JP2010146229A - Vehicle sharing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To establish a reliable vehicle sharing system with little error which reliably determines whether a vehicle has been returned to an exact parking place or not. <P>SOLUTION: The vehicle sharing system, which confirms permission of vehicle use by previously registered personal identification information and lends a vehicle parked in a parking region to a user, includes an image pickup means which picks up the rear of the vehicle. When picked up by the image pickup means, the parking region contains the parking location identification information which is contained in the picked up image and is inherent and identifiable for each parking region. The system includes a determination means which compares the picked up parking location identification information and the parking location normal information maintained by a management device managing the vehicle and determines that the vehicle has been returned to the normal location if both types of information agree when the lent vehicle is returned. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle shared use system, and more particularly, to a vehicle shared use system that reliably determines whether a vehicle has been returned to an accurate parking position by a user and improves reliability.

A vehicle shared use system is a system in which a plurality of users can use a vehicle jointly.
In this vehicle shared use system, a controller (hereinafter referred to as an “on-vehicle device”) mounted on a vehicle acquires the state / position of the vehicle and transmits the information to the management center via the Internet network for display. As a result, the administrator can remotely manage and operate multiple vehicles remotely.
When the user uses the vehicle, the user reserves the vehicle at the management center via the Internet network, authenticates the vehicle using an individual IC card reader, and uses the vehicle after the authentication is completed. To start.
In addition, after the use of the vehicle is completed, the user returns the vehicle to the original position and returns it.

Patent International Publication Number WO2006 / 077638

By the way, in the conventional vehicle shared use system, there are the following as preconditions when using the vehicle.
(1) When using a vehicle, use of the vehicle is started from a parking area of a predetermined station.
(2) When returning the vehicle, return the vehicle to the parking area of the originally determined station.
As a problem in the management and operation of the vehicle shared use system, it is necessary to confirm the parking position of the vehicle at the time of return so that the vehicle is not returned to the wrong parking position. There is a point.
At this time, in the current vehicle shared use system, GPS ("Global Positioning System", "Global Positioning System", "Navigation Device" or "Navigation") is also used to confirm the parking position of the vehicle when returning. Is used to confirm the position.
However, in the position confirmation using the GPS described above, there is a problem that the position confirmation cannot be performed in a place where radio waves do not reach such as an underground parking lot.
As a result, when a parking lot that does not receive GPS radio waves is set as the station, the size of the station must be expanded to a position where GPS radio waves can be acquired, for example, if it is an underground station, near the ground entrance. There is an inconvenience of not becoming.
In addition, in the case of a conventional vehicle shared use system, in a station where GPS radio waves do not reach, there is a problem that the vehicle can be returned even if it is not an accurate return position, and the reliability of the vehicle shared use system is reduced. Improvement is desired because it is not preferable in the management and operation of the vehicle shared use system.

  An object of the present invention is to realize a vehicle shared use system capable of reliably determining whether or not a vehicle has been returned to an accurate parking position and constructing a highly reliable system with few errors.

  Therefore, in order to eliminate the inconvenience described above, the present invention confirms that vehicle use is permitted based on pre-registered personal identification information, and shares the vehicle parked in the parking area to the user. In the system, parking position identification information is provided that includes an imaging unit that captures the rear of the vehicle, and the parking area is included in a captured image when captured by the imaging unit and is uniquely identifiable for each parking area When the rented vehicle is returned, the photographed parking position identification information is compared with the parking position regular information held by the management device that manages the vehicle. Judgment means for judging that the vehicle has been returned is provided.

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, in the vehicle shared use system that confirms that the vehicle use is permitted by the personal identification information registered in advance and rents the vehicle parked in the parking area to the user. The parking area is provided with parking position identification information that is included in the captured video and is uniquely identifiable for each parking area, and is lent out. When the returned vehicle is returned, the captured parking position identification information is compared with the parking position regular information held by the management device that manages the vehicle, and if they match, it is determined that the vehicle has been returned to the normal position. Judgment means is provided.
Therefore, since the unique identification information written in the parking position that can be photographed by the photographing means composed of the in-vehicle camera (also referred to as “back camera”) is used to determine whether or not the vehicle has been returned to the correct parking position. It is possible to construct a highly reliable vehicle shared use system with few errors.
Moreover, since a vehicle-mounted camera, which is a camera for taking a picture of the rear of the vehicle mounted for use in parking the vehicle by reversing the vehicle, can be used, it is necessary to newly install a dedicated camera on the vehicle. In addition, the configuration can be simplified and the equipment cost can be kept low.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a vehicle shared use system.
This vehicle shared use system 1 confirms that vehicle use is permitted based on pre-registered personal identification information and lends a vehicle 2 parked in a parking area to a user. 2, a controller (hereinafter referred to as “on-vehicle device”) 3 mounted on the vehicle 2 and a management center (also referred to as “management device”) 5 connected to the on-vehicle device 3 via the Internet network 4. And.
That is, in the vehicle shared use system 1, when a user uses the vehicle 2, a user terminal (not shown) such as a mobile phone or a personal computer possessed by the user passes through the Internet network 4. The management center 5 reserves the vehicle 2 and after the reservation, the user presents the IC card (not shown) possessed by the user to the IC card reader (not shown) installed in the vehicle 2 designated by the reservation. Then, the IC card reader is used to perform authentication in the vehicle 2 and use of the designated vehicle 2 is started after the authentication is completed.
The in-vehicle device 3 incorporates a GPS function / mobile phone communication module 3a in order to secure a GPS function and a communication function.
In addition, regarding the Internet network 4 described above, when only the use of a mobile phone is performed, the term “mobile phone communication network 4” can be used instead of the “Internet network 4”.
In addition, after the use of the vehicle 2 is finished, the user returns the vehicle 2 to the original position and returns it.
At this time, the vehicle shared use system 1 acquires the state / position of the vehicle 2 by the in-vehicle device 3, transmits the information to the management center 5 via the Internet network 4, and displays the information. However, the management center 5 can remotely manage and operate a plurality of vehicles.

As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle 2 has a shift of a lending key 6 or a shift lever (not shown) that is a switch for determining switching between “lending” and “returning” in addition to the in-vehicle device 3. A shift position detecting means 7 for detecting a position, an in-vehicle camera (also referred to as a “back camera”) 8 as a photographing means for photographing the rear of the vehicle 2, a back camera controller 9 and the like are mounted.
The in-vehicle device 3 inputs this switching signal when the user manually switches the lending key 6 to “lending” or “returning”.
The back camera controller 9 is connected to the vehicle 2, and the shift position detecting means 7 and the in-vehicle camera 8 are connected to the back camera controller 9.

  At this time, in the vehicle shared use system 1, the parking area 10 is included in the captured image when it is photographed by the in-vehicle camera 8 as the photographing means, and the parking area 10 is uniquely identifiable for each parking area 10. When returning the rented vehicle 2 provided with the position identification information, the taken parking position identification information is compared with the parking position regular information held by the management center 5 which is a management device that manages the vehicle 2. And if it corresponds, the judgment means 11 which judges that the said vehicle 2 was returned to the normal position is provided.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the parking area 10 is partitioned on the left and right sides of the parking area 10 by a left parking line 12 and a right parking line 13, while on the parking end point side of the parking area 10 (in FIG. 3). The upper side is partitioned by a wheel stopper 14.
At this time, in FIG. 3, no line is defined on the loading / unloading side of the vehicle 2, which is the parking start point side (lower side in FIG. 3) of the parking area 10. May have a restriction line (not shown) for restricting the front end of the vehicle 2.

As the parking position identification information, a return position code 15 is written in the parking area 10.
The return position code 15 can be, for example, a code made up of letters, numbers, patterns (including drawings), etc. In this embodiment, it is “9999” made up of a 4-digit number.
In addition, the return position code 15 is configured to be written in a predetermined position in the parking area 10 with paint or the like. However, any method that can identify the return position code 15 may be used. For example, the return position code 15 may be printed and processed. A sheet-like member made of synthetic resin, plastic, metal, or the like on which the return position code 15 appears, or a tile or plastic plate on which the return position code 15 appears after printing or cutting, It is possible to use a plate-like member made of a metal plate or the like.
In addition to using only numbers as the return position code 15, only letters such as alphabet letters and Greek letters are combined with letters and numbers such as “A01” and “A001”, “flowers (for example, A combination of a pattern and a number such as “0001” of chrysanthemum) is conceivable.

The determination means 11 can be provided in the management center 5 as the management apparatus or separately. In this embodiment, the determination means 11 is described as a configuration provided in the management center 5 as the management apparatus. To do.
The determination means 11 functions when returning the rented vehicle 2.
That is, when returning the rented vehicle 2, the determination unit 11 includes parking position identification information captured by the in-vehicle camera 8 as the imaging unit, which is a return position code 15 in the parking area 10. On the other hand, the parking position identification information is compared with the parking position regular information according to the parking position regular information held by the management center 5 which is a management device for managing the vehicle 2.
Then, the determination means 11 determines the correctness of the return position of the vehicle 2 by this comparison operation, and when the above-described parking position identification information matches the parking position regular information, the vehicle 2 is brought to a normal position. Is determined to have been returned.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, the determination result by the determination means 11 is transmitted from the management center 5 as the management apparatus to the vehicle 2 as correct / incorrect information on the return position.

When the return position of the vehicle 2 is normal, information “correct” is transmitted from the management center 5 serving as the management device to the vehicle-mounted device 3 of the vehicle 2. It is possible to proceed with the return process of 2.
However, if the return position of the vehicle 2 is not normal, that is, it is abnormal, the information “NO” is transmitted from the management center 5 serving as the management device to the in-vehicle device 3 of the vehicle 2. Therefore, for example, a message “not in return position” is displayed on a display device (not shown) of the in-vehicle device 3 to prompt the user to move the vehicle 2 to the correct return position.

  Next, the operation will be described along the flowchart for return position confirmation control using the in-vehicle camera 8 which is the photographing means of the vehicle shared use system 1.

The control flowchart is started (101) while the vehicle 2 is being used by the user.
When the control flowchart is started (101), when the detection signal of the shift position “R (reverse)” of the shift lever is input from the shift position detection means 7 to the back camera controller 9 of the vehicle 2, the photographing is performed. The process proceeds to the process (102) in which the vehicle-mounted camera 8 as the means is activated.
In addition, after the process (102) of starting the in-vehicle camera 8 as the photographing means, the code is read from the camera image captured by the in-vehicle camera 8 in order to perform the "vehicle position information determination" process (103). The parking position identification information including the return position code 15 is output to the back camera controller 9 and the parking position identification information including the return position code 15 input to the back camera controller 9 is output to the in-vehicle device 3. .
After the “vehicle position information determination” process (103), when a detection signal of the shift position “P (parking)” of the shift lever is input from the shift position detection means 7 to the back camera controller 9, The process proceeds to a process (104) for stopping the in-vehicle camera 8 as the photographing means.

In addition, after the process (104) for stopping the vehicle-mounted camera 8 as the photographing means, the process proceeds to the determination (105) as to whether or not the lending key 6 has been switched to “return”.
If this determination (105) is NO, the process returns to the start (101) of the control flowchart described above.
If the determination (105) is YES, the parking position identification information consisting of the return position code 15 input to the vehicle-mounted device 3 is also output to the management center 5 via the Internet network 4, The process (106) of “vehicle position information transmission” is performed.
Further, the management center 5 that has input the parking position identification information including the return position code 15 from the vehicle-mounted device 3 compares the input parking position identification information with the parking position regular information that is held in advance, and performs “vehicle position verification”. The process (107) is performed.
After the “vehicle position collation” process (107), the judgment means 11 of the management center 5 makes a judgment of whether the vehicle return position is correct or not (108).

When the determination means 11 of the management center 5 determines whether the vehicle return position is correct (108), the correct / incorrect information on the return position is output to the vehicle-mounted device 3. For example, a message “not in return position” is displayed on the display device of the machine 3, and the process proceeds to a process (109) for prompting the user to move the vehicle 2 to the correct return position. After this process (109) Returning to the start (101) of the control flowchart described above.
In addition, when the determination of whether the vehicle return position is correct (108) by the determination means 11 of the management center 5 is “correct”, the correctness information of the return position is output to the in-vehicle device 3, so that the user It is possible to proceed with the return process of the vehicle 2 as it is, and the process proceeds to the return completion process (110).

Thereby, in the vehicle shared use system 1, the parking area 10 is included in the captured image when it is photographed by the in-vehicle camera 8 as the photographing means, and the parking area 10 is uniquely identifiable for each parking area 10. When returning the rented vehicle 2 provided with the position identification information, the taken parking position identification information is compared with the parking position regular information held by the management center 5 which is a management device that manages the vehicle 2. And if it corresponds, the judgment means 11 which judges that the said vehicle 2 was returned to the normal position is provided.
Accordingly, the unique identification information written in the parking position where the vehicle-mounted camera 8 as the imaging means can be used for the determination as to whether or not the vehicle 2 has been returned to the correct parking position. It is possible to construct a vehicle shared use system 1 having a high height.
Further, as the photographing means, an in-vehicle camera 8 which is a camera for photographing the rear of the vehicle mounted to be used for parking the vehicle 2 by retreating the vehicle 2 can be used. There is no need to newly install the vehicle 2, the configuration can be simplified, and the equipment cost can be kept low.

It is a flowchart for return position confirmation control using the vehicle-mounted camera which is an imaging | photography means of the vehicle shared use system which shows the Example of this invention. It is a system diagram of a vehicle shared use system. It is the schematic which shows the example of a display of the return position code of a parking area.

Explanation of symbols

1 Vehicle shared use system 2 Vehicle 3 Controller (hereinafter referred to as “on-vehicle device”)
4 Internet network 5 Management center (also called “management device”)
6 Rental key 7 Shift position detecting means 8 On-vehicle camera (also referred to as “back camera”)
9 Back camera controller 10 Parking area 11 Judgment means 15 Return position code

Claims (1)

  In a vehicle shared use system that confirms that vehicle use is permitted by personal identification information registered in advance and rents a vehicle parked in a parking area to a user, the vehicle includes a photographing means for photographing the rear of the vehicle. The parking area includes parking position identification information that is included in the captured image when captured by the imaging unit and is uniquely identifiable for each parking area, and when the rented vehicle is returned, Comparing the photographed parking position identification information with the parking position regular information held by the management device that manages the vehicle, and provided with a judging means for judging that the vehicle has been returned to a normal position if they match. A vehicle shared use system.

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