Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Program

Abstract

To satisfy the need of users who rent mobile terminals and want to use them for only a few hours a day. The user terminal 2 is a mobile terminal driven by power from a battery, and a dedicated app is installed that at least has a function of detecting the amount of charge for each charge and transmitting it to the server 1. The charge amount acquisition unit 51 of the server 1 sequentially acquires the charge amount for each charge of the battery in the user terminal 2 from the user terminal 2 and stores it in the terminal history DB 61. The usage fee determination unit 53 of the server 1 acquires the charge amount of the user terminal 2 for a predetermined period (for example, one month) from the terminal history DB 61 and determines the usage fee of the user terminal 2 for the predetermined period based on the charge amount for the predetermined period.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as methods for purchasing a mobile terminal (see, for example, Patent Document 1), there are bulk purchase, installment contract, rental, and lease. Most of the current contracts are installment contracts and rentals.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, when using a conventional mobile terminal including Patent Document 1 on a rental basis, since it is a monthly or annual contract, the price is the same regardless of the usage time of the mobile terminal. Therefore, the need to use it only for a few hours a day cannot be satisfied.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to satisfy the need of a user who wants to use a mobile terminal on a rental basis only for a few hours a day.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention a charge amount acquisition means for acquiring, from the target device, the charge amount for each charge of the battery in the target device driven by the power from the battery; Usage fee determination means for determining the usage fee of the target device for the predetermined period based on the charging amount of the target device for the predetermined period; It is provided with.

[0007] Each of the information processing method and program according to one aspect of the present invention is each a method and program corresponding to the information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention.

Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it becomes possible to satisfy the need of a user who wants to use a mobile terminal for only a few hours a day on a rental basis.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] First, with reference to FIG. 1, an overview of a service (hereinafter referred to as "this service") that can be realized by an information processing system (see FIG. 2 described later) to which a server according to an embodiment of the information processing apparatus of the present invention is applied will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of this service that can be realized by an information processing system to which a server according to an embodiment of the information processing apparatus of the present invention is applied.

[0012] This service is a service provided to a user U who uses a mobile terminal driven by a battery. The mobile terminal used by the user U is hereinafter referred to as "user terminal 2".

[0013] When using this service, the user U performs operations on dedicated application software (hereinafter referred to as "dedicated app") installed on the user terminal 2 that enables the use of this service. Also, the user U can use this service by accessing a dedicated website (hereinafter referred to as "dedicated site") that enables the use of this service and is displayed by the browser function of the user terminal 2. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, when the user U operates the user terminal 2, it is assumed that the user U uses this service from the dedicated app, but the following explanation also applies similarly when using the dedicated site.

[0014] In this service, the user U rents and uses the user terminal 2 installed with the dedicated app from the service provider S of this service.

[0015] Here, as methods for purchasing a mobile terminal, there are the following first to fourth methods. The first method is bulk purchase. The first method is adopted by carrier shops, EC, mass retailers, etc. The second method is an installment contract. The second method is adopted by carrier shops. The third method is rental. The third method is adopted by carriers, carrier agents, and rental companies. The fourth method is lease. The fourth method is adopted by lease companies. Most of the current contracts are the second and third methods. In the case of the conventional third-method rental, since it is a monthly or annual contract, the price is the same regardless of the usage time of the mobile terminal. Therefore, it cannot meet the need of using it only for a few hours a day. When adopting the third-method rental for this service, in order to meet such needs, a new rental model that charges according to the charging amount of the user terminal 2 is adopted.

[0016] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the dedicated app of the user terminal 2 sequentially acquires charging information from the OS of the user terminal 2 and provides it to the server 1 managed by the service provider S. Here, the charging information includes (1) the current maximum battery capacity, (2) the charging date and time, (3) the charging time, (4) the number of charging times, (5) the charging amount, (6) the battery remaining percentage at the start and end of charging.

[0017] Also, as shown in FIG. 1, the dedicated app of the user terminal 2 sequentially acquires terminal usage information from the OS of the user terminal 2 and provides it to the server 1 managed by the service provider S. Here, the terminal usage information includes (7) the touch panel ON time and (8) the app operation time.

[0018] Based on the charging information sequentially transmitted from the user terminal 2, the server 1 calculates the usage fee (basic fee + fee for charging amount) according to the charging amount for a predetermined period (for example, one month) and bills the user U every month. Alternatively, based on the terminal usage information sequentially transmitted from the user terminal 2, the server 1 calculates usage fees (basic fee + fee for terminal usage amount) according to the terminal usage amount (time or amount derived from the touch panel ON time or app operation time) over a predetermined period (e.g., one month), and bills the user U monthly. Alternatively, based on the charging information and terminal usage information sequentially transmitted from the user terminal 2, the server 1 calculates usage fees (basic fee + fee for charging amount + fee for terminal usage amount) according to the charging amount over a predetermined period (e.g., one month) and the terminal usage amount (time or amount derived from the touch panel ON time or app operation time) over a predetermined period (e.g., one month), and bills the user U monthly.

[0019] Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the configuration of the information processing system for realizing the provision of the above-described service, that is, the information processing system to which the server according to one embodiment of the information processing apparatus of the present invention is applied, will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system to which the server according to one embodiment of the information processing apparatus of the present invention is applied.

[0020] The information processing system shown in FIG. 2 is configured to include a server 1 and a user terminal 2. The server 1 and the user terminal 2 are interconnected via a network such as the Internet.

[0021] The server 1 is an information processing apparatus managed by the service provider S of the present service (FIG. 1). The server 1 executes various processes for realizing the present service while appropriately communicating with the user terminal 2.

[0022] The user terminal 2 is a mobile terminal operated by the user U and is composed of a smartphone, a tablet, or the like. A dedicated app for using the present service is installed on the user terminal 2.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the server in the information processing system shown in FIG. 2.

[0024] Server 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a bus 14, an input / output interface 15, an input unit 16, an output unit 17, a storage unit 18, a communication unit 19, and a drive 20.

[0025] The CPU 11 executes various processes according to a program recorded in the ROM 12 or a program loaded from the storage unit 18 to the RAM 13. The RAM 13 also appropriately stores data and the like necessary for the CPU 11 to execute various processes.

[0026] The CPU 11, ROM 12, and RAM 13 are interconnected via the bus 14. The input / output interface 15 is also connected to this bus 14. The input unit 16, output unit 17, storage unit 18, communication unit 19, and drive 20 are connected to the input / output interface 15.

[0027] The input unit 16 is composed of, for example, a keyboard or the like and inputs various information. The output unit 17 is composed of a display such as a liquid crystal display or a speaker or the like and outputs various information as images or sounds. The storage unit 18 is composed of a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or the like and stores various data. The communication unit 19 communicates with other devices (for example, the user terminal 2 in FIG. 2) via a network N including the Internet.

[0028] A removable medium 31 made of a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory or the like is appropriately mounted on the drive 20. A program read from the removable medium 31 by the drive 20 is installed in the storage unit 18 as necessary. In addition, the removable medium 31 can also store various data stored in the storage unit 18, just like the storage unit 18.

[0029] Although not shown in the drawings, the user terminal 2 in FIG. 2 can also have a configuration basically the same as the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 3. Therefore, the description of the hardware configuration of the user terminal 2 is omitted. In the user terminal 2, a touch panel is configured by a part of the input unit 16 and a part of the output unit 17.

[0030] By the cooperation of various hardware and various software that make up the information processing system of FIG. 2 including the server 1 and the user terminal 2 of FIG. 3, various processes for providing the present service of FIG. 1 can be executed.

[0031] FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server in FIG. 3 in the information processing system of FIG. 2.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 4, in the CPU 11 of the server 1, a charge amount acquisition unit 51, a terminal usage amount acquisition unit 52, and a usage fee determination unit 53 function. In one area of the storage unit 18, a terminal history DB 61 and a user DB 62 are provided.

[0033] The user terminal 2 is a mobile terminal that is driven by power from a battery and has a touch panel, and a dedicated application is installed that at least has a function of detecting the charge amount for each charge and transmitting it to the server 1.

[0034] The charge amount acquisition unit 51 of the server 1 sequentially acquires the charge amount for each charge of the battery in the user terminal 2 from the user terminal 2 and stores it in the terminal history DB 61.

[0035] The terminal usage acquisition unit 52 of server 1 sequentially acquires the usage amount of user terminal 2 (time or amount derived from the touch panel ON time or application operation time) from the user terminal 2 and stores it in the terminal history DB 61. In the terminal history DB 61, the charge amount and usage amount for each charge acquired from the user terminal 2 are sequentially accumulated. The information in the terminal history DB 61 is read by the usage fee determination unit 53 as needed.

[0036] The usage fee determination unit 53 of server 1 acquires the charge amount of user terminal 2 for a predetermined period (for example, one month) from the terminal history DB 61, and determines the usage fee of user terminal 2 for the predetermined period based on the charge amount for the predetermined period. Specifically, for example, the usage fee determination unit 53 determines, as the usage fee of user terminal 2 for the predetermined period, a fee obtained by adding a fee that varies according to the charge amount for the predetermined period to the basic usage fee for the predetermined period (for example, one month). Note that various information regarding the user terminal 2 and the user U, such as the basic usage fee for the predetermined period, is stored in the user DB 62. Alternatively, the usage fee determination unit 53 of server 1 acquires the terminal usage amount (time or amount derived from the touch panel ON time or application operation time) of user terminal 2 for a predetermined period (for example, one month) from the terminal history DB 61, and determines the usage fee of user terminal 2 for the predetermined period based on the terminal usage amount for the predetermined period. Alternatively, the usage fee determination unit 53 of server 1 acquires the charge amount and the terminal usage amount (time or amount derived from the touch panel ON time or application operation time) of user terminal 2 for a predetermined period (for example, one month) from the terminal history DB 61 respectively, and determines the usage fee of user terminal 2 for the predetermined period based on the charge amount and the terminal usage amount for the predetermined period. The usage fee of user terminal 2 for the predetermined period determined by the usage fee determination unit 53 in this way is charged to the user U as a rental fee for each predetermined period.

[0037] Next, with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, a second embodiment of an information processing system to which a server of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the external configuration of a user terminal and a smartphone cover in the second embodiment of an information processing system to which a server according to an embodiment of the information processing apparatus of the present invention is applied. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the smartphone cover and the server in the information processing system of the second embodiment of FIG. 5.

[0038] In the above embodiment, an example of the server 1 and the user terminal 2 has been described as an example of an apparatus for determining the usage fee (the amount to be charged) of the user terminal 2 for a predetermined period based on the charge amount and usage amount of the user terminal 2 acquired from the user terminal 2. However, in this second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a protective case 6 for a smartphone (hereinafter referred to as "smartphone cover 6") is further provided.

[0039] That is, in this second embodiment, when the user terminal 2 is, for example, a smartphone or the like, as shown in FIG. 5, the smartphone cover 6 is detachably attached to the user terminal 2 as a smartphone. A plurality of sensors such as an acceleration sensor 42, a temperature sensor 43, a GPS sensor 44, and other sensors 45 that operate by vibration power generation are embedded in the smartphone cover 6. In addition, after embedding a plurality of sensors in a seal, they may be attached to the user terminal 2 or the smartphone cover 6.

[0040] When the user terminal 2 drops while the smartphone cover 6 or the seal is attached to the user terminal 2, the acceleration sensor 42 detects the drop of the user terminal 2 and performs wireless communication with the user terminal 2 by Bluetooth (registered trademark) or the like, and notifies the user terminal 2 of the drop detection. When an abnormal state regarding the temperature of the user terminal 2 (so-called smartphone heat stroke, smartphone hypothermia, etc.) occurs while the smartphone cover 6 or the seal is attached to the user terminal 2, the temperature sensor 43 detects the abnormal state regarding the temperature of the user terminal 2 and performs wireless communication with the user terminal 2 by Bluetooth (registered trademark) or the like, and notifies the user terminal 2 of the abnormal state regarding the temperature. When the smartphone cover 6 or the seal is attached to the user terminal 2 and the user terminal 2 is in a lost state, the GPS sensor 44 detects that the user terminal 2 is in a lost state from the current position of the user terminal 2, performs wireless communication with the user terminal 2 via Bluetooth (registered trademark), etc., and notifies the lost state to the user terminal 2 or a predetermined terminal set in advance as a notification destination. When the smartphone cover 6 or the seal is attached to the user terminal 2 and the user terminal 2 reaches a predetermined state, the other sensor 45 detects that the user terminal 2 is in the predetermined state, performs wireless communication with the user terminal 2 via Bluetooth (registered trademark), etc., and notifies the user terminal 2 of the predetermined state. The user terminal 2 manages various states such as the notified fall detection and notifies the user.

[0041] In this embodiment, the management of various states such as the notified fall detection and the notification to the user are provided as functions of dedicated application software (hereinafter referred to as "dedicated app") installed on the user terminal 2 that enables the use of this service. However, this function may also be enabled by accessing a dedicated website (hereinafter referred to as "dedicated site") displayed by the browser function of the user terminal 2.

[0042] The smartphone cover 6 includes a control device 41 in addition to the sensors (acceleration sensor 2, temperature sensor 3, GPS sensor 4, other sensor 5, etc.) shown in FIG. 5.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 6, the control device 41 is disposed on the smartphone cover 6 that can be attached to the user terminal 2 and is a dedicated device that can be detachably attached to the user terminal 2. The control device 41 executes control to transmit the detection results detected by each of the plurality of sensors 42 to 45 to the server 1 via Bluetooth communication with the user terminal 2, for example, via Bluetooth or the like (predetermined wireless method). Specifically, the charging amount (remaining charge amount, etc.) and usage amount (time or amount) of the user terminal 2 are notified to the control device 41 through communication between the control device 41 and the user terminal 2, and the control device 41 has a function of transmitting the notified information to the server 1. That is, it can be said that the control device 41 at least has a function of acquiring the charging amount and usage amount of the user terminal 2 and transmitting them to the server 1.

[0044] The control device 41 includes the same hardware as the server 1 shown in FIG. 3. To distinguish it from the hardware configuration of the server 1, hereinafter, the hardware configuration of the control device 41 will be referred to as the CPU 11S, communication unit 19S, etc., and for the hardware configuration of the server 1, a U will be appended after the symbol. Specifically, the CPU 11U, communication unit 19U, storage unit 18U, etc.

[0045] When the CPU 11S of the control device 41 executes processing, it functions as a charging amount acquisition unit 71 and a terminal usage amount acquisition unit 72.

[0046] The charging amount acquisition unit 71 at least has a function of acquiring the charging amount of the user terminal 2 and transmitting it to the server 1. The charging amount acquisition unit 71 acquires the current remaining charge amount of the user terminal 2 through periodic communication with the user terminal 2 (for example, communication at intervals of 5 minutes or 10 minutes).

[0047] The terminal usage amount acquisition unit 72 acquires the usage amount of the user terminal 2 through the control device 41 that at least has a function of acquiring the usage amount of the user terminal 2 and transmitting it to the server 1. The terminal usage amount acquisition unit 72 acquires the current usage amount of the user terminal 2 through periodic communication with the user terminal 2 (for example, communication at intervals of 5 minutes or 10 minutes).

[0048] The control device 41 including the charge amount acquisition unit 71 and the terminal usage amount acquisition unit 72 executes control to transmit the information acquired from the user terminal 2 and the detection results detected by each of the plurality of sensors 2 to 5 to the server 1 by Bluetooth communication with the user terminal 2, for example, by Bluetooth or the like (a predetermined wireless method). In addition, the wireless method may be, for example, Wi-Fi or the like in addition to Bluetooth, and any wireless method is sufficient.

[0049] When the server 1 acquires the information of the user terminal 2 through the smartphone cover 6 attached to the user terminal 2 as in this example, the charge amount acquisition unit 51 of the server 1 acquires the charge amount of the user terminal 2 through the control device 41 having at least the function of acquiring the charge amount of the user terminal 2 and transmitting it to the server 1. Similarly, when the server 1 acquires the information of the user terminal 2 through the smartphone cover 6, the terminal usage amount acquisition unit 52 of the server 1 acquires the usage amount of the user terminal 2 through the control device 41 having at least the function of acquiring the usage amount of the user terminal 2 and transmitting it to the server 1.

[0050] Hereinafter, the operation of this information processing system will be specifically described with examples. The first example is a case where, while the battery of the user terminal 2 is deteriorating, the server 1 calculates the charging amount increase rate from the remaining charge amount of the user terminal 2 and the charging amount from the charging time, and bills the user.

[0051] In the first example, it is assumed that the remaining charge amount of the user terminal 2 is sequentially acquired by the server 1 as follows. For example, the remaining charge of 50% was obtained at 22:00 on November 22, 2024. Subsequently, the remaining charge of 20% was obtained at 23:00 on November 22, 2024. At this point, charging started, and the remaining charge of 100% was obtained at 23:30 on November 22, 2024. At this point, charging ended, and it was charged by 80% from 20% to 100% of the remaining charge. In this case, the server 1 sums up the charging amount of 80% corresponding to the increase in the remaining charge from the lowest remaining charge of 20% on a monthly basis, calculates the charging fee amount at charging amount (%) × 10 yen (provisional value for example), and bills the user (customer).

[0052] The second case is an example where the server 1 predicts that the battery degradation progresses based on the SOH value indicating the battery degradation degree, and the billing amount increases, and makes a recommendation regarding battery replacement to the customer. Suppose the current remaining battery level is, for example, 80% and it drops to 70% one hour later. If the time at this point is, for example, 5:30 and the remaining charge at that time is 70%, assume charging starts from 5:30. When charging from 70% to 100%, it means that 30% of the difference is charged. This charging amount is added to the already accumulated total charging amount, resulting in a monthly charging amount of 200% or 1500% × 1% × 10 yen. For example, this month, it was used for 2000 hours and charged 2000%. The next month, it was used for 300%. Naturally, the charging amount of 3000% is larger, so the billing amount will be larger. In the case of 3000% or 2000%, it can be said that 3000% contributes more to battery degradation. Generally, when charging to 100% 500 times, the SOH value indicating the battery degradation degree changes from 100% to 80% after 500 charges. SOH is the abbreviation of State of Health and is an indicator representing the soundness and degradation state. It is the ratio of the full charge capacity (Ah) at the time of degradation to the initial full charge capacity (Ah) when the initial full charge capacity (Ah) is set to 100%. For example, if the SOH is 50%, it means that even in a fully charged state, it only has half of the initial capacity. 500 times × 100% = 50,000%, and the battery SOH becomes 80% after 50,000% of charging. That is, it can be estimated that when the battery degradation degree decreases by 20% at 50,000% charging. When the SOH decreases by, for example, 10%, considering a linear proportion, the charging amount decreases by 25,000%. Since the degradation degree of the terminal's battery is measured and collected by the terminal's OS, the difference can be calculated by matching the data measured by the terminal's OS with the above estimated data. By comparing the difference with the actual value and obtaining a so-called quadratic curve, the SOH degradation curve of the user's terminal can be obtained. For example, assume that the cumulative charging amount of a certain user's battery is XX% and the current SOH is 85%. And if it is assumed that 10,000% is used only in the next year, when the remaining charge of the battery reaches 70%, the SOH will drop below 80%. In this case, the server 1 outputs an alert including a recommendation to the user's terminal 2, such as "Since the SOH has dropped below 80% at present, do you want to replace the battery? Or change the model?"

[0053] The third case is an example where the server 1 predicts the situation of battery degradation, the increase rate of the charging amount from the minimum remaining charge, and the increasing trend of the charging amount from the charging time, and makes a recommendation regarding battery replacement to the customer.

[0054] When providing a service that charges the user terminal 2 such as a smartphone based on the charging amount, when charging the battery, if the terminal is used for about 5 hours during the day before the battery degrades, the remaining battery amount will decrease to about 80%. In this case, it only needs to be charged by 20% in about 2 hours at night when the terminal is not in use. On the other hand, assume that the battery of the user terminal 2 deteriorates, and when the user terminal 2 is used for about 5 hours during the day, the remaining battery amount drops to about 20%. In this case, it has to be charged by 80% every 5 hours. When replaced during the period, the charging time of 100 hours, which used to take about one month before battery degradation, reaches 100 hours in about 7 days after battery degradation. When 100 hours of charging is required in one week, the amount to be charged increases accordingly according to the amount of charge. As the battery deteriorates, more charging is required in the same period compared to before battery degradation, so the amount to be charged keeps increasing. If it continues to be used like this, it is predicted that four times as much charging as before degradation is required per month. Therefore, at the next charging (payment), since the billed amount for charging will be about this much, if so, how about replacing the battery soon? A recommendation is output to the user terminal 2 of the user.

[0055] As described above, according to each case, by obtaining the remaining charge amount of the user terminal 2, calculating the charging amount (billed amount) according to the difference before and after charging, and presenting the increasing trend of the future charging amount to recommend battery or model changes, the user can appropriately determine the timing of battery replacement, terminal model change, etc.

[0056] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications, improvements, etc. within the scope that can achieve the object of the present invention are considered to be included in the present invention.

[0057] For example, the system configuration shown in FIG. 2 and the hardware configuration of the server 1 shown in FIG. 3 are merely examples for achieving the object of the present invention and are not particularly limited.

[0058] Also, the functional block diagram shown in FIG. 4 is merely an example and is not particularly limited. That is, it is sufficient that the information processing system in FIG. 2 is provided with the function of executing the various processes described above as a whole, and the specific functional blocks and databases used to realize this function are not particularly limited to the example in FIG. 5.

[0059] Also, the location of the functional blocks and databases is not limited to FIG. 4 and may be arbitrary. For example, at least a part of the functional blocks and databases arranged on the server 1 side may be configured to be provided in other information processing apparatuses.

[0060] Also, the above-described series of processes can be executed by hardware or by software. Also, one functional block may be configured by hardware alone, by software alone, or by a combination thereof.

[0061] When the series of processes are executed by software, the program constituting the software is installed in a computer or the like from a network or a recording medium. The computer may be a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware. Also, the computer may be a computer capable of executing various functions by installing various programs, for example, a general-purpose smartphone or personal computer other than a server.

[0062] A recording medium including such a program is not only constituted by a removable medium (not shown) distributed separately from the apparatus main body in order to provide the program to the user, but also constituted by a recording medium or the like provided to the user in a state pre-installed in the apparatus main body.

[0063] Note that in this specification, the step of describing the program recorded on the recording medium includes not only the processes performed in time series along the order, but also the processes executed in parallel or individually even if they are not necessarily processed in time series.

[0064] To summarize the above, the information processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied only needs to have the following configuration, and can take various embodiments. That is, the information processing apparatus (for example, the server 1 in FIGS. 2 to 4) to which the present invention is applied is A charge amount acquisition means (for example, the charge amount acquisition unit 51 in FIG. 4) that acquires, from the target device (for example, the user terminal 2 in FIGS. 1 to 4) driven by power from a battery, the charge amount for each charge of the battery (for example, the charge amount in (5) of the charge information in FIG. 1) of the target device, A usage fee determination means (for example, the usage fee determination unit 53 in FIG. 4) that determines a usage fee for the target device for a predetermined period (for example, one month) based on the charge amount of the target device for the predetermined period, shall be sufficient.

[0065] This makes it possible to satisfy the need of a user who rents a mobile terminal (target device) to use it for only a few hours a day.

[0066] The usage fee determination means determines, as the usage fee for the target device for the predetermined period, a fee (for example, the basic fee + charge amount billing in FIG. 1) obtained by adding a fee that varies according to the charge amount for the predetermined period to the basic usage fee for the predetermined period. This can be done.

[0067] The target device has installed therein application software (for example, the above-mentioned dedicated application) that at least has a function of detecting the charge amount for each charge and transmitting it to the information processing device. This can be achieved.

[0068] The charge amount acquisition means (for example, the charge amount acquisition unit 71 in FIG. 6) is disposed on a member (for example, the smartphone cover 6 in FIG. 5) that can be attached to the target device (for example, the user terminal 2 in FIG. 6), and acquires the charge amount of the target device (for example, the user terminal 2 in FIG. 6) through a control device (for example, the control device 41 in FIG. 6) that at least has a function of transmitting the charge amount of the target device (for example, the user terminal 2 in FIG. 6) to the information processing device (for example, the server 1 in FIG. 6). acquires the charge amount of the target device (for example, the user terminal 2 in FIG. 6). This can be done.

[0069] Alternatively, the information processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied (for example, the server 1 in FIGS. 2 to 4) target device usage acquisition means (for example, the terminal usage acquisition unit 52 in FIG. 4) that acquires the usage amount (for example, the touch panel ON time (7) and the application operation time (8) in the terminal usage information in FIG. 1) of a target device (for example, the user terminal 2 in FIGS. 1 to 4) driven by power from a battery, from the target device, usage fee determination means (for example, the usage fee determination unit 53 in FIG. 4) that determines the usage fee of the target device for a predetermined period (for example, one month) based on the usage amount of the target device for the predetermined period, may be sufficient.

[0070] This makes it possible to satisfy the need of a user who wants to use the device for only a few hours a day when renting it.

[0071] The usage fee determination means determines, as the usage fee of the target device for the predetermined period, a fee (for example, the basic fee + terminal usage amount charge in FIG. 1) obtained by adding a fee that varies according to the terminal usage amount for the predetermined period to the basic usage fee for the predetermined period. This can be done.

[0072] At least application software (for example, the above-described dedicated application) having a function of detecting the usage amount (for example, the touch panel ON time (7) and the application operation time (8) in the terminal usage information in FIG. 1) of the target device and transmitting it to the information processing apparatus is installed in the target device. This can be achieved.

[0073] The usage amount acquisition means (for example, the terminal usage acquisition unit 52 in FIG. 6) is disposed on a member (for example, the smartphone cover 6 in FIG. 5) that can be attached to the target device (for example, the user terminal 2 in FIG. 6), and acquires the usage amount of the target device (for example, the user terminal 2 in FIG. 6) and transmits it to the information processing apparatus (for example, the server 1 in FIG. 6) via a control device (for example, the control device 41 in FIG. 6) having at least such a function. Obtaining the usage amount of the target device (e.g., the user terminal 2 in FIG. 6), is possible.

Explanation of Signs

[0074] 1 ··· Server, 2 ····· User terminal, 11 ··· CPU, 12 ··· ROM, 13 ··· RAM, 14 ··· Bus, 15 ··· Input / output interface, 16 ··· Input section, 17 ··· Output section, 18 ··· Storage section, 19 ··· Communication section, 20 ··· Drive, 30 ··· Removable media, 51 ··· Charge amount acquisition section, 52 ··· Terminal usage amount acquisition section, 53 ··· Usage fee determination section

Claims

1. a charge amount acquisition means for acquiring, from a target device driven by power from a battery, a charge amount of the battery for each charge of the battery; a fee determination means for determining a fee for using the target device for a predetermined period based on the amount of charge for the target device for the predetermined period; Equipped with The charge amount acquisition means acquiring the charge amount of the target device via a control device that is disposed on a member that can be attached to the target device and has at least a function of acquiring the charge amount of the target device and transmitting the charge amount to an information processing device; Information processing device.

2. the usage fee determination means determines, as the usage fee for the target device for the predetermined period, a fee obtained by adding a fee that varies depending on the amount of charging for the predetermined period to a basic usage fee for the predetermined period; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. application software having at least a function of detecting the amount of charge per charge and transmitting the amount of charge to the information processing device is installed in the target device; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

4. An information processing method executed by an information processing device, a charge amount acquisition step of acquiring, from a target device driven by power from a battery, a charge amount of the battery for each charge of the battery; a fee determination step of determining a fee for using the target device for a predetermined period based on the amount of charge for the target device for the predetermined period; Including, The charge amount acquisition step includes: acquiring the charge amount of the target device via a control device that is disposed on a member that can be attached to the target device and has at least a function of acquiring the charge amount of the target device and transmitting the charge amount to the information processing device; An information processing method comprising:

5. On the computer, a charge amount acquisition step of acquiring, from a target device driven by power from a battery, a charge amount of the battery for each charge of the battery; a fee determination step of determining a fee for using the target device for a predetermined period based on the amount of charge for the target device for the predetermined period; Executing a control process including The charge amount acquisition step includes: acquiring the charge amount of the target device via a control device that is disposed on a member that can be attached to the target device and has at least a function of acquiring the charge amount of the target device and transmitting the charge amount to the computer; Execute control processing including program.

6. a usage amount acquiring means for acquiring usage amount of a target device driven by power from a battery from the target device; a fee determination means for determining a fee for using the target device for a predetermined period based on the usage amount of the target device for the predetermined period; Equipped with The usage amount acquisition means acquiring the usage amount of the target device via a control device that is disposed on a member that can be attached to the target device and has at least a function of acquiring the usage amount of the target device and transmitting the usage amount to an information processing device; Information processing device.

7. the usage fee determination means determines, as the usage fee for the target device for the predetermined period, a fee obtained by adding a fee that varies depending on the usage amount of the target device for the predetermined period to a basic usage fee for the predetermined period; The information processing device according to claim 6.

8. application software having at least a function of detecting the usage amount of the target device and transmitting the usage amount to the information processing device is installed in the target device; The information processing device according to claim 6.

9. An information processing method executed by an information processing device, a usage amount acquisition step of acquiring, from a target device driven by power from a battery, a usage amount of the target device; a fee determination step of determining a fee for use of the target device for a predetermined period based on the usage amount for the target device for the predetermined period; Including, As the usage amount acquisition step, acquiring the usage amount of the target device via a control device that is disposed on a member that can be attached to the target device and has at least a function of acquiring the usage amount of the target device and transmitting the usage amount to the information processing device; An information processing method comprising:

10. On the computer, a usage amount acquisition step of acquiring, from a target device driven by power from a battery, a usage amount of the target device; a fee determination step of determining a fee for use of the target device for a predetermined period based on the usage amount for the target device for the predetermined period; Executing a control process including As the usage amount acquisition step, acquiring the usage amount of the target device via a control device that is disposed on a member that can be attached to the target device and has at least a function of acquiring the usage amount of the target device and transmitting the usage amount to the computer; Executing a control process including program.