JPH11259709A - Battery renting method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the deviation in the number of times of using batterys and to improve the convenience to users by renting a battery in order from among the vatteries that have been fully charged. SOLUTION: A battery number registered on the leading record of a sequential file is extracted and the existence absence of fully charged one is discriminated. When it is discriminated that a battery of fully charged one does not exist, the battery number whose the charging voltage value shows a value that is the closest to the fully charging from a battery information table is extracted. Whether or not the charging voltage value of the extracted battery number is a defined amount or more is discriminated and the extracted battery number is outputted to a battery box controlling part 108. Then, as the renting procedure of a battery 26 by a battery selecting means 210, the battery is rented in order from the battery fully charged and also full charged in the earliest and when the battery 26 fully charged does not exist any more, the battery is rented in order from the battery which is the closest to the sully charged out among the remaining batteries 26.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery lending method for leasing at least a battery of an article operated by using a battery, and is suitable for use in a vehicle rental system for renting a vehicle having a detachable battery. Battery lending method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are many systems for renting vehicles such as bicycles and automobiles. For example, in a car rental system, it is common for a user to write necessary items in a document at a rental company, receive a key, rent a desired car, use it for a predetermined time, and then return it to the rental company. . In this case, the rental contract, the key transfer process, and the settlement process at the time of return are considerably complicated for the user and the worker of the rental company.

[0003] The present applicant has developed a vehicle rental system having a detachable battery for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems (Japanese Patent Application No. 9-1195).
No. 43). In this system, an ID card is issued to a specific user, the user borrows the key and battery of the vehicle using the ID card, and then uses the ID card to settle the usage fee when returning the vehicle. It can be carried out.

[0004]

When a battery is used, for example, it is conceivable that a fully charged battery is arbitrarily selected by a user and loaded into the previously selected electric vehicle for use. Can be In this case, it is desirable to prepare more batteries than the number of electric vehicles in order to sufficiently supply the batteries to the electric vehicles.

[0005] Further, when only a specific battery is selected, the battery has a life with respect to the number of times of charging and the like, so that the life of many prepared batteries may be biased.

[0006] If there is no fully charged battery, the battery cannot be rented out, which may cause inconvenience to the user.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems. For many batteries, the life of the batteries is not deviated, maintenance can be performed on the batteries at almost the same time, and the battery can be fully charged. It is an object of the present invention to provide a battery lending method that can lend a battery even when no battery is present and that can improve convenience for a user.

[0008]

According to the present invention, in a battery lending method for lending at least the battery of an article operated using the battery, the batteries are leased in a fully charged order. In this case, among the charged batteries, the batteries are lent out in order from the completed one, so that it is possible to eliminate a bias in the number of times the batteries are used.

Further, in the above method, when there are a plurality of fully charged batteries, the batteries may be lent from a battery with a small number of times of charging. In this case, there is no unevenness in the life of a large number of batteries, and maintenance can be performed on the batteries at about the same time.

Further, in the above method, when there is no fully charged battery, the battery may be lent from a battery whose charging voltage is close to full charge. In this case, the battery can be lent out even if there is no fully charged battery, and the convenience for the user can be improved.

Further, in the above method, the battery whose charging voltage is equal to or less than a prescribed amount may not be rented out. Thus, it is possible to prevent the use of the article from being hindered due to insufficient charging. The prescribed amount is preferably, for example, a charging voltage of 80% of the full charge.

In the method, the article may be lent together with the battery. Users who do not have the goods can easily rent the goods,
Moreover, since the lending of the batteries is performed in the order described above, the convenience for the user is further improved, and it is possible to contribute to the spread of the rental system. In particular, when the article is a vehicle equipped with a detachable battery,
For example, it is suitable for a case where a user uses a vehicle to perform sightseeing in a sightseeing spot, and the utilization rate of the user to a vehicle rental system can be improved.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a battery lending method according to the present invention is applied to, for example, a vehicle rental system having a detachable battery (hereinafter simply referred to as a battery lending method according to the embodiment). Will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, a rental system to which the battery lending method according to the present embodiment is applied will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rental system includes a system management device 10 for managing the entire system.
A lending / return processing device 14 connected to the system management device 10 via a communication line 12 for selecting a rentable vehicle, lending a key, and performing a return process for these, and a vicinity of the lending / return processing device 14 A bicycle parking lot (parking lot) 16 arranged and securing a plurality of vehicles;
And a plurality of battery supply devices 18A to 18D for supplying a battery to the vehicle.

FIG. 2 shows an electric motorcycle 20 which is an example of a vehicle rented by the rental system. The electric motorcycle 20 includes an auxiliary driving unit 24 that assists the driving force of the pedal 22 and a battery 26 that supplies power to the auxiliary driving unit 24. The battery 26 is removably stored in a battery case 30 mounted on a front portion of a handle 28. The battery case 30 has a lid 34 provided with a lock mechanism 32 for preventing the stored battery 26 from being stolen.

The rear wheel 36 is provided with a circle lock 38 for preventing the theft of the electric motorcycle 20 at an arbitrary parking place. Further, the electric motorcycle 20 includes
A tag 19 holding unique information for identification is provided. Note that the lock mechanism 32 of the battery 26 and the rear wheel 3
The sixth circle lock 38 can be unlocked with the same key 39.

The system management device 10 is a management computer 4 for managing user information and managing the entire system.
0 and an ID card 42 such as an IC card in which personal information of a user who can use the rental system is recorded.
And an ID card issuing machine 44 for issuing an ID card.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lending / returning processor 14 reads and writes information recorded on the ID card 42, an ID card read / write unit 46, and a key 39 of the selected electric motorcycle 20. The casing 51 includes a plurality of key take-out sections 48a to 48e for taking out the vehicle and a touch panel display 50 that performs a lending / returning process of the electric motorcycle 20 and also functions as an arrangement instruction means for instructing an arrangement of the selected electric motorcycle 20. Prepare in front of The key take-out portions 48a to 48e are provided with solenoids 52a to 52e.
Door 54 locked or unlocked by 52e
a to 54e, and an upper portion of each of the doors 54a to 54e has an L indicating the accommodation area of the key 39 of the selected electric motorcycle 20.
EDs 56a to 56e are provided.

FIG. 4 shows the inside of the lending / returning device 14.
As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of key boxes 60a to 60d supported by a connecting member 58 so as to be swingable are housed. These key boxes 60a to 60d are provided corresponding to the key take-out sections 48a to 48e, respectively. Therefore,
In this example, 20 key boxes 60 a to 60 d are accommodated in the lending / returning processing device 14. Connecting member 5
Reference numeral 8 denotes a position sensor 6 provided in the lending / returning processing device 14 so as to be rotatable in both directions (see arrows) by a motor 62 constituting a moving mechanism.
4 is detected. In each of the key extraction units 48a to 48e, a key box 60 is provided.
a to 60d, the corresponding key take-out portions 48a
The key boxes closest to .about.48e move to the corresponding key take-out sections 48a to 48e, respectively, thereby improving the efficiency of the movement drive.

The battery supply devices 18A to 18D are shown in FIG.
The key information reading unit 6 reads key-specific information embedded in the key 39 as a tag 41 (see FIG. 7).
6 and a plurality of battery boxes 6 arranged thereunder
8a to 68j are provided on the front surface of the casing 70. As shown in FIG. 6, the battery boxes 68a to 68j are accommodated in the casing 70 such that the batteries 26 face obliquely upward.

In the battery boxes 68a to 68j,
A solenoid 72 for locking or unlocking the stored battery 26;
6 and a battery detection sensor 74 for detecting
And a charger 76 for charging the battery. Further, an LED 78 for indicating an available battery 26 is provided above each of the battery boxes 68a to 68j.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bicycle parking lot 16 secures a plurality of electric motorcycles 20 arranged radially, and a plurality of bicycle parking booths (parking booths) 80A in which battery supply devices 18A to 18D are respectively arranged. ~ 80D. The bicycle parking booths 80A to 80D are surrounded by a fence 82. The fence 82 has an entrance 84 and an exit 86, and the lending / returning device 14 is arranged outside the entrance 84.

For the number of electric motorcycles 20 secured in the bicycle parking booths 80A to 80D, the battery supply device 18A
The number of batteries 26 stored in .about.18D is set to be large. This is because the probability that the fully charged battery 26 can be lent when the electric motorcycle 20 is lent is improved.

That is, the battery 26 returned at the end of lending has a reduced amount of charge, whereas charging takes a certain amount of time. Therefore, if the lending rotation rate of the electric motorcycle 20 is high, Rental electric motorcycle 20
The phenomenon that the battery 26 is not fully charged but the battery 26 is fully charged easily occurs. In order to prevent this, the number of the batteries 26 stored in the battery supply devices 18A to 18D is set to be larger than the number of the electric motorcycles 20 to be lent.

The entrance 84 and the exit 86 are provided with an entrance sensor 89 and an exit sensor 91 (entrance / exit detection sensor) for controlling entrance / exit of the electric motorcycle 20. Furthermore, parasols 88 for protecting the rain are provided in the bicycle parking booths 80A to 80D.

FIG. 7 shows the lending / returning processing device 14 and the battery supply devices 18A to 18D configured as described above.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of FIG.

The lending / returning device 14 has a central processing unit 90 for performing overall control. The central processing unit 90 is connected to the management computer 40 constituting the system management device 10 via a communication unit 92. . The central processing unit 90 includes I
D card read / write unit 46, storage unit 94, gate control unit 9
6. The touch panel display 50 and the key box control unit 98 are respectively connected.

In this case, the storage unit 94 stores various data processed by the lending / returning processing device 14. The gate control section 96 manages and controls the entry and exit of the electric motorcycle 20 to and from the bicycle parking lot 16 according to signals from the entrance sensor 89 and the exit sensor 91. The key box control unit 98 includes a key box 60 a that stores the keys 39 related to the electric motorcycle 20.
Ｄ60d operation control.

The battery supply units 18A to 18D have a central processing unit 100 for performing overall control, and are connected to the lending / returning processing unit 14 via a communication unit 102. The central processing unit 100 includes a key information reading unit 66, a storage unit 104, a battery charge control unit 106, a battery box control unit 108
Is connected. In this case, the storage unit 104 stores various data processed by the battery supply devices 18A to 18D.

The battery charge control section 106 is connected to chargers 76 provided in each of the battery boxes 68a to 68j, and controls charging of the battery 26, detection of the state of charge, and the like. Battery box control unit 108
Are battery boxes 68a-
68j is controlled.

The rental system is basically configured as described above. Next, a processing operation using this system will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in order to use the rental system, the user registers personal information and sets a usage contract with the management computer 40 of the system management apparatus 10. By performing these registrations, settings, and the like, the management computer 40 controls the ID card issuing machine 44 and gives the user an ID card 42 composed of an IC card or the like.
Is issued (step S1). In this case, ID card 4
Information recorded in 2, for example, the name of the user,
Information such as gender, age, address, telephone number, billing method of usage fee, vehicle types available to the user, and the like are included.

Next, the user carrying the ID card 42 uses the rental / return processor 14 provided with the bicycle parking lot 16 to borrow the electric motorcycle 20.

When the user brings the ID card 42 close to the ID card reading / writing section 46 of the lending / returning processing device 14, I
The D card read / write unit 46 reads the personal information written on the ID card 42 and transfers it to the central processing unit 90. The central processing unit 90 determines whether or not this user is a person who can use the system from the read personal information, and if it is determined that the user is a person who can use the system (step S2), this user Is selected and displayed on the touch panel display 50 (step S3). The user uses the touch panel display 50
Is selected from the selection screen of the electric motorcycle 20 displayed in (2).

The information on the electric motorcycle 20 that can be used can be extracted based on the stock information of the electric motorcycle 20 in the bicycle parking lot 16 and the information on the usable range according to the contract of the user and the like. These pieces of information can be transferred from the management computer 40 via the communication line 12, and the lending / returning processor 14 itself may hold the information in the storage unit 94.

When the user selects a desired electric motorcycle 20, the central processing unit 90 performs a process of selecting key boxes 60a to 60d (FIG. 4) for accommodating the keys 39 corresponding to the electric motorcycle 20 (step S4). ). That is, the central processing unit 90 transfers information on the selected electric motorcycle 20 to the key box control unit 98. The key box control section 98 controls the key boxes 60a to 60d for accommodating the predetermined keys 39 so that the doors 54 of the key take-out sections 48a to 48e.
The motor 62 is driven while monitoring the position by the position sensor 64 so as to be positioned before any of a to 54e. Key box 6 that accommodates the corresponding key 39
When 0a to 60d are positioned in front of doors 54a to 54e, key box control unit 98 controls solenoids 52a to 52d.
2e, and only one of the doors 54a to 54e corresponding to the key 39 is unlocked, and the LED 56a
Only one of .about.56e is turned on.

The user can select the lit LEDs 56a-5
6e, the doors 54a to 54e are opened, and the key box 6 is opened.
A desired key 39 is extracted from 0a to 60d. In this case, the lending / returning processor 14 holds 20 keys 39, but the user can recognize only 5 keys corresponding to the key take-out sections 48a to 48e. Therefore,
The trouble of the user selecting a desired key 39 from a large number of keys 39 can be eliminated.

After the user selects the key 39, the central processing unit 90 displays the key 3 on the touch panel display 50.
The position of the electric motorcycle 20 in the bicycle parking lot 16 corresponding to 9 is displayed (step S5). In addition to this display, the corresponding bicycle parking booths 80A to 80D in the bicycle parking lot 16 are provided.
The display may be performed using a lamp or the like. The central processing unit 90 transmits the information of the key 39 extracted by the user to the bicycle parking booths 80A to 80A where the corresponding electric motorcycle 20 is arranged.
80D via the communication unit 92 to the battery supply devices 18A to 18D.

Next, the user carrying the key 39 enters the bicycle parking lot 16 through the entrance 84 and the corresponding bicycle parking booth 80
Move to A-80D. At this time, an entrance sensor 89 provided at the entrance 84 detects entry of the user having the key 39 into the bicycle parking lot 16 and transfers the information to the central processing unit 90 via the gate control unit 96.

Next, the user selects the selected electric motorcycle 2
0 is moved to the bicycle parking booths 80A to 80D where the key 39 is held and the battery supply devices 18A to 18D are moved.
It is made to approach the key information reading unit 66 of 18D. The key information reading unit 66 reads the unique information from the tag 41 embedded in the key 39 and transfers it to the central processing unit 100 (Step S6). The central processing unit 100 collates the information obtained from the key 39 with the information on the key 39 transferred from the lending / returning processing device 14, and confirms that the user possessing the key 39 is an authorized user. Is confirmed, the control is transferred to the battery box control unit 108.

The battery box control unit 108 selects the battery 26 that has been charged and corresponding to the selected electric motorcycle 20, and drives the solenoid 72 of the battery 26 to unlock the battery. At the same time, the LED 78 is turned on (step S7). The details of the procedure for lending the battery 26 will be described later. In addition,
In the battery supply devices 18A to 18D, the battery charge control unit 106
Is charged.

The user pulls out the battery 26 whose LED 78 is lit from the battery supply devices 18A to 18D, carries it to the desired electric motorcycle 20 in the same bicycle parking booth 80A to 80D, and loads it. Then key 3
9, the battery 26 is locked, the circle lock 38 of the electric motorcycle 20 is unlocked, and the electric motorcycle 20 is carried out from the exit 86 for use. In this case, since the electric motorcycles 20 are arranged radially, the worker can easily perform the work of taking in and out. Further, an exit sensor 91 provided at the exit 86 reads the unique information held in the tag 19 provided on the electric motorcycle 20, and transfers the information to the central processing unit 90 via the gate control unit 96.

Here, the battery supply devices 18A to 18D
When the battery 26 is taken out of the casing 70, as shown in FIG. 6, the battery 26 is loaded in a state inclined to the front surface of the casing 70, and the height thereof is set to a position that is optimal for the user. Therefore, the user can easily take out the desired battery 26. Further, since the battery supply devices 18A to 18D and the desired electric motorcycle 20 are located in the same bicycle parking booths 80A to 80D, the user does not need the labor for transporting the relatively heavy battery 26 over a long distance. .

After using the electric motorcycle 20 as described above, the return process is performed. In this case, the processing is performed in a procedure substantially opposite to the above-described processing operation. For example, the user parks the electric motorcycle 20 in the vacant bicycle parking booths 80A to 80D and then supplies the battery 26 to the battery supply device 18A.
Return to ~ 18D. Next, the key 39 is returned to the lending / returning processing device 14. When the return process is completed,
The lending / returning processing device 14 performs a charging process.

The battery lending method according to the present embodiment is achieved by executing battery lending processing means 200 (see FIG. 9) incorporated as software in each central processing unit 100 in battery supply devices 18A to 18D. Is done.

This battery lending processing means 200 corresponds to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the battery boxes 68a to 68j (FIG. 5)
) Based on the input of the battery 26 to the battery charge control unit 106.
Start processing means 202 for starting the charging of the battery 26, full charge processing means 204 for updating the contents of the sequential file and the battery information table (see FIG. 10) based on the completion of charging the battery 26, and the battery box 6
Battery extraction processing means 206 that updates the contents of the battery information table based on the extraction of battery 26 from 8a to 68j, and charging voltage search means 208 that searches for the charging voltage of battery 26 based on a lending command from communication unit 102. And extracting a fully charged battery number from the sequential file, or selecting a battery number satisfying a predetermined rule from the contents of the battery information table,
And a battery selection means 210 for instructing the lending of the battery 26 corresponding to the battery number.

The charge start processing means 202, the full charge processing means 204, the battery removal processing means 206, the charging voltage search means 208, and the battery selection means 210 operate in a time-sharing (time-sharing method), that is, a multitasking method. It is supposed to.

In the battery information table, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, a battery number, a charging voltage value, and the number of times of charging are registered in each record. The sequential file has a first-in first-out (FIFO) format and has a file structure in which data (in this case, a battery number) is registered in order from the first record. The battery information table and the sequential file are stored in the storage unit 104.

Here, the processing operations of the various processing means will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 11, first, in step S101, the charge start processing means 202
Then, it is determined whether or not the insertion of No. 6 has been detected.

More specifically, when the battery 26 is inserted into one of the battery boxes 68a to 68j with the return of the battery 26, the corresponding battery detection sensor 74
Outputs a closing detection signal. The battery box control unit 108 determines the number of the battery to be returned based on the input of the input detection signal from the battery detection sensor 74, and transmits the battery number and the input instruction signal to the charging start processing unit 202 in the battery lending processing unit 200. Output to Therefore, in this step S101, it is determined whether or not an input instruction signal has been input from the battery box control unit 108.

When the input signal is inputted,
Proceeding to step S102, the battery box control unit 10
8 receives the battery number. Then, in the next step S103, the received battery number is output to the battery charge control unit 106 together with the charge start command.

The battery charge control unit 106 controls the driving of the charger 76 corresponding to the transmitted battery number based on the input of the charge start command from the charge start processing means 202. Thus, charging of the battery 26 corresponding to the battery number is started.

When the process in step S103 is completed, or when it is determined in step S101 that the battery 26 has not been turned on, the process proceeds to the next step S104, in which it is determined whether a program termination request has been issued. You. This determination is made based on whether or not an end request interrupt such as power OFF has occurred.

In step S104, if the end request has not been issued, the flow returns to step S101 to wait for the detection of the next battery 26 to be inserted. Will end.

Next, the processing operation of the full charge processing means 204 will be described with reference to FIG. 12. First, in step S201, it is determined whether or not the charging of the battery 26 has been completed.

Specifically, when charging of the battery 26 through the charger 76 is completed, the corresponding charger 76
Outputs a completion signal. Battery charge control unit 106
Is based on the input of the completion signal from the charger 76,
The battery number corresponding to the fully charged battery 26 is determined, and the battery number and the charge completion signal are output to the full charge processing means 204 in the battery lending processing means 200. Therefore, in step S201, it is determined whether or not a charge completion signal has been input from the battery charge control unit 106.

When the charge completion signal is input,
Proceeding to step S202, a battery number is received from the battery charge control unit 106. Then, the next step S
In 203, the received battery number is registered in a sequential file, and in the next step S204, the number of times of charging corresponding to the battery number is updated by +1 in the battery information table stored in the storage unit 104.

When the process in step S204 is completed, or when it is determined in step S201 that charging has not been completed, the process proceeds to next step S205, in which it is determined whether a program termination request has been issued. You.

If it is not a termination request, step S201
Then, the process waits for the detection of the completion of the next charging, and when there is the end request, the processing operation of the full charge processing means 204 is ended.

Next, the processing operation of the battery removal processing means 206 will be described with reference to FIG. 13. First, in step S301, it is determined whether removal of the battery 26 has been detected.

More specifically, when the battery 26 is extracted from any of the battery boxes 68a to 68j with the lending of the battery 26, an extraction detection signal is output from the corresponding battery detection sensor 74. The battery box control unit 108 determines the battery number to be rented based on the input of the extraction detection signal from the battery detection sensor 74, and outputs the battery number and the extraction instruction signal to the battery extraction processing unit 206 in the battery rental processing unit 200. Output to Therefore, this step S3
In 01, it is determined whether or not a removal detection signal has been input from the battery box control unit 108.

If the extraction detection signal has been input, the flow advances to step S302 to receive the battery number from the battery box control unit 108. Then, in the next step S303, in the battery information table stored in the storage unit 104, the charging voltage value corresponding to the battery number is set to the initial value “0”.

When the process in step S303 is completed, or when it is determined in step S301 that the battery 26 has not been removed, the process proceeds to next step S304, in which it is determined whether a program termination request has been issued. You.

If it is not an end request, step S301
And waits for the detection of the removal of the next battery 26. If there is the end request, the battery removal processing means 2
The processing operation at 06 ends.

Next, the processing operation of the charging voltage search means 208 will be described with reference to FIG. 14. First, in step S401, it is determined whether or not a lending command has been input from the communication unit 102. Specifically, as described above, the information of the key 39 extracted by the user is stored in the battery supply devices 18A to 18A in the bicycle parking booths 80A to 80D in which the corresponding electric motorcycle 20 is arranged.
18D, via the communication unit 92 in the lending / returning processing device 14. At this time, based on the input of the information of the key 39, the communication unit 102 of the battery supply devices 18A to 18D sends the information of the key 39 to the central processing unit 100 (see FIG. 7) together with the lending command signal. Therefore, in step S401, it is determined whether or not a lending command signal has been input from the communication unit 102.

When the lending command signal is input,
Proceeding to next step S402, the battery charge control unit 10
6. A command signal indicating the search for the charging voltage is output to 6
In the next step S403, the battery charge control unit 1
It waits for input of data from 06.

The battery charge control unit 106 determines the battery numbers of the batteries 26 currently loaded in the battery boxes 68a to 68j based on the input of the command signal from the charging voltage search means 208, and The respective charging voltage values of 26 are read through the charger 76, respectively. After that, a data string in which the battery number and the charging voltage value of the battery 26 corresponding to the battery number are transmitted to the charging voltage search means 208.

Then, in the next step S404,
The charging voltage search means 208 reads the supplied data string. That is, the battery number and the charging voltage of the battery 26 in stock in the battery boxes 68a to 68j are read.

In the next step S405, the charging voltage value corresponding to the battery number read in step S404 in the battery information table is rewritten to the current value.

At the stage when the processing in step S405 is completed, or when it is determined in step S401 that the lending command has not been input from the communication unit 102, the process proceeds to the next step S406 to determine whether there is a program termination request. Is determined.

If it is not an end request, step S401
Then, the process waits for the next lending command from the communication unit 102, and if there is a termination request, the processing operation of the charging voltage search means 208 is terminated.

Next, the processing operation of the battery selecting means 210 will be described with reference to FIG. 15. First, in step S501, the key 3 in the key information reading unit 66
It is determined whether or not the information of No. 9 has been read.

If the information of the key 39 has been read, the flow advances to the next step S502, where the information of the key 39 is collated with the information of the key 39 transferred from the lending / returning processor 14, and the key 39 is checked. It is determined whether or not the user possessing is a legitimate user.

If the user is determined to be compatible,
In the next step S503, the battery number registered in the first record of the sequential file is extracted, and in the next step S504, it is determined whether or not the battery is fully charged. This determination is based on whether the data extracted in step S503 is a drive number, or whether the data is EOF (End of Filtration).
e) is performed depending on the code.

If the code indicates EOF and it is determined that there is no fully charged battery, the next step S505
To extract the battery number indicating the value whose charge voltage value is closest to the full charge from the battery information table.

Next, in step S506, it is determined whether or not the charge voltage value of the extracted battery number is equal to or more than a specified amount. This specified amount is, for example, 80% of full charge.
Is a value corresponding to.

If it is determined that the charge voltage value of the extracted battery number is equal to or more than the specified amount, the next step S5
In step 07, it is determined whether or not there are a plurality of extracted numbers. If there is more than one, the process proceeds to the next step S508, and among the extracted battery numbers, the battery number with the smallest number of times of charging is extracted.

At the stage when the extraction processing in step S508 is completed, or when it is determined in step S507 that the number of extractions is one,
If it is determined in 504 that there is a fully charged battery 26, the process proceeds to the next step S509, and the extracted battery number is output to the battery box control unit 108.

The battery box control unit 108 drives one of the solenoids 72 of the battery boxes 68a to 68j in which the battery 26 corresponding to the battery number sent from the battery selecting means 210 is loaded, and controls the battery 26. At the same time as the unlocked state, the LED 78 corresponding to the battery 26 is turned on. This allows the user to check at a glance which battery 26 should be removed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S506 that the amount is less than the specified amount, error processing is performed in step S510. This error processing is performed by, for example, the communication unit 102 in the battery supply devices 18A to 18D and the communication unit 92 in the lending / return processing device 14.
And informs the management computer 40 that there is no battery 26 to rent, and further outputs a message asking the user to wait for a while or to perform the lending procedure again. And inform the user accordingly.

However, it is rare that all the batteries 26 are less than the specified amount, and in most cases, one of the batteries 26 is selected.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S502 that the user holding the key 39 is not a legitimate user, the flow advances to the next step S511, where error processing is performed. In this error processing, for example, a message for prompting a formal lending procedure is output to inform the user of this.

Then, when the processing in step S509 is completed, or when it is determined in step S501 that the key information has not been read, or when the error processing in step S510 or step S511 is completed, step S512 is completed. To determine whether there is a program termination request.

If it is not an end request, step S501
Then, the process returns to step S1 and waits for reading of the next key information. If there is an end request, the processing operation of the battery selecting means 210 ends.

In other words, the procedure for renting out the battery 26 by the battery selecting means 210 is that the battery is fully charged and lent out in order from the earliest fully charged one. In this case, the remaining batteries 26 are lent out in order from the one with the closest charge. In particular, when there are a plurality of batteries 26 that are closest to the full charge, the battery 26 with the least number of charges is lent.

As described above, in the battery lending method according to the present embodiment, among the batteries 26 that have been charged, the batteries 26 are lent out in order from the battery that has been charged. Can be eliminated.

In this embodiment, when there is no fully charged battery 26, the charging voltage is lent from the battery 26 which is almost fully charged. Therefore, even if the fully charged battery 26 does not exist, the battery 26 is not charged. Can be lent, and the convenience for the user can be improved.

Further, when there are a plurality of batteries 26 which are closest to the full charge, the battery 26 is lent out from the battery 26 with the least number of charges.
Maintenance of the battery 26 can be performed almost at the same time without uneven life.

The battery 2 whose charging voltage is equal to or less than a specified amount is
Since the vehicle 6 is not rented, it is possible to prevent the use of the electric motorcycle 20 from being hindered by insufficient charging.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the electric motorcycle 20
Is applied to the rental system that lends the battery 26 together with the battery 26, so that a user who does not own the electric motorcycle 20 can easily rent the electric motorcycle 20, and the lending of the battery 26 is performed in the order described above. Therefore, the convenience for the user is further improved, which can contribute to the spread of the rental system.

This is suitable, for example, when the user uses a vehicle at a sightseeing spot to perform sightseeing, and the utilization rate of the user to the vehicle rental system can be improved.

Next, a modification of the battery lending method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the battery lending method according to this modification,
The process is substantially the same as the battery lending method according to the present embodiment, but differs greatly in that a sequential file is not used. Therefore, the processing operations of the full charge processing means 204 and the battery selection means 210 differ as follows.

That is, the full charge processing means 2 according to this modification
The processing operation in step 04 is substantially the same as the processing operation in the full charge processing means 204 shown in FIG. 12, as shown in FIG. 16, but the processing for registering the battery number in the sequential file shown in step S203 in FIG. Is different in that it does not exist. Therefore, in step S601 in FIG. 16, it is determined whether or not a charge completion signal has been input from the battery charge control unit 106. In step S602, the battery number from the battery charge control unit 106 is received, and in step S603, In the battery information table, the number of times of charging corresponding to the battery number is updated by +1.
At 04, a process of determining a program termination request is performed.

On the other hand, the battery selecting means 21 according to the modified example
The processing operation at 0 is substantially the same as the processing operation at the battery selection means 210 shown in FIG. 15, as shown in FIG. 17, but extracts the head battery number from the sequential file shown at step S503 in FIG. In step S703 of FIG. 17, a process of extracting a battery number indicating that the charge voltage value indicates a full charge from the battery information table is performed.

Then, in the next step S704,
It is determined whether a fully charged battery number has been extracted. If a fully charged battery number is not extracted,
Proceeding to the next step S705, a battery number whose charge voltage value is closest to the full charge is extracted from the battery information table.

Next, in step S706, it is determined whether or not the charge voltage value of the extracted battery number is equal to or more than a specified amount. This specified amount is, for example, 80% of full charge.
Is a value corresponding to.

If it is determined that the charge voltage value of the extracted battery number is equal to or greater than the specified amount, or if a fully charged battery number is extracted, the next step S707
It is determined whether there are a plurality of extracted numbers. In this determination, when there are a plurality of fully charged battery numbers,
It is determined that there are a plurality of battery numbers closest to the full charge.

If there are a plurality of extracted numbers, the process proceeds to the next step S708, and among the extracted battery numbers, the battery number with the smallest number of times of charging is extracted.

When the extraction process in step S708 is completed, or when it is determined in step S707 that the number of extractions is one, the next step S709
And outputs the extracted battery number to the battery box control unit 108. Battery box control unit 108
Drives the solenoids 72 of the battery boxes 68a to 68j into which the batteries 26 corresponding to the battery numbers sent from the battery selection means 210 are put, to unlock the batteries 26, and The corresponding LED 78 is turned on. This allows the user to check at a glance which battery 26 should be removed.

Steps S710 and S7
11 is the same as the error processing shown in steps S511 and S512 in FIG.
Detailed description is omitted.

Then, when the processing in step S709 is completed, or when it is determined in step S701 that the key information has not been read, or when the error processing in step S711 or S712 is completed, the processing proceeds to step S712. Then, it is determined whether a program termination request has been made.

If it is not a termination request, step S701
Then, the process returns to step S1 and waits for reading of the next key information. If there is an end request, the processing operation of the battery selecting means 210 ends.

That is, the procedure for renting out the battery 26 by the battery selecting means 210 according to this modification is basically similar to the method for renting out the battery according to the present embodiment, except that the battery is lent from the fully charged battery 26. When there are a plurality of fully charged batteries 26, the batteries 26 with the least number of charging times are lent. Moreover, a fully charged battery 26
When there is no battery, the most fully charged battery 26 is lent, and if there are a plurality of the most fully charged batteries 26, the battery 26 with the least number of charges is lent.

Therefore, for a large number of batteries 26,
The maintenance of the battery 26 can be performed almost at the same time without uneven life.

Also in the battery lending method according to this modification, the battery 26 having a charging voltage equal to or less than the specified amount is not lent, so that it is possible to prevent the use of the electric motorcycle 20 from being hindered by insufficient charging. it can.

In the above-described embodiment and the modified example, the example in which the present invention is applied to the rental system of the electric motorcycle 20 having the detachable battery 26 has been described.
At least said battery 2 of an article operated using
6 is applicable in all cases of lending.

[0110] The battery lending method according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but may employ various configurations without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0111]

As described above, according to the battery lending method according to the present invention, the maintenance of the batteries can be performed almost at the same time without uneven life of a large number of batteries. Even if there is no charged battery, the battery can be lent and the convenience for the user can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall layout diagram of a vehicle rental system to which a battery rental method according to the present embodiment is applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an electric motorcycle.

FIG. 3 is a front configuration diagram of a lending / returning processing device.

FIG. 4 is an internal schematic configuration diagram of the lending / returning processing device.

FIG. 5 is a front configuration diagram of a battery supply device.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the battery supply device.

FIG. 7 is a configuration block diagram of a control system of a lending / returning processing device and a battery supply device.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a processing operation of the vehicle rental system.

FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a battery lending processing unit incorporated in a central processing unit of the battery supply device.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a breakdown of a battery information table used by the battery lending processing means.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation of a charging start processing unit.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of a full charge processing means.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation of a battery removal processing unit.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation of a charging voltage search unit.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation of a battery selection unit.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation of a full charge processing unit according to a modification.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation of a battery selection unit according to a modification.

[Explanation of symbols]

18A to 18D: Battery supply device 20: Electric motorcycle 26: Battery 68a to 68
j ... battery box 74 ... battery detection sensor 76 ... charger 100 ... central processing unit 106 ... battery charge control unit 108 ... battery box control unit 200 ... battery lending processing means 202 ... charge start processing means 204 ... full charge processing means 206 ... Battery removal processing means 208 ... Charging voltage search means 210 ... Battery selection means

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshitoshi Tsuji 1-10-1 Shinsayama, Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture Honda Engineering Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shunsuke Hayase 1-10-1 Shinsayama, Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture Inside Honda Engineering Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tomohide Shimizu 1-10-1 Shinsayama, Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture Inside Honda Engineering Co., Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A battery lending method for renting out at least the battery of an article operated using the battery, wherein the batteries are lent in a fully charged order. 2. The battery lending method according to claim 1, wherein when there are a plurality of fully charged batteries, the battery is lent from a battery with a smaller number of times of charging. 3. The battery lending method according to claim 1, wherein when there is no fully charged battery, the battery is lent from a battery whose charging voltage is almost fully charged. 4. The battery lending method according to claim 3, wherein the battery whose charging voltage is equal to or less than a prescribed amount is not lent. 5. The battery lending method according to claim 1, wherein the article is lent together with the battery. 6. The battery lending method according to claim 5, wherein the article is a vehicle having the detachable battery.