JP3610025B2 - Car sharing management system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a car sharing management system for a plurality of users to use a car jointly.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, automobiles have become so popular as to be indispensable in society. However, especially in urban areas, many people are hesitant to buy and own a car due to lack of parking space, expensive parking fees, or limited opportunities to use cars. In addition, the concept of car sharing in which a single car is used by multiple people has been proposed in order to reduce environmental loads such as air pollution and traffic congestion due to the increase in the number of cars.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Car sharing is one of the effective means for solving the above-mentioned various problems, but as a matter of fact, it is cumbersome and time-consuming to adjust the schedule of using a car among individuals with different life patterns. It also takes.
[0004]
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a system that can easily adjust the schedule of use of a vehicle such as an automobile shared by multiple owners.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In one form, the present invention provides a car sharing management website for a plurality of users to use a vehicle jointly on a network, a server having a database for storing information on reservation of the vehicle, and a source of each user And a terminal connected to the network, wherein the server provides a form for inputting a reservation for the vehicle in response to access to the website from the terminal. In response to the reply of the form from the terminal, the reservation information of the vehicle inputted in the form is stored in the database, and a page for displaying the reservation information is provided on the website Providing a car sharing management system programmed in
[0006]
According to this aspect, it is possible to easily adjust the use schedule of a vehicle shared by a plurality of owners, so that the vehicle can be used at a date and time convenient for each other.
[0007]
In another aspect of the present invention, the terminal stores a time point at which a predetermined point is consumed each time the user makes a reservation for a vehicle, and the server stores the time point when the form is returned. It is determined whether or not the stored time point remains, and if not, the program is programmed to reject the reservation of the vehicle.
[0008]
According to this embodiment, it is possible to avoid a situation in which one user occupies the vehicle by preliminarily assigning points in consideration of the charge share ratio and the tendency of each user to use the vehicle.
[0009]
In still another aspect of the present invention, the predetermined point to be consumed is different for each day of the week or for each time zone when the reservation of the vehicle is made.
[0010]
According to this form, when the vehicle is used outside the time zone set in advance in consideration of the daily behavior pattern of each user, a lot of points are consumed. Use can be suppressed.
[0011]
In yet another aspect of the present invention, the server, when the form in which reservation information is input by the first user is returned, is there a preceding reservation by the second user in the vicinity of the reservation? If there is a preceding reservation, an e-mail is sent to the second user's terminal notifying that a subsequent reservation has been made by the first user. Take the configuration programmed to do.
[0012]
According to this form, when there is a previous reservation by another user in a time zone prior to the time zone reserved by the user, the fact that the reservation is newly entered in the later time zone on the terminal of the other user Since an e-mail is sent to alert you, another user who has made a reservation earlier thinks that there is no reservation in a later time zone and exceeds his reserved time zone, The situation where it is used can be prevented beforehand.
[0013]
In still another aspect of the present invention, the server is configured such that when the form in which the reservation information is input by the first user is returned, the reservation by the second user is made first, and the first user The reservation made earlier by the first user is canceled in response to the transmission of the cancellation information of the earlier reservation made by the second user when the user cannot make a reservation. It is configured to be programmed to send an e-mail notifying that.
[0014]
According to this form, even if there is an appointment at the date and time when the reservation is desired, if the cancellation can be requested from the second user, the server can cancel the cancellation by the second user. Since the e-mail for notifying that it has been sent is sent to the first user, there is no need to check the reservation status by accessing the website many times. In this case, it is also possible for the first user who has received the notification to preferentially reserve the canceled time zone.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an embodiment of a car sharing management system according to the present invention. The server 10 is composed of a personal computer or a workstation. The server 10 is connected to a network 11 such as the Internet, and provides a car sharing management website for jointly using one or a plurality of vehicles by a plurality of users.
[0016]
The server 10 is installed, for example, at a management company that operates and manages a car sharing system. Alternatively, it may be installed in a sales company that sells or leases vehicles such as automobiles that are used jointly, an automobile maintenance factory, or the like.
[0017]
The server 10 includes a database. The database includes information such as names, user IDs, passwords, and email addresses of users who commonly use the vehicle, and reservation start date and end date and time (reservation time) for each vehicle. Band) information is stored.
[0018]
Terminals 12 and 13 which are personal computers and portable terminals 14 and 15 such as PDAs and mobile phones are arranged for each user who uses the vehicle jointly. The user can access the car sharing management website provided by the server 10 via the network 11 using browsers installed in the terminals 12 and 13 and the mobile terminals 14 and 15, respectively. In addition, a mailer is installed in the terminals 12 and 13 and the mobile terminals 14 and 15, and an e-mail can be transmitted and received.
[0019]
Each terminal 12 and 13 is provided with a display unit such as a display and an input unit such as a keyboard and a mouse. Each of the mobile terminals 14 and 15 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal screen and an input unit such as a button, dial, or stick. Hereinafter, the term “terminal” simply includes both terminals and portable terminals.
[0020]
Each page included in the car sharing management website (hereinafter simply referred to as “website”) provided by the server 10 is described in HTML corresponding to portable terminals such as HTML and compact HTML. The server 10 transmits the HTML of each page to the user terminal according to the URL address requested from the browser of the user terminal. The browser of the user's terminal analyzes the transmitted HTML and displays each page on the display unit of the terminal. The server 10 is installed with a program such as a CGI program that is activated based on the HTML description transmitted to the terminal, and can perform predetermined processing such as database search and e-mail transmission. .
[0021]
In advance, the user forms a sharing group for managing and using one vehicle in units of several people (car sharing) on the website or in accordance with the mediation of an automobile sales company. Vehicles are purchased for each shared group or rented from a sales company. Hereinafter, this vehicle is referred to as a shared vehicle.
[0022]
In the present embodiment, a plurality of general households who live in the vicinity as a user and who do not own a vehicle such as an automobile alone due to various circumstances are assumed. However, in another aspect, the car sharing management system of the present invention is also used when, for example, a business office or factory owns a plurality of business vehicles and a plurality of employees use the business operators jointly. Can do.
[0023]
Each user is assigned a user ID, and each user sets a password in advance. The set user ID and password are stored in the database of the server 10. The user ID and password may be set on the website.
[0024]
The shared vehicle is stored in a parking lot of a predetermined user, a parking lot shared by a shared group, or the like. A user who makes a reservation for a shared vehicle on the website visits the parking lot and uses the shared vehicle at the date and time of the reservation. The key of the shared vehicle is owned by each user or stored by a parking lot manager or the like. It is also possible to require each user to move to a location designated by the next user after using the shared vehicle.
[0025]
In the present embodiment, one vehicle is owned for each shared group, but it may be configured to have a plurality of kitchens. In this case, it becomes possible to use the vehicle properly according to the usage pattern. In other words, it is possible to jointly own a light vehicle for short-distance movement, an RV car for leisure, a minivan for multi-person movement, and use them according to the needs of each household.
[0026]
The sharing group can also sign a maintenance contract for a shared vehicle with a car maintenance shop. When maintenance of a shared vehicle is to be performed, the maintenance shop accesses the car sharing management website from its own terminal and makes a reservation at the date and time when the maintenance is to be performed. At this time, the shared vehicle can no longer be used, but a repair shop may prepare a substitute vehicle and make a reservation on the website.
[0027]
The basic operation of the server 10 that provides the car sharing management website is to provide information on the website when each user makes a reservation for a shared vehicle, and to make a reservation at a desired time. In some cases, a later reservation is not accepted.
[0028]
When the user accesses the website using his / her terminal, the server 10 transmits a home page to the terminal. This homepage includes an explanation page of the car sharing management system according to the present invention, a guide page for building a shared group that uses automobiles jointly, an advertisement page of an automobile sales company that sells or rents shared vehicles, and reservation of shared vehicles Links are made to each page such as a reservation status confirmation page for confirming the situation and making a reservation, and it is possible to move to each page according to the user's selection.
[0029]
A user who makes a reservation moves from the home page to the reservation status confirmation page. Before displaying this page, the user ID and password may be input. When the HTML of this page is requested from the browser of the user's terminal, a program such as a CGI program installed in the server 10 is activated, and the server 10 searches the database for information on the reservation status of the shared vehicle. Then, HTML is created so as to reflect the searched information, and transmitted to the user's terminal.
[0030]
FIG. 2 shows an example of a reservation status confirmation page. On the page 20, various buttons 21, 22, 23, 24, the current use point 25 of the accessing user, tables 26, 27, 28 for displaying the reservation status of the shared vehicle, and the date displayed on the screen are changed. Buttons 29 and 30 are displayed.
[0031]
Tables 26, 27, and 28 show the reservation status of the shared vehicle for each day. The month and day displayed on the left side of each table 26, 27, and 28 in the figure represents the month and day on which the reservation is made, and the upper part of the table represents time. In each table 26, 27, 28, the colored portion represents a time zone that has already been reserved by another user. The time zone is divided, for example, every hour. A, B, and C mean the names of users who made the reservations. In this example, a reservation is made by the user A from 10:00 to 14:00 on May 20, and a reservation is made by the user C from 6:00 to 10:00 on May 21, and from 14:00 to 21 It means that the reservation is made by the user B until the time. In addition, from 9:00 to 24:00 on May 22, it means that a maintenance factory with which the sharing group has a contract has made a reservation to inspect the shared vehicle. Thus, by referring to the tables 26, 27, and 28, the time zone in which the shared vehicle is reserved and the name of the user who made the reservation can be easily known.
[0032]
By clicking the “Previous Date” button 29 and the “Next Date” button 30, it is possible to refer to the reservation status of the shared vehicle other than the displayed date. In response to the click of the button 29 or 30, the server 10 searches the database for the reservation status information for the corresponding day, creates HTML to reflect the searched information, and transmits it to the user's terminal.
[0033]
When the user who wants to make a reservation clicks the “reservation input” button 21, the server 10 transmits an input form 31 as shown in FIG. 3 to the user's terminal. The user looks at the tables 26, 27, and 28 on the page 20 and inputs his / her desired time zone from the available time zones to the input form 31. Each input item 32 allows the user to select the month, day, and time to be input from a pull-down menu that is expanded by clicking the button at the right end.
[0034]
A memo can be entered in the field 33. Write down the purpose and destination of the shared vehicle and what you should contact other users in the group. The items described in the field 33 are displayed in each table when the pointer is moved over the reserved time zone in the tables 26, 27, and 28 of FIG.
[0035]
When a predetermined input item is input to the input form 31 and the “Send” button 34 is clicked, the input information is transmitted to the server 10 and a program such as a CGI program installed in the server 10 is started. The server 10 updates the HTML to reflect the reservation if the input reservation time zone is available, and transmits it to the user's terminal. If the reserved time is not available, a message to that effect is sent. When canceling the reservation input, clicking the “cancel” button 35 returns to the page 20.
[0036]
When canceling an already reserved time zone, clicking the “cancel” button 22 shown in FIG. 2 allows the server 10 to cancel the reservation by designating the same date and time zone as in FIG. Send the form to the user's terminal.
[0037]
In FIG. 2, a “use status” button 23 is further displayed. A user who has finished using the reserved shared vehicle or cannot use the reserved vehicle for some reason, clicks the button to move to the vehicle usage status input page, and inputs the usage status. Details of this process will be described later with reference to FIGS.
[0038]
When the “maintenance information” button 24 is clicked, the user can move to a page showing a maintenance schedule to be received by the shared vehicle. In addition to this, information provided by the automobile company, local event information, store campaign information, and the like are displayed on this page.
[0039]
The current usage point 25 displays the current usage point of the accessed user. The user can only reserve the shared vehicle within the range of this point. That is, usage points are allocated in advance to each user in consideration of the share of funds for purchasing the shared vehicle, the tendency of each user to use the vehicle, and the like. For example, the usage points are configured such that 100 points are provided to each user every month, and one point is consumed each time the shared vehicle is used for one hour. The usage points may be configured to be set in units of weeks or days, and the number of consumption points can be differentiated according to the day of the week or the time zone. In addition, if the user uses a shared vehicle outside of a preset time period in consideration of his / her daily behavior pattern, by setting so that more points are consumed than usual, other than the required time period Use can also be suppressed.
[0040]
The usage point is searched from the database of the server 10 at the first access to the user reservation status confirmation page, and is transmitted to the user terminal as a cookie, for example, and stored. Simultaneously with the transmission of the reservation input form, the cookie information is also transmitted to the server 10, and the number of used points corresponding to the time reserved by the CGI program of the server 10 is subtracted and transmitted to the terminal again.
[0041]
2 and 3 are examples of pages displayed on the display unit of the terminals 12 and 13 which are personal computers. However, when the user accesses the website using the mobile terminals 14 and 15, Each page configured for the mobile terminal is transmitted from the server 10 to the mobile terminals 14 and 15 according to the URL address.
[0042]
Next, the processing procedure of the server 10 when setting a reservation will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the following description, it is assumed that user A accesses a website and reserves a shared vehicle.
[0043]
In step 41, in response to the user A accessing the website using the terminal and moving to the reservation status confirmation page, the server 10 transmits the reservation status confirmation page to the user A's terminal. In step 42, a reservation input form is transmitted to the terminal according to the operation of the user A. When the user A inputs a desired time on the reservation input form and transmits it, the server 10 acquires the information (step 43).
[0044]
In step 44, it is confirmed whether or not the user's usage points recorded in the cookie remain. If there is no reservation, no reservation can be made, so this process ends. If it remains, go to step 45.
[0045]
In step 45, the server 10 searches the database to determine whether or not the desired reservation time of the user A has exceeded a preset use limit time. The use limit time is set in advance so that the shared vehicle is not occupied unduly for a long time. If so, go to step 56. This step is ignored if no such time limit is set.
[0046]
If there is no problem with the use limit time, in step 46, the database is searched to determine whether there is an advance reservation in the time zone in which the reservation is desired. When the promise is not entered, the server 10 updates the database so that the reservation of the user A is put in that time zone, and transmits a page displaying a message notifying that the reservation is completed to the terminal of the user A. (Step 47). At this time, it is preferable that a reservation number is issued and notified at the same time for the convenience of inputting the usage status described later.
[0047]
Subsequently, a point corresponding to the reserved time is subtracted from the use point, a cookie recording the point is transmitted to the terminal of the user A, and a page displaying a message notifying the remaining use point is transmitted to the terminal. (Step 48).
[0048]
In step 49, the server 10 searches the database to determine whether a reservation by another user has been entered within a predetermined period (for example, one hour) after the reservation made by the user A. If there is no reservation, go to step 51. If there is a reservation, a page is displayed on the user A's terminal to display that “there is a reservation later, so please return on time” (step 50).
[0049]
Subsequently, in step 51, the server 10 searches the database to determine whether a reservation by another user is entered within a predetermined period (for example, one hour) before the reservation made by the user A. If there are no reservations, the process ends. If there is another reservation by the user B before the reservation, an e-mail notifying that the reservation has been newly entered is transmitted to the terminal of the user B (step 52), and this process is terminated. As a result, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the user B who has made a reservation first thinks that the reservation has not been made later and uses the shared vehicle exceeding the time.
[0050]
If it is determined in step 46 that there is an advance agreement by user B, the process proceeds to step 53, and whether or not to wait for cancellation of the reserved time zone because there is an advance agreement in user A's terminal at the desired time zone. A page is displayed that displays a confirmation message. In this page, when the user clicks a “Yes” or “No” button, it is possible to select whether or not to wait for cancellation and transmit it to the server 10. Subsequently, in step 54, the server 10 determines whether or not the user A has selected waiting for cancellation.
[0051]
When waiting for cancellation is selected, the server 10 transmits a page indicating that the cancel waiting monitoring state has been entered to the terminal of the user A (step 55), and ends this process. Thereafter, the server 10 monitors cancellation of the user B who has made a reservation first. Specifically, when canceling is transmitted from the user B, the server 10 transmits a mail notifying that the desired reservation time zone has been canceled by the user B to the terminal of the user A. In this case, the canceled time zone can be configured such that the user A can preferentially reserve for a predetermined period. If the cancellation is not performed by the user B by the reserved time zone, the server 10 does nothing.
[0052]
In step 54, when the user A does not select waiting for cancellation, the process proceeds to step 56, and a page for selecting whether or not to make a reservation at another date and time is transmitted to the terminal of the user A. On this page, when the user clicks a “Yes” or “No” button, it is possible to select whether or not to make a reservation at another date and time and transmit it to the server 10.
[0053]
In step 57, the server 10 determines whether or not the user A makes a reservation at another date and time. If no reservation is made, the process ends. If another reservation is to be made, the process returns to step 42 and a series of processing is performed from the beginning.
[0054]
When a user who has made a reservation through the process described above has finished using the shared vehicle during the reserved time, or if the shared vehicle cannot be returned as scheduled for some reason, Visit the site and enter its usage. In this case, the terminal is preferably a mobile terminal such as the mobile phone shown in FIG. 5 so as to cope with an unexpected situation of the user. However, the use status may be input using a personal computer at home after returning.
[0055]
When the user accesses the website using the terminal and clicks the “usage status” button 23 on the reservation status confirmation page (FIG. 2), the server 10 first inputs a reservation number for specifying the reservation made by the user A. Send the page.
[0056]
FIG. 5 is an example of a reservation number input page. Although the mobile phone 60 is shown as a terminal in FIG. 5, the form of the terminal is naturally not limited to this, and the page can also be displayed on the terminals 12 and 13 which are personal computers. On the screen 61, a display prompting the input of a reservation number is made. By operating the button 62, a reservation number can be input.
[0057]
On this page, the reservation number issued by the server 10 in step 47 of FIG. 4 is input to identify the reservation for which the user is going to input the usage status. As an alternative, the reservation can be specified by inputting the reserved time zone again. When the input is completed, the server 10 transmits a vehicle usage status input page to the terminal 60.
[0058]
FIG. 6 shows an example of the vehicle usage status input page. On the screen 61, four menus of "return", "early arrival", "cannot return in time", and "failure" are displayed together with the first number, and the number is entered with the button 62 or not shown. By operating a dial, a stick, or the like, it is possible to select a use situation of the vehicle corresponding to each menu.
[0059]
When returning within the reserved time, the user selects “return”. In response to this selection, the server 10 displays that the reservation has been completed, for example, by changing the color of the reserved time zone in the table on the reservation status confirmation page (FIG. 2). When there is another user who makes a reservation later, an e-mail notifying that the user has returned in time may be transmitted to the terminal of the user.
[0060]
When the user arrives earlier than the reservation time, for example, when the schedule to use until 10 o'clock ends at 6 o'clock, the user selects “early arrival”. In response to this selection, the server 10 updates the database to cancel the reservation after the early arrival time in the reserved time zone, and reflects it on the reservation status confirmation page. By doing so, it is possible to shorten the period during which the reservation is made even though the shared vehicle is not used, and to effectively use that period by another user.
[0061]
If the user cannot return as scheduled due to traffic jams, the user selects “not returnable on time”. In response to this selection, the server 10 searches the database and transmits an e-mail indicating that to another user's terminal that has made a reservation after the reservation time. In this way, it is possible to prevent a situation in which there is no shared vehicle even when another user goes to the parking lot at the reserved time. In this case, it can be configured to reduce the use points of the user who could not return on time due to violation of the rules.
[0062]
When the shared vehicle cannot be used due to a failure or the like, the user selects “failure”. In response to this selection, the server 10 notifies the terminal of another user who has made a subsequent reservation by e-mail, and also sends a similar e-mail to the terminal of the contracted maintenance company. . By doing so, not only can another user be notified immediately in the event of a failure of the shared vehicle, but also a mechanic can quickly prepare a substitute vehicle and minimize the impact.
[0063]
As described above, the car sharing management system of the present invention enables each user of the shared group to grasp the usage status of the shared vehicle relatively quickly and easily.
[0064]
Although the present invention has been described above with reference to specific embodiments and examples, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications that can be easily made by those skilled in the art are also included in the scope of the present invention.
[0065]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, reservation of a shared vehicle and adjustment thereof can be easily performed using a network, so that a plurality of users can use a car jointly.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a car sharing system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a reservation status confirmation page.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a reservation input form.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing of the server.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a reservation number input page.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle usage status input page.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 servers
11 Network
12, 13 terminal
14, 15 Mobile terminal

Claims (4)

A server that provides a car sharing management website on the network for a plurality of users to use the vehicle jointly, and has a database that stores information on the reservation of the vehicle;
Each of the users is connected to the network, and the server includes:
In response to access to the website from the terminal, a form for inputting the reservation of the vehicle is transmitted to the terminal, and the vehicle entered in the form in response to a reply of the form from the terminal A function of storing the reservation information in the database and providing a page for displaying the reservation information on the website ;
When the form in which the reservation information is input by the first user is returned, it is determined by searching the database whether there is a preceding reservation by the second user in the vicinity of the reservation, A function of sending an e-mail notifying that a subsequent reservation has been made by the first user to the terminal of the second user if there is a preceding reservation;
Car sharing management system that is programmed to achieve When the form in which the reservation information is input by the first user is returned, the server cannot make the reservation by the first user because the reservation by the second user has been made first. The first user sends an e-mail notifying the first user that the earlier reservation has been canceled in response to the second user sending the cancellation information for the earlier reservation. The car sharing management system of claim 1 , wherein the car sharing management system is programmed to do so. The terminal stores a time point at which a predetermined point is consumed each time the user makes a reservation for a vehicle,
The server, the determination whether or not there remains a form reply the time point terminal is stored at the time of, if not left is programmed to reject the reservation of the vehicle, according to claim 1 The car sharing management system described in 1. 4. The car sharing management system according to claim 3 , wherein the predetermined points to be consumed differ for each day of the week or for each time zone when the reservation of the vehicle is made.

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