railway user Ub corresponding to the ticket purchase request, and transmits the details of the regular fare ticket issuance to the railway user terminal 4b. The ticket sales unit 232 also records the details of the regular fare ticket issuance in the IC card information DB 222 and updates the IC card information DB 222. This completes the series of processes.

[0186] In step S330, a request to check for available lockers is sent to the destination station-side locker 5b. Specifically, if the destination station-side locker 5b is not specified, the matching unit 233 sends a request to check for available lockers to all lockers 5 located within the destination station's ticket gate area. Alternatively, if the delivery requester Ua has specified a destination station-side locker 5b, the request to check for available lockers to that specified locker 5b may be sent to that locker, and if there are no available lockers in that specified locker 5b, the request to check for available lockers to all lockers 5 located within the destination station's ticket gate area may be sent to all lockers 5 located within the destination station's ticket gate area.

[0187] The locker availability check request is information that requests locker 5 to check whether there is an available storage space 51 in locker 5 during a predetermined waiting period from the arrival time of the train for which railway user Ub intends to purchase an electronic ticket. This information includes details such as the size of the delivered item and the period of use.

[0188] The matching unit 233 sends a request to the destination station locker 5b to check for available lockers, based on the information stored in the delivery management DB 221 regarding the boarding section included in the ticket purchase request and the delivery request for the same section. The process then proceeds to step S340.

[0189] In step S340, it is determined whether there is an available storage unit 51 corresponding to the locker availability request in the destination station-side locker 5b. Specifically, if the destination station-side locker 5b is not specified, the matching unit 233 determines for all lockers 5 located within the destination station's ticket gate whether there is an available storage unit 51 corresponding to the locker availability request in the destination station-side locker 5b. If the delivery requester Ua has specified a destination station-side locker 5b, the matching unit 233 determines for that specified destination station-side locker 5b whether there is an available storage unit 51 corresponding to the locker availability request in the destination station-side locker 5b. If there is no available storage unit in the specified destination station-side locker 5b, the matching unit 233 may then determine for all lockers 5 located within the destination station's ticket gate whether there is an available storage unit 51 corresponding to the locker availability request in the destination station-side locker 5b.

[0190] When the locker control unit 57 of the arrival station-side locker 5b receives an empty locker confirmation request transmitted from the matching unit 233 in step S330, it determines whether or not there is an empty storage compartment 51 corresponding to the empty locker confirmation request. The locker control unit 57 of the arrival station-side locker 5b then transmits the result of its determination regarding whether or not there is an empty storage compartment 51 corresponding to the empty locker confirmation request to the matching unit 233 as response information to the empty locker confirmation request.

[0191] If the locker control unit 57 determines that there is an available locker in the storage unit 51 corresponding to the locker availability request, it transmits information indicating that there is an available locker in the destination station-side locker 5b as a response to the locker availability request to the matching unit 233. If the locker control unit 57 determines that there is no available locker in the storage unit 51 corresponding to the locker availability request, it transmits information indicating that there is no available locker in the destination station-side locker 5b as a response to the locker availability request to the matching unit 233.

[0192] When the matching unit 233 receives response information transmitted from the locker control unit 57, it determines whether or not there is an empty locker 5b on the destination station side based on the content of the response information. If the matching unit 233 receives information that there is an empty locker, it determines that there is an empty locker 5b on the destination station side. If the matching unit 233 receives information that there is no empty locker, it determines that there is no empty locker 5b on the destination station side.

[0193] If it is determined that there are no available lockers 5b on the destination station side, the result in step S340 is No, and the matching unit 233 sends ordinary ticket issuance instruction information to the ticket sales unit 232 to instruct the issuance of an ordinary ticket, and the process proceeds to step S410.

[0194] If it is determined that there is an empty locker 5b on the destination station side, the answer in step S340 is Yes, and the matching unit 233 sends a matching notification and information about the request ID of the matching delivery request to the ticket sales unit 232, and proceeds to step S350.

[0195] The matching notification indicates that a delivery request can be matched with an electronic ticket, meaning that a match can be made between the delivery request stored in the delivery management DB221 and the ticket purchase request.

[0196] In step S350, a delivery consent confirmation request is sent to the railway user terminal 4b. Specifically, the ticket sales department 232 sends the delivery consent confirmation request to the railway user terminal 4b. The process then proceeds to step S360.

[0197] The delivery consent confirmation request is information that, when the matching unit 233 receives a matching availability notification and information on the request ID of a matching available delivery request, will ask the railway user Ub whether or not they consent to the delivery of goods for the same section as the travel section included in the ticket purchase request.

[0198] In step S360, it is determined whether or not the railway user Ub has consented to the delivery of the goods. Specifically, the ticket sales department 232 determines whether or not the railway user Ub has consented to the delivery of the goods.

[0199] When the railway user terminal 4b receives a delivery consent confirmation request, it displays the delivery consent confirmation request screen on the terminal display unit 43 of the railway user terminal 4b and prompts the railway user Ub to enter a response to the delivery consent confirmation request. Once the railway user Ub enters confirmation response information on the delivery consent confirmation request screen, the railway user terminal 4b transmits the confirmation response information to the ticket sales unit 232.

[0200] When the ticket sales department 232 receives confirmation response information transmitted from the railway user terminal 4b, it determines, based on the confirmation response information, whether or not the railway user Ub has consented to the delivery of the goods. The ticket sales department 232 determines that the railway user Ub has consented to the delivery of the goods if the confirmation response information transmitted from the railway user terminal 4b is consent response information indicating consent to the delivery of the goods. The ticket sales department 232 determines that the railway user Ub has not consented to the delivery of the goods if the confirmation response information transmitted from the railway user terminal 4b is non-consent response information indicating non-consent to the delivery of the goods.

[0201] A railway user Ub who has been determined to have consented to the delivery of a package, that is, a railway user Ub who has sent consent information from the railway user terminal 4b, is a delivery person who will deliver the package from the originating station to the destination station.

[0202] If it is determined that railway user Ub does not consent to the delivery of the item, the result in step S360 is No, and the process proceeds to step S410. If it is determined that railway user Ub consents to the delivery of the item requested, the result in step S360 is Yes, and the ticket sales department 232 transfers the consent response information to the matching department 233, and the process proceeds to step S370.

[0203] In step S370, the following actions are taken: issuance of a discounted ticket, which is an electronic ticket; linking of the discounted ticket to the delivered item; and reservation of a locker 5b at the destination station. Specifically, the ticket sales department 232 issues the discounted ticket. The ticket sales department 232 settles the discounted fare using the IC card 6 of the railway user Ub, who is the delivery person, and issues the discounted ticket to the railway user Ub's IC card 6. The ticket sales department 232 also updates the IC card information DB 222 by recording the request ID of the delivery request to which railway user Ub has agreed to the delivery of the item, and the details of the issuance of the discounted ticket, via the matching department 233, thereby linking the discounted ticket to the delivered item. The linking of the discounted ticket to the delivered item can be described as linking the discounted ticket to the delivery request.

[0204] A discounted ticket is an electronic ticket with a discount equivalent to the compensation for delivering the goods. The discounted ticket is accompanied by information from the ticket sales department 232 that, if it is determined that the railway user Ub has not fulfilled their responsibility to deliver the goods, will either prevent the railway user Ub from passing through the automatic ticket gate 3 or will contain information for settling the penalty amount to be imposed on the railway user Ub.

[0205] Furthermore, when the matching unit 233 receives the consent response information sent from the ticket sales unit 232, it sends a locker reservation request to the destination station locker 5b and reserves the destination station locker 5b.

[0206] The locker control unit 57 of the arrival station side locker 5b processes the reservation of the arrival station side locker 5b based on the locker reservation request transmitted from the matching unit 233 and issues a deposit QR code for the arrival station side locker 5b. The locker control unit 57 then transmits locker reservation confirmation information to the matching unit 233, which is information indicating that the reservation of the arrival station side locker 5b has been made. The locker reservation confirmation information includes the locker number of the arrival station side locker 5b, the box number of the arrival station side locker 5b, and the deposit QR code for the arrival station side locker 5b. The process then proceeds to step S380.

[0207] In step S380, matching result information, details of the discounted ticket issuance, the QR code for withdrawal from locker 5a at the departure station, and the QR code for deposit at locker 5b at the arrival station are transferred to the railway user terminal 4b as a response to the ticket purchase request. Specifically, the ticket sales department 232 transfers the matching result information, details of the discounted ticket issuance, the QR code for withdrawal from locker 5a at the departure station, and the QR code for deposit at locker 5b at the arrival station to the railway user terminal 4b.

[0208] Specifically, the matching unit 233 creates matching result information and transmits this matching result information, the QR code for withdrawal from the departure station locker 5a, and the QR code for deposit from the arrival station locker 5b to the ticket sales unit 232. The ticket sales unit 232 then transfers the matching result information, the details of the discounted ticket issuance, the QR code for withdrawal from the departure station locker 5a, and the QR code for deposit from the arrival station locker 5b to the railway user terminal 4b. The matching unit 233 also transmits the matching result information to the delivery requester terminal 4a using delivery management terminal application software or a web browser (not shown).

[0209] When a discounted ticket is issued to IC card 6, and the railway user terminal 4b receives the matching result information, the details of the discounted ticket issuance, the QR code for withdrawal from locker 5a at the departure station, and the QR code for depositing into locker 5b at the arrival station, the railway user Ub is recognized as the delivery person. The process then proceeds to step S390.

[0210] In step S390, the delivery management DB221 and the tracking status are updated. Specifically, the matching unit 233 updates the delivery management DB221 and the tracking status.

[0211] The matching unit 233 refers to the IC card information DB 222 and records in the delivery management DB 221 the IC card number corresponding to the request ID of the delivery request on which the delivery person, railway user Ub, has agreed to the delivery of the goods. The matching unit 233 also records in the delivery management DB 221 the locker number, box number, and deposit QR code information for the destination station side locker 5b, which are included in the locker reservation confirmation information. As a result, the withdrawal QR code for the departure station side locker 5a and the deposit QR code for the destination station side locker 5b, which are linked to the request ID, are linked to the IC card number of the delivery person, railway user Ub.

[0212] Furthermore, the matching unit 233 updates the tracking status of the delivery request in the delivery management DB 221 for the delivery request that the delivery person, railway user Ub, has agreed to, from "Deposited" to "Waiting for Delivery". This updates the information in the delivery management DB 221. The process then proceeds to step S400.

[0213] In step S400, the tracking status is updated when the delivery person, railway user Ub, retrieves the delivery from the locker 5a on the departure station side. Specifically, the delivery tracking unit 234 updates the tracking status when the delivery person, railway user Ub, retrieves the delivery from the locker 5a on the departure station side. The delivery person, railway user Ub, unlocks the storage compartment 51 by holding the retrieval QR code on the locker 5a on the locker 5a on the departure station side over the reader 53, and retrieves the delivery from the storage compartment 51. Then, the delivery person, railway user Ub, transports the delivery from the departure station to the destination station by train.

[0214] The locker control unit 57 of the departure station-side locker 5a detects the opening and closing of the storage compartment 51, updates the locker status information of the storage compartment 51 from "In Use" to "Not in Use," and transmits the locker status information to the delivery tracking unit 234. The locker control unit 57 of the departure station-side locker 5a may also update the locker status information with information indicating the presence or absence of deliveries in the storage compartment 51, in addition to the opening and closing of the storage compartment 51. For example, if a camera is installed in the storage compartment 51, the locker control unit 57 of the departure station-side locker 5a can determine the presence or absence of deliveries in the storage compartment 51 based on the image from the camera. Also, if a weight sensor is installed in the storage compartment 51, the locker control unit 57 of the departure station-side locker 5a can determine the presence or absence of deliveries in the storage compartment 51 based on the measurement value from the weight sensor. When the delivery tracking unit 234 receives the "Not in Use" locker status information of the departure station-side locker 5a, it updates the tracking status of the delivery corresponding to the delivery request in the delivery management DB 221 from "Waiting for Delivery" to "In Delivery."

[0215] Next, we will describe the processing of the delivery management system 1 from the time the delivery person, railway user Ub, arrives at the destination station until they exit through the automatic ticket gate 3 at the destination station. Figure 13 is a third flowchart showing an example of the procedure for managing deliveries in the delivery management system according to Embodiment 1.

[0216] First, in step S510, the tracking status of the delivery is updated when the delivery person, railway user Ub, deposits the delivery into the locker 5b at the destination station. Specifically, the delivery tracking unit 234 updates the tracking status of the delivery corresponding to the delivery request accepted by railway user Ub in the delivery management DB 221 from "In transit" to "Delivered" when the delivery person, railway user Ub, deposits the delivery into the locker 5b at the destination station.

[0217] When the delivery person, railway user Ub, arrives at the destination station, they hold the deposit QR code for the destination station-side locker 5b over the reader 53 of the destination station-side locker 5b for recognition, unlock the storage compartment 51 of the destination station-side locker 5b which has been reserved by the delivery management system 1, and deposit the delivery. The locker control unit 57 of the destination station-side locker 5b detects the opening and closing of the storage compartment 51 and updates the locker status information of the storage compartment 51 from "reserved" to "in use". The locker control unit 57 also issues a retrieval QR code for the storage compartment 51 of the destination station-side locker 5b. The locker control unit 57 then transmits the locker status information and the retrieval QR code for the destination station-side locker 5b to the delivery tracking unit 234.

[0218] When the delivery tracking unit 234 receives "In Use" locker status information for the destination station-side locker 5b from the destination station-side locker 5b, it updates the tracking status of the delivery corresponding to the delivery request in the delivery management DB 221 from "In Transit" to "Delivered".

[0219] Furthermore, when the delivery tracking unit 234 receives the QR code for retrieval from the locker 5b at the destination station, it searches the delivery management DB 221 based on the request ID of the delivery request accepted by the railway user Ub, who is the delivery person, and sends a delivery completion notification indicating that the delivery of the item has been completed, a photo of the item, and the QR code for retrieval from the locker 5b at the destination station to the email address or SNS account of the delivery recipient contact person corresponding to the delivery request. After that, the process proceeds to step S520.

[0220] Furthermore, if the destination station-side locker 5b is one that issues both a deposit QR code and a withdrawal QR code at the time the reservation is confirmed, the withdrawal QR code may be transmitted from the destination station-side locker 5b to the matching unit 233 at the time the reservation for the destination station-side locker 5b is confirmed and recorded in the delivery item management DB 221. In other words, if the destination station-side locker 5b issues both a deposit QR code and a withdrawal QR code at the time the reservation for the destination station-side locker 5b is confirmed, both the deposit QR code and the withdrawal QR code are transmitted to the matching unit 233 at the time the reservation for the destination station-side locker 5b is confirmed and recorded in the delivery item management DB 221. In this case, the delivery item tracking unit 234 can search the delivery item management DB 221 based on the request ID of the delivery request accepted by the railway user Ub, who is the delivery person, and obtain the withdrawal QR code for the destination station-side locker 5b.

[0221] The recipient Uc can display the QR code for retrieval of the locker 5b at the destination station, which has been sent to the delivery destination contact, on their terminal 4c, for example, and hold it over the reader 53 of the locker 5b at the destination station for recognition, thereby unlocking the storage compartment 51 of the locker 5b at the destination station and retrieving the delivered item.

[0222] Furthermore, the recipient Uc can display a photo of the delivered item on, for example, the recipient terminal 4c and compare it with the item stored in the storage compartment 51 of the locker 5b at the destination station, thereby confirming whether the item stored in the storage compartment 51 of the locker 5b at the destination station is the delivered item requested by the delivery requester Ua. This allows the delivery management system 1 to determine the legitimacy of the delivered item delivered to the locker 5b at the destination station by the recipient Uc, thereby improving the reliability of the delivery of the item.

[0223] Alternatively, for example, the delivery requester Ua may include information on the weight of the delivery in the delivery request information, and the weight information of the delivery may be transmitted from the matching unit 233 to the delivery address contact of the recipient Uc. If the storage compartment 51 of the destination station-side locker 5b has a function to measure weight, the recipient Uc can check the weight of the items stored in the storage compartment 51 of the destination station-side locker 5b. By comparing the weight information of the delivery with the weight of the items stored in the storage compartment 51 of the destination station-side locker 5b, the recipient Uc can check whether the items stored in the storage compartment 51 of the destination station-side locker 5b are the delivery requested by the delivery requester Ua, or whether the stored items have been stolen. As a result, the delivery management system 1 can determine the legitimacy of the delivery delivered to the destination station-side locker 5b by the recipient Uc, thereby improving the reliability of delivery.

[0224] In step S520, a ticket branching determination is made regarding the electronic ticket of railway user Ub. Specifically, the ticket gate control unit 235 makes a ticket branching determination regarding the electronic ticket of railway user Ub, who is the delivery person.

[0225] The ticket branching determination process determines whether railway user Ub is allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate 3b at the destination station, i.e., whether they are allowed to exit the ticket gate, based on the type of electronic ticket linked to railway user Ub's IC card 6.

[0226] When the delivery person, railway user Ub, deposits the delivery item into the locker 5b at the destination station and then holds their IC card 6 over the automatic ticket gate 3b at the destination station, the automatic ticket gate 3b reads the IC card number of IC card 6 and transmits the IC card number to the ticket gate control unit 235 of the delivery item management server 2. Based on the received IC card number, the ticket gate control unit 235 searches the IC card information DB 222 for the type of electronic ticket associated with railway user Ub's IC card 6. The ticket gate control unit 235 then determines whether the electronic ticket associated with railway user Ub's IC card 6 is a "regular ticket" or a "discount ticket".

[0227] Railway user Ub whose electronic ticket linked to IC card 6 is a "regular ticket" does not accept requests for delivery of goods. Railway user Ub whose electronic ticket linked to IC card 6 is a "discount ticket" does accept requests for delivery of goods.

[0228] In the ticket branching determination, if it is determined that the type of electronic ticket linked to railway user Ub's IC card 6 is a "regular ticket", the ticket gate control unit 235 transmits permission information to the destination station's automatic ticket gate 3b to allow passage through the destination station's automatic ticket gate 3b, and proceeds to step S560. In the ticket branching determination, if it is determined that the type of electronic ticket linked to railway user Ub's IC card 6 is a "discount ticket", proceeds to step S530.

[0229] In step S530, a branching determination is made regarding the tracking status of the delivered item. Specifically, the ticket gate control unit 235 makes a branching determination regarding the tracking status of the delivered item linked to the IC card 6 of the railway user Ub, who is the deliverer.

[0230] The tracking status branching determination is a process that determines whether or not the railway user Ub, who is the delivery person, is allowed to exit the ticket gate 3b at the destination station based on the tracking status of the delivery item entrusted to them.

[0231] The ticket gate control unit 235 searches the delivery management DB 221 for the tracking status of the delivery entrusted to the railway user Ub, who is the delivery person, based on the IC card number. The ticket gate control unit 235 then determines whether the tracking status of the delivery is "delivered," "awaiting delivery," or "in delivery."

[0232] If the tracking status of a package entrusted to the delivery person, railway user Ub, is "Delivered," it means that the package has been deposited in locker 5b at the destination station and that railway user Ub has fulfilled their delivery obligations.

[0233] If the tracking status of a package entrusted to the delivery person, railway user Ub, is "awaiting delivery," it means that the package has not been retrieved from locker 5a at the departure station, and that railway user Ub has arrived at the destination station without taking the package with them, thus failing to fulfill their delivery obligations. In this case, a penalty will be charged, for example, equivalent to the compensation that railway user Ub would have received for fulfilling their delivery obligations, and equivalent to the usage fee for locker 5b at the destination station, which has already been reserved.

[0234] If the tracking status of a package entrusted to the delivery person, railway user Ub, is "in transit," it means that railway user Ub has taken the package from locker 5a at the departure station but has not deposited it in locker 5b at the destination station, and is attempting to exit the station through automatic ticket gate 3b at the destination station with the package, thus failing to fulfill their delivery obligations. In this case, railway user Ub, the delivery person, must not be allowed to exit through automatic ticket gate 3b at the destination station.

[0235] In the flowchart shown in Figure 13, in step S510 described above, when the delivery person, railway user Ub, deposits the delivery item into the locker 5b at the destination station, the tracking status of the delivery item corresponding to the delivery request accepted by railway user Ub is updated from "in transit" to "delivered". Therefore, in the tracking status branching determination, it is determined that the tracking status of the delivery item accepted by railway user Ub is "delivered". However, in reality, there may be cases where railway user Ub has not deposited the delivery item into the locker 5b at the destination station, and the tracking status of the delivery item accepted by railway user Ub is "awaiting delivery" or "in transit" as described above.

[0236] In the tracking status branching determination, if the tracking status of the delivered item is determined to be "delivered," the ticket gate control unit 235 determines that the railway user Ub, who is the deliverer, is allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate 3b on the destination station side, and transmits permission information to the automatic ticket gate 3b on the destination station side, granting permission for the railway user Ub, who is the deliverer, to pass through the automatic ticket gate 3b on the destination station side, and proceeds to step S560. In the tracking status branching determination of the delivered item, if the tracking status of the delivered item is determined to be "awaiting delivery," the process proceeds to step S540. In the tracking status branching determination of the delivered item, if the tracking status of the delivered item is determined to be "in transit," the ticket gate control unit 235 determines that the railway user Ub, who is the deliverer, is not allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate 3b on the destination station side, and transmits permission information to the automatic ticket gate 3b on the destination station side, granting permission for the railway user Ub, who is the deliverer, to pass through the automatic ticket gate 3b on the destination station side, and proceeds to step S570.

[0237] The information granting passage is an open / close instruction that instructs the automatic ticket gate 3 to open, specifically an open / close instruction that instructs the automatic ticket gate 3 to open the gate section 331. The information denying passage is an open / close instruction that instructs the automatic ticket gate 3 to close, specifically an open / close instruction that instructs the automatic ticket gate 3 to close the gate section 331.

[0238] In step S540, the penalty charge amount is calculated. Specifically, the ticket gate control unit 235 calculates the penalty charge amount for the failure of the delivery person, railway user Ub, to fulfill their delivery obligations. The ticket gate control unit 235 calculates the penalty charge amount as the equivalent of the compensation that railway user Ub would receive if they had fulfilled their delivery obligations. The ticket gate control unit 235 may also calculate the penalty charge amount by considering at least one of the following conditions: date and time, season, station congestion level, and locker utilization rate.

[0239] The penalty charge amount can be set arbitrarily. The penalty charge amount can be, for example, the sum of the discount amount for the electronic ticket and the cancellation fee for locker 5b at the destination station. Then proceed to step S550.

[0240] In step S550, it is determined whether the deduction of the penalty charge amount was successful. Specifically, the ticket gate control unit 235 determines whether the deduction of the penalty charge amount was successful. After calculating the penalty charge amount, the ticket gate control unit 235 deducts the penalty charge amount from either the credit card, bank account, or electronic money balance linked to the IC card 6 of the railway user Ub, who is the delivery person, and settles the penalty charge amount. The ticket gate control unit 235 then determines whether the deduction of the penalty charge amount was successful, that is, whether the penalty charge amount was settled and collected.

[0241] If it is determined that the deduction of the penalty charge amount was successful, the response in step S550 is Yes, and the ticket gate control unit 235 transmits deduction success information to the destination station-side automatic ticket gate 3b indicating that the deduction of the penalty charge amount was successful, and proceeds to step S560. If it is determined that the deduction of the penalty charge amount was not successful, the response in step S550 is No, and the ticket gate control unit 235 transmits deduction failure information to the destination station-side automatic ticket gate 3b indicating that the deduction of the penalty charge amount failed, and proceeds to step S570.

[0242] Successful withdrawal information and failed withdrawal information refer to withdrawal result information that shows the outcome of the withdrawal of penalty charges.

[0243] If the ticket gate control unit 235 has successfully settled the penalty charge amount, it deletes the request ID associated with the IC card number of the delivery person, railway user Ub's IC card 6, from the IC card information DB 222. The ticket gate control unit 235 also sends a deletion notification to the matching unit 233 instructing it to delete the IC card number of the delivery person, railway user Ub's IC card 6, for the said request ID.

[0244] When the matching unit 233 receives a deletion notification from the ticket gate control unit 235, it deletes the IC card number of the IC card 6 of the railway user Ub, who is the delivery person, from the delivery management DB 221. The matching unit 233 also cancels the reservation of the locker 5b at the destination station and deletes the QR code for the locker 5b at the destination station from the delivery management DB 221. The matching unit 233 also sends a matching cancellation notification to the delivery requester terminal 4a of the delivery requester Ua, informing them that the matching has been canceled and the matching process will be restarted.

[0245] In step S560, the automatic ticket gate 3b on the destination station side is opened. Specifically, the gate drive unit 33 of the automatic ticket gate 3b on the destination station side opens the gate section 331. When the ticket gate drive control unit 38 of the automatic ticket gate 3b on the destination station side receives information granting permission to pass through or information indicating successful withdrawal, it controls the gate drive unit 33 to open the gate section 331 of the automatic ticket gate 3b on the destination station side. As a result, the railway user Ub, who is the delivery person, can pass through the automatic ticket gate 3b on the destination station side using their IC card 6 and exit the station. This completes the series of processes.

[0246] In step S570, the destination station-side automatic ticket gate 3b is closed. Specifically, the gate drive unit 33 of the destination station-side automatic ticket gate 3b closes the gate section 331. If the ticket gate drive control unit 38 of the destination station-side automatic ticket gate 3b receives information that passage is impossible or that the payment has failed, it controls the gate drive unit 33 to close the gate section 331 of the destination station-side automatic ticket gate 3b. As a result, railway user Ub, who is a delivery person who has not fulfilled their responsibility to deliver the goods, is unable to pass through the destination station-side automatic ticket gate 3b using their IC card 6. Therefore, the destination station-side automatic ticket gate 3b can prevent railway user Ub, who is a delivery person who has not fulfilled their responsibility to deliver the goods, from exiting the gate. If the ticket sales department 232 determines that railway user Ub has not fulfilled their responsibility to deliver the goods, it adds to the discounted ticket information either that prevents railway user Ub from passing through the automatic ticket gate 3 or information to settle the penalty charge to be imposed on the railway user. This completes the series of processes.

[0247] In this case, the railway user Ub, who is the delivery person and has not fulfilled their responsibility to deliver the goods, will not be able to exit through the automatic ticket gate 3b at the destination station and will have to ask a station employee for instructions. The procedure in this case can be decided at the discretion of the station. For example, there may be cases where the railway user Ub, who is the delivery person, leaves the goods on the train while delivering them and gets off the train without malicious intent. In this case, it is exemplified that the station employee will contact the train's final station to pick up the goods, take down personal information such as a copy of the railway user Ub's driver's license, and allow the railway user Ub to pass through a manned ticket gate.

[0248] Furthermore, if the delivery person, railway user Ub, maliciously fails to deposit the delivery into locker 5b at the destination station and closes it empty, they will be able to exit through the automatic ticket gate 3b at the destination station. In this case, if it is discovered that the delivery is not deposited into locker 5b at the destination station before the delivery person, railway user Ub, exits through the automatic ticket gate 3b at the destination station, station staff can report the theft to the police.

[0249] According to the first embodiment described above, the delivery management system includes a server communication unit that receives delivery requests for delivery items requested by delivery requesters and acquires delivery status information indicating the delivery status of delivery items delivered by railway users, and a server processing unit that determines whether or not railway users can pass through automatic ticket gates based on the delivery status information and outputs instruction information used to control automatic ticket gates based on the result of the determination.

[0250] In this type of delivery management system 1, the server communication unit 21 receives a delivery request for a delivery item requested by the delivery requester Ua and acquires delivery status information indicating the delivery status of the delivery item to be delivered by the railway user Ub. Then, the server processing unit 23 determines whether the railway user Ub is allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate 3 based on the delivery status information, and outputs instruction information used to control the automatic ticket gate 3 based on the result of the determination.

[0251] Specifically, the ticket gate control unit 235 of the server processing unit 23 determines whether railway user Ub is allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate 3b at the destination station based on the delivery status information when Ub enters through the automatic ticket gate 3a at the departure station using an electronic ticket and then exits through the automatic ticket gate 3b at the destination station. The ticket gate control unit 235 then controls the automatic ticket gate 3b to close if the delivery status information indicates that the delivery is in progress. The ticket gate control unit 235 also settles the penalty charge to railway user Ub if the delivery status information indicates that the delivery is awaiting from the departure station. The ticket gate control unit 235 then controls the automatic ticket gate 3b to open if the settlement of the penalty charge is successful.

[0252] This allows the delivery management system 1 to prevent defaults by railway passenger Ub, who is the delivery person, from disembarking without receiving the delivery. Furthermore, the delivery management system 1 can prevent railway passenger Ub, who is the delivery person, from receiving the delivery but stealing it instead of handing it over. Therefore, the delivery management system 1 can encourage railway passenger Ub, who attempted to disembark without receiving or depositing the delivery, to ensure delivery is carried out reliably when the delivery is accepted again. This improves the reliability of delivery.

[0253] Furthermore, in Embodiment 1, a ticket gate control device is realized that includes a ticket gate control unit 235 that acquires delivery status information indicating the delivery status of items requested by railway users, and a control unit that controls the automatic ticket gate based on information determining whether or not the railway user can pass through the automatic ticket gate, which is determined based on the delivery status information.

[0254] Furthermore, the automatic ticket gate 3 and the ticket gate control unit 235 realize a ticket gate control system that includes an automatic ticket gate having a gate section installed in a passageway used by railway passengers to restrict the passage of railway passengers, and a ticket gate control unit.

[0255] Furthermore, in Embodiment 1, the ticket sales unit 232 and the ticket gate control unit 235 work together to provide a ticket sales device that issues a discounted ticket to a railway user who has received a delivery request from a delivery source for a delivery to a destination that is the same section as the travel section of an electronic ticket. The ticket sales unit 232 also provides information to prevent railway user Ub from passing through the automatic ticket gate 3 that railway user Ub is passing through, or information to settle the penalty charge to railway user Ub, if it is determined that railway user Ub has not fulfilled their responsibility to deliver the delivery.

[0256] Therefore, the delivery management system 1 according to Embodiment 1 has the effect of providing a delivery management system that can improve the reliability of delivery of goods by railway users.

[0257] Next, the hardware configuration of each component of the control unit 80 according to Embodiment 1 will be described. The control unit 80 according to Embodiment 1 corresponds to the server processing unit 23 and server control unit 24 of the delivery management server 2, the terminal control unit 45 of the terminal 4, the locker control unit 57 of the locker 5, and the ticket gate drive control unit 38 of the automatic ticket gate 3, respectively. Each function of the control unit 80 according to Embodiment 1 is realized by a processing circuit. The processing circuit may be dedicated hardware, or it may be a processing unit that executes a program stored in a memory device.

[0258] When the processing circuit is dedicated hardware, the processing circuit may be a single circuit, a complex circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array, or a combination thereof. Figure 14 shows a configuration in which each function of the control unit according to Embodiment 1 is realized in hardware. The processing circuit 81 incorporates a logic circuit 81a that realizes the function of the control unit 80.

[0259] If the processing circuit 81 is a processing unit, the functions of the control unit 80 are realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware.

[0260] Figure 15 shows a configuration in which each function of the control unit according to Embodiment 1 is implemented by software. The processing circuit 81 includes a processor 811 that executes program 81b, a random access memory 812 used by the processor 811 as a work area, and a storage device 813 that stores program 81b. The processor 811 loads program 81b stored in the storage device 813 onto the random access memory 812 and executes it, thereby realizing the functions of the control unit 80. The software or firmware is written in a programming language and stored in the storage device 813. The processor 811 can be a central processing unit, but is not limited to that. The storage device 813 can be a semiconductor memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), or EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). The semiconductor memory may be non-volatile memory or volatile memory. Furthermore, the storage device 813 can be a magnetic disk, flexible disk, optical disk, compact disk, minidisc, or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) in addition to semiconductor memory. The processor 811 may output data such as calculation results to the storage device 813 for storage, or it may store such data in an auxiliary storage device (not shown) via the random access memory 812. By integrating the processor 811, random access memory 812, and storage device 813 onto a single chip, the functions of the control unit 80 can be realized by a microcomputer.

[0261] The processing circuit 81 realizes the functions of the control unit 80 by reading and executing the program 81b stored in the memory device 813. The program 81b can also be described as instructing the computer to execute the procedures and methods for realizing the functions of the control unit 80.

[0262] Furthermore, the processing circuit 81 may implement some of the functions of the control unit 80 using dedicated hardware, and some of the functions of the control unit 80 using software or firmware.

[0263] Thus, the processing circuit 81 can realize each of the above-mentioned functions through hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

[0264] Furthermore, according to the aforementioned delivery management server program, a delivery management program is realized in which the computer performs the following steps: receiving a delivery request for a delivery item requested by a delivery requester; acquiring delivery status information indicating the delivery status of the delivery item delivered by a railway user; and determining whether or not the railway user is allowed to pass through an automatic ticket gate based on the delivery status information, and outputting instruction information to be used to control the automatic ticket gate based on the result of the determination.

[0265] Furthermore, the aforementioned delivery management server program enables a ticket gate control program that causes a computer to perform the following steps: acquiring delivery status information indicating the delivery status of items requested by railway users; and controlling automatic ticket gates based on information determining whether railway users can pass through the automatic ticket gates, which is determined based on the delivery status information.

[0266] Furthermore, according to the aforementioned delivery management server program, a ticket sales program is implemented that causes a computer to execute the following steps: issuing a discounted ticket to a railway user who has accepted a delivery request from the delivery source for a delivery to a section of the electronic ticket that is the same as the section of the electronic ticket; and adding to the discounted ticket information information to prevent the railway user from passing through the automatic ticket gate or information to settle the penalty amount to be imposed on the railway user if it is determined that the railway user has not fulfilled their responsibility to deliver the delivery.

[0267] The configurations shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and can be combined with other known technologies. It is also possible to omit or modify parts of the configuration without departing from the gist of the invention.

[0268] The various aspects of this disclosure are summarized below as an appendix.

[0269] (Note 1) A server communication unit that receives delivery requests for goods requested by delivery requesters and acquires delivery status information indicating the delivery status of the goods delivered by railway users, A server processing unit that determines whether the railway user is allowed to pass through an automatic ticket gate based on the delivery status information, and outputs instruction information used to control the automatic ticket gate based on the result of the determination, A delivery management system characterized by having the following features. (Note 2) The server processing unit, If the delivery status information for the delivery item is in transit, the railway user will be deemed unable to pass through the automatic ticket gate. A delivery management system as described in Appendix 1, characterized by the above. (Note 3) The server processing unit, When the delivery status information for the delivery item is "awaiting delivery", the amount of the penalty charge to be imposed on the railway user is settled from a financial system linked to the unique identification number of the integrated circuit-equipped card of the railway user who uses the integrated circuit-equipped card as an electronic ticket. A delivery management system as described in Appendix 1, characterized by the above. (Note 4) The server processing unit, If the settlement of the aforementioned penalty amount is successful, the railway user will be deemed to be able to pass through the automatic ticket gate. A delivery management system as described in Appendix 3, characterized by the above. (Note 5) The server processing unit, If the settlement of the aforementioned penalty amount fails, the railway user will be deemed unable to pass through the automatic ticket gate. A delivery management system as described in Appendix 3, characterized by the above. (Note 6) The system includes a second storage unit that stores a unique identification number associated with the integrated circuit-equipped card of the railway user, and information from the financial system, linked together. A delivery management system as described in Appendix 3, characterized by the above. (Note 7) The railway company has a ticket sales department that, upon receiving a request from a railway user to purchase an electronic ticket, issues a discounted ticket to the railway user who has accepted a request to deliver the goods for the same section as the electronic ticket, with the discount amount equivalent to the fee for delivering the goods. A delivery management system characterized by any one of the appendices 1 to 6. (Note 8) The system includes a matching unit that determines whether there is a delivery request for the aforementioned delivery item that covers the same section as the electronic ticket, and stores in a first storage unit the electronic ticket of a railway user who has accepted a delivery request for the aforementioned delivery item that covers the same section as the electronic ticket, and the delivery request. A delivery management system characterized by any one of the appendices 1 to 7. (Note 9) The system includes lockers that generate storage status information, which is information indicating the usage status of storage facilities where the aforementioned delivered goods are deposited, installed at the departure or arrival station. The first storage unit stores information of photographs of the delivered items stored in the storage compartment of the locker installed at the departure station. The information of the photo of the delivered item is notified to the recipient of the delivered item, The delivery item management system according to supplementary note 8, characterized in that. (Supplementary note 10) A locker that creates locker status information, which is information indicating the usage status of a storage facility installed at the departure station or arrival station where the delivered item is deposited, A delivery item tracking unit that creates the delivery status information based on the locker status information and stores it in the first storage unit, The delivery item management system according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 9, characterized in that it comprises. (Supplementary note 11) Comprising the automatic ticket gate at the arrival station, which has a gate installed in the passage through which the railway user passes at the arrival station to regulate the passage of the railway user, The automatic ticket gate at the arrival station, When it is determined by the server processing unit that the railway user cannot pass through the automatic ticket gate at the arrival station, closes the gate and sounds a warning tone, The delivery item management system according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 10, characterized in that. (Supplementary note 12) Comprising a control unit that acquires delivery status information indicating the delivery status of a delivery item requested by a railway user and controls the automatic ticket gate based on the passage permission information of the automatic ticket gate through which the railway user passes, which is determined based on the delivery status information, The ticket gate control device, characterized in that. (Supplementary note 13) The control unit, When the delivery status information of the delivery item is in transit, performs control to close the automatic ticket gate, The ticket gate control device according to supplementary note 12, characterized in that. (Supplementary note 14) The control unit, When the delivery status information of the delivery item is awaiting delivery, settles the penalty charge amount imposed on the railway user, The ticket gate control device according to supplementary note 12, characterized in that. (Supplementary note 15) The control unit, If the settlement of the aforementioned penalty amount is successful, control is performed to open the aforementioned automatic ticket gate. A ticket gate control device as described in Appendix 14, characterized by the above. (Note 16) The control unit, If the settlement of the aforementioned penalty amount fails, control is performed to close the automatic ticket gate. A ticket gate control device as described in Appendix 14, characterized by the above. (Note 17) The automatic ticket gate is installed in a passageway used by railway users and has a gate section that restricts the passage of said railway users, A ticket gate control device described in any one of the appendices 12 to 16, A ticket gate control system characterized by comprising the following features. (Note 18) The railway company has a ticket sales department that issues discounted tickets to railway users who have accepted a delivery request for an item from the delivery source to a destination that is within the same section as the travel section of an electronic ticket, with the discount amount being equivalent to the fee for delivering the item. The aforementioned ticket sales department, If it is determined that the aforementioned railway user has not fulfilled their responsibility to deliver the aforementioned goods, the discounted ticket shall be provided with information that prevents the railway user from passing through the automatic ticket gate or information that settles the penalty amount to be imposed on the railway user. A ticket vending machine characterized by the following. (Note 19) The system includes a matching unit that determines whether or not there is a delivery request for the aforementioned delivery item, and matches the electronic ticket with the delivery request. A ticket vending machine as described in Appendix 18, characterized by the following: (Note 20) Steps for accepting delivery requests for items requested by delivery requesters, A step of obtaining delivery status information indicating the delivery status of the delivery item delivered by a railway user, The steps include: determining whether the railway user is allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate based on the delivery status information, and outputting instruction information to be used to control the automatic ticket gate based on the result of the determination; A method for managing delivered goods, characterized by including the following: (Note 21) A step of obtaining delivery status information that indicates the delivery status of items requested by railway users, A step of controlling the automatic ticket gate based on information determining whether the railway user is allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate, which is determined based on the delivery status information; A ticket gate control method characterized by including the following. (Note 22) The steps include issuing a discounted train ticket to a railway user who has accepted a delivery request for an item from the delivery source to a destination that is within the same section as the travel section of an electronic train ticket, with the discount amount equivalent to the fee for delivering the item being applied, The steps include adding to the discounted ticket information that, if it is determined that the railway user has not fulfilled their responsibility to deliver the goods, the railway user will not be allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate or information that will be used to settle the penalty charge imposed on the railway user, A method for selling train tickets, characterized by including the following: (Note 23) Steps for accepting delivery requests for items requested by delivery requesters, A step of obtaining delivery status information indicating the delivery status of the delivery item delivered by a railway user, The steps include: determining whether the railway user is allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate based on the delivery status information, and outputting instruction information to be used to control the automatic ticket gate based on the result of the determination; A delivery management program characterized by having a computer execute a command. (Note 24) A step of obtaining delivery status information that indicates the delivery status of items requested by railway users, A step of controlling the automatic ticket gate based on information determining whether the railway user is allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate, which is determined based on the delivery status information; A ticket gate control program characterized by causing a computer to execute the following. (Note 25) The steps include issuing a discounted train ticket to a railway user who has accepted a delivery request for an item from the delivery source to a destination that is within the same section as the travel section of an electronic train ticket, with the discount amount equivalent to the fee for delivering the item being applied, The steps include adding to the discounted ticket information that, if it is determined that the railway user has not fulfilled their responsibility to deliver the goods, the railway user will not be allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate or information that will be used to settle the penalty charge imposed on the railway user, A ticket sales program characterized by causing a computer to execute a command. [Explanation of symbols]

[0270] 1 Delivery Management System, 2 Delivery Management Server, 3 Automatic Ticket Gate, 3a Automatic Ticket Gate on Departure Station Side, 3b Automatic Ticket Gate on Arrival Station Side, 4 Terminal, 4a Delivery Requester Terminal, 4b Railway User Terminal, 4c Recipient Terminal, 5 Locker, 5a Locker on Departure Station Side, 5b Locker on Arrival Station Side, 6 IC Card, 7 Network, 21 Server Communication Unit, 22 Server Storage Unit, 23 Server Processing Unit, 24 Server Control Unit, 31 Antenna, 32 Reader / Writer, 33 Gate Drive Unit, 34 Display Screen Drive Unit, 35 Voice Notification Unit, 36 Printing Unit, 37 Ticket Gate Storage Unit, 38 Ticket Gate Drive Control Unit, 41 Terminal Information Communication Unit, 42 Terminal Operation Unit, 43 Terminal Display Unit, 44 Terminal Storage Unit, 45 Terminal Control Unit, 51, 51-1, 51-N Storage Unit, 52 Touch Panel Unit, 53 Reader Unit, 54 Electronic lock unit, 55 Locker communication unit, 56 Locker memory unit, 57 Locker control unit, 80 Control unit, 81 Processing circuit, 81a Logic circuit, 81b Program, 221 Delivery management database, 222 IC card information database, 231 Delivery reception unit, 232 Ticket sales unit, 233 Matching unit, 234 Delivery tracking unit, 235 Ticket gate control unit, 331 Gate unit, 332 Gate opening / closing control unit, 811 Processor, 812 Random access memory, 813 Storage device, Ua Delivery requester, Ub Railway user, Uc Recipient.

Claims

1. A server communication unit that receives delivery requests for goods requested by delivery requesters and acquires delivery status information indicating the delivery status of the goods delivered by railway users, A server processing unit that determines whether the railway user is allowed to pass through an automatic ticket gate based on the delivery status information, and outputs instruction information used to control the automatic ticket gate based on the result of the determination, A delivery management system characterized by having the following features.

2. The server processing unit, If the delivery status information for the delivery item is in transit, the railway user will be deemed unable to pass through the automatic ticket gate. A delivery management system according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. The server processing unit, When the delivery status information for the delivery item is "awaiting delivery", the amount of the penalty charge to be imposed on the railway user is settled from a financial system linked to the unique identification number of the integrated circuit-equipped card of the railway user who uses the integrated circuit-equipped card as an electronic ticket. A delivery management system according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

4. The server processing unit, If the settlement of the aforementioned penalty amount is successful, the railway user will be deemed to be able to pass through the automatic ticket gate. A delivery management system according to claim 3, characterized by the above.

5. The server processing unit, If the settlement of the aforementioned penalty amount fails, the railway user will be deemed unable to pass through the automatic ticket gate. A delivery management system according to claim 3, characterized by the above.

6. The system includes a second storage unit that stores a unique identification number associated with the integrated circuit-equipped card of the railway user, linked to information from the financial system. A delivery management system according to claim 3, characterized by the above.

7. The railway company has a ticket sales department that, upon receiving a request from a railway user to purchase an electronic ticket, issues a discounted ticket to the railway user who has accepted a request to deliver the goods for the same section as the electronic ticket, with the discount amount equivalent to the fee for delivering the goods. A delivery management system according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

8. The system includes a matching unit that determines whether there is a delivery request for the aforementioned delivery item that covers the same section as the electronic ticket, and stores in a first storage unit the electronic ticket of a railway user who has accepted a delivery request for the aforementioned delivery item that covers the same section as the electronic ticket, and the delivery request. A delivery management system according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

9. The system includes lockers that generate storage status information, which is information indicating the usage status of storage facilities where the aforementioned delivered goods are deposited, installed at the departure or arrival station. The first storage unit stores information of photographs of the delivered items stored in the storage compartment of the locker installed at the departure station. The recipient of the delivery will be notified of the information regarding the photograph of the delivery. A delivery management system according to claim 8, characterized by the following:

10. A locker that generates storage status information, which is information indicating the usage status of a storage facility where the aforementioned delivered goods are deposited, installed at the departure or arrival station, A delivery tracking unit creates the delivery status information based on the storage status information and stores it in the first storage unit, The delivery management system according to claim 1, characterized by comprising the above.

11. The destination station is equipped with an automatic ticket gate that is installed in a passageway through which the railway users pass and has a gate that restricts the passage of the railway users, The automatic ticket gate at the aforementioned destination station is If the server processing unit determines that the railway user is unable to pass through the automatic ticket gate at the destination station, it will close the gate and sound a warning. A delivery management system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized by the above.

12. The system includes a control unit that acquires delivery status information indicating the delivery status of items requested by railway users, and controls the automatic ticket gates based on information determining whether the railway user is allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gates, which is determined based on the delivery status information. A ticket gate control device characterized by the following.

13. The control unit, When the delivery status information of the delivery item indicates that it is in transit, control is performed to close the automatic ticket gate. The ticket gate control device according to claim 12, characterized in that

14. The control unit, When the delivery status information of the aforementioned delivery item is "awaiting delivery", the amount of the penalty charge to be imposed on the railway user shall be settled. The ticket gate control device according to claim 12, characterized in that

15. The control unit, If the settlement of the aforementioned penalty amount is successful, control is performed to open the aforementioned automatic ticket gate. The ticket gate control device according to claim 14, characterized by the above.

16. The control unit, If the settlement of the aforementioned penalty amount fails, control is performed to close the automatic ticket gate. The ticket gate control device according to claim 14, characterized by the above.

17. The automatic ticket gate is installed in a passageway used by railway users and has a gate section that restricts the passage of said railway users, A ticket gate control device according to any one of claims 12 to 16, A ticket gate control system characterized by comprising the following features.

18. The railway company has a ticket sales department that issues discounted tickets to railway users who have accepted a delivery request for an item from the delivery source to a destination that is within the same section as the travel section of an electronic ticket, with the discount amount being equivalent to the fee for delivering the item. The aforementioned ticket sales department, If it is determined that the aforementioned railway user has not fulfilled their responsibility to deliver the aforementioned goods, the discounted ticket shall be provided with information that prevents the railway user from passing through the automatic ticket gate or information that settles the penalty amount to be imposed on the railway user. A ticket vending machine characterized by the following.

19. The system includes a matching unit that determines whether or not there is a delivery request for the aforementioned delivery item, and matches the electronic ticket with the delivery request. A ticket vending device according to claim 18, characterized by the following:

20. Steps for accepting delivery requests for items requested by delivery requesters, A step of obtaining delivery status information indicating the delivery status of the delivery item delivered by a railway user, The steps include: determining whether the railway user is allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate based on the delivery status information, and outputting instruction information to be used to control the automatic ticket gate based on the result of the determination; A method for managing delivered goods, characterized by including the following:

21. A step of obtaining delivery status information that indicates the delivery status of items requested by railway users, A step of controlling the automatic ticket gate based on information determining whether the railway user is allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate, which is determined based on the delivery status information; A ticket gate control method characterized by including the following.

22. The steps include issuing a discounted train ticket to a railway user who has accepted a delivery request for an item from the delivery source to a destination that is within the same section as the travel section of an electronic train ticket, with the discount amount equivalent to the fee for delivering the item being applied, The steps include adding to the discounted ticket information that, if it is determined that the railway user has not fulfilled their responsibility to deliver the goods, the railway user will not be allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate or information that will be used to settle the penalty charge imposed on the railway user, A method for selling train tickets, characterized by including the following:

23. Steps for accepting delivery requests for items requested by delivery requesters, A step of obtaining delivery status information indicating the delivery status of the delivery item delivered by a railway user, The steps include: determining whether the railway user is allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate based on the delivery status information, and outputting instruction information to be used to control the automatic ticket gate based on the result of the determination; A delivery management program characterized by having a computer execute a command.

24. A step of obtaining delivery status information that indicates the delivery status of items requested by railway users, A step of controlling the automatic ticket gate based on information determining whether the railway user is allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate, which is determined based on the delivery status information; A ticket gate control program characterized by causing a computer to execute the following.

25. The steps include issuing a discounted train ticket to a railway user who has accepted a delivery request for an item from the delivery source to a destination that is within the same section as the travel section of an electronic train ticket, with the discount amount equivalent to the fee for delivering the item being applied, The steps include adding to the discounted ticket information that, if it is determined that the railway user has not fulfilled their responsibility to deliver the goods, the railway user will not be allowed to pass through the automatic ticket gate or information that will be used to settle the penalty charge imposed on the railway user, A ticket sales program characterized by causing a computer to execute a command.

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