Laundry system

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention is to provide a laundry system comprising laundry equipment which comprises a plurality of laundry machines such as washing machines and dryers, and a laundry managing server for managing the laundry equipment, wherein: the laundry equipment comes into an operable state by receiving a signal for permitting operation thereof from the laundry managing server, and transmits operational information to the laundry managing server in response to operation of the laundry equipment which has become operable; and the laundry managing server comprises means for confirming validity of customer identification data when receiving the customer identification data along with specific information for identifying laundry equipment that the customer desires to use from a portable communication tool of the customer and transmitting a signal to the laundry equipment that has been identified by the specific information so as to permit operation of the laundry equipment, and means for receiving the operational information from the laundry equipment and creating bill data for charging the customer based on the customer identification data and the operational information.
In the laundry system according to the present invention, when an operation of a laundry machine has finished, that is, when cleaning or drying has finished, a portable communication tool (such as a mobile phone or the like) of the customer can be informed of the completion of cleaning or drying, whereby the quality of customer service of the laundry system is enhanced.
The invention according to the present invention also provides a system which can utilize a portable communication tool provided with radio communication means for long-distance communication together with specified low power radio communication means so that communication with the laundry equipment and the laundry managing server can be effectively performed.
According to this invention, it is further possible to provide a laundry system that allows for so-called cashless use thereof by means of a portable communication tool instead of coins and bills that have been used conventionally