FLEET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR MICRO ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a fleet management system for starting and ending rental processes for small electric vehicles.

[0002] Small electric vehicles (eECVs) are vehicles with electric propulsion, meaning they are emission-free. They are generally lightweight and compact. They are often foldable and portable. This makes them easy to carry and are particularly suitable for covering short distances in cities. Typical examples of small electric vehicles include electric scooters (so-called e-scooters), Segways, hoverboards, Airwheels, e-skateboards, and mobile delivery drones, as well as e-bicycles and e-drones.

[0003] However, parking such small electric vehicles, especially rented electric scooters, on sidewalks creates a barrier for all pedestrians. For blind and visually impaired people, this is not only a hindrance but also leads to significant orientation difficulties and, due to the inability to recognize these obstacles in time, increases the risk of accidents. Furthermore, small electric vehicles such as electric scooters are very often parked in hazardous locations, such as perpendicular to building walls near shop entrances, in front of staircases, around public transport stations, near traffic light poles, and directly next to floor indicators, the floor guidance elements for blind and visually impaired people (further information on floor indicators can be found, for example, in DIN standard 32984).

[0004] Small electric vehicles, especially electric scooters (also known as electric scooters, e-scooters or electric kick scooters), are often found standing or lying on sidewalks, footpaths or in pedestrian areas (stationary traffic) and are tripping hazards for people with visual impairments or blindness. The white cane, in particular, detects lying electric scooters too late, causing a blind or visually impaired person to fall over the scooter and possibly injure themselves. The white cane, held at an angle when swinging above the ground, slides under the support bar of the handlebar, for example, and thus the haptic feedback via the cane only comes shortly before the obstacle is reached. Electric scooters are also left on stairs to subways or other transport facilities, which makes them dangerous tripping hazards.

[0005] Therefore, numerous groups of road users are currently calling for a general ban on parking rental electric scooters in public areas used by pedestrians. These pedestrians are also demanding that cities create dedicated parking areas for rental electric scooters, separate from pedestrian areas. In addition to this very drastic measure, technical solutions are also known in which, with the support of a global navigation satellite system, electric scooter rentals may only be terminated in certain areas, while termination of the rental process is impossible in others. Since the use of mass-market devices for global navigation satellite systems can, in favorable cases, achieve an accuracy of 5 to 10 meters, these approaches are not suitable for the detailed monitoring of parking areas and danger zones.

[0006] The document US 2020 / 0279485 A1 discloses a fleet management system for starting and ending rental processes, comprising a small electric vehicle and a mobile terminal which is configured to start a rental process of the small electric vehicle and to end the rental process of the small electric vehicle.

[0007] Based on this, the invention is based on the object of creating a possibility with which the termination of the rental process in small electric vehicles can be monitored and controlled in a very small spatial manner.

[0008] This object is achieved by a fleet management system for terminating rental processes with the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of these aspects of the invention are specified in the corresponding subclaims and are described below, along with further aspects of the invention.

[0009] A fleet management system for starting and ending rental processes is described, comprising: a small electric vehicle with a receiver of a global navigation satellite system; a mobile terminal configured to start a rental process of the small electric vehicle and to end the rental process of the small electric vehicle again; a safety zone monitoring device configured, in cooperation with the small electric vehicle, to detect the presence of the small electric vehicle in the monitoring area of ​​the safety zone monitoring device; a data processing device connected to the small electric vehicle and the mobile terminal via a data communication link, and an electronic map configured to retrieve whether a small electric vehicle may be parked at a specific position determined by the global navigation satellite system.

[0010] The mobile terminal is configured to allow the rental process of the small electric vehicle to be terminated only if, on the one hand, the small electric vehicle may be parked at the position determined by the global navigation satellite system at the time of termination of the rental process based on the electronic map and, on the other hand, if the small electric vehicle is not within the surveillance area of ​​the safety zone monitoring device.

[0011] The fleet management system manages a large number of small electric vehicles within the operator's business area. Users rent a small electric vehicle via their mobile device. After use, the rental process for the small electric vehicle is terminated via the user's mobile device.

[0012] For the rental process, a unique identifier for a small electric vehicle is entered into the mobile device so that the data processing device can associate the device with the small electric vehicle. To enter the identifier for the small electric vehicle, for example, a unique identification number can be entered manually, a QR code or barcode on the small electric vehicle can be scanned using a camera on the mobile device, or the identifier can be read from an NFC chip or an RFID chip on the small electric vehicle by the mobile device.

[0013] A global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is a system for determining position and navigation on Earth and in the air by receiving signals from navigation satellites and pseudo-navigation satellites. GNSS is a collective term for the use of global satellite systems such as NAVSTAR GPS (Global Positioning System), GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System), Galileo, Beidou, and various complementary systems.

[0014] A data communication connection enables the exchange of data between the communication partners. The data communication within the data communication connection can be handled via the mobile internet. Mobile internet refers to the ability to access the internet via various data radio technologies on mobile devices, such as small electric vehicles, security zone monitoring devices, smartphones, laptops, or tablet PCs. Data processing devices can be connected to the internet.

[0015] The monitoring area of ​​the safety zone monitoring device is also called the safety zone.

[0016] According to a further embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the safety zone monitoring device is connected to the data processing device by a direct data communication connection and informs the data processing device via this connection whether the small electric vehicle is located in the monitoring area of ​​the safety zone monitoring device.

[0017] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the small electric vehicle regularly transmits a localization signal containing a unique identifier for the small electric vehicle. In this context, "regular" is every 0.05 s to 5 s, preferably every 0.1 s to 0.5 s. For example, a local radio technology can be used to transmit the localization signal. Suitable local radio technologies here include Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

[0018] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the safety zone monitoring device comprises one or more receivers for a local radio technology, such as Bluetooth or WLAN. The safety zone monitoring device can use one or more of said receivers to determine how far away the small electric vehicle is by evaluating the location signal of the small electric vehicle. By specifying specific individual distance values ​​for the receiver(s), it is possible to determine whether the small electric vehicle is within or outside the monitoring area of ​​the safety zone monitoring device.The safety zone monitoring device can read the identification of the small electric vehicle contained in the localization signal and communicate it to the data processing device via a data communication connection when the small electric vehicle is within the monitoring area of ​​the safety zone monitoring device. At the same time, the safety zone monitoring device can communicate the identification of the small electric vehicle contained in the localization signal to the data processing device via the data communication connection.

[0019] According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the safety zone monitoring device regularly transmits a safety zone signal that can be received by the small electric vehicle. In this context, "regular" is every 0.05 s to 5 s, preferably every 0.1 s to 0.5 s. For example, a local radio technology can be used to transmit the safety zone signal. Suitable local radio technologies here can be, for example, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The safety zone signal contains a unique identifier for the safety zone, which allows for unambiguous identification of each safety zone.

[0020] According to a further embodiment of the alternative of the invention, the small electric vehicle has a receiving device for the safety zone signal. The small electric vehicle can use its aforementioned receiving device for the safety zone signal to determine how far the small electric vehicle is from the monitoring area of ​​the safety zone monitoring device by evaluating the safety zone signal. By specifying specific individual distance values ​​for the receiving device for the safety zone signal, it can be determined whether the small electric vehicle is within or outside the monitoring area of ​​the safety zone monitoring device, i.e., whether it is within or outside the safety zone.The PLEV can indicate that it is located within a specific safety zone by reading the individual safety zone identifier from the safety zone signal and transmitting it to the data processing device or terminal device. At the same time, the PLEV can communicate its individual identifier to the data processing device via the data communication connection.

[0021] In a special embodiment, the safety zone monitoring device is designed to detect the small electric vehicle in several spatially overlapping monitoring areas.

[0022] For this purpose, the safety zone monitoring device or the small electric vehicle can be configured to determine the position of the small electric vehicle using lateration or angulation based on the spatially overlapping monitoring areas. Highly accurate positioning is thus possible if, for example, the safety zone monitoring device has not just a single receiver, but multiple receivers for the localization signal emitted by the small electric vehicle. In the case of lateration, the receivers form a spatially distributed arrangement with which the various distances between the small electric vehicle and the individual receivers can be determined. The receivers continuously exchange information about the measured distances, thus enabling the current position of the small electric vehicle to be determined even more precisely.In the case of angulation, it is not the distances that are measured, but the angles that the small electric vehicle has with respect to the receivers.

[0023] Lateration or angulation can be implemented accordingly if the safety zone monitoring device comprises not just a single transmitter but several transmitters, each of which sends a safety zone signal of the type described above to the small electric vehicle.

[0024] Preferably, at least three receivers or transmitters are provided in each of the above-mentioned configurations in order to enable highly accurate trilateration or triangulation.

[0025] According to a further embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the electronic card is stored in the data processing device, or in the small electric vehicle or in the mobile terminal.

[0026] In one embodiment of the invention, the electronic map can contain the positions of the safety zone monitoring devices and / or the positions of the monitoring areas or safety zones. This makes it possible to accelerate the processing of requests when there are many monitoring areas or safety zone monitoring devices and the fleet management system manages many small electric vehicles.

[0027] According to a further embodiment, which is not part of the claimed invention, it is provided that the security zone monitoring device is arranged at the entrance to a public building.

[0028] According to a further embodiment, which is not part of the claimed invention, the safety zone monitoring device is arranged at the entrance to a transport facility. Access can be via an entrance in a train station or station building, for example, but also via a staircase or escalator leading upwards (elevated railways) or downwards (underground or suburban railway stations) from street level.

[0029] According to a further embodiment, which is not part of the claimed invention, the safety zone monitoring device is arranged in the area of ​​a pedestrian crossing over a street, or in the area of ​​a pedestrian crossing over tram tracks, or in the area of ​​a pedestrian crossing over a railway line. In particular, the safety zone monitoring device can be arranged on a mast for a traffic light system or be part of an additional acoustic device for traffic light systems.

[0030] According to a further embodiment of the invention, it is provided that a small electric vehicle is an electric scooter, a Segway, a hoverboard, an Airwheel, an e-skateboard, an e-bicycle or an e-drone.

[0031] According to a further embodiment of the invention, it is provided that a mobile terminal is a smartphone whose specific functionality for use in connection with this invention is coded in the form of an app.

[0032] The invention is described below using an exemplary embodiment with reference to the figures. Figure 1 a block diagram of a fleet management system according to the invention according to an embodiment, Figure 2 a block diagram of the fleet management system in a modified embodiment, and Figure 3 a schematic representation of an embodiment in which the position determination is based on trilateration.

[0033] Figure 1shows, by way of example, a fleet management system 100 which serves to enable a user to start and end a rental process with regard to a small electric vehicle.

[0034] The fleet management system 100 is designed to control the rental processes for a variety of small electric vehicles 102, such as electric scooters. The fleet management system 100 provides a mobile device 104 with which the user starts and ends the rental process. The device 104 is, for example, a smartphone with application software (app) installed. This application software encodes the functionality required by the user to control the rental process.

[0035] Each micro electric vehicle 102 is equipped with a receiver 106 that receives signals from a global navigation satellite system 108. Satellites of the navigation satellite system 108 continuously transmit their current position and time as coded radio signals R to the receiver 106. The micro electric vehicle 102 calculates the distance to the satellites whose signals it receives and uses this to determine its current position.

[0036] The fleet management system 100 further comprises a data processing device 110, which communicates with both the small electric vehicle 102 and the mobile terminal 104. For example, a server is used as the data processing device 110, which maintains data communication connections with the small electric vehicle 102 and the mobile terminal 104 via the mobile Internet.

[0037] The fleet management system 100 includes a safety zone monitoring device 112, which is assigned a monitoring area or a safety zone 114. The safety zone monitoring device 112, which is arranged, for example, in the area of ​​a traffic light system, makes it possible to monitor the monitoring area 114 to determine whether the small electric vehicle 102 is located within the monitoring area 114 or not.

[0038] To initiate a rental transaction, a unique identifier for the small electric vehicle 102 is sent to the mobile terminal 104, which the data processing device 110 can use to associate the mobile terminal 104 with the rented small electric vehicle 102. This unique identifier can be entered manually into the terminal 104, for example, in the form of an identification number. It can also be scanned in the form of a QR code or barcode located on the small electric vehicle 102 using a camera included in the terminal 104. Reading the identifier via an NFC chip or RFID chip present on the small electric vehicle 102 is also possible.

[0039] As mentioned above, the small electric vehicle 102, with the aid of its receiver 106, is able to determine its current position using the global navigation satellite system 108. To determine whether the small electric vehicle 102 may be parked at its current position, the fleet management system 100 provides for the use of an electronic map 116. In the embodiment according to Figure 1 The electronic card 116 is stored purely by way of example in the data processing device 110. However, it can also be contained in the small electric vehicle 102 or in the mobile terminal 104.

[0040] The electronic map 116 contains an assignment rule, for example in the form of a table, in which each satellite-determined position is assigned information indicating whether the small electric vehicle 102 may be parked at this position or not. If the rental process is to be terminated and the small electric vehicle 102 parked, this information can be retrieved by the mobile device 104. Only if the electronic map 116 determines that the small electric vehicle 102 may be parked at the satellite-determined position at the time the rental process is terminated will the user be allowed to terminate the rental process. If the small electric vehicle 102 may not be parked at the current position, the user will not be permitted to terminate the rental process.The user must then find another location where the parking of the small electric vehicle 102 is permitted according to the allocation rule stored in the electronic card 116 in order to be able to end the rental process.

[0041] Satellite-based positioning using the electronic map 116 is generally only possible with a level of accuracy that precludes detailed monitoring of mass-market devices such as small electric vehicles. Therefore, visually impaired or blind people cannot be reliably protected from colliding with the small electric vehicle 102 in hazardous areas using this positioning alone. The present invention therefore provides for the use of the safety zone monitoring device 112, which enables additional positioning with greater precision.

[0042] The safety zone monitoring device 112 communicates via a direct data communication connection with the data processing device 110 to inform the latter whether the small electric vehicle 102 is located within the monitoring area 114 of the safety zone monitoring device 112. In a specific embodiment, the small electric vehicle 102 is configured to regularly transmit a localization signal L, which the safety zone monitoring device 112 receives to localize the small electric vehicle 102. The localization signal L can be transmitted, for example, using local radio technology such as Bluetooth or WLAN. Accordingly, in this embodiment, the safety zone monitoring device 112 has one or more radio receivers 118 for the localization signal L.The safety zone monitoring device 112 is configured to evaluate the received localization signal L and thus determine the distance of the small electric vehicle 102. For example, individual distance values ​​can be specified for the radio receiver 118, which can be used to determine whether the small electric vehicle 102 is located within or outside the monitoring area 114 of the safety zone monitoring device 112.

[0043] Using the localization signal L, the identification of the small electric vehicle 102 can be sent to the safety zone monitoring device 112. The safety zone monitoring device 112 then reads the identification of the small electric vehicle 102 contained in the localization signal L and communicates this identification to the data processing device 110 when the small electric vehicle 102 is located within the monitoring area 114.

[0044] If the user intends to park the small electric vehicle 102 at a specific location and terminate the rental process using their mobile device 104, the small electric vehicle 102 first determines its current position with the aid of its receiver 106 using the global navigation satellite system 108. A query of the electronic map 116 also determines whether the small electric vehicle 102 may be parked at this current position or not. If this query reveals that the small electric vehicle 102 may not be parked at this satellite-determined position, this information is communicated to the mobile device 104. The device 104 then notifies the user that termination of the rental process is not permitted.

[0045] If, on the other hand, the query of the electronic map 116 indicates that the small electric vehicle 102 may be parked at the position determined by satellite, a check is performed as described above to determine whether the small electric vehicle 102 is located within the surveillance area 114 or not. If this check indicates that the small electric vehicle 102 is located within the surveillance area 114, this information is communicated to the mobile terminal 104. The terminal 104 then informs the user that termination of the rental process is not permitted. If, however, it is determined that the small electric vehicle 102 is not within the surveillance area 114, the user is allowed to terminate the rental process and park the small electric vehicle 102 at its current position.

[0046] Figure 2 shows a modified embodiment which differs from the configuration according to Figure 1 differs with regard to how the distance of the small electric vehicle 102 from the safety zone 114 is determined.

[0047] In contrast to the previous embodiment, the security zone monitoring device 112 sends Figure 2 by means of a corresponding radio transmitter 120, a regular safety zone signal S, which is received by a receiving device 222 contained in the small electric vehicle 102. As the localization signal S in Figure 1 The safety zone signal S can also be transmitted using local radio technology such as Bluetooth or WLAN.

[0048] In the embodiment according to Figure 2The small electric vehicle 102 evaluates the safety zone signal S with the aid of the receiving device 222 in order to determine how far the small electric vehicle 102 is from the safety zone 114. Individual distance values ​​can in turn be specified for the receiving device 222 of the small electric vehicle 102, which are used to determine whether the small electric vehicle 102 is located inside or outside the safety zone 114.

[0049] The safety zone signal S can contain an identifier of the surveillance area or the safety zone 114, which enables unique identification of the safety zone 114. By reading this individual identifier from the safety zone signal S and transmitting the identifier to the mobile terminal 104 or the data processing device 110, the small electric vehicle 102 can indicate that it is located within the safety zone 114. At the same time, the small electric vehicle 102 can transmit its individual identifier to the data processing device 110.

[0050] The check as to whether the borrowing process may be terminated at a particular position is essentially carried out in the same way as described above with regard to Figure 1 is explained.

[0051] In Figure 3A further embodiment is shown in which it can be even more reliably prevented that a small electric vehicle is parked in an undesired position.

[0052] While in the embodiments according to Figure 1 the safety zone monitoring device 112 with the radio receiver 118 has only a single receiver for the localization signal S, this is shown in Figure 3 The embodiment shown provides for the use of several, preferably three radio receivers 318a, 318b, 318c, each of which is assigned its own monitoring area 314a, 314b, 314c. Such a configuration can be used advantageously, for example, in the area of ​​a traffic light system that comprises several masts on different sides of the road, to each of which one of the radio receivers 314a, 314b, 314c is attached. This configuration makes it possible to determine the distance of the small electric vehicle (in Figure 3(not shown) to measure more accurately than is possible using only a single receiver. A measurement technique known as trilateration can be used for this purpose.

[0053] As in Figure 3 As illustrated, this measuring method measures the distances Da, Db, Dc that the small electric vehicle has from the respective radio receivers 318a, 318b, and 318c. The measurements of the individual distances Da, Db, Dc can be carried out in a manner as described above with respect to Figure 1For example, the distance can be measured via Bluetooth signal strength or UWB. To enable trilateration, the radio receivers 318a, 318b, 318c continuously exchange information about the measured distances Da, Db, Dc, for example, via a radio network such as Bluetooth Mesh. Alternatively, wired communication or communication via the Internet between the radio receivers 312a, 312b, 312c is also possible. Based on the distance information exchanged between the radio receivers 318a, 318b, 318c, the position of the micro electric vehicle is determined. This position is in the Figure 3 at the intersection of the three dashed circles representing the safety zones 314a, 314b, 314c.

[0054] In the example after Figure 3The position is determined based on the distances Da, Db, Dc that the small electric vehicle has from the respective radio receivers 318a, 318b, 318c. However, it is also possible to use so-called triangulation for position determination, in which the angles that the small electric vehicle assumes with respect to the radio receivers 318a, 318b, 318c are measured. The individual angle measurements can be carried out, for example, using local radio technology such as Bluetooth AoA (angle of arrival), UWB, phase shift in the RF signal, etc. Furthermore, the position data obtained via the global navigation satellite system can be incorporated into the position determination for both lateration and angulation. Furthermore, the movement speed can be taken into account, which is determined, for example, via acceleration sensors provided in the small electric vehicle.

[0055] The configuration according to Figure 3can also be modified in such a way that the individual distances Da, Db, Dc are determined according to the Figure 2 illustrated embodiment. Instead of the radio receivers 318a, 318b, 318c, a plurality of transmitters corresponding to the radio transmitter 120 are provided in such a configuration. List of reference symbols

[0056] 100 Fleet management system 102 Small electric vehicle 104 Mobile terminal 106 Receiver 108 Global navigation satellite system 110 Data processing device 112 Safety zone monitoring device 114 Surveillance area, safety zone 116 Electronic map 118 Radio receiver 120 Radio transmitter 222 Receiving device 314a, 314b, 414 Surveillance area, safety zone 318a, 3128, 318c Radio receiver Da, Db, Dc Distance L Localization signal S Safety zone signal

Claims

1. Fleet management system (100) for starting and ending borrowing processes, comprising: - a personal light electric vehicle (102) having a receiver (106) of a global navigation satellite system (108); - a mobile terminal (104) which is configured to start a borrowing process of the personal light electric vehicle (102) and to end the borrowing process of the personal light electric vehicle (102) again; - at least one safety zone monitoring device (112) which is designed to detect, in conjunction with the personal light electric vehicle (102), the presence of the personal light electric vehicle (102) in the monitoring area (114) of the safety zone monitoring device (112); - a data processing device (110) which is connected to the personal light electric vehicle (102) and the mobile terminal (104) by means of a data communication link, and - an electronic map (116) which is designed to indicate whether a personal light electric vehicle (102) may be parked at a specific position determined by the global navigation satellite system; wherein the mobile terminal (104) is configured to permit the end of the borrowing process of the personal light electric vehicle (102) only if, on the one hand, the personal light electric vehicle (102) may be parked using the electronic map (116) at the position determined by the global navigation satellite system at the time of the end of the borrowing process and, on the other hand, the personal light electric vehicle (102) is not located in the monitoring area (114) of the safety zone monitoring device (112).

2. Fleet management system (100) according to Claim 1, wherein the safety zone monitoring device (112) is connected to the data processing device (110) by means of a data communication link and the data processing device (110) communicates via said link whether the personal light electric vehicle (102) is located in the monitoring area (114) of the safety zone monitoring device (112).

3. Fleet management system (100) according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the safety zone monitoring device (112) emits a regular safety zone signal (S) which is received by the personal light electric vehicle (102), wherein the safety zone signal (S) contains a unique identifier of the monitoring area (114) which allows a unique identification of each monitoring area (114).

4. Fleet management system (100) according to Claim 3, wherein the personal light electric vehicle (102) evaluates the safety zone signal (S) to determine whether the personal light electric vehicle (102) is inside or outside the monitoring area (114) of the safety zone monitoring device (112).

5. Fleet management system (100) according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the personal light electric vehicle (102) emits a regular locating signal (S) which is received by the safety zone monitoring device (112), wherein the locating signal (L) contains a unique identifier of the personal light electric vehicle (102) which allows a unique identification of the personal light electric vehicle (102).

6. Fleet management system (100) according to Claim 5, wherein the safety zone monitoring device (112) evaluates the locating signal (S) to determine whether the personal light electric vehicle (102) is inside or outside the monitoring area (114) of the safety zone monitoring device (112).

7. Fleet management system (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the safety zone monitoring device (112) is designed to detect the personal light electric vehicle (102) in several, spatially overlapping monitoring areas (314a, 314b, 314c).

8. Fleet management system (100) according to Claim 7, wherein the safety zone monitoring device (112) or the personal light electric vehicle (102) is designed to determine the position of the personal light electric vehicle (102) using a lateration or an angulation on the basis of the spatially overlapping monitoring areas (314a, 314b, 314c).

9. Fleet management system (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the electronic map (116) is stored in the data processing device (110) or in the personal light electric vehicle (102) or in the mobile terminal (104).

10. Fleet management system (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the electronic map (116) contains the positions of the safety zone monitoring devices (112) and / or the positions of the monitoring areas (114).

11. Fleet management system (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the personal light electric vehicle (102) is an electric scooter, a segway, a hoverboard, an airwheel, an electric skateboard, an electric bike or an electric drone.

12. Fleet management system (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the mobile terminal (104) is a smartphone.