Information processing device

Abstract

To provide an information processing device capable of matching a delivery request and a delivery worker in consideration of moving efficiency of the delivery worker.SOLUTION: A server includes functions of: an accepting unit 20 which executes a process of accepting a delivery request containing a delivery source and a delivery destination from a requester who requests delivery; an acquisition unit 22 which acquires a departure place and a destination place of an undertaker of the delivery request; a presenting unit 24 which extracts delivery requests accepted by the accepting unit 20 in a previously determined range between the departure place and the destination place acquired by the acquisition unit 22, and presents them to the undertaker of the delivery request; a receiving unit 26 which receives, from the undertaker of the delivery, contract of the delivery request presented by the presenting unit 24; and a notifying unit 28 which notifies the requester of formation of the delivery request when the receiving unit 26 receives the contract of the delivery.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device that provides delivery-related services. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 proposes a delivery method including the steps of connecting to a delivery system via the Internet and requesting delivery at the stage of delivering an item, providing a delivery number to the person requesting delivery in the delivery system, notifying a specialized delivery person through a delivery-specific application that there is a package to be delivered, the specialized delivery person confirming the intention to deliver on a first-come, first-served basis through the application, a step of a responsible delivery person being designated by the delivery system, the designated responsible delivery person going to the address for which delivery has been requested to collect the package to be delivered, and a step of receiving the recipient's signature through the specialized delivery person's mobile phone application after handing over the package to the recipient. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-114232 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In Patent Document 1, a delivery person can be selected in response to a delivery request, but if the distance from the selected delivery person to the location where the package is to be received is far, the movement efficiency is poor. Also, there may be people who are close to the delivery route who are willing to make the delivery, so there is room for improvement in order to perform efficient delivery.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device capable of matching a delivery request with a delivery person, taking into account the travel efficiency of the delivery person. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the information processing device described in claim 1 includes an acceptance unit that accepts a delivery request including a delivery origin and a delivery destination from a first user requesting delivery, an acquisition unit that acquires a departure point and a destination of a second user who can be a contractor for the delivery request, a presentation unit that extracts the delivery requests accepted by the acceptance unit within a predetermined range between the departure point and the destination acquired by the acquisition unit and presents them to the second user, a reception unit that accepts the delivery request presented by the presentation unit from the second user, and a notification unit that notifies the first user of the establishment of the delivery request when the acceptance unit accepts the contract. a request unit that, if a predetermined time set by the first user has elapsed without the acceptance of the contract by the acceptance unit, determines that the contract has not been established and requests a predetermined business operator to make the delivery request; Includes.

[0007] According to the invention described in claim 1, the acceptance unit accepts a delivery request including a delivery origin and delivery destination from a first user requesting delivery, and the acquisition unit acquires the departure point and destination of a second user who may be a contractor for the delivery request.

[0008] The presentation unit extracts delivery requests accepted by the acceptance unit within a predetermined range between the departure point and the destination acquired by the acquisition unit, and presents the extracted delivery requests to the second user. This allows the second user to search for and select delivery requests.

[0009] The accepting unit accepts a contract for the delivery request presented by the presenting unit from the second user.

[0010] Then, when the receiving unit receives the contract, the notification unit notifies the first user of the establishment of the delivery request. This allows the second user to make a delivery request from the first user while traveling from the departure point to the destination, so that the delivery request and the deliverer can be matched in consideration of the travel efficiency of the deliverer.

[0011] Also , If the contract is not accepted by the accepting unit and a predetermined time set by the first user has elapsed, the contract is deemed to have been unsuccessful. A request unit for requesting the delivery request from a predetermined business operator. Equipped withThis makes it possible to reliably deliver the delivery request. Effect of the Invention

[0012] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing device capable of matching a delivery request with a delivery person, taking into account the travel efficiency of the delivery person. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main parts of the electrical systems of a server, a mobile terminal device, and a carrier terminal device in the information processing system according to the present embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of a server according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the flow when a contractor appears in response to a delivery request and a match is made. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displaying a travel route on a map and displaying delivery requests within a predetermined range on the travel route. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the flow when a contractor does not show up to fulfill a delivery request and matching is not established. [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram for explaining an example of a commercial flow of a service provided by a server in an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of processing performed in a client's mobile terminal device of the information processing system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of processing performed in a mobile terminal device of a contractor in the information processing system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of processing performed by a server of the information processing system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 11]1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing system in which at least one of a client and a contractor can access a server using an on-board device installed in a vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing system according to this embodiment.

[0015] The information processing system 10 includes a server 12 as an example of an information processing device, a plurality of mobile terminal devices 14 (14a, 14b), and a carrier terminal device 16. The server 12, the plurality of mobile terminal devices 14, and the carrier terminal device 16 are each connectable to a communication network 18 such as a mobile phone network or various other networks, and communication is possible between the server 12, the mobile terminal devices 14, and the carrier terminal device 16.

[0016] A mobile terminal device 14 is carried by multiple users, and by installing an application provided by the server 12, it is possible to make delivery requests for people and goods, and to undertake delivery in response to the delivery request. In the following description, the mobile terminal device 14a is carried by a user who requests delivery (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as the requester), and the mobile terminal device 14b is carried by a user who undertakes the delivery request (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as the contractor). In this case, the requester operates the mobile terminal device 14a to access the server 12 via the communication network 18, registers the delivery origin and delivery destination, and makes a delivery request. The contractor operates the mobile terminal device 14b to access the server 12 via the communication network 18, inputs the departure point and destination, and obtains delivery requests within a predetermined range between the departure point and the destination from the server 12 and displays them on the mobile terminal device 14b. The requester also undertakes delivery by selecting a delivery request displayed on the mobile terminal device 14b. Examples of the portable terminal device 14 include a smartphone and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). Note that when there is no distinction between the person carrying the device, the device will be referred to as the portable terminal device 14.

[0017] The server 12 performs a process of matching a requester of a delivery request made by the mobile terminal device 14a with a delivery contractor operating the mobile terminal device 14b. For example, the server 12 provides a service of matching a requester of a delivery request with a delivery contractor as a cloud service. Specifically, the server 12 accepts a delivery request for delivery of a delivery target including a person or an object from a pre-registered user, makes the request publicly available for other pre-registered users to view, and performs a process of recruiting contractors. Then, if a user appears as a contractor, the server 12 performs a process of requesting the user to perform delivery. If a user does not appear as a contractor, the server 12 performs a process of requesting delivery from the business terminal device 16 of the delivery business. The server 12 also performs a process of settling the fee for delivery, etc.

[0018] The business operator terminal device 16 is installed at a delivery company registered in advance, and receives delivery requests, performs processing to arrange delivery, and manages delivery, etc. In this embodiment, if a delivery contractor does not show up, the server 12 requests delivery from the business operator terminal device 16 of the delivery company registered in advance.

[0019] Next, the configuration of the main electrical systems of the server 12, the mobile terminal device 14, and the business operator terminal device 16 in the information processing system 10 according to this embodiment will be described.

[0020] 2 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of the electrical systems of the server 12, the mobile terminal device 14, and the business operator terminal device 16 in the information processing system 10 according to this embodiment. Note that the server 12, the mobile terminal device 14, and the business operator terminal device 16 are basically configured as general computers, so the server 12 will be described here as a representative example.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the server 12 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 12A, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12B, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 12C, a storage 12D, an operation unit 12E, a display unit 12F, and a communication I / F (interface) unit 12G.

[0022] The CPU 12A is a central processing unit, and controls the overall operation of the device by executing various programs. The ROM 12B stores various control programs and various parameters in advance. The RAM 12C is used as a work area when the CPU 12A executes various programs. The storage 12D is composed of various storage units such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), and a flash memory, and stores various data and application programs. The operation unit 12E is composed of a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, and the like, and is used to input various information. The display unit 12F is used to display various information. The communication I / F unit 12G is connectable to a communication network 18 such as a LAN, a WAN, the Internet, and various other networks, and transmits and receives various data to and from other devices connected to the communication network 18. The above-mentioned units of the server 12 are electrically connected to each other by a system bus 12H.

[0023] With the above configuration, the server 12 executes, by the CPU 12A, access to the ROM 12B, the RAM 12C, and the storage 12D, acquisition of various data via the operation unit 12E, and display of various information on the display unit 12F. In addition, the server 12 executes, by the CPU 12A, control of transmission and reception of communication data via the communication I / F unit 12G.

[0024] As indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 2, the mobile terminal device 14 further includes a camera 14I, a voice input / output unit 14J, and a position detection unit 14K.

[0025] The camera 14I captures still images or moving images to generate image data representing the moving images or still images.

[0026] The audio input / output unit 14J outputs audio from a speaker, a headphone, or the like, and inputs audio by collecting the audio through a microphone, or the like, and generates audio information representing the input audio.

[0027] The position detection unit 14K detects the current position information of the mobile terminal device 14. For example, the position detection unit 14K detects the position by receiving radio waves from GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites and measuring the position of a point in space based on the distances from three or more GPS satellites.

[0028] Next, a description will be given of an example of a function realized by the CPU 12A of the server 12 expanding a program stored in the ROM 12B into the RAM 12C and executing it. Fig. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of the server 12 according to this embodiment.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 3, the server 12 has the functions of an acceptance unit 20, an acquisition unit 22, a presentation unit 24, a reception unit 26, a notification unit 28, a request unit 30, and a settlement processing unit 32.

[0030] The acceptance unit 20 performs a process of accepting a delivery request including a delivery origin and a delivery destination from a requester who is a first user requesting delivery. Specifically, the requester user operates the mobile terminal device 14a to input the delivery origin and the delivery destination, and transmits the delivery request including the delivery origin and the delivery destination to the server 12 via the communication network 18, and the acceptance unit 20 receives the delivery request transmitted from the mobile terminal device 14a, thereby accepting the delivery request.

[0031] The acquisition unit 22 acquires the departure point and destination of a user who will be a contractor as a second user who can be a contractor of a delivery request. Specifically, the acquisition unit 22 acquires the departure point and destination of the user who will be a contractor of a delivery request, which are input by the user operating the mobile terminal device 14b, from the mobile terminal device 14b via the communication network 18.

[0032] The presentation unit 24 extracts delivery requests accepted by the acceptance unit 20 within a predetermined range between the departure point and the destination acquired by the acquisition unit 22, and presents them to a user who can be a contractor of the delivery request. Specifically, the presentation unit 24 extracts delivery requests within a predetermined range on the movement route from the departure point of the user to the destination acquired by the acquisition unit 22. When extracting delivery requests, delivery requests within a predetermined range are extracted from the movement route that is likely to be delivered while the contractor is moving. Then, the extracted delivery requests are presented to a user who can be a contractor of the delivery request by making them publicly viewable. This enables a user who can be a contractor of the delivery request to search for delivery requests using the mobile terminal device 14b. Note that, as a delivery request that the contractor can deliver, for example, a delivery request may be extracted in which the departure point and destination of the delivery request are within a predetermined range of the movement route of the contractor, and the movement direction of the contractor and the direction from the departure point of the delivery request to the destination match. The predetermined range may be set by the user as a range of distance, travel time, or the like.

[0033] The reception unit 26 receives, from a user who can become a delivery contractor, a contract for the delivery request presented by the presentation unit 24. Specifically, the user who can become a delivery contractor operates the mobile terminal device 14b to search for the delivery request presented by the presentation unit 24. Then, the reception unit 26 receives a request for contract from the mobile terminal device 14b via the communication network 18, thereby accepting the contract for the delivery request.

[0034] When the delivery contract is accepted by the acceptance unit 26, the notification unit 28 notifies the user who requested the delivery that the delivery request has been established. Specifically, the notification unit 28 notifies the mobile terminal device 14a of the user who made the delivery request that a contract has been made for the delivery request and that a contractor has been matched with the delivery request. In this embodiment, in detail, the mobile terminal device 14a of the delivery requester is notified of information (e.g., evaluation information, etc.) on the user who wishes to undertake the delivery request, and the delivery request is established when the user who requested the delivery gives permission (when there are multiple contractors, one of them is selected).

[0035] When no delivery contract is accepted, the request unit 30 performs a process of requesting delivery from a preregistered delivery company. For example, when no user who wishes to contract delivery appears even after a predetermined time has elapsed, the request unit 30 transmits a delivery request including a delivery origin and delivery destination to the company terminal device 16 of the preregistered delivery company via the communication network 18 to request delivery.

[0036] The settlement processing unit 32 performs a process of settling the fee for delivery when delivery is completed in response to a delivery request.

[0037] Next, a specific flow of a process for matching a user who requests delivery with a user who undertakes the delivery request, which is performed in the information processing system 10 according to this embodiment, will be described.

[0038] First, a case where a contractor appears in response to a delivery request and matching is established will be described. Fig. 4 is a diagram for explaining the flow when a contractor appears in response to a delivery request and matching is established.

[0039] The requester operates the mobile terminal device 14a to register a delivery request including a delivery source and a delivery destination in the cloud service provided by the server 12. As a result, the server 12 accepts the delivery request and reflects it in the system so that the delivery request registered from the contractor's mobile terminal device 14b can be viewed. For example, the screen shown in FIG. 5 is made available to devices connected to the communication network 18 so that it can be viewed from the mobile terminal device 14 on which an application provided by the server 12 is installed. The screen in FIG. 5 displays a travel route (thick line in FIG. 5) on a map, and displays delivery requests (stars in FIG. 5) within a predetermined range on the travel route. Note that FIG. 5 shows an example in which the request content of one star is displayed, and shows an example in which a request for transporting luggage from point A to point B by xx o'clock is displayed for 300 yen.

[0040] The contractor inputs the starting point and the destination as his / her travel route via the mobile terminal device 14b, thereby notifying the server 12. In response to this, the server 12 searches the travel route, extracts delivery requests within a predetermined range on the travel route as jobs, and displays them on the mobile terminal device 14b. Note that the search for the contractor's travel route itself may be performed in advance on the mobile terminal device 14b side, and the travel route as a search result may be notified to the server.

[0041] The contractor selects a delivery request to be accepted from among the delivery requests (jobs) displayed on the mobile terminal device 14b and notifies the server 12. Upon receiving the notification, the server 12 notifies the requester's mobile terminal device 14a of the confirmation of the delivery request as a notification indicating that the delivery request and the deliverer have been matched.

[0042] When the requester approves the delivery request, the server 12 instructs the contractor's mobile terminal device 14b to execute the delivery request.

[0043] The server 12 also issues an execution instruction to the mobile terminal device 14b of the contractor, and upon receiving a completion report from the contractor, notifies the client of the completion report, a request for contractor evaluation, and settlement details, etc., and receives the contractor evaluation result from the client. The server 12 also receives the fee from the client and performs processing to pay the contractor.

[0044] Next, a case where a contractor does not show up for a delivery request and matching is not established will be described. Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining the flow when a contractor does not show up for a delivery request and matching is not established.

[0045] As in the case of matching, the client operates the mobile terminal device 14a to register a delivery request including a delivery source and a delivery destination in the cloud service provided by the server 12. As a result, the server 12 accepts the delivery request and reflects it in the system so that the delivery request can be viewed on the contractor's mobile terminal device 14b.

[0046] The contractor inputs a starting point and a destination as his / her travel route via the mobile terminal device 14b, thereby notifying the server 12. In response to this, the server 12 searches the travel route, extracts delivery requests within a predetermined range on the travel route as jobs, and performs processing to display them on the mobile terminal device 14b.

[0047] If the contractor does not register the contract for the delivery request and a predetermined time has passed, the request is deemed to be unsuccessful, and the server 12 transfers the delivery request to the delivery company's terminal device 16 and requests delivery. The delivery company then undertakes the delivery work. The predetermined time may be set by the client.

[0048] The company terminal device 16 of the delivery company accepts a delivery request from the server 12, and notifies the server 12 of a completion report upon completion.

[0049] Upon receiving the completion report from the carrier terminal device 16, the server 12 notifies the requester of the completion report, the request for evaluation of the contractor, and the details of the settlement, and receives the contractor evaluation result from the requester. The server 12 also receives the fee from the requester and performs the process of paying the fee to the delivery carrier.

[0050] Next, an example of a commercial flow of a service provided by the server 12 in the information processing system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described. Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of a commercial flow of a service provided by the server 12 in the information processing system 10 according to the present embodiment.

[0051] As shown in Fig. 7, the server 12 provides a service of matching a delivery requester and a contractor from among registered users, and when a match is made between the requester and the contractor, it receives a case processing request fee from the requester as payment for the service. The contractor also processes the case on behalf of the server and receives a case processing honorarium as payment. Note that, as shown in Fig. 7, the server 12 providing the service may contract with an insurance company. By paying a storage fee to the insurance company from the server 12, insurance coverage in the event of an emergency can be obtained.

[0052] On the other hand, when matching between the requester and the contractor is not established, the delivery company provides a service for the delivery request, and the server 12 pays the case processing request fee as compensation for the provision of the service.

[0053] Next, specific processes performed in each unit of the information processing system 10 according to this embodiment configured as described above will be described.

[0054] First, a specific process performed on the mobile terminal device 14a of the requester of the delivery will be described. Fig. 8 is a flow chart showing an example of the flow of the process performed on the mobile terminal device 14a of the requester of the information processing system 10 according to this embodiment. The process in Fig. 8 starts, for example, when an application provided by the server 12 installed on the requester's mobile terminal device 14a is started.

[0055] In step 100, the CPU 14A judges whether or not the request is a delivery request. For example, the judgment is made by judging whether or not a delivery request is instructed by operating an application for receiving a cloud service provided by the server 12. If the judgment is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 102, and if the judgment is negative, the process proceeds to step 110.

[0056] In step 102, the CPU 14A displays a predetermined request screen on the display unit 14F, and proceeds to step 104. That is, a request screen for making a delivery request is displayed on the display unit 14F. The request screen is, for example, a screen for inputting the delivery origin, delivery destination, time, and a case processing reward as compensation, etc., displayed on the display unit 14F.

[0057] In step 104, the CPU 14A judges whether or not the request contents have been input. The CPU 14A waits until the judgment is affirmative, and then proceeds to step 106. Note that if an end instruction or an instruction to perform other processing is given during the wait, the processing in FIG. 8 ends.

[0058] In step 106, the CPU 14A transmits the request details entered on the request screen to the server 12, and the process proceeds to step 108.

[0059] In step 108, the CPU 14A judges whether or not an instruction to end the application has been issued. If the judgment is negative, the process returns to step 100 to repeat the above-mentioned processing, and if the judgment is positive, the series of processing is terminated.

[0060] On the other hand, in step 110, the CPU 14A determines whether or not a confirmation of the delivery request has been received from the server 12. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 112, and if not, the process proceeds to step .

[0061] In step 112, CPU 14A receives the contract information from server 12, displays it on display unit 14F, and proceeds to step 112. For example, evaluation information on past delivery requests of a user who has requested a delivery request contract, etc., is displayed on display unit 14F.

[0062] In step 114, the CPU 14A judges whether or not the request to the contractor has been permitted. This judgement is made by judging whether or not an operation to permit the request to the contractor of the displayed contract information has been performed. If the judgement is negative, that is, if an operation to reject the contractor has been performed, the process proceeds to step 116, and if the judgement is positive, the process proceeds to step 118.

[0063] In step 116, the CPU 14A transmits a refusal to establish the transaction to the server 12, and the process proceeds to step 108 described above.

[0064] In step 118, the CPU 14A transmits a confirmation to the server 12, and the process proceeds to step 108 described above.

[0065] In step 120, the CPU 14A determines whether or not a completion report for the delivery request has been received from the server 12. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 122, and if not, the process proceeds to step 108 described above.

[0066] In step 122, the CPU 14A performs a completion process to end the series of processes. The completion process includes, for example, a process of paying the fee for the delivery request to the server 12, a process of inputting the evaluation result of the contractor and transmitting it to the server 12, and the like.

[0067] Next, a specific process performed in the mobile terminal device 14b of the contractor of the delivery request will be described. Fig. 9 is a flow chart showing an example of the flow of the process performed in the mobile terminal device 14b of the contractor of the information processing system 10 according to this embodiment. The process in Fig. 9 starts, for example, when an application provided by the server 12 installed in the contractor's mobile terminal device 14b is started and an operation is performed to instruct a search for a delivery request.

[0068] In step 200, the CPU 14A displays a predetermined request search screen on the display unit 14F, and proceeds to step 202. The request search screen is, for example, a screen for searching for a delivery request, and in this embodiment, displays a screen for inputting a departure point and a destination as route information along which the contractor will travel.

[0069] In step 202, the CPU 14A judges whether or not a starting point and a destination have been input as a travel route. The CPU 14A waits until the judgment is affirmative, and then proceeds to step 204. Note that if an end instruction or an instruction to perform other processing is given during the wait, the processing in FIG. 9 ends.

[0070] In step 204 , the CPU 14 A transmits the start point and destination as the input travel route to the server 12 , and the process proceeds to step 206 .

[0071] In step 206, the CPU 14A judges whether or not a request search result has been received from the server 12. This judges whether or not a search result for delivery requests within a predetermined range of the user's movement route has been received from the server 12. The process waits until the judgement is affirmative, and proceeds to step 208. Note that if an end instruction or an instruction to perform other processing is given during the wait, the process in FIG. 9 ends.

[0072] In step 208, CPU 14A displays the received request search results on display unit 14F, and proceeds to step 210. For example, as shown in Fig. 5, the request search results are displayed on a map together with the user's own travel route.

[0073] In step 210, the CPU 14A judges whether or not a request has been selected. This judges whether or not an operation to select a contract target from the displayed requests has been performed. The process waits until the judgement is affirmative, and proceeds to step 212. Note that if an end instruction or an instruction to perform other processing is given during the wait, the process of FIG. 9 ends.

[0074] In step 212, the CPU 14A transmits the request selection result to the server 12 and proceeds to step 214.

[0075] In step 214, the CPU 14A determines whether or not request establishment information has been received from the server 12. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 216, and if the determination is positive, the process proceeds to step 218.

[0076] In step 216, CPU 14A displays on display unit 14F that the request was not successful, and ends the series of processes.

[0077] In step 218, the CPU 14A displays the request completion on the display unit 14F and proceeds to step 220.

[0078] In step 220, the CPU 14A judges whether the delivery is completed. For example, the CPU 14A monitors the location information detected by the location detection unit 14K of the mobile terminal device 14b of the contractor to judge whether the movement of the delivery request to the delivery origin and delivery destination is confirmed. Alternatively, the CPU 14A judges whether the contractor has performed an operation indicating the completion of the delivery. The CPU 14A waits until the judgment is affirmative and proceeds to step 222.

[0079] In step 222, the CPU 14A transmits a delivery completion notice to the server 12 and proceeds to step 224.

[0080] In step 224, the CPU 14A performs a delivery fee receiving process to end the series of processes. The delivery fee receiving process receives the fee for the delivery request. For example, the process receives the result of the server 12 transferring the money to a preregistered account and notifies the contractor.

[0081] In the process of FIG. 9, for the sake of simplicity, step 212 is followed by step 214. However, the process may be terminated once after step 212, and resumed from step 214 when request establishment information is received from server 12.

[0082] 9 has been described as an example in which the delivery request to be contracted is selected and the delivery is contracted after obtaining permission from the requester, but steps 214 to 218 may be omitted and the delivery may be contracted without obtaining permission from the requester. In this case, steps 114 to 118 in FIG. 8 are omitted from the process of the requester's mobile terminal device 14a.

[0083] Next, a specific process performed by the server 12 will be described. Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the process performed by the server 12 of the information processing system 10 according to this embodiment. The process in Fig. 10 starts when a communication request is made from the mobile terminal device 14 or the operator terminal device 16, for example.

[0084] In step 300, the CPU 12A judges whether or not to receive the request contents from the requester. This judges whether or not the request contents have been transmitted to the server 12 in the above-mentioned step 106. If the judgement is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 302, and if the judgement is negative, the process proceeds to step 304.

[0085] In step 302, the CPU 12A receives the request contents from the requester's mobile terminal device 14a, registers them so that the contractor can view them, and returns to step 300 to repeat the above-mentioned process. That is, the acceptance unit 20 accepts the delivery request transmitted from the mobile terminal device 14a and registers it in the system.

[0086] In step 304, the CPU 12A judges whether or not a request to present a request search has been made by the contractor. This judgement is made by judging whether or not the starting point and the destination have been transmitted as the contractor's travel route in the above-mentioned step 204. If the judgement is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 306, and if not, the process proceeds to step 308.

[0087] In step 306, the CPU 12A searches the contractor's travel route, extracts request candidates for the target area, replies to the contractor's mobile terminal device 14b, and returns to step 300 to repeat the above-mentioned process. That is, the acquisition unit 22 acquires the departure point and destination input by the contractor and searches for the travel route. Then, the presentation unit 24 extracts request candidates for the target area within a predetermined range of the searched travel route, and presents a delivery request to the contractor by replies to the contractor's mobile terminal device 14b with the travel route and the request candidates.

[0088] In step 308, the CPU 12A judges whether or not a request selection result has been received. This judges whether or not the request selection result has been transmitted from the mobile terminal device 14b of the contractor in the above-mentioned step 212. In other words, the acceptance unit 26 judges whether or not a contract for the delivery request presented by the presentation unit 24 has been accepted from a user who can become a delivery contractor. If the judgment is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 310, and if negative, the process proceeds to step 312.

[0089] In step 310, the CPU 12A transmits the contract information to the requester, and returns to step 300 to repeat the above-mentioned process. For example, in order for the requester to confirm the establishment of the contract, the requester transmits the past evaluation results of the user who requested the delivery contract to the requester's mobile terminal device 14a as the contract information to confirm the establishment. As a result, the determination in the above-mentioned step 110 is affirmative.

[0090] In step 312, the CPU 12A judges whether or not a request refusal has been returned from the requester's mobile terminal device 14a. That is, it judges whether or not a refusal to establish the transaction has been transmitted from the requester's mobile terminal device 14a in the above-mentioned step 116. If the judgment is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 314, and if the judgment is negative, the process proceeds to step 316.

[0091] In step 314, the CPU 12A transmits a notice of failure to establish the request to the mobile terminal device 14b of the contractor, and the process returns to step 300 to repeat the above-mentioned processing. As a result, the determination in the above-mentioned step 214 is negative.

[0092] In step 316, the CPU 12A judges whether or not there is a reply to the request. This judges whether or not a confirmation has been sent from the requester's mobile terminal device 14a in the above-mentioned step 118. If the judgement is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 318, and if not, the process proceeds to step 320.

[0093] In step 318, the CPU 12A transmits the completion of the request to the mobile terminal device 14b of the contractor, and the process returns to step 300 to repeat the above-mentioned process. That is, the notification unit 28 notifies the client that the delivery request has been completed. As a result, the determination in the above-mentioned step 214 is affirmative.

[0094] In step 320, the CPU 12A judges whether or not to settle the account. For example, the judgment is made by judging whether or not the delivery completion transmitted from the mobile terminal device 14b of the contractor in the above-mentioned step 222 has been received, or whether or not the delivery completion has been received from the carrier terminal device 16 of the delivery carrier. If the judgment is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 322, and if not, the process proceeds to step 324.

[0095] In step 322, the CPU 12A performs a settlement process, and returns to step 300 to repeat the above-mentioned process. In the settlement process, the settlement processing unit 32 performs a process of, for example, withdrawing the total amount of the fee for the requested content and the service usage fee from a pre-registered account of the delivery requester to a pre-defined account of the service operating company, and transferring the fee for the requested content to a pre-registered account of the contractor or delivery company.

[0096] In step 324, the CPU 12A judges whether or not there is an unsatisfied request for which a predetermined period of time has elapsed. If the judgment is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 326, and if not, the process returns to step 300 and the above-mentioned process is repeated.

[0097] In step 326, the CPU 12A instructs the business terminal device 16 of the delivery business to perform delivery, and returns to step 300 to repeat the above-mentioned process. That is, when the request unit 30 does not accept the delivery contract, it requests the delivery from a delivery business registered in advance.

[0098] In this way, in the information processing system 10 according to the present embodiment, the server 12 can match delivery requesters and contractors. Also, the contractor can search for delivery requests from requesters within a predetermined range between the starting point and the destination of the contractor's travel route and accept delivery requests while traveling, so that delivery requesters and contractors can be matched taking into account the travel efficiency of the deliverer.

[0099] Even if a match between the delivery requester and the contractor is not established, the delivery is requested to a delivery company, so delivery can be reliably performed in response to the delivery request.

[0100] In the above embodiment, both the requester and the contractor access the server 12 using the mobile terminal device 14, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, at least one of the requester and the contractor may access the server 12 using an in-vehicle device 42 mounted on a vehicle 40 and equipped with the functions of the mobile terminal device 14. When the contractor accesses the server 12 using the in-vehicle device 42, the travel route may be searched on the in-vehicle device 42 side. Also, delivery requests within a predetermined range of the current location may be displayed in sequence while traveling along the travel route, and a delivery request to be accepted may be selected and accepted while traveling along the travel route.

[0101] In addition, the processing performed by each part of the information processing system 10 in each of the above embodiments has been described as software processing performed by executing a program, but is not limited to this. For example, the processing may be performed by hardware such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). Alternatively, the processing may be a combination of both software and hardware. In addition, when the processing is performed by software, the program may be stored in various storage media and distributed.

[0102] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0103] 10. Information Processing Systems 12 Server 14 Portable terminal device 16 Operator terminal equipment 20 Acceptance Section 22 Acquisition Department 24 Presentation section 26 Reception Department 28 Notification Department 30 Request Department

Claims

[Claim 1] an acceptance unit that accepts a delivery request including a delivery origin and a delivery destination from a first user who requests delivery; an acquisition unit that acquires a departure point and a destination point of a second user who may be a contractor for the delivery request; a presentation unit that extracts the delivery requests accepted by the acceptance unit within a predetermined range between the departure point and the destination acquired by the acquisition unit and presents the delivery requests to the second user; a receiving unit that receives, from the second user, a contract for the delivery request presented by the presenting unit; a notification unit that notifies the first user of the establishment of the delivery request when the contract is accepted by the acceptance unit; a request unit that, if a predetermined time set by the first user has elapsed without the acceptance of the contract by the acceptance unit, determines that the contract has not been established and requests a predetermined business operator to make the delivery request; An information processing device comprising:

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