Information processing methods

Abstract

To reduce costs for users.SOLUTION: In an information processing method performed by an information processing device 1 including a control unit, a communication unit, and a memory unit, the information processing device 1 is capable of communicating with a network via the communication unit. The information processing method includes: accepting a reservation for the use of a vehicle in a first business type in a first time frame; and for a second time frame immediately before or after the first time frame, reducing the usage fee in the second time frame in accordance with the easiness of switching from the first business type to another business type.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[[Technical Field]]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing method. [[Background Art]]

[0002] Conventionally, there has been known a vehicle rental management system that sets identification data for a plurality of usage modes of a vehicle, and determines a shared rent for the usage mode of an operated vehicle based on detection result data of an actual operation status in any one of the usage modes output from an in-vehicle device (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The vehicle rental management system apportions a lease fee and a gasoline cost according to vehicle usage times of a plurality of users. The vehicle rental management system also allows one vehicle to be shared between "private use" and "business use", and calculates a lease fee to be billed to a company and a user according to business usage time. [[Prior Art Document]] [[Patent Document]]

[0003] [[Patent Document 1]] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-114854 [[Summary of the Invention]] [[Problem to be Solved by the Invention]]

[0004] In the above background art, no consideration is given to a usage fee according to a usage mode or a usage purpose.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure, which has been made in view of such circumstances, is to reduce costs for a user. [[Means for Solving the Problem]]

[0006] An information processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: An information processing method implemented by an information processing device including a control unit, a communication unit, and a storage unit, the information processing device is capable of communicating with a network via the communication unit, In the first time slot, we will accept vehicle usage reservations for the first type of business, For the second time slot immediately preceding or following the first time slot, the usage fee for the second time slot will be reduced according to the ease of switching from the first type of business to another type of business. Includes. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one embodiment of this disclosure, user costs can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of an information processing system. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information processing device. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of the user terminal. [Figure 4] This diagram shows a flowchart illustrating the operation of an information processing device. [Figure 5] This diagram shows the data structure of the usage fee database. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the information processing system S of this embodiment. The information processing system S includes an information processing device 1 and a user terminal 2 that can communicate with each other via a network NW. The network NW includes, for example, a mobile communication network, a fixed communication network, or the Internet.

[0010] In Figure 1, for the sake of simplicity, one information processing device 1 and one user terminal 2 are shown. However, the number of information processing devices 1 and user terminals 2 is not limited to these figures. For example, the processing performed by the information processing device 1 in this embodiment may be performed by multiple distributed information processing devices 1.

[0011] Information processing device 1 is installed in a facility such as a data center. Information processing device 1 is a computer such as a server belonging to a cloud computing system or other computing system.

[0012] The internal configuration of the information processing device 1 will be explained in detail with reference to Figure 2.

[0013] The information processing device 1 includes a control unit 11, a communication unit 12, and a storage unit 13. Each component of the information processing device 1 is connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with one another, for example, via a dedicated line.

[0014] The control unit 11 includes, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit). The control unit 11 may include one or more dedicated processors specialized for specific processing. Instead of including processors, the control unit 11 may include one or more dedicated circuits. The dedicated circuits may be, for example, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The control unit 11 may also include an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). The control unit 11 transmits and receives arbitrary information via the communication unit 12.

[0015] The communication unit 12 includes a communication module for connecting to a network NW. The communication unit 12 may include a module that supports one or more mobile communication standards, including LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G (4th Generation), or 5G (5th Generation). The communication unit 12 may also include a communication module that supports one or more short-range communication standards or specifications, including Bluetooth®, AirDrop®, IrDA, ZigBee®, Felica®, or RFID. The communication unit 12 transmits and receives arbitrary information via the network NW.

[0016] The storage unit 13 includes, but is not limited to, for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic memory, an optical memory, or a combination of at least two of these. The semiconductor memory is, for example, RAM or ROM. RAM is, for example, SRAM or DRAM. ROM is, for example, EEPROM. The storage unit 13 may function as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 13 may store information of results analyzed or processed by the control unit 11. The storage unit 13 may store various types of information related to the operation or control of the information processing apparatus 1. The storage unit 13 may store system programs, application programs, embedded software, and the like. The storage unit 13 may be provided outside the information processing apparatus 1 and accessed from the information processing apparatus 1. The storage unit 13 includes a usage fee DB.

[0017] The user terminal 2 is, for example, a mobile device such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a wearable device, or a tablet. As an alternative, the user terminal 2 may be a general-purpose device such as a PC, or a dedicated device. "PC" is an abbreviation for personal computer.

[0018] The internal configuration of the user terminal 2 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

[0019] The user terminal 2 includes a control unit 21, a communication unit 22, a storage unit 23, a display unit 24, an input unit 25, and an imaging unit 26. Each component of the user terminal 2 is communicably connected to each other via, for example, a dedicated line.

[0020] The description of the hardware configuration of the control unit 21, the communication unit 22, and the storage unit 23 of the user terminal 2 may be the same as the description of the hardware configuration of the control unit 11, the communication unit 12, and the storage unit 13 of the information processing apparatus 1. The description is omitted here.

[0021] The display unit 24 is, for example, a display. The display is, for example, an LCD or an organic EL display. "LCD" is an abbreviation for liquid crystal display. "EL" is an abbreviation for electroluminescence. Instead of being provided on the user terminal 2, the display unit 24 may be connected to the user terminal 2 as an external output device. Any connection method can be used, for example, USB, HDMI (registered trademark), or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0022] The input unit 25 is, for example, a physical key, a capacitive key, a pointing device, a touchscreen integrated with a display, or a microphone. The input unit 25 accepts operations to input information used for the operation of the user terminal 2. Instead of being provided on the user terminal 2, the input unit 25 may be connected to the user terminal 2 as an external input device. Any connection method can be used, for example, USB, HDMI®, or Bluetooth®. "USB" is an abbreviation for Universal Serial Bus. "HDMI®" is an abbreviation for High-Definition Multimedia Interface.

[0023] The imaging unit 26 includes a camera. The imaging unit 26 can capture images of the surroundings. For image analysis, the imaging unit 26 may record the captured images in the storage unit 23 or transmit them to the control unit 21. The images may include still images or moving images.

[0024] The information processing methods performed by the information processing device 1 are described in detail below in Figures 4 and 5.

[0025] In step S1, the control unit 11 of the information processing device 1 accepts a vehicle usage reservation for the first industry within the first time slot. For example, as shown in Figure 5, the control unit 11 accepts a usage reservation from the user terminal 2 via the network NW for the first time slot from 11:00 to 12:00 on April 1st.

[0026] Each vehicle will be equipped with one or more pieces of equipment appropriate to its type of business. The type of business can be any type, such as a restaurant, coffee shop, bar, insurance sales company, or tutoring center. The equipment may include, for example, interior furnishings or units.

[0027] In step S2, the control unit 11 determines the ease of switching from the first type of business to one or more other types of businesses for each of the second time slots immediately preceding or following the first time slot. Here, the first type of business and the other types of businesses are operated using the same vehicle, but alternatively, they may be operated using different vehicles. In the example shown in Figure 5, the second time slot is the time slot from 10:00 to 11:00 on April 1st, or the time slot from 12:00 to 13:00 on April 1st.

[0028] The changeover includes rearranging one or more pieces of equipment. Rearranging may include, for example, replacing or installing parts.

[0029] As an additional or alternative example, the ease of switching is determined by the similarity between the equipment used in the first type of business and the equipment used in other types of businesses. The equipment used in each type of business is stored in the memory unit 13 in advance. The method for determining the similarity of the equipment is arbitrary. For example, the control unit 11 may determine that the ease of switching is low when switching from a restaurant using an oven to another restaurant using an oven, when switching from a coffee shop to a bar, or when switching from an insurance sales counter to a tutoring school.

[0030] As an additional or alternative example, the ease of switching may be determined by the proximity between the area where the first type of business operates and the area where the other type of business operates. In this case, the vehicle moves from one area to another. The areas where each type of business operates are stored in advance in the memory unit 13. The method for determining the proximity of the areas is arbitrary.

[0031] As an additional or alternative example, the ease of switching is determined by the similarity between the attributes of users in the first industry and the attributes of users in other industries. The attributes of users in each industry are pre-stored in the memory unit 13. The method for determining the similarity is arbitrary.

[0032] As an additional or alternative example, the ease of switching may be determined from at least one of the time and cost required for switching. The determination method is arbitrary. The control unit 11 may determine, for example, that the less time or cost required for switching, the higher the ease of switching.

[0033] In step S3, the control unit 11 reduces the usage fee for the second time slot according to the determined ease of use. In the example shown in Figure 5, the base fee for the second time slot is 500 yen. The control unit 11 sets a larger reduction from the 500 yen usage fee for the second time slot the higher the determined ease of use. As an additional example, the control unit 11 may increase the usage fee for the second time slot the lower the determined ease of use (i.e., the more difficult the switchover is).

[0034] In step S4, when the control unit 11 receives a request to use the second time slot from the user terminal 2 or another terminal, it notifies the user of different usage fees depending on the ease of switching from the first industry to the industry of the user who made the request. As an alternative, the request to use the second time slot may be received before step S3.

[0035] As described above, according to this embodiment, the operation of the control unit 11 includes accepting vehicle usage reservations for a first type of business within a first time slot, and reducing the usage fee for the second time slot immediately before or after the first time slot, according to the ease of switching from the first type of business to another type of business. With this configuration, the information processing device 1 reduces the usage fees for the preceding and succeeding time slots the easier it is to switch from the type of business for which a usage reservation has been made. Therefore, the information processing device 1 can reduce costs for the user and also reduce switching costs.

[0036] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the vehicle is equipped with one or more pieces of equipment corresponding to the industry, and switching involves rearranging one or more pieces of equipment. The ease of switching is determined by the similarity between the equipment used in the first industry and the equipment used in the other industries. The ease of switching is determined by the proximity between the area where the first industry operates and the area where the other industries operate. The ease of switching is determined by the similarity between the attributes of users in the first industry and the attributes of users in the other industries. With this configuration, the information processing device 1 can further reduce switching costs.

[0037] While this disclosure is described based on drawings and embodiments, it should be noted that those skilled in the art may make various modifications and alterations based on this disclosure. Furthermore, changes are permitted as long as they do not depart from the spirit of this disclosure. For example, the functions included in each means or step can be rearranged in a logically consistent manner, and multiple means or steps can be combined into one or divided.

[0038] For example, in the above embodiment, a program that performs all or part of the functions or processing of the information processing device 1 can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes non-temporary computer-readable media, such as a magnetic recording device, optical disc, magneto-optical recording medium, or semiconductor memory. The program can be distributed, for example, by selling, transferring, or lending a portable recording medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) or CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) on which the program is recorded. Alternatively, the program can be distributed by storing it in the storage of any server and transmitting it from any server to another computer. The program can also be provided as a program product. This disclosure can also be implemented as a program that can be executed by a processor. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0039] 1. Information Processing Device

Claims

1. An information processing method using an information processing device including a control unit, a communication unit, and a storage unit, The information processing device is capable of communicating with a network via the communication unit. In the first time slot, we will accept vehicle usage reservations for the first type of business, With respect to the second time slot immediately preceding or following the first time slot, the usage fee for the second time slot will be reduced according to the ease of switching from the first type of business to another type of business. In an information processing method including, The aforementioned vehicle is equipped with one or more pieces of equipment appropriate to the industry. The aforementioned switching includes changing the arrangement of one or more of the aforementioned pieces of equipment. Information processing methods.

2. In the information processing method described in claim 1, An information processing method in which the ease of switching is determined from the similarity between the equipment used in the first industry and the equipment used in the other industry.

3. In the information processing method described in claim 1, The ease of switching is further determined from the proximity between the area where the first type of business is operated and the area where the other type of business is operated, in an information processing method.

4. In the information processing method described in claim 1, The ease of switching is further determined by an information processing method, which involves determining the similarity between the attributes of users in the first industry and the attributes of users in the other industry.

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