Vehicle maintenance timing management system
The system addresses the inaccuracy of conventional oil change timing by calculating future mileage based on past data and vehicle inspection dates, ensuring timely and accurate oil change guidance.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- KIMURA UNITY
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-26
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-08
AI Technical Summary
Conventional vehicle maintenance timing management systems struggle to provide accurate oil change guidance due to reliance on current mileage alone, lacking the ability to estimate future mileage accurately.
A system that includes a vehicle device to measure mileage at intervals, a user terminal, and an oil change notification device to calculate estimated mileage by averaging past mileage over a period, determining future mileage thresholds, and notifying users when the estimated mileage exceeds a predetermined threshold, while considering vehicle inspection dates.
Enables timely and accurate oil change notifications by estimating future mileage, ensuring oil changes are performed at the appropriate time, thereby improving maintenance management.
Smart Images
Figure 2026114534000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle maintenance timing management system that estimates the oil change timing of a vehicle used by a user and notifies the user of the oil change guidance.
Background Art
[0002] Conventionally, there is known a vehicle maintenance timing management system that acquires vehicle information by a vehicle device mounted on a vehicle and determines whether it is an oil change target based on the acquired information and notifies the vehicle user. For example, in the vehicle maintenance timing management system described in Patent Document 1, the current mileage is acquired by a vehicle device, and when the mileage exceeds a certain value, the necessity of replacing oil, brake pads, light bulbs, etc. is determined, and a configuration for notifying the vehicle of the determination result is described.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0003]
Patent Document 1
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0004] However, in the above conventional vehicle maintenance timing management system, since it determines whether it is an oil change target only using the current mileage, there is a problem that it is difficult to notify the oil change guidance at an accurate timing.
[0005] Therefore, in view of such problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle maintenance timing management system that can estimate the oil change timing by estimating the future mileage from the vehicle mileage data and notify the oil change guidance at an accurate timing.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0006] To achieve the above objective, the invention described in claim 1 includes a vehicle device mounted on a user's vehicle that measures the vehicle's mileage at predetermined intervals along with the date as mileage data, a user terminal owned by the user, and an oil change notification device capable of communicating with the vehicle device and the user terminal, wherein the oil change notification device comprises a storage means for storing the mileage data measured by the vehicle device and the vehicle's past oil change dates, a control unit for controlling the oil change notification device, and a communication unit for communicating with the outside, wherein the oil change notification device, at predetermined intervals, stores the mileage data and the previous oil change date Based on this, the system calculates the past mileage, which is the cumulative mileage since the last oil change, and also calculates the estimated mileage for each predetermined period, which is the mileage estimated from the mileage data. By repeatedly adding the estimated mileage to the past mileage, the system calculates the future mileage, which is the cumulative mileage for each predetermined period after a predetermined timing. The timing at which the future mileage exceeds a predetermined mileage threshold is determined as the oil change timing, and if the oil change timing falls within a predetermined interval calculated from the predetermined timing, the system notifies the user terminal of the oil change notification. Furthermore, the invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1, the estimated mileage is calculated by taking the average of the mileage for each predetermined period over a predetermined period preceding a predetermined timing. Furthermore, the invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1 or 2, if the vehicle inspection date and the statutory inspection date fall within a certain period before and after the oil change time, no notification of oil change is given. [Effects of the Invention]
[0007] According to the present invention, the system calculates an estimated mileage from mileage data measured by a vehicle device and adds it to the past mileage to estimate when it is time for an oil change. Therefore, it becomes possible to provide guidance on oil changes at the appropriate time. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0008] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing an example of a vehicle maintenance timing management system according to the present invention. [Figure 2] This table shows an example of mileage data managed by a vehicle management system. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart for determining whether or not an oil change is required. [Figure 4] This table shows the future distance calculated from Figure 2. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the vehicle maintenance timing management system 1 according to the present invention. Figure 2 is a table showing an example of mileage data managed by the vehicle management device 6. Figure 3 is a flowchart for determining whether or not an oil change is required. Figure 4 is a table showing future mileage calculated from Figure 2.
[0010] The vehicle maintenance timing management system 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as the "management system") manages data for vehicles used by multiple users, estimates the oil change timing for each vehicle from the managed data, and notifies users of the oil change. As shown in Figure 1, the management system 1 includes vehicle devices 2,2..., user terminals 3,3..., and an oil change notification device 4. In this embodiment, the oil change notification device 4 consists of a device management device 5, a vehicle management device 6, and a timing estimation device 7. In the management system 1, the various components are configured by connections via public communication networks such as the Internet, and / or electrical connections such as wired connections.
[0011] Vehicle device 2 includes a distance measuring unit that measures the vehicle's mileage, a storage unit that stores the mileage measured by the distance measuring unit, and a communication unit that communicates with the device management device 5 and transmits the mileage data stored in the storage unit to the device management device 5 (none of which are shown). Vehicle device 2 is installed in each vehicle used by each user and measures the mileage of the vehicle it is installed in and stores it as mileage data along with the date. User terminal 3 is a communication device owned by the user, such as a mobile phone or personal computer.
[0012] The device management device 5 includes a communication unit that communicates with the vehicle device 2 and the vehicle management device 6, a storage unit that stores mileage data acquired from the vehicle device 2, and a control unit that controls the device management device 5 (none of which are shown). The vehicle management device 6 includes a communication unit that communicates with the user terminal 3, the device management device 5, and the timing estimation device 7, a storage unit that stores various data, and a control unit that controls the vehicle management device 6 (none of which are shown). The timing estimation device 7 includes a storage unit that stores various data, a communication unit that communicates with the vehicle management device 6 and the outside, and a control unit that controls the timing estimation device 7 and performs calculations to estimate the timing of the vehicle's oil change (none of which are shown).
[0013] The identification of vehicles subject to oil changes using the management system 1 configured in this manner is performed as follows. (Management of mileage data) Vehicle device 2 transmits recorded mileage data to device management device 5 at predetermined intervals. The timing of when vehicle device 2 transmits mileage data to device management device 5 can be determined as appropriate, and may include a format in which vehicle device 2 and device management device 5 communicate constantly and transmit mileage data from vehicle device 2 to device management device 5 in real time, or a format in which mileage data is transmitted to device management device 5 at predetermined times, days of the week, and dates.
[0014] The device management device 5 stores and manages the mileage data transmitted from each vehicle device 2, linking it to the identification information of each vehicle device 2. The device management device 5 transmits the mileage data, along with the linked identification information of the vehicle device 2, to the vehicle management device 6 at predetermined times, days of the week, and dates.
[0015] The vehicle management device 6 stores and manages mileage data acquired from the device management device 5, linking it to user identification information corresponding to the identification information of each vehicle device 2. The vehicle management device 6 also manages vehicle information (information about the vehicle used by the user), maintenance information (including inspection dates, statutory inspection dates, and past oil change dates), and information about the user terminal 3 used by the user, linking them to the user's identification information. The vehicle management device 6 transmits mileage data, along with the linked user identification information, to the timing estimation device 7 at predetermined times, days of the week, and dates. Furthermore, when maintenance information is updated, the vehicle management device 6 transmits the maintenance information, along with the linked user identification information, to the timing estimation device 7.
[0016] The timing estimation device 7 manages mileage data and maintenance information acquired from the vehicle management device 6, linking them to the user's identification information. Based on the mileage data and maintenance information, it also manages the mileage for each predetermined period (for example, one month) and the cumulative mileage from the previous oil change date, known as past mileage, linked to the user's identification information. Figure 2 illustrates a case where the predetermined period is one month, from the 20th of the previous month to the 19th of the current month. Note that if the previous oil change date falls within the predetermined period, the mileage for each predetermined period is calculated using the period from the oil change date onward as the predetermined period. For example, in the case of Figure 2, if the oil change date is April 1st, the mileage from April 2nd to April 19th is considered the mileage for April. The mileage for each predetermined period and the past mileage may be updated at predetermined times, days of the week, and dates, or they may be calculated when identifying the target of the oil change, as described later. In this way, the management system 1 manages the mileage data measured by the vehicle device 2.
[0017] (Identification of Oil Change Target) The management system 1 identifies the vehicles that are subject to oil change at predetermined timings by the timing estimation device 7. The predetermined timings are timings such as a predetermined time, day of the week, and date, which are determined as appropriate, but are preferably performed at the same interval as the predetermined period.
[0018] The timing estimation device 7 determines whether or not a user is subject to oil change based on the data associated with the identification information of the user for each user, and creates an oil change target list, which is a list of users who are subject to oil change, to identify the oil change targets. Then, the timing estimation device 7 transmits the oil change target list to the vehicle management device 6. The vehicle management device 6 issues a notice of oil change guidance based on the received oil change target list.
[0019] The creation of the oil change target list by the timing estimation device 7 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3. The timing estimation device 7 determines whether a scheduled oil change date after the predetermined timing is set in the maintenance information associated with the identification information of the target user (S100). If a scheduled oil change date is set, the timing estimation device 7 ends the process and starts determining whether the next user is subject to oil change from the data associated with the identification information of the next user (Yes in S100).
[0020] If no oil change scheduled date is set, the timing estimation device 7 calculates the estimated mileage, which is an estimated value of the mileage for each predetermined period after a predetermined timing, by taking the average of the mileage for each predetermined period linked to the identification information of the target user, going back a certain period (for example, three months) (S101). Next, the timing estimation device 7 calculates the future mileage, which is the cumulative mileage for each predetermined period after a predetermined timing, by repeatedly adding the estimated mileage to the past mileage, and calculates the timing when the future mileage exceeds the mileage threshold (for example, 10,000 km) as the oil change timing (S102). Here, Figure 4 shows the predetermined timing as the timing when the mileage data is updated as shown in Figure 2, the certain period as three months, and the estimated mileage of 1,000 [km], which is the average of the mileage for the most recent three months, based on the mileage data in Figure 2, and the future mileage, which is the latest past mileage of 8,000 [km] in Figure 2, by repeatedly adding this to the estimated mileage. The predetermined period shown in Figure 4 represents a predetermined period in the future after a predetermined timing. The timing estimation device 7 then determines whether the oil change timing is within a predetermined interval (for example, two months) calculated from the predetermined timing (S103).
[0021] If the oil change timing is not within a predetermined interval, the system determines that the oil change is not applicable and terminates the process, then starts determining whether the next user is eligible for an oil change based on the data linked to their identification information (No in S103). If the oil change timing is within a predetermined interval, the system checks the maintenance information to determine whether there is a vehicle inspection date and a statutory inspection date within a certain period before and after the oil change timing (for example, one month before and after) (S104). If there is no vehicle inspection date and a statutory inspection date within one month before and after the oil change timing, the system records the user as eligible for an oil change in the oil change target list (S105). If there is a vehicle inspection date and a statutory inspection date within one month before and after the oil change month, the system terminates the process and starts determining whether the next user is eligible for an oil change based on the data linked to their identification information (Yes in S104).
[0022] The timing estimation device 7 repeats the above operation for each user's identification information to create an oil change target list.
[0023] (Oil change reminder) The vehicle management device 6, having acquired the list of vehicles to be replaced, notifies the user terminal 3, which is linked to the user identification information listed in the oil change target list, of the oil change. Methods for notifying the user of the oil change include email, SMS, and telephone. Alternatively, the user may be notified by communicating with the vehicle management device 6 using the user terminal 3 to confirm the oil change notification.
[0024] Upon receiving a notification about an oil change, the user uses the user terminal 3 to send a preferred date for the oil change to the vehicle management system 6. Upon receiving the preferred date, the vehicle management system 6 notifies an external repair shop 8 of the preferred date and the user's information. Notification methods include fax, telephone, email, and SMS. The external repair shop 8 then contacts the user to determine the oil change date, and the vehicle's oil change is performed at a later date.
[0025] According to the vehicle maintenance timing management system 1 described above, the system calculates an estimated mileage from the mileage data measured by the vehicle device 2 and adds it to the past mileage to estimate when it is time for an oil change. Therefore, it is possible to provide guidance on oil changes at the appropriate time.
[0026] Furthermore, the vehicle maintenance timing management system according to the present invention is not limited in any way to the embodiments described above, and the overall configuration of the management system, as well as the configuration of the oil change notification device, can be modified as needed.
[0027] For example, in this embodiment, the oil change notification device 4 is configured with multiple functions shared by multiple devices, but how these functions are shared can be changed as appropriate. For example, a configuration in which the vehicle management device 6 and the timing prediction device 7 are combined into a single device is conceivable, or in addition to the configuration of this embodiment, the oil change notification device 4 may have an SMS sending device for informing the user terminal 3 about oil changes. Furthermore, the oil change notification device 4 may not be composed of multiple devices, but rather all functions may be integrated into a single device. [Explanation of Symbols]
[0028] 1. Vehicle maintenance timing management system, 2. Vehicle terminal, 3. User terminal, 4. Oil change notification device, 5. Device management device, 6. Vehicle management device, 7. Timing prediction device, 8. Repair shop.
Claims
1. A vehicle device installed in the user's vehicle that measures the vehicle's mileage at predetermined intervals, along with the date, as mileage data, User-owned user devices, The vehicle device and the user terminal are included in the oil change notification device, The oil change notification device comprises a storage means for storing mileage data measured by the vehicle device and past oil change dates of the vehicle, a control unit for controlling the oil change notification device, and a communication unit for communicating with the outside. The oil change notification device calculates the cumulative mileage since the last oil change, which is the past mileage, based on the mileage data and the date of the last oil change, at predetermined intervals, and also calculates the estimated mileage for each predetermined period, which is the mileage estimated from the mileage data. By repeatedly adding the estimated mileage to the past mileage, the future mileage, which is the cumulative mileage for each predetermined period after the predetermined timing, is calculated. The timing at which the aforementioned future distance exceeds a predetermined mileage threshold is defined as the time for an oil change. A vehicle maintenance timing management system characterized by notifying the user terminal of an oil change notification if the oil change timing falls within a predetermined interval calculated from the predetermined timing.
2. The vehicle maintenance timing management system according to claim 1, characterized in that the estimated mileage is calculated by taking the average of the mileage for each predetermined period over a predetermined period preceding the predetermined timing.
3. The vehicle maintenance timing management system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that if a vehicle inspection date and a statutory inspection date fall within a certain period before or after the oil change time, the oil change notification will not be issued.