Shared vehicle distribution instruction apparatus and vehicle reservation control apparatus

• US 20040010338A1
• Filed: 07/02/2003
• Published: 01/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Toshiyasu, Otake, Shunsuke, Ogura, Koichi, Nakamura, Kazuhiro
• Application Number:
  US10/610,589
• Publication Number:
  US 20040010338A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/214
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/14 indicating individual free spaces in parking areas
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles

Abstract

A shared vehicle distribution instruction apparatus instructs the movement of shared vehicles between ports appropriately.

When instructions are issued to personnel 8 to move a shared vehicle 2 so that bias does not occur in the number of parked shared vehicles 2 between a plurality of ports, first a vehicle administration apparatus 1a, in order to ascertain accurately an excess or lack status of shared vehicles 2 for each port, estimates the number of shared vehicles 2 parked at each port after a predetermined time, and performs evaluation value calculation processing for assigning a ranking for shared vehicle 2 movement to every port. Next the vehicle administration apparatus 1a determines from which port to which port a shared vehicle 2 should actually be moved by an evaluation value based on the estimated vehicle number, and outputs vehicle movement instructions to an administration server 1 to move the shared vehicle 2 between a movement source and a movement target port. Then, a personnel administration server 1b communicates the shared vehicle 2 movement instruction received from the vehicle administration apparatus 1a to a portable terminal 9 carried by the personnel 8 via a communications network 7.

Claims

1. A shared vehicle distribution instruction apparatus which in a shared vehicle system in which shared vehicles parked in a parking region are administered and the shared vehicles are lent to users, issues instructions for the movement of said shared vehicles between a plurality of said parking regions in order to maintain a suitable number of said shared vehicles readied at said plurality of parking regions which exist at different geographical locations, comprising:

an evaluation value calculation device which estimates the number of excess shared vehicles or the number of shared vehicles lacking for each parking region after a predetermined time based on the movement records of said shared vehicles, and calculates a first evaluation value corresponding to the estimated number of excess shared vehicles and calculates a second evaluation value corresponding to the number of shared vehicles lacking; and

a vehicle movement instruction device which determines a movement source parking region and a movement target parking region for said shared vehicle based on said first and second evaluation numbers, and issues a vehicle movement instruction to move said shared vehicle from said movement source parking region to said movement target parking region.

2. A shared vehicle distribution instruction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said vehicle movement instruction device

deems said parking region estimated to have the most sufficient number of said shared vehicles based on said first and second evaluation values, the movement source parking region for said shared vehicles, and

deems said parking region estimated to be most lacking in said shared vehicles based on said first and second evaluation values, the movement target parking region for said shared vehicles.

3. A shared vehicle distribution instruction apparatus according to either one of claim 1 and claim 2, wherein said vehicle movement instruction device gives priority to said parking regions where personnel who can move said shared vehicles are stationed when setting said movement source parking region.

4. A shared vehicle distribution instruction apparatus which in a shared vehicle system in which shared vehicles parked in a parking region are administered and the shared vehicles are lent to users, issues instructions for the movement of said shared vehicles between a plurality of said parking regions in order to maintain a suitable number of parked cars for said shared vehicles readied at said plurality of parking regions which exist at different geographical locations, comprising:

an evaluation value calculation device which sets for each parking region for the number of said parked cars, a first threshold value indicating a lower limit for determining whether or not vehicle movement is necessary, and a second threshold value indicating an upper limit for determining whether or not vehicle movement is necessary; and

a vehicle movement instruction device which determines a movement source parking region and a movement target parking region for said shared vehicle based on said evaluated values, and issues a vehicle movement instruction to move said shared vehicle from said movement source parking region to said movement target parking region.

5. A shared vehicle distribution instruction apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said vehicle movement instruction device

deems said parking region determined to have the most sufficient number of said shared vehicles based on said evaluation value the movement source parking region for said shared vehicles, and

deems said parking region determined to be most lacking in said shared vehicles based on said evaluation value the movement target parking region for said shared vehicles.

6. A shared vehicle distribution instruction apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

said vehicle movement instruction device sets for each parking region for the number of said parked cars, a third threshold value indicating a lower limit for determining whether or not vehicle movement is possible, and a fourth threshold value indicating an upper limit for determining whether or not vehicle movement is possible;

deems said parking region which of said parking regions where the number of parked cars exceeds said third threshold value and it is therefore determined to be possible to deduct shared vehicles, is the most sufficient in shared vehicles based on said evaluation values, said movement source parking region for said shared vehicles; and

deems said parking region which of said parking regions where the number of parked cars is lower than said fourth threshold value and it is therefore determined to be possible to add shared vehicles, is the most lacking in shared vehicles based on said evaluation values, said movement target parking region for said shared vehicles.

7. A shared vehicle distribution instruction apparatus according to any one of claim 4 through claim 6, wherein said vehicle movement instruction device gives priority to said parking regions where personnel who can move said shared vehicles are stationed when setting said movement source parking region.

8. A vehicle reservation control apparatus comprising a reservation administration device which accepts usage reservations from users and administers the distribution of vehicles, and which is used in a shared vehicle system which lends shared vehicles parked in a parking region to said user who has made the usage reservation, comprising:

a shared vehicle administration device which calculates the number of shared vehicles which can be used on schedule and are available for reservation, and

a vehicle redistribution calculation device which when said shared vehicle administration device detects a change in the number of said shared vehicles executes a vehicle redistribution calculation for the vehicles administered by said reservation administration device based on the changed number of said shared vehicles thus detected.

9. A vehicle reservation control apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said shared vehicle administration device comprises a reservation acceptance control device which denies reservation requests from said user made through said reservation administration device for a shared vehicle subsequent to detecting a reduction in the number of said shared vehicles,

and said vehicle redistribution calculation device executes a vehicle redistribution calculation for the vehicles administered by said reservation administration device based on the reduced number of said shared vehicles thus detected.

10. A vehicle reservation control apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said reservation acceptance control device resumes the acceptance of reservation requests from said users based on the calculation results of said vehicle redistribution calculation device.