Patent Publication Number: US-2007106563-A1

Title: Apparatus and method for managing data of rental contracts

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-229357 (filed Aug. 8, 2005); the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for managing data of rental contracts to controllably determine discount rates on the basis of occasional circumstances.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      Built-in machines equipped in shops, halls or arcades, such as gaming machines in gaming arcades, could be dealt with in either transaction type of purchase or rental. Owners of gaming arcades may have a motivation to select rental contractions. One of the reasons may be that their visitors are mutable in their preference and they need to flexibly change machines in accordance with the change of visitors&#39; preference. Another may be that they require to control risky investment accompanying purchase.  
      For vendors, rental contracts give rise to bothersome tasks for managing data thereof, which differ among respective customer sand depend on time and circumstances. Discount rates of fees may either rise or fall in accordance with occasional circumstances, such as past records of transactions with the customers, contraction dates, numbers of items, and terms for rental.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      An object of the present invention is providing an apparatus and a method for managing data of rental contracts to controllably determine discount rates on the basis of occasional circumstances.  
      According to a first aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for managing data of rental contracts with a plurality of customers is provided with a storage storing a plurality of contract data, each contract datum including a customer ID identifying a customer, one or more item IDs identifying items, one or more numbers of items to be applied to rental contracts, a data table of discount rates, one or more dates of the rental contracts, and one or more terms of the rental contracts, the customer ID, the item IDs, the numbers, the dates, and the terms being interrelated in each rental contract; an input device receiving input of new data, each new datum including a new customer ID, one or more new item IDs, one or more new numbers of items to be applied to new rental contracts, one or more application dates of the new rental contracts, and one or more new terms of the new rental contracts; and a controller reading out and summing up the numbers included in the contract data correspondent to the new customer ID and effective on the application date, from the storage and adding the new numbers of the new rental contracts to the numbers being summed-up to calculate and display a total number of items.  
      Preferably, the controller determines a discount rate correspondent to the total number by referring to the data table of the discount rates.  
      More preferably, the storage further stores a price data table of unit prices respectively determined for the items and the controller calculates and displays a total rental fee based on the discount rate, the total number and the price data table.  
      Still preferably, the controller calculates and displays a combination of total numbers of items respectively for every combinations of contract data regarding all contracts effective on the application dates and the new data regarding the new applications.  
      Further still preferably, the controller determines discount rates respectively for all the total numbers by referring the data table of discount rates.  
      More preferably, the storage further stores a price data table of unit prices respectively determined for the items and the controller calculates and displays a combination of total rental fees based on the discount rates, the combination of the total numbers and the price data table.  
      According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method for managing data of rental contracts with a plurality of customers is provided with: storing a plurality of contract data in a storage, each contract datum including a customer ID identifying a customer, one or more item IDs identifying items, one or more numbers of items to be applied to rental contracts, a data table of discount rates, one or more dates of the rental contracts, and one or more terms of the rental contracts, the customer ID, the item IDs, the numbers, the dates, and the terms being interrelated in each rental contract; receiving input of new data via an input device, the new data including a new customer ID, one or more new item IDs, one or more new numbers of items to be applied to new rental contracts, one or more application dates of the new rental contracts, one or more new terms of the new rental contracts; reading out and summing up the numbers included in the contract data correspondent to the new customer ID and effective on the application date, from the storage; calculating a total number of items by adding the new numbers of the new rental contracts to the numbers being summed-up; and displaying the total number on a display.  
      Preferably, the method is further provided with: determining a discount rate correspondent to the total number by referring to the data table of the discount rates.  
      More preferably, the method is further provided with: storing a price data table of unit prices respectively determined for the items; calculating a total rental fee based on the discount rate, the total number and the price data table; and displaying the total rental fee on the display.  
      Still preferably, the method is further provided with: calculating a combination of total numbers of items respectively for every combinations of contract data regarding all contracts effective on the application dates and the new data regarding the new applications; and displaying the combination of the total numbers of items on the display.  
      Further still preferably, the method is further provided with determining discount rates respectively for all the total numbers by referring the data table of discount rates.  
      More preferably, the method is further provided with: storing a price data table of unit prices respectively determined for the items in the storage; calculating a combination of total rental fees based on the discount rates, the combination of the total numbers and the price data table; and displaying the combination of the total rental fees on the display.  
      According to a third aspect of the present invention, a computer readable medium storing a program for operation of a computer is provided with: a storing routine storing a plurality of contract data in a storage, each contract datum including a customer ID identifying a customer, one or more item IDs identifying items, one or more numbers of items to be applied to rental contracts, a data table of discount rates, one or more dates of the rental contracts, and one or more terms of the rental contracts, the customer ID, the item IDs, the numbers, the dates, and the terms being interrelated in each rental contract; an input routine receiving input of new data via an input device, the new data including a new customer ID, one or more new item IDs, one or more new numbers of items to be applied to new rental contracts, one or more application dates of the new rental contracts, one or more new terms of the new rental contracts; a summing routine reading out and summing up the numbers included in the contract data correspondent to the new customer ID and effective on the application date, from the storage; a calculation routine calculating a total number of items by adding the new numbers of the new rental contracts to the numbers being summed-up; and a display routine displaying the total number on a display. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a computer applied to an apparatus for managing data of rental contracts in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a computer system including interactions among a server and respective terminals in accordance with another embodiment;  
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a computer for the server;  
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram of a data processing system for any of the terminal;  
       FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating a part of calculation executed in the apparatus in accordance with one version of the invention;  
       FIG. 6  illustrates an entry screen for inputting new contract data;  
       FIG. 7  illustrates a result screen for calculation of a total number of rental items;  
       FIG. 8  is a flowchart illustrating a part of calculation executed in the apparatus in accordance with one version of the invention;  
       FIG. 9  illustrates a result screen for a determined discount rate;  
       FIG. 10  is a flowchart illustrating a part of calculation executed in the apparatus in accordance with another version of the invention;  
       FIG. 11  is an example of a result screen for calculation of a total rental fee;  
       FIG. 12  is an example of a data table of contract data;  
       FIG. 13  is an example of a data table of discount rates;  
       FIG. 14  is an example of a data table of rental fee unit price;  
       FIG. 15  illustrates a result screen for calculation of a total number of rental items;  
       FIG. 16  illustrates a result screen for determined discount rate; and  
       FIG. 17  illustrates a result screen for calculation of a total rental fee. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      An embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the drawings.  
      —General Constitution— 
      Referring to  FIG. 1 , a computer  1  applied to an apparatus for managing data of rental contracts in accordance with the present embodiment is provided with a controller  110 , a display  120 , an input device  130 , a communication controller  140 , and a storage  150 , all of which are interlinked via a bus  160 .  
      Mobile data processing devices, such as mobile phones, PDAs and electronic organizers, may be applied to the apparatus in accordance with the present embodiment.  
      The controller  110  is configured to process and/or calculate various data and may be, but not limited to, a so-called CPU (Central Processing Unit). The controller  110  controls the whole of the computer  1 , and reads and writes programs and data stored in the storage  150  to execute the programs for serving various functions in cooperation with the above hardware equipments.  
      The display  120  is configured to display images for invitation of users to input data and for informing calculation results and may include, but not limited to, any of a CRT (cathode ray tube) or a LCD (liquid crystal display).  
      The input device  130  is configured to receive inputs by users and may include, but not limited to, a keyboard, a pointing device or such. The input device  130  is linked to the computer  1  directly or with intervening an input/output (I/O) facility.  
      The communication controller  140  is a network adapter configured to link the computer  1  with external data processing systems or storages via a private network or a public network. Any of a modem, a cable modem and an Ethernet (registered trademark) adapter may be included in the communication controller  140 .  
      The storage  150  is a computer readable medium and may include a local memory for executing programs in cooperation with the controller  110 , a bulk memory for storing a large quantity of data, and a cache memory of help to access to the bulk memory with reduced latency. Any means, such as electric, magnetic, optical or electromagnetic means, may be applied to memory modules for the storage  150 . As concrete examples, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic tape, a flexible disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), optical disks, such as a CD-ROM, a CD-R/W or a DVD, may be exemplified.  
      —General Constitution in Another Embodiment— 
      Referring to  FIG. 2 , a computer system  2  applied to an apparatus for managing data of rental contracts in accordance with the present embodiment is provided with a server  20  and a plurality of terminals  30   a ,  30   b , . . . (or a group of terminals  30 ), all of which are interlinked via a communication network  25 .  
      —Details of the SERVER— 
      Referring to  FIG. 3 , the server  20  is provided with a server controller  210 , a server display  220 , a server input device  230 , a server communication controller  240 , and a server storage  250 , all of which are interlinked via a bus (a server bus)  260 .  
      The server controller  210  is constituted as similar to the aforementioned controller  110 , controls the whole of the server  20 , reads and writes programs and data stored in the server storage  250  to execute the programs for serving various functions in cooperation with the above hardware equipments.  
      The server display  220 , the server input device  230 , the server communication controller  240 , and the server storage  250  are also constituted as respectively similar to the display  120 , the input device  130 , the communication controller  140 , and the storage  150  as described above.  
      —Details of the TERMINAL— 
      Referring to  FIG. 4 , each of the terminals  30  is provided with a terminal controller  310 , a terminal display  320 , a terminal input device  330 , a terminal communication controller  340 , and a terminal storage  350 , all of which are interlinked via a bus (a terminal bus)  360 .  
      The terminal controller  310  is constituted as similar to the aforementioned controller  110 , controls the whole of the terminal  30 , reads and writes programs and data stored in the terminal storage  350  to execute the programs for serving various functions in cooperation with the above hardware equipments.  
      The terminal display  320 , the terminal input device  330 , the terminal communication controller  340 , and the terminal storage  350  are also constituted as respectively similar to the display  120 , the input device  130 , the communication controller  140 , and the storage  150  as described above.  
      —Details of the COMMUNICATION NETWORK— 
      Examples of the communication network  25  include, but are not limited to, wire networks, such as a network on private lines, a dial-up network via modems or terminal adapters, an ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) on telephone lines, and any networks on optical cables, and wireless networks, such as a wireless LAN and a wireless mobile network for mobile phones.  
      Various communication protocol, such as a TCP/IP, which is widely used in the Internet, are applicable to the communication network  25  to establish communications thereon. Further, a protocol referred to as SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), which is widely used for Web services, is also applicable thereto.  
      The computer system  2  serves as the apparatus for managing data of rental contracts by means of the server  20  and the terminals  30  interlinked via the communication network  25 .  
      While  FIG. 3  includes only one server, two or more servers may be included in the apparatus. Moreover, the apparatus may be constituted as a server system having a so-called three-layer structure, which is composed of three layers of a Web server, an application server, and a database server. A constitution of the server system may be preferably selected in view of load to the system, a data capacity, or any consideration for operation.  
      Operations implemented by the present apparatus will be described hereinafter with reference to  FIGS. 5 through 17 . Referring to  FIG. 5 , the controller  110  receives inputs of data from the input device  130 , where each data includes a customer ID, an application date of a new contract for rental, an item ID regarding the new contract for rental, a number of items regarding the new contract for rental, and a term of the new contract for rental, and stores the data in the storage  150  (step S 101 ).  
      In the instant example, merely one contract is received in one set of input, however, it may be modified so that two or more contracts are received in one set of input.  
       FIG. 6  shows an example of an entry screen at a time of inputting new contract data into the apparatus of the embodiment. As in this example, a user inputs “0001” as a customer ID, “2005/7/1” as an application date of a new contract for rental, “0003” as an item ID regarding the new contract for rental, “50” as a number of items regarding the new contract for rental, and “six months” as a term of the new contract for rental, via the input device  130 , and presses down the “OK” button. Then the apparatus starts calculation of a discount rate with respect to the customer identified by the customer ID “0001”.  
      If the apparatus is modified to receive a plurality of contracts at once, the entry screen may have a plurality of input boxes, be arranged in a table form, or be designed in a so-called shopping cart style.  
      Next, based on the received data of the customer ID and the application date, the controller  110  reads out and sums up the number of rental items in the input data of the instant customer, which is effective on the application date, from the storage  150  (step S 102 ).  
      Next, the controller  110  adds the number of rental items with regarding the new contract to the summed-up number of rental items to calculate a total number of rental items (step S 103 ).  
      Next, the controller  110  displays the total number of rental items on the display  120  (step S 104 ).  
       FIG. 7  shows an example of a result screen for calculation of the total number of rental items. As in this example, the result screen shows “150” as the total number of items on “2005/7” for the customer ID “0001”.  
      By such a screen, the customer or a dealer of the vendor may be easily informed of a data of a discount rate correspondent to the total number of rental items by referring to a price list or such.  
      In the instant example, the screen shows the data regarding merely one month of July 2005, however, it may be modified so that a plurality of data of each and every months until the correspondent rental contract end may be displayed (not shown). For example, the result screen may show “100” as the total number of items on “2005/11” and “50” on “2005/12” at once.  
      Further, the screen shows the total number of items effective on the application date of the new contract for rental regardless of distinction of the item ID, however, it may be modified so that the total numbers may be displayed with respect to the respective item IDs.  
      Referring to  FIG. 8 , the controller  110  receives inputs of data from the input device  130 , where each data includes a customer ID, an application date of a new contract for rental, an item ID regarding the new contract for rental, a number of items regarding the new contract for rental, and a term of the new contract for rental, and stores the data in the storage  150  (step S 201 ), as similar to the aforementioned step S 101  shown in  FIG. 5 .  
      The controller  110  further executes steps S 202  and S 203  as similar to the aforementioned steps S 102  and S 103  to calculate the total number of rental items.  
      Next, the controller  110  refers to a data table of discount rates stored in the storage  150  to determine a discount rate on the basis of the total number of rental items (step S 204 ).  
      Next, the controller  110  displays the determined discount rate on the display  120  (step S 205 ).  
       FIG. 9  shows an example of a result screen for a determined discount rate. As in this example, the result screen shows “150” as the total number of items and “20%” as the discount rate on “2005/7” for the customer ID “0001”.  
      By such a screen on the display  120 , the customer or a dealer of the vendor may be easily informed of a data of the discount rate without referring to a price list or such.  
      In the instant example, the screen shows the data regarding merely one month of July 2005, however, it may be modified so that a plurality of data of each and every months until the correspondent rental contract end may be displayed (not shown). For example, the result screen may show “100” as the total number of items and “10%” as the discount rate on “2005/11” and “50” as the total number of items and “0%” as the discount rate on “2005/12”.  
      The data table of discount rates may be individually applied to the total numbers summed up with respect to each and every item IDs. In this example, all the discount rates may be 0%.  
      Referring to  FIG. 10 , the controller  110  receives inputs of data from the input device  130 , where each data includes a customer ID, an application date of a new contract for rental, an item ID regarding the new contract for rental, a number of items regarding the new contract for rental, and a term of the new contract for rental, and stores the data in the storage  150  (step S 301 ), as similar to the aforementioned step S 101  shown in  FIG. 5 .  
      The controller  110  further executes steps S 302  through S 304  in a way similar to the aforementioned steps to determine the discount rate by referring to the data table of discount rates on the basis of the total number of rental items.  
      Next, the controller  110  calculates a total rental fee based on the correspondent discount rate (step S 305 ).  
      Next, the controller  110  displays the total rental fee on the display  120  (step S 306 ).  
       FIG. 11  shows an example of a result screen for calculation of the total rental fee. As in this example, the results screen shows “150” as the total number of items, “20%” as the discount rate, and “2,920,000 yen/month” as the total rental fee on “2005/7” for the customer ID “0001”.  
      In the instant example, the screen shows the data regarding merely one month of July 2005, however, it may be modified so that a plurality of data of each and every months until the correspondent rental contract end may be displayed (not shown). For example, the result screen may show “100” as the total number of items, “10%” as the discount rate, and “2,160,000 yen” as the total rental fee on “2005/11” and “50” as the total number of items, “0%” as the discount rate, and “2,385,000 yen” as the total rental fee on “2005/12”.  
      Thereby, at a time of an application of a new rental contract, the customer or a dealer of the vendor may be easily informed of a data of the total rental fee by the screen.  
       FIG. 12  shows an example of a data table of contract data to be applied to the apparatus in accordance with the present embodiment. In this example, one contract data includes “0001” as a customer ID, “0001” as a contract ID, “2005/5/1” as a contract date, “six months” as a term of the contract for rental, “0001” as an item ID, “50” as a number of items.  
       FIG. 13  shows an example of a data table of discount rates to be applied to the apparatus in accordance with the present embodiment. In this example, one data of discount defines a discount rate to be “0%” in a case where a number of rental items is from 0 to 50, further, “10%” when a number of rental items is from 51 to 100.  
       FIG. 14  shows an example of a data table of rental fee unit prices to be applied to the apparatus in accordance with the present embodiment. In this example, one data defines a rental fee unit price with respect to an item identified by the ID “0001” to be “20,000 yen” in a case where a term for rental is within six months, further, “18,000 yen” when a term for rental is over six months.  
       FIG. 15  shows an example of a result screen, as another example of the result screen of  FIG. 7 , for calculation of a total number of rental items, in which total numbers of rental items are respectively calculated for every combinations of data of numbers of rental items regarding all contracts effective on application dates of new applications for rental and data of numbers of rental items regarding new applications for rental, and then displayed. As in this example, the result screen shows “150” for an A pattern, “100” for a B pattern, “100” for a C pattern, and “50” for a D pattern, respectively as the total number of items, where the A pattern includes contract IDs of 0001, 0002 and 0003, the B pattern 0001 and 0003, the C pattern 0002 and 0003, and the D pattern only 0003.  
      The above calculations are executed by a combination of the above steps of S 103  shown in  FIG. 5 , and S 203  shown in  FIG. 8  or S 303  shown in  FIG. 10 . The display of the screen shown in  FIG. 15  is executed by the above step S 104  shown in  FIG. 5 .  
       FIG. 16  shows an example of a result screen, as another example of the result screen of  FIG. 9 , for determination of discount rates, in which discount rates are respectively determined for every total numbers of rental items respectively calculated in accordance with the aforementioned way of the example shown in  FIG. 15 , and then displayed. As in this example, the result screen shows “20%” as a discount rate for an A pattern, “10%” for a B pattern, “10%” for a C pattern, and “0%” for a D pattern, respectively as the total number of items, where the A pattern includes contract IDs of 0001, 0002 and 0003, the B pattern 0001 and 0003, the C pattern 0002 and 0003, and the D pattern only 0003.  
      The above determinations of the discount rates are executed by a combination of the above steps of S 204  shown in  FIG. 8 , and S 304  shown in  FIG. 10 . The display of the screen shown in  FIG. 16  is executed by the above step S 205  shown in  FIG. 8 .  
       FIG. 17  shows an example of a result screen, as another example of the result screen of  FIG. 11 , for calculation of the total rental fee, in which total rental fees are respectively calculated for every discount rates respectively determined in accordance with the aforementioned way of the example shown in  FIG. 16 , and then displayed. As in this example, the result screen shows “2,920,000 yen” as a discount rate for an A pattern, “2,160,000 yen”for a B pattern, “2,385,000 yen”for a C pattern, and “1,400,000 yen” for a D pattern, respectively as the total number of items, where the A pattern includes contract IDs of 0001, 0002 and 0003, the B pattern 0001 and 0003, the C pattern 0002 and 0003, and the D pattern only 0003.  
      The above calculations of the total rental fees are executed by the above step S 305  shown in  FIG. 10 . The display of the screen shown in  FIG. 17  is executed by the above step S 306  shown in  FIG. 10 .  
      The above embodiment may be appropriately modified. For example, though the discount rate is set to be 20% in  FIG. 9 , the discount rate of 20% may be applied to the calculation of rental fee by making the number of rental items with respect to the contracts identified by the contract ID 0001 and the contract ID 0002 be subject to summing up for the total number of rental items only when contracts are changed so that the expiration dates of the terms of the contracts identified by the contract ID 0001 and the contract ID 0002 are identical with the expiration date of the term of the new contract identified by the contract ID 0003 regarding the new application for rental (more specifically, the term regarding the contract ID 0001 is changed to be eight months and the term regarding the contract ID 0002 is changed to be seven months), and otherwise these numbers of rental items are not made to be subject to summing up for the total number of rental items.  
      Although the invention has been described above by reference to certain embodiments of the invention, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. Modifications and variations of the embodiments described above will occur to those skilled in the art, in light of the above teachings.