JP7496151B2 - Information processing system, information processing program, information processing device, and information processing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing program, an information processing device, and an information processing method.

Conventionally, software or apps that display timetables for public transport such as trains and buses on information processing terminals such as personal computers and smartphones are known. For example, by selecting the timetable menu of a navigation app installed on a smartphone, timetables for nearby stations or pre-registered stations are displayed. Alternatively, by selecting a timetable icon displayed for each travel section in the route search results, the timetable for the departure station for that travel section is displayed.

Patent document 1 also describes displaying advertisements along with train timetables.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-293535

Timetables are a function that is often used on a daily basis and are displayed frequently. However, they are not often used as an area for advertising. Patent Document 1 describes displaying advertisements together with train timetables, but the advertisements have no relation to the contents of the timetable. This creates an issue in that the advertisement contents do not match the user's interests and latent desires, making it difficult to present advertisements that effectively appeal to users.

The present invention aims to provide an information processing system, an information processing program, an information processing device, and an information processing method that can present advertisements that are effectively appealing to users viewing timetables.

The information processing system according to the present invention comprises:
an advertisement acquisition means for acquiring advertisement information based on timetable information included in a transportation timetable or timetable specification information that specifies the timetable;
a display control means for controlling the display means to display, together with the timetable, advertising information corresponding to the display content of the timetable displayed on the display means;
The present invention is characterized by comprising:

According to the present invention, it is possible to present advertisements that are effectively appealing to users viewing timetables.

1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an advertisement posting system 1 according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an advertisement information database according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a processing operation of the advertisement posting system 1 according to the first embodiment. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing system 5 according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a processing operation of the information processing system 5 according to the first embodiment. 5B is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing operation of the information processing system 5 according to the first embodiment, following FIG. 5A. FIG. 5B is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processing operation according to a modified example of the first embodiment, following FIG. 5A. 11 is a first example of a screen displayed on a terminal device 6 according to the first embodiment. 13 is a second example of a screen displayed on the terminal device 6 according to the first embodiment. 13 is a third example of a screen displayed on the terminal device 6 according to the first embodiment. 13 is a fourth example of a screen displayed on the terminal device 6 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a screen transition according to a modified example of the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing system 5A according to a second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a processing operation of an information processing system 5A according to the second embodiment. 13 is a first example of a screen displayed on a terminal device 6 according to a second embodiment. 13 is a second example of a screen displayed on the terminal device 6 according to the second embodiment. 13 is a third example of a screen displayed on the terminal device 6 according to the second embodiment.

The following describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

<Advertising Submission System>
An advertisement posting system 1 according to an embodiment will be described below. The advertisement posting system 1 is an information processing system for posting advertisements to be displayed together with a timetable on a user terminal (corresponding to a terminal device 6 described later).

As shown in FIG. 1, the advertisement posting system 1 includes an advertisement posting terminal 2 and a server 3 .
The advertisement submission terminal 2 and the server 3 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a communication network 4 such as the Internet. The communication network 4 may be either a wired line or a wireless line, and the type and form of the line are not important.

The advertisement submission terminal 2 is an information processing device such as a personal computer that is used by the advertiser to submit advertisements. The advertisement submission terminal 2 may be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The number of advertisement submission terminals 2 is not limited to one, and multiple advertisement submission terminals 2 may be connected to the server 3.

As shown in FIG. 1, the advertising terminal 2 has a communication unit 21, a control unit 22, an input unit 23, and a display unit 24.

The communication unit 21 is an interface for transmitting and receiving information between the advertising terminal 2 and the server 3 via the communication network 4.

The control unit 22 has an advertisement information receiving unit 221 that receives advertisement information. The advertisement information receiving unit 221 will be described in detail later. In this embodiment, the advertisement information receiving unit 221 is realized by a processor in the advertisement terminal 2 executing a predetermined program.

The input unit 23 is an interface through which the advertiser inputs information into the advertising terminal 2, and may be, for example, a keyboard, but may also be a touch panel or a microphone (such as a built-in microphone in a mobile terminal).

The display unit 24 is an interface that outputs various information from the advertising terminal 2 to the advertiser, and is, for example, a video display means such as a liquid crystal display. If the display unit 24 is a touch panel, the display unit 24 may also function as the input unit 23.

Here, we will explain the advertisement information receiving unit 221.

The advertisement information receiving unit 221 receives advertisement information from the advertiser via the input unit 23. This advertisement information receiving unit 221 receives advertisement output condition information indicating the conditions for outputting an advertisement, and advertisement information to be displayed on a timetable based on this advertisement output condition information, as advertisement information. In addition to the advertisement output condition information and advertisement information, the advertisement information receiving unit 221 may also receive information such as the advertisement posting period and advertisement unit price.

The advertisement output condition information includes at least timetable information included in the transportation timetable. In this embodiment, the transportation is described as being a train, but it may be a bus, airplane, ship, etc.

Timetable information is information contained in transportation timetables, and is broadly divided into time-related information and non-time-related information.

Time-related information includes the departure and arrival times of transportation means (departure time or arrival time), and/or time periods including the departure and arrival times. Time periods are divisions of the period during which trains operate during the day, but the divisions can be made in any way. That is, time periods can be divided into predetermined time units (e.g., one-hour units, two-hour units, etc.), or the operation period can be divided into several time periods (e.g., morning, afternoon, night, etc.).

The non-time-related information includes at least one of the following: type of transportation, station, transportation company, route, direction, flight, and day type. "Type of transportation" is, for example, railroad, bus, airplane, ship, etc. "Flight" is, for example, limited express, express, last train, first train, etc. "Day type" is, for example, weekday, Saturday, holiday, etc. The non-time-related information may also include season (spring, summer, fall, winter, etc.).

The term "station" used in this invention is not limited to a railway station, but also refers to a place where transportation facilities depart and arrive, such as a bus stop, an airport, or a ship's port.

In addition, the "stations" in the non-time-related information are not limited to stations related to the timetable, but may be stations located in the vicinity of the station. In this way, the timetable information is not limited to information directly included in the timetable, but may be information indirectly included.

In addition to the timetable information mentioned above, the advertisement output condition information may include variable information that may change over time. The variable information may be, for example, the operation status of the transportation facility, reservation status, congestion level, and weather, and may include at least one of these pieces of information. "Operation status" may be, for example, normal operation, occurrence of a delay, etc. In the case of a delay, the delay time may be added to the advertisement output conditions. "Reservation status" may be, for example, the availability of reserved seats on express trains, or the availability of the store related to the advertisement. "Congestion level" may be, for example, the congestion level of the transportation facility or the congestion level of the store related to the advertisement. "Weather" may be, for example, sunny, cloudy, rainy, etc.

The advertisement output condition information may include distance information indicating a geographical distance and/or a time distance. The distance information relating to a geographical distance indicates the geographical distance between a location related to the timetable and a location where a request to display the timetable is made by a user. For example, if the timetable displayed on the user terminal is for station A and the location where a request to display the timetable is made is point B, the distance information indicates the distance between station A and point B, or the time or fare required to travel between station A and point B.

On the other hand, the gap information relating to the time gap indicates the time gap between the time (or time zone) of the timetable currently displayed on the user terminal (more specifically, the display unit 64 described below) and the time when the user requests to display the timetable. Note that the gap information relating to the time gap may also be information indicating the time gap between the time (or time zone) of the timetable and the time when the timetable is viewed (i.e., the current time).

For example, if a timetable for a later time than the time of viewing (such as next month's timetable) is displayed, advertisements for products and services that are used in a planned manner, such as hotel reservations, are presented. Conversely, if the time or time period when the timetable is displayed is close to the time of viewing, advertisements for products and services that are used immediately, such as limited-time sales at supermarkets or reserved seats on express trains, are presented. Furthermore, advertisements can be presented more effectively by taking geographical distances into account. For example, if the location of the terminal device 6 (user) indicates a station where an express train can be boarded, the effectiveness of advertisements can be further increased by presenting the user with advertisements related to reserved seats on that express train.

By including the above-mentioned gap information in the ad output conditions, it becomes possible to present more appealing ads to users.

The advertisement output condition information may include user-related information relating to the user of the user terminal on which the timetable is displayed. Examples of user-related information include the user's gender, age, address, place of work, and commuter pass section. Other information registered by the user, such as bookmark information, route search history, and travel history, may also be used as user-related information. By including such user-related information in the advertisement output conditions, it becomes possible to present more appealing advertisements to the user. In this embodiment, from the perspective of privacy protection, only information whose use has been approved by the user is used as user-related information.

Next, the server 3 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the server 3 has a communication unit 31, a control unit 32, and a memory unit 33.

The communication unit 31 is an interface that transmits and receives information between the advertising terminal 2 and the server 3 via the communication network 4.

The control unit 32 has a database creation unit 321 that creates the advertisement information database 331. In this embodiment, the database creation unit 321 is realized by the processor in the server 3 executing a predetermined program.

The database creation unit 321 creates an advertisement information database 331 in the storage unit 33 .
The advertisement information database 331 stores the advertisement output condition information and advertisement information in association with each other. An example of the advertisement information database 331 will be described later with reference to FIG. 2. When an advertiser inputs advertisement information from the input unit 23 of the advertisement terminal 2, the advertisement information is accepted by the advertisement information acceptance unit 221. The accepted advertisement information is then transmitted to the server 3, and the database creation unit 321 stores the input information in the advertisement information database 331.

The storage unit 33 is a fixed data storage device composed of a hard disk or a non-volatile semiconductor memory, and stores the advertisement information database 331 described below. Note that the storage unit 33 does not necessarily have to be provided within the server 3, and may be provided within another information processing device that is communicatively connected via a communication network.

The advertisement information database 331 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shows an example of the advertisement information database 331. As shown in FIG. 2, the advertisement information database 331 has advertiser information and advertisement information.

The advertiser information includes an advertiser, an advertising target, and a group. The group is used to group advertisement information of the same advertiser that has a commonality.
2, the advertisement information is grouped by station name. Specifically, two pieces of advertisement information with advertisement IDs C-3-01 and C-3-02 are grouped.

The advertisement information includes advertisement output condition information, advertisement information, a posting period, and an advertisement unit price. In the example of FIG. 2, the advertisement output condition information includes time-related information, non-time-related information, and variable information. Each advertisement information is assigned a unique advertisement ID.

In FIG. 2, "*" in the advertisement output condition information indicates that it is optional. For example, when the advertisement ID is C-1-02, a necessary condition for outputting advertisement information is that the "time period" of the timetable currently displayed on the user terminal is "23:00-25:00", and the "time" does not matter. In other words, the time of the timetable displayed on the user terminal may be 23:01 or 24:59. In the case of this advertisement ID, the condition for outputting an advertisement for taxis of taxi company A is that the timetable satisfies the conditions of railway operator M and station O, and that the time period of "23:00-25:00" is displayed on the user terminal.

The advertisement information is information related to advertisements to be displayed on the user terminal together with the timetable, and includes at least one of the text, image, video, and audio of the advertisement.
Note that the advertisement information database 331 may store link information indicating the location where the advertisement information is saved, rather than the advertisement information itself.

The posting period indicates the period during which the advertising information is posted (displayed) on the user terminal. The posting period may be, for example, the period from when the advertising information is registered on the server 3 (e.g., three months), or may be specified by date and time (e.g., until 2 p.m. on April 30, 2018).

The advertising cost of the advertisement information can be set by the advertiser. The advertising cost is, for example, the cost per display of the advertisement information (cost per display). Alternatively, the advertising cost may be the cost per selection of the advertisement information (so-called cost per click, etc.), or a cost determined according to the amount of the product or service actually purchased by a user related to the advertisement (performance cost). In the case of performance cost, a predetermined percentage of the advertiser's sales may be automatically set as the advertising cost.

It is possible that the advertising output conditions of the posting information may conflict between multiple advertisers. The same advertising route output conditions may be set by only one advertiser, or may be set by multiple advertisers. In the latter case, for example, the advertisement with the highest set advertising unit price may be displayed on the user terminal.

The advertisement information database shown in FIG. 2 is merely an example, and is not limited to this example, as long as advertisement output condition information, including timetable information included in a transportation timetable, and advertisement information to be displayed on the timetable are stored in association with each other. For example, the advertisement output condition information may include the above-mentioned user-related information and gap information.

<Example of advertising system operation>
Next, an example of the processing operation of the advertisement posting system 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the advertisement information receiving unit 221 of the advertisement terminal 2 receives advertisement information (step S11). More specifically, the advertisement information receiving unit 221 receives advertisement information input by the advertiser via a user interface displayed on the display unit 24 of the advertisement terminal 2. Note that, in order to facilitate data input of advertisement information, an interactive interface (wizard) may be used as the user interface.

After the advertisement information is accepted, the communication unit 21 of the advertisement terminal 2 transmits the advertisement information to the server 3 (step S12), and the communication unit 31 of the server 3 receives the information (step S21).

When the advertisement information is received from the advertisement terminal 2, the database creation unit 321 of the server 3 creates an advertisement information database 331 based on the advertisement information received from the advertisement terminal 2 (step S22).

As described above, in the advertising system 1 according to this embodiment, the advertising information receiving unit 221 receives advertising information from advertisers (advertisers). This advertising information includes advertising output condition information including timetable information included in a transportation timetable, and advertising information to be displayed in the timetable based on the advertising output condition information. Then, based on the advertising information, the advertising information database 331 creates an advertising information database 331 that can be used to display advertising information together with the timetable on a user terminal. As a result, the advertising system according to this embodiment can place advertisements that are effectively appealing to users viewing the timetable.

Next, we will explain two embodiments of an information processing system that uses the advertising information database obtained by the above advertising system to present advertisements to users along with timetables.

<Information Processing System (First Embodiment)>
First, an information processing system 5 according to the first embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4, the information processing system 5 includes a terminal device 6 and a server 7 .
The terminal device 6 and the server 7 are communicatively connected to each other via a communication network 4. The server 7 is communicatively connected to the server 3 of the advertisement posting system 1 via the communication network 4.

In addition, multiple terminal devices 6 may be connected to the server 7. Also, the server 7 may be configured as a server device integrated with the server 3.

The terminal device 6 is an information processing terminal such as a mobile terminal (smartphone, tablet terminal, mobile phone, etc.) or a personal computer. As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal device 6 has a communication unit 61, a control unit 62, an input unit 63, and a display unit 64. The terminal device 6 may also have a positioning means (not shown) such as a GPS receiver.

The communication unit 61 is an interface for transmitting and receiving information between the terminal device 6 and the server 7 via the communication network 4.

The control unit 62 has an information receiving unit 621 that receives information from the user of the terminal device 6 via the input unit 63, and a display control unit 622 that controls the content displayed on the display unit 64. In this embodiment, the information receiving unit 621 and the display control unit 622 are realized by the processor in the advertising terminal 2 executing a predetermined program.

The input unit 63 is an interface through which the user inputs various information into the terminal device 6, and is, for example, a touch panel, a keyboard, or a microphone (such as a built-in microphone in a mobile terminal).

The display unit 64 is an interface that outputs various information from the terminal device 6 to the user, and is, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, etc. If the display unit 64 is a touch panel, the display unit 64 may also serve as the input unit 63.

The display control unit 622 causes the display unit 64 to display a timetable based on the timetable information. The timetable may be displayed, for example, by starting a timetable app or widget, by selecting a timetable menu from a navigation app, or by selecting a specific button (such as a timetable icon) on a screen showing the route search results.

Note that "selection" here refers to an operation that the user can perform via the input unit 63, such as tapping, touching, swiping, clicking, double-clicking, or making a decision by voice input.

The display control unit 622 causes the display unit 64 to display advertising information corresponding to the display contents of the timetable displayed on the display unit 64 together with the timetable. More specifically, the display control unit 622 causes the display unit 64 to display advertising information corresponding to the display contents of the timetable together with the timetable, from among the advertising information received from the server 7 as described below.

Here, the "timetable display content" refers to information included in the timetable information, such as time periods, departure and arrival times, and day type. Note that if the timetable displays the operation status, congestion level, weather, and the like of transportation facilities, the "timetable display content" may be information included in variable information, such as operation status, congestion level, and weather. The display control unit 622 causes the display unit 64 to display advertising information, the advertising output condition of which is the display content of the timetable displayed on the display unit 64.

The display control unit 622 may switch the advertising information displayed on the display unit 64 in response to a user operation that changes the time or time period of the timetable displayed on the display unit 64. The user operation is, for example, a scroll operation that continuously changes the time or time period of the timetable displayed on the display unit 64.

In this case, the display control unit 622 may display the advertising information on the display unit 64 after scrolling of the timetable by the scroll operation stops. That is, the display control unit 622 may not display the advertising information on the display unit 64 during scrolling. This makes it possible to prevent the advertiser from being charged for displaying an advertisement with low advertising effectiveness during scrolling. The advertising information displayed when scrolling stops is an advertisement that corresponds to the time or time zone of the timetable displayed on the display unit 64 when scrolling stops.

The display control unit 622 is not limited to controlling the content displayed on the display unit 64, but may also control the content displayed on an external display unit connected to the terminal device 6 by wire or wirelessly.

The display control unit 622 may also display the advertising information in an area adjacent to the timetable display area, or within the timetable display area.

Next, the server 7 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the server 7 has a communication unit 71, a control unit 72, and a memory unit 73.

The communication unit 71 is an interface for transmitting and receiving information between the terminal device 6 and the server 7 via the communication network 4.

The control unit 72 has a timetable acquisition unit 721 and an advertisement acquisition unit 722. The timetable acquisition unit 721 and the advertisement acquisition unit 722 will be described in detail later. In this embodiment, each part of the control unit 72 is realized by the processor in the server 7 executing a predetermined program. The control unit 72 may also have a route search unit (not shown) that searches for a travel route from a departure point to a destination based on route search conditions received from the terminal device 6.

The storage unit 73 is a fixed data storage device composed of a hard disk or a non-volatile semiconductor memory, and stores various databases, which will be described later. Note that the storage unit 73 does not necessarily have to be provided within the server 7, and may be provided within another device that is communicatively connected via a communication network.

The storage unit 73 has an advertisement information database 731 and a timetable database 732. Note that the advertisement information database 731 and the timetable database 732 are not limited to being stored in the same storage device, and may be stored separately in different storage devices. The storage unit 73 may also have a route network database (not shown) that is used when performing a route search.

The advertisement information database 731 is a database created by the aforementioned database creation unit 321, and has the same contents as the advertisement information database 331.

Timetable database 732 is a database that contains timetable information for transportation. For example, timetable database 732 contains multiple timetable databases for each type of transportation means and each transportation company. Each timetable database contains, for example, departure and arrival time information for each station, line, direction, and day type.

Here, we will explain the timetable acquisition unit 721 and the advertisement acquisition unit 722.

The timetable acquisition unit 721 searches the timetable database 732 using timetable specification information for specifying a timetable, and acquires timetable information corresponding to the timetable specification information. For example, the timetable database 732 is searched using information on the railway operator name, station name, line name, and destination as search keys, and timetable information that matches the search criteria is acquired.

The advertisement acquisition unit 722 acquires advertisement information based on timetable information included in the transportation timetable. More specifically, the advertisement acquisition unit 722 searches the advertisement information database 731 using the timetable information acquired by the timetable acquisition unit 721, and acquires at least one piece of advertisement information from the advertisement information database 731. To explain using the example of the advertisement information database in FIG. 2, when the timetable information includes information on railway transportation operator "J", line "S", and the "Akabane" area, the advertisement acquisition unit 722 acquires advertisement information of advertisement ID: C-8-02 and advertisement information of advertisement ID: C-9-01 from the advertisement information database 731.

The advertisement acquisition unit 722 may acquire advertisement information by searching the advertisement information database 731 based on the timetable specific information used by the timetable acquisition unit 721 for timetable search. In addition, if link information indicating the location where the advertisement information is saved is stored in the advertisement information in the advertisement information database 731, the advertisement acquisition unit 722 accesses the advertisement save location based on the link information to acquire the advertisement information.

<Operation of Information Processing System (First Embodiment)>
Next, an example of the processing operation of the information processing system 5 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 5A and 5B.

First, the information receiving unit 621 of the terminal device 6 receives timetable-specific information for identifying a timetable (step S31). In this step, for example, when the user selects a station, line, and destination via the input unit 63 in accordance with the user interface displayed on the display unit 64, the information receiving unit 621 receives the station, line, and destination selected by the user as timetable-specific information.

After the timetable specific information is accepted, the communication unit 61 of the terminal device 6 transmits the timetable specific information to the server 7 (step S32), and the communication unit 71 of the server 7 receives the timetable specific information (step S41).

After the timetable specific information is received, the timetable acquisition unit 721 of the server 7 acquires timetable information from the timetable database 732 (step S42). More specifically, the timetable acquisition unit 721 acquires timetable information corresponding to the timetable specific information by searching the timetable database 732 using the timetable specific information as a search key.

Next, the advertisement acquisition unit 722 acquires at least one piece of advertisement information from the advertisement information database 731 (step S43). More specifically, the advertisement acquisition unit 722 acquires at least one piece of advertisement information by searching the advertisement information database 731 using a search key included in the timetable information or the timetable specific information. For example, if the timetable information or the timetable specific information includes information on Line A, Station B, and Direction C, the advertisement acquisition unit 722 acquires all advertisement information that has Line A, Station B, and Direction C as advertisement output conditions. Note that, when timetable specific information is used, step S43 may be executed before step S42.

After the advertisement information is acquired, the control unit 72 of the server 7 transmits the timetable information acquired by the timetable acquisition unit 721 and at least one piece of advertisement information acquired by the advertisement acquisition unit 722 to the terminal device 6 via the communication unit 71 (step S44). Then, the terminal device 6 receives the timetable information and advertisement information transmitted from the server 7 (step S33).

When the timetable information and the advertising information are received, the display control unit 622 causes the display unit 64 to display advertising information corresponding to the display contents of the timetable displayed on the display unit 64 together with the timetable (step S34). For example, if the timetable for the time period including the current time is displayed first when the user requests the display of a timetable, the display control unit 622 causes the display unit 64 to display, from among the multiple pieces of advertising information received from the server 7, the advertising information whose advertising output condition is the time period including the current time. Note that when multiple pieces of advertising information apply, they may be displayed in order, for example, or the one with the highest advertising unit price may be displayed.

In this embodiment, the timetable information and the advertisement information are transmitted from the server 7 to the terminal device 6, but these pieces of information may be transmitted from different servers. That is, the timetable information may be transmitted from a first server having a timetable acquisition unit 721 to the terminal device 6, and the advertisement information may be transmitted from a second server having an advertisement acquisition unit 722 to the terminal device 6.

An example of how advertising information is displayed in the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 6 to 9.

The example screen in FIG. 6 displays a timetable for the time period (7:07 p.m.) that includes the current time (7:07 p.m.), as well as advertisement AD1 for Yakitori XX's O Station Branch. This advertisement AD1 corresponds to advertisement ID: C-8-01 in the advertisement information database in FIG. 2.

The timetable display screen of this embodiment will now be described. First, station names, line names, destination names, etc. are displayed in display area R1. This allows the user to easily recognize which station, line, and destination the timetable displayed on display unit 64 is for.

Display area R2 displays tabs T1, T2, and T3 for setting the day type. In FIG. 6, tab T1, which indicates "Weekdays," is selected. Tab T2 is a tab for displaying the timetable for Saturdays, and tab T3 is a tab for displaying the timetable for holidays (Sundays and public holidays). By selecting "Specify Date and Time" to the right of tab T3, it is possible to specify the date and time of the timetable to be displayed.

Train departure times are displayed in display area R3. The user can scroll up and down to view other times and time slots. In addition, an icon indicating the train's congestion level is displayed to the right of the departure time. Information related to specific services, such as express and limited express trains, is also displayed.

Numbers indicating time periods (5, 6 to 23, 0) are displayed vertically in display area R4. Selecting a number displays the timetable for the time period that corresponds to that number.

Advertisement information is displayed in the display area R5. Note that the display area R5 is not limited to the position shown in Fig. 6 (the lower part of the timetable) and can be set to any position. Also, the display area R5 does not have to be a fixed area, but may be a movable area (i.e., the displayed advertisement may move).
Furthermore, when multiple advertisements are switched, the display area R5 may be moved according to the advertisement to be displayed.

In the example screen of FIG. 7, a timetable for the 11pm time slot is displayed, along with advertisement AD2 for dispatching a taxi. Advertisement AD2 corresponds to advertisement ID: C-1-02 in the advertisement information database of FIG. 2. In addition, in the example screen of FIG. 8, a timetable for the 8pm time slot is displayed. This timetable includes an express train (departing at 20:33), and advertisement AD3 for reserving a reserved seat on this express train is displayed. Advertisement AD3 corresponds to advertisement ID: C-3-01 in the advertisement information database of FIG. 2. In the example screen of FIG. 9, a timetable for the bus stop "MA 2-chome" is displayed, along with advertisement AD4 for a limited-time sale at Supermarket H. Advertisement AD4 corresponds to advertisement ID: C-10-01 in the advertisement information database of FIG. 2.

In all of the examples in Figures 6 to 9, there is a strong correlation between the time period of the timetable displayed on the display unit 64 and the product or service to which the advertisement relates. By displaying advertisements that match the times and time periods that interest the user viewing the timetable in this way, it is possible to present advertisements that are likely to encourage the user of the terminal device 6 to change their behavior.

<Operation of Information Processing System (Modification of First Embodiment)>
Next, a modified example of the processing operation of the information processing system 5 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 5C. In this modified example, when a user changes the display time period or the like by scrolling the timetable displayed on the terminal device 6, the advertisement is switched in conjunction with the change.

The processing flow up to step S44 (transmission of timetable information and advertising information) described in FIG. 5A is the same, so the description will be omitted.

The terminal device 6 receives the timetable information and the advertising information transmitted from the server 7 (step S36). In this step, multiple pieces of advertising information are received. Then, the display control unit 622 causes the display unit 64 to display a timetable based on the timetable information (step S37). At this time, in this embodiment, the advertising information is not displayed on the display unit 64. Without being limited to this, the display control unit 622 may display advertising information whose advertising output condition is a specified time or time period (for example, the time that is first displayed, the time period that includes the current time, etc.).

Then, the control unit 62 determines whether the timetable is being scrolled by user operation (step S38). This step is performed based on information that the control unit 62 receives from the input unit 63. If the result of the determination is that scrolling is not in progress (S38: No), i.e., scrolling has stopped, the display control unit 622 displays advertising information corresponding to the time or time period currently displayed on the display unit 64 (step S39). On the other hand, if scrolling is in progress (S38: Yes), the display control unit 622 does not display advertising information on the display unit 64 (i.e., does nothing).

Figure 10 shows an example of screen transitions according to this modified example. The screen on the left side of Figure 10 displays advertisement AD51 (advertisement for a coffee shop) along with the timetable for the 12 o'clock hour. When the timetable is scrolled by a user operation to display the timetable for the 18 o'clock hour, advertisement AD52 (advertisement for a salon) is displayed, as shown on the screen in the center of Figure 10. When the timetable is further scrolled by a user operation to display the timetable for the 23 o'clock hour, advertisement AD53 (hotel reservations) is displayed.

In addition, even during scrolling, the display control unit 622 may cause the display unit 64 to display advertising information according to the time or time zone displayed on the display unit 64 at that moment.

In addition, the user operation for changing the time or time zone of the timetable displayed on the display unit 64 is not limited to a scroll operation, but may be, for example, the selection of a screen switching button, a swipe operation, etc.

As described above, in this modified example, the display control unit 622 switches the advertising information displayed on the display unit 64 in response to a user operation that changes the time or time zone of the timetable displayed on the display unit 64. That is, the advertising information changes in conjunction with a change in the time information of the timetable displayed on the display unit 64. The advertising information displayed on the display unit 64 uses the time zone or time of the displayed timetable as the advertising output condition. Therefore, according to this modified example, it is possible to present appealing advertisements at appropriate times to users viewing the timetable.

In addition, according to this modified example, by displaying the advertisement after scrolling stops, it is possible to prevent the advertiser from being charged for displaying an advertisement that has low advertising effectiveness.

<Information Processing System (Second Embodiment)>
Next, an information processing system 5A according to a second embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, advertisement information that uses not only timetable information but also the above-mentioned variable information as advertisement output conditions is presented to a user of a terminal device 6. The second embodiment will be described below, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 11, the information processing system 5A includes a terminal device 6, a server 7, and a reservation server 8. The terminal device 6, the server 7, and the reservation server 8 are connected to each other via the communication network 4 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

The configuration of the terminal device 6 is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment. However, the display control unit 622 may cause the display unit 64 to display the update time of the variable information together with the advertising information.

The configuration of the server 7 is almost the same as that of the first embodiment. However, the advertisement acquisition unit 722 acquires advertisement information based on the variable information. More specifically, the advertisement acquisition unit 722 searches the advertisement information database 731 using the timetable information and the variable information (or the timetable specific information and the variable information) to acquire advertisement information that satisfies both the first advertisement output condition related to the timetable information and the second advertisement output condition related to the variable information.

As shown in FIG. 11, the reservation server 8 has a communication unit 81, a control unit 82, and a storage unit 83. The communication unit 81 is an interface for transmitting and receiving information between the terminal device 6 and the server 7 via the communication network 4.

The control unit 82 has a reception unit 821 that receives requests from external devices, and a reservation information acquisition unit 822 that acquires reservation information from a reservation information database 831 based on the request. In this embodiment, each unit of the control unit 82 is realized by a processor in the reservation server 8 executing a predetermined program.

The storage unit 83 is a fixed data storage device composed of a hard disk or non-volatile semiconductor memory, etc., and stores various databases described below. Note that the storage unit 83 does not necessarily have to be provided within the reservation server 8, but may be provided within another device that is communicatively connected via a communication network.

The memory unit 83 has a reservation information database 831. The reservation information database 831 is a database that stores reservation information for, for example, express trains, hotels, restaurants, etc.

In addition, multiple reservation servers 8 may be provided for each reservation information database 831, and each reservation server 8 may be connected to the server 7 so that they can communicate with each other.

<Operation of Information Processing System (Second Embodiment)>
Next, an example of the processing operation of the information processing system 5A will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 12. Note that since the overall flow described in Fig. 5A and Fig. 5B is the same in this embodiment as in the first embodiment, the step of acquiring advertisement information (step S43) related to the difference will be described.

First, the advertisement acquisition unit 722 acquires at least one piece of candidate advertisement information based on the timetable information acquired in step S42 (step S431). The method of acquiring the candidate advertisement information is the same as the method of acquiring the advertisement information described in the first embodiment. The candidate advertisement information may be acquired based on timetable specific information.

After acquiring the candidate advertisement information, the control unit 72 determines whether there are advertisement output conditions related to the reservation status (step S432). If there are no advertisement output conditions related to the reservation status (S432: No), the candidate advertisement information is treated as the official advertisement information (step S439A), and the process proceeds to step S44 described in the first embodiment.

On the other hand, if there is an advertisement output condition related to the reservation status (S432: Yes), the control unit 72 sends a reservation information request to the reservation server 8 (step S433). For example, when "seats available" is set as one of the advertisement output conditions for the reservation status, such as advertisement ID: C-3-02 in the advertisement submission information database shown in FIG. 2, a reservation information request is sent to the reservation server 8 to obtain the reserved seat reservation status of express trains of railway operator J. Then, the reception unit 821 of the reservation server 8 receives the reservation information request via the communication unit 81 (step S434). Next, the reservation information acquisition unit 822 searches the reservation information database 831 and acquires the requested reservation information (step S435). Thereafter, the reservation server 8 transmits the acquired reservation information to the server 7 (step S436).

Then, the control unit 72 of the server 7 receives reservation information from the reservation server 8 (step S437). Then, the control unit 72 determines whether the advertisement output conditions related to the reservation status are met (i.e., whether there are vacant seats) based on the received reservation information (step S438). If the determination result shows that there are vacant seats (S438: Yes), the candidate advertisement information acquired in step S431 becomes the official advertisement information (step S439A). On the other hand, if there are no vacant seats (S438: No), the candidate advertisement information is canceled (step S439B). After the processing of steps S439A and S439B is performed, if there is other candidate advertisement information acquired in step S431, the processing of steps S432 to S439A and B is performed on the candidate advertisement information.

The advertisement information acquired according to the process flow of FIG.
Then, as described in step S34 of the first embodiment, the display control unit 622 causes the display unit 64 to display advertising information corresponding to the display contents of the timetable displayed on the display unit 64 together with the timetable.

A display example of advertising information according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 13 to 15.

In the example screen of Fig. 13, a timetable for the 19:00 hour period is displayed, along with advertisement AD6 for a yakitori restaurant in front of O Station. This advertisement AD6 corresponds to advertisement ID: C-12-01 in the advertisement information database of Fig. 2. Advertisement AD6 is displayed on the terminal device 6 because the reservation server 8 confirmed that there are vacant seats at "Yakitori XX O Station Store" through the above processing flow.
By displaying "Available at 7pm" in advertisement AD6, it becomes possible to further encourage a change in the behavior of users viewing the timetable.

In the example screen shown in FIG. 14, the timetable for the 19:00 hour period is displayed, along with advertisement AD7 relating to the salon. Advertisement AD7 corresponds to advertisement ID: C-11-01 in the advertisement information database of FIG. 2. Advertisement AD7 is displayed on the terminal device 6 because the reservation server 8 has confirmed through the above processing flow that "ABC Salon O Station Branch" has vacancies and can be reserved. Displaying "Available from 19:30" in advertisement AD7 can further encourage a change in the behavior of users viewing the timetable.

In the example screen shown in FIG. 15, a timetable for the 18:00 hour period is displayed, along with advertisement AD8 relating to taxi dispatch. Advertisement AD8 corresponds to advertisement ID: C-1-01 in the advertisement information database of FIG. 2. Advertisement AD8 is displayed on terminal device 6 because railway operator J's server (corresponding to the reservation server 8 described above) confirmed that there was a delay on line C. Advertisement AD8 displays a message that line C is currently suspended. By displaying advertisements relating to alternative means of transportation together with delay information in this way, it is possible to further encourage a change in the behavior of the user of terminal device 6.

The advertisement AD8 also displays the last updated time. This allows the user to easily check whether the information is up to date, making it easier for them to decide whether or not to use the service related to the advertisement.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above. In the above embodiment, advertisement information corresponding to the display contents of the timetable is displayed on the timetable. However, it is possible to display POI (Point of Interest) instead of advertisement information.
Alternatively, the server 7 may display POI information (Point of Interest) information. In this case, the server 7 includes a POI information acquisition unit instead of the advertisement acquisition unit 722. The POI information acquisition unit acquires at least one piece of POI information by searching a POI information database stored in the storage unit 73 using a search key included in the timetable information or the timetable specific information. The acquired POI information is transmitted to the terminal device 6. Then, the display control unit 622 of the terminal device 6 causes the display unit 64 to display POI information corresponding to the display content of the timetable displayed on the display unit 64 together with the timetable.

According to this embodiment, the user of the terminal device 6 can easily grasp information about spots and events at or around the station related to the timetable while viewing the timetable.

Also, as in the modified example of the first embodiment, the POI information displayed on the display unit 64 may be switched in response to a user operation to change the time or time period displayed on the timetable. This allows the user of the terminal device 6 to easily grasp spot information, event information, and the like of the station related to the timetable or its surroundings over time. As a result, for example, the user can discover unknown spots or be induced to stop by the spot.
Furthermore, the added value of the timetable can be increased.

In addition, advertising output similar to that described above may be performed on screens other than the timetable. For example, when travel route information (route search result) showing a travel route searched based on route search conditions is displayed on the display unit 64 of the terminal device 6, advertising information based on time information included in the travel route information may be displayed on the display unit 64 together with the travel route information. The time information is, for example, a departure time, a transfer time, or an arrival time. Note that the time information may be a time period including times such as the departure time and the arrival time.

The advertisement information receiving unit 221 receives advertisement output condition information including time information included in the travel route information, and advertisement information to be displayed together with the route search results (travel route information) based on the advertisement output condition information. The database creation unit 321 associates and stores the advertisement output condition information and the advertisement information.

The advertisement acquisition unit 722 acquires advertisement information based on the time information included in the travel route information. The display control unit 622 causes the display unit 64 to display advertisement information corresponding to the display content of the travel route information displayed on the display unit 64 of the terminal device 6 together with the route information. That is, the terminal device 6 outputs advertisements whose time information (time or time zone) included in the travel route information and displayed on the display unit 64 matches the time or time zone of the advertisement output conditions. For example, when the departure time is displayed on the display unit 64, advertisement information corresponding to the departure time is displayed, and when the arrival time is displayed on the display unit 64, advertisement information corresponding to the arrival time is displayed. This makes it possible to present advertisements that are effectively appealing to users viewing the travel route (route search results).

As in the case of a timetable, the display control unit 622 may switch the advertising information displayed on the display unit 64 in response to a user operation that changes the time or time zone of the travel route information displayed on the display unit 64. For example, when the user changes the portion of the travel route from the departure point to the destination that is displayed on the display unit 64 from the departure point to the destination by a scroll operation, the display control unit 622 first displays advertising information corresponding to the departure time on the display unit 64, then displays advertising information corresponding to the transfer time, and finally displays advertising information corresponding to the arrival time.

At least a part of the information processing system described in the above embodiment may be configured with hardware or software. If configured with software, a program that realizes at least a part of the functions of the information processing system may be stored on a recording medium such as a flexible disk or CD-ROM, and may be read and executed by a computer. The recording medium is not limited to removable recording media such as magnetic disks and optical disks, but may also be fixed recording media such as a hard disk device or memory.

In addition, a program that realizes at least a part of the functions of the information processing system may be distributed via a communication line (including wireless communication) such as the Internet. Furthermore, the program may be encrypted, modulated, or compressed and distributed via a wired line or wireless line such as the Internet, or stored on a recording medium.

Furthermore, the information processing system may be operated by one or more information processing devices. When multiple information processing devices are used, one of the information processing devices may be a computer, and the computer may execute a predetermined program to realize the function as at least one of the means of the information processing system.

Based on the above description, a person skilled in the art may be able to conceive of additional effects and various modifications of the present invention, but the aspects of the present invention are not limited to the individual embodiments described above. Various additions, modifications, and partial deletions are possible within the scope that does not deviate from the conceptual idea and intent of the present invention derived from the contents defined in the claims and their equivalents.

1 Advertising system 2 Advertising terminal 21 Communication unit 22 Control unit 221 Advertising information reception unit 23 Input unit 24 Display unit 3 Server 31 Communication unit 32 Control unit 321 Database creation unit 33 Memory unit 331 Advertising information database 4 Communication network 5, 5A Information processing system 6 Terminal device 61 Communication unit 62 Control unit 621 Information reception unit 622 Display control unit 63 Input unit 64 Display unit 7 Server 71 Communication unit 72 Control unit 721 Timetable acquisition unit 722 Advertising acquisition unit 73 Memory unit 731 Advertising information database 732 Timetable database 8 Reservation server 81 Communication unit 82 Control unit 821 Reception unit 822 Reservation information acquisition unit 83 Memory unit 831 Reservation information database AD1, AD2, AD3 Advertisement R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 Display area T1, T2, T3 Tab

Claims (9)

an advertisement acquisition means for acquiring advertisement information based on time-related information of timetable information included in a timetable of a means of transport displayed on a display means of a terminal device, or on time-varying information of the means of transport;
and a display control means for causing the display means to display the advertising information together with the timetable. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the time-related information includes at least one of information on the departure and arrival times of the transportation means and information on a time period including the departure and arrival times. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the variable information includes information on at least one of the operation status, reservation status, congestion level, and weather of the transportation facility. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the display control means switches the advertising information displayed on the display means in response to a user operation that changes the time or time period of the timetable displayed on the display means. the user operation is a scroll operation for continuously changing the time or time slot of the timetable displayed on the display means,
5. The information processing system according to claim 4, wherein the display control means causes the display means to display the advertisement information after the scrolling of the timetable by the scrolling operation has stopped. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the display control means causes the display means to display the update time of the variable information together with the advertising information. An information processing program executed on a terminal device communicably connected to a server,
the server has an advertisement acquisition means for acquiring advertisement information based on time-related information of timetable information included in a timetable of a means of transport displayed on a display means of the terminal device, or on time-varying information of the means of transport,
The information processing program causes a computer to function as a display control means for displaying the advertising information together with the timetable on the display means. Computer,
an advertisement acquisition means for acquiring advertisement information based on time-related information of timetable information included in a timetable of a means of transport displayed on a display means of a terminal device, or on time-varying information of the means of transport, and a display control means for displaying the advertisement information together with the timetable on the display means;
An information processing program that functions as a An advertisement acquisition means acquires advertisement information based on time-related information of timetable information included in a transportation timetable displayed on a display means of the terminal device, or on time-varying information of the transportation;
a step of displaying the advertisement information together with the timetable on the display means by a display control means;
An information processing method comprising: