JP2012098981A - The number of vacant seat calculation device, store management system, the number of vacant seat calculation method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately provide the number of vacant seats in a store to customers without burden on a clerk.SOLUTION: A number of vacant seats calculation device includes: a number of seats storage unit 410 for storing the number of seats in a store; an order information acquisition unit 110 for acquiring order information that shows order contents and a seat on which a customer sits; an accounting execution information acquisition unit 130 for acquiring accounting execution information that includes the order contents; an order information management unit 140 for storing the order information acquired by the order information acquisition unit 110 in a management memory 22 and managing residual order information that is order information whose accounting processing of which has not been performed, by removing order information corresponding to the order contents included in the accounting execution information from the order information stored in the management memory 22; a number of vacant seats calculation unit 420 for calculating the number of vacant seats by subtracting the number of seats in use identified by the residual order information from the number of seats in the store; and a number of vacant seats output unit 440 for outputting the calculated number of vacant seats to an external device.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacant seat number calculating device, a store management system, a vacant seat number calculating method, and a program for grasping busy conditions in a store.

  Conventionally, as a device for grasping the busy situation of restaurants, etc., information input to the order terminal by the clerk in charge of customer service (pressing keys corresponding to “seat guidance complete”, “distribution complete”, “tidy complete” ) To manage the seating situation in the store, and means to image the waiting area where customers waiting to enter the store wait with a camera, and waits when the number of seats in the store falls below a certain number A passenger seat management device that displays a captured image of a customer area on a display is known (for example, Patent Document 1). With this configuration, there is an effect that the clerk can grasp the situation of customers waiting to enter the store while staying in one place where the display is installed.

JP 2005-234661 A

  However, although the above-mentioned passenger seat management device has advantages for the store clerk, there are few advantages for the customer. In other words, the customer can guess to some extent that the store is in a crowded state from the status of the customer waiting to enter the store, but cannot accurately grasp the seat status in the store such as the current number of seats available. Further, the above-described passenger seat management apparatus requires a complicated operation of the store clerk (information input to the order terminal) in order to manage the seat situation in the store. For this reason, the burden on the store clerk is large and the possibility of erroneous operation is high.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a vacant number calculation device, a store management system, a vacant number calculation method, and a program capable of accurately presenting the number of vacant seats in a store to a customer without imposing a burden on the clerk. It is an issue to provide. Another object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems by simply introducing a printer such as a kitchen printer or a receipt printer without changing an existing POS terminal or order terminal.

  The vacant seat number calculating apparatus according to the present invention includes a seat number storage unit that stores the number of seats in a store, an order information acquisition unit that acquires order information indicating order contents and seats seated by a customer, and accounting execution information including order contents. The accounting execution information acquisition unit that acquires the order information and the order information acquired by the order information acquisition unit are stored in the memory, and the order information corresponding to the order contents included in the accounting execution information is deleted from the order information stored in the memory. To calculate the number of available seats by subtracting the number of used seats identified from the remaining order information from the number of seats in the store and the order information management unit that manages the remaining order information, which is unaccounted processing order information. And a vacant seat number output unit for outputting the calculated vacant seat number to an external device.

  In the method for calculating the number of vacant seats according to the present invention, the computer stores the number of seats in the store, the step of obtaining order information indicating the order contents and the seats seated by the customer, and the accounting execution information including the order contents. Unaccounted order information by acquiring and storing the acquired order information in the memory and deleting the order information corresponding to the order contents included in the accounting execution information from the order information stored in the memory And a step of calculating the number of vacant seats by subtracting the number of seats in use specified from the remaining order information from the number of seats in the store.

According to these configurations, the number of seats in use is determined from the remaining order information, which is unaccounted processing order information, and is subtracted from the number of seats in the store. Can present. Further, since the store clerk only needs to input the order information to the order terminal and transmit it to the vacant seat number calculation device, no complicated operation is required. For this reason, there is no problem of a store clerk's erroneous operation, and a more accurate number of seats can be calculated.
The “vacant seat number” may be expressed by an abstract wording such as “large”, “medium”, “low”, or may be expressed by a numerical value. In addition, a selection operation unit for selecting a method of expressing the “vacant seat number” may be provided so that the user can select according to his / her preference. Further, it may be output not as “the number of vacant seats” but as a vacant seat ratio (unit: percent).
In addition, examples of the external device that outputs the “vacant seat number” include a display, a speaker, a printing device, and an information terminal. Further, as an output method, display on an e-mail or a website can be considered.

  In the vacant seat number calculation device described above, the seat number storage unit stores the number of seats for each seat type, and the vacant seat number calculation unit determines the number of seats for each seat type indicated by the remaining order information from the number of seats for each seat type in the store. It is preferable to calculate the number of vacant seats for each seat type by subtracting the number of seats in use.

According to this configuration, since the number of vacant seats for each seat type is calculated, there is an advantage for customers who want to specify the seat type.
The “seat type” refers to a smoking seat or a non-smoking seat, a two-seat or a four-seat seat, a child-friendly seat or an adult-only seat, and the like.

  In the vacant seat number calculating device described above, an order form printing unit that prints an order form based on the acquired order information, and an accounting receipt printing unit that prints an accounting receipt based on the acquired accounting execution information. Of these, it is preferable that at least one printing section is provided.

  According to this configuration, the vacant seat number calculating apparatus of the present invention can be applied to a kitchen printer that prints order forms and a receipt printer that prints accounting receipts.

  The store management system of the present invention is a store management comprising the vacant seat number calculating device described above provided corresponding to each store, and a management server connected to the plurality of vacant seat number calculating devices via a network. In the system, the management server includes a vacant seat number providing unit that provides a vacant seat number calculation result by a plurality of vacant seat number calculating devices to a customer terminal together with a name of each store.

According to this configuration, since the vacant number calculation result is provided to the customer terminal, the number of vacant seats can be presented to a customer who is away from the store.
The vacant seat number providing unit may provide the vacant seat number to an unspecified number of customers by displaying it on the website, or directly sending the vacant seat number to the target customer terminal by e-mail or the like. Also good.

  In the store management system described above, the management server receives a request for a store search with the shortest waiting time from the customer terminal, and the number of vacant seats by a plurality of vacant number calculation devices triggered by the request for the search request. A recommended store determining unit that refers to the calculation result and determines a recommended store based on the reference result, and a recommended store notification unit that notifies the determined recommended store to the customer terminal that has made a search request. It is preferable to provide.

According to this configuration, since the store with the shortest waiting time is searched and notified to the customer terminal in response to a request from the customer terminal, the customer can use the time effectively.
The search request entrusting unit and the recommended store notification unit may be realized on a Web site or may be realized using an e-mail function.

  In the store management system described above, the management server further includes a busy history information storage unit that stores busy history information obtained from past vacant number calculation results by a plurality of vacant number calculation devices, and the recommended store determination unit includes: It is preferable to refer to the busy history information storage unit and determine the recommended store in consideration of the busy history information of each store.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to determine an optimal recommended store in consideration of busy history information in each store, for example, a store that is always crowded is not a recommended store even if it is vacant on that day.

  In the store management system described above, the busy history information storage unit stores the busy history information together with the date information on which the number of vacant seats has been calculated, and the recommended store determination unit stores the date and time stored in the busy history information storage unit. It is preferable that the recommended store is determined by generating busy prediction information for each date / time or day of the week from the information and comparing the busy prediction information with the current date / time or the current day of the week.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to determine an optimal recommended store in consideration of busy prediction information by date and time or by day of the week. As an example of the determination method, for example, a store that tends to be crowded suddenly from 12:00 noon is not a recommended store even if it is vacant at 11:30, and the day of the week when a search request was made For example, stores that tend to have fewer seats are not recommended stores.

  In the store management system described above, the management server includes a busy information acquisition unit that acquires in real time the number of remaining orders specified from the current vacancy calculation result and the remaining order information of each vacancy calculation device as busy information. Furthermore, it is preferable that the recommended store determination unit determines the recommended store based on the busy prediction information and the busy information.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to determine an optimal recommended store in consideration of busy prediction information based on past busy history and busy information at the present time (the number of vacant seats and the number of remaining orders).

  In the store management system described above, the search request entrusting unit entrusts a search request together with the location information from the customer terminal, and the recommended store determining unit determines the location indicated by the location information acquired from the customer terminal and the location of each store It is preferable that the travel time from the position indicated by the position information to each store is calculated based on the relative relationship between the location information and the recommended store is determined by giving priority to the store having the short travel time.

According to this configuration, since a recommended store is determined with priority given to a store having a short travel time, the burden of moving the customer can be reduced.
As for location information, the current location of the customer terminal may be used as location information, or a location designated by the customer may be used as location information. In the former case, measurement information of the GPS is acquired as position information from a customer terminal equipped with a GPS (Global Positioning System).

  In the store management system described above, the recommended store determination unit calculates the waiting time after entering the store based on the busy information, and determines the store with the shortest total time of the waiting time and the travel time, It is preferable to determine the recommended store as one store.

  According to this configuration, since the store having the shortest total time of the waiting time calculated from the current busy information (for example, the time until seating at a restaurant) and the travel time is the shortest recommended store is presented to the customer. Can know the store with the shortest time to start eating and drinking.

  In the store management system described above, the recommended store notification unit preferably notifies the customer terminal of the waiting time and travel time in the recommended store determined by the recommended store determination unit, or the total time.

  According to this configuration, the customer can know the waiting time and travel time of each recommended store presented, or the total time.

  In the store management system described above, the management server is a store other than the store with the shortest total time among a plurality of recommended stores determined by the reservation entrusting unit that accepts reservations for recommended stores from the customer terminal and the recommended store determining unit. It is preferable to further include an incentive granting unit that grants an incentive to a customer terminal that has made a reservation to the store.

  According to this configuration, when a store other than the store with the shortest total time is determined as a recommended store due to the convenience of the store (for example, when a recommended store is determined by avoiding stores that are congested from past busy history information) If the customer approves the use of the recommended store, an incentive is given to the customer, and a merit can be obtained for both the store and the customer.

  Another store management system of the present invention is a store management system comprising a store device provided corresponding to each store, and a management server connected to the plurality of store devices via a network, The device sends an order information acquisition unit that acquires order information indicating the order contents and the seat where the customer is seated, an accounting execution information acquisition unit that acquires accounting execution information including the order contents, and transmits the acquired order information to the management server An order information transmitting unit for transmitting and an accounting execution information transmitting unit for transmitting the acquired accounting execution information to the management server, the management server storing a seat number storing unit for storing the number of seats of each store, and each acquired store The order information stored in the memory is stored in the memory, and the order information stored in the memory contains the order information included in the accounting execution information for each store. The order information management unit that manages the remaining order information, which is unaccounted processing order information, and the number of seats at each store is in use at each store specified from the remaining order information by deleting the order information corresponding to A vacant number calculation unit that calculates the number of vacant seats of each store by subtracting the number of seats, and a vacant seat number providing unit that provides the calculated number of vacant seats of each store to the customer terminal together with the name of each store It is characterized by that.

  According to this configuration, since the order information is managed and the number of vacant seats is calculated on the management server side, the processing load on the store apparatus can be reduced. As a result, the cost of the store apparatus can be reduced, and as a result, the overall cost of the store management system can be reduced.

  The program of the present invention causes a computer to execute each step in the vacant seat number calculation method described above.

  By executing this program on a computer, it is possible to realize a vacant seat number calculation method that accurately presents the number of vacant seats in a store to a customer without burdening the store clerk.

It is a system configuration figure of the store management system concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of an order form and an accounting receipt. It is a figure which shows an example of the display of a shop front display, and a waiting time table. It is a figure which shows an example of the display of an empty seat waiting management apparatus, and an empty seat waiting vote. It is a block diagram of the store management system concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the memory content of the management memory. It is a figure which shows an example of the calculation formula of an item table and busyness. It is a figure which shows an example of the calculation formula of busyness. It is a figure which shows an example of a display of a top screen and a shop list screen displayed on a customer terminal. It is a figure which shows an example of the display of a shop search result screen displayed on a customer terminal. It is a figure which shows an example of the display of a shop search result screen displayed on a customer terminal, and a reservation completion screen. It is a figure which shows an example of search conditions. It is a system configuration figure showing the modification of the store management system concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a system configuration figure of a store management system concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the display content of a shop front display, and the memory content of a seat number memory | storage part. It is a block diagram of the store management system concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the display of a shop list screen, and a waiting time table. It is a system configuration figure showing the modification of the store management system concerning a 2nd embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a vacant seat number calculating apparatus, a store management system, a vacant seat number calculating method, and a program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiment, it illustrates about the case where the busyness in a restaurant is calculated. The busyness is expressed in units of “%”.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a store management system SY1 according to the first embodiment. The store management system SY 1 includes a kitchen printer 10, an order terminal 11, a receipt printer 12, a POS (Point Of Sales) terminal 13, a bar code reader 14, a store display 15, and an empty seat waiting management device 16 installed in a store (restaurant). In addition, it includes a management server 20 that centrally manages the busyness level in a plurality of stores (for example, stores included in a restaurant group that is developing a chain), and a customer terminal 30 that is operated by the customer.

  The order terminal 11 is a handy type information input terminal for a store clerk to input order contents. The kitchen printer 10 acquires the order information input to the order terminal 11 via wireless communication, and prints the order form 51 (see FIG. 2A). Note that the “order information” includes information indicating the contents of the order and information indicating the seat where the customer is seated.

  The receipt printer 12 prints an accounting receipt 52 (see FIG. 2B) based on the accounting information acquired from the POS terminal 13. The barcode reader 14 reads the barcode 55 printed on the order form 51 and outputs it to the POS terminal 13. The POS terminal 13 specifies the order contents from the barcode information (information indicating the order number) acquired from the barcode reader 14 (reads the order contents from an order management database not shown), and the order contents and each menu Accounting based on the price database. The “accounting information” mentioned above refers to information including the result of the accounting process performed by the POS terminal 13.

  The receipt printer 12 analyzes the accounting information acquired from the POS terminal 13 and outputs the analysis result (hereinafter also referred to as “accounting execution information”) to the kitchen printer 10. The kitchen printer 10 specifies the order number and order contents from the analysis result, and manages the remaining order information which is unaccounted processing order information. Although details will be described later, the kitchen printer 10 of the present embodiment calculates the busyness based on the remaining order information.

  The storefront display 15 is a display device installed at the storefront of the store, and indicates the busyness of the store to the customer. Thereby, the customer who visited the store can determine whether or not to enter the store after confirming the busyness. The vacant seat waiting management device 16 is a device installed at a reception counter at the entrance of the store. After entering the store, the customer inputs necessary information into the vacant seat waiting management device 16 to obtain the vacant seat wait slip 53 (see FIG. 4B). Thereby, the store clerk can perform table guidance fairly according to a customer's entrance order.

  On the other hand, the management server 20 is connected to the kitchen printers 10 installed in a plurality of stores via a network NT1 such as the Internet. The management server 20 acquires the current busyness calculated in each store (hereinafter also referred to as “busy information”) and provides it to the customer (customer terminal 30), and also stores the past busyness (hereinafter referred to as “busy history”). Information ") is stored in the database 21 and busy prediction is performed. Further, when a store search request is entrusted from the customer terminal 30, a store having the shortest waiting time or a store that can be entered in the shortest travel time is searched and notified to the customer terminal 30 as a recommended store.

  The customer terminal 30 communicates with the management server 20 via the network NT1 (Internet), the network NT2 such as a telephone public line, the base station 40, and the like. In this embodiment, the customer terminal 30 is assumed to be a mobile communication terminal that moves with the customer, such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a PDA, or a car navigation device. However, a desktop personal computer at home, a convenience store, a public store, etc. A terminal that is assumed to be fixedly installed, such as a kiosk terminal installed in a facility, may be used as the customer terminal 30.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, a print example of the order slip 51, the accounting receipt 52, and the vacant seat waiting slip 53, and a display example of the storefront display 15 and the vacant seat waiting management device 16 will be described.

  FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating a print example of the order form 51. On the order form 51, an order time, an order number, a seat, an order item, and a barcode 55 are printed. Here, the order time refers to the time when the kitchen printer 10 acquires the order information or the time when information input to the order terminal 11 is started. The order number refers to a number that is automatically given by the kitchen printer 10 or the order terminal 11. The seat refers to the table number input by the store clerk. The order item indicates an item name and its quantity. Further, the bar code 55 includes at least information indicating an order number.

  Next, FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating a print example of the accounting receipt 52. The transaction receipt 52 is printed with the store name, transaction date and time, order contents, amount (unit price, total amount) and settlement information. Here, the accounting date and time refers to the date and time when accounting processing was performed by the POS terminal 13. Further, the settlement information refers to a deposit amount and a change amount.

  Subsequently, FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a display example of the display screen 61 provided in the storefront display 15. On the display screen 61, the store name, current busyness, and supplementary information are printed. Here, the current busyness is a value calculated by the kitchen printer 10. The calculation formula will be described later. The supplementary information is information indicating a rough waiting time for the customer. The standard of the waiting time is determined by the kitchen printer 10 with reference to the waiting time table shown in FIG. For example, when the busyness is 0%, the standard waiting time is 0 minute. When the busyness is 20%, the standard waiting time is 20 minutes. Note that in the table of FIG. 6, “XX to ΔΔ” means “greater than or equal to ○○ and less than ΔΔ” (the same applies to FIG. 17B described later).

  Next, FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating a display example of the touch panel 62 provided in the vacant seat waiting management device 16. The touch panel 62 displays a vacant seat waiting status, a vacant seat waiting number, and a number of people selection icon. Here, the vacant seat waiting status refers to a list of vacant seat waiting numbers given to customers in the vacant seat waiting state and the number of customers of each number. Further, the vacant seat waiting number refers to a number assigned to a customer who performed the next vacant seat waiting operation. In addition, icons corresponding to the number of persons such as “1 person” and “2 persons” are displayed as the number of persons selection icon. When one of these icons is selected (pressed) by the customer, the vacant seat waiting management device 16 prints (issues) the vacant seat waiting slip 53 shown in FIG. In the vacant seat waiting slip 53, a vacant seat waiting number and a supplementary message are printed. Here, the supplemental message refers to an explanation that prompts the customer to confirm the number and wait.

  Next, the functional configuration of the store management system SY1 will be described with reference to FIG. The main functions of the kitchen printer 10 are an order information acquisition unit 110, an order form printing unit 120, an accounting execution information acquisition unit 130, an order information management unit 140, a waiting-waiting information acquisition unit 150, a busyness calculation unit 160, and a busyness. An information transmission unit 170 and a busyness output unit 180 are provided.

  The order information acquisition unit 110 acquires order information indicating order contents from a plurality of order terminals 11 possessed by each store clerk. The order form printing unit 120 prints the order form 51 based on the order information acquired by the order information acquisition unit 110. The accounting execution information acquisition unit 130 acquires accounting execution information including order contents from the receipt printer 12 after the accounting process is completed.

  The order information management unit 140 accumulates the order information acquired by the order information acquisition unit 110 in the management memory 22 and stores order information corresponding to the order contents included in the accounting execution information acquired by the accounting execution information acquisition unit 130. Delete from the management memory 22. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the contents stored in the management memory 22. As shown in the figure, the management memory 22 stores an order time, an order number, a seat, and order contents (items and quantities) for each order. For example, in the case where the three order information shown in the figure is stored in the management memory 22, and the accounting process is performed based on the order slip 51 of the order number “T001” by the POS terminal 13, the order The information management unit 140 deletes the order information of the order number “T001” from the management memory 22.

  In addition, when deleting order information, you may delete for every order content (order item) instead of deleting per order number. For example, in the case where the three pieces of order information shown in FIG. 6 are stored in the management memory 22, the POS terminal 13 performs the accounting process for the order contents of the item “A set” and the quantity “1”. In the case (for example, when accounting processing is performed for only one of the three customers seated at “Table 1”), the corresponding item (in the example of the figure, the order number “T001” and the order number) The item “A set” included in any of “T003” is deleted.

  The seat wait information acquisition unit 150 acquires seat wait information indicating the number of seat wait customers from the vacant seat management device 16. For example, when the display on the touch panel 62 shown in FIG. 4A is performed, the number of customers waiting for seats is 4 + 2 = 6, so the seat wait information is “6”. In addition, acquisition of seat waiting information is performed regularly or triggered by an operation on the touch panel 62 by a customer. The seat wait information is used for calculating the busyness.

  The busyness calculating unit 160 calculates the number of order information stored in the management memory 22 and the number of orders for each item included in the order information stored in the management memory 22 (calculated from the number of orders for each item). The degree of busyness in the store is calculated based on the total cooking time by item) (see FIG. 7B). In addition, the busyness calculating unit 160 can also calculate the busyness by reflecting a parameter corresponding to the waiting-for-seat information acquired by the waiting-for-seat information acquiring unit 150 in the calculation formula for calculating the busyness. (See FIGS. 8A and 8B). The waiting time table (see FIG. 3B) is included in the busyness calculation unit 160, and the waiting time displayed on the display screen 61 (see FIG. 3A) of the storefront display 15 is shown. The reference is also calculated by the busyness calculation unit 160 with reference to the waiting time table.

  The busy information transmitting unit 170 transmits the busy information that is the calculation result of the busy degree calculating unit 160 to the management server 20. The busy information may be transmitted spontaneously every time the kitchen printer 10 calculates the busyness, or when requested by the management server 20, the busyness at that time may be transmitted. . In the former case, the busyness may be transmitted periodically or only when the busyness changes.

  The busyness output unit 180 outputs the calculation result (a measure of busyness and waiting time) of the busyness calculation unit 160 to the store display 15 (external device). The output is performed when the kitchen printer 10 or the storefront display 15 is turned on and when the busyness is changed. The busy level may be output to an information terminal such as a speaker, a printing device, and a mobile phone in addition to the display device.

  Next, the functional configuration of the receipt printer 12 will be described. The receipt printer 12 includes an accounting information analysis unit 190 and an accounting execution information output unit 200 as main functional configurations.

  The accounting information analysis unit 190 analyzes the accounting information indicating the accounting process result acquired from the POS terminal 13 and extracts the order number and the order contents. The accounting execution information output unit 200 uses the order number and the order content obtained by analyzing the accounting information as accounting execution information (accounting processed order information or information for specifying the order content). To the execution information acquisition unit 130).

  Next, the functional configuration of the management server 20 will be described. The management server 20 includes a busy information acquisition unit 210, a busyness providing unit 220, a search request entrusting unit 230, a recommended store determining unit 240, a busy history information storage unit 250, a recommended store notifying unit 260, a reservation entrustment as main function configurations. Part 270 and an incentive provision part 280.

  The busy information acquisition unit 210 acquires the busy information at the present time of each store from the kitchen printer 10 (the busy information transmission unit 170) in real time, and stores it in the server-side memory 23.

  The busyness providing unit 220 provides the busy information (the busyness calculation result) acquired by the busy information acquiring unit 210 to the customer terminal 30 together with the names of the stores. In this embodiment, busy information is provided to a viewer who accesses a Web site (mobile site) provided by the management server 20 (see FIG. 9B).

  The search request entrusting unit 230 receives a store search request with the shortest waiting time from the customer terminal 30. The search request is also commissioned on the Web site (see FIG. 9A). In addition, the recommended store determination unit 240 refers to the server-side memory 23 (the busyness calculation result of each store) using the search request entrustment by the search request entrusting unit 230 as a trigger, and determines a recommended store based on the reference result. decide. In this case, the recommended store determination unit 240 refers to the busy history information storage unit 250 and determines a recommended store in consideration of the busy history information of each store. Here, the busy history information is information in which past busyness calculation results in each store are associated with date information on which the busyness is calculated. The recommended store determination unit 240 generates busy prediction information for each date / time or day of the week from the date / time information stored in the busy history information storage unit 250, and collates the busy prediction information with the current date / time or the current day of the week. Determine recommended stores. In this embodiment, one day is divided into a plurality of time zones (for example, every hour), and when the average value of past busyness on that day and the day of the week exceeds 50%, that time zone For, it is determined that there is a busy prediction “Yes” (high possibility of congestion). In addition, a calculation algorithm for calculating the busy prediction may be prepared, and the busy prediction may be performed by substituting parameters corresponding to the time zone, the day of the week, the weather, the presence / absence of an event, and the like into the calculation algorithm.

  Further, the recommended store determination unit 240 calculates the travel time from the position indicated by the position information to each store based on the relative relationship between the position indicated by the position information acquired from the customer terminal 30 and the position of each store, A recommended store is determined giving priority to a store having a short travel time. That is, the customer terminal 30 transmits GPS measurement information mounted in the terminal to the management server 20 as position information at the time of a search request. The management server 20 searches for the store closest to the location of the customer terminal 30 (customer location) specified from the location information, and determines a recommended store with priority on the latest store.

  Further, the recommended store determination unit 240 calculates the waiting time after entering the store based on the busy information (the busy degree at the present time), and determines the store with the shortest total time of the waiting time and the travel time. Determined as one recommended store. That is, a store that is considered to have the shortest time to sit down is determined as a recommended store. On the other hand, the recommended store notification unit 260 notifies the customer terminal 30 of the recommended store determined by the recommended store determination unit 240. In this case, the recommended store notification unit 260 notifies the customer terminal 30 of the waiting time and travel time in the recommended store determined by the recommended store determination unit 240, or the total time thereof. These notifications are also made on the Web site (see FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 11A).

  The reservation entrusting unit 270 receives a reservation for the recommended store notified by the recommended store notifying unit 260 from the customer terminal 30. Moreover, the incentive provision part 280 provides incentive with respect to the customer terminal 30 which reserved with respect to the recommended store other than the store with the shortest total time among the some recommended stores determined by the recommended store determination part 240. . As a result, for example, when a recommended store is determined for the convenience of the store (for example, when a recommended store is determined by avoiding a crowded store based on past busy history information), the customer approves the use of the recommended store. Giving incentives for what you do will benefit both your store and your customers. Note that reservation reservation by reservation reservation unit 270 and incentive provision (notification) by incentive provision unit 280 are also performed on the Web site (see FIGS. 10A, 10B, 11A, and 11B). ).

  Next, the calculation of the busyness will be described with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 7A is a diagram showing an item table. The item table is associated with the item and its cooking time, and is included in the busyness calculation unit 160. Note that there are items that are not subject to calculation of cooking time, such as “Drink D” shown in FIG.

  FIG. 7B is a diagram showing busyness calculation formula: pattern 1. As shown in the figure, in the pattern 1, “number of orders” and “total cooking time for each item” are used as parameters. Here, the “total cooking time for each item” refers to the item table shown in FIG. 7A and indicates the cooking time corresponding to the item of all order information (remaining order information) included in the management memory 22. Refers to the cumulative total. For example, when the order information shown in FIG. 6 is stored in the management memory 22, the “total cooking time by item” indicates the number of orders of the items “A set”, “B set”, and “C set”, respectively. Since it is “2”, it is 64 minutes. In the figure, X and Y are correction coefficients (constants).

  FIG. 8A is a diagram showing busyness calculation formula: pattern 2. In the pattern 2, “number of orders” and “number of people waiting for seats” are used as parameters. Here, the “waiting seat number” is a value specified from the waiting seat information acquired by the waiting seat information acquisition unit 150. In the figure, X and Z are correction coefficients (constants).

  FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating a busyness calculation formula: pattern 3. In the pattern 3, “number of orders”, “total cooking time by item”, and “number of people waiting for seats” are used as parameters. Note that X, Y, and Z shown in the figure are correction coefficients (constants).

  As described above, three patterns are shown as the calculation formula for busyness, but which calculation formula is used may be selectable by the user using an operator provided in the kitchen printer 10 or a setting tool.

  Next, a display example of the display screen 31 provided in the customer terminal 30 and an operation of the customer terminal 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11. FIG. 9A is a diagram showing a top screen when accessing the website “XX chain”. On the top screen, a message is displayed indicating that the store with the shortest waiting time can be searched, that the store can be reserved, and that there is a possibility that a coupon (incentive) may be received. In addition, “store list” and “store search” are displayed as operation options. The customer performs various operations such as selection of operation options using an operation unit (such as a numeric keypad, not shown) provided in the customer terminal 30.

  The customer terminal 30 displays the store list screen shown in FIG. 9B on the display screen 31 when “store list” is selected on the top screen by the user. The store list screen displays the store name, busyness, and waiting time of each store included in the chain store group. Here, the busyness indicates a busyness calculation result at the present time. The waiting time is a value obtained by referring to the waiting time table shown in FIG. That is, the management server 20 (the busyness providing unit 220) also includes a waiting time table. When the operation option “Return to previous screen” is selected on the store list screen, the screen returns to the top screen.

  On the other hand, when “store search” is selected on the top screen by the user, the customer terminal 30 displays a store search result screen as shown in FIGS. 10 (a), 10 (b) and 11 (a). To display. For example, FIG. 10A shows a case where the travel time based on the current location of the customer terminal 30, the waiting time based on busy information (the busyness level at the present time), and the busy prediction information are in the situation shown in FIG. The search result example (case 1) is shown.

  Here, first, the three situations (cases 1 to 3) shown in FIG. 12 will be described. The recommended store determination unit 240 manages the store name, travel time, waiting time, total time, and busy prediction, and determines a recommended store according to these search conditions. Here, the travel time is information obtained from the relative position between the position of the customer terminal 30 and the position of each store. In addition, as the algorithm for calculating the travel time, those conventionally used in navigation devices and the like can be adopted. Also, the moving means may be selectable from a plurality of items such as walking, bicycle, and car. Here, the travel time is calculated on the principle of walking. The waiting time is information specified by referring to the waiting time table (see FIG. 3B) from the current busyness stored in the server-side memory 23. The total time refers to the total of travel time and waiting time. The busy prediction is information based on the busy history information stored in the busy history information storage unit 250, and indicates either “Yes” or “No”. Specifically, when the average value of the past busy history for the time period (the time period when the store search request is made) and the day of the week exceeds a predetermined value (for example, 50%), the busy prediction “Yes” And In addition, when the time zone is divided by relatively short units such as every hour, the busy forecast is “Yes” from the time zone before the time zone when the average value of the past busy history exceeds the predetermined value. It is preferable to manage as “

  Here, the three situations shown in FIG. 12 and the display results of the store search result screen in each situation will be described. As described above, the recommended store determination unit 240 prioritizes a store with a short travel time and determines a recommended store. Therefore, in case 1 of FIG. 12A, “ΔΔ store” is the priority store. The store with the shortest total time is also “△△ store”. Thus, when the store having the shortest travel time = the store having the shortest total time, only one corresponding store is determined as the recommended store. Therefore, a display result as shown in FIG.

  Further, as in the case 2 of FIG. 12B, when the store has the shortest travel time ≠ the store having the shortest total time, the recommended store determination unit 240 has the shortest total time and the shortest travel time. The store is determined as a recommended store. Further, in this case, the store having the shortest total time (in the example shown in the figure, “◇◇ store”) is displayed as the first candidate (displayed first and displayed in a temporarily selected state). Therefore, a display result as shown in FIG.

  Further, as in the case 3 in FIG. 12C, the store having the shortest travel time = the store having the shortest total time. Two stores (“△△ store” and “◇◇ store” in the example in the figure) are determined as recommended stores. In this case, a store (second candidate store) other than the store having the shortest total time (first candidate store) is set as the target store for the coupon present. Therefore, a display result as shown in FIG.

  In addition, as shown to Fig.10 (a), (b) and Fig.11 (a), a search result (The number of applicable recommended stores and the information regarding each recommended store) is displayed on a store search result screen. Further, as information on each recommended store, a store name, travel time, waiting time, address, telephone number, and the like are displayed. Further, when the operation option “return to previous screen” is selected on the store search result screen, the screen returns to the top screen. Further, when the operation option “Reserve to selected store” is selected, a reservation completion screen as shown in FIG. 11B is displayed.

  FIG. 11B illustrates a reservation completion screen when the second candidate store is selected on the store search result screen illustrated in FIG. On the reservation completion screen, the fact that the reservation has been completed, a reservation number, information on the reserved store, coupon information, and the like are displayed. Further, when the operation option “register screen” is selected on the reservation completion screen, the screen information is stored in a memory (not shown) in the customer terminal 30. When the operation option “return to top screen” is selected, the screen returns to the top screen. The reservation number is automatically given by the management server 20, but the reservation number and coupon information are notified to the reservation store. When the kitchen printer 10 of the reservation store acquires the reservation information, it stores it in a predetermined memory. Further, the POS terminal 13 compares the reservation completion screen presented by the customer with the stored contents of a predetermined memory when the customer performs accounting, and confirms that the reservation has been made, and then discounts. Process. The predetermined memory exists in any of the kitchen printer 10, the receipt printer 12, the POS terminal 13, and a storage device (not shown) connected thereto, and is provided in the receipt printer 12 or the POS terminal 13. Reservation information can be confirmed on the displayed screen.

  The reservation information includes not only the reservation number and coupon information, but also the reservation date and time, customer information (for example, login information when logging in to the website), and customer input information (number information and seat type (smoking / non-smoking). Etc.) is preferably transmitted to each store. According to this configuration, it is possible to grasp in detail the information related to the customer reserved at the store side, and it is possible to smoothly cope with the case where the customer forgets to register the screen.

  As described above, according to the store management system SY1 according to the first embodiment, in the kitchen printer 10, the number of remaining order information stored in the management memory 22 and the number of orders for each item included in the remaining order information. Based on the above, since the busyness in the store is calculated, the accurate busyness can be presented to the customer on the storefront display 15 or on the website. Further, since the store clerk only needs to perform a normal order receiving operation for inputting order information to the order terminal 11 and transmitting it to the kitchen printer 10, no complicated operation is required. For this reason, the problem of a store clerk's erroneous operation is eliminated, and an accurate busyness can be calculated. In addition, by reflecting the parameters corresponding to the wait-for-seat information in the calculation formula for busyness (see FIGS. 8A and 8B), the number of wait-for-seat customers waiting for the seat is taken into account. Accurate busyness can be calculated.

  In addition, since the busyness calculation and communication with the management server 20 are performed with the kitchen printer 10 as a main body, it is not necessary to change the POS application or replace the POS system. This can reduce the time and cost required for system introduction.

  In addition, the management server 20 searches for a store with the shortest waiting time as a recommended store by a request from the customer terminal 30 and notifies this, so that the customer can reduce the waiting time, and it takes a long time to sit down or start eating and drinking. Dissatisfaction caused by waiting. In addition, the decision of the recommended store takes into account the past busy history information at each store. For example, a store that is always crowded is not recommended as a recommended store even if it is accidentally vacated that day. A recommended store. In addition, since a store with a short travel time is given priority as a recommended store, the burden of moving the customer can be reduced. Furthermore, since the store with the shortest total time of waiting time and travel time is set as the first candidate, the customer can know the store with the shortest time to start eating and drinking.

  Further, among the plurality of recommended stores determined by the recommended store determination unit 240, an incentive is given to the customer terminal 30 that has reserved a recommended store other than the store having the shortest total time. That is, when the recommended store is determined by avoiding stores that tend to be congested from past busy history information due to the convenience of the store, and the customer approves the use of the recommended store, the customer terminal 30 By giving incentives to, benefits can be obtained for both stores and customers.

  In the above embodiment, the busyness is calculated by the kitchen printer 10, but it may be performed on the management server 20 side. FIG. 13 is a system configuration diagram illustrating a modification of the store management system SY1 according to the first embodiment. In the modification, the kitchen printer 10 transmits the acquired order information, transaction execution information, and seat wait information to the management server 20. That is, as compared with the configuration shown in FIG. 5, the order information transmission unit 310, the transaction execution information transmission unit 320, and the seat wait information transmission unit 330 are added to the kitchen printer 10. In addition, a management memory 22, an order information management unit 340 (corresponding to the order information management unit 140 in FIG. 5), and a busyness calculation unit 350 (corresponding to the busyness calculation unit 160 in FIG. 5) are added to the management server 20. Has been. In this way, by managing the order information and calculating the busyness on the management server 20 side, the processing load on the kitchen printer 10 (store device) can be reduced. Thereby, the cost of the kitchen printer 10 can be suppressed, and as a result, the cost of the entire store management system SY1 can be reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the busy degree is calculated using a calculation formula, but the busy degree may be obtained by referring to a table. For example, referring to a table in which the number of order information stored in the management memory 22 is associated with the busyness, when the number of order information is “0”, the busyness is 0% and the number of order information When “1” is “1”, the busyness may be obtained such as 10% busyness.

  In the above embodiment, the busyness calculation processing is performed by the kitchen printer 10 including the order form printing unit 120. However, the busyness calculation is performed by the receipt printer 12 including the accounting receipt printing unit (not shown). A calculation process may be performed. That is, you may comprise the system in a store centering on the receipt printer 12. FIG. In this case, the receipt printer 12 is connected to the management server 20, the kitchen printer 10, the storefront display 15, and the empty seat waiting management device 16. Further, the busyness calculation processing may be performed by a busyness calculation device (not shown) connected to both the printers 10 and 12 instead of the kitchen printer 10 and the receipt printer 12. In this case, the busyness calculating device acquires order information and transaction execution information from the kitchen printer 10 and the receipt printer 12, respectively, and is connected to the management server 20.

  Moreover, in said embodiment, although the management server 20 gave the incentive (issues a discount coupon), you may perform in each store. In this case, the management server 20 (an incentive management unit (not shown)) transmits information (for example, a reservation number and coupon information) indicating that an incentive is given to the kitchen printer 10 of the store serving as the reserved store. The kitchen printer 10 that has acquired the information transfers the information to the receipt printer 12 (an incentive provision unit (not shown)), and the receipt printer 12 makes a reservation presented by the customer when the accounting process is performed at the POS terminal 13. Incentives are granted based on the number and the transferred information. As an incentive in this case, a coupon or the like that can be used at the next accounting process may be issued.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the store reservation is performed from the customer terminal 30, but the order content may be input at the time of the reservation. In this case, it is preferable to present to the customer terminal 30 not only the waiting time and travel time but also the cooking addition time corresponding to the order contents. That is, the total time = (travel time) + (waiting time) + (cooking addition time) may be calculated and presented to the customer. Here, the cooking addition time can be calculated according to the number of orders included in the order contents and the total cooking time for each item. According to this configuration, the time required for the customer to start eating and drinking can be accurately calculated and presented to the customer.

  In the above embodiment, the recommended store is determined based on the busy information and the busy prediction information at the present time. However, the recommended store may be determined based only on the busy prediction information. In this case, the customer may specify the time, and the predicted busyness at that time (the busyness calculated based on the busy history information) may be presented to the customer terminal 30. According to this configuration, for example, it is possible to check busy conditions other than the current time, such as which store is vacant for today's dinner, and which time zone or day of the week you want to go to eat at a certain store. it can.

  In the above embodiment, the busyness is presented, the search request is entrusted, and the recommended store is notified on the website. However, even if it is presented or notified directly to the customer terminal 30 using e-mail. good. Also, using means such as Twitter (registered trademark), busyness is presented and recommended stores are notified (in this case, the recommended store is determined with priority given to the store with a short waiting time without considering travel time). May be performed.

  In the above embodiment, the busyness is represented by “%”, but may be represented by a numerical value indicating a stage such as a level. Further, it may be expressed by abstract words such as “large”, “medium”, and “small” instead of numerical values. Further, the expression method (percentage, level, abstract wording, etc.) of “busyness” may be selectable by the user using an operator provided in the kitchen printer 10 or a setting tool.

  In the above embodiment, when the store search is performed, the current position of the customer terminal 30 is acquired as the position information. However, the position information input to the customer terminal 30 may be acquired. According to this configuration, for example, the user is currently in Shinjuku Station, but by inputting Tokyo Station as position information, a store search can be requested with Tokyo Station as the movement start point.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the first embodiment, the busyness is calculated and presented to the customer. However, the present embodiment is characterized in that the number of empty seats in the store is calculated and presented to the customer. Only differences from the first embodiment will be described below. In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. Moreover, the modification applied about the component similar to 1st Embodiment is applied similarly about this embodiment. It is assumed that the “store” in the present embodiment is a store of a type in which a customer is seated and receives a service, such as a seating type restaurant.

  FIG. 14 is a system configuration diagram of the store management system SY2 according to the second embodiment. As shown in the figure, the store management system SY2 according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which the empty seat waiting management device 16 is omitted as compared with the first embodiment (see FIG. 1). The “vacant seat number calculating device” is realized by the kitchen printer 10 of the present embodiment.

  FIG. 15A is a diagram illustrating a display example of the storefront display 15 according to the second embodiment. In the present embodiment, the current number of seats in the store is displayed on the display screen 61 of the storefront display 15. The number of vacant seats is displayed as “number of vacant seats / number of seats by seat type” for each seat type. FIG. 15B is a diagram illustrating an example of the contents stored in the seat number storage unit 410 provided in the kitchen printer 10. The seat number storage unit 410 stores the number of seats provided in the store and the corresponding seat number (table number) for each seat type.

  FIG. 16 is a functional block diagram of the store management system SY2 according to the second embodiment. Note that the functional configuration of the receipt printer 12 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. The main function of the kitchen printer 10 is as follows: seat number storage unit 410, order information acquisition unit 110, order form printing unit 120, transaction execution information acquisition unit 130, order information management unit 140, vacant seat number calculation unit 420, busy information A transmission unit 430 and an empty seat number output unit 440 are provided.

  The seat number storage unit 410 stores the number of seats in the store for each seat type (see FIG. 15B). In addition, the order information management unit 140 according to the present embodiment accumulates the order information acquired by the order information acquisition unit 110 in the management memory 22, and from the order information stored in the management memory 22, an accounting execution information acquisition unit By deleting the order information corresponding to the order contents included in the accounting execution information acquired at 130, the remaining order information which is the order information of the unaccounted processing is managed.

  The vacant seat number calculation unit 420 calculates the number of vacant seats by subtracting the number of used seats specified from the remaining order information from the number of seats in the store. Further, when the seat number storage unit 410 stores the number of seats for each seat type, the number of seats for each seat type indicated by the remaining order information is subtracted from the number of seats for each seat type in the store. Calculate the number of seats available by type. For example, when the three order information shown in FIG. 6 is accumulated in the management memory 22 as the remaining order information, the tables 1 to 3 are all smoking seats (see FIG. 15B). The number of smoking seats in use is “3”. Therefore, in this case, the number “7” obtained by subtracting the number of used seats “3” from the total number of seats “10” of smoking seats becomes the number of vacant seats.

  The busy information transmitting unit 430 obtains the number of vacant seats calculated by the vacant seat number calculating unit 420 and the number of remaining orders specified from the remaining order information (in the example shown in FIG. 6, the number of remaining orders “3”). It transmits to the management server 20 as busy information. The busy information may be transmitted spontaneously every time the kitchen printer 10 calculates the number of vacant seats or the number of remaining orders, and when requested by the management server 20, the busy information at that time is transmitted. You may do it. In the former case, busy information may be transmitted periodically, or busy information may be transmitted only when a change occurs.

  The vacant seat number output unit 440 outputs the vacant seat number calculated by the vacant seat number calculating unit 420 to the storefront display 15 (external device) (see FIG. 15A). The output is performed when the kitchen printer 10 or the storefront display 15 is turned on and when the number of empty seats changes. The number of vacant seats may be output not only to the display device but also to information terminals such as speakers, printing devices, and mobile phones.

  On the other hand, the management server 20 includes, as main functional configurations, a busy information acquisition unit 450, a vacant seat provision unit 460, a search request entrusting unit 230, a recommended store determination unit 470, a busy history information storage unit 480, a recommended store notification unit 260, A reservation entrusting unit 270 and an incentive granting unit 280 are provided.

  The busy information acquisition unit 450 acquires the current busy information (the number of vacant seats and the number of remaining orders) of each store from the kitchen printer 10 (the busy information transmission unit 430) in real time and stores it in the server-side memory 23.

  The number of seats providing unit 460 provides the busy information acquired by the busy information acquiring unit 450 to the customer terminal 30 together with the name of each store. In the present embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, busy information is provided to a viewer who accesses a Web site provided by the management server 20. FIG. 17A is a diagram illustrating a display example of the store list screen according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the store list screen displays the store name, the number of empty seats, and the waiting time of each store included in the chain store group. Here, the number of vacant seats refers to the current number of vacant seats based on the busy information acquired by the busy information acquisition unit 450. The waiting time is a value obtained by referring to the waiting time table shown in FIG. 17B based on the number of vacant seats and the number of remaining orders. That is, the management server 20 (vacancy number providing unit 460) also includes a waiting time table. When the operation option “return to previous screen” is selected on the store list screen, the screen returns to the top screen (see FIG. 9A). In this embodiment, the customer can specify a seat type (smoking seat or non-smoking seat) when displaying a store list or searching for a store. Accordingly, the vacant seat number providing unit 460 presents the number of vacant seats for each designated seat type, and a recommended store determining unit 470 described later determines a recommended store for each designated seat type.

  As shown in FIG. 17B, the waiting time table of the present embodiment associates the number of empty seats, the number of remaining orders, and the waiting time. For example, when the number of vacant seats is 5 or more (when the number of seats is smoking or non-smoking seats is 5 or more), the waiting time is determined as “0 minutes” regardless of the number of remaining orders. On the other hand, if the number of seats is less than 5, the waiting time is determined according to the number of remaining orders. For example, when the number of vacant seats is less than 5 and the number of remaining orders is “10”, the waiting time is determined as “30 minutes”.

  The recommended store determining unit 470 refers to the server-side memory 23 (busy information of each store) using the search request entrustment by the search request entrusting unit 230 as a trigger, and determines a recommended store based on the reference result. In this case, the recommended store determination unit 470 refers to the busy history information storage unit 480 and determines the recommended store in consideration of the busy history information of each store. Here, the busy history information is information in which the past vacant number calculation result in each store is associated with the date and time information on which the vacant number is calculated. The recommended store determination unit 470 generates busy prediction information for each date / time or day of the week from the date / time information stored in the busy history information storage unit 480, and compares the busy prediction information with the current date / time or the current day of the week. Determine recommended stores. In the present embodiment, when one day is divided into a plurality of time zones and the average value of past vacant seats on that day and the day of the week is less than 5, the busy forecast “Yes” (congestion) It is highly likely that In addition, as in the first embodiment, a calculation algorithm for calculating a busy forecast is prepared, and parameters corresponding to the time zone, day of the week, weather, presence / absence of events, etc. are substituted into the calculation algorithm. You may make a prediction.

  In addition, the recommended store determination unit 470 determines each store from the position indicated by the position information based on the relative relationship between the position indicated by the position information acquired from the customer terminal 30 and the position of each store, as in the first embodiment. Travel time is calculated, and a recommended store is determined giving priority to a store with a short travel time. In other words, the recommended store determination unit 470 searches for the store closest to the customer's position, and determines the recommended store with priority on the latest store. Further, the recommended store determination unit 470 calculates the waiting time after entering the store based on the busy information (the number of vacant seats and the number of remaining orders at the present time), and the total time of the waiting time and the travel time is the most. A short store is determined as one recommended store. Further, the recommended store notification unit 260 of the present embodiment notifies the customer terminal 30 of the recommended store determined by the recommended store determination unit 470. At that time, the waiting time and the travel time or the total time at each recommended store are also notified (see FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 11A).

  As described above, according to the store management system SY2 according to the second embodiment, in the kitchen printer 10, the number of seats in use is specified from the remaining order information that is order information of unaccounted processing, and this is provided in the store. Since the number of vacant seats is calculated by subtracting from the number of reserved seats, the exact number of vacant seats can be presented to the customer. Further, since the store clerk only needs to perform a normal order receiving operation for inputting order information to the order terminal 11 and transmitting it to the kitchen printer 10, no complicated operation is required. For this reason, the problem of a store clerk's erroneous operation is eliminated, and an accurate number of seats can be calculated. In addition, since the number of vacant seats is calculated for each seat type, inconveniences such as the absence of a seat of the desired seat type can be solved when the customer actually enters the store despite the large number of vacant seats.

  Furthermore, as in the first embodiment, the kitchen printer 10 is used as a main body to calculate the number of vacant seats and communicate with the management server 20, so that no POS application change or POS system replacement is required. Thereby, the time and cost required for system introduction can be reduced.

  In the second embodiment, the number of vacant seats is calculated by the kitchen printer 10, but may be calculated on the management server 20 side. FIG. 18 is a system configuration diagram illustrating a modification of the store management system SY2 according to the second embodiment. In the modification, the kitchen printer 10 (store device) transmits the acquired order information and transaction execution information to the management server 20. That is, compared to the configuration shown in FIG. 16, the order information transmission unit 310 and the transaction execution information transmission unit 320 are added to the kitchen printer 10. In addition, a management memory 22, an order information management unit 340 (corresponding to the order information management unit 140 in FIG. 16), and a vacant seat number calculating unit 510 (corresponding to the vacant seat number calculating unit 420 in FIG. 16) are added to the management server 20. Has been. Thus, the processing load of the kitchen printer 10 can be reduced by managing the order information and calculating the number of vacant seats on the management server 20 side. Thereby, the cost of the kitchen printer 10 can be suppressed, and as a result, the cost of the entire store management system SY2 can be reduced.

  In the second embodiment, the smoking seat or the non-smoking seat is exemplified as the seat type. However, the number of vacant seats is calculated for each seat type such as a seat for two or four, a seat for children, or for adults only. Also good.

  Moreover, in said 2nd Embodiment, although the recommended store determination part 470 determined the recommended store based on busy information (the number of empty seats and the number of remaining orders at the present time), it is set to the number of remaining orders which is the number of remaining order information. Alternatively, or in addition to this, the recommended store may be determined in consideration of the number of orders for each item included in the remaining order information.

  Further, the “vacant seat number” is represented by the seat number itself, but may be represented as a vacant seat ratio (percentage). Further, it may be expressed by abstract words such as “many”, “medium”, and “small”. Furthermore, the expression method of “the number of vacant seats” may be selectable by the user using an operator provided on the kitchen printer 10 or a setting tool.

  As mentioned above, although two embodiment was shown, it is possible to provide each part of store management system SY1 and SY2 shown to said each embodiment as a program. Further, the program can be provided by being stored in a recording medium (not shown). That is, a program for causing a computer to function as each part of the store management system SY1, SY2 of the present embodiment and a recording medium on which the program is recorded are also included in the scope of rights of the present invention.

  Further, the store management systems SY1 and SY2 of the present invention may be combined. For example, when calculating the busy degree in the first embodiment, the number of vacant seats calculated in the second embodiment may be taken into consideration. That is, the busyness may be calculated by reflecting a parameter corresponding to the number of vacant seats in the calculation formula for calculating the busyness. In the second embodiment, the waiting time is determined by referring to the table that defines the number of vacant seats and the number of remaining orders (see FIG. 17B). In addition to the number of vacant seats and the number of remaining orders, The waiting time may be determined based on the cooking time for each item included (see FIG. 7A) and the waiting-for-seat information output from the waiting-for-seat management device 16. Also, instead of referring to the table, the calculation formula for calculating the waiting time includes the number of vacant seats, the number of remaining orders, the cooking time by item of each item included in the remaining order information, and parameters according to the waiting information. The waiting time may be calculated reflecting the above.

  In addition, the store management systems SY1 and SY2 of the present invention can be applied to facilities that provide customers with arbitrary services, such as retail stores that sell products, banks, post offices, city halls, and the like other than restaurants. Other modifications can be made as appropriate without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Kitchen printer 11 ... Order terminal 12 ... Receipt printer 13 ... POS terminal 14 ... Bar code reader 15 ... Store display 16 ... Waiting seat management device 20 ... Management server 21 ... Database 22 ... Management memory 23 ... Server side memory 30 ... Customer terminal 31 ... Display screen (customer terminal) 40 ... Base station 51 ... Order slip 52 ... Accounting receipt 53 ... Empty seat wait slip 55 ... Bar code 61 ... Display screen (store display) 62 ... Touch panel NT1 ... Network (Internet) NT2 ... Network (telephone public line) SY1 ... store management system (first embodiment) SY2 ... store management system (second embodiment)

Claims (15)

A seat number storage unit for storing the number of seats in the store;
An order information acquisition unit for acquiring order information indicating the order contents and the seat where the customer is seated;
An accounting execution information acquisition unit for acquiring accounting execution information including the order contents;
The order information acquired by the order information acquisition unit is stored in a memory, and unordered processing is performed by deleting the order information corresponding to the order contents included in the accounting execution information from the order information stored in the memory. An order information management unit that manages the remaining order information that is the order information of
A vacant seat number calculating unit that calculates the vacant seat number by subtracting the number of used seats specified from the remaining order information from the number of seats in the store;
A vacant seat number calculating apparatus comprising: a vacant seat number output unit that outputs the calculated vacant seat number to an external device. The seat number storage unit stores the number of seats for each seat type,
The vacant seat number calculating unit calculates the number of vacant seats for each seat type by subtracting the number of used seats for each seat type indicated by the remaining order information from the number of seats for each seat type in the store. The vacant seat number calculating device according to claim 1. An order form printing unit for printing an order form based on the obtained order information;
3. The vacant seat number calculating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one printing unit of an accounting receipt printing unit that prints an accounting receipt based on the acquired accounting execution information. The vacant seat number calculating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, provided corresponding to each store,
A store management system comprising a plurality of the vacant seat number calculation devices and a management server connected via a network,
The management server is
A store management system comprising a vacant seat number providing unit for providing a vacant seat number calculation result by the plurality of vacant seat number calculating devices to a customer terminal together with a name of each store. The management server is
A search request entrusting unit that receives a request for a store search with the shortest waiting time from the customer terminal,
Using the search request entrustment as a trigger, referring to the vacant seat number calculation result by the plurality of vacant seat number calculating devices, and based on the reference result, a recommended store determining unit that determines a recommended store;
The store management system according to claim 4, further comprising a recommended store notification unit that notifies the determined recommended store to the customer terminal that has made a search request. The management server is
A busy history information storage unit for storing busy history information obtained from past vacant seat number calculation results by the plurality of vacant seat number calculating devices;
The store management system according to claim 5, wherein the recommended store determination unit determines the recommended store in consideration of busy history information of each store with reference to the busy history information storage unit. The busy history information storage unit stores the busy history information together with date information on which the number of vacant seats has been calculated,
The recommended store determining unit generates busy forecast information by date and time or day of the week from the date and time information stored in the busy history information storage unit, and collates the busy forecast information with the current date and time or current day of the week. The store management system according to claim 6, wherein the recommended store is determined. The management server is
A busy information acquisition unit that acquires, in real time, the number of remaining orders specified from the result of calculating the number of empty seats and the remaining order information at the present time of each number of empty seats calculating apparatus;
The store management system according to claim 7, wherein the recommended store determination unit determines the recommended store based on the busy prediction information and the busy information. The search request entrusting unit entrusts a search request together with position information from the customer terminal,
The recommended store determination unit calculates the travel time from the position indicated by the position information to each store based on the relative relationship between the position indicated by the position information acquired from the customer terminal and the position of each store, The store management system according to claim 8, wherein the recommended store is determined by giving priority to a store having a short travel time.   The recommended store determining unit calculates a waiting time after entering the store based on the busy information, and determines a store having the shortest total time of the waiting time and the travel time as one of the recommended stores. The store management system according to claim 9, wherein the store management system is determined as a store.   The said recommended store notification part notifies the said waiting time and the said travel time in the said recommended store determined by the said recommended store determination part, or the said total time to the said customer terminal. Store management system. The management server is
From the customer terminal, a reservation entrusting unit that entrusts a reservation for the recommended store,
An incentive granting unit that grants an incentive to the customer terminal that has made a reservation for a store other than the store having the shortest total time among the plurality of recommended stores determined by the recommended store determination unit; The store management system according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that. A store apparatus provided for each store;
A store management system comprising a plurality of store devices and a management server connected via a network,
The store apparatus is
An order information acquisition unit for acquiring order information indicating the order contents and the seat where the customer is seated;
An accounting execution information acquisition unit for acquiring accounting execution information including the order contents;
An order information transmission unit for transmitting the acquired order information to the management server;
An accounting execution information transmitting unit that transmits the acquired accounting execution information to the management server,
The management server is
A seat number storage unit for storing the number of seats in each store;
The acquired order information of each store is stored in the memory, and the order information corresponding to the order contents included in the above-mentioned accounting execution information of each acquired store is deleted from the order information stored in the memory, thereby making it unaccounted for. An order information management unit for managing remaining order information that is processing order information;
A vacant seat number calculation unit that calculates the vacant seat number of each store by subtracting the number of used seats of each store specified from the remaining order information from the number of seats of each store;
A store management system comprising: a vacant seat number providing unit that provides the calculated number of seats of each store to a customer terminal together with the name of each store. Computer
Storing the number of seats in the store;
Obtaining order information indicating the order contents and the seats seated by the customer;
Obtaining accounting execution information including the order contents;
The acquired order information is stored in a memory, and the order information corresponding to the order contents included in the accounting execution information is deleted from the order information stored in the memory, thereby remaining unaccounted processing order information. Managing order information;
And calculating the number of vacant seats by subtracting the number of in-use seats identified from the remaining order information from the number of seats in the store. The program for making a computer perform each step in the vacant seat number calculation method of Claim 14.

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