JP2003242395A - Media communication service system, reservation method therefor, reservation system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To enable a user to receive a media communication service in a favorable environment and facilities without imposing a burden on the user. SOLUTION: In a reservation system 5, in response to a registration request from a rental operator terminal 1, the rental operator receives and registers the equipment information of the equipment terminal to rent.
In addition, in response to a facility reservation request from the service provider terminal 2, the use of the facility terminal 3 designated by the service provider among the pre-registered facility terminals is reserved, and the service provider terminal 2 after the facility reservation is used. In response to the service reservation request, the service provider reserves the use of the specific user for the equipment terminal for which the service provider has reserved the equipment. Then, in response to a service request from the equipment terminal 3, the media communication system 6 starts providing a reserved media communication service to the equipment terminal 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a media communication service system, a reservation method therefor, and a reservation system, and in particular, provides a media communication service to a user by transmitting various multimedia contents to an information communication terminal. The present invention relates to a media communication service system, a reservation method therefor, and a reservation system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the improvement of network environment and information communication terminals, contents having a relatively large amount of information, for example, multimedia contents including still images, moving images, voices, etc. are distributed to users and Media communication services have been launched to establish the exchange of multimedia content in. When receiving such media communication services, most of users use an information communication terminal that receives and reproduces multimedia contents, and further generates and transmits multimedia contents by using a personal computer located at work or home. Used as.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional media communication service, since a personal computer located at a company or home is used as an information communication terminal when receiving the media communication service, the service is not provided. There was a problem that the environment suitable for receiving the service could not be obtained and the service could not be used effectively. For example, in the case of a media communication service in which a user learns by using received multimedia contents, a personal computer installed in the workplace cannot be understood because it is difficult to understand that the individual learns at the workplace. Is not readily available. In addition, it is difficult to keep the motivation for learning at home because it is easy to spend time on communication with family and other interests with a personal computer at home.

Further, a structure for effectively utilizing multimedia, such as installation of a modem having a high communication speed,
In many cases, it is necessary to add plug-in software or special software to the browser, which is a burden on users. The present invention is intended to solve such a problem, and a media communication service system and a media communication service system that allow a user to receive a media communication service in a favorable environment or facility without imposing a burden on the user. The purpose is to provide a reservation method and reservation system.

[0005]

In order to achieve such an object, the media communication service system according to the present invention transmits various multimedia contents from the media communication system to an information communication terminal,
In a media communication service system that provides media communication services to users, one or more rental company terminals used by rental companies that rent out information processing terminals as equipment terminals, and a service business that provides media communication services to users. One or more service provider terminals used by a person, a facility terminal used by the user when receiving a media communication service rented by a rental provider, and one or more transmitting various multimedia contents to the facility terminal And a reservation system which is connected to a rental business operator terminal, a service business operator terminal, an equipment terminal and a media communication system, respectively, via a communication network and performs a reservation process for the equipment terminal used for media communication service. Preparation and reservation system In response to the registration request from the rental business operator terminal, the rental business operator receives and registers the equipment information of the equipment terminal to be rented, and the equipment terminal registered in advance in response to the equipment reservation request from the service business operator terminal is registered. Of these, the use of the equipment terminal specified by the service provider is reserved, and the use of the specified user for the equipment terminal reserved by the service operator is requested in response to the service reservation request from the service provider terminal after the equipment reservation. It is arranged to make a reservation and start providing a media communication service from the media communication system to the equipment terminal in response to a service request from the equipment terminal.

When making an equipment reservation, the reservation system searches for equipment terminals that match the conditions specified by the service provider terminal from among the equipment terminals that are registered in advance, and specifies the search result in the equipment reservation request. You may make it notify to a service provider terminal as information for selection of an equipment terminal. About media communication system, reservation system,
When making a facility reservation request, a media communication system corresponding to the facility terminal may be selected from the media communication systems to make a reservation.

As another configuration related to equipment reservation, in the reservation system, the rental business operator terminal which is registered in advance in response to the recruitment request from the service business operator terminal is notified of the public request for equipment, and the rental business operator terminal to apply for is notified. In response to the registration request from the rental business operator, the equipment terminal to be rented out is registered, the application contents are notified to the service business operator terminal, and the equipment terminal specified in response to the reservation request from the service business operator terminal is used. The main reservation may be made instead of the equipment reservation.

Further, the method for reserving a media communication service system according to the present invention provides one or more rental company terminals used by a rental company renting out an information processing terminal as an equipment terminal and a media communication service to a user. One or more service provider terminals used by the service provider, an equipment terminal used by the user when receiving the media communication service lent by the rental operator, and transmitting various multimedia contents to the equipment terminal Reservation for reservation processing of one or more media communication systems, a rental business operator terminal, a service business operator terminal, an equipment terminal, and a media communication system, each of which is connected via a communication network to perform equipment terminal reservation processing for media communication services System with the information communication terminal In the reservation method of the media communication service system that provides media communication service to users by exchanging various multimedia contents with, the rental company lends in response to the registration request from the rental company terminal in the reservation system. Receiving and registering the equipment information of the equipment terminal that performs the operation, reserves the use of the equipment terminal specified by the service operator from among the equipment terminals registered in advance in response to the equipment reservation request from the service operator terminal, and After the equipment reservation, in response to a service reservation request from the service operator terminal, the service operator reserves the equipment terminal for which the equipment reservation has been made by the specified user, and in response to the service request from the equipment terminal, the media is sent to the equipment terminal. Start providing the reserved media communication service from the communication system. It is obtained by the.

When making an equipment reservation, the reservation system searches for equipment terminals that match the conditions specified by the service provider terminal from the equipment terminals that are registered in advance, and specifies the search result in the equipment reservation request. You may make it notify to a service provider terminal as information for selection of an equipment terminal. About media communication system, reservation system,
When making a facility reservation request, a media communication system corresponding to the facility terminal may be selected from the media communication systems to make a reservation.

As another method for facility reservation, the reservation system notifies the rental enterprise terminal registered in advance in response to the recruitment request from the service enterpriser terminal of the public application for the equipment and applies to the rental enterpriser terminal. In response to the registration request from the rental business operator, the equipment terminal to be rented out is registered, the application contents are notified to the service business operator terminal, and the equipment terminal specified in response to the reservation request from the service business operator terminal is used. The main reservation may be made instead of the equipment reservation.

Further, the reservation system according to the present invention includes one or more rental company terminals used by a rental company that rents out an information processing terminal as an equipment terminal, and a service company that provides media communication services to users. One or more service provider terminals used, facility terminals used by users when receiving media communication services rented out by rental operators, and one or more media transmitting various multimedia contents to the facility terminals. A media communication service system for providing a media communication service to a user by using a communication system, which is a reservation system for performing reservation processing of equipment terminals used for the media communication service. Terminals, equipment terminals and media communication systems In response to the registration request from the rental business operator terminal, which is connected through the communication network, receives and registers the equipment information of the equipment terminal that the rental business operator rents, and in response to the equipment reservation request from the service business operator terminal. Of the pre-registered equipment terminals, reserve the use of the equipment terminal designated by the service provider, and the equipment reserved by the service operator in response to the service reservation request from the service operator terminal after the equipment reservation. It is provided with a control means for reserving the use of a specific user for the terminal and for starting the provision of the media communication service from the media communication system to the equipment terminal in response to a service request from the equipment terminal.

When making an equipment reservation, the control means searches the equipment terminals that match the conditions specified by the service provider terminal from the equipment terminals registered in advance, and specifies the search result in the equipment reservation request. You may make it notify to a service provider terminal as information for selection of an equipment terminal.
Regarding the media communication system, the control means may select the media communication system corresponding to the equipment terminal from among the media communication systems and make a reservation when the equipment reservation request is made.

As another configuration related to equipment reservation, the control means notifies the equipment open call to the rental business terminal registered in advance in response to the recruitment request from the service business terminal and applies to the rental business terminal. In response to the registration request from the rental business operator, the equipment terminal to be rented out is registered, the application contents are notified to the service business operator terminal, and the equipment terminal specified in response to the reservation request from the service business operator terminal is used. The main reservation may be made instead of the equipment reservation.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a media communication service system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This media communication service system includes a rental company terminal 1, a service company terminal 2,
An equipment terminal 3, a user terminal 4, a reservation system 5 and a media communication system 6 are provided. Reservation system 5
Is a rental business terminal 1, a service business terminal 2, a facility terminal 3, a user terminal 4 and a media communication system 6
And are connected via a communication network such as the Internet. The equipment terminal 3 is also connected to the media communication system 6 via a communication network such as the Internet.

In the present embodiment, a service provider that provides a media communication service reserves the equipment terminal 3 rented out by a rental operator for a user who wants to receive the service, and the user is at work or at home. Unlike the equipment terminal 3 installed in an environment suitable for receiving services
In this way, the desired media communication service can be received. At that time, with respect to the reservation of the equipment terminal 3 necessary for providing the media communication service and further the media communication system 6 for actually distributing the multimedia contents, the reservation system 5 accepts and processes the reservation. Is. Generally, there are a plurality of rental business terminals 1, service business terminals 2, equipment terminals 3, user terminals 4, and media communication systems 6, and equipment suitable for media communication services provided by each service business operator. Although the terminal 3 and the media communication system 6 are selected, the minimum configuration of the media communication service system may be one each.

Next, each element that constitutes the media communication service system will be described. Rental company terminal 1
Consists of an information processing terminal such as a personal computer as a whole,
A browser 11 for accessing the reservation system 5 to browse and input necessary information and a mailer 12 for receiving an electronic mail transmitted from the reservation system 5 are provided. This rental company terminal 1 is managed by a rental company that rents out equipment terminals 3 used to provide media communication services. The rental business operator accesses the reservation system 5 by using the browser 11 of the rental business operator terminal 1, registers rental conditions of the equipment terminal 3, and confirms the reservation content of the equipment terminal 3. Also, by the email received by the mailer 12,
Confirm the reservation content for the equipment terminal 3.

The equipment terminal 3 is composed of an information processing terminal such as a personal computer as a whole, and a browser 31 for a user to access the reservation system 5 and the media communication system 6 to browse and input necessary information, and media communication. Client software 32 is provided for accessing the system 6 and viewing and entering the necessary information. In addition, the equipment terminal 3 is provided with, for example, a modem for high-speed data communication and a high-resolution display as a configuration for effectively using multimedia contents. The equipment terminal 3 is managed by a rental company and rented out as an information processing terminal for media communication service. By using the browser 31 of the equipment terminal 3 to instruct the reservation system 5 to start the media communication service, the user uses the browser 31 and the client software 32 to exchange multimedia contents with the media communication system 6. Receive multimedia communication service.

As the equipment terminal 3, for example, it is assumed that a plurality of personal computers connected to a communication network via a LAN and a router are installed in one room space. According to this configuration, each user can individually use the personal computer to receive a desired media communication service such as attendance at his / her own pace. In addition, one personal computer connected to the communication network via a router is installed in one room space, and the multimedia contents received by the personal computer are connected to the large display device such as a projector or a large display device. A configuration for displaying on the screen is also envisioned. With this configuration, it is possible to provide the media communication service to a plurality of users. The facility terminal 3 may be lent to the user in advance by the rental company and managed by the user.

The service provider terminal 2 is composed of an information processing terminal such as a personal computer as a whole, and has a browser 21 for accessing the reservation system 5 to browse and input necessary information, and an electronic device transmitted from the reservation system 5. A mailer 22 for receiving mail is provided. The service provider terminal 2 is managed by a service provider who concludes a media communication service provision contract with a user and provides the user with the media communication service using the equipment terminal 3 and the media communication system 6. It The service provider uses the browser 21 to access the reservation system 5 to make a reservation for the equipment terminal 3 and the media communication system 6 that match the conditions of the service to be provided. Also, mailer 2
The reservation contents for the equipment terminal 3 and the media communication system 6 are confirmed by the electronic mail received in 2.

The user terminal 4 is an information processing terminal such as a personal computer as a whole and is managed by the user. The user terminal 4 has a browser 41 for accessing the reservation system 5 to browse and input necessary information.
And a mailer 42 for receiving an electronic mail transmitted from the reservation system 5. The user makes a contract for providing a media communication service with a service provider in advance and accesses the reservation system 5 using the browser 41 to confirm or change the reservation content.
Also, the reservation content for the equipment terminal 3 and the media communication system 6 is confirmed by the electronic mail received by the mailer 42.

The reservation system 5 is composed of an information processing terminal such as a server as a whole, and has a rental operator terminal 1, a facility terminal 3, a service operator terminal 2 or a user terminal 4.
An information input / output unit 51 for exchanging necessary information according to access from a user, a reservation processing unit 52 for processing reservation, reservation change and reservation cancellation for the equipment terminal 3 accepted by the information input / output unit 51, and this reservation processing An information storage unit 53 that manages information necessary for reservation processing in the unit 52, a reservation processing unit 5
A message transmission unit 54 is provided for transmitting an e-mail having a predetermined content to the rental company terminal 1, the equipment terminal 3, the service company terminal 2 or the user terminal 4 as necessary based on the processing result in 2. These information input / output unit 5
1, a reservation processing section 52, an information storage section 53, and a message transmission section 54 constitute a control means.

The media communication system 6 is composed of an information processing terminal such as a server as a whole, and a media reservation section 61 that receives a reservation from the reservation system 5 and a service start instruction from the facility terminal 3, and a received reservation content and service start. A media communication engine 62 for exchanging various multimedia contents with the equipment terminal 3 in response to an instruction is provided. The reservation system 5 and the media communication system 6 are generally operated and managed by a third party such as a reservation system manager and a media communication system manager. May be.

Next, the operation of the media communication service system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following, a case where a user takes a desired lecture as a media communication service will be described as an example. It should be noted that each rental business operator owns equipment (a space in which the equipment terminal 3 is arranged) for renting out one place each. In this media communication service system, the media reservation service 5 that is the core of the media communication service system is used to actually provide the media communication service. 2) Registration of the service provider in the reservation system by the reservation system administrator, 3) Equipment reservation by the service provider,
4) It is necessary for the service provider to make a reservation for the user to attend the course and 5) to use the facility terminal to attend the course. In addition, 6) content registration by the service provider, if necessary,
Processes such as 7) transfer of classes by users, 8) cancellation of reservations for various reservations are performed.

First, referring to FIG. 2, 1) equipment registration in the reservation system by the rental company will be described. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing a facility registration process in the reservation system by the rental company. When renting out the own equipment terminal 3 using the reservation system 5, the rental company registers the equipment information indicating the contents of the equipment terminal 3 in the reservation system 5. At this time, the rental company
The reservation system 5 is accessed using the browser 11 of the rental company terminal 1, and authentication is performed by using the authentication information, such as identification information (ID) and password, which has been notified in advance by a contract with the document or online reservation system administrator. (Step 100), and the reservation system 5 receives a registration request including the equipment information of the equipment terminal 3 input in advance.
To (step 101). This equipment information includes the installation location of the equipment terminal 3, the number of seats, the number of terminals, the communication speed,
Information necessary for selecting the equipment terminal 3, such as an available time zone and a usage price per unit time, is used.

In the information input / output unit 51 of the reservation system 5,
The registration request and the equipment information thereof are received from the authenticated rental company terminal 1. The information storage unit 53 receives this registration request and its equipment information from the information input / output unit 51, and registers it in the rental company database as shown in FIG. 3 (step 102). In this rental company database, for each rental company, the location of the facility, the number of seats, the number of terminals, the seat number, the communication speed, the available time zone, and the usage price per unit time, registered in the facility information, are registered. Has been done.

The information input / output section 51 notifies the rental business terminal 1 of the registration result as a registration notification in response to the completion of the rental business registration in the information storage section 53 (step 103). The browser 11 of the rental company terminal 1 displays this registration notice on the screen and notifies the rental company of the registration result. Further, when the registration result from the information storage unit 53 indicates that registration is successful, the message transmission unit 54 of the reservation system 5 also receives message information such as a template for creating a mail and a mail address from the information storage unit 53, and Based on the above, an electronic mail indicating a registration notice is created and transmitted to the rental business terminal 1. The rental business operator receives this e-mail using the mailer 12 of the rental business operator terminal 1 and confirms the registered content.
It should be noted that the notification by e-mail is given as necessary, and may be omitted if it overlaps with the notification content on the browser. In this way, the facility information regarding each facility terminal 3 is registered in the reservation system 5 from each rental company.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, 2) registration of a service provider in the reservation system by the reservation system administrator will be described. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing a service provider registration process in the reservation system by the reservation system administrator. When providing a media communication service using the reservation system 5, the service provider contracts with the reservation system administrator in advance by using documents or online to use the reservation system 5. The reservation system administrator is
Using the information input / output unit 51 of the reservation system 5, the service provider information regarding the service provider contracted in advance is input (step 110).

The information storage unit 53 of the reservation system 5 stores the registration request and its service provider information in the information input / output unit 5.
1 to register various management information in a management database (not shown) (step 111). When the registration result from the information storage unit 53 indicates registration OK, the message transmission unit 54 also receives message information such as a template for creating a mail and a mail address from the information storage unit 53, and sends a registration notification based on this. An e-mail indicating the above is created and transmitted to the service provider terminal 2. The service provider is the mailer 22 of the service provider terminal 2.
To receive this e-mail and confirm the registration details. There is no particular order for 1) facility registration by the rental company to the reservation system and 2) registration of the service company to the reservation system by the reservation system administrator.

Next, with reference to FIG. 5, 3) facility reservation by the service provider will be described. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing the equipment reservation process by the service provider. After the service provider has completed the 1) equipment registration in the reservation system by the rental company and 2) the service provider registration in the reservation system by the reservation system administrator, as described above, the media service provided by itself Service Here, for a lecture, equipment reservation (provisional reservation) is made for the equipment terminal 3 and the media communication system 6 used in the lecture. The service provider is the browser 21 of the service provider terminal 2.
Is used to access the reservation system 5, and authentication is performed with the authentication information notified in advance by a document or contract with the reservation system administrator online (for example, identification information (ID) and password) (step 120).

Then, a registration status search request including the equipment information of the equipment used to provide the media communication service is transmitted to the reservation system 5 (step 121). As the equipment information, the location of the equipment, the number of seats, the number of terminals, the communication speed, the date and time of use, and the like are specified in combination. The information input / output unit 51 of the reservation system 5 receives the registration status search request and the equipment information from the service provider terminal 2 that has been authenticated. The information storage unit 53 receives the registration status search request and the equipment information from the information input / output unit 51, and obtains equipment information matching the equipment information from the rental business database (FIG. 3).
Search). The information input / output unit 51 receives the search result from the information storage unit 53 and notifies the service provider terminal 2 (step 122).

The browser 21 of the service provider terminal 2 is
The search result from the reservation system 5 is displayed on the screen, and the service provider is notified of the registration status of the equipment terminal 3 that matches the designated equipment information. The service provider refers to this search result, selects the equipment used for providing the media communication service, inputs it to the browser 21, and instructs the reservation of the equipment (step 123). In response to this, the facility reservation request including the facility information of the selectively input facility is transmitted from the browser 21 to the reservation system 5 (step 124). As the equipment information, desired equipment, the number of seats, the number of terminals, the date and time of use, etc. are designated.

In the information input / output unit 51 of the reservation system 5,
The equipment reservation request and the equipment information from the service provider terminal 2 are received. In the reservation processing unit 52, the information input / output unit 51
Receives the equipment reservation request and the equipment information from the media communication system 6 corresponding to the equipment information, for example,
A media communication system 6 having the ability to deliver desired multimedia contents to the equipment terminal 3 designated by the equipment information is selected, and the media communication system 6 is selected.
A media reservation request including media reservation information is transmitted to (step 125). The media reservation information includes the new reservation number given to the equipment reservation request, the service provider of the reservation source, and the reservation date and time. The media reservation unit 61 of the media communication system 6 manages the reservation status for itself using a media communication database as shown in FIG. In this media communication database, the reservation No. A service provider of a reservation source, a date and time of service provision, a list of users, contents to be provided, and a status indicating a reservation status (reservation / provisional reservation) are managed.

In accordance with the media reservation information of the media reservation request from the reservation system 5, the media reservation section 61 searches the media communication database. If the service having the requested content can be executed, it is determined that the reservation is possible, and the reservation content is registered in the media communication database as a temporary reservation (step 126). Then, the reservation system 5 is notified as a media reservation response including the reservation success or failure of the provisional reservation (step 127). Further, when the tentative reservation is successful, the media reservation response also notifies the token information necessary for the user to actually receive the service from the media communication system 6 using the equipment terminal 3.

The token information is information (authentication identifier) indicating the right to receive a service from the media communication system 6.
Is. Generally, in this type of media communication system 6, a license (or temporary use permission authority) is given to a service contractor in order to distinguish pay service providers.
Is issued. Here, this license is managed as a token by the reservation system 5, and when the user starts the media communication service, the reservation system 5 notifies the media communication system 6 of the license, and is used to obtain the use permission.

The reservation processing unit 52 of the reservation system 5 receives the media reservation response, the success / failure of the reservation, and token information from the media communication system 6, and stores the token information in the information storage unit 53 according to the success of the reservation. , And makes a request for facility reservation based on the facility information described above to the information storage unit 53. The information storage unit 53 uses the equipment reservation database as shown in FIG. 7 to manage reservations for equipment from service providers, that is, temporary reservations. In this equipment reservation database, the reservation number. , A reservation source service provider, a reservation destination rental provider, a media communication system, and date and time are managed. Information storage unit 53
Then, the reservation content is registered in the equipment reservation database in response to the equipment reservation request from the reservation processing unit 52 (step 128).

The reservation processing unit 52 receives the reservation registration result from the information storage unit 53, and outputs the contents and the contents of the media reservation notification from the media communication system 6 to the information input / output unit 51.
Hand over to. The information input / output unit 51 transmits the content received from the reservation processing unit 52, for example, all or part of the content registered in the equipment reservation database, to the service provider terminal 2 as an equipment reservation notification (step 129). The browser 21 of the service provider terminal 2 receives the facility reservation notification from the reservation system 5 and displays the content on the screen to notify the service provider of the success or failure of the facility reservation.

Further, the reservation processing section 52 of the reservation system 5
When at least one of the media reservation in the media communication system 6 and the equipment reservation in the information storage unit 53 is successful, the reservation content is passed to the message transmission unit 54. In response to this, the message transmission unit 54 acquires message information such as a template for creating a mail and a mail address corresponding to the reservation result of the reservation content from the information storage unit 53, and based on this, sends a facility reservation notification. The e-mail shown is created and sent to the rental company terminal 1 (step 130) and to the service company terminal 2 (step 131). It should be noted that the notification by e-mail is given as necessary, and may be omitted if it overlaps with the notification content on the browser. The rental business operator receives the e-mail using the mailer 12 of the rental business operator terminal 1 to confirm the equipment registration content.
Further, the service provider receives this e-mail using the mailer 22 of the service provider terminal 2 and confirms the equipment registration content. In this way, the service provider makes a reservation (temporary reservation) of the equipment relating to the equipment terminal 3 and the media communication system 6 used for the media communication service.

Next, with reference to FIG. 8, 4) the user's lecture reservation (service reservation) by the service provider will be described. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing the user's lecture reservation processing by the service provider. For service providers,
After 3) the facility reservation by the service provider has been completed as described above, the user will be booked for the lecture based on the contract made with the user separately. The service provider uses the browser 21 of the service provider terminal 2 to access the reservation system 5, and the authentication information, such as identification information (ID), notified in advance by a document or contract with the reservation system administrator online. Authentication is performed using information such as a password (step 140).

Then, the reservation system 5 issues a registration status search request including reservation information for providing the media communication service.
(Step 141). As the reservation information, the reservation number. Information for identifying the equipment reservation is specified. The information input / output unit 51 of the reservation system 5 receives the registration status search request and the reservation information from the service provider terminal 2 that has been authenticated. The information storage unit 53 receives the registration status search request and the reservation information from the information input / output unit 51, and obtains information matching the reservation information from the rental company database (see FIG. 3) or the facility reservation database (see FIG. 7). Search from. The information input / output unit 51 receives the search result from the information storage unit 53 and notifies the service provider terminal 2 of it (step 142).

The browser 21 of the service provider terminal 2 is
The search result from the reservation system 5 is displayed on the screen, and the service provider is notified of the registration status that matches the specified reservation information. The service provider refers to this search result, inputs the attendance information regarding the user who provides the media communication service to the browser 21 and instructs the reservation of the attendance (service) (step 143). In response to this, a lecture reservation request (service reservation request) including the input lecture information of the user is transmitted from the browser 21 to the reservation system 5 (step 144). As this attendance information, reservation N
o. And user information are specified.

In the information input / output unit 51 of the reservation system 5,
The attendance reservation request and attendance information are received from the service provider terminal 2. In the reservation processing unit 52, the information input / output unit 51
The lecture reservation request and the lecture information are received from the lecture reservation information specified by the lecture information. The information storage unit 53 is requested to search the media communication system 6 corresponding to. The information storage unit 53 searches the facility reservation database (see FIG. 7) for the corresponding media communication system 6. The reservation processing unit 52 transmits a lecture reservation request including the lecture information to the retrieved media communication system 6 (step 145).

The media reservation unit 61 searches the media communication database (see FIG. 6) according to the attendance information of the lecture reservation request from the reservation system 5. Then, a new user is additionally registered in the reserved user list corresponding to the attendance information (step 146). Then, the reservation system 5 is notified as a lecture reservation response including reservation success or failure (step 147). Further, when the reservation is successful, the user token information necessary for the user to actually receive the service from the media communication system 6 using the equipment terminal 3 is also notified by the lecture reservation response.

The user token information is information (authentication identifier) indicating the right to receive a service from the media communication system 6, similar to the token information described above. The token information is used as a usage permit role for using the media communication system 6, while the user token information is used as a permit role for individually authorizing the user. Used. The user token information is managed by the reservation system 5 in the same manner as the token information, and the user token information corresponding to the user is notified from the reservation system 5 to the media communication system 6 according to the access from the user. , Used to obtain its authorization.

The reservation processing unit 52 of the reservation system 5 receives the lecture reservation response, the success or failure of the reservation, and the user token information from the media communication system 6, and stores the user token information according to the success of the reservation in the information storage unit 53. The information is stored in the information storage unit 53, and a request for a lecture reservation based on the lecture information is made to the information storage unit 53. The information storage unit 53 manages reservations for each user's attendance using the attendance reservation database shown in FIG. 9, and uses the seat reservation database shown in FIG. 10 to make an appointment for each user's seat. Is managing. Reservation N in the lecture reservation database
o. The service provider of the reservation source, the rental provider of the reservation destination, the media communication system, the location of the facility, the content of the facility, the user, and the date and time are managed. Further, in the seat reservation database, the reservation number. , Seat numbers and users are managed. The information storage unit 53 registers the reservation contents in the lecture reservation database and the seat reservation database in response to the lecture reservation request from the reservation processing unit 52 (step 148).

The reservation processing unit 52 receives the reservation registration result from the information storage unit 53, and passes the contents and the contents of the attendance reservation notification from the media communication system 6 to the information input / output unit 51. The information input / output unit 51 provides all or a part of the contents received from the reservation processing unit 52, for example, the contents registered in the lecture reservation database (see FIG. 9) and the seat reservation database (see FIG. 10) as a notice of lecture reservation It is transmitted to the business entity terminal 2 (step 149). The browser 21 of the service provider terminal 2 receives the lecture reservation notice from the reservation system 5 and displays the content on the screen to notify the service provider of success or failure of the lecture reservation.

Further, the reservation processing section 52 of the reservation system 5
If at least one of the reservation reservation in the media communication system 6 and the reservation reservation in the information storage unit 53 is successful, the reservation content is passed to the message transmission unit 54.
In response to this, the message transmission section 54 responds to the information storage section 53.
Message information such as a template for creating an email or an email address corresponding to the reservation result is created from this, an email indicating a facility reservation notification is created based on this, and the email is sent to the rental company terminal 1. At the same time (step 150), it is transmitted to the user terminal 4 of the corresponding user (step 151). The rental business operator uses the mailer 12 of the rental business operator terminal 1 to receive this e-mail and confirm the attendance registration contents. Also, the user
The mailer 42 of the user terminal 4 is used to receive this e-mail and confirm the attendance registration contents. In this way, the service provider reserves the lecture regarding the equipment terminal 3 and the media communication system 6 used for the media communication service.

Although FIG. 8 illustrates the user's attendance reservation by the service provider, the service provider may cancel the reservation from the service provider terminal 2 for the reserved appointment. In this case, instead of the lecture reservation request, the lecture reservation response, and the lecture reservation notification shown in FIG.
The lecture reservation cancellation request, the lecture reservation cancellation response, and the lecture reservation cancellation notification may be used respectively, and the lecture reservation cancellation can be performed by the same processing procedure as described above. In addition, reservation system 5
When requesting cancellation of a lecture reservation from the media communication system 6, the user token information of the user notified at the time of reservation is notified to the media communication system 6 to be authenticated and the user token information is returned. There is a need.

Next, referring to FIG. 11, 5) attendance using the equipment terminal will be described. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing attendance processing using the equipment terminal. After completing the user's reservation reservation by the service provider as described above, 4) the user goes to the equipment of the service provider,
Take the desired lecture using the equipment terminal 3 of the equipment.
The user first accesses the reservation system 5 using the browser 31 of the equipment terminal 3, and the authentication information, such as identification information (ID) and password, which has been notified in advance by a contract with the reservation system administrator who has made a document or online. Authentication is performed based on the information (step 160).

Then, the attendance status search request including attendance information for selecting the desired attendance is sent to the reservation system 5 (step 161). The attendance information includes the service provider, user information, reservation number. , Information such as seat numbers for identifying the attendance is specified. The information input / output unit 51 of the reservation system 5 receives the attendance status search request and the attendance information from the authenticated equipment terminal 3. The information storage unit 53 receives the attendance status search request and the attendance information from the information input / output unit 51, and searches the attendance reservation database (see FIG. 9) for information matching the attendance information.
In the information input / output unit 51, this search result is stored in the information storage unit 53.
And notifies the equipment terminal 3 (step 16)
2).

The browser 31 of the equipment terminal 3 displays the search result from the reservation system 5 on the screen and notifies the user of the attendance status that matches the specified reservation information. The user refers to this search result, inputs the attendance information of the lecture he / she wants to attend into the browser 31, and instructs the attendance request (step 1).
63). In response to this, the lecture request including the inputted lecture information of the user is transmitted from the browser 31 to the reservation system 5 (step 164). As this attendance information, the reservation number indicating the desired attendance is given. And user information are specified.

In the information input / output unit 51 of the reservation system 5,
Upon receiving the lecture request and the lecture information from the equipment terminal 3, the reservation number specified by the lecture information is received. The information storage unit 53 is requested to search the media communication system 6 corresponding to. In the information storage unit 53, a facility reservation database (see FIG. 7)
To search for the corresponding media communication system 6. Then, the information input / output unit 51 acquires the token information of the media communication system and the user token information of the user from the information storage unit 53. Then, the token information and the user token information are transmitted to the equipment terminal 3 (step 165).

The browser 31 of the equipment terminal 3 receives the token information and the user token information and activates the client software 32. The client software 32 transmits the attendance request including the token information and the user token information received from the browser 31 to the media communication system 6 searched previously (step 1).
66). Media reservation unit 61 of the media communication system 6
Receives the lecture request and its token information and user token information from the equipment terminal 3, and confirms the lecture reservation based on the contents of these token information and user token information and the media communication database (see FIG. 6) ( Step 167). Here, if the lecture reservation is confirmed, the lecture is started by directly transmitting the multimedia contents to the equipment terminal 3 using the media communication engine 62 (step 168). This allows
A user can use the facility terminal 3 to take a desired media communication service here.

In FIG. 11, in step 165, the equipment terminal 3 receives the token information and the user token information from the reservation system 5, adds the IP address of the equipment terminal 3 and the like to the equipment terminal 3, and the equipment terminal 3 establishes the media communication system. The case where the facility terminal 3 notifies the media communication system of the information required for taking the lecture by the attendance request in step 166 has been described. However, the reservation system 5 directly notifies the media communication system 6 of the information. You may That is, in step 164, the reservation system 5 is notified of the IP address of the equipment terminal 3 and the token information and the user token information stored in the reservation system 5 are added to this. Then, instead of steps 165 and 166, the reservation system 5 directly notifies the media communication system 6 of the attendance request including these pieces of information without passing through the facility terminal 3. This simplifies the procedure at the time of requesting attendance and eliminates the need to transfer the token information and the user token information to the equipment terminal 3 and prevents the leakage of these important information.

In this embodiment, as described above, the reservation system 5 for making a reservation for the equipment terminal 3 necessary for providing the media communication service is provided, and the equipment terminal 3 owned by the rental operator is pre-owned by the rental operator terminal. 1 to reservation system 5
Service provider that provides media communication services to users by selecting from the equipment terminals 3 that are already registered in the reservation system 5 for users who want to receive the services. In addition, the service (attendance) reservation is made for each user with respect to the desired equipment reservation, and a predetermined media communication system 6 and equipment terminal 3 It is designed to start a media communication service (lecture) for users by performing multimedia communication between them. Therefore, unlike the workplace or home, the user can receive the desired media communication service at the equipment terminal 3 installed in an environment suitable for receiving the service, and the user can use the service without imposing a burden on the user. Can receive media communication services in a favorable environment and facilities.

Further, when renting the equipment of the rental business, the service business has conventionally been required to individually investigate the business of each rental business and make a business negotiation, which imposes a work load for selecting the equipment. Although there was a problem, according to the present embodiment, since the reservation system 5 centrally manages a large number of equipment owned by each rental business operator, there is no need to research the equipment or negotiate business negotiations, so that equipment selection is possible. The work load for can be greatly reduced. In particular, in the reservation system 5, when the service provider makes a facility reservation from the service provider terminal 2, conditions necessary for the media communication service provided by the service provider, such as location, communication capability, and number of terminals, are accepted, and Since the matching facility is searched from the registered facilities and notified to the service provider terminal 2, the service provider can easily and quickly select the facility matching the media communication service provided.

Further, when renting the equipment of the rental business, the service business must conventionally individually investigate and reserve the media communication system 6 for media communication with the equipment terminal. However, according to the present embodiment,
When an equipment reservation is made from the service provider terminal 2, the reservation system 5 automatically selects the media communication system 6 corresponding to the equipment terminal 3 and makes a media reservation to reserve the use of the media communication system. By doing so, there is no need for surveys and reservations, and the work load for reservations can be greatly reduced.

Next, referring to FIG. 12, 6) content registration by the service provider will be described. Figure 12
It is a sequence diagram which shows the content registration process by a service provider. In the above description, the case where the content information used for the media communication service is registered in the media communication system 6 in advance has been described as an example. However, regarding this content information, the service provider may register it in the media communication system 6. You may The service business operator accesses the reservation system 5 using the browser 21 of the service business operator terminal 2 while the media communication service is started after the tentative reservation, and makes a contract in advance with a document or an online reservation system administrator. Authentication is performed based on the notified authentication information, for example, information such as identification information (ID) and password (step 170).

Then, the attendance status search request including attendance information for selecting the desired attendance is transmitted to the reservation system 5 (step 171). As the attendance information, the service provider, the reservation number. Information for identifying the attendance is specified. In the information input / output unit 51 of the reservation system 5,
The attendance status search request and the attendance information are received from the authenticated equipment terminal 3. The information storage unit 53 receives the attendance status search request and the attendance information from the information input / output unit 51, and searches the attendance reservation database (see FIG. 9) for information matching the attendance information. In the information input / output unit 51,
The search result is received from the information storage unit 53 and notified to the service provider terminal 2 (step 172).

The browser 31 of the equipment terminal 3 displays the search result from the reservation system 5 on the screen and informs the service provider of the reservation status matching the specified reservation information. The service provider refers to this search result and inputs the reservation information of the reservation for registering the content information to the browser 31 to instruct the content registration request (step 173). In response to this, a content registration request including the input reservation information is transmitted from the browser 31 to the reservation system 5 (step 174). This reservation information is reservation N
o. And content information to be registered are specified.

In the information input / output unit 51 of the reservation system 5,
The content registration request and its reservation information are received from the service provider terminal 2. The reservation processing unit 52 receives the content registration request and the reservation information from the information input / output unit 51, and reserves the reservation number specified by the reservation information. The information storage unit 53 is requested to search the media communication system 6 corresponding to. The information storage unit 53 searches the facility reservation database (see FIG. 7) for the corresponding media communication system 6. The reservation processing unit 52 transmits a content registration request including the reservation information to the searched media communication system 6 (step 175).

In response to this content registration request, the media reservation unit 61 of the media communication system 6 searches the media communication database (see FIG. 6) and registers the content information included in the reservation information as the content of the corresponding reservation. (Step 176). As this content information, the file name of the content stored in advance in the media communication system 6 or the network address (URL) where the content is stored are used.
Then, the contents registration response including the registration success or failure is notified to the reservation system 5 (step 177).

The reservation processing unit 52 of the reservation system 5 receives the content registration response and the registration success / failure from the media communication system 6, and transfers the content to the information input / output unit 51.
The information input / output unit 51 transmits the content received from the reservation processing unit 52 to the service provider terminal 2 as a content registration notification (step 178). The browser 21 of the service provider terminal 2 receives the content registration notification from the reservation system 5 and displays the content on the screen to notify the service provider of the success or failure of the content registration.

In FIG. 12, the case where the service provider registers the content information from the service provider terminal 2 has been described, but the user may use the user terminal 4 or the facility terminal 3.
Content information may be registered from. In this case, the user terminal 4 and the equipment terminal 3 may be used instead of the service provider terminal 2 in FIG. 12, and the content information can be registered by the same processing procedure as described above. Further, the content itself may be registered in the media communication system 6 together with the content information.

In FIG. 12, the case where the service provider registers the content information from the service provider terminal 2 has been described, but the registered content information may be deleted from the service provider terminal 2. In this case, in FIG. 12, a content deletion request is transmitted from the service provider terminal 2 to the reservation system 5 in place of the content registration request (step 174), and the reservation system 5
From the media communication system 6, a content deletion request is transmitted instead of the content registration request (step 175).

The media communication system 6 deletes the desired content information instead of the content registration (step 176), and notifies the content deletion response instead of the content registration response (step 177). Then, in the reservation system 5, instead of the content registration notification (step 178), the service provider terminal 2 may be notified of the content deletion. Further, the content can be deleted from the user terminal 4 or the facility terminal 3 by the user, similarly to the content registration by the user described above.

Next, with reference to FIG. 13, 7) the transfer by the user of the lecture will be described. FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing the attendance transfer processing by the user. By accessing the reservation system 5 from the user terminal 4 and transferring the attendance, the user can look back the reserved appointment to the other equipment terminal 3. The user accesses the reservation system 5 by using the browser 41 of the user terminal 4, and authentication information, such as identification information (ID) and password, which has been notified in advance by a contract with the reservation system administrator by documents or online. Authenticate by information (step 18)
0).

Then, the attendance status search request including the reservation information of the reservation for the transfer of attendance is sent to the reservation system 5 (step 181). As the reservation information, the reservation number. Information for identifying the reservation is specified. The information input / output unit 51 of the reservation system 5 receives the attendance status search request and the reservation information from the authenticated user terminal 4. The information storage unit 53 receives the attendance status search request and the reservation information from the information input / output unit 51, and searches the attendance reservation database (see FIG. 9) for information matching the reservation information. The information input / output unit 51 receives the search result from the information storage unit 53 and notifies the user terminal 4 of it (step 182).

The browser 41 of the user terminal 4 displays the search result from the reservation system 5 on the screen and notifies the service provider of the attendance reservation situation that matches the specified reservation information. The service provider refers to this search result and inputs the attendance information indicating the attendance reservation for the transfer and the transfer information including the transfer destination location into the browser 41 to instruct the attendance transfer (step 183). In response to this, the lecture transfer request including the input transfer information is transmitted from the browser 41 to the reservation system 5 (step 184). The information input / output unit 51 of the reservation system 5 receives the lecture transfer request and the transfer information from the user terminal 4. The reservation processing unit 52 receives the attendance transfer request and the transfer information from the information input / output unit 51, and sends the attendance transfer request to the information storage unit 53. The information storage unit 53 registers the reservation content in the lecture reservation database in response to the lecture transfer request from the reservation processing unit 52 (step 185).

The reservation processing unit 52 receives the attendance transfer result from the information storage unit 53, and passes the contents and the contents of the attendance transfer notification from the media communication system 6 to the information input / output unit 51. The information input / output unit 51 transmits the content received from the reservation processing unit 52 to the user terminal 4 as a lecture transfer notification (step 186). The browser 41 of the user terminal 4 is
The user is notified of the success or failure of the attendance transfer by receiving the attendance transfer notice from the reservation system 5 and displaying the content on the screen. In addition, the reservation processing unit 52 of the reservation system 5 transfers the content to the message transmitting unit 54 when the transfer of the lecture in the media communication system 6 is successful.

In response to this, the message sending section 54 acquires message information such as a template for creating an email and an email address corresponding to the result of the lesson transfer from the information storage section 53, and based on this, a lesson transfer notification. Is created and sent to the user terminal 4 (step 187) and to the rental business operator terminal 1 for the lecture reservation (step 188). 2 (step 189). It should be noted that the notification by e-mail is given as necessary, and may be omitted if it overlaps with the notification content on the browser. In the above description, the case where the attendance transfer is performed from the user terminal 4 has been described as an example, but the attendance transfer can be performed using the service provider terminal 2 instead of the user terminal 4 in the same manner as above.

Next, 8) reservation cancellation for various reservations will be described. The reservation system 5 makes various reservations such as facility reservations including media reservations and lecture reservations. For these reservations, it may be necessary to cancel the reservation for some reason. In the following, cancellation of facility reservation including media reservation and reservation cancellation for lecture reservation will be described.

Releasing the reservation of the equipment reservation including the media reservation is almost the same as the sequence of the equipment reservation by the service provider of 3) in FIG. 5 described above. That is, in FIG. 5, a facility reservation cancellation request is transmitted from the service provider terminal 2 to the reservation system 5 instead of the facility reservation request (step 124), and the reservation system 5 sends the media communication system 6 to the reservation system 5.
A media reservation cancellation request is transmitted instead of the media reservation request (step 125). At this time, the token information notified in the previous media reservation may be transmitted together with the media reservation cancellation request, the permission of the media communication system 6 may be obtained, and the token information may be returned to the media communication system 6.

In the media communication system 6, in place of the media reservation (step 126), the media reservation is released to cancel the desired reservation, and the media reservation response (step 1
Instead of 27), the media reservation cancellation response is notified. Then, in the reservation system 5, equipment reservation (step 12
Instead of 8), the equipment reservation is canceled, and instead of the equipment reservation notification (step 129), the equipment reservation cancellation notice is sent to the service provider terminal 2. Also, equipment reservation notification to the rental company terminal 1 and the service company terminal 2 (step 13
0, 131) instead of the facility reservation cancellation notification.

When canceling the equipment reservation from the rental business operator, the rental business operator terminal 1 is released in the same procedure as the cancellation of the equipment reservation from the service business operator terminal 2 as described above.
You can cancel the equipment reservation from here. In this case, if the rental company unilaterally cancels the equipment reservation, the service company and the user will be greatly affected. Therefore, in the reservation system 5, in response to the facility reservation cancellation request from the rental company terminal 1, the reservation content is confirmed, the facility reservation cancellation is notified to the service company terminal 2 of the service provider, and the service business Approval from the service provider, and in response to the facility reservation cancellation approval notification from the service provider terminal 2,
The media reservation cancellation request to the media communication system 6 and the facility reservation cancellation in the reservation system 5 may be performed.

On the other hand, the reservation cancellation of the lecture reservation is almost the same as the sequence 4) of the user's lecture reservation by the service provider in FIG. 8 described above. That is, in FIG. 8, a lecture reservation cancellation request is transmitted from the service provider terminal 2 to the reservation system 5 in place of the lecture reservation request (step 144), and the lecture reservation request is sent from the reservation system 5 to the media communication system 6 (step 145). ), A request for canceling the reservation is sent. At this time, the token information and the user token information notified in the previous media reservation and the lecture reservation are transmitted together with the lecture reservation cancellation request, and the permission of the media communication system 6 is obtained, and the token information and the user token information are transmitted to the media. It is returned to the communication system 6.

In the media communication system 6, instead of the lecture reservation (step 146), the lecture reservation is canceled to cancel the desired lecture reservation, and the lecture reservation response (step 147).
Instead, a response to cancel the reservation is given. Then, in the reservation system 5, the lecture reservation cancellation is performed instead of the lecture reservation (step 148), and the lecture reservation cancellation notification is issued to the service provider terminal 2 instead of the lecture reservation notification (step 149). In addition, notification of lecture reservation to the rental company terminal 1 and the service company terminal 2 (steps 150, 151)
Instead of this, a notice of cancellation of lecture reservation may be issued.

Next, a media communication service system according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment described above, a case has been described in which the reservation system 5 accepts lending of various equipment from each rental business in advance, and the service business selects the desired equipment from the rental business. In the present embodiment, when the service provider selects a desired equipment terminal, the reservation system 5 accepts the service provider in advance, and a rental operator who rents out equipment matching the conditions of the service provider is selected. Explain the case of public offering.

In this media communication service system,
By the time the service provider makes an open call for equipment to be rented out from the rental operator using the reservation system 5 and reserves the desired equipment, it is roughly divided into 11) initial registration by the rental operator into the reservation system, and 12) service. Public offering by businesses, 1
3) Application by rental company, 14) Book reservation by service company are required.

First, with reference to FIG. 14, 11) the initial registration by the rental company in the reservation system will be described. FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing an initial registration process in the reservation system by the rental company. When applying for an open call for equipment by a service company using the reservation system 5, the rental company performs initial registration for using the reservation system 5 prior to the application. At this time, the rental company is the browser 11 of the rental company terminal 1.
Is used to access the reservation system 5, and an initial registration request including business information about the rental business operator is transmitted to the reservation system 5 (step 200).

In the information input / output unit 51 of the reservation system 5,
The initial registration and the business operator information from the rental business operator terminal 1 are received, and the information about the rental business operator included in the business operator information and the electronic mail address of the rental business operator terminal 1 are registered (step 201). For the initial registration, the information input / output unit 51 of the reservation system 5 is used based on the contents of a document or an online contract made beforehand between the rental business operator and the manager of the reservation system 5,
Initial registration may be performed directly.

Next, with reference to FIG. 15, 12) the public offering by the service provider will be described. FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram showing a public offering process by a service provider. When a service provider makes a public call for equipment terminals 3 used in its own media communication service using a reservation system 5,
The reservation system 5 is accessed using the browser 21 of the service provider terminal 2, and authentication is performed by using the authentication information, such as the identification information (ID) or the password, which has been notified in advance by a contract with the document or online reservation system administrator. (Step 210), and the recruiting request including the condition information indicating the condition of the equipment is transmitted to the reservation system (Step 211). As the condition information, information necessary for selecting the equipment terminal 3, such as the installation location of the equipment terminal 3, the number of seats, the number of terminals, the communication speed, the date and time of use, and the usage price per unit time, is used.

In the information input / output unit 51 of the reservation system 5,
The recruitment request and its condition information are received from the service provider terminal 2. The reservation processing unit 52 receives the recruitment request and the condition information from the information input / output unit 51, and corresponds to the communication speed (communication capacity) of the media communication system corresponding to the condition information, for example, the equipment terminal specified by the condition information. A possible media communication system 6 is selected, and a temporary reservation confirmation request including confirmation information is transmitted to the media communication system 6 (step 212). The confirmation information includes the date and time of use specified by the above condition information.

The media reservation unit 61 of the media communication system 6 responds to the confirmation information of the media reservation request from the reservation system 5 with the media communication database (see FIG. 6).
To search. If the service having the requested content can be executed, it is determined that the reservation is possible, and the reservation content is registered in the media communication database as a temporary reservation (step 213). Then, it notifies the reservation system 5 of a temporary reservation confirmation response including the success or failure of the temporary reservation (step 214).

The reservation processing section 52 of the reservation system 5 receives the temporary reservation confirmation response from the media communication system 6, and when the response indicates the success of the temporary reservation, instructs the information storage section 53 to make the temporary reservation. In response to this, the information storage unit 53 makes a tentative reservation by registering the contents of the tentative reservation made in the media communication system 6 in the facility reservation database (see FIG. 7) (step 215). At this time, the rental company field is left blank. The reservation processing unit 52
The temporary reservation registration result is received from the information storage unit 53, and the contents and the contents of the media reservation notification from the media communication system 6 are passed to the information input / output unit 51. The information input / output unit 51 is
The contents received from the reservation processing unit 52, for example, all or part of the contents registered in the facility reservation database are transmitted to the service provider terminal 2 as a temporary reservation notice (step 216). The browser 21 of the service provider terminal 2 receives the facility reservation notification from the reservation system 5 and displays the content on the screen to notify the service provider of the success or failure of the facility reservation.

Further, the reservation processing section 52 of the reservation system 5
When the tentative reservation is made in the media communication system 6, the reservation contents are passed to the message transmitting unit 54. In response to this, the message transmission unit 54 acquires message information such as a template for creating a mail and a mail address corresponding to the reservation result from the information storage unit 53, and based on this, an email indicating a temporary reservation notification. Is created and sent as a recruitment notification to each rental business terminal 1 that is initially registered in advance in the reservation system (step 217), and is also sent to the service business terminal 2 as a temporary reservation notification (step 218). It should be noted that the notification by e-mail is given as necessary, and may be omitted if it overlaps with the notification content on the browser.

Each rental business operator receives the e-mail using the mailer 12 of each rental business operator terminal 1 and confirms the public offering contents of the equipment. Further, the service provider uses the mailer 22 of the service provider terminal 2 to receive this e-mail and confirm the provisional reservation content. In this way, the tentative reservation for the media communication system 6 used for the media communication service from the service provider is made, and in response to the successful reservation, each rental company is notified by e-mail of the open call for equipment. As described above, the service provider makes an open call for equipment, and the contents are notified to each rental provider initially registered in the reservation system 5.

Next, with reference to FIG. 16, 13) application by a rental company will be described. FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram showing an application process by a rental business. When applying for the notification of recruitment from the reservation system 5, the rental business operator first uses the browser 1 of the rental business operator terminal 1.
1 is used to transmit a registration status search request including the open recruitment information indicating the open recruitment notified by the recruitment notification to the reservation system 5 (step 220). This reservation information is reservation N
o. , Information for identifying the public offering such as service provider, date and time is specified.

In the information input / output unit 51 of the reservation system 5,
The registration status search request and the reservation information from the rental business terminal 1 are received. The information storage unit 53 receives the registration status search request and the reservation information from the information input / output unit 51,
The equipment reservation database (see FIG. 7) is searched for information matching the reservation information. The information input / output unit 51 receives the search result from the information storage unit 53 and notifies the rental business operator terminal 1 (step 221).

The browser 11 of the rental company terminal 1
The search result from the reservation system 5 is displayed on the screen, and the rental company is notified of the registration status that matches the specified reservation information. The rental business operator refers to this search result and, when applying for the public offering notified from the reservation system 5, inputs the equipment information regarding his / her own equipment into the browser 11 to instruct the registration request (step 222). In response to this, a registration request including the input equipment information is transmitted from the browser 11 to the reservation system 5 (step 22).
3). As this equipment information, the reservation number. In addition to the information for identifying the public offering such as the service provider, the date and time, the location of the equipment terminal 3, the number of seats, the number of terminals, the communication speed, the available date and time, the usage price per unit time, etc. Information necessary for selection is used.

In the information input / output unit 51 of the reservation system 5,
The registration request and the equipment information from the rental business terminal 1 are received. The information storage unit 53 receives the registration request and the equipment information from the information input / output unit 51, and registers the contents of the equipment designated by the equipment information in the rental business database (see FIG. 3) (step 224). , And passes the registered contents to the message transmitting unit 54. In response to this, the message transmission unit 54 acquires message information such as a template for creating a mail and a mail address corresponding to the registration result from the information storage unit 53, and based on this, sends an email indicating a registration notification. It is created and sent as a registration notice to the service provider terminal 2 (step 22).
5). In this way, the application from the rental business is made to the public offering from the service business.

Next, with reference to FIG. 17, 14) the main reservation by the service provider will be described. FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram showing 14) main reservation processing by the service provider. The service provider uses the mailer 21 of the service provider terminal 2 to receive the registration notice from the reservation system 5 by e-mail and confirm the application details. When the application is adopted, the facility information indicating the facility is input using the browser 21 of the service provider terminal 2 to instruct the reservation request (step 230). In response to this, the browser 21 transmits a main reservation request including the facility information to the reservation system 5 (step 231). This equipment information is, for example, a reservation number for the tentative reservation. , Desired equipment, number of seats, number of terminals, date and time of use, etc. are designated.

In the information input / output unit 51 of the reservation system 5,
The main reservation request and its facility information are received from the service provider terminal 2. The reservation processing unit 52 receives the main reservation request and its equipment information from the information input / output unit 51, obtains the media communication system 6 provisionally reserved for the reservation from the information storage unit 53, and transfers it to the media communication system 6. A book reservation confirmation request including book reservation information is transmitted to the server (step 232). This reservation information includes the reservation N of the above equipment information.
o, the service provider of the reservation source, and the reservation date and time are included.

The media reservation section 61 of the media communication system 6 responds to the main reservation information of the main reservation confirmation request from the reservation system 5 with the media communication database (see FIG. 6).
To determine whether or not this reservation is possible. Here, if the requested content is provisionally reserved and the service can be executed, it is determined that the main reservation is possible, and the reservation content is registered in the media communication database as the main reservation (step 23).
3). Then, the reservation system 5 is notified of the reservation response including the reservation success or failure (step 234). At this time, if the reservation is successful, token information necessary for the user to actually receive the service from the media communication system 6 using the equipment terminal 3 is also notified by the reservation confirmation response.

The reservation processing unit 52 of the reservation system 5 receives the main reservation confirmation response, the success or failure of the reservation, and the token information from the media communication system 6, and stores the token information in the information storage unit 53 according to the success of the reservation. At the same time, the information reservation unit 53 is requested to make a final reservation based on the above-mentioned facility information. The information storage unit 53 registers the reservation content in the equipment reservation database (see FIG. 7) in response to the main reservation request from the reservation processing unit 52 (step 235).
Here, regarding the reservation of the equipment reservation database,
The rental company specified by the equipment information is registered in the rental company column.

The reservation processing unit 52 receives the reservation registration result from the information storage unit 53, and outputs the contents and the contents of the media reservation notification from the media communication system 6 to the information input / output unit 51.
Hand over to. The information input / output unit 51 transmits the content received from the reservation processing unit 52, for example, all or part of the content registered in the facility reservation database, to the service provider terminal 2 as a final reservation notification (step 236). The browser 21 of the service provider terminal 2 receives the main reservation notice from the reservation system 5 and displays the content on the screen to notify the service provider of the success or failure of the main reservation.

Further, the reservation processing section 52 of the reservation system 5
When at least one of the main reservation in the media communication system 6 and the main reservation in the information storage unit 53 is successful, the reservation contents are passed to the message transmitting unit 54. In response to this, the message transmission unit 54 acquires message information such as a template for creating a mail and a mail address corresponding to the reservation result from the information storage unit 53,
Based on this, an e-mail indicating the real reservation notice is created and sent to the rental business operator terminal 1 (step 237) and the service business operator terminal 2 (step 238). It should be noted that the notification by e-mail is given as necessary, and may be omitted if it overlaps with the notification content on the browser. The rental business operator receives this e-mail using the mailer 12 of the rental business operator terminal 1 and confirms the contents of this reservation. Further, the service provider receives this e-mail using the mailer 22 of the service provider terminal 2 and confirms the contents of this reservation. In this way, the main reservation of the equipment relating to the adopted equipment terminal 3 and the corresponding media communication system 6 is made.

As described above, the reservation system 5 accepts rental businesses in advance, and rents out equipment that meets the conditions of the service businesses to each rental business in response to the recruitment request from the service business terminal 2. Public offering, accepting applications from each rental business terminal 1 to notify the service business, accepting the main reservation request from the service business terminal 2 and adopting the application from the designated rental business. Since the facility is reserved, the rental company can proactively develop the business by adjusting the conditions for renting the facility. Further, this allows the service provider to efficiently select equipment with better conditions.

In each of the above embodiments, a learning service for providing a lecture to a user has been described as an example of a media communication service, but the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, a paid WEB content browsing service that allows users to browse paid content on a media communication system (WEB site), a streaming service that distributes moving images such as movies and live broadcasts to users, and between multiple users. The same applies to communication conference services that enable conferences by exchanging multimedia contents, as well as media communication services such as Internet telephone / chat services for exchanging voice data and character data between multiple users. Then, the present invention can be applied and the same operational effect can be obtained.

[0099]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the reservation system, in response to a registration request from the rental business operator terminal, the rental business operator receives and registers the equipment information of the equipment terminal to be rented, and the service is provided. Reserve the use of the equipment terminal specified by the service operator among the equipment terminals registered in advance in response to the equipment reservation request from the operator terminal,
In response to a service reservation request from the service provider terminal after the facility reservation, the service provider reserves the use of a specific user for the facility terminal reserved by the service provider, and to the facility terminal in response to the service request from the facility terminal. Since the media communication service is started to be provided from the media communication system, the user can receive the desired media communication service at the equipment terminal installed in an environment suitable for receiving the service unlike the workplace or home. Therefore, the user can receive the media communication service in a favorable environment and facility without imposing a burden on the user.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a media communication service system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing a facility registration process performed by a rental business operator in a reservation system.

FIG. 3 is a configuration example of a rental business database.

FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing a service provider registration process for a reservation system by a reservation system administrator.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing equipment reservation processing by a service provider.

FIG. 6 is a configuration example of a media communication database.

FIG. 7 is a configuration example of a facility reservation database.

FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing a user's lecture reservation processing by a service provider.

FIG. 9 is a configuration example of a lecture reservation database.

FIG. 10 is a configuration example of a seat reservation database.

FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing attendance processing using an equipment terminal.

FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing a content registration process performed by a service provider.

FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing a lecture transfer process by a user.

FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing an initial registration process in the reservation system by the rental business.

FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram showing a facility open call process by a service provider.

FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram showing a facility application process by a rental company.

FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram showing main reservation processing by a service provider.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Rental company terminal, 2 ... Service company terminal, 3
... Equipment terminal, 4 ... User terminal, 5 ... Reservation system, 6 ...
Media communication system 11, 21, 31, 41 ... Browser, 12, 22, 32, 42 ... Mailer, 51 ... Information input / output unit, 52 ... Reservation processing unit, 53 ... Information storage unit, 54
... message transmission unit, 61 ... media reservation unit, 62 ... media communication engine.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yoshio Nagashima             1-1-6 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo             Nutty Communications Inc.             Inside the company

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A rental business in which an information processing terminal is rented out as an equipment terminal in a media communication service system for providing a user with a media communication service by transmitting various multimedia contents from a media communication system to an information communication terminal. One or more rental operator terminals used by a person, one or more service operator terminals used by a service operator that provides a media communication service to a user, and a media communication service lent by the rental operator An equipment terminal used by a user when receiving the information, one or more media communication systems for transmitting various multimedia contents to the equipment terminal, the rental business operator terminal, the service business operator terminal, the equipment terminal and the media Communication systems and that A reservation system that is connected through a communication network and performs a reservation process for the equipment terminal used for media communication services, wherein the reservation system is the rental business operator in response to a registration request from the rental business operator terminal. Receives and registers the equipment information of the equipment terminal to be rented out, and reserves the use of the equipment terminal designated by the service operator among the equipment terminals registered in advance in response to the equipment reservation request from the service operator terminal. However, in response to the service reservation request from the service provider terminal after the facility reservation, the service provider reserves the use of the specific user for the facility terminal reserved by the service provider, and in response to the service request from the facility terminal. A media communication service is started from the media communication system to the equipment terminal. A communication service system. 2. The media communication service system according to claim 1, wherein the reservation system searches for equipment terminals that match a condition specified by the service provider terminal from equipment terminals that are registered in advance, A media communication service system, wherein the search result is notified to the service provider terminal as information for selecting an equipment terminal designated by the equipment reservation request. 3. The media communication service system according to claim 1, wherein the reservation system selects a media communication system corresponding to the equipment terminal from the media communication systems when the equipment reservation request is made. A media communication service system characterized by making reservations. 4. The media communication service system according to claim 1, wherein the reservation system notifies the rental business operator terminal, which has been registered in advance in response to a request for recruitment from the service business operator terminal, for a public request for equipment. In response to a registration request from the rental business operator applying for this, the rental business operator registers the equipment terminal to be rented out, notifies the service business operator of the application details, and makes a main reservation from the service business operator terminal. A media communication service system, wherein a reservation is made for the use of an equipment terminal designated according to a request in place of the equipment reservation. 5. One or more rental business terminals used by a rental business that rents out information processing terminals as equipment terminals, and one or more service businesses used by a service business that provides media communication services to users. Terminal, an equipment terminal that is rented out by the rental business and used by the user when receiving a media communication service, and one or more media communication systems that transmit various multimedia contents to the equipment terminal,
A reservation system, which is connected to the rental business terminal, the service business terminal, the equipment terminal, and a media communication system, respectively, via a communication network and performs a reservation process for the equipment terminal used for media communication service. A reservation method of a media communication service system for providing a media communication service to a user by exchanging various multimedia contents with an information communication terminal, wherein the reservation system requests registration from the rental business operator terminal. According to the above, the rental operator receives and registers the equipment information of the equipment terminal to be rented out, and the service operator designates one of the equipment terminals registered in advance in response to the equipment reservation request from the service operator terminal. Book the use of the equipment terminal that you In response to a service reservation request from a service provider terminal, the use of a specific user is reserved for a facility terminal that the service provider has reserved for equipment, and the media communication system is sent to the facility terminal in response to a service request from the facility terminal. A method for reserving a media communication service system, characterized in that the provision of a media communication service is started from. 6. The reservation method for a media communication service system according to claim 5, wherein in the reservation system, an equipment terminal that matches a condition designated by the service provider terminal is selected from equipment terminals that are registered in advance. A method for reserving a media communication service system, characterized by performing a search and notifying the search result to the service provider terminal as information for selecting an equipment terminal specified in the equipment reservation request. 7. The reservation method for a media communication service system according to claim 5, wherein in the reservation system, a media communication system corresponding to the equipment terminal is selected from the media communication systems when the equipment reservation request is made. A method for reserving a media communication service system, which comprises selecting and reserving. 8. The method for reserving a media communication service system according to claim 5, wherein the reservation system makes an open call for equipment to the rental business operator terminal registered in advance in response to a recruitment request from the service business operator terminal. Notify and register the equipment terminal rented out by the rental business operator in response to the registration request from the rental business operator terminal to apply for, and notify the service business operator terminal of the application contents, and from the service business operator terminal The method of making a reservation for a media communication service system, characterized in that the use of an equipment terminal designated according to the book reservation request is booked instead of the equipment reservation. 9. One or more rental business terminals used by a rental business that rents out information processing terminals as equipment terminals, and one or more service businesses used by a service business that provides media communication services to users. Person terminal, equipment terminal rented out by the rental company and used by the user when receiving the media communication service, and one or more media communication systems for transmitting various multimedia contents to the equipment terminal. A media communication service system for providing a media communication service to a user, the reservation system performing reservation processing of the equipment terminal used for the media communication service, the rental business operator terminal, the service business operator terminal, the Communication with equipment terminals and media communication systems In response to a registration request from the rental business operator terminal, the rental business operator receives the equipment information of the equipment terminal that is rented out in response to the registration request from the rental business operator terminal, and responds to the equipment reservation request from the service business operator terminal. Of the equipment terminals pre-registered by the service operator, reserves the use of the equipment terminal specified by the service operator, and the service operator makes an equipment reservation in response to a service reservation request from the service operator terminal after the equipment reservation. Reservation characterized by comprising control means for reserving the use of a specified user for the installed equipment terminal, and for starting the provision of the media communication service from the media communication system to the equipment terminal in response to a service request from the equipment terminal. system. 10. The reservation system according to claim 9, wherein the control means searches a pre-registered equipment terminal for an equipment terminal that matches a condition specified by the service provider terminal, and retrieves the equipment terminal. A reservation system which notifies the service provider terminal of the result as information for selecting an equipment terminal designated by the equipment reservation request. 11. The reservation system according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the control means makes a reservation by selecting a media communication system corresponding to the equipment terminal from the media communication systems when the equipment reservation request is made. Reservation system characterized by that. 12. The reservation system according to claim 9, wherein the control unit notifies the rental business operator terminal that has been registered in advance in response to a request for recruitment from the service business operator terminal, and notifies the equipment public request to the rental business operator terminal. In response to a registration request from the rental company terminal to apply, register the equipment terminal rented out by the rental company, notify the application contents to the service company terminal, and make a main reservation request from the service company terminal. A reservation system, wherein a reservation is made instead of using the equipment terminal designated according to the equipment reservation.