Object Management System

Abstract

To provide a target object management system which can improve the convenience of a user.SOLUTION: A target object management system 1 includes a management server 3 for managing a target object. The management server 3 has a status acquisition unit 313. The status acquisition unit 313 has a use confirmation unit 313B for acquiring the position of a user. The status acquisition unit 313 acquires whether the position of the user is in a predetermined region as the status of the user. The management server 3 notifies the user of information regarding a target object by a terminal device 4 on the basis of target object information stored in a storage unit 32 in a case where the status acquisition unit 313 has acquired that the position of the user is in the predetermined region.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an object management system. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a system has been proposed for renting vacant conference rooms, which are objects in buildings, offices, hotels, etc., to general users (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The rental system described in Patent Document 1 comprises a management server that is open to a communication network such as the Internet, and multiple reservation servers that store information about conference rooms. Users can reserve their desired conference rooms by accessing the conference room information on the reservation servers via the management server. Furthermore, the rental system also has a billing function, allowing rental fees to be paid online.

[0003] Recently, automated conversation systems that utilize chatbots that utilize AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology to automatically respond to human inquiries have been attracting attention. Chatbots that utilize such AI technology are able to respond appropriately to human inquiries by having the AI learn from past questions and answers based on technologies such as deep learning. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-150178 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, such chatbots utilizing AI technology respond with a uniform answer based on learning results from past questions and answers, regardless of the current situation of the person asking the question. Therefore, for example, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, when a question is asked about a conference room, which is an object under reservation, a uniform answer will be given regardless of which conference room the user has reserved, resulting in a problem of reduced convenience for the user.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an object management system that can improve user convenience. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention Hourly rental equipment The management system is Time-charging facilities connected via communication lines and a management server that manages the information and is connected to the management server via a communication line and processes the information. Hourly rental equipment and an information processing means for outputting the information to a user. Hourly rental equipment The management system includes: Reservation information for users of hourly rental facilities and Regarding Feelings Information and a user location acquisition unit that acquires the user's location; Based on the reservation information stored in the storage unit, whether or not the hourly rental facility is currently reserved is acquired as the user's status; The user's location acquired by the user location acquisition unit Based on the time rental facilities are being used a status acquisition unit that acquires whether or not the user has a problem as the user's situation through information processing means; Hourly rental equipment a question receiving unit that receives a question from a user regarding the answer; an answer generating unit that generates an answer to the question from the user when the question receiving unit receives the question from the user; and an answer transmitting unit that transmits the answer generated by the answer generating unit to the information processing means, Generate The department is When the status acquisition unit acquires that the hourly rental facility is being reserved and acquires that the hourly rental facility is not currently being used as the user's status, a response regarding the reserved hourly rental facility is generated, and when the status acquisition unit acquires that the hourly rental facility is currently being used as the user's status, a response regarding the hourly rental facility currently being used is generated based on information regarding the hourly rental facility stored in the storage unit. It is characterized by the following.

[0008] According to this configuration, The answer generation unit generates an answer regarding the reserved hourly rental facility when the status acquisition unit acquires that the hourly rental facility is being reserved and acquires that the hourly rental facility is not currently being used as the user's status, and generates an answer regarding the currently used hourly rental facility based on information regarding the hourly rental facility stored in the storage unit when the status acquisition unit acquires that the hourly rental facility is currently being used as the user's status. So, users, If the reserved hourly rental facility is not in use, the user can receive a response regarding the reserved hourly rental facility via the information processing means, and can then use the hourly rental facility. By doing so, through the information processing means Hourly rental facilities currently in use Regarding answer Therefore, Hourly rental equipmentThe management system is designed to provide appropriate services according to the user's situation. Hourly rental equipment Regarding answer as a means of information processing send This can improve the convenience for users.

[0010] In addition, the management server performs the following via the information processing means: Hourly rental equipment When a user's question regarding the above is received, the answer generation unit generates an answer to the user's question, and the answer generated by the answer generation unit is Once Since the answer is transmitted from the answer transmitting unit to the information processing means, the answer generating unit can generate an appropriate answer to the user's question in accordance with the user's situation, and the answer transmitting unit can notify the user by transmitting this answer to the information processing means. Hourly rental equipment The management system of the above can transmit to the information processing means an appropriate answer to a user's question according to the user's situation, thereby improving user convenience.

[0013] In the present invention, the answer generating unit generates a response to a question from a user received by the question receiving unit. Hourly rental equipment Related information related to the above is obtained from outside the management server via a communication line, and an answer to the user's question is generated based on this related information. However, the information related to the hourly rental facility is different from the information about the hourly rental facility stored in the storage unit. It is preferable that

[0014] According to this configuration, the answer generating unit generates a response relating to the user's question received by the question receiving unit. Hourly rental equipment Related information related to the object is acquired from outside the management server via a communication line, and an answer to the user's question is generated based on this related information. However, the information related to the hourly rental facility is different from the information about the hourly rental facility stored in the storage unit. Therefore, the data stored in the memory Regarding hourly rental facilities Informed answer Not only that, but also based on related information obtained from outside the management server via a communication line answer of Generate Therefore, Hourly rental equipment The management system of item (1) can transmit to the information processing means a more appropriate answer to a user's question according to the user's situation, thereby further improving convenience for the user.

[0015] In the present invention, it is preferable that the management server comprises an instruction receiving unit that receives instructions from a user via an information processing means, and an operation execution unit that executes an operation in response to the user's instruction when the instruction receiving unit receives the user's instruction.

[0016] According to this configuration, when the management server receives a command from a user at the command receiving unit, the operation execution unit executes the operation corresponding to the user's command, so that the user can have the management server execute the desired operation by sending a command to the management server.

[0017] In the present invention, the operation execution unit performs the following based on the user's command received by the command receiving unit: Equipment installed inside hourly rental facilities It is preferable to make the device execute a predetermined operation.

[0018] According to this configuration, the operation execution unit performs the following operation based on the user's command received by the command receiving unit: Equipment installed inside hourly rental facilities For example, the user can Hourly rental equipment Inside device If you are looking for device Send a command to make a sound to device Therefore, the management server can improve the convenience for the user.

[0019] In the present invention, hourly rental The facilities are hourly rental The user location acquisition unit is provided with a locking device for locking and unlocking the equipment. hourly rental When the equipment locking device is unlocked successfully, hourly rental It is preferable to obtain the location of the facility as the location of the user.

[0020] According to this configuration, the user position acquisition unit hourly rental When the equipment locking device is unlocked successfully, hourly rental Since the location of the facility is acquired as the user's location, the user's location can be easily identified without providing a new device or function for acquiring the user's location.

[0021] In the present invention, the management server hourly rental Installed inside the facility Possible It is preferable that the vehicle navigation system further includes a movable object position acquisition unit that acquires the position of the animal, and the answer generation unit generates an answer regarding the position of the movable object acquired by the movable object position acquisition unit.

[0022] According to this configuration, the answer generation unit generates an answer regarding the position of the movable object acquired by the movable object position acquisition unit. hourly rental The position of movable objects installed inside the facility can be easily grasped.

[0023] In the present invention, the management server hourly rental Installed inside the facility Machine It is preferable that the device operation unit be provided for operating the appliance, and the response generation unit generate a response regarding the appliance operated by the appliance operation unit.

[0024] According to this configuration, the management server hourly rental The equipment includes a device operation unit that operates devices installed inside the facility, and the response generation unit generates a response regarding the device operated by the device operation unit. For example, hourly rental They can respond appropriately to questions about the operation of equipment installed inside the facility by actually operating the equipment.

[0025] In the present invention, the management server hourly rental Installed inside the facility Machine It is preferable that the device further comprises an operation status acquisition unit that acquires the operation status of the device, and the response generation unit generates a response regarding the operation status of the device acquired by the operation status acquisition unit.

[0026] According to this configuration, the management server hourly rental The equipment includes an operation status acquisition unit that acquires the operation status of devices installed inside the equipment, and the response generation unit generates a response regarding the operation status of the devices acquired by the operation status acquisition unit. hourly rental Be able to appropriately answer questions regarding malfunctions of equipment installed inside the facility. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0027] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of an object management system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] Functional block diagram showing the general configuration of an object management system [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of an object management system. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the touch panel of the terminal device when the question receiving unit receives a question from a user regarding the position of a movable object. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the touch panel of the terminal device when a question receiving unit receives a user's question about device operation. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the touch panel of the terminal device when a question receiving unit receives a question from a user regarding the operating status. [Figure 7] A diagram showing the state in which a user is asked to select one room from multiple rooms currently reserved. [Figure 8] A diagram showing the status after selecting one of the rooms in a reservation DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0028] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an object management system according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 1, the management system 1 for objects includes a building 2 having a plurality of rooms 20 (rental spaces) as hourly rental facilities (objects), a management server 3 that manages the building 2, and terminal devices 4 such as mobile phones, smartphones, and personal computers owned by users who wish to use the building 2. The terminal devices 4 function as information processing means that processes information and outputs it to users of the hourly rental facilities. The building 2, management server 3, and terminal devices 4 are interconnected so as to be able to communicate with each other via the Internet 5, a public network that serves as a communication line.

[0029] Each room 20 is equipped with an entrance 21 and a locking device 22 for locking and unlocking the entrance 21. The locking device 22 can be unlocked using an unlocking key, such as a personal identification number issued to the user's terminal device 4 from the management server 3, or an optical code such as a barcode or QR code (registered trademark). This unlocking key is changed randomly each time the room is used, and a user who has made a reservation for that time can unlock the locking device 22 using their own unique unlocking key. In this embodiment, the unlocking key uses a personal identification number or an optical code such as a barcode or QR code (registered trademark), but biometric authentication such as facial authentication, fingerprint authentication, or retinal authentication may also be used, and any method may be used as long as it can unlock the lock device 22.

[0030] Each room 20 is equipped with a communication terminal device 23 such as a modem or a router connected via a LAN (Local Area Network), and devices 24 to 29 connected to the Internet 5 via the communication terminal device 23. In other words, the devices 24 to 29 are connected to the management server 3 via the Internet 5. The devices 24 to 29 are so-called IoT (Internet of Things) devices, and by connecting to the Internet 5, they can transmit and receive various information to and from external devices including the management server 3. Therefore, the management server 3 can transmit control commands to the devices 24 to 29 to control the operations of the devices 24 to 29, and can receive information transmitted from the devices 24 to 29.

[0031] Specifically, device 24 is air conditioning device 24 installed on the wall of room 20, device 25 is a plurality of lighting devices 25 installed on the ceiling of room 20, device 26 is projector 26 installed on the floor of room 20, and device 27 is screen 27 installed on the wall of room 20. Furthermore, device 28 is air conditioning remote controller 28 for operating air conditioning device 24, and device 29 is video remote controller 29 for operating projector 26 and screen 27. In addition, the devices may be IoT devices of a different type than devices 24 to 29, and each room 20 may be equipped with other devices such as furniture such as desks and chairs, multifunction printers, whiteboards, and LCD displays in addition to IoT devices such as devices 24 to 29.

[0032] A user can use a terminal device 4 to access the management server 3 via the Internet 5, search for the room 20 they wish to use, and reserve the room 20 by specifying the date and time of use (start time and end time of use).

[0033] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an object management system. 2, the terminal device 4 includes a touch panel 41. The touch panel 41 receives information input in response to a user's operation, and provides the information to the user in the form of an image.

[0034] The management server 3 includes a control unit 31. The control unit 31 is configured with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, etc., and executes information processing according to a predetermined program stored in the memory. The control unit 31 includes a reservation information setting unit 311, a question receiving unit 312, a status acquisition unit 313, an answer generating unit 314, an answer transmitting unit 315, and a storage unit 32.

[0035] The storage unit 32 is configured by the memory of the control means 31, but may also be configured by a hard disk drive (HDD), a network attached storage (NAS), or the like, or may also be configured by a cloud service. Furthermore, each function of the control means 31 is executed according to a program stored in the storage unit 32, but each function may be configured by an independent device or may be configured by cloud computing.

[0036] Here, the storage unit 32 stores in advance object information related to the room 20. Specifically, the storage unit 32 stores in advance object information related to the room 20, such as the location of the room 20, the positions of the devices 24 to 29 installed in the room 20, the specifications of each of the devices 24 to 29, how to use each of the devices 24 to 29, and the position of the switch of the lighting device 25.

[0037] The reservation information setting unit 311 accepts a reservation for the room 20 via the terminal device 4, and stores and sets reservation information relating to the user of the room 20 and the date and time of use (use start time and use end time) in the storage unit 32. The question receiving unit 312 receives a question from a user about the room 20 via the terminal device 4. The status acquisition unit 313 includes a reservation confirmation unit 313A and a usage confirmation unit 313B.

[0038] The reservation confirmation unit 313A confirms whether the room 20 is currently reserved based on the user related to the question received by the question receiving unit 312 and the reservation information stored in the storage unit 32. Specifically, based on the user related to the question received by the question receiving unit 312 and the reservation information stored in the memory unit 32, the reservation confirmation unit 313A confirms that room 20 is currently reserved if the user related to the question is set in the reservation information, and confirms that room 20 is not currently reserved if the user related to the question is not set in the reservation information.

[0039] When the reservation confirmation unit 313A confirms that the room 20 is currently reserved, the use confirmation unit 313B confirms whether the room 20 is currently being used. Specifically, the usage confirmation unit 313B acquires the location of the user related to the question received by the question receiving unit 312, and acquires whether or not the room 20 is being used as the user's status based on the user's location and the location of the reserved room 20. For example, the usage confirmation unit 313B can be configured to acquire, when the user's location is inside or near the room 20, that the room 20 is being used as the user's status, and to acquire, when the user's location is not inside or near the room 20, that the room 20 is not being used as the user's status. In other words, the usage confirmation unit 313B acquires, as the user's status, whether or not the location of the user related to the question received by the question receiving unit 312 is within a predetermined area. With this configuration, the usage confirmation unit 313B also functions as a user location acquisition unit that acquires the user's location.

[0040] Here, when the locking device 22 of the room 20 is unlocked normally, the usage confirmation unit 313B may acquire the location of the room 20 as the user's location, or may acquire the user's location by installing an app on the terminal device 4 and having the user register as a member of the app, and using the location information of the terminal device 4, etc. If the usage confirmation unit 313B is configured to acquire the location of the room 20 as the user's location when the locking device 22 of the room 20 is unlocked normally, the user's location can be easily identified without providing any new device or function to acquire the user's location.

[0041] When the usage confirmation unit 313B acquires that the user's location is within a predetermined area, the answer generation unit 314 generates an answer to the user's question based on the object information stored in the storage unit 32. In other words, when the usage confirmation unit 313B acquires that the user's location is within a predetermined area, the answer generation unit 314 notifies the user of information about the object via the terminal device 4 based on the object information stored in the storage unit 32. Specifically, when the status acquisition unit 313 confirms that the room 20 is currently reserved and acquires that the room 20 is not currently in use as the user's status, the answer generation unit 314 generates an answer regarding the room 20 that is currently in use. Furthermore, when the status acquisition unit 313 acquires that the room 20 is currently in use as the user's status (when the usage confirmation unit 313B acquires that the user's location is within a predetermined area), the answer generation unit 314 generates an answer regarding the room 20 that is currently in use.

[0042] The answer generating unit 314 notifies the user of information about the object via the terminal device 4 based on the object information stored in the memory unit 32, but may also be configured to obtain related information related to the object related to the user's question received by the question receiving unit 312 from outside the management server 3 via the Internet 5, and generate an answer to the user's question based on this related information. Here, the related information may be any information related to the object. For example, if the object is a plurality of rooms 20 as hourly rental facilities, the related information may be information that changes in real time, such as the temperature and weather in the area where the plurality of rooms 20 are located, or may be fixed information such as parks and restaurants near the location where the plurality of rooms 20 are located. With this configuration, the answer generation unit 314 can notify the user not only of information based on the object information stored in the storage unit 32, but also of information based on related information acquired from outside the management server 3 via the Internet 5. Therefore, the object management system 1 can transmit to the terminal device 4 a more appropriate answer to the user's question that is tailored to the user's situation, thereby further improving user convenience.

[0043] Furthermore, the status acquisition unit 313 confirms that the room 20 is currently reserved, and when it acquires the user's status that the room 20 is not currently in use, it allows the user to select one room 20 from among the multiple rooms 20 currently reserved. In this embodiment, when the acquired user status indicates that the room 20 is not in use, the user is allowed to select one room 20, but the user may be allowed to select one room 20 regardless of whether the room 20 is in use or not. In this embodiment, the status acquisition unit 313 allows the user to select one room 20 from among multiple reserved rooms 20, but the user may be allowed to select multiple rooms 20.

[0044] Here, the response generating unit 314 includes a movable object position acquiring unit 314A, a device operating unit 314B, and an operation state acquiring unit 314C. The movable object position acquisition unit 314A acquires the positions of movable objects as targets installed inside the room 20. In this embodiment, the movable object position acquisition unit 314A acquires the positions of the air conditioning remote controller 28 and the video remote controller 29, which are movable objects installed inside the room 20. Then, the answer generating unit 314 generates an answer regarding the position of the movable object acquired by the movable object position acquiring unit 314A.

[0045] Here, the air conditioning remote controller 28 and the video remote controller 29 have built-in electronic tags, and by using these electronic tags, the movable object position acquisition unit 314A is able to acquire the positions of the air conditioning remote controller 28 and the video remote controller 29. The movable object position acquisition unit may have any configuration as long as it can acquire the position of the movable object. For example, a beacon may be used instead of an electronic tag, or the unit may be configured to capture an image of the interior of the room 20 using an imaging means and acquire the position of the movable object through image processing.

[0046] In this embodiment, the movable object position acquisition unit 314A also functions as an object position acquisition unit that acquires the position of a movable object that is the object related to the question received by the question receiving unit 312 when the question receiving unit 312 receives a question from a user. The answer generation unit may be configured to change the answer to the user's question based on the distance between the user's position acquired by the user position acquisition unit and the object's position acquired by the object position acquisition unit. For example, the answer generation unit may be configured to generate an explanation of the object as an answer when the user and the object are close to each other, such as when the user is holding the object, and to generate the location of the object as an answer when the user and the object are far apart, such as when the user is searching for the object.

[0047] The device operation unit 314B operates the devices 24 to 29 as objects installed inside the room 20. For example, the device operation unit 314B can operate the projector 26 to turn the power on / off and cause the projector 26 to project a predetermined image. Then, the response generating unit 314 generates a response regarding the device 24 to 29 operated by the device operating unit 314B.

[0048] The operation status acquisition unit 314C acquires the operation status of each of the devices 24 to 29 as objects installed inside the room 20. For example, when the projector 26 is operated by the device operation unit 314B, the operation status acquisition unit 314C can acquire, as the operation status, whether the power was turned on / off normally, whether a predetermined image was projected, and the like. Then, the response generating unit 314 generates a response regarding the operation status of the devices 24 to 29 acquired by the operation status acquiring unit 314C. In this embodiment, the answer generating unit 314 includes both the device operating unit 314B and the operation status acquiring unit 314C, but may include only one of the functions.

[0049] The response sending unit 315 sends the response generated by the response generating unit 314 to the terminal device 4 .

[0050] As mentioned above, in this embodiment, when the question receiving unit 312 receives a question from a user, the usage confirmation unit 313B also functions as an object position acquisition unit that acquires the position of the room 20, which is the object related to the question received by the question receiving unit 312. Then, when the status acquisition unit 313 confirms that the room 20 is reserved and acquires as the user's status that the room 20 is not currently in use, the status acquisition unit 313 allows the user to select one of the multiple reserved rooms 20, so the content of the answer generated by the answer generation unit 314 differs between when the room 20 is not currently in use (when the distance between the user and the object is far) and when the room 20 is currently in use (when the distance between the user and the object is close). In other words, the answer generation unit changes the answer to the user's question based on the distance between the user's position acquired by the user position acquisition unit and the object's position acquired by the object position acquisition unit.

[0051] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the object management system. The control means 31 of the management server 3 repeatedly executes various processes in steps ST1 to ST13 at predetermined time intervals, as shown in FIG.

[0052] As described above, a user of room 20 can use terminal device 4 to access management server 3 via Internet 5, search for the room 20 they wish to use, specify the time of use, and make a reservation for room 20.

[0053] In step ST1, the control means 31 determines whether or not a reservation for the room 20 has been accepted via the terminal device 4. If it is determined in step ST1 that the reservation for the room 20 has not been accepted, the control means 31 executes the processes in and after step ST5 without executing the processes in and after step ST2. On the other hand, if it is determined in step ST1 that a reservation for room 20 has been accepted, the reservation information setting unit 311 stores and sets reservation information regarding the user of room 20 and the usage date and time (start time and end time of usage) set by the reservation in the memory unit 32 in step ST2.

[0054] After executing the process of step ST2, the control means 31 issues an unlocking key for unlocking the locking device 22 of the room 20 to the user based on the reservation information stored in the storage unit 32 in step ST3. After executing the process of step ST3, the control means 31 notifies the user of the unlocking key issued in step ST3 by e-mail or the like in step ST4.

[0055] After executing the processing of step ST4, or if it is determined in step ST1 that a reservation for room 20 has not been accepted, the question receiving unit 312 determines in step ST5 whether or not a question from a user regarding room 20 has been received via the terminal device 4. If it is determined in step ST5 that a question from the user has not been received, the control means 31 ends the various processes without executing the processes from step ST6 onwards. On the other hand, if it is determined in step ST5 that a question from a user has been received, the reservation confirmation unit 313A checks in step ST6 whether the room 20 is currently reserved based on the user related to the question received by the question receiving unit 312 and the reservation information stored in the memory unit 32. Specifically, based on the user related to the question received by the question receiving unit 312 and the reservation information stored in the memory unit 32, the reservation confirmation unit 313A confirms that room 20 is currently reserved if the user related to the question is set in the reservation information, and confirms that room 20 is not currently reserved if the user related to the question is not set in the reservation information.

[0056] If it is determined in step ST6 that the room 20 is currently reserved, the control means 31 executes the processes of step ST7 and subsequent steps. On the other hand, if it is determined in step ST6 that the room 20 is not currently reserved, the control means 31 executes the processes from step ST13 onwards.

[0057] First, the flow when it is determined in step ST6 that the room 20 is currently reserved will be described. If it is determined in step ST6 that the room 20 is currently reserved, the use confirmation unit 313B acquires, in step ST7, whether or not the room 20 is currently being used as the user's status. Specifically, the usage confirmation unit 313B acquires the location of the user related to the question received by the question receiving unit 312, and acquires the user's status as to whether or not the room 20 is being used based on the user's location and the location of the reserved room 20.

[0058] If it is determined in step ST7 that the room 20 is in use, the answer generation unit 314 generates an answer regarding the room 20 in use in step ST8. Thereafter, in step ST9, the answer transmission unit 315 transmits the answer generated by the answer generation unit 314 to the terminal device 4. Thereafter, the control means 31 terminates various processes. An example of a response regarding the room 20 currently in use will be described below.

[0059] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the touch panel of the terminal device when the question receiving unit receives a question from a user regarding the position of a movable object. 4, a user can operate the touch panel 41 to input "Where is the air conditioning remote control?" and send a question to the management server 3. When such a user's question is received by the question receiving unit 312, the movable object position acquiring unit 314A acquires the position of the air conditioning remote controller 28 (movable object) installed inside the room 20. Then, the answer generation unit 314 generates an answer regarding the position of the air conditioning remote controller 28 acquired by the movable object position acquisition unit 314A, and the answer transmission unit 315 transmits this answer regarding the position of the air conditioning remote controller 28 to the terminal device 4. In this embodiment, the answer generation unit 314 generates an answer such that a map image G20 of the room 20 and device images G24 to G27 of the devices 24 to 27 are displayed on the touch panel 41 of the terminal device 4, and a position image G28 indicating the position of the air conditioning remote controller 28 is displayed in a flashing manner on the touch panel 41 of the terminal device 4.

[0060] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the touch panel of the terminal device when the question receiving unit receives a question from a user regarding device operation. 5, a user can operate the touch panel 41 to input "I would like to turn on the projector" and send a question to the management server 3. When such a user's question is received by the question receiving unit 312, the device operating unit 314B operates the projector 26 installed inside the room 20 to turn on the power. Then, the answer generation unit 314 generates an answer regarding the projector 26 operated by the device operation unit 314B, and the answer transmission unit 315 transmits the answer regarding this projector 26 to the terminal device 4. In this embodiment, the answer generation unit 314 generates an answer such that the answer "The projector has been turned on" is displayed on the touch panel 41 of the terminal device 4 as a report to the user.

[0061] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the touch panel of the terminal device when the question receiving unit receives a question from a user regarding the operating state. 6, a user can operate the touch panel 41 to input "The air conditioning is not working" and send a question to the management server 3. When such a question from a user is received by the question receiving unit 312, the operating status acquiring unit 314C acquires the operating status of the air conditioning equipment 24 installed inside the room 20. The answer generation unit 314 then generates an answer regarding the operating status of the air conditioner 24 acquired by the operating status acquisition unit 314C, and the answer transmission unit 315 transmits the answer regarding the operating status of the air conditioner 24 to the terminal device 4. In this embodiment, the answer generation unit 314 generates an answer such that the answer "There is a problem with the air conditioning" and "We have contacted the administrator, so please wait" are displayed on the touch panel 41 of the terminal device 4 as a report to the user.

[0062] If it is determined in step ST7 that the room 20 is not currently in use, the status acquisition unit 313 determines in step ST10 whether the number of reservations for the room 20 made by the user relating to the question is two or more. If it is determined in step ST10 that the number of reservations is two or more, the status acquisition unit 313 prompts the user to select one room 20 from the plurality of rooms 20 currently reserved in step ST11.

[0063] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which a user is prompted to select one room from among a plurality of rooms currently reserved. For example, as shown in FIG. 7 , a user can input “I forgot my unlock key” by operating the touch panel 41 and send a question to the management server 3. When the question receiving unit 312 receives such a user's question and determines that the room 20 is not currently in use, the status acquiring unit 313 determines whether the number of reservations for the room 20 of the user pertaining to the question is two or more. If the number of reservations is two or more, the status acquiring unit 313 displays a message to the user, such as “Please select the date and time of your reservation,” on the touch panel 41 of the terminal device 4, and also displays options C1 and C2 on the touch panel 41 of the terminal device 4, allowing the user to select one room 20 from among the multiple rooms 20 currently reserved. In the example of FIG. 7 , option C1 indicates a reservation for 10:00 on the 10th, and option C2 indicates a reservation for 15:00 on the 20th.

[0064] After executing the process of step ST11, or when it is determined in step ST10 that the number of reservations is not two or more (when it is determined that the number of reservations is one), the answer generation unit 314 generates an answer regarding the reserved room 20 in step ST12. Thereafter, the answer transmission unit 315 transmits the answer generated by the answer generation unit 314 to the terminal device 4 in the above-mentioned step ST9. Thereafter, the control means 31 terminates various processes.

[0065] FIG. 8 shows the state after one room has been selected from among a plurality of rooms currently reserved. 8, the user can select option C1 from options C1 and C2 by operating the touch panel 41 and transmit the selection result to the management server 3. In this embodiment, option C2, which is not selected by the user, is grayed out. Then, the answer generation unit 314 generates an answer regarding the room 20 of the option C1 selected by the user, and the answer transmission unit 315 transmits the answer regarding the room 20 of the option C1 to the terminal device 4. In this embodiment, the answer generation unit 314 generates an answer to be displayed on the touch panel 41 of the terminal device 4 as a report to the user, saying, "The unlock key for the reservation at 10:00 on the 10th is 1234."

[0066] Next, a flow when it is determined in step ST6 that the room 20 is not currently reserved will be described. If it is determined in step ST6 that the room 20 is not currently reserved, the answer generation unit 314 generates a normal answer in step ST13. Thereafter, the answer transmission unit 315 transmits the answer generated by the answer generation unit 314 to the terminal device 4 in the above-mentioned step ST9. Thereafter, the control means 31 terminates various processes.

[0067] Here, the normal answers are based on technologies such as deep learning, which allows the AI to learn from past questions and answers so that it can respond appropriately to human inquiries, and are similar to chatbots that utilize conventional AI technology.

[0068] According to this embodiment, the following actions and effects can be achieved. (1) When the status acquisition unit 313 acquires that the user's location is within a predetermined area, the management server 3 notifies the user of information about the object via the terminal device 4 based on the object information stored in the storage unit 32. Therefore, by entering the predetermined area, the user can receive information about the object via the terminal device 4. Therefore, the object management system 1 can notify the terminal device 4 of information about the object appropriate to the user's situation, thereby improving user convenience.

[0069] (2) When the management server 3 receives a user's question regarding an object that is the subject of an inquiry response via the terminal device 4, the answer generation unit 314 generates an answer to the user's question, and the answer, which is information regarding the object, generated by the answer generation unit 314 is transmitted to the terminal device 4 by the answer transmission unit 315. Therefore, the answer generation unit 314 can appropriately generate an answer to the user's question in accordance with the user's situation, and the answer transmission unit 315 can notify the user by transmitting this answer to the terminal device 4. Therefore, the object management system 1 can transmit an appropriate answer to the user's question in accordance with the user's situation to the terminal device 4, thereby improving user convenience.

[0070] (3) The answer generation unit 314 changes the answer to the user's question based on the distance between the user's position acquired by the user position acquisition unit and the object's position acquired by the object position acquisition unit. Therefore, the object management system 1 can send to the terminal device 4 a more appropriate answer to the user's question that is tailored to the user's situation, thereby improving user convenience. (4) When the locking device 22 of the room 20 is unlocked normally, the user location acquisition unit acquires the location of the room 20 as the user's location. Therefore, the user's location can be easily identified without providing any new device or function to acquire the user's location.

[0071] (5) The answer generation unit 314 generates an answer regarding the position of the movable object acquired by the movable object position acquisition unit 314A, so that the user can easily grasp the position of the movable object installed inside the room 20. (6) The management server 3 is equipped with an equipment operation unit 314B that operates the equipment 24 to 29 installed inside the room 20, and the answer generation unit 314 generates answers regarding the equipment 24 to 29 operated by the equipment operation unit 314B, so that the management server 3 can appropriately answer questions regarding the operation of the equipment 24 to 29 installed inside the room 20 by actually operating the equipment 24 to 29. (7) The management server 3 is equipped with an operation status acquisition unit 314C that acquires the operation status of the devices 24 to 29 installed inside the room 20, and the answer generation unit 314 generates answers regarding the operation status of the devices 24 to 29 acquired by the operation status acquisition unit 314C, so that it is possible to appropriately answer questions regarding malfunctions of the devices 24 to 29 installed inside the room 20.

[0072] [Modifications of the embodiment] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications and improvements within the scope of achieving the object of the present invention are included in the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the management server 3 may be configured as a centralized management server device, or may be a decentralized management server, and may use, for example, a decentralized transaction ledger such as a blockchain.

[0073] In the above embodiment, the object is exemplified as a room 20 (hourly rental facility) in a building 2. However, the object is not limited to a conference room or training room, but may also be an outdoor space such as a tennis court, baseball field, stadium, or parking lot, a karaoke room, rental office, reading space, rental car, or bicycle rental. The object is not limited to the hourly rental facility described above, but may also be, for example, furniture such as desks and chairs, items such as multifunction printers, whiteboards, or LCD displays, or internet-based services. In this case, the object management system may be configured to notify a user, an administrator, or a security service company commissioned by the administrator of the information when an object equipped with an electronic tag, such as the air conditioning remote controller 28 or the video remote controller 29 in this embodiment, is taken outside the hourly rental facility or outside a predetermined area. Furthermore, the object management system may be configured to track the current location of the object equipped with an electronic tag.

[0074] In the above embodiment, if it is determined in step ST6 that the room 20 is not currently reserved, the response generating section 314 generates a normal response in step ST13. In response to this, the status acquisition unit may be configured to check whether there is a history of reserving the equipment based on the user related to the question received by the question receiving unit and the reservation information stored in the memory unit, and the answer generation unit may be configured to generate an answer regarding the equipment that has a reservation history when the status acquisition unit confirms that there is a history of reserving the equipment. With this configuration, when the status acquisition unit confirms that there is a history of reserving equipment, the answer generation unit generates an answer regarding the equipment that has a reservation history, so that it can appropriately answer questions regarding equipment that was used after the date and time of use has passed, for example.

[0075] The answer generating unit may be configured to generate an answer regarding an unlocking key for unlocking the equipment as an answer regarding the equipment for which a reservation history has been made. According to this configuration, the answer generation unit generates an answer regarding an unlock key for unlocking a facility as an answer regarding a facility for which a reservation has been made, so that, for example, an answer regarding an unlock key can be generated when a user goes to retrieve something left behind at a facility that was used after the date and time of use has passed. Therefore, the object management system can transmit an appropriate answer to a user's question according to the user's situation to the information processing means, thereby improving user convenience.

[0076] The answer generation unit may also be configured to determine the available time of the equipment based on the reservation information stored in the memory unit, and to generate an answer regarding an unlocking key for unlocking the equipment during the available time of the equipment. According to this configuration, the answer generation unit determines the available times of the equipment based on the reservation information stored in the memory unit, and generates an answer regarding an unlocking key for unlocking the equipment when the equipment is available, thereby preventing the generation of an answer regarding an unlocking key for unlocking the equipment that is being used by another user.

[0077] Furthermore, the answer generation unit may be configured to have the user select at least one of the available times of the equipment for which an answer regarding the unlocking key is to be generated. According to this configuration, the answer generation unit allows the user to select at least one of the available times of the equipment for which an answer regarding the unlocking key is to be generated, so that the user can select the available time of the equipment for which an answer regarding the unlocking key is to be generated according to their own convenience.

[0078] In the above embodiment, if it is determined in step ST7 that the room 20 is in use, the answer generating section 314 generates an answer regarding the room 20 in use in step ST8. In contrast, the answer generation unit may be configured to generate an answer regarding extending the usage time of the object being used when the status acquisition unit acquires that the user's status is that the object is being used. According to this configuration, when the status acquisition unit acquires that the user is currently using an object, the answer generation unit generates an answer regarding extending the usage time of the object that is currently being used, so that the user can inquire and confirm whether or not it is possible to extend the usage time of the object that is currently being used.

[0079] The answer generation unit may also be configured to determine the available time of the object based on the reservation information stored in the memory unit, and to allow the user to choose whether or not to extend the usage time based on the available time of the object. According to this configuration, the response generation unit determines the available time of the object based on the reservation information stored in the storage unit, and allows the user to select whether or not to extend the use time based on the available time of the object. Therefore, the user can take steps to extend the use time by selecting whether or not to extend the use time via the inquiry response management system.

[0080] In the above embodiment, the answer generation unit 314 generated an answer regarding the room 20 being used when the status acquisition unit 313 confirmed that the room 20 was being reserved and acquired the user's status as being in use by the status acquisition unit 313. Alternatively, the answer generation unit 314 may generate an answer regarding the room 20 being used when the status acquisition unit 313 acquires the user's status as being in use by the status acquisition unit 313 without confirming that the room 20 was being reserved, and the answer transmission unit 315 may transmit this answer to the terminal device 4. In short, it is sufficient for the management server to notify the user of information regarding the object via the information processing means based on the object information stored in the storage unit when the status acquisition unit acquires that the user's location is within a predetermined area. For example, when the status acquisition unit acquires that the user's location is within a predetermined area, such as a store selling products, the management server may notify the user of information regarding the store or product information via the information processing means, or may provide customer service by notifying the user of the information.

[0081] In the above embodiment, questions and answers are input and output using text, but other methods may be used for input and output. For example, questions and answers may be input and output using voice, or questions may be asked by directing gaze at an object using smart glasses or the like.

[0082] In addition, the management server of the present invention may be equipped with an instruction receiving unit that receives instructions from a user via an information processing means, and an operation execution unit that executes an operation in response to the user's instruction when the instruction receiving unit receives the user's instruction. According to this configuration, when the management server receives a command from a user at the command receiving unit, the operation execution unit executes the operation corresponding to the user's command, so that the user can have the management server execute the desired operation by sending a command to the management server.

[0083] In this case, the action execution unit may be configured to cause the object to execute a predetermined action based on a command from the user received by the command reception unit. According to this configuration, the operation execution unit causes the object to perform a predetermined operation based on the user's command received by the command reception unit, so that, for example, when the user is looking for an object (air conditioning remote controller 28 or video remote controller 29) in a predetermined area (room 20), the user can transmit a command to make the object emit a sound and confirm the location of the object. Therefore, the management server can improve user convenience. [Industrial Applicability]

[0084] As described above, the present invention can be suitably used in an object management system. [Explanation of symbols]

[0085] 1. Object Management System 2. Building 3 Management Server 4. Terminal device (information processing means) 5. Internet (communication line) 20 Rooms (objects, facilities) 21 Entrance / Exit 22 Locking device 23 Communication terminal equipment 24 Air conditioning equipment (object) 25 Lighting equipment (object) 26 Projector (object, equipment) 27 Screen (object, equipment) 28 Air conditioning remote controller (object, equipment, movable object) 29 Video remote controller (objects, equipment, moving objects) 31 Control means 32 Storage section 311 Reservation information setting section 312 Question Reception Department 313 Status Acquisition Department 313A Reservation Confirmation Section 313B Usage confirmation unit (user position acquisition unit, object position acquisition unit) 314 Answer generation part 314A Moving object position acquisition unit (object position acquisition unit) 314B Equipment operation section 314C Operation status acquisition unit 315 Reply Sending Department

Claims

1. A management system for hourly rental facilities comprising: a management server that manages hourly rental facilities connected via a communication line; and information processing means that is connected to the management server via a communication line and processes information and outputs it to users of the hourly rental facilities, The management server a storage unit that stores reservation information relating to users of the hourly rental facilities and information relating to the hourly rental facilities; a user location acquisition unit that acquires the location of a user; a status acquisition unit that acquires, as the user's status, whether or not the hourly rental facility is currently reserved based on the reservation information stored in the storage unit, and acquires, as the user's status, whether or not the hourly rental facility is currently being used based on the user's location acquired by the user location acquisition unit; a question receiving unit that receives questions from users regarding the hourly rental facilities via the information processing means; an answer generation unit that generates an answer to a user's question when the question reception unit receives the user's question; a response sending unit that sends the response generated by the response generating unit to the information processing means, The answer generation unit A management system for hourly rental equipment, characterized in that when the status acquisition unit acquires that the hourly rental equipment is currently reserved and acquires that the hourly rental equipment is not currently in use as the user's status, it generates a response regarding the hourly rental equipment that is currently reserved, and when the status acquisition unit acquires that the hourly rental equipment is currently in use as the user's status, it generates a response regarding the hourly rental equipment that is currently in use based on information about the hourly rental equipment stored in the memory unit.

2. 2. The management system for time-charging facilities according to claim 1, the answer generation unit acquires related information relating to the hourly rental facility related to the user's question received by the question receiving unit from outside the management server via a communication line, and generates an answer to the user's question based on the related information; A management system for hourly rental facilities, characterized in that the related information relating to the hourly rental facilities is different from the information about the hourly rental facilities stored in the memory unit.

3. 2. The management system for time-charging facilities according to claim 1, The management server a command receiving unit that receives a command from a user via the information processing means; A management system for time-share facilities, characterized by comprising an operation execution unit that executes an operation in response to a user's command when the command receiving unit receives the user's command.

4. 4. The management system for time-charging facilities according to claim 3, A management system for time rental facilities, characterized in that the operation execution unit causes equipment installed inside the time rental facilities to perform a predetermined operation based on a user's command received by the command receiving unit.

5. 5. The management system for time-share facilities according to claim 1, The hourly rental facility is Equipped with a locking device for locking and unlocking the time rental facility, A management system for time-rental equipment, characterized in that the user location acquisition unit acquires the location of the time-rental equipment as the user's location when the locking device of the time-rental equipment is unlocked successfully.

6. 5. The management system for time-share facilities according to claim 1, The management server a movable object position acquisition unit that acquires the position of a movable object installed inside the hourly rental facility; The management system for hourly rental facilities is characterized in that the response generation unit generates a response regarding the position of the movable object acquired by the movable object position acquisition unit.

7. 5. The management system for time-share facilities according to claim 1, The management server a device operating unit for operating devices installed inside the hourly rental facility; The management system for time-share facilities is characterized in that the response generation unit generates a response regarding the equipment operated by the equipment operation unit.

8. 5. The management system for time-share facilities according to claim 1, The management server an operating status acquisition unit that acquires operating statuses of devices installed inside the hourly rental facility; The management system for time-share facilities is characterized in that the response generation unit generates a response regarding the operating status of the equipment acquired by the operating status acquisition unit.

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