JP7667995B2 - Information processing device, program and method - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an information processing device, a program, and a method.

In recent years, a wide variety of cafes and restaurants (cafe restaurants) have opened not only in urban areas but also in suburban areas, and many consumers visit them and enjoy their time at cafes and other establishments in their own way.

In such stores, information processing devices that customers can use may be placed at their seats. The information processing devices may be used for ordering operations, etc., and may display various content. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a system that displays advertisements.

JP 2017-182651 A

However, the conventional configuration had the problem of not being able to display appropriate content depending on the customer.

This disclosure has been made to solve these problems, and aims to display appropriate content depending on the customer.

The information processing device according to the present disclosure includes:
An information processing device that is installed at a seat in a store and has a display unit,
a use acceptance means for accepting a use start operation indicating that the seat is to be used;
An acquisition means for acquiring customer information indicating customer attributes related to the customer who made the reservation when the seat is reserved;
a display control means for causing the display unit to display content after the use acceptance means accepts the use start operation,
When the acquisition means has acquired customer information of a user of the seat, the display control means causes the display unit to display content corresponding to the customer information.

The information processing device, program, and method disclosed herein can display advertisements appropriate to each customer.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a vacant seat management system 10 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a vacant seat management server 200 according to the first embodiment. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a vacant seat management server 200. FIG. FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a seat usage status management table 2410 for managing the usage status of each seat in each store 400. FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a user management table 2510 for managing information about each user. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a user terminal 300. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a user terminal 300. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a tablet terminal 401 arranged at each seat in each store 400. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a tablet terminal 401. 26 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an advertisement management table 2610 for managing information related to advertisements displayed on the tablet terminal 401. FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining a seat reservation process executed by the vacant seat management server 200 and the user terminal 300. 11 is a flowchart for explaining a seat management process executed by each tablet terminal 401 according to the first embodiment. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a UI screen configuration displayed on the screen of the user terminal 300 when the user reserves a seat at the store 400. FIG. 4A to 4C are diagrams showing examples of display screen configurations of a tablet terminal 401 according to different usage states. FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an advertisement management table 2610 for managing information related to advertisements displayed on a tablet terminal 401 according to the second embodiment. 13 is a part of a flowchart for explaining a seat management process executed by each tablet terminal 401 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an advertisement management table 2610 for managing information related to advertisements displayed on a tablet terminal 401 according to embodiment 3. 13 is a part of a flowchart for explaining a seat management process executed by each tablet terminal 401 according to embodiment 3.

Specific embodiments are described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the technology of the present disclosure, and not all of the combinations of features described in the present embodiments are necessarily essential to solving the above problems.

(1) Embodiment 1
<Configuration of the Vacancy Management System>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a vacant seat management system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The vacant seat management system 10 is a system for managing vacant seat information of a store 400 such as a cafe or a cafe restaurant. The vacant seat management system 10 is also a system for displaying advertisements by executing the method described in this specification. The vacant seat management system 10 includes a vacant seat management server 200 (information processing device) and one or more tablet terminals 401. The tablet terminals 401 are information processing devices used by customers of the store. In the example of FIG. 1, tablet terminals 401-1 to 401-n (where n is an integer of 2 or more, and may be abbreviated to tablet terminal 401 when referring to any of the following) are arranged at each seat in one store 400.
The vacant seat management system 10 and the vacant seat management server 200 are computers that manage vacant seats, but also manage advertisements, so they can also be called an advertisement management system and an advertisement management server, respectively.

The store 400 is provided with multiple seats. A "seat" refers to, for example, a counter seat or a table seat, but may be chairs or standing seats. In this embodiment, the seats are arranged in relation to the tables, but they may be arranged independently of the tables. Furthermore, the seats may not be particularly separated, and a specific area of the store 400 may correspond to the seats.

The tablet terminal 401 is a terminal that can be used by customers at their seats in the store 400. The tablet terminal 401 displays advertisements by executing the method described in this specification. The tablet terminal 401 is provided in association with a seat in the store 400, for example, fixed to a table or placed on a table. However, the tablet terminal 401 does not need to be provided in association with a table, and it need only be provided in a position that can be used by customers. Here, "use" of the tablet terminal 401 includes use for at least one of the following purposes: exclusive seat management, watching videos, ordering food and drink, etc.

Each tablet terminal 401 may correspond to one customer, or to multiple customers (e.g., one group of customers). For example, when four tablet terminals 401 are arranged at a table for four people, one seat corresponds to one tablet terminal 401 and one customer, and when one tablet terminal 401 is arranged at a table seat for four people, one seat can be considered to correspond to one tablet terminal 401 and one to four customers.

The tablet terminal 401 can be configured using, for example, a known tablet computer. Although only one store 400 is shown in Fig. 1, there are usually multiple stores 400, and each tablet terminal 401 in each store is configured to be able to communicate with the vacant seat management server 200.
The tablet terminal 401 can receive and store a plurality of advertisements from the vacant seat management server 200 and display each advertisement. Each advertisement includes at least one of text data, still images, and video. An advertisement may be accompanied by audio output when displayed.
The vacant seat management server 200 can be installed outside the store 400. The vacant seat management server 200 receives information on the usage status of seats (vacant, in use, etc.) from each tablet terminal 401 in the store 400, and manages the usage status of each seat in each store.

A user terminal 300 capable of communicating with the vacant seat management system 10 is provided. The user terminal 300 can be configured, for example, using a known smartphone. The user terminal 300 is a terminal owned by a user who uses the services provided by the vacant seat management system 10. Although only one user terminal 300 is shown in FIG. 1, a user terminal 300 may exist for each of multiple users.
The tablet terminal 401 and the user terminal 300 are interconnected with the vacant seat management server 200 via a network such as the Internet.
A customer of the store 400 is, for example, a user of the user terminal 300, but may include a user who does not own the user terminal 300.

Each tablet terminal 401 stores the usage status of the corresponding seat. Also, information indicating the usage status is displayed on the display screen. Furthermore, when the usage status is changed, information indicating a new usage status may be displayed on the display screen.
The usage status can be, for example, one of "vacant,""reserved," or "in use.""Vacant" corresponds to a seat that is not currently in use and has not been reserved. An "vacant" seat can be reserved at will by a user having a user terminal 300, and can also be used at will by any customer. "Reserved" corresponds to a seat that has been reserved by a user for future use, but is not currently in use. A "reserved" seat can only be used by the user who reserved it, and cannot be newly reserved. A "in use" seat is exclusively used by a customer, and cannot be reserved or used by other customers.
When the usage status of the corresponding seat is "vacant," each tablet terminal 401 changes the usage status from "vacant" (i.e., available) to "reserved" when it is notified by the vacant seat management server 200 that the seat has been reserved by the user terminal 300 (e.g., when it receives a seat reservation notification).

Furthermore, when the usage status of a seat is "reserved", each tablet terminal 401 accepts the input of a reservation number (or a password), which will be described later. That is, a user who has reserved a seat can input a reservation number. When the tablet terminal 401 accepts the input of a reservation number, it changes the usage status of the seat from "reserved" to "in use".
Furthermore, each tablet terminal 401 accepts a predetermined start-of-use operation when the usage status of the seat is "vacant." The start-of-use operation is an operation indicating that the customer will start using the seat, such as pressing a "sit down" button (described later in relation to FIG. 14(a)) on the display screen of the tablet terminal 401. When a customer who has not reserved a seat performs a start-of-use operation on the tablet terminal 401 corresponding to the vacant seat, the tablet terminal 401 accepts this start-of-use operation and changes the usage status of the seat from "vacant" to "in use."
Furthermore, each tablet terminal 401 accepts a predetermined leaving operation when the usage status of the seat is "in use". The leaving operation is, for example, pressing a leaving button (described later in relation to FIGS. 14(c) and (d)) on the display screen of the tablet terminal 401. When a customer who has been using a seat performs a leaving operation on the tablet terminal 401 of that seat, the tablet terminal 401 accepts this leaving operation and changes the usage status of the seat from "in use" to "vacant".
When the seat usage status is changed from "reserved" or "vacant" to "in use" and when it is changed from "in use" to "vacant," each tablet terminal 401 notifies the vacant seat management server 200 of the change in usage status and the usage status after the change.

The vacant seat management server 200 stores the data indicating the usage status of each seat received from each tablet terminal 401 in the vacant seat management database 241 (see Figure 3), and updates the vacant seat management database 241 to manage the usage status of each store 400 in the database.

A user who is planning to visit one of the stores 400 can inquire about the usage status of each seat in each store 400 to the vacant seat management server 200 via the user terminal 300. The vacant seat management server 200 acquires the user reference position in response to the inquiry. The user reference position may be, for example, the position of the user terminal 300, or may be a position specified by the user on a map. The user can specify and input a specific position on the map by tapping on the map displayed on the display screen of the user terminal 300.

The vacant seat management server 200 acquires information (crowding information) indicating the use status of the stores included within a specified distance range from the user reference position and their seats from the vacant seat management database 241. The vacant seat management server 200 returns the acquired information on the stores and the congestion information to the user terminal 300 as a response to the inquiry. The user terminal 300 displays the stores and their congestion information received from the vacant seat management server 200 on a map (for example, as a list display or pin display).
The congestion information is generated for each store and, for example, statistically indicates the usage status of each seat in the store. For example, the congestion information indicates one of the following: "vacant" when there are sufficient vacant seats in the store, "crowded" when the store is crowded, and "full" when the store is full. As an example, if the usage status of a predetermined number or more of the store's seats (for example, 10% or more of all seats) is "vacant," the congestion information is "vacant." If the usage status of all the seats in the store is "in use" or "reserved," the congestion information is "full." If the usage status of the seats in the store is "vacant" is less than a predetermined number, the congestion information is "crowded."

The congestion status of each store 400 transmitted from the vacant seat management server 200 in response to the inquiry is displayed on the display screen of the user terminal 300. The user can select one of the displayed stores 400. When one store 400 is selected by the user, the user terminal 300 displays the usage status of each seat in the selected store 400 on the display screen. Here, the layout of the interior of the target store (including the position of each seat) may be displayed.
Here, the user can select a seat whose usage status is "vacant." When a seat is selected by the user, the user terminal 300 transmits selection information indicating the selected seat to the vacant seat management server 200. When the vacant seat management server 200 receives the selection information, it changes the usage status of that seat from "vacant" to "reserved" in the vacant seat management database 241, and notifies the tablet terminal 401 corresponding to that seat that the seat has been reserved. Then, upon receiving the notification, the tablet terminal 401 changes the usage status from "vacant" to "reserved."

<Hardware configuration example of vacant seat management server 200>
2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the vacant seat management server 200. The vacant seat management server 200 can be configured using a known computer. The vacant seat management server 200 includes a calculation means and a storage means. The calculation means includes, for example, a CPU 210, and the storage means includes, for example, a ROM 220, a RAM 230, and a storage device 240. The storage device 240 is, for example, a non-transient storage medium, such as a magnetic disk device or a solid state drive. The vacant seat management server 200 also includes a communication device 250, and is connected to a communication network via the communication device 250.
A program that defines the operation of the vacant seat management server 200 may be stored in the ROM 220, the RAM 230, and/or the storage device 240. The vacant seat management server 200 may realize the functions described in this specification by executing the program by the CPU 210.
The vacant seat management server 200 may include input means and output means (not shown). The input means includes, for example, a keyboard and a mouse, and the output means includes, for example, a display device and a printer.

<Example of functional configuration of vacant seat management server 200>
3 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the vacant seat management server 200. The vacant seat management server 200 includes a receiving unit 211, a vacant seat management unit 212, and a notification unit 213 as software modules realized by the CPU 210 executing a program. The software modules may be realized by the program being loaded into the internal memory of the CPU 210.

For ease of description, these modules may be described below as the operating subjects, but since it is CPU 210 that actually executes the programs, it can also be said that the operating subject is CPU 210. It can also be said that the operating subject is vacant seat management server 200.

The storage device 240 stores a vacant seat management database 241 and an advertisement database 242. The vacant seat management database 241 stores information on the usage status of each seat for each store 400. An example of the configuration of a seat usage status management table included in the vacant seat management database 241 will be described later. In addition, the advertisement database 242 stores submitted advertisements. Each advertisement content can be stored in association with the target age group, gender, occupation, etc. for each advertisement. In addition, the advertisement content is also associated with a playback period. Note that the advertisement content may also be associated with the facility ID that can be played back, the genre of the facility that can be played back, etc.
The receiving unit 211 receives data indicating the usage status of each seat directly from each tablet terminal 401 of each store 400 via the communication device 250. Each tablet terminal 401 transmits data indicating the usage status, the ID (store identification information) of each store 400, and the seat ID (seat identification information) in response to an operation on the tablet terminal 401 by a user who visits the store. The receiving unit 211 receives this data.
The vacant seat management unit 212 identifies the store and seat based on the ID (store identification information) and seat ID (seat identification information) of each store 400 contained in the information received by the receiving unit 211, and updates the utilization status data in the seat utilization status management table 2410 of the vacant seat management database 241.
When the receiving unit 211 receives a request from the user terminal 300 to confirm the congestion status of a specific store or stores in the surrounding area of the user terminal 300, the notification unit 213 transmits the latest status of the congestion status of each store in a predetermined area to the target user terminal 300. The user terminal 300 that receives these data constructs a display UI (e.g., a pin display on a map; UI: User Interface), displays the map thereon, and displays the congestion information superimposed on the map (pin display). In addition, when the receiving unit 211 accepts a reservation for a specific seat in a specific store 400 from the user terminal 300, the notification unit 213 transmits the reservation to the tablet terminal 401 placed at the specific seat. The distribution unit 215 distributes multiple advertising contents to the tablet terminal 401 during a specific time period, such as outside the business hours of the store 400 or at night, based on the playback period stored in the advertisement database 242.

<Example of configuration of seat usage status management table 2410>
4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a seat usage status management table 2410 that manages the usage status of each seat in each store 400. The seat usage status management table 2410 can be configured, for example, by storing data describing the contents of records in the storage device 240. Note that, although the vacant seat management database 241 is represented in a table format in this embodiment, this format is not limiting and any format may be used as long as each piece of data is linked. The seat usage status management table 2410 can also be called seat usage status data or seat usage status management information.
The seat usage status management table 2410 is a data table that manages the seat attributes used when a user searches for a store and the latest congestion status for each store, and can also be called a seat usage status management database. The seat usage status management table 2410 has, for example, a store ID 2411, a name 2412, an address 2413, a store telephone number 2414, a seat ID 2415, a seat attribute 2416, and a corresponding seat usage status 2417 as constituent items.

The store ID 2411 is an ID for identifying each store in the vacant seat management database 241. The record in the first row indicates the usage status of a seat with a seat ID of A001 in a store ID of 001, and the record in the second row indicates the usage status of a different seat (ID=A002) in the same store.
The name 2412 is information indicating the name of each store 400. The location 2413 is information indicating the location of each store 400, and is expressed, for example, by latitude and longitude. The telephone number 2414 is information indicating contact information for each store 400. Although telephone numbers are used here, other contact information may also be managed.
The seat ID is an ID for uniquely identifying each seat in the same store 400. The seat attribute 2416 is information indicating the type of table, etc., and for example, "1" can indicate a four-person table (i.e., one seat corresponds to one to four customers), "2" can indicate a two-person table (i.e., one seat corresponds to one or two customers), and "3" can indicate a counter seat (i.e., one seat corresponds to one customer). In this embodiment, since there is a one-to-one correspondence between the seats and the tablet terminals 401, it can also be said that the seat ID 2415 is an ID (terminal ID) for uniquely identifying the tablet terminal 401. However, the seat ID and the terminal ID may be defined separately, and the correspondence between them may be designed separately.
The usage status 2417 is information indicating the usage status of the corresponding seat, for example, "0" indicates an empty seat, "1" indicates a reserved seat, and "2" indicates a seat in use. The usage status 2417 changes according to information received from each tablet terminal 401 of each store 400.

<Example of Configuration of User Management Table 2510>
5 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a user management table 2510 that manages information about each user. The user management table 2510 can be configured, for example, by storing data describing the contents of records in the vacant seat management database 241 of the storage device 240. Note that, although the user management table 2510 is expressed in a table format in this embodiment, it is not limited to this format and may be constructed in any format as long as each data is linked.
The user management table 2510 stores information (customer information) of each user. For example, the user management table 2510 associates, for each user, information that identifies the user (user ID 2511) with information that represents the attributes (customer attributes) of the user. The customer attributes include, for example, at least one of gender 2512, age 2513, and occupation 2514 (all of these in the example of FIG. 5). Note that age 2513 does not need to be a number that directly represents age, and may be information that represents age (date of birth, decade divisions, etc.).

<Example of Hardware Configuration of User Terminal 300>
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the user terminal 300. The user terminal 300 can be configured using a known computer (for example, a smartphone). The user terminal 300 includes a calculation means and a storage means. The calculation means includes, for example, a CPU 310, and the storage means is, for example, a non-transient storage medium, and includes, for example, a memory 350. The user terminal 300 includes a display unit 320. The display unit 320 is, for example, a liquid crystal display (which may be part of a touch panel). The user terminal 300 includes an input unit 330. The input unit 330 is, for example, a touch panel, but may also be a keyboard. The user terminal 300 includes a communication unit 340, and is connected to a communication network via the communication unit 340.
The memory 350 may store a program that defines the operation of the user terminal 300. When the CPU 310 executes this program, the user terminal 300 may realize the functions described in this specification.

<Example of Functional Configuration of User Terminal 300>
7 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the user terminal 300. The user terminal 300 includes a generation unit 3101, a display control unit 3102, a communication control unit 3103, and a storage control unit 3104 as software modules realized by the CPU 310 executing a program. The software modules may be realized by the program being loaded into the internal memory of the CPU 310.

For convenience of description below, these modules may be described as the operating subjects, but since it is CPU 310 that actually executes the program, it can also be said that the operating subject is CPU 310. It can also be said that the operating subject is user terminal 300.

The generating unit 3101 receives congestion information of each store 400 from the vacant seat management server 200, and generates UI data (store display UI data) corresponding to the congestion information. As the display UI data, for example, each store name and congestion information can be displayed in a text list. Alternatively, text data or image data corresponding to the congestion information can be read from the memory 350 and displayed superimposed on the map.
Furthermore, the generating unit 3101 generates UI data (seat display UI data) indicating the usage status of each seat of the selected store 400 in response to the store selection input by the user. The seat display UI data displays information indicating the seat attribute 2416 and information indicating the usage status 2417 for each seat. The display form may be a form in which text data corresponding to the usage status (for example, "vacant,""reserved," and "in use") is displayed in a list, or a form in which the usage status of each seat is displayed by superimposing it on the seat layout of the selected store.

The display control unit 3102 controls the data display operation by the display unit 320. For example, the display control unit 3102 displays the display UI data generated by the generation unit 3101 on a map displayed on the screen of the display unit 320, or displays it as a list.

The communication control unit 3103 controls the communication operation (e.g., communication with the vacant seat management server 200) executed by the communication unit 340. For example, when a user instructs the vacant seat management server 200 to send a request to inquire about the congestion status of the store 400, the communication control unit 3103 acquires the current location (e.g., latitude and longitude information) of the user terminal 300. The communication control unit 3103 also controls the communication unit 340 to send a request with the current location information to the vacant seat management server 200. The communication control unit 3103 also controls the communication unit 340 to send a reservation request for the store specified by the user and the seat specified by the user. Furthermore, when the reservation process is completed, the communication control unit 3103 also controls the communication unit 340 to receive a reservation number and reservation confirmation information (such as reservation completion display data and reservation completion confirmation email) from the vacant seat management server 200.

The memory control unit 3104 controls the operation of reading data from the memory 350 and writing data to the memory 350. For example, when the communication unit 340 receives a reservation number and reservation confirmation information from the vacant seat management server 200, the memory control unit 3104 receives the received reservation number and reservation confirmation information and writes them to the memory 350. Also, for example, in response to a command from the generation unit 3101, the memory control unit 3104 reads out store congestion information and seat usage status information for the store from the memory 350 and passes them to the generation unit 3101.

<Example of Hardware Configuration of Tablet Terminal 401>
8 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the tablet terminal 401 arranged at each seat in each store 400. The tablet terminal 401 can be configured using a known computer. In this embodiment, the tablet terminal is configured using a tablet terminal, but may be replaced with a computer configured other than a tablet.
The tablet terminal 401 includes a CPU 4011, a display unit 4012, an input unit 4013, a communication unit 4014, and a memory 4015. The CPU 4011 controls the operation of each unit included in the tablet terminal 401. The communication unit 4014 receives reservation application information and advertising content for each seat from the vacant seat management server 200 via the network, and transmits information on the start and end of use of each seat in the store 400 to the vacant seat management server 200.

The display unit 4012 displays information indicating the usage status of the corresponding seat on the display screen. When the usage status is "reserved", the display unit 4012 displays information indicating that the seat is in a reserved state (for example, a message "This table is reserved" as described below) on the display screen. When the usage status is "vacant", the display unit 4012 displays information indicating that the seat is in a vacant state (for example, a take a seat button as described below) on the display screen.
The input unit 4013 is an interface used by a user who visits the store 400 and sits down, or a store clerk of the store 400, to input operation instructions to the tablet terminal 401. For example, the display unit 4012 and the input unit 4013 can be configured integrally by a touch panel or the like.
The display unit 4012 can display information. The information is displayed as, for example, characters or images. The images include still images and moving images.

<Example of functional configuration of tablet terminal 401>
9 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the tablet terminal 401. The tablet terminal 401 includes a UI data generation unit 40111, a display control unit 40112, a communication control unit 40113, a storage control unit 40114, and a selection unit 40115 as software modules realized by the CPU 4011 executing a program. The memory 4015 also stores an advertisement management table 2610.
That is, this program causes a known computer to function as the tablet terminal 401 described in this specification. The software modules may be realized by the program being loaded into the internal memory of the CPU 4011.

For convenience of description below, these modules may be described as the subject of operations, but since it is the CPU 4011 that actually executes the program, it can also be said that the subject of operations is the CPU 4011. It can also be said that the subject of operations is the tablet terminal 401.

The UI data generation unit 40111 reads UI data corresponding to the seat usage status (vacant, reserved, in use) from the memory 4015, and passes the UI data to the display control unit 40112. Specifically, in response to the seat related to the tablet terminal 401 becoming "vacant", the UI data generation unit 40111 reads UI data for the vacant seat from the memory 4015 and passes it to the display control unit 40112. In addition, in response to the seat related to the tablet terminal 401 becoming "reserved" (for example, when the vacant seat management server 200 notifies the user that the seat has been reserved), the UI data generation unit 40111 reads UI data for the reserved seat from the memory 4015 and passes it to the display control unit 40112. Furthermore, when the seat associated with the tablet terminal 401 becomes "in use" (for example, when a user who has made a reservation arrives at the establishment and changes from "reserved" to "in use," or when a user without a reservation arrives at the establishment and sits at the seat and changes to "in use"), the UI data generation unit 40111 reads UI data for the seat in use from the memory 4015 and passes it to the display control unit 40112.

The selection unit 40115 selects a content to be displayed on the display unit 4012 from a plurality of contents based on the customer information.
The display control unit 40112 controls the data display operation by the display unit 4012. For example, the display control unit 40112 generates a display screen based on various UI data received from the UI data generation unit 40111, and displays the generated display screen on the screen of the display unit 4012. Furthermore, the display control unit 40112 displays at least a part of the stored advertising content at a predetermined timing.

The communication control unit 40113 controls the communication operation (e.g., communication with the vacant seat management server 200) executed by the communication unit 4014. For example, when a user comes to the store 400, sits down, and presses a "sit down" button on the UI display of the tablet terminal 401, the UI display of the seat is changed to "in use." At this time, the communication control unit 40113 controls the communication unit 4014 to notify the vacant seat management server 200 that the seat has become "in use."
When a user performs a predetermined operation to leave the seat (e.g., pressing a leave button), the communication control unit 40113 controls the communication unit 4014 to notify the vacant seat management server 200 that the seat has become "vacant." When a user with a reservation performs a predetermined operation to start using the seat (e.g., inputting a reservation number in a reservation number input field on the screen (UI display) of the tablet terminal 401), the communication control unit 40113 controls the communication unit 4014 to notify the vacant seat management server 200 that the seat has changed from "reserved" to "in use."

The memory control unit 40114 controls the operation of reading data from the memory 4015 and writing data to the memory 4015. For example, when the communication unit 4014 receives seat reservation information (information indicating that a specific seat has been reserved by a specific user) from the vacant seat management server 200, the memory control unit 40114 receives the seat reservation information and writes it to the memory 4015. Also, for example, in response to a UI data read command from the UI data generation unit 40111, the memory control unit 40114 reads the corresponding UI data (UI data for vacant seats, UI data for reserved seats, UI data for occupied seats) from the memory 4015 and passes it to the UI data generation unit 40111.

<Example of configuration of advertisement management table 2610>
10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an advertisement management table 2610 that manages information related to advertisements displayed on the tablet terminal 401. The advertisement management table 2610 is stored in the memory 4015 of each tablet terminal 401. Note that, although the advertisement management table 2610 is expressed in a table format in this embodiment, it is not limited to this format and may be constructed in any format as long as each piece of data is linked.
The advertisement management table 2610 associates, for each of a plurality of advertisements, information for identifying the advertisement (advertisement ID 2611) with information representing the attributes of users targeted by the advertisement (advertisement attributes). The advertisement attributes include items corresponding to customer attributes, and include, for example, at least one of gender 2612, age 2613, and occupation 2614 (all of these in the example of FIG. 10). The advertisement attributes may be defined in a format representing a range of customer attributes corresponding to the customer attributes in FIG. 10.
Furthermore, the advertisement management table 2610 may associate each advertisement with a display frequency 2615 of the advertisement. The display frequency 2615 increases each time the advertisement is displayed by any of the tablet terminals 401. As a specific example, the display frequency 2615 may indicate the number of times the advertisement has been displayed up to that point.
The tablet terminal 401 may update the display frequency 2615 in the advertisement management table 2610 in response to the display of an advertisement. In addition, the tablet terminal 401 may transmit the display frequency 2615 of each advertisement to the vacant seat management server 200 or another computer periodically or in response to an instruction.

<Details of seat reservation process>
FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the seat reservation process executed by the vacant seat management server 200 and the user terminal 300. As shown in FIG.

Step S601
The user terminal 300 (communication unit 340) generates a store search request and transmits it to the vacant seat management server 200. The store search request includes the current location information of the user terminal 300 (for example, latitude and longitude information obtained from a GPS). In addition, the store search request can be in the form of a search request based on the current location of the user terminal 300, a search request for a store in a specific designated location (for example, the user is currently in the area around Tokyo Station, but wants to search for a store in the area around Ginza Station), a search request specifying a specific store (in this case, the user wants to know congestion information for a specific store), and the like.

Step S602
When the receiving unit 211 receives a store search request from the user terminal 300, the vacant seat management unit 212 returns information about the group of stores corresponding to the store search request (such as the name and address of each store) and congestion information corresponding to each store (whether there are vacant seats at each store, and whether each store is crowded or full) to the user terminal 300 that sent the store search request.

Step S603
When the communication unit 340 receives the search results (information on the group of stores and their congestion information) from the vacant seat management server 200, the generation unit 3101 of the user terminal 300 generates a UI for displaying the group of stores and the congestion information on the screen. The UI for displaying the group of stores can be a map display UI that displays the group of stores and the congestion information on a map, or a text display UI that displays the group of stores and the congestion information in a list. The display control unit 3102 then displays the created UI for displaying the group of stores on the display unit 320 (display screen).

Step S604
When the user selects a store from the group of stores displayed on the screen via the input unit 330 (i.e., accepts store designation input), the generation unit 3101 generates selection information (designation information) including the store name or store ID, and passes it to the communication control unit 3103. Then, the communication control unit 3103 uses the communication unit 340 to transmit the selection information to the vacant seat management server 200.

Step S605
When the receiving unit 211 of the vacant seat management server 200 receives the selection information from the user terminal 300, the vacant seat management unit 212 acquires the seat information corresponding to the store specified in the selection information from the storage device 240 and passes it to the notifying unit 213. The seat information includes text information representing information about the seats, image information representing the seat layout in the store, information representing the usage status of each seat (vacant, reserved, in use), etc. The notifying unit 213 transmits the above-mentioned seat information to the user terminal 300 using the communication device 250.

Step S606
When the communication unit 340 receives seat information from the vacant seat management server 200, the generation unit 3101 of the user terminal 300 generates seat display UI data for displaying the seat information on the display unit 320, and passes it to the display control unit 3102. The seat display UI data is data for constructing a UI for informing the user of information for identifying the seat and the usage status of the seat. The display control unit 3102 then displays the received seat display UI data on the display unit 320.

Step S607
The user selects (seat designation) an empty seat from the group of seats displayed on the screen via the input unit 330. In response to this, the generation unit 3101 generates reservation information for the designated seat and passes it to the communication control unit 3103. The reservation information includes information for identifying the store (e.g., a store ID), information for identifying the seat (e.g., a seat ID), and information for identifying the user (e.g., a user ID).

Step S608
The communication control unit 3103 uses the communication unit 340 to transmit the reservation information to the vacant seat management server 200 .

Step S609
When the receiving unit 211 of the vacant seat management server 200 receives reservation information from the user terminal 300, the vacant seat management unit 212 assigns a reservation number (password number) to the reservation and passes it to the notifying unit 213. The notifying unit 213 uses the communication device 250 to transmit the reservation number to the user terminal 300 that made the reservation.

Step S610
The notification unit 213 transmits the reservation information and the customer information to the tablet terminal 401 related to the seat to be reserved. The reservation information in step S610 includes, for example, information indicating that a reservation has been made, the reservation time, and the reservation number. The customer information includes, for example, the customer attributes in FIG. 5. In this way, the tablet terminal 401 acquires the customer information related to the user who made the reservation and stores it in the memory 4015.

Step S611
The vacant seat management unit 212 changes the usage status 2417 of the seat to which the reservation number is assigned in the seat usage status management table 2410 from "vacant (0)" to "reserved (1)."

Step S612
When the communication unit 340 of the user terminal 300 receives the reservation number from the vacant seat management server 200, the display control unit 3102 receives the reservation number from the communication control unit 3103 and displays predetermined information on the display unit 320. The information displayed here displays information identifying the store (e.g., store name), information identifying the seat (e.g., seat number or position information in the seat layout image), and the reservation number. This allows the user to know that the reservation has been completed. In addition, in this embodiment, when the reservation is completed, for example, because the user must go to the target store in 15 minutes, a display may be displayed on the display unit 320 of the user terminal 300 to alert the user that the reservation is only valid for 15 minutes.

Step S613
When the communication unit 4014 of the tablet terminal 401 receives the reservation number from the vacant seat management server 200, the UI data generation unit 40111 receives the reservation number from the communication control unit 40113 and displays it on the display unit 4012. If the user who made the reservation is unable to arrive at the restaurant within 15 minutes, the reservation may be cancelled as described below.

<Seat management processing details>
12 is a flowchart for explaining seat management processing executed by each tablet terminal 401 according to embodiment 1. The seat management processing includes processing for managing the usage status of a seat (vacant, reserved, in use) and processing for displaying an advertisement.

In the flowchart of FIG. 12, it is assumed that the seat management process is started when the usage status of the target seat is "vacant". For example, since each seat is vacant when the store 400 is turned over, each tablet terminal 401 is turned on before the store opens, and the flowchart shown in FIG. 12 is started on each tablet terminal when the store opens. Note that in the following explanation, the UI data generation unit 40111 is mainly the subject of operation, but a separate processing unit may be newly set as the subject of operation for each process. Also, since the UI data generation unit 40111 and the newly set processing unit are realized by the CPU 4011, it can also be said that the subject of operation of each step is the CPU 4011. It can also be said that the subject of operation of each step is the tablet terminal 401.

Step S701
When the utilization state is “vacant”, the display control unit 40112 generates vacant seat display data from the vacant seat UI data and displays it on the display screen of the display unit 4012. The vacant seat UI data is read from the memory 4015 by the UI data generation unit 40111 and passed to the display control unit 40112.

Step S702
The UI data generating unit 40111 judges whether or not reservation information (information indicating that the seat has been reserved by a specific user) for the seat has been received from the vacant seat management server 200. If reservation information has not been received (i.e., the reservation has not been accepted: NO in step S702), the process proceeds to step S703. If reservation information has been received (i.e., the reservation has been accepted: YES in step S702), the process proceeds to step S704.

Step S703
The UI data generating unit 40111 determines whether the seat is in a state where it can be used. For example, when a user without a seat reservation comes to the restaurant and performs an operation to start using the tablet terminal 401 related to the "vacant" seat, the usage status of the seat changes from "vacant" to "in use."

If the operation to start using the service has been accepted (YES in step S703), the process proceeds to step S707. On the other hand, if the operation to start using the service has not been accepted (NO in step S703), the process returns to step S701. In this case, the screen display of the tablet terminal 401 remains in the vacant seat display.

Step S704
The UI data generating unit 40111 reads out the UI data for reserved seats from the memory 4015 and transfers it to the display control unit 40112. The display control unit 40112 then generates a display screen for reserved seats based on the UI data for reserved seats and displays it on the display unit 4012 (this process corresponds to step S613 in FIG. 11). Here, the screen display of the tablet terminal 401 becomes a display corresponding to "reserved". The display control unit 40112 then stores the reservation number transmitted from the vacant seat management server 200 in the memory 4015.

Step S705
The UI data generation unit 40111 determines whether the check-in by the user who made the reservation occurred within a specified available time. The available time is measured, for example, from the execution time of step S609, and is, for example, 15 minutes. If a start-of-use operation occurs within the available time and the correct reservation number is entered after that, it is determined that a check-in has occurred. On the other hand, if a start-of-use operation is not performed or if the correct reservation number is not entered after the start-of-use operation, it is determined that a check-in has not occurred.
Here, the UI data generation unit 40111 checks whether the input reservation number is correct or not by comparing the input reservation number with the reservation number for the seat in question stored in memory 4015 (i.e., the number notified by vacant seat management server 200). If the input reservation number is not appropriate, the UI data generation unit 40111 displays a message prompting the user to re-enter the reservation number, and accepts the re-entry.

If the match fails a specified number of times (for example, five times), the user may be denied check-in and may not be able to use the seat. Also, a warning may be displayed urging a store staff member to attend to the situation. In this case, a store terminal (not shown) may be notified that the reservation number match failed, and a warning notice (message) may be displayed urging the user to immediately head to the seat. Then, for example, the store staff may wait until the reservation is cancelled and the seat status becomes "vacant," and then press the "sit" button on the vacant seat display screen to allow the user to use the seat.

If it is determined that a check-in has occurred (YES in step S705), the process proceeds to step S707. If it is determined that a check-in has not occurred (NO in step S705), the process proceeds to step S706.
If check-in has not yet occurred but the available time has not expired, the reservation status continues to be displayed.

Step S706
The UI data generating unit 40111 changes the display screen for reserved seats to a display screen for vacant seats. Then, the communication control unit 40113 notifies the vacant seat management server 200 of the reservation cancellation (the reservation was cancelled because no check-in operation was performed within the available time) using the communication unit 4014.
The vacant seat management server 200, which has received the reservation cancellation, changes the usage status 2417 of the seat in the seat usage status management table 2410 from “reserved (1)” to “vacant (0).” The vacant seat management server 200 also notifies the user terminal 300 of the user of the reservation cancellation.

Step S707
The UI data generating unit 40111 changes the UI display of the tablet terminal 401 from the reserved seat display to the in-use seat display screen.

Step S708
The UI data generating unit 40111 activates a timer (not shown) to start counting time, thereby measuring the elapsed time since the tablet terminal 401 performed the operation to start use.

Step S709
The UI data generating unit 40111 determines whether a predetermined time A (e.g., 5 minutes) has elapsed since the timer was activated. If the predetermined time A has not yet elapsed (NO in step S709), the process returns to step S709, and the timer continues counting. On the other hand, if the predetermined time A has elapsed (YES in step S709), the process proceeds to step S710.

Step S710
The display control unit 40112 determines whether there is customer information related to the reservation accepted in step S702, and if there is, acquires that customer information. This customer information is information about the customer who made the reservation when the seat was reserved. If a reservation is made, the customer information is received together with the reservation information in step S610 of FIG. 11 and stored in the memory 4015, so the display control unit 40112 can acquire it. The customer information includes customer attributes. That is, in S710, after checking in by the person who made the reservation is detected, the customer information of the person who made the reservation is acquired. Also, if a reservation has not been accepted and the process is YES in S703 and the facility is in use, there is no customer information, so the process proceeds to S712.

Step S711
If customer information exists (YES in step S710), the selection unit 40115 selects an advertisement to be displayed from among the advertisements stored in the memory 4015 based on the customer information. For example, if each item of the customer attribute of a certain advertisement matches the corresponding item of the advertisement attribute, the advertisement becomes a display candidate. "Match" means, for example, that the range represented by the advertisement attribute of a certain item includes the value or range represented by the customer attribute of that item. As a specific example, if the gender of the customer attribute of a user is "female" and the gender of the advertisement attribute is "female" or "all," the customer attribute matches the advertisement attribute for gender. In this way, the display control unit 40112 selects an advertisement to be displayed based on the customer attribute and the advertisement attribute.
When there are multiple advertisements that are candidates for display, the display control unit 40112 may determine one advertisement to be displayed from among the display candidates based on an arbitrary criterion (for example, randomly), or may sequentially display each display candidate. Also, when there are no advertisements that are candidates for display, the display control unit 40112 may determine one advertisement to be displayed from among all advertisements based on an arbitrary criterion (for example, randomly).
If the customer information does not exist (NO in step S710), the process proceeds to step S712.

Step S712
The display control unit 40112 displays the advertisement on the display unit 4012. Here, if an advertisement is selected in step S711, the advertisement is displayed. In this way, the display control unit 40112 displays different advertisements on the display unit 4012 according to the customer attributes. On the other hand, if step S711 is not executed (if NO in step S710), the display control unit 40112 may determine one advertisement to be displayed from among all advertisements based on an arbitrary criterion (for example, randomly). In this way, if the display control unit 40112 has acquired customer information of the user of the seat, it causes the display unit 320 to display content according to the customer information. Furthermore, if an advertisement is selected, the display control unit 40112 causes the display unit 320 to display the selected advertisement, and if an advertisement is not selected, it causes one of the displayable advertisements stored in the storage device 240 to be displayed in a preset procedure.

10, the tablet terminal 401 can store the display frequency for each advertisement. The display control unit 40112 may increase the display frequency of the advertisement in response to the advertisement being displayed. This increase may be 1 each time (in which case, the display frequency indicates the number of times the advertisement has been displayed).
Furthermore, this increase amount may vary depending on the situation. For example, the display control unit 40112 may determine this increase amount based on the time period during which the advertisement is displayed. As a specific example, if the store is an izakaya, the increase amount may be set to a large value from 17:00 to 20:00, and the increase amount after 20:00 may be set to a small value. In this way, when the advertisement is displayed during a time period that is considered to be effective, the display frequency will increase more than when it is not.
The impression count can be used to determine the fee for displaying an advertisement. For example, an advertisement with a higher impression count can be said to have been displayed more times and at more effective times, and therefore the advertisement fee can be increased.

Here, since step S703 or S705 is executed first, the advertisement is displayed after the start-of-use operation (e.g., after a predetermined time has elapsed). With this configuration, the advertisement is displayed in a state where the customer can actually view the advertisement, thereby increasing the attention of the advertisement.
Furthermore, since step S709 is executed first, the advertisement is displayed not immediately after the start-of-use operation but after a predetermined time has elapsed since the start-of-use operation. With this configuration, the advertisement can be displayed at a timing when the customer has finished ordering food and drink and is thought to have calmed down, further increasing the attention given to the advertisement.

Step S713
The UI data generating unit 40111 judges whether the user has pressed the Leave button displayed on the in-use seat display screen. If the Leave button has not yet been pressed (NO in step S713), the process proceeds to step S712, and the advertisement display continues. If the Leave button has been pressed (YES in step S713), the process proceeds to step S714.

Step S714
The UI data generation unit 40111 changes the display screen of the tablet terminal 401 from the in-use seat display screen to the vacant seat display screen. In addition, the communication control unit 40113 notifies the vacant seat management server 200, using the communication unit 4014, that the usage status of the seat has changed from "in use" to "vacant". Then, the process proceeds to step S701. The vacant seat management server 200, having received this notification, changes the usage status 2417 of the target seat in the seat usage status management table 2410 from "in use (2)" to "vacant (0)".

<Example of screen configuration when reserving a seat on the user terminal 300>
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a UI screen configuration displayed on the screen of the user terminal 300 when the user reserves a seat at the store 400. As shown in FIG.

Fig. 13(a) is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a store selection UI screen 801. The store selection UI screen 801 displays a group of stores corresponding to a store search request sent to the vacant seat management server 200 and their congestion information. Fig. 13(a) shows a configuration in a list display format, but it may also be configured in a format in which each store is displayed with a pin on a map. The store selection UI screen 801 is configured as a list including store information 8011. The list includes one or more pieces of store information 8011-1 to 8011-n (where n is an integer equal to or greater than 1).
Each store information 8011 includes the store name (e.g., Cafe A), and the distance and required time from the current location (e.g., the location at the time of sending the request) of the user terminal 300. The distance and required time may be calculated by the vacant seat management server 200 based on the location information of the user terminal 300 (information included in the store search request) and the location information of the store, and transmitted to the user terminal 300.
The user terminal 300 can accept an operation to select one store on the store selection UI screen 801. When one store is selected by the user, information identifying the selected store is transmitted to the vacant seat management server 200, and seat information of the selected store and information on the utilization status thereof are transmitted from the vacant seat management server 200 ( FIG. 13(b) ).

Fig. 13B is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a seat selection UI screen 802 that displays seat information for a store selected by the user. The seat selection UI screen 802 in Fig. 13B includes seat information 8021 and a warning display 8022. The seat information 8021 includes one or more pieces of seat information 8021-1 to 8021-n (where n is an integer of 1 or more).
Each seat information 8021 includes seat attribute information (corresponding to seat attribute 2416 in FIG. 4), incidental facility information (presence or absence of power supply, presence or absence of wireless LAN, etc.), and usage status information (corresponding to usage status 2417 in FIG. 4). In FIG. 13(b), vacant seats are displayed as "Available".
When there are vacant seats on the seat selection UI screen 802, the user terminal 300 can accept an operation to select one of the vacant seats. When one vacant seat is selected by the user, the user terminal 300 transmits information about the selected seat to the vacant seat management server 200. The vacant seat management server 200 assigns a reservation number to the reservation, thereby finalizing the reservation. The vacant seat management server 200 transmits a reservation completion notification including the reservation number to the user terminal 300, and the user terminal 300 receives this.

13C is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a reservation completion notice 803 displayed on the display screen of the user terminal 300. The reservation completion notice 803 includes information 8031 about the reserved seat, rule information 8032 about the reservation, and a cancel button 8033 for canceling the reservation.
The seat information 8031 includes seat attribute information, seat number, reservation number, and remaining reservation time. In this example, the seat number is "A-1" displayed as "table number" and has a one-to-one correspondence with, for example, the seat ID 2415 in Fig. 4. The reservation number is displayed as "usage number" in Fig. 13(c). The remaining reservation time indicates the time (remaining time) for which the seat is reserved by the reservation, and is, for example, 15 minutes immediately after the reservation, but is counted down as time passes.
The reservation-related rule information 8032 displayed includes a notification that the reservation will be canceled if the customer does not arrive within a specified time (15 minutes) after the reservation is completed, a notification that the usage time (for example, the time from check-in to leaving) is a maximum of 60 minutes, and a notification prompting the customer to enter the usage number into the tablet terminal 401 at the seat after arriving at the store.

<Example of display screen configuration of tablet terminal 401 in store 400>
14A and 14B are diagrams showing examples of the display screen configuration of the tablet terminal 401 according to the usage status. Fig. 14A is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a display screen 901 when a seat is vacant. The display screen 901 when a seat is vacant includes a seat number 9011 (in this example, displayed as "table number" as in Fig. 13C), a take a seat button 9012, and a usage rule display 9013.
When a user comes to the restaurant without making a reservation and there is an empty seat, the user can use the empty seat by pressing a seat button 9012 on the screen of the tablet terminal 401 corresponding to the empty seat. When the seat button 9012 is pressed, the tablet terminal 401 changes the usage status of the seat to "in use." As a result, the screen of the tablet terminal 401 changes to an in-use display screen 903 ( FIG. 14( c )).

14B is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a reservation-in-progress display screen 902. The reservation-in-progress display screen 902 includes a seat number 9021, a start use button 9022, a reserved display 9023, and a reservation number input field 9024.
A user with a reservation who arrives within the above-mentioned available time (15 minutes) checks in on the tablet terminal 401 associated with the seat he or she has reserved. For example, the user enters the reservation number provided by the vacant seat management server 200 at the time of reservation into the reservation number input field 9024. When check-in is completed by inputting the correct reservation number and operating the start use button 9022, the tablet terminal 401 changes the usage status to "in use". As a result, the screen of the tablet terminal 401 changes to the in use display screen 903 (FIG. 14(c)).

Fig. 14(c) is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the in-use display screen 903. The in-use display screen 903 includes a seat number 9031 (in this example, displayed as "table number" as in Fig. 13(c)), an exit button 9032, and a current usage time 9033. When a user using a seat presses the exit button 9032 when leaving the seat, the tablet terminal 401 changes the usage status to "vacant". This causes the screen of the tablet terminal 401 to change to the display screen 901 for when the seat is vacant (Fig. 14(a)). In addition, when a predetermined time (60 minutes) has elapsed for the usage time 9033, a reminder screen display (Fig. 14(d)) may be output.

14D is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a reminder screen display 904 that can be displayed in a modified example. The reminder screen display 904 is displayed to encourage a user to leave the seat when the seat usage time has exceeded a predetermined time (60 minutes) set by the rules.
The reminder screen display 904 includes a seat number 9041 (in this example, displayed as "table number" as in FIG. 13(c)), an exit button 9042, a usage time display 9043 indicating that 60 minutes of usage time has elapsed, and a reminder message (message encouraging the user to leave) 9044. When the user receives the reminder message and presses the exit button 9042, the tablet terminal 401 changes the usage status to "vacant seat." As a result, the screen of the tablet terminal 401 changes to the display screen 901 for vacant seats (FIG. 14(a)).

As described above, when there is a change in the seat usage status on the tablet terminal 401 associated with each seat, the screen display changes, but in addition, the change in usage status (vacant → in use, reserved → in use, in use → vacant) is sent to the vacant seat management server 200, and the usage status 2417 in the seat usage status management table 2410 is updated.

<Advertisement display on tablet terminal 401>
As described in relation to step S712 in Fig. 12, when a predetermined time has elapsed after check-in, tablet terminal 401 displays an advertisement. Although a specific display mode of the advertisement by tablet terminal 401 is not particularly shown, the advertisement may be displayed using the entire screen of tablet terminal 401 or may be displayed using a part of the screen. In addition, for advertisements that are outside the playback period, the vacant seat management server may instruct tablet terminal 401 to delete the advertisement, or tablet terminal 401 may automatically delete advertisements whose playback period has expired.

Summary of First Embodiment
In the first embodiment, the vacant seat management server 200 stores customer information for each user and acquires the customer information of the user who has reserved the seat. The vacant seat management server 200 transmits the customer information to the tablet terminal 401 related to the reserved seat, so that the tablet terminal 401 can acquire the customer information of the user who has made the reservation. The tablet terminal 401 stores a plurality of advertisements, and displays the advertisements when it receives a start-of-use operation from the user at the time of starting use, which notifies the user that the seat will be started. This makes it possible to display the advertisements only while there is a user using the seat. Furthermore, when the tablet terminal 401 detects that the seat is being used by the user who made the reservation at the time of the previous start of use, it selects and displays an advertisement according to the transmitted customer information. When a predetermined time has passed since the check-in operation, the tablet terminal 401 displays the selected advertisement. Here, different advertisements are selected according to the customer attributes, so that the tablet terminal 401 can display an appropriate advertisement according to the customer.
In this embodiment, the vacant seat management server 200 sends customer information together with the reservation number. However, some people who make a reservation may not actually be able to sit down or may cancel. Therefore, the customer information of the person who made the reservation may be sent after S705 only when the check-in of the person who made the reservation is confirmed in S705.
Furthermore, the customer information stored in the memory of the tablet terminal 401 may be deleted when it becomes unnecessary from the viewpoint of handling personal information. For example, it is desirable to delete the customer information from the memory after selecting an advertisement using the customer information in S711 or after the acceptance of the leaving input is completed in S713.

(2) Embodiment 2
In the second embodiment, the method of selecting an advertisement in the first embodiment is partially modified. In the first embodiment, the tablet terminal 401 selects an advertisement based only on the customer information in step S711 in Fig. 12. In the second embodiment, the tablet terminal 401 selects an advertisement based on attributes (device attributes) related to the tablet terminal 401 in addition to the customer information. Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described, but descriptions of parts common to the first embodiment may be omitted.
The device attribute is defined for each tablet terminal 401. The device attribute can represent the type of tablet terminal 401. The device attribute may also represent the environment of the seat corresponding to the tablet terminal 401. For example, "family" is defined as the device attribute for a tablet terminal 401 placed in a kids' room for customers who use the store with their children. For example, "business" is defined as the device attribute for a tablet terminal 401 placed in a business seat equipped with a mobile power source and a wireless communication environment. The device attribute can be input in advance into each tablet terminal 401 by, for example, a store manager.

<Example of configuration of advertisement management table 2610>
15 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an advertisement management table 2610 for managing information related to advertisements displayed on the tablet terminal 401 according to embodiment 2. In addition to the configuration of embodiment 1 (FIG. 10), the advertisement attributes include a seat type 2620.

Figure 16 is a part of a flowchart for explaining the seat management process executed by each tablet terminal 401 according to the second embodiment. The tablet terminal 401 executes the process of Figure 12 in the same way as in the first embodiment, but part of it is changed as shown in Figure 15.

Steps S701 to S709
The processes in steps S701 to S709 are executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment (FIG. 12).

Step S1101
After step S709, the display control unit 40112 acquires the device attributes.

Step S1102
The display control unit 40112 determines whether or not advertisement selection based on device attributes is possible. For example, if there is an advertisement whose device attribute of the tablet terminal 401 matches the seat type of the advertisement attribute, it determines that advertisement selection is possible and selects the advertisement. If there are multiple corresponding advertisements, the display control unit 40112 may determine one advertisement to be displayed based on any criteria (for example, randomly), or may display each advertisement sequentially. If advertisement selection based on device attributes is possible (YES in step S1102), the process proceeds to step S712. That is, in this case, steps S710 and S711 are omitted, and advertisement selection based on customer information is not performed.
If there is no advertisement whose device attributes of the tablet terminal 401 match the seat type of the advertisement attributes, the display control unit 40112 determines that advertisement selection based on the device attributes is not possible (NO in step S1102) and proceeds to step S710.

Step S710 and After The process from step S710 onwards is executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment (FIG. 12).

In this way, in embodiment 2, the display control unit 40112 first selects an advertisement based on the device attributes and advertisement attributes (particularly seat type), and if no advertisement is selected as a result, it selects an advertisement based on the customer attributes and advertisement attributes (e.g., gender, age, and occupation) as in embodiment 1.

Summary of Second Embodiment
In the second embodiment, since advertisements are selected with priority given to device attributes over the attributes of individual customers included in the customer information, it is possible to display advertisements more suitable for the customer by appropriately setting the device attributes. For example, customers who use the kids' room are often families with small children, and for such customers, advertisements for families can be displayed regardless of the attributes of the individual users who made the reservations (for example, regardless of whether the user who made the reservations is a father or a mother).

(3) Embodiment 3
In the third embodiment, the method of selecting an advertisement is partially modified from that in the first embodiment. In the third embodiment, the tablet terminal 401 selects an advertisement based on order attributes related to food and drink orders in addition to customer information. The third embodiment will be described below, but descriptions of parts common to the first and second embodiments may be omitted.
The order attribute may represent, for example, a particular food or drink or a particular course of a meal. When a course meal for a birthday celebration is ordered, the order attribute of the corresponding seat or tablet terminal 401 may be "birthday."
The order attributes may be input (directly or via any other computer) into the tablet terminal 401 by, for example, a store employee in response to receiving an order for a course meal. Alternatively, if the store is configured so that a customer can order food and drink or a course meal via the tablet terminal 401, the tablet terminal 401 may obtain the order attributes at the time of ordering. Alternatively, if the store is configured so that a user can specify a course meal at the time of making a reservation, the vacant seat management server 200 may transmit the order attributes to the tablet terminal 401 in step S610 (FIG. 11).

<Example of configuration of advertisement management table 2610>
17 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an advertisement management table 2610 for managing information related to advertisements displayed on the tablet terminal 401 according to embodiment 3. In addition to the configuration of embodiment 1 (FIG. 10), the advertisement attributes include a course type 2630.

Figure 18 is a part of a flowchart for explaining the seat management process executed by each tablet terminal 401 according to embodiment 3. The tablet terminal 401 executes the process of Figure 12 in the same way as in embodiment 1, but part of it is changed as shown in Figure 18.

Steps S701 to S709
The processes in steps S701 to S709 are executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment (FIG. 12).

Step S1301
After step S709, the display control unit 40112 acquires the order attributes.

Step S1302
The display control unit 40112 determines whether or not advertisement selection based on the order attributes is possible. For example, if there is an advertisement whose order attributes and the course type of the advertisement attributes match, it determines that advertisement selection is possible and selects that advertisement. If there are multiple corresponding advertisements, the display control unit 40112 may determine one advertisement to be displayed based on any criteria (for example, randomly), or may display each advertisement sequentially. If advertisement selection based on the order attributes is possible (YES in step S1302), the process proceeds to step S712. That is, in this case, steps S710 and S711 are omitted, and advertisement selection based on customer information is not performed.
If there is no advertisement whose order attribute matches the course type of the advertisement attribute, the display control unit 40112 determines that advertisement selection based on the order attribute is not possible (NO in step S1302), and proceeds to step S710.

In this way, in embodiment 3, the display control unit 40112 first selects an advertisement based on the order attributes and advertisement attributes (particularly the course type), and if no advertisement is selected as a result, it selects an advertisement based on the customer attributes and advertisement attributes (e.g., gender, age, and occupation) as in embodiment 1.

Step S710 and After The process from step S710 onwards is executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment (FIG. 12).

Summary of the Third Embodiment
In the third embodiment, since the order attributes are prioritized over the customer information when selecting advertisements, it is possible to display advertisements more suitable for the customer by appropriately setting the order attributes. For example, an advertisement for birthday presents can be displayed to a customer who has ordered a course meal for a birthday celebration.

(4) Other Embodiments The above-described embodiments 1 to 3 can be further modified as follows.
In all of the above embodiments, an example has been described in which an advertisement is displayed as content according to customer information to be displayed on the tablet terminal 401. The content may be, for example, a menu for the store. If the store is a restaurant, the menu that is likely to suit the tastes of the customer varies depending on the customer attributes. More specifically, in restaurants such as izakayas and family restaurants, the menus that are preferred tend to vary depending on gender and generation. Therefore, the order in which the menus are displayed according to gender and generation, layout images, and images of recommended menus for each customer attribute to be displayed in addition to the common menu images may be prepared, and displayed according to the customer information.
Furthermore, the second and third embodiments may be combined. For example, steps S1301 to S1302 are first executed to select an advertisement based on order attributes. If an advertisement cannot be selected based on order attributes, steps S1101 to S1102 are executed to select an advertisement based on device attributes. If an advertisement cannot be selected based on device attributes, steps S710 to S711 are executed to select an advertisement based on customer attributes. In this way, various selection criteria can be prioritized and combined.

In the first to third embodiments, the customer attributes do not need to be registered in advance in the format shown in FIG. 5, and do not need to be transmitted from the vacant seat management server 200 to the tablet terminal 401. For example, the vacant seat management system 10 may acquire the customer attributes of a customer who is using a seat. As a specific example, a camera built into the tablet terminal 401 or a camera capable of communicating with the tablet terminal 401 may take an image of the customer, thereby allowing the tablet terminal 401 to acquire the image of the customer. Then, the tablet terminal 401 may determine the customer attributes based on the image of the customer.
In this way, there is no need to register customer information in advance. Also, even for customers who do not make a seat reservation, appropriate advertisements can be displayed according to the customer.
It should be noted that it is not necessary for all tablet terminals 401 to perform such operations; only tablet terminals 401 that are positioned in a suitable position for photographing (for example, a position where an image suitable for image processing can be taken of a customer occupying a seat) may be configured to perform such operations.
In such a modified example, the customer attributes may include at least one of sex, age, body type, clothing, occupation, etc., and the advertisement attributes are defined correspondingly. Note that a method for acquiring such customer attributes from an image can be appropriately designed using known image processing techniques, etc.

In the first to third embodiments, the vacant seat management server 200 manages vacant seats in the store and distributes advertisements. However, the server that manages vacant seats and the server that distributes advertisements may be different servers.
In the first to third embodiments, the display control unit 40112 starts the process of displaying advertisements (step S712) a predetermined time A (step S709) after accepting the start-of-use operation (included in the check-in process in step S705). As a variation, the wait for the predetermined time A may be omitted. Also, the advertisement may be displayed in response to a predetermined condition other than time being satisfied after the start-of-use operation is accepted. In either case, the display control unit 40112 operates with the start-of-use operation as one of the conditions, and therefore it can be said that the advertisement is displayed in connection with the acceptance of the start-of-use operation.

10: Vacant seat management system 200: Vacant seat management server 300: User terminal 320, 4012: Display unit 330, 4013: Input unit 340, 4014: Communication unit 350, 4015: Memory 401: Tablet terminal (terminal)
2510: User management table 2610: Advertisement management table 2615: Display frequency

Claims (10)

An information processing device that is installed at a seat in a store and has a display unit,
a use acceptance means for accepting a use start operation indicating that the seat is to be used;
an acquisition means for acquiring customer information indicating customer attributes associated with a customer identifier used when reserving the seat, thereby acquiring customer information indicating customer attributes related to the customer who made the reservation when the seat was reserved, and acquiring device attributes related to the information processing device separately from the customer information;
a display control means for causing the display unit to display advertising content after the usage acceptance means accepts the usage start operation,
The information processing device is characterized in that, when the acquisition means has acquired customer information of a user of the seat, the display control means selects the advertising content based on the device attributes and advertising attributes of the advertising content, and, when the advertising content is not selected based on the device attributes and the advertising attributes, selects the advertising content based on the customer attributes and the advertising attributes and displays it on the display unit. The information processing device includes:
A storage means for storing a plurality of contents;
a selection means for selecting a content to be displayed on the display unit from the plurality of contents based on the customer information,
2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein, when the selection means selects a content, the display control means causes the content selected by the selection means to be displayed on the display unit, and when the selection means has not selected a content, the display control means causes one of the displayable contents stored in the storage means to be displayed in a predetermined procedure. The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the display control means displays the advertising content after a predetermined time has elapsed after the start-of-use operation. the storage means stores the plurality of contents in association with the advertisement attributes,
The information processing device according to claim 2 , wherein each of the customer attributes and the advertisement attributes includes information on at least one of gender, age, and occupation. the selection means, when the advertisement content is not selected by the display control means, selects the advertisement content based on the customer attribute and the advertisement attribute.
The information processing device according to claim 2 . The information processing device includes:
means for obtaining order attributes relating to the food and beverage order;
a priority selection means for selecting the advertisement content based on the order attributes and the advertisement attributes;
Equipped with
the selection means, when the advertisement content is not selected by the priority selection means, selects the advertisement content based on the customer attribute and the advertisement attribute.
The information processing device according to claim 2 . The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: a means for storing, for each of the advertising contents, a display frequency that increases in response to the display of the advertising content; and a means for determining an increase in the display frequency based on a time period during which the advertising content is displayed. The information processing device further comprises:
means for acquiring order attributes relating to food and beverage orders;
the selection means selects the advertisement content according to the order attributes and the advertisement attributes;
the selection means, when the advertisement content is not selected based on the order attribute and the advertisement attribute, selects the advertisement content based on the device attribute and the advertisement attribute;
the selection means, when the advertisement content is not selected based on the order attribute and the advertisement attribute or based on the device attribute and the advertisement attribute, selects the advertisement content based on the customer attribute and the advertisement attribute.
3. The information processing device according to claim 2. A program that causes a computer to function as an information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 8. A method for displaying advertising content using an information processing device that is installed at a seat in a store and has a display unit, comprising:
a step of receiving, by the information processing device, a start-of-use operation indicating that the seat is to be started to be used;
The information processing device acquires customer attributes related to the customer who made the reservation when the seat was reserved by acquiring customer information indicating customer attributes linked to an identifier of the customer used when the seat was reserved, and acquires device attributes related to the information processing device separately from the customer information;
and after the information processing device accepts the use start operation, the information processing device displays advertisement content on the display unit,
The method is characterized in that, when the information processing device has acquired customer information of a user of the seat, the information processing device selects the advertising content based on the device attributes and advertising attributes of the advertising content, and when the advertising content is not selected based on the device attributes and the advertising attributes, the information processing device selects the advertising content based on the customer attributes and the advertising attributes and displays it on the display unit.

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