Management system and management method for charging object apparatus, management apparatus and charging object apparatus

• US 20030069805A1
• Filed: 09/20/2002
• Published: 04/10/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Yui, Yasuji
• Granted Patent: US 7,904,390 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

A management apparatus, a charging object apparatus and a management system and method by which a product of an object of use can be used in an efficiency as high as possible when it is used commonly by a plurality of people. In the management system, the management apparatus includes a storage section into which reservation information including information regarding a use time of a charging object apparatus and information regarding a user is stored, an updating section for updating the reservation information stored in the storage section based on information that the user requests for reservation of use of the charging object apparatus, and a permission information signaling section for signaling, when the reservation information updated by the updating section is different from reservation information of any other user stored in the storage section, permission information for permitting use of the charging object apparatus to the outside based on the use reservation information stored in the storage section.

Claims

1. A management apparatus, comprising:

storage means into which reservation information including information regarding a use time of a charging object apparatus and information regarding a user is stored;

updating means for updating the reservation information stored in said storage means based on information that the user requests for reservation of use of said charging object apparatus; and

permission information signaling means for signaling, when the reservation information updated by said updating means is different from reservation information of any other user stored in said storage means, permission information for permitting use of said charging object apparatus to the outside based on the use reservation information stored in said storage means.

2. A management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said permission information signaling means signals the permission information to said charging object apparatus over a communication network.

3. A management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said permission information signaling means signals the permission information to a communication apparatus connected thereto over a communication network.

4. A management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising reception means for receiving information including a use time period of said charging object apparatus from said charging object apparatus over a communication network.

5. A management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information that the reservation of use is requested is received from a communication apparatus connected to said management apparatus over a communication network.

6. A management apparatus, comprising:

grouping means for distributing member registration information representing registered members each into one of a plural number of groups equal to the number of charging object apparatus;

storage means into which reservation information regarding times at which the members are scheduled to use said charging object apparatus is stored for each of the groups;

updating means for updating, based on information representing a request for use of said charging object apparatus from any of the members, the reservation information stored in said storage means regarding the group in which the member is included; and

permission information signaling means for signaling, based on the reservation information stored in said storage means, permission information regarding the member who has made the registration and a time at which the reserved charging object apparatus is scheduled to be used;

said management apparatus managing the information regarding the reservation by the registered member.

7. A management apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising member registration information acceptance means for accepting the member registration information, said grouping means grouping the member registration information based on the registration information accepted by said registration information acceptance means such that information representing reservation time zones in which use of said charging object apparatus is desired in each of the groups.

8. A management apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising member registration information acceptance means for accepting the member registration information, said grouping means grouping the member registration information based on address information of the members included in the registration information accepted by said registration information acceptance means such that the member registration information representing a plurality of members having addresses near to each other is included in one group.

9. A management apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said grouping means performs the grouping such that, from within the member registration information accepted by said registration information acceptance means, the member registration information wherein particular information of the members other than the address information is different from each other is included in the same group.

10. A management apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the particular information of the members other than the address information is information representing reservation time zones in which the members desire to use said charging object apparatus, and said grouping means classifies the member registration information representing a plurality of members whose addresses are near to each other into groups of the member registration information each of which includes information representing a reservation time zone in which use of said charging object apparatus is desired and distributes the member registration information included in the classified groups to a plural number of groups equal to the number of said charging object apparatus.

11. A management apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the reservation time zones in which use of said charging object apparatus is desired are time zones in which the members stay at home.

12. A management apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising member registration information acceptance means for accepting the member registration information, said grouping means grouping the member registration information of a plurality of members based on the member registration information such that reservation time zones in which the charging object apparatus is used are decentralized.

13. A management apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said grouping means performs the grouping process successively using items extracted from the member registration information so as to be used for grouping in accordance with priority levels determined in advance for the items used for the grouping, and thereupon, said grouping means performs the grouping process based on classification types determined in advance for the items relating to the grouping such that the member registration information which has the same item may be included in one group or the member registration information which has the same item may be included in different groups.

14. A charging object apparatus, comprising:

permission information acquisition means for acquiring permission information from the outside;

discrimination means for discriminating based on the permission information whether or not use of said charging object apparatus by a user should be permitted;

use time period measurement means for measuring an operation time period of said charging object apparatus as a use time period when the use of said charging object apparatus is permitted by said discrimination means; and

charging control means for producing information which makes an object of charging based on information regarding the use time period.

15. A charging object apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the information which makes an object of charging is time information.

16. A charging object apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the permission information is stored in a storage medium, and said charging object apparatus further comprises loading means into which the storage medium is loaded, said permission acquisition means acquiring the permission information from the storage medium loaded in said loading section, said charging control means writing information regarding the use time period or information which is produced based on the use time period and makes an object of charging into the storage medium.

17. A charging object apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said charging control means rewrites the information stored in the storage medium based on the information regarding the use time period.

18. A charging object apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the storage medium includes a memory in which the number of units of an imaginary currency is stored, and said charging control means arithmetically operates information regarding a time period which makes an object of charging based on the information regarding the use time period, converts the information regarding the time period which makes an object of charging into a number of units of the imaginary currency and rewrites the number of units of the imaginary currency stored in said storage into a number of units obtained by subtracting the number of units obtained by the conversion from the number of units of the imaginary currency stored in said memory.

19. A charging object apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said charging control means produces information which makes an object of charging based on at least one of the information regarding the use time period and the information indicative of a use situation of said charging object apparatus.

20. A charging object apparatus according to claim 19, further comprising loading means into which the storage medium is loaded, said charging control means writing the information regarding the use time period into the storage medium.

21. A charging object apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the permission information is stored in a storage medium, said charging object apparatus further comprising a loading section into which the storage medium is loaded.

22. A charging object apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising:

operation inputting means for designating one of a plurality of functions; and

function execution means for executing the function designated by said operation inputting means;

said use time period measurement means measuring a period of time within which each of the functions is executed by said function execution means as a use time period of the function.

23. A charging object apparatus according to claim 22, wherein said charging control means weights the use time periods of the functions measured by said use time period measurement means individually corresponding to the functions based on the time periods within which the functions are individually executed to calculate a chargeable time period which makes an object of charging.

24. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus, comprising:

a management apparatus; and

a charging object apparatus for being managed by said management apparatus;

said management apparatus including storage means into which reservation information including information regarding a use time of a charging object apparatus and information regarding a user is stored, updating means for updating the reservation information stored in said storage means based on information that the user requests for reservation of use of said charging object apparatus, and permission information signaling means for signaling, when the reservation information updated by said updating means is different from reservation information of any other user stored in said storage means, permission information for permitting use of said charging object apparatus to the outside based on the use reservation information stored in said storage means;

said charging object apparatus including permission information acquisition means for acquiring the permission information, discrimination means for discriminating based on the permission information whether or not use of said charging object apparatus by a user should be permitted, use time period measurement means for measuring an operation time period of said charging object apparatus as a use time period when the use of said charging object apparatus is permitted by said discrimination means, and charging control means for producing information which makes an object of charging based on information regarding the use time period.

25. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said charging object apparatus further includes signaling means for signaling at least one of the information regarding the use time period and the information which is produced by said charging control means and makes an object of charging.

26. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the permission information is stored in a storage medium, and said charging object apparatus further includes loading means into which the storage medium is loaded, said permission acquisition means acquiring the permission information from the storage medium.

27. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the permission information is stored in a storage medium, and said charging object apparatus further includes loading means into which the storage medium is loaded, said permission acquisition means acquiring the permission information from the storage medium loaded in said loading means, said charging control means writing the information regarding the use time period or the information which is produced based on the use time period and makes an object of charging into the storage medium.

28. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 27, wherein said charging control means rewrites the information stored in the storage medium based on the information regarding the use time period.

29. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the storage medium includes a memory in which the number of units of an imaginary currency is stored, and said charging control means arithmetically operates information regarding a time period which makes an object of charging based on the information regarding the use time period, converts the information regarding the time period which makes an object of charging into a number of units of the imaginary currency and rewrites the number of units of the imaginary currency stored in said storage into a number of units obtained by subtracting the number of units obtained by the conversion from the number of units of the imaginary currency stored in said memory.

30. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said management apparatus and said management object apparatus are connected to each other over a communication network, said permission information signaling means signaling the permission information to said charging object apparatus over said communication network, said permission information acquisition means acquiring the permission information over said communication network, said charging control means signaling at least one of the information regarding the use time period and the information which is produced based on the use time period and makes an object of charging to said management apparatus over said communication network.

31. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 24, further comprising a communication apparatus for being connected to said management apparatus over a communication apparatus, said communication apparatus including inputting means for inputting information of requesting reservation for use of said charging object apparatus, and reservation request information signaling means for signaling the information of requesting reservation for use of said charging object apparatus to said management apparatus over said communication network.

32. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 31, wherein said communication apparatus further includes a loading section into which a storage medium is loaded, and means for receiving the permission information from said permission information signaling means of said management apparatus over said communication network and writing the permission information into said storage medium.

33. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 32, wherein each of said charging object apparatus and said communication apparatus includes radio communication means, and said communication apparatus includes reception means for receiving the permission information over said communication network, and permission information signaling means for signaling the received permission information to said charging object apparatus using said radio communication means.

34. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 33, wherein said charging object apparatus further includes first signaling means for signaling the information regarding the use time period measured by said use time period measurement means or the information which is produced based on the information regarding the use time period and makes an object of charging to said management apparatus using said radio communication means, and said communication apparatus further includes second signaling means for signaling the information regarding the use time period or the information, which is produced based on the information regarding the use time period and makes an object of charging, signaled from said charging object apparatus to said management apparatus over said communication network.

35. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 24, wherein each of said charging object apparatus and said communication apparatus includes radio communication means, and said communication network is a radio communication network.

36. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said charging object apparatus further includes:

operation inputting means for designating one of a plurality of functions; and

function execution means for executing the function designated by said operation inputting means;

said use time period measurement means measuring a period of time within which each of the functions is executed by said function execution means as a use time period of the function.

37. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 36, wherein said charging control means weights the use time periods of the functions measured by said use time period measurement means individually corresponding to the functions based on the time periods within which the functions are individually executed to calculate a chargeable time period which makes an object of charging.

38. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus, comprising:

a management apparatus; and

a charging object apparatus for being managed by said management apparatus;

said management apparatus including grouping means for distributing member registration information representing registered members each into one of a plural number of groups equal to the number of charging object apparatus, storage means into which reservation information regarding times at which the members are scheduled to use said charging object apparatus is stored for each of the groups, updating means for updating, based on information representing a request for use of said charging object apparatus from any of the members, the reservation information stored in said storage means regarding the group in which the member is included, and permission information signaling means for signaling, based on the reservation information stored in said storage means, permission information regarding the member who has made the registration and a time at which the reserved charging object apparatus is scheduled to be used;

said charging object apparatus including permission information acquisition means for acquiring permission information from the outside, discrimination means for discriminating based on the permission information whether or not use of said charging object apparatus by a user should be permitted, use time period measurement means for measuring an operation time period of said charging object apparatus as a use time period when the use of said charging object apparatus is permitted by said discrimination means, and charging control means for producing information which makes an object of charging based on information regarding the use time period.

39. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 38, wherein said management apparatus further comprises member registration information acceptance means for accepting the member registration information, said grouping means grouping the member registration information based on address information of the members included in the registration information accepted by said registration information acceptance means such that the member registration information representing a plurality of members having addresses near to each other is included in one group.

40. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 39, wherein said grouping means performs the grouping such that, from within the member registration information accepted by said registration information acceptance means, the member registration information wherein particular information of the members other than the address information is different from each other is included in the same group.

41. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 40, wherein the particular information of the members other than the address information is information representing reservation time zones in which the members desire to use said charging object apparatus, and said grouping means classifies the member registration information representing a plurality of members whose addresses are near to each other into groups of the member registration information each of which includes information representing a reservation time zone in which use of said charging object apparatus is desired and distributes the member registration information included in the classified groups to a plural number of groups equal to the number of said charging object apparatus.

42. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 41, wherein the reservation time zones, in which use of said charging object apparatus is desired, are time zones in which the members stay at home.

43. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 38, wherein said management apparatus further comprises member registration information acceptance means for accepting the member registration information, said grouping means grouping the member registration information of a plurality of members based on the member registration information such that reservation time zones in which the charging object apparatus is used are decentralized.

44. A management system for managing a charging object apparatus according to claim 43, wherein said grouping means performs the grouping process successively using items extracted from the member registration information so as to be used for grouping in accordance with priority levels determined in advance for the items used for the grouping, and thereupon, said grouping means performs the grouping process based on classification types determined in advance for the items relating to the grouping such that the member registration information which has the same item may be included in one group or the member registration information which has the same item may be included in different groups.

45. A management method, comprising the steps performed by a management apparatus of:

storing reservation information including at least information regarding a use time of a charging object apparatus and information regarding a user;

updating the stored reservation information based on information that the user requests for reservation of use of said charging object apparatus; and

signaling, when the reservation information updated by the updating step is different from reservation information of any other user stored, permission information for permitting use of said charging object apparatus to the outside based on the stored use reservation information; and

the steps performed by said charging object apparatus of;

acquiring the permission information signaled from said management apparatus;

discriminating based on the permission information whether or not use of said charging object apparatus by the user should be permitted;

measuring an operation time period of said charging object apparatus as a use time period when the use of said charging object apparatus is permitted by the discriminating step; and

producing information which makes an object of charging based on information regarding the use time period;

said management apparatus managing the information regarding the reservation by the registered member.

46. A management method, comprising the steps performed by a management apparatus of:

distributing member registration information representing registered members each into one of a plural number of groups equal to the number of charging object apparatus;

storing reservation information regarding times at which the members are scheduled to use said charging object apparatus for each of the groups;

updating, based on information representing a request for use of said charging object apparatus from any of the members, the stored reservation information regarding the group in which the member is included; and

signaling, based on the stored reservation information, permission information regarding the member who has made the registration and a time at which the reserved charging object apparatus is scheduled to be used; and

the steps performed by each of said charging object apparatus of;

acquiring the permission information signaled from said management apparatus;

discriminating based on the permission information whether or not use of said charging object apparatus by a user should be permitted;

measuring an operation time period of said charging object apparatus as a use time period wherein charging object apparatus is scheduled to be used when the use of said charging object apparatus is permitted by the discrimination; and

producing information which makes an object of charging on the member based on the information regarding the measured time period within which said charging apparatus object apparatus is used;

said management apparatus managing the information regarding the reservation by the registered member.