Information processing device, program, and information processing method

Abstract

To provide a technique for controlling advertisement display suitable for a toilet facility.SOLUTION: There is provided an information processing device having display means installed in a private room in a facility. A detection device is installed in the private room for detecting presence or absence of a user that uses the private room. The information processing device includes first acquisition means for acquiring stay time information indicating a private room stay time of the user when detection information indicating a detection result by the detection device indicates entry of the user to the private room, and display control means for controlling display by the display means on the basis of the stary time information. The display control means displays a first advertisement when the detection information indicates the entry of the user to the private room, and displays the stay time information and a second advertisement when the stay time information exceeds a predetermined time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, a program, and an information processing method.

Background Art

[0002] There is a known technique of installing a display in a private room of a toilet facility or the like, detecting a user by a sensor when the user approaches the toilet, and displaying an image such as an advertisement or event information to enhance the advertisement transmission effect on the user (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, by continuously displaying the content while the user is using the toilet, the content display may induce the user to use the toilet for a long time.

[0005] Therefore, the present disclosure provides a technique for suppressing the induction of unnecessary long-time use by the user of the private room in a display system for the user in the private room.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, the information processing device of the present disclosure is an information processing device having a display means and installed in a private room in a facility, wherein the private room is also equipped with a detection device for detecting whether or not there is a user using the private room, and the information processing device has a first acquisition means for acquiring stay time information indicating the user's stay in the private room when the detection information indicating the detection result of the detection device indicates that a user has entered the private room, and a display control means for controlling the display on the display means based on the stay time information, wherein the display control means displays a first advertisement when the detection information indicates that a user has entered the private room, and further displays the stay time information and a second advertisement when the stay time information exceeds a predetermined time.

[0007] Further features relating to this disclosure will become apparent from the description herein and the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, aspects of this disclosure are achieved and realized through elements and various combinations of elements and the modes of the claims described herein and the accompanying claims. The descriptions herein are merely illustrative and do not limit in any way the claims or applications of this disclosure. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The technology disclosed herein provides a display system for users within a private room that can suppress the inducement of unnecessary prolonged use by users of the private room. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing an example configuration of toilet display system 1. [Figure 2] This diagram shows an example of equipment installation in a toilet. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of the hardware configuration of the management server 10 and the display device 23. [Figure 4] This diagram shows the functional configuration of the management server 10. [Figure 5] This figure shows examples of a facility information table, a private room management table, and an advertising table. [Figure 6] This is a sequence diagram for managing the usage status of individual toilet stalls. [Figure 7] This is a flowchart of the congestion level calculation process. [Figure 8] This is a flowchart of the advertising display control process within a private room. [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of a displayed image. [Figure 10] This is a diagram to explain the sequence of images that will be displayed. [Figure 11] This is a flowchart of the advertising display control process within a private room. [Figure 12] This is a flowchart of the advertising display control process within a private room. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals. Note that the following embodiments are not intended to limit the technology of this disclosure, and not all combinations of features described in these embodiments are necessarily essential for solving the above-mentioned problems.

[0011] [First Embodiment] In the first embodiment, a system is described in which a display device is installed inside a toilet stall, and when it detects that a user has entered the toilet stall, the display device inside the toilet stall displays content. Furthermore, in this embodiment, if a user stays in the stall for an extended period, a method is described in which an image including the user's stay time is displayed according to the congestion level of the toilet facility. In the following, a group of toilet stalls accessible from the same entrance will be referred to as one toilet facility.

[0012] <Example of a queue management system configuration> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a toilet display system according to the present embodiment. The toilet display system 1 includes a management server 10, detection devices 21-1 to 21-n installed in each of the toilet compartments 22-1 to n, and display devices 23-1 to 23-n. Note that n is an integer of 2 or more, and hereinafter, when collectively referring to or indicating any one of them, it may be abbreviated as the toilet compartment 22, the detection device 21, or the display device 23. The management server 10 has a vacant room management function for managing the presence or absence of users in each toilet compartment and congestion information of the toilet facilities based on the results detected by the detection devices 21 in each toilet compartment. Further, the management server 10 has a content management function for storing video data of advertisement content, guidance image data, long-term stay image data, etc., and distributing them to the display devices 23. The network 30 is a communication network including wired and wireless networks. The network 30 includes, for example, the Internet, a public line network, WiFi (registered trademark), etc.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the detection device 21 and the display device 23 installed in the toilet compartment 22 in the toilet facilities. The detection device 21 is a device installed for each toilet compartment to detect the vacant room information of the toilet compartment 22 used by the user. Here, the vacant room information is information indicating the vacant room situation (presence or absence of the user). As the detection device 21, for example, a human sensor for detecting the presence of a user in the toilet compartment 22 or a magnetic sensor for detecting the opening and closing of the door of the toilet compartment 22 can be used. In this embodiment, a magnetic sensor is used. When the toilet compartment 22 is of the normally open type, when the magnetic sensor detects that the door of the toilet compartment 22 is closed, it can be considered that the toilet compartment 22 is being used by the user. On the other hand, when the magnetic sensor 22 does not detect that the door is closed (detects that the door is open), it is considered that there is no user in the toilet compartment 22. The detection result detected by the detection device 21 is transmitted as detection information to the management server 10 via the network 30 together with the identification information of the detection device 21. In this embodiment, the detection device 21 is configured to detect the opening and closing state of the door every 5 seconds.

[0014] The display device 23 is an information processing device that displays videos or images such as advertisements while the user is using the toilet cubicle 22. For example, a tablet computer is used as the display device 23. The display device 23 is installed on the walls, doors, etc. inside the toilet cubicle. The display device 23 is configured to be able to communicate with the management server 10 and can receive and store display data (content data) from the management server 10. The display data may be any of still images, videos, text data, or may be accompanied by audio output. Further, the display device 23 acquires information on the congestion status of the toilet facility (hereinafter referred to as "congestion information") from the management server 10 and information on the presence or absence of a user in the corresponding toilet cubicle 22 (the cubicle where the display device 23 is installed) (hereinafter referred to as usage information), and displays the display data according to the congestion information and usage information.

[0015] <Hardware configuration example of the management server 10 and the display terminal 23> FIG. 3(a) is a hardware configuration diagram of the management server 10. The management server 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 110, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 120, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 130, a storage device 140, and a communication device 150. The CPU 110 realizes the functions provided by the management server 10 by executing programs described later. The ROM 120 and the RAM 130 hold data used by the CPU 110. The storage device 140 stores programs and databases described later. The communication device 150 communicates with the detection device 21 and the display device 23 via the network 30.

[0016] Figure 3(b) is a hardware configuration diagram of the display device 23. The display device 23 comprises a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 230, ROM (Read Only Memory) 231, RAM (Random Access Memory) 232, storage device 233, communication device 235, and display 236. The CPU 230 controls the operation of each part of the display device 23. The ROM 231 and RAM 232 hold data used by the CPU 230. The storage device 233 stores programs and databases, which will be described later. The communication device 235 communicates with the management server 10 via the network 30. The display 236 is a display screen for displaying images, including advertisements.

[0017] <Example of functional configuration for management server 10 and display device 23> Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the management server 10 and the display device 23. The management server 10 includes a receiving unit 311, an update unit 312, a congestion level calculation unit 313, an advertising control unit 314, and a storage unit 315 as software modules (functions configured by deploying various programs into the internal memory of the CPU 110) executed by the CPU 11. For convenience of description below, these modules may be described as the operating units, but since the CPU 110 is actually the one that executes these modules, the CPU 110 can also be described as the operating unit.

[0018] The receiving unit 311 receives detection information from the detection device 21 and accepts requests from the display device 23. The storage unit 315 has a building information table 316, a private room management table 317, and an advertisement table 318. Figure 5 shows an example of the configuration of the building information table 316, the private room management table 317, and the advertisement table 318. Each table can be constructed, for example, by storing data describing the contents of the records in the storage unit 140. In this embodiment, the building information table 316, the private room management table 317, and the advertisement table 318 are in table format, but they are not limited to this format and can be constructed in any format as long as the data is linked.

[0019] The building information table 316 shown in Figure 5(a) is a data table that manages information about the building in which each toilet facility is located. The building information table 316 has components such as building ID (identifiable information that can identify a building), building name, building genre, address, business hours, and initial screen. Here, business hours are defined by the start and end times of business for the building in which the toilet facility is located, and represent the time period during which the toilet facility can be used by users. The initial screen is a screen that is displayed when advertising content data is not being displayed, and in this form, it can be registered for each building. For example, an image with text such as "Thank you for using our facilities cleanly" may be used as the initial screen.

[0020] The individual stall management table 317 shown in Figure 5(b) is a data table for managing the usage status and congestion level of each toilet stall. For example, the individual stall management table 317 consists of the following items: sensor ID, building ID, area ID, stall attribute, usage status, and congestion level. The sensor ID is the identification information of the detection device 21 installed in the toilet stall. The building ID is the identification information of the building in which the toilet facility is located. The stall attribute is information indicating attributes that limit the user, such as the gender of the user or whether it is a multi-purpose toilet, and is associated with, for example, male, female, shared, or multi-purpose. The tablet ID is the identification information of the display device 23 installed in the toilet stall. An area ID is identification information used to identify toilet facilities, including individual toilet stalls. For example, if a building has toilet facilities on each floor, each toilet facility on each floor will be assigned an area ID. In a three-story building, if there are men's and women's toilets on the north side of each floor, and men's, women's, and a multipurpose toilet on the south side, the building will have a total of 15 toilet facilities, and the building ID of this building will be associated with and stored 15 different area IDs.

[0021] The information indicating the usage status in the individual toilet stall management table 317 (hereinafter referred to as usage information) indicates whether or not there is a user in that toilet stall. Here, the state of no user is displayed as "Vacant" and the state of user is displayed as "In Use" in text, but it is also acceptable to remember that "0" means no user and "1" means user. The congestion level is information that indicates the degree of congestion in a toilet facility, including individual toilet stalls. In this system, the congestion level is a fraction where the number of remaining "occupied" stalls in the toilet facility is the numerator and the number of toilet stalls in the toilet facility is the denominator. The closer the congestion level is to 1, the more crowded the facility is. For example, the toilet facility with area ID "001" is a women's toilet with two toilet stalls. Currently, one toilet stall is "empty" and the other is "occupied," so the number of remaining stalls (congestion level) in area ID "001" is 1 / 2. Therefore, the congestion level of the two toilet stalls in area ID "001" is stored as "1 / 2."

[0022] The advertisement table 318 is a data table that manages information about advertisements that may be displayed in the toilet display system. For each of the multiple advertisements, the advertisement table 318 consists of the following components: information that identifies the advertisement (advertisement ID), the advertiser providing the advertisement, the display period for the advertisement, the building ID that identifies the building where the advertisement will be displayed, and the advertisement content data. In this embodiment, each advertisement is a 15-second video.

[0023] The update unit 312 updates the individual room management table 317 based on the detection information received by the receiving unit 311 from the detection device 21. The detection information includes the identification information (sensor ID) of the detection device 21 and information indicating the detection result of the user. The update unit 312 refers to the identification information to identify the toilet room and updates the corresponding usage status. The congestion level derivation unit 313 derives the congestion level for each toilet facility. As described above, the congestion level is a fraction in which the number of toilet stalls that are "in use" (have users) is the numerator and the total number of toilet stalls included in the toilet facility is the denominator. After deriving the congestion level for each area ID, the congestion level derivation unit 313 uses the derived congestion level to update the congestion level of the toilet stalls corresponding to the toilet area ID in the stall management table 317.

[0024] The advertising control unit 314 communicates with the display device 23 that displays advertisements and transmits the data necessary for displaying advertisements to the display device 23. First, the advertising control unit 314 pre-distributes advertising content data to the display device 23 installed in the toilet stall 22 during a time period designated for each toilet facility (preferably a period with few users, such as late at night or outside of business hours). The display device 23 receives the advertising content data and stores it in the storage device 234. Here, the advertising control unit 314 distributes three pieces of advertising content data that the display device 23 can display. Furthermore, when the receiving unit 311 receives a request from the display device 23, the advertising control unit 314 transmits usage information and congestion level to the display device 23 as information necessary for the display device 23 to determine whether or not to display an advertisement.

[0025] Next, the functional configuration of the display device 23 will be described. The display device 23 includes an acquisition unit 2340, a setting unit 2341, a determination unit 2342, and a display control unit 2343 as software modules (functions configured by deploying various programs in the internal memory of the CPU 230) executed by the CPU 230. For convenience of description below, these modules may be described as the main operating units, but since the CPU 230 is the one that actually executes these modules, the CPU 230 can also be described as the main operating unit.

[0026] The acquisition unit 2340 acquires information from the management server 10, such as usage information, congestion levels, information about the user's terminal, and information about initial settings necessary for display on the display device 23. The setting unit 2341 performs the settings necessary for display on the display device 23. For example, the setting unit 2341 sets the initial screen and image data for long-term stays that are displayed during long-term stays. The determination unit 2342 determines whether the corresponding toilet stall 22 is in use based on usage information obtained from the management server 10, and whether to display a display image for long-term stays depending on the length of stay and the level of congestion. In this embodiment, a first image and a second image are set as display images for long-term stays. Details of each image will be described later. In addition, the determination unit 2342 periodically acquires usage information even after detecting that the stall is in use, and monitors whether the user has left the stall, and determines whether the usage information has been updated from "in use" to "available".

[0027] The display control unit 2343 controls the display on the display 236. In this configuration, an initial screen (still image) is displayed when no user is in the toilet stall 22, and when a user enters, advertising content data (video) is displayed. Furthermore, if the user's stay is prolonged, or if the toilet facility is crowded, a display image for long-term stays is displayed. The counting unit 2344 counts the time a user spends in the toilet stall 22 and outputs stay time information indicating the time spent. When the usage information acquired by the acquisition unit 2340 is updated from "available" to "occupied", the counting unit 2344 starts counting the elapsed time. The counting unit 2344 stores the measured time as the user's stay time information. Also, when the usage information acquired by the acquisition unit 2340 is updated from "occupied" to "available", the counting unit 2344 resets the elapsed time.

[0028] <Sequence for managing the usage status of toilet stalls> Figure 6 shows a sequence diagram for managing the usage status of toilet stalls. Each step is denoted by "S". In S601, the detection device 21 installed in the toilet stall 22 detects whether the toilet stall is in use at predetermined intervals (for example, every 10 seconds). Here, since the detection device 21 is a magnetic sensor installed on the door of the toilet stall, the detection device 21 will detect whether the door of the toilet stall is closed or open. Here, let's assume that the detection device 21 has detected that the door is closed (i.e., that a user has entered the stall). In S602, the detection device 21 transmits the detection result indicating that the door is closed, along with the identification information of the detection device 21 itself, to the management server 10 as detection information.

[0029] In S603, when the receiving unit 311 of the management server 10 receives detection information from the detection device 21, in S604, the update unit 312 updates the private room management table 318 based on the received detection information. Specifically, it refers to the identification information contained in the detection information and updates the usage status of the corresponding private room in the private room management table 317 to "In Use". When a user leaves a toilet stall, in S605 the detection device 21 detects that the door is open, and in S606 the detection device 21 transmits the detection result indicating that the door is open, along with its own identification information, to the management server 10 as detection information. In this embodiment, the detection device 21 detects the open / closed state of the door every 5 seconds, so even after S602 the detection device 21 continues to transmit a detection result indicating that the door is closed to the management server 10, but this is omitted for simplicity of explanation.

[0030] In S607, when the receiving unit 311 of the management server 10 receives detection information, in S608, the update unit 312 updates the private room management table 318 based on the received detection information. Here, the usage status of the corresponding private room in the private room management table 317 is updated to "available". In this configuration, the detection device 21 transmits detection information to the management server 10 every 5 seconds. However, in addition to the periodic data transmission every 5 seconds, the detection device 21 may also transmit a message to the management server 10 indicating that the door is closed when it detects that the door is closed.

[0031] <Congestion level derivation process> The details of the congestion level derivation process performed by the congestion level derivation unit 313 in the management server 10 are described below. Figure 7 shows a flowchart of the congestion level derivation process. The CPU 110 of the management server 10 can realize each step by loading and executing a program that can implement the flowchart shown in Figure 7. First, in S701, the congestion level derivation unit 313 determines the area ID to be processed. In this embodiment, the registered area IDs are processed in order. Furthermore, for example, the available time period may be registered for each area ID, and only area IDs with available time periods may be processed, or the toilet facilities corresponding to toilet stalls whose usage information has been updated by the update unit 312 may be processed. In S702, the congestion level derivation unit 313 identifies the toilet stall 22 of the area ID to be processed and obtains usage information for each toilet stall.

[0032] In S702, the congestion level derivation unit 313 counts the number of toilet stalls in the area ID to be processed and uses this as the number of toilet stalls. It also counts the number of toilet stalls in the area ID to be processed whose usage information is "in use" and uses this as the number of remaining stalls. The congestion level derivation unit 313 determines a fraction with the number of remaining stalls as the numerator and the number of toilet stalls as the denominator, and uses this as the congestion level corresponding to the area ID.

[0033] In S703, the congestion level of at least one toilet stall corresponding to the area ID to be processed is updated using the congestion level derived in S702. In S705, the congestion level derivation unit 313 determines whether there are any area IDs to be processed next. If there are unprocessed area IDs (YES), it returns to S701; if there are no unprocessed area IDs (NO), it completes the process. In this configuration, since registered area IDs are the target of processing, in S705, the congestion level derivation unit 313 will determine that there are unprocessed area IDs as long as there is a dataset corresponding to the area ID in the private room management table 317. For example, if two area IDs are registered, the congestion level will be derived alternately for the two area IDs. Here, if the management server 10 loses access to the private room management table 317, or if the congestion level derivation process is terminated by an external operation via the communication device 150 or by the CPU 110, it will be determined as NO in S705. With the above steps, the congestion level derivation process on the management server 10 is complete.

[0034] <Flowchart for ad display control processing> The details of the advertising display control process in the display device 23 are described below. Figure 8 shows a flowchart of the advertising display control process. The CPU 230 of the display device 23 can realize each step by reading and executing a program that can implement the flowchart shown in Figure 8. For example, the display device 23 will start the following flowchart at a pre-specified time, such as when the toilet facility where the display device 23 is installed opens for business. In S801, the acquisition unit 2340 requests the management server 10 for the identification information (tablet ID) of the display device 23 itself, along with information related to the display control settings (hereinafter referred to as display setting information), and acquires the display setting information. In this embodiment, the display setting information acquired includes the area ID corresponding to the device's identification information, information indicating business hours corresponding to the building ID, image data to be used as the initial screen, and image data for long-term stays.

[0035] In S802, the setting unit 2341 performs display settings based on the display setting information acquired in S801. The setting unit 2341 sets the acquired image data as the initial screen, and sets a first long-stay image data and a second long-stay image data to be displayed when the user is staying for an extended period. The setting unit 2341 also sets a first predetermined time and a second predetermined time for determining whether the user is staying for an extended period. In this embodiment, the first predetermined time is set to 10 minutes and the second predetermined time is set to 20 minutes. In S803, the display control unit 2343 displays the image data set as the initial screen on the display 236.

[0036] In S804, the acquisition unit 2340 acquires congestion level and usage information (information indicating whether it is in use or available) corresponding to its own terminal from the management server 10. The congestion level acquired here indicates the congestion status of the toilet facility, including the toilet stall 22 in which the terminal is installed. In S805, the determination unit 2342 refers to the usage information and determines whether the toilet stall set on the display device 23 is in use or not. In this embodiment, if the acquired usage information indicates "in use", the counting unit 2344 starts counting and proceeds to S806 and S812, and if it indicates "available", proceeds to S811.

[0037] The processes from S806 to S809 are executed assuming the user remains in the toilet stall. In S806, the display control unit 2343 displays N pre-delivered advertising content data on the display 236. In this configuration, three advertising content data are pre-delivered and stored in the storage device 234, and the display control unit 2343 plays the three advertising content data sequentially in a random order. Here, the three content data are repeatedly played in the order they were first played until the display control unit 2343 switches to another image (or video).

[0038] In S807, the counting unit 2344 refers to the user's stay time information from the time of entry, and when it detects that the first predetermined time has elapsed, it proceeds to S808. In S808, the determination unit 2342 further refers to the congestion level and determines whether the toilet facility, including the toilet stall 22 corresponding to the terminal, is crowded or not. In this embodiment, the determination unit 2342 determines whether the fraction indicating the congestion level is 1 or not. In other words, the determination unit 2342 determines the congestion status based on whether the toilet facility is full (all toilet stalls in the toilet facility are in use). If the determination unit 2342 determines that it is not crowded (not full), it proceeds to S810; if it determines that it is crowded (full), it proceeds to S809.

[0039] In S809, the display control unit 2343 generates a first image including the stay time based on the congestion level and stay time information, and displays it on the display 236. Figure 9(a) shows an example of the first image. The first image displays the availability of the toilet facilities and the user's stay time. This image is intended to encourage users staying for extended periods to use the toilets quickly, in order to prevent situations where other users cannot use the toilet stalls due to users unnecessarily staying for extended periods when the toilet facilities are crowded. When the stay time exceeds a first predetermined time, the advertisement displayed on the display 236 is switched to the first image. The display control unit 2343 generates the first image by inserting text data indicating the congestion level and text data indicating the stay time into the image generated using the first long-stay image data. In this case, since the congestion level is 1, the text data indicating "Fully Occupied" will be displayed.

[0040] Next, in S810, the counting unit 2344 refers to the information on the time the user has stayed since entering the room and detects the elapsed of a second predetermined time. When the counting unit 2344 detects that the time of stay has exceeded the second predetermined time, the process proceeds to S811. In S811, the display control unit 2343 generates a second image that includes the time of stay based on the time of stay information, using the second long-stay image data, and displays it on the display 236. Figure 9(b) shows an example of the second image. The second image displays the time of stay along with a button area for calling an attendant. This is because some people who continue to use the toilet stall for an extended period after the first image is displayed may be unable to leave due to illness or other reasons, and therefore are allowed to call an attendant. If the user taps the button labeled "Call an attendant," the display device 23 sends an email or notification to a pre-configured contact or pre-registered information processing device, along with information that can identify the toilet stall 22, indicating that a call has been made by the user. Once the second image is displayed for a certain period (for example, one hour), the second image will continue to be displayed on the display 236 of the display device 23 until the user's departure is detected.

[0041] In parallel with the processing from S806 to S809, in S814, the determination unit 2342 monitors the departure of users currently using the toilet stall 22. Specifically, the determination unit 2342 sends a request for usage information to the management server 10 at predetermined time intervals (for example, every 5 seconds), continuously obtains usage information for the toilet stall 22 from the management server 10, and determines whether the usage information has become "available". If the obtained usage information indicates "available", the determination unit 2342 proceeds to S812.

[0042] In S812, the display control unit 2343 displays the same initial screen image data on the display 236 as the initial screen displayed in S803. If the user proceeds from S814 to S812, other content such as advertisements or the first image is forcibly terminated, and the display of the initial screen is fixed. In this embodiment, the same still image is displayed on the display 236 in S803 and S810, but different images may be displayed. For example, since S810 is displayed after the display device 23 has displayed an advertisement to the user, it may be a still image containing text such as "Thank you for using our service" or "Please be careful not to leave anything behind." However, the image displayed in S810 is preferably a still image rather than a video with changes, in order to suppress the inducement of prolonged stay.

[0043] In S812, the determination unit 2342 determines whether to complete the process. Specifically, the determination unit 2342 determines whether it is within the business hours of the building, including the toilet facility where the terminal is installed. If the current time is within business hours, it is determined that the process will not be completed and the process returns to S804. If it is outside business hours, it is determined to complete the process and the process is finished. This completes the advertising display control process in the display device 23.

[0044] <Flow of advertising display in toilet stalls> Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating the flow of displayed advertisements. The horizontal axis schematically shows the passage of time, and the displayed content is shown in order. Note that the content shown is from the time the user enters the room and the initial screen is updated with an advertisement; the display of the initial screen is omitted. Figure 10(a) shows a case where the user's stay time is less than the first predetermined time, and only advertisements are played after the initial image. The advertisement is displayed on the display device 23 until the user's departure is detected.

[0045] If the advertisement display time is extended, the time spent in toilet stalls will increase, leading to congestion in the toilet facilities, which is undesirable as it reduces the convenience for other users. Therefore, as shown in Figure 10(b), when a user's stay exceeds the first predetermined time, and the toilet facilities, including the toilet stall used by the user, are crowded, the advertisement displayed on the display device 23 is terminated and switched to the first image including the stay time. By stopping the advertisement display, the inducement of prolonged stays by users due to advertisement viewing is suppressed, and by informing the user of the congestion status and their stay time, it is possible to encourage them to leave. On the other hand, even if a user's stay exceeds the first predetermined time, if the toilet facilities are not crowded, the advertisement continues to be displayed until the user's departure is detected. If there are other empty stalls in the toilet facilities, even if a user stays for a long time, it does not cause much inconvenience to other users or the toilet facility operators, so no message encouraging them to leave is displayed, and the advertisement continues to be displayed.

[0046] Furthermore, if the stay exceeds the second predetermined time, which is longer than the first predetermined time, a second image including the stay time will be displayed, regardless of the congestion level of the toilet facility. The second image will display the stay time, text to check on the user's well-being, and a button to call an attendant. The purpose of the second image is to encourage users to leave if they are staying unnecessarily for an extended period, regardless of congestion, while also checking on the user's well-being, considering the possibility that they may be unable to leave the toilet stall for some reason.

[0047] <Summary of the First Embodiment> As described above, in this embodiment, after a user enters a toilet stall, an advertising video is displayed on the display device 23 installed inside the toilet stall. If the user remains in the stall for a predetermined time, the display format will either continue to show the advertising video or switch to an image that includes the time spent inside, depending on the congestion level of the toilet facility. Furthermore, if the user remains in the toilet stall for a period exceeding a predetermined time, the display of the advertising video will end, regardless of the congestion level of the toilet facility, and an image that includes the time spent inside will be displayed. In other words, the timing of when the time spent inside is displayed is controlled according to the congestion level of the toilet facility. When the toilet is crowded, the time spent inside is displayed on the display device 23 inside the toilet stall at an earlier time than when it is not crowded. Therefore, if it is desirable to prevent users from staying in toilet stalls for extended periods due to the display of advertising videos, the display time of the advertisement will be varied according to the level of congestion, and the amount of time spent will be displayed according to the level of congestion. If the toilet facility is crowded, the advertisement will be stopped earlier and the amount of time spent will be displayed to encourage users to use the toilet quickly. If the toilet facility is not crowded, the advertisement will be displayed for a longer period than when it is crowded, and then an image including the amount of time spent will be displayed. In summary, according to this embodiment, by controlling the timing of displaying the amount of time spent on the display device 23 according to the level of congestion in the toilet facility, it is possible to encourage users to leave at an appropriate time.

[0048] [Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment, a method was described for displaying an image including the length of stay on a display device 23 inside the toilet stall 22, in order to encourage users to leave, depending on the congestion level and length of stay information. In the second embodiment, a method is described for displaying an image including the length of stay regardless of the congestion level, in cases where there is only one toilet stall, such as in a convenience store. Note that detailed explanations of configurations similar to the first embodiment will be omitted, and different processes will be described.

[0049] Figure 11 shows a flowchart of the advertising display control process in the second embodiment. Each step can be realized by the CPU 230 of the display device 23 loading and executing a program that can implement the flowchart shown in Figure 11. This differs from the first embodiment in that the process in S815 is added. In S815, the determination unit 2342 determines whether or not to execute display processing according to the degree of congestion. In this embodiment, the determination unit 2342 determines whether or not there are multiple toilet stalls in total. Specifically, the degree of congestion obtained in S804 has a denominator that represents the total number of toilet stalls, so the determination unit 2342 determines whether or not to execute display according to congestion based on whether or not the denominator of the degree of congestion is 2 or more. If the number of toilet stalls is 2 or more (i.e., there are multiple toilet stalls in the toilet facility), the process proceeds to S807, and the display is controlled according to the congestion status and dwell time information, similar to the first embodiment. On the other hand, if the number of toilet stalls is 1 (i.e., there are no other toilet stalls in the toilet facility), the process proceeds to S809.

[0050] As described above, according to the second embodiment, if a toilet facility has multiple toilet stalls, when a user stays in a toilet stall for an extended period, the advertisement display is stopped based on the congestion status and length of stay information, and an image including the length of stay is displayed. If a toilet facility has only one toilet stall, when a user stays in a toilet stall for an extended period, the advertisement display is stopped based solely on the length of stay, and an image including the length of stay is displayed. As described above, according to this embodiment, in a system that displays advertising videos on a display device 23 installed in a toilet stall, in toilet facilities where it is not possible to derive congestion status based on the usage status of other toilet stalls, it is possible to prevent prolonged stays by displaying an image that includes the length of stay based solely on the length of stay information.

[0051] Furthermore, in addition to the method of determining whether or not to refer to the congestion status based on the number of toilet stalls, if, for example, an office building used for other purposes is a place where long-term stays are not desired regardless of congestion status, the determination unit 2342 may make a determination in S815 according to the type of building in which the toilet facilities are installed (e.g., commercial building or office building). In this case, if the toilet facilities are in an office building, the determination unit 2342 will proceed to S811 without performing the process in S808, and to S807 if the toilet facilities are in a commercial building.

[0052] [Third Embodiment] In the first and second embodiments, the timing at which an image including the time spent (first image or second image) may be displayed is limited to either the time elapsed after entry into the room or the time elapsed after a first predetermined time. In the third embodiment, a system is described in which, after the first predetermined time has elapsed, the congestion level is periodically acquired, and an image including the time spent (in this case, the first image) is displayed when the toilet facility becomes congested between the first predetermined time and the second predetermined time. Note that the same reference numerals are used to describe the same components as in the first embodiment, and the details of the processing are omitted.

[0053] Figure 12 shows a flowchart of the advertising display control process in the second embodiment. Each step can be realized by the CPU 230 of the display device 23 loading and executing a program that can implement the flowchart shown in Figure 11. The process that differs from the flowchart shown in Figure 8 in the first embodiment will be explained. First, instead of S804, in S1201, the acquisition unit 2340 acquires usage information corresponding to its own terminal from the management server 10. In S805, when entry by a user is detected based on the usage information, in S1202, the acquisition unit 2340 acquires the congestion level corresponding to its own terminal from the management server 10. Note that if the process returns to S1202 from A1203 or S1204, which will be described later, it will be re-executed after a predetermined interval (for example, 10 seconds) or more has elapsed since the previous execution of S1202.

[0054] In S1203, the determination unit 2342 determines whether the stay time counted by the counting unit 2344 is equal to or greater than a first predetermined time. If the stay time is equal to or greater than the first predetermined time, the process proceeds to S1204; otherwise, the process returns to S1202. If the stay time is equal to or greater than the first predetermined time, the process proceeds to S1204, where the determination unit 2342 determines whether the toilet facility is crowded based on the degree of congestion. If it is crowded, the process proceeds to S809; otherwise, the process returns to S1202. The processing from S809 onward is the same as in the first embodiment.

[0055] In this embodiment, the image including the dwell time will be displayed at the following timings. (a) When the time spent at the facility is between the first designated time and the second designated time, and it is detected that the toilet facility is crowded. (i) When it is detected that the stay has exceeded the second specified time. In this embodiment, since the level of congestion is periodically acquired between the first predetermined time and the second predetermined time during the stay, if the toilet facility becomes crowded during that time, a display image for long-term stays will be shown to encourage prompt departure.

[0056] <Other Embodiments> In the above embodiment, the first and second predetermined times were fixed, but they may be pre-registered for each toilet facility or for each building in which the toilet facilities are installed. In this case, the first and second predetermined times corresponding to the pre-registered toilet stalls 22 should be read and set before the execution of process S807 in the flowchart shown in Figure 8. For example, the first and second predetermined times should be set to be relatively short in toilet facilities that tend to be crowded, and longer in toilet facilities that do not experience much congestion. Alternatively, the interval between the first and second predetermined times can be varied depending on the toilet facility.

[0057] In the above embodiment, when a user enters a toilet stall, an advertising video is displayed on the display device 23. However, the display control unit 2343 may display only the initial image, excluding content other than advertisements and images including the duration of stay. Furthermore, if the duration of stay is greater than or equal to a first predetermined time but less than a second predetermined time, and the toilet facility is not crowded, the display control unit 2343 may select and display advertisements related to the long-term use of toilet stalls. Assuming that many users who use toilet stalls for extended periods tend to have attributes that make them prone to stomach aches, the display control unit 2343 may prioritize the delivery of advertising videos for, for example, intestinal regulators or laxatives.

[0058] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, when the toilet facility is crowded, the first and second images are displayed if the user stays for more than the second predetermined time. However, a common image may be displayed instead. In this case, for example, the display control unit 2343 displays the first image if the stay time exceeds the first predetermined time and the toilet facility is crowded, and displays the content (such as an advertisement) that was displayed after entering the room if the toilet facility is not crowded. Moreover, if the stay time exceeds the second predetermined time, the first image is displayed regardless of the toilet facility's congestion status. In other words, if the toilet facility is crowded, the first image continues to be displayed. Furthermore, while we decided to use fixed data for long-term stay image data regardless of the building or toilet facility, it would be possible to allow settings to be configured for each building or toilet facility, similar to the initial screen.

[0059] Furthermore, information other than the number of occupied stalls / total number of stalls in the toilet facility may be used to indicate the degree of congestion. The congestion level derivation unit 313 can, for example, derive the number of stalls whose usage information is in the "available" state as the congestion level. In this case, the display device 23 that has acquired the congestion level may determine in S808 whether or not to stop displaying the advertisement by determining whether or not the congestion level is 0. Alternatively, the congestion level does not have to be a numerical value. For example, the congestion level derivation unit 313 may output text indicating the congestion status as the congestion level according to the ratio of the number of occupied stalls to the total number of toilet stalls in the toilet facility. In this case, text indicating the congestion status such as "available," "slightly crowded," or "full" can be sent to the display device 23, and the display device 23 can control the advertisement display time according to the pre-set congestion status. Also, in the first embodiment, the determination unit 2342 made a determination based on whether or not the congestion level was 1 (full or not), but it is not limited to this. For example, the determination unit 2342 can also consider a toilet facility to be crowded if, for example, 80% of the stalls are in use, relative to a fraction indicating the degree of congestion in the toilet facility.

[0060] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the example was explained in which the advertising video is played in a loop from the time the user enters the room until the advertisement display stops, but it is not necessarily required to play it in a loop. For example, if it is acceptable to display an advertising video for a long period of time, the display device 23 may increase the amount of advertising content data to be displayed or randomly select and display advertising content data.

[0061] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, if the counting unit 2344 in the display device 23 is to count the user's usage time (stay time), the management server 10 can also have the function of the counting unit 2344. In this case, the acquisition unit 2340 of the display device 23 periodically (at predetermined intervals) acquires information from the management server 10 indicating the stay time of the corresponding toilet stall 22 while displaying content on the display 236. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the acquisition unit 2340 acquires the congestion level in S804, but in order to refer to the congestion status in real time, the congestion level may be acquired from the management server 10 at predetermined intervals or immediately before executing the process in S808.

[0062] As described above, the technology of this disclosure can be implemented by supplying a program that implements one or more of the functions of the embodiments described above to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and by a process in which one or more processors in the computer of that system or device read and operate the program. Alternatively, it may be implemented by a circuit that implements one or more functions.

[0063] This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above and includes various modifications. For example, the embodiments described above are described in detail for illustrative purposes and do not necessarily have to include all the configurations described. Furthermore, parts of one embodiment can be replaced with the configurations of another embodiment. In addition, configurations of other embodiments can be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, parts of the configuration of each embodiment can be added, deleted, or replaced with parts of the configurations of other embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] Management server 10, CPU 110, display device 23, CPU 230, detection device 21, receiving unit 311, update unit 312, congestion level derivation unit 313, advertising control unit 314, acquisition unit 2340, setting unit 2341, determination unit 2342, display control unit 2343

Claims

1. An information processing device having a display means and installed in a toilet stall in a toilet facility, The aforementioned toilet stall is also equipped with a detection device to detect whether or not there is a user using the toilet stall. When the detection information indicating the detection result by the detection device indicates that a user has entered the toilet stall, a first acquisition means acquires stay time information indicating the user's stay time in the toilet stall, The system includes a display control means that controls the display in the display means based on the aforementioned stay time information, The display control means is characterized in that, when the detection information indicates that a user has entered the toilet stall, it displays a first advertisement other than an advertisement for intestinal regulators or laxatives, and further, when the stay time information exceeds a predetermined time that can be considered as long-term use, it displays the stay time information and an advertisement for intestinal regulators or laxatives.

2. A program that causes a computer to function as an information processing device as described in claim 1.

3. An information processing method for displaying advertisements on a display device installed in a toilet stall in a toilet facility, The aforementioned toilet stall is also equipped with a detection device to detect whether or not there is a user using the toilet stall. When the detection information indicating the detection result by the detection device indicates that a user has entered the toilet stall, the device acquires stay time information indicating the user's stay time in the toilet stall. An information processing method characterized in that, when the detection information indicates that a user has entered the toilet stall, a first advertisement other than an advertisement for intestinal regulators or laxatives is displayed, and when the stay time information exceeds a predetermined time that can be considered as long-term use, the stay time information and an advertisement for intestinal regulators or laxatives are displayed.

Images