Common Platform System and Common Platform Program

Abstract

To provide a common infrastructure system and a common infrastructure program for easily providing various services to individual users of means of transportation.SOLUTION: A common infrastructure system includes a device interface, a network communication unit, a pass-through determination unit, and an advertisement determination unit. The device interface communicates with a traffic service device to be used for a service of means of transportation. The network communication unit communicates with a service provider that is different from a business operator of the means of transportation. The pass-through determination unit transmits, when receiving identification information read from a medium by the traffic service device through the device interface, information indicating whether to permit using the means of transportation based on ticket information held by a user identified with identification information received from the traffic service device, to the traffic service device. The advertisement determination unit selects an advertisement to be provided to the user from among advertisements requested by the service provider that communicates through the network communication unit, and causes a display unit of the traffic service device to display the selected advertisement.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a common platform system and a common platform program. [Background technology]

[0002] Railways and other public transport facilities operate station service systems that perform station services such as ticket gate operations using tickets or IC cards issued to individual users. Conventional station service systems are local systems consisting of station service equipment, including ticket gates, installed by each railway company. For this reason, conventional station service systems require large capital investments by individual railway companies to update existing station service equipment and systems and install new station service equipment.

[0003] On the other hand, service providers such as restaurants, tourist facilities, and entertainment facilities around stations want to actively provide services to users of transportation facilities. For example, service providers want to promote the use of their services by showing advertisements or distributing coupons targeted at users of transportation facilities according to their characteristics.

[0004] However, because conventional station systems are operated locally by each railway company, it is difficult to provide advertisements that match the characteristics of users or the convenience of service providers. For example, in conventional station systems, the transportation company displays advertisements at the ticket gates at the request of the service provider in advance, but there is a problem that it is difficult to appropriately select and display advertisements that match the characteristics of individual users or the convenience of the service provider. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-167612 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has an object to provide a common platform system and a common platform program that can provide advertisements suited to individual users of transportation facilities. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to an embodiment, the common infrastructure system includes a device interface and a network communication unit. Memory section and The device interface communicates with transportation service equipment used in the transportation service business. The network communication unit communicates with a service provider different from the transportation service provider. The memory unit stores a ticket database that registers special tickets that combine a boarding ticket for use with a transportation facility operated by the transportation provider and a voucher for a service provided by the service provider, and a user database that stores ticket information including information about the special ticket held by the user in correspondence with the user's identification information. When the traffic business device receives the identification information read from the medium through the device interface, the passage determination unit in the user database, and The advertisement determination unit notifies the transportation business device of information indicating whether or not the transportation facility can be used based on the ticket information. Based on the information regarding the special ticket indicated by the user's ticket information read from the medium, An advertisement to be provided to the user is selected, and the selected advertisement is displayed on a display of the traffic business equipment. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a common platform as a common infrastructure system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of a process for registering and distributing an advertisement requested by a service provider in a common platform as a common infrastructure system according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing when a user uses a ticket gate as an example of station service equipment managed by a common platform as a common infrastructure system according to the embodiment. [Figure 4]FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing when using a coupon included in an advertisement provided to a user by a common platform as a common infrastructure system according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration of a common platform 10 as a common infrastructure system according to an embodiment. The common platform 10 is a system that executes data processing of information related to operations of transportation facilities such as railroads and buses, and also executes processing to support service providers other than transportation facilities in providing services. In other words, the common platform 10 is a system for providing services by service providers other than transportation facilities, as well as operations of transportation facilities such as railroads and buses.

[0010] For example, the common platform 10 manages information related to operations such as ticket gate operations in transportation facilities. The transportation facilities using the common platform 10 may be multiple transportation companies. Assumed transportation companies using the common platform 10 include railway operators who perform station operations using transportation operation equipment and bus operators who process boarding and disembarking of passes using ticket processing machines. Note that the following embodiment will be described assuming that the transportation facilities are mainly railway operators.

[0011] Furthermore, the service providers other than the transportation facilities that use the common platform 10 may be multiple and are not limited to a specific provider. The service providers that use the common platform 10 are assumed to be providers that provide services in cooperation with the transportation facilities. For example, the service providers that use the common platform 10 are assumed to be providers that operate restaurants, accommodation facilities, tourist facilities, museums, art galleries, amusement facilities, etc. Furthermore, the service providers that use the common platform 10 may be providers that operate taxis, rental bicycles, rental cars, etc. that are used by station or pass users.

[0012] The common platform 10 is composed of a computer, a storage device, an interface device, etc. The common platform 10 may be realized by a server device equipped with a processor, various memories, various interfaces, etc., or may be realized by combining multiple server devices, multiple interface devices, and multiple storage devices.

[0013] 1, the common platform 10 has processing functions such as a business processing unit 21, a payment processing unit 22, an income processing unit 23, and an information processing unit 24. These processing functions are realized by a processor executing a program stored in a memory of one or more server devices constituting the common platform 10.

[0014] 1, the common platform 10 communicates with each of the business (station service) devices 111 of each transportation facility, each of the transportation business operators' systems 11 (11A, 11B, 11C), a payment business operator system 12, a user terminal 13, a service provider system 14, etc. The common platform 10 has a device interface (I / F) 20 and communication interfaces such as a network communication unit 26.

[0015] The device interface 20 is an interface for communicating with each device (transportation business device) 111 (111A, 111B, ..., 111a) used in each transportation facility. The network communication unit 26 has an interface (communication unit) for communicating with external devices such as the service provider system 14 and the user terminal 13 via the network. The payment processing unit 22 includes a communication interface for communicating with the payment provider system 12.

[0016] The business processing unit 21 executes business processing (station business processing) as a business (station business) corresponding to the information acquired from the device. The business processing unit 21 executes data processing related to station business based on the information acquired from the traffic business device via the device interface 20, and transmits the processing result to the traffic business device.

[0017] 1, the business processing unit 21 has a passage determination unit 211 and an advertisement determination unit 212. The passage determination unit 211 performs passage determination as an example of station business processing. The passage determination unit 211 determines whether or not passage through the ticket gate (or boarding / alighting) is permitted based on identification information read by the ticket gates 111A, 111B, ... (or the ticket processing machine 111a) via the device interface 20.

[0018] The ticket gates 111A, 111B, ... are traffic service equipment (station service equipment) that are installed at station ticket gates and the like to perform ticket gate operations that control the entry of users into station premises and the exit of users from station premises. The ticket processing machine 111a is traffic service equipment that is installed at bus boarding and alighting entrances and the like to check passenger tickets and settle passenger fares for passengers getting on and off buses. In this embodiment, the traffic service equipment such as the ticket gates 111A, 111B, ... or the ticket processing machine 111a is equipped with displays 112A, 112B, ..., 112a for displaying advertisements and the like.

[0019] For example, the ticket gates 111A, 111B, ... control the passage of a user according to the determination result by the passage determination unit 211 based on the identification information read from a medium presented by the user. That is, the ticket gates 111A (111B, ...) read information including the identification information that identifies the user from the medium presented by the user.

[0020] The medium presented by the user may be any medium from which the ticket gate 111A, ..., the ticket processing machine 111a, and the processing terminal 15 of the service provider described below can read the user's identification information. For example, the medium presented by the user may be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, an IC card such as a credit card, or a ticket with information including identification information printed on its face.

[0021] For example, if the medium presented by the user is a portable terminal having a display unit, the portable terminal displays code information including identification information on the display unit. The ticket gates 111A, 111B, ..., the ticket processing machine 111a, and the processing terminal 15 are configured to have readers that optically read code information including identification information displayed by the portable terminal presented by the user. For example, if the medium presented by the user is a contactless IC card such as a credit card or a portable terminal having the same function as a contactless IC card, the ticket gates 111A, 111B, ..., the ticket processing machine 111a, and the processing terminal 15 are configured to have readers that read data including the user's identification information from the contactless IC card presented by the user by contactless communication.

[0022] The passage determination unit 211 acquires the identification information read by the ticket gate 111A, and identifies the user by the identification information read by the ticket gate 111A. The passage determination unit 211 determines whether the identified user can pass through the ticket gate where the ticket gate 111A is installed, based on information about the ticket owned by the identified user (hereinafter also referred to as ticket information) and the entry and exit history of the user. The passage determination unit 211 notifies the ticket gate 111A of the passage determination result, thereby causing the ticket gate 111A to execute passage control of the user.

[0023] The advertisement determination unit 212 determines advertisements suitable for users who use traffic service equipment such as the ticket gates 111A, 111B, ... and the ticket processing machine 111a. For example, the advertisement determination unit 212 determines advertisements suitable for users of the traffic service equipment from among a plurality of advertisements registered in the advertisement database 253 described later, based on information about the users specified by the identification information read by the traffic service equipment such as the ticket gate. The advertisement determination unit 212 causes the advertisements determined to be provided to users of the traffic service equipment such as the ticket gate to be displayed on a display device of the traffic service equipment. The advertisement determination unit 212 may also perform control to deliver advertisements determined to be provided to users of the traffic service equipment such as the ticket gate or coupons related to the advertisements to the user terminal 13.

[0024] The payment processing unit 22 executes payment processing by communicating with the payment provider system 12. For example, the payment processing unit 22 executes payment processing associated with the settlement of a fare based on a processing result of the business processing unit 21 by communicating with the payment provider system 12. In addition, the payment processing unit 22 executes payment processing generated by the processing of the information processing unit 24 (described later) by communicating with the payment provider system 12.

[0025] The income processing unit 23 executes income processing for managing income for each transportation company. The income processing unit 23 manages fares and the like paid by users to each transportation company. The income processing unit 23 has an interface corresponding to the system 11 of each transportation company. The income processing unit 23 notifies each transportation company of information such as income for each transportation company via the interface for each transportation company.

[0026] The information processing unit 24 executes various information processing. For example, the information processing unit 24 executes information processing for providing a service provided by a service provider to a user. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 1, the information processing unit 24 includes an authentication unit 241, a ticket management unit 242, and an advertisement management unit 243.

[0027] The authentication unit 241 functions as a ticket authentication unit that authenticates a ticket held by a user. The authentication unit 241 acquires information read by the processing terminal 15 of the service provider from a medium presented by the user. The authentication unit 241 identifies the user by the identification information included in the information read from the medium, and identifies the ticket held by the identified user.

[0028] The ticket management unit 242 manages information related to tickets planned by the service provider. For example, the ticket management unit 242 manages a special ticket that combines a boarding ticket for using a transportation facility operated by the transportation provider with a voucher for a service provided by the service provider. The service provider plans a special ticket that combines a service voucher with a boarding ticket of the transportation provider. The ticket management unit 242 manages the special ticket planned by the service provider in response to a request from the service provider.

[0029] The advertisement management unit 243 manages information related to advertisements provided by service providers. For example, the advertisement management unit 243 receives and manages various advertisements that each service provider connected to the common platform 10 wishes to provide. The advertisement management unit 243 receives and manages advertisements from service providers at any time. In addition, the advertisement management unit 243 manages conditions set by the service provider for advertisements requested by the service provider. For example, conditions for providing advertisements include user characteristics, transportation usage status (location, time, entry / exit status, etc.), or environmental information (for example, weather, etc.).

[0030] The storage unit 25 stores various types of information. The storage unit 25 is composed of one or more storage devices. The storage unit 25 stores data used for various processes by the information processing unit 24. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 1, the storage unit 25 has a user database 251, a ticket database 252, and an advertisement database 253.

[0031] The user database 251 stores information about users. The user database 251 stores various information in association with the identification information of each individual user. For example, the authentication unit 241 identifies the user of the identification information read from the medium by the processing terminal 15 based on the user identification information registered in the user database 251.

[0032] The ticket database 252 stores information about various tickets. The ticket database 252 stores information about tickets managed by the ticket management unit 242. In this embodiment, the ticket database 252 stores information about tickets provided by service providers and managed by the ticket management unit 242.

[0033] For example, the ticket management unit 242 registers a special offer ticket planned by a service provider in the ticket database 252. Each time a user purchases a special offer ticket, the ticket management unit 242 registers information indicating the special offer ticket in association with identification information of the user who purchased the special offer ticket in the ticket database 252. The authentication unit 241 identifies the special offer ticket held by the user identified by the identification information read by the processing terminal 15 from the medium.

[0034] The advertisement database 253 stores information related to various advertisements. The advertisement database 253 stores information related to advertisements managed by the advertisement management unit 243. In this embodiment, the advertisement database 253 stores, as information related to advertisements, advertisements from the service provider accepted by the advertisement management unit 243 and conditions for providing the advertisements in association with each other. For example, the advertisement management unit 243 registers, in the advertisement database 253, advertisements requested by the service provider and conditions for providing the advertisements to users.

[0035] The storage unit 25 may also store data used in processing by the business processing unit 21. For example, the storage unit 25 may store fare data indicating the fare of a transportation facility used by the passage determination unit 211 for passage determination on the transportation facility.

[0036] The network communication unit 26 is an interface that communicates with external devices via a network. In the configuration example shown in Fig. 1, the common platform 10 communicates with a system (service provider system) 14 operated by a service provider and a processing terminal 15 via the network communication unit 26. The common platform 10 also communicates with a user terminal 13, such as a mobile terminal carried by a user, via the network communication unit 26.

[0037] Next, an example of information stored in the user database 251 of the storage unit 25 in the common platform 10 will be described in detail. The user database 251 stores information such as personal information, payment information, ticket information, and entry / exit information for each user (registered person). The personal information is information such as the identification information of the registrant (user), authentication information (password, biometric information), advertisement delivery destination (email address, etc.), name, sex, age, date of birth, address, telephone number, etc. In addition, as the personal information, information such as main station of use, hobbies, services of interest, etc. may be registered as optional registration items.

[0038] The personal information is information that is registered in advance by a user who uses the common platform 10. For example, the personal information is registered (stored) in the user database 251 by the user himself operating the user terminal 13 in a predetermined procedure. The user terminal 13 may be any terminal device capable of communicating with the common platform 10 via a network, such as a personal computer or a mobile terminal (smartphone, mobile phone, tablet PC). The personal information of the user may be registered in the user database 251 using, for example, station equipment (ticket vending machine, registration device, etc.) installed in a station or the like. The personal information may be registered in the user database 251 using a device operated by a station attendant or the like.

[0039] The payment information is information that indicates a payment method for settling fees incurred in association with entry and exit, such as fares, etc. For example, the payment information may be credit card information, account information for fee deduction, or information indicating the remaining balance of an amount previously deposited for fee settlement.

[0040] Owned ticket information is information about tickets (passenger tickets, commuter passes, special tickets, etc.) and coupons held by a user as a registrant. Tickets registered as owned ticket information may be information indicating transportation electronic money for paying fares using payment information, or tickets purchased on a one-time basis. In addition, when a user purchases a special ticket planned by a service provider, information about the purchased special ticket is stored in user database 251 as the user's owned ticket information. Furthermore, when a user acquires a coupon created by the service provider as an advertisement, information about the coupon acquired by the user is stored in user database 251 as the user's owned ticket information.

[0041] The entry / exit information is information indicating the entry / exit of each user at a station in a means of transportation, or boarding / exiting a bus or train. The entry / exit information is registered as information indicating the history of entry / exit (boarding / exiting), such as the entry / exit station (boarding / exiting location), entry / exit date and time, entry / exit direction, and fare settlement status. As the entry / exit information, the entry / exit station (boarding / exiting location), entry / exit date and time, entry / exit direction, and fare settlement status are registered in order as one item of usage history.

[0042] The entry / exit station is information indicating the entry station or exit station. The entry / exit date and time is information indicating the date and time of entry or exit. The entry / exit direction is information indicating whether the direction of travel through the passage is the entry direction (entering the station premises) or the exit direction (exiting from the station premises). The settlement status is information indicating whether the settlement process for the fare for the entry / exit has been completed. For example, the settlement status is initially registered as a "not yet settled" state, and is updated to "paid" after the settlement process.

[0043] Next, an example of information stored in the ticket database 252 of the storage unit 25 in the common platform 10 will be described in detail. As described above, the ticket database 252 stores information about tickets managed by the ticket management unit 242. A service provider creates (plans) a set ticket (special ticket) that combines a transportation ticket with a voucher for a service provided by the service provider. If the special ticket created by the service provider is a sellable ticket, the ticket management unit 242 registers information about the special ticket in the ticket database 252.

[0044] The common platform 10 allows the sale of special tickets that combine a transportation ticket approved in advance by the transportation operator with a voucher for a service provided by a service operator. The ticket management unit 242 communicates with the service provider system 14 via the network communication unit 26 and accepts applications for new sales of special tickets created by the service provider. The ticket management unit 242 examines the contents of the requested special ticket, and if the sale of the special ticket is permitted, registers information about the special ticket in the ticket database 252. After registering the special ticket in the ticket database 252, the ticket management unit 242 manages information about the user who purchased the special ticket.

[0045] The common platform 10 may accept special tickets created by service providers and sell the accepted special tickets over a network such as the Web. In this case, the ticket management unit 242 registers the special tickets in the ticket database 252 and sells the special tickets registered in the ticket database 252 over the network. The ticket management unit 242 communicates with the user terminal 13 via the network communication unit 26 and sells the special tickets to the user operating the user terminal 13 by paying for the special tickets using the payment processing unit 22. The ticket management unit 242 registers information about the sold special tickets in the user database 251 as ticket information held by the user.

[0046] Furthermore, the special offer ticket created by the service provider may be sold by the service provider after being registered by the common platform 10. In this case, the ticket management unit 242 registers the special offer ticket in the ticket database 252, and then obtains information indicating the user who sold the special offer ticket from the service provider, and registers information regarding the sold special offer ticket in the user database 251 as ticket information held by the user.

[0047] Next, an example of information stored in the advertisement database 253 of the storage unit 25 in the common platform 10 will be described in detail. As described above, the advertisement database 253 stores information about advertisements managed by the advertisement management unit 243. The service provider creates advertisements to be provided to users of transportation facilities at any time. The advertisements created (requested) by the service provider may be advertisements to promote the use of the services they provide, or advertisements to promote the sale of special tickets they have planned.

[0048] In addition, the advertisement created by the service provider may be an advertisement including a coupon that provides a discount or a special benefit for the use of the service. The service provider may set conditions for providing the advertisement (characteristics of users who are the targets of the advertisement, the time and place for providing the advertisement, the method for providing the advertisement, etc.) for the advertisement to be created.

[0049] The advertisement management unit 243 communicates with the service provider system 14 via the network communication unit 26 and receives requests for advertisements created by the service provider. The advertisement management unit 243 examines the content of the requested advertisement, and if the advertisement is available, registers information about the advertisement (advertisement content and advertisement conditions) in the advertisement database 253. After registering the advertisement in the advertisement database 253, the advertisement management unit 243 manages information about the user who purchased the special ticket.

[0050] The common platform 10 displays advertisements registered in the advertisement database 253 on transportation business equipment such as a ticket gate connected to the equipment interface 20. For example, the advertisement determination unit 212 of the common platform 10 selects an advertisement to be provided from a plurality of advertisements registered in the advertisement database 253 according to information such as the user's characteristics (personal information), time period, location, transportation usage status, and weather, and displays the selected advertisement on the transportation business equipment.

[0051] Furthermore, the common platform 10 may transmit advertisements registered in the advertisement database 253 to a user terminal communicating via the network communication unit 26. For example, the advertisement management unit 243 of the common platform 10 selects an advertisement to be delivered to a user from a plurality of advertisements registered in the advertisement database 253 according to information such as the user's characteristics (personal information), time period, location, usage of transportation, and weather, and delivers the selected advertisement to an advertisement delivery destination set in advance by each user. Furthermore, the advertisement management unit 243 may deliver information related to coupons from the advertisements registered in the advertisement database 253 to the user in response to access from the user terminal.

[0052] Next, a process of registering and distributing an advertisement created by a service provider on the common platform 10 according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of a process for registering an advertisement created by a service provider in the common platform 10 according to the embodiment. First, the service provider creates an advertisement to be provided to users of the transportation facility. Here, the service provider sets the advertisement conditions for the created advertisement. The service provider who created the advertisement connects to the common platform 10 via the service provider system 14.

[0053] The common platform 10 communicates with the service provider system 14 via the network communication unit 26. The service provider system 14, which is communicatively connected to the common platform 10, transmits a request for registration of the created advertisement to the common platform 10. In the common platform 10, the advertisement management unit 243 accepts an advertisement request from the service provider at any timing.

[0054] When the advertising management unit 243 receives an advertising request from a service provider (ST11, YES), it obtains advertising-related information (advertising information) such as the advertising content, advertising conditions, and coupons from the service provider system 14 with which it communicates via the network communication unit 26 (ST12).

[0055] When the advertisement management unit 243 acquires information about the requested advertisement, it examines whether the content of the advertisement can be provided to the user (ST13). For example, the common platform 10 prescribes guidelines for advertisements that can be provided. In this case, the advertisement management unit 243 judges whether the advertisement requested by the service provider can be provided to the user based on the advertisement guidelines.

[0056] If it is determined that the advertisement requested by the service provider can be provided (ST13, YES), the advertisement management unit 243 registers information about the advertisement that has been determined to be available in the advertisement database 253 (ST14). If it is determined that the advertisement requested by the service provider cannot be provided (ST13, NO), the advertisement management unit 243 notifies the service provider that the requested advertisement cannot be provided, and proceeds to ST15.

[0057] After registering the information about the advertisement in the advertisement database 253, the advertisement management unit 243 determines whether or not there is an advertisement to be delivered to the advertisement delivery destination set in advance by the user among the advertisements registered in the advertisement database 253 (ST15). As described above, the advertisement conditions are set in the information about the advertisement registered in the advertisement database 253. Therefore, the advertisement management unit 243 periodically checks whether or not there is an advertisement that satisfies the conditions to be delivered to the user.

[0058] If there is an advertisement to be delivered to the user (ST15, YES), the advertisement management unit 243 selects a user to whom the child advertisement will be delivered, and delivers the advertisement to the selected user's advertisement delivery destination (ST16). For example, the advertisement to be delivered to the user includes a coupon that can be used when using a service provided by the service provider. This allows the user to receive an advertisement that may include a coupon provided by the service provider at any time.

[0059] Next, a process will be described in which a user uses a transportation operation device managed by the common platform 10 according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing when a user passes through a ticket gate as an example of transportation business equipment managed by the common platform 10 according to the embodiment. A ticket gate 111A is connected to the common platform 10 via the device interface 20. The ticket gate 111A connected to the common platform 10 reads information including identification information from a medium presented by a user who is about to pass through the ticket gate. The ticket gate 111A transmits the information read from the medium presented by the user to the common platform 10.

[0060] In the common platform 10, when the business processing unit 21 receives information read from the medium by the ticket gate 111A via the device interface 20, it extracts the user's identification information contained in the information read from the medium by the ticket gate 111A. When the business processing unit 21 acquires the user's identification information (ST21, YES), it searches the user database 251 for the identification information and identifies information related to the user of the identification information (ST22). For example, the business processing unit 21 identifies the owned ticket information associated with the identification information in the user database 251.

[0061] When the information on the user of the identification information is specified, the business processing unit 21 executes a pass judgment based on the ticket held by the user by the passage judgment unit 211 (ST23). The passage judgment unit 211 judges whether or not the user can pass through the ticket gate 111A based on the ticket (boarding ticket information) held by the user registered in the user database 251 and the entry / exit information. For example, the passage judgment unit 211 judges whether or not the user can pass using a toll payment by transportation electronic money, a commuter pass, or a special ticket that the user has purchased. The business processing unit 21 notifies the ticket gate 111A of the result of the judgment by the passage judgment unit 211 on whether or not the user can pass (ST24).

[0062] Furthermore, when the business processing unit 21 identifies the user of the identification information read by the ticket gate 111A, the advertisement determination unit 212 determines an advertisement to be displayed on the display 112A of the ticket gate 111A (ST25). The advertisement determination unit 212 selects an advertisement to be displayed on the display 112A of the ticket gate 111A as an advertisement to be provided to the user from the advertisements registered in the advertisement database 253.

[0063] The advertisement determination unit 212 selects one advertisement to be displayed on the display 112A of the ticket gate 111A based on the conditions of each advertisement and information such as the usage history based on the user's personal information. The advertisement determination unit 212 may also select an advertisement depending on the direction of travel (entrance or exit) when passing through the ticket gate 111A. For example, when the user is exiting the ticket gate, the advertisement determination unit 212 may preferentially select advertisements related to the vicinity of the station.

[0064] Furthermore, when a user enters a station through a ticket gate, the advertisement determination unit 212 may predict the exit time at each station from the entrance station and select advertisements that match the predicted exit time at each station. This allows advertisements that will be effective when the user exits a station to be provided to the user in a timely manner at the ticket gate at the time of entry.

[0065] When an advertisement to be displayed on the display 112A of the ticket gate 111A is selected (ST26, YES), the business processing unit 21 causes the advertisement selected by the advertisement determination unit 212 to be displayed on the display 112A of the ticket gate 111A (ST27). Here, the business processing unit 21 may cause the advertisement to be displayed on the display 112A of the ticket gate 111A when the passage determination unit 211 determines that the passage of the user is permitted.

[0066] When an advertisement is selected for display 112A of ticket gate 111A, or when it is determined that there is no advertisement to be displayed on display 112A of ticket gate 111A (ST26, NO), advertisement determination unit 212 determines whether there is an advertisement to be delivered to the user (ST28). For example, advertisement determination unit 212 selects all advertisements to be delivered to the user based on the conditions of each advertisement registered in advertisement database 253 and information such as the user's personal information and usage history.

[0067] If there is an advertisement to be delivered to the user of the ticket gate 111A (ST28, YES), the business processing unit 21 transmits the advertisement selected by the advertisement determination unit 212 to the advertisement delivery destination set in advance by the user of the ticket gate 111A (ST29). Here, the business processing unit 21 cooperates with the ticket management unit 242 to deliver the advertisement to the advertisement delivery destination of the user via the network communication unit 26.

[0068] In addition, the advertisement delivered to the user may include a coupon that can be used when using a service provided by the service provider. For example, the business processing unit 21 may deliver a coupon corresponding to the content of the advertisement displayed on the ticket gate 111A to the advertisement delivery destination of the user. This allows the user to immediately obtain a coupon related to the advertisement displayed on the ticket gate.

[0069] When passage control and advertisement provision are performed for a user passing through the ticket gate by the above processing, the business processing unit 21 records a usage history indicating the result of passage judgment and advertisement provision for the user in association with the identification information of the user (ST30). For example, the business processing unit 21 stores the usage history in association with the identification information of the user in the user database 251. This allows the common platform 10 to accumulate the usage record of each user.

[0070] Next, a process will be described for the case where a coupon included in an advertisement provided to a user by the common platform 10 according to the embodiment is used. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of a process when using a coupon included in an advertisement provided to a user by the common platform 10 according to the embodiment. The common platform 10 is connected to a processing terminal 15 of the service provider by a network communication unit 26. The processing terminal 15 connected to the common platform 10 reads the medium presented by the user when using a coupon included in an advertisement at the service provider. When a user holding a coupon appears, the service provider reads information including identification information from the medium presented by the user using the processing terminal 15. The processing terminal 15 transmits an authentication request to the common platform 10, requesting information about coupons that can be used at the service provider, together with the information read from the medium presented by the user and information indicating the service provider.

[0071] In the common platform 10, the authentication unit 241 of the information processing unit 24 acquires an authentication request received from the processing terminal 15 via the device interface 20 (ST41, YES). The authentication unit 241 extracts user identification information from the information read from the user's medium acquired from the processing terminal 15 together with the authentication request.

[0072] The authentication unit 241 obtains coupons that the user of the identification information can use at the service provider. It is determined whether or not the coupon is held (ST42). For example, the authentication unit 241 determines whether or not a coupon that can be used at the service provider is registered as held coupon information associated with the identification information in the user database 251.

[0073] If the user of the identification information does not have a coupon that can be used by the service provider (ST42, NO), the authentication unit 241 notifies the processing terminal 15 that made the authentication request that the user who presented the medium does not have a coupon that can be used by the service provider (ST43), and ends the series of processes. Here, if there is an invalid coupon due to expiration or the like, the authentication unit 241 may notify the processing terminal 15 of the reason why the coupon became invalid.

[0074] If the user of the identification information has a coupon that can be used at the service provider (ST42, YES), the authentication unit 241 notifies the processing terminal 15 that originated the authentication request of information indicating the contents of the coupon held by the user (ST43). As a result, the processing terminal 15 obtains information indicating the contents of the coupon held by the user who presented the medium from the common platform 10 in response to the authentication request.

[0075] When the processing terminal 15 acquires the information on the coupon held by the user, the processing terminal 15 allows the use of the coupon held by the user notified by the common platform 10. When the processing terminal 15 provides a service using a coupon held by the user, for example, when the user receives a discount by the coupon, the processing terminal 15 notifies the common platform 10 of information indicating the user's usage record of the service.

[0076] When information indicating that a coupon has been used is received from the processing terminal 15 of the service provider (ST44, YES), the advertisement management unit 243 of the common platform 10 records information such as the coupon usage history and service usage record by the user based on the information from the processing terminal 15 (ST45). For example, the advertisement management unit 243 records that a coupon recorded as the user's owned ticket information in the user database 251 has been used. The advertisement management unit 243 may also record information indicating the content of the service used by the user using the coupon in the user database 251.

[0077] According to the above process, the common platform accepts advertisements requested by service providers other than the transportation company at any time and accumulates information related to the advertisements requested by the service providers in an advertisement database. Each time a user who uses a transportation business device of a transportation facility is identified, the common platform selects an advertisement that matches the user from the advertisement database, and displays the selected advertisement on the transportation business device or delivers it to the user.

[0078] As a result, the common platform according to the embodiment can select and provide advertisements requested by service providers other than transportation operators to individual users of transportation facilities, and can provide advertisements that meet the needs of the service providers and users. In addition, transportation operators using the common platform can promote the use of transportation facilities through advertisements requested by service providers.

[0079] For example, a restaurant, as an example of a service provider, can request the common platform to provide targeted advertisements based on age, gender, etc. to users using ticket gates at specific stations when there are many vacant seats in the restaurant or when the restaurant is unlikely to have many customers due to weather, etc. This allows the restaurant to efficiently attract customers through advertisements according to the mix of stores. Furthermore, a restaurant, as an example of a service provider, can request the common platform to distribute coupons to users targeted by age, gender, etc. in addition to simple advertisements. This allows the restaurant to increase the effectiveness of attracting customers through coupons.

[0080] Another example of a service provider is a taxi company, which can request advertisements and coupons from the common platform when there are many vacant taxis around a station. This will enable taxi companies to increase their taxi operation rates by providing advertisements and coupons that are appropriate for the situation.

[0081] Each of the above processes can be executed by several pieces of software. Therefore, the above processes can be easily realized by installing several programs that execute the procedures of the above processes in the remote control device through a computer-readable storage medium that stores these programs and executing the programs. For example, the remote control device may install the programs by downloading the programs via a network and storing the downloaded programs. Also, the remote control device may install the programs by reading the programs from various information storage media and storing the read programs.

[0082] Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims. The following is an appended summary of the contents of the claims as originally filed. [1] a device interface for communicating with transportation operations devices used in the operation of the transportation facility; a network communication unit that communicates with a service provider different from the transport operator; a passage determination unit that, when the transport operation device receives identification information read from a medium via the device interface, notifies the transport operation device of information indicating whether the transport operation device can be used based on ticket information held by a user identified by the identification information received from the transport operation device; an advertisement determination unit that selects an advertisement to be provided to a user of the transportation business device from advertisements requested by the service provider communicating through the network communication unit, and displays the selected advertisement on a display of the transportation business device; A common infrastructure system with: [2] A storage unit that stores an advertisement database that stores information related to advertisements; an advertisement management unit that registers information related to advertisements requested by the service provider communicating through the network communication unit in an advertisement database; the advertisement determination unit selects an advertisement to be displayed on a display unit of the transportation business equipment from the advertisements registered in the advertisement database; The common infrastructure system described in [1]. [3] the advertisement management unit receives advertisement content and advertisement conditions as an advertisement request from the service provider, and registers information related to the advertisement including the advertisement content and the advertisement conditions in the advertisement database; the advertisement determination unit selects an advertisement to be displayed on a display of the transportation business equipment based on the conditions of the advertisement; The common infrastructure system described in [2]. [4] The storage unit further stores a user database that stores user information including user identification information; the advertisement determination unit identifies user information of a user of the traffic business device from the user database, and selects an advertisement to be displayed on a display of the traffic business device according to the identified user information and the advertisement reception. The common infrastructure system described in [3]. [5] The storage unit further stores a user database for storing user information including user identification information and information indicating a delivery destination of an advertisement addressed to the user; The advertisement determination unit selects an advertisement to be delivered to a user of the transportation business device from the advertisements registered in the advertisement database, The advertisement management unit delivers the advertisement selected by the advertisement determination unit to be delivered to the user to a delivery destination of the advertisement addressed to the user, using the network communication unit. The common infrastructure system described in [3]. [6] The advertisement management unit further registers information about the advertisement including the coupon in the advertisement database when an advertisement including a coupon is received from the service provider, and registers information indicating the coupon included in the advertisement to be delivered in association with the user's identification information in the user database when a coupon is included in the advertisement selected by the advertisement determination unit to be delivered to the user. The common infrastructure system described in [5]. [7] A computer having a device interface for communicating with a transportation business device used in the transportation business and a network communication unit for communicating with a service provider other than the transportation business, when the transportation business device receives the identification information read from the medium via the device interface, notifying the transportation business device of information indicating whether or not the transportation facility can be used based on ticket information held by the user identified by the identification information received from the transportation business device; selecting an advertisement to be provided to the user of the transportation business device from advertisements requested by the service provider communicating through the network communication unit, and displaying the selected advertisement on a display unit of the transportation business device; A common platform program that enables this. [Explanation of symbols]

[0083] 10...common platform, 12...payment provider system, 13...user terminal, 14...service provider system, 15...processing terminal, 20...equipment interface, 21...business processing unit, 22...payment processing unit, 23...revenue processing unit, 24...information processing unit, 25...memory unit, 26...network communication unit, 111A, 111B...ticket gate, 111a...ticket processing machine, 211...passage determination unit, 212...advertising determination unit, 241...authentication unit, 242...ticket management unit, 243...advertising management unit, 251...user database, 252...ticket database, 253...advertising database.

Claims

1. a device interface for communicating with transportation operations devices used in the operation of the transportation facility; A network communication unit that communicates with a service provider different from the transport provider; A storage unit that stores a ticket database that registers a special ticket that is a set of a boarding ticket for using a transportation facility operated by the transportation facility operator and a voucher for a service provided by the service operator, and a user database that stores ticket information including information about the special ticket held by the user in correspondence with the user's identification information; a passage determination unit that, when the traffic management device receives identification information read from the medium via the device interface, searches the user database for the identification information received from the traffic management device, and notifies the traffic management device of information indicating whether or not the user of the transportation facility is permitted to use the transportation facility based on ticket information held by the user of the identification information; an advertisement determination unit that selects an advertisement to be provided to the user from the advertisements requested by the service provider that communicate through the network communication unit based on information regarding the special ticket indicated by the user's ticket information of the identification information read from the medium by the transportation business device, and displays the selected advertisement on a display of the transportation business device; A common infrastructure system with:

2. an advertisement management unit that registers information regarding advertisements requested by the service provider communicating through the network communication unit in an advertisement database; The storage unit further stores the advertisement database in which information related to advertisements is registered by the advertisement management unit, the advertisement determination unit selects an advertisement to be displayed on a display unit of the transportation business equipment from the advertisements registered in the advertisement database; The common infrastructure system according to claim 1 .

3. the advertisement management unit receives advertisement content and advertisement conditions as an advertisement request from the service provider, and registers information related to the advertisement including the advertisement content and the advertisement conditions in the advertisement database; the advertisement determination unit selects an advertisement to be displayed on a display of the transportation business equipment based on the conditions of the advertisement; The common infrastructure system according to claim 2.

4. The user database further stores information indicating a destination of advertisements to be delivered to the user in association with the user's identification information; The advertisement determination unit selects an advertisement to be delivered to a user of the transportation business device from the advertisements registered in the advertisement database, The advertisement management unit delivers the advertisement selected by the advertisement determination unit to be delivered to the user to a delivery destination of the advertisement addressed to the user, using the network communication unit. The common infrastructure system according to claim 2.

5. The advertisement management unit further registers information about the advertisement including the coupon in the advertisement database when an advertisement including a coupon is received from the service provider, and registers information indicating the coupon included in the advertisement to be delivered in association with the user's identification information in the user database when a coupon is included in the advertisement selected by the advertisement determination unit to be delivered to the user. The common infrastructure system according to claim 4.

6. a computer having a device interface for communicating with transportation business devices used in transportation business and a network communication unit for communicating with a service provider different from the transport operator, the computer being capable of accessing a ticket database for registering a special ticket that is a set of a boarding ticket for using a transport facility operated by the transport operator and a service ticket for a service provided by the service provider, and a user database for storing held ticket information that indicates information related to tickets including the special ticket held by the user in association with the user's identification information; When the transportation business device receives the identification information read from the medium through the device interface, the identification information received from the transportation business device is searched for in the user database, and information indicating whether or not the transportation facility can be used based on the ticket information of the user of the identification information is notified to the transportation business device; Select an advertisement to be provided to the user from the advertisements requested by the service provider communicating through the network communication unit based on information regarding the special ticket indicated by the user's ticket information of the identification information read from the medium by the transportation business device, and display the selected advertisement on a display of the transportation business device. A common platform program that enables this.

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