Route-Matched Seat Reservation Transfer for Full-Route Availability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing seat reservation systems do not adequately address the convenience of users waiting for cancellation, particularly when there are no vacant seats available throughout their desired route, leading to inconvenience and potential cancellation of reservations.
Innovation Solution
A seat reservation system that transmits a first request to a second user for seat transfer if no common vacant seats exist, and if this is not accepted, it sends a second request to multiple third users whose combined reservations satisfy the user's route, changing their reservation holders to the original user, thereby increasing the likelihood of securing a seat.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a user waits for cancellation of a seat reservation, then the user may obtain a seat through cancellation, but if there is no vacant seat common throughout the entire use route, the user cannot secure a seat and must give up or input more concessional conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the seat reservation waiting list into multiple tiers based on route matching criteria. The first waiting user triggers a search for exact route matches, while subsequent waiting users can match partial routes or combinations of sections. This segmentation allows different levels of matching success without requiring all users to accept overly concessional conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a single-dimension waiting list (first-come-first-served) to a multi-dimensional matching system that considers route section combinations. By evaluating whether combinations of sections from different users' reservations can satisfy the waiting user's entire route, the system adds a combinatorial dimension to seat allocation, significantly increasing the probability of securing seats.
2Device complexity
If the system only checks for exact route matches in seat reservation waiting list, then the matching process is simple, but the probability of finding a suitable seat is low when no common vacant seats exist
Solution Approach 1:
The seat matching process is segmented into multiple stages: first checking for exact route matches, then checking for partial route matches, and finally checking for combinable section matches. This staged segmentation maintains relative simplicity while systematically increasing the probability of finding suitable seats through progressively broader matching criteria.
Solution Approach 2:
The matching criteria dynamically expand based on availability. When exact matches are unavailable, the system automatically transitions to evaluating partial matches and section combinations. This dynamic adjustment of matching depth maintains process simplicity while adaptively increasing the probability of successful seat allocation.
3Reliability
If the system evaluates combinations of sections from multiple users to satisfy a waiting user's route, then the likelihood of securing a seat increases, but the processing complexity and time required increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary organization of route sections from existing reservations before a waiting user arrives. By pre-segmenting and indexing available seat sections, the system reduces the computational burden when a waiting user triggers a search, enabling faster evaluation of section combinations without sacrificing the increased probability of successful allocation.
Solution Approach 2:
The complex evaluation process is segmented into modular sub-tasks: identifying available sections, checking combinatorial possibilities, and validating route coverage. This segmentation allows the system to process combinations efficiently by breaking down the overall complexity into manageable, independently executable steps.
Data Source
AI summary
A processor of a seat reservation system is configured to: when there is no vacant seat common throughout a use route of a first user, transmit to a second user who has reserved a same seat throughout one or more sections same as those of an entire use route of the first user, a first request for reservation transfer of the same seat to the first user; when an acceptance of the second user for the first request is not received, transmit to at least two third users who satisfy the use route, a second request for reservation transfer of seats of the at least two third users to the first user; and when an acceptance of each of the at least two third users for the second request is received, change a reservation holder of the seats of the at least two third users to the first user.