EP3271876A1

EP3271876A1 - Method and system for maintaining vehicles, facility implementing such a method and system

Info

Publication number: EP3271876A1
Application number: EP16712739.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Brice BELVEYRE; Guillaume HUGLA
Original assignee: Bluecarsharing SAS
Current assignee: Bluecarsharing SAS
Priority date: 2015-03-18
Filing date: 2016-03-07
Publication date: 2018-01-24
Also published as: US20180060833A1; WO2016146421A1; FR3033752B1; SG11201707678PA; FR3033752A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method (200) for maintaining vehicles offered for shared use on a plurality of sites, said method comprising at least one iteration of the following steps: - signalling (204) of at least one item of state data relating to a state of said vehicle or of a component of said vehicle; - determining (208), as a function of said at least one item of state data, at least one vehicle state parameter associated with said vehicle; said method (200) further comprising at least one iteration of a phase (212), termed the "servicing" phase, comprising the following steps: - selecting (216) at least one site, depending on the vehicle state parameters of at least the vehicles present at said at least one site, - performing (218) a maintenance operation of at least one vehicle at said selected site.

Description

"Vehicle maintenance method and system, installation employing such method and system"

The present invention relates to a method for maintaining vehicles for shared use at a plurality of sites, particularly in the context of an automated rental facility for electric vehicles at a plurality of sites. It also relates to a system implementing such a method and an automated vehicle rental facility on a plurality of sites implementing such a method and / or such a system.

The field of the invention is the field of maintenance of a fleet of vehicles proposed for shared use on a plurality of sites distributed in space.

State of the art

The shared use of a plurality of vehicles, for example in the context of automated vehicle rental, is a growing field. Agglomerations wishing to reduce the number of vehicles on their territory implement automated rental systems for vehicles, such as for example electric cars or bicycles.

These facilities include sites for taking / removing vehicles distributed in a geographical area to take a vehicle from a site, said departure, and deposit the same vehicle on a site, said arrival. In most cases, the departure site and the arrival site are different which makes the shared use of the vehicle flexible for the user.

However, this flexibility of use of the vehicles is accompanied by a difficulty of maintenance of the vehicles which change sites constantly. Indeed, it is difficult, time consuming and very expensive in terms of human resources, on the one hand to identify the vehicles that require a maintenance operation, and on the other hand to carry out maintenance operations. In addition, carrying out maintenance operations on the vehicles requiring maintenance is difficult to coordinate and involves a significant downtime of vehicles waiting for maintenance. An object of the present invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks.

Another object of the invention is to propose a method and a vehicle maintenance system proposed for shared use on a plurality of sites distributed in the space to facilitate the maintenance of vehicles.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method and a vehicle maintenance system proposed for shared use on a plurality of sites distributed in space to reduce the cost of vehicle maintenance.

Finally, another object of the invention is to provide a method and a vehicle maintenance system proposed for shared use on a plurality of sites distributed in the space to reduce the downtime of vehicles. Presentation of the invention

The invention proposes to achieve at least one of the aforementioned aims by a vehicle maintenance method proposed for shared use on a plurality of sites, in particular in the context of an automated rental of electric vehicles on a vehicle. plurality of sites, the method comprising for each vehicle, at least one iteration of a so-called signaling phase, comprising the following steps:

signaling at least one piece of data, called state data, relating to a state of said vehicle or of an organ of said vehicle;

determining, as a function of said at least one state data item, at least one parameter, said vehicle state parameter, associated with said vehicle or said body of said vehicle;

said method further comprising at least one iteration of a so-called intervention phase, comprising the following steps: selecting at least one site, according to the vehicle state parameters, at least the vehicles present on said at least one site,

- Performing a maintenance operation of at least one vehicle on said selected site.

Thus, the method according to the invention makes it possible to determine the need for maintenance of a vehicle according to data reported, for example by a user using the vehicle and / or an operator intervening on the vehicle, without having to move said vehicle on a maintenance site. Therefore, the identification of vehicles requiring maintenance is done in a simpler way, less costly in terms of human resources and less time-consuming.

In addition, the method according to the invention proposes to carry out the maintenance of the vehicles by site, according to the need for maintenance of the vehicles present on each site, which makes it possible to carry out a maintenance faster and less expensive in term of human resources and to reduce the downtime of vehicles waiting for maintenance. According to a first embodiment, the selection step may comprise a selection, from all the sites, of the site having the largest number of vehicles whose vehicle state parameter verifies a predetermined relationship, in particular testifies to a state degraded beyond a predetermined state.

In this case, an intervention by a maintenance team on this site makes it possible to handle the largest number of vehicles, which makes it possible, on the one hand, to keep these vehicles available for use and thus to reduce the downtime of the vehicles. waiting for maintenance and secondly to optimize the use of human resources and intervention time for maintenance by number of vehicles.

According to another embodiment, the selection step may comprise a selection, from all the sites, of the site presenting the vehicle. whose vehicle status parameter indicates a most degraded state among all sites.

This embodiment makes it possible to intervene on the vehicle that requires the most urgent intervention and to prevent said vehicle from being immobilized and no longer being able to be used by the users. Similarly, it allows to intervene on a vehicle urgently and to avoid the use of a vehicle whose use may present a risk for the user.

The intervention phase may further comprise a step of determining for each site a parameter, called the state of the site, by a predetermined relationship taking into account the state parameter (s) of (the) vehicle (s) present on said site, the step of selecting a site being performed according to said site status parameter.

For example, such a site state parameter may be determined by summation, multiplication, etc., of the values of the vehicle state parameters of the vehicles present on said site.

For at least one site, the determination of the site state parameter may also take into account other parameters such as, for example, an average time of presence of a vehicle on said site, a total number of vehicles present on said site. site, etc.

In this case, the selection step may comprise a selection, among all the sites, of at least one site whose site state parameter satisfies a predetermined relationship, in particular testifies to a degraded state beyond a predetermined state.

For example, the selection step may comprise a selection of each site whose value of the state parameter is greater than or equal to a threshold, said intervention, predetermined, possibly adjustable. Alternatively, the selection step may comprise a selection, among all the sites, of the site whose site status parameter indicates a most degraded state among all the sites, for example the site having the highest value. for the site status parameter among all sites. The selection step may comprise a selection, among all the sites, of a predetermined number "n", for example n = 10, whose states are the most degraded, or whose states are degraded beyond a predetermined threshold, based on:

vehicle condition parameters of the vehicles on each of said sites, or

site state parameters of each of said sites. Advantageously, the method according to the invention may further comprise a display on a geographical map of the location of said selected sites, according to geolocation data of each site. Thus, it is possible to visually identify a geographical area with the largest number of sites requiring maintenance and to perform an intervention that can cover as many sites as possible.

Alternatively, the intervention phase may comprise, before the selection step, a step of determining a geographical zone, said to be the most degraded, of a predetermined size, possibly adjustable, including the sites whose states are the most degraded, or whose states are degraded beyond a predetermined threshold, based on:

vehicle condition parameters of the vehicles on each of said sites, or

site state parameters of each of said sites; the selection step comprising a selection of one or more, in particular of all the sites in said geographical area, possibly after display on a geographical map, the location of said sites in said geographical area.

For example, the predetermined size of the geographical area may be a radius of 500m.

The determination of the most degraded geographic area may include an iteration of the following steps for each site:

- identification of all the sites in the geographical area associated with the site, for example at less than 500m from said site, based on geolocation data of said sites;

determining, for said geographical zone associated with said site, a zone state parameter according to a predetermined algorithm, for example by summation, as a function of:

o vehicle condition parameters of the vehicles on the sites in that geographical area, or

o site status parameters of the sites in said geographical area.

Then, the geographical area having a most degraded global state parameter value is selected from all geographic areas.

Advantageously, for at least one vehicle, at least one signaling step may be performed from inside said vehicle or at said vehicle, by a user of said vehicle or by an operator involved in said vehicle.

Indeed, it is for example possible that a user using the vehicle reports status data at the beginning and / or end of the use of the vehicle. Alternatively or additionally, such signaling of a state data item can be performed by an operator intervening on the vehicle, for example in order to achieve a rebalancing between two sites.

Advantageously, for at least one vehicle, at least one step of signaling a state data can be performed through a user interface in said vehicle. Alternatively or additionally, for at least one vehicle, at least one step of signaling a state data can be performed through a user interface on:

- a terminal on a site where the vehicle is located, or a portable communication device.

At least one user interface may include a display screen, tactile or not, through which the user or operator enters one or more state data.

The entry of a state data can be carried out either by free entry or by selecting a proposal from at least two proposals, in particular displayed on the screen.

The step of signaling a state data item may be mandatory in order to use the vehicle. In this case, the user can not start using the vehicle, or terminate a use of the vehicle, as long as the step of signaling the status data is not performed.

Advantageously, for at least one vehicle, the method according to the invention may comprise a step of weighting at least one state data by at least one weighting coefficient whose value is a function:

the author of the signaling of said state data item: for example a state data signaled by an operator can be weighted differently, and in particular be given more importance, compared to a state data signaled by a user;

a value of said state data item: for example a state datum signaling an extreme degradation level may be weighted differently, and in particular be given more importance, compared to a state datum signaling a other level of degradation;

- a period separating the signaling of said state data of a previous signaling;

the vehicle state parameter being determined according to said weighted state data.

Such a weighting makes it possible to obtain a more just and objective view of the state of the vehicle and thus to achieve a more adequate maintenance. This weighting can be performed by multiplying the value of at least one of the state data by one or more predetermined multiplier coefficients.

More generally, at least one state parameter of at least one vehicle can be determined by using a predetermined relationship or algorithm taking into account:

the author of the signaling of said state data;

a value of said state data; and

a duration separating the signaling of said state data from a previous signaling.

The method according to the invention may further comprise a step of setting to zero, and more generally a reset step, of at least one vehicle state parameter following transmission, by an operator, a data indicating:

the end of a maintenance operation on said vehicle, or

- a statement by the operator of a non-degraded state of said vehicle or a body of said vehicle.

Thus, when an operator performs a maintenance operation, the state parameter is reset. In addition, when an operator finds that the signaling previously performed by a user is incorrect, the state parameter is also reset.

According to a particularly advantageous application, the signaling step can realize a signaling of a state data relating to a state of general cleanliness of the vehicle, the vehicle state parameter testifying to said state of cleanliness, and the operation of performed maintenance including a vehicle cleaning operation.

In this case, the signaling step can be performed by selecting, on a user interface inside the vehicle, a proposal from among a plurality of proposals relating to the cleanliness of the vehicle, such as for example proposals of the type "Very clean", "clean", "acceptable", "dirty" and "very dirty". Each proposal can be displayed by a color and / or an emoticon and / or a text and / or a number / digit.

Similarly, each proposal can be selected by pressing a button, mechanical or tactile, with an indication in the form of a color and / or an emoticon and / or text and / or a number / digit.

Alternatively, or in addition, the signaling step can carry out a signaling of a state data relating to an operating state of a vehicle member, such as a screen, a car radio, a parking brake, rearview mirror, engine, seat, GPS, etc., vehicle, electrical outlet, etc.

In this case, the signaling step may comprise the following steps:

- a selection of the body concerned by the signaling, and

- An input of a value relating to the operating state of said member, on a user interface inside the vehicle, for example by selecting a proposal from a plurality of proposals.

Each proposal can be displayed by a color and / or an emoticon and / or a text and / or a number / digit.

According to one embodiment, a vehicle can be associated with several vehicle state parameters, each of the vehicle state parameters being relative to a member of said vehicle:

the signaling step comprising a signaling of a state data relating to one or more members of the vehicle,

the intervention phase being performed independently for each vehicle state parameter.

For example, for a given vehicle: a vehicle state parameter may be associated with the vehicle brakes,

another vehicle state parameter may be associated with the car radio,

- etc.

The maintenance of these organs requiring very different skills / operations, the intervention phase can be performed for each organ independently.

Alternatively, for at least two organs of the vehicle, the intervention phase can be shared and performed by the same operator.

Advantageously, the method according to the invention may comprise a classification of the maintenance operations in one of several predetermined categories, depending on the nature of the maintenance operation and / or the organ concerned. Each category may be associated with one or more operators, for example depending on the skills of the operators. The intervention phase can then be performed independently for each category. When the intervention phase is performed independently for each organ or category, the step of performing a maintenance operation may include a step of determining the operator (s) associated with the maintenance of said organ or category, and a selection of at least one of said operators.

According to another embodiment, a vehicle may be associated with a single vehicle state parameter, determined as a function of state data relating to a plurality of vehicle members, the signaling step comprising a signaling of a data item. state relating to one or more organs of the vehicle.

For example, for a given vehicle the single vehicle state parameter can be determined based on status data relating to:

- a condition of a car radio,

- a condition of a tire of the vehicle, - etc.

In this latter embodiment, the determination of the vehicle state parameter may include a weighting of at least one state data, depending on the nature of the organ to which said state data relates, the a single vehicle state parameter being determined based on said weighted state data.

For example, the weighting can be performed according to the importance of the vehicle operating member. Thus, since a tire is larger than a car radio, the weighting applied may give more importance to the tire status data than to the car radio status data.

This weighting can be performed by multiplying the value of at least one of the state data by one or more predetermined multiplying coefficients, possibly adjustable, and associated with each member of the vehicle.

More generally, at least one state parameter of at least one vehicle can be determined by using a predetermined relationship or algorithm taking into account state data relating to different organs of the vehicle, possibly with a weighting of least one of said state data.

The step of triggering a maintenance operation may comprise a transmission, for example through a communication network to an apparatus carried by an operator, data relating to said site and / or auditing at least one vehicle, and possibly said maintenance to be performed, to at least one operator, optionally selected from among several operators, as described above.

According to another aspect of the same invention, there is proposed a vehicle maintenance system proposed for shared use on a plurality of sites, in particular as part of an automated rental facility for electric vehicles on a plurality of sites, said system comprising means configured to implement all the steps of the method according to the invention.

Such a system can include:

at least one interface for signaling state data from within each vehicle or from each site or via a portable communication device, configured to transmit to a remote server, through a network communication, data relating to a state of the vehicle or a state of operation of a vehicle member;

at least one server, arranged at a central site, and configured to:

receive state data for at least one, in particular each, vehicle,

Determining at least one parameter, referred to as the vehicle state, associated with each vehicle,

selecting at least one of the plurality of sites according to said at least one state parameter, and initiating a maintenance operation of at least one vehicle on said at least one selected site, for example by transmitting data relating to said site and auditing at least one vehicle, and possibly said maintenance to be performed, to at least one operator.

According to another aspect of the same invention, an automated rental facility for vehicles, in particular electric vehicles, is presented at a plurality of sites, said installation comprising:

a system according to the invention, or

means configured to implement all the steps of the method according to the invention. Description of the Figures and Embodiments

Other advantages and characteristics will appear on examining the detailed description of non-limiting embodiments, and the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an automated vehicle rental installation implementing the method according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representation in the form of a diagram of an example of a maintenance method according to the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an exemplary user interface for signaling a state data relating to the cleanliness of a vehicle.

It is understood that the embodiments which will be described in the following are in no way limiting. It will be possible, in particular, to imagine variants of the invention comprising only a selection of characteristics described subsequently isolated from the other characteristics described, if this selection of characteristics is sufficient to confer a technical advantage or to differentiate the invention with respect to the state of the art. This selection comprises at least one feature preferably functional without structural details, or with only a part of the structural details if this part alone is sufficient to confer a technical advantage or to differentiate the invention from the state of the prior art.

In particular, all the variants and all the embodiments described are combinable with each other if nothing stands in the way of this combination on a technical level.

The examples described below relate to an automated rental of electric cars on several rental sites. Of course, the invention is not limited to use in such an installation.

FIGURE 1 is a schematic representation of an automated car rental facility in which the invention may be implemented. The installation 100 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a central site 102 connected to several sites - or stations - 104i-104 _n , called rental, through a wireless communication network 106, for example GPRS, or a wired network, for example of the DSL or LAN type. Preferably, each site 104 is connected to the central site 102 via the two separate networks, allowing a continuous connection even if one of the networks is faulty.

Each rental site 104 includes a rental terminal 110 for the rental of a vehicle and a plurality of charging terminals 112-116, each charging terminal being provided for charging a vehicle equipped with an electric battery to a parking space, to know the parking spaces 118-122.

Some rental sites 104 also include a subscription terminal 108 for registering a new subscriber.

Each parking site 118-122 of a rental site

104 comprises a presence detector module 124-128, namely weighing means, a camera and / or an infrared sensor and / or an electrical connection detector with a vehicle and / or a radar, connected to the rental terminal 110 from the rental site 104.

The central site 102 can be connected directly to each of the terminals of a rental site 104 through the network 106 or only to the subscription terminal and / or to the rental terminal and / or charging terminals 112-116. .

At least two terminals of a rental site are connected to each other through a wired connection (not shown).

The central site 102 includes a central management server 132, a synthesis module 134 and a communication module 136, called central.

The central site 102 further comprises a database 138 in which are stored data relating to each of the sites 104 and data relating to each of the vehicles 140i-140 _m proposed for rental as part of the installation 100.

The central site 102 communicates with each of the electric vehicles 140i-140 _sts rental or during the rental period, via a central communication module 136 and a housing communication (not shown), said vehicle, arranged in each vehicle 140, through the wireless communication network 106. Of course, vehicles that are being rented and located elsewhere than on a rental site can communicate with the central site through a communication network different from the network 106 used by the rental sites.

The installation 100 further comprises one or more operators 142 carrying a portable communication device 144 and performing the maintenance of one or more vehicles present on the rental sites 104.

The database 138 stores:

- In association with the identifier of each vehicle 140 offered for rental, at least one vehicle status parameter; - In association with the identifier of a rental site 104, a site status parameter.

A user or an operator is able to interact with the installation 100, in particular with the remote site 102, and even more particularly with the server 132, via a user interface accessible from:

- a terminal at a rental station, and in particular the rental terminal 110,

each vehicle 140, and / or

an application executed for example on a portable user device of the Smartphone type.

Thus, a user or operator can report to said central site 102 a plurality of state data, through said user interface.

The one or more user-reported and / or operator-reported status data is used to determine and update the value of one or more vehicle state parameters associated with said vehicle 140.

For each site 104, the value of a site state parameter is determined and updated based on the values of the state parameter (s) of each vehicle 140 on said site 104.

Thus, for a given vehicle 140, the user can signal: a state data relating to the cleanliness of the vehicle 140, and / or

- At least one state data relating to the operation of at least one vehicle member 140, such as a car radio, a tire, a motor, etc., said vehicle.

Each of these status data can for example be in the form of a number or a note.

Vehicle status data may be used to determine a single vehicle state parameter, regardless of which vehicle organ they relate to.

Alternatively, each of the state data relating to a specific vehicle member or the cleanliness of the vehicle can be used individually for determining and updating a vehicle state parameter associated with said vehicle member or said vehicle cleanliness independently. state data concerning the other parts of the vehicle.

Depending on the state parameter (s) of the vehicles 140 present on a site 104, a site state parameter is determined for said site. Depending on the state parameters of each of the sites 104, at least one site is selected to carry out maintenance of at least one vehicle 140 located on said site. The identification data of the site and the vehicle or vehicles concerned by the maintenance are sent to the communication device 144 of the operator 142, to trigger a maintenance operation.

We will now describe, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, an example of a vehicle maintenance method that can be implemented as part of the installation 100 of FIG. 1. To avoid red tape, it will be considered that maintenance only concerns the cleaning of the vehicle. Of course, the invention is not limited to the cleaning of vehicles and may concern all maintenance tasks that can be performed on a vehicle, in particular an electric vehicle. FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representation in the form of a diagram of an exemplary maintenance method according to the invention.

The method 200 shown in FIG. 2 comprises at least one iteration of a signaling phase 202.

This phase 202 includes a step 204 allowing an operator or a user to report a data relating to the state of cleanliness of a vehicle. This step 202 may for example comprise:

a selection, through a user interface, for example inside the vehicle, of a proposal among a plurality of proposals relating to the state of cleanliness of the vehicle; and

a transmission of said proposal to a remote site, for example the site 102, in association with an identification data of the vehicle, and possibly with an identification data of the person at the origin of this signaling and / or a time data relating to said signaling.

In the context of the cleaning of the vehicles, each state data can for example correspond to a number between 1 and 10, selected by the user, the number "1" corresponding to a "very clean" state and the number "10" corresponding to a "very dirty" state.

During an optional step 206, the reported state data can be weighted up or down according to:

the author of the signaling of said state data item: for example a state data signaled by an operator can be weighted so as to be given more importance, compared to a state data item indicated by a user;

a value of said state data item: for example a state data signaling an extreme level of cleanliness / dirtiness can be weighted so as to be given more importance, compared to a state data signaling a other level of cleanliness / dirt; a duration separating the signaling of said state data from a previous signaling: for example if the signalings of the state data are frequent then the state data can be weighted so as to be granted more than importance, and vice versa. The weighting can be performed by multiplying the state value by one of the predetermined coefficient (s), for example:

- multiplication by a coefficient 3 if the author of the signaling is an operator;

- multiplication by a coefficient 1.5 if given state data = 1 or 10;

- multiplication by a coefficient 2 if the time elapsed since the last signaling is greater than or equal to three weeks;

- etc.

In a step 208, the value of a vehicle status parameter associated with said vehicle is updated, for example by the server or by the module 134, as a function of the possibly weighted state data item. This update can be performed according to a predetermined relationship and possibly adjustable. For example, in no way limiting, the update can be performed by summing the value of the state data (possibly after weighting) with the current value of the vehicle status parameter.

The updated vehicle status parameter is stored in a database, for example database 138, in a step 210.

Steps 206-210 are repeated each time step 204 is performed. The signaling step 204 may, for example, be mandatory each time a user or an operator wishes to use a vehicle (and / or terminate the use of the vehicle), the use of the vehicle (and / or the end of use of the vehicle) being authorized only if the signaling step is carried out successfully.

The method 200 further comprises a phase 212, called intervention, performed:

- at a predetermined frequency, and / or

- after each signaling phase, and / or

- at each removal or taking of a vehicle on a site. This phase 212 includes a step 214 for determining / updating, the value of a state parameter, called site parameter, associated with each site according to:

the vehicle state parameter (s) associated with each vehicle on said site, and

- a predetermined relationship.

The predetermined relationship may for example be a summation relation so that the determination (update) of the value of the site state parameter can be performed by summing the values of the vehicle state parameters associated with the vehicles present on the vehicle. said site.

During a step 216, at least one site is selected from all the sites based on:

the site status parameter associated with each site, and

- a predetermined relationship.

The predetermined relation may be a relation selecting the site having the maximum value of the site state parameter, or all the sites whose value of the site state parameter is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, and possibly adjustable, etc.

Alternatively, it is possible to select and display a group of "n" sites, for example n = 10, the most degraded, as described above.

According to yet another alternative, it is also possible to determine the most degraded geographic area, of a predetermined size, and to select from, or all the sites, in said geographical area, as also described above.

During a step 218, a maintenance operation is triggered on the site or sites selected by transmission, to an operator, of identification data:

- the selected site, and

- The vehicle or vehicles requiring maintenance, that is to say a cleaning, on said selected site.

During this step 218, the operator moves to the selected site to perform the maintenance operation on the vehicle or vehicles concerned. Once the maintenance operation is performed on a vehicle, the status parameter associated with said vehicle is reset or set to zero.

Alternatively, if the operator finds that the signaling of a degraded state is erroneous, for at least one vehicle or a member of a vehicle, the maintenance operation is not performed and the status parameter associated with said vehicle is reset or reset.

FIGURE 3 is a schematic representation of an exemplary user interface for signaling a state data relating to the cleanliness of a vehicle.

The interface 300 shown in FIG. 3 can be accessible inside a vehicle, on a terminal disposed at a vehicle pick-up / drop-off site, for example the terminal 110 of the installation 100 of the vehicle. FIGURE 1, or on a portable communication apparatus of a user or an operator, for example the apparatus 144 of the installation 100 of FIGURE 1.

The user interface 300 includes a display area 302, displaying a question about a state of cleanliness of the vehicle and prompting the user or operator to select a proposal from proposals displayed on a display area 304.

The display area 304 has five 306i-306 emoticons ₅ , of different colors and different expressions, corresponding to each of the five "Very Clean", "Clean", "Acceptable", "Dirty" and "Very Dirty" proposals. .

The user can select one of the five proposals displayed for example by touch selection on a touch display screen displaying said graphical user interface 300.

Naturally, the invention is not limited to the examples which have just been described. Maintenance may involve a task other than cleaning the vehicle, such as repairing or replacing a vehicle component.

In addition, a plurality of vehicle status parameters may be associated with each vehicle, each relating to a maintenance of the vehicle or an individual vehicle member. In this case, the method according to the invention can be implemented independently for each vehicle state parameter.

Alternatively, a single vehicle state parameter may be associated with each vehicle, said single vehicle state parameter being determined based on status data relating to a plurality of vehicle members, or the cleanliness of the vehicle and at least one organ of the vehicle. In this case, a weighting can be applied to at least one state datum according to the organ to which said state datum relates.

Claims

A method (200) for maintaining vehicles (140) provided for shared use at a plurality of sites (104), particularly within the context of an automated rental facility (100) for electric vehicles (140) on an plurality of sites (104), said method (200) comprising for each vehicle (104) at least one iteration of a signaling phase (202) comprising the following steps:

signaling (204) at least one piece of data, referred to as state, relating to a state of said vehicle (140) or of a member of said vehicle (140);

determination (208), according to said at least one state data, of at least one parameter, said vehicle state parameter, associated with said vehicle (104) or with said member of said vehicle (104); said method (200) further comprising at least one iteration of a so-called intervention phase (212) comprising the following steps:

selection (216) of at least one site, according to the vehicle state parameters, at least of the vehicles present on said at least one site,

- Realization (218) of a maintenance operation of at least one vehicle on said selected site.

2. Method (200) according to claim 1, characterized in that the selection step (216) comprises a selection, from all the sites (104), of the site having the largest number of vehicles whose state parameter of vehicle verifies a predetermined relationship, in particular testifies to a degraded state beyond a predetermined state.

3. Method (200) according to claim 1, characterized in that the selection step (216) comprises a selection, from all the sites (104), of the site presenting the vehicle whose vehicle state parameter testifies to a most degraded state among all sites.

4. Method (200) according to claim 1, characterized in that the intervention phase (212) further comprises a determination step (214). for each site (104) of a parameter, called the state of the site, by a predetermined relationship taking into account the state parameter (s) of the vehicle (s) present on said site (104), the step (216) of selecting a site being performed according to said site state parameter.

Method (200) according to claim 4, characterized in that the selection step (216) comprises a selection, among all the sites (104), of at least one site whose site status parameter verifies a predetermined relationship, in particular, indicates a degraded state beyond a predetermined state.

Method (200) according to claim 4, characterized in that the selection step (216) comprises a selection, among all the sites (104), of the site whose site status parameter indicates a state the most degraded among all sites.

The method (200) of claim 1 or claim 4, characterized in that the selecting step (216) comprises selecting, from among all the sites (104), a predetermined number of sites whose states are the most degraded, or whose states are degraded beyond a predetermined threshold, depending on:

vehicle condition parameters of the vehicles on each of said sites, or

site state parameters of each of said sites; said method further comprising a display on a geographical map, the location of said selected sites, according to geolocation data of each site.

8. Method (200) according to claim 1 or claim 4, characterized in that the intervention phase comprises, before the selection step, a step of determining a geographical area, called the most degraded, of a predetermined size, possibly adjustable, comprising the sites whose states are the most degraded, or whose states are degraded beyond a predetermined threshold, according to: vehicle condition parameters of the vehicles on each of said sites, or

site state parameters of each of said sites; the selection step comprising a selection of one or more, in particular all, sites in said geographical area.

9. Method (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises, for at least one vehicle (140), a step of resetting the state parameter of said vehicle following transmission, of the part of an operator, of a data indicating:

the end of a maintenance operation on said vehicle, or

Method (200) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, for at least one vehicle (140), at least one signaling step (204) is performed from inside said vehicle (140) or at said vehicle (140), by a user of said vehicle or by an operator intervening on said vehicle (140).

11. Method (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, for at least one vehicle (140), at least one signaling step (204) is performed through a user interface (300) in said vehicle (140).

12. Method (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, for at least one vehicle (140), at least one signaling step (204) is performed through a user interface on:

a terminal (110) lying on a site (104) on which said vehicle (140) is located, or

- a portable communication device.

13. Method (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, for at least one vehicle (140), a step (206) of weighting at least one state data by at least one function weighting coefficient:

the author of the signaling of said state data,

a value of said state data,

a duration separating the signaling of said state data item from a previous signaling,

said vehicle state parameter being determined according to said weighted state data.

14. Method (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the signaling step (204) carries out a signaling of a state data relating to a state of general cleanliness of the vehicle, the parameter d vehicle state testifying to said state of cleanliness and the maintenance operation performed comprising a vehicle cleaning operation.

15. Method (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a vehicle is associated with several vehicle state parameters, each relating to a member of said vehicle:

the signaling step (204) comprising a signaling of a state data relating to one or more organs of the vehicle,

the intervention phase (212) being performed independently for each vehicle state parameter.

A method (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a vehicle is associated with a single vehicle state parameter, determined as a function of status data relating to a plurality of vehicle members. signaling step (204) comprising a signaling of a state data relating to one or more vehicle members.

17. Method (200) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that it comprises a weighting (206) of at least one state data, depending on the nature of the organ to which said state data relates. , the special one a vehicle state parameter being determined based on said weighted state data.

18. Vehicle maintenance system provided for shared use at a plurality of sites (104), particularly as part of an installation

(100) automated hiring of electric vehicles (140) at a plurality of sites (104), said system comprising means configured to implement all steps of the method (200) according to any of the preceding claims.

19. System according to the preceding claim, characterized in that it comprises:

at least one interface (300) for signaling a status data from within each vehicle (140) or from each site (104) or through a portable communication device, configured to transmit to a server (132) remote, through a communication network (106), a data relating to a state of the vehicle (140) or an operating state of a vehicle member (140);

at least one server (132) arranged at a central site

(102) and configured to:

receiving status data for at least one, in particular each, vehicle (140),

determining at least one parameter, referred to as the vehicle state, associated with each vehicle (140),

selecting at least one of the plurality of sites (104) based on said at least one vehicle state parameter, and

- triggering a maintenance operation of at least one vehicle (140) on said at least one selected site.

20. Installation (100) for automated rental of vehicles (140), in particular electrical vehicles, at a plurality of sites (104), said facility (100) comprising: a system according to any one of claims 18 or 19; or

- means configured to implement all the steps of the method (200) according to any one of claims 1 to 17.