Information display system, management device, information display method, and management program

Abstract

A ticket vending machine 30 displays product information of purchasable products on an operation display unit 31. When a product among the products displayed in the product information is sold out, the ticket vending machine 30 receives data of the sold-out product and of an advertisement from a management device 20, and displays information indicating "sold-out" in a display area for displaying the product information of the sold-out product. In order to effectively utilize the display unit, the ticket vending machine 30 displays advertisement data in the display area for displaying the product information of the sold-out product after the lapse of a predetermined time.

Description

Information display system, management device, information display method, and management program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information display system, a management device, an information display method, and a management program that display information about products provided by a restaurant.

[0002] Conventionally, restaurants often have meal ticket vending machines (hereinafter simply referred to as "ticket dispensers") with a display unit (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the ticket dispenser, product information about products offered by the restaurant is displayed on the display unit, and when a customer selects a desired product and pays for it, a meal ticket is dispensed from a meal ticket dispenser.

[0003] When a product is sold out, it is desirable to make effective use of the display unit rather than simply displaying a sold-out message on the display unit. For this reason, Patent Document 2 discloses a technology for changing the product information displayed on the display unit to the product information of another product that is available for sale when the product is sold out.

[0004] JP 2023-122264 A JP 2004-164405 A

[0005] However, the above-mentioned conventional technology only displays information about other products offered by the same restaurant when the product offered by the restaurant is sold out. In recent years, the display units of ticket dispensers have become larger, and there is a demand for more effective use of the display units, for example, for displaying advertisements.

[0006] When using restaurant ticket vending machines for advertising, it is important to improve the effectiveness of the advertisement. Not only restaurant ticket vending machines, but also other advertising displays such as digital signage are expected to improve their effectiveness.

[0007] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the prior art, and one of its purposes is to provide an information display system, management device, information display method, and management program that can effectively utilize a display unit that displays product information provided by a restaurant.

[0008] The information display system of the present disclosure includes a display unit that displays product information for products that can be ordered at a store, a first acquisition unit that acquires non-product information that differs from the product information displayed on the display unit, a second acquisition unit that acquires the product information for sold-out products among the products that can be ordered, and a display control unit that displays at least a portion of the non-product information on the display unit using a display area of ​​the display unit that displays the product information for the sold-out products.

[0009] In the above configuration, the non-product information may be advertising information other than the orderable product displayed on the display unit.

[0010] In the above configuration, when a sold-out product occurs, the display control unit may hide the product information in the display area that displays the product information of the sold-out product and display the non-product information.

[0011] In the above configuration, when a sold-out product occurs, the display control unit may display the non-product information in the display area of ​​the product information of the sold-out product after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the sold-out product was displayed in a state where it could not be ordered.

[0012] In the above configuration, when multiple products whose product information is displayed in multiple adjacent display areas are sold out, the display control unit may combine the multiple display areas and display the non-product information in the combined display area.

[0013] In the above configuration, when multiple products for which the product information is displayed in multiple display areas are sold out, the display control unit may move the multiple display areas to adjacent display areas and display the non-product information in the multiple display areas after the move.

[0014] In the above configuration, when multiple products for which the product information is displayed in multiple display areas are sold out, the display control unit may move the multiple display areas to adjacent display areas, combine the multiple display areas after the movement, and display the non-product information in the combined display area.

[0015] In the above configuration, the display control unit may switch between displaying the product information of the sold-out product and the non-product information at predetermined time intervals in the display area displaying the product information of the sold-out product.

[0016] In the above configuration, the display control unit may, when a predetermined operation is received while product information of the sold-out product is being displayed in the display area, switch the display content of the display area to the non-product information, and, when the predetermined operation is received while the non-product information is being displayed in the display area, switch the display content of the display area to the product information of the sold-out product.

[0017] In the above configuration, when multiple products that display the product information in multiple adjacent display areas are sold out, the display control unit may combine the multiple display areas and display the non-product information in the combined display area upon receiving a predetermined selection operation to select the multiple display areas.

[0018] The management device according to the present disclosure is a management device communicatively connected to an in-store device that displays product information for products that can be ordered in the store, and includes a memory unit that stores non-product information that differs from the product information, an acquisition unit that acquires information on sold-out products from the product information, and an identification unit that identifies the non-product information to be displayed in the display area of ​​the sold-out products.

[0019] The information display method disclosed herein is an information display method in an information display system having an in-store device that displays product information for products that can be ordered in a store and a management device that is communicatively connected to the in-store device, and includes a first acquisition step of acquiring non-product information that differs from the product information displayed on a specified display unit, a second acquisition step of acquiring the product information for sold-out products among the orderable products, and a display control step of displaying at least a portion of the non-product information on the display unit using a display area of ​​the display unit that displays the product information for the sold-out products.

[0020] The management program of the present disclosure is a management program executed by a management device communicatively connected to an in-store device that displays product information for products that can be ordered in the store, and causes a computer to execute a storage procedure for storing non-product information that differs from the product information in a specified storage unit, an acquisition procedure for acquiring information on sold-out products from the product information, and an identification procedure for identifying the non-product information to be displayed in the display area of ​​the sold-out products.

[0021] According to the information display system, management device, information display method, and management program disclosed herein, it is possible to effectively utilize the display unit that displays product information provided by the restaurant.

[0022] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of an information display system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of the information display system illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a management device illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of store advertisement data illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of sold-out item data illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of advertisement display data illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of advertisement display history data illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an external configuration of a ticket vending machine illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a ticket vending machine illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a kitchen terminal illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an advertisement server illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of screen transitions when an advertisement is displayed on the ticket vending machine illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure of the information display system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of the ticket issuance processing illustrated in FIG. 13. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of the sold-out item data transmission processing illustrated in FIG. 13. Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure for the advertisement display data transmission processing shown in Fig. 13. Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure for the advertisement display data display processing shown in Fig. 13. Fig. 18 is a diagram showing an overview of an information display system according to a second embodiment. Fig. 19 is a diagram showing an overview of an information display system according to a third embodiment. Fig. 20 is a diagram showing an overview of an information display system according to a fourth embodiment. Fig. 21 is a diagram showing an overview of an information display system according to a fifth embodiment. Fig. 22 is a diagram showing an overview of an information display system according to a first modified example. Fig. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration.

[0023] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of an information display system, a management device, an information display method, and a management program according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0024] [Embodiment 1] An overview of an information display system according to embodiment 1 will be described. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of the information display system according to embodiment 1. Fig. 1 describes an example in which, when a product displayed in product information is sold out, an advertisement is displayed in the display area where the product was previously displayed.

[0025] <Outline of Information Display System> As shown in FIG. 1 , the ticket dispenser 30 displays information about products that can be ordered at the store on the operation and display unit 31. The screen of the operation and display unit 31 is provided with multiple display areas so that information about multiple products can be displayed. FIG. 1 shows an example screen displaying the products "Salmon Meuniere," "Soup," "Sukiyaki," "Fresh Spring Rolls," "Meat Buns," and "Stew." When a customer selects a product they wish to order from the displayed product information and pays for the product in cash, the ticket dispenser 30 issues a meal ticket for the product selected by the customer. The payment method is not limited to cash, and payment can also be made by electronic money or credit card, or by using a two-dimensional barcode on a smartphone.

[0026] If the product "soup" among the multiple products for which product information is displayed is sold out, data indicating the sold-out product and advertising data are transmitted from the management device 20 (see FIG. 2). When the ticket dispenser 30 receives the sold-out product and advertising data from the management device 20, it changes the display of the product information for the product "soup" to a display indicating "sold out." After that, after a predetermined time has passed, the ticket dispenser 30 performs display switching control so that the display area showing the information about the sold-out product "soup" displays the advertising data transmitted from the management device 20. Furthermore, the ticket dispenser 30 sets the display area showing the advertising data so that operating the operation display unit 31 in the same way as when selecting a product on sale does not result in a selection operation.

[0027] In this way, the information display system of the present disclosure can effectively utilize the display area for sold-out items by utilizing the display area for displaying product information for sold-out items and displaying advertisements in that display area.

[0028] <Configuration of Information Display System> An example system configuration of the information display system 10 shown in Fig. 1 will be described. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example system configuration of the information display system 10 shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the information display system 10 includes a management device 20, a plurality of ticket dispensers 30a, 30b (hereinafter collectively referred to as "ticket dispensers 30"), a plurality of kitchen terminals 40a, 40b (hereinafter collectively referred to as "kitchen terminals 40"), and an advertising server 50, all of which are connected to a network N.

[0029] If the number of stores is n, n ticket issuing machines 30 and n kitchen terminals will be installed, but Figure 2 shows only two ticket issuing machines 30a and 30b and two kitchen terminals 40a and 40b.

[0030] The management device 20 performs processes such as acquiring advertising data from the advertising server 50, acquiring sold-out product data from the kitchen terminal 40, identifying advertising display data to be displayed on the ticket issuing machine 30 based on the advertising data and sold-out product data, and transmitting the advertising display data to the ticket issuing machine 30 and storing the transmission history.

[0031] Specifically, the management device 20 acquires advertising data from the advertising server 50 and generates store advertising data to be displayed at each store. For example, if the advertising data includes information specifying the area in which the advertising data is to be displayed, the management device 20 matches the advertising data with stores that correspond to the specified area, and identifies the store advertising data to be displayed at the store. When the management device 20 acquires sold-out product data indicating products that have sold out at a store from the store's kitchen terminal 40, the management device 20 identifies the advertising display data to be displayed on the ticket issuing machine 30 of the store.

[0032] The advertisement display data includes sold-out product data for displaying "SOLD OUT" in the display area of ​​the ticket issuing machine 30 corresponding to the sold-out product, and advertisement data for displaying in the display area corresponding to the sold-out product. When the management device 20 transmits the advertisement display data to the store where the product is sold out, the management device 20 stores the transmission history in the storage unit.

[0033] The ticket issuing machine 30 performs processes such as displaying product information for products that can be issued, accepting customer orders, processing payments for the purchase of accepted products, printing meal tickets, receiving advertising display data including data on sold-out products and advertisements sent from the management device 20, and display control processing for the advertising display data.

[0034] Specifically, the ticket issuing machine 30 displays product information for products that can be ordered at the store, and when a customer selects the product they want to order from the product information, performs payment processing. The payment processing, for example, displays the purchase price, and when the customer inserts cash or the like, compares the purchase price with the amount of cash inserted, and if change is required, performs a change return process. Once payment processing has been completed, the ticket issuing machine 30 prints and issues a meal ticket.

[0035] When the ticket dispenser 30 receives the advertising display data from the management device 20, it displays "Sold Out" information in the display area corresponding to the sold-out item data included in the advertising display data. After a predetermined time has elapsed, the ticket dispenser 30 displays the advertising data included in the advertising display data in the display area corresponding to the sold-out item data. Note that when the ticket dispenser 30 receives the advertising display data from the management device 20, it may not display "Sold Out" information in the display area corresponding to the sold-out item data included in the advertising display data, but may instead display the advertising data included in the advertising display data in the display area corresponding to the sold-out item data from the beginning.

[0036] The kitchen terminal 40 performs processes such as displaying product information provided by the store, identifying sold-out product data when a sold-out product occurs, and notifying the management device 20 of the sold-out product data. Specifically, the kitchen terminal 40 displays product information for products provided by the store, and when a sold-out product occurs and a store clerk identifies the sold-out product from the product information, the kitchen terminal 40 notifies the management device 20 of the data for the product as sold-out product data.

[0037] The advertisement server 50 performs processes such as accepting advertisement requests from advertisers, managing advertisement data, and transmitting advertisement data. Specifically, the advertisement server 50 accepts advertisement requests including data related to advertisements from advertisers and stores the requests as advertisement data. The advertisement server 50 transmits the advertisement data to the management device 20 at a predetermined time. For example, if a store opens at 11:00 AM, the predetermined time is set to 9:00 AM, two hours before the opening of the store. In this case, the advertisement server 50 transmits the advertisement data to the management device 20 at 9:00 AM. The transmission time of the advertisement data is not limited to this. For example, when new advertisement data is registered, the advertisement server 50 may transmit the advertisement data to the management device 20.

[0038] <Configuration of management device 20> The configuration of the management device 20 will be described. Fig. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an example configuration of the management device 20 shown in Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 3, the management device 20 has a communication I / F unit 23, a storage unit 24, and a control unit 25. A display unit 21 and an input unit 22 are connected to the management device 20.

[0039] The display unit 21 is a display device such as a liquid crystal panel or a display device, and the input unit 22 is an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse. The communication I / F unit 23 is an interface unit for communicating with the ticket issuing machine 30, the kitchen terminal 40, and the advertising server 50.

[0040] The storage unit 24 is a storage device such as a hard disk drive, a nonvolatile memory, etc. The storage unit 24 stores store advertisement data 24a, sold-out product data 24b, advertisement display data 24c, and advertisement display history data 24d.

[0041] The store advertisement data 24a is data related to a store and an advertisement. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the store advertisement data 24a includes a store ID, an advertisement ID, advertisement image data, etc. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the store ID "03001" is associated with the advertisement ID "AAA0001" and the advertisement image data "aaa0001.xxx", and the store ID "03001" is associated with the advertisement ID "AAA0002" and the advertisement image data "aaa0002.xxx". Note that "ID" in this embodiment refers to identification information.

[0042] Furthermore, the store ID "03001" is associated with the advertisement ID "AAA0003" and advertisement image data "aaa0003.xxx", and the store ID "03002" is associated with the advertisement ID "AAA0001" and advertisement image data "aaa0001.xxx".

[0043] The sold-out product data 24b includes data related to stores and sold-out products. For example, in the example of the sold-out product data 24b shown in Figure 5, the sold-out product ID "MA001" is associated with the store ID "03001," the sold-out product ID "MA003" is associated with the store ID "03001," and the sold-out product ID "MA005" is associated with the store ID "03002."

[0044] 6, the sold-out product ID "MA001", the advertisement ID "AAA0001", and the advertisement image data "aaa0001.xxx" are associated with the store ID "03001", the sold-out product ID "MA003", the sold-out product ID "MA004", the advertisement ID "AAA0003", and the advertisement image data "aaa0003.xxx" are associated with the store ID "03001", and the sold-out product ID "MA005", the advertisement ID "AAA0002", and the advertisement image data "aaa0002.xxx" are associated with the store ID "03002".

[0045] 7 , the advertisement display history data 24d corresponds to the date "7 / 22" with the time "15:35", the store ID "03001", and the advertisement ID "AAA0001", the date "7 / 22" with the time "16:42", the store ID "03001", and the advertisement ID "AAA0003", and the date "7 / 22" with the time "17:22", the store ID "03002", and the advertisement ID "AAA0002".

[0046] The control unit 25 is a control unit that performs overall control of the management device 20, and includes an advertisement data acquisition unit 25a, a sold-out product data acquisition unit 25b, an advertisement data management processing unit 25c, and an advertisement display data transmission unit 25d. In practice, by loading and executing programs corresponding to these units into the CPU, the advertisement data acquisition unit 25a, the sold-out product data acquisition unit 25b, the advertisement data management processing unit 25c, and the advertisement display data transmission unit 25d execute their respective corresponding processes.

[0047] The advertising data acquisition unit 25a receives advertising data sent from the advertising server 50, and performs processing to associate the store ID, advertising ID, advertising image data, etc. based on the advertising data including the target area for displaying the advertisement, and store the data in the memory unit 24 as store advertising data 24a.

[0048] The sold-out product data acquisition unit 25b receives sold-out product data transmitted from the kitchen terminal 40 and stores the data in the storage unit 24 as sold-out product data 24b.

[0049] When management device 20 receives sold-out product data from kitchen terminal 40, advertising data management processing unit 25c performs processing to identify advertising display data 24c based on the sold-out product data and advertising data to be displayed on operation display unit 31 of ticket issuing machine 30. Specifically, advertising data management processing unit 25c associates the store ID and sold-out product ID included in sold-out product data 24b with the advertising ID to be displayed on operation display unit 31 and advertising image data, thereby identifying advertising display data 24c.

[0050] The advertisement display data transmitting unit 25d transmits the advertisement display data 24c generated by the advertisement data management processing unit 25c to the ticket dispenser 30, and stores the transmission history as advertisement display history data 24d in the storage unit 24. The transmission history includes the date, time of transmission, store ID, advertisement ID, etc.

[0051] <External Configuration of Ticket Vending Machine 30a> The external configuration of the ticket vending machine 30a will be described. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the external configuration of the ticket vending machine 30a shown in Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 8, the ticket vending machine 30a has an operation display unit 31, a banknote deposit / withdrawal slot 32a, a coin insertion slot 33a, a coin withdrawal slot 33b, and a ticket withdrawal slot 34a on the surface of the housing, specifically on the front of the housing. The ticket vending machine 30b also has a similar external configuration.

[0052] The operation display unit 31 displays information using devices such as a liquid crystal panel, a display, or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) panel, and accepts operation input using a pressure-sensitive touch panel, etc. The operation display unit 31 is an input device and a display device. The operation display unit 31 displays a screen including product information, advertisements, etc. for products that can be selected by the customer.

[0053] The bill deposit / withdrawal slot 32a is a deposit / withdrawal slot for depositing bills to pay for products and dispensing change when selecting products and purchasing meal tickets. The coin deposit slot 33a is a deposit slot for depositing coins when purchasing product tickets. The coin outlet 33b is an outlet for customers to withdraw coins as change. The coin outlet 33b is a withdrawal slot for coins as change.

[0054] The ticket outlet 34a is an outlet through which meal tickets corresponding to the items selected by the customer are dispensed. The ticket outlet 34a is an outlet through which the customer takes out the meal ticket.

[0055] <Internal configuration of ticket issuing machine 30a> The internal configuration of ticket issuing machine 30a will be described. Fig. 9 is a functional block diagram showing an example configuration of ticket issuing machine 30a shown in Fig. 2. Note that ticket issuing machine 30b has a similar configuration. As shown in Fig. 9, ticket issuing machine 30 has an operation and display unit 31, a banknote unit 32, a coin unit 33, a ticket issuing unit 34, a communication I / F unit 35, a memory unit 36, and a control unit 37. The operation and display unit 31 has been already described.

[0056] The banknote unit 32 has a banknote storage section and is a unit that performs banknote deposit processing, withdrawal processing, denomination identification, authenticity identification, etc. The coin unit 33 has a coin storage section and is a unit that performs coin deposit processing, withdrawal processing, denomination identification, authenticity identification, etc.

[0057] The ticket issuing unit 34 prints on a piece of paper using a small printer, cuts off the printed portion, and ejects it through a ticket outlet 34a to issue a meal ticket corresponding to the product selected by the customer. The communication I / F unit 35 is an interface unit for communicating with the management device 20.

[0058] The storage unit 36 ​​is a storage device such as a hard disk drive or nonvolatile memory. The storage unit 36 ​​stores product information data 36a and advertisement display data 36b. The product information data 36a is data including information on various products offered by the restaurant. The product information data 36a includes information on products offered only during certain times of the day, such as lunchtime, and information on products offered only during certain seasons. The product information data 36a is set in advance by an administrator or the like.

[0059] The advertisement display data 36b is data transmitted from the management device 20 that associates information about sold-out products with information about advertisements to be displayed in place of the product information about the sold-out products.

[0060] The control unit 37 controls the entire ticket dispenser 30a. The control unit 37 has a product information display processing unit 37a, an order reception processing unit 37b, a payment processing unit 37c, a printing processing unit 37d, an advertisement display data reception processing unit 37e, and a display control unit 37f. In practice, by loading and executing programs corresponding to these units into the CPU, the product information display processing unit 37a, the order reception processing unit 37b, the payment processing unit 37c, the printing processing unit 37d, the advertisement display data reception processing unit 37e, and the display control unit 37f execute their respective corresponding processes.

[0061] The product information display processing unit 37a reads product information data 36a set in advance by an administrator or the like and displays it on the operation display unit 31. When a customer selects a product from the product information displayed on the operation display unit 31, the order reception processing unit 37b displays a payment screen and receives the order.

[0062] The settlement processing unit 37c executes a process to settle the price of the selected products. If the settlement amount requires change to be paid, the settlement processing unit 37c controls the banknote unit 32 and coin unit 33 to dispense the change. The printing processing unit 37d instructs the ticket issuing unit 34 to print a meal ticket corresponding to the product selected by the customer.

[0063] When the advertisement display data reception processing unit 37e receives the advertisement display data 24c from the management device 20, it stores the advertisement display data 24c as advertisement display data 36b in the storage unit 36. The display control unit 37f reads the advertisement display data 36b, displays information indicating "Sold Out" in the display area of ​​the product corresponding to the sold-out product ID, and then performs display control to display the corresponding advertisement image data. When the display control unit 37f displays the advertisement image data in the display area of ​​the product corresponding to the sold-out product ID, it sets the display area so that it cannot be operated using the operation display unit 31.

[0064] <Configuration of kitchen terminal 40a> The configuration of kitchen terminal 40a will be described. Fig. 10 is a functional block diagram showing an example configuration of kitchen terminal 40a shown in Fig. 2. Kitchen terminal 40b has a similar configuration. As shown in Fig. 10, kitchen terminal 40a has a display unit 41, an input unit 42, a communication I / F unit 43, a storage unit 44, and a control unit 45. Display unit 41 is a display device such as a liquid crystal panel or a display device. Input unit 42 is an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse. Communication I / F unit 43 is an interface unit for communicating with management device 20.

[0065] The memory unit 44 is a storage device such as a hard disk drive or non-volatile memory. The memory unit 44 stores product information data 44a and sold-out product data 44b. The product information data 44a is data including various product information provided by the store. The product information data 44a is set in advance by an administrator or the like. After the kitchen terminal 40a is started, the kitchen terminal 40a may acquire the product information data 44a from the management device 20. The sold-out product data 44b is data on products that have sold out. Specifically, the sold-out product data 44b is data in which a store ID and a sold-out product ID are associated with each other.

[0066] The control unit 45 controls the entire kitchen terminal 40a. The control unit 45 has a product information display processing unit 45a, a sold-out product data processing unit 45b, and a sold-out product data transmission unit 45c. In practice, by loading and executing corresponding programs into the CPU, the product information display processing unit 45a, the sold-out product data processing unit 45b, and the sold-out product data transmission unit 45c execute their respective corresponding processes.

[0067] The product information display processing unit 45a reads product information data 44a set in advance by an administrator or the like and displays it on the display unit 41. When a store clerk selects a sold-out product from the product information displayed on the display unit 41 and the sold-out product is confirmed, the sold-out product data processing unit 45b associates the store ID with the ID of the sold-out product to generate sold-out product data 44b. The sold-out product data transmission unit 45c transmits the sold-out product data 44b to the management device 20.

[0068] <Configuration of advertisement server 50> The configuration of the advertisement server 50 will be described. FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram showing an example configuration of the advertisement server 50 shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 11, the advertisement server 50 has a communication I / F unit 53, a storage unit 54, and a control unit 55. A display unit 51 and an input unit 52 are connected to the advertisement server 50. The display unit 51 is a display device such as a liquid crystal panel or a display device. The input unit 52 is an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse. The communication I / F unit 53 is an interface unit for communicating with the management device 20.

[0069] The storage unit 54 is a storage device such as a hard disk drive or a nonvolatile memory. The storage unit 54 stores advertisement data 54a. The advertisement data 54a is data in which a store ID, an advertisement ID, and advertisement image data are associated with each other.

[0070] The control unit 55 performs overall control of the advertisement server 50. The control unit 55 has an advertisement request reception processing unit 55a, an advertisement data management unit 55b, and an advertisement data transmission unit 55c. In practice, by loading and executing programs corresponding to these units into the CPU, the advertisement request reception processing unit 55a, the advertisement data management unit 55b, and the advertisement data transmission unit 55c execute their respective corresponding processes.

[0071] The advertising request reception processing unit 55 a receives advertising requests from advertisers. For example, the advertising request reception processing unit 55 a receives advertisement image data and data on the area where the advertisement is to be displayed from a terminal device used by the advertiser to the advertising server 50.

[0072] The advertisement data management unit 55b generates advertisement data 54a in which a store ID, an advertisement ID, and advertisement image data are associated from the advertisement data received from the advertiser, and stores the advertisement data 54a in the storage unit 54. When the advertisement request reception processing unit 55a receives a new advertisement request from the advertiser, the advertisement data management unit 55b updates the advertisement data 54a.

[0073] The advertisement data transmission unit 55c transmits the advertisement data 54a to the management device 20. The advertisement data transmission unit 55c transmits the advertisement data 54a to the management device 20 at a predetermined time (for example, 8:00). Note that if the advertisement data 54a is updated, the advertisement data transmission unit 55c may transmit the updated advertisement data 54a to the management device 20.

[0074] <Screen Transitions of Ticket Vending Machine 30a> Screen transitions when displaying an advertisement on the ticket vending machine 30a will be described. Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of screen transitions when displaying an advertisement on the ticket vending machine 30a shown in Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 12(a), the ticket vending machine 30a displays product information for products that can be ordered at the store. As shown in Fig. 12(b), when the products "sukiyaki" and "stew" are sold out, information indicating "sold out" is displayed in the display areas of the product information on the operation display unit 31 for the products "sukiyaki" and "stew" based on the advertisement display data 24c transmitted from the management device 20.

[0075] After that, when a predetermined time has passed since the information indicating "sold out" was displayed, the ticket dispenser 30a combines the display area for the product "sukiyaki" with the display area for the product "stew," and displays an advertisement in the combined display area, as shown in Figure 12(c). Note that after changing the sold out display to an advertisement display, the ticket dispenser 30a can also display a display related to the sold out product in a reduced size in a predetermined position on the screen.

[0076] <Processing Procedure of Information Display System 10> The processing procedure of the information display system 10 according to the first embodiment will be described. The description will be made assuming that the advertising server 50 has received an advertising request from an advertiser and has already created advertising data. Fig. 13 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing procedure of the information display system 10 according to the first embodiment.

[0077] The advertisement server 50 transmits advertisement data to the management device 20 (step S101). The management device 20 receives the advertisement data (step S102). The management device 20 generates store advertisement data based on the advertisement data (step S103).

[0078] The ticket issuing machine 30a displays the product information data on the operation display unit 31 (step S104). The ticket issuing machine 30a performs a ticket issuing process (step S105). The kitchen terminal 40a performs a sold-out product data transmission process, and if a sold-out product occurs, transmits the sold-out product data to the management device 20 (step S106).

[0079] The kitchen terminal 40a determines whether or not to end the process (Step S107). If the kitchen terminal 40a does not want to end the process (Step S107: No), the kitchen terminal 40a proceeds to Step S106. If the kitchen terminal 40a wants to end the process (Step S107: Yes), the kitchen terminal 40a ends the process.

[0080] The management device 20 performs a display data transmission process (step S108). The management device 20 determines whether to end the process (step S109). If the management device 20 does not want to end the process (step S109: No), the management device 20 proceeds to step S108. If the management device 20 wants to end the process (step S109: Yes), the management device 20 ends the process.

[0081] The ticket dispenser 30a performs an advertisement display data display process (step S110). The ticket dispenser 30a determines whether or not to end the process (step S111). If the ticket dispenser 30a does not want to end the process (step S111: No), the ticket dispenser 30a proceeds to step S105. If the ticket dispenser 30a wants to end the process (step S111: Yes), the ticket dispenser 30a ends the process.

[0082] <Processing Procedure for Ticket Issuance> The processing procedure for the ticket issuance shown in Fig. 13 will be described. Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure for the ticket issuance shown in Fig. 13. The ticket issuing machine 30a determines whether or not product information has been selected (Step S201). If product information has not been selected (Step S201: No), the ticket issuing machine 30a waits until product information is selected.

[0083] When product information is selected (Step S201: Yes), the ticket dispenser 30a displays the settlement amount on the operation display unit 31 (Step S202). The ticket dispenser 30a determines whether the predetermined fee has been inserted (Step S203). If the predetermined fee has not been inserted (Step S203: No), the ticket dispenser 30a waits until the predetermined fee is inserted.

[0084] When the predetermined amount is inserted (Step S203: Yes), the ticket issuing machine 30a issues a meal ticket (Step S204). The ticket issuing machine 30a determines whether or not there is change to be dispensed (Step S205). If the ticket issuing machine 30a needs to dispense change (Step S205: Yes), it dispenses the change and returns it to the customer (Step S206) and proceeds to Step S110 in FIG. 13. If the ticket issuing machine 30a does not need to dispense change (Step S205: No), it proceeds to Step S110 in FIG. 13.

[0085] <Processing Procedure for Sold-Out Item Data Transmission Processing> The processing procedure for the sold-out item data transmission processing shown in Fig. 13 will be described. Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure for the sold-out item data transmission processing shown in Fig. 13. As shown in Fig. 15, the kitchen terminal 40a determines whether a sold-out item has been selected from the item information displayed on the display unit 41 (step S301).

[0086] If a sold-out product has not been selected (step S301: No), the kitchen terminal 40a waits until a sold-out product is selected. If a sold-out product has been selected (step S301: Yes), the kitchen terminal 40a displays a confirmation button on the display unit 41 (step S302).

[0087] The kitchen terminal 40a determines whether the Confirm button has been pressed (Step S303). If the Confirm button has not been pressed (Step S303: No), the kitchen terminal 40a waits until the Confirm button is pressed. If the Confirm button has been pressed (Step S303: Yes), the kitchen terminal 40a transmits sold-out product data to the management device 20 and proceeds to Step S107 of FIG. 13.

[0088] <Processing Procedure of Advertisement Display Data Transmission Process> The processing procedure of the advertisement display data transmission process shown in Fig. 13 will be described. Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure of the advertisement display data transmission process shown in Fig. 13. As shown in Fig. 16, the management device 20 determines whether sold-out product data has been received from the kitchen terminal 40a (step S401).

[0089] If the management device 20 has not received sold-out item data (step S401: No), it waits until it receives the sold-out item data. If the management device 20 receives sold-out item data (step S401: Yes), it stores the sold-out item data in the storage unit 24 (step S402). The management device 20 determines whether the sold-out item data contains two or more sold-out items (step S403). If the number of sold-out items is not two or more (step S403: No), the management device 20 identifies an advertisement ID corresponding to the display area of ​​the sold-out item and generates advertisement display data (step S404). The management device 20 transmits the advertisement display data to the ticket issuing machine 30a and proceeds to step S109 of FIG. 13.

[0090] On the other hand, if there are two or more sold-out products (step S403: Yes), the management device 20 determines whether the display areas of the sold-out products are adjacent to each other (step S405). Here, "adjacent display areas" refers to two display areas that are adjacent to each other vertically or horizontally on the screen of the operation display unit 31.

[0091] If the display areas of the sold-out items are not adjacent (step S405: No), the management device 20 proceeds to step S404. If the display areas of the sold-out items are adjacent (step S405: Yes), the management device 20 combines the display areas of the sold-out items (step S406). The management device 20 identifies the advertisement ID corresponding to the combined display areas and generates advertisement display data (step S407). The management device 20 transmits the advertisement display data to the ticket dispenser 30a (step S408) and proceeds to step S109 of FIG. 13. Note that the management device 20 may also be configured to transmit information about the sold-out items to the ticket dispenser 30a, and the ticket dispenser 30a may combine the display areas of the sold-out items.

[0092] <Processing Procedure for Advertisement Display Data Display Processing> The processing procedure for the advertisement display data display processing shown in Fig. 13 will be described. Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure for the advertisement display data display processing shown in Fig. 13. As shown in Fig. 17, the ticket dispenser 30a determines whether or not advertisement display data has been received from the management device 20 (step S501).

[0093] If the ticket dispenser 30a has not received the advertisement display data (step S501: No), the process proceeds to step S111 in Fig. 13. If the ticket dispenser 30a has received the advertisement display data (step S501: Yes), the ticket dispenser 30a stores the advertisement display data in the storage unit 36 ​​(step S502). The ticket dispenser 30a reads the advertisement display data from the storage unit 36 ​​and changes the display of the sold-out product ID corresponding to the advertisement display data to a display indicating "SOLD OUT" (step S503).

[0094] The ticket dispenser 30a displays the advertisement image data in the area corresponding to the advertisement display data (step S504), and proceeds to step S111 in FIG.

[0095] As described above, in the first embodiment, the management device 20 receives advertising data sent from the advertising server 50 and sold-out item data sent from the kitchen terminal 40, generates advertising display data that associates sold-out items with advertisements to be displayed in the display area of ​​the sold-out items, and when the ticket issuing machine 30 receives the advertising display data from the management device 20, changes the display of the sold-out items to "SOLD OUT," and after a predetermined time has passed, displays an advertisement in the display area of ​​the sold-out items. This makes it possible to effectively utilize the display area for sold-out items when an item is sold out.

[0096] In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which a "Sold Out" message is displayed in the display area of ​​a sold-out product, and then an advertisement is switched to be displayed in the display area of ​​this sold-out product, but an advertisement may be displayed in the display area of ​​the sold-out product without displaying the "Sold Out" message. Also, without displaying the "Sold Out" message, the display area of ​​the sold-out product may be changed to a display that indicates that the sold-out product cannot be ordered (for example, grayed out), and then an advertisement may be switched to be displayed in the display area of ​​the sold-out product.

[0097] [Embodiment 2] In the above embodiment 1, an example was described in which when the display areas of multiple sold-out items are adjacent, these display areas are combined to display one advertisement. However, in embodiment 2, a case is described in which the display areas of multiple sold-out items are combined to display an advertisement even when the display areas of multiple sold-out items are not adjacent.

[0098] Fig. 18 is a diagram showing an overview of an information display system according to embodiment 2. As shown in Fig. 18(a), when the display areas of multiple sold-out products are not adjacent to each other, the management device 20 changes the layout of the product information display areas so that the display areas of the sold-out products are adjacent to each other, as shown in Fig. 18(b). As shown in Fig. 18(c), the management device 20 generates advertising display data so that an advertisement is displayed in the display area of ​​each sold-out product, and displays the advertising data on the operation display unit 31 of the ticket issuing machine 30.

[0099] The management device 20 may combine the display areas of multiple sold-out products, as shown in Figure 18 (d), generate advertising display data to display one advertisement in the combined display area, and display it on the operation display unit 31 of the ticket issuing machine 30.

[0100] [Embodiment 3] In the above embodiment 1, an example was described in which a display indicating "Sold Out" is displayed in the display area of ​​a sold-out product, and then an advertisement is switched to be displayed in the display area of ​​the sold-out product. In embodiment 3, a case is described in which the display indicating "Sold Out" and the display of an advertisement are alternately switched.

[0101] 19 is a diagram showing an overview of an information display system according to embodiment 3. As shown in FIG. 19, when the ticket dispenser 30 receives advertisement display data from the management device 20, it changes the display in the display area for the sold-out product to indicate "SOLD OUT." After a predetermined time (e.g., 10 seconds) has elapsed, the ticket dispenser 30 displays an advertisement in the display area for the sold-out product.

[0102] When a predetermined time has passed since the ticket issuing machine 30 displayed an advertisement in the display area for the sold-out item, it changes the display in the display area for the sold-out item to a display indicating "SOLD OUT," and thereafter, each time the predetermined time has passed, it alternates the display in the display area for the sold-out item between a display indicating "SOLD OUT" and an advertisement. Note that the time between displaying "SOLD OUT" in the display area for the sold-out item and switching to an advertisement does not have to be the same as the time between displaying an advertisement and switching to a display indicating "SOLD OUT."

[0103] [Embodiment 4] In the above embodiment 3, an example was described in which the display area for sold-out products switches between a display indicating "Sold Out" and an advertisement display at predetermined intervals. In embodiment 4, however, a case is described in which a camera 62 is connected to the ticket dispenser 60 and the display switches when a person is detected.

[0104] Fig. 20 is a diagram showing an overview of an information display system according to embodiment 4. As shown in Fig. 20, in the information display system according to embodiment 4, a camera 62 is connected to a ticket dispenser 60. The camera 62 captures images of the area around the ticket dispenser 60. When a sold-out product occurs, the ticket dispenser 60 displays information indicating "SOLD OUT" in the display area of ​​the sold-out product on the operation display unit 61, as shown in Fig. 20(a), for example.

[0105] When a person appears in the image captured by camera 62, ticket dispenser 60 displays an advertisement in the display area for the sold-out product, as shown in Fig. 20(b). When the person moves away from ticket dispenser 60 and is no longer visible in the image captured by camera 62, ticket dispenser 60 switches the display in the display area that was displaying the advertisement back to a display indicating "SOLD OUT" for the sold-out product, as shown in Fig. 20(c).

[0106] The display may be switched by calculating the distance from the ticket machine 60 to the person based on the image captured by the camera 62, and if this distance becomes smaller than a predetermined threshold, the display may be switched from "SOLD OUT" for sold-out items to an advertisement, and if the distance becomes larger than the predetermined threshold, the display may be switched from an advertisement to "SOLD OUT" for sold-out items.

[0107] [Embodiment 5] In the above embodiment 3, an example was described in which the display area for sold-out items switches between a display indicating "Sold Out" and an advertisement display at predetermined intervals. In embodiment 5, however, a case is described in which a store clerk selects the display in the display area for sold-out items on the store clerk operation screen to switch to an advertisement display.

[0108] FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an overview of an information display system according to a fifth embodiment. The ticket dispenser 30 receives a predetermined operation from a store clerk to switch the display, and switches the product information screen displayed on the operation display unit 31 of the ticket dispenser 30 to a store clerk operation screen. As shown in FIG. 21 , the store clerk can switch the display of the sold-out product display area to an advertisement by selecting the display area of ​​the sold-out product on the store clerk operation screen. Also, by selecting the display area displaying an advertisement on the store clerk operation screen, the advertisement display can be switched to a display of the sold-out product. In this case, after the store clerk has completed the setting, the display of the sold-out product or advertisement selected by the store clerk will continue.

[0109] <Variant 1> In the above embodiment 5, an example was described in which a store clerk switches the display area of ​​a single sold-out item to either a display indicating "Sold Out" or an advertisement display. However, in variant 1, a case is described in which the display areas of multiple sold-out items are combined to display an advertisement.

[0110] Fig. 22 is a diagram showing an overview of the information display system according to Modification 1. The store clerk switches the product information screen displayed on the operation display unit 71 of the ticket dispenser according to Modification 1 to a store clerk operation screen, and on this screen, as shown in Fig. 22(a), selects a display area for multiple sold-out products and presses the confirm button.

[0111] When the confirmation button is pressed, a message to confirm the combination, "Do you want to combine the selected product information displays and display an advertisement?", is displayed on the operation display unit 71, as shown in Fig. 22(b). When the store clerk presses the "Yes" button, the display areas of the multiple sold-out products are combined, and an advertisement is displayed in the combined display area, as shown in Fig. 22(c).

[0112] <Relationship with Hardware> The correspondence between the management device 20 of the information display system 10 according to the first embodiment and the main hardware configuration of a computer will be described. Fig. 23 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration. For the sake of convenience of explanation, Fig. 23 shows only the basic hardware configuration.

[0113] Generally, a computer has a configuration in which a CPU 81, a ROM 82, a RAM 83, a nonvolatile memory 84, etc. are connected by a bus 85. Instead of the nonvolatile memory 84, a hard disk device may be provided.

[0114] The ROM 82 or the nonvolatile memory 84 stores programs required to start an operating system (hereinafter simply referred to as "OS"), etc. When the power is turned on, the CPU 81 reads and executes the OS program from the ROM 82 or the nonvolatile memory 84.

[0115] Meanwhile, various application programs executed on the OS are stored in non-volatile memory 84. The CPU 81 executes the application programs while using the RAM 83 as the main memory, thereby executing processes corresponding to the applications.

[0116] Like other application programs, the management program of the management device 20 of the information display system 10 according to the first embodiment is stored in the non-volatile memory 84 or the like, and the CPU 81 loads and executes the management program. In the case of the management device 20 of the information display system 10 according to the first embodiment, a management program including routines corresponding to the advertising data acquisition unit 25a, the sold-out item data acquisition unit 25b, the advertising data management processing unit 25c, and the advertising display data transmission unit 25d shown in Fig. 3 is stored in the non-volatile memory 84 or the like. When the management program is loaded and executed by the CPU 81, information display processes corresponding to the advertising data acquisition unit 25a, the sold-out item data acquisition unit 25b, the advertising data management processing unit 25c, and the advertising display data transmission unit 25d are generated.

[0117] In the above embodiment, a case where sold-out product data and advertising data are displayed on the product information screen of a ticket dispenser has been described, but the target of information display according to the present disclosure is not limited to the product information screen of a ticket dispenser. The above-described processing and operation may be applied to, for example, an order screen for mobile orders, a screen of an ordering terminal installed on a table in a restaurant, a signage screen that displays ordered product information in a restaurant, etc.

[0118] In the above embodiment, an example of displaying advertising data in the display area for sold-out products has been described, but the display content according to the present disclosure is not limited to advertisements. For example, instead of or in addition to advertisements, information such as coupon information, tourist information, and waiting times for entering a store or being shown to a seat may be displayed.

[0119] In the above embodiment, an example was described in which data on sold-out products was sent from the kitchen terminal 40 to the management device 20, but for example, the number of tickets to be issued for each product can be set in advance in the ticket issuing machine 30, and when the number of tickets issued for a specific product by the ticket issuing machine 30 reaches the set number, the product can be sent to the management device 20 as a sold-out product.

[0120] The configurations illustrated in the above embodiments are merely functional schematics and do not necessarily have to be physically configured as shown. In other words, the distribution and integration of each device is not limited to the illustrated configuration, and all or part of the devices can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in any unit depending on various loads, usage conditions, etc.

Claims

1. An information display system comprising: a display unit that displays product information of products that can be ordered at a store; a first acquisition unit that acquires non-product information that differs from the product information displayed on the display unit; a second acquisition unit that acquires the product information of sold-out products among the products that can be ordered; and a display control unit that displays at least a portion of the non-product information on the display unit using a display area of ​​the display unit that displays the product information of the sold-out products.

2. The information display system according to claim 1, characterized in that the non-product information is advertising information other than the orderable products displayed on the display unit.

3. The information display system described in claim 1, characterized in that, when a sold-out product occurs, the display control unit hides the product information in the display area that displays the product information of the sold-out product and displays the non-product information.

4. The information display system of claim 1, wherein the display control unit, when a sold-out product occurs, displays the non-product information in the display area of ​​the product information of the sold-out product after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the sold-out product was displayed in a state where it could not be ordered.

5. The information display system described in claim 1, characterized in that when multiple products displaying the product information in multiple adjacent display areas are sold out, the display control unit combines the multiple display areas and displays the non-product information in the combined display area.

6. The information display system described in claim 1, characterized in that when multiple products for which the product information is displayed in multiple display areas are sold out, the display control unit moves the multiple display areas to adjacent display areas and displays the non-product information in the multiple display areas after the move.

7. The information display system described in claim 1, characterized in that when multiple products for which the product information is displayed in multiple display areas are sold out, the display control unit moves the multiple display areas to adjacent display areas, then combines the multiple display areas after the movement, and displays the non-product information in the combined display area.

8. The information display system described in claim 1, characterized in that the display control unit switches between displaying the product information of the sold-out product and the non-product information at predetermined time intervals in the display area displaying the product information of the sold-out product.

9. The information display system of claim 1, wherein the display control unit switches the display content of the display area to the non-product information when a specified operation is received while product information of the sold-out product is displayed in the display area, and switches the display content of the display area to the product information of the sold-out product when the specified operation is received while the non-product information is displayed in the display area.

10. The information display system described in claim 1, characterized in that when multiple products displaying the product information in multiple adjacent display areas are sold out, the display control unit combines the multiple display areas and displays the non-product information in the combined display area upon receiving a predetermined selection operation to select the multiple display areas.

11. A management device communicatively connected to an in-store device that displays product information for products that can be ordered in the store, characterized in that the management device comprises: a memory unit that stores non-product information that differs from the product information; an acquisition unit that acquires information on sold-out products from the product information; and an identification unit that identifies the non-product information to be displayed in the display area for the sold-out products.

12. An information display method in an information display system having an in-store device that displays product information for products that can be ordered in a store and a management device that is communicatively connected to the in-store device, the information display method comprising: a first acquisition step of acquiring non-product information that differs from the product information displayed on a specified display unit; a second acquisition step of acquiring product information for sold-out products among the orderable products; and a display control step of displaying at least a portion of the non-product information on the display unit using a display area of ​​the display unit that displays the product information for the sold-out products.

13. A management program executed by a management device communicatively connected to an in-store device that displays product information for products that can be ordered in a store, the management program causing a computer to execute a storage procedure for storing non-product information different from the product information in a specified storage unit, an acquisition procedure for acquiring information on sold-out products from the product information, and an identification procedure for identifying the non-product information to be displayed in the display area for the sold-out products.

Images