JP7549262B2 - Price calculation device, price calculation method, and price calculation program - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a price calculation device, a price calculation method, a price calculation program, and a price calculation system that calculate the price of a service provided by a store.

Previously, technologies have been developed to find available seats in a restaurant and to assist users in searching for available seats. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that, when payment information is entered into a device that accepts orders for each table, manages the table as available and finds the number of available seats in the restaurant. Patent Document 2 discloses a technology that, when the seat desired by the person who made the reservation is not available, assists the person in searching for an alternative seat.

JP 2015-95076 A JP 2001-357273 A

However, Patent Documents 1 and 2 only disclose technology for requesting vacant seats and technology for assisting users in searching for alternative seats, and can only inform users of the presence or absence of vacant seats. As a result, they can only offer services at a fixed price to users, and even if they could offer a higher price for the main product, they can only encourage reservations at that fixed price, which could lead to lower sales and profit margins. Furthermore, even if they could encourage users to make reservations by offering a lower price, they could lose opportunities for users to visit the store, as they can only encourage reservations at a fixed price.

In view of the above problems, the object of the present invention is to provide a price calculation device, a price calculation method, a price calculation program, and a price calculation system that are capable of presenting a fair price for a service provided to a user.

The price calculation device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a first storage unit that stores first occupancy information, which is information related to the availability of seats in the store, and a calculation unit that calculates a fair price for a service provided in the store based on the first occupancy information, and the calculation unit calculates the fair price for each predetermined period.

In one aspect of the price calculation device of the present invention, the first occupancy information includes occupancy information by time period and occupancy information by day, and the calculation unit may set a weight indicating the degree of influence on the fair price for each of the occupancy information by time period and the occupancy information by day, and set the weight for the time period to be larger than the weight for the day.

In one aspect of the price calculation device of the present invention, the first occupancy information may further include occupancy information for each number of users of the store, which is obtained from combination or separation information between individual tables arranged in the store, and the calculation unit may calculate the fair price based on the occupancy information for each number of users among the number of users expected to use the store, which is included in the calculation request for the fair price.

The price calculation device according to one aspect of the present invention may further include a second storage unit that stores second vacancy information, which is information related to the vacancy status of other stores other than the store itself, and the calculation unit may calculate the fair price based on the first vacancy information and the second vacancy information.

In one aspect of the price calculation device of the present invention, the calculation unit may be characterized in that it sets a weight indicating the degree of influence on the fair price for each of the first vacancy information and the second vacancy information, and sets a larger weight for the first vacancy information than a weight for the second vacancy information.

In one aspect of the price calculation device of the present invention, the first occupancy information and the second occupancy information include occupancy information by time period and occupancy information by day, and the calculation unit may be characterized in weighting the occupancy information by time period of the first occupancy information and the second occupancy information more than weighting the occupancy information by day of the first occupancy information and the second occupancy information.

In one aspect of the price calculation device of the present invention, the second occupancy information may include occupancy information of the other store that corresponds to at least one of the area, business type, and price range in which the own store is included.

In one aspect of the price calculation device of the present invention, the first occupancy information and the second occupancy information may further include occupancy information for each number of users of the store obtained from combination or separation information between individual tables arranged in the store, and the calculation unit may calculate the fair price based on the occupancy information for each number of users among the number of users expected to use the store included in the calculation request for the fair price.

In one aspect of the present invention, the price calculation device may further include a condition transmission unit that transmits desired conditions for use for the number of people to the store, where the first vacancy information and the second vacancy information include vacancy information for each number of people using the store, and transmits to the store or the other store desired conditions for use for the number of people using the store when there is no vacancy in the vacancy information for each number of people using the store that is included in the fair price calculation request.

In one aspect of the price calculation device of the present invention, the calculation unit may be characterized in that, when the vacancy information of the first vacancy information or the second vacancy information is less than a predetermined value, some of the products offered at the store or the other store cannot be viewed or selected.

In one aspect of the price calculation device of the present invention, the calculation unit may be characterized in that it calculates the fair price between a preset upper limit and a preset lower limit.

The price calculation method according to one aspect of the present invention includes a storage step of storing first occupancy information, which is information related to the availability of seats in the store, and a calculation step of calculating a fair price for a service provided in the store based on the first occupancy information, and is characterized in that the calculation step calculates the fair price for each predetermined period.

A price calculation program according to one aspect of the present invention has a computer that has a storage function for storing first occupancy information, which is information relating to the availability of seats at the store, and a calculation function for calculating a fair price for a service provided at the store based on the first occupancy information, and the calculation function calculates the fair price for each predetermined period.

The price calculation system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a user terminal that requests the viewing status of the store information of the store, a price calculation device that calculates a fair price for a service provided by the store when the viewing request is received from the user terminal, and a store terminal that transmits the store information of the device to the price calculation device, and the price calculation device is characterized in that it includes a first storage unit that stores first vacancy information, which is information regarding the vacancy status of the store, and a calculation unit that calculates a fair price for a service provided by the store for each specified period based on the first vacancy information.

According to the present invention, a price calculation device, a price calculation method, and a price calculation program can be provided that can present a fair price for a service to a user by calculating a fair price based on occupancy information, thereby preventing a decline in sales and profit margins and a loss of opportunities for users to visit the store.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a price calculation system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a price calculation device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of first stored information in the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a store terminal in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a user terminal in the first embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the price calculation device in the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a price calculation system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a price calculation device according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

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

First Embodiment
The first embodiment is an embodiment in which a fair price for a service provided at a store is calculated based on first vacancy information, which is information on the vacancy status of the store. Since a fair price for a service provided is calculated based on information on the vacancy status of the store, for example, when there are many vacant seats, it is possible to prevent users from losing opportunities to visit the store by lowering the price, and when there are few vacant seats, it is possible to prevent a decrease in sales and profit margins by raising the price.

(System Configuration)
Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a price calculation system in a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the price calculation system includes a price calculation device 10, a store terminal 20, a user terminal 30, and a network 40. Note that the number of store terminals 20 and user terminals 30 included in the price calculation system is not limited to one, and may be multiple.

The price calculation device 10 has a function to receive a request to view store information from a user terminal 30, and transmit store information of the store included in the request to the user terminal 30. The price calculation device 10 also has a function to acquire store information of the store from the store terminal 20. The price calculation device 10 also has a function to calculate a fair price for a service provided at its own store based on first occupancy information, which is information regarding the vacancy status of its own store. The price calculation device 10 also has a function to transmit the calculated fair price to the store terminal 20 and the user terminal 30.

The services provided at one's own store are, for example, food and drink provided to users by restaurants and the like. For example, the services provided at one's own store are various courses (courses for food and drink, etc.) and various plans (plans for food and drink, etc.) provided by restaurants and the like. Note that the store is not limited to restaurants and the like and may be any type of business, for example, a massage parlor, a beauty salon, or an accommodation facility such as a hotel or inn. Furthermore, the services provided at one's own store vary depending on the type of business the store belongs to; for example, a massage provided to users at a massage parlor, a haircut and blow dry at a beauty salon, and an accommodation plan at an accommodation facility.

The price calculation device 10 is, for example, a server device, but may also be a computer such as a desktop, laptop, or tablet. Note that the price calculation device 10 is not limited to these devices and may be any type of device. Note that the price calculation device 10 is not limited to these devices and may be any type of device.

The store terminal 20 has a function for acquiring store information of a store from the price calculation device 10. The store information is information related to the store. For example, the store information includes information on the services provided by the store, the store's location, coupon information, and available seating information. The store information may include any type of information, and may include information such as the store's business hours, contact information, and access methods. A request to view store information is a request to view store information that matches conditions specified by the user. For example, the user specifies an area, business type, and price range, and requests to view store information that matches the specified conditions.

The store terminal 20 is, for example, a computer such as a desktop, laptop, or tablet, but may also be a server device, a smartphone, or a mobile phone. Note that the store terminal 20 is not limited to these devices and may be any device.

The user terminal 30 has a function of sending a request to view store information to the price calculation device 10. The user terminal 30 also has a function of receiving specific store information from the price calculation device 10 in response to the view request. The user terminal 30 is a terminal held by a user, and is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a mobile phone, a personal computer, or other electronic device. Note that the user terminal 30 is not limited to these devices and may be any device.

The network 40 serves to interconnect the price calculation device 10, the store terminal 20, and the user terminal 30. The network 40 may be, for example, a wired network or a wireless network. For example, network 40 may include an intranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a portion of the Internet, a portion of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a mobile phone network, integrated service digital networks (ISDNs), wireless LANs, long term evolution (LTE) code division multiple access (CDMA), and satellite communications.

(Configuration of each device)
(Example of configuration of price calculation device 10)
2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the price calculation device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the price calculation device 10 includes, for example, a control unit 101, a communication unit 102, and a first storage unit 103.

The communication unit 102 is a communication interface that transmits and receives various data via the network 40. The communication unit 102 has a function of executing communication with the user terminal 30 and the user terminal 30 via the network 40. The communication unit 102 transmits various data to the user terminal 30 and the user terminal 30 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 101. The communication unit 102 also receives various data transmitted from the user terminal 30 and the user terminal 30, and notifies the control unit 101.

The communication unit 102 transmits the specified store information to the user terminal 30 in response to the viewing request. The communication unit 102 transmits the specified store information for each user terminal 30 in response to the viewing request received from the user terminal 30.

The first storage unit 103 stores various programs and various data required for the operation of the price calculation device 10. The first storage unit 103 is realized by various storage media such as an HDD, SSD, or flash memory. The price calculation device 10 may store a program in the first storage unit 103, execute the program, and cause the control unit 101 to execute processing as each unit included in the control unit 101. The program causes the price calculation device 10 to realize each function executed by the control unit 101.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the first storage unit 103 stores first occupancy information, which is information related to the vacancy information of its own store. The first occupancy information is information related to the vacancy status of seats in the store, and is the number of vacant seats that are unused or unreserved seats. The first occupancy information may be the ratio of vacant seats that are unused or unreserved seats to the number of seats in the store. The first occupancy information may be information related to the status of seats being used in the store, and may be the number or ratio of used or reserved seats to the number of seats in the store.

The first occupancy information may also include occupancy information for each specified time, for example, for each time period or each day. The first occupancy status may also include occupancy information for each number of users.

Figure 3 shows the first occupancy information, which is information related to the vacancy status of the store, stored in the first storage unit 103. As shown in Figure 3, the first occupancy information includes occupancy information for each day and each time period. In the example of Figure 3, the first occupancy information includes occupancy information for each day, such as "the 10th" and "the 11th". The first occupancy information also includes occupancy information for each time period, such as "11:00~" and "13:00~". Note that the time periods may be divided into 1-hour or 2-hour units, such as "11:00~", "13:00~", "17:00~", "18:00~", "19:00~", "20:00~", and "21:00~", as shown in Figure 3, but the time periods may be divided into any width, such as 30-minute units. The time periods shown in Figure 3 are merely examples and may be divided in any manner.

The first occupancy information may also include occupancy information for each number of users of the store. As shown in FIG. 3, the first occupancy information includes occupancy information for each number of users, such as "1-2 people" or "3-4 people." In the example of FIG. 3, the number of users is divided into five groups: "1-2 people," "3-4 people," "5-10 people," "11-20 people," and "21 people or more," but the number of users may be classified in any way.

The first memory unit 103 may divide the number of users of the store based on the combination or separation information between individual tables placed in the store received from the store terminal 20. For example, the first memory unit 204 may divide the number of users into five groups, such as "1-2 people," "3-4 people," "5-10 people," "11-20 people," and "21 people or more," based on the combination or separation information between individual tables received from the input/output unit 203.

The first memory unit 103 includes occupancy information for each number of users. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the first memory unit 103 includes occupancy information for each number of users: "1-2 people," "3-4 people," "5-10 people," "11-20 people," and "21 people or more."

As described above, the first memory unit 103 includes occupancy information for each specified time period and for each number of users. In the example of FIG. 3, the first memory unit 103 stores "2", which is the number of vacant seats that are not in use or not reserved, as occupancy information for "3-4 people" from "11:00" on the "10th". The first memory unit 103 also stores "0", which is the number of vacant seats, as occupancy information for "5-10 people" from "19:00" on the "10th".

The control unit 101 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an ASIC, an FPGA, etc. Note that the control unit 201 is not limited to these examples and may be anything.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the control unit 101 includes a calculation unit 111 and a condition transmission unit 112.

The calculation unit 111 calculates the appropriate price for the service provided at the store for each specified period based on the first occupancy information. The calculation unit 111 changes the predetermined standard price based on the first occupancy information to calculate the appropriate price.

The standard price is the standard price for services provided at the store. The standard price is determined in advance by the store staff, etc. The standard price is, for example, the standard price for various courses (courses including food and drink, etc.) and various plans (plans including food and drink, etc.) at restaurants, etc. The standard price is also the standard price for a massage at a massage parlor, the standard price for a cut or blow dry at a beauty salon, and the standard accommodation fee at a luxury facility such as a hotel or inn. The standard price may be determined in advance for each day, time period, month, day of the week, or season. The standard price may be changeable by the store staff at any time.

The calculation unit 111 calculates the fair price by changing the predetermined standard price based on the first occupancy information. When the "number of vacant seats" as the first occupancy information is small, the calculation unit 111 calculates a price higher than the predetermined standard price as the fair price. For example, when the "number of vacant seats" as the first occupancy information is equal to or less than a first predetermined number, the calculation unit 111 calculates a price higher than the predetermined standard price as the fair price. When the "number of vacant seats" as the first occupancy information is equal to or less than a first predetermined number, the calculation unit 111 multiplies the predetermined standard price by a first coefficient (for example, an integer greater than 1) to calculate the fair price. For example, when the "number of vacant seats" as the first occupancy information is equal to or less than the first predetermined number "2", the calculation unit 111 multiplies the predetermined standard price of 5,000 yen by the first coefficient "1.2" to calculate the fair price of 6,000 yen.

The first coefficient may be determined in advance or may be set at any timing. Furthermore, the calculation unit 111 may change the first coefficient according to the "number of vacant seats" as the first occupancy information. For example, the first coefficient may be set to a higher value each time the "number of vacant seats" as the first occupancy information decreases. For example, the calculation unit 111 sets the first coefficient to "1.2" when the "number of vacant seats" as the first occupancy information is "2", and sets the first coefficient to "1.1" when the "number of vacant seats" as the first occupancy information is "4".

On the other hand, when the "number of vacant seats" as the first occupancy information is large, the calculation unit 111 calculates a price lower than the predetermined standard price as the fair price. For example, when the "number of vacant seats" as the first occupancy information is equal to or greater than a second predetermined number, the calculation unit 111 calculates a price lower than the predetermined standard price as the fair price. When the "number of vacant seats" as the first occupancy information is equal to or greater than the second predetermined number, the calculation unit 111 multiplies the predetermined standard price by a second coefficient (for example, an integer smaller than 1) to calculate the fair price. For example, when the "number of vacant seats" as the first occupancy information is equal to or greater than the second predetermined number "8", the calculation unit 111 multiplies the predetermined standard price of 5,000 yen by the first coefficient "0.8" to calculate the fair price of 4,000 yen.

The second coefficient may be determined in advance or may be set at any timing. Furthermore, the calculation unit 111 may change the second coefficient according to the "number of vacant seats" as the first occupancy information. For example, the second coefficient may be set to a lower value as the "number of vacant seats" as the first occupancy information increases. For example, the calculation unit 111 sets the first coefficient to "0.8" when the "number of vacant seats" as the first occupancy information is "8", and sets the first coefficient to "0.9" when the "number of vacant seats" as the first occupancy information is "6".

The calculation unit 111 calculates a fair price between a preset upper limit and a preset lower limit. For example, the calculation unit 111 calculates a fair price between a preset upper limit of "6,000 yen" and a preset lower limit of "4,000 yen."

The calculation unit 111 may calculate a fair price for each predetermined time period. The calculation unit 111 may calculate a fair price for a service provided by the store for each time period based on the first occupancy information for each time period. For example, the calculation unit 111 calculates a fair price for each time period, such as "11:00 onwards" or "19:00 onwards", based on the occupancy information for each time period. The calculation unit 111 may also calculate a fair price for a service provided by the store for each day, based on the first occupancy information for each day. For example, the calculation unit 111 calculates a fair price for each day, such as "the 10th" or "the 11th", based on the occupancy information for each day.

When the vacancy information for each time period and the vacancy information for each day are available, the calculation unit 111 calculates the fair price by setting the vacancy information for each time period to have a higher influence than the vacancy information for each day. For example, the calculation unit 111 sets a weight indicating the influence on the fair price for each of the vacancy information for each time period and the vacancy information for each day, and sets the weight for each time period to be higher than the weight for each day. For example, the calculation unit 111 sets the weight for each time period to "0.8" and the weight for each day to "0.2". For example, the calculation unit 111 sets the weight for the number of vacant seats "2" in the time period "from 19:00" to "0.8" and the weight for the number of vacant seats "8" in the day "the 11th" to "0.2". As a result, the calculation unit 111 multiplies the standard price of 5,000 yen by 1.12, which is obtained by multiplying the first coefficient "1.2" determined based on the vacancy information for each time period by the weighting "0.8" and the first coefficient "0.8" determined based on the vacancy information for each day by the weighting "0.2", to calculate the fair price of 5,600 yen. Note that the weighting value is merely an example and may be any value.

The calculation unit 111 may calculate a fair price for each number of users of the store. The calculation unit 111 may calculate a fair price for a service provided at the store for each number of users, based on availability information for each number of users of the store obtained from the combination or separation information between individual tables placed at the store. For example, the calculation unit 111 calculates a fair price for each number of users, such as "1-2 people" or "5-10 people," based on the availability information for each number of users.

The calculation unit 111 may calculate the fair price at a predetermined cycle, or may calculate the fair price when a request to view store information is received from the user terminal 30. Note that the calculation unit 111 is not limited to these examples, and may calculate the fair price at any timing.

The calculation unit 111 may transmit to the store terminal 20 and the user terminal 30 a notice that some of the services provided by the store cannot be viewed or selected when the vacancy information in the first vacancy information is less than a predetermined value. For example, when the vacancy information in the first vacancy information is less than "2", the calculation unit 111 makes services provided by the store that are less than a predetermined price unviewable or unselectable. When the vacancy information in the first vacancy information is less than a predetermined value, making some of the services provided by the store unviewable or unselectable makes it possible to prevent a decline in sales and profit margins.

The condition transmission unit 112 creates predetermined store information including the fair price calculated by the calculation unit 111 based on a viewing request for store information that matches the conditions specified by the user. The condition transmission unit 112 creates store information including a fair price that matches the conditions included in the viewing status received from the user terminal 30. The condition transmission unit 112 may identify multiple store information each including a fair price based on conditions related to the area, business type, and price range specified by the user. The condition transmission unit 112 creates display data for displaying the store information on the user terminal 30 as the predetermined store information including the fair price. The condition transmission unit 112 transmits the display data as the predetermined store information to the user terminal 30 via the transmission unit 102.

When there are no vacancies in the full occupancy information for the number of planned users included in the request to calculate the fair price (a request to view store information received from the user terminal 30), the condition sending unit 112 sends the desired usage conditions for the number of planned users to the store terminal 20 of the store itself. For example, when there are no vacancies in the full occupancy information for the number of planned users "21 people or more" included in the request to calculate the fair price (a request to view store information received from the user terminal 30), the condition sending unit 112 sends the desired usage conditions for the number of planned users "21 people or more" to the store terminal 20 of the store itself.

(Example of configuration of store terminal 20)
Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the store terminal 20 in the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 4, the store terminal 20 includes, for example, a control unit 201, a communication unit 202, an input/output unit 203, a display unit 204, and a storage unit 205.

The communication unit 202 is a communication interface that transmits and receives various data via the network 40. The communication unit 202 has a function of executing communication with the price calculation device 10 and the user terminal 30 via the network 40. The communication unit 202 transmits various data to the price calculation device 10 and the user terminal 30 according to instructions from the control unit 201. The communication unit 202 also receives various data transmitted from the price calculation device 10 and the user terminal 30 and notifies the control unit 201. The communication unit 202 may also receive information related to reservations from the user terminal 30 received via the price calculation device 10.

The input/output unit 203 is realized by a device that inputs various operations to the calculation management device 20. The input/output unit 203 has a function of accepting input from store staff and transmitting information related to the input to the control unit 201 and the memory unit 205. The input/output unit 203 is a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, microphone, various sensors, etc. Note that the input/output unit 203 is not limited to these examples and may be any device.

The input/output unit 203 receives information on joins or separations between individual tables placed in the store. The input/output unit 203 receives information on joins or separations between individual tables placed in the store, for example, input by store staff. The input/output unit 203 may also automatically receive information on joins or separations between individual tables placed in the store based on various sensors, etc. The input/output unit 203 notifies the control unit 201 and the memory unit 205 of the information on joins or separations between individual tables placed in the store.

The display unit 204 is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence display (OLED). Note that the display unit 204 is not limited to these examples and may be a head mounted display (HDM) or the like. The display unit 204 displays various information such as first store information of the store itself and reservation requests from the user terminal 30.

The control unit 201 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an ASIC, an FPGA, etc. Note that the control unit 101 is not limited to these examples and may be anything.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the control unit 201 includes a receiving processing unit 211 and a transmitting processing unit 212. The receiving processing unit 211 receives a request for store information of the device from the price calculation device 10. The transmitting processing unit 212 refers to the storage unit 205 and transmits the store information of the device to the price calculation device 10.

The storage unit 205 stores various programs and data required for the operation of the store terminal 20. The storage unit 205 is realized by various storage media such as an HDD, SSD, or flash memory. The store terminal 20 may store a program in the storage unit 205, execute the program, and the control unit 201 may execute the processing of each unit included in the control unit 201.

The storage unit 205 also stores join or separate information between individual tables located in the store, received from the input/output unit 203. The storage unit 205 may also store the first store information exemplified in FIG. 3.

(Example of configuration of user terminal 30)
5 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the user terminal 30 in the first embodiment of the present invention. The user terminal 30 includes a control unit 301 (CPU), a communication unit 302, an input/output unit 303, a display unit 304, a microphone/speaker 305, and a storage unit 306.

The communication unit 302 is a communication interface that transmits and receives various data via the network 40. The communication unit 302 has a function of executing communication with the user terminal 30 via the network 40. The communication unit 302 transmits various data to the user terminal 30 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 301. The communication unit 302 also receives various data transmitted from the user terminal 30 and transmits it to the control unit 301.

The input/output unit 303 is realized by a device that inputs various operations to the user terminal 30. The input/output unit 303 has a function of receiving input from a user and transmitting information related to the input to the control unit 301. The input/output unit 303 is a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a microphone, etc. Note that the input/output unit 303 is not limited to these examples and may be any device.

The display unit 304 is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an OELD. Note that the display unit 304 is not limited to these examples and may be a head-mounted display (HMD) or the like. The display unit 304 is capable of displaying display data such as images, text information, and 3D according to the display data written to the frame buffer.

The microphone/speaker 305 is used to input or output voice data. The user terminal 30 can input and output specific data using voice data via the microphone/speaker 305.

The storage unit 306 stores various programs and various data required for the operation of the user terminal 30. The storage unit 306 is realized by various storage media such as an HDD, SSD, or flash memory. The user terminal 30 may store a program in the storage unit 306, execute the program, and the control unit 301 executes the processing of each unit included in the control unit 301. The program causes the user terminal 30 to realize each function executed by the control unit 301.

The control unit 301 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an ASIC, an FPGA, etc. Note that the control unit 301 is not limited to these examples and may be anything.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the control unit 301 includes a condition receiving unit 311 and a transmission processing unit 312. The condition receiving unit 311 receives a request to view store information from a user via the input/output unit 303. The condition receiving unit 311 receives information such as date and time, area, business type, and price range as the store information to be viewed. The transmission processing unit 312 transmits the request to view store information received by the condition receiving unit 311 to the price calculation device 10 via the transmission unit 302.

(Example of operation)
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the price calculation device 10.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the communication unit 102 of the price calculation device 10 receives a request to view store information from the user terminal 30 (S101).

The calculation unit 111 of the control unit 101 refers to the first storage unit 103 to obtain the first occupancy information of the store (the store itself) included in the viewing request (S102).

The calculation unit 111 determines whether the vacancy information included in the acquired first vacancy information is less than a first predetermined value (S103). If it is less than or equal to the first predetermined value (YES in S103), the calculation unit 111 multiplies the predetermined standard price by a first coefficient (e.g., an integer greater than 1) to calculate the fair price (S104).

On the other hand, if the vacancy information included in the acquired first occupancy information is greater than the first predetermined value (NO in S103), the calculation unit 111 determines whether the vacancy information is greater than or equal to a second predetermined value (S105). If the vacancy information is greater than or equal to the second predetermined value (YES in S105), the calculation unit 111 multiplies the predetermined standard price by a second coefficient (e.g., an integer smaller than 1) to calculate the fair price (S106). On the other hand, if the vacancy information is greater than the second predetermined value (NO in S105), the calculation unit 111 determines the fair price to be the predetermined standard price (S107).

The condition sending unit 112 of the control unit 101 creates predetermined store information including the fair price calculated by the calculation unit 111 based on a request to view store information that matches the conditions specified by the user, and sends it to the user terminal 30 (S108).

As described above, the price calculation system of the first embodiment is an embodiment in which a fair price for a service provided at a store is calculated based on the first occupancy information, which is information about the vacant seats at the store. Since a fair price for a service provided is calculated based on information about the vacant seats at the store, for example, if there are many vacant seats, it is possible to prevent users from losing opportunities to visit the store by lowering the price, and if there are few vacant seats, it is possible to prevent a decline in sales and profit margins by raising the price.

Second Embodiment
The second embodiment is an embodiment in which a fair price for a service provided at one's own store is calculated based on the second full/vacancy information indicating the reservation status of other stores in addition to the first full/vacancy information indicating the reservation status of one's own store. Since the fair price for the service provided is calculated taking into account the reservation status of other stores, for example, a fair price can be set that takes into account the status of other stores, and by setting a more competitive price, it is possible to prevent users from losing opportunities to visit the store. In addition, when other stores have many reservations, it is also possible to prevent a decline in sales and profit margins by raising the price of the service provided at one's own store.

(System Configuration)
Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a price calculation system in the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 7, the price calculation system includes a price calculation device 10, a store terminal 20A of the store itself, a store terminal 20B of another store, a user terminal 30, and a network 40. Note that the number of store terminals 20 and user terminals 30 included in the price calculation system is not limited to one, and may be multiple.

The price calculation device 10 has a function to receive a request to view store information from a user terminal 30, and transmit store information of the store included in the request to the user terminal 30. The price calculation device 10 also has a function to acquire store information of the store from a plurality of store terminals 20. The price calculation device 10 also has a function to calculate a fair price for a service provided at its own store based on first vacancy information, which is information on the vacancy status of its own store, and second vacancy information, which is information on the vacancy status of other stores. The price calculation device 10 also has a function to transmit the calculated fair price to the store terminal 20 and the user terminal 30.

The store terminal 20A of the own store and the store terminal 20B of the other store are similar to the configuration example of the store terminal 20 illustrated in FIG. 4, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Also, the configuration example of the user terminal 30 is similar to the configuration example of the user terminal 30 illustrated in FIG. 5, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Configuration of each device)
(Example of configuration of price calculation device 10)
Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the price calculation device 10 in the second embodiment of the present invention. As exemplified in Fig. 8, the price calculation device 10 includes, for example, a control unit 101, a communication unit 102, a first storage unit 103, and a second storage unit 104. Note that configuration examples of the communication unit 102 and the first storage unit 103 are similar to the configuration examples of the transmission unit 102 and the first storage unit 103 of the price calculation device 10 exemplified in Fig. 2, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The second memory unit 104 stores second occupancy information, which is information regarding vacant seat information of other stores. The second occupancy information is information regarding the vacant seat status of other stores, and is the number of vacant seats that are unused seats or unreserved seats. The second occupancy information may be the ratio of vacant seats that are unused seats or unreserved seats to the number of seats in the other store. The second occupancy information may be information regarding the status of seats being used in other stores, and may be the number or ratio of used seats or reserved seats to the number of seats in the other store.

The second occupancy information may also include occupancy information for each specified time, for example, for each time period or each day. The second occupancy status may also include occupancy information for each number of users.

The second storage unit 104 stores second store information, which is information related to vacant seat information of other stores, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 3. Note that an example of the configuration of the second store information is similar to the example of the configuration of the first store information illustrated in FIG. 3, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the control unit 101 includes a calculation unit 111 and a condition transmission unit 112.

The calculation unit 111 calculates the appropriate price of the service provided at the store for each specified period based on the first occupancy information and the second occupancy information. The calculation unit 111 changes the predetermined standard price based on the first occupancy information and the second occupancy information to calculate the appropriate price.

The calculation unit 111 calculates the fair price by modifying the predetermined standard price based on the first vacancy information and the second vacancy information. Note that the following mainly describes the parts that are different from the calculation unit 111 in the first embodiment, and detailed descriptions of the similar parts are omitted because they are the same as the calculation unit 111 in the first embodiment.

For example, when the "number of vacant seats" as the second vacancy information is small, the calculation unit 111 calculates a price higher than the predetermined standard price as the appropriate price for the store. For example, when the "number of vacant seats" as the second vacancy information is equal to or less than the first predetermined number, the calculation unit 111 calculates a price higher than the predetermined standard price as the appropriate price for the store.

When the "number of vacant seats" as the second occupancy information is equal to or less than a first predetermined number, the calculation unit 111 multiplies a predetermined standard price by a first coefficient (e.g., an integer greater than 1) to calculate the fair price for the store. The second coefficient may be predetermined or may be set at any time. The calculation unit 111 may also change the first coefficient according to the "number of vacant seats" as the second occupancy information. For example, the first coefficient may be set to a higher value each time the "number of vacant seats" as the second occupancy information decreases.

On the other hand, when the "number of vacant seats" as the second vacancy information is large, the calculation unit 111 calculates a price lower than the predetermined standard price as the fair price. For example, when the "number of vacant seats" as the second vacancy information is equal to or greater than a second predetermined number, the calculation unit 111 calculates a price lower than the predetermined standard price as the fair price for the store.

When the "number of vacant seats" as the second occupancy information is equal to or greater than a second predetermined number, the calculation unit 111 multiplies the predetermined standard price by a second coefficient (e.g., an integer smaller than 1) to calculate the fair price. In addition, the calculation unit 111 may change the second coefficient according to the "number of vacant seats" as the first occupancy information. For example, the second coefficient may be set to a lower value each time the "number of vacant seats" as the first occupancy information increases.

Furthermore, for example, when the "number of vacant seats" as the first vacancy information and the second vacancy information are both small, the calculation unit 111 may calculate a price higher than the predetermined standard price as the appropriate price for the store. For example, when the "number of vacant seats" as the first vacancy information and the second vacancy information are both equal to or less than a first predetermined number, the calculation unit 111 calculates a price higher than the predetermined standard price as the appropriate price for the store. For example, when the "number of vacant seats" as the first vacancy information and the second vacancy information are both equal to or less than a first predetermined number, the calculation unit 111 multiplies the predetermined standard price by a first coefficient (for example, an integer greater than 1) to calculate the appropriate price for the store.

On the other hand, when the "number of vacant seats" as the first vacancy information and the second vacancy information are both large, the calculation unit 111 calculates a price lower than the predetermined standard price as the appropriate price for the store. For example, when the "number of vacant seats" as the first vacancy information and the second vacancy information are both equal to or greater than a second predetermined number, the calculation unit 111 calculates a price lower than the predetermined standard price as the appropriate price for the store. When the "number of vacant seats" as the first vacancy information and the second vacancy information are both equal to or greater than a second predetermined number, the calculation unit 111 multiplies the predetermined standard price by a second coefficient (for example, an integer smaller than 1) to calculate the appropriate price for the store.

Furthermore, the calculation unit 111 may calculate a price higher than a predetermined standard price as the appropriate price for its own store when, for example, either the "number of vacant seats" as the first vacancy information or the second vacancy information is small. The calculation unit 111 calculates a price higher than a predetermined standard price as the appropriate price for its own store when, for example, either the "number of vacant seats" as the first vacancy information or the second vacancy information is equal to or less than a predetermined number. The calculation unit 111 multiplies the predetermined standard price by a first coefficient (for example, an integer greater than 1) to calculate the appropriate price for its own store when, for example, either the "number of vacant seats" as the first vacancy information or the second vacancy information is equal to or less than a first predetermined number.

On the other hand, when either the "number of vacant seats" as the first vacancy information or the second vacancy information is large, the calculation unit 111 calculates a price lower than the predetermined standard price as the appropriate price for the store. For example, when either the "number of vacant seats" as the first vacancy information or the second vacancy information is equal to or greater than a second predetermined number, the calculation unit 111 calculates a price lower than the predetermined standard price as the appropriate price for the store. When either the "number of vacant seats" as the first vacancy information or the second vacancy information is equal to or greater than a second predetermined number, the calculation unit 111 multiplies the predetermined standard price by a second coefficient (for example, an integer smaller than 1) to calculate the appropriate price for the store.

When the vacancy information of the first vacancy information and/or the vacancy information of the second vacancy information is less than a predetermined value, the calculation unit 111 may transmit to the store terminal 20 and the user terminal 30 a message indicating that some of the services provided by the store cannot be viewed or selected.

Furthermore, when the first vacancy information and the second vacancy information are available, the calculation unit 111 calculates the fair price by setting the influence of the first vacancy information to be higher than that of the second vacancy information. For example, the calculation unit 111 sets a weight indicating the influence on the fair price for each of the first vacancy information and the second vacancy information, and sets the weight of the first vacancy information to be higher than the weight of the second vacancy information. For example, the calculation unit 111 sets the weight of the first vacancy information to "0.6" and the weight of the second vacancy information to "0.4". As a result, the calculation unit 111 multiplies the standard price of 5,000 yen by 1.04, obtained by multiplying the first coefficient "1.2" determined based on the first vacancy information by the weighting "0.6" and the first coefficient "0.8" determined based on the second vacancy information by the weighting "0.4", to calculate the fair price of 5,200 yen. Note that the weighting value is merely an example and may be any value.

As described above, the price calculation system of the second embodiment is an embodiment in which a fair price for a service provided at one's own store is calculated based on the second vacancy information indicating the reservation status of other stores in addition to the first vacancy information indicating the reservation status of one's own store. Since the fair price for the service provided is calculated taking into account the reservation status of other stores, for example, a fair price can be set that takes into account the status of other stores, and by setting a more competitive price, it is possible to prevent users from losing opportunities to visit the store. Furthermore, when other stores have many reservations, it is also possible to prevent a decline in sales and profit margins by raising the price of the service provided at one's own store.

The program of each embodiment of the present disclosure may be provided in a state stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium is capable of storing the program in a "non-transient tangible medium." The storage medium may include any suitable storage medium, such as a HDD or SSD, or a suitable combination of two or more of these. The storage medium may be volatile, non-volatile, or a combination of volatile and non-volatile. Note that the storage medium is not limited to these examples, and may be any device or medium capable of storing the program.

The price calculation device 10, the store terminal 20 and/or the user terminal 30 can realize the functions of the multiple functional units shown in each embodiment, for example, by reading a program stored in a storage medium and executing the read program. The program may also be provided to the price calculation device 10, the store terminal 20 and/or the user terminal 30 via any transmission medium (such as a communication network or broadcast waves). The price calculation device 10, the store terminal 20 and/or the user terminal 30 can realize the functions of the multiple functional units shown in each embodiment, for example, by executing a program downloaded via the Internet, etc.

The program can be implemented using, for example, a scripting language such as ActionScript or JavaScript (registered trademark), an object-oriented programming language such as Objective-C or Java (registered trademark), or a markup language such as HTML5.

At least a portion of the processing in the price calculation device 10, the store terminal 20 and/or the user terminal 30 may be realized by cloud computing consisting of one or more computers.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that a person skilled in the art would easily be able to make various modifications and corrections based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and corrections are included in the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the functions included in each means, step, etc. can be rearranged so as not to cause logical inconsistencies, and multiple means, steps, etc. can be combined into one or divided. In addition, the configurations shown in each embodiment may be combined as appropriate.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Price calculation device 101 Control unit, 102 Communication unit, 103 First memory unit, 104 Second memory unit 20 Shop terminal 201 Control unit, 202 Communication unit, 203 Input/output unit, 204 Display unit, 205 Memory unit 30 User terminal 301 Control unit, 302 Communication unit, 303 Input/output unit, 304 Display unit, 305 Microphone/speaker, 306 Memory unit 40 Network

Claims (3)

A first storage unit that stores information regarding the availability of seats at the restaurant, the information being the number of seats available for each predetermined range of number of customers;
A calculation unit that calculates a fair price for a service provided at the store based on the number of vacant seats corresponding to the number of people expected to use the service, which is included in the calculation request for the fair price;
Equipped with
The calculation unit calculates the fair price corresponding to each number of users according to the number of vacant seats corresponding to the number of users.
Price calculator. The computer
A first storage step of storing information regarding the availability of seats at the restaurant, the information being the number of available seats for each predetermined range of number of customers;
A calculation step of calculating a fair price of a service provided at the store based on the number of vacant seats corresponding to the number of people expected to use the service, which is included in the calculation request for the fair price;
A price calculation method for carrying out the above
The calculation step calculates the fair price corresponding to each number of users according to the number of vacant seats corresponding to the number of users.
Price calculation method. On the computer,
A first storage step of storing information regarding the availability of seats at the restaurant, the information being the number of available seats for each predetermined range of number of customers;
A calculation step of calculating a fair price of a service provided at the store based on the number of vacant seats corresponding to the number of people expected to use the service, which is included in the calculation request for the fair price;
A price calculation program for executing
The calculation step calculates the fair price corresponding to each number of users according to the number of vacant seats corresponding to the number of users.
Price calculation program.

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