Ticket management device and ticket management method

Abstract

In the present invention, a ticket management device has one or a plurality of processors. The one or plurality of processors performs a process including: acquiring the current location of a wireless communication terminal owned by a user who has purchased a ticket to attend an event; acquiring the time required to travel from the current location of the wireless communication terminal to the venue of the event; estimating the possibility that the user will cancel attendance at the event by comparing the grace period from the current time to the start time of the event with the required time; and if the estimated cancellation possibility satisfies a prescribed condition, transmitting a message to the wireless communication terminal to confirm whether or not the attendance be cancelled.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to Ticket management device and ticket management method .

Background Art

[0002] Generally, participants in an event such as a concert or a sports game purchase tickets from the event organizer in advance and present the tickets at the event venue on the day of the event to enter the venue. In recent years, tickets are issued as electronic tickets, and ticket information is stored in a terminal device such as a smartphone carried by the user.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, when a participant in an event cannot participate in the event due to sudden circumstances, there is a problem that waste occurs in the facilities of the event venue. In particular, when a participant who has purchased a ticket comes to the event venue without permission, facilities such as seats for this participant are not effectively utilized, and the event organizer also suffers disadvantages.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a cancellation estimation using position information that can achieve effective utilization of the facilities of an event venue.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a ticket management device has one or more processors. The one or more processors acquire the current position of a wireless communication terminal held by a user who has purchased a ticket to participate in an event, acquire the required time for moving from the current position of the wireless communication terminal to the venue of the event, and compare the remaining time from the current time to the start time of the event with the required time Based on the result and execute a process including transmitting a message for checking whether there is a cancellation to the wireless communication terminal And sending the message means that when the required time is less than or equal to the time obtained by adding the duration of the event to the grace period, notifying the wireless communication terminal that there is a possibility of not making it in time for the start of the event and sending a message to check whether there is a cancellation, and when the required time exceeds the time obtained by adding the duration of the event to the grace period, sending a message to the wireless communication terminal to check whether there is a cancellation .

[0007] Also, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, a cancellation estimation method includes acquiring the current position of a wireless communication terminal held by a user who has purchased a ticket to participate in an event, acquiring the required time for moving from the current position of the wireless communication terminal to the venue of the event, and comparing the remaining time from the current time to the start time of the event with the required time Based on the result and has transmitting a message for checking whether there is a cancellation to the wireless communication terminal And sending the message means that when the required time is less than or equal to the time obtained by adding the duration of the event to the grace period, notifying the wireless communication terminal that there is a possibility of not making it in time for the start of the event and sending a message to check whether there is a cancellation, and when the required time exceeds the time obtained by adding the duration of the event to the grace period, sending a message to the wireless communication terminal to check whether there is a cancellation .

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below are examples and are not to be construed as being limited by this description.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a cancellation estimation system according to an embodiment. The cancellation estimation system shown in FIG. 1 estimates the possibility that a participant who holds a ticket cancels their participation in an event when the event that the participant can participate in is held at the event venue V. This cancellation estimation system has a ticket management device 100 and a map information system 200, and the ticket management device 100 is connected to a mobile network having a base station 10 and a user terminal 20.

[0011] The base station 10 forms a cell within the range where radio waves can reach and executes wireless communication with the user terminal 20 within the cell. Each cell formed by the base station 10 is assigned a cell ID, which is identification information, and it is possible to identify the base station 10 that forms each cell from the cell ID.

[0012] The user terminal 20 executes wireless communication with the base station 10 that forms this cell when it is within the cell formed by the base station 10. Among these user terminals 20, the user terminal 20 of a participant who participates in an event held at the event venue V stores the ticket information of the ticket necessary to participate in the event. Therefore, an event participant can enter the event venue V and participate in the event by presenting, for example, the ticket information stored in the user terminal 20.

[0013] The ticket management device 100 manages the ticket information stored in the user terminal 20. The ticket management device 100 stores the ticket information issued to the user terminal 20 of the participant who purchased the ticket in association with the identification information of the user terminal 20. Then, before the event starts, the ticket management device 100 estimates the possibility of canceling the participation in the event based on the current position of each user terminal 20. The ticket management device 100 checks whether there is a cancellation for the user terminal 20 with a high possibility of canceling the participation in the event, and if it is confirmed that there is a cancellation, it reflects the occurrence of the cancellation in the ticket information. Note that the configuration and operation of the ticket management device 100 will be described in detail later.

[0014] The map information system 200 stores map information, collects dynamic information such as weather and traffic information, and is a system capable of processing map information and searching for complex information. Such a map information system 200 includes, for example, a dynamic map system. The map information system 200 calculates the required time for moving from the current position of the user terminal 20 to the event venue V in response to a request from the ticket management device 100. At this time, the map information system 200 searches for the shortest route from the current position of the user terminal 20 to the event venue V and calculates the required time considering the weather and traffic information of the shortest route.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the ticket management device 100 according to an embodiment. The ticket management device 100 shown in FIG. 2 includes a communication interface unit (hereinafter abbreviated as "communication I / F unit") 110, a ticket information storage unit 120, a cell ID collection unit 130, a required time acquisition unit 140, a cancellation estimation unit 150, a cancellation confirmation unit 160, a cancellation processing unit 170, and a sales processing unit 180.

[0016] The communication I / F unit 110 has an interface for communicating with the base station 10, the user terminal 20, and the map information system 200, and transmits and receives various types of information. Specifically, the communication I / F unit 110 receives the cell ID of the cell in which the user terminal 20 is located from the user terminal 20, or transmits a calculation request for requesting the calculation of the required time to the map information system 200.

[0017] The ticket information storage unit 120 stores the ticket information issued to the user terminal 20 in association with the identification information of the user terminal 20. That is, when the user purchases a ticket to participate in an event, the ticket information storage unit 120 stores the ticket information including information such as the event date and time, the venue, and the seat type in association with the identification information of the user terminal 20 of this user.

[0018] The cell ID collection unit 130 calculates the remaining time from the current time to the start of the event before the event starts, and at the timing when the remaining time reaches a predetermined time, transmits a cell ID transmission request to the user terminal 20 that holds the ticket information. Then, the cell ID collection unit 130 collects the cell ID that identifies the cell in which each user terminal 20 is currently communicating from the user terminal 20. The cell ID collection unit 130 identifies the position of the base station 10 corresponding to the cell ID collected from the user terminal 20, and notifies the required time acquisition unit 140 of the position of the base station 10 as the current position of each user terminal 20.

[0019] When the current position of the user terminal 20 is notified from the cell ID collection unit 130, the required time acquisition unit 140 transmits a calculation request for the required time from the current position of the user terminal 20 to the event venue V to the map information system 200. Then, the required time acquisition unit 140 acquires the required time from the current position of the user terminal 20 to the event venue V from the map information system 200 as a response to the calculation request.

[0020] The cancellation estimation unit 150 estimates the possibility that a user who holds the user terminal 20 cancels participation in the event based on the time required for each user terminal 20 to reach the event venue V. Specifically, the cancellation estimation unit 150 compares the grace period until the start of the event with the time required for the user terminal 20 to reach the event venue V, and determines whether the required time is less than or equal to the grace period. Then, when the required time is less than or equal to the grace period, the cancellation estimation unit 150 estimates that the possibility of this user canceling is low because the user's arrival at the event venue V will be in time for the start of the event. Also, when the required time exceeds the grace period, the cancellation estimation unit 150 estimates that the possibility of this user canceling is high because the user's arrival at the event venue V will not be in time for the start of the event.

[0021] The cancellation confirmation unit 160 sends a confirmation message asking whether to cancel participation in the event to the user terminal 20 of the user estimated by the cancellation estimation unit 150 to have a high possibility of canceling. Then, as a response to the sent confirmation message, the cancellation confirmation unit 160 receives information indicating whether or not the participation in the event has been canceled from the user terminal 20.

[0022] The cancellation processing unit 170 executes cancellation processing for the user confirmed by the cancellation confirmation unit 160 to have canceled participation in the event. Specifically, the cancellation processing unit 170 updates the ticket information stored in the ticket information storage unit 120 associated with the user terminal 20 of the user who cancels participation in the event, and registers that it has been canceled.

[0023] When the cancellation process is executed by the cancellation processing unit 170, the sales processing unit 180 executes the sales processing for the surplus tickets generated by the cancellation. That is, the sales processing unit 180, for example, performs procedures for selling the surplus tickets at a predetermined sales site or inquires whether the registered user terminal 20 wants to purchase the surplus tickets. When the surplus tickets are purchased, the sales processing unit 180 updates the ticket information of the surplus tickets stored in the ticket information storage unit 120 and associates it with the user terminal 20 of the purchasing user.

[0024] Next, a ticket management method by the ticket management device 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3.

[0025] Before the start of the event, ticket information is stored in the ticket information storage unit 120 of the ticket management device 100 in association with the identification information of the user terminal 20 of the participants who purchased the tickets for the event. Then, the cell ID collection unit 130 calculates the remaining time from the current time until the start of the event (step S101). At the timing when the remaining time reaches a predetermined time, a transmission request for the cell ID is sent to the user terminal 20 of the participants who purchased the tickets. In response to the transmission request, the user terminal 20 of the participant sends the cell ID of the currently located cell to the ticket management device 100 via the base station 10. The cell IDs transmitted from each user terminal 20 are acquired by the cell ID collection unit 130 (step S102).

[0026] Since the cell ID is identification information unique to the base station 10, the base station 10 to which each user terminal 20 is connected is specified from the cell ID by the cell ID collection unit 130. Then, the position of the base station 10 is specified, and the position of the connected base station 10 is notified to the required time acquisition unit 140 as the current position of each user terminal 20. Note that instead of collecting the cell ID from each user terminal 20, the cell ID collection unit 130 may collect the position information of the current position measured by the user terminal 20 using, for example, GPS (Global Positioning System) from each user terminal 20.

[0027] When the current position of each user terminal 20 is notified, a request to calculate the required time from the current position of the user terminal 20 to the event venue V is transmitted to the map information system 200 by the required time acquisition unit 140 (step S103). The map information system 200 calculates the required time for each user terminal 20 to move to the event venue V and transmits the information on the required time for each user terminal 20 to the ticket management device 100. The calculation of the required time by the map information system 200 will be described in detail later. The information on the required time transmitted from the map information system 200 is acquired by the required time acquisition unit 140.

[0028] Then, by using the required time for each user terminal 20 by the cancellation estimation unit 150, the possibility that the user having each user terminal 20 cancels participation in the event is estimated. Specifically, the remaining time until the start of the event is compared with the required time to the event venue V, and it is determined whether the arrival of the user at the event venue V will be in time for the start of the event (step S104). As a result of this determination, if the required time is less than or equal to the remaining time and the arrival of the user at the event venue V will be in time for the start of the event (step S104 Yes), it is determined that the possibility that the user cancels participation in the event is low, and the process ends.

[0029] On the other hand, if as a result of the determination in step S104, the required time exceeds the buffer time and the user's arrival at the event venue V will not make it in time for the event start (step S104 No), it is then determined whether the user's arrival at the event venue V will make it in time for the event end (step S105). This determination can be realized, for example, by comparing the time obtained by adding the event duration to the buffer time until the event start with the required time to the event venue V. Also, for example, if the admittance time to the event venue V after the event start is restricted, the time obtained by adding the admittance time to the buffer time may be compared with the required time.

[0030] If as a result of the determination in step S105, the required time is less than or equal to the time obtained by adding the event duration to the buffer time and the user's arrival at the event venue V will make it in time for the event end (step S105 Yes), it is determined that there is a possibility that the user will be late for the event. On the other hand, if the required time exceeds the time obtained by adding the event duration to the buffer time and the user's arrival at the event venue V will not make it in time for the event end (step S105 No), it is determined that there is a high possibility that the user will cancel their participation in the event.

[0031] When it is determined that there is a high possibility that the user will cancel their participation in the event, a confirmation message asking whether to cancel the participation in the event is sent to the user terminal 20 by the cancellation confirmation unit 160 (step S106). Also, when it is determined that there is a possibility that the user will be late for the event, the cancellation confirmation unit 160 notifies that there is a possibility of not making it in time for the start of the event and sends a confirmation message asking whether to cancel the participation in the event to the user terminal 20 (step S107).

[0032] The user terminal 20 that receives the confirmation message presents the confirmation message to the user and transmits the user's response regarding whether or not to cancel to the ticket management device 100. The response regarding whether or not to cancel transmitted from the user terminal 20 is acquired by the cancellation confirmation unit 160. Then, the cancellation processing unit 170 determines whether or not a response indicating cancellation of participation in the event has been obtained (step S108). As a result of this determination, if a response indicating not to cancel participation in the event is obtained (step S108 No), it is determined that the user participates in the event and the process ends.

[0033] On the other hand, if a response indicating cancellation of participation in the event is obtained (step S108 Yes), cancellation processing is executed (step S109). That is, the ticket information stored in the ticket information storage unit 120 is updated, and it is registered that participation in the event has been cancelled for the user terminal 20 of the user who cancels participation in the event. Due to the occurrence of such a cancellation, the cancelled ticket becomes a surplus ticket. Therefore, the sales processing unit 180 executes a sales process for selling the surplus ticket. As a result, the cancelled ticket is purchased by another participant, and by this participant participating in the event, the facilities of the event venue V can be effectively utilized.

[0034] Next, a method for calculating the required time by the map information system 200 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 4.

[0035] The map information system 200 receives a required time calculation request including information on the current position of the user terminal 20 and the position of the event venue V from the ticket management device 100 (step S201). In response to this request, the map information system 200 searches for the shortest route from the current position of the user terminal 20 to the event venue V (step S202). The shortest route searched here is the route that takes the shortest time for the travel time from the current position of the user terminal 20 to the event venue V, and the means of transportation for moving along this route may include various ones.

[0036] When the map information system 200 obtains the shortest route through search, it obtains the weather information and traffic information on the shortest route (step S203). Then, the map information system 200 calculates the actual required time according to the weather and traffic conditions from the travel time for moving along the shortest route (step S204). The map information system 200 calculates the required time from the current position to the event venue V for each user terminal 20, and transmits the required time information including the required time of each user terminal 20 to the ticket management device 100 (step S205).

[0037] In this way, since the required time is calculated according to the weather and traffic conditions, the required time actually required for the user terminal 20 to move to the event venue V is notified to the ticket management device 100, and the possibility of cancellation can be accurately estimated.

[0038] FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a cancellation estimation method in the above cancellation estimation system.

[0039] It is assumed that the user terminal 20 holding the ticket information for participating in the event is connected to the base station 10 forming the cell where it is located (step S301). When the remaining time until the event starts reaches a predetermined time, the ticket management device 100 transmits a transmission request for the cell ID to the user terminal 20 holding the ticket information (step S302). In response to this transmission request, the user terminal 20 transmits the cell ID of the cell formed by the connected base station 10 to the ticket management device 100 (step S303).

[0040] When the ticket management device 100 collects the cell ID from each user terminal 20 that holds ticket information, it identifies the base station 10 corresponding to the cell ID. Then, the ticket management device 100 uses the position of the base station 10 as the current position of the user terminal 20 and sends a request to calculate the required time from the current position of the user terminal 20 to the event venue V to the map information system 200 (step S304). The map information system 200 searches for the shortest route from the current position of each user terminal 20 to the event venue V (step S305), and calculates the required time to the event venue V for each user terminal in consideration of the weather and traffic information on the shortest route (step S306). The map information system 200 sends the required time information including the required time of each user terminal 20 to the ticket management device 100 (step S307).

[0041] Based on the required time of each user terminal 20, the ticket management device 100 estimates the possibility that the user who holds the user terminal 20 cancels participation in the event (step S308). That is, the ticket management device 100 compares the remaining time until the event starts with the required time from the user terminal 20 to the event venue V. If the required time is less than or equal to the remaining time, it is estimated that the user's arrival at the event venue V will be in time for the event start, so the possibility of this user canceling is low. Also, if the required time exceeds the remaining time, the ticket management device 100 estimates that the user's arrival at the event venue V will not be in time for the event start, so the possibility of this user being late for or canceling participation in the event is high.

[0042] The ticket management device 100 transmits a confirmation message for checking whether there is a cancellation to the user terminal 20 of a user who is likely to be late for participating in the event or cancel the participation in the event (step S309). The user terminal 20 presents the confirmation message to the user and accepts the input of an answer. Then, the user terminal 20 transmits an answer indicating whether there is a cancellation to the ticket management device 100 (step S310). When an answer indicating cancellation is obtained, the ticket management device 100 executes a cancellation process of registering the cancellation in the ticket information associated with this user terminal 20 (step S311).

[0043] In this way, the ticket management device 100 estimates the possibility of cancellation of the user based on the time required from the current position of the user terminal 20 to the event venue V, and inquires whether there is a cancellation to the user with a high possibility of cancellation. For this reason, it is possible to grasp in advance that a user with a high possibility of cancellation cancels the participation in the event, and sell the surplus tickets generated by the cancellation to other users. As a result, other users who purchase the surplus tickets can participate in the event, and the facilities of the event venue V can be effectively utilized.

[0044] As described above, according to the present embodiment, the ticket management device acquires the current position of the user terminal possessed by the user who purchased the ticket, acquires the time required for moving from the current position to the event venue, and estimates the possibility that the user cancels the participation in the event based on the required time. Then, it checks whether there is a cancellation for the user with a high possibility of cancellation, and executes a cancellation process for the user who has answered to indicate cancellation. For this reason, the surplus tickets generated by the cancellation can be sold to other users, and the facilities of the event venue can be effectively utilized by this user participating in the event.

[0045] In the above-described embodiment, the position of the base station 10 to which the user terminal 20 is connected is used as the current position of the user terminal 20. However, it goes without saying that the current position measured by the user terminal 20 may also be used. In this case, the user terminal 20 may measure its own current position using, for example, GPS or the like, and transmit the current position to the ticket management device 100 instead of the cell ID.

[0046] The ticket management device 100 according to the above-described embodiment can be configured using a processor and a memory. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the ticket management device 100 according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the ticket management device 100 includes a processor 101, a memory 102, a storage 103, and a communication unit 104.

[0047] The processor 101 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and comprehensively controls the entire ticket management device 100 and executes various information processes.

[0048] The memory 102 includes, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory), and stores information used for the information processes executed by the processor 101.

[0049] The storage 103 includes, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), and stores various data.

[0050] The communication unit 104 has an interface for executing wired communication or wireless communication, and communicates with the base station 10 and the map information system 200.

[0051] Note that the ticket management device 100 may have other configurations (not shown) such as a display and operation switches.

[0052] It is also possible to describe the processing by the ticket management device 100 described in the above embodiment as a program executable by a computer. In this case, it is also possible to store this program in a computer-readable and non-transitory recording medium and introduce it into the computer. Examples of such recording media include portable recording media such as CD-ROMs, DVD disks, and USB memories, and semiconductor memories such as flash memories.

[0053] Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment, and also includes various modified examples in which components are added, deleted, or converted with respect to the above-described configuration.

[0054] The present disclosure described above includes the following [1] to [7].

[0055] [1] Having one or more processors, The one or more processors acquire the current position of a wireless communication terminal held by a user who has purchased a ticket to participate in an event, acquire the required time required for moving from the current position of the wireless communication terminal to the venue of the event, estimate the possibility that the user cancels participation in the event by comparing the remaining time from the current time to the start time of the event with the required time, when the estimated cancellation possibility satisfies a predetermined condition, send a message to the wireless communication terminal to confirm whether or not to cancel A ticket management device that executes processing including.

[0056] [2] Acquiring the required time acquire the required time calculated according to the weather and traffic conditions of the shortest route from the current position of the wireless communication terminal to the venue of the event from the travel time for moving along the shortest route The ticket management device according to [1] above.

[0057] [3] The estimating is when the required time exceeds the grace period, estimating that the user may cancel participation in the event The ticket management device according to [1] or [2] above.

[0058] [4] The estimating is when the required time is less than or equal to the grace period plus the duration of the event, estimating that the user may participate in the event late The ticket management device according to [3] above.

[0059] [5] The obtaining of the current position is obtaining identification information of the cell where the wireless communication terminal is located, and identifying the position of the base station corresponding to the cell from which the identification information is obtained The ticket management device according to [1] or [2] above, including the above.

[0060] [6] The processing is when an answer indicating cancellation is obtained from the wireless communication terminal for the message, performing a cancellation process on the ticket associated with the wireless communication terminal, and performing a sales process for the ticket for which the cancellation process is performed The ticket management device according to [1] or [2] above, further including the above.

[0061] [7] Obtaining the current position of a wireless communication terminal held by a user who has purchased a ticket to participate in an event, obtaining the required time required for moving from the current position of the wireless communication terminal to the venue of the event, Estimating the possibility that the user cancels participation in the event by comparing the lead time from the current time to the start time of the event with the required time; When the estimated cancellation possibility satisfies a predetermined condition, sending a message to the wireless communication terminal to confirm whether there is a cancellation; A cancellation estimation method having the above.

Explanation of Signs

[0062] 10 Base station 20 User terminal 100 Ticket management device 101 Processor 102 Memory 103 Storage 104 Communication unit 110 Communication I / F unit 120 Ticket information storage unit 130 Cell ID collection unit 140 Required time acquisition unit 150 Cancellation estimation unit 160 Cancellation confirmation unit 170 Cancellation processing unit 180 Sales processing unit 200 Map information system

Claims

1. having one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: obtain the current location of a wireless communication terminal held by a user who has purchased tickets to participate in an event; obtain the time required to move from the current location of the wireless communication terminal to the venue of the event; send a message to the wireless communication terminal based on a comparison result between the remaining time from the current time to the start time of the event and the required time; execute a process including the above; sending the message includes: when the required time is less than or equal to the remaining time plus the duration of the event, notify the wireless communication terminal that there may not be enough time to reach the start of the event, and send a message to confirm whether to cancel; when the required time exceeds the remaining time plus the duration of the event, send a message to the wireless communication terminal to confirm whether to cancel, a ticket management device.

2. Obtaining the required time includes: obtaining the required time calculated according to the weather and traffic conditions of the shortest route from the current location of the wireless communication terminal to the venue of the event from the travel time required to move along the shortest route. The ticket management device according to claim 1.

3. Obtaining the current location includes: obtaining the identification information of the cell where the wireless communication terminal is located; identifying the location of the base station corresponding to the cell from which the identification information is obtained. The ticket management device according to claim 1 or 2, including the above.

4. The process further includes: when a response indicating cancellation of the message is obtained from the wireless communication terminal, execute a cancellation process for the ticket associated with the wireless communication terminal; execute a sales process for the ticket for which the cancellation process is executed. The ticket management device according to claim 1 or 2, further including the above.

5. The ticket management device obtains the current location of a wireless communication terminal held by a user who has purchased tickets to participate in an event; The ticket management device obtains the time required to move from the current location of the wireless communication terminal to the venue of the event; The ticket management device transmits a message to the wireless communication terminal based on a comparison result between the remaining time from the current time to the start time of the event and the required time and has the transmitting of the message includes, when the required time is less than or equal to the remaining time plus the duration of the event, notifying the wireless communication terminal that there is a possibility of not making it in time for the start of the event and transmitting a message for confirming the presence or absence of cancellation, and when the required time exceeds the remaining time plus the duration of the event, transmitting a message for confirming the presence or absence of cancellation to the wireless communication terminal, a ticket management method.

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