JP2003346240A - Bicycle rental system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide an easy-to-use bicycle lending system that can be easily introduced and can be operated at low cost. SOLUTION: In each of facilities 102 (102A to 102F) such as a public facility, a commercial facility, a station, and an apartment house, a bicycle parking facility 106 (106A to 106F) in which a plurality of rental bicycles 104 can be parked. Is provided.
The bicycle parking facility side control device 10 is installed in each bicycle parking facility 106, and each bicycle parking facility side control device 10
Is communicably connected to the management device 20 via the. The management device 20 is configured to be communicably connected to a mobile phone 50 owned by a user using the bicycle 104 via the network 30.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a bicycle rental system for renting a bicycle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Preventing the occurrence of abandoned bicycles,
As a method of improving access to commercial facilities, stations, apartment houses, and the like, it has been attempted in various foreign countries to incorporate a system for renting a bicycle in each of these facilities.

[0003]

When renting such a bicycle, it is necessary to manually manage the departure and entry of the bicycle, charge and collect the usage fee, etc., so that it is troublesome to introduce the system. At the same time, there have been problems in that costs such as labor costs are increased, and the usability is poor. The present invention is intended to solve such problems of the prior art, and the purpose thereof is to:
An object of the present invention is to provide an easy-to-use bicycle lending system that can be easily introduced and can be operated at a low cost.

[0004]

According to the present invention, there is provided a bicycle lending system for lending a rental bicycle to which bicycle identification information has been assigned in advance.
A bicycle parking facility side control device provided in a bicycle parking facility where the bicycle is parked, a management device communicably connected to the bicycle parking facility side control device via a network, and a control device provided in each of the bicycles. A lock device that switches from a locked state in which the bicycle is prohibited to run to an unlocked state in which the bicycle is allowed to run by inputting unlock information corresponding to the bicycle identification information of the bicycle, and the management device includes: A management database in which user identification information assigned to each user and the bicycle identification information are registered;
The lock release information is generated based on a comparison result between the user identification information and the bicycle identification information received via the network and the user identification information and the bicycle identification information registered in the management database. Control means for transmitting the information to the bicycle parking facility-side control device via a network, wherein the bicycle parking facility-side control device transmits the unlock information received via the network to the bicycle locking device. Characterized in that it is configured to have a lock control means for transmitting to

Further, the present invention may be arranged such that the lock control means transmits the lock release information to the lock device via a radio signal. In the present invention, the management database may be configured to store usage information indicating a usage state for each of the bicycle identification information based on the lock state information transmitted to the management device. Further, the present invention provides a detection means for detecting the number of bicycles parked in the bicycle parking facility in each of the bicycle parking facilities,
The number of bicycles detected by the detecting means is transmitted to the control device via the network to the control device on the bicycle parking facility side, and the status of bicycle parking of each bicycle parking facility is transmitted to the management device based on the number of bicycles. May be provided, and bicycle parking information management means for managing the bicycle parking information indicating the above and transmitting the bicycle parking information via the network.

Therefore, according to the bicycle lending system of the present invention, the user identification information and the bicycle identification information received by the management device via the network, and the user identification registered in the management database. Unlock information corresponding to the user identification information is generated based on the result of the comparison with the information and the bicycle identification information. The unlocking information is transmitted to the bicycle parking facility side control device via the network, and the bicycle parking facility side control device transmits the unlocking information to the bicycle locking device so that the locking device is locked. The lock is released from, and the bicycle can be used.

[0007]

Next, an embodiment of a bicycle lending system according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a bicycle lending system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Each of the facilities 102 (102A to 102F) such as a public facility, a commercial facility, a station, and an apartment house has a bicycle parking facility 106 (106A to 106F) in which a plurality of rental bicycles 104 can be parked. Is provided. The form of parking of the bicycle 104 in the bicycle parking facility 106 may be a form in which bicycles are arranged in a plane or a three-dimensional form in which bicycles are arranged in a vertical direction, and the form is arbitrary. Bicycle identification information is assigned to each of the bicycles 104 in advance, and the bicycle identification information assigned to each of the bicycles is displayed so as to be visible in the portion of the bicycle 104. The bicycle identification information includes, for example, numbers, alphabets,
It is expressed by combining symbols and the like.

Each bicycle parking facility 106 is provided with a bicycle parking facility side control device 10.
Are communicably connected to the management device 20 via the network 30. In the present embodiment, the bicycle rental system 100 is configured by the bicycle parking facility side control device 10 and the management device 20. The management device 20 includes:
The mobile phone 50 is configured to be communicably connected to the mobile phone 50 carried by the user who uses the bicycle 104 via the network 30. The configuration of the network 30 is arbitrary, and may be, for example, any one of a public line, a dedicated line, and the Internet, or a combination thereof.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a bicycle lending system. Each of the bicycles 104 has the bicycle 1
A lock device 40 is provided, which can be switched between a lock state in which use of the vehicle 04 is prohibited and an unlocked state in which travel is permitted. The lock device 40 is configured to switch from the locked state to the unlocked state by receiving unlock information corresponding to the bicycle identification information of the bicycle by a wireless signal. The lock device 40 is configured to be manually switched from an unlocked state to a locked state, and when the locked state is switched to the unlocked state, lock state information corresponding to the bicycle identification information is transmitted. It is configured to transmit to the bicycle parking facility side control device 10 by a wireless signal.

[0010] The management device 20 includes communication means 2002,
It comprises a control means 2004, a management database 2006, and a billing database 2008. The communication means 2002 is configured to transmit and receive information to and from the network 30. In the management database 2006, user identification information assigned to each user and the bicycle identification information are registered. The management database 2006 is configured to manage lending information indicating the lending status of the bicycle for each of the bicycle identification information. The user identification information is information for identifying a user, and is registered in the management database 2006 in advance before the user uses the bicycle lending system. Further, in the present embodiment, the user identification information is constituted by the telephone number of the mobile phone 50 carried by the user.

FIG. 3A shows the management database 200.
6, (B) is an illustration of bicycle identification information managed by the management database 2006, and (C) is an illustration of the user identification information and bicycle identification information in the management database 2006. FIG. 4D is a diagram illustrating a state in which the bicycle identification information and the rental information indicating the bicycle rental status are stored in the management database 2006 in a corresponding manner. FIG. As shown in (A),
The user identification information A: A1, A2, A3... Are information registered by the user applying for the management device 10 in advance. As shown in (B), the bicycle identification information B: B1, B2, B3,... Is also information registered in the management device 10 in advance. (C)
As shown in the figure, the user identification information A is configured to be stored in correspondence with the bicycle identification information B borrowed by the user of the user identification information. As shown in (D), in accordance with the bicycle identification information B, usage information C: C1, C2, C3... Indicating the usage state of the bicycle of the bicycle identification information, that is, whether or not the bicycle is lent by the user.
Are stored.

[0012] The charging database 2008 is configured to charge a usage fee in association with the user identification information and to hold charging information indicating the usage fee. The usage fee can be calculated according to, for example, the usage time of the bicycle. FIG. 4 shows a billing database 200.
6 is an explanatory diagram of user identification information and billing information managed in 6. The accounting information D: D1, D2, D3... Is stored in association with each of the user identification information A: A1, A2, A3.

The control means 2004 is provided with the communication means 2
002, the management database 2006, and the billing database 2008.
2. Management database 2006, accounting database 20
It is configured to control the exchange of information performed during the period 08. This control means 2004 is based on the result of matching the user identification information and bicycle identification information received via the network 30 with the user identification information and bicycle identification information registered in the management database 2006. , And generates unlock information corresponding to the bicycle identification information and transmits the unlock information to the bicycle parking facility side control device 10 via the network 30. Further, it is configured to receive the lock state information corresponding to the bicycle identification information transmitted from the bicycle parking facility control device 10 via the network 30.

The bicycle parking facility side control device 10 includes a communication unit 1002, a control unit 1004, an input unit 1006, and a lock control unit 1008. The communication unit 1002 is configured to transmit and receive information to and from the network 30. Input means 1
Reference numeral 006 denotes a keyboard or the like capable of inputting alphanumeric characters and symbols. The bicycle identification information 006 is input by a user's operation and supplied to the control unit 1004.

The lock control means 1008 generates the unlock signal based on unlock information corresponding to the bicycle identification information received via the network 30, and outputs the unlock signal to the bicycle locking device 4.
0, and transmits lock state information corresponding to the bicycle identification information to the control means 2004 via the network 30. The control unit 1004 is provided by the communication unit 100
2. It controls the input means 1006 and the lock control means 1008, and controls the exchange of information performed between the communication means 1002, the input means 1006 and the lock control means 1008.

Next, the operation at the time of lending a bicycle will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, a user who wants to rent a bicycle 104 goes to the nearest bicycle parking facility 106, operates his / her mobile phone 50, accesses the management device 20 via the network 30, and is registered in advance. The user identification information A is transmitted (step S10). The transmission of the user identification information A is performed when the mobile phone 50 accesses the management device 20 and the telephone number of the mobile phone 50 is changed to the management device 2.
This is done by sending it to 0.

The communication means 2002 of the management device 20 comprises:
The user identification information A received via the network 30
Is given to the control means 2004, and the control means 2004
Determines whether or not the user identification information A is registered in advance based on the management database 2006. If the determination result is negative ("N"), the process is terminated (step S13), and the determination result is positive. If ("Y"), the information for prompting the input of the bicycle identification information B is transmitted to the portable telephone 50 via the network 30 (step S14).

The user who has received the information prompting the input of the bicycle identification information B from the network 30 by the portable telephone 50 can use the bicycle 10 parked in the bicycle parking facility 106.
4, that is, the bicycle identification information B displayed on the available bicycle 104 is confirmed, and the bicycle identification information B is input by operating the input unit 1006, whereby the bicycle identification information B is input from the input unit 1006. Communication means 10
The data is transmitted to the management device 20 via the network 30 via the network 02 (step S16).

The control means 2004 of the management device 20 comprises:
The lock release information corresponding to the bicycle identification information B is generated and transmitted to each bicycle parking facility side control device 10 via the network 30 (step S18). The lock control unit 1008, which has received the unlock information via the communication unit 1002, transmits the unlock information corresponding to the bicycle identification information B by a wireless signal (step S2).
0).

Only the lock device 40 of each bicycle 104 that has received the lock release information corresponding to the bicycle identification information B switches the lock device 40 from the locked state to the unlocked state (step S22).
As a result, the user can use the bicycle 104, and thus uses the bicycle (step S24).

On the other hand, the management database 2006 of the management device 20 stores the bicycle identification information B in association with the user identification information A, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3D, the use information C is updated from the non-use state to the use state by storing it in association with the user identification information A (step S26). Further, the management device 20
Of the control means 2004
Based on this control, as shown in FIG. 4, the accounting corresponding to the user identification information A is started, and the accounting information D is updated (step S28).

Next, the operation of returning the bicycle will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the use of the bicycle 104 is finished, the user parks the bicycle 104 in the nearest bicycle parking facility 106 and manually operates the lock device 40 to change from the unlocked state to the locked state (step S30). Thereby, the lock device 40 is
The lock state information corresponding to the bicycle identification information is transmitted to the lock control unit 1008 by a wireless signal, and the lock control unit 1008 transmits the lock state information corresponding to the bicycle identification information to the management device 2 via the network.
0 (step S32).

The management database 20 of the management device 20
06 clears the bicycle identification information B corresponding to the user identification information A shown in FIG. 3C by receiving the lock state information corresponding to the bicycle identification information transmitted to the management device 20. Then, the use information C corresponding to the bicycle identification information B shown in FIG. 3D is updated from the use state to the non-use state (step S34). The user operates his / her mobile phone 50 to access the management device 20 via the network 30 and transmits the user identification information A registered in advance (step S36). At this time, similarly to the case of renting a bicycle, the transmission of the user identification information A is performed by transmitting the telephone number of the mobile phone 50 to the management device 20 by the mobile phone 50 accessing the management device 20. It is done by doing.

The communication means 2002 of the management device 20 comprises:
The user identification information A received via the network 30
Is given to the control means 2004, and the control means 2004
Determines whether the user identification information A is registered in advance based on the management database 2006 (step S38), and terminates the process if the determination result is negative ("N") (step S39). If the determination result is affirmative (“Y”), the control unit 2004 controls the charging database 2008 to end the charging corresponding to the user identification information A as shown in FIG. Is updated (step S40). A usage fee is collected based on the billing information D (step S4).
2). This fee collection is performed, for example, by withdrawing from a payment account of a financial institution used by the user.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the user identification information and the bicycle identification information received by the management device 20 via the network 30 and the information registered in the management database 2006 On the basis of the result of the comparison with the user identification information and the bicycle identification information, unlock information corresponding to the user identification information is generated and transmitted to the bicycle parking facility side control device 10 via the network 30, The bicycle parking facility side control device 10 transmits the unlock information to the bicycle locking device 4.
By transmitting to 0, the lock device is brought into the unlocked state. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a large-scale facility as a bicycle parking facility, so that a bicycle lending system can be easily introduced, and the cost is reduced because no manpower is required when renting a bicycle from the bicycle parking facility. can do. In addition, since the user can rent a bicycle simply by inputting the user identification information and the bicycle identification information, the user can use it without much trouble and is excellent in usability.

In the present embodiment, the transmission of the user identification information to the management device 20, that is, the management device 2
The reception of the user identification information by “0” is performed by transmitting the telephone number of the mobile phone 50 to the management device 20 by accessing the management device 20 via the network 30. Therefore, there is an advantage that the user does not need to manually input the user identification information again.

Each of the bicycle parking facilities 106 is provided with a detecting means for detecting the number of bicycles 104 parked in the bicycle parking facility 106, and the bicycle parking facility side controller 10 detects the number of bicycles detected by the detecting means. The number of bicycles is transmitted to the management device 20 via the network 30, and the management device 20 manages bicycle parking information indicating the bicycle parking status of each bicycle parking facility 106 based on the number of bicycle parking. Is transmitted via the network 30. In this case, the bicycle parking information is stored in a mobile phone or a PDA (Personal Dial) accessible to the management device 20 via the network 30.
By receiving the information using a personal assistant, a personal computer, or the like, it is possible to grasp the bicycle parking status of each bicycle parking facility 106, to confirm whether or not there is a bicycle to be rented, and to confirm the free space of the bicycle parking facility 106 for returning the bicycle. This is advantageous in improving usability.

In the present embodiment, the transmission of the user identification information to the management device 20 is performed by the portable telephone 50. However, the transmission of the user identification information to the management device 20 is performed by the network. 30 through the management device 2
0 (Personal Dig) that can access
It is also possible to use an electronic device such as an italian assistant or a personal computer. Further, in the present embodiment, the user identification information is transmitted to the management device 20 by the mobile phone 50, and the bicycle identification information is transmitted to the management device 20 by the input device 1006. Both of the bicycle identification information may be configured to be transmitted by a mobile phone,
In this case, there is an advantage that the input device 1006 can be omitted. Further, both the user identification information and the bicycle identification information may be transmitted by the input device 1006. In this case, there is an advantage that a user who does not have a mobile phone can rent a bicycle. It is necessary to separately set user identification information.

The user identification information may be any information that can identify the user, but as in the present embodiment, the telephone number of the portable telephone 50 carried by the user is used as the user identification information. Is advantageous in that it is not necessary to generate new user identification information, and that the user does not need to store the new user identification information. Also,
In the case where the usage fee collected from the user whose user identification information is registered is a fixed amount, for example, a fixed amount per month irrespective of the use time and the number of uses of the bicycle, the charging database 2008 is omitted. It can be configured. The transmission of the telephone number of the mobile phone 50 to the management device 20 may be realized by, for example, a calling number notification function provided by the network 30 and the mobile phone 50, or the transmission of the telephone number to the mobile phone 50. You may implement | achieve by providing a means.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an easy-to-use bicycle lending system that can be easily introduced, can be operated at a low cost, and is easy to use.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a bicycle lending system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a bicycle lending system.

3A is an explanatory diagram of user identification information managed by a management database 2006, FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram of bicycle identification information managed by a management database 2006, and FIG.
Is an explanatory view showing a state in which the user identification information and the bicycle identification information are stored in correspondence with each other in the management database 2006, and (D) shows the bicycle identification information and the rental information indicating the rental status of the bicycle in the management database 2006. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state stored correspondingly.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of user identification information and charging information managed by a charging database 2006.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of lending a bicycle.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of returning a bicycle.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 Bicycle rental system 104 bicycle 106 Bicycle parking facilities 10 Bicycle parking facility side control device 20 Management device 30 Network 40 Locking device 50 mobile phone

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 17/60 124 G06F 17/60 124 342 342 G08G 1/00 G08G 1/00 Z // B60R 25/10 627 B60R 25/10 627 F term (reference) 2E250 AA21 BB05 BB08 BB10 BB25 BB29 BB47 BB61 BB65 CC11 CC13 CC21 DD02 DD06 EE04 EE11 FF05 FF13 FF25 FF34 FF36 3E048 AA10 BA06 5H180 AA05 BB05

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A bicycle lending system for lending a rental bicycle to which bicycle identification information is assigned in advance, comprising: a bicycle parking facility side control device provided in a bicycle parking facility where the bicycle is parked; A management device communicably connected to the bicycle parking facility side control device via a network, and a bicycle running by inputting lock release information corresponding to the bicycle identification information of each of the bicycles. A lock device that switches from a lock state that prohibits the vehicle to an unlocked state that allows the vehicle to run, wherein the management device is a management database in which user identification information assigned to each user and the bicycle identification information are registered. And the user identification information and the bicycle identification information received via the network and the user information registered in the management database. Control means for generating the unlock information based on the result of comparison with the person identification information and the bicycle identification information and transmitting the unlock information to the bicycle parking facility side control device via the network, The facility-side control device is configured to include lock control means for transmitting the lock release information received via the network to the bicycle lock device, wherein the bicycle rental system is provided. 2. The user identification information is a number of a mobile phone possessed by the user, and when the management device receives the user identification information, the mobile phone accesses the management device via the network. The bicycle lending system according to claim 1, wherein the telephone number of the mobile phone is transmitted to a management device. 3. The bicycle according to claim 1, wherein bicycle identification information of the bicycle is displayed on the bicycle.
Bicycle rental system described. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the user identification information and the bicycle identification information received by the control means via the network is transmitted from the mobile phone owned by the user to the network. The bicycle rental system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein 5. The at least one of the user identification information and the bicycle identification information received by the control means via the network is input from input means provided in the bicycle parking facility side control device and connected to the network. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein
Bicycle rental system described in section. 6. The lock device is configured to be manually switchable from an unlocked state to a locked state,
The lock device is configured to transmit lock state information corresponding to the bicycle identification information to the lock control unit when the lock state is switched from the lock state to the unlocked state, and the lock control unit transmits the lock state information to the bicycle identification information. The bicycle lending system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the system is configured to transmit corresponding lock state information to the management device via the network. 7. The management device further includes a charging database, wherein the charging database charges a usage fee in association with the user identification information, and retains charging information indicating the usage fee. The bicycle lending system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: