Vehicle rental system

• US 6,157,315 A
• Filed: 05/08/1998
• Issued: 12/05/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Kokubo, Mamoru, Shimizu, Tomohide
• Primary Examiner(s): Holloway, III, Edwin C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HORABIK, MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US09/074,605
• Time in Patent Office: 942 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.33, 340/825.34, 340/932.2, 340/147 R, 705/1, 341/34, 194/205, 320/6, 211/5, 348/159
• US Class Current: 340/5.42
• CPC Class Codes: B62H 2003/005 Supports or holders associated with means for bike rental
• CPC Class Codes: B62H 3/08 involving recesses or channelled rails for embracing the bottom part of a wheel
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/00 Arrangements or apparatus for collecting fares, tolls or entrance fees at one or more control points handling coins or valuable papers, e.g. banknotes, G07D; apparatus for vending or hiring articles or services activated by coins, credit cards, paper currency or the like G07F7/00, G07F17/00

Abstract

After confirmation that a user is an authorized user by bringing a user certification into proximity to a user discrimination device, following the guidance of a touch panel display device, a desired two wheeled electric vehicle is selected. A key is retrieved from a key supply device, and a battery is retrieved from a battery supply device. Thereafter, the battery is installed in the two wheeled vehicle in a parking apparatus, and using the key, the two wheeled electric vehicle is unlocked and used.

Claims

1. A vehicle rental system comprising:

a parking apparatus in which a plurality of rentable electric vehicles are locked and parked;

a user discriminating device for discerning a user who shall use said electric vehicles;

a display device for displaying selection information concerning selectable electric vehicles;

a key supply device which maintains a plurality of respective keys for unlocking said electric vehicles, said keys being maintained by said key supply device in a locked condition, and which enables selection of a given key for the electric vehicle to be used based on the display of said display device, and further comprising key discriminating means for discerning the given key by means of operation thereof only by a specified one of said respective keys;

a battery supply device which maintains detachable batteries for said electric vehicles and which charges said batteries;

a rental return control device for controlling said parking apparatus, said user discriminating device, said display device, said key supply device and said battery supply device, and for performing rental processing and return processing of said electric vehicles; and

a user management device for managing use conditions of the user who uses said electric vehicle.

2. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1, further comprising a user certification issuing device for issuing a user certificate to said user to use said electric vehicle, wherein said user discriminating device discerns the user information which is recorded on said user certificate.

3. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1, further comprising a stock answering device having therein stock information of electric vehicles capable of rental at said parking apparatus, and for answering a request from the user.

4. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1, further comprising an emergency telephone answering device for answering a request from a user in the event of an emergency at said parking apparatus.

5. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1, further comprising a parking area inspection device for inspecting the condition of a parking area at which a plurality of rentable electric vehicles are parked.

6. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1, wherein said display device further comprises a touch panel display device for indicating a desired motor vehicle from displayed selection information.

7. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1, said electric vehicles comprising two wheeled vehicles accommodating detachable batteries, wherein said parking apparatus enables a plurality of said two wheeled vehicles to be arrayed alongside each other in a locked state, further comprising

a position determining mechanism for deciding a position of a front wheel of said two wheeled vehicle, taking a saddle position thereof as a standard;

a locking device coupled to a coupling member disposed on a vehicle body frame supporting said saddle; and

a locking device moving mechanism disposed on a saddle side portion of the parked two wheeled vehicle, for moving said locking device between said two wheeled vehicle saddle side portion and said coupling member.

8. The vehicle rental system according to claim 7, said positioning determining mechanism further comprising:

a first position determining frame for deciding a position by abutment of a frontal edge part of the front wheel of a large scale two-wheeled vehicle; and

a second position determining frame for deciding a position by abutment of a front wheel hub of a small scale two wheeled vehicle,

wherein the saddle position of said large scale two wheeled vehicle and said small scale two wheeled vehicle are set along a straight line.

9. The vehicle rental system according to claim 7, said positioning determining mechanism further comprising a stepped position determining frame having a plurality of steps which are set in correspondence with a position of front wheel hubs of differently sized two wheeled vehicle, wherein by abutment of said front wheel hubs with said steps, the saddle positions of differently sized two wheeled vehicles are set substantially along a straight line.

10. The vehicle rental system according to claim 7, wherein said locking device moving mechanism comprises:

a support post disposed at a saddle side of said two wheeled vehicle;

a pivot arm having one end thereof axially supported on an upper end of said support post, said locking device begin disposed on another end thereof, and said pivot arm being pivotally disposed between said coupling member and said saddle side.

11. The vehicle rental system according to claim 10, further comprising a support disposed on an end part of said axially supported pivot arm, for support and regulating the pivotal movement of said pivot arm when said locking device is in a state of abutment with said coupling member.

12. The vehicle rental system according to claim 7, wherein the key for unlocking said locking device also unlocks another locking device which is attached to said two wheeled vehicle.

13. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1, wherein said user discriminating device discerns user information which is recorded on an IC card.

14. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1, wherein said key supply device comprising a plurality of key boxes holding respective keys in a locked condition.

15. The vehicle rental system according to claim 14, wherein each of said key boxes comprises a locking mechanism which is locked and unlocked under the control of said rental return control device.

16. The vehicle rental system according to claim 14, wherein each of said key boxes comprises a display device which displays whether the key is in a rented or a returned state.

17. The vehicle rental system according to claim 15, wherein said rental return control device relates and stores characteristic key data of the key which is rented out by said user with user data of said user discerned by said user discriminating means, compares characteristic key data discriminated by said key discriminating device at the time of return with the characteristic key data of the user recorded at the time of rental, and based on a comparison result, determines whether the returned key is the same as the rented key.

18. The vehicle rental system according to claim 1, wherein said rental return control device controls said battery supply device for enabling rental only of usable charged batteries.

19. A vehicle rental system comprising:

a parking apparatus in which a plurality of two wheeled rentable electric vehicles are locked and parked, said two wheeled vehicles being arrayed alongside each other in a locked state;

a position determining mechanism for deciding a position of a front wheel of said two wheeled vehicles, taking a saddle position thereof as a standard, comprising a stepped position determining frame having a plurality of steps which are set in correspondence with a position of front wheel hubs of differently sized two wheeled vehicles, wherein by abutment of said front wheel hubs with said steps, the saddle positions of different sized two wheeled vehicles are set substantially along a straight line;

a user discriminating device for discerning a user who shall use said electric vehicles;

a display device for displaying selection information concerning selectable electric vehicles;

a key supply device which maintains keys for unlocking said electric vehicles, and which enables selection of a key for the electric vehicle to be used based on the display of said display device;

a battery supply device which maintains detachable batteries for said electric vehicles and which charges said batteries;

a rental return control device for controlling said parking apparatus, said user discriminating device, said display device, said key supply device and said battery supply device, and for performing rental processing and return processing of said electric vehicles; and

a user management device for managing use conditions of the user who uses said electric vehicle.