Patent Publication Number: US-2019172106-A1

Title: Rental fee setting apparatus, rental fee notification method, and rental fee setting system

Description:
This nonprovisional application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-234440 filed on Dec. 6, 2017, with the Japan Patent Office, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a setting of a rental fee of an electric vehicle. 
     Description of the Background Art 
     Conventionally, a rental system has been known in which an electric vehicle is rented to a user and a rental fee is collected therefrom. In such a rental system, when renting electric vehicles, a utilization ratio thereof is improved by allowing users to beforehand make reservations with regard to time periods during which the electric vehicles are to be used. 
     For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2013-054537 discloses a technique for proposing utilization of a vehicle on a date and time on which there is room for reservations. 
     SUMMARY 
     As described above, the utilization ratio of the electric vehicles can be improved by allowing the users to beforehand make reservations with regard to time periods during which the electric vehicles are to be used and by accepting the reservations. 
     However, if a user of users having made reservations cancels his/her reservation, a next reservation for a corresponding vehicle may be influenced depending on a timing of the reservation cancellation. For example, when a reservation is made such that a location at which an electric vehicle is to be rented is different from a location at which the electric vehicle is to be returned, if the reservation is canceled, the electric vehicle having been supposed to be moved to the return location will not be moved thereto. Accordingly, if another user has made a reservation with his/her renting location being the return location, the other user becomes unable to utilize the electric vehicle for which the foregoing reservation has been canceled, with the result that the utilization ratio cannot be improved. When a uniform rental fee is set for a user who has canceled reservations in this way a larges number of times and a user who has canceled reservations a smaller number of times, a highly satisfactory fee may be unable to be set for the user who has canceled reservations a smaller number of times, i.e., user who has contributed to improvement in the utilization ratio. 
     An object of the present disclosure is to provide a rental fee setting apparatus, a rental fee notification method, and a rental fee setting system, by each of which a rental fee highly satisfactory for users is set in consideration of a history of reservation cancellations when renting an electric vehicle. 
     A rental fee setting apparatus according to a certain aspect of the present disclosure is a rental fee setting apparatus for an electric vehicle in which a power storage device is mounted. The rental fee setting apparatus includes a setting device configured to set, based on reservation information and cancellation history information, a rental fee of the electric vehicle to be changeable according to the cancellation history information, the reservation information indicating that utilization of the electric vehicle per scheduled utilization period is reserved by a plurality of users, the cancellation history information indicating a history of reservation cancellations by each of the users. When a reservation cancellation is requested by the user, the setting device is configured to: set an estimate of the rental fee applied when the requested reservation cancellation is reflected in the cancellation history information; and notify the set estimate to the user. 
     In this way, since the user is notified of the estimate of the rental fee applied when the requested reservation cancellation is reflected in the cancellation history information, the user who requests the reservation cancellation can recognize the estimate of the rental fee applied when an electric vehicle is rented after the reservation cancellation is performed. Accordingly, the reservation cancellation can be deterred. Moreover, when the reservation is actually canceled, the rental fee is set using the cancellation history information, thereby eliminating unfairness between the user who cancels the reservation and a user who does not cancel a reservation. Accordingly, a rental fee highly satisfactory for users can be set. 
     In a certain embodiment, the cancellation history information includes information about the number of reservation cancellations having influences over next reservations, each of the reservation cancellations having the influences over the next reservations being a reservation cancellation such that a period from a time of the reservation cancellation to a scheduled time of start of utilization of the electric vehicle in a next reservation is shorter than a predetermined period. When the reservation cancellation is a reservation cancellation having an influence over a next reservation and when the number becomes larger than a threshold value if the requested reservation cancellation is performed, the setting device is configured to set the estimate to be more expensive than the estimate set when the number is smaller than the threshold value. 
     In this way, a user who cancels reservations having influences over next reservations a large number of times can recognize that the rental fee will be expensive when an electric vehicle is rented after the reservation cancellation is performed. Accordingly, the reservation cancellation can be deterred due to such a notification. Moreover, when the reservation is actually canceled, the rental fee becomes expensive, thereby eliminating unfairness between the user who cancels the reservation and a user who does not cancel a reservation. Accordingly, a rental fee highly satisfactory for users can be set. 
     In a certain embodiment, the rental fee setting apparatus further includes a reservation receiving device configured to receive a reservation for renting of the electric vehicle with a utilization start time being set as a time subsequent to a current time by a possible reservation period. When the reservation cancellation is a reservation cancellation having an influence over a next reservation and when the number becomes larger than the threshold value if the requested reservation cancellation is performed, the reservation receiving device is configured to set the possible reservation period to be shorter than the possible reservation period set when the number is smaller than the threshold value. 
     In this way, the reservation cancellation can be deterred and unfairness between the user who cancels the reservation and a user who do not cancel a reservation can be eliminated. 
     A rental fee notification method according to another aspect of the present disclosure is a method for notifying a rental fee of an electric vehicle in which a power storage device is mounted. The method includes: notifying, to each of the users, a rental fee of the electric vehicle corresponding to a reservation period of the user based on reservation information indicating that utilization of the electric vehicle per scheduled utilization period is reserved by a plurality of users; and notifying, to the user, a fee different from the rental fee in accordance with a history of reservation cancellations by the user when a reservation cancellation is requested by the user. 
     A rental fee setting system according to still another aspect of the present disclosure includes: an electric vehicle in which a power storage device is mounted; and a server configured to set a rental fee of the electric vehicle. Based on reservation information and cancellation history information, the server is configured to set the rental fee of the electric vehicle to be changeable according to the cancellation history information, the reservation information indicating that utilization of the electric vehicle per scheduled utilization period is reserved by a plurality of users, the cancellation history information indicating a history of reservation cancellations by each of the users. When a reservation cancellation is requested by the user, the server is configured to set an estimate of the rental fee applied when the requested reservation cancellation is reflected in the cancellation history information. The server is configured to notify the set estimate to the user. 
     The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present disclosure when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an overall configuration diagram of a rental fee setting system according to the present embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an electric vehicle. 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating an example of a cancellation history list. 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart showing a notification process for an estimate of a rental fee. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The following describes embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to figures in detail. It should be noted that the same or corresponding portions in the figures are given the same reference characters and are not described repeatedly. 
     &lt;As to Configuration of Rental Fee Setting System&gt; 
       FIG. 1  is an overall configuration diagram of a rental fee setting system  1  according to the present embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 1 , rental fee setting system  1  according to the present embodiment includes: a management server  100 ; vehicles  200 ,  280 ,  290  that are electric vehicles; and a user terminal  500 . 
     Management server  100  includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit)  101 , a storage  104 , a communication device  106 , and a timer  108 . Each component is communicatively connected by a communication bus  102 . 
     CPU  102  is configured to execute predetermined computation processing based for example on information stored in storage  104 , or information received from vehicle  200  or user terminal  500  via communication device  106 . 
     Storage  104  includes, for example, a memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk or a solid state drive. Storage  104  stores information (a user list, a reservation list, or a utilization history) for associating the plurality of vehicles  200 ,  280 ,  290  with respective users of the vehicles, for example. 
     Communication device  106  is configured to communicate with at least one of communication device  202  of vehicle  200  and communication device  508  of user terminal  500 , for example. For example, communication device  106  and communication device  202  communicate information with each other through wireless communication. Communication device  106  and communication device  202  may communicate via a relay point (a wireless base station) or a predetermined communication network (for example, the Internet), or may not communicate via a relay point or a predetermined communication network. Further, communication device  106  is configured to similarly communicate with both vehicle  280  and vehicle  290 . 
     The wireless communications may be done in a wireless communication system capable of transmitting and receiving signals via a relay point utilizing a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) represented by IEEE 802.11, a wireless communication standard for a mobile phone such as 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, etc., and the like, or may be done in a wireless communication system capable of transmitting and receiving signals directly between communication device  106  and communication device  202  and for example utilizing a wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (Registered trademark) or the like. 
     Communication between communication device  106  and communication device  508  is performed in a manner similar to the communication between communication device  106  and communication device  202 . It should be noted that a communication system between communication device  106  and communication device  508  may be the same as or different from the communication system between communication device  106  and communication device  202 . It should be noted that management server  100  is configured to communicate with a plurality of user terminals  500 . 
     Timer  108  counts the current date and time. For example, CPU  102  stores in storage  104  a result of counting time by timer  108 . When reading the current date and time from storage  104 , CPU  102  may correct the current date and time by an externally received digital signal (standard radio wave) including date information and time information. 
     Vehicle  200  includes communication device  202 , a controller  204 , a storage  206 , a battery monitoring unit  208 , and a positional information acquisition device  210 . Each component is communicatively connected by a communication bus  201 . 
     Communication device  202  is configured to communicate with communication device  106  of management server  100 , for example. Communication device  106  and communication device  202  wirelessly communicate as has been described above, and accordingly, how they do so will not be described redundantly. 
     Controller  204  includes, for example, a CPU  204   a , a memory  204   b  (ROM and RAM), an input/output port for inputting and outputting various signals (not shown) and so forth. Controller  204  is configured to execute predetermined computation processing based on the information stored in memory  204   b  and storage  206 , or information received from management server  100  via communication device  202 . 
     Storage  206  is a storage device that can store data of a larger size than memory  204   b , and is, for example, a storage device composed of a nonvolatile memory, a hard disk, a solid state drive, or the like. For example, storage  206  stores a driving history of vehicle  200  (for example, a history of positional information (i.e., traveling route)) or the like. 
     Battery monitoring unit  208  detects a state of a battery  214  mounted in vehicle  200 . Battery monitoring unit  208  detects, for example, battery  214 &#39;s voltage, current and temperature. Battery monitoring unit  208  calculates an estimated value of the SOC of battery  214  by using for example the detected voltage, current and temperature of battery  214 . The SOC may be estimated using a well-known technique, and it will not be described specifically. Note that the SOC may be estimated by controller  204  rather than battery monitoring unit  208 . 
     Positional information acquisition device  210  is configured to obtain the current position of vehicle  200 . For example, positional information acquisition device  210  may obtain the current position of vehicle  200  by using GPS (Global Positioning System), or may obtain the current position of vehicle  200  by using positional information of a wireless communication device located outside vehicle  200  and capable of communicating with communication device  106 . Positional information acquisition device  210  transmits to controller  204  a signal indicating the current position of vehicle  200  as obtained. 
     Vehicle  200  is an electric vehicle using an electric motor as a driving power source.  FIG. 2  is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an electric vehicle. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , vehicle  200  further includes a charger  212 , battery  214 , an inverter  216 , a motor generator  218 , and an inlet  220 . 
     When a charging connector  302  of a charging stand  300  is attached to inlet  220 , charger  212  charges battery  214  with power supplied from an external power supply  400 . 
     Battery  214  is configured using, for example, a secondary battery such as a nickel metal hydride battery or a lithium ion battery. Battery  214  may be any power storage device capable of storing power, and for example, a large-capacity capacitor may be used instead of battery  214 . 
     Inverter  216  is a power conversion device which converts power between AC power and DC power. Inverter  216  may for example convert DC power of battery  214  into AC power and supply it to motor generator  218 . Further, inverter  216  may for example receive AC power (regenerative power) from motor generator  218 , convert it into DC power, and supply it to battery  214  to electrically charge battery  214  therewith. 
     Motor generator  218  receives power supplied from inverter  216  and provides rotational force to a drive wheel  222 . Drive wheel  222  is rotated by the rotational force provided by motor generator  218  to drive vehicle  200 . 
     Inlet  220  is provided in vehicle  200  at an exterior portion of vehicle  200  together with a cover (not shown) such as a lid. Inlet  220  has a shape allowing charging connector  302  to be attached thereto. Inlet  220  and charging connector  302  both have contacts, respectively, incorporated therein, and when charging connector  302  is attached to inlet  220 , the contacts come into contact with each other, and inlet  220  and charging connector  302  are thus electrically connected together. 
     Charging stand  300  is installed outside vehicle  200  and connected to charging connector  302  via a charging cable  304 . Charging stand  300  is electrically connected to power supply  400 , and when charging connector  302  is attached to inlet  220 , the power of power supply  400  is supplied via charging stand  300 , charging cable  304 , and charging connector  302  to vehicle  200 . 
     Vehicles  280  and  290  are similar in configuration to vehicle  200 . Accordingly, they will not be described redundantly. 
     User terminal  500  includes a CPU  502 , a storage  504 , a touch panel display  506 , and a communication device  508 . Each component is communicatively connected by a communication bus  501 . 
     CPU  502  is configured to execute predetermined computation processing based for example on information stored in storage  504 , or information received from management server  100  via communication device  508 . Storage  504  is constituted of a memory, such as ROM and RAM, for example. 
     Touch panel display  506  is constructed by providing a touch panel on a surface of a display screen of a liquid crystal display. Touch panel display  506  transmits, to CPU  502 , an operation signal resulting from an operation performed onto the touch panel by the user. The liquid crystal display of touch panel display  506  presents an image based on a control signal from CPU  502 . It should be noted that touch panel display  506  may be configured such that an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse and the display device such as the liquid crystal display may be provided separately. 
     Communication device  508  is configured to communicate with communication device  106  of management server  100 , for example. Communication device  508  and communication device  106  wirelessly communicate as has been described above, and accordingly, how they do so will not be described redundantly. 
     For example, the user can use user terminal  500  to make a reservation to rent one of vehicles  200 ,  280 ,  290  during a period during which the user is to utilize the vehicle. 
     &lt;As to Reservation Receiving Process&gt; 
     User terminal  500  (specifically, CPU  502 ) creates reservation information in accordance with an operation of the user onto touch panel display  506 , for example. User terminal  500  transmits the created reservation information to management server  100  via communication device  508 . 
     Management server  100  receives the reservation information from user terminal  500 . For example, the reservation information includes: information (user ID) for specifying the user; information (station ID) for specifying a station (site for renting an electric vehicle) serving as a departure location (i.e., a location at which the electric vehicle is to be rented); information for specifying a station serving as a return location (i.e., a location at which the electric vehicle is to be returned); date and time of start of utilization of the electric vehicle; and date and time of returning of the electric vehicle. When management server  100  receives the reservation information from user terminal  500 , management server  100  updates the reservation list based on the reservation information. The reservation list includes: the information (user ID) for specifying the user; information (reservation ID) for specifying the reservation; the information (station ID) for specifying the station serving as the departure location; the information for specifying the station serving as the return location (destination); the date and time of start of utilization of the electric vehicle; the date and time of returning of the electric vehicle; and information (for example, numbers described in the license plate or the like) for specifying the vehicle to be rented. For example, management server  100  sets, as the vehicle to be rented, an electric vehicle that is parked at the station serving as the departure location and that has a battery having a SOC with which the vehicle at least can travel to the station serving as the return location. Management server  100  stores the updated reservation list into storage  104 . Moreover, management server  100  transmits, to user terminal  500  via communication device  106 , the information for specifying the vehicle to be rented, before the date and time of start of utilization thereof. 
     &lt;As to Utilization Manner of Electric Vehicle&gt; 
     In the present embodiment, as the utilization manner of the electric vehicle, for example, the user can select one of the following utilization manners: a utilization manner (lease) in which the electric vehicle is rented until a predetermined contract period (one year or a plurality of years) passes; a utilization manner (rental) in which a fee per unit time is set and a rental fee corresponding to a time of utilization is collected when returning the electric vehicle; and a utilization manner (sharing) in which a plurality of persons shares one electric vehicle or two or more electric vehicles until a predetermined contract period passes. 
     For example, when the electric vehicle is utilized in the rental type utilization manner of these utilization manners, a rental fee corresponding to the utilization may be set when returning vehicle  200 . Alternatively, for example, when the electric vehicle is utilized in the lease type utilization manner, a leasing fee for each predetermined period (for example, one month) may be set. Alternatively, for example, when the electric vehicle is utilized in the sharing type utilization manner, a total of a fee for each predetermined period and a fee corresponding to the utilization may be set as a sharing fee. 
     When electric vehicles are rented in each of such utilization manners, the utilization ratio of the electric vehicles can be improved by allowing users to beforehand make reservations with regard to time periods during which the electric vehicles are to be used and by accepting the reservations. 
     However, if a user of users having made reservations cancels his/her reservation, utilization of a corresponding vehicle by a person who made the next reservation may be influenced depending on a timing thereof. 
     For example, when a reservation is made such that a location at which an electric vehicle is to be rented is different from a location at which the electric vehicle is to be returned, if the reservation is canceled, the electric vehicle having been supposed to be moved to the return location will not be moved thereto. Accordingly, if another user has made a reservation with his/her renting location being the return location, the other user becomes unable to utilize the electric vehicle for which the foregoing reservation has been canceled, with the result that the utilization ratio cannot be improved. When a uniform rental fee is set for a user who has canceled reservations in this way a larges number of times and a user who has canceled reservations a smaller number of times, a satisfactory fee may be unable to be set for the user who has canceled reservations a smaller number of times, i.e., user who has contributed to improvement in the utilization ratio. 
     To address this, in the present embodiment, based on reservation information and cancellation history information, management server  100  sets a rental fee of an electric vehicle to be changeable according to the cancellation history information. The reservation information indicates that utilization of the electric vehicle per scheduled utilization period is reserved by a plurality of users. The cancellation history information indicates a history of reservation cancellations by each of the users in past. When a reservation cancellation is requested by the user, management server  100  sets an estimate of the rental fee applied when the requested reservation cancellation is reflected in the cancellation history information, and management server  100  notifies the set estimate of the rental fee to the user. 
     In this way, since the user is notified of the estimate of the rental fee applied when the requested reservation cancellation is reflected in the cancellation history information, the user who requests the reservation cancellation can recognize the estimate of the rental fee applied when an electric vehicle is rented after the reservation cancellation is performed. Accordingly, the reservation cancellation can be deterred. Moreover, when the reservation is actually canceled, the rental fee is set using the cancellation history information, thereby eliminating unfairness between the user who cancels the reservation and a user who do not cancel a reservation. Accordingly, a rental fee highly satisfactory for users can be set. In the present embodiment, management server  100  corresponds to a “rental fee setting apparatus”. 
     &lt;As to Exemplary Configuration of Cancellation History List&gt; 
     For users in renting of electric vehicles, management server  100  associates a user ID for specifying a user with cancellation history information of the user, and stores them in storage  104  as a cancellation history list. 
     The cancellation history information includes: the total number of reservation cancellations; the number of reservation cancellations having a large degree of influence over the next reservations among the total number of reservation cancellations (hereinafter, referred to as “the number of cancellations having a large degree of influence”); the number of reservation cancellations having a medium degree of influence over the next reservations among the total number of reservation cancellations (hereinafter, referred to as “the number of cancellations having a medium degree of influence”); and the number of reservation cancellations having a small degree of influence over the next reservations among the total number of reservation cancellations (hereinafter, referred to as “the number of cancellations having a small degree of influence”). Moreover, the term “next reservation” means the most recent reservation after a canceled reservation with regard to a vehicle for which the reservation is canceled. 
       FIG. 3  shows an example of a configuration of the cancellation history list. As shown in  FIG. 3 , for example, in the cancellation history list, each of user IDs “001” to “003” is associated with the total number of reservation cancellations, the number of cancellations having a large degree of influence, the number of cancellations having a medium degree of influence, and the number of cancellations having a small degree of influence. 
     For example, the total number of reservation cancellations indicates the total number of reservation cancellations having been performed since registration of the user ID. 
     For example, the number of cancellations having a large degree of influence indicates the number of reservation cancellations such that a period from a time of each reservation cancellation to a time of start of utilization of the electric vehicle in the next reservation is within A hours. 
     For example, the number of cancellations having a medium degree of influence indicates the number of reservation cancellations such that a period from a time of each reservation cancellation to a time of start of utilization of the electric vehicle in the next reservation is longer than A hours and is within 1 day. 
     For example, the number of cancellations having a small degree of influence indicates the number of reservation cancellations such that a period from a time of each reservation cancellation to a time of start of utilization of the electric vehicle in the next reservation is longer than 1 day and is within 3 days. 
     &lt;As to Calculation and Notification of Estimate of Rental Fee when Reservation Cancellation Request is Received&gt; 
     For example, when management server  100  receives information indicating a request for reservation cancellation from user terminal  500 , management server  100  makes reference to the cancellation history list stored in storage  104  to calculate an estimate of the rental fee applied when the requested reservation cancellation is confirmed, and transmits the calculated estimate to user terminal  500 . 
     Specifically, when management server  100  receives the information indicating the request for reservation cancellation, management server  100  specifies the user and obtains the reservation information. Management server  100  determines whether the requested reservation cancellation corresponds to a cancellation having a large degree of influence, a cancellation having a medium degree of influence, or a cancellation having a small degree of influence. When the number of corresponding cancellations is increased, management server  100  calculates the estimate of the rental fee that is changed depending on whether the number of corresponding cancellations exceeds a threshold value. It should be noted that in the present embodiment, for example, it will be illustratively described that the rental fee is a rental fee per unit time in the rental type utilization manner. 
     &lt;As to Notification Process for Estimate of Rental Fee&gt; 
     The following describes a notification process for the estimate of the rental fee in detail with reference to  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 4  is a flowchart showing the notification process for the estimate of the rental fee. In the present embodiment, the notification process for the estimate of the rental fee will be described as being executed by management server  100  (more specifically, CPU  102  of management server  100 ) for the sake of illustration. While each step shown in the flowchart shown in  FIG. 4  is implemented by software processing done by management server  100 , a part thereof may be implemented by hardware (or electric circuitry) fabricated in management server  100 . Regarding the below-described process, it may be illustratively described that a request for reservation cancellation is made from user terminal  500  to management server  100 . 
     In a step (the term “step” will be hereinafter abbreviated as “S”)  100 , management server  100  determines whether or not a request for reservation cancellation is received. For example, management server  100  determines that the request for reservation cancellation is received, when information indicating the request for reservation cancellation is received from user terminal  500  via communication device  106 . 
     It should be noted that for example, when touch panel display  506  of user terminal  500  receives an operation for canceling a reservation (an operation of touching a reservation cancellation request button presented on a menu screen or the like), user terminal  500  transmits, to management server  100 , information (user ID) for specifying the user, information for specifying the reservation (for example, a reservation ID or the like), and the information indicating the request for reservation cancellation. When it is determined that the request for reservation cancellation is received (YES in S 100 ), the process proceeds to S 102 . 
     In S 102 , management server  100  specifies the user and obtains reservation information. For example, management server  100  specifies the user using the user ID received from user terminal  500 , and obtains the reservation information from the reservation list using the reservation ID. 
     In S 104 , based on date and time (first date and time) on which the request for reservation cancellation is received, management server  100  determines whether or not a period until date and time (second date and time) of start of utilization of a vehicle in the next reservation is a period within A hours. When it is determined that the period from the first date and time to the second date and time is a period within A hours (YES in S 104 ), the process proceeds to S 106 . It should be noted that the A hours are predetermined hours such as several hours, for example. 
     In S 106 , management server  100  adds “1” to the number of cancellations having a large degree of influence. In S 108 , management server  100  determines whether or not the number of cancellations having a large degree of influence after the addition is more than or equal to a threshold value Ca. Threshold value Ca is a predetermined value, for example. When it is determined that the number of cancellations having a large degree of influence after the addition is more than or equal to threshold value Ca (YES in S 108 ), the process proceeds to S 110 . It should be noted that when the number of cancellations having a large degree of influence after the addition is less than threshold value Ca (NO in S 108 ), the process proceeds to S 112 . 
     In S 110 , management server  100  calculates an estimate of the rental fee applied after the reservation cancellation is confirmed (assuming that the reservation cancellation is confirmed). When the number of cancellations having a large degree of influence after the addition is more than or equal to threshold value Ca, management server  100  does not apply all the discounts to the basic fee of the rental fee, and calculates a fee including a predetermined additional fee as the estimate of the rental fee applied after the reservation cancellation is confirmed. 
     It should be noted that examples of the discounts that may be applied to the basic fee include: a discount on condition of a long-term contract; a discount corresponding to a utilization time of the month; a discount corresponding to a utilization period from registration as a user; a discount corresponding to a return location; a discount corresponding to a utilization history of the vehicle upon returning the vehicle; and the like. 
     In S 112 , management server  100  notifies, to user terminal  500 , the estimate of the rental fee applied after the reservation cancellation is confirmed. User terminal  500  presents, on touch panel display  506 , the estimate of the rental fee received from management server  100  and applied when the reservation cancellation is confirmed. In this case, for the purpose of comparison, user terminal  500  may present, on touch panel display  506 , both (i) the rental fee applied when the reservation cancellation is confirmed and (ii) the rental fee applied before the reservation cancellation. It should be noted that when no estimate is calculated, for example, because none of the processes of S 110 , S 128 , and S 136  is performed, management server  100  may notify that the rental fee is not changed even if the reservation cancellation is confirmed this time. 
     In S 114 , management server  100  determines whether or not the reservation cancellation is confirmed. For example, when user terminal  500  receives, from management server  100 , the notification of the estimate of the rental fee applied when the reservation cancellation is confirmed, user terminal  500  allows the user to select whether to confirm the reservation cancellation. When the user performs an operation for confirming the reservation cancellation (for example, an operation of touching a confirmation button presented on a display screen), user terminal  500  transmits, to management server  100 , a signal indicating that the reservation cancellation is confirmed. When management server  100  receives, from user terminal  500 , the signal indicating that the reservation cancellation is confirmed, management server  100  determines that the reservation cancellation is confirmed. When it is determined that the reservation cancellation is confirmed (YES in S 114 ), the process proceeds to S 116 . 
     In S 116 , management server  100  performs the reservation cancellation process. Specifically, management server  100  deletes reservation information corresponding to the request for cancellation. Further, when the vehicle assigned to be rented for the reservation requested to be canceled is assigned to be rented in the next reservation at a location to which the vehicle has been supposed to be returned, management server  100  changes to another vehicle to be rented in the next reservation. 
     In S 118 , the management server updates the cancellation history list. Specifically, management server  100  updates the cancellation history list by adding “1” to the total number of reservation cancellations and adding “1” to one, which corresponds to the reservation cancellation, of the number of cancellations having a large degree of influence, the number of cancellations having a medium degree of influence, and the number of cancellations having a small degree of influence. 
     When it is determined that the reservation cancellation is not confirmed (NO in S 114 ), the process proceeds to S 120 . In S 120 , management server  100  determines whether or not a predetermined time has passed since the estimate of the rental fee was notified. When it is determined that the predetermined time has passed since the estimate of the rental fee was notified (YES in S 120 ), this process is ended. It should be noted that when it is determined that the predetermined time has not passed (NO in S 120 ), the process is returned to S 114 . 
     It should be noted that when it is determined in S 104  that the period until the next reservation (i.e., the period from the first date and time to the second date and time) is not a period within A hours (NO in S 104 ), the process proceeds to S 122 . 
     In S 122 , management server  100  determines whether or not the period until the next reservation (i.e., period from the first date and time to the second date and time) is a period within 1 day. It should be noted that the period is not limited particularly to 1 day, and may be at least a period longer than A hours. When it is determined that the period until the next reservation is a period within 1 day (YES in S 122 ), the process proceeds to S 124 . 
     In S 124 , management server  100  adds “1” to the number of cancellations having a medium degree of influence. In S 126 , management server  100  determines whether or not the number of cancellations having a medium degree of influence after the addition is more than or equal to a threshold value Cb. Threshold value Cb is a predetermined value, for example. When it is determined that the number of cancellations having a medium degree of influence after the addition is more than or equal to threshold value Cb (YES in S 126 ), the process proceeds to S 128 . It should be noted that when the number of cancellations having a medium degree of influence after the addition is less than threshold value Cb (NO in S 126 ), the process proceeds to S 112 . 
     In S 128 , management server  100  calculates an estimate of the rental fee applied after the reservation cancellation is confirmed (assuming that the reservation cancellation is confirmed). When the number of cancellations having a medium degree of influence after the addition is more than or equal to threshold value Cb, management server  100  calculates, as the estimate, a rental fee excluding all the discounts from the basic fee of the rental fee. The various types of discounts are mentioned above, and are not therefore described in detail repeatedly. It should be noted that for example, when the number of cancellations having a medium degree of influence is more than or equal to threshold value Cb, management server  100  at least calculates, as the estimate, a rental fee less expensive than the rental fee applied when the number of cancellations having a large degree of influence is more than or equal to threshold value Ca. 
     It should be noted that when it is determined in S 122  that the period until the next reservation is not a period within 1 day (NO in S 122 ), the process proceeds to S 130 . 
     In S 130 , management server  100  determines whether or not the period until the next reservation is within 3 days. It should be noted that the period is not limited particularly to 3 days, and may be at least a period longer than the period (1 day) for determining whether or not the number of cancellations is the number of cancellations having a medium degree of influence. When it is determined that the period until the next reservation is within 3 days (YES in S 130 ), the process proceeds to S 132 . 
     In S 132 , management server  100  adds “1” to the number of cancellations having a small degree of influence. In S 134 , management server  100  determines whether or not the number of cancellations having a small degree of influence after the addition is more than or equal to a threshold value Cc. Threshold value Cc is a predetermined value, for example. When it is determined that the number of cancellations having a small degree of influence is more than or equal to threshold value Cc (YES in S 134 ), the process proceeds to S 136 . It should be noted that when the number of cancellations having a small degree of influence after the addition is less than threshold value Cc (NO in S 134 ), the process proceeds to S 112 . 
     In S 136 , management server  100  calculates an estimate of the rental fee applied after the reservation cancellation is confirmed (assuming that the reservation cancellation is confirmed). When the number of cancellations having a small degree of influence after the addition is more than or equal to threshold value Cc, management server  100  calculates, as the estimate, a rental fee excluding a part of the discounts from the basic fee of the rental fee. For example, the part of the discounts includes at least one of the following discounts: a discount on condition of a long-term contract; a discount corresponding to a utilization time of the month; a discount corresponding to a utilization period from registration as a user; a discount corresponding to a return location or a utilization history of the vehicle upon returning the vehicle; and the like. The various types of discounts are mentioned above, and are not therefore described in detail repeatedly. 
     It should be noted that when it is determined that no request for reservation cancellation is received (NO in S 100 ), this process is ended. Moreover, when the period until the next reservation is a period longer than 3 days (NO in S 130 ), the process proceeds to S 112 . 
     &lt;As to Operation of Management Server  100  Serving as Rental Fee Setting Apparatus&gt; 
     An operation of management server  100  which is a rental fee setting apparatus based on the above configuration and flowchart will now be described. 
     &lt;Case where Period Until Next Reservation is Period within A Hours&gt; 
     When the user performs, onto user terminal  500 , an operation for requesting reservation cancellation, user terminal  500  transmits, to management server  100 , information indicating the request for reservation cancellation. When management server  100  receives the information indicating the request for reservation cancellation (YES in S 100 ), management server  100  specifies the user and obtains the reservation information (S 102 ). 
     From the obtained reservation information and the reservation list, management server  100  obtains date and time of the next reservation for a corresponding vehicle. Management server  100  obtains a period from the time of receiving the request for reservation cancellation to the date and time of the next reservation. When this period is a period within A hours (YES in S 104 ), management server  100  adds “1” to the number of cancellations having a large degree of influence (S 106 ). When it is determined that the number of cancellations having a large degree of influence after the addition is more than or equal to threshold value Ca (YES in S 108 ), the estimate of the rental fee applied after the reservation cancellation is confirmed is calculated (S 110 ). Here, a rental fee excluding all the discounts and including an additional fee is calculated as the estimate. Management server  100  notifies the estimate to the user by transmitting the information about the calculated estimate to user terminal  500 . When the user performs an operation for confirming the reservation cancellation, a signal indicating that the reservation cancellation is confirmed is transmitted from user terminal  500  to management server  100 . When management server  100  receives the signal indicating that the reservation cancellation is confirmed (YES in S 114 ), management server  100  performs the reservation cancellation process (S 116 ) and updates the cancellation history list (S 118 ). 
     On the other hand, when the user does not perform the operation for confirming the reservation cancellation (NO in S 114 ), after passage of a predetermined period (NO in S 120 ), the cancellation history list is not updated and the process is ended. 
     &lt;Case where Period Until Next Reservation is Period Longer than A Hours and within 1 Day&gt; 
     When the user performs, onto user terminal  500 , an operation for requesting reservation cancellation, user terminal  500  transmits, to management server  100 , information indicating the request for reservation cancellation. When management server  100  receives the information indicating the request for reservation cancellation (YES in S 100 ), management server  100  specifies the user and obtains the reservation information (S 102 ). 
     From the obtained reservation information and the reservation list, management server  100  obtains date and time of the next reservation for a corresponding vehicle. Management server  100  obtains a period from the time of receiving the request for reservation cancellation to the date and time of the next reservation. When this period is a period longer than A hours (NO in S 104 ) and within 1 day (YES in S 122 ), management server  100  adds “1” to the number of cancellations having a medium degree of influence (S 124 ). When it is determined that the number of cancellations having a medium degree of influence after the addition is more than or equal to threshold value Cb (YES in S 126 ), the estimate of the rental fee applied after the reservation cancellation is confirmed is calculated (S 128 ). Here, a rental fee excluding all the discounts is calculated as the estimate. Management server  100  notifies the estimate to the user by transmitting the information about the calculated estimate to user terminal  500 . When the user performs an operation for confirming the reservation cancellation, a signal indicating that the reservation cancellation is confirmed is transmitted from user terminal  500  to management server  100 . When management server  100  receives the signal indicating that the reservation cancellation is confirmed (YES in S 114 ), management server  100  performs the reservation cancellation process (S 116 ) and updates the cancellation history list (S 118 ). 
     &lt;Case where Period Until Next Reservation is Period Longer than 1 Day and within 3 Days&gt; 
     When the user performs, onto user terminal  500 , an operation for requesting reservation cancellation, user terminal  500  transmits, to management server  100 , information indicating the request for reservation cancellation. When management server  100  receives the information indicating the request for reservation cancellation (YES in S 100 ), management server  100  specifies the user and obtains the reservation information (S 102 ). 
     From the obtained reservation information and the reservation list, management server  100  obtains date and time of the next reservation for a corresponding vehicle. Management server  100  obtains a period from the time of receiving the request for reservation cancellation to the date and time of the next reservation. When this period is a period longer than 1 day (NO in S 104  and NO in S 122 ) and within 3 days (YES in S 130 ), management server  100  adds “1” to the number of cancellations having a small degree of influence (S 132 ). When it is determined that the number of cancellations having a small degree of influence after the addition is more than or equal to threshold value Cb (YES in S 134 ), the estimate of the rental fee applied after the reservation cancellation is confirmed is calculated (S 136 ). Here, a rental fee excluding a part of the discounts is calculated as the estimate. Management server  100  notifies the estimate to the user by transmitting information about the calculated estimate to user terminal  500 . When the user performs an operation for confirming the reservation cancellation, a signal indicating that the reservation cancellation is confirmed is transmitted from user terminal  500  to management server  100 . When management server  100  receives the signal indicating that the reservation cancellation is confirmed (YES in S 114 ), management server  100  performs the reservation cancellation process (S 116 ) and updates the cancellation history list (S 118 ). 
     It should be noted that when the requested reservation cancellation is such a reservation cancellation that the period until the next reservation is a period longer than 3 days (NO in S 130 ), it is notified that the rental fee is not changed (S 112 ). When the reservation cancellation is confirmed (YES in S 114 ), the reservation cancellation process is performed (S 116 ) and the cancellation history list is updated. In this case, “1” is added only to the total number of reservation cancellations in the cancellation history list. 
     &lt;As to Function and Effect by Rental Fee Setting Apparatus&gt; 
     As described above, according to the rental fee setting apparatus according to the present embodiment, since the user is notified of the estimate of the rental fee applied when the requested reservation cancellation is reflected in the cancellation history information, the user who requests the reservation cancellation can recognize the estimate of the rental fee applied when an electric vehicle is rented after the reservation cancellation is performed. Accordingly, the reservation cancellation can be deterred. Moreover, when the reservation is actually canceled, the rental fee is set using the cancellation history list, thereby eliminating unfairness between the user who cancels the reservation and a user who does not cancel a reservation. Accordingly, a rental fee highly satisfactory for users can be set. Thus, there can be provided a rental fee setting apparatus, a rental fee notification method, and a rental fee setting system, by each of which a rental fee highly satisfactory for users is set in consideration of a history of reservation cancellations when renting an electric vehicle. 
     Further, a user who cancels reservations having influences over next reservations a large number of times can recognize that the rental fee will be expensive when an electric vehicle is rented after a reservation cancellation is performed. Accordingly, the reservation cancellation can be deterred due to such a notification. Moreover, when the reservation is actually canceled, the rental fee becomes expensive, thereby eliminating unfairness between the user who cancels the reservation and a user who does not cancel a reservation. Accordingly, a rental fee highly satisfactory for users can be set. 
     &lt;As to Modifications&gt; 
     In the above-described embodiment, it has been illustrated that when the requested reservation cancellation is a reservation cancellation having a large influence over the next reservation, the user is notified of the estimate of the rental fee changed according to the number of cancellations; however, in addition to the change of the rental fee, when the number of cancellations is more than a threshold value, a possible reservation period may be set to be shorter than that in the case where the number of cancellations is less than the threshold value. The possible reservation period refers to the maximum period in a period from the current time to a time until which utilization of an electric vehicle can be reserved. In this way, the reservation cancellation can be deterred and unfairness between a user who cancels a reservation and a user who do not cancel a reservation can be eliminated. 
     In the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the rental fee is changed to be more expensive as the number of reservation cancellations having a large degree of influence is larger; however, for example, in addition to changing the rental fee to be more expensive as the number of reservation cancellations having a large degree of influence is larger, no reservation may be permitted to be made, or even though a reservation may be permitted to be made, a reservation by another user may precede when the other user wishes to utilize an electric vehicle during a time period for which the foregoing reservation is made. 
     In the above-described embodiment, based on the period until the next reservation, it is determined whether the requested reservation cancellation corresponds to a cancellation having a large degree of influence, a cancellation having a medium degree of influence, or a cancellation having a small degree of influence; however, for example, even when the period until the next reservation is longer than A hours and is within 1 day, the requested reservation cancellation may be counted as a cancellation having a large degree of influence in the following cases: a case where the renting location is different from the return location; a case where the renting location is different from the return location and the number of rental electric vehicles parked in the return location is less than or equal to a threshold value; and a case where the magnitude of a difference between an estimated value of leaving time of the battery when the reservation is canceled and an estimated value of leaving time of the battery when the reservation is not canceled is more than or equal to a threshold value. Alternatively, even though the period until the next reservation is within A hours, the requested reservation cancellation may be counted as a cancellation having a small degree of influence, when the number of rental electric vehicles parked in the return location is more than the threshold value. 
     In the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the rental fee is changed when one of the number of cancellations having a large degree of influence, the number of cancellations having a medium degree of influence, and the number of cancellations having a small degree of influence is more than or equal to the threshold value; however, for example, the rental fee may be changed when a ratio of (i) one of the number of cancellations having a large degree of influence, the number of cancellations having a medium degree of influence, and the number of cancellations having a small degree of influence to (ii) the total number of reservation cancellations is more than or equal to a threshold value. 
     In the above-described embodiment, the rental fee per unit time has been described as an example of the rental fee; however, for example, a rental fee for each predetermined period (for example, 1 month) (that is, a monthly fee) may be employed. 
     It should be noted that the above modifications may be implemented all together or may partially be implemented in combination. 
     Although the present disclosure has been described and illustrated in detail, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, the scope of the present disclosure being interpreted by the terms of the appended claims.