JP2008276516A - Parking lot management system, rfid tag and reader - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a parking lot management system at low cost without causing erroneous detection. <P>SOLUTION: This parking lot management system which manages a parking lot having a plurality of parking spaces manages the parking lot based on RFID tags 10A-10C provided to the parking spaces, a reader 20 which communicates with the RFID tags 10A-10C, and the communication results between the reader 20 and the RFID tags 10A-10C. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a parking lot management system, an RFID tag, and a reader that manage a parking lot, and more particularly, to a parking lot management system, an RFID tag, and a reader that are inexpensive and do not cause erroneous detection.

  Conventional parking lot management systems are described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-25889 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-206199 (Patent Document 2).

  According to Patent Document 1, a vehicle is photographed with a camera at an entrance gate, a vehicle type is determined from an obtained image, a parking position is determined, a parking ticket including an RF tag in which the parking position is recorded is issued and predetermined Was guiding to the parking space.

  According to Patent Document 2, a wireless tag is attached to a vehicle key, and a parking space of the vehicle is specified using the wireless tag.

In addition to the above, a system in which an ultrasonic sensor is provided in a parking space is also considered.
JP 2007-25889 A (summary) JP 2004-206199 A (summary)

  The conventional parking lot management system is configured as described above. In the methods described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, it is necessary to attach a camera or attach a wireless tag to a vehicle key in advance, resulting in a high equipment cost.

  In addition, the method using ultrasonic waves has a problem that when applied to an outdoor parking lot, it may be erroneously detected due to fallen leaves or the like, and a construction cost for wiring is required.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a parking lot management system, an RFID tag, and a reader that are low in cost and do not cause erroneous detection.

  A parking lot management system for managing a parking lot having a plurality of parking spaces according to the present invention is based on an RFID tag provided in the parking space, a reader communicating with the RFID tag, and a communication result between the reader and the RFID tag. To manage the parking lot.

  Preferably, a management computer is further included, and the management computer includes determination means for determining whether or not a parking space is vacant in accordance with a communication result between the reader and the RFID tag.

  More preferably, it includes display means for displaying whether or not there are empty spaces in a plurality of parking spaces. Note that the RFID tag may be driven by a solar cell or housed in a case with an LED.

  In another aspect of the present invention, an RFID tag capable of communicating with a reader is provided in a parking space of a parking lot.

  In yet another aspect of the present invention, the reader can communicate with the RFID tag. The RFID tag is provided in the parking space of the parking lot, and it is determined whether or not the parking space is free based on the communication result with the RFID tag.

  In the present invention, an RFID tag is provided in the parking space, and the parking space is managed based on the communication result between the reader provided in the parking lot and the RFID tag, so that the free space in the parking space can be easily understood.

  As a result, it is possible to provide a parking lot management system that is not costly and does not cause erroneous detection.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the concept of a parking lot management system according to the present invention. With reference to FIG. 1, the management of a parking lot according to the present invention is performed by RFID tags 10A to 10C provided in each of a plurality of parking spaces, and a reader 20 capable of communicating with RFID tags 10A to 10C. Here, the reader 20 is attached to a column 21 for an illumination lamp, for example. The inventors have provided the receiving portions of the RFID tags 10A to 10C in the parking space so as to come out on the surface of the parking space, and when reading them with the reader 20 positioned at a predetermined height, When the automobile or the like is stopped, the level of the reader 20 that receives the return signal from the RFID tags 10A to 10C is low. However, if the automobile or the like is not stopped on the RFID tags 10A to 10C, the RFID tag 10A is used. It was found that the level of the signal received by the reader 20 from -10 C is high. Therefore, a parking lot management system was constructed using this phenomenon.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an attachment positional relationship between the RFID tags 10A to 10C and the reader 20 that the inventors have actually experimented, and FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship in the planar direction. 2 and 3, the reader 20 is provided at a height of about 3300 mm at the center of one side of the rectangular parking lot in the longitudinal direction. The numbers shown in FIG. 3 are numbers for identifying parking spaces, and RFID tags 10A to 10C and the like are provided at the center of each. The distance of the RFID tag shown in FIG. 2 is the distance from the RFID tag provided in the parking space number 17.

  In such a state, it is possible to determine whether or not the parking space is vacant at the communication level with the RFID tag using the reader 20.

  FIG. 4 is a view showing a case for accommodating the RFID tag. 4A is a plan view, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of a portion indicated by an arrow BB in FIG. 4A. As shown in FIG. 4, the case 12 has a shape in which a shallow ridge having a diameter of 100 mm is reversed. The case 12 has a space for accommodating the RFID tag therein. This space has a stepped cylindrical shape and a height of about 10 mm. A donut-shaped plane is provided in the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface of the lower portion of the case 12 and is attached to the central portion of the parking space so that the plane is in contact with the plane of the parking space.

  The case 12 is preferably provided with an LED (Light Emitting Diode) or a reflector. If it carries out like this, a driver, the manager of a parking lot, etc. will be able to judge whether the parking space is vacant also visually.

  FIG. 5 is a view showing another example 15 of a case for accommodating an RFID tag. 5A is a plan view, FIG. 5B is an exploded side view of the case 15, and FIG. 5C is a view showing a state in which the case 15 is installed in the parking lot. As shown in FIG. 5, the case 15 includes an upper lid 15a, a cylindrical portion 15b, and a bottom lid 15c. The cylindrical portion 15b can be accommodated by the upper lid 15a and the bottom lid 15c. The RFID tag is accommodated in the case 15. The dimensions of the case 15 are preferably about 40 mm in diameter and about 50 mm in height.

  As shown in FIG. 5C, the case 15 is embedded so that the upper end portion thereof is the same as the plane of the parking lot. Further, it is preferable to provide an LED (Light Emitting Diode) or a reflector on the upper end of the case 15.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of the parking lot management system. Referring to FIG. 6, the parking lot management system is provided in a management computer 30 that manages the entire system, a reader 20 that notifies the management computer 30 of data related to the presence or absence of a parking space, and each parking space. RFID tags 10a, 10b, 10c,..., And a display unit 23 that operates as a display means for displaying the presence / absence of an empty space for the parking lot user. This display part 23 is provided in the entrance / exit part to a parking lot, as shown in FIG.

  Any number of parking spaces can be provided. In this case, the number and arrangement of the readers 20 are appropriately changed depending on the performance of the readers 20 and the like.

  The management computer 30 includes a CPU 31 that controls the management computer 30 as a whole, an interface 32 that is connected to the CPU 31 and is connected to an external device, an input / output unit 33 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a printer 34 that performs printing. And a hard disk 35 for storing various data. The management computer 30 is connected to the display unit 23 and the reader 20 via the interface 32.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the reader 20. Referring to FIG. 7, reader 20 constantly transmits an inquiry signal to the RFID tag (step S11, and the following steps are omitted). Then, the level of the reply signal from the RFID tag is detected (S12), and the value is transmitted to the management computer 30 (S13).

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the management computer 30. Referring to FIG. 8, each time the management computer 30 receives a communication level with the RFID tags 10 a to 10 c detected by the reader 20, the management computer 30 compares the value with a threshold value stored in the hard disk 35 to determine the level. (S21, S22). The display on the display unit 23 is updated according to the result (S23). That is, when the reception level from a certain RFID tag changes from a high state to a low level, it means that the vehicle is parked in the parking space where the RFID tag is provided, so the display on the display unit 23 is parked. Change to display no space. On the other hand, when the level changes from a low level to a high level, it means that the car has left the parking space, and therefore “empty” is displayed for the parking space.

  This level determination is preferably performed for each RFID tag, for example, every 30 seconds.

  Further, the RFID tag may be an active type with a built-in battery or a passive type without a built-in battery. In the case of the active type, a coin battery is built in, but a separate solar battery may be provided and driving power may be supplied from this solar battery.

  In addition, in the said embodiment, although the case where an RFID tag was arrange | positioned in the center part of a parking space was demonstrated, it is not restricted to this, You may change the position of an RFID tag by the positional relationship with a reader.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the case where the display part was provided in the entrance / exit of the parking lot was demonstrated, when a parking space is divided into several blocks, you may provide in the entrance of each block.

  In the above embodiment, the level determination is performed using the management computer. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the reader may be provided with a level determination function.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described with reference to drawings, this invention is not limited to the thing of embodiment shown in figure. Various modifications and variations can be made to the illustrated embodiment within the same range or equivalent range as the present invention.

It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the principle of this invention. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the apparatus of the height direction of the parking lot which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the apparatus of the plane direction of the parking lot which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the case which accommodates an RFID tag. It is a figure which shows the other example of the case which accommodates an RFID tag. It is a block diagram which shows the parking lot management system which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a reader | leader. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a management computer.

Explanation of symbols

  10 RFID tag, 12, 14 case, 20 reader, 23 display unit, 30 management computer, 31 CPU, 32 interface, 33 input / output device, 34 printer, 35 hard disk.

Claims (7)

A parking lot management system for managing a parking lot having a plurality of parking spaces,
An RFID tag provided in the parking space;
A reader that communicates with the RFID tag;
A parking lot management system for managing the parking lot based on a communication result between the reader and the RFID tag. A management computer,
The parking management system according to claim 1, wherein the management computer includes a determination unit that determines whether the parking space is vacant according to a communication result between the reader and the RFID tag. The parking lot management system according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying whether or not there is an empty space in the parking space. The parking lot management system according to claim 1, wherein the RFID tag is driven by a solar battery. The parking lot management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the RFID tag is accommodated in a case with an LED. An RFID tag capable of communicating with a reader,
The RFID tag is an RFID tag provided in a parking space of a parking lot. A reader capable of communicating with an RFID tag,
The RFID tag is provided in a parking space of a parking lot,
A reader that determines whether the parking space is vacant based on a result of communication with the RFID tag.

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