Train reservation system and its control method

Abstract

To assign a seat to a passenger so as to provide a suitable advertisement to the passenger.SOLUTION: A train booking system 1 for booking seats of a train, includes: an information storage unit 4 that stores car number information 41 for managing cars of the train, advertisement information 44 which indicates information about one or more advertisements to be provided to each of the cars, and defines target passenger attributes, and seat information 43 for managing booking statuses of the respective cars; and a seat assign unit 30 that, on the basis of the advertisement information, the seat information, and passenger attribute information which indicates the attribute of a passenger who is trying to book the train, assigns the passenger to a seat of the car to which an advertisement more suitable for the passenger attribute information is provided preferentially. Advertisements to be provided to the respective cars are determined before the passenger books the train.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention relates to a train reservation system and a control method thereof.

Background Art

[0002] A technology for dynamically changing and presenting advertisements suitable for passengers in trains or airplanes is known (Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the prior art, a digital signage device or a display device can present advertisements with content suitable for passengers according to the attributes, destinations, and preferences of the passengers. However, there are also many static advertisements whose content is determined in advance and cannot be changed later during movement, such as posters, stickers, promotional magazines, flyers, and the packaging of hand towels.

[0005] Conventionally, since seats are assigned based on train facilities (green cars, smoking cars, women-only cars, etc.) and seat positions (window side, aisle side, front of the car, center of the car, rear of the car), passengers will sit in seats that have nothing to do with the advertisements provided in the car. Therefore, passengers often have the opportunity to see advertisements that are irrelevant to themselves, and there is a high possibility that the advertising effect will not be exerted.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a train reservation system and a control method thereof that can assign seats so as to provide advertisements suitable for passengers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problems, a train reservation system according to one aspect of the present invention is a train reservation system for reserving seats on a train, comprising: an information storage unit that stores car number information managing each car of a train; advertising information indicating information about one or more advertisements provided in each car, with target passenger attributes set for advertising information; and seat information managing the reservation status of each car; and a seat allocation unit that, based on passenger attribute information indicating the attributes of the passenger reserving the train, advertising information, and seat information, preferentially assigns seats to passengers starting from the cars in which advertisements that match the passenger attribute information to a high degree are provided, wherein the advertisements provided in each car are set before the passenger reserves the train. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, advertisements tailored to passenger attribute information can be provided to passengers. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is an overall diagram of the train reservation system. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram showing examples of advertisements placed in each car. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows an example of in-car advertising information. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows an example of passenger attribute information set in an advertisement. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the process of assigning seats. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the process of extracting car numbers that have advertisements suitable for passengers. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the process of searching for seats where passengers can see advertisements that are suitable for them. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of how to calculate the advertising suitability rate. [Figure 9]Figure 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of assigning seats to passengers in a suitable manner. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the seat assignment process in the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a train reservation system and a control method thereof that can enhance the effectiveness of advertising inside a train car are provided.

[0011] The train reservation system 1 of this embodiment includes, as described later, an information storage unit 4 that stores car information 42 for managing each car 11 of the train 10, advertising information 44 which indicates information about one or more advertisements P provided in each car and for which target passenger attributes 6 are set, and seat information 43 which manages the reservation status of each car, and a seat allocation unit 30 which, based on passenger attribute information 7 indicating the attributes of the passenger who reserves the train, advertising information and seat information, preferentially assigns seats to passengers starting from the cars in which advertisements that have a high degree of compatibility with the passenger attribute information 7 are provided, and the advertisements provided in each car are set before the passenger reserves the train. [Examples]

[0012] The first embodiment will be explained using Figures 1 to 9. Figure 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the train reservation system 1 according to this embodiment.

[0013] The train reservation system 1 can be configured using, for example, a computer 2. The computer 2 includes, for example, a storage device 20, a processor 21, a communication unit 22, and a user interface (UI) unit 23.

[0014] The storage device 20 is a device that includes a main storage device and an auxiliary storage device. In the storage device 20, for example, a computer program and data for realizing the inventory management system 3 and the information storage unit 4 are stored. The information stored in the information storage unit 31 may be stored not only in the storage device 20 but also in an external storage device (such as a storage system, a file server, etc.) not shown in the figure. The inventory management system 3 and the information storage unit 4 will be described later.

[0015] By executing the computer program stored in the storage device 20 by the processor 2, the functions of the train reservation system 1 are realized. The processor 21 may include not only a CPU (Central Processing Unit) but also a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), etc.

[0016] The communication unit 22 is a device that communicates with one or more computer terminals 5(1) to 5(3) via the communication network CN. The computer terminals 5(1) to 5(3) will be described later. The communication network CN may be a public communication network such as the Internet or a dedicated communication network. The communication network CN may be either a wireless communication network or a wired communication network, or a mixture of a wireless communication network and a wired communication network.

[0017] The user interface unit 23 is a device used by a system administrator who manages the train reservation system 1 to exchange information with the train reservation system 1. The user interface unit 23 includes, for example, a monitor display, a keyboard, a pointing device, a printer, a touch panel, etc. The user interface unit 23 can also use AR (Augmented Reality) or VR (Virtual Reality), etc.

[0018] Computer 2 is connectable to the storage medium MM. The storage medium MM is configured as, for example, a memory device, hard disk drive, optical disk drive, magneto-optical disk drive, magnetic tape drive, etc., and stores computer programs and data non-temporarily. The storage medium MM can transfer and store computer programs and data to the storage device 20 of the train reservation system 1. It is also possible to transfer and store computer programs and data from the storage device 20 to the storage medium MM. By storing the computer program that realizes the functions of the train reservation system 1 in the storage medium MM, connecting the storage medium MM to another computer, and installing the computer program stored in the storage medium MM on the other computer, the other computer can be made to function as the train reservation system 1.

[0019] In this embodiment, multiple computer terminals 5(1) to 5(3) are shown. Unless otherwise distinguished, they will be referred to as computer terminal 5. One computer terminal 5(1) is a train management terminal used to manage train operations, etc. Train management terminal 5(1) is operated, for example, by an employee of a railway company. Train information 41, car number information 42, and seat information 43 stored in the storage device 20 of the train reservation system 1 can be updated by computer terminal 5(1), which is the train management terminal. Train information 41, car number information 42, and seat information 43 can also be obtained from a train reservation system not shown. Car number information 42, seat information 43, and in-car advertising information 44 are prepared for each car.

[0020] Another computer terminal 5(2) is a ticket purchase terminal used to purchase reserved seat tickets for trains. Ticket purchase terminals include, for example, ticket vending machines operated by station staff at station ticket windows, automatic ticket vending machines installed within station premises, and personal computers or smartphones that provide ticket purchase services via the internet. In this embodiment, express train tickets and regular train tickets are not mentioned. The reserved seat ticket may be in paper form, such as a paper ticket, or it may be electronic information stored on a smartphone or the like.

[0021] Another computer terminal 5(3) is an advertising management terminal used to place advertisements in each car of the train (or one or more specific cars). The advertising management terminal is operated by an employee of the advertising company or its agency. Station staff may also operate the advertising management terminal under the direction of the advertising company.

[0022] Examples of information stored in the information storage unit 4 are described below. Train information 41 manages the train number (also called train ID) that identifies the train, the timetable, etc. Car information 42 is management information for each car included in the train, and manages the car number, the type of facilities (Green Car, smoking car, women-only car, private room, work seats for remote work, etc.). Seat information 43 manages the seat arrangement of each car and whether or not a reservation is made.

[0023] The in-car advertising information 44 manages the display location, type, and identification number of advertisements placed in each car. The in-car advertising information 44 will be described later in Figure 3.

[0024] The inventory management system 3 will now be described. The inventory management system 3 manages seat reservations for each train and has a seat allocation unit 30. The seat allocation unit 30 allocates seats where advertisements suitable for the passenger can be viewed, based on passenger attribute information 6 that is set in advance by, for example, an advertising agency or advertiser (hereinafter the same) and passenger request information 7 requested by the passenger requesting the ticket. Hereinafter, passenger attribute information 6 and passenger request information 7 may be abbreviated as passenger attribute 6 and passenger request 7.

[0025] Passenger request 7 includes, for example, the desired train number and seating, and the passenger's attributes. Passenger attributes are information used to select the target audience for advertisements placed within the train car, and may include, for example, age, gender, purpose of travel, nationality, place of residence, hobbies, and occupation.

[0026] At least some of the passenger's attributes may be voluntarily entered by the passenger when purchasing a reserved seat ticket. For example, when using an online reserved seat ticket purchase service, some of the passenger's personal information may be entered into the train operation management system 1. When a passenger purchases a reserved seat ticket at a station ticket window or travel agency, the station staff or travel agency employee may estimate some of the passenger's attributes and enter them into the train reservation system 1. Alternatively, at least some of the passenger's attributes may be estimated by taking a picture of the passenger's appearance with a camera and analyzing the captured image. If the passenger gives permission, at least some of the passenger's attributes may also be estimated by collecting and analyzing some of the information the passenger has posted on SNS (Social Networking Service), etc.

[0027] As described above, the seat allocation unit 30 assigns seats with advertisements tailored to the passenger's attributes when selling train tickets to passengers. The seat allocation unit 30 includes an advertisement-compatible car extraction unit 31 that extracts cars with advertisements tailored to the passenger's attributes, and an advertisement-compatible seat search unit 32 that searches for available seats (advertisement-compatible seats) where the advertisements are visible. The method for extracting cars with advertisements tailored to the passenger's attributes, and the method for searching for designated seats among the extracted cars where the advertisements tailored to the passenger's attributes are visible, will be described later in Figures 5 to 9.

[0028] Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of advertisements to be placed in each car 11 of train 10. Figure 2 shows three cars 11(1) to 11(3). Unless otherwise specified, they are referred to as car 11. Train 10 may be composed of two cars 11, or four or more cars 11.

[0029] Car 11 includes, for example, advertising PA, PD, and PG such as digital signage displayed at the front of the vehicle, advertising PB such as stickers attached to the windows, advertising PC printed on packaged wet wipes, advertising PE such as promotional flyers placed in the seat pockets, and advertising PH such as character dolls placed on seat 12.

[0030] The examples above are not the only possibilities; advertisements may also be printed on placemats placed on seats, on coffee cups, or on headrests.

[0031] Figure 3 shows an example of in-car advertising information 44. The in-car advertising information 44 includes, for example, train ID 441, car number 442, number of advertisements 443, and advertising information 444.

[0032] Train ID 441 is identification information that identifies the train. Car number 442 is information that identifies the car. Number of advertisements 443 is the number of advertisements placed in the car. Advertisement information 444 is information about the advertisements placed in the car. Advertisement information 444 includes, for example, advertisement code 4441, media code 4442, matching information 4443, placement location 4444, target row 4445, and number of seats near the advertisement 4446.

[0033] Advertisement code 4441 is a code that uniquely identifies an advertisement in the train reservation system 1. Media code 4442 is a code that indicates the medium on which the advertisement is displayed, such as "wet towels," "digital signage," "stickers," or "promotional flyers."

[0034] Matching information 4443 is information used to evaluate the degree of suitability (match rate) between an advertisement and a passenger. Matching information 4443 includes, for example, attribute information number 44431 and attribute information 44432. An advertisement target can be defined by one or more attribute information 44432. Attribute information 44432 is information used to determine the match rate (suitability rate) between an advertisement and a passenger, and includes, for example, an attribute key, a target, and a score. The attribute key indicates the type of attribute item. The target indicates an indicator for determining whether it corresponds to the attribute key. The score is a numerical value that indicates the match rate for each attribute key. The match rate is an example of "advertising suitability rate".

[0035] Placement 4444 indicates the location within the train car where the advertisement will be placed. Placement 4444 can be identified by the seat number closest to the advertisement. Target row 4445 is the area where the advertisement will be effective and is an example of an "advertisement-compatible seat".

[0036] The relevant column 4445 differs depending on the type of advertisement (media code 4442) and the placement location 4444. For example, in the case of advertisements such as PA, PD, and PG, which are digital signage at the front of the vehicle, the range of seats from which the advertisement can be seen is wide. In contrast, advertisements such as PB, which are stickers placed only on specific windows, are usually only visible from seats by those windows. Advertisements printed on hand towels placed on all reserved seats are visible to passengers in each seat. In this embodiment, it is assumed that at least one advertisement within a train car is visible from all seats in that train car. However, even if advertisements within a train car are difficult to see from some seats in the train car, this is still within the scope of this disclosure.

[0037] The number of 4446 vacant seats near the advertisement indicates the number of unreserved seats among those where the advertisement is visible (advertisement-compatible seats).

[0038] Figure 4 shows an example of passenger attribute information 6 set for an advertisement. An advertising agency salesperson or other person in charge of managing the advertisement can use the advertisement management terminal 5(3) to set passenger attribute information 6 for selecting target passengers for the advertisement in the train reservation system 1.

[0039] The passenger attribute information 6 associated with the advertisement includes, for example, an advertisement code 61, a number of attribute information items 62, and at least one attribute 63. Figure 4 shows an example of setting 1 to 3 passenger attributes. Note that in the figure, attribute information may be abbreviated as attribute. When attributes 63(1) to 63(3) are not distinguished, they are referred to as attribute 63.

[0040] Ad code 61 is identification information that uniquely identifies the advertisement in the train reservation system 1. The number of attribute information 62 indicates the number of passenger attribute information set for the advertisement identified by ad code 61. Attribute 63 comprises key 631, target 632, and score 633.

[0041] Key 631 indicates the attribute type (name of the attribute item). Target 632 is an indicator used to determine whether the passenger attribute included in the passenger request corresponds to key 631. Score 633 indicates the match rate for each attribute key 631 (ad relevance rate for each passenger attribute). The sum of the scores 633 for each attribute key 631 is 100. In the example where ad code 61 is "00002", only one attribute 63 is set, so its score 633 is "100".

[0042] The attribute key 631 and target 632 can be freely set by, for example, an advertising agency until the end of ticket sales.

[0043] Figure 5 is a flowchart of the seat allocation process. The seat allocation unit 30 obtains a request (passenger request) 7 from a passenger purchasing a reserved ticket (S11). The passenger request 7 includes information identifying the train, requested equipment, and passenger attributes.

[0044] The seat allocation unit 30 acquires train information 41 (S12) and then acquires car number information 42 (S13). The advertisement-suitable car extraction unit 31 of the seat allocation unit 30 refers to the in-train advertisement information 44 and creates a list of cars from each car of the requested train in which advertisements suitable for passengers are placed (S14). This list is ordered by the cars with the highest advertisement suitability rates.

[0045] The seat allocation unit 30 determines whether the passenger has requested automatic seat allocation to a car with a high advertising suitability rate (S15). In other words, the seat allocation unit 30 determines whether the passenger wants a seat in a car with advertisements that are suitable for them (S15).

[0046] If a passenger desires a seat in a car corresponding to an advertisement that is suitable for them (S15: YES), the advertisement-matching seat search unit 31 searches for seat information 43 to see if there are any vacant seats in the car where the advertisement corresponding to the passenger attribute information is placed (S16).

[0047] The advertising-compatible seat search unit 32 determines if there are vacant advertising-compatible seats and that a passenger's reservation can be assigned to one of those vacant advertising-compatible seats (S17: YES), and secures that advertising-compatible seat (S18). The seat allocation unit 30 returns information about the seat secured by the reservation to the computer terminal 5 (S19).

[0048] On the other hand, if a passenger does not wish to be automatically assigned to an advertising-equipped seat (S15: NO), the seat allocation unit 30 provides a seat availability map to the computer terminal 5, reserves a seat specified on the seat availability map, and sends a response to the computer terminal 5 (S19). The passenger uses the computer terminal 5 to select and reserve their desired seat from the seat availability map. Information about the seat selected by the passenger is entered into the seat allocation unit 30 (S20).

[0049] Even if a passenger requests a seat where they can see an advertisement that is suitable for them (S15: YES), if there are no available seats with advertisements (S17: NO), the seat allocation unit 30 will respond with an alternative train (S21). For example, the seat allocation unit 30 may suggest a train before or after the train the passenger initially requested as an alternative.

[0050] The flowchart in Figure 6 shows the details of process S14, which extracts cars with advertisements suitable for passengers. The advertisement-suitable car extraction unit 31 obtains a list of cars from the car information 42 (S140). This list of cars can be in any order. In other words, the order of the car numbers in this list does not matter.

[0051] The advertising-compatible car extraction unit 31 repeatedly executes the following steps S142 to S147 for each car listed in the car list (S141). First, the advertising-compatible car extraction unit 31 acquires the in-train advertising information 44 provided in the car to be processed (S142). The advertising-compatible car extraction unit 31 repeatedly executes the following steps S144 and S145 for each advertising information 444 described in the acquired in-train advertising information 44 (S143).

[0052] The advertisement-compatible train car extraction unit 31 calculates the match rate between the advertisement and passenger attributes (S144). That is, the advertisement-compatible train car extraction unit 31 compares the passenger attributes included in the passenger request 7 with the passenger attributes 6 set in the advertisement, and if they match, adds a score to the match rate (S144). The advertisement-compatible train car extraction unit 31 calculates the match rate for each defined attribute key, adds them to the score, and determines the match rate (S145).

[0053] The advertising-compatible train car extraction unit 31 calculates the match rate for each advertisement (S145), sorts the advertisement information list in order of the advertisements with the highest match rates (S146), and calculates the match rate for each train car (S147). The advertising-compatible train car extraction unit 31 can, for example, calculate the average of the match rates for each advertisement calculated in step S145 as the overall match rate for the train car (S147). Weights may be assigned according to the type of advertisement, and the match rate for each train car may be calculated taking these weights into consideration.

[0054] The advertisement-suitable vehicle extraction unit 31 sorts the vehicle list based on the matching rate between passengers and advertisements for each vehicle (S148), and outputs the vehicle list sorted in order of advertisements suitable for passengers and the advertisement information list generated in step S146 (S149).

[0055] The flowchart in Figure 7 will be used to explain the process of searching for available seats with advertisements. The advertisement-compatible seat search unit 32 obtains a list of cars in the order of advertisements that are suitable for the passenger, and an advertisement information list, which are output from the advertisement-compatible car extraction unit 31 (S160). The advertisement-compatible seat search unit 32 repeatedly executes the following steps S162 to S168 in the order of the cars listed in the obtained car list (S161).

[0056] The ad-compatible seat search unit 32 obtains seat information 43 (S162) and repeatedly executes the following steps S164 to S168 for the number of ads listed in the ad information list or the number of available ad-compatible seats (S163).

[0057] The ad-compatible seat search unit 32 obtains the placement location (display location or installation location) 4444 of the advertisement to be processed (S164), and determines whether there are any vacant seats among the ad-compatible seats within a predetermined range from the placement location of the advertisement (S165). In other words, the ad-compatible seat search unit 32 determines whether there are any unreserved seats among the seats (ad-compatible seats) within a range where the advertisement can be seen (S165).

[0058] If the advertising-compatible seat search unit 32 determines that there is an available advertising-compatible seat (S166: YES), it obtains the location of the available seat (S167) and updates the seat information 43 (S168). Then, the advertising-compatible seat search unit 32 outputs the advertising-compatible seats that can be reserved (S169).

[0059] Using Figure 8, we will explain an example of calculating the match rate between passenger attributes and advertisements. As shown in the upper part of Figure 8, the passenger attributes included in passenger request 7 are, for example, "a woman in her 40s of Asian nationality, traveling for business purposes."

[0060] As shown in the center of Figure 8, the passenger attributes pre-set for the advertisement by the advertiser or advertising agency are as described in Figure 4. As shown at the bottom of Figure 8, the match rate for advertisement code "00001" is "0". This is because the attributes of the passengers purchasing the reserved tickets do not match any of the attributes associated with the advertisement. The match rate for advertisement code "00002" is "100". Advertisement code "00002" is an advertisement aimed at women, and since the target is narrowed to women, it receives a score of "100". The match rate for advertisement code "00003" is "80". Advertisement code "00003" targets three attributes: Asian, male, and business purpose. Therefore, the advertisement for advertisement code "0003" receives a score of "80" for passengers who are "Asian women in their 40s, for business purposes".

[0061] Figure 9 illustrates an example of assigning suitable seats to passengers. The center of Figure 9 shows each train car and its corresponding seat. The left side of Figure 9 shows the match rate and vacancy rate for each car. The right side of Figure 9 shows an example of extracting cars suitable for advertising and an example of searching for advertising-compatible seats within those cars.

[0062] Let's explain the match rate of advertisements to the same target passengers. In the case of car 1, the match rate with ad PA is 50%, the match rate with ad PB is 30%, and the match rate with ad PC is 40%, and the vacancy rate is 20%. In this case, the match rate with the attributes of the target passengers for car 1 as a whole is 40% (=(50+30+40) / 3).

[0063] In the case of car number 2, the match rate with advertising PD is 60%, the match rate with advertising PE is 100%, and the match rate with advertising PF is 50%, and the vacancy rate is 50%. In this case, the overall match rate with the attributes of the target passengers in car number 2 is 70%.

[0064] In the case of car number 3, the match rate with advertising PG is 40%, and the vacancy rate is 50%. In this case, the overall match rate with the attributes of the target passengers in car number 3 is 40%.

[0065] When the train cars are sorted according to the match rate between the advertisements and passenger attributes, car 2 ranks first (match rate 70%), and cars 1 and 3 are tied for second place. If there are multiple cars with the same match rate, the one with the larger vacancy rate is prioritized. Therefore, the advertisement-compatible car extraction unit 31 outputs an advertisement-related car list, taking into account the match rate between passenger attributes and advertisements, as shown in the upper right of Figure 9, in the order of car 2, car 3, and car 1.

[0066] The advertising-compatible seat search unit 32 searches for available seats for advertising in order, starting from car number 2, which is listed first in the list of cars with advertising. Here, it assumes that the seat closest to the advertising PE has the highest match rate with the attributes of the target passenger. Therefore, the advertising-compatible seat search unit 32 assigns the seat closest to the advertising PE to the target passenger.

[0067] If the seat closest to the advertisement PE is already reserved, the advertisement-compatible seat search unit 32 searches for other advertisement PDs and PFs in car 2 for advertisement-compatible seats. The advertisement-compatible seat search unit 32 extracts seats (advertisement-compatible seats) where the advertisement PD with the next highest match rate with the target passenger's attributes is visible, and searches for the seat closest to the advertisement PD among the extracted advertisement-compatible seats. If the searched seat is vacant, the target passenger is assigned to that seat.

[0068] In this embodiment, where advertisements are placed on trains before passengers make reservations, it is possible to assign passengers seats in cars with advertisements that are appropriate to their attributes, increasing the likelihood of providing passengers with useful information and enhancing the effectiveness of the advertisements.

[0069] In this embodiment, seats within each car that have advertisements with a high matching rate with passenger attribute information are assigned to passengers, and seats that are within a visible range of the advertisements that match the passenger attribute information and have not yet been reserved are assigned to passengers. This increases the likelihood that passengers will recognize advertisements that match their attributes, further improving the effectiveness of the advertisements.

[0070] In this embodiment, the target is static advertisements that are set before passengers book their trains and whose content does not change. Therefore, in train reservation systems that do not implement the method of this embodiment, a mismatch between passenger attributes and the target audience of the advertisements is likely to occur. To resolve this mismatch, it is possible to dynamically change the content of the advertisements as in Patent Documents 1 and 2, but in that case, a digital signage that dynamically changes the advertisement content according to passenger attributes would be required at each seat, which would increase costs. In contrast, in this embodiment, even when targeting static advertisements that are decided before booking and whose content does not change, the mismatch between passenger attributes and the target audience of the advertisements can be reduced, and the advertising effect can be enhanced. Furthermore, because advertisements that are of interest to the passenger are placed near their seats, it is possible to reduce mood deterioration during travel compared to traveling while sitting next to advertisements that are irrelevant to the passenger.

[0071] In this embodiment, if a passenger does not wish to be automatically assigned a seat to a car with advertisements based on passenger attributes (if the answer is NO in step S15 of Figure 5), the passenger can also select their desired seat from the vacant seat map of their own volition (step S20 of Figure 5). Since it is assumed that a certain number of passengers will choose their seats of their own volition, it is possible to prevent a situation where only passengers with similar passenger attributes board a car with advertisements of a particular theme. Alternatively, instead of manual selection using the vacant seat map, passengers may be allowed to automatically select a seat based on factors other than advertisements (e.g., vacancy rate and facilities). [Examples]

[0072] Example 2 will be explained using Figure 10. This example will focus on the differences from Example 1. Figure 10 is a flowchart of the seat allocation process in this example. Comparing the process in Figure 10 with the process in Figure 5, in the process in Figure 10, after step S18, step S22 is executed to award points to the passenger for reserving an advertisement-compatible seat, and then step S19 is executed.

[0073] This embodiment, configured in this way, produces the same effects as Embodiment 1. Furthermore, in this embodiment, points are awarded to passengers who reserve seats with advertisements, thereby enhancing both the advertising effect and passenger convenience.

[0074] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are included. For example, the embodiments described above are described in detail to make the present invention easier to understand, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. Furthermore, it is possible to replace parts of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add configurations from other embodiments to the configuration of one embodiment. In addition, it is possible to add, delete, or replace parts of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations. Moreover, each embodiment can be combined as appropriate, as long as it is not obviously contradictory.

[0075] In this embodiment, we deal with static advertisements whose content does not change, but this includes not only cases where the advertisement content does not change throughout the entire route from the train's starting station to its final destination, but also cases where the advertisement content changes after passing designated stations such as transfer stations. Therefore, "static advertisements whose content does not change" can also be expressed as, for example, "static advertisements whose content does not change for a certain section or longer," or "static advertisements whose initial content is determined before the passenger makes a reservation, and whose content does not change for a certain section after the train has started running." [Explanation of Symbols]

[0076] 1: Train reservation system, 2: Computer, 3: Inventory management system, 4: Information storage unit, 5: Computer terminal, 6: Passenger attributes associated with advertisements, 7: Passenger requests including passenger attributes, 30: Seat allocation unit, 31: Advertisement-compatible car search unit, 32: Advertisement-compatible seat search unit, 41: Train information, 42: Car information, 43: Seat information, 44: In-car advertisement information

Claims

1. A train reservation system for reserving train seats, An information storage unit that stores car number information for managing each car of the aforementioned train, advertising information indicating information about one or more advertisements provided in each car, advertising information for which target passenger attributes are set, and seat information for managing the reservation status of each car, A seat allocation unit, based on passenger attribute information indicating the attributes of passengers who reserve the aforementioned train, the advertising information, and the seat information, prioritizes assigning seats to passengers in the cars where advertisements that are highly compatible with the passenger attribute information are located among the cars mentioned above. Equipped with, The advertisements placed in each of the aforementioned cars are set before the passenger makes a reservation for the train. Train reservation system.

2. The seat allocation unit allocates to the passenger seats in the cars where advertisements that are highly compatible with the passenger attribute information are provided, seats within a range from which the advertisements compatible with the passenger attribute information can be seen, and seats that have not yet been reserved. The train reservation system according to claim 1.

3. The advertisement is a static advertisement that is set before the passenger makes a reservation for the train and whose content does not change. The train reservation system according to claim 1.

4. The aforementioned seat allocation section is, The system includes a first mode in which the passenger is assigned to a seat where an advertisement matching the passenger attribute information is visible, and a second mode in which the passenger is assigned to any seat in each of the cars, regardless of the advertisement. If the first mode is selected, based on the passenger attribute information, the advertising information, and the seat information, seats are assigned to the passengers in priority to the cars where the advertisements that best match the passenger attribute information are located. The train reservation system according to claim 1.

5. A method for controlling a train reservation system that reserves train seats using a computer, A passenger attribute information acquisition step involves acquiring passenger attribute information that indicates the attributes of the passenger who makes a reservation for the aforementioned train, A train information acquisition step to acquire train information that manages the aforementioned train, A step to obtain car number information for each car of the aforementioned train, An advertising information acquisition step involves acquiring advertising information that shows information about one or more advertisements set in each car before the passenger makes a reservation for the train, and for which the target passenger attributes are set. An advertising suitability calculation step is to calculate an advertising suitability rate for each of the aforementioned cars, which indicates the suitability between the advertisements provided in each car and the passenger attribute information. If the passenger requests an advertisement-compatible seat where an advertisement matching the passenger attribute information is visible, the seat is searched preferentially starting from the car with the highest advertisement compatibility rate, and an advertisement-compatible seat that has not yet been reserved is assigned to the passenger in the advertisement-compatible seat assignment step. A method for controlling a train reservation system to cause the computer to execute the above.

6. If the passenger does not request the advertised seat, the step of assigning any seat in any of the cars, regardless of the advertisement, is performed instead of the step of assigning the advertised seat. A control method for a train reservation system according to claim 5.

7. The advertisement is a static advertisement that is set before the passenger makes a reservation for the train and whose content does not change. A control method for a train reservation system according to claim 6.

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