JP2003168138A - Automatic ticket sales system and round-trip discount difference guidance method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To provide a vending machine capable of selling tickets for transportation such as railroads and airlines to customers, so that the user can arrange and sell round-trip discount tickets to users. When a customer purchase button on a screen of a display device of a vending machine and a button at a disembarkation station are selected, it is determined that a one-way ticket is included in the specification of the customer. An automatic handling device that refers to a table stored in advance and determines whether or not a round-trip discount can be applied, and, if applicable, guides and displays the fare of the discount, the difference from the fare before the discount, and the like.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic ticket vending machine and an automatic ticket vending system capable of selling or reserving passenger tickets and boarding tickets for transportation such as railroad and air.

[0002]

[Prior Art] When a clerk sells a ticket to a customer at a store or at a counter, a round-trip discount system is applied by purchasing the one-way ticket that the customer tried to purchase together with the return ticket If the clerk judges that it will be done, he will inform the customer that the round-trip discount system will be applied and recommend the simultaneous purchase of the return ticket. At this time, if necessary, the customer can purchase a return ticket at the same time and receive a round-trip discount system.On the other hand, for the sales side, not only the going customer but also the returning customer should be secured to their own transportation. You can contribute to sales because you can.

Further, in order to save the trouble of selling a ticket at a store or at a counter and prevent congestion at the store or at a counter to improve convenience for customers, in recent years, a ticket is mainly sold by an automatic machine or a terminal. . As an arrangement for selling a round-trip ticket in an automatic machine or a terminal, for example, in Patent Document 1, when a predetermined target station where congestion is expected at an event or the like is selected, a round-trip ticket is purchased for the purpose of alleviating the congestion. There is disclosed an automatic ticket vending machine for guiding passengers.

[0004]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-209828 (Page 31, left column, line 31 to right column, line 4)

[0005]

However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is to provide an automatic ticket vending machine for the purpose of alleviating congestion at a predetermined station. It was not a technique that could guide the advantage. Therefore, the round-trip discount system cannot be arranged by the automatic machines and terminals that do not intervene in sales transactions, and if the ticket is purchased at the store or at the counter, the round-trip discount will be given to the staff to inform them of the financial advantage. Even potential customers, who should have been able to purchase discounted tickets and contribute to the improvement of transportation sales, will gain financial advantage by using automated machines and terminals that are generally convenient and frequently used. You will not be guided. Then, the potential customer purchases a one-way ticket for only the outbound route and uses another transportation system for the inbound route because he / she does not know the financial advantage. In other words, it results in missed potential customers for transportation, and misses the potential customers without knowing the financial advantage, resulting in an unfavorable problem for both parties.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic ticket vending system which solves the above problems and provides a round-trip discount round-trip discount when a round-trip discount is applicable.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a display means for displaying a guide screen, an input means for receiving an input from a customer, and a ticket issuing means for issuing a transportation ticket. The automatic ticket selling system has a round-trip discount means for guiding a round-trip discount ticket when a round-trip discount can be applied, and the round-trip discount means displays the round-trip discount guidance on the display means and An automatic ticket selling system characterized in that a round-trip discount ticket is displayed on the input means and the round-trip discount ticket is issued by the ticket issuing means based on the purchase instruction input from the input means.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The present invention is applicable to railways, buses,
It can be applied to the sale of tickets for transportation such as airplanes and ships, boarding passes, reservation tickets, etc., but here, as an example, an automatic ticket vending machine for Shinkansen tickets is used, especially an automatic ticket vending machine It is assumed that the limited express ticket and the ticket are sold, and the setting place is set in Tokyo station and the boarding station is set in advance as Tokyo station.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of an automatic ticket selling system. Reference numeral 101 denotes a CPU (also referred to as a processing device or control device) that executes a program, 102 denotes a main storage device such as a semiconductor memory that temporarily stores the program of the present invention and data for arithmetic processing, and 103 denotes the program and each ride. An external storage device such as a disk drive for storing fare and distance data between stations, 104 is a depositing / dispensing device for charging fare and withdrawing change, and 105 is a ticket including a transport mechanism and a printer for issuing a ticket It is a ticket issuing device. Further, 106 is a touch panel display,
It is composed of a display device 108 for displaying the output result to the customer and an input device 107 for the user to input information.

Here, all the components of the above-described automatic ticket vending system may be provided in a so-called automatic ticket vending machine alone, but each device may be provided separately. For example,
The automatic ticket vending machine has a touch panel 106, a ticket issuing device 105, a deposit / withdrawal device 104, a CPU 101, and a main storage device 102, and the external storage device 103 is connected to the automatic ticket vending machine via a communication line. By storing the information in the stored server or host, management such as changing information registered in the external storage device 103 becomes easy, and the information can be shared by a plurality of automatic ticket vending machines. The CPU 101 is also provided in the server or the host, and the automatic ticket vending machine is the CPU 1
Even if it operates based on the command from 01, the cost of the automatic ticket vending machine can be reduced.

The external storage device 103 stores a table shown in FIG. 3, which stores information used for calculating the Shinkansen ticket fare. In the order from the top of the drawing, 301 is an example of a ticket fare table from Tokyo Station to each station, 302 is an example of a Shinkansen limited express limited fare table from Tokyo Station to each station, and 303 is a ride from Tokyo Station to each station. It is an example of a distance table.

In order to board a free seat on the Shinkansen, it is necessary to purchase two tickets, a "passenger ticket" to the destination and a "Shinkansen free seat limited express ticket". The rules for the ticket are: -Round-trip discount application rule: One-way mileage of 601 km or more-Round-trip discount rate: 1 fare for each return and return ticket
Discount, rounding down less than 10 yen, one-way ticket valid period: (ride distance (Km) / 200 +
1) day. Rounding up / round-trip ticket valid period: Twice as long as the ticket valid period is set by the railway company, and the above rule is recorded in the external storage device 103 as a calculation formula or a judgment formula of the program. In addition to this, as another example, “Round-trip discount application rule: One-way ticket fare is 4000 yen or more” “Round-trip discount rate: No discount for tickets going to, 2 tickets for return
Various rules such as "discount" can be considered. In this way, the external storage device 103 (also simply referred to as a storage unit) also stores various types of regulation information regarding the ticket.

The round-trip discount function (or means), which is the subject of the present invention, will be described below. An example in which the user first selects one-way and an example (variant) in which the user selects a ticket I will explain separately.

FIG. 2 shows the display contents of the touch panel 106 on the display device 108 and the input contents of the customer to the input device 107. On the display device 108, guidance texts, buttons (keys), texts indicating the contents of the buttons, and the like are displayed. On the screen 201, "Shinkansen free seat limited express ticket / one-way ticket" 01, "Shinkansen free seat limited express ticket only" Each of the buttons is displayed as a main item, and on the screen 202, a plurality of station name buttons indicating the exit station such as [Tokyo] (Tokyo is a boarding station and therefore cannot be selected), “Hiroshima” 02, and “Hakata” are displayed. It Then, a screen 203 shows a round-trip discount placement screen, which is mainly “one way” 03, “round-trip [round-trip discount price]” 0
No.4, "Round ticket only round-trip [round-trip discount price]" 05 is displayed. The screen 204 shows a screen for confirming the contents operated by himself when introducing a ticket, and also displays "change passenger count", "cancel", and "confirm" buttons.

When the customer's touch (selection by contact, proximity, etc.) to the displayed button is detected, the input device 107 reads that the customer has input, and various processes described below are performed.

The screen flow of the automatic ticket vending system will be described with reference to FIG. The CPU 101 (including the round-trip discount function described above) performs various processes and controls described below.

First, a welcome screen 201 is displayed on the display device 108 as an initial screen, and waits for the customer to select a purchase item. Here, the purchased item indicates a Shinkansen free seat limited express ticket, a one-way ticket, or a Shinkansen free seat limited express ticket.
The information of the screen displayed on the display device 108 is the external storage device 1.
It is stored in 03 and is read and displayed. When the customer selects and inputs the selection item 01 to the input device 107, the purchased product M selected by the customer is stored in the main storage device 102 as “Shinkansen free seat limited express ticket” + “one-way ticket”.

If "Shinkansen free seat limited express ticket (only)" is selected, the return ticket will not be arranged, and "Shinkansen free seat limited express ticket" (one-way limited express ticket Tickets may be shown).

When the item 01 is pressed on the screen 201, the alighting station selection screen 202 is displayed on the display device 108 to wait for the selection of the boarding station. When the customer selects the item 02, the alighting station S is displayed. It is stored in the main storage device 102 as “Hiroshima”. Based on the drop-off station “Hiroshima”, various information to be described later such as destination information to Hiroshima, for example, the distance between Tokyo and Hiroshima, a charge, etc. can be acquired.

Although the transaction is completed by issuing a one-way ticket here, in the present invention, it is determined whether the round-trip discount ticket can be arranged, that is, whether the round-trip discount is applicable or not, and the round-trip discount is applied. If the round-trip discount ticket can be arranged, the round-trip discount ticket screen 203 is displayed to arrange the round-trip discount ticket. As a result, the customer can know that the round-trip discount system is available even when purchasing a one-way ticket at an automatic ticket vending machine, which improves convenience and, on the other hand, for transportation means selling ticket By selling the ticket, the customer will use the same transportation method on the way back, and as a result, the share and sales can be improved.

The reason why the round-trip ticket is arranged only when the round-trip discount is applied is to reduce the input work by the customer as much as possible and improve the operability.
A round-trip ticket with no discount is not attractive to the customer, as the customer does not get any money. Therefore, display the purchase selection screen of the round-trip ticket without discount,
It is considered that selection causes an increase in useless input work, resulting in deterioration of operability. In other words, by arranging the round-trip ticket only when the round-trip discount can be applied, the product attractive to the customer can be arranged, the service to the customer can be improved, and the deterioration of operability can be minimized. . In addition, in the present invention, a round-trip ticket means a generic name of a round-trip ticket and a round-trip discount ticket.

Next, the processing flow of the round-trip discount applicability judgment, which is one function (or means) of the CPU 101, will be described with reference to FIG. Note that this process shows a workflow from the screen 202 to the screen 203 in FIG. As described above, this process may be executed by the automatic ticket vending machine or the server or host.

First, in step 401, the price Pm of the one-way free seat limited express ticket is calculated. The price Pm is obtained from the table 302, and since the disembarking station S is Hiroshima, 6,210 yen can be obtained.

Next, in step 402, it is judged whether or not the purchased product M includes a one-way ticket. If it is included, the process proceeds to step 403, and if it is not included,
In the first place, since there is no target to which the round trip discount is applied, the processing of the round trip discount applicability judgment is ended. That is, when the product selected by the customer on the welcome screen 201 is the "Shinkansen free seat limited express ticket / one-way ticket", the product includes a one-way ticket, so the process proceeds to step 403. If the product selected by the customer on the welcome screen 201 is "only Shinkansen free seat limited express ticket", the product does not include a one-way ticket, so the round-trip discount applicability judgment is terminated,
The purchase ticket confirmation screen 204 is displayed, and then a non-reserved limited express ticket is issued to complete the transaction. Although not described in detail, if the welcome screen 201 shows options including “round trip ticket”, round trip discount is calculated,
That is, steps 401 to 410 (excluding 402 and 406) are executed to display the purchase ticket confirmation screen 204,
After that, a round trip discount ticket is issued to complete the transaction.

At step 403, the price Pa of the one-way ticket is Pa.
To calculate. Since the exit station S stored in the main storage device 102 is “Hiroshima”, the corresponding price Pa, that is, 1
1,340 yen is acquired from the table 301.

In step 404, the boarding distance L from Tokyo station to the exit station is acquired. Table 303 for boarding distance L
Since the drop-off station S is Hiroshima, 895 km is acquired.

In step 405, the external storage device 103
The "Valid ticket valid period" is called and the valid period Da of the one-way ticket is calculated. As described above, the one-way ticket validity period regulation is [rounded up to the right of the decimal point of (ride distance L / 200 + 1)]. Therefore, when the ride distance L = 895 km is substituted, the validity period Da is calculated as 6 days. In addition to the valid period, the valid period may be calculated or acquired.
Depending on the user, there are some people who remember the return date relatively as "○ day after" and some who absolutely remember it as "○ month ◯ day". It cannot be said which one is good, and it is preferable to display both.

In step 406, the round-trip discount application rule is called from the external storage device 103 and compared with the information input by the customer to determine whether the round-trip discount application rule is met. As described above, the round-trip discount application rule is that the boarding distance L is 601 km or more, so the boarding distance L is 601 km.
If it is above, it progresses to Step 407 and boarding distance L is 60.
If it does not reach 1 km, the round-trip discount is not applied and the round-trip discount applicability determination process ends. In this case, screen 2
Since “Hiroshima” is selected in 02, the ride distance L = 89
Since it is 5 km, the process proceeds to step 407. When, for example, “Kyoto” (ride distance L = 514 km) is selected, the round trip discount applicability determination is rejected, the purchase ticket confirmation screen 204 is displayed, and then the purchase ticket confirmation screen 204 is displayed. Complete a transaction by issuing a one-way ticket and a limited express ticket for a free seat on the Shinkansen. In addition,
Rather than making a judgment based on the boarding distance L, a method of applying a round-trip discount when it is a predetermined getting-off station for a preset boarding station, or a method of applying a round-trip discount when the boarding charge is above a certain level. Can also be considered. In the former case, it is not necessary to obtain and judge the boarding distance L, and in the latter case, it is not limited to the case of selecting the station name or the destination name like the disembarking station selection screen 202, but the case of displaying the fare selection screen. Even if there is, a round-trip discount will be applicable.

At step 407, the price Pb of the round-trip discount ticket is calculated. According to the round-trip discount rate regulation, the price Pa is 10,200 yen when calculating the ticket fare for both going and returning with [(round-trip ticket price Pa x 0.9) yen rounded down to the nearest 10 yen], The price Pb of the round-trip discount ticket is 20,400 yen.

At step 408, the discount amount Pc by the round-trip discount is calculated. The discount amount Pc = [(one-way ticket price Pa x 2) -because it is the difference between the purchase of the one-way ticket separately twice (round-trip discount not applied) and the amount of purchase of the round-trip discount ticket (round-trip discount applied). With the round-trip discount ticket price Pb], the discount amount Pc becomes 2,280 yen.

In step 409, the external storage device 103
The "valid period of ticket" is called and the valid period Db of the round-trip discount ticket is calculated. Since the round-trip ticket validity period regulation is [double the one-way ticket validity period] and the one-way ticket validity period Da is 6 days, Db is calculated as 12 days.

At step 410, the price Pn of the round-trip free seat limited express ticket is calculated. The price Pn is 12,420 yen calculated by [(price for one-way free seat limited express ticket Pm x 2) yen], since the free seat limited express ticket does not have a round-trip discount regulation.

In steps 407 to 410, the CPU
Round-trip discount ticket price Pb calculated by 101, discount amount P
c, the one-way ticket validity period Da, the round-trip free seat limited express ticket Pn, etc. are stored in association with the information of the round-trip discount application rule in the table (FIG. 3) of the external storage device 103, and the CPU 10
One has the effect that the processing becomes faster when only 1 acquires the information.

As described above, the information calculated or obtained in each step causes the display device 108 to display the round-trip discount placement screen 203 in step 411 (see screen 203 in FIG. 2). One-way ticket price Pa in display area 10 and display area 11
For one-way non-reserved limited express ticket price Pm, P for display area 12
The total amount of a and Pm, the round-trip discount ticket price Pb in the display area 13, the round-trip free seat limited express ticket price Pn in the display area 14, the discount amount Pc in the display area 15, and the display area 16
Is the total amount of Pb and Pn, the round-trip discount ticket price Pb is in the display area 17, the one-way free seat limited express ticket price Pm is in the display area 18, the discount amount Pc is in the display area 19, and the Pb is in the display area 20. And the total amount of Pm are displayed in the display area 21 as the round-trip discount ticket valid period Db. Then, the one-way selection button 03, the round-trip selection button 04, and the round-trip ticket only round-trip selection button 05 are displayed to wait for the customer's selection. In this way, the round-trip discount ticket is arranged and the round-trip discount amount P
By displaying c, it is possible to inform the customer of the economic advantage.

Next, the details of the screen 203 shown in FIG. 2 will be further described.

In addition to displaying the round-trip discount amount Pc,
By displaying the one-way total (the total amount of Pa and Pn) in the display area 12 and the total of the round-trip total (Pb + Pn) in the display area 16 side by side, the amount that the customer can pay at the time of purchase (so-called possession money, However, it is not limited to cash), so the convenience is improved. In addition, by displaying the wording of [Round Trip Discount Price] that indicates that the round trip discount is applied and the discount amount together with the fare to which the round trip discount is applied, it is possible to discount the ticket for the customer. I can tell you that.

Further, as a selection item regarding round trip, a button 05 is provided as an option of "round trip only ticket", that is, a round trip discount ticket and a one-way free seat limited express ticket are purchased. In other words, on the way home, respond to customer requests such as wanting to use Shinkansen reserved seats and other limited express trains instead of unreserved seats of the Shinkansen, purchasing later because there is insufficient money, or deciding later because the schedule has not been decided You can In this way, the minimum payment amount (Pa + Pm) that allows you to board a one-way Shinkansen and receive a round-trip discount
You can purchase round-trip discount tickets at and promote the purchase of round-trip discount tickets.

As described above, when the customer selects the selection item 03, the medium (including the ticket, the ticket, and the electronic information in charge of the ticket) issued according to the button selected by the customer on the screen 203 of FIG. One-way free seat limited express ticket and one-way ticket, if the customer selects the selection item 04, it is a round-trip free seat limited express ticket and a round-trip ticket, and if the customer selects the selection item 05, the ticket to purchase is one-way It is a non-reserved limited express ticket and a round-trip ticket.

After selecting the ticket to purchase, the purchase ticket confirmation screen 204 is displayed on the display device 108, and the customer confirms the ticket to purchase. The display area 22 is at the exit station S, the display area 23 is the ticket name selected by the customer on the screen 203, the display area 24 is the number of adults, the display area 25 is the number of children, and the display area 26. Displays the total amount calculated from the ticket price and the number of passengers.

Here, the default number of passengers is set to "1 adult, 0 dwarf", and in case of change, the selection item 07
By selecting, an input screen for the number of passengers is displayed on the display device 108 to allow the customer to input, but an input screen for the number of people is displayed at an arbitrary timing before the purchase ticket confirmation screen is displayed.
You may let the customer input it.

When the customer purchases a ticket, selection item 06
If, on the other hand, you want to cancel the purchase, select the selection item 08. When the selection item 06 is selected, the payment is inserted, a ticket is issued, and the customer waits for receipt. Selection item 0
When 8 is selected, the transaction is stopped, the screen 201 is displayed, and the customer's input is awaited.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to inform the customer who purchases a one-way ticket that the round-trip discount is applicable and to inform the economical advantage thereof.

In the above embodiment, when the one-way ticket is sold, the round trip discount ticket purchase selection screen (2) is only available if the round trip discount can be applied to the ticket selected by the customer.
03) was displayed. As a modification, when a round-trip ticket purchase selection screen (screen 504) is displayed regardless of whether or not the round-trip discount is applicable when selling the ticket,
An example in which a placement display (screen 503) is displayed when a round-trip discount is applicable can be considered. In the case of this modified example, the screen for always selecting a one-way ticket and a round-trip ticket is displayed, so for customers who are urgently purchasing only one-way tickets or customers who need only one-way tickets, etc. It will take an extra step, but for customers who are not in a hurry, there is a merit that they can always purchase a return ticket at the same time, and for transportation, there is an advantage that the customer's return demand can be secured. . Hereinafter, the modified example will be described.

In a modification, button 3 is displayed on screen 501 of FIG.
0 as "One-way ticket" along with "Shinkansen non-reserved express ticket"
Instead of showing you the "ticket". After that, the purchase selection screen for the round-trip ticket is displayed regardless of whether the round-trip discount is applicable or not. However, in the present invention, the round-trip discount applicability judgment shown in FIG. 6 is executed, and the round-trip discount placement screen 502 is displayed when the round-trip discount is applied, and the one-way round-trip selection screen 503 is displayed when the round-trip discount is not applied.

FIG. 6 is a processing flow of the round-trip discount applicability judgment in the modification, which will be described below. The processing in each step having the same number as in FIG. 4 is the same as that in FIG.

First, steps 401, 403, 404,
At 405, 409, 410, the price P for the one-way free seat limited express ticket
m = 6,210 yen, one-way ticket price Pa = 11,34
0 yen, price for round-trip free seat limited express ticket Pn = 12,420 yen,
The travel distance L from Tokyo station to the exit station is 895 km, the one-way ticket validity period Da = 6 days, and the round-trip ticket validity period Db = 12 days.

At step 406, it is determined whether or not the round-trip discount application rule is met. If yes, at steps 407 and 408 the round-trip discount ticket price Pb = 20,
400 yen, a round-trip discount amount Pc of 10,200 yen is obtained, and the process proceeds to step 601. If the round-trip discount application rule is not met, the process proceeds to step 602.

In the processing when the round trip discount is applied, that is, in step 601, the round trip discount placement screen 502 is displayed. The round-trip discount placement screen 502 has buttons 31 and 32 for selecting a one-way ticket and a round-trip ticket, respectively. In particular, in order to locate the round-trip discount ticket in the display area 40 in the button 08, the character string “with a round-trip discount” is displayed, together with the round-trip discount guidance text in the display area 41 and in the display area 42. Display the discount amount Pc in the display area 43
Indicates the round-trip discount ticket valid period Db. Therefore, if the round-trip discount is applicable, the display area 40
By displaying 41/42, the customer can be informed that the round-trip ticket can be purchased at a discount. Even if the one-way rate (total of one-way ticket fare and one-way limited express ticket fare) and round-trip discount rate (total of round-trip discount ticket fare and round-trip limited express fare) is displayed, It's good because I can tell you how much money I need.

In the modification, the one-way round trip selection screen 503 is also displayed in the processing when the round trip discount is not applied, that is, in steps 602 and 603. First, in step 602, the price Pd of the round-trip ticket is calculated. Since the round-trip discount cannot be applied here, the price Pd is double the one-way ticket price Pa, which is 22,680 yen. Next, in step 603, a one-way round trip selection screen 5 where no round trip discount is arranged
03 is displayed. On the one-way round trip selection screen 503, a one-way ticket and a round-trip ticket are selected, but there is no round-trip discount application, so there is no round-trip discount guidance. However, the round-trip discount ticket valid period Db is displayed in the display area 44.
It is necessary for the customer even if the one-way fare (total of one-way ticket fare and one-way limited express ticket fare) and round-trip fare (total of round-trip ticket fare and round-trip limited express ticket fare) is displayed It's good because you can tell the amount of money. The round-trip discount placement screen 502 does not need to be stored in the external storage device 103 as a format different from the one-way round-trip selection screen 503, and a placement message or the like may be added to the format of the one-way round-trip selection screen 503 for display. You can leave it as it is.

As described above, even in the modified example, when the round-trip discount is applicable, the guide is displayed to the customer, so that the round-trip discount is applied and it is possible to inform that it is economically advantageous.

As described in the above two examples, according to the present invention, even in an automatic machine such as an automatic ticket vending machine or a terminal, the system determines whether or not the round trip discount is applicable according to the information input by the customer. It is possible to judge the processing by illuminating. Further, when the round-trip discount is applied, the discount amount or the total amount is displayed on the screen of the automatic ticket vending machine and the options are given to effectively inform the customer of the economic advantage. Also,
Round-trip discount tickets can be arranged, which helps improve customer service. Further, since the round-trip discount ticket is arranged only when the round-trip discount is applied, the convenience can be maintained even for the customer who wants to purchase only the one-way ticket.

The present invention can be variously applied without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, on the welcome screen, you may be allowed to select the destination or fare instead of selecting a ticket, etc.The wording etc. of each screen can be selected, the design can be changed to paraphrase with the same meaning, The steps of the flowchart can be changed as appropriate. Further, the present invention is not limited to an automatic ticket vending machine, and the present invention can be applied to a ticket sales site displayed by connecting to the Internet by a browser of a personal computer or a mobile phone. Specifically, when the round-trip discount is applied, the choices of one-way ticket and round-trip discount ticket and the guidance wording, the discount amount from the server etc. of the user's PC,
Send to mobile phone and display. In that case, it is not essential to issue a ticket, but it is sufficient to download the information to an electronic medium or notify the user of a reservation number from which the ticket can be issued at a later date.

[0053]

[Effects of the Invention] Even with an automatic ticket vending machine, it is possible to inform the user that round-trip discounts on tickets are possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of an automatic ticket selling system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing screens displayed on a display device and transitions thereof.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing various tables of information used for calculating a Shinkansen ticket fare.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of processing for determining whether or not a round trip discount is applicable.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a screen displayed on a display device in a modified example.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flowchart of processing for determining whether or not a round-trip discount is applicable in a modified example.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 CPU 102 main memory 103 external storage device 104 deposit and withdrawal device 105 ticket issuing device 106 touch panel display 107 input device 108 display device

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Takadate             1 Ikegami Stock Market, Haruoka Town, Owariasahi City, Aichi Prefecture             Hitachi, Ltd. Information Equipment Division F-term (reference) 3E026 AA03 AA05 AA10 CA06

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An automatic ticket selling system having display means for displaying a guide screen, input means for receiving input from a customer, and ticket issuing means for issuing a ticket for transportation, wherein a round-trip discount is applicable. A round-trip discount ticket for guiding the round-trip discount ticket, the round-trip discount means displaying the guide for the round-trip discount guidance on the display means, and the purchase instruction for the round-trip discount ticket displayed by the display means. An automatic ticket vending system, characterized in that a round-trip discount ticket is issued by the ticket issuing means based on a purchase instruction entered by the input means. 2. The automatic ticket selling system according to claim 1, wherein the round-trip discount means displays on the display means a difference between a fare for which a round-trip discount is not applied and a fare for which a round-trip discount is applied. Automatic ticket selling system. 3. The automatic ticket selling system according to claim 1, wherein the round-trip discount means displays the one-way fee and the round-trip discount fee side by side on the display means. 4. The automatic ticket vending system according to claim 1, further comprising storage means for storing distance information of a section from a boarding point to a getting-off point, and the round-trip discount means is the input means. It is possible to determine whether or not a round-trip discount can be applied by referring to the storage means based on the exit point information input from the above and the boarding point information input from the input means or preset. A featured automatic ticket sales system. 5. A round-trip discount difference guidance method comprising a step of receiving a destination, the step including the following steps, and destination information which is a distance to the destination or a one-way fee input in the step of receiving the destination. The destination information acquisition step to be acquired, and the destination information acquired in the destination information acquisition step,
A determination step of determining whether or not a round-trip discount is applicable, and, as a result of the determination in the determination step, a round-trip discount rate is calculated or acquired if the round-trip discount is applicable. A charge calculation step, a difference calculation step of calculating or acquiring a difference between the round-trip discount charge calculated or acquired in the round-trip discount charge calculation step and a double one-way charge, calculated or acquired in the difference calculation step Displaying the difference. 6. The round-trip discount difference guidance method according to claim 5, further comprising the following steps: when the destination information does not correspond to the condition to which the round-trip discount is applied as a result of the determination in the determination step, Step to issue only one-way ticket. 7. The round-trip discount difference guidance method according to claim 5, further comprising the following steps: as a result of the determination in the determination step, if the destination information does not correspond to a condition to which the round-trip discount is applied, Displaying a screen for selecting a round-trip ticket or a one-way ticket.