JP2021189692A - Car sharing management server and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a car sharing reservation processing system which contributes to improvement of profitability as a business operator while suppressing a new burden of increase of transit time by relieving an input operation of reservation desire data to a user.SOLUTION: A car sharing management server comprises: desire data reception means for receiving reservation desire data including current position data from a communication terminal of a user; a vehicle management database with a reserved database and a result database; reservation adjustment means for creating reservation adjustment data for adjusting a reservation content on the basis of the reservation desire data, reserved data and result data; and adjustment data output means for transmitting the reservation adjustment data to a user terminal. The reservation adjustment data concerns a car sharing station with low profitability present within a range where the user is movable from the current position data within predetermined time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to an information and communication technology that enhances the convenience of car sharing for both users and businesses.

An entity that provides car sharing as a service business provides a share car used for car sharing and a car sharing cabin for parking the shared car. In addition, it is equipped with an information infrastructure that allows members who have registered as members to reserve a share car, open and close the door lock of the share car, and pay usage fees.
Further, the above-mentioned car-sharing vehicle compartment is generally provided in a parking lot having a plurality of vehicle compartments.

When a member who wants to use the share car provided by the business entity wants to start using the share car, it is premised that the member makes a reservation procedure. The reservation can be made by searching on the premise of identifying the scheduled start time and end time of using the shared car, as well as the location of the car-sharing cabin where the shared car is secured. Will be replied.

On the other hand, in the type of car sharing in which members share a vehicle without being a business entity, it is possible to check the usage status of the vehicle (shared car) and make a reservation through the Internet or the like. A member user can reduce costs such as vehicle purchase costs, maintenance costs, and parking fees as compared to the case of owning a vehicle alone.

By the way, in the type of car sharing that shares a shared car, the rental place and return place of the shared car are selected as convenient places for members to use, such as parking lots near the place of residence and around stations. Often.

For example, in Patent Document 1, transportation means for moving to the location of a sharing car (synonymous with "share car") in an area where transportation is not so well-developed, or sharing in such an area. Technologies that provide transportation for moving from the car return location are disclosed.

As for taxis as a means of transportation, it is essential for taxi operators to receive a call from a client who wants to use a taxi and allocate work to the crew. The vehicle dispatching work is a heavy burden for small businesses.
Therefore, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for rationally operating a vehicle dispatching business in a plurality of taxi companies.

On the other hand, a general procedure for reserving car sharing operated by an entity will be described with reference to FIG.
The member sends the reservation data to the car sharing management server using a personal computer or a smartphone. It is necessary to send the card number of the registered card α together, but if the application dedicated to car sharing provided by the car sharing management server is used, the input work will be simplified.

The reservation data (reservation request, reservation request data) includes data for identifying the member (membership card number, member ID), location of the shared car cabin (parking lot, car sharing station), date and time of use, and start of use. Includes time, end time of use, desired vehicle type, etc.

The car sharing management server has a member database that stores the above-mentioned attribute information related to members, data related to usage fees, and a vehicle management database that stores data such as shared car usage status and reservation status. ..

The reservation data transmitted from the communication terminal related to the member user is received by the reservation data receiving means of the car sharing management server, and the reservation possibility determination means determines whether or not the reservation is possible using the member database and the vehicle management database. do. Then, the reservation availability output means returns the reservation availability data regarding the availability of the reservation to the communication terminal.
When the member user completes the reservation procedure after replying that the reservation is possible, the completed reservation data (member information related to the reservation, date and time of use, usage time, etc.) is collected by the service target vehicle (share car) related to the reservation. Send to the in-vehicle device.

The service target vehicle (shared car) used for car sharing generally secures several cabins as storage places in a parking lot with a plurality of cabins. The parking lot where the shared car is stored is called a "carport" or a "car sharing station".
The above-mentioned membership card has a built-in IC chip, and the share car is unlocked and locked by short-distance wireless communication (depending on the business operator, a smartphone may be used as a substitute for the membership card).

In Patent Document 3, when the vehicle does not exist in the carport where the user (synonymous with "member") wants to rent the vehicle (synonymous with "share car"), or when the vehicle is returned to the carport where the user wants to return the vehicle. A technology for suppressing a situation in which a vehicle reservation cannot be made because a vehicle cannot be rented or returned when there is no space is disclosed. That is, the user can estimate the allowable travel distance as the allowable travel distance, and present another carport within the allowable travel distance as a reservation candidate to increase the number of reservation candidates (as a result, increase the probability of reservation establishment). , Is adopted.

In Patent Document 4, the incentive privilege is calculated from the operating rate of each car sharing station and the waiting time for use from the completion of the usage reservation to the start of the use of the shared vehicle (synonymous with "share car"). It discloses the technology of providing it to users. In exchange for incentive benefits, this technology leads users to take actions to shorten the waiting time for use, and as a result, contributes to increasing the operating rate.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2019-144654 Japanese Patent No. 6551689 Japanese Patent No. 6515649 Japanese Patent No. 6455196

It is presumed that the technologies disclosed in Patent Documents 3 and 4 described above will contribute to the improvement of the operating rate of the share car.
However, the following points can be mentioned as problems that cannot be solved by Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4.

In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 3, as a result of presenting another carport within the allowable travel distance as a reservation candidate, another carport presented as a candidate is not the carport initially desired by the user. Suppose you have reserved. However, if the usage time desired by the user is short, a situation may occur in which a reservation scheduled for a longer usage time after the reservation cannot be made. In other words, it is a situation that is likely to reduce profitability for businesses.

It is assumed that the reservation is made with the reservation content that shortens the usage waiting time than the reservation content initially desired by the user by the technique disclosed in Patent Document 4. However, even if the waiting time for use is shortened, the probability that the operating rate of the car sharing station will improve will increase, but it does not necessarily improve.

In order to improve profitability in the car-sharing business, optimization in a wider range of car-sharing stations (ideally, overall optimization) is important, while in Patent Documents 3 and 4, the allowable travel distance is It's just a technology to partially optimize the car-sharing stations that are within range or reserved.

In order to investigate the technology related to the present invention, the patent documents were searched by the following search formula.
Search formula = current * location * reservation * (net + web)
As a result, 309 patent documents including patent documents 1 and 2 were extracted.

The patent documents were also searched using the following search formula.
Search formula = [Occupancy rate / CL] * [Car share / SP] * [Reservation / CL] * [Parking lot / SP]
As a result, three patent documents including patent documents 3 and 4 were extracted.
However, we have not been able to find a technology that contributes to optimization in a wider range of car-sharing stations, rather than in a narrow range such as reservation targets or car-sharing stations within the permissible travel distance.

By the way, the inventor of the present application has statistically grasped that the "availability of each share car" does not depend on the proximity of the travel distance from the user. For example, the operating rate differs depending on the vehicle type, and there are regional differences even for the same vehicle type. If a regular user is associated with a specific share car, the utilization rate will increase.
In addition, the occupancy rate differs depending on whether the car sharing station is inside the building or outdoors, and the occupancy rate inside the building may be high or the occupancy rate outside may be high depending on the area. It has also been found that even for car sharing stations with similar conditions, the occupancy rate varies depending on whether or not the carport of the shared car is close to the entrance / exit of the parking lot.

An object to be solved by the present invention is to provide a technique that contributes to optimization in a plurality of car sharing stations as wide as possible while conforming to the reservation request data of a member user.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, we focus on the reservation request data by the car sharing user (member user) as a business and the time when the member user can tolerate the movement, and balance the optimization of the business in the business entity. We devised a reservation processing system that increases the possibility.

(First invention)
The first invention relates to a car sharing management server for processing a car sharing reservation.
That is, a desired data receiving means for receiving reservation desired data for specifying a desired car sharing usage state from a communication terminal related to a member user who has registered as a member in advance.
A vehicle management database equipped with a reserved database that stores reserved data for which reservation details have been confirmed and a performance database that stores performance data related to the results of use of shared cars.
A reservation adjustment means for creating reservation adjustment data for adjusting reservation contents based on the reservation request data received by the desired data receiving means, the reserved data stored in the vehicle management database, and the actual data.
An adjustment data output means for transmitting the reservation adjustment data created by the reservation adjustment means to the communication terminal, and an adjustment data output means.
A reservation confirmation data receiving means that receives reservation confirmation data from the communication terminal that has received the reservation adjustment data transmitted by the adjustment data output means and stores the received reservation confirmation data in the reservation database.
Equipped with
The reservation request data includes the current position data of the communication terminal.
The reservation adjustment means extracts a car share station having lower profitability than the car share station related to the reservation request data using the actual data, and moves the car share station from the current position data within a predetermined time. The low-profitability car-sharing station that exists within the possible range will be used to create the reservation adjustment data (see FIG. 2).

(Glossary)
The "range that can be moved from the current position data within a predetermined time" is a typical example of the time required when moving on foot on a specific path.
For example, if the "predetermined time" is 10 minutes and the distance between the current position and the car sharing station is 350 meters, it can be estimated that the registered user can walk at a speed of 35 meters or more per minute at the latest. The car sharing station is a candidate for reservation adjustment data.
By using the age of the registrant from the member database when calculating the minute speed of walking, it is possible to convert the speed to 70 meters per minute for those under 40 years old and 60 meters per minute for 40 to 60 years old. ..

The "range that can be moved from the current position data within a predetermined time" may be the time required when using public transportation on the way. This "within a predetermined time" is a travel time that the member user can tolerate, and may be selected step by step.
For example, if the train station has current location data, and the car-sharing station is located a 2-minute walk from the next station, which arrives in 3 minutes every 5 minutes, the total required time (maximum) time. Is within 10 minutes, so it is a candidate for reservation adjustment data (see FIG. 10).

"Profitability" is calculated mainly by taking into account the actual data stored in the actual database and, if possible, the reserved data. For example, it is created as reservation adjustment data including a car share station with a share car whose occupancy rate is less than or equal to a predetermined value. In addition, at a car sharing station where the usage time desired by a member user tends to be long, reservation adjustment data is created such that a short-time reservation is avoided during the daytime.

(Action)
The reserved database stores the reserved data for which the reservation details have been confirmed, and the actual data regarding the actual results of using the share car is stored in the actual database.
The desired data receiving means receives the reservation desired data for specifying the desired car sharing usage state from the communication terminal related to the member user who has registered as a member in advance.

The reservation adjustment means creates reservation adjustment data for adjusting the reservation contents based on the received reservation request data, the reserved data stored in the vehicle management database, and the actual data.
The reservation adjustment means includes the current position data of the communication terminal, and uses the car sharing station existing within the movable range from the current position data within a predetermined time to create the reservation adjustment data.

It has been empirically understood by car-sharing operators that the position of the car-sharing station in the reservation request data has a very high probability of being near the current position of the communication terminal related to the member user who transmits the data. In addition, it is possible to grasp the potential needs of member users to reduce the time and effort required to create reservation request data, including search work in advance.
Therefore, it contributes to the improvement of profitability as a business operator while reducing the work of inputting the reservation desired data for the member user and suppressing the burden of the travel time due to the schedule adjustment data. Car-sharing stations within the range that can be moved from the current position data within a predetermined time will be expanded as options while complying with the reservation request data of member users, which will contribute to the improvement of profitability as a business operator.

(Variation 1 of the first invention)
The first invention may be formed as follows.
That is, the reservation request data includes intention display data as to whether or not to agree to adjust one or more of the items related to the reservation request data.
The reservation adjustment means uses a car share station whose profitability is lower than that of the car share station related to the reservation request data for creating the reservation adjustment data only when the intention display data is agreed. (See FIGS. 2, 8, and 9).

(Glossary)
The "intention display data" is often specified by the member user selecting one of the selection buttons when operating the communication terminal related to the member user. In addition, "agreeing to adjust" also includes agreeing that the discount price will be applied on condition of adjustment (see FIG. 8).

(Action)
When the member user operates the communication terminal related to himself / herself and transmits the reservation request data, the member user includes the intention display data as to whether or not he / she agrees to adjust one or more of the items related to the reservation request data. .. If the intention display data agrees, the reservation adjustment means creates the car share station as the reservation adjustment data, which is less profitable than the car share station related to the reservation request data.

When the reservation adjustment data is selected by the member user, it is a car sharing station with lower profitability than the reservation desired data, so there is a high possibility that it will contribute to the improvement of profitability of the car sharing business as a whole.

(Variation 2 of the first invention)
The first invention may be formed as follows.
That is, the reservation request data includes the destination data which is the location of the destination where the member user goes by the shared car.
The reservation adjustment means creates reservation adjustment data including the use of public transportation based on the location data of the desired car sharing station included in the reservation request data and the destination data. (See FIGS. 2 and 11).

(Action)
The reservation adjustment means creates reservation adjustment data including the use of public transportation based on the location data and the destination data of the desired car sharing station included in the reservation request data.
The use of public transportation will contribute to alleviating traffic congestion and curbing carbon dioxide emissions. If traffic congestion can be avoided, it also contributes to reducing the psychological or financial burden on member users.

(Variation 3 of the first invention)
The first invention may be formed as follows.
That is, the reservation adjustment means includes an incentive calculation means for calculating incentive data indicating the content of a reasonable incentive that motivates the member user to select the reservation adjustment data according to the reservation adjustment data. Including
The incentive data calculated by the incentive calculation means will be included in the reservation adjustment data (see FIGS. 2 and 13).

(Glossary)
"Incentives" include discounts on service fees, monetary value "points" to members, physical giveaways, and free provision of services that would otherwise be paid.
To calculate the "reasonable incentive", for example, a conversion table or the like is created in advance according to the travel time by the member user based on the reservation adjustment data, the operating rate of the car share station or each share car, and the like (FIG. 13). reference).

(Action)
The incentive calculation means calculates rational incentive data according to the reservation adjustment data. The calculated incentive data is included in the reservation adjustment data. Therefore, the member user who has received the reservation adjustment data selects the reservation adjustment data while referring to the incentive data.
If reservation adjustment data is selected, it will lead to improved profitability as a car-sharing business entity.

(Variation 4 of the first invention)
The first invention may be formed as follows.
That is, when the above-mentioned reservation adjustment means creates a plurality of reservation adjustment data, the plurality of reservation adjustment data are provided with a ranking means for executing ranking according to a predetermined standard.
The adjustment data output means is transmitted so as to be output at the communication terminal based on the ranking executed by the ranking means (see S8 and FIG. 11 in FIG. 3).

(Glossary)
The "predetermined criteria" for performing rankings are, for example, in ascending order of travel time to the car-sharing station, in descending order of incentives (eg, discount rate), in ascending order of carbon dioxide emissions. ..
It should be noted that, in general, a plurality of types of this "predetermined standard" are prepared. In that case, it is possible to change which predetermined standard is adopted at the request of the member user.

(Action)
The reservation adjustment means creates a plurality of reservation adjustment data. The plurality of reservation adjustment data created are ranked by the ranking means according to a predetermined standard. The adjustment data output means transmits so as to be output at the communication terminal of the member user based on the ranking executed by the ranking means.
It is convenient for the member user to browse and select a plurality of reservation adjustment data.

(Second invention)
The second invention relates to a computer program for controlling a car sharing management server according to the first invention.
The car-sharing management server includes a reserved database that stores reserved data in which reservation details are confirmed, and a performance database that stores performance data related to the performance of using the share car.
And the computer program according to the second invention
The desired data reception procedure for receiving the reservation request data for specifying the desired car sharing usage status from the communication terminal related to the member user who has registered as a member in advance, and the desired data reception procedure.
The reservation adjustment procedure for creating the reservation adjustment data for adjusting the reservation contents based on the reservation request data received in the desired data reception procedure, the reserved data stored in the vehicle management database, and the actual data, and the reservation adjustment procedure.
The adjustment data output procedure for transmitting the reservation adjustment data created by the reservation adjustment procedure to the communication terminal, and the adjustment data output procedure.
The reservation confirmation data reception procedure for receiving the reservation confirmation data from the communication terminal that received the reservation adjustment data transmitted in the adjustment data output procedure and storing the received reservation confirmation data in the reservation database.
Will be executed by the above-mentioned car sharing management server.
The reservation request data includes the current position data of the communication terminal.
The reservation adjustment means extracts a car share station having lower profitability than the car share station related to the reservation request data using the actual data, and moves the car share station from the current position data within a predetermined time. The low-profitability car-sharing station that exists within the possible range will be used to create the reservation adjustment data.

(Variation 1 of the second invention)
The computer program according to the second invention may be formed as follows.
That is, the reservation request data includes intention display data as to whether or not to agree to adjust one or more of the items related to the reservation request data.
In the above-mentioned reservation adjustment procedure, only when the above-mentioned intention display data agrees, the car-sharing station whose profitability is lower than that of the car-sharing station related to the above-mentioned reservation request data is used for creating the reservation adjustment data. And.

(Variation 2 of the second invention)
The computer program according to the second invention may be formed as follows.
That is, the reservation request data includes the destination data which is the location of the destination where the member user goes by the shared car.
In the above-mentioned reservation adjustment procedure, the reservation adjustment data including the use of public transportation is created based on the desired car-sharing station location data and the above-mentioned destination data included in the above-mentioned reservation request data. To do.

(Variation 3 of the second invention)
The computer program according to the second invention may be formed as follows.
That is, the reservation adjustment procedure includes an incentive calculation procedure for calculating incentive data indicating the content of a reasonable incentive that motivates the member user to select the reservation adjustment data according to the reservation adjustment data. To include
The incentive data calculated by the above-mentioned incentive calculation procedure is included in the above-mentioned reservation adjustment data.

(Variation 4 of the second invention)
The computer program according to the second invention may be formed as follows.
That is, when a plurality of reservation adjustment data are created in the above reservation adjustment procedure, the car sharing management server is also made to execute the ranking procedure for executing the ranking of the plurality of reservation adjustment data according to a predetermined standard.
In the adjustment data output procedure, the data is transmitted so as to be output by the communication terminal based on the ranking performed by the ranking procedure.

(Third invention)
The third invention relates to a computer program executed by a communication terminal that communicates with a car-sharing management server for processing a car-sharing reservation and executes a car-sharing use reservation procedure.
That is, the reservation request data transmission procedure for transmitting the reservation request data for specifying the desired car sharing usage status to the car sharing management server together with the member identification data registered in advance as a member, and the reservation request data transmission procedure.
Reservation adjustment data reception procedure for receiving one or more reservation adjustment data changed by the car sharing management server for one or more items in the transmitted reservation request data, and
The reservation confirmation data transmission procedure for transmitting the reservation confirmation data that can be reserved by changing one or more of the received reservation adjustment data or the above reservation request data to the car sharing management server, and the reservation confirmation data transmission procedure.
Will be executed by the above-mentioned communication terminal.
The reservation request data includes the current position data of the communication terminal and the intention display data as to whether or not to agree to adjust one or more of the items related to the reservation request data (Fig.). 9).

The third invention is typically provided by a computer program downloaded to a communication terminal and used, and a computer program executed on a browser while performing two-way communication with the communication terminal.

(Variation of the third invention)
The third invention may be formed as follows.
That is, when there are a plurality of the reservation adjustment data, the sorting procedure for sorting and outputting the plurality of reservation adjustment data according to a predetermined reference selection is included.

It is also possible to transmit from the computer storing the computer program according to the second and third inventions to other terminal means through a communication line.
Further, the computer program according to the second and third inventions can be stored in a recording medium and provided. Here, the "recording medium" is a medium that can carry a program that cannot occupy space by itself. For example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, a CD-R, a DVD-R, a USB memory, or the like.

According to the first invention, it was possible to provide a car sharing management server that contributes to optimization in a plurality of car sharing stations as wide as possible.
According to the second invention, it was possible to provide a program for a car sharing management server that contributes to optimization in a plurality of car sharing stations as wide as possible.
According to the third invention, it was possible to provide a program of a communication terminal for reservation that contributes to optimization in a plurality of car sharing stations as wide as possible.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows the procedure of the use reservation in general car sharing. It is a block diagram which shows the outline of the 1st Embodiment in this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the 1st example of a reservation adjustment algorithm. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the structure of the actual database and the reserved database. It is a block diagram which shows the 1st example which examines the necessity of adjustment. It is a block diagram which shows the 2nd example which examines the necessity of adjustment. It is a block diagram which shows the 3rd example which examines the necessity of adjustment. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the operation screen of the communication terminal which concerns on a member user. It is a block diagram which shows the 2nd Embodiment premised on the adjustment of a reservation. It is a flowchart which shows the 2nd example of the reservation adjustment algorithm. It is a block diagram which shows the 3rd Embodiment premised on the adjustment of a reservation. It is a flowchart which shows the 3rd example of a reservation adjustment algorithm. This is an example of an incentive conversion table.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings and embodiments. The drawings used here are FIGS. 2 to 13. The solid line arrow indicates wired communication, the two-dot broken line arrow indicates wireless communication, and the dotted line indicates virtual line. Note that FIG. 1 describes the prior art and will be referred to as necessary.

As a premise of this embodiment, the problem of "improving profitability in the business entity" was analyzed. He also paid attention to the fact that the reservation contents (date and time, place, vehicle type, etc.) by the members were given too much priority. In other words, one conclusion is that if there is a prior contract that overlaps with a certain reservation content, the reservation system that processes the reservation content as NG lacks flexibility when considering the overall profitability. It came to. Then, in order to solve the problem, he chose the means of making the reservation system flexible.

(Fig. 2)
FIG. 2 shows a process in which a member user who has completed membership registration in advance inputs the membership card number attached to the membership card into a communication terminal related to the member and makes a reservation for car sharing. The outline is shown, and the details are shown in other drawings.

Shows the relationship between the car sharing management server related to an entity that operates car sharing as a business and the communication terminal related to member users who have completed membership registration in advance to use car sharing as a service provided by that entity. ing.

The car sharing management server includes a member database that stores data related to users who have registered as members, and a vehicle management database that stores share car management data. The vehicle management database includes a reserved database for accumulating reserved data and an actual database for accumulating actual data for which reservations have been made.

The member user starts the reservation procedure by accessing the car sharing management server using the communication terminal related to the member user. In addition to making a reservation procedure on the dedicated page prepared by the server, it is also possible to download the dedicated application software in advance and execute the reservation with the application software.

In addition, the communication terminal must be equipped with a GPS function for acquiring its own position data, and must be set so that the position data can be provided to the car sharing management server. If it is not set, prompt the server to change the setting to allow the provision of location data by the dedicated page or dedicated application of the server.

The member user operates the communication terminal and first identifies himself / herself by using the card number of the membership card. In some cases, the membership card data (card number, etc.) is installed in the communication terminal without issuing a physical membership card.

Next, enter the reservation request data for specifying the content for which you want to reserve car sharing. There are cases where the location data indicating the location of the car sharing station where the use of the shared car is started is input, and there are cases where the input is saved by transmitting the location data of the communication terminal (described later in the explanation of FIG. 8). ..

In addition, the reservation request data includes an indication of whether or not to accept adjustment of one or more of the items in the reservation request data (as will be described later in the explanation of FIG. 8, "discount reservation" is included. If selected, it will be "accepted").

In addition to the above-mentioned location data and intention display, the reservation request data includes items such as the time when the share car is desired to start (desired start time), the time when the use ends (desired end time), the desired vehicle type, and the destination. There is.

When the reservation request data is transmitted from the communication terminal, the desired data receiving means in the car sharing management server receives the reservation request data. Then, the membership card number included in the reservation request data is confirmed in the membership database.

If it can be confirmed that the received reservation request data is transmitted from the member, and if the intention display in the reservation request data is "I do not accept to adjust one or more of the items in the reservation request data", vehicle management Extract reserved data from the database and verify if it can be reserved. If possible, the procedure is to store the reservation confirmation data in the reserved database (indicated by the broken line in the figure, but actually after the final confirmation of intention by the member user).

If the intention display in the reservation request data is "accept to adjust one or more of the items in the reservation request data", it is necessary to extract the reserved data and the actual data from the vehicle management database and make adjustments. To verify. Then, the reservation adjustment data is created in comparison with the actual data. In addition, the incentive when the member user selects the reservation adjustment data is calculated and added to the reservation adjustment data.

The created reservation adjustment data is transmitted to the communication terminal related to the member user via the adjustment data output means. Then, when the member user sends the reservation confirmation data, the reservation confirmation data receiving means receives it and stores it in the reservation database.

(Fig. 3)
Using FIG. 3 which is a flowchart showing an example of the reservation adjustment algorithm, the above-mentioned processing procedure (when the intention display in the reservation request data "accepts to adjust one or more items in the reservation request data"". (Limited) is supplemented.
When the member user sends the reservation request data to the car sharing management server, the car sharing management server receives the reservation request data (S1). The member number included in the reservation request data is collated using the member database (S2).

Collation with the reservation database is executed for each item of the reservation request data (S3). Then, it is determined whether or not the reservation desired data needs to be adjusted (S4). If there is no need for adjustment, the reservation request data is confirmed as reservation data (although the confirmation step by the member user is omitted) (S5).

If there is a need for adjustment, the performance database is searched to extract low performance locations (car share stations) and low performance share cars (S6).
The fact that the car-sharing station as a whole has a low track record is often due to the fact that the car-sharing station is in a new environment and is not well known.

The fact that the share car performance is low (relatively when multiple types of share cars are prepared in the same car share station) means that the model (or color) of the share car is not popular. The case is the most predictable reason. In addition, various circumstances and reasons are presumed, such as cases where the cause is due to regional characteristics.

Reservation adjustment data for the reservation desired data is created using the data of the low-performance location (car share station) and the low-performance share car extracted from the performance database (S7). Based on the location (position data) of the car sharing station in the reservation request data, the time required for the member user to move is within a predetermined time, which is extracted (calculated) as a candidate for the reservation adjustment data.

When a plurality of reservation adjustment data can be created, the reservation adjustment data are ranked according to a predetermined standard (S8). The predetermined standard is, for example, ranking in descending order of the discount rate (described later with reference to FIG. 8), and the ranking data is included in the reservation adjustment data. Therefore, when it is output at the communication terminal related to the member user, it is output in the order of ranking.

The created reservation adjustment data is transmitted from the car sharing management server to the communication terminal related to the member user. When the number of reservation adjustment data that can be created is large, the number of reservation adjustment data to be transmitted to the member user is limited to a predetermined number (selection) (S9).

The member user selects the reservation adjustment data output to the communication terminal, sends it to the car sharing management server, and receives the selected reservation adjustment data in the car sharing management server (S9). Then, it is treated as data for confirming the reservation (S5).

(Fig. 4)
FIG. 4 conceptually shows the data structures of the performance database and the reserved database, which are conceptually regarded as being in the vehicle management database (see FIG. 2) in the car sharing management server.

The actual data stored in the actual database is past data. On the other hand, the reservation confirmation data stored in the reserved database is future data. That is, the reservation confirmation data is re-stored as actual data when the reservation time zone elapses. The file structure is merely an example and is not limited thereto.

Actual data is, for example, filed for each parking lot (α, β, γ, ...), and further filed for each day of the week (for each date), and the data for each date includes the data. For each vehicle deployed in the parking lot, the time zone in which the usage record was recorded is recorded.
The illustration is simplified because the reservation confirmation data stored in the reserved database is also the same as the actual data.

(Fig. 5)
FIG. 5 shows an example of an algorithm for examining the adjustment necessity of reservation desired data, which is a part of the function of the reservation adjustment means.
All items in the reservation desired data received by the desired data receiving means are collated with the data in the reserved database. The items in the reservation request data are the location of the car share station (P), the desired time to start using the shared car (T1), the desired time to end the use of the shared car (T2), the desired vehicle type (C), and the like. ..

If reservations can be made for all items, no adjustment is required, and the desired data becomes reservation confirmation data (generally, a member user confirmation step is required to obtain reservation confirmation data).
On the other hand, if even one of the items does not fulfill your wishes, adjustment is required.

(Fig. 6)
FIG. 6 also shows an example of an algorithm for examining the need for adjustment of reservation desired data, which is a part of the function of the reservation adjustment means.
The necessity of adjustment is judged based on whether or not the actual data of the location (P) of the car sharing station in the reservation request data is less than the predetermined value. The fact that the actual data of the car sharing station that the member user wants to reserve is less than the predetermined value means that the car sharing station has relatively low profitability. Therefore, if it is desired, it is determined that adjustment is unnecessary.

For example, when the share car occupancy rate of the reservation request data in the parking lot α is equal to or higher than the predetermined value, the reservation adjustment data is created in the share car of the parking lot β whose occupancy rate is lower than the predetermined value, and the reservation adjustment data is created according to the reservation request data of the member user. At the same time, we propose to member users.

(Fig. 7)
FIG. 7 also shows an example of an algorithm for examining the need for adjustment of reservation desired data, which is a part of the function of the reservation adjustment means.
If the usage time zone (T1 to T2) in the reservation request data is abnormally high as the probability of hindering long-term reservation in the actual data of the car sharing station location (P) in the reservation request data, adjustment is made. It is judged necessary.

By verifying the actual data, there may be a tendency in the usage mode for each car sharing station. The tendency is, for example, whether it is a car sharing station that is frequently used for a short time or a car sharing station that is frequently used for a long time. For car sharing stations that are frequently used for a long time, if the data is for short-term reservation requests, it will hinder the reservation requests for long-term use, and as a result, the profitability of the entire car sharing business will be reduced. It is likely that this will happen. Therefore, he explained that the necessity of reservation adjustment shown in this figure may be considered.

(Fig. 8)
FIG. 8 conceptually shows a screen for transmitting reservation request data from a communication terminal related to a member user. This screen display is displayed when the member user downloads the dedicated application in advance and starts the downloaded application, or when the member user accesses the reservation-only site provided by the car sharing management server. There is.

First, you will be asked to enter your membership card number. The member user inputs the membership card number displayed on the membership card obtained when he / she becomes a member.
It should be noted that this is omitted in a system in which a physical membership card is not issued and the communication terminal functions as a membership card.

Subsequently, the member user is required to indicate the intention of the standard reservation or the discount reservation. On the communication terminal related to the member user in the figure, "discount reservation" is selected (touch the radio button provided as a check box).
Here, "discount reservation" means that if the location of the car sharing station to be entered as the reservation request data, the date and time of use, the vehicle type, etc. are different from the desired one, the service charge is discounted from the standard charge. It is a system that can be used. In addition to the case of directly discounting the service fee, a so-called "point return" system is also included, in which a discount is applied the next time the service is used, or the service fee can be exchanged for prizes by accumulating.

Subsequently, the input of the location of the car sharing station in the reservation request data is required. This input can be a substitute input with the current position data. The "current position data" is acquired by the position data system (GPS function) built in the communication terminal. In the case of a communication terminal that is not reached by GPS radio waves, for example, that is operated indoors, the position data of the base station with which the communication terminal is communicating is used.

In the figure, "Send position data" is selected for the communication terminal related to the member user in the figure.
In the case of inputting the "desired place", in addition to the input for specifying the car sharing station, there are also cases where only the area name is input.

Although it may not be an essential input item in the reservation request data, in this embodiment, the input of the "destination" is also required. By inputting the "destination", the types of reservation adjustment data can be increased, and various information can be provided to member users.

(Fig. 9)
FIG. 9 also conceptually shows a screen for transmitting reservation request data from a communication terminal related to a member user, and shows a part of an input screen different from that of FIG.
In the aspect of this input screen, as a member user's intention display, an item that may be changed in the reservation request data is selected.

Here, the desired date, desired start time, and desired end time are prioritized (I do not want to change), but the desired location and desired vehicle type may be changed, and a mark is entered in the check box (touch the radio button). is doing.

(Fig. 10)
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a reservation adjustment algorithm different from the reservation adjustment algorithm shown in FIG. The steps common to FIG. 3 are omitted due to space limitations.

In S4, when it is necessary to adjust the reservation desired data (or when "discount reservation" is selected in FIG. 8), the actual database is searched. Then, in the case where "send position data" is selected in FIG. 8, is the movement time (estimated value) between the position data of the communication terminal and the position data of the car sharing station in the reservation desired data is equal to or less than a predetermined value? Judge whether or not.

"Travel time between the position data of the communication terminal and the position data of the car share station in the reservation request data" is calculated as an estimated value using the specific distance (not "distance") and the average walking speed. ..
The "predetermined value of travel time" can be made different for each car sharing station (or the area where the car sharing station exists) in the reservation request data.

If the "travel time between the position data of the communication terminal and the position data of the car sharing station in the reservation request data" is not less than the "predetermined value", the member user shares the car from the position of the communication terminal provided as his / her current position. It takes more than a certain amount of time (for example, 15 minutes on foot) to reach the station. In that case, it is presumed that the selection of the car sharing station includes not only the case where the member user intentionally selects the car sharing station but also the case where the member user does not select a reasonable car sharing station.

Therefore, the reservation adjustment data including the movement plan from the position of the communication terminal to the position of the desired car sharing station is created (S22). For example, the reservation adjustment data includes a plan to move from the position of the communication terminal to the desired car sharing station by using public transportation.

The transportation plan using public transportation is, for example, a plan to move to the nearest subway station on foot, get on the train, get off at a predetermined station, and then walk to the car sharing station. As an alternative plan, transportation by taxi may be included. It is meaningful to increase the choices of member users. There is a possibility that a means of transportation that was not noticed can be presented.

Creating a travel plan using public transportation and providing it to member users is not limited to partially optimizing the range of allowable travel distances and car-sharing stations that are subject to reservations. , May contribute to the efficient operation of multiple car-sharing stations in a wide area.

(Fig. 11)
FIG. 11 conceptually shows what kind of reservation adjustment data is created when the reservation request data includes destination data for which change is not allowed.

For example, this member user is planning to get on a share car at a car share station in Koto-ku, Tokyo, and drive to a destination in Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi. Can be grasped from. However, if this member user can move to a destination in Kawasaki Ward, Kawasaki City by a share car, it is possible that the departure point is not necessarily (or low) in Koto Ward, Tokyo.

Therefore, as a reservation adjustment means, take the JR line to JR Kawasaki station, board the share car at the car share station called "Kawasaki A parking lot" near JR Kawasaki station, and then board the share car from there, Kawasaki, Kawasaki city. Plan 1 to be moved to the ward by a share car is created as reservation adjustment data and transmitted to the communication terminal related to the member user.

Plan 2, such as moving to Kawasaki Station on the Keihin Kyuko Line, if there is a car sharing station that is easy to move by share car to the destination Kawasaki Ward, Kawasaki City, move to that other station It is possible to create a plurality of plans such as Plan 3 that proposes the above as reservation adjustment data.

In the car sharing management server, when a plurality of plans (reservation adjustment data) are created, the priority in the plurality of plans is determined in consideration of the achievements of the member users. For example, if the user tends to be time-sensitive, sort (rank) multiple plans in ascending order of travel time.

In the communication terminal related to the member user, when multiple plans (reservation adjustment data) are presented, they can be sorted by selecting the priority (detailed illustration is omitted). For example, when the data is transmitted as the adjustment data output means, it is possible to sort the total charges in ascending order, assuming that a plurality of plans are output in the order of the shortest travel time.

If the reservation adjustment data transmitted by the car sharing management server includes data for sorting, it can be processed inside the communication terminal related to the member user.
If the data for sorting is not included, the sorting request is sent from the communication terminal related to the member user to the car sharing management server, and the car sharing management server sorts multiple plans as requested. It will be transmitted to the communication terminal related to the member user.

(Fig. 12)
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a reservation adjustment algorithm different from the reservation adjustment algorithm shown in FIGS. 3 and 10. The steps common to FIG. 3 are omitted due to space limitations.

In S7, create (plural) reservation adjustment data in which the location or time zone of the desired car sharing station is changed.
The created reservation adjustment data is different from the reservation content most desired by the member user when the reservation request data is transmitted, and it is necessary to motivate the member user to select the reservation adjustment data. .. The motivation is "discount", but it is rational to make the discount rate different for each reservation adjustment data. Therefore, the discount rate is calculated for each reservation adjustment data and added to the reservation adjustment data (S23).

(Fig. 13)
FIG. 13 shows an example of a conversion table used to calculate the “discount rate” as an incentive in S23 of FIG.

It is rational to increase the discount rate as the share car with a lower operating rate is selected, and it is rational to increase it as the travel time from the current position increases. Therefore, the operating rate (L) and the travel time (T) from the current position are divided into four stages, and the discount rate conversion table is used.

The four stages of travel time are T1 for less than 5 minutes, T2 for 5 minutes or more and less than 8 minutes, T3 for 8 minutes or more and less than 15 minutes, and T4 for 15 minutes or more. It is reasonable that it depends on the location of the station.
The four stages of the utilization rate of the share car are L1 less than 20%, L2 20% or more and less than 40%, L3 40% or more and less than 60%, and L4 60% or more, which is also an example. .. It needs to be different depending on the time of year, and it is rational to be different depending on the location of the car sharing station.

The above-mentioned embodiments are premised on the actual data accumulated by continuing to carry out the car sharing business and the car sharing stations that have increased based on the actual results.

For example, a car-sharing station may be newly installed in a parking lot that is newly constructed as a form of asset management of land owners. Unless such a new car-sharing station faces a main street or is installed in a corner of a large and conspicuous parking lot, it is not highly recognized by member users, and its recognition also rises sharply. difficult.

It is empirically understood that it is difficult for a member user to list a car sharing station with low recognition as a candidate to be selected as a reservation place, and it is difficult to raise the recognition.
The probable causes are as follows. That is, the new car-sharing station is only displayed on the screen when the member user selects the location of the car-sharing station at the time of reservation. As a member user, it is difficult to realize the display of places that have not been used, and it is presumed that there is a tendency to avoid reservations.

Users (members) of the car-sharing service provided by the business entity often specify the location (parking lot) where the car-sharing cabin is located near the place where they are staying at the time of making a reservation (tendency). There is). There is also a tendency to repeatedly use the (familiar) parking lot that has been used once. Therefore, it is expected that there is a tendency to give up the reservation if the reservation for the desired time zone cannot be made at the familiar parking lot. If the reservation is given up, it will be a loss of opportunity for the business entity.
Creating reservation adjustment data and presenting it to member users can be expected to have the effect of reducing such opportunity loss.

The present invention relates to the car sharing and car rental service industries, the parking lot operation business, the manufacturing industry of information and communication equipment necessary for the operation of parking lots, the software service industry for creating application programs used in car sharing management servers, and the like. , Has availability.

Claims (12)

It is a car sharing management server for car sharing reservation processing.
A desired data receiving means for receiving reservation desired data for specifying a desired car sharing usage status from a communication terminal related to a member user who has registered as a member in advance.
A vehicle management database equipped with a reserved database that stores reserved data for which reservation details have been confirmed and a performance database that stores performance data related to the results of use of shared cars.
A reservation adjustment means for creating reservation adjustment data for adjusting reservation contents based on the reservation request data received by the desired data receiving means, the reserved data stored in the vehicle management database, and the actual data.
An adjustment data output means for transmitting the reservation adjustment data created by the reservation adjustment means to the communication terminal, and an adjustment data output means.
A reservation confirmation data receiving means that receives reservation confirmation data from the communication terminal that has received the reservation adjustment data transmitted by the adjustment data output means and stores the received reservation confirmation data in the reservation database.
Equipped with
The reservation request data includes the current position data of the communication terminal.
The reservation adjustment means extracts a car share station having lower profitability than the car share station related to the reservation request data using the actual data, and moves the car share station from the current position data within a predetermined time. A car-sharing management server that uses the low-profitability car-sharing station that exists within the possible range to create reservation adjustment data. The reservation request data includes data indicating whether or not to agree to adjust one or more of the items related to the reservation request data.
The reservation adjustment means uses a car share station whose profitability is lower than that of the car share station related to the reservation request data for creating the reservation adjustment data only when the intention display data is agreed. The car sharing management server according to claim 1. The reservation request data includes destination data which is the location of the destination where the member user goes by the shared car.
The reservation adjustment means decides to create reservation adjustment data including the use of public transportation based on the location data of the desired car sharing station included in the reservation request data and the destination data. The car sharing management server according to claim 1 or 2. The reservation adjustment means includes an incentive calculation means for calculating incentive data indicating the content of a reasonable incentive that motivates the member user to select the reservation adjustment data according to the reservation adjustment data.
The car sharing management server according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the incentive data calculated by the incentive calculation means is included in the reservation adjustment data. When the above-mentioned reservation adjustment means creates a plurality of reservation adjustment data, a ranking means for executing ranking of the plurality of reservation adjustment data according to a predetermined standard is provided.
The carsharing according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the adjustment data output means is transmitted so as to be output by the communication terminal based on the ranking executed by the ranking means. Haring management server. A car-sharing management server that has a reserved database that stores reserved data for which reservation details have been confirmed and a performance database that stores performance data related to the results of using shared cars, and for car-sharing reservation processing. Is a computer program that controls
The desired data reception procedure for receiving the reservation request data for specifying the desired car sharing usage status from the communication terminal related to the member user who has registered as a member in advance, and the desired data reception procedure.
The reservation adjustment procedure for creating the reservation adjustment data for adjusting the reservation contents based on the reservation request data received in the desired data reception procedure, the reserved data stored in the vehicle management database, and the actual data, and the reservation adjustment procedure.
The adjustment data output procedure for transmitting the reservation adjustment data created by the reservation adjustment procedure to the communication terminal, and the adjustment data output procedure.
The reservation confirmation data reception procedure for receiving the reservation confirmation data from the communication terminal that received the reservation adjustment data transmitted in the adjustment data output procedure and storing the received reservation confirmation data in the reservation database.
Will be executed by the above-mentioned car sharing management server.
The reservation request data includes the current position data of the communication terminal.
The reservation adjustment means extracts a car share station having lower profitability than the car share station related to the reservation request data using the actual data, and moves the car share station from the current position data within a predetermined time. A computer program that uses the low-profitability car-sharing station that exists within the possible range to create reservation adjustment data. The reservation request data includes data indicating whether or not to agree to adjust one or more of the items related to the reservation request data.
In the above-mentioned reservation adjustment procedure, only when the above-mentioned intention display data agrees, the car-sharing station whose profitability is lower than that of the car-sharing station related to the above-mentioned reservation request data is used for creating the reservation adjustment data. The computer program according to claim 6. The reservation request data includes destination data which is the location of the destination where the member user goes by the shared car.
In the above-mentioned reservation adjustment procedure, the reservation adjustment data including the use of public transportation is created based on the location data of the desired car sharing station included in the above-mentioned reservation request data and the above-mentioned destination data. The computer program according to claim 6 or 7. The reservation adjustment procedure includes an incentive calculation procedure for calculating incentive data indicating the content of a reasonable incentive that motivates the member user to select the reservation adjustment data according to the reservation adjustment data. year,
The computer program according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the incentive data calculated by the incentive calculation procedure is included in the reservation adjustment data. When a plurality of reservation adjustment data are created in the above reservation adjustment procedure, the car sharing management server is also made to execute the ranking procedure for executing the ranking of the plurality of reservation adjustment data according to a predetermined standard.
The adjustment data output procedure according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the adjustment data output procedure is to be transmitted so as to be output by the communication terminal based on the ranking executed by the ranking procedure. Computer program. It is a computer program executed by a communication terminal that communicates with the car sharing management server for car sharing reservation processing and executes the car sharing usage reservation procedure.
Reservation request data transmission procedure for transmitting reservation request data for specifying the desired car sharing usage status to the above car sharing management server together with member identification data registered in advance as a member, and
Reservation adjustment data reception procedure for receiving one or more reservation adjustment data changed by the car sharing management server for one or more items in the transmitted reservation request data, and
The reservation confirmation data transmission procedure for transmitting the reservation confirmation data that can be reserved by changing one or more of the received reservation adjustment data or the above reservation request data to the car sharing management server, and the reservation confirmation data transmission procedure.
Will be executed by the above-mentioned communication terminal.
The reservation request data includes the current position data of the communication terminal and the communication terminal indicating whether or not to agree to adjust one or more of the items related to the reservation request data. A computer program that runs in. The computer program according to claim 11, wherein when a plurality of the reservation adjustment data exists, the sorting procedure for sorting and outputting the plurality of reservation adjustment data according to a predetermined criterion selection is included.

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