JP2023076410A - management server and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

To make it possible to provide a plurality of vehicles in one parking vehicle space (vehicles equal to or more than the number of parking vehicle spaces) in a service business in which users rent vehicles owned by a business operator.SOLUTION: A management server includes: a shared car operation management database; a parking vehicle space management database; reservation data receiving means for receiving reservation request data; reservation availability first determination means for determining whether rental is available for date and time data included in the reservation request data using a vehicle management database; reservation availability second determination means for determining whether it is possible to procure a vehicle and park it when rental is not available and determining whether rental is available for the reservation request data; and reservation determination receiving means for receiving a reservation determination reply as a result of transmission to a communication terminal associated with a member user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to a technology for improving convenience for users in car sharing and rental car services in which users rent vehicles owned by business operators.

Although the present invention does not particularly distinguish between the car sharing service and the rental car service, the car sharing service will be described below as an example.
Business operators that provide car sharing services provide members who have registered as members in advance with a membership card, which is an IC card that identifies the member, or a member ID that guarantees that the member is a member on the portable information terminal held by the member. Provide electronic data containing A member ID stored in an IC card or a portable information terminal is used to make a reservation for a vehicle provided by a company.

(Fig. 1)
A procedure from reservation of a vehicle to start of use will be described with reference to FIG.
User A, who has completed membership registration in advance, uses his/her own member ID to enter the usage station ("station" is abbreviated as "ST" in the figure), the desired date and time of usage, and the end of usage. Enter the scheduled return time and desired vehicle type (class) to search. (In addition, when specifying the vehicle type, the vehicle number may be determined by specifying the station.)

For example, enter the reservation request data such that the station to be used is Koto Ward No. 2, the start date and time of use is 9:00 on November 3rd, the scheduled return time is 18:00 on November 3rd, and the class you want to use is "Standard". to search. Although not shown, the reservation request data transmitted from the communication terminal of user A is transmitted to a management server (not shown) that manages the vehicle (shared car) used in the car sharing service.

When the management server receives the desired reservation data, it determines whether or not the station to be used, the start date and time of use, the scheduled return time, and the vehicle type (class) prepared for the relevant station in the desired reservation data can be reserved. Then, the determination result (class and vehicle number for vehicle type) is returned.
If the reply result indicates that the reservation is possible, user A transmits reservation confirmation including the desired vehicle number to the management server, and the management server that received the reservation confirmation executes reservation completion information processing and is ready for use. After that, at the reservation date and time, User A causes the reserved vehicle to leave the garage.

Now, even if User B sends reservation request data whose use time zone overlaps with the above-mentioned reservation request data related to User A after transmission of reservation confirmation data by User A, the vehicle that meets the reservation request is Car sharing companies cannot provide it. This is because the reservation for the time slot desired by User B has been filled at Koto-ku No. 2 Station, including the reservation for User A. . Therefore, the management server replies to the information terminal of User B that "not applicable (reservation not possible)" (illustrated in the lower part of FIG. 1).

The above reservation system is based on the premise that there is a one-to-one correspondence between a vehicle and its storage location (principle of one vehicle per compartment) and simplification of vehicle management in car sharing. was Under this premise, reservations for overlapping time slots are first-come, first-served. If applied to the above example, User B would only receive the fact that "reservation was not possible" (the illustration shows that User B receives a result of "not applicable"). Then, in addition to changing the reservation request data so that the reservation can be made, such as searching for another use station where the reservation can be made or changing the vehicle type to be used, the reservation itself may be given up.

It is good if User B changes the reservation request data to one that can be reserved, but if User B gives up on the reservation itself, the car sharing service provider cannot satisfy User B's needs, Opportunity loss has occurred.
In addition, even if User B wishes to add a child seat as an option for the reservation, it cannot be accommodated if the reservation time is just before the scheduled time.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a service in which a plurality of parking lots are secured, and the user is notified of the available parking lots and can return the mobile phone to the empty parking lot at the destination.

Patent Literature 2 discloses an information technology that allows a service provider to transport a vehicle to a parking lot designated by a user who wants to use the vehicle, and to leave the parking lot free of charge.

Patent Literature 3 discloses a technique for effectively utilizing a vehicle compartment reserved for service target vehicles used in a vehicle sharing service as a parking lot.

JP 2004-178385 A JP 2018-197909 A Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2021-93143

In the rental car business, the vehicles to be provided are pooled in the vicinity of the sales office, and the vehicles are transported to the place where the user starts using the service (generally, the sales office where the user has visited).
On the other hand, in the car sharing business, the vehicle to be provided is parked in a predetermined compartment in a parking lot (called a "station") in advance, and the user leaves the parking lot and returns it to the compartment after using it. taking shape.

In recent years, in the rental car business, an operation form has begun in which information and communication technology is used to reduce the number of staff at sales offices. In other words, the operating form is approaching a car-sharing business that does not have staff or sales offices that directly contact users.

On the other hand, in the car sharing business, as in the rental car business, if it is possible to pool the vehicles to be provided and transport the vehicles to the predetermined compartment of the parking lot where the user starts using, one car Unlike the current situation where only one vehicle could be prepared and provided in a room, users can easily make a reservation.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to make it possible to provide a plurality of vehicles (a number of vehicles equal to or greater than the number of compartments) in one compartment in a service business in which users rent vehicles owned by a business operator. It is to provide technology.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first invention related to a management server that enables reservations in overlapping time zones for one vehicle, and a second invention related to a computer program for controlling the management server according to the first invention Provide an invention.

(First invention)
A first invention relates to a management server that performs data communication with a communication terminal of a member user who has previously registered as a member and obtained a member ID for car sharing use (system α in FIG. 2).
The management server includes a shared car operation management database that stores management data related to shared cars that are vehicles rented out to member users;
a parking compartment management database that stores management data relating to compartments in which vehicles to be rented out to member users are parked;
Reservation data receiving means for receiving reservation request data including the member ID, the date and time data of the vehicle desired to be used, and the place of departure from which use is to be started;
a reservation propriety first judgment means for judging whether or not the date and time data included in the reservation request data received by the reservation data reception means can be rented, using the vehicle management database;
When the first determination means for determining whether the reservation is possible or not, it is determined whether or not the vehicle can be procured and the vehicle can be parked. a reservation availability second determination means for determining using the vehicle management database and the parking compartment management database of
Reservation confirmation receiving means for receiving a reservation confirmation reply as a result of transmitting the judgment result by the reservation propriety second judgment means or the judgment result by the reservation propriety first judgment means to the communication terminal related to the member user; (see FIGS. 7 and 5).

(Glossary)
"Car sharing" in this application includes "rental car" as a business service. This is because the boundaries between business services are becoming ambiguous.
"Departure point" means that there are multiple locations (hereinafter referred to as "stations") where the car sharing operator parks the vehicle used for car sharing for the user. It is a station that departs from Note that the station where the user returns the rented vehicle is referred to as a "return point" or "return station".

(action)
The reservation data receiving means receives the reservation request data including the member ID, the date and time data of the vehicle desired to be used, and the departure place where the use is to start. The reservation availability first determination means determines whether or not the date and time data included in the desired reservation data can be rented using the vehicle management database.
If the vehicle cannot be rented, the reservation availability second determination means determines whether or not it is possible to procure the vehicle and park the vehicle. Then, it is determined whether or not the vehicle can be rented according to the desired rental data, using the vehicle management database and the parking compartment management database.
The determination result by the reservation availability second determination means or the determination result by the reservation availability first determination means is transmitted to the communication terminal of the member user. Then, the reservation confirmation receiving means receives a reservation confirmation reply from the communication terminal of the member user.

Conventionally, general car sharing reservations were made only by the first determination means for determining whether a reservation is possible.
However, even if the reservation availability first determination means determines that the reservation is not possible, the reservation availability second determination means may allow the reservation.

(Variation 1 of the first invention)
The first invention is preferably provided with a forwarding vehicle management system that determines that it is possible to procure a vehicle and park the vehicle according to the determination result of the second reservation propriety determination means (the system in FIG. 2). β).
In the forwarding vehicle management system, there are a plurality of stations where vehicles used for car sharing are parked for users by car sharing operators, and vehicles serving as buffers for vehicles at these stations can be pooled. Where possible, there are offices to manage the delivery and collection of vehicles to said stations,
a management table creation means for creating a business office management table (see FIG. 17) listing the reservation status of vehicles parked in the passenger compartment and the current status of vehicles in operation by use of the user for each station; ,
a management table transmission means for transmitting the business office management table created by the management table creation means to a communication terminal related to the business office;
Prepare.

(Glossary)
"Delivery" means carrying a vehicle from an office to a station or from one station to another.
"Recovery" means transporting the vehicle from the station to the sales office.

(Action)
In the forwarding vehicle management system, the management table creation means lists, for each station, the reservation status of vehicles parked in the compartments at the station and the current status of vehicles in operation by user use. Create a management table.
At sales offices, they are in charge of forwarding and collecting vehicles, which contributes to efficiency and management of work.

(Variation 2 of the first invention)
Variation 1 described above is preferably formed as follows.
That is, the forwarding vehicle management system includes a forwarding vehicle management system, a forwarding vehicle creation means for creating a forwarding table (see FIG. 18) in which actions including vehicle forwarding and collection are listed in chronological order for each business office;
a plan table sending means for sending the plan prepared by the plan preparing means to a communication terminal associated with the sales office;
It is assumed that

(Action)
A plan table creating means creates a plan table (see FIG. 18) in which actions including forwarding and collection of vehicles are listed in chronological order for each business office.
The prepared plan table is transmitted by the plan table transmitting means to the communication terminal related to the sales office.
At sales offices, it can be used as a reference when determining the arrangements for forwarding and collecting vehicles, contributing to work efficiency and management.

(Variation 3 of the first invention)
Variation 2 described above is preferably formed as follows.
That is, update data receiving means for receiving updated data in the plan when update data in the plan is transmitted from the communication terminal to which the plan is transmitted by the plan transmitting means;
data updating means for updating the shared car operation management database and the parking compartment management database using the update data received by the update data receiving means;
(see FIGS. 23 and 24).

(Action)
When update data in the plan table is transmitted from the communication terminal to which the plan table sending means has sent the plan table, the update data receiving means receives the update data. The data update means updates the shared car operation management database and the parking compartment management database using the received update data.

(Variation 4 of the first invention)
It is preferable that the first invention include an overflow prediction system for detecting that the passenger compartment of the station may overflow due to the return of the vehicle used by the user.
The overflow prediction system includes position data receiving means for receiving position data of the vehicle together with the vehicle ID from the vehicle being used by the user;
return time estimation means for estimating the return time to the return place using the position data, the time data, and the position data of the return place;
overflow estimating means for estimating the possibility of overflow by grasping the state of the vehicle compartment of the station at the time of return to the return place estimated by the return time estimating means;
(see FIG. 13).

(Glossary)
"Overflow" means that vehicles parked at a station exceed the number of compartments for carshare vehicles at that station.

(action)
The position data receiving means receives the position data of the vehicle together with the vehicle ID from the vehicle being used by the user. The return time estimation means estimates the return time to the return place using the position data, the time data and the position data of the return place. The overflow estimation means estimates the possibility of an overflow by grasping the state of the vehicle compartment in the station at the return time to the return place estimated by the return time estimation means.

(Second invention)
The second invention is a computer program for the control device for the parking structure according to the first invention, that is, data with a communication terminal related to a member user who has previously registered as a member and obtained a member ID for car sharing use. The present invention relates to a computer program for controlling a communicating management server.
The management server includes a shared car operation management database that stores management data related to a shared car that is a vehicle to be rented out to member users;
and a parking compartment management database for storing management data relating to compartments in which vehicles to be rented out to member users are parked.
Said computer program comprises:
a reservation data receiving procedure for receiving reservation request data including the member ID, the date and time data of the vehicle desired to be used, and the place of departure from which use is to be started;
a reservation propriety first judgment procedure for judging whether or not the date and time data included in the reservation request data received in the reservation data reception procedure can be rented, using the vehicle management database;
If it is not possible to rent the vehicle in the first determination procedure of whether the reservation is possible or not, it is determined whether or not it is possible to procure the vehicle and park the vehicle, and it is determined whether or not the vehicle can be rented according to the desired rental data. A reservation propriety second judgment procedure for judging using the vehicle management database and the parking compartment management database of
A reservation confirmation reception procedure for receiving a reservation confirmation reply as a result of transmitting the judgment result by the reservation propriety second judgment procedure or the judgment result by the reservation propriety first judgment procedure to the communication terminal related to the member user;
is a computer program to be executed by the management server.

(Variation 1 of the second invention)
The second invention is more preferably formed as follows.
That is, there are a plurality of stations where the car sharing operator parks the vehicles used for car sharing for the users, and it is possible to pool the vehicles serving as buffers for the vehicles at these stations. If there is a business office that manages the forwarding and collection of vehicles to
a management table creation procedure for creating a sales office management table listing the reservation status of vehicles parked in the compartment and the current status of vehicles in operation by the user for each station;
a management table transmission procedure for transmitting the business office management table created in the management table creation procedure to a communication terminal related to the business office;
is executed by the management server.

(Variation 2 of the second invention)
Variation 1 of the second invention is more preferably formed as follows.
That is, a procedure for creating a procedure for creating a procedure for creating a procedure for each business office in which actions including forwarding and collection of vehicles are listed in chronological order;
a setup table transmission procedure for transmitting the setup table created by the setup table creation procedure to a communication terminal related to the sales office;
is executed by the management server.

(Variation 3 of the second invention)
Variation 2 of the second invention is more preferably formed as follows.
That is, an update data reception procedure for receiving updated data in the setup table when update data in the setup table is transmitted from the communication terminal that transmitted the setup table in the setup table transmission procedure;
a data update procedure for updating the shared car operation management database and the parking compartment management database using the update data received in the update data reception procedure;
is executed by the management server.

(Variation 3 of the second invention)
The second invention is more preferably formed as follows.
That is, a position data receiving procedure for receiving the position data of the vehicle together with the vehicle ID from the vehicle being used by the user;
a return time estimation procedure for estimating the return time to the return place using the position data, the time data and the position data of the return place received in the position data reception procedure;
an overflow estimation procedure for estimating the possibility of an overflow by grasping the state of the vehicle compartment at the station at the time of return to the return place estimated by the return time estimation procedure;
is executed by the management server.

The computer program according to the second invention can also be stored in a recording medium and provided.
Here, a "recording medium" is a medium capable of carrying a program that cannot occupy space by itself. For example, flexible disk, hard disk, DVD-R, flash memory, and the like.
It is also possible to transmit the program from the computer storing the program according to the present invention or the control computer of the management server to the control computer of the management server through a communication line.

According to the first invention, in a service business in which a user rents a vehicle owned by a business operator, a management server for providing a plurality of vehicles (a number of vehicles equal to or greater than the number of vehicle compartments) in one compartment. can be provided.
According to the second invention, in a service business in which a user rents a vehicle owned by a business operator, a management server for providing a plurality of vehicles (a number of vehicles equal to or greater than the number of vehicle compartments) in one compartment. A computer program can be provided to control the

1 is a conceptual diagram for showing potential problems in reservation-based car sharing; FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually showing a system outline of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually showing a system outline of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing outlines α to β of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a reservation procedure for realizing one-compartment multi-vehicles according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the details of the steps in the flowchart shown in FIG. 5; FIG. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a reservation system for realizing one-compartment multiple vehicles according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of a reservation system for realizing a single-compartment, multiple-vehicle configuration according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an image of forwarding and collecting vehicles in order to realize the one-compartment multi-vehicle of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure which forwards a vehicle when the compartment for return overlaps. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of prospective forwarding. FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing a specific example of vehicle adjustment that does not require forwarding according to reservation details; FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an embodiment for managing vehicles and compartments to be returned in order to realize the one-compartment multiple vehicle in the present invention. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an embodiment for managing vehicles and compartments to be returned in order to realize the one-compartment multiple vehicle in the present invention. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an embodiment for managing vehicles and compartments to be returned in order to realize the one-compartment multiple vehicle in the present invention. 4 is a flow chart showing a procedure for recovering a vehicle that has been returned to a vehicle compartment in order to realize the one-vehicle multiple vehicle system according to the present invention. 4 is an example of a management table showing the management status of pooled vehicles for each pool location. It is a set-up table in a business office. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing exchanges between a setup system centering on a sales office terminal installed in a sales office and communication terminals carried by the sales office staff. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing exchanges between a setup system centering on a sales office terminal installed in a sales office and communication terminals carried by the sales office staff. FIG. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of a compartment management table. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an overview of transmitting a management table and the like created by a server to a business office terminal; FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an overview of updating a setup table at a sales office terminal and feeding back updated data to a server; FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an overview of transmitting a management table and the like created by a server to a business office terminal;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings (FIGS. 2 to 24). The present invention is not limited to the embodiments, but rather the embodiments for interpreting the present invention. In the figure, curved arrows indicate wired communication, and two-dot dashed arrows indicate wireless communication (see FIG. 7).

(Figure 2)
Figure 2 is for providing a plurality of vehicles (the number of vehicles equal to or greater than the number of compartments) in one compartment in a service business where a user (who has already registered as a member in advance) rents a vehicle owned by a business operator. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall overview (A) in which a system required for a system is roughly classified into three (α, β, γ) and divided into blocks; FIG.

The system α is a reservation system that accepts duplicate reservations exceeding the number of compartments for car sharing at a predetermined station (ST). More specifically, the reservation system includes a system that allows duplicate reservations and a cabin management system that manages cabins at stations.

The system β is a forwarding vehicle management system for forwarding the vehicle used for the next reservation to the compartment that has been vacated by the fulfillment of the reservation when a duplicate reservation is received. More specifically, a vehicle compartment management system that manages the vehicle compartment at the station, a pool management system that manages vehicles parked at sales offices and pool areas near the sales offices, and a vehicle transfer system from the sales office to the station. A setup system is included that manages forwarding setups.

The system γ is a vehicle collection system that, when there are a plurality of vehicles for a compartment to be returned, collects the returned vehicle so that the next vehicle to be returned to that compartment can be returned. More specifically, a setup system that manages the setup for collecting vehicles from a station to a sales office, and an overflow prediction to avoid overflow of vehicles parked at a station exceeding the number of compartments for car-share vehicles at that station. system is included.

The above systems α, β, and γ are not separate and independent systems, but should be seamless to each other for realistic operation.

(Fig. 3)
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an overview (B) of the three systems shown in FIG. 2 similar but slightly different (α′, β′, γ).

System α' is a system that predicts the last duplicate reservation from past performance data, etc., at a predetermined station. More specifically, it includes a cabin management system that accumulates past performance data and predicts the immediate future, and a duplicate reservation system that can receive recent reservations.

System β' is a management system that forwards the vehicle to the compartment that left the parking lot when the last reservation was made, on the premise that a duplicate reservation will be made immediately before. More specifically, a vehicle compartment management system that manages the vehicle compartment at the station, a pool management system that manages vehicles parked at sales offices and pool areas near the sales offices, and a vehicle transfer system from the sales office to the station. A setup system is included that manages forwarding setups.

System γ is not much different from the overall outline (A). Also, the above systems α', β', and γ are not separate and independent systems, but seamless operation with each other. In addition, overall outlines A and B are also used without distinction.

(Fig. 4)
FIG. 4 is a diagram conceptually showing movements from system α to system β among the three systems shown in FIG.
After user A searches for a reservation and confirms the reservation, user B also searches for a reservation that overlaps with user A and obtains a confirmed reservation, which is the system α. Then, the staff of sales office A forwards the vehicle of the class reserved by user B with an option (child seat) to the car room that will be vacant when user A, who makes the reservation, leaves the car. System β.

In the case of a station that operates under the principle of one vehicle per room, the vehicle is tied to the cabin, so it is possible to specify the individual vehicle at the time of reservation. Therefore, when making a reservation, the car number is often specified instead of "class specification".
However, in the case of a station that operates with multiple vehicles in one room, "class designation" is used instead of car number designation. This "class designation" means that all types of vehicles owned and provided by the car sharing business are divided into multiple classes such as standard, middle, and special, and the user designates the class instead of the type of vehicle. For users who want to specify the vehicle type when making a reservation, the user's needs can be met by making it possible to specify the vehicle type as an option.

In the diagram used for explanation, it is assumed that Koto-ku No. 2 Station, which is the station used, has only two compartments for car sharing, and that one of them has a separate reservation (in the figure, "separate reserved”). When comparing the reservation data reserved by User A and the reservation data reserved by User B for the remaining room, the station used and the time slot used overlap.

Even if there are duplicate reservations in a certain time slot for each cabin, if the time to start using the vehicle for the first time and the time to start using the vehicle next time differ by more than a predetermined amount, etc. accepts duplicate bookings. The illustrated example shows a case where user A made a reservation earlier than user B, but even if user B completes the reservation earlier than user A, user A can also make a reservation.

In order to realize the service for User A and User B as per the received reservation, after User A completes the reservation and leaves the parking lot, User B will make a reservation from Sales Office A, which is a predetermined distance from Koto-ku No. 2 Station. The staff of sales office A drives the vehicle and forwards it to the second station in Koto Ward.

In addition, although User B selected Standard as the class designation, he wanted to specify the vehicle type, so he entered that the vehicle type was "A Qua" as an option, and also sent the installation of a child seat as reservation data. there is

(Figures 5 and 6)
FIG. 5 is a flow chart outlining the data processing of the reservation system, and FIG. 6 details the main steps.
Each step will be described below from the standpoint of the server (car sharing management server in FIG. 7) to which the user transmits reservation search data.

The start (S0) is premised on the user's input of reserved search data. The reservation search data generally starts with designation of a station (departure ST) from which the vehicle is to be released. Then, a non-operating (vacant) vehicle is searched for the time to start using the vehicle and the time to return the used vehicle. Also, the type of vehicle is specified by class (instead of the vehicle number).
Departure stations include stations to which vehicles can be forwarded and stations to which vehicles cannot be forwarded (see S4).

The car share management server receives reservation search data from the user's communication terminal (S1). Then, it is determined whether or not a reservation can be made based on the reservation search data (S2). If the reservation is possible, it is sent back to the user's communication terminal to the effect that the reservation is possible (S3). After that, contact data confirming the reservation is received from the user's communication terminal (S8), and the process ends.
This procedure is the same as the procedure until user A completes the reservation in FIG.

Next, the procedure until user B completes the reservation in FIG. 4 will be described.
The car share management server receives reservation search data from the user's communication terminal (S1). Then, it is determined whether or not a reservation can be made based on the reservation search data (S2). This determination of whether or not reservations are possible is based on the fact that there are no empty vehicles within the departure station. This is because it overlaps with the reservation made by User A. Therefore, in this S2, the determination is "No", and the process proceeds to S4.

User B shown in FIG. 4 receives the reservation search data later than User A, but the scheduled departure time related to the reservation search data is sufficient to secure the time when the vehicle can be forwarded to the departure station. be.

In S4, if it is determined that the service is not possible (No), a message to the effect that the reservation cannot be made is returned to the user's communication terminal (S5). And then it ends.
FIG. 5 does not refer to an advanced system such as requesting the user to change the content of the reserved search data. When the request to the user and transmission of the changed reservation search data by the user are performed, the steps from S1 are performed again. It should be noted that when the content of reservation search data is changed by the user, the effort for the change procedure is rewarded by rewarding points or the like (see FIG. 6).

If it is determined that it is available (Yes) in S4, it is determined in S6 whether or not it is possible to make a reservation. Based on the reservation search data, it is determined whether or not the vehicle to be forwarded can be secured, and whether or not it is possible to respond to the option request (see FIG. 6).

In S6, if the condition is such that it can be determined that the vehicle can be forwarded to the departure station, it is determined that the response is possible (see FIG. 6).
If the reservation is not possible in S6, the process ends via S5.
If the reservation is possible, the fact that the reservation is possible is returned to the user's communication terminal (S7). After that, contact data confirming the reservation is received from the user's communication terminal (S8), and the process ends.

(Fig. 7)
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration and data processing procedure for executing the flowchart shown in FIG. Wired communication is indicated by a solid arrow, and wireless communication is indicated by a two-dot dashed line. The communication terminal related to the user is abbreviated as "member terminal", the reservation search data is abbreviated as "reservation data", and the car sharing management server is abbreviated as "car sharing management server". Also, the reason why the car share management server is marked with "S-1" is to distinguish it from the illustration shown in FIG.

The user operates the member terminal to input reservation data, and transmits the reservation data to the car share management server as a reservation data transmission means. In the car share management server, the reservation data receiving means receives the reservation data. Then, using the data in the shared car operation management database, the reservation availability first determination means determines whether or not the reservation for the reservation data is possible (S2 in FIG. 5).

The reservation data received by the car sharing management server includes a member ID, and the car sharing management server includes a member database for verifying the member ID. omitted.

If it is possible to make a reservation according to the content of the reservation data without forwarding the vehicle, a notification to the effect that the reservation is possible is transmitted to the member terminal (S3 in FIG. 5). In the member terminal, the reservation acceptability receiving means receives the fact.

If the first reservation acceptability determination means cannot accept the reservation unless the vehicle is forwarded, the second reservation acceptability determination means determines (S4 and S6 in FIG. 5).
In the car share management server, the reservation possibility second judgment means judges whether or not the reservation is possible using the data of the pool vehicle management database and the parking compartment management database. In FIG. 7, it is illustrated that the reservation is possible in the case of "okay if there is forwarding".

When the member user presses the reservation confirmation button as an expression of intention to confirm the reservation on the member terminal that receives the fact that the reservation is possible from the reservation confirmation first determination means or the reservation confirmation second determination means, the reservation confirmation is performed as the reservation confirmation transmission means. is sent to the car share management server.
Reservation confirmation receiving means in the car sharing management server receives the manifestation of intention by the member user, and updates the data of the shared car operation management database, the parking compartment management database, and the pool vehicle management database.

(Figure 8)
Unlike the car share management server (S-1) shown in FIG. 7, FIG. include.

In other words, the car sharing management server (S-2) shown in FIG. 8 has the server functions of the parking lot management server (S-3) divided from the car sharing management server (S-1) shown in FIG. It is only Member users cannot recognize the difference between FIGS. 8 and 7 .

(Fig. 9)
FIG. 9 shows an image of "forwarding" shown in FIG. 4, etc., and "collection" of pulling up to a business office A, etc., which is equipped with a buffer in the passenger compartment so that the vehicles parked at the station do not overflow. .

A representative "forwarding" is to the station (in the example shown, Koto Ward 1, Koto Ward 2, Koto Ward 3, etc.). It is to continue. In this case, the vehicle is loaded with a bicycle and driven to the station. Then, after arriving at the station and parking the vehicle in a predetermined compartment, the bicycle loaded on the vehicle is unloaded, and the bicycle is returned to the sales office A (the image of the upper left balloon in the figure).

"Forwarding" may also be performed between stations. For example, forwarding from the Koto-ku No. 1 station to the Koto-ku No. 3 station may occur in some cases.

In general, "recovery" involves the staff of sales office A riding a bicycle and leaving office A, loading the bicycle into a vehicle to be collected, driving the vehicle, and returning to sales office A. be.

If the content of the reservation cannot be handled by the vehicle at the office A, the vehicle parked at the vehicle pool located at a predetermined distance from the office A will be used. In addition to the case where the staff moves the vehicle back and forth between the sales office A and the pool area, there are cases where the vehicle is forwarded directly from the pool area to the station or collected from the station to the pool area.

(Fig. 10)
FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing a representative example of a case where forwarding is executed and reservation is made at a station from which a car sharing vehicle departs.

Reservation data is received (S11), and it is determined whether or not the reservation data includes an option request (S12). If the reservation data contains an option request, it will be forwarded (with some exceptions) (S16).

If the reservation data does not include an option request, it is determined whether or not the vehicle parked at the business office or pool area can handle the request (S13).
If it cannot be dealt with, it is determined whether or not another vehicle in the station where the returned vehicle is located can be dealt with (allocation change) (S14).

If the vehicle in the returned compartment can be used, and if the allocation can be changed, there is no need to forward the vehicle (S15).
If it is not possible to change the allocation, it will be forwarded (S16).

(Fig. 11)
FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing a case where there is a vacant compartment at the station as a result of the user making a reservation, and forwarding (probable forwarding) is performed in anticipation of the immediately preceding reservation being made even though the reservation has not yet been made. is shown.

At a certain station, it is determined whether or not the number of vacant compartments exceeds the number of parked vehicles by a predetermined time (S21).
The "predetermined time" here is the time obtained by subtracting the time required for forwarding from the current time. For example, if the current time is 9:45 and the time required for forwarding is 30 minutes, the number of vacant compartments at 9:15 is counted.

If the number of vacant compartments does not exceed the number of parked vehicles by the predetermined time, no prospective forwarding is performed (S22).
If the number of vacant compartments exceeds the number of parked vehicles by the predetermined time, it is determined whether or not there are any vehicles that can be forwarded at the business office or pool area (S23). Then, if there is a vehicle that can be forwarded, prospective forwarding is carried out (S24).

For example, assume that the current time is 9:15 and the time required for forwarding from the sales office in charge to a certain station is 30 minutes. If there is no vacancy in the passenger compartment at 9:45, it is determined that forwarding will be stopped (prospective forwarding will not be implemented). Also, if there is a vacancy in the passenger compartment at 9:45 but the car is scheduled to be returned at 10:05, it is determined that forwarding is to be stopped.
If there is a vacant cabin at 9:45 and the car is scheduled to be returned at 12:45, there will be 3 hours of vacant cabin time, so there is a possibility that reservations will be made during that time, so forwarding is expected. , and judge.

In addition, in FIG. 11, the flow chart for simplifying the expected forwarding has been explained, but the car sharing management server refers to the weather forecast and past performance data at the station, and in the above S23, the forwarding at the business office or the pool area is performed. Even if it is determined that there is a vehicle that can be used, there are cases where prospective forwarding is not performed.
For example, if it is a day of the week or a time slot with a low rental track record, it may be determined that prospective forwarding is not to be performed.

(Fig. 12)
Vehicle adjustment will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 12 .
Station S has two cabins. The first reservation for standard class vehicle A is from 9:00 to 13:00 on November 3rd, and the second reservation for standard class vehicle B is from 14:00 on November 3rd. It is assumed that it was in from 16:00 to 16:00.

After that, when the third reservation for the standard class at station S is made from 11:00 to 15:00 on November 3rd, sales office T, which is in charge of managing station S, forwards vehicle C. Reservations will be accepted on the premise that

Now, the above-mentioned first to third reservations are common in that they are reservations for standard class on November 3 for station S, which has two compartments. Moreover, the start time of the second reservation has a margin of one hour from the end time of the first reservation.
Therefore, vehicle adjustment is performed so that vehicle A receives the first reservation and second reservation, and vehicle B receives the third reservation. Then, preparations for the first to third reservations can be made without forwarding the vehicle C.

Ideally, the vehicle adjustment described above is executed by the car sharing management server (it is possible to automatically improve the efficiency of operations at the sales office). However, it may be executed at the sales office terminal (see FIG. 19). For example, when the first reservation execution time is approaching, or when the reservation details are changed after the reservation is confirmed, the car sharing management server may not be able to execute the reservation in time. In such a case, it will be executed at the sales office terminal.

(Fig. 13)
FIG. 13 shows how a communication terminal (for example, communication with a car sharing management server and data 4 is a block diagram showing a procedure for notifying via a multifunctional car navigation device capable of inputting/outputting and transmitting/receiving information.

For example, if an overflow occurs at the station to be returned (this may include cases where there is a high risk of overflow), guidance is given to another station, or there is a car that is rented by the hour within that station. In some cases, we may guide you to the rental car room for that time.

Car-sharing vehicles are equipped with a GPS (Global Position System), and the car-sharing management server regularly acquires vehicle position data along with time data and vehicle IDs (individual identification data for car-sharing vehicles). . The position data and vehicle ID are received by the position data receiving means of the car sharing management server.

Among the data received by the position data receiving means, the vehicle ID is stored in the shared car operation management database, and the position data and time data are sent to the return time estimation means. The return time estimation means acquires the position data of the return station from the shared car operation management database, and calculates the estimated return time, which is the time of arrival at the return station, from the position data of the return station and the acquired position data of the vehicle. . If necessary, the scheduled return time at the time of reservation is also obtained from the shared car operation management database and used for calculation of the estimated return time (indicated by the dashed line for the purpose of obtaining when necessary).

The calculation result of the estimated return time is given to the overflow estimation means. Based on the estimated return time, the overflow estimation means grasps the state of the parking compartment at the estimated return time of the station to which the vehicle is to be returned, using the parking compartment management database. Based on this result, the overflow estimation means estimates whether or not the parking compartment of the station will overflow.

If an overflow is likely to occur, the overflow estimating means calculates an alternate compartment to be returned. As described above, this alternative compartment is the hourly parking lot within the same station if it is vacant. If the hourly parking lot within the same station is not vacant, search for vacancies at neighboring stations, and if there are vacancies at nearby stations, substitute cars that should be returned. It may be calculated as a room.

If the calculated car room to be returned differs from the car room specified at the time of car sharing reservation or the start of use of the shared car, change it, or if there is no change, notify the share The returned vehicle compartment notification means transmits to the returned vehicle compartment receiving means in the vehicle-mounted device. Overflow estimation is described in detail later (FIG. 21).

The return vehicle compartment receiving means sends (whether or not there is) a change in the return vehicle compartment to the return vehicle compartment output means. The returned compartment output means notifies the driver (user) of the shared car of the change (whether or not) of the returned compartment by voice from the speaker, or displays it on the screen to call attention.

The figure exemplifies the output "The return compartment has been changed from No. 2 to No. 1." However, if the operation is such that the vehicle to be returned can be any vehicle as long as it is for a shared car, the output as described above is not performed.
If the station has a parking room for rent by the hour, it may be instructed to temporarily borrow the parking room for rent by the hour and return it.

The change (whether or not) of the return compartment is also sent to the alert means. The alert means not only sends an alert to an information terminal (not shown) installed at the office in charge of the station, but also outputs an alert to a mobile information terminal (staff terminal) carried by staff a at the office. . This is for notifying staff a.

(Fig. 14)
FIG. 14 executes the same information processing as the embodiment shown in FIG. The only difference is that, apart from the car sharing management server (S-2), a location management server for managing location data of car sharing vehicles is separately provided.

(Fig. 15)
FIG. 15 also executes the same information processing as the embodiment shown in FIG. The difference is that the share car vehicle-mounted device is provided with a scheduled return time transmitting means. The car sharing management server (S-3) is provided with return scheduled data receiving means for receiving the scheduled return data transmitted by the scheduled return time transmitting means of the shared car vehicle-mounted device. Then, the expected return time data received by the expected return data receiving means is also used by the return time estimation means to calculate the estimated return time.

For example, after the user driving a shared car arrives at a predetermined destination, the user operates the in-vehicle car navigation system (multi-function car navigation device) to set the return location as the destination. is preferred because it does not require any special action from the user.

(Fig. 16)
FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing the case of collecting a vehicle when the user has made a reservation and is using the vehicle, and if the vehicle is returned, there will be a shortage of compartments at the station. It is.

"Recovery" is to move (withdraw) a vehicle from a station that is likely to run out of compartments to a sales office or a swimming pool. The purpose of moving a vehicle from a station that is likely to run out of cabins to another station is usually to provide the user with the vehicle that was moved at the destination station. . However, if it does not serve that purpose, and is moved only to avoid overflowing a station that is likely to run out of cabin space, it can be called a "recovery."

The car sharing management server receives the position data of the vehicle used by the user (S31). It is determined whether or not the position data indicates that the return station is within a certain distance (for example, 5 kilometers in a straight line) (S32).
If the distance is greater than or equal to the fixed distance, recovery is not performed (S33), and the process ends. However, this flowchart is repeated at predetermined intervals (for example, 3 minutes).

If the distance is less than a certain distance, even if the sum of the number of parked vehicles and the number of vehicles to be returned is smaller than the number of compartments of the target station, collection is not performed (S33) and the process ends. .
When the sum of the number of parked vehicles and the number of vehicles to be returned is larger than the number of compartments of the target station, collection is carried out (S35). Vehicles that have not been reserved are prioritized for collection.

(Fig. 17)
FIG. 17 is a diagram exemplifying a business office management table. This management table is output on the screen of the communication terminal installed in the business office, and one sheet (on the output panel of the electronic equipment) is printed for each station managed by the business office. displayed). This management table is created by the car share management server by obtaining necessary information from the shared car operation management DB and the parking compartment management DB shown in FIG. This is to make it easier for the sales office staff to grasp the current status of each station.

At the top of each sheet are displayed the station name and the time when the data was updated.
Directly below the station name, the number of parked vehicles is shown with respect to the number of compartments, and the number of vehicles in operation is also shown. At the station name in this figure = Koto Ward Daiichi, there are 5 parking spaces prepared for shared cars according to the parking space management DB. It is shown that there are 6 of them. In addition, it is shown that there are three shared cars in operation that are being driven by users. In the example shown here, there are more shared cars than the number of compartments in this station, but one of them is temporarily parked in a car rental by the hour in the same station. .

Below the station name and the data update time, there is a list showing the state of the vehicle compartment by the parking compartment management DB. In all compartments, the compartments in which reserved vehicles are parked indicate the type of vehicle, the vehicle number, the date and time of departure in the reservation, and the date and time of return when the vehicle is returned. Vehicles for which options have been reserved are indicated with an asterisk. Departure date and time and return date and time are displayed in blank spaces in the cabins of vehicles for which reservations have not been made. Therefore, the presence or absence of a reservation can be intuitively grasped.

Below the list showing the state of the passenger compartment, a list showing the state of the share car to be returned to the station is displayed by the share car operation management DB. In this figure, the "in operation" column indicates that three shared cars have been rented and are scheduled to be returned to this station later. The number of 3 units is the same as the number of "in operation" displayed directly under the station name in the management table.

In addition, one of the rented vehicles is indicated by a triangle indicating that "the vehicle is the vehicle when the distance from the return station is equal to or less than a predetermined value". By blinking the display of this triangle, it is possible to call attention to the viewer of this management table. Since all 6 compartments for carshare vehicles are filled, it can be seen that 1 vehicle from this station needs to be routed for collection.

As described above, the in-vehicle device mounted on the share car receives GPS radio waves and transmits the position data of the vehicle to the position data receiving means. The transmission and acquisition of this position data may be performed at regular intervals (for example, every minute), or may be performed once or multiple times when the share car approaches the station scheduled to be returned. The car share management server acquires the position data and displays this triangular display regarding the share car approaching the station scheduled to be returned.

As described above, by obtaining information from the shared car operation management database and the parking garage management database and displaying the management table at the sales office, the status of each station managed by the sales office can be easily grasped. Become.

(Fig. 18)
FIG. 18 exemplifies a setup table output for each business office. This setup table is created by the car share management server by obtaining necessary information from the shared car operation management database and the parking compartment management database shown in FIG. The setup table is output to the screen of the communication terminal installed in the office (business office terminal responsible for the setup system in FIG. 19). Then, the vehicles managed by the sales office are arranged in the order of time-priority actions. It is created with the aim of enabling efficient shared vehicle operation without causing inconvenience to users if all of the items listed in this setup table are carried out within the specified period.

The current time is displayed at the top left of the table. A horizontal division is provided every hour to divide the time period, and the action to be performed for each time period is displayed in an easy-to-understand manner. In each time period, the horizontal columns are the number indicating the number of the action to be taken, the station name, the action to be taken, the time to complete the action, the scheduled departure time and return time of the shared vehicle, the vehicle type, and the vehicle number. , current parking location, action status (unsupported, in progress, completed), and remarks column. The operator of the communication terminal (business office terminal) sequentially changes the status in accordance with the actions taken by the staff of the business office, as shown in the balloons.

Here, as actions to be taken on November 13th between 8:00 and 8:00, three actions are listed: rental preparation, setup, and forwarding. “Preparation for rental” means vehicle inspection, refueling, and other work to be performed before renting out the shared vehicle to the user. Setup is a process of downloading information about reservations to the vehicle-mounted device installed in the shared vehicle. For example, departure time and scheduled return time, destination and other information. Since forwarding has been described above, redundant description will be omitted here.

Here, the description will be made assuming that, for example, 30 minutes are required for rental preparation. Also, it is assumed that rental preparations must be completed 15 minutes before the user's scheduled departure time. Since the user may arrive at the parking lot before the scheduled departure time, it is necessary to allow 15 minutes before the original scheduled departure time to complete the rental preparations.

Focusing first on the action of action number 1, the user's scheduled departure time is 8:15, so rental preparations must be completed at 8:00 to allow 15 minutes to spare. Therefore, in this action, the due time for loan preparation is displayed as 8:00. The sales office staff understands that it takes 30 minutes to prepare the rental, so they can easily understand that this action must start at 7:30.

Next, focusing on the action of action number 2, the set-up deadline time for the same vehicle is displayed as 8:15. Setup is a process of downloading information from the shared car operation management DB and other information to the onboard device, and can be considered to be executed and terminated almost immediately. Therefore, the set-up time limit is set at the same time as the scheduled departure time of the vehicle. Of course, a time earlier than this may be set as the deadline time.

Next, looking at the action of action number 3, forwarding is instructed. Here, assuming that 30 minutes are required for forwarding, this action should be completed by 8:30, but in reality it has not been completed at 8:12. not inside).

Note that this action is indicated by an asterisk in the leftmost number column. This display appears when the current time has passed the start time at which the action should be performed. The sales office staff can easily grasp actions that have not been handled not only by the deadline time on the setup chart but also by this alert display.

The plan table may be created by the car sharing management server and transmitted to the business office terminal, or may be created in the business office terminal by obtaining necessary data from the car sharing management server or the like. In the former case (see Fig. 22), the setup table data updated by the sales office terminal changing the status is also uploaded to the car sharing management server, and the related data in the car sharing management server etc. is also updated. becomes.

In the following description of FIGS. 19 and 20, both of these cases are included. Therefore, the description will be made with the expression that "instruction data" is transmitted from the car share management server to the sales office terminal. That is, the instruction data means a plan table when the car sharing management server prepares the plan table and transmits it to the sales office terminal. Alternatively, when the sales office terminal acquires necessary data from a car share management server or the like to create a setup table, it means data necessary for creating the setup table.

(Fig. 19)
FIG. 19 conceptually shows what kind of actions are performed using a sales office terminal that is responsible for the setup system and a staff terminal that is a portable communication terminal carried by the staff. Although not shown, it is assumed that the car sharing management server shown in FIG. 7 has received confirmation of the reservation from the member user, and that the sales office terminal has received the confirmation of the reservation. be.

The car sharing management server notifies the need for forwarding of a certain vehicle from Koto-ku No. 2 Station to Koto-ku No. 1 Station via the terminal of sales office A and the staff of sales office A, who are in charge of managing both stations. It is transmitted to the terminal as instruction data (1).

At the staff terminal that receives the need for forwarding from the car sharing management server and acquires the setup table from the sales office terminal, the staff member a carrying the staff terminal confirms his or her own action (2). Then, an action of forwarding a predetermined vehicle from the Koto Ward Second Station to the Koto Ward First Station is executed, and the fact that the action has been executed is input to the staff terminal (3).

Although not shown, in an actual system, it is desirable to designate a staff member in charge of each action in a setup table. If only the actions are displayed, the work may be duplicated among multiple staff members, or situations may occur where no one responds because other staff will respond. contribute to prevention.

Information indicating that the action has been completed is transmitted from the staff terminal to the sales office terminal. As a result, the data is linked between the staff terminal and the business office terminal, and the information held by both is updated to the same content (4). Furthermore, from the in-vehicle device of the vehicle forwarded to Koto-ku No. 1 Station, the location data of Koto-ku No. 1 Station is sent to the terminal of the sales office (not shown, but also to the car sharing management server), and the data is linked. It is updated to the same content (5). After confirming that the setup has been completed based on the data from the staff terminal and the vehicle-mounted device, the sales office terminal updates the data indicating that the setup has been completed.

(Fig. 20)
FIG. 20 also conceptually shows what kind of actions are performed by using the sales office terminal responsible for the setup system and the staff terminal, which is a portable communication terminal carried by the staff.

The difference from the embodiment shown in FIG. 19 is that forwarding, which is instruction data sent from the car share management server, is not sent to the staff terminal. Forwarding is performed by the sales office terminal that has received the instruction data from the car sharing management server, and transmits it to the staff terminal together with the setup table.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 20, staff a carrying a staff terminal does not take the initiative to take action as shown in FIG. 19, but takes action according to instructions from the office terminal. This is effective because it is unlikely that an action will be overlooked, for example, if the staff member A does not have a high level of work proficiency.

(Fig. 21)
FIG. 21 shows an example of a cabin management table (overflow prediction management) that predicts in which time period an overflow will occur for each station and displays it as a list by the function of the overflow estimation means. Here, the "number of slots" is the number of compartments prepared as dedicated compartments for vehicles used for car sharing.

The following purposes and functions are assumed by using the cabin management table shown in FIG. 21 and the management table shown in FIG. 17 together.
In other words, it is possible to display the inventory location and reservation information of vehicles in real time (vehicle column and operating column in the management table), to grasp where the vehicle is now (vehicle column in the management table), By grasping the availability of passenger compartments in the station, it is possible to visualize and grasp business opportunities such as last-minute reservations by forwarding vehicles that have not been reserved (management table and passenger compartment management table), and approaching the station To prevent unexpected overflow (management table) by grasping the vehicles that are in use and detecting early returns.

The cabin management table shows the station name, the number of slots for each station, and the situation for each time slot. Each time zone (here, every hour) is further divided into 15-minute units. The 15-minute unit corresponds to the 15-minute rental unit of car sharing.
If an overflow occurs every 15 minutes, it is blacked out, and if the number of parked vehicles has reached the maximum number of slots for that station, it is hatched darkly. If there is, it is indicated by light hatching. Note that such color coding is only an example, and it goes without saying that various forms of display are possible.

This vehicle room management table is created by the car share management server by obtaining necessary information from the overflow estimation means (see FIG. 13). That is, every 15 minutes, it is calculated based on the number of shared cars whose scheduled departure time is at that segment, the number of shared cars whose scheduled arrival time is at that segment, and the number of shared cars at that station at that segment. be done.
Using the vehicle ID and the position data received by the position data receiving means (see FIG. 13), the number of shared cars that may be returned during the delimited time period may be considered.

When the plan table (see Fig. 18) is output at the sales office terminal at each business office, what kind of action is required for the overflow time period and the maximum slot number time period is reflected in the plan table. The Rukoto.

For example, if there is no reservation for a shared car at a certain station during a period when an overflow is expected to occur, the station will instruct that the car should be collected at the pool. Become. In that case, the due time for collection is the beginning of the time when overflow is expected to occur. By completing the collection by this time limit, one compartment will become available. As a result, overflow can be avoided.

The vehicle room management table described above may be created by the car sharing management server and transmitted to the business office terminal, or may be created by the business office terminal by acquiring necessary data from the car sharing management server or the like.
In the former case, the data of the vehicle compartment management table updated by changing the status of the sales office terminal is also uploaded to the car sharing management server, and the related data in the car sharing management server etc. is also updated.

(Fig. 22)
FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing the relationship between the car sharing management server and business office terminals, and shows an outline of transmitting the management table and the like created by the server to the business office terminals. This car sharing management server implements the systems α, β, and γ shown in FIG.

The car sharing management server includes a shared car operation management database, a parking compartment management database, and a pool vehicle management database. However, even if each database exists in a separate server or the like, and the car sharing management server obtains the data through communication means, the present invention has the same effect.

A data collection means collects necessary data from each database. Then, using the data collected through the data collection means, the vehicle room management table creation means creates a vehicle room management table (see FIG. 21), and the sales office management table creation means creates a business office management table (see FIG. 17). ) and the preparation table (see FIG. 18) are prepared by the preparation table preparation means.

The created vehicle room management table, office management table, and setup table are sent to the office terminal installed at the office via the transmission means such as the management table (the setup table for office A is sent to the office B).

The business office terminal outputs the vehicle interior management table and the business office management table through the management table output means. Although not shown, a setup table is also output as necessary.
In addition, the staff terminal is sent a plan table via the plan table sending means.

It should be noted that the car sharing management server may directly transmit the schedule and the like to the staff terminal (illustrated by a dashed line). This transmission may be limited to transmission in response to a request from a staff terminal.

(Figure 23)
FIG. 23 is also a block diagram showing the relationship between the car sharing management server and the business office terminals, and shows how when the business office terminal updates data, the updated data is reflected in the car sharing management server. there is

At the sales office terminal, update data is input using the plan table updating means (for example, status change in FIG. 18). The input update data is transmitted to the car sharing management server via the update data transmission means. The transmitted update data is received by the update data receiving means, and if it is related data, it updates the data of the shared car operation management database, the parking compartment management server, and the pool vehicle management database.

According to the above-described embodiments, it is possible to rent out a plurality of vehicles from one compartment at a station to users, which increases the opportunities for users to make reservations and contributes to improved profitability for car sharing businesses.

It contributes to the rationalization of the setup at the sales office in order to realize the rental of multiple vehicles from one compartment at the station.

It also contributes to avoiding in advance the risk of overflow that accompanies the realization of rental of multiple vehicles from one compartment at a station.

(Figure 24)
FIG. 24 shows a pick-up of the setup creation means in the car sharing management server shown in FIG.
The setup creation means shown here omits the data collection means shown in FIG. 22 and directly extracts necessary data from the shared car operation management database, the parking compartment management database, and the pool vehicle management database. In other words, the data collecting means shown in FIG. 22 exists for convenience only, and may be configured as shown in FIG. The same applies to the sales office management table creation means and vehicle room management table creation means.

The present invention relates to a car sharing business using parking spaces such as parking lots and rental vehicles, a rental car business, a parking lot equipment manufacturing industry, a parking lot management business, a manufacturing industry of communication equipment for parking lot management data, a data It can be used in the data management business in communication, the development business of application software in parking lot control units and parking lot management servers, and so on.

Claims (10)

A management server that performs data communication with a communication terminal related to a member user who has completed member registration in advance and obtained a member ID regarding car sharing use,
a shared car operation management database that stores management data related to shared cars that are vehicles rented out to member users;
a parking compartment management database that stores management data relating to compartments in which vehicles to be rented out to member users are parked;
Reservation data receiving means for receiving reservation request data including the member ID, the date and time data of the vehicle desired to be used, and the place of departure from which use is to be started;
a reservation propriety first judgment means for judging whether or not the date and time data included in the reservation request data received by the reservation data reception means can be rented, using the vehicle management database;
When the first determination means for determining whether the reservation is possible or not, it is determined whether or not the vehicle can be procured and the vehicle can be parked. a reservation availability second determination means for determining using the vehicle management database and the parking compartment management database of
Reservation confirmation receiving means for receiving a reservation confirmation reply as a result of transmitting the judgment result by the reservation propriety second judgment means or the judgment result by the reservation propriety first judgment means to the communication terminal related to the member user;
management server with A forwarding vehicle management system that determines that it is possible to procure a vehicle and park the vehicle according to the determination result of the reservation availability second determination means,
In the forwarding vehicle management system, there are a plurality of stations where vehicles used for car sharing are parked for users by car sharing operators, and vehicles serving as buffers for vehicles at these stations can be pooled. Where possible, there are offices to manage the delivery and collection of vehicles to said stations,
a management table creation means for creating a business office management table in which the reservation status of vehicles parked in the compartment and the current status of vehicles in operation by the user are listed for each station;
2. The management server according to claim 1, further comprising management table transmission means for transmitting the business office management table created by said management table creation means to the communication terminal associated with said business office. The forwarding vehicle management system includes a forwarding-vehicle creation means for creating a forwarding-vehicle-preparing means for creating a forwarding-vehicle-collecting action list in chronological order for each of the business offices;
3. The management server according to claim 2, further comprising a plan table transmitting means for transmitting the plan table created by the plan table preparing means to the communication terminal associated with the business office. update data receiving means for receiving update data in the case where update data in the plan table is transmitted from the communication terminal to which the plan table transmission means has transmitted the plan table;
data updating means for updating the shared car operation management database and the parking compartment management database using the update data received by the update data receiving means;
The management server according to claim 3, comprising: Equipped with an overflow prediction system that detects that there is a risk that the vehicle compartment of the station will overflow when the vehicle used by the user is returned,
The overflow prediction system includes position data receiving means for receiving position data of the vehicle together with the vehicle ID from the vehicle being used by the user;
return time estimation means for estimating the return time to the return place using the position data, the time data, and the position data of the return place;
overflow estimating means for estimating the possibility of overflow by grasping the state of the vehicle compartment of the station at the time of return to the return place estimated by the return time estimating means;
The management server according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising: A computer program for controlling a management server that performs data communication with a communication terminal related to a member user who has completed member registration in advance and obtained a member ID for car sharing use,
The management server includes a shared car operation management database that stores management data related to a shared car that is a vehicle to be rented out to member users;
a parking compartment management database for storing management data relating to compartments in which vehicles to be rented out to member users are parked;
Said computer program comprises:
a reservation data receiving procedure for receiving reservation request data including the member ID, the date and time data of the vehicle desired to be used, and the place of departure from which use is to be started;
a reservation propriety first judgment procedure for judging whether or not the date and time data included in the reservation request data received in the reservation data reception procedure can be rented, using the vehicle management database;
If it is not possible to rent the vehicle in the first determination procedure of whether the reservation is possible or not, it is determined whether or not it is possible to procure the vehicle and park the vehicle, and it is determined whether or not the vehicle can be rented according to the desired rental data. A reservation propriety second judgment procedure for judging using the vehicle management database and the parking compartment management database of
A reservation confirmation reception procedure for receiving a reservation confirmation reply as a result of transmitting the judgment result by the reservation propriety second judgment procedure or the judgment result by the reservation propriety first judgment procedure to the communication terminal related to the member user;
is executed by the management server. There are a plurality of stations where a car-sharing operator parks vehicles used for car-sharing for users, and it is possible to pool vehicles that serve as buffers for vehicles at these stations, and vehicles for the stations. If there is a business office that manages the forwarding and collection of
a management table creation procedure for creating a sales office management table listing the reservation status of vehicles parked in the compartment and the current status of vehicles in operation by the user for each station;
a management table transmission procedure for transmitting the business office management table created in the management table creation procedure to a communication terminal related to the business office;
7. The computer program according to claim 6, wherein said management server is caused to execute the above. a procedure for creating a procedure for creating a procedure for creating a procedure for each sales office, in which actions including forwarding and collection of vehicles are listed in chronological order;
a setup table transmission procedure for transmitting the setup table created by the setup table creation procedure to a communication terminal related to the sales office;
8. The computer program according to claim 7, wherein said management server is caused to execute: an update data reception procedure for receiving updated data in the setup table when update data in the setup table is transmitted from the communication terminal that transmitted the setup table in the setup table transmission procedure;
a data update procedure for updating the shared car operation management database and the parking compartment management database using the update data received in the update data reception procedure;
9. The computer program according to claim 8, wherein said management server is caused to execute: A position data receiving procedure for receiving position data of the vehicle together with the vehicle ID from the vehicle being used by the user;
a return time estimation procedure for estimating the return time to the return place using the position data, the time data and the position data of the return place received in the position data reception procedure;
an overflow estimation procedure for estimating the possibility of an overflow by grasping the state of the vehicle compartment at the station at the time of return to the return place estimated by the return time estimation procedure;
10. The computer program according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein said management server is caused to execute:

Images