JP7296144B2 - Object management system - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to techniques for managing objects used by users using said users' wireless communication devices , and more particularly to techniques for managing such objects in an environment where said objects are assigned to stations.

Techniques for specifying (identifying) an object using a user's mobile terminal already exist.

An example of this type of technology is a technology that identifies a rental target, which is an example of a movable property existing in a station, which is real estate, using a mobile terminal carried by a user of the rental target.

Existing services that utilize this type of technology include multiple geographically distinct real estate properties, each associated with a movable property to be rented (e.g., if the movable property is at least temporarily physically attached to the real estate as a location). There are services that centrally manage things that exist in and are stored at that location.

One example is a service that lends and returns a rental object, which is movable property, to a user at any location or station, which is real estate. Vehicles for moving people and luggage exist as rental objects, and types of such vehicles include automobiles, bicycles, and motorcycles.

Specific bicycle management systems have already been proposed for unattended bicycle rental and return services for users at stations, and several specific examples are disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 5, respectively.

Specifically, in the system described in Patent Literature 1, a two-dimensional bar code is attached to a station where rented bicycles are stored for identification purposes. A two-dimensional bar code is attached to each rental bicycle for identification.

In this system, a user uses a portable terminal to read a station's two-dimensional bar code with a reader to identify the station. The user uses the portable terminal to read the two-dimensional bar code of the rental bicycle with a reader to identify the rental bicycle. The mobile terminal communicates with the management server to obtain permission to rent and return the rental bicycle.

On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, it is possible to replace the two-dimensional barcode attached to each rental bicycle for identification with short-range communication means (equivalent to a transmitter) such as an IC tag. is stated.

Further, in the system described in Patent Document 3, a transmitter is installed at a station where rented bicycles are stored. Each rental bicycle is attached with a user-readable number display (for example, a number string or code) instead of a transmitter for identification.

In this system, a user uses a portable terminal to receive a signal from a transmitter, identify a station, and then communicate with a management server to obtain permission to rent and return a rental bicycle.

Further, in the system described in Patent Document 4, a transmitter that transmits an identifier indicating the place is installed at the place where the rented bicycle can be returned. Each rental bicycle is equipped with an accessory.

The accessory device has storage means for storing a plurality of identifiers indicating locations where the rental bicycle can be returned. The accessory device further has a receiver for receiving an identifier from the transmitter. The accessory device further determines that the rental bicycle can be returned to the place where the transmitter is installed when the identifier received by the receiver matches the stored identifier. It has determination means.

In this system, a user communicates with a management server using a portable terminal and selects a bicycle parking lot and a rental bicycle, but does not receive a signal from the receiver. Therefore, the mobile terminal cannot detect and identify the rented bicycle.

Furthermore, in this system, the mobile terminal communicates with the management server in order to obtain permission to lend it, but does not communicate with the management server in order to obtain permission to return it. Processing for return is performed between the accessory device and the transmitter.

Further, in the system described in Patent Document 5, a user accesses a management server using a mobile terminal to acquire a return destination for a rented bicycle that is being rented. A rental bicycle is equipped with an RFID tag (wireless tag) as a transmitter. A bicycle parking machine is installed for each rental bicycle at the station, and each rental bicycle is stored in the bicycle parking machine.

A receiver (RFID reader) is installed in the bicycle parking machine. The receiver receives the signal from the rental bicycle transmitter. The receiver further has a transmission function for transmitting the presence or absence of a parked rental bicycle or the ID of the rental bicycle to the management server.

JP 2011-248813 A JP 2010-55583 A Japanese Patent No. 5997858 Japanese Patent No. 5643861 Japanese Patent No. 5625160

According to the technique described in Patent Document 1, the hardware resource attached to the station is a barcode, and the hardware resource attached to the rental bicycle is also a barcode. are also electronically read by the image reader of the same mobile terminal.

However, in order for a user to use a mobile terminal to read two types of barcodes that are likely to exist in different locations, the user must ensure that each barcode to be read exists You have to move to a place and approach it. This is because, as the distance from the bar code increases, the amount of light reflected from the bar code that enters the image reader decreases, and the resolution at the time of reading decreases.

Therefore, with this technology, it is physically impossible for a mobile terminal to read these two types of barcodes at the same time.

As a result, even if the management server receives the reading result data of two types of barcodes from the portable terminal, the fact that the barcodes actually existed at the same station proves that there is no other evidence. I can't. Therefore, it is theoretically possible for a user, for some illegal purpose, to generate data of a false combination of a station and a rental bicycle that is different from the actual combination on a mobile terminal and transmit the data to the management server. becomes possible.

In addition, with this technology, it is impossible for the user to read the two types of barcodes using the portable terminal at the same place, and the user must move to two places and perform the reading work twice. It must be troublesome.

On the other hand, if Patent Documents 2 and 3 are combined with Patent Document 1, it may be possible to replace both of the above two types of barcodes with transmitters.

However, even with such a replacement, none of Patent Documents 1-5 also point to the fact that 1) the system is designed such that the mobile terminal simultaneously receives the signals from each of the two transmitters. 2) permitting rental and return of rental bicycles on the condition that they are simultaneously received; It also does not disclose the increased security of what is used in the terminal.

Furthermore, none of the patents 1-5 disclose how to implement the geometrical relationship of the effective coverage area between those two transmitters.

Against the background of the above findings, the present invention provides a technique for managing an object using a user's wireless communication device in an environment where the object used by the user is assigned to a station, the wireless communication device The task was to provide techniques that facilitate improving the security of data used in .

In order to solve the problem, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an object management system for managing rental and return of objects that are movable properties assigned to stations that are real estate, comprising:
a first near field communication means installed at said station for emitting a unique first signal towards a user's wireless communication device;
a second short-range communication means installed on the object and emitting a unique second signal toward a user's wireless communication device;
A management server that can communicate with the user's wireless communication device
including
The wireless communication device and/or the management server receives the first wireless communication device from the first short-range communication means and the second short-range communication means, respectively, by a short-range communication method and synchronously with each other. User behavior abnormality determination for determining whether or not a user's dynamic behavior relative to the station and/or the object is abnormal based on temporal changes in the relationship between the signal levels of the first signal and the second signal. An object management system is provided that includes a unit.
Also according to one aspect of the invention, an object management system for managing objects assigned to stations, comprising:
a first short-range communication means installed in the station and transmitting a unique first signal;
a second short-range communication means installed on the object and transmitting a unique second signal;
a user's wireless communication device;
a management server communicable with the wireless communication device;
When the wireless communication device is in a dual reception state in which the first signal and the second signal are effectively received from both the first short-range communication means and the second short-range communication means, respectively, the user is instructed to: An object management system is provided that prompts the user to input a predetermined request, and transmits the predetermined request to the management server when the predetermined request is input by the user.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a user's mobile terminal, a first transmitter installed in a station that emits a unique first signal, and a mobile terminal that can be lent to the user and returned from the user. An object management method for managing the object by using a second transmitter installed on the object as movable property stored in the station and transmitting a unique second signal such that There is
When the mobile terminal activates the rental processing module, the mobile terminal effectively receives the first signal from the first transmitter and at the same time effectively receives the second signal from the second transmitter. a lending time determination step of determining whether or not the device is in the two-way reception state;
When the portable terminal is determined to be in the rental-time dual reception state, the user is prompted to input a rental request, and when the rental request is input by the user, communication with the portable terminal is possible. and a rental-time communication start step of starting communication with the management server in order to get the management server to permit the rental of the object to the user.

Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the mobile terminal of the user, the first transmitter installed in the station that emits a unique first signal, and the mobile terminal that is lent to the user and returned from the user. object management for managing the object using a second transmitter installed on the object as movable property stored in the station so as to transmit a unique second signal a method,
When the mobile terminal activates the return processing module, the mobile terminal effectively receives the first signal from the first transmitter and simultaneously receives the second signal from the second transmitter. a return determination step of determining whether or not the device is in the bidirectional reception state;
When the mobile terminal is determined to be in the dual reception state when returned, the user is prompted to input a return request, and when the user inputs the return request, communication with the mobile terminal is possible. and a returning communication starting step for starting communication with the management server in order to get the management server to permit the return of the object from the user.

Further, according to an aspect of the present invention, a mobile terminal of a user, a first transmitter installed in a station that transmits a unique first signal, and a mobile terminal lent to the user and returned from the user. An object management method for managing said object using a second transmitter installed on the object as a movable object stored in said station as possible and transmitting a unique second signal. and
When the mobile terminal activates the rental processing module, the mobile terminal effectively receives the first signal from the first transmitter and at the same time effectively receives the second signal from the second transmitter. a lending time determination step of determining whether or not the device is in the two-way reception state;
When the portable terminal is determined to be in the rental-time dual reception state, the user is prompted to input a rental request, and when the rental request is input by the user, communication with the portable terminal is possible. a rental-time communication start step of starting communication with the management server in order to get the management server to permit the rental of the object to the user;
When the mobile terminal activates the return processing module, the mobile terminal effectively receives the first signal from the first transmitter and simultaneously receives the second signal from the second transmitter. a return determination step of determining whether or not the device is in the bidirectional reception state;
When the portable terminal is determined to be in the state of receiving both when returned, the user is prompted to input a return request, and when the return request is input by the user, the management server receives the request from the user. and a returning communication starting step of starting communication with the management server in order to obtain permission to return the object.

Further, according to one aspect of the present invention, a user's mobile terminal, a first transmitter installed in a station that transmits a unique first signal, and a mobile or real property assigned to the station An object management method for managing an object using a second transmitter installed on the object and transmitting a unique second signal,
The mobile terminal is within the first reception range of the first transmitter while the user is staying at the station, and even if the user does not hold the mobile terminal up to the first transmitter, the first The first signal is continuously and effectively received from a transmitter, and a first reception state indicating whether or not the mobile terminal effectively receives the first signal from the first transmitter is set when the user receives the station. upon entering the station, transitions from an ineffective reception state to an effective reception state, and when a user exits said station, transitions from an effective reception state to an ineffective reception state, thereby resulting in a dynamic behavior of the user relative to said station a first receiving step representing
An action in which the mobile terminal is within a second reception range of the second transmitter while the user is using the object, and the user touches or holds the mobile terminal over the second transmitter. or whether the second signal is effectively received from the second transmitter even if the operation is not performed, and whether the portable terminal effectively receives the second signal from the second transmitter When the user starts using the object, the second reception state indicating whether or not the object is used transits from the ineffective reception state to the effective reception state, and when the user finishes using the object, the effective reception state is changed to the ineffective a second receiving step of transitioning to a receiving state thereby representing the dynamic behavior of the user relative to said object;
the mobile terminal and/or a management server capable of communicating with the mobile terminal, based on temporal changes in the relationship between the first reception state and the second reception state, for the station and the object; a managing step of estimating a user's relative dynamic behavior and managing the object based on the result.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a mobile terminal of a user, a first transmitter installed in a station that transmits a unique first signal, and a rental object stored in the station. A rental object management method for managing the rental object using a second transmitter that transmits a unique second signal,
The mobile terminal is within the first reception range of the first transmitter while the user is staying at the station, and even if the user does not hold the mobile terminal up to the first transmitter, the first The first signal is continuously and effectively received from a transmitter, and a first reception state indicating whether or not the mobile terminal effectively receives the first signal from the first transmitter is set when the user receives the station. upon entering the station, transitions from an ineffective reception state to an effective reception state, and when a user exits said station, transitions from an effective reception state to an ineffective reception state, thereby resulting in a dynamic behavior of the user relative to said station a first receiving step representing
While the user is using the rental object, the mobile terminal is within the second reception range of the second transmitter, and even if the user does not hold the mobile terminal over the second transmitter, 2 continuously and effectively receive the second signal from the second transmitter, and the second reception state indicating whether the mobile terminal effectively receives the second signal from the second transmitter is determined by the user. When the user starts using the rental object, the state transitions from the non-effective reception state to the effective reception state, and when the user finishes using the rental object, the state transitions from the effective reception state to the non-effective reception state. a second receiving step representing the relative dynamic behavior of the user;
The mobile terminal and/or a management server capable of communicating with the mobile terminal, based on temporal changes in the relationship between the first reception state and the second reception state, for the station and the rental object and a management step of estimating a user's relative dynamic behavior and managing the rental object based on the result.

Further, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a first transmitter and a second transmitter for transmitting unique signals are installed in a station and a rental object stored in the station, respectively. On the condition that the user's portable terminal is receiving both the signal from the second transmitter and the signal from the second transmitter, the rental object is rented to the user and/or the rental object is rented from the user. A rental object management method is provided that permits return and variably controls the effective reception radius of the effective reception area of the second transmitter according to the behavior of the user.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rental object management system for centrally managing a plurality of geographically different stations each storing at least one rental object, comprising:
a first transmitter installed at least one in each station and transmitting a signal capable of identifying a station ID unique to the corresponding station;
a second transmitter installed at least one for each rental object and transmitting a signal capable of identifying a rental object ID unique to the corresponding rental object;
A user's mobile terminal, which is capable of receiving with a short-range communication method with each of the first and second transmitters,
The mobile terminal and/or a management server capable of communicating with the mobile terminal,
A signal from the first transmitter and the second transmitter for the mobile terminal to be located within the effective reception area allocated to the first transmitter and simultaneously located within the effective reception area allocated to the second transmitter. 2 a determination unit that determines whether or not it is in a dual reception state in which it receives both signals from the transmitter;
On the condition that the two-way reception state is established, at a selected station where the user is actually staying among the plurality of stations, at least one rental object installed at the selected station is actually actually received by the user. permitting the selected rental object to be rented; and permitting the user to return the selected rental object to the selected station, which may be the same station or a different station from which the rental was made. an authorization unit that does at least one;
and a control unit that variably controls the effective reception radius of the effective reception area of the second transmitter according to the behavior of the user.

Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, a first transmitter that is installed at a station where a rental object is lent and/or returned to a user and that transmits a unique signal;
a second transmitter installed on the rental object and transmitting a unique signal;
a permitting unit that permits the user to rent and/or return the rental object based on the signal received from the first transmitter and the signal received from the second transmitter by the mobile terminal of the user;
and a control unit that variably controls the effective reception radius of the effective reception area of the second transmitter according to the behavior of the user.

Further, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the mobile terminal of the user receives from a transmitter installed in a rental vehicle that is rented and/or returned to the user and that transmits a unique signal. The user is permitted to rent and/or return the rental vehicle based on the received signal, and the receiving range of the transmitter is set so that the user gets into the rental vehicle after the user is permitted to rent the rental vehicle. A rental vehicle management method is provided in which the mobile terminal is set to effectively receive a signal from the transmitter even if the user does not hold the mobile terminal up to the transmitter while the mobile terminal is being used.

The present invention provides the following aspects. Each aspect is divided into sections, each section is numbered, and the numbers of other sections are referred to as necessary. This is to facilitate understanding of some of the technical features that can be employed by the present invention and combinations thereof, and the technical features that can be employed by the present invention and combinations thereof are limited to the following aspects. should not be interpreted as That is, it should be construed that the technical features described in the present specification, which are not described in the following aspects, are appropriately extracted and employed as the technical features of the present invention.

Furthermore, it should be noted that stating each paragraph in a format that refers to the numbers of other paragraphs does not necessarily prevent the technical features described in each paragraph from being separated and independent from the technical features described in other paragraphs. It should be construed that the technical features described in each section can be made independent as appropriate according to their nature.

(1) Install a first transmitter and a second transmitter that transmit a unique identification signal to the station and the rental object stored at that station, respectively, and the signal from the first transmitter and the signal from the second transmitter A rental object management method for permitting rental of a rental object to a user and/or return of a rental object from a user on the condition that the user's portable terminal is receiving both the signal of

(2) A rental object management system for centrally managing a plurality of geographically different stations each storing at least one rental object,
a first transmitter installed at least one in each station and transmitting an identification signal capable of identifying a station ID unique to the corresponding station;
a second transmitter that is installed at least one for each rental object and transmits an identification signal capable of identifying a rental object ID unique to the corresponding rental object;
A user's mobile terminal, which is capable of receiving with a short-range communication method with each of the first and second transmitters,
The mobile terminal and/or a management server capable of communicating with the mobile terminal,
A signal from the first transmitter and the second transmitter for the mobile terminal to be located within the effective reception area allocated to the first transmitter and simultaneously located within the effective reception area allocated to the second transmitter. 2 a determination unit that determines whether or not it is in a dual reception state in which it receives both signals from the transmitter;
On the condition that the two-way reception state is established, at a selected station where the user is actually staying among the plurality of stations, at least one rental object installed at the selected station is actually actually received by the user. permitting the selected rental object to be rented; and permitting the user to return the selected rental object to the selected station, which may be the same station or a different station from which the rental was made. A rental object management system comprising: an authorization department that does at least one of;

(3) The rental object management system according to item (1) or (2), wherein the effective reception radius of the effective reception area of the second transmitter is shorter than the effective reception radius of the effective reception area of the first transmitter.

(4) The mobile terminal and/or the management server further
The rental object management system according to any one of items (1) to (3), including a control unit that variably controls the effective reception radius of the effective reception area of the second transmitter according to the behavior of the user.

(5) at least one of the first transmitters is a fixed transmitter that is installed in a fixed position in each station;
The rental object management according to any one of items (1) to (4), wherein the second transmitter is at least one for each rental object and is a mobile transmitter that is installed in a state of moving with each rental object. system.

(6) The mobile terminal and/or the management server further
In the dual reception state, the mobile terminal identifies the selected station by the signal received from the first transmitter, and in the dual reception state, the mobile terminal identifies the selected rental object by the signal received from the second transmitter. (2) an associating unit that identifies and associates the identified selected station and selected rental object with each other, thereby enabling monitoring of each action of the user during the rental period in relation to the identity of the user; Rental object management system described in the paragraph.

(7) The mobile terminal and/or the management server further
In the stage of renting the rental object, when the mobile terminal transitions from the state of receiving the signal from the first transmitter to the state of not receiving the signal, the mobile terminal receives the signal from the second transmitter. a first abnormality determination unit that determines that at least one of the user's action and the first transmitter and the second transmitter is abnormal when there is no abnormality;
In the step of returning the rental object, when the mobile terminal transitions from a state of receiving a signal from the first transmitter to a state of not receiving the signal, the mobile terminal receives the signal from the second transmitter. (2) including at least one of the user's action and a second abnormality determination unit that determines that at least one of the first transmitter and the second transmitter is abnormal when the The described rental object management system.

(8) The mobile terminal
a candidate station display unit that displays on a screen at least some of the plurality of stations that can be used by the user as candidate stations;
Candidates for displaying on the screen as candidate rental objects at least a part of at least one rental object that can be rented to the user among at least one rental object stored in one of the plurality of stations selected by the user. The rental object management system according to item (2), which includes at least one of: a rental object display unit;

(9) Rental according to any one of items (1) to (8), including a mobile object with or without a motor that is rented to the user for a fee or free of charge and moves with the user. Object management system.

(10) Each vehicle is a bicycle, automobile, motorcycle, recreational or competition go-kart, shopping cart, stroller, trolley, wheelchair or golf cart, each of which is available for rent at the corresponding station. The rental object management system according to item (9) including stored items.

(11) A program executed by a computer of a mobile terminal to implement the mobile terminal according to any one of (1) to (10).

A program under this and other paragraphs shall be construed to mean, for example, a combination of instructions executed by a computer to perform its functions and may be processed in accordance with each instruction as well as a combination of those instructions. It can also be interpreted to include, but not be limited to, files and data.

In addition, this program may achieve its intended purpose by being executed by a computer by itself, or may achieve its intended purpose by being executed by a computer together with other programs. They can, but are not limited to. In the latter case, the programs under this section may be data-based, but are not so limited.

(12) A program executed by the management server computer to implement the management server described in (2).

(13) A recording medium in which the program according to (11) or (12) is computer-readable.

Various formats can be adopted for this recording medium, for example, magnetic recording media such as flexible disks, optical recording media such as CDs and CD-ROMs, magneto-optical recording media such as MOs, and non-removable storages such as ROMs. etc., but not limited to them.

(14) A movable property behavior estimation method for estimating the relative behavior of a movable property (or moving object, moving object) moved together by a user with respect to real estate (or a fixed object, fixed object) by using the user's portable terminal. and
installing first and second transmitters for transmitting unique identification signals to the real estate and the movable property, respectively;
Based on the temporal change in the relationship between the first and second received signals received by the mobile terminal from the first and second transmitters in a short-range communication system and synchronously with each other, A movable property behavior estimation method for estimating dynamic behavior relative to the real estate.

According to this method, the mobile terminal of the user synchronously receives signals from the first transmitter installed on the real estate and the second transmitter installed on the movable property, thereby Relative dynamic behavior can be estimated.

(15) A user presence/absence determination method for determining whether or not a user exists in real estate by using a user's portable terminal,
A plurality of transmitters that transmit signals representing different transmitter IDs are installed at different positions of the real estate, respectively;
Allocating one real estate ID unique to the real estate to the transmitter IDs in common,
When the mobile terminal receives the signal from at least one of the plurality of transmitters, it converts the transmitter ID represented by the received signal to a property ID according to the assignment, thereby allowing the user to A user presence/absence determination method for identifying real estate that actually exists.

According to this method, one real estate (for example, a site with a regular shape, a site with an irregular shape, a non-circular site, a rectangular site in a plan view), a plurality of transmitters An area is assigned by combining a plurality of assigned effective reception areas.

Normally, one effective reception area is a spherical space three-dimensionally and a circular space two-dimensionally. It becomes possible to relatively freely set the shape of the boundary line of the area so as to fit the shape of the boundary line of the real estate.

As a result, according to this method, the gap (reception failure area) between the boundary of the property and the boundary of the combined effective reception area is reduced, thereby allowing the user carrying the mobile terminal to As long as the user exists within the real estate, it is possible to detect that the user exists in the real estate.

(16) A rental object management method for centrally managing a plurality of geographically different stations each storing at least one rental object,
The method is
a first transmitter installed at least one in each station and transmitting an identification signal capable of identifying a station ID unique to the corresponding station;
a second transmitter that is installed at least one for each rental object and transmits an identification signal capable of identifying a rental object ID unique to the corresponding rental object;
A mobile terminal of a user, which is capable of receiving with each of the first and second transmitters by a short-range communication method, and/or a management server capable of communicating with the mobile terminal is executed and
The method is
For the mobile terminal and/or the management server to locate within the effective reception area assigned to the second transmitter at the same time that the mobile terminal is located within the effective reception area assigned to the first transmitter a determination step of determining whether or not the apparatus is in a dual reception state in which both the signal from the first transmitter and the signal from the second transmitter are received;
On the condition that the mobile terminal and/or the management server are in the two-way reception state, at least one of the stations installed in the selected station where the user is actually staying among the plurality of stations Permission to rent out a selected rental object that is actually actually selected by a user of one rental object, and said selection by the user of said selected rental object to be at the same station or a different station from which said rental took place. and a permitting step of performing at least one of: permitting the rental object to be returned to the station.

FIG. 1(a) is a perspective view showing station-side equipment installed at a certain station in the bicycle rental system according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is a side view which expands and shows a part of bicycle for rental shown to 1 (a).

In the bicycle rental system shown in FIG. 1(a), FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of communication between a mobile terminal of a user located in a remote location and a management server in a remote management center; FIG.

FIG. 3 shows short-distance one-way communication between the first and second transmitters and the mobile terminal both shown in FIG. 2, and long-distance two-way communication between the mobile terminal and the management server shown in the same figure. FIG. 2 is a diagram conceptually representing communication.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram conceptually representing the first and second transmitters shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart conceptually showing an example of a program (hereinafter also referred to as "application"; the same applies to other programs) executed by the computers of the first and second transmitters shown in FIG. .

FIG. 6(a) is an enlarged plan view showing the first and second transmitters shown in FIG. 1(a) together with the stations in which the first and second transmitters are installed. further conceptually shows examples of the first and second effective reception areas respectively assigned to the first and second transmitters, and FIG. FIG. 6C is a plan view conceptually showing a first modification of the area, and FIG. 6C is a plan view conceptually showing a second modification of the first effective reception area.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram conceptually representing the mobile terminal shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram conceptually representing a station data file stored in the station data memory in FIG. 7 in tabular form.

FIG. 9 is a diagram conceptually representing a bicycle data file stored in the bicycle data memory in FIG. 7 in tabular form.

FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram conceptually representing the management server shown in FIG.

FIG. 11(a) shows a list showing a plurality of modules of the bicycle rental program executed by the computer of the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 7, and FIG. 1 shows a list showing several modules of a bicycle rental program run by .

FIG. 12(a) is a diagram exemplifying a reservation status table used in the reservation sequence in order to explain the reservation sequence of the bicycle rental method executed in the bicycle rental system. 12(b) is a diagram exemplifying a user-by-user reservation content file used in the reservation sequence.

FIG. 13(a) is a plurality of time charts for exemplifying the main sequences realized when there is a reservation in the bicycle rental method, and FIG. 13(b) is the bicycle rental method. FIG. 10 is a plurality of time charts for exemplifying main sequences realized when there is no reservation among them. FIG.

FIG. 14 is a reservation sequence flow achieved by executing the reservation module shown in FIG. 11(a) by the portable terminal and executing the reservation module shown in FIG. 11(b) by the management server.

15(a), (b) and (c) are reservation sequence diagrams for explaining the reservation sequence flow shown in FIG. 14 in chronological order.

FIG. 16 shows the rental with reservation achieved by the mobile terminal executing the rental with reservation processing module shown in FIG. Sequence flow.

FIG. 17 shows a chart of no-reservation lending achieved by execution of the no-reservation lending processing module shown in FIG. It is a processing sequence flow.

FIG. 18 is a return processing sequence flow achieved by execution of the return processing module shown in FIG. 11(a) by the portable terminal and execution by the management server of the return processing module shown in FIG. 11(b).

FIG. 19 shows execution by a mobile terminal of the abnormality determination module at the time of rental shown in FIG. 11(a) and FIG. 10 is a sequence flow of abnormality determination at the time of rental achieved by the management server executing the abnormality determination module at the time of rental shown in FIG.

FIG. 20 shows a return-time abnormality determination sequence achieved by executing the return-time abnormality determination module shown in FIG. Flow.

FIG. 21(a) is an abnormality determination sequence diagram for renting to explain the abnormality determination sequence flow for renting shown in FIG. 19 in time series, and FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram of a return abnormality determination sequence diagram for explaining a time abnormality determination sequence flow in time series with a diagram;

Several exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

<First embodiment>

1(a) and 2 show a bicycle rental system (hereinafter simply "system") 10 according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. This system 10 is an example of a rental object management system according to the present invention, and in this system 10, a bicycle rental method, which is an example of a rental object management method according to the present invention, is implemented.

As shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 2, this system 10 includes a plurality of stations 20 each capable of storing a plurality of bicycles 12 (an example of "rental object", an example of "movable property"). (Only representative stations 20 of those stations 20 are shown in FIG. 1(a).) (an example of "real estate"). It is a system for providing. Each station 20 is assigned to a corresponding bicycle parking lot 22 . The bicycle parking lot 22 is a rental bicycle storage site, and in the illustrated example, has a rectangular shape in a plan view.

As a management method for the stations 20, there is an independent management method in which each station 20 is independently (individually or self-contained) managed using only the equipment installed in the station 20, and a plurality of stations 20. There is a centralized management scheme in which the stations 20 are managed centrally by communicating with a management server located remotely. The system 10 according to this embodiment employs the latter centralized management method.

In order to realize the centralized management method, the system 10 includes a plurality of first transmitters 30 installed in a plurality of stations 20, a plurality of second transmitters 32 respectively mounted on a plurality of bicycles 12, and a management server (an example of a center-side unit) 50 installed in a management center 40 that centrally manages a plurality of stations 20 .

Here, the first transmitter 30 is called a station-side transmitter when focusing on the installation position, and is referred to as a fixed transmitter, a stationary transmitter, or a position-invariant transmitter when focusing on the movement characteristics. Similarly, the second transmitter 32 is called a bicycle-side transmitter or a vehicle-mounted transmitter when focusing on the installation position, and is called a movable transmitter, a mobile transmitter, or a position-variable transmitter when focusing on the motion characteristics. is called

Each of the plurality of stations 20 is pre-assigned a unique station ID. Similarly, each of the plurality of bicycles 12 is pre-assigned a unique bicycle ID. The first transmitter 30 installed in each station 20 and the management server 50 do not communicate directly, but communicate via the mobile terminal 90 of the user. Similarly, the second transmitter 32 installed on each bicycle 12 and the management server 50 do not communicate directly, but communicate via the mobile terminal 90 of the user.

In this embodiment, each first transmitter 30 is configured to transmit a local identification signal capable of identifying a unique station ID for the corresponding station 20 . Each secondary transmitter 32 is also configured to transmit a local identification signal that may identify a unique bicycle ID for the corresponding bicycle 12 . As a result, the combination of station ID and bike ID is commonly used at 20 for multiple bikes 12 stored there.

The number and type of bicycles 12 to be stored at the same station 20 may be predetermined and may not change from day to day, but in this embodiment they are not predetermined and change from day to day. Is possible.

Therefore, in the former case, the same bicycle ID always corresponds to the same station ID, whereas in this embodiment, the same bicycle ID corresponds to a plurality of different station IDs. Specifically, in this embodiment, the same bicycle ID corresponds to the station ID of station A when renting the bicycle, but corresponds to the station ID of station B when returning the bicycle.

As shown in FIG. 1(b), a second transmitter 32 is attached to a specific portion of each bicycle 12. As shown in FIG. An example of the specific parts are the front (e.g., cage), rear (e.g., carrier), and midsection (e.g., saddle 62 of bicycle 12, saddle 62 of bicycle 12) portions of each bicycle 12. and a triangular frame 64) that supports from below.

In addition, the portion of each bicycle 12 to which the second transmitter 32 is attached is a state in which the user is riding the bicycle 12 and the portable terminal 90 carried by the user is transmitted from the second transmitter 32 . A portion (eg, the car, the cargo bed, etc.) that is likely to receive the transmitted signal without obstruction is selected.

As shown in FIG. 1(a), this system 10 includes, at each station 20, the above-described first transmitter 30 and a plurality of bicycles 12 as fixed objects installed in one bicycle parking lot 22. and a bicycle rack (bicycle storage device) 70 for storage. The bicycle rack 70 includes a plurality of bicycle stalls (parcels) 72 for accommodating one bicycle 12 . In one example, the bicycle rack 70 is partitioned into a plurality of bicycle stalls 72 by frames 74 installed in the bicycle parking lot 22 . Each bicycle 12 is accommodated (stored) in each bicycle stall 72 prior to being rented to a user.

In the example shown in FIG. 1(a), one first transmitter 30 is installed in one station 20, but for example, as illustrated in FIG. A first transmitter 30 may be installed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in this system 10, a user uses his/her own portable terminal 90 to identify a first transmitter 30 installed at the station 20 where the user is currently staying. a signal and an identification signal from a second transmitter 32 installed on one of the plurality of bicycles 12 currently stored at the current station 20 that has been reserved or locally selected by the user, At the same time, they are received in contact or non-contact with the first and second transmitters 30, 32 (perform short-range one-way wireless communication). The mobile terminal 90 further performs long-distance two-way wireless communication with the management server 50 of the management center 40 .

The user's mobile terminal 90 is a device that is carried by the user and has a wireless communication function, such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a PDA, and the like.

<First and second transmitters>

The first transmitter 30 installed at each station 20 and the second transmitter 32 installed at each bicycle 12 have the same hardware configuration (see FIG. 4) and software configuration (see FIG. 5). Therefore, for convenience of explanation, the configurations of the first and second transmitters 30 and 32 will be described by treating them as the same transmitter.

Each transmitter 30, 32 transmits a unique identification signal actively, locally, and permanently as long as the supply power is sufficient, without requiring an external trigger signal.

Each of the transmitters 30 and 32 is generally a device that is also known as a beacon device, radio beacon, or the like that transmits a beacon signal as an identification signal. Each transmitter 30, 32, in one example, modulates the original signal to generate an identification signal representing the corresponding station ID, and the generated identification signal is an IR signal, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) signal, It is transmitted locally as an NFC (Near Field Communication) signal or the like.

Next, referring to the functional block diagram of FIG. 4, each transmitter 30, 32 has a processor 100 and a memory 102 storing a plurality of applications executed by the processor 100. It is composed mainly of a computer 104 .

Each transmitter 30, 32 also has a replaceable disposable battery 106 as a power source. Instead of the battery 106, it is possible to adopt a rechargeable battery or adopt a commercial power source as an external power source.

Each of the transmitters 30 and 32 further has a transmitter section 108 that generates and transmits an identification signal representing a proper transmitter ID (an example of a "transmitter code") unique to itself. Each first transmitter 30 transmits an identification signal representing a unique authorized first transmitter ID, while each second transmitter 32 transmits an identification signal representing a unique authorized second transmitter ID. .

Transmitter 108 is powered by battery 106 and controlled by controller 110 . Its controller 110 is controlled by computer 100 .

Next, the software configuration of each transmitter 30, 32 will be described with reference to FIG. execute

When the program is executed each time, first, in step S1, from the memory 102, the authorized transmitter ID corresponding to each transmitter 30, 32 (that is, the authorized first transmitter ID corresponding to the first transmitter 30, the first Of the regular second transmitter IDs corresponding to the second transmitter 32, the one corresponding to the program described here) is read. A regular first transmitter ID corresponds to one station ID one-to-one, and a regular second transmitter ID corresponds to one bicycle ID one-to-one.

Next, in step S2, the remaining amount of battery 106 is estimated.

Subsequently, in step S3, a signal for modulating an original signal (for example, a carrier signal) is sent to the controller 110 so that the read regular transmitter ID and the estimated remaining battery capacity are reflected. output for The controller 110 controls the transmitter 108 so that the transmitter 108 generates an identification signal to be transmitted this time.

After that, in step S4, the generated identification signal is transmitted from transmitting section 108. FIG. Then, the process returns to step S1.

In addition, in each transmitter 30, 32, an algorithm for generating an identification signal so that at least the corresponding ID among the corresponding station ID and bicycle ID (corresponding ID) and the remaining battery level is reflected, or The procedure may employ a different algorithm or procedure than that shown in FIG.

<Hardware Configuration of User's Mobile Terminal>

Here, one function of the user's portable terminal 90 will be described in relation to each of the transmitters 30 and 32. The portable terminal 90 receives identification signals from each of the transmitters 30 and 32. When a program pre-installed in the computer of the terminal 90, that is, a dedicated application for transmitter processing (hereinafter referred to as "transmitter application") is activated (login), the received identification signal is demodulated. and thereby decode said station ID and bicycle ID.

Specifically, the mobile terminal 90 acquires the station ID from the identification signal received from the first transmitter 30 and acquires the bicycle ID from the identification signal received from the second transmitter 32 .

Portable terminal 90 further transmits the decrypted station ID and bicycle ID to management server 50 .

Further, when the mobile terminal 90 starts the transmitter application while receiving the identification signals from the transmitters 30 and 32, the mobile terminal 90, based on the received identification signals, generates the identification signals when the identification signals are transmitted. It also measures the distance between the position of each transmitter 30, 32 and the position of the mobile terminal 90 when the identification signal is received.

That is, based on the identification signals received from each of the transmitters 30 and 32, the mobile terminal 90 uses the station ID unique to the station 20 where the first transmitter 30 is actually installed and the bicycle 12 selected by the user. Both the bicycle ID unique to the bicycle on which the second transmitter 32 is installed and the distance to each transmitter 30, 32 at that time are acquired.

<Setting the receiving range of each transmitter>

As conceptually shown in plan view in FIG. 6(a), each transmitter 30, 32 is assigned two types of reception areas. They are a receivable area (not shown) and an effective reception area (hereinafter also referred to as "receiving range").

Both areas are generally defined by circles originating from respective transmitters 30,32. The coverage area has a maximum reception radius (eg, approximately 50m), while the effective reception area has an effective reception radius (eg, ranging from a radius of 0m to a radius of approximately 50m or less). While the maximum reception radius is a fixed value, the effective reception radius is a variable value that can be changed at any time by the mobile terminal 90 as described later.

The receivable area is the area where the identification signal from each transmitter 30, 32 can reach when the power supply of each transmitter 30, 32 is normal. means the area where the identification signal can be received.

On the other hand, the effective reception area has an effective reception radius smaller than the maximum reception radius of the receivable area. The maximum reception radius cannot be arbitrarily set, whereas the effective reception radius can be arbitrarily set by the mobile terminal 90 .

That is, it is possible to say that the maximum reception radius means the reception limit determined by hardware, while the effective reception radius means the reception limit determined by software.

As described above, mobile terminal 90 measures the distance to each transmitter 30, 32 when transmitting the identification signal it receives. The range measurement may or may not exceed the effective reception radius. When the measured distance value does not exceed the effective radius of reception, the mobile terminal 90 exists within the effective reception area. is within the coverage area but not within the effective reception area.

By activating the transmitter processing application, the mobile terminal 90 determines whether or not the distance measurement value is equal to or less than the set value of the effective reception radius. 90 is currently located within the effective reception area (reception range), the mobile terminal 90 "effectively received the identification signal from each of the transmitters 30 and 32 (hereinafter simply referred to as "received the identification signal"). )”.

On the other hand, when the mobile terminal 90 determines that the distance measurement value is greater than the set value, the mobile terminal 90 is currently located outside the effective reception areas of the transmitters 30 and 32. Therefore, the mobile terminal 90 It is determined that ``the identification signal from each transmitter 30, 32 has not been effectively received (hereinafter also simply referred to as ``the identification signal has not been received'').

That is, in this embodiment, when the mobile terminal 90 is located outside the effective reception area, the mobile terminal 90 appears to be It is handled on the software as if the identification signal has not been received.

Here, the geometric relationship of the effective reception areas between the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 will be described.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6(a), one first transmitter 30 is installed in one station 20, and the first effective reception area of the first transmitter 30 (first The reception range) is arranged inside the second effective reception area (second reception range) of the second transmitter 32 as long as the corresponding bicycle 12 is within the station 20 premises (inside the perimeter). , the first reception radius of the first effective reception area and the second reception radius of the second effective reception area are relatively set.

Specifically, the second reception radius is set to be shorter than the first reception radius. As a result, the second effective reception area is short range or medium range, and the first effective reception area is long range.

Specific examples of these three reception ranges will now be described.

1) Short range A reception range in which the mobile terminal 90 cannot effectively receive the transmitter unless the user brings the mobile terminal 90 into contact with the transmitting part of the transmitter or holds it up in a non-contact state. , within the range of about 0 cm to about 30 cm)

2) Medium range As long as the user is riding the bicycle 12 or pushing the bicycle 12, the user can hold the portable terminal 90 in contact with the transmitting part of the transmitter (in a non-contact/close state). a reception range in which the mobile terminal 90 can effectively receive the transmitter (the setting value is, for example, within the range of approximately 0 m to approximately 2 m)

3) Long Range As long as the user is at any position within the station 20, the mobile terminal 90 activates the transmitter without the user touching or holding the mobile terminal 90 over the transmitting part of the transmitter. Receivable range (the set value is, for example, within the range of about 0 m to about 10 m)

In the example shown in FIG. 6(a), the first effective reception area is set so as to cover the entire area of the station 20 in plan view and partially deviate from the boundary line of the station 20. It is Alternatively, in another example, as shown in FIG. 6B, the first effective reception area may be set so as not to have an area deviating from the boundary line of the station 20 in plan view. good.

In the two examples respectively shown in FIGS. 6(a) and (b), one station 20 is provided with one first transmitter 30, but instead of this, an example is shown in FIG. 6(c). It is also possible to implement the present invention in such a manner that a plurality of first transmitters 30 are installed in one station 20 as shown in FIG.

By the way, in this embodiment, the site of the station 20 has a rectangular shape. On the other hand, the first effective reception area is three-dimensionally spherical and two-dimensionally circular. Therefore, if one first effective reception area is assigned to station 20, as shown in FIG. (Receiving failure area) remains.

On the other hand, in still another example, as shown in FIG. 6(c), if a plurality of first effective reception areas are assigned to the station 20, the combination of those effective reception areas will result in an apparent effective reception. area and the gap between the boundary of this area and the boundary of the station 20 is reduced. As a result, it is possible to prevent so-called missed reception, in which the mobile terminal 90 cannot effectively receive the signal from the first transmitter 30 even though the user carrying the mobile terminal 90 is present in the station 20 .

In the example shown in FIG. 6(c), the plurality of second transmitters 30 are assigned different transmitter IDs, but are assigned a common station ID. Therefore, when the mobile terminal 90 receives the signal from at least one of the first transmitters 30, the transmitter ID represented by the received signal is associated (translated) with the corresponding station ID. ), as a result, the mobile terminal 90 can identify the current station 20 . Here, the fact that the mobile terminal 90 identifies (recognizes) the current station 20 means that the user carrying the mobile terminal 90 is present in the station 20 through cooperation between the mobile terminal 90 and the transmitter 30. Equivalent to being detected.

<Software configuration of the user's mobile terminal>

Next, the hardware configuration of the user's portable terminal 90 will be described with reference to FIG. 7, which is a functional block diagram. A computer 134 having 132 is the main component.

The portable terminal 90 further includes a display unit (for example, a liquid crystal display) 136 that displays information on a screen (having a window whose area is finite and variable or fixed) indicated by reference numeral "135" in FIG. 15, for example. , the first transmitter 30 , the second transmitter 32 and the management server 50 , and a transmitter 140 that generates a signal and transmits the signal to the management server 50 .

This mobile terminal 90 further has an input unit 150 for inputting data and commands from the user. The input unit 150 has, for example, an operation unit that can be operated by the user to input desired information (eg, commands, data, etc.) to the mobile terminal 90 . The operation unit includes a touch screen that displays icons (e.g., virtual buttons) that can be operated by the user, a physical operation unit that can be operated by the user (e.g., keyboard, keypad, buttons, etc.), and voice. Sensing microphones and the like include, but are not limited to.

This mobile terminal 90 further has a GPS (satellite positioning system) receiver 152 . As is well known, the GPS receiver 152 receives a plurality of GPS signals from a plurality of GPS satellites, and based on the GPS signals, determines the position (latitude, longitude and altitude) of the GPS receiver 152 on the earth. Measured by triangulation. That is, this portable terminal 90 has a positioning function using satellites.

As shown in FIG. 7, memory 132 has a plurality of data memories including map data memory 161 , station data memory 163 , bicycle data memory 165 and reservation status table memory 167 .

The map data memory 161 temporarily stores map data downloaded by the user's mobile terminal 90 from the management server 50 or another map database (not shown) according to the user's current location. A map (an example of a “partial map”) is displayed on the screen 135 (see FIG. 15) of the display unit 136 based on the map data. The map displayed on the screen 135 changes from moment to moment as the user moves.

As conceptually shown in FIG. 8, in the station data memory 163, correspondence relationships between a plurality of station IDs, a plurality of regular first transmitter IDs, and a plurality of station position data are downloaded from the management server 50. can be stored. A plurality of station IDs correspond to a plurality of stations 20 centrally managed by the system 10, respectively. Moreover, each of the plurality of station position data represents the latitude and longitude (latitude X, longitude Y) of the ground position of the corresponding station 20 .

Station data memory 163 temporarily stores a plurality of station position data corresponding to a plurality of stations 20 together with a plurality of corresponding station IDs and a plurality of regular first transmitter IDs.

In the portable terminal 90, a map based on the map data is displayed on the screen 135, and a plurality of station positions stored in the station data memory 163 at that time are displayed on the map at each instant. Based on the data, each position of a small number of candidate stations 20 located near the current position of the mobile terminal 90 among the plurality of downloaded stations 20 is overlaid and displayed (see FIG. 15).

Here, the "small number of candidate stations 20" are the plurality of stations 20 displayed on the screen 135 for the geographical reason that they are close to the current position of the mobile terminal 90 among the plurality of downloaded stations 20. Stations 20 that are geographically far from the current location of the mobile terminal 90 and that are off the screen 135 are excluded.

As conceptually shown in FIG. 9, in the bicycle data memory 165 of FIG. 7, correspondence relationships among a plurality of station IDs, a plurality of bicycle IDs, and a plurality of regular second transmitter IDs are downloaded from the management server 50. can be stored as When one of the plurality of bicycles 12 is selected by the user, one corresponding bicycle ID is determined, and thus one corresponding regular second transmitter ID is determined.

A reservation status table, which will be described later, is appropriately downloaded from the management server 50 and stored in the reservation status table memory 167 .

As shown in FIG. 11(a), the memory 132 of the mobile terminal 90 stores a bicycle rental program for the mobile terminal 90. The bicycle rental program has the following modules. there is

1) Reservation Module This is a module that assists the user in reserving any of the bicycles 12 prior to arrival at the station 20, as will be detailed later with reference to FIG. Here, "to make a reservation" means that the user inputs the location information of the desired station 20, the identification information of the desired bicycle 12 (an example of identification information to be rented), and the scheduled rental time and scheduled return time. Equivalent to work.

2) Rental with Reservation Processing Module This module assists the user in obtaining rental of the reserved bicycle 12 at the reserved station 20 according to the user's reservation, as will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. is a module.

3) No Reservation Rental Processing Module As will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. This is a module that supports the rental of the selected bicycle 12 .

4) Return Processing Module This module allows the user to return the rented bicycle 12 at the same station 20 or a different station 20 from which the bicycle 12 was rented, as will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. It is a module that supports making a return.

5) Rental abnormality determination module This module determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred when the bicycle 12 is lent to the user, as will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. is an optional module for implementing this system 10 and will be described in detail in the second embodiment below.

6) Error determination module upon return As will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 20, this module determines whether or not an error has occurred when the bicycle 12 is returned from the user. is an optional module for implementing this system 10 and will be described in detail in the second embodiment below.

<Management server>

Next, the hardware configuration of the management server 50 will be described with reference to FIG. 10, which is a functional block diagram. It is mainly composed of a computer 164 having

The management server 50 further includes a display unit (for example, a liquid crystal display) 166 that displays information, a reception unit 168 that receives signals from the mobile terminal 90 , and a signal that generates and transmits the signal to the mobile terminal 90 . and a clock 172 for measuring the current time. This management server 50 does not directly receive data from the transmitter 30, but actually receives data via the mobile terminal 90. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 11(b), the memory 162 of the management server 50 stores a bicycle rental program for the management server 50. The bicycle rental program has the following modules. there is

1) Reservation module This is a module having the same function as the reservation module of the mobile terminal 90, as will be detailed later with reference to FIG.

2) Rent-with-reservation processing module This module has the same function as the Rent-with-reservation processing module of the mobile terminal 90, as will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

3) Reservation-free rental processing module This module has the same function as the reservation-free rental processing module of the portable terminal 90, as will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

4) Return processing module This is a module having the same function as the return processing module of the mobile terminal 90, as will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

5) Rental abnormality determination module This module has the same function as the rental abnormality determination module of the mobile terminal 90, as will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. As it is an optional module to implement, it will be detailed in the second embodiment below.

6) Error determination module upon return This module has the same function as the error determination module upon return of the mobile terminal 90, as will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. As it is an optional module to implement, it will be detailed in the second embodiment below.

<Overview of reservation sequence>

FIG. 12(a) shows an example of a reservation status table for managing the reservation status of a plurality of bicycles 12 by a plurality of users for each station 20 by executing the reservation module by the mobile terminal 90 and the management server 50. It is shown.

This reservation status table is created and updated in the management server 50 and the latest version is shared with the mobile terminal 90 . This reservation status table displays, for each station 20 and for each bicycle 12, whether or not there is a reservation and the scheduled rental time zone (including date and time).

The user looks at this reservation status table on the screen 135 of his/her mobile terminal 90, refers to it, searches for the station 20 where at least one bicycle 12 is waiting, and finds at least one of the stations 20. A bicycle 12 that has an idle time is searched for, and the desired date and time period are specified.

In FIG. 12(a), in the time axis (from 00:00 to 23:59) for each bicycle 12 in the reservation status table, the latest update time of the reservation status table is indicated by a hatched horizontal bar. indicates a time slot in which a reservation already exists, i.e., a time slot with prior commitments, while a time slot in which the bar does not exist indicates a time slot in which no reservations exist, i.e., time without prior commitments showing the band.

The user inputs the identification information of the selected station 20, the identification information of the selected bicycle 12, the rental date and time, and the return date and time into his/her mobile terminal 90, as shown in FIG. 15(c). Both the corresponding station 20 and bicycle 12 are thereby reserved.

FIG. 11(b) shows an example of a user-by-user reservation content file for managing the reservation content of a plurality of users by executing the reservation module by the mobile terminal 90 and the management server 50. As shown in FIG.

This user-by-user reservation content file is created and updated in the management server 50 . This user-by-user reservation content file includes, for each user, personal authentication information (user ID, password, etc.), location information for specifying the location of the selected station 20 (ID unique to the selected station 20), Location information for specifying the location of the selected bicycle 12 (ID unique to the selected bicycle 12), time information for defining the scheduled usage time period for the selected bicycle 12 (scheduled start time, scheduled end time, scheduled usage time length, etc.), and the type of penalty imposed on the user for violating the rules that the user is required to comply with in order to receive this bicycle rental service.

<Overview of main sequence>

An overview of the main sequence by system 10 following the reservation sequence described above will now be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 13 (also in FIG. 21), the time chart labeled "Reception for Station Recognition" shows that the mobile terminal 90 receives the regular first transmitter ID from the first transmitter 30 at each instant. For convenience of explanation, whether or not the mobile terminal 90 has received the first regular transmitter ID is represented by a pulse signal that is low level when the mobile terminal 90 does not receive the regular first transmitter ID and high level when the mobile terminal 90 is receiving it.

Similarly, in FIG. 21 (the same applies to FIG. 21), the time chart labeled "Bicycle Recognition Reception" indicates that the portable terminal 90 receives regular second signals from the second transmitter 32 at each instant. For convenience of explanation, whether or not the transmitter ID is received is indicated by a pulse signal that is low level when the mobile terminal 90 does not receive the regular second transmitter ID and high level when the mobile terminal 90 is receiving it. expressing.

<Outline of the main sequence when there is a reservation>

In FIG. 13A, the user reserves the reserved bicycle 12 in the reserved station 20 with a scheduled rental start time (rental time) of 15:00 and a scheduled rental end time (return time) of 18:00. Taking the example of the case where the main sequence is outlined, several time charts are illustrated.

1) Loan processing

First, it is assumed that the user entered the reserved station (rental station) 20 at 15:30 on a certain day in order to rent the reserved bicycle 12, and thus the portable terminal 90 entered the first effective reception area. Then, the portable terminal 90 starts to effectively receive the first transmitter 30 (the "reception signal for station recognition" in the figure rises).

Next, the user approaches the reserved bicycle 12 existing in the current station 20 and holds the mobile terminal 90 over the second transmitter 32 installed on the bicycle 12. Assuming that the mobile terminal 90 has entered the effective reception area, the mobile terminal 90 begins to effectively receive the second transmitter 32 (the "reception signal for bicycle recognition" in the figure rises).

As a result, at the time of 15:30, the portable terminal 90 transitions to a state in which signals are being received simultaneously from the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 . That is, from a non-simultaneous reception state in which the portable terminal 90 does not effectively receive a signal from either of the transmitters 30 and 32 or effectively receives a signal from only one of the transmitters 30 and 32, any transmitter 30 , 32 to effectively receive signals.

Here, "the state in which the mobile terminal 90 is receiving signals from the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 at the same time" means that the mobile terminal 90 receives the signal from the first transmitter 30 and the signal from the second transmitter 32. It means a two-way reception state in which the mobile terminal 90 receives both the signal from the first transmitter 30 and the timing at which the mobile terminal 90 starts receiving the signal from the first transmitter 30, is not necessarily required to coincide with the timing of starting reception of .

At this time, the mobile terminal 90 (or the management server 50) determines that the user has actually started using the bicycle 12 (rented out).

Subsequently, the user inputs a lending request to the mobile terminal 90 within a first time limit of, for example, five minutes from the usage start time.

In response to the lending request, the management server 50 permits lending of the bicycle 12 by the user. That time is the start time of the actual rental time, but in principle, billing to the user starts at 15:00, which is the scheduled rental time. Specifically, from the scheduled rental time, the total rental time that is referenced to calculate the final rental fee for the user is counted.

After that, the user leaves the rental station 20 while riding the bicycle 12. At that time, the portable terminal 90 leaves the first effective reception area, so that the first transmitter 30 cannot be effectively received ( The station recognition reception signal falls).

On the other hand, as long as the user is riding the bicycle 12, the portable terminal 90 effectively receives the second transmitter 32, so the received signal for bicycle recognition is maintained at a high level.

2) Return processing

Since the user entered a station (return station) 20 that is the same as or different from the current rental station 20 at 17:30 on the same day in order to return the bicycle 12 in use, the portable terminal 90 has entered the first effective reception area, the station recognition reception signal rises. Since the user has been riding the bicycle 12 since then, the portable terminal 90 is in a state of continuously receiving the second transmitter 32 effectively.

As a result, at the time of 17:30, the portable terminal 90 transitions to a state in which signals are being received simultaneously from the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 (both reception state). That is, the portable terminal 90 transitions from the non-simultaneous reception state in which signals are effectively received only from the second transmitter 32 to the simultaneous reception state in which signals are received from both transmitters 30 and 32 .

At this time, the mobile terminal 90 (or the management server 50) determines that the user has actually finished using the bicycle 12.

Subsequently, the user inputs a return request to the portable terminal 90 within a second time limit of, for example, 5 minutes from the end time of use.

In response to the return request, management server 50 allows the user to return bicycle 12 . That time is the end time of the actual rental time, but in principle, the billing to the user continues until 18:00, which is the scheduled return time. Specifically, the counting of the total rental time ends at the scheduled return time.

After that, assuming that the mobile terminal 90 has left the second effective reception area because the user got off the bicycle 12, the mobile terminal 90 transitions to a state in which the second transmitter 32 cannot be effectively received, and the bicycle recognition terminal 90 is disabled. Received signal falls. This received signal for bicycle recognition is maintained at a low level since the user has not ridden the current bicycle 12 since then.

Subsequently, assuming that the mobile terminal 90 has left the first effective reception area because the user moved away from the bicycle 12 and exited the current return station 20, the mobile terminal 90 activates the second transmitter 32. (The station recognition reception signal falls).

When the management server 50 finishes calculating the rental fee based on the length of the total rental time, the user electronically settles the rental fee via the portable terminal 90 .

<Outline of the main sequence when there is no reservation>

FIG. 13(b) shows an outline of the main sequence, taking as an example the case where the user enters any station 20, selects any bicycle 12 within that station 20, and starts the rental service. Illustrated in several time charts. These time charts are basically the same as those shown in FIG. 13(a) except for billing processing and the like, so common elements will be briefly described.

1) Loan processing

First, the user entered one of the stations (rental stations) 20 at 15:30 on a certain day to rent one of the bicycles 12, and the portable terminal 90 entered the first effective reception area. , the mobile terminal 90 begins to effectively receive the first transmitter 30 .

Next, the user approaches one of the bicycles 12 and holds the mobile terminal 90 over the second transmitter 32 installed on the bicycle 12, so that the mobile terminal 90 enters the second effective reception area. , the mobile terminal 90 begins to effectively receive the second transmitter 32 .

As a result, at the time of 15:30, the portable terminal 90 transitions to a state in which signals are being received simultaneously from the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 (both reception state).

At this time, the mobile terminal 90 (or the management server 50) determines that the user has actually started using the bicycle 12 (rented out).

Subsequently, the user inputs a lending request to the portable terminal 90 within the first time limit from the usage start time.

In response to the lending request, the management server 50 permits lending of the bicycle 12 by the user. That time is the start time of the actual rental time, and in this example, charging to the user starts at 15:30, which is the actual rental time. Specifically, counting of the total rental time is started from the actual rental time.

After that, the user leaves the rental station 20 while riding the bicycle 12. At that time, the mobile terminal 90 leaves the first effective reception area, so that the first transmitter 30 cannot be effectively received.

On the other hand, as long as the user is riding the bicycle 12, the portable terminal 90 effectively receives the second transmitter 32, so the received signal for bicycle recognition is maintained at a high level.

2) Return processing

Since the user entered a station (return station) 20 that is the same as or different from the current rental station 20 at 17:30 on the same day in order to return the bicycle 12 in use, the portable terminal 90 has entered the first effective reception area, the station recognition reception signal rises. Since the user has been riding the bicycle 12 since then, the portable terminal 90 is in a state of continuously receiving the second transmitter 32 effectively.

As a result, at the time of 17:30, the portable terminal 90 transitions to a state in which signals are being received simultaneously from the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 (both reception state).

At this time, the mobile terminal 90 (or the management server 50) determines that the user has actually finished using the bicycle 12.

Subsequently, the user inputs a return request to the portable terminal 90 within the second time limit from the end time of use.

In response to the return request, management server 50 allows the user to return bicycle 12 . That time is the end time of the actual rental time, and billing to the user continues until 17:30, which is the actual return time. Specifically, the counting of the total rental time ends at the actual return time.

After that, assuming that the mobile terminal 90 has left the second effective reception area because the user got off the bicycle 12, the mobile terminal 90 transitions to a state in which the second transmitter 32 cannot be effectively received, and the bicycle recognition terminal 90 is disabled. Received signal falls. This received signal for bicycle recognition is maintained at a low level since the user has not ridden the current bicycle 12 since then.

Subsequently, assuming that the mobile terminal 90 has left the first effective reception area because the user moved away from the bicycle 12 and exited the current return station 20, the mobile terminal 90 activates the second transmitter 32. transition to a state in which reception is not possible.

When the management server 50 finishes calculating the rental fee based on the length of the total rental time, the user electronically settles the rental fee via the portable terminal 90 .

<Reservation sequence>

In FIG. 14, the user connects the mobile terminal 90 to the management server 90 at a place away from the station 20 to be reserved (for example, at home as shown in FIG. 1), and selects one of the bicycles within the station 20. An example of communication between the mobile terminal 90 and the remotely located management server 50 in order to reserve 12 is represented by a sequence flow in chronological order.

When the user activates the bicycle rental program (already downloaded from the management server 50 and installed in the memory 132 of the mobile terminal 90) in the mobile terminal 90, the user can select multiple modes and multiple requests. A plurality of buttons (display objects selectable by the user) to be operated for emitting are displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal 90 .

Multiple modes and multiple requests include:

1) Reservation mode

Execution mode selected by user for reserving station 20 and bike 12

2) Lending processing mode when there is a reservation

Execution mode selected by the user to activate the rental with reservation processing module to rent a bicycle 12 at station 20 with a reservation.

3) Lending processing mode without reservation

An execution mode selected by the user to activate the no-reservation processing module to rent a bicycle 12 at station 20 without a reservation.

4) Return processing mode

an execution mode selected by the user to activate the return processing module to return the bicycle 12 to the station 20;

5) Lending request

A request issued by a user for permission to lend the bicycle 12 to the user after activation of the rental processing module with reservation or the rental processing module without reservation

6) Return request

A request issued by the user for permission to return the bicycle 12 from the user after the return processing module is activated.

This time, when the user selects a button labeled "reservation mode", the reservation module of the bicycle rental program for the mobile terminal 90 is executed by the processor 130 of the mobile terminal 90 and the bicycle for the management server 50 is displayed. The reservation module of the rental program is executed by processor 160 of management server 50 .

When the reservation module for the mobile terminal 90 is executed by the processor 130 of the mobile terminal 90, first, in step 101, the mobile terminal 90 detects the user's current position ( longitude and latitude) are measured.

Next, in step S102, the measured current position of the user is used as a reference position (position (longitude and latitude) of the display reference point) referenced by the processor 130 to display the map on the screen 135 of the display unit 136. It is said that Further, of the overall map, a portion having a size that can be displayed in the window on the screen 135 at one time and in which the reference position exists is the display range of the map (that is, the window of the overall map). (the area displayed at each moment in the window).

As illustrated in FIG. 15(a), when the user moves on the ground with time, the reference position 202 (indicated by a black triangle in the figure) also moves with time so as to follow it. As a result, as the user moves, the display range of the map also moves over time on the entire map, and the map image displayed in the window also changes over time.

Subsequently, in step S103, a login request (an example of a "service start signal") for logging into the management server 50 is sent to the management server 50 together with the user ID and password for identifying the current user.

In contrast, when the reservation module for the management server 50 is executed by the processor 160 of the management server 50, the management server 50 receives said login request with the user ID and password in step S201, followed by step In S202, station data about the plurality of stations 20 (see FIG. 8 for the plurality of components of the station data) and bicycle data about the plurality of bicycles 12 belonging to those stations 20 (the plurality of bicycle data 9 for the components) and the reservation status table (see FIG. 12(a)) in the memory 162 of the management server 50 (or another memory).

Thereafter, in step S203, the retrieved station data, bicycle data and reservation status table are transmitted to the portable terminal 90. FIG.

On the other hand, the portable terminal 90 receives the station data, bicycle data and reservation status table in step S104. The received station data is stored in the station data memory 163 shown in FIG. 7, and as a result the table shown in FIG. 8 is constructed. Received bicycle data is stored in the bicycle data memory 165 shown in FIG. 7, and as a result, the table shown in FIG. 9 is constructed. The received reservation status table (see FIG. 12( a )) is stored in the reservation status table memory 167 .

Subsequently, in step S105, based on the stored station data, a small number of candidate stations among the plurality of stations 20 located near the current position are displayed on the map displayed on the screen 135. 20 is overlaid.

In step 105, all of the plurality of stations 20 represented by the received plurality of station data (all stations 20 stored in memory 162 of management server 50) are displayed on screen 135. Do not mean. Only a smaller number of stations 20 than the number of stations 20 are displayed on screen 135, as determined by the user's current location and the size of screen 135. FIG. That is, the plurality of stations 20 received from the management server 50 are further narrowed down to a small number of candidate stations 20 according to the user's current position and the size of the screen 135 .

In one example, as shown in FIG. 15(a), the user's current position is overlaid on the map displayed on the screen 135 using a black triangle 202, and a plurality of candidate stations 20 are displayed. It is overlaid using a plurality of station display icons 204 . In this example, the three station display icons 204 are configured as figures in which alphabetical letters "A", "B" and "C" are enclosed in a rectangular frame.

In this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, the part of the system 10 that executes step S105 constitutes an example of the "candidate station display unit" and an example of the "candidate station display process" in the above item (8). It is possible to think that there is

Note that the same as step S105 is the return processing sequence flow that will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. , for example, considering the distance from the user's current position, the distance from the user's nearest station, and the like.

Subsequently, in step S106, the user selects one of the candidate stations 20 as the current selected station 20 by touching the display position of one of the candidate stations 20 on the screen 135 with a finger.

Specifically, when the user touches the display position of one of the candidate stations 20 on the screen 135 with a finger, the touch position is detected by the touch screen of the display unit 136, and the touch position is displayed on the map, for example. Convert to map coordinate information (position information) that is the upper latitude and longitude (defined by the global coordinate system, which is an absolute coordinate system) or the corresponding XY coordinate information (defined by the device coordinate system, which is a relative coordinate system) be done. One of the candidate stations 20 is specified based on the map coordinate information.

After that, in step S107, the reservation status table is displayed on the screen 135 as illustrated in FIG. 15(b).

In this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, the portion of the system 10 that executes this step S107 constitutes an example of the "candidate rental object display unit" and an example of the "candidate rental object display step" in the above item (8). It is possible to think that

Subsequently, in step S108, as illustrated in FIG. 15C, the user inputs the identification information (for example, the name) of the station (rental station) 20 to be reserved and the identification information of the bicycle (rental bicycle) 12 to be reserved. (for example, number), rental date and time (scheduled), and return date and time (scheduled) are entered. Inputting the identification information of the bicycle 12 to be reserved by the user into the mobile terminal 90 is equivalent to performing an operation on the mobile terminal 90 for the user to select one of the bicycles 12 .

After that, in step S109, the mobile terminal 90 associates the input reservation contents with the user and transmits them to the management server 50 (together with the user ID, for example).

As a result, the identification information of the rental station 20 and the identification information of the rental bicycle 12 are paired (linked), the pair is associated with the current user's identification information, and the information is stored in the portable terminal. 90 to the management server 50 .

On the other hand, the management server 50 associates the reservation content with the user (for example, together with the user ID) and receives the reservation content in step S204. Subsequently, in step S205, the management server 50 registers the received reservation content in the file associated with the current user, among the plurality of user-specific reservation content files (see FIG. 12(b)). Furthermore, the reservation status table stored in the memory 162 is updated so as to reflect the received reservation contents.

After that, in step S206, the management server 50 transmits a message indicating that the reservation has been completed to the mobile terminal 90. FIG.

On the other hand, the portable terminal 90 displays the received message on the screen 135 or outputs it by voice. This display informs the user that his/her reservation has been established.

<Rental processing sequence with reservation>

In FIG. 16, the user enters the reserved station 20, then approaches the reserved bicycle 12, and locates at the station 20 in order to obtain permission to rent the bicycle 12. An example of communication between the first transmitter 30, the second transmitter 32 installed on the bicycle 12, the mobile terminal 90 of the user, and the management server 50 is shown in a sequence flow in chronological order. is represented by

Both the first and second transmitters 30 and 32 spontaneously and continuously transmit their own unique identification signals. If the user enters the reserved station 20, the mobile terminal 90 will be within the first effective reception area of the first transmitter 30 (see FIG. 6), so the mobile terminal 90 will 1 to effectively receive the identification signal from the transmitter 30; Eventually, when the user holds the mobile terminal 90 over the second transmitter 32 of the bicycle 12 that has been reserved, the mobile terminal 90 will be within the second effective reception area of the second transmitter 32 ( See Figure 6).

In this embodiment, regardless of whether or not there is a reservation, the reception range of the first effective reception area of the first transmitter 30 is the long range, while the reception range of the second effective reception area of the second transmitter 32 is the long range. is the short range. This setting is effective regardless of whether it is a lending process or a return process.

This time, the user selects a button "Rental processing mode with reservation" on the screen of the portable terminal 90 . In response to this, the portable terminal 90 executes a rental-with-reservation processing module for the portable terminal 90 . As a result of this execution, first, in step 151, the portable terminal 90 transmits a login request for logging into the management server 50 together with the user ID and password for identifying the current user to the management server 50. FIG.

On the other hand, when the rental with reservation processing module for the management server 50 is executed by the management server 50, the management server 50 receives the login request together with the user ID and password in step S251.

Subsequently, in step S252, the memory 162 is searched for those associated with the current user among the plurality of user-specific reservation content files. Further, in the retrieved user-by-user reservation content file, information regarding the reserved station 20 (rental station) among the plurality of stations 20 and the reserved bicycle 12 among the plurality of bicycles 12 at the station 20 (Rental bicycle) is retrieved as the current user reservation-related information.

Thereafter, in step S<b>253 , the retrieved current user reservation related information is transmitted to the mobile terminal 90 .

On the other hand, the mobile terminal 90 receives the current user reservation-related information in step S152. Subsequently, in step S153, in the current user reservation-related information, the transmitter code pre-assigned to the regular first transmitter 30 that should be installed in the reserved station 20 is changed to the regular first transmitter code. Along with being retrieved as the transmitter code, the transmitter code pre-assigned to the regular second transmitter 32 that should be installed on the reserved bicycle 12 is retrieved as the regular second transmitter code. . The legal first and second transmitter codes for the user are obtained.

Subsequently, in step S154, the mobile terminal 90 receives a signal from at least one of the at least one first transmitter 30 and the at least one second transmitter 32 present in the station 20 of this time.

On the other hand, as described above, when the mobile terminal 90 is currently located outside the first receivable area of the first transmitter 30, the mobile terminal 90 cannot receive the identification signal from the first transmitter 30 at all. On the other hand, when the mobile terminal 90 is currently located within the first coverage area of the first transmitter 30 , the mobile terminal 90 can receive the identification signal from the first transmitter 30 .

Further, even if the mobile terminal 90 receives the identification signal from the first transmitter 30, if there is a possibility that the mobile terminal 90 is currently located outside the first effective reception area of the first transmitter 30, the effective reception area may exist within.

Such circumstances apply to the second transmitter 32 as well.

The mobile terminal 90 is capable of receiving a plurality of signals from a plurality of transmitters simultaneously and in a mutually identifiable manner. Each transmitter emits a unique signal, for example, the source address (corresponding to the transmitter ID) in the header of each packet of that signal is different from that of other transmitters. Focusing on this fact, the mobile terminal 90 can individually handle a plurality of signals received at the same time.

Therefore, following step S154, in step S155, the mobile terminal 90
1) First valid reception determination as to whether or not the mobile terminal 90 has effectively received the identification signal from the first transmitter 30, that is, the measured value of the distance between the mobile terminal 90 and the first transmitter 30 is the first valid reception determination. Determining whether or not it is smaller than the effective reception radius (long range) of the reception area;
2) A second valid reception determination as to whether or not the mobile terminal 90 has effectively received the identification signal from the second transmitter 32, that is, the measured value of the distance between the mobile terminal 90 and the second transmitter 32 is the second valid reception determination. Determining whether or not it is smaller than the effective reception radius (short range) of the reception area;
3) Simultaneous reception determination as to whether mobile terminal 90 has received signals from first transmitter 30 and second transmitter 32 at the same time; It is determined whether or not the timing at which the first valid reception determination of the transmitter 32 is affirmed is substantially the same time.

The portable terminal 90 can refer to the already stored station data (FIG. 8) to determine which transmitter corresponds to the first transmitter 30 (station side transmitter), It is possible to determine which transmitter corresponds to the second transmitter 32 (bicycle-side transmitter) by referring to the bicycle data (FIG. 9) stored therein. Therefore, the portable terminal 90 applies the effective reception radius (for example, the long range) of the first effective reception area to determine which transmitter is effective reception, and applies the effective reception radius of the second effective reception area to which transmitter is determined to be effective reception. It can also be determined whether a reception radius (eg, the short range) is to be applied.

If any one of the first effective reception determination, the second effective reception determination, and the simultaneous reception determination is negative when step 155 is executed, the determination in step 155 becomes NO, and the process returns to step S154. On the other hand, if any one of the first effective reception determination, the second effective reception determination and the simultaneous reception determination is affirmative, the determination in step 155 becomes YES, and the process proceeds to step S156.

In step S156, the mobile terminal 90 demodulates the received identification signal, and in step S157, the mobile terminal 90 converts the transmitter ID represented by the demodulated identification signal into the real transmitter ID. decipher as Specifically, the mobile terminal 90 has a real first transmitter ID represented by the signal received from the first transmitter 30 and a real second transmitter ID represented by the signal received from the second transmitter 32. and get.

When the demodulated identification signal is a code represented by a multi-digit binary number, for example, the code is a conversion table prepared in advance (for example, downloaded in advance from the management server 50). is used to convert to a transmitter ID. However, in terms of usage, the difference between "code" and "ID" is irrelevant as long as the usage is identification.

Subsequently, in step S158, portable terminal 90 stores the thus decoded real first and second real transmitter IDs and the regular first and second real transmitter IDs acquired by executing step S153. It is determined whether or not they match each other. That is, ID collation is performed.

Here, the "real first transmitter ID" is the first transmitter actually installed in the station actually selected and visited by the user (the selected real first transmitter ID). 30, while the "authentic first transmitter ID" is virtually selected from among the plurality of stations 20 by the user operating the mobile terminal 90. It means the first transmitter ID corresponding to the first transmitter (selected virtual first transmitter) 30 that should be installed on the object.

Similarly, the “real second transmitter ID” is the second transmitter (selected real second transmitter) 32 that is actually installed on the bicycle that is actually selected by the user from among the plurality of bicycles 12 . On the other hand, the “regular second transmitter ID” is installed on one of the plurality of bicycles 12 that is virtually selected by the user operating the mobile terminal 90. means the transmitter ID corresponding to the second transmitter (selected virtual second transmitter) 32 that should have been transmitted.

After that, in step S159, the portable terminal 90 determines whether or not each real transmitter ID and each regular transmitter ID match each other, that is, whether or not the ID collation is successful.

If the ID collation is not successful, the determination in step S159 becomes NO, and then in step S160, the mobile terminal 90 sends the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter to the user again. A retry to detect machine 32 is prompted, for example, by displaying an appropriate message on screen 135 or by audible output. After that, the process returns to step S154.

On the other hand, if the ID collation is successful, the determination in step S159 becomes YES, and then in step S161, the portable terminal 90 detects whether the bicycle 12 before rental exists at the current station 20 at the current time. determined to be This determination is equivalent to determining that the user has started using the current bicycle 12 at the current station 20 (the bicycle has been lent out).

In one example, the determination in step S155 is NO until the user arrives at the current station 20 after activating the rental processing module, but has not yet arrived at the reserved bicycle 12 . When the user eventually arrives at the bicycle 12, the determination in step S155 transitions from NO to YES.

At this time, if the mobile terminal 90 has received the signal representing the regular second transmitter ID, the ID collation is successful, and the determination in step S159 becomes YES. Thereafter, in step S161, it is determined that the first transition has occurred for the first time at the current time.

Here, the timing at which the determination in step S159 becomes YES is the timing at which the portable terminal 90 transitions from a state in which it does not receive the regular second transmitter ID to a state in which it receives it ("reception for bicycle recognition in the example of FIG. 13A"). (which corresponds to the temporal position of the "rising edge" of the signal).

Thereafter, in step S162, it is determined whether or not the user has input a lending request to the mobile terminal 90 (for example, the user has operated the virtual button labeled "rental request"). If a lending request has been input, the determination in step S162 is YES.

Subsequently, in step S163, it is determined that the user has issued a lending request, and that the user has actually started using the reserved bicycle 12 at the currently reserved station 20. is associated with the user (for example, together with the user ID) and sent to the management server 50 .

On the other hand, in step S254, the management server 50 receives the information transmitted by the portable terminal 90 by executing step S163.

Then, in step S255, the clock 172 is used to measure the current time. Subsequently, in step S256, the current time is recognized as the actual rental time. Subsequently, in step S257, the lending of the bicycle 12 to the user this time is permitted.

Thereafter, in step S258, a billing start time is determined for the user. Billing, in principle, starts at the scheduled rental time, and the amount corresponding to the length of elapsed time (usage time, rental time, rental time) from the scheduled rental time is calculated as the rental amount.

A case has been described above in which the user normally issues a lending request immediately after the mobile terminal 90 effectively receives the two authorized transmitters 30 and 32 at the same time (the two-way reception state is established). If not, the determination in step S162 is NO, and then in step S164, it is determined whether or not the elapsed time from the execution time of step S161 is within the first time limit (for example, 5 minutes). be done.

If it is within the first time limit, the determination in step S164 becomes YES, and in step S165, inputting a lending request to the user can be done by, for example, displaying an appropriate message on the screen 135 or by voice. It is urged by being output or the like. Then, the process returns to step S162.

On the other hand, if the elapsed time from the execution time of step S161 currently exceeds the first time limit, the determination in step S164 becomes NO, and then in step S166, the user commits the first violation. It is determined that

Subsequently, in step S167, the management server 50 is notified that the user has committed the first violation this time. The content of the transmission is received by the management server 50 in step S254, and rental of the bicycle 12 is prohibited this time.

<Rental processing sequence without reservation>

In FIG. 17, the user enters any station 20 without a reservation, then approaches any bicycle 12 and asks for permission to rent the bicycle 12 at that station 20 . An example of the communication between the first transmitter 30 located at , the second transmitter 32 installed on the bicycle 12, the mobile terminal 90 of the user, and the management server 50 is shown in a chronological sequence.・It is represented by a flow. Since this flow has many elements in common with the flow shown in FIG. 16, only different elements will be described in detail.

This time, the user selects a button "Rental processing mode without reservation" on the screen of the mobile terminal 90 . In response to this, the mobile terminal 90 executes a no-reservation lending processing module for the mobile terminal 90 .

As a result of this execution, first, in step 201, a login request for logging into the management server 50 is sent to the management server 50 together with the user ID and password for identifying the current user, as in step S151 described above. be.

On the other hand, when the unreserved rental processing module for the management server 50 is executed by the management server 50, in step S271, the management server 50 sends the login request to the user ID and Received with password.

Subsequently, in step S272, the reservation status table (FIG. 12(a)) is searched in the memory 162. FIG. After that, in step S273, the searched reservation status table is transmitted to the mobile terminal 90. FIG.

On the other hand, the portable terminal 90 receives the reservation status table in step S202. Subsequently, the received reservation status table is displayed on the screen 135 in step S203.

Subsequently, in step S204, similarly to step S154 described above, the mobile terminal 90 selects at least one of the at least one first transmitter 30 and the at least one second transmitter 32 existing in the current station 20. receive a signal from

After that, in step S205, the mobile terminal 90 performs the first effective reception determination, the second effective reception determination, and the simultaneous reception determination in the same manner as in step S155 described above.

If the determination in step 205 is NO, the process returns to step S204, but if the determination in step 205 is YES, the process proceeds to step S206.

In step S206, the mobile terminal 90 demodulates the received identification signal in the same manner as in step S156, and then in step S207, the mobile terminal 90 demodulates the The real first transmitter ID of the first transmitter 30 and the real second transmitter ID of the second transmitter 32 are obtained from the received identification signal.

Subsequently, in step S208, the user selects the current station (rental station) 20 and the current bicycle (rental bicycle) 12 as a result of reception from the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32. , is displayed on the screen 135 together with the reservation status table. The user thereby confirms the station 20 and bicycle 12 that he has selected.

Furthermore, in this step S208, the user inputs the scheduled return time for the bicycle 12 this time to the portable terminal 90. FIG.

After that, in step S209, the portable terminal 90 extracts the individual reservation status corresponding to the current station 20 and the current bicycle 12 from the reservation status table, and the reserved time slot in the individual reservation status is It is determined whether or not there is overlap with the scheduled usage time period from the current actual rental time to the aforementioned scheduled return time, that is, whether or not there is a prior commitment.

If there is a previous commitment, the determination in step S209 is NO, and then in step S210, similar to step S160, the mobile terminal 90 again asks the user to call the first transmitter 30 and Prompts to retry to detect the second transmitter 32 . After that, the process returns to step S204.

On the other hand, if there is no previous commitment, the determination in step S209 becomes YES, and then in step S211, the portable terminal 90 indicates that the bicycle 12 before renting exists at the current station 20 at the current time. determine that there is This determination is equivalent to determining that the user has started using the current bicycle 12 at the current station 20 (the bicycle has been lent out).

Thereafter, in step S212, it is determined whether or not the user has input a lending request to the mobile terminal 90, as in step S162 described above. If a lending request has been input, the determination in step S212 is YES.

Subsequently, in step S213, in accordance with step S163 described above, the determination result that the user has actually started to use the current bicycle 12 at the current station 20 (the bicycle 12 has been lent out) is associated with the user. and sent to the management server 50 (together with the user ID, for example).

As a result, the identification information of the rental station 20 and the identification information of the rental bicycle 12 are paired (linked), the pair is associated with the current user's identification information, and the information is stored in the portable terminal. 90 to the management server 50 .

On the other hand, in step S274, the management server 50 receives the information transmitted by the portable terminal 90 by executing step S213, as in step S254.

Subsequently, in step S275, the current time is measured using the clock 172 in the same manner as in step S255 described above. Subsequently, in step S276, the current time is recognized as the actual rental time, as in step S256. Subsequently, in step S277, the lending of the bicycle 12 to the user this time is permitted in the same manner as in step S257 described above.

After that, in step S278, the billing start time is determined for each user in the same manner as in step S258. Subsequently, in step S279, the content of the rental this time, that is, the content including the identification information of the rental station 20, the identification information of the rental bicycle 12, the actual rental time, and the scheduled return time is sent to the plurality of user-specific reservations. Among the content files (see FIG. 12(b)), it is registered in the file associated with the current user.

Furthermore, in this step S278, the reservation status table stored in the memory 162 is updated so as to reflect the rental content of this time.

The case where the determination in step S212 is YES has been described above. It is determined whether it is in time.

If it is within the first time limit, the determination in step S214 becomes YES, and in step S215, the user is prompted to input a lending request, as in step S165. Then, the process returns to step S212.

On the other hand, if the elapsed time from the execution time of step S211 currently exceeds the first time limit, the determination in step S214 becomes NO, and then in step S216, as in step S166 described above, It is determined that the user has committed a first violation.

Subsequently, in step S217, similarly to step S167 described above, this time, the occurrence of the first violation by the user is transmitted to the management server 50. FIG. The content of the transmission is received by the management server 50 in step S254 described above in step S274, and rental of the bicycle 12 is prohibited this time.

<Return processing sequence>

In FIG. 18, the user is riding and driving the borrowed bicycle 12, or pushing the borrowed bicycle 12, at the same or another station (return station) as the rental station. 20, and then a first transmitter 30 located at the station 20 and a second transmitter 32 located on the bicycle 12, to obtain permission to return the bicycle 12. An example of communication performed between the user's mobile terminal 90 and the management server 50 in order to obtain permission to return the bicycle 12 that has been reserved is represented by a sequence flow in chronological order.

This time, the user selects a "return processing mode" button on the screen of the mobile terminal 90. FIG. In response to this, a return processing module for the mobile terminal 90 is executed by the mobile terminal 90 .

As a result of this execution, first, in step 300, a login request for logging into the management server 50 is sent to the management server 50 together with the user ID and password for identifying the current user, as in step S151 described above. be.

On the other hand, when the return processing module for the management server 50 is executed by the management server 50, the management server 50 receives the login request together with the user ID and password in step S400, as in step S251. do.

On the other hand, in step S302, the portable terminal 90 performs the first effective reception determination, the second effective reception determination, and the simultaneous reception determination in the same manner as in step S155.

If the determination in step 302 is NO, the process returns to step S301, but if the determination in step 302 is YES, the process proceeds to step S303.

In step S303, the mobile terminal 90 demodulates the received identification signal as in step S156. Subsequently, in step S304, the mobile terminal 90 demodulates the The real first transmitter ID of the first transmitter 30 and the real second transmitter ID of the second transmitter 32 are obtained from the received identification signal.

Subsequently, in step S305, the user selects the current station (return station) 20 and the current bicycle (returned bicycle) 12 as a result of reception from the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32. displayed on screen 135 . The user thereby confirms the station 20 and bicycle 12 that he has selected.

Further, in step S305, the portable terminal 90 determines that the returned bicycle (the bicycle that the user is about to return) 12 is present at the current station 20 at the current time. This determination is equivalent to determining that the user has finished using the current bicycle 12 (has returned it) at the current station 20 .

After that, in step S306, it is determined whether or not the user has input a return request to the portable terminal 90 (for example, the virtual button "return request" has been operated) in accordance with step S162 described above. If a return request has been input, the determination in step S306 is YES.

Subsequently, in step S307, in accordance with step S163 described above, the fact that the user has issued a return request and that the user has actually finished using the bicycle 12 this time at the station 20 this time (return has been performed) The determination result (identification information of the return station 20 this time and identification information of the bicycle 12 returned this time) is transmitted to the management server 50 in association with the user (for example, together with the user ID).

As a result, the identification information of the return station 20 and the identification information of the returned bicycle 12 are paired (linked), the pair is associated with the current user's identification information, and the information is stored in the portable terminal. 90 to the management server 50 .

On the other hand, in step S401, the management server 50 receives the information transmitted by the mobile terminal 90 by executing step S307, as in step S254.

Then, in step S402, the clock 172 is used to measure the current time. Subsequently, in step S403, the current time is recognized as the actual return time. Thereafter, in step S404, the user is permitted to return the bicycle 12 this time.

After that, in step S405, for each user, as described above, from the billing start time individually determined for each user to the billing end time (scheduled return time if reserved, actual return time if not reserved) Hours are calculated as total rental hours.

Subsequently, in step S406, according to a charge table (not shown), the current rental amount is calculated based on the length of the total rental time calculated above and the charge rate (increase rate).

After that, in step S407, the reservation status table is updated so that the rental information about the current bicycle 12 is deleted from the reservation status table. Subsequently, in step S408, information such as the calculated rental amount is transmitted to the portable terminal 90. FIG.

In response, the portable terminal 90 receives information such as the rental amount from the management server 50 in step S308, and then displays the rental amount on the screen in step S309. Thereafter, in step S310, electronic payment is made by the user.

Subsequently, the portable terminal 90 transmits a logout request for requesting logout from the management server 50 to the management server 50 in step S311.

In response, the management server 50 receives the logout request in step S409. Subsequently, in step S410, an acknowledgment signal ACK is sent to the mobile terminal 90 indicating that the logout request has been successfully received.

In response, the mobile terminal 90 receives the acknowledgment signal ACK from the management server 50 in step S312.

As described above, the case where the determination in step S306 is YES has been described. It is determined whether it is within

If it is within the second time limit, the determination in step S313 becomes YES, and in step S314, the user is prompted to input a return request according to step S165. Then, the process returns to step S306.

On the other hand, if the elapsed time from the execution time of step S305 currently exceeds the second time limit, the determination in step S313 becomes NO, and then in step S315, the user commits a second violation. It is determined that Subsequently, in step S316, the occurrence of the second violation by the user is transmitted to the management server 50. FIG.

As is clear from the above description, in the present embodiment, for convenience of explanation, steps S154 to S161 in FIG. 16, steps S203 to S211 in FIG. 17, steps S301 to S305 in FIG. It is possible to consider that the part that performs the determination constitutes an example of the "determination unit" and an example of the "determination step" in the above item (2).

16, S212, S213, S274 and S277 in FIG. 17, steps S306, S307 and S401 in FIG. It is possible to consider that the portion that executes S404 and the like constitutes an example of the “permitting unit” and an example of the “permitting step” in item (2) above.

Further, in the present embodiment, for convenience of explanation, the portion of the system 10 that executes steps S163 and S254 in FIG. 16, S213, S274 and S279 in FIG. 17, steps S307, S401 and S407 in FIG. It is possible to think that it constitutes an example of the “associating unit (pairing unit)” and an example of the “associating step (pairing step)” in the above item (6).

Further, in the present embodiment, for convenience of explanation, the portion of the system 10 that executes the program of FIG. It is possible to consider that the part that constitutes an example and executes the program in FIG. 20 constitutes an example of the "second abnormality determination unit" and an example of the "second abnormality determination step" .

<Second embodiment>

A system 10 according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 19-21. However, parts common to the bicycle rental system according to the first embodiment will be referred to using the same reference numerals and names to omit redundant explanations, and only different parts will be explained in detail.

In this embodiment, as in the first embodiment described above, a first transmitter that transmits a unique identification signal to each station 20 (an example of real estate) and each bicycle 12 (an example of movable property). 30 and a second transmitter 32 are respectively installed.

The position of the user is detected relative to two reference positions, the position of the first transmitter 30 and the position of the second transmitter 32 . The position of the first transmitter 30 is always fixed in absolute space and is time-invariant, whereas the position of the second transmitter 32 is not always fixed in absolute space and is time-variable, Therefore, it changes relative to the position of the first transmitter 30 .

Also, the position of the user changes relative to the position of the first transmitter 30 , and the change reflects the user's dynamic behavior such as entering/exiting or approaching/separating from the station 20 .

On the other hand, the position of the user changes relative to the position of the second transmitter 32 , and the change reflects the user's dynamic behavior such as getting on/off the bicycle 12 and approaching/separating from the bicycle 12 .

For example, during the rental period from when the bicycle 12 is lent to the user until when it is returned by the user, the bicycle 12 travels together with the user during the period when the user travels on the bicycle 12 . As a result, during the movement period, the temporal transition of the position of the user and the temporal transition of the position of the bicycle 12 are substantially synchronized with each other.

On the other hand, as shown in the received signal for bicycle recognition illustrated in FIG. 13(a), when the user approaches the bicycle 12 for the rental process but has not yet arrived, the user sends the second transmission The mobile terminal 90 cannot effectively receive the second transmitter 32 because it is away from the bicycle 32, but can effectively receive the second transmitter 32 when the user arrives at the bicycle 12 (for example, when the user gets on the bicycle). state, the reception state of the second transmitter 32, that is, the reception signal for bicycle recognition dynamically changes (in this case, the signal rises).

Further, as shown in the received signal for bicycle recognition illustrated in FIG. 13(a), when the user is riding or approaching the bicycle 12 for the return process, the user operates the second transmitter. 32, the mobile terminal 90 can effectively receive the second transmitter 32, but when getting off the bicycle 12, the mobile terminal 90 transitions to a state where the second transmitter 32 cannot be effectively received. The reception state of the second transmitter 32, that is, the reception signal for bicycle recognition dynamically changes (in this case, the signal falls).

Further, the characteristics of the standard dynamic behavior exhibited by the user when renting the bicycle 12 and when returning the bicycle 12 are known. It is known in advance that they differ from each other at times.

Therefore, by using the user's portable terminal 90 and paying attention to the relationship between the received signal for station recognition and the received signal for bicycle recognition, it is possible to estimate the actual behavior of the user. By combining with known dynamic behavior characteristics, it is possible to determine whether the user's dynamic behavior is normal.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 90 receives signals from the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 in a short-range communication method and synchronously with each other (so as to synchronize with each other with respect to each time). Based on the temporal change in the relationship between the first received signal (the received signal for station recognition) and the second received signal (the received signal for bicycle recognition), the behavior of each bicycle 12 relative to each station 20 is estimated. and further determines whether or not the estimated behavior is normal.

<Rental failure determination sequence>

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 21(a), during the rental processing period of the bicycle 12, the user and determination of the presence or absence of an abnormality in at least one of the behavior of the user, the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 is performed.

Specifically, if the behavior of the user and the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 are all normal, at the user's exit time, that is, at the timing of the fall of the received signal for station recognition, FIG. As indicated by the dashed line in a), the received signal for bicycle recognition should be at a high level. This is because, during the rental processing period, the user should be riding the bicycle 12 or at least be in the vicinity of the bicycle 12 when the user leaves the station 20. This is because the terminal 90 can effectively receive the second transmitter 32 .

Note that if the second effective reception area of the second transmitter 32 is set to the above-described short range even during the period after the rental process is completed, the period during which the user is riding the bicycle 12 is During the operation, if the user carries the mobile terminal 90 (for example, wears it on the body) but does not hold the mobile terminal 90 over the second transmitter 32, the mobile terminal 90 does not transmit the second transmitter during the driving period. 32 cannot be effectively received.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, when the lending process ends (for example, the user issues a lending request), the reception radius setting value of the second effective reception area of the second transmitter 32 is expanded. The receiving range of the second transmitter 32 is expanded from the short range to the aforementioned medium range (or long range).

As a result, when the lending process is completed, as long as the user is riding the bicycle 12, the mobile terminal 90 activates the second transmitter 32 without the need for the user to hold the mobile terminal 90 over the second transmitter 32. can receive.

It should be noted that when the return process is started after the lending process, the second effective reception area is restored to the short range. If the medium range is left as it is, the portable terminal 90 at the showtation 20 may effectively receive the second transmitter 32 of another bicycle 12 near the own bicycle 12 during the return process. to eliminate it.

If at least one of the user's behavior and the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 is abnormal, at the user's exit time, that is, at the timing of the fall of the received signal for station recognition, FIG. As indicated by the solid line in , the received signal for bicycle recognition becomes low level. If this phenomenon is detected, an abnormality should be detected.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing a sequence flow of abnormality determination at the time of rental for realizing the above-described signal processing. 11(a) is executed by the portable terminal 90 and the management server 50 executes the abnormality judgment module during rental shown in FIG. 11(b). be done. These rental abnormality determination modules are automatically started after the execution of the rental with reservation processing module or the rental processing without reservation processing module is completed.

As shown in FIG. 19, in the rental abnormality determination sequence flow, in step S501, the mobile terminal 90 stores the regular first transmitter ID corresponding to the current first transmitter 30 and the current transmitter ID in the memory 132. A regular second transmitter ID corresponding to the second transmitter 32 is retrieved. These transmitter IDs are stored in memory 132 by execution of the rental processing module.

Next, in step S502, the mobile terminal 90 is in a state where the reception range for the second transmitter 32 is expanded to the medium range (or long range) (at present, even if the reception range is maintained at the short range). ), the signal is effectively received from the first transmitter 30 and/or the second transmitter 32, and then, in step S503, the portable terminal 90 demodulates the received signal to perform Obtain a primary transmitter ID and/or a real secondary transmitter ID.

After that, in step S504, the mobile terminal 90 determines whether or not there is an acquired real first transmitter ID and/or real second transmitter ID that matches the regular first transmitter ID. determine whether

This time, assuming that there is an actual transmitter ID that matches the regular first transmitter ID, that is, assuming that the mobile terminal 90 has effectively received the current regular first transmitter 30, the determination in step S504 is YES. Thus, in step S505, the flag (stored in the memory 132) that is turned ON when the valid first transmitter 30 is received is turned ON. After that, the process returns to step S502.

Assuming that the real transmitter ID matching the regular first transmitter ID does not exist before long, that is, assuming that the portable terminal 90 no longer effectively receives the current regular first transmitter 30, the determination in step S504 is made. becomes NO. At this time, the trailing edge of the received signal for station recognition appears.

In this case, when it is determined in step S506 whether or not the flag is ON, the determination is YES this time. Subsequently, in step S507, it is determined that it is now time to leave.

Subsequently, in step S508, the portable terminal 90 receives a valid signal from the first transmitter 30 and/or the second transmitter 32 while the reception range of the second transmitter 32 is medium range (or long range). Then, in step S509, the mobile terminal 90 demodulates the received signal to acquire the real first transmitter ID and/or the real second transmitter ID.

After that, in step S510, the mobile terminal 90 determines whether or not there is an acquired real first transmitter ID and/or real second transmitter ID that matches the regular second transmitter ID. determine whether

This time, assuming that there is an actual transmitter ID that matches the regular second transmitter ID, that is, assuming that the mobile terminal 90 has effectively received the current regular second transmitter 32, the determination in step S510 is YES. Thus, in step S511, it is determined that the behavior of the user, the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 are normal. Subsequently, the determination result is transmitted to the management server 50 in step S512. The management server 50 receives the determination result in step S601.

On the other hand, this time, assuming that there is no real transmitter ID that matches the regular second transmitter ID, that is, assuming that the mobile terminal 90 did not effectively receive the current regular second transmitter 32, step The determination in S510 is NO, and in step S513, it is determined that at least one of the user's behavior, the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 is abnormal. Subsequently, the determination result is transmitted to the management server 50 in step S512. The management server 50 receives the determination result in step S601.

<Abnormality determination sequence when returning>

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 21(b), during the return processing period of the bicycle 12, the user and determination of the presence or absence of an abnormality in at least one of the behavior of the user, the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 is performed.

More specifically, if the behavior of the user and the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 are all normal, at the user's exit time, that is, at the timing of the fall of the received signal for station recognition, FIG. As indicated by the dashed line in (b), the received signal for bicycle recognition should be low level. This is because, during the return processing period, the user should not be riding the bicycle 12, or at least should not be in the vicinity of the bicycle 12, when the user leaves the station 20. This is because the mobile terminal 90 cannot effectively receive the second transmitter 32 .

On the other hand, if the behavior of the user and at least one of the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 are abnormal, the As indicated by the solid line in 21(b), the received signal for bicycle recognition becomes high level. If this phenomenon is detected, an abnormality can be detected.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart showing a sequence flow for determining abnormality upon return for realizing the above-described signal processing. The return failure determination sequence flow is achieved by executing the return failure determination module shown in FIG. 11(a) by the mobile terminal 90 and executing the return failure determination module shown in FIG. be done. These return failure determination modules are automatically activated after the return processing module with reservation or the return processing module without reservation is completed.

As shown in FIG. 20, in the return abnormality determination sequence flow, steps S701 to S709 are executed in the same manner as steps S501 to S509 described above.

After that, in step S710, the portable terminal 90 determines whether or not there is an acquired real first transmitter ID and/or real second transmitter ID that matches the regular second transmitter ID. determine whether

Assuming that there is no actual transmitter ID that matches the authorized second transmitter ID this time, that is, that the mobile terminal 90 did not effectively receive the authorized second transmitter 32 this time, the determination in step S710 is YES is determined, and in step S711, it is determined that both the user's behavior and the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 are normal. Subsequently, the determination result is transmitted to the management server 50 in step S712. The management server 50 receives the determination result in step S801.

On the other hand, this time, assuming that there is an actual transmitter ID that matches the regular second transmitter ID, that is, assuming that the mobile terminal 90 has effectively received the current regular second transmitter 32, step S710 is performed. is NO, and in step S713, it is determined that at least one of the behavior of the user, the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 is abnormal (for example, the user has run away from riding the bicycle 12). be. Subsequently, the determination result is transmitted to the management server 50 in step S712. The management server 50 receives the determination result in step S801.

<Effects of the embodiment of the present invention>

According to the embodiments described above, the following effects can be obtained.

1) The effect of improving the security of data used in the mobile terminal 90 in connection with the bicycle rental service.

Since the transmitters 30 and 32 are used instead of bar codes as described above, the data represented by the signals received from the transmitters 30 and 32 and used in the portable terminal 90 are available to the user. cannot be easily tampered with.

Thus, according to some of the embodiments described above, the security of data used in mobile terminal 90 is improved.

2) The user can return the bicycle to a station other than the one from which it was rented, which improves convenience for the user.

As long as the mobile terminal 90 does not receive the signals from the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 at the same time (the two-way receiving state is not established and detected), the system 10 does not lend or return the bicycle 12 to the user. is not allowed. Therefore, the combination of the station 20 and the bicycle 12 that is recognized by the mobile terminal 90 (and thus recognized by the management server 50) cannot be easily tampered with by the user.

Therefore, the security of the data representing the combination of the station 20 and the rental bicycle 12, which is used in the mobile terminal 90, is improved. As a result, even if the actual combination of the station 20 and the bicycle 12 differs between the time of rental and the time of return, it is not due to user tampering, but rather that the user leaves the bicycle at a different station than the rental station. Even if the fact that the item has been returned occurs, the management center 40 does not have to doubt the truth.

As a result, the user can return the bicycle to a station other than the station where the bicycle was rented, thereby improving convenience for the user.

3) The effect of facilitating the prevention of unplanned actions by the user, such as returning the bicycle 12 to an unplanned location such as outside the premises of the station 20 and leaving it there.

As described above, the system 10 does not receive the signals from the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 at the same time on the mobile terminal 90 (both reception conditions are not established and are not detected). It is designed so that 12 lending and returning are not allowed.

Furthermore, in the system 10, the effective reception radius of the second transmitter 32 of each bicycle 12 is set to be shorter than the effective reception radius of the first transmitter 30. The reception radius is set so that the mobile terminal 90 cannot effectively receive the second transmitter 32 unless the user brings the mobile terminal 90 close to the second transmitter 32 and holds it over or touches it, or unless the user is riding the bicycle 12. It is

Therefore, when the user is present together with the bicycle 12 at a certain position outside the effective reception area of the first transmitter 30, the portable terminal 90 receives the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 at the same time ( The possibility that the two-way reception state is established and detected) is reduced.

Therefore, the user's unplanned behavior such as returning the bicycle 12 to an unplanned location such as outside the effective reception area of the first transmitter 30 or outside the boundary line of the station 20 and leaving it there is prevented. It is easy to prevent.

The several embodiments described above can be implemented with various modifications.

<First modification>

For example, in the above-described second embodiment, the receiving range of the second transmitter 32 is the short range at the start of the lending process, and the medium range after the lending process is completed in order to determine abnormality at the time of lending. , When the return process starts, the range becomes the short range, and when the return process ends, the range becomes the medium range due to the abnormality judgment at the time of return, and when it ends, the range is restored to the short range. variably controlled accordingly.

In the present embodiment, for convenience of explanation, it can be considered that the portion of the system 10 that performs this variable control constitutes an example of the "control section" and an example of the "control process" in the above item (4). .

On the other hand, in a modified example, when renting and returning the bicycle 12 with a reservation, prior to renting and returning the bicycle 12, the authorized second transmitter 32 and, in turn, the authorized second transmitter ID is known, even if the portable terminal 90 simultaneously receives a plurality of the second transmitters 32 (a state of both reception is established) because the reception range of the second transmitter 32 is a medium range, Of the second transmitters 32, it is possible to perform filtering processing such that only those transmitting a signal representing the regular second transmitter ID are selected as regular second transmitters, and other transmitters are excluded. is.

Therefore, when renting and returning the bicycle 12 with a reservation, the reception range of the second transmitter 32 may be maintained continuously at the medium range.

<Second Modification>

In the first and second embodiments described above, in the lending process, while the mobile terminal 90 is effectively receiving the first transmitter 30 (the user is inside the station 20), the second transmitter It is determined that use of the bicycle 12 has started at the timing when the bicycle recognition reception signal for the device 32 rises (for example, at the timing when the user gets on the bicycle 12).

On the other hand, in a modified example, while the mobile terminal 90 is effectively receiving the second transmitter 32 (for example, the user is riding the bicycle 12), the first transmitter 30 is It may be determined that use of the bicycle 12 has started at the timing when the station recognition reception signal falls (for example, at the timing when the user leaves the station 20).

<Third Modification>

In the first and second embodiments described above, in the return process, the second transmission is performed while the mobile terminal 90 is effectively receiving the first transmitter 30 (the user is present in the station 20). It is determined that use of the bicycle 12 is finished at the timing when the bicycle recognition reception signal for the device 32 falls (timing when the user gets off the bicycle 12).

On the other hand, in a modified example, after the bicycle recognition reception signal for the second transmitter 32 falls (for example, after the user gets off the bicycle 12), the station for the first transmitter 30 It may be determined that use of the bicycle 12 has ended at the timing when the reception signal for recognition falls (when the user leaves the station 20).

<Fourth Modification>

Before the user returns the bicycle 12, a station having a vacant space is selected as a candidate station from a plurality of stations 20 located near the user's current position, and the selected candidate station 20 is displayed on the screen of the portable terminal 90. 135 may be displayed.

At that time, when the user returns to a station 20 with a large number of vacant spaces, more points are given to the user than when returning to a station 20 with a small number of vacant spaces. Returned bicycles 12 are distributed to a plurality of stations 20 by an optimum method, and as a result, stations 20 with more than the number of bicycles 12 that can be accommodated are concentrated, or stations 20 with no free bicycles 12 are generated. It becomes easy to prevent

<Fifth Modification>

In some of the embodiments described above, a pair of the identification information of the station 20 as an example of real property selected by the user and the identification information of the bicycle 12 as an example of the personal property selected by the user, that is, the user The pair of the station 20 and the bicycle 12 installed with the first transmitter 30 and the second transmitter 32 respectively received together by the mobile terminal 90 of the is associated with the user ID as identification information of the user, thereby , whose user behavior is monitored over time.

On the other hand, another example of user identification information used for the same purpose is the telephone number of mobile terminal 90, an e-mail address, a unique device address such as a MAC address, and the like.

It should be noted that the several embodiments described above can be implemented with various changes added. , or conversely, the portable terminal 90 can be improved to perform at least part of the data processing that is the same as the data processing by the management server 50 .

As described above, several embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. It is possible to carry out the present invention in other forms with various modifications and improvements.

Claims (9)

An object management system that manages the rental and return of movable objects assigned to stations that are real estate,
a first near field communication means installed at said station for emitting a unique first signal towards a user's wireless communication device;
a second short-range communication means installed on the object and emitting a unique second signal toward a user's wireless communication device;
a management server communicable with a user's wireless communication device;
The wireless communication device and/or the management server receives the first wireless communication device from the first short-range communication means and the second short-range communication means, respectively, by a short-range communication method and synchronously with each other. User behavior abnormality determination for determining whether or not a user's dynamic behavior relative to the station and/or the object is abnormal based on temporal changes in the relationship between the signal levels of the first signal and the second signal. object management system including When the wireless communication device is in a dual reception state in which the first signal and the second signal are effectively received from both the first short-range communication means and the second short-range communication means, respectively, the user is instructed to: urging to input a predetermined request, and when the predetermined request is input by the user, transmitting the predetermined request to the management server;
Each station is managed so that the object can be lent to and returned from the user,
2. The object management system according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined request includes at least one of a lending request and a return request. The user behavior abnormality determination unit determines that when the use of the object is started, the wireless communication device effectively receives the first signal because the user left the station after entering the station. A first anomaly for estimating that a user's behavior is abnormal when said wireless communication device is in a state where said second signal is not effectively received when said wireless communication device is in a state where said second signal is not effectively received when transitioning from said effective reception state to said ineffective reception state. 3. The object management system according to claim 1, comprising an estimator. The user behavior abnormality determination unit determines that when the use of the object is finished, the wireless communication device effectively receives the first signal because the user left the station after entering the station. A second abnormality for estimating that the user's behavior is abnormal if the wireless communication device is in a state of effectively receiving the second signal when transitioning from the effective reception state to the non-effective reception state in which reception is not performed. 4. The object management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising an estimation unit. The user behavior abnormality determination unit determines that the state in which the wireless communication device receives the first signal is valid because the user has left the station after entering the station at the end of use of the vehicle as the object. When the wireless communication device is in a state of effectively receiving the second signal when the wireless communication device is in a state of effectively receiving the second signal when the wireless communication device transitions from an effective reception state in which the signal is received to a non-effective reception state, it is estimated that the user has run away from the vehicle. 5. The object management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a third anomaly estimator that 5. The object management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the object includes a movable object that moves with the user. 7. The object management system of claim 6, wherein the moving object includes a bicycle, automobile, motorcycle, recreational or racing go-kart, shopping cart, stroller, pushcart, wheelchair or golf cart. 8. A program for causing a computer to function as the wireless communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which includes the user behavior abnormality determination unit. 8. A program for causing a computer to function as a management server according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which includes the user behavior abnormality determination unit.

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