Search support system, search support method, and search support program

Abstract

To provide a retrieval support system, a retrieval support method and a retrieval support program which can improve convenience of a user using facilities including a plurality of stores.SOLUTION: In a reservation support system, a reservation support device 2, a user terminal 3, and a store terminal 4 can communicate each other via a communication network N1. The reservation support device 2 comprises: a reception processing unit 211 which receives a retrieval request including a first facility including a plurality of stores in a retrieval condition; a retrieval processing unit 212 which retrieves a reservable store among the stores included in the first facility, when the retrieval request is received by the reception processing unit 211; and an output processing unit 213 which outputs a retrieval result by the retrieval processing unit 212.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a search support system, a search support method, and a search support program for searching for a store. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a system that presents search results for restaurants and other establishments in response to a user's request is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). For example, when the system receives a search request from a user terminal that includes search conditions such as area (region), number of users, and usage time, the system searches for establishments that satisfy the search conditions and outputs the search results to the user terminal. The system is also capable of making reservations for an establishment selected by the user in the search results. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2001-350997 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When a user is about to visit a specific facility (such as a commercial building, shopping mall, or complex) that houses multiple restaurants and other establishments, he or she may wish to make a reservation at one of the establishments (such as restaurants) in the facility. In this case, with conventional technology, the user must set the name of each establishment in the facility as a search condition and check whether or not a reservation can be made for each establishment, which is inconvenient.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a search support system, a search support method, and a search support program that can improve convenience for users who use a facility that includes a plurality of stores. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The search support system of the present invention is a system including a reception processing unit that receives a search request including a first facility including a plurality of stores as a search condition, a search processing unit that searches for stores that can be reserved among the plurality of stores included in the first facility when the search request is received by the reception processing unit, and an output processing unit that outputs the search results by the search processing unit.

[0007] The search support method of the present invention is a method in which one or more processors execute a reception step of receiving a search request that includes a first facility that includes a plurality of stores as a search condition, a search step of searching for stores that can be reserved among the plurality of stores included in the first facility when the search request is received in the reception step, and an output step of outputting the search results in the search step.

[0008] The search support program of the present invention is a program for causing one or more processors to execute the following steps: a reception step for receiving a search request that includes a first facility that includes multiple stores as a search condition; a search step for searching for stores that can be reserved among the multiple stores included in the first facility when the search request is received in the reception step; and an output step for outputting the search results in the search step. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, there are provided a search support system, a search support method, and a search support program that can improve convenience for users who use a facility that includes multiple stores. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a reservation assistance system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a floor layout of a facility to which the reservation assistance system according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied. [Diagram 3]FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a reservation assistance system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of shop information used in the reservation support system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of facility reservation information used in the reservation support system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of facility reservation information used in the reservation support system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of facility reservation information used in the reservation support system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a search condition setting page displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a search result page displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a search result page displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of a reservation support process executed in the reservation support system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a search result page displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings to facilitate understanding of the present invention. Note that the following embodiment is an example of the present invention and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[0012] [Reservation Support System 1] As shown in FIG. 1, a reservation support system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a reservation support device 2, a user terminal 3, and a store terminal 4. The store terminal 4 is arranged for each store. Here, the store is a store that can be reserved and is included in a specific facility (service providing facility), that is, a store (for example, a tenant) that operates within the same facility. The facility is, for example, a facility (group) that houses multiple stores, such as a shopping mall (shopping center), a commercial facility, a complex facility, an entertainment facility, a commercial building, a department store, or a department store. The facility may also be a facility that houses multiple stores with the same address or site. For example, when a shopping mall is composed of multiple independent buildings (such as a north building and a south building), the shopping mall is one (same) facility. In this embodiment, an example of the facility is a facility that houses multiple restaurants. The facility of the present invention may be, for example, an entertainment facility that houses multiple entertainment stores (such as a karaoke room, a table tennis hall, a bowling alley, etc.), or a complex facility that houses multiple types of stores, such as restaurants, entertainment stores, and retail stores.

[0013] FIG. 2 shows an example of a floor layout on the fifth floor of facility A. Facility A is a building (commercial building) having multiple floors (multiple stories). As shown in FIG. 2, six restaurants, numbered 1 to 6, are located on the fifth floor of facility A. Although not shown, multiple restaurants are also located on the sixth and seventh floors of facility A. Each restaurant is provided with a store terminal 4 (see FIG. 1). Store terminal 4 may be installed inside or outside the restaurant. Store terminal 4 is an information processing device that manages reservations for restaurants.

[0014] The user terminal 3 is an information processing device operated by a user who searches for facilities and restaurants and requests reservations at restaurants. The user terminal 3 is also an information processing device carried by a user who visits the facility.

[0015] The reservation support device 2, the user terminal 3, and the store terminal 4 are capable of communicating with each other via a communication network N1 such as the Internet, a LAN, a WAN, or a public telephone line.

[0016] The reservation support device 2 can receive search conditions for searching for restaurants from the user terminal 3, executes a search process based on the search conditions, and presents the search results to the user terminal 3. In addition, the reservation support device 2 executes reservation processing for a restaurant selected by the user from among the restaurants included in the search results.

[0017] The reservation support system 1 is an example of a search support system according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the reservation support device 2 alone corresponds to the search support system according to the present invention, but the search support system according to the present invention may include one or more of the components of the reservation support device 2, the user terminal 3, and the store terminal 4. For example, when the components of the reservation support device 2, the user terminal 3, and the store terminal 4 cooperate to share and execute various reservation support processes (see FIG. 11) described below, a system including the components that execute the processes can be regarded as the search support system according to the present invention. For example, the reservation support device 2 and the store terminal 4 may constitute the search support system according to the present invention.

[0018] [Reservation Support Device 2] 3, the reservation support device 2 is a server including a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, an operation display unit 23, and a communication I / F 24. The reservation support device 2 is not limited to a single computer, and may be a computer system in which multiple computers work in cooperation. Various processes executed by the reservation support device 2 may be executed in a distributed manner by one or multiple processors.

[0019] The communication I / F 24 is a communication interface for connecting the reservation support device 2 to the communication network N1 via wired or wireless connection, and for performing data communication in accordance with a specified communication protocol between the reservation support device 2 and external devices such as the user terminal 3 and the store terminal 4 via the communication network N1.

[0020] The operation display unit 23 is a user interface that includes a display unit, such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display, that displays various information, and an operation unit, such as a mouse, a keyboard, or a touch panel, that accepts operations.

[0021] The storage unit 22 is a non-volatile storage unit such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive) that stores various information. Specifically, the storage unit 22 stores data such as store information D1 and facility reservation information D2. The store information D1 includes information about restaurants that are search targets and reservations targets. The facility reservation information D2 includes various information about reservations for each restaurant included in the facility. The facility reservation information D2 is stored in the storage unit 22 for each facility. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the store information D1. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the facility reservation information D2 for facility A (hereinafter referred to as "facility reservation information D2a"), FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the facility reservation information D2 for facility B (hereinafter referred to as "facility reservation information D2b"), and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the facility reservation information D2 for facility C (hereinafter referred to as "facility reservation information D2c"). The storage unit 22 also stores image data showing the interior and exterior of the restaurant, map data showing the location of the restaurant, and the like.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 4, the store information D1 includes information such as "store ID", "store name", "facility name", "area", "genre", "business hours", and "address" for each restaurant. The store ID is identification information of the restaurant, and the store name is the name of the restaurant. The facility name is the name of the facility (shopping mall, commercial building, etc.) in which the restaurant is located (facility information of the present invention). The area is the name of the area where the restaurant is located, etc. The genre is information (type) that can identify the content of the service provided by the restaurant, for example, indicating a food genre. The business hours are the business hours of the restaurant. The address is a detailed address of the restaurant. In addition, the store information D1 may include the telephone number of the restaurant, access information (URL) for accessing a web page such as the restaurant's homepage or reservation page, a budget, identification information of an image of the restaurant, etc.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 5, the facility reservation information D2a of facility A includes information such as "store ID", "store name", "floor", "number of seats", "vacant seats", and "vacancy rate" for each restaurant included in facility A. The floor is information on the floor (floor information of the present invention) on which the restaurants are located when facility A is a building (commercial building) having multiple floors. For example, restaurant A1 is located on the 6th floor of facility A, restaurant A2 is located on the 7th floor of facility A, and restaurants A3 and A4 are located on the 5th floor of facility A. The number of seats is the total number of seats, tables, etc. used by customers in the restaurant (available number, capacity). The number of vacant seats is the total number of currently vacant seats. The number of vacant seats is the remaining number obtained by subtracting the number of seats currently used by customers and the number of reserved seats from the number of seats. The vacancy rate is information indicating the ratio of the number of vacant seats to the number of seats. In other words, the number of vacant seats is the number of seats that can be reserved by customers, or the number of seats that can be used by walk-in customers who come to the restaurant without making a reservation. The control unit 21 acquires information on the current usage status (number of vacant seats, vacancy rate, etc.) from the store terminal 4 of each restaurant, and registers the facility reservation information D2.

[0024] The number of seats may be the number of reservation slots. For example, the manager of restaurant A1 sets a portion of the total number of seats in restaurant A1, i.e., "15 seats," as available for reservation. In this case, the number of vacant seats, "12," represents the remaining reservation slots.

[0025] The control unit 21 executes reservation processing based on the store information D1 and the facility reservation information D2. Specifically, the control unit 21 accepts reservations from users for each restaurant with the number of vacant seats as an upper limit.

[0026] As another embodiment, some or all of the store information D1 and the facility reservation information D2 may be stored in another server accessible from the reservation support device 2 via the communication network N1. In this case, the control unit 21 of the reservation support device 2 may acquire the information from the other server and execute various processes such as the reservation support process (see FIG. 11) described below.

[0027] The memory unit 22 also stores layout data and image data for generating various web pages, such as a search condition setting page P1 (see Figure 8), a search result page P2 (see Figures 9 and 10), and a route guidance page (not shown), which are included in a reservation site (e.g., a restaurant reservation site) displayed on the user terminal 3.

[0028] In this embodiment, the control unit 21 of the reservation support device 2 can generate the various web pages and transmit information of the web pages to the user terminal 3, thereby causing the user terminal 3 to display the various web pages. In another embodiment, the control unit 21 of the reservation support device 2 can cause the control unit 31 of the user terminal 3 to display the various web pages by transmitting data required for displaying the various web pages to the user terminal 3.

[0029] The reservation site may be a collection of web pages belonging to one preset domain, but the reservation site may also be regarded as a collection of web pages belonging to multiple domains stored in the storage unit 22 of the same reservation support device 2. The various pages included in the reservation site may be stored in a distributed manner on multiple servers.

[0030] Furthermore, the storage unit 22 stores control programs such as a reservation assistance program for causing the control unit 21 to execute a reservation assistance process (see FIG. 11) described below. For example, the reservation assistance program is non-temporarily recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD or DVD, and is read by a reading device (not shown) such as a CD drive or DVD drive provided in the reservation assistance device 2 and stored in the storage unit 22.

[0031] The control unit 21 has control devices such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic processes. The ROM is a non-volatile storage unit in which control programs such as a BIOS and an OS for causing the CPU to execute various arithmetic processes are stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or non-volatile storage unit that stores various information, and is used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU. The control unit 21 controls the reservation support device 2 by executing the various control programs stored in advance in the ROM or the storage unit 22 by the CPU.

[0032] When a user is about to visit a facility (such as a commercial building) that houses multiple restaurants and other establishments, he or she may wish to make a reservation at one of the establishments in the facility. In such cases, with conventional technology, the user must set the name of each establishment in the facility as a search condition and check whether or not a reservation can be made for each establishment, which is inconvenient. In contrast, the reservation support system 1 according to this embodiment makes it possible to improve the convenience of users who use facilities that include multiple establishments.

[0033] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 3, the control unit 21 includes various processing units such as a reception processing unit 211, a search processing unit 212, an output processing unit 213, and a reservation processing unit 214. The control unit 21 functions as the various processing units by executing various processes according to the reservation assistance program with the CPU. Also, some or all of the processing units may be configured with electronic circuits. Also, the reservation assistance program may be a program for causing multiple processors to function as the processing units.

[0034] The reception processing unit 211 receives a search request for a restaurant from a user. Specifically, the reception processing unit 211 receives a search request including search criteria such as area, date and time of use (date and time of visit), number of occupants, and facility from the user terminal 3. The information on the area, date and time of use, number of occupants, and facility is used in a search process to search for restaurants that can be reserved. In this way, the reception processing unit 211 receives a search request that includes a facility that includes multiple restaurants as a search criterion. A user can set only the facility as a search criterion and request a search for restaurants that can be reserved among the multiple restaurants included in the facility. The reception processing unit 211 is an example of a reception processing unit of the present invention.

[0035] The search processing unit 212 executes a search process for searching for restaurants based on the search request received by the reception processing unit 211. The search processing unit 212 is an example of the search processing unit of the present invention.

[0036] For example, the reception processor 211 displays a search condition setting page P1 (see FIG. 8) on the user terminal 3. The search condition setting page P1 includes an area input field K11 for inputting a desired area, a visit date input field K12 for inputting a desired visit date, a visit time input field K13 for inputting a desired visit time, a number of users input field K14 for inputting the number of users, a facility input field K15 for inputting a facility, and the like.

[0037] When the user inputs each piece of information on the search condition setting page P1 (see FIG. 8) and presses the "Confirm" button K16, the reception processor 211 receives a search request from the user terminal 3. Note that the search conditions need only include at least information about the facility, and do not have to include information such as the area, visit date, visit time, and number of users.

[0038] Based on the search request, the search processing unit 212 refers to store information D1 (see FIG. 4) and facility reservation information D2 (see FIG. 5 to FIG. 7) to search for restaurants that can accept reservations. For example, when a user inputs "facility A" as a facility in the search criteria, the search processing unit 212 refers to facility reservation information D2a (see FIG. 5) corresponding to facility A to search for restaurants that can be reserved under the search criteria among multiple restaurants included in facility A. For example, the search processing unit 212 searches for restaurants with the number of vacant seats of one or more from among multiple restaurants included in facility A.

[0039] The output processing unit 213 outputs the search result by the search processing unit 212. Specifically, the output processing unit 213 displays a search result page P2 (see FIG. 9) on the user terminal 3 that is the source of the search request. The output processing unit 213 is an example of the output processing unit of the present invention.

[0040] Here, a specific example of the search process is shown below. For example, the search processing unit 212 searches for restaurants with the number of vacant seats or the vacant seat rate equal to or greater than a first predetermined value from among a plurality of restaurants included in facility A. The first predetermined value may be set to a different value for each facility, or may be set to a value common to a plurality of facilities. Here, for example, it is assumed that the first predetermined value corresponding to the vacant seat rate is set to a value "50%" common to facilities A, B, and C. In this case, the search processing unit 212 extracts restaurants A1, A3, A4, etc. with the vacant seat rate of 50% or more from among a plurality of restaurants included in facility reservation information D2a (see FIG. 5) corresponding to facility A specified by the search conditions. In this way, by setting the first predetermined value, restaurants with a predetermined number of vacant seats can be targeted for the search, so that users can be distributed among a plurality of restaurants, and a situation in which a restaurant is full of customers with reservations and cannot accept walk-in customers can be avoided.

[0041] When the search processing unit 212 searches for restaurants whose vacancy rate is equal to or greater than the first predetermined value, the output processing unit 213 displays a search result page P2 shown in FIG. 9 on the user terminal 3 that is the source of the search request. As shown in FIG. 9, the search result page P2 displays a list of information on each restaurant (restaurant information R1) in the facility A that satisfies the search conditions. Each restaurant information R1 displays an overview of the restaurant, an image, a details button K22 for displaying a detailed page of the restaurant, a reservation button K23 for making a reservation request, and the like. When the user finds a restaurant that the user wishes to reserve on the search result page P2, the user makes a reservation request by pressing the reservation button K23 of the corresponding restaurant information R1. On the other hand, when the user does not find a restaurant that the user wishes to reserve on the search result page P2, the user presses the change conditions button K21. When the change conditions button K21 is pressed, the search processing unit 212 redisplays the search condition setting page P1 (see FIG. 8) and accepts a change operation of the search conditions from the user.

[0042] In another embodiment, when the search conditions include a facility ("facility A") and a visit time ("12:00") (see FIG. 8), the search processing unit 212 excludes restaurant A3, whose business hours are "14:00-19:00" (see FIG. 4), from among the multiple restaurants included in facility A, and extracts restaurants A1, A2, A4, etc., whose business hours include the visit time.

[0043] In another embodiment, when the search conditions include a facility ("facility A") and the number of occupants ("2 people") (see FIG. 8), the search processing unit 212 extracts restaurants with vacant seats for two from among the multiple restaurants included in facility A. In this way, the search processing unit 212 searches for restaurants that satisfy at least one of the search conditions of the number of occupants and the occupancy time included in the search request from among the multiple restaurants included in facility A.

[0044] In another embodiment, the search processing unit 212 may search for restaurants included in a facility ("facility A") based on the distance or travel time from a reference floor to a floor where the restaurant is located. The reference floor is, for example, the first floor of facility A or a floor where the user is located. For example, the search processing unit 212 searches for restaurants included in the facility ("facility A") that are close to the reference floor or that have a short travel time (travel time) from the reference floor. Specifically, for example, when the user is outside facility A or on the first floor of facility A, the search processing unit 212 searches for restaurants on the fifth floor that are close to the user or have a short travel time, and the output processing unit 213 displays these restaurants at the top of the search result page P2 (see FIG. 10). Also, for example, if the user is on the seventh floor of facility A, the search processor 212 searches preferentially for restaurants on the seventh floor that are close to the user or require a short travel time, and the output processor 213 displays these restaurants at the top of the search result page P2 (not shown). The search processor 212 can ascertain the current location of each user by acquiring location information of the user terminal 3 carried by each user.

[0045] When a user presses the reservation button K23 for a desired restaurant on the search result page P2 (see FIGS. 9 and 10) displayed by the search process according to each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the reservation processing unit 214 accepts the reservation request and executes reservation processing.

[0046] The reservation processing unit 214 executes reservation processing based on the reservation request when a reservation can be made for the restaurant that is the subject of reservation. Specifically, the reservation processing unit 214 accepts a reservation request from a user with the number of vacant seats or the vacant seat rate in the facility reservation information D2 (see FIG. 5) as an upper limit. When the reservation processing is executed, the reservation processing unit 214 updates the number of vacant seats and the vacant seat rate in the facility reservation information D2 (see FIG. 5 to FIG. 7) corresponding to the restaurant that is the subject of reservation. In this way, the facility reservation information D2 is updated in real time every time a reservation is accepted. When the reservation processing is completed, the reservation processing unit 214 sends, for example, a reservation completion email to the user terminal 3 and the store terminal 4. The reservation processing unit 214 is an example of a reservation processing unit of the present invention.

[0047] [User terminal 3] 3, the user terminal 3 includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, an operation display unit 33, and a communication I / F 34. The user terminal 3 is an information processing device such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a personal computer.

[0048] The communication I / F 34 is a communication interface for connecting the user terminal 3 to the communication network N1 via wired or wireless connection, and for performing data communication in accordance with a specified communication protocol between the user terminal 3 and external devices such as the reservation support device 2 and the store terminal 4 via the communication network N1.

[0049] The operation display unit 33 is a user interface that includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display that displays information such as various web pages, and an operation unit such as a mouse, keyboard, or touch panel that accepts operations.

[0050] The storage unit 32 is a non-volatile storage unit such as an HDD, SSD, or flash memory that stores various information. For example, a control program such as a browser program is stored in the storage unit 32. Specifically, the browser program is a control program for causing the control unit 31 to execute communication processing with an external device such as the reservation support device 2 according to a communication protocol such as HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). The browser program may also be a dedicated application for executing communication processing with the reservation support device 2 according to a predetermined communication protocol. The storage unit 32 may also store other information such as map data.

[0051] The control unit 31 has control devices such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic operations. The ROM is a non-volatile storage unit in which control programs such as a BIOS and an OS for causing the CPU to execute various processes are stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or non-volatile storage unit that stores various information, and is used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU. The control unit 31 controls the user terminal 3 by executing, by the CPU, various control programs stored in advance in the ROM or the storage unit 32.

[0052] Specifically, the control unit 31 functions as a browser processing unit 311 by executing various processes in accordance with the browser program stored in the storage unit 32. The browser processing unit 311 is capable of executing browser processing for displaying a web page provided from the reservation support device 2 via the communication network N1 on the operation display unit 33 and inputting operations on the operation display unit 33 to the reservation support device 2. In other words, the user terminal 3 can function as an operation terminal for the reservation support device 2 by the control unit 31 executing the browser program. Note that some or all of the processing units included in the control unit 31 may be configured with electronic circuits.

[0053] Specifically, in the user terminal 3, when a user operation is performed to request access to a predetermined URL corresponding to the reservation site of the reservation service provided by the reservation support system 1, the control unit 31 acquires webpage data of the reservation site from the reservation support device 2 and displays the webpage of the reservation site on the operation display unit 33. Note that, for example, the access request to the predetermined URL is made by a selection operation from a list of preregistered websites, a selection operation from search results on an information search site, or a text input operation. In addition, when a dedicated application corresponding to the reservation support device 2 is installed in the user terminal 3, the webpage of the reservation site is displayed on the operation display unit 33 by the user of the user terminal 3 performing an operation to start the dedicated application.

[0054] By operating the user terminal 3, a user can set desired search conditions on a search condition setting page P1 (see FIG. 8) of the reservation site, request a search for restaurants, and view a search result page P2 (see FIG. 9 and FIG. 10). For example, if a user wants to have lunch in facility A, the user can obtain information on restaurants that can be reserved in facility A by setting facility A as a search condition. The user can then select the desired restaurant from among the restaurants in facility A presented as the search result, and make a reservation application (request for reservation).

[0055] [Store terminal 4] 3, the store terminal 4 includes a control unit 41, a storage unit 42, an operation display unit 43, and a communication I / F 44. The store terminal 4 is an information processing device such as a tablet terminal or a personal computer. The store terminal 4 may further include the same functions as the reservation support device 2, or may be an information processing device integrated with the reservation support device 2.

[0056] The communication I / F 44 is a communication interface for connecting the store terminal 4 to the communication network N1 via wired or wireless connection, and for performing data communication in accordance with a specified communication protocol between the store terminal 4 and external devices such as the reservation support device 2 and the user terminal 3 via the communication network N1.

[0057] The operation display unit 43 is a user interface that includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display that displays information such as various web pages, and an operation unit such as a mouse, keyboard, or touch panel that accepts operations.

[0058] The storage unit 42 is a non-volatile storage unit such as an HDD, SSD, or flash memory that stores various information. For example, a control program such as a browser program is stored in the storage unit 42. Specifically, the browser program is a control program that causes the control unit 41 to execute communication processing with an external device such as the reservation support device 2 according to a communication protocol such as HTTP. The browser program may also be a dedicated application for executing communication processing with the reservation support device 2 according to a predetermined communication protocol.

[0059] The storage unit 42 also stores reservation management information (not shown) for managing reservations for restaurants. The reservation management information includes information such as the name of the person making the reservation, the number of people using the restaurant, the date and time of the visit, and the course of the meal.

[0060] The control unit 41 has control devices such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic processing. The ROM is a non-volatile storage unit in which control programs such as a BIOS and an OS for causing the CPU to execute various processes are stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or non-volatile storage unit that stores various information, and is used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU. The control unit 41 controls the store terminal 4 by executing various control programs stored in advance in the ROM or the storage unit 42 by the CPU.

[0061] Specifically, the control unit 41 functions as a browser processing unit 411 by executing various processes in accordance with the browser program stored in the storage unit 42. The browser processing unit 411 is capable of executing browser processing for displaying a web page provided from the reservation support device 2 via the communication network N1 on the operation display unit 43 and inputting operations on the operation display unit 43 to the reservation support device 2. In other words, the store terminal 4 can function as an operation terminal for the reservation support device 2 by the control unit 41 executing the browser program. Note that some or all of the processing units included in the control unit 41 may be configured with electronic circuits.

[0062] For example, in the store terminal 4, when a user operation is performed to make an access request to a predetermined URL corresponding to the reservation site provided by the reservation support system 1, the control unit 41 acquires webpage data of the reservation site from the reservation support device 2 and displays the webpage of the reservation site on the operation display unit 43. For example, the control unit 41 displays a reservation setting page (not shown) and accepts setting operations such as the number of seats from a manager of the restaurant. When the control unit 41 accepts the setting operation, the control unit 21 of the reservation support device 2 registers the number of seats in facility reservation information D2 (see FIG. 5). The store terminal 4 of each restaurant may store its own facility reservation information D2 in the storage unit 42.

[0063] Furthermore, when the reservation process is completed in the reservation support device 2, the control unit 41 receives a reservation completion email from the reservation support device 2. Upon receiving the reservation completion email, the control unit 41 registers the reservation details in the reservation management information.

[0064] [Reservation support processing] Hereinafter, the reservation support process executed in the reservation support system 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 11. Specifically, in this embodiment, the reservation support process is executed by the control unit 21 of the reservation support device 2. In addition, the control unit 21 executes the reservation support process in response to a search request from each user terminal 3.

[0065] The present invention can be understood as an invention of a reservation support method that executes one or more steps included in the reservation support process. One or more steps included in the reservation support process described here may be omitted as appropriate. The steps in the reservation support process may be executed in a different order as long as the same action and effect is achieved. Furthermore, although an example is described here in which the control unit 21 executes each step in the reservation support process, another embodiment of the reservation support method may be one in which one or more processors execute each step in the reservation support process in a distributed manner. The reservation support method is an example of a search support method of the present invention, and the reservation support program is an example of a search support program of the present invention.

[0066] Here, a description will be given of the reservation support process when a user makes a search request for restaurants included in facility A. It is assumed that the storage unit 22 of the reservation support device 2 stores reservation information corresponding to a plurality of facilities, for example, facility reservation information D2a (see FIG. 5) for facility A, facility reservation information D2b (see FIG. 6) for facility B, and facility reservation information D2c (see FIG. 7) for facility C.

[0067] First, in step S11, the control unit 21 judges whether or not a search request for a restaurant has been received from the user terminal 3. For example, when a user inputs search conditions such as area, visit date, visit time, number of people using the facility, and the like on the search condition setting page P1 (see FIG. 8) displayed on the user terminal 3 and presses the decision button K16, the control unit 21 receives the search request. Here, it is assumed that the user inputs "12:00" as the visit time and "Facility A" as the facility. When the control unit 21 receives the search request (S11: Yes), the process proceeds to step S12. The control unit 21 waits until the search request is received (S11: No). Step S11 is an example of a receiving step of the present invention.

[0068] In step S12, the control unit 21 identifies a facility to be searched for. Specifically, the control unit 21 acquires facility information included in the search request to identify the facility to be searched for. In this example, the control unit 21 identifies "facility A."

[0069] Next, in step S13, control unit 21 executes a search process based on the search request. Specifically, control unit 21 refers to store information D1 (see FIG. 4) and facility reservation information D2a (see FIG. 5) corresponding to facility A to search for restaurants that can be reserved under the search criteria among a plurality of restaurants included in facility A. For example, search processing unit 212 searches for restaurants that have a vacancy rate of 50% or more and whose business hours include the visit time, among a plurality of restaurants included in facility A. Step S13 is an example of a search step of the present invention.

[0070] Next, in step S14, the control unit 21 determines whether or not there is a restaurant (target store) that satisfies the search conditions. If there is at least one restaurant in facility A that satisfies the search conditions (S14: Yes), the process proceeds to step S15. If there is no restaurant in facility A that satisfies the search conditions (S14: No), the process returns to step S11. When returning to step S11, the control unit 21 accepts the search request again. For example, the user changes the search conditions, such as the time of visit or the facility, and the control unit 21 accepts a search request according to the changed search conditions.

[0071] In step S15, the control unit 21 outputs the results of the search process (search results). Specifically, the control unit 21 displays a search result page P2 (see FIG. 9) on the user terminal 3 that is the source of the search request. The search result page P2 displays a list of information on each restaurant in facility A that satisfies the search conditions (restaurant information R1). Step S15 is an example of an output step of the present invention. The above-mentioned steps S11 to S15 correspond to a search support process. The present invention can also be understood as an invention of a search support method that executes one or more steps included in the search support process.

[0072] Next, in step S16, the control unit 21 determines whether or not a reservation request for a restaurant has been accepted from the user terminal 3. For example, a user makes a reservation request for restaurant A1 on search result page P2 (see FIG. 9) displayed on the user terminal 3. The control unit 21 accepts the reservation request for restaurant A1 from the user terminal 3. If the control unit 21 accepts the reservation request (S16: Yes), the process proceeds to step S17. On the other hand, if the control unit 21 does not accept the reservation request (S16: No), the process returns to step S11. When returning to step S11, the control unit 21 accepts the search request again.

[0073] In step S17, control unit 21 executes reservation processing in response to the reservation request. Specifically, control unit 21 confirms the reservation for restaurant A1 in response to the reservation request, and updates the number of vacant seats and the vacant seat rate for restaurant A1 in facility reservation information D2 (see FIG. 5). In addition, upon confirming the reservation, control unit 21 sends a reservation completion email to user terminal 3 and store terminal 4 of restaurant A1.

[0074] In this manner, the control unit 21 executes the reservation assistance process. The control unit 21 executes the search process every time a search request is received from a user, and executes the reservation process every time a reservation request is received in the search results.

[0075] As described above, the reservation support device 2 according to the present embodiment accepts a search request including a search condition of a first facility (e.g., a commercial building, a shopping mall, etc.) including multiple stores (e.g., restaurants), searches for reservable stores among the multiple stores included in the first facility based on the accepted search request, and outputs the search result. For example, the reservation support device 2 searches for reservable restaurants that satisfy the search condition (e.g., the time of arrival, etc.) from among multiple restaurants included in facility A specified by a user as a search condition. According to the above configuration, when a user wants to use a restaurant in facility A, the user can specify facility A to obtain information on the restaurants included in facility A. This allows the user to easily search for restaurants included in facility A. It is therefore possible to improve the convenience of users who use facilities including multiple stores.

[0076] In addition, since the user does not need to set the store name of each store in the facility as a search condition and repeat the search, the processing load of search and reservation is reduced in the reservation support system 1. As a result, the reservation support system 1 can reduce communication traffic related to search processing and reservation processing and make effective use of computer resources.

[0077] The reservation support system of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. As another embodiment of the present invention, when there is no reservable restaurant in the first facility specified by the user in the search conditions, the search processing unit 212 may search for reservable restaurants in another second facility and present them to the user. For example, when the user inputs "facility A" in the search condition setting page P1 (see FIG. 8), when there is no reservable restaurant in facility A, the search processing unit 212 may search for reservable restaurants in facility B. FIG. 12 shows the search results for facility B. For example, the search processing unit 212 refers to the facility reservation information D2b (see FIG. 6) corresponding to facility B, and searches for reservable restaurants that satisfy the search conditions from among the multiple restaurants included in facility B. The output processing unit 213 displays the search result page P2 shown in FIG. 12 on the user terminal 3. This configuration can save the user the trouble of re-entering the facility.

[0078] Furthermore, when the search processing unit 212 does not accept a reservation from a user for a restaurant included in the search results corresponding to a first facility specified by the user in the search conditions, the search processing unit 212 may search for a restaurant that can be reserved under the same search conditions as the search conditions included in the search request corresponding to the first facility from among at least one restaurant included in other second facilities. For example, when the search processing unit 212 does not accept a reservation from a user for a first restaurant included in the search results corresponding to the first facility, the search processing unit 212 searches for a second restaurant that can be reserved in the same cuisine genre as the first restaurant from among at least one second restaurant included in the second facility.

[0079] In these configurations, for example, the search processing unit 212 may specify, as the facility to be searched (second facility), a facility closest to facility A, or may specify a facility of the same type as facility A's type (commercial building, shopping mall, complex, etc.), or may specify a facility that includes restaurants of the same type as the restaurants included in facility A (cuisine genre, customer demographic, business hours, etc.). In this way, the search processing unit 212 may specify the second facility to be searched based on at least one of the location of the first facility, the type of the first facility, and the type of the restaurants included in the first facility, and search for restaurants that can be reserved from at least one of the restaurants included in the specified second facility.

[0080] As another embodiment of the present invention, the search processing unit 212 may search a second facility different from the first facility when there is no store in the first facility whose distance or travel time from the reference floor (for example, the first floor of facility A or the floor where the user is located) is less than a predetermined value (corresponding to the second predetermined value of the present invention). For example, when the user is on the first floor of facility A designated as the search target, and the travel time to restaurant A2 on the seventh floor of facility A that can be reserved exceeds a predetermined time, the search processing unit 212 searches for a restaurant on the third floor of facility C (see FIG. 7) of facility C as the search target. The search processing unit 212 refers to facility reservation information D2c (see FIG. 7) corresponding to facility C and searches for a restaurant that can be reserved that satisfies the search conditions from among multiple restaurants included in facility C. In this case, the search processing unit 212 may output a search result that includes restaurants that can be reserved in facility A and restaurants that can be reserved in facility C.

[0081] The search support system of the present invention may not include a reservation process. In other words, the search support system of the present invention may be a system that only has a function of executing a search process in response to a search request and presenting the search results. In this case, the reservation support device 2 that realizes the search support system omits the reservation processing unit 214 and functions as a search support device.

[0082] The reservation support system 1 according to this embodiment may be configured as a system including a reception processing unit 211 that receives a search request including a first facility including multiple stores as a search condition, a search processing unit 212 that searches for stores that can be reserved among the multiple stores included in the first facility when the search request is received by the reception processing unit 211, and an output processing unit 213 that outputs the search results by the search processing unit 212.

[0083] Furthermore, the reservation assistance method according to the present embodiment may be a method in which one or more processors execute a reception step of receiving a search request including a first facility including multiple stores in the search criteria, a search step of searching for stores that can be reserved among the multiple stores included in the first facility when the search request is received in the reception step, and an output step of outputting the search results in the search step. Furthermore, the reservation assistance program according to the present embodiment may be a program for causing one or more processors to execute each of the steps. [Explanation of symbols]

[0084] 1: Reservation support system 2: Reservation support device 3: User terminal 4: Store terminal 211: Reception department 212: Search processing unit 213: Output processing section 214: Reservation processing unit

Claims

1. A reception processing unit that receives a search request including a first facility including a plurality of stores and a date and time of use of the first facility in a search condition setting screen; a search processing unit that, when the search request is received by the reception processing unit, refers to a storage unit in which the first facility is associated with a plurality of stores, and searches for a store that is available on the usage date and time among the plurality of stores included in the first facility; an output processing unit that outputs a search result by the search processing unit; A search support system comprising:

2. The search processing unit searches for an available store having a number of vacant seats or a vacant seat rate equal to or greater than a first predetermined value at the utilization date and time from among a plurality of stores included in the first facility. The search support system according to claim 1.

3. The reception processing unit receives the search request on the setting screen, the search condition further including a number of users.

3. The search support system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the first facility is a building having multiple floors, and facility information regarding the first facility is associated with floor information of a floor on which the store is located; the search processing unit searches for the store based on a distance or a required time from a reference floor to a floor on which the store is located; The search support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The reference floor is the first floor of the building or a floor where a user is located, the search processing unit searches preferentially for the store that is close to the reference floor or the store that takes a short time to travel from the reference floor; The search support system according to claim 4.

6. the search processing unit searches for a store included in a second facility different from the first facility when there is no store in the first facility whose distance or the required time from the reference floor is less than a second predetermined value.

6. The search support system according to claim 4 or 5.

7. when the search processing unit does not accept a reservation from the user for the store included in the search result corresponding to the first facility, the search processing unit searches for an available store from among at least one store included in a second facility different from the first facility, using the same search criteria as the search criteria included in the search request corresponding to the first facility. The search support system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The store is a restaurant, When the search processing unit does not accept a reservation from the user for a first restaurant included in the search result corresponding to the first facility, the search processing unit searches for a second restaurant that is available and serves the same cuisine as the first restaurant from among at least one second restaurant included in the second facility. The search support system according to claim 7.

9. The search processing unit identifies the second facility to be searched for based on at least one of a location of the first facility, a type of the first facility, and a type of a restaurant included in the first facility, and searches for an available restaurant from at least one restaurant included in the identified second facility. The search support system according to claim 7.

10. further comprising a reservation processing unit that accepts reservations for a store selected from the stores included in the search result; The search support system according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. One or more processors a receiving step of receiving a search request including a first facility including a plurality of stores and a date and time of using the first facility in the search condition setting screen; a search step of searching for a store that is available on the date and time of use among a plurality of stores included in the first facility by referring to a storage unit in which the first facility and a plurality of stores are associated with each other when the search request is accepted in the accepting step; an output step of outputting the search results in the search step; A search aid method for performing the above.

12. A reception step of receiving a search request including a first facility including a plurality of stores and a date and time of using the first facility in a search condition setting screen; a search step of searching for a store that is available on the date and time of use among a plurality of stores included in the first facility by referring to a storage unit in which the first facility and a plurality of stores are associated with each other when the search request is accepted in the accepting step; an output step of outputting the search results in the search step; A search support program for executing the above on one or more processors.

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