Control system for controlling turn-waiting queues of queue objects
First Claim
1. A queue object control system, comprising:
- queue object terminals that are established in queue objects;
user terminals for queue registration for making reservations of said queue objects; and
a control server for both accepting queue registrations from said user terminals and controlling turn-waiting queues at said queue objects based on queue registrations that have been accepted;
said control server including;
queue object groups for controlling, in group units into which said queue objects have been sorted according to prescribed categories, turn-waiting queues of a plurality of said queue objects;
a queue object control unit for controlling the states of usability of queue objects that belong to said queue object groups based on states of usability of said queue objects that are supplied from said queue object terminals;
a queue manipulation unit for, upon receiving requests from said user terminals for queue registration to said queue object groups, both registering user information that is based on the queue registration requests in the turn-waiting queues in said queue object groups, and, upon receiving notification from said queue object control units indicating that a queue object that belongs to said queue object groups can be used, selecting the user terminals that are to be the transmission destination based on user information that has been registered in the turn-waiting queues of said queue object groups; and
a usability notification unit for transmitting notification of usability regarding said queue objects that can be used to user terminals that have been selected in said queue manipulation unit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a queue object control system in which store terminals, user terminals, and a queue control server are connected by way of a network so as to allow communication, the queue control server includes: store groups in which a plurality of stores are controlled as group turn-waiting queues; a store group control unit that receives usability states of the stores from store terminals and then determines whether any of the stores are available for use; a queue manipulation unit that receives requests from user terminals to register in the queues of store groups, registers the user terminals in the group turn-waiting queues, and, when any store of the store groups becomes available for use, selects user terminals that are registered in the group turn-waiting queues; and a usability notification unit that transmits notification of usability of stores that have become available for use to user terminals that have been selected.
38 Citations
35 Claims
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1. A queue object control system, comprising:
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queue object terminals that are established in queue objects;
user terminals for queue registration for making reservations of said queue objects; and
a control server for both accepting queue registrations from said user terminals and controlling turn-waiting queues at said queue objects based on queue registrations that have been accepted;
said control server including;
queue object groups for controlling, in group units into which said queue objects have been sorted according to prescribed categories, turn-waiting queues of a plurality of said queue objects;
a queue object control unit for controlling the states of usability of queue objects that belong to said queue object groups based on states of usability of said queue objects that are supplied from said queue object terminals;
a queue manipulation unit for, upon receiving requests from said user terminals for queue registration to said queue object groups, both registering user information that is based on the queue registration requests in the turn-waiting queues in said queue object groups, and, upon receiving notification from said queue object control units indicating that a queue object that belongs to said queue object groups can be used, selecting the user terminals that are to be the transmission destination based on user information that has been registered in the turn-waiting queues of said queue object groups; and
a usability notification unit for transmitting notification of usability regarding said queue objects that can be used to user terminals that have been selected in said queue manipulation unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A control server, said control server being connected by way of a network to queue object terminals that are established at queue objects and to user terminals for making queue registrations for making reservations to said queue objects;
- said control server both accepting queue registrations from said user terminals and controlling turn-waiting queues at said queue objects based on the queue registrations that have been accepted;
said control server comprising;
queue object groups for controlling, in group units into which said queue objects have been sorted according to prescribed categories, turn-waiting queues of each of a plurality of said queue objects;
queue object control units for controlling the state of usability of queue objects that belong to said queue object groups based on states of usability of said queue objects that are supplied from said queue object terminals;
a queue manipulation unit for both, upon receiving queue registration requests from said user terminals to said queue object groups, registering user information based on the queue registration requests to the turn-waiting queues in the queue object groups and, upon receiving notification from said queue object control units indicating that queue objects that belong to said queue object groups have become usable, selecting user terminals that are to be the transmission destination based on the user information that has been registered in the turn-waiting queues of said queue object groups; and
a usability notification unit for transmitting notification of usability regarding said queue objects that have become usable to user terminals that have been selected by said queue manipulation unit. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
- said control server both accepting queue registrations from said user terminals and controlling turn-waiting queues at said queue objects based on the queue registrations that have been accepted;
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27. A queue object terminal, said queue object terminal being the queue object terminal of a queue object control system in which said queue object terminals that are established in queue objects, user terminals for registering in turn-waiting queues to said queue objects, and a control server for controlling said turn-waiting queues are connected by way of a network so as to allow communication, said queue object terminal including a data processor and a storage unit;
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wherein said storage unit includes a current state information storage unit for storing current state information that includes the current availability of vacant seating and the number of vacant seats; and
said data processor includes;
a current state information acceptance unit for accepting current state information that has been received as input;
a current state information updating unit for updating current state information that is stored in said current state information storage unit in accordance with current state information that has been received as input; and
a current state information transmitter for transmitting current state information that has been updated to prescribed transmission destinations. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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29. A user terminal, said user terminal being the user terminal of a queue object control system in which queue object terminals that are established at queue objects, user terminals for registering in turn-waiting queues to said queue objects, and a control server for controlling said turn-waiting queues are connected by way of a network so as to allow communication;
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said the user terminal including;
an operator input unit for entering information;
a queue reservation information production unit for producing queue reservation information by means of information that has been applied as input by said operator input unit;
a queue reservation transmitter for transmitting queue reservation information that has been produced to a prescribed output destination; and
a reservation information acceptance unit for accepting summary information that has been received from said control server and that includes the occurrence of vacant seating relating to queue objects for which queue registration has been carried out. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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33. A queue object control method, said queue object control method being the queue object control method of a queue object control system in which queue object terminals that are established at queue objects, user terminals for registering in turn-waiting queues to said queue objects, and a control server for controlling said turn-waiting queues are connected by way of a network so as to allow communication;
- said queue object control method including the steps wherein;
said queue object terminals transmit current state information that includes the state of usability of said queue objects to said control server, said control server collectively stores and controls current state information that has been received from said queue object terminals;
said user terminals transmit prescribed queue reservation requests to queue object groups based on the content that has been applied as input by users by way of operation units;
said control server accepts queue reservation requests from said user terminals and registers the requests in the group turn-waiting queues;
said control server recognizes queue objects that have become available for use based on current state information of queue objects that has been stored, selects said user terminals that are registered in said group turn-waiting queues of the queue objects, generates, as summary information, vacant seating information relating to the queue objects based on queue object information summarization rules, and transmits the vacant seating information to said user terminals that have been selected; and
said user terminals accept the vacant seating information for said queue objects that have been reserved. - View Dependent Claims (34)
- said queue object control method including the steps wherein;
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35. A recording medium in which a control program is recorded for controlling a control server of a queue object control system in which queue object terminals that are established at queue objects, user terminals for registering in turn-waiting queues to said queue objects, and said control server for controlling said turn-waiting queues are connected by way of a network so as to allow communication;
- a program being recorded in said recording medium for causing a computer of said control server to execute procedures for;
controlling a plurality of queue objects as group turn-waiting queues;
receiving states of usability of said queue objects from said queue object terminals and controlling whether any of said queue objects of said queue object groups becomes available for use;
receiving queue registration requests that have been transmitted from said user terminals for said queue object groups and registering in said group turn-waiting queues, and when any of the queue objects of said queue object groups becomes available for use, selecting user terminals that are registered in said group turn-waiting queues; and
transmitting notification indicating the ability to use said queue object that has become available for use to said user terminals that have been selected.
- a program being recorded in said recording medium for causing a computer of said control server to execute procedures for;
Specification