JP7687972B2 - Parking lot management server, parking lot management method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a parking lot management server, parking lot management method, and program that determine the number of vehicles permitted to enter each divided lane within a parking lot.

Patent Document 1 discloses a prior art parking management device. The parking management device in this document communicates information between a transmitter/receiver of a vehicle that has entered multiple parking areas within a parking space at the time of entry and exit. The parking management device uses calculation processing based on the parking/vacant car information to designate a parking area for the vehicle, and at the same time displays the designated area on a parking map so that it can be distinguished from other parking areas. The parking management device detects the position of the vehicle traveling on the driving route using a position lane marker and displays it on the parking map. When a vehicle reaches a point where the route directions branch off, the parking management device uses an information lane marker to instruct the vehicle on a specified route.

The parking management device in Patent Document 1 makes it possible to guide vehicles based on parked/vacant parking information.

JP 2000-285391 A

However, users do not necessarily park in the space they are directed to. There is a possibility that users will try to choose the most convenient space for them from the limited number of available spaces, and this trial and error and waiting behavior of users are the causes of congestion in the parking lot. For example, in a parking lot attached to a commercial facility, there is a desire to choose a space close to the elevator. In summer, there is a tendency to avoid spaces on rooftop floors. When users are not accustomed to driving, they will prefer a space with less pedestrian and vehicle traffic where they can park calmly, rather than a popular space.

The present invention aims to provide a parking lot management server that can generate information to assist users in making selections while preventing congestion in the parking lot.

The parking lot management server of the present invention includes a vacant parking space identification unit, an entrance vehicle identification unit, and an entrance permission number determination unit.

The vacant space identification unit receives vacancy information and space numbers or sensor IDs corresponding to the space numbers from each space sensor installed in each space in the parking lot at predetermined time intervals, and identifies vacant spaces by assuming that a vacant space has been created for space numbers for which the vacancy information has remained unchanged from full to vacant for a predetermined period of time.

The on-ramp vehicle identification unit receives images from a roadway camera that captures the divided lanes that divide the lanes in the parking lot, and identifies on-ramp vehicles that are entering each divided lane.

The entry permission number determination unit determines the entry permission number, which is the number of vehicles that may enter a specified road segment, by subtracting the number of entering vehicles at a specified road segment from the number of vacant vehicle compartments in the group of vehicle compartments facing the specified road segment.

The parking lot management server of the present invention can generate information that assists users in making selections while preventing congestion in the parking lot.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the device configuration of a parking lot management system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the parking lot management server of the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the parking lot management server of the first embodiment. A diagram showing a method for determining available parking spaces when parking space numbers and payment information are linked by parking space numbers. FIG. 13 shows a first example of tracking an outgoing vehicle. FIG. 13 shows a second example of tracking an outgoing vehicle. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the number of vehicles permitted to enter the road when departing vehicles are included in the entering vehicles. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the number of vehicles permitted to enter the road when departing vehicles are not included in the entering vehicles. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a computer.

The following describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention. Components having the same functions are given the same numbers, and duplicate explanations will be omitted.

The following explains the terms used in the description of Example 1.

<Parking lot management server 1>
The parking lot management server 1 is a server that manages and controls the parking lots in this embodiment, and is connected to devices described later via a network. The parking lot management server 1 can be realized, for example, by a general-purpose computer.

<Car compartment vehicle number reader 2>
The vehicle compartment number reader 2 is installed in each vehicle compartment in the parking lot and reads the vehicle number of the vehicle parked in the corresponding vehicle compartment. The vehicle compartment number reader 2 may be omitted in some cases. The vehicle compartment number reader 2 may be capable of determining the vehicle numbers of multiple vehicle compartments with one unit. For example, a vehicle number recognition camera or the like may be used as the vehicle compartment number reader 2.

<Vehicle interior sensor 3>
The vehicle compartment sensor 3 is installed in each vehicle compartment in the parking lot, and transmits vacancy information and the vehicle compartment number (or a sensor ID corresponding to the vehicle compartment number) to the parking lot management server 1 at predetermined time intervals. The vehicle compartment sensor 3 may also serve as the vehicle compartment vehicle number reader 2. A single vehicle compartment sensor may be a device that detects the status of multiple vehicle compartments. The vehicle compartment sensor 3 may be, for example, a magnetic or infrared sensor, or a camera that recognizes vehicles and characters.

<Prepayment machine 4>
The prepayment machine 4 transmits the vehicle number (or the parking ticket ID linked to the vehicle number) and settlement information indicating the completion of the settlement of the parking fee to the parking lot management server 1 in response to the parking fee settlement process of the user. For example, the prepayment machine 4 may read the ID of the parking ticket inserted by the user, inquire the parking lot management server 1 of the corresponding vehicle number, and transmit the vehicle number and the corresponding settlement information to the parking lot management server 1. Alternatively, the prepayment machine 4 may transmit the parking ticket ID and the corresponding settlement information to the parking lot management server 1, and the parking lot management server 1 may associate the vehicle number linked to the received parking ticket ID with the received settlement information. The prepayment machine 4 may be a general prepayment machine used in the vehicle number authentication system disclosed in, for example, Reference Non-Patent Document 1.

(Reference non-patent document 1: "Parking Solutions - Product Services - Vehicle Number Plate Authentication System", Parking Solutions Co., Ltd., <URL: https://www.parking-s.co.jp/buisiness/numberplate.html>) In some cases, the prepayment machine 4 may be excluded from the configuration requirements of the parking lot management system of this embodiment.

<Gate vehicle number reader 5>
The gate vehicle number reader 5 is installed at the entrance gate of the parking lot and reads the vehicle number of a vehicle entering the parking lot. The gate vehicle number reader 5 transmits a parking ticket ID, which is the ID of the parking ticket issued in correspondence with the read vehicle number, to the parking lot management server 1. The gate vehicle number reader 5 may be a device equivalent to the parking ticket issuing machine used in the vehicle number authentication system disclosed in Reference Non-Patent Document 1, for example. The gate vehicle number reader 5 may be excluded from the constituent requirements of the parking lot management system of this embodiment in some cases.

<Road Camera 6>
The road camera 6 continues to capture images of the divided lanes that divide the lanes in the parking lot. The road camera 6 transmits the captured images to the parking lot management server 1. The road camera 6 may be a millimeter wave radar.

<Divisional roads/Main roads>
A sectional road is a road in a parking lot that is divided (segmented) at, for example, an intersection, a branch point, a corner, etc. All divided (segmented) roads may be treated as individual sectional roads, but if a divided road is an important road used by all vehicles or if the divided road does not face a vehicle compartment, the divided road may be defined as a main road and excluded from the sectional roads. As examples of main roads, main roads 1 to 4 are shown in FIG. 7 surrounded by dot hatching.

The figure shows lane divisions 1 to 3 as examples of lane divisions. As shown in the figure, it is preferable to treat lanes that are not necessarily used by all vehicles and that face the vehicle compartment as lane divisions by dividing them into adjacent intersections, branching points, and corners as the start and end points of the corresponding lane divisions.

<Electronic display board 7>
The electric display board 7 is installed at a position that is easily visible to users, such as at the entrance of each lane division (see FIG. 7). The electric display board 7 receives display control information, which is information for displaying the number of vehicles permitted to enter, from the parking lot management server 1, and executes display according to the display control information. The electric display board 7 may be omitted in some cases.

<Parking lot management system device configuration>
As shown in Fig. 1, the parking lot management system of this embodiment includes a parking lot management server 1, a parking space vehicle number reader 2 (optional in some cases), a vehicle space sensor 3, a prepayment machine 4 (optional in some cases), a gate vehicle number reader 5 (optional in some cases), a roadway camera 6, and an electronic display board 7 (optional in some cases). Details of the devices other than the parking lot management server 1 have already been explained.

<Functional configuration of parking lot management server 1>
As shown in Fig. 2, the parking lot management server 1 of this embodiment includes an empty parking space identification unit 11, an entrance vehicle identification unit 12, and an entrance permission number determination unit 13. Hereinafter, the detailed operation of each functional configuration will be described with reference to Fig. 3.

<Vacant vehicle compartment identification unit 11>
The vacant vehicle space identifying unit 11 identifies a vacant vehicle space by any of the following methods (S11).

[Identification method 1]
The vacant vehicle space identifying unit 11 receives vacancy information and vehicle space numbers or sensor IDs corresponding to vehicle space numbers from each vehicle space sensor 3 at predetermined time intervals, and identifies vacant vehicle spaces by assuming that a vacant vehicle space has been created for a vehicle space number for which the vacancy information has remained unchanged from full to vacant for a predetermined time. When using identification method 1, the vehicle space number reader 2 can be omitted, and the prepayment machine 4 and gate vehicle number reader 5 can be excluded from the system.

[Identification method 2]
As shown in Fig. 4, the vacant space identifying unit 11 receives vacancy information and space number or a sensor ID corresponding to the space number from each space sensor 3 at a predetermined time interval, receives a space number and a space number or a reader ID corresponding to the space number from the space number reader 2, receives a space number or a parking ticket ID linked to the space number and payment information from the advance payment machine 4, and when payment information is received for a space number corresponding to a space number for which the vacancy information has changed from full to vacant for a predetermined time, it identifies a vacant space by considering that a vacant space has become available for that space number. When using identification method 2, the space number reader 2, advance payment machine 4, and gate number reader 5 need to be incorporated into the parking management system.

<Incoming vehicle identification unit 12>
The entering vehicle identification unit 12 receives images from the roadway camera 6 and identifies an entering vehicle that is entering each road segment by any of the following methods (S12).

[Identification method 1]
The entering vehicle identification unit 12 regards all vehicles shown in the image received from the roadway camera 6 as entering vehicles. In this method, the vehicles shown in the image are not distinguished as leaving vehicles/entering vehicles, and all are treated as entering vehicles.

[Identification method 2]
The incoming vehicle identification unit 12 may regard vehicles captured in the video received from the roadway camera 6 that are captured near the corresponding vacant vehicle compartment within a predetermined time from the occurrence of the corresponding outgoing vehicle as outgoing vehicles, and may exclude them from the incoming vehicles. In this method, with regard to the vehicles captured in the video, vehicles that are regarded as outgoing vehicles are excluded, and the other vehicles are treated as incoming vehicles.

[Identification method 3]
Identification method 3 is a method that further expands identification method 2. As shown in Fig. 5, when the difference between the time when a vehicle that is considered to be an exiting vehicle among vehicles captured in the image received from a predetermined roadway camera 6-x1 disappears from the image (in the example of the figure, the number of vehicles captured in the image goes from 1 to 0) and the time when a vehicle begins to appear in the image received from a roadway camera 6-x2 that captures a lane division adjacent to the lane division captured by the roadway camera 6-x1 (in the example of the figure, the number of vehicles captured in the image goes from 0 to 1), is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, the entering vehicle identification unit 12 continues to track the vehicle that begins to appear in the roadway camera 6-x2 as an exiting vehicle and excludes it from the entering vehicles in the adjacent lane division.

<When the departing vehicle cannot be identified>
For example, as shown in FIG. 6, if an outgoing vehicle is captured on the lane division photographed by the roadway camera 6-x1 and is moving from west to east, and an entering vehicle is captured on the lane division photographed by the roadway camera 6-x4 and is moving from north to south, and the vehicle begins to be captured on the roadway camera 6-x3 photographing the lane division adjacent to the east side of the lane division photographed by the roadway camera 6-x1, and at almost the same time the vehicle begins to be captured on the roadway camera 6-x2 photographing the lane division adjacent to the south side of the lane division photographed by the roadway camera 6-x4, it may become impossible to determine whether the outgoing vehicle has proceeded toward the roadway camera 6-x3 or the roadway camera 6-x2.

In this case, if you want to strictly determine the number of vehicles permitted to enter, you can treat all of the vehicles after it becomes impossible to distinguish as entering vehicles and continue tracking them. If you want to loosen your judgment on the number of vehicles permitted to enter, you can treat all of the vehicles after it becomes impossible to distinguish as leaving vehicles and continue tracking them.

[Identification method 4]
Identification methods 2 and 3 are effective when the vehicle number cannot be identified or tracked on the road. On the other hand, identification method 4 is effective when the image resolution of the roadway camera 6 is sufficient to capture the license plate of the vehicle and the parking lot management server 1 can perform vehicle number recognition using the image. In identification method 4, the entering vehicle identification unit 12 performs vehicle number recognition of the vehicle shown in the image received from a specified roadway camera 6, tracks the leaving vehicle based on the recognized vehicle number, and excludes the leaving vehicle being tracked from the entering vehicles.

[Identification method 5]
When the roadway camera 6 has a function for recognizing vehicle numbers, the identification method 5 is effective. In the identification method 5, the entering vehicle identification unit 12 receives images from a predetermined roadway camera 6 and vehicle number recognition results of vehicles shown in the images, tracks departing vehicles based on the received vehicle numbers, and excludes the departing vehicles being tracked from the entering vehicles.

<Entry permission number determination unit 13>
The entry permission number determination unit 13 determines the entry permission number, which is the number of vehicles that may enter a specified road section, by subtracting the number of entering vehicles at a specified road section from the number of vacant vehicle compartments in the group of vehicle compartments facing the specified road section (S13).

At this time, the entry permitted number determination unit 13 may transmit display control information, which is information for displaying the determined number of vehicles permitted to enter, to a specified electronic display board 7, and the electronic display board 7 may display the number of vehicles permitted to enter. As another pattern, the parking lot management server 1 may transmit information for displaying the determined number of vehicles permitted to enter to a web server, and the web server may display the number of vehicles permitted to enter on a web page.

<Example of the number of vehicles permitted to enter the road when departing vehicles are included in the number of vehicles entering the road>
This corresponds to the above-mentioned [Identification method 1] of the entering vehicle identification unit 12, which regards all vehicles shown in the image as entering vehicles. When departing vehicles are included in the entering vehicles, the number of vehicles permitted to enter is determined most simply.

For example, in Figure 7, there are two vacant spaces in the group of spaces facing section lane 1, and one entering vehicle (an exiting vehicle represented by a hatched rectangle in the figure) can be seen on the lane camera 6 that photographs section lane 1. Therefore, the number of vehicles permitted to enter is 2-1=1.

For lane 2 in the figure, there are two vacant spaces in the group of spaces facing lane 2, and no vehicles are visible on lane camera 6, which photographs lane 2. Therefore, the number of vehicles permitted to enter is 2-0=2.

For section lane 3 in the figure, there is one vacant space in the group of spaces facing section lane 3, and one entering vehicle (the entering vehicle represented by the white rectangle in the figure) can be seen on the lane camera 6 that photographs section lane 3. Therefore, the number of vehicles permitted to enter is 1-1=0.

<Example of the number of vehicles permitted to enter the road when departing vehicles are not included in the number of vehicles entering the road>
The above-mentioned [Identification Method 2] to [Identification Method 5] of the entering vehicle identification unit 12 correspond to a method in which, among the vehicles shown in the image, departing vehicles are excluded and all vehicles other than departing vehicles are regarded as entering vehicles.

For example, in Figure 8, there are two vacant spaces in the group of spaces facing section lane 1, and two exiting vehicles and one entering vehicle can be seen on the lane camera 6 that photographs section lane 1. The exiting vehicles are excluded, and the number of vehicles permitted to enter the lane is 2-1=1.

For sectional lane 2 in the figure, there are two vacant spaces in the group of spaces facing sectional lane 2, and two exiting vehicles can be seen on lane camera 6, which photographs sectional lane 2. Excluding the exiting vehicles, the number of vehicles permitted to enter the lane is 2-0=2.

For section lane 3 in the figure, there is one vacant space in the group of spaces facing section lane 3, and one exiting vehicle and one entering vehicle can be seen on the lane camera 6 that photographs section lane 3. The exiting vehicle is excluded, and the number of vehicles permitted to enter the lane is 1-1=0.

As described above, the parking lot management system and parking lot management server 1 of this embodiment determine the number of vehicles permitted to enter each lane division, which is the number of vehicles that may enter the lane division, and can generate information that supports the user's selection while preventing congestion in the parking lot.

In addition, by transmitting display control information for displaying the number of vehicles permitted to enter to a specified electronic display board 7, information to assist the user in making selections can be presented in an easy-to-understand manner, preventing congestion in the parking lot.

In addition, by regarding all vehicles captured in the image received from the roadway camera 6 as entering vehicles, the number of vehicles permitted to enter the road can be determined simply and robustly against errors.

In addition, by excluding exiting vehicles from the vehicles entering the parking lot among the vehicles captured in the video received from the roadway camera 6, information that reflects the actual conditions of the parking lot can be generated, and by using this information, congestion in the parking lot can be further alleviated.

<Additional Notes>
The device of the present invention has, as a single hardware entity, an input section to which a keyboard or the like can be connected, an output section to which a liquid crystal display or the like can be connected, a communication section to which a communication device (e.g., a communication cable) capable of communicating with the outside of the hardware entity can be connected, a CPU (which may also have a central processing unit, cache memory, registers, etc.), memories such as RAM and ROM, an external storage device such as a hard disk, and a bus connecting the input section, output section, communication section, CPU, RAM, ROM, and external storage device so that data can be exchanged between them. If necessary, the hardware entity may also be provided with a device (drive) capable of reading and writing recording media such as a CD-ROM. A physical entity equipped with such hardware resources is, for example, a general-purpose computer.

The external storage device of the hardware entity stores the programs required to realize the above-mentioned functions and the data required in the processing of these programs (not limited to the external storage device, for example, the programs may be stored in a ROM, which is a read-only storage device). In addition, the data obtained by the processing of these programs is appropriately stored in the RAM, the external storage device, etc.

In a hardware entity, each program stored in an external storage device (or ROM, etc.) and the data required to process each program are loaded into memory as needed, and interpreted, executed, and processed by the CPU as appropriate. As a result, the CPU realizes a specified function (each of the components represented as the above, ... unit, ... means, etc.).

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Furthermore, the processes described in the above-described embodiment are not limited to being executed chronologically in the order described, but may be executed in parallel or individually depending on the processing capacity of the device executing the processes or as necessary.

As mentioned above, when the processing functions of the hardware entities (the devices of the present invention) described in the above embodiments are realized by a computer, the processing contents of the functions that the hardware entities should have are described by a program. Then, by executing this program on a computer, the processing functions of the hardware entities are realized on the computer.

The various processes described above can be implemented by loading a program that executes each step of the above method into the recording unit 10020 of the computer shown in FIG. 9, and operating the control unit 10010, input unit 10030, output unit 10040, etc.

The program describing the processing contents can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic recording devices, optical disks, magneto-optical recording media, and semiconductor memories. Specifically, for example, hard disk drives, flexible disks, and magnetic tapes can be used as magnetic recording devices; DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs), DVD-RAMs (Random Access Memory), CD-ROMs (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), and CD-Rs (Recordable)/RWs (ReWritable) can be used as optical disks; MOs (Magneto-Optical discs) can be used as magneto-optical recording media; and EEP-ROMs (Electrically Erasable and Programmable-Read Only Memory) can be used as semiconductor memories.

The program may be distributed, for example, by selling, transferring, or lending portable recording media such as DVDs or CD-ROMs on which the program is recorded. Furthermore, the program may be distributed by storing the program in a storage device of a server computer and transferring the program from the server computer to other computers via a network.

A computer that executes such a program, for example, first stores in its own storage device the program recorded on a portable recording medium or the program transferred from a server computer. Then, when executing a process, the computer reads the program stored on its own recording medium and executes the process according to the read program. As another execution form of this program, the computer may read the program directly from the portable recording medium and execute the process according to the program, or may execute the process according to the received program each time a program is transferred from the server computer to this computer. In addition, the server computer may not transfer the program to this computer, but may execute the above-mentioned process by a so-called ASP (Application Service Provider) type service that realizes the processing function only by issuing an execution instruction and obtaining the results. Note that the program in this form includes information used for processing by an electronic computer that is equivalent to a program (such as data that is not a direct command to the computer but has properties that specify the processing of the computer).

In addition, in this embodiment, a hardware entity is configured by executing a specific program on a computer, but at least a portion of the processing content may be realized by hardware.

Claims (10)

a vacant vehicle space identification unit that receives vacancy information and a vehicle space number or a sensor ID corresponding to the vehicle space number from each vehicle space sensor installed in each vehicle space in the parking lot at a predetermined time interval, and identifies a vacant vehicle space by assuming that a vacant vehicle space has been created for a vehicle space number for which the vacancy information has been changed from full to vacant for a predetermined time period;
an entrance vehicle identification unit that receives images from a roadway camera that photographs road sections that divide the roads in the parking lot, and identifies entrance vehicles that are vehicles that enter each road section;
A parking lot management server including an entry permission number determination unit that determines the entry permission number, which is the number of vehicles that may enter a specified road section, by subtracting the number of entering vehicles at the specified road section from the number of vacant parking spaces in a group of parking spaces facing the specified road section. The parking lot management server according to claim 1,
The entry permission number determination unit,
The parking lot management server transmits display control information, which is information for displaying the determined number of vehicles permitted to enter, to a predetermined electronic display board. The parking lot management server according to claim 1 or 2,
The vacant vehicle compartment identification unit is
A parking lot management server receives the vehicle number and vehicle space number or a reader ID corresponding to the vehicle space number from a vehicle space vehicle space number reader installed in each vehicle space, receives the vehicle number and settlement information indicating completion of settlement of the parking fee from the pre-payment machine, and when settlement information has been received for a vehicle space number corresponding to a vehicle space number for which the vacancy information has changed from full to vacant for a specified period of time, it determines that a vacant space has become available for that vehicle space number and identifies the vacant space. A parking lot management server according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The said entering vehicle identification unit,
A parking lot management server that considers all vehicles captured in the video received from the roadway camera to be entering the parking lot. A parking lot management server according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The said entering vehicle identification unit,
A parking lot management server regards, among the vehicles captured in the image received from the roadway camera, any vehicle captured near the vacant parking space within a specified time period from the occurrence of the corresponding leaving vehicle as a leaving vehicle and excludes it from entering vehicles. The parking lot management server according to claim 5,
The said entering vehicle identification unit,
A parking lot management server that, when the difference between the time when a vehicle that is considered to be an exiting vehicle among vehicles captured in an image received from a specified roadway camera disappears from the image and the time when the vehicle begins to appear in an image received from a roadway camera that captures a lane division adjacent to the lane division captured by the specified roadway camera is less than a specified threshold value, continues to track the vehicle that has begun to appear in the roadway camera that captures the adjacent lane division as an exiting vehicle and excludes it from vehicles entering the adjacent lane division. A parking lot management server according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The said entering vehicle identification unit,
A parking lot management server performs vehicle number recognition of vehicles captured in an image received from a specified roadway camera, tracks exiting vehicles based on the recognized vehicle number, and excludes the exiting vehicle being tracked from entering vehicles. A parking lot management server according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The said entering vehicle identification unit,
A parking lot management server receives images from a specified roadway camera and vehicle number recognition results of vehicles captured in the images, tracks exiting vehicles based on the received vehicle numbers, and excludes the exiting vehicles being tracked from entering vehicles. A parking lot management method executed by a parking lot management server, comprising:
receiving vacancy information and a vehicle space number or a sensor ID corresponding to the vehicle space number from each vehicle space sensor installed in each vehicle space in the parking lot at a predetermined time interval, and determining that a vacant vehicle space has been created for a vehicle space number for which the vacancy information has been changed from full to vacant for a predetermined time period;
receiving an image from a roadway camera photographing road sections that divide the roads in the parking lot, and identifying an entering vehicle that is a vehicle entering each road section;
A parking lot management method including a step of determining the number of vehicles permitted to enter a specified road section by subtracting the number of vehicles entering a specified road section from the number of vacant parking spaces in a group of parking spaces facing the specified road section. A program that causes a computer to function as a parking lot management server according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

Images