Control system, unlocking method, terminal device, and program

Abstract

This control system comprises: a terminal device that has a function of communicating with a server and that transmits a user's command to the server; and a control device that has a function of communicating with the server and controls prescribed hardware in accordance with the user's command received through the server. The terminal device transmits, to the server, a service start command demanding the start of a service by the control device, executes polling, and, after receiving a notification from the server indicating that the service has started, transmits, to the server, a command executable by the control device after the service has started. The control device actuates the function of the prescribed hardware in accordance with the command executable after the service has started.

Description

Control system, unlocking method, terminal device, and program

[0001] The present invention relates to a control system, an unlocking method, a terminal device, and a program.

[0002] There are systems that manage vehicle rentals, such as car sharing or rental cars. For example, a car sharing system is known that switches an electronic key from invalid to valid based on reservation information, communicates wirelessly between a valid electronic key and an in-vehicle device, and executes or permits the operation of the in-vehicle device when the wireless communication is established (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-016835

[0004] There is a demand for vehicles managed by existing vehicle management systems such as car sharing systems or rental car systems to be shared within a company as company cars, for example.

[0005] However, because such vehicle management systems only allow a vehicle to be unlocked after it has been put into service, the vehicle must be put into service even when the vehicle is shared within the company as a company car. This service-in operation is essentially unnecessary for a system that manages company cars, and this operation reduces the convenience of sharing a company car.

[0006] Note that this problem is not limited to vehicle management systems and company cars, but also exists in other systems that share buildings, rooms, offices, warehouses, or facilities managed by building management systems, etc., within an organization, or in other systems used by individuals.

[0007] One embodiment of the present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and reduces unnecessary operations by users when vehicles, buildings, rooms, offices, warehouses, or equipment managed by existing systems are shared within an organization or used personally.

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, a control system according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a terminal device having a communication function with a server and transmitting user instructions to the server, and a control device having a communication function with the server and controlling specified hardware in accordance with the user instructions received via the server, wherein the terminal device transmits a service start command to the server requesting the control device to start a service, and performs polling, and after receiving a notification from the server indicating that the service has started, transmits to the server an instruction that can be executed after the control device has started the service, and the control device activates the function of the specified hardware in accordance with the instruction that can be executed after the service has started.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present invention, unnecessary operations by users can be reduced when vehicles, buildings, rooms, offices, warehouses, or equipment managed by an existing system are shared within an organization or used personally.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a control system according to Example 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a terminal device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of processing of the control system according to Example 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a control system according to Example 2. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of processing of the control system according to Example 2. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a computer according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of processing of a vehicle management system.

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention (the present embodiment) will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0012] [Example 1] <System Configuration> Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the system configuration of a control system according to Example 1. The control system 1 is a system in which vehicles managed by an existing vehicle management system such as a car sharing system or a rental car system are shared within a company as, for example, company cars. Note that a company car is an example of a vehicle shared within an organization, and the organization may be an organization other than a company.

[0013] 1, the control system 1 includes a terminal device 10, a server 110, and a control device 121 mounted on a vehicle 120. The terminal device 10 and the control device 121 can communicate with the server 110 via a communication network 2 such as a wireless wide area network (WAN), a wireless local area network (LAN), or the Internet.

[0014] The terminal device 10 is a general-purpose information terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a smartwatch used by the user 11. The terminal device 10 is a computer provided in the terminal device 10, and by executing an application program (hereinafter referred to as an app) for the control system 1, the terminal device 10 has a communication function with the server 110 and functions as a terminal device that transmits commands from the user 11 to the server 110.

[0015] For example, the user 11 can use an app for the control system 1 installed on the terminal device 10 to perform operations (e.g., unlocking) to use the vehicle 120 managed by the vehicle management system 100 as a company vehicle. Note that the terminal device 10 is not limited to a general-purpose information terminal, but may be a dedicated terminal device on which firmware for the control system 1 is written.

[0016] The server 110 is an information processing device having a computer configuration, or a system including multiple computers. The server 110 functions as a management device that manages the rental of the vehicle 120 by executing a predetermined program on the computer provided in the server 110. For example, when the server 110 receives a control command from the terminal device 10 requesting control (e.g., unlocking) of the vehicle 120, the server 110 transmits a control command instructing the requested control to the control device 121 mounted on the vehicle 120. Note that the unlock command transmitted by the terminal device 10 and the unlock command transmitted by the server 110 may be in different formats. Furthermore, "unlocking" is also referred to as "unlocking."

[0017] The control device 121 is an in-vehicle device having a computer configuration that is installed in a vehicle 120 such as an automobile managed by the vehicle management system 100. The control device 121 has a communication function with the server 110 and controls the vehicle 120 in response to a control command received from the server 110. For example, the control device 121 unlocks the vehicle 120 (unlocks the doors) in response to an unlock command received via the server 110.

[0018] The unlock command is an example of a user command, and is an example of a command that can be executed after the control device 121 starts a service. The vehicle 120 is an example of predetermined hardware controlled by the control device 121. Unlocking is an example of a function of predetermined hardware that the control device 121 activates.

[0019] In Example 1, a vehicle 120 managed by an existing vehicle management system 100, such as a car sharing system or a rental car system, can be shared within a company as a company car by using an app installed on a terminal device 10.

[0020] This allows a company car management system for managing company cars to be developed based on the existing vehicle management system 100, making it possible to build a company car management system (control system 1) in a shorter period of time, at lower cost, and with fewer man-hours than developing it from scratch.

[0021] (Problem) In the existing vehicle management system 100, the vehicle 120 can be unlocked only after the vehicle is put into service (after the vehicle use start operation is performed), so the service-in operation is required even when the vehicle 120 is used as a company vehicle within the company. This service-in operation is essentially unnecessary in a company vehicle management system, and there is a problem that this operation reduces the convenience of using a company vehicle.

[0022] Therefore, in this embodiment, an app installed on the terminal device 10 allows the vehicle 120 to be unlocked with a single operation. Here, a single operation includes, for example, an operation of tapping on the screen (a button displayed on the screen), an operation of swiping on the screen (a toggle displayed on the screen), an operation of entering a password / pattern, an operation of shaking the terminal device vertically (or horizontally), or an operation of face / fingerprint / iris authentication. Furthermore, a single operation also includes an operation of voice authentication, an operation of giving a voice instruction, an operation of blocking light from the light collecting unit, an operation of calling the management center, an operation of quickly pressing a physical button on the terminal device 10 once or multiple times, an operation of repeatedly touching the remote key of the vehicle 120 to the terminal device, etc. Furthermore, a single operation also includes an operation such as a gesture, tilt, or vibration on the terminal device 10 or a wearable device connected to the terminal device 10.

[0023] However, for example, in response to the unlocking operation of the user 11, the terminal device 10 may not be able to unlock the vehicle 120 simply by sending to the server 110 a service start command requesting service in and an unlock request requesting unlocking.

[0024] 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a vehicle management system process. This process shows an example of a process performed by an existing vehicle management system 100 when the terminal device 10 transmits a service start command and an unlock command to the server 110. At the start of the process shown in FIG. 7, it is assumed that the terminal device 10 (or the user 11) has already logged in to the server 110 and that the user 11 has already acquired permission to use the vehicle 120 equipped with the control device 121.

[0025] In steps S1 and S2, when the terminal device 10 receives an unlocking operation by the user 11 (e.g., selecting the unlock button on the app), it sends a service start command requesting the start of use of the vehicle 120 and an unlock command requesting the unlocking of the vehicle 120 to the server 110.

[0026] When the vehicle management system 100 receives the service start command and the unlock command from the terminal device 10, it executes, for example, the processes of steps S11 to S15.

[0027] In step S11, upon receiving the service start command and the unlock command, the server 110 transmits the service start command to the control device 121. Note that the service start command transmitted by the terminal device 10 and the service start command transmitted by the server 110 may be in different formats.

[0028] In step S12, when the control device 121 receives the service start command, the control device 121 starts a process for starting the service (hereinafter referred to as a service start process). For example, the control device 121 returns the computer included in the control device 121 from a sleep state to a normal state, and starts preparations for making the vehicle 120 available for use.

[0029] In step S13, the server 110 transmits a service start command and then an unlock command to the control device 121. However, the control device 121 may not be able to accept the command during the period T1 from when the service start process begins until the service actually starts. In this case, the vehicle 120 is not unlocked.

[0030] In steps S14 and S15, when the control device 121 starts the service, it transmits a completion notification indicating that the service start process has been completed to the server 110. In this state, the vehicle management system 100 becomes able to unlock the vehicle 120 in response to the unlock command received from the terminal device 10. However, when the server 110 receives the completion notification, it may not transmit a service start notification indicating that the service has started to the terminal device 10.

[0031] In this way, simply sending a service start command and an unlock command from the terminal device 10 to the existing vehicle management system 100 does not ensure that the vehicle 120 can be unlocked reliably while reducing unnecessary operations by the user.

[0032] Therefore, the terminal device 10 according to this embodiment has a functional configuration such as that shown in FIG. 2, for example, in order to reduce unnecessary operations by users when vehicles, buildings, rooms, warehouses, or equipment, etc., managed by an existing system, are shared within an organization.

[0033] <Functional Configuration> Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of a terminal device according to this embodiment. The terminal device 10 executes an app for the control system 1 using a computer included in the terminal device 10, thereby realizing, for example, each functional configuration as shown in Fig. 2. In the example of Fig. 2, the terminal device 10 has each functional configuration such as a communication unit 201, a display unit 202, a reception unit 203, a control request unit 204, and a polling unit 205. Note that at least a portion of each of the above functional configurations may be realized by hardware.

[0034] The communication unit 201 connects the terminal device 10 to the communication network 2 and executes communication processing for communicating with other devices such as the server 110 .

[0035] The display unit 202 executes a display process for displaying an application screen for the control system 1 on a display or the like provided in the terminal device 10 .

[0036] The reception unit 203 executes a reception process for receiving, for example, an operation by the user 11 on the application screen displayed by the display unit 202. Note that the operation by the user 11 on the application screen is an example of a command from the user 11. For example, the reception unit 203 may receive a voice operation by the user 11 as the command from the user 11. Here, the following description will be given assuming that the command from the user 11 received by the reception unit 203 is an operation by the user 11 on the application screen.

[0037] The control request unit 204 executes a control request process to request control from the server 110 in response to the operation of the user 111 received by the reception unit 203. Note that the specific processing content of the control request unit 204 will be described later using several examples as examples.

[0038] After the control request unit 204 requests control from the server 110, the polling unit 205 executes polling processing to periodically inquire about the status of the service from the server 110. Note that the specific processing content of the polling unit 205 will be described later using multiple examples as examples.

[0039] 2 is an example. For example, if the command from the user 11 received by the receiving unit 203 is a voice operation by the user 11, the terminal device 10 does not need to include the display unit 202 (although it may include the display unit 202).

[0040] <Processing Flow> Next, a processing flow of the control method (unlocking method) according to the first embodiment will be described. Fig. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing of the control system according to the first embodiment. The control system 1 according to the first embodiment is assumed to use an existing vehicle management system 100. Therefore, the vehicle management system 100 basically executes processing similar to that of the vehicle management system described in Fig. 7.

[0041] (Processing of Terminal Device) In step S301, when the reception unit 203 of the terminal device 10 receives an unlocking operation by the user 11, the terminal device 10 executes the processing from step S302 onward. Note that the unlocking operation by the user 11 may be performed by selecting an unlock button displayed on the application screen, or by issuing a voice command to unlock.

[0042] In step S302, the control request unit 204 of the terminal device 10 transmits a service start command to the server 110 requesting that the user 11 start using the vehicle 120 in response to an unlocking operation by the user 11.

[0043] In step S303, after the control request unit 204 transmits the service start command to the server 110, the polling unit 205 of the terminal device 10 executes a polling process to periodically inquire of the server 110 about the start status of the service.

[0044] In the example of Figure 3, in step S303a, the polling unit 205 inquires of the server 110 about the start status of the service, but does not receive a service start notification indicating that the service has started within a predetermined time T2 (for example, within 0.5 seconds).

[0045] In this case, in step S303b, polling unit 205 again inquires about the service start status of server 110. Here again, polling unit 205 does not receive a service start notification indicating that the service has started within predetermined time T2.

[0046] In this case, in step S303c, polling unit 205 again inquires about the service start status of server 110. Also, in the example of Fig. 3, in step S304, a service start notification indicating that the service has started is received within predetermined time T2.

[0047] In this case, in step S305, the control request unit 204 transmits an unlock command to the server 110 requesting that the vehicle 120 be unlocked.

[0048] In this way, when the terminal device 10 receives an unlocking operation by the user, it transmits a service start command (use start command) to the server 110 before transmitting an unlocking command to the server 110. After transmitting the service start command, the terminal device 10 polls the server 110 to inquire about the service start status at predetermined intervals until it receives a service start notification from the server 110. Furthermore, when the terminal device 10 receives a service start notification from the server 110 (when the vehicle 120 becomes available for use), it transmits an unlocking command to the server 110 requesting that the vehicle 120 be unlocked.

[0049] (Vehicle Management System Processing) In step S311, upon receiving the service start request transmitted by the terminal device 10 in step S302, the server 110 transmits a service start command to the control device 121. Note that the service start command transmitted by the terminal device 10 and the service start command transmitted by the server 110 may be commands in different formats.

[0050] In step S312, upon receiving the service start command, the control device 121 starts a service start process. For example, the control device 121 returns the computer included in the control device 121 from a sleep state to a normal state, and starts preparations for making the vehicle 120 available for use.

[0051] In step S313, the control device 121 starts the service, and in step S314, the control device 121 transmits a completion notification indicating that the service start process has been completed to the server 110. In this state, the vehicle management system 100 becomes able to unlock the vehicle 120 in response to the unlock command received from the terminal device 10.

[0052] In step S315, upon receiving the unlock command transmitted by the terminal device 10 in step S305, the server 110 transmits the unlock command to the control device 121. Note that the unlock command transmitted by the terminal device 10 and the unlock command transmitted by the server 110 may be commands in different formats.

[0053] In step S316 , upon receiving the unlock command sent by the server 110 , the control device 121 unlocks the vehicle 120 .

[0054] By the processing of Figure 3, the terminal device 10 can send a service start command to the vehicle management system 100 in response to the unlocking operation of the user 11, and when the service becomes available, send an unlocking command to the vehicle management system 100.

[0055] 7, the control device 121 of the vehicle management system 100 may not be able to accept commands during the period T1 from when the control device 121 receives the service start command until when the service starts. However, the terminal device 10 according to this embodiment transmits an unlock command to the vehicle management system 100 after the control device 121 starts the service, so that the vehicle 120 can be unlocked more reliably.

[0056] 7, the server 110 of the vehicle management system 100 may not transmit a service start notification to the terminal device 10 when it receives a completion notification from the control device 121. However, the terminal device 10 according to this embodiment executes a polling process to periodically inquire about the service start status after transmitting a service start command to the server 110, and therefore can more reliably and quickly grasp that the control device 121 has started the service.

[0057] For example, it is possible to consider a method in which the terminal device 10 sends a service start command, waits a predetermined time (for example, about 5 seconds), and then sends an unlock command to the server 110, but the terminal device 10 of this embodiment can unlock the vehicle 120 more quickly.

[0058] Alternatively, for example, instead of performing polling, the terminal device 10 may repeatedly send an unlock command to the server 110, but this method may cause the operation of the vehicle management system 100 to become unstable.

[0059] As described above, according to the terminal device 10 of Example 1, when a vehicle 120 managed by an existing vehicle management system 100 is shared within an organization, unnecessary operations by the user can be reduced more reliably, quickly, and safely.

[0060] Example 2 The control system 1 according to this embodiment is not limited to the vehicle management system 100 that manages the vehicle 120, but can also be applied to, for example, management systems that manage buildings, rooms, warehouses, facilities, etc. In Example 2, an example will be described in which the control system 1 according to this embodiment is applied to an office management system that manages an office.

[0061] The basic configuration and processing contents are the same as those in the first embodiment, so the following description will focus on the differences from the first embodiment.

[0062] <System Configuration> Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the system configuration of a control system according to Example 2. The control system 1 is a system in which an office 420 managed by an existing office management system 400 is shared within an organization. Note that the office management system 400 may be a building management system that manages buildings, a room management system that manages rooms, a warehouse management system that manages warehouses, or a facility management system that manages facilities.

[0063] 4 , the control system 1 includes a terminal device 10, a server 410, and a control device 421 installed in an office 420. The terminal device 10 and the control device 421 can communicate with the server 110 via the communication network 2.

[0064] The terminal device 10 according to Example 2 has the functional configuration of the terminal device 10 according to the present embodiment described in Fig. 2. Furthermore, the user 11 can use, for example, an app for the control system 1 installed on the terminal device 10 to perform an operation (e.g., unlocking) to use the office 420 managed by the office management system 400 as an office shared within the organization.

[0065] The server 410 is an information processing device having a computer configuration or a system including multiple computers. The server 410 is a computer provided in the server 410, and functions as a management device that manages the rental of the office 420 by executing a predetermined program.

[0066] The control device 421 is a communication device having a computer configuration that is installed in an office managed by the office management system 400. The control device 421 has a communication function with the server 410 and controls the office 420 in response to a control command received from the server 410. For example, the control device 421 unlocks the office 420 (unlocks the door) in response to an unlock command received via the server 410. Note that the control device 421 is not limited to unlocking doors, and may also control, for example, lighting or an air conditioning device in response to a control command received from the server 410.

[0067] <Processing Flow> Next, a processing flow of the control method (unlocking method) according to Example 2 will be described. Fig. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing of the control system according to Example 2. Note that the basic processing content is the same as the processing of the control system according to Example 1 described in Fig. 3, so detailed description of the processing content similar to that of Example 1 will be omitted here.

[0068] (Processing of Terminal Device) In step S501, when the reception unit 203 of the terminal device 10 receives an unlocking operation by the user 11, the terminal device 10 executes the processing from step S502 onwards.

[0069] In step S502, the control request unit 204 of the terminal device 10 transmits a service start command to the server 110 requesting that the office 420 be used in response to the unlocking operation by the user 11.

[0070] In step S503, after the control request unit 204 transmits the service start command to the server 110, the polling unit 205 of the terminal device 10 executes a polling process to periodically inquire of the server 110 about the start status of the service.

[0071] The processing in steps S503a to S503c is the same as the processing in steps S303a to S303c described with reference to FIG. 3, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0072] When the polling unit 205 receives a service start notification from the server 410 in step S504, the control request unit 204 transmits an unlock command to the server 410 requesting that the office 420 be unlocked in step S505.

[0073] (Processing of Office Management System) In step S511, upon receiving the service start request sent by the terminal device 10 in step S502, the server 110 sends a service start command to the control device 421.

[0074] In step S512, upon receiving the service start command, the control device 421 starts a service start process. For example, the control device 421 returns the computer included in the control device 421 from a sleep state to a normal state, and starts preparations for making the office 420 available.

[0075] In step S513, the control device 421 starts the service, and in step S514, the control device 421 transmits a completion notification indicating that the service start process has been completed to the server 410. In this state, the office management system 400 becomes able to unlock the office 420 in response to the unlock command received from the terminal device 10.

[0076] In step S515, upon receiving the unlock command transmitted by the terminal device 10 in step S505, the server 410 transmits the unlock command to the control device 421.

[0077] In step S516, upon receiving the unlock command sent by the server 410, the control device 421 unlocks the office 420.

[0078] In this way, the control system 1 according to this embodiment can also be applied to an office management system that manages the office 420. Similarly, the control system 1 according to this embodiment can also be applied to a building management system that manages a building, a room management system that manages a room, a warehouse management system that manages a warehouse, or a facility management system that manages a facility.

[0079] <Hardware Configuration> The terminal device 10, the servers 110 and 410, the control devices 121 and 421, etc. according to this embodiment have the hardware configuration of a computer 600 as shown in FIG. 6, for example.

[0080] 6 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a computer according to this embodiment. The computer 600 includes a processor 601, a memory 602, a storage device 603, a communication device 604, an input device 605, an output device 606, an I / F (Interface) 607, a bus 608, etc.

[0081] The processor 601 is, for example, an arithmetic device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that realizes various functions by executing predetermined programs stored in a storage medium such as a storage device 603 or a memory 602. The memory 602 includes, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory), which is a volatile memory used as a work area or the like for the processor 601, and a ROM (Read Only Memory), which is a non-volatile memory that stores programs for starting up the processor 601. The storage device 603 is a large-capacity storage device that stores an OS (Operating System), programs such as applications, and various data, information, and the like, and is realized by, for example, an SSD (Solid State Drive) or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive).

[0082] The input device 605 is a device that accepts input from the outside (for example, a keyboard, mouse, microphone, camera, switch, button, or sensor). The output device 606 is a device that performs output to the outside (for example, a display, speaker, light-emitting element, etc.). The I / F 607 is an interface for connecting an external device to the computer 600. The bus 706 is commonly connected to each of the above components and transmits, for example, address signals, data signals, and various control signals.

[0083] As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, when vehicles, buildings, rooms, warehouses, or equipment managed by an existing system are shared within an organization, unnecessary operations by users can be reduced.

[0084] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and applications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention as defined in the claims.

[0085] This application claims priority from basic application No. 2023-209445, filed with the Japan Patent Office on December 12, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0086] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Control system 10 Terminal device (information terminal) 100 Vehicle management system 110, 410 Server 120 Vehicle 121, 421 Control device 201 Communication unit 203 Reception unit 204 Control request unit 205 Polling unit 400 Office management system 420 Office

Claims

1. A control system comprising: a terminal device having a communication function with a server and transmitting a user's command to the server; and a control device having a communication function with the server and controlling specified hardware in accordance with the user's command received via the server, wherein the terminal device transmits a service start command to the server requesting that the control device start a service and performs polling, and after receiving a notification from the server indicating that the service has started, transmits to the server a command executable after the control device starts the service, and the control device activates a function of the specified hardware in accordance with the command executable after the service has been started.

2. The control system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is an information terminal used by the user, the control device is mounted in a vehicle, and the service start command is a command for making a function of the vehicle available.

3. The control system of claim 1, wherein the terminal device is an information terminal used by the user, the control device is mounted in a vehicle, the service start command is a command for making a function of the vehicle available, and the command executable after starting the service includes a command for unlocking the vehicle.

4. A method for unlocking a vehicle using the control system according to claim 2 or 3.

5. The control system of claim 1, wherein the terminal device is an information terminal used by the user, the control device is installed in a building, room, office, warehouse, or facility, and the service start command is a command for making available a function of the building, room, office, warehouse, or facility.

6. The control system of claim 1, wherein the terminal device is an information terminal used by the user, the control device is installed in a building, room, office, warehouse, or facility, the service start command is a command for making available the functions of the building, room, office, warehouse, or facility, and the commands executable after the service is started include a command for unlocking the building, room, office, warehouse, or facility.

7. A method for unlocking a building, room, office, warehouse, or facility, using the control system according to claim 5 or 6.

8. A terminal device having a communication function with a server and transmitting user commands to the server, the terminal device having a communication function with the server, transmitting a service start command to the server requesting a control device that controls specified hardware to start a service in response to the user commands received via the server, and performing polling, and after receiving a notification from the server indicating that the service has started, transmitting an executable command to the server after the terminal device has started the service.

9. A program for causing a terminal device, which has a communication function with a server and transmits user commands to the server, to transmit to the server a service start command requesting a control device, which has a communication function with the server and controls specified hardware in response to the user commands received via the server, to start a service, and for executing polling; and, after receiving a notification from the server indicating that the service has started, causing the terminal device to transmit to the server an executable command after starting the service.

10. A program that causes a terminal device capable of communicating with a server that manages vehicle rentals to execute the following processes: a process of sending a start-of-use command to the server requesting that the vehicle be started before sending an unlock command requesting that the vehicle be unlocked in response to a user's unlocking operation; a polling process of periodically inquiring of the server whether the vehicle is available; and a process of sending the unlock command to the server when the vehicle is available.

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