Position determination system and position determination method

Abstract

To provide a position determination system and position determination method with which it is possible to continue to obtain information regarding a customer's vehicle even when a customer has defected and to determine a region from which the customer has defected.SOLUTION: In a position determination system 1, a control processor 100 and each of vehicles 200-1 to 200-n can communicate with each other via a network NW, the control processor 100 comprises: a position acquisition section 102 that acquires a travel position state by turning the ignition of a moving body on or off; a location registration section 108 that registers a plurality of locations for performing at least one of the sales, maintenance, and management of the moving body; a map information acquisition section 109 that includes general map information; and a position determination section 110 that determines an accurate position by collating with the map information of the map information acquisition section 109 when the travel position state acquired by the position acquisition section is different from the locations registered in the location registration section 108.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a position determination system and a position determination method. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there has been provided a technology for guiding a moving object based on information about input landmarks that the moving object recognizes as landmarks and information about landmarks stored in a landmark database (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2004 / 011881 Pamphlet Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] There are cases where customers of vehicles as a mobile object defect from a dealership and go to a competitor. In such cases, it is not possible to track the trends of defecting customers, and it is also impossible to identify the regions where the defections occurred. As a result, it is not known how many defections are occurring in which regions, and as a result, there is a risk that market share will decrease without being able to address the source of the defection and lose opportunities to retain customers.

[0005] The present invention aims to provide a location determination system and a location determination method that can continue to obtain information about a customer's vehicle even if the customer leaves, and can determine the area where the customer has left, in order to improve energy efficiency by appropriately replacing vehicle consumable parts. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a location determination system comprising: a location acquisition unit (e.g., location acquisition unit 102 described below) that acquires a traveling location status by turning on or off the ignition of a mobile body (e.g., vehicles 200-1 to 200-n described below); a location registration unit (e.g., location registration unit 108 described below) that registers multiple locations where at least one of sales, maintenance, and management of the mobile body is performed; a map information acquisition unit (e.g., map information acquisition unit 109 described below) that has general map information; and a location determination unit (e.g., location determination unit 110 described below) that, when the traveling location status acquired by the location acquisition unit differs from the location registered in the location registration unit, compares the traveling location status acquired by the location acquisition unit with the map information of the map information acquisition unit to determine an accurate location.

[0007] The present invention also provides a location determination method including a step of acquiring a traveling location state by turning on or off the ignition of a mobile body (e.g., step S101 described below), a step of registering a plurality of locations where at least one of sales, maintenance, and management of the mobile body is performed, and a step of, if the traveling location state acquired in the step of acquiring the traveling location state differs from the registered location, comparing it with general map information to determine the exact location (e.g., step S105 described below).

[0008] The map information acquisition unit updates the location determined by the location determination unit to general map information. In addition, in the step of determining the accurate location, the determined location is updated to general map information.

[0009] The system further includes a replacement position acquisition unit (for example, a replacement position acquisition unit 111 described later) that acquires the position of the moving body when the consumable part is replaced, and a step (for example, step S101 described later) of acquiring the position of the moving body when the consumable part is replaced.

[0010] The location registration unit registers the locations where the consumable parts can be replaced. In the step of registering a plurality of locations, the locations where the consumable parts can be replaced are registered. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a location determination system and a location determination method that can continue to obtain information about a customer's vehicle even if the customer leaves and can identify the area where the customer has left. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a flowchart illustrating processing in a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a graph showing the relationship between the remaining rate of engine oil and the mileage of a vehicle. [Figure 4] 10 is a graph showing a first example of the relationship between the engine oil remaining rate and the mileage when the vehicle owner is changed. [Figure 5] 10 is a graph showing a second example of the relationship between the engine oil remaining rate and the mileage when the vehicle owner is changed. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the positional relationship between the place where the engine oil of the vehicle was changed and the vehicle dealer. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the positional relationship between a vehicle dealership and its surrounding competitors. [Figure 8] 1 is a diagram for explaining a state in which vehicles that have had their engine oil changed and the number of days until the next engine oil change for the vehicles are listed at a vehicle dealership and its surrounding competitors. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing customer churn rates at vehicle dealerships in each region. [Figure 10] 1 is a graph showing the characteristics of engine oil change timing for vehicles in one region. [Figure 11] 1 is a graph showing differences in vehicle engine oil change timing characteristics in different regions. [Figure 12] 1 is a graph showing the number of vehicles that have had their engine oil changed by day of the week at a vehicle dealership and its surrounding competitors. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0014] The system 1 of the embodiment includes a control processing device 100 and vehicles 200-1 to 200-n (n is an integer greater than 1). The control processing device 100 and each of the vehicles 200-1 to 200-n can communicate with each other via a network NW. The network NW includes the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), a public line, a provider device, a dedicated line, a wireless base station, etc.

[0015] In this embodiment, vehicles 200-1 to 200-n are engine vehicles that run using an internal combustion engine as a drive source, or hybrid vehicles that run using an engine and a motor as a drive source. Each of vehicles 200-1 to 200-n is parked in a parking lot used by the owner of vehicle 200-1 to 200-n, or at a dealership or a competitor's dealership where engine oil for vehicle 200-1 to 200-n is changed.

[0016] Each of vehicles 200-1 to 200-n is a vehicle equipped with a wireless communication function, known as a connected car. Vehicles 200-1 to 200-n are connected to a network NW, and vehicle data acquired from the vehicles is input to control processing device 100 via the network NW, and various analyses related to the vehicles are performed. The vehicle data includes, for example, the location of the vehicle when the ignition of the vehicle is turned on, the mileage of the vehicle, the remaining rate of engine oil, etc. Hereinafter, vehicles 200-1 to 200-n will be described as vehicle 200 where appropriate.

[0017] The control processing device 100 is realized by a device such as a personal computer, a server, or an industrial computer. The control processing device 100 has, for example, an engine oil remaining level acquisition unit 101, a location acquisition unit 102, a mileage acquisition unit 103, a replacement distance calculation unit 104, a data receiving unit 105, a replacement location registration unit 106, a replacement location identification unit 107, a location registration unit 108, a map information acquisition unit 109, a location determination unit 110, a replacement location acquisition unit 111, an oil change detection unit 112, an owner change determination unit 113, an average distance calculation unit 114, and a determination unit 115. These components constitute a consumable part replacement location identification system, a replacement time calculation system, a location determination system, and an owner change detection system.

[0018] These are realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program (software) stored in a storage unit (not shown). Furthermore, some or all of these functional units may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware.

[0019] The storage unit (not shown) in which the program is stored is realized by a hard disk drive (HDD), flash memory, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), or the like. The program may be stored in a removable storage medium (non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed by inserting the storage medium into a drive device. The storage unit also stores information about each vehicle 200, such as the location of each vehicle 200, the mileage of each vehicle 200, the remaining rate of engine oil, and the like, when the ignition of each vehicle 200 is turned on.

[0020] The engine oil remaining rate acquisition unit 101 grasps the remaining rate of engine oil, which is a consumable part of each vehicle 200, contained in the vehicle data acquired from each vehicle 200 via the network NW.

[0021] The position acquisition unit 102 acquires position information (longitude and latitude values) of each vehicle 200, which is included in the vehicle data acquired from each vehicle 200 and indicates the traveling position state of each vehicle 200 when the ignition is turned on. Then, when the ignition is turned on after the engine oil is changed in each vehicle 200, the value of the remaining rate of engine oil output from the engine oil remaining rate acquisition unit 101 returns to the initial value, which is the value immediately after the engine oil change. When this return occurs, the oil change detection unit 112 detects that the engine oil has been changed, and the change time position acquisition unit 111 identifies the position of each vehicle 200 as the engine oil change position.

[0022] More specifically, assuming that the remaining amount of engine oil when the ignition of vehicle 200 is turned on this time has increased by at least a first predetermined amount compared to when the ignition was turned on last time, if the remaining amount of engine oil is at least a second predetermined amount, it is determined that the value of the engine oil remaining rate has returned to its initial value, and oil change detection unit 112 detects that engine oil has been changed in vehicle 200. Here, the first predetermined amount is the amount of engine oil that fluctuates when circulating within the engine of vehicle 200. The second predetermined amount is the amount when the engine oil is at its upper limit, meaning that there is sufficient engine oil in the engine of vehicle 200, and is the initial amount at which it is determined that engine oil has been changed.

[0023] The travel distance acquisition unit 103 acquires the travel distance of each vehicle 200 when the ignition of each vehicle 200 is turned on, which is included in the vehicle data acquired from each vehicle 200.

[0024] The replacement distance calculation unit 104 divides the total distance, which is the distance traveled by each vehicle 200 and which is output from the mileage acquisition unit 103, by the number of times that the value of the engine oil remaining rate in each vehicle 200, which is output from the engine oil remaining level acquisition unit 101, has returned to the initial value, which is the value immediately after the engine oil was replaced. In this way, the replacement distance calculation unit 104 calculates the time to replace the engine oil.

[0025] Specifically, the replacement distance calculation unit 104 acquires the total distance, which is the distance traveled by each vehicle 200. The replacement distance calculation unit 104 also acquires from the average distance calculation unit 114 the average value of the distance traveled from one engine oil change to the next engine oil change. Here, when the value of the engine oil remaining rate of each vehicle 200 output from the engine oil remaining rate acquisition unit 101 returns multiple times to the initial value, which is the value immediately after the engine oil was changed, the average distance calculation unit 114 calculates the average travel distance (4,948 km in FIG. 3) of each vehicle 200 between the two chronologically adjacent initial values, that is, the previous initial value and the current initial value, as shown by "ave" in FIG. 3. The value output from the travel distance acquisition unit 103 is used as the travel distance. Furthermore, the replacement distance calculation unit 104 calculates the average daily driving distance of the vehicle 200 by dividing the total distance by the number of days the vehicle 200 has been in use. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 3, the replacement distance calculation unit 104 calculates the most recent driving distance that the vehicle 200 has traveled since the most recent engine oil change by subtracting the most recent driving distance at which the value of the engine oil remaining rate returned to its initial value from the total distance for the vehicle 200. Then, the change distance calculation unit 104 calculates the remaining distance until the next engine oil remaining rate value is expected to return to the initial value from the current total distance by subtracting the most recent mileage value from the average mileage value output from the average mileage calculation unit 114 for the vehicle 200. Then, the change distance calculation unit 104 divides the remaining mileage by the average daily mileage to calculate the number of days remaining until the next engine oil remaining rate value is expected to return to the initial value. The expected date for the next engine oil change (5 / 4 in FIG. 3) is calculated.

[0026] The data receiving unit 105 receives data on the remaining rate of engine oil from the engine oil remaining level acquisition unit 101, data on the distance traveled by each vehicle 200 when the ignition of each vehicle 200 is turned on from the position acquisition unit 102, and data on the distance traveled by each vehicle 200 when the ignition of each vehicle 200 is turned on from the mileage acquisition unit 103, which is included in the vehicle data acquired from each vehicle 200.

[0027] The data receiving unit 105 also includes a map information acquiring unit 109 that has general map information including normal map information such as transportation, buildings, and topography, as well as a change location registering unit 106 that pre-registers locations where engine oil can be changed, and these are stored in a storage medium (not shown).

[0028] The data receiving unit 105 also includes an owner change determination unit 113. The owner change determination unit 113 compares the remaining rate of engine oil when the engine oil was last changed and the location of each vehicle 200 with the remaining rate of engine oil when the engine oil is currently changed and the location of each vehicle 200, and determines whether or not the owner of each vehicle 200 has changed.

[0029] More specifically, the owner change determination unit 113 detects that there has been no owner change for each vehicle 200 based on the above comparison requirements that the engine oil change locations are the same and that the time between the previous engine oil change and the current engine oil change is longer than a first predetermined time. Here, the first predetermined time can be, for example, a number of days less than half the number of days corresponding to the average mileage value output from the average distance calculation unit 114. Satisfying this requirement means that the vehicle 200 has changed owners, and that the engine oil was changed in order to be sold as a used vehicle, even though it was not long after the previous owner changed the engine oil, as shown in the area surrounded by two dashed dotted lines at the right end of FIG. 5 . In FIG. 5 , the horizontal axis indicates the mileage of the vehicle 200, but the date and time are also listed along with the horizontal axis.

[0030] Furthermore, the owner change determination unit 113 determines that there has been no owner change for each vehicle 200 by setting the condition that the difference between the timestamps from when the ignition is turned on immediately before the engine oil is changed to when the ignition is turned on immediately after the engine oil is changed is less than a second predetermined time. The second predetermined time can be, for example, one week. By satisfying this condition, as shown in FIG. 4, if there has been no owner change, the rising edge of the graph is inclined compared to the rising edges of the other graphs, as shown in the third area from the left surrounded by a dashed line. This indicates that the vehicle 200 has changed owners, and is being sold as a used vehicle after the engine oil has been changed. Note that in FIG. 4, as in FIG. 5, the horizontal axis indicates the mileage of the vehicle 200, but the date and time are also listed along with the horizontal axis.

[0031] The change location identification unit 107 identifies the location where the engine oil was actually changed, using the information on the location registered in the change location registration unit 106. Specifically, first, the determination unit 115 determines whether the location value of the location registered in the change location registration unit 106 is the same as the location value identified by the change location identification unit 107.

[0032] Next, the oil change location identification unit 107 determines, based on the location information of the location of each vehicle 200 from the location acquisition unit 102, whether or not there is a dealer or the like registered in the oil change location registration unit 106 within a first predetermined square distance from the location indicated by a black pin in FIG. 6 (the square area in FIG. 6). Here, the first predetermined distance is a distance that includes a building where engine oil changes are performed at a dealer registered in the oil change location registration unit 106 as the dealer of the vehicle 200. As shown in FIG. 6, if it is determined that there is a dealer within the first predetermined square distance from the oil change location, the oil change location identification unit 107 identifies the dealer or the like as the location where the engine oil was actually changed. Then, the determination unit 115 determines whether the location value of the location registered in the oil change location registration unit 106 is the same as the location value identified by the oil change location identification unit 107. If the determination unit 115 determines that the values ​​are the same, the location registered in the oil change location registration unit 106 is registered as the location where the engine oil was actually changed.

[0033] If there is no registered location, the location determination unit 110 determines the exact location by comparing the location of each vehicle 200 with the locations of competing stores and the like included in the general map information of the map information acquisition unit 109. The map information acquisition unit 109 then updates the determined exact location in the general map information of the map information acquisition unit 109 as a new engine oil change location for each vehicle 200 from the location acquisition unit 102, and the location registration unit 108 registers the location that sells, maintains, or manages the vehicle 200 in the change location registration unit 106 as a competing store.

[0034] Next, a method for identifying the position of a consumable part at the time of replacement, a method for calculating the replacement time, a method for determining the position, and a method for detecting a change of owner, which are performed by the control of the control processing device 100, will be described. First, in step S101, the engine oil remaining level acquisition unit 101 of the control processing device 100 collects the remaining amount of engine oil from each vehicle 200. Then, the processing of the control processing device 100 proceeds to step S102.

[0035] In step S102, the control processing device 100 determines whether the remaining amount of engine oil received by the data receiving unit 105 from the engine oil remaining level acquisition unit 101 has increased by more than a first predetermined amount compared to the previous time of collection, and whether the remaining amount of engine oil is more than a second predetermined amount.

[0036] In step S102, if the control processing device 100 determines that the remaining amount of engine oil has increased by more than a first predetermined amount compared to the previous time of collection and that the remaining amount of engine oil is more than a second predetermined amount (step S102: YES), the processing of the control processing device 100 proceeds to step S103. If the control processing device 100 determines that the remaining amount of engine oil has increased by more than the first predetermined amount compared to the previous time of collection and that the remaining amount of engine oil is not more than the second predetermined amount (step S102: NO), the processing of the control processing device 100 returns to step S101.

[0037] In step S103, the oil change detection unit 112 of the control processing device 100 detects that the engine oil has been changed, and the change position acquisition unit 111 identifies the position of the vehicle 200 where the engine oil was changed as the engine oil change position. Then, the processing of the control processing device 100 proceeds to step S104.

[0038] In step S104, the control processing device 100 defines the location at which the engine oil change was detected from the location acquisition unit 102 received by the data receiving unit 105 when the ignition of the vehicle 200 was turned on as the “change location (change location),” and defines the time at which the engine oil change was detected as the “change timing (change time).” In addition, the average distance calculation unit 114 calculates the average travel distance of the vehicle 200 at which the engine oil change was performed. Furthermore, the mileage of each vehicle 200 when the ignition of the vehicle 200 is turned on is acquired from the mileage acquisition unit 103, and the replacement mileage calculation unit 104 calculates the number of days remaining until the next engine oil remaining rate value is expected to return to the initial value.Then, the date when the next engine oil remaining rate value is expected to return to the initial value is stored in a storage medium (not shown).Then, the processing of the control processing device 100 proceeds to step S105.

[0039] In step S105, the engine oil change location identification unit 107 of the control processing device 100 identifies the engine oil change location, and the determination unit 115 of the control processing device 100 determines whether the location value of the location registered in the change location registration unit 106 is the same as the location value identified by the change location identification unit 107. That is, if it is determined that there is a dealer within a first predetermined four-way distance from the engine oil change location (step S105: YES), the processing of the control processing device 100 proceeds to step S106. If it is determined that there is no dealer within a first predetermined four-way distance from the engine oil change location (step S105: NO), the processing of the control processing device 100 proceeds to step S108.

[0040] In step S106, the control processing device 100 determines that the place where the engine oil was changed was a dealer. Then, the processing of the control processing device 100 proceeds to step S107. In step S107, the control processing device 100 enters one record of data in the change location registration unit 106 indicating that the vehicle 200 had its engine oil changed at a dealer, and records the dealer. Then, the processing of the control processing device 100 proceeds to step S110.

[0041] In step S108, the control processing device 100 determines that the place where the engine oil was changed was not the dealer but a competing dealer. Then, the processing of the control processing device 100 proceeds to step S109. In step S109, the control processing device 100 records one record of data indicating that the vehicle 200 had its engine oil changed at a competing dealer in the change location registration unit 106, and registers the competing dealer. In addition, the map information acquisition unit 109 updates the general map information of the map information acquisition unit 109 with the accurate location determined by the location determination unit 110 based on the location of each vehicle 200 from the location acquisition unit 102 as a new engine oil change location.

[0042] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 7, the number of engine oil changes performed at competing shops such as auto repair shops, tire shops, and gas stations is registered so as to be displayed on a map together with the dealership. Also, for example, as shown in Fig. 8, the vehicle number of vehicle 200 (e.g., "Vehicle: 001"), the value of the engine oil remaining rate (e.g., "MOR: 52"), and the number of days until the next engine oil change in vehicle 200 (e.g., "Remaining change days: 25 days") are recorded so as to be displayable on the map. Then, the processing of control processing device 100 proceeds to step S110. In addition to the above, the predicted change date for the next engine oil change may also be displayed on the map.

[0043] In step S110, the control processing device 100 compares the location where the vehicle 200 previously had its engine oil changed with the location where the engine oil is currently being changed. Specifically, this is as shown in Table 1.

[0044] [Table 1]

[0045] In other words, if the engine oil was changed at the dealership last time and is also changed at the dealership this time, the status of "maintained management" indicating that the vehicle 200 continues to be under the management of the dealership will be registered in the change location registration unit 106. In addition, if the engine oil was changed at a dealership last time and the engine oil is changed this time at a competitor's dealership or by the owner himself, the status "currently leaked" indicating that the vehicle 200 has been taken out of the dealership's control at the time of this engine oil change is registered in the change location registration unit 106. Furthermore, if the engine oil was changed at a competitor's dealership or by the owner himself / herself last time, and the engine oil is changed at the dealership this time, the status of "recaptured" is registered in the change location registration unit 106, indicating that the vehicle 200 is once again under the management of the dealership. Furthermore, if the engine oil was changed at a competing dealer or by the owner himself / herself last time, and if the engine oil is changed again at a competing dealer or by the owner himself / herself this time, the status of "continued leakage," which indicates that the vehicle 200 continues to be out of the dealer's control, is registered in the change location registration unit 106. Then, the processing of the control processing device 100 proceeds to step S111.

[0046] In step S111, the owner change determination unit 113 of the control processing device 100 determines whether the engine oil was changed after a first predetermined time when the loss of oil was small, or whether the difference in timestamps between the previous collection and the current collection is less than a second predetermined time.

[0047] That is, in the above comparison, the owner change determination unit 113 determines whether the engine oil change location (effect location) is the same and whether the time between the previous engine oil change and the current engine oil change is longer than a first predetermined time. The owner change determination unit 113 also determines whether the difference in timestamps from when the ignition is turned on before the engine oil change to when the ignition is turned on immediately after the engine oil change is less than a second predetermined time.

[0048] If either determination is affirmative (S111: YES), the process of the control processing device 100 proceeds to step S112. If either determination is negative (S111: NO), the process of the control processing device 100 proceeds to step S113.

[0049] In step S112, the owner change determination section 113 of the control processing device 100 records the fact that there has been no owner change on a recording medium (not shown), and the processing of the control processing device 100 then ends.

[0050] In step S113, the owner change determination section 113 of the control processing device 100 records the fact that there has been an owner change on a recording medium (not shown), and the processing of the control processing device 100 then ends.

[0051] According to this embodiment, the following effects are achieved. In this embodiment, the remaining rate, which is the state of consumption of engine oil, a consumable part of vehicle 200, is determined, and the vehicle's position as a traveling position state is acquired by turning on the ignition of vehicle 200, and data on the remaining rate of engine oil and data on the position are received. Then, when the value of the data on the remaining rate of engine oil returns to the initial value due to the traveling state of vehicle 200, the position of the moving body is identified.

[0052] This makes it possible to identify the location where the engine oil remaining rate data value has returned to its initial value. Therefore, by regarding the location where the data value has returned as the location of the engine oil change location, it is possible to accurately grasp market share. It also makes it possible to understand the competing stores that change engine oil and the mindset of customers, which allows for an optimal approach to recapture or lose customers, ultimately improving the revenue from the parts business of the manufacturer of the vehicle 200.

[0053] In this embodiment, the data receiving unit 105 can use general map information and information in which locations where engine oil can be changed are registered in the process of identifying the location of the vehicle 200. This makes it possible to identify the location where the vehicle 200 actually changed its engine oil in the general map information by comparing it with the general map information.

[0054] In this embodiment, in the process of identifying the location of the vehicle 200, the change location identification unit 107 identifies the location where the engine oil was actually changed from information that registers locations where engine oil can be changed. This makes it possible to know at which of the already registered locations where engine oil can be changed the engine oil was changed.

[0055] In this embodiment, the determination unit 115 determines whether the value of the information about the registered locations where engine oil can be changed is the same as the value of the information about the location where the engine oil was actually changed. This makes it possible to determine whether the engine oil was changed at a registered location where engine oil can be changed.

[0056] In addition, in this embodiment, the mileage is obtained by turning on the ignition of vehicle 200, and the remaining rate of engine oil in vehicle 200 is determined.If the value of the data value of the engine oil remaining rate returns to the initial value multiple times, the average value of the mileage between two adjacent returns to the initial value is calculated, and the time to change the engine oil is calculated by dividing the total distance traveled by vehicle 200 by the number of times the data value of the engine oil remaining rate returned to the initial value.

[0057] This allows us to grasp the remaining engine oil percentage and engine oil change history, and calculate the next engine oil change date, not only when the vehicle 200 is in a maintained condition, but also when the vehicle 200 has been abandoned or the owner has changed the engine oil themselves. This makes it possible to predict the next engine oil change date for all vehicles 200, including abandoned vehicles 200, for which it was previously impossible to determine the next engine oil change date. As a result, it becomes possible to find potential customers who are in the best timing for an engine oil change in the vicinity of the dealership or a competitor's store, thereby enabling an efficient sales promotion approach to increase sales of engine oil as a part. Furthermore, by detecting the location of the vehicle 200 by turning on the ignition, it becomes possible to grasp the customer's living area.

[0058] More specifically, for example, it is possible to obtain the defection rate of customers of vehicle 200 in each city, as shown in Fig. 9. The shaded area on the right side of the graph for each city in Fig. 9 indicates the defection rate. In addition, for example, as shown in Figure 10, it is possible to clarify the timing of engine oil changes relative to the mileage of the vehicle 200. Figure 10 shows the number of vehicles 200 in one city that have had their engine oil changed relative to the mileage, and it is possible to clarify that in this city there are many customers who change their engine oil early and many customers who change their oil at the appropriate time. By aggregating this data for different cities, it becomes clear that the trends in engine oil change timing differ, as shown in Figure 11, making it possible to clarify whether or not early sales promotion is desirable. Furthermore, since it is possible to know the day of the week on which the engine oil was changed, it is possible to classify the place where the engine oil was changed by day of the week as either the dealer of vehicle 200 or a competitor's dealer, and to clarify this in a graph, as shown in Fig. 11. This makes it possible to clarify that customers are leaving on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which are often days when dealers are closed.

[0059] In this embodiment, the position acquisition unit 102 acquires the position of the vehicle 200 when the position is restored to the initial value. This makes it possible to know the position of the vehicle 200 where the engine oil has been changed.

[0060] In this embodiment, the data receiving unit 105 receives data on the distance traveled by the vehicle 200, data on the remaining rate of engine oil, and data on the position of the vehicle 200 when the engine oil is restored to the initial value. This makes it possible to use this data to calculate the next time to change the engine oil with high accuracy.

[0061] In this embodiment, general map information and information on registered locations where engine oil can be changed can be used in the process of receiving data by the data receiving unit 105. This makes it possible to identify the location of the dealership where the vehicle 200 actually had its engine oil changed by comparing it with the general map information. As a result, it becomes possible to calculate the next engine oil change time with high accuracy based on the location and mileage of the vehicle 200. Furthermore, for each customer, the mileage until the next engine oil change of the customer's vehicle can be plotted and registered on the general map information. Furthermore, based on the general map information, it becomes possible to calculate a more accurate engine oil change time and the mileage until the change, taking into account the customer's driving characteristics, such as accelerator operation and brake operation, and the topography of the customer's living area.

[0062] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the position of the vehicle 200 is acquired as a driving position state by turning on the ignition of the vehicle 200, and multiple locations where at least one of the sales, maintenance, and management of the vehicle 200 is performed are registered, and if the acquired position of the vehicle 200 differs from the registered location, the accurate position is determined by comparing it with general map information. This allows accurate position information based on the registered locations to be reflected on the map, making it possible to efficiently grasp the needs of customers of the map data and the vehicle 200.

[0063] In this embodiment, in the step of determining the exact location, the map information acquisition unit 109 updates the location determined by the determination unit 115 to general map information. This makes it possible to accurately register the location where the engine oil change was actually performed in the general map information.

[0064] In this embodiment, the change location acquisition unit 111 acquires the location of the vehicle when the engine oil is changed. This makes it possible to know the location of the vehicle 200 when the engine oil was changed, and to know whether the location is the dealer of the vehicle 200 or a competitor's dealer.

[0065] In this embodiment, in the step of registering multiple locations, the location registration unit 108 registers locations where engine oil can be changed. This makes it possible to grasp the frequency and timing of engine oil changes at the registered locations where engine oil can be changed, and makes it possible to grasp the actual state of customer defection for the vehicle 200 by breaking it down into details at the regional level, which was previously invisible. As a result, it becomes possible to develop an approach to recapture customers that is tailored to the actual state of each region, which can lead to increased sales of engine oil as a part for the vehicle 200.

[0066] In addition, in this embodiment, the remaining rate of engine oil in vehicle 200 is grasped, and the location of vehicle 200 is obtained as a driving position state by turning on the ignition of vehicle 200, the replacement of engine oil as a consumable part is detected based on the driving state of vehicle 200, data on the remaining rate of engine oil and location data are received, and the remaining rate of engine oil and location of vehicle 200 at the time of the previous engine oil change are compared with the remaining rate of engine oil and location of vehicle 200 at the time of the current engine oil change, to determine whether or not the owner of vehicle 200 has changed.

[0067] This makes it possible to detect engine oil changes and grasp owner changes on a vehicle-by-vehicle basis, which was previously invisible. This makes it possible to reduce losses and decreases in CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) caused by continued sales promotion activities aimed at previous owners, and leads to the expansion of new business development through new sales promotion activities aimed at new owners.

[0068] In this embodiment, general map information can be used in the process of receiving the engine oil remaining rate data and location data, which makes it possible to identify the location of the owner change using the general map information.

[0069] In this embodiment, the process of receiving the data on the remaining rate of engine oil and the location data can use information on registered locations where engine oil can be changed, which makes it possible to understand the relationship between the location where the owner has changed and the location where engine oil can be changed.

[0070] In this embodiment, in the process of determining whether or not there has been an owner change, the owner change determination unit 113 detects an owner change of the vehicle 200 based on the conditions that the engine oil change location is the same and the time between the previous engine oil change and the current engine oil change is shorter than a predetermined time. This makes it possible to easily determine whether or not there has been an owner change.

[0071] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications and improvements within the scope of achieving the object of the present invention are included in the present invention. For example, in the present embodiment, the mobile body is a vehicle 200 and the consumable part is engine oil, but this is not limited thereto. For example, the mobile body may be any car equipped with an engine and using engine oil. Furthermore, the consumable part may be, for example, a battery, a tire, or the like. For example, in the case of a tire, the wear state of the tire as a consumable part can be determined by detecting a change in the tire diameter.

[0072] In addition, in the present embodiment, the position acquisition unit 102 acquires information on the position of each vehicle 200, which is the traveling position state of each vehicle 200 when the ignition of each vehicle 200 is turned on, but this is not limiting. For example, the position acquisition unit 102 may acquire information on the position of each vehicle 200, which is the traveling position state of each vehicle 200 when the ignition of each vehicle 200 is turned off. In this case, the mileage acquisition unit 103 may acquire the mileage of each vehicle 200 when the ignition of each vehicle 200 is turned off, which is included in the vehicle data acquired from each vehicle 200. Furthermore, the data receiving unit 105 receives from the position acquiring unit 102 data on the distance traveled by each vehicle 200 when the ignition of each vehicle 200 is turned on, and from the mileage acquiring unit 103 data on the distance traveled by each vehicle 200 when the ignition of each vehicle 200 is turned off, which data is included in the vehicle data acquired from each vehicle 200. Furthermore, the owner change determination unit 113 may detect whether or not there has been an owner change for each vehicle 200 based on the time difference between the timestamps from when the ignition is turned off until the next time the ignition is turned off.

[0073] In addition, in this embodiment, the change distance calculation unit 104 calculates the date when the next engine oil remaining rate value is expected to return to the initial value, i.e., the date when the next engine oil change is expected, but is not limited to this configuration. For example, the change distance calculation unit 104 may not calculate the date, but may only calculate the remaining driving distance until the next engine oil remaining rate value is expected to return to the initial value, i.e., until the next engine oil change is expected.

[0074] In addition to the configuration of this embodiment, a configuration may be provided in which a sensor is used to prompt inspection and replacement of consumable parts in order to efficiently inspect and replace these parts.

[0075] Furthermore, in addition to the configuration of this embodiment, the replacement distance calculation unit 104 may take into account the driving characteristics (acceleration, braking) of the customer of the vehicle to derive a more accurate predicted replacement date. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 1. System 100...Control processing device 101...Engine oil remaining level acquisition unit (consumable part wear level grasping unit) 102...Position acquisition unit 103...Distance acquisition unit 104…Distance calculation unit when replacing 105...Data receiving unit 106...Exchange Location Registration Section 107...Exchange location identification section 108...Location Registration Department 109...Map information acquisition section 110...Position determination section 111…Position acquisition unit during replacement 112...Oil change detector (consumable part replacement detector) 113...Owner change determination unit 114...Average distance calculation section 115...Judgment section 200-1~200-n...Vehicle

Claims

1. a location acquisition unit that acquires a traveling location state, which is information on the location of the mobile object, from the mobile object via a network by turning on or off an ignition of the mobile object; a location registration unit that registers a plurality of locations where at least one of the mobile object sales, maintenance, and management is performed; a map information acquisition unit that includes general map information; A location determination system comprising: a location determination unit that, when the traveling location state acquired by the location acquisition unit differs from the location registered in the location registration unit, compares the traveling location state acquired by the location acquisition unit with the map information acquired by the map information acquisition unit and determines that the exact location of the mobile body is a location included in the general map information of the map information acquisition unit where at least one of the mobile body has been sold, maintained, or managed.

2. The position determination system according to claim 1 , wherein the map information acquisition unit updates the location determined by the position determination unit to general map information.

3. 3. The position determination system according to claim 1, further comprising a replacement position acquisition unit that acquires the position of the mobile object when a consumable part is replaced.

4. The position determination system according to claim 3 , wherein the location registration unit registers locations where the consumable parts can be replaced.

5. a step of turning on or off an ignition of a mobile body, by a position acquisition unit of a control processing device, acquiring a traveling position state, which is information on the position of the mobile body, from the mobile body via a network; a step in which a location registration unit of the control processing device registers a plurality of locations where at least one of the sales, maintenance, and management of the mobile object is performed; A location determination method comprising: when the driving location state acquired in the driving location state acquisition step differs from the registered location, a determination unit of the control processing device compares the driving location state acquired in the driving location state acquisition step with general map information and determines that the exact location of the moving body is a location included in the general map information of a map information acquisition unit that has performed at least one of selling, maintaining, and managing the moving body.

6. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of determining the precise location includes updating the determined location to general map information.

7. 7. The position determination method according to claim 5, further comprising the step of acquiring the position of the moving object at the time of replacement of a consumable part.

8. The position determination method according to claim 7 , wherein the step of registering a plurality of locations includes registering locations where the consumable parts can be replaced.

Images