JP7685637B2 - Storage entry support method and storage entry support device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a warehousing support method and device, and in particular to a warehousing support method and device that use AR (Augmented Reality) technology.

A variety of large-scale mechanical parking systems have already been developed that efficiently utilize multi-level space, including horizontal circulation systems, elevator systems, and vertical circulation systems. In these mechanical parking systems, the user typically operates the vehicle onto a pallet that has been transported to the storage berth, parks the vehicle on the pallet, disembarks, and then evacuates to a safe location before storing the vehicle.

In order to improve the efficiency of vehicle storage, mechanical parking systems often design the parking area and aisles within the entrance berth to be as small as possible, which can require careful attention when operating the vehicle entrance and ensuring the safety of users.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a parking assistance device installed in the entrance room of a mechanical parking device, which includes multiple cameras that capture images of the parking area on the vehicle carrier from the front, rear, side, or above in real time, a display device installed in a position visible to the driver of the vehicle, and an image processing device that creates images of the display device, and the image processing device displays images from the cameras in an overlapping manner with the boundary of the parking area.

JP 2018-204376 A

However, the invention described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 requires the installation of a display device and multiple cameras in the storage berth, which raises the problem of increased manufacturing costs. Even if a display device is installed, it is conceivable that users may miss the images.

The present invention was devised in consideration of these problems, and aims to provide a warehousing assistance method and device that can be introduced at low cost and allows users to easily recognize the warehousing assistance video.

According to the present invention, there is provided an entry support method for supporting a user's operation to enter a vehicle into an entry berth of a mechanical parking device, the entry support method comprising a recognition step of recognizing a marker placed in the entry berth with a device owned by the user, and an output step of displaying an image associated with the marker on the device, the image being a transport image for storing the vehicle.

The method may include an instruction step of sending an instruction to the device before the recognition step, prompting the device to visually check the location where the marker is placed.

The present invention also provides an entry assistance device that assists a user in entering a vehicle into an entry berth of a mechanical parking device, comprising a device owned by the user, a marker placed in the entry berth, and a control device that stores an image associated with the marker and is capable of communicating with the device, and is configured such that when the device recognizes the marker, the image is transmitted from the control device to the device and displayed, and the image is a transport image for storing the vehicle.

The marker may be placed on a pallet on which the vehicle is placed or on the floor of the warehousing berth.

The control device may be configured to transmit instructions to the device prompting the device to visually inspect the location where the marker is placed.

According to the warehousing assistance method and warehousing assistance device of the present invention described above, by simply placing a marker in the warehousing berth and preparing an image associated with the marker, a user can have a specified image displayed on a device simply by recognizing the marker on the device. This eliminates the need to install multiple cameras and displays in the warehousing berth, and allows the warehousing assistance device to be introduced at low cost. In addition, because the device owned by the user is used, the user can easily recognize the warehousing assistance image.

1A is an overall configuration diagram showing a warehousing support device according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram showing a mechanism for displaying images to users. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing a warehousing assistance method according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a storage image displayed on the device. FIG. 13 is an overhead view showing a process in which a user recognizes a second marker. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a transportation image displayed on a device. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the storage entry assistance device shown in FIG.

Below, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6. Here, Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a warehousing support device according to one embodiment of the present invention, where (A) is an overhead view of a warehousing berth, and (B) is an explanatory diagram showing a mechanism for displaying images to users. Fig. 2 is a flow diagram showing a warehousing support method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Figs. 1(A) and 1(B), the entrance assistance device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention is a device that assists a user M in entering a vehicle C into an entrance berth 2 of a mechanical parking device, and includes a device 3 owned by the user M, a marker 4 placed in the entrance berth 2, and a control device 5 that stores an image associated with the marker 4 and is capable of communicating with the device 3.

The mechanical parking device is a large-scale mechanical parking device that uses, for example, a horizontal circulation system, an elevator system, a vertical circulation system, or the like. Such a mechanical parking device is configured, for example, to store a vehicle on a specified shelf with the vehicle placed on a pallet P. When entering the parking lot, the pallet P is transported to the entrance berth 2, and the user M operates the vehicle C to move the vehicle C onto the pallet P and park it there. In this embodiment, the "pallet" also includes the board material that forms the floor material of the gondola.

An entrance door 21 is disposed in front of the storage berth 2. The entrance door 21 is opened, for example, by moving it upward, and closed, by moving it downward. Note that the configuration of the entrance door 21 is not limited to the configuration shown in the figure. Note that, for ease of explanation, the open state of the entrance door 21 is shown by dotted lines in FIG. 1(A).

The device 3 is, for example, a goggle-type or eyeglass-type output device capable of displaying an Augmented Reality (AR) image in the field of view of the user M. Here, "augmented reality" means adding, deleting, emphasizing, or attenuating information in the surrounding real environment to expand the real world as seen by humans. Note that the device 3 is not limited to being worn on the head or face of the user M, but may be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, or may be a vehicle C capable of displaying an AR image on the windshield or window glass.

The markers 4 are so-called AR markers. The markers 4 are arranged on a pallet P, for example, as shown in FIG. 1(A). For ease of explanation, the marker 4 arranged on the surface at the back center of the pallet P will be referred to as a first marker 41, and the markers 4 arranged on both side surfaces of the pallet P will be referred to as second markers 42. Different markers 4 are arranged in different locations according to the AR image to be displayed to the user M.

The second markers 42 are placed on both the right and left sides of the pallet P so that the user M can easily recognize the second markers 42 regardless of whether the vehicle C is a right-hand drive vehicle or a left-hand drive vehicle.

The control device 5 is, for example, a computer located in the machine room of a mechanical parking device. The control device 5 stores images associated with the markers 4. For example, the first marker 41 is associated with an image of moving and parking a vehicle C on a pallet P in the storage berth 2. The second marker 42 is associated with an image of transporting the pallet P to store the vehicle C. The control device 5 also has a communication function that allows two-way communication with the device 3.

As shown in FIG. 1B, when a user M in a vehicle C recognizes a marker 4 via a device 3, the information is transmitted to a control device 5, and an image associated with the recognized marker 4 is transmitted from the control device 5 to the device 3 and displayed.

Now, the warehousing assistance method using the above-mentioned warehousing assistance device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. Each process will also be described with reference to FIG. 3 to FIG. 5 as necessary. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a warehousing image displayed on the device. FIG. 4 is an overhead view showing the process in which the user recognizes the second marker. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a transport image displayed on the device.

The warehousing assistance method according to this embodiment includes a parking step (Step 1) in which vehicle C is parked in front of the warehousing berth 2, a door opening step (Step 2) in which the entrance door 21 is opened, a first recognition step (Step 3) in which the device 3 recognizes the first marker 41, a first output step (Step 4) in which the warehousing video associated with the first marker 41 is output to the device 3 for display, and a warehousing step (Step 5) in which the user M brings the vehicle C into the warehousing while referring to the warehousing video.

Specifically, the parking process Step 1 is a process in which user M drives vehicle C and stops vehicle C in front of the entrance/exit door 21 of the entrance berth 2 of the mechanical parking device where the user wants to park.

The door-opening process Step 2 is, for example, a process in which user M operates a control panel (not shown) installed near the storage berth 2 to open the entrance/exit door 21.

The first recognition step Step 3 is a step in which, for example, a user M in a vehicle C recognizes the first marker 41 by visually observing the first marker 41 through the device 3. At this time, the device 3 transmits a signal to the control device 5 indicating that the first marker 41 has been recognized.

The first output step Step 4 is a step of transmitting an image associated with the first marker 41 recognized by the device 3 to the device 3 based on a signal from the device 3. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, an image of the vehicle C being moved and stopped on the pallet P in the storage berth 2 is output to the device 3. Here, the trajectory of the tires T of the vehicle C is illustrated as an AR image, but the body of the vehicle C may also be displayed together. Furthermore, such storage image may be displayed repeatedly at regular intervals.

The warehousing process, Step 5, is a process in which the vehicle C is operated to trace the warehousing image displayed on the device 3 and parked on the pallet P. At this time, since the image displayed on the device 3 is an AR image using augmented reality, it may be displayed while changing from moment to moment in accordance with the movement of the vehicle C.

The method of assisting in entering the warehouse according to this embodiment may also include a disembarking step (Step 6) in which the user M disembarks after entering the warehouse, a second recognition step (Step 7) in which the device 3 recognizes the second marker 42, a second output step (Step 8) in which a transport video associated with the second marker 42 is output to the device 3 for display, a safety confirmation step (Step 9) in which the user M checks for safety while referring to the transport video, and a door closing step (Step 10) in which the entrance door 21 is closed.

The disembarking process Step 6 is a process in which user M disembarks from the entered vehicle C. At this time, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a second marker 42 is placed in a location that is easily visible to user M who has disembarked. Here, the case is illustrated in which the second marker 42 is placed on the surface of a pallet P near the driver's seat.

The second recognition step Step 7 is a step in which, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the user M who has disembarked from the vehicle C recognizes the second marker 42 by visually inspecting the second marker 42 through the device 3. At this time, the device 3 transmits a signal to the control device 5 that the second marker 42 has been recognized.

The second output step Step 8 is a step of transmitting an image associated with the second marker 42 recognized by the device 3 to the device 3 based on a signal from the device 3. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, an image of transporting the pallet P and the vehicle C to store the vehicle C parked on the pallet P is output to the device 3. For example, as shown by the arrows in FIG. 4, an image of raising, lowering, and rotating the pallet P, which is the initial operation of the transport, is output. Furthermore, an image of the operation of moving the pallet P from the storage berth 2 to the shelf may be output. Moreover, such transport image may be repeatedly displayed at regular intervals.

The safety confirmation step (Step 9) is a step of checking whether there are any obstacles, whether people have evacuated to a safe place, etc., while referring to the image displayed on the device 3. At this time, since the image displayed on the device 3 is an AR image using augmented reality, it may be displayed while changing from moment to moment in accordance with the movement of the user M.

The door closing process Step 10 is a process in which, for example, user M operates an operation panel (not shown) installed near the storage berth 2 to close the entrance/exit door 21. After that, user M confirms that the entrance/exit door 21 is closed and moves away from the front of the storage berth 2.

In addition, if the user M does not recognize the first marker 41 for a certain period of time with the entrance door 21 open, the control device 5 may send an instruction to the device 3 to prompt the user to visually check the location where the first marker 41 is located.

In addition, if the user M does not recognize the second marker 42 for a certain period of time while the vehicle C is parked on the pallet P, the control device 5 may send an instruction to the device 3 to prompt the user to visually check the location where the second marker 42 is located.

In addition, when a user M who owns a device 3 approaches a space within the storage berth 2 where AR images can be displayed, the control device 5 may transmit an instruction to the device 3 prompting the user M to visually check the marker 4 that can output the AR image that the user M should check.

According to the warehousing assistance method and warehousing assistance device 1 of the present embodiment described above, by simply placing a marker 4 (e.g., a first marker 41 and a second marker 42) in the warehousing berth 2 and preparing an image associated with the marker 4, the user M can simply recognize the marker 4 on the device 3 to display a specified image on the device 3.

Therefore, there is no need to install multiple cameras and displays at the storage berth 2, and the storage assistance device 1 can be introduced at low cost. In addition, since the device 3 owned by the user M is used, the user M can easily recognize the storage assistance video.

Next, a modified example of the warehousing assistance device 1 according to the embodiment described above will be described with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is an overhead view showing a modified example of the warehousing assistance device shown in FIG. 1(A). Note that components that are the same as those in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1(A) are given the same reference numerals and duplicated descriptions will be omitted.

The warehousing assistance device 1 shown in FIG. 6 has a modified position for arranging the marker 4. For example, a first marker 41 associated with the warehousing image is arranged on the wall surface 22 in front of the warehousing berth 2. A second marker 42 associated with the transport image is arranged on the floor surface 23 of the warehousing berth 2. It is preferable that the second marker 42 is arranged in a location close to the driver's seat. In this way, the marker 4 can be arranged in any location.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1 Storage support device 2 Storage berth 3 Device 4 Marker 5 Control device 21 Entrance door 22 Wall surface 23 Floor surface 41 First marker 42 Second marker Step 1 Stopping process Step 2 Door opening process Step 3 First recognition process Step 4 First output process Step 5 Storage process Step 6 Disembarking process Step 7 Second recognition process Step 8 Second output process Step 9 Safety confirmation process Step 10 Door closing process

Claims (5)

A method for assisting a user in entering a vehicle into a parking berth of a mechanical parking device, comprising:
a recognition step of recognizing a marker placed in the warehousing berth by a device owned by the user;
and an output step of displaying an image associated with the marker on the device;
The image is a transportation image for storing the vehicle.
A warehousing assistance method comprising: The warehousing assistance method according to claim 1, further comprising an instruction step of sending an instruction to the device to prompt the device to visually check the location where the marker is placed before the recognition step. A parking assistance device that assists a user in entering a vehicle into a parking berth of a mechanical parking device,
A device owned by the user;
A marker placed in the warehousing berth;
a control device that stores an image associated with the marker and is capable of communicating with the device;
When the device recognizes the marker, the image is transmitted from the control device to the device and displayed thereon,
The image is a transportation image for storing the vehicle.
A storage assistance device characterized by: The warehousing assistance device according to claim 3 , wherein the marker is arranged on a pallet on which the vehicle is placed or on a floor surface of the warehousing berth.
The storage assistance device according to claim 3 , wherein the control device is configured to transmit to the device an instruction prompting the device to visually check the location where the marker is placed.