Abstract: An outgo time of first customers in a service providing store such as a restaurant is estimated and is notified to a second customer who made a reservation without time designation. Information relative to a usage amount of money of the first customers in a restaurant is obtained, and an accumulated usage amount of money per customer is calculated. Then, it is judged whether the accumulated usage amount of money per customer exceeds a predetermined reference amount of money. If a second customer makes a reservation for a reservation unit including the seat of the first customers and it is judged that the accumulated usage amount of money of the customer exceeds the predetermined reference amount of money, an outgo time of the first customers, which is obtained by adding a reference time to a time, is notified to the second customer. Thus, the second customer can go to the restaurant in view of the outgo time.

Abstract: An object of this invention is to provide an information processing technique in which consideration for snowily weak people, such as old people or handicapped people, in snow removal work is made in a suitable form. This information processing method includes the steps of: generating data (for example, priority patrol spot symbol □, snow clearing complaint spot symbol X, snow dumping complaint spot symbol &Dgr;) indicating the necessity of snow removal with a reason other than the snowily weak person based on position information of a registered snowily weak person; and transmitting map information (FIG. 18) including data indicating the necessity of the snow removal in response to the request from a terminal of a person relating to a snow removal plan. By doing so, it becomes possible to exhibit the necessity of the snow removal to the person relating to the snow removal plan without specifying the snowily weak person.

Abstract: An outgo time of first customers in a service providing store such as a restaurant is estimated and is notified to a second customer who made a reservation without time designation. Information relative to a usage amount of money of the first customers in a restaurant is obtained, and an accumulated usage amount of money per customer is calculated. Then, it is judged whether the accumulated usage amount of money per customer exceeds a predetermined reference amount of money. If a second customer makes a reservation for a reservation unit including the seat of the first customers and it is judged that the accumulated usage amount of money of the customer exceeds the predetermined reference amount of money, an outgo time of the first customers, which is obtained by adding a reference time to a time, is notified to the second customer. Thus, the second customer can go to the restaurant in view of the outgo time.

Abstract: The object of the invention is to provide an information processing technology for realizing more efficient physical distribution. Schedule information regarding a form of receiving (for example, “not available for receiving”, “available for receiving”, “forward”, “kept until called for”) a package addressed to the member is received from a terminal of a member and then is registered in a storage device. Further, a delivery form (for example, deliverable or not deliverable for “not available for receiving”) is determined with reference to at least the receiver's schedule stored in the storage device if the receiver is a member. Then, delivery request information for the distributor is generated in accordance with the delivery form if the determined delivery form involves a movement of the package. Accordingly, since a member registers his form of package receiving by himself in advance, he can receive the package in accordance with his schedule.

Abstract: A discount sale management apparatus has a discount rate registration unit, a selling price setting unit, a product information and price provision unit, and an order receipt unit. The discount rate registration unit receives and registers discount information about product discount sale from a seller over a network N. The selling price setting unit counts a sales quantity; while the sales quantity is less than a planned discount sales quantity, sets a discount price produced by discount from an original price as a selling price, based on the discount information; and after the sales quantity reaches the planned discount sales quantity, sets the original price as the selling price. The product information and price provision unit provides a selling price set by the selling price setting unit to a purchaser over the network. The order receipt unit receives purchase orders from the purchaser.

Abstract: A sale device is connected to the terminals of a purchaser and a seller, respectively, via a network. The sale device comprises a work information acquisition unit, an information provision unit, a payment confirmation unit and a purchase information acquisition unit. The work information acquisition unit receives sale consignment per units of rights of a literary work from a seller via a network. The purchase information acquisition unit sells a literary work to a purchaser per units of rights via the network and the unit obtains information about the purchaser at the time of purchase. When the payment conformation unit confirms the payment of a purchase price, the information provision unit provides the information about a purchaser via the network. Any person can read this provided information via the network.