Vehicle lending system and vehicle lending method

Abstract

To provide a vehicle lending system and a vehicle lending method capable of selecting, in accordance with a utilization plan of a user, an electric vehicle for lending, and of executing a reservation process when a utilization reservation for the lending vehicle is made.SOLUTION: A vehicle lending system 1 includes a data managing server 20 and a reservation processing unit 411. The data managing server 20 obtains, for each of a plurality of electric vehicles for lending, information on a charged amount and reservation information. When obtaining a reservation request including information on a utilization start schedule time and a planned running amount by a user, the reservation processing unit 411 selects, based on the information obtained by the data managing server 20, an electric vehicle for lending which has a charged amount enough to run the planned running amount at a time point that is the utilization start schedule time among the plurality of electric vehicles for lending, and allocates such an electric vehicle for lending to the reservation request so as to execute a reservation process.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle rental system and a vehicle rental method. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, rental car services and car sharing services that rent out vehicles parked in parking lots to users have become widespread. To use these services, users make a reservation in advance via an application or website, specifying the type of vehicle they wish to use and the time of use. This allows users to use the type of vehicle they want at the date and time they want. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-192019 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Meanwhile, electric vehicles (EVs) are attracting attention from the perspective of combating global warming and improving energy efficiency. As a result, rental car and car sharing services targeting electric vehicles are on the rise, and there is a demand for services that allow individual users to use the electric vehicle they need when they need it.

[0005] In the above-mentioned services, when the rental vehicles are electric vehicles, the amount of charging required varies depending on the user's usage plan. However, when making a reservation, the amount of charging required for each rental electric vehicle at the start of use and the user's usage plan are not taken into consideration, which has led to the problem that it may not be possible to select an appropriate rental electric vehicle for reservation.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a vehicle rental system and a vehicle rental method that, when reserving a rental vehicle, can select an electric vehicle for rental in accordance with the user's usage plan and perform the reservation process. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle rental system of the present invention comprises a data management unit that acquires information on the amount of charge and reservation information for each of a plurality of electric vehicles for rental, and a reservation processing unit that, upon acquiring a reservation request including information on the user's planned start time of use and planned driving distance, selects from the plurality of electric vehicles for rental that has the amount of charge to drive the planned driving distance at the planned start time of use based on the information acquired by the data management unit, and assigns it as the electric vehicle for rental in response to the reservation request, thereby performing reservation processing.

[0008] Furthermore, when the vehicle rental method of the present invention receives a reservation request including information on the user's planned start time of use and planned driving distance, it obtains information on the charge amount and reservation information for each of the multiple rental electric vehicles, and based on the obtained information, selects from the multiple rental electric vehicles an electric vehicle that has a charge amount that will enable it to drive the planned driving distance at the planned start time of use, assigns it as the rental electric vehicle for the reservation request, and performs reservation processing. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the vehicle rental system and vehicle rental method of the present invention, when reserving an electric vehicle for rental, the electric vehicle for rental can be selected in accordance with the user's usage plan and the reservation process can be performed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle rental system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of the vehicle rental system according to an embodiment. [Figure 3]10 is a graph showing changes in the amount of charge of electric vehicles for rental managed by a vehicle rental system according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, as one embodiment of the present invention, a vehicle rental system for use in a rental car service or a car sharing service that rents out a plurality of electric vehicles will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the electric vehicles to be rented out in the vehicle rental system are stored in a parking lot P when not in use.

[0012] <Configuration of a vehicle rental system according to one embodiment> 1 is an overall diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle rental system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle rental system 1 includes a vehicle management device 10, a data management server 20 as a data management unit, a user terminal 30, and a cloud server 40.

[0013] The vehicle management device 10 has a first CPU 11. The first CPU 11 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) provided in a general-purpose microcomputer, and by installing and executing a predetermined vehicle management program, configures one or more information processing units described below.

[0014] The first CPU 11 has a first information processing unit 111. The first information processing unit 111 acquires vehicle information including information on the charge amount of each of the multiple electric vehicles to be rented by the vehicle rental system 1 at predetermined time intervals, and transmits the vehicle information to the data management server 20.

[0015] The data management server 20 has a storage unit 21 and a second CPU 22. The storage unit 21 has a vehicle information storage unit 211 and a reservation information storage unit 212. The second CPU 22 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) provided in a general-purpose microcomputer, and configures one or more information processing units described below by installing and executing a predetermined data management program.

[0016] The second CPU 22 has a second information processing unit 221. The second information processing unit 221 acquires vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle management device 10 and stores it in the vehicle information storage unit 211. The second information processing unit 221 also acquires reservation information transmitted from the cloud server 40, as will be described later, and stores it in the reservation information storage unit 212.

[0017] The user terminal 30 is configured, for example, as a smartphone or tablet, and has an input / output unit 31 as an input device and an output device, a communication unit 32, and a third CPU 33. The input / output unit 31 is configured, for example, as a touch panel, and inputs operation details by the user and displays processing details by the third CPU 33. The communication unit 32 communicates with the cloud server 40.

[0018] The third CPU 33 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) provided in a general-purpose microcomputer, and configures one or more information processing units described below by installing and executing a predetermined terminal processing program.

[0019] The third CPU 33 has a third information processing unit 331. When a user performs an operation to request a reservation by inputting information on a planned start time of use and a planned travel distance via the input / output unit 31 in order to reserve the use of a rental vehicle, the third information processing unit 331 generates a reservation request based on this operation information and causes the communication unit 32 to transmit the request to the cloud server 40.

[0020] In response to the transmission of the reservation request, third information processing unit 331 also acquires information indicating whether or not the reservation can be made from cloud server 40 and causes input / output unit 31 to output the information.

[0021] The cloud server 40 has a fourth CPU 41. The fourth CPU 41 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) provided in a general-purpose microcomputer, and configures one or more information processing units described below by installing and executing a predetermined reservation processing program.

[0022] The fourth CPU 41 has a reservation processing unit 411. When the reservation processing unit 411 receives a reservation request from the user terminal 30, it obtains vehicle information and reservation information for each electric vehicle for rent from the data management server 20. Based on the information obtained from the data management server 20, the reservation processing unit 411 selects, from among a plurality of electric vehicles for rent, an electric vehicle for rent that has a charge amount that will enable it to travel the planned travel distance at the scheduled start time of use in the reservation request. The reservation processing unit 411 allocates the selected electric vehicle for rent to the reservation request, generates reservation information including information on the reservation request and information on the allocated electric vehicle for rent, and transmits this information to the data management server 20 and the user terminal 30, thereby performing reservation processing.

[0023] <Operation of the vehicle rental system according to one embodiment> While the vehicle rental system 1 is operating, the first information processing unit 111 of the vehicle management device 10 acquires vehicle information including information on the charge amount of each of the multiple electric vehicles to be rented out by the vehicle rental system 1 at predetermined time intervals and transmits the information to the data management server 20. In the data management server 20, the second information processing unit 221 acquires the vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle management device 10 and stores it in the vehicle information storage unit 211.

[0024] 2 is a sequence diagram showing the processing executed by each device in the vehicle rental system 1 when a user reserves the use of a rental electric vehicle. When the user performs an operation to request a reservation by inputting information on the planned start time ta of use and the planned distance da as the planned travel amount into the input / output unit 31 of the user terminal 30 to reserve the use of a rental vehicle, the third information processing unit 331 acquires this operation information ("YES" in S1). The third information processing unit 331 generates a reservation request based on the acquired operation information and transmits it to the cloud server 40 via the communication unit 32 (S2).

[0025] In the cloud server 40, the reservation processing unit 411 acquires the reservation request sent from the user terminal 30. When the reservation processing unit 411 acquires the reservation request, it requests the data management server 20 for current vehicle information for each electric vehicle for rent and reservation information for reservations that have already been made (S3). In response to the request from the cloud server 40, the second information processing unit 221 of the data management server 20 acquires vehicle information for each electric vehicle for rent from the vehicle information storage unit 211 and also acquires reservation information for each electric vehicle for rent from the reservation information storage unit 212, and transmits this acquired information to the cloud server 40 (S4).

[0026] The reservation processing unit 411 of the cloud server 40 selects a rental electric vehicle to allocate to the reservation request from among the multiple rental electric vehicles based on the vehicle information and reservation information for each rental electric vehicle sent from the data management server 20 (S5).

[0027] The reservation processing unit 411 selects a rental electric vehicle that is stored in the parking lot P in an unused state at the scheduled start time ta included in the acquired reservation request and that has enough charge to travel the scheduled travel distance da at the scheduled start time ta. A specific example of the rental electric vehicle selection process executed by the reservation processing unit 411 will be described below.

[0028] Fig. 3 is a graph showing changes in the charge amount of a rental electric vehicle X. Between times t0 and t1, the rental electric vehicle X is parked in a parking lot P and is being charged. At time t1, user U1 begins using the rental electric vehicle X when the charge amount is 30 kWh, and the charge amount of the rental electric vehicle X decreases. At time t3, when the charge amount of the rental electric vehicle X is 15 kWh, user U1 returns the rental electric vehicle X to the parking lot P and charging begins.

[0029] Thereafter, at time t4, user U2 requests a reservation by inputting information on the planned start time t5 of use and the planned driving distance of 150 km using the user terminal 30, and the reservation request generated based on this is acquired by the reservation processing unit 411. The reservation processing unit 411 takes into consideration the specification information of the electric vehicle for rental and the like, and calculates the planned amount of electricity consumption of 30 kWh for user U2's use of the electric vehicle for rental from the acquired information on the planned driving distance of 150 km.

[0030] When calculating the amount of electricity expected to be consumed by the electric vehicle for rental, the reservation processing unit 411 may take into consideration not only the specification information of the electric vehicle for rental, but also information indicating the driving behavior pattern of user U2 (e.g., load weight, destination, driving style), weather conditions (e.g., whether or not heating and air conditioning is used), the condition of the vehicle (e.g., the degree of battery deterioration), etc.

[0031] When the reservation processing unit 411 uses information on the load weight as information indicating the driving behavior pattern of user U2, it may, for example, have user U2 input information on the number of passengers or the weight of the cargo when making a reservation request, and calculate the amount of electricity expected to be consumed so that the greater the input load weight and the greater the weight on the vehicle.

[0032] Furthermore, when the reservation processing unit 411 uses destination information as information indicating the driving behavior pattern of user U2, it may, for example, have user U2 input information about the destination at the time of use when making a reservation request, and obtain from past usage history route information, mileage information, and actual battery usage (information about fuel efficiency when used by user U2) when user U2 traveled to the same location as the input destination in a rental electric vehicle, and calculate the amount of electricity expected to be consumed taking into account the obtained information.

[0033] Furthermore, when using driving style information as information indicating user U2's driving behavior pattern, the reservation processing unit 411 may, for example, have user U2 input driving style information at the time of reservation request, and may calculate the estimated power consumption by weighting based on the driving style specified by the user. Specifically, if user U2 selects the "eco" driving style, the estimated power consumption when power consumption is minimized may be calculated; if user U2 selects the "active" driving style, the estimated power consumption may be calculated as a higher amount; and if user U2 selects the "normal" driving style, the estimated power consumption for a normal, average driving situation may be calculated. For example, for the "eco" driving style, the estimated power consumption may be 0.8 times that for the "normal" driving style, and for the "active" driving style, the estimated power consumption may be 1.2 times that for the "normal" driving style. In this way, user U2 can select a driving style according to his or her driving preferences and include that information in the reservation request, thereby enabling the estimated power consumption to be calculated according to the user's driving preferences.

[0034] In addition, when the reservation processing unit 411 uses weather conditions as information indicating the driving behavior pattern of user U2, it may, for example, obtain weather information for the area of ​​use for the date, time, and time period entered by user U2 when requesting a reservation from an external weather information system, and calculate the expected amount of electricity consumption assuming that heating will be used if the area is a cold region and the outside temperature is predicted to be low, and that air conditioning will be used if the area is a warm region and the outside temperature is predicted to be high.

[0035] Furthermore, when the reservation processing unit 411 uses the vehicle condition as information indicating the user's driving behavior pattern, it may, for example, acquire information on the cumulative mileage or period of use for each electric vehicle for rent, estimate the degree of battery deterioration based on the acquired information, and calculate the amount of electricity expected to be consumed taking this into account.

[0036] In this way, by calculating the amount of electricity expected to be consumed taking into account detailed information at the time of use, it is possible to select an electric vehicle for rental that is more suitable for user U2, thereby improving user U2's satisfaction with the service.

[0037] The reservation processing unit 411 also calculates the predicted charge amount of the electric vehicle for rent at the scheduled start time t5 based on the reservation information and charging speed of each electric vehicle for rent from the current time t4 to the scheduled start time t5 of use by user U2. Here, the reservation processing unit 411 calculates a predicted charge amount of 45 kWh for electric vehicle for rent X. When calculating the predicted charge amount of each electric vehicle for rent at the scheduled start time t5, the reservation processing unit 411 may take into consideration the specification information of the electric vehicle for rent, the state of the vehicle (for example, the degree of deterioration of the battery), etc.

[0038] As a result, the reservation processing unit 411 determines that the charge amount of the rental electric vehicle X at the current time t4 is 25 kWh, which is insufficient for the planned power consumption of user U2 of 30 kWh, but the predicted charge amount at the planned start time t5 of use is 45 kWh, which exceeds the planned power consumption of user U2 of 30 kWh, and therefore includes the rental electric vehicle X as a selection target for user U2's reservation request.

[0039] Furthermore, even if user U2 requests a reservation by inputting information on the planned start time t5 of use and the planned distance of 150 km at time t2 while user U1 is using the vehicle, the reservation processing unit 411 can recognize that the rental electric vehicle X will be returned to the parking lot P at time t3 based on the reservation information of user U1, and predict that the charged amount of this rental electric vehicle X will be 45 kWh at the planned start time t5 of use.

[0040] Based on this, when user U2 operates the reservation request at time t2, the reservation processing unit 411 may also include rental electric vehicles X as selection candidates for this reservation request. In other words, the reservation processing unit 411 also includes rental electric vehicles that have left the parking lot P and are in use at the time the reservation processing is being performed, but that are scheduled to be stored in the parking lot P in an unused state at the scheduled start time t5 of use, as selection candidates. By performing processing in this manner, it is possible to make as many rental electric vehicles as possible available for selection.

[0041] Alternatively, the reservation processing unit 411 may select only electric vehicles for rent that are currently parked in the parking lot P and not in use, and that are not scheduled for use until the scheduled start time t5 of user U2, as candidates for selection in response to a reservation request from user U2. In this case, when user U2 operates the reservation request at time t2, the reservation processing unit 411 does not include electric vehicle for rent X as a candidate for selection in response to this reservation request. By performing processing in this manner, it is possible to select only electric vehicles for rent that are likely to be in the parking lot P at the scheduled start time of use.

[0042] Furthermore, the reservation processing unit 411 does not include as a selection candidate any electric vehicle for rental that has enough charge to travel the planned distance at the time of reservation processing, but that is determined to be unable to secure enough charge to travel the planned distance at the scheduled start time of use because another person is scheduled to use the vehicle at the scheduled start time of use, or because another person is scheduled to use the vehicle by the scheduled start time of use.

[0043] The reservation processing unit 411 selects one electric vehicle for rent to be allocated to the reservation request from among the electric vehicles for rent that are selected in response to the reservation request from user U2.

[0044] The reservation processing unit 411 generates reservation information including information on the reservation request and information on the allocated rental electric vehicle, and transmits the reservation information to the data management server 20 and the user terminal 30 (S6). The user terminal 30 outputs the reservation information transmitted from the cloud server 40 to the input / output unit 31, and notifies the user U2 (S7).

[0045] Furthermore, in the data management server 20, the second information processing unit 221 stores the reservation information transmitted from the cloud server 40 in the reservation information storage unit 212 (S8). The reservation information stored in the reservation information storage unit 212 is used when performing other subsequent reservation processes.

[0046] According to the above-described embodiment, when reserving a rental electric vehicle, the vehicle rental system can select and allocate a rental electric vehicle that has enough charge to travel the user's planned driving distance at the scheduled start time of the user's use, and perform the reservation process. This allows the vehicle rental system to improve the convenience and efficiency of electric vehicle rental services and further contribute to the realization of an environmentally friendly and sustainable transportation system.

[0047] The functions of this vehicle rental system can also be applied to fleet management, which allows companies to efficiently operate multiple rental vehicles. In particular, for companies introducing electric vehicles into their fleets, it is important to manage each vehicle's charging status and reservation status in real time to increase utilization rates, and this management can be done with the vehicle rental system described above.

[0048] In the above-described embodiment, when the multiple rental electric vehicles include multiple vehicle models, the user may make a reservation request including information about the vehicle model, and the reservation processing unit 411 may select, as the rental electric vehicle to be allocated to this reservation request, an electric vehicle that has enough charge to travel the planned travel distance at the scheduled start time of use and that corresponds to the vehicle model included in the reservation request, and perform reservation processing. This allows the user to reserve the use of an electric vehicle that suits their purpose of use, etc.

[0049] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the user may make a reservation request including information about the planned usage time (the time from when the rental electric vehicle leaves the parking lot P to when it returns to the parking lot P and is returned), and the reservation processing unit 411 may select, as the rental electric vehicle to be allocated to the reservation request, an electric vehicle that is capable of traveling the planned traveling distance at the planned start time of use and has a charge amount that can be used continuously during the planned usage time, and perform the reservation processing. This makes it possible to select a vehicle that further matches the user's usage plan and perform the reservation processing.

[0050] In the above-described embodiment, electric vehicles for rent may be parked in multiple parking lots, and the user may enter a reservation request including information about the planned start point of use (e.g., near Station X). The reservation processing unit 411 may then select the electric vehicle for rent that is parked closest to the planned start point of use at the planned start time from among the electric vehicles for rent that are capable of traveling the planned distance at the planned start time of use as the electric vehicle for rent to be allocated to the reservation request, and perform the reservation process. This allows the user to start using the electric vehicle for rent from the desired time and location, making it easy to combine public transportation with a car sharing service, for example. This can contribute to easing traffic congestion in large cities and reducing environmental impact.

[0051] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the reservation processing unit 411 calculates the amount of electricity to be consumed by the electric vehicle for hire from the information on the planned driving distance input by the user during reservation processing, and selects electric vehicles for hire that have a charge amount that exceeds this amount of electricity to be consumed at the scheduled start time of use as candidates for selection. However, the method for identifying electric vehicles for hire to be selected is not limited to this.

[0052] For example, when the reservation processing unit 411 performs reservation processing, it may calculate a predicted value for the cruising distance of each electric vehicle for rent at the scheduled start time of use based on the vehicle information stored in the vehicle information storage unit 211, and select an electric vehicle for rent whose calculated predicted value exceeds the scheduled traveling distance in the reservation information. The cruising distance is the distance that an electric vehicle can travel with its current amount of charge.

[0053] In this case, the first information processing unit 111 or the second information processing unit 221 of the data management server 20 may calculate the current cruising distance from the amount of charge of each electric vehicle for rent acquired by the first information processing unit 111 of the vehicle management device 10 and store this as part of the vehicle information, and when the reservation processing unit 411 performs reservation processing, it may calculate the cruising distance of each electric vehicle for rent at the scheduled start time of use based on the stored information and determine the electric vehicle for rent to be selected. This makes it possible to more accurately determine whether the amount of charge of the electric vehicle for rent at the scheduled start time is sufficient to cover the user's planned driving distance.

[0054] Using these functions of the vehicle rental system 1, for example, a user may reserve a rental electric vehicle for use on a day when they will be traveling frequently due to appointments. Because the travel distance will be long and they will need time to review documents in the vehicle, the user inputs the planned driving distance and planned usage time when making the reservation, and specifies a mid-sized vehicle with a comfortable ride. After receiving this information, the cloud server 40 determines the rental electric vehicle to assign to the reservation, taking into consideration the current cruising range and reservation information for each rental electric vehicle, the planned power consumption during use, the charging time from the current time until the scheduled start of use, and the vehicle model. This allows the user to comfortably use the vehicle according to their purpose without running out of battery power, even when traveling for long periods of time.

[0055] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the vehicle rental system 1 may further include a rental processing unit that, when a user uses a rental electric vehicle, outputs information on the latest charge amount of the rental electric vehicle allocated by the reservation process from the input / output unit 31 of the user terminal 30, and executes the rental process of the allocated rental electric vehicle when it recognizes that the user has performed a confirmation operation by outputting the information on the latest charge amount.

[0056] Furthermore, if the user determines that the output charge amount is insufficient and requests a change to another rental electric vehicle, the rental processing unit may output information on the charge amount of other available rental electric vehicles parked in the parking lot P to the input / output unit 31, and execute the rental process for the rental electric vehicle specified by the user from the output information.

[0057] This allows the user to check, at the start of use, whether the reserved rental electric vehicle has actually secured enough charge to travel the planned driving distance, and if not, to change the rental electric vehicle to be used to another vehicle. Furthermore, if the user wishes to change the planned driving distance entered at the time of reservation, for example, to a longer planned driving distance than at the time of reservation, and determines that the reserved vehicle cannot travel the changed planned driving distance, the user can change the rental electric vehicle to be used to another vehicle.

[0058] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the user may input the amount of planned power consumption as the planned driving distance when using the rental electric vehicle and perform a reservation request operation, and the reservation processing unit 411 may select, as a vehicle to be allocated to the reservation request, a rental electric vehicle whose predicted charging amount at the scheduled start time of use is greater than the amount of planned power consumption. In this way, if the user is aware of the amount of planned power consumption when using the rental electric vehicle, an appropriate vehicle to be used can be selected accordingly.

[0059] Furthermore, a map application may be installed on the user terminal 30, and when the user specifies a starting point and a destination point on the map information, the third information processing unit 331 may calculate the round-trip distance between those points and input it as the planned driving distance. This allows the user to input the planned driving distance during use with a simple operation.

[0060] In the above-described embodiment, the reservation processing unit 411 may acquire reservation history information of the user being processed during reservation processing, and select a rental electric vehicle to allocate to the reservation request, giving priority to rental electric vehicles of a type that are frequently used by the user being processed or rental electric vehicles parked in a frequently used location, thereby improving convenience for the user.

[0061] When multiple electric vehicles for rent are available for selection in response to a user's reservation request, the reservation processing unit 411 may output information about the candidate vehicles to the input / output unit 31 of the user terminal 30 and allow the user to select one. At this time, information may be added that suggests electric vehicles for rent that are frequently used by the user being processed or that are parked in frequently used locations as vehicles with high priority. This can improve convenience for the user.

[0062] When the information on the vehicle candidates for selection is output to the input / output unit 31 in this manner, it may be updated with the latest information in real time at predetermined intervals, allowing the user to appropriately select the vehicle to use based on the latest vehicle information.

[0063] In an application for making reservations for a vehicle rental service such as this embodiment, real-time updates generally refer to the fact that when a reservation or cancellation operation is performed, the information is quickly reflected in the system and becomes available for other users and system administrators to check. The time it takes for the information to be reflected after this operation varies depending on the system design or device performance, but a shorter time, for example, seconds rather than minutes, can achieve more accurate real-time performance. However, when multiple reservation requests are made simultaneously, the system may be configured to give priority to reservation processing for users who always reserve the same vehicle, or weighting may be used to prioritize reservation processing for users who make reservation requests with shorter usage times in order to improve the utilization rate of rental electric vehicles.

[0064] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the vehicle rental system 1 may further include a charging schedule determination unit that determines at least one of the charging speed, the time period during which the charging process is performed, or the execution priority of the charging process for each of the multiple rental electric vehicles based on the charging status information and reservation information for each of the multiple rental electric vehicles.

[0065] For example, the charging schedule determination unit determines a charging schedule such that electric vehicles for rent with a charge amount less than a predetermined value are charged at a high speed, and electric vehicles for rent with a charge amount equal to or greater than the predetermined value are charged at a normal speed.

[0066] The charging schedule determination unit may also determine a charging schedule such that, based on the reservation information, a rental electric vehicle for which it is determined that the required charge amount will not be achieved by the next start time of use at the normal speed is charged at a high speed, and a rental electric vehicle for which it is determined that the required charge amount will be achieved by the next start time of use at the normal speed is charged at a normal speed. This makes it possible to improve user convenience while optimizing charging time and battery life.

[0067] Furthermore, for a rental electric vehicle that has been determined to have the required amount of charge at a normal speed by the start time of the next use, the charging schedule determination unit may determine a charging schedule such that charging is performed during the daytime when the parking lot is relatively empty, avoiding times when the parking lot is crowded, such as at night. This makes it possible to optimize the charging schedule and reduce the load on the power supply network while not reducing convenience for users.

[0068] Furthermore, when there are multiple electric vehicles for rent in the parking lot that are not fully charged, the charging schedule determination unit may determine the charging schedule by giving priority to the electric vehicles for rent that have subsequent reservations for use. This makes it possible to charge multiple vehicles using a limited number of charging facilities in the parking lot without reducing convenience for users.

[0069] In the above-described embodiment, the functions of the vehicle management device 10 may be installed in the user terminal 30, and the user terminal 30 may acquire the charge amount of the electric vehicle for rental at predetermined time intervals and transmit the acquired charge amount to the data management server 20.

[0070] Alternatively, instead of installing the vehicle management device 10, a parking lot management device (not shown) that manages the equipment in the parking lot P may acquire at least one of information on the parking time for each rental electric vehicle in the parking lot P, the connection time to the charging device, or the distance traveled, and based on the acquired information, predict the amount of charge for each rental electric vehicle at predetermined time intervals and transmit the predicted amount of charge to the data management server 20.

[0071] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, the electric vehicle is not limited to an electric car, but may be an electric kick scooter, an electric bicycle, a flying car, or the like.

[0072] Furthermore, the above-described embodiment may be applied not only to electric vehicles that use only electricity, but also to fuel vehicles that use only fuel, or hybrid vehicles that can use both fuel and electricity. When this system is applied to a fuel vehicle (gasoline vehicle), the remaining fuel in the fuel vehicle to be rented is considered instead of considering the amount of charge of the rental vehicle. In particular, in response to a user's reservation request, a fuel vehicle to be rented that has enough remaining fuel to travel the planned distance at the scheduled start time of use is selected, and the reservation process is carried out. Other factors, such as driving behavior patterns and the user's past reservation history, can be used to calculate the planned fuel consumption of the fuel vehicle in the same way as for electric vehicles, and therefore function effectively in the reservation process.

[0073] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the embodiments can be modified or varied based on the above disclosure. All components of the above embodiments and all features described in the claims may be individually extracted and combined as long as they are not mutually inconsistent. [Explanation of symbols]

[0074] 1. Vehicle rental system 10 Vehicle management device 11 1st CPU 20 Data Management Server 21 Memory section 22 2nd CPU 30 User terminal 31 Input / output section 32 Communications Department 33 3rd CPU 40 Cloud Server 41 4th CPU 111 First Information Processing Unit 211 Vehicle information storage unit 212 Reservation information storage unit 221 Second Information Processing Department 331 3rd Information Processing Department 411 Reservation Processing Unit

Claims

1. a data management unit that acquires information on the amount of charge and reservation information for each of the plurality of electric vehicles for rental; a reservation processing unit that, when it receives a reservation request including information on the user's planned start time of use and planned driving distance, selects from the plurality of electric vehicles for rent a vehicle that has a charge capacity that will enable it to drive the planned driving distance at the planned start time of use based on the information obtained by the data management unit, and assigns it as the electric vehicle for rent for the reservation request, thereby performing reservation processing.

2. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1 , wherein the planned travel amount is a planned travel distance or a planned amount of power consumption.

3. 3. The vehicle rental system according to claim 2, wherein the reservation processing unit calculates an amount of electricity expected to be consumed by the rental electric vehicle when used by the user based on at least one of load weight information at the time of use input by the user, information on the user's past usage history, information on the user's driving style, weather information at the time of use, or information on the degree of battery deterioration for each of the plurality of rental electric vehicles, selects a rental electric vehicle that has a charge amount that exceeds the calculated amount of electricity expected to be consumed at the scheduled start time of use, and assigns it as the rental electric vehicle for the reservation request, thereby processing the reservation.

4. The plurality of rental electric vehicles include vehicles of a plurality of vehicle types, The reservation request includes vehicle model information, 2. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1, wherein the reservation processing unit selects, as a rental electric vehicle to be allocated to the reservation request, an electric vehicle for rental that has a charge amount sufficient to travel the planned travel distance at the planned start time of use and that corresponds to the vehicle type included in the reservation request, and performs reservation processing.

5. The reservation request includes information about the planned time of use, 2. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1, wherein the reservation processing unit selects, as a rental electric vehicle to be allocated in response to the reservation request, an electric vehicle that is capable of traveling the planned distance at the planned start time of use and has a charge amount that can be used continuously during the planned usage time.

6. The reservation request includes information about the planned starting point of use, 2. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1, wherein the reservation processing unit selects, from among electric vehicles for rental that are capable of traveling the planned distance at the planned start time of use, an electric vehicle for rental that is parked in a position closest to the planned start point of use at the planned start time of use, as the electric vehicle for rental to be allocated to the reservation request, and performs reservation processing.

7. the reservation processing unit acquires information on a cruising distance for each of the electric vehicles for rent at the scheduled start time of use, the cruising distance being calculated based on charging status information for each of the electric vehicles for rent; 2. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1, wherein an electric vehicle for rental that has a range equal to or greater than the planned driving distance at the planned start time is selected as an electric vehicle for rental that has a charge amount sufficient to travel the planned driving distance.

8. 2. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1, wherein the reservation processing unit selects a rental electric vehicle that is currently unused and has no scheduled use until the scheduled start time of use as the rental electric vehicle to be allocated in response to the reservation request and performs the reservation process.

9. 2. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1, further comprising a rental processing unit that causes an output device to output information on the latest charge amount of the rental electric vehicle allocated by the reservation process, and that, when it recognizes that a confirmation operation has been performed by the user due to the output of the information on the latest charge amount, executes rental processing for the allocated rental electric vehicle.

10. 2. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1, wherein the reservation processing unit acquires reservation history information of the user being processed during reservation processing, and selects a rental electric vehicle to be allocated to the reservation request, giving priority to rental electric vehicles of a type that are frequently used by the user being processed or rental electric vehicles parked in a location that is frequently used, and performs reservation processing.

11. 2. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1, further comprising a charging schedule determination unit that determines at least one of a charging speed, a time period for executing the charging process, or an execution priority of the charging process for each of the plurality of electric vehicles for rental, based on the charging status information and reservation information for each of the plurality of electric vehicles for rental.

12. A vehicle rental method in which, when a reservation request including information on a user's planned start time of use and planned driving distance is acquired, information on the amount of charge and reservation information for each of a plurality of electric vehicles for hire is acquired, and based on the acquired information, a vehicle for hire that has a amount of charge that will enable it to drive the planned driving distance at the planned start time of use is selected from the plurality of electric vehicles for hire, and assigned as the electric vehicle for hire for the reservation request, thereby performing reservation processing.

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