JP2005209005A - Parking position detector and parking lot management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a parking position detector capable of rationalizing the facility of a parking lot, and reducing costs for the maintenance and management of the facility in such a way that the parking position of a vehicle is detected by conducting narrow-band radio communications with the vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: The parking position detector is characterized by: installing one antenna 1 for a plurality of parking lot space to conduct the narrow-band radio communications with the vehicle 4; receiving an inherent signal being a signal inherent in each vehicle transmitted from the vehicle, whereas a parking position detection section 2 detects the vehicle-parked position based on the received electrical field intensity of the inherent signal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a parking position detection device that detects a parking position of a vehicle by performing narrow-area wireless communication with the vehicle, and a parking lot management system using the parking position detection device.

  Conventionally, as a method of managing the presence or absence of parked vehicles in the parking lot, it is possible to detect whether the vehicle is parked by installing a sensor in each parking space of the parking lot, and display the parking status on the display board. It managed the presence or absence of parked vehicles.

Here, as a conventional example of a device for managing the presence / absence of a parked vehicle as described above, for example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 4-218899 (Patent Document 1), an optical sensor is installed in each parking space of a parking lot. There is disclosed a parking lot management device that detects presence or absence in real time and displays the result as a parking lot use situation for each parking space.
JP-A-4-218899

  However, in the conventional example disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, since it is necessary to install a sensor such as an optical sensor in each parking space, in the case of a large parking lot with many parking spaces, the facilities are enlarged, There was a problem that the cost required for the introduction, maintenance, and management of equipment would increase.

  This invention is made in order to solve such a conventional subject, and the object of the present invention is to enable detection of the presence or absence of parked vehicles in a plurality of parking spaces with one device. An object of the present invention is to provide a parking position detection device that eliminates the need for installing a sensor in a parking space, thereby rationalizing parking facilities and reducing costs associated with maintenance and management of the facilities.

  In order to achieve the above object, a parking position detection device of the present invention is a parking position detection device that detects a parking position of a vehicle by performing narrow-area wireless communication with the vehicle, and is transmitted from the vehicle. It is characterized by comprising receiving means for receiving a unique signal that is a signal unique to each vehicle, and parking position detecting means for detecting the position where the vehicle is parked based on the received electric field intensity of the unique signal.

  In the parking position detection device according to the present invention, the presence or absence of a vehicle can be detected by a single parking position detection device for a plurality of parking spaces, so sensors for detecting the presence or absence of vehicles are installed in all parking spaces. There is no need. Therefore, it is possible to rationalize the parking facility, thereby reducing the costs associated with maintenance and management of the facility.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a parking position detection apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the parking position detection device includes an antenna (receiving means) 1 that receives a unique signal that is a signal unique to each vehicle transmitted from the vehicle, and a received electric field intensity of the unique signal received by the antenna 1. A parking position detection unit (parking position detection means) 2 that detects the position where the vehicle is parked, and a memory 3 that stores data necessary for the parking position detection process.

  Here, the antenna 1 performs narrow-band wireless communication, for example, DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), with the vehicle-mounted device 5 mounted on the vehicle 4, and particularly receives a unique signal unique to each vehicle. This unique signal is transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device of each vehicle, is a signal unique to each vehicle-mounted device, and includes a unique ID. As this unique ID, a wireless call number (wireless call code) used as an ID unique to the mobile station is used, and this unique ID is registered (recorded) at the time of manufacture as a wireless terminal. As this unique ID, for example, XX, YY or the like is used in this embodiment.

  The antenna 1 can communicate with vehicles parked in a plurality of parking spaces. For example, in FIG. 1, the antenna 1 can communicate with a vehicle parked in a parking space of NO1 to NO3.

  Next, the parking position detection unit 2 detects the parking space where the vehicle is parked by comparing the received electric field strength of the unique signal received by the antenna 1 with the parking space specifying data stored in the memory 3 in advance. As an example of a wireless system used in the parking position detection apparatus in the present embodiment, there is a DSRC communication standard “(RI) Radio wave industry formulation ARIB STD-T75”, for example.

  The memory 3 stores parking space specifying data for specifying the parking space in which the vehicle is parked, parking status data relating to the parking space availability, and the like.

  Next, parking position detection processing by the parking position detection apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described based on the flowcharts of FIGS. 2 and 8. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing when a vehicle enters in the parking position detection apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in the figure, first, when the parking position detection device is uplinked from the vehicle-mounted device 5 mounted on the vehicle 4 and receives the unique signal with the antenna 1, the vehicle having the unique ID XX is transmitted to the communication area by the unique signal. It is detected that the vehicle has entered the vehicle (S201), and it is determined that the vehicle has entered the parking lot.

  Here, a method of determining whether or not the vehicle has entered the parking lot will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows the change over time of the received electric field strength of the unique signal received by the parking position detection device. The parking position detection device monitors the received electric field strength of the received unique signal as shown in FIG. The amount of change ΔM in the received electric field intensity at a unit time Δt (for example, 1 sec) when the preset entrance / exit detection threshold is exceeded is a positive value that is not more than a predetermined value, for example, 5 [dBm] or less. Sometimes it is determined that the vehicle has entered.

  This means that a positive change in the received electric field strength over time means that the received electric field strength is changing in the increasing direction, and if it is below the predetermined value, the change is small, so the engine is started. This is because it can be determined that the received electric field strength is gradually increasing rather than the case where the received electric field strength is greatly increased.

  When the entrance of the vehicle is thus detected, the parking position detection device next monitors whether or not the vehicle having the unique ID XX has left the communication area (S202) and determines whether or not the vehicle has left the parking lot.

  Here, a method for determining whether or not the vehicle has left the parking lot will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows the change over time of the received electric field strength of the unique signal received by the parking position detection device. The parking position detection device monitors the received electric field strength of the received unique signal as shown in FIG. When the amount of change in the received electric field intensity in the unit time Δt (for example, 1 sec) when it falls below the preset entrance / exit detection threshold is a negative value that is a predetermined value or less, for example, 5 [dBm] or less. Judge that the vehicle has left.

  This means that the amount of change in the received electric field strength over time is negative, which means that the received electric field strength is changing in the decreasing direction. If the amount is below the predetermined value, the change is small, so the engine is stopped. This is because it can be determined that the received electric field strength is gradually decreased, not the case where the received electric field strength is greatly reduced.

  In this way, whether or not the vehicle has exited the communication area is monitored, and when it is determined that the vehicle has exited the communication area, the parking position detection device enters a standby state (S207), ends the parking position detection process, and the communication area When it is determined that the vehicle has not exited, it is monitored whether or not the uplink from the vehicle having the unique ID XX has ended (S203), and it is determined whether or not the vehicle engine has stopped.

  Here, a method of determining whether or not the vehicle engine has been stopped will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 shows the change over time of the received electric field strength of the unique signal received by the parking position detection device. The parking position detection device monitors the received electric field strength of the received unique signal as shown in FIG. The amount of change ΔM in the received electric field intensity in unit time Δt (for example, 1 sec) when it falls below the preset entrance / exit detection threshold is a negative value that is not less than a predetermined value, for example, 5 [dBm] or more. Sometimes the uplink from the vehicle is terminated, so it is determined that the vehicle engine has stopped and parking has been completed.

  This means that the amount of change in the received electric field strength over time is negative, which means that the received electric field strength has changed in a decreasing direction. If the amount exceeds the predetermined value, the amount of change is large. This is because it can be determined that the received electric field strength has greatly decreased.

  In this way, whether or not the uplink from the vehicle has been terminated is determined, and if it is determined that the uplink has not been terminated, the process returns to step S202 to monitor whether or not the vehicle has exited the communication area. When it is determined that the link has been completed, it is determined that the vehicle engine has stopped and parking has been completed, and the parking position detection device buffers the received electric field strength and the unique ID of the unique signal when the uplink is completed. (S204).

  Then, the parking position detection device identifies the parking space where the vehicle is parked by comparing the recorded received electric field strength with the parking space identification data stored in the memory 3 in advance (S205).

  Here, the identification method of a parking space is demonstrated based on FIG. FIG. 6 shows an example of the parking space specifying data. This parking space specifying data defines the band of the received electric field strength of the unique signal received from the vehicle when the vehicle is parked in each parking space. Therefore, when the received electric field strength of the received unique signal is, for example, X [dBm] as shown in FIG. 6, the parking space can be specified as No2.

  The parking space specifying data used here is as shown in FIG. 7 by actually measuring the distribution of the received electric field strength in each case by parking various vehicles in each parking space when the parking lot is introduced. Accurate measurement data. Then, based on the actual measurement data, a band of the received electric field strength for each parking space is modeled to create parking space specifying data as shown in FIG.

  When the parking space where the vehicle is parked is specified in this way, this information is reflected in the parking status data, and the display on the display board for displaying the parking status is changed (S206).

  When the change of the parking status data is completed, the parking position detection device returns to the standby state (S207), and the parking position detection process ends.

  Next, based on the flowchart of FIG. 8, the process when the vehicle leaves in the parking position detection apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described.

  As shown in the figure, first, the parking position detection device detects that the uplink has been resumed by receiving the unique signal with the unique ID XX by the antenna 1 (S801), and whether or not the vehicle engine has been restarted. Determine whether.

  Here, a method of determining whether or not the vehicle engine has been restarted will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 shows the change over time of the received electric field strength of the unique signal received by the parking position detection device. The parking position detection device monitors the received electric field strength of the received unique signal as shown in FIG. The amount of change ΔM in the received electric field intensity at a unit time Δt (for example, 1 sec) when the preset entrance / exit detection threshold is exceeded is a positive value that is a predetermined value or more, for example, 5 [dBm] or more. Sometimes it is determined that the uplink from the vehicle has restarted and the engine has restarted.

  This is because when the amount of change in the received electric field strength with time is positive, it means that the received electric field strength has changed in the increasing direction. When the value exceeds the predetermined value, the amount of change is large. This is because it can be determined that the electric field strength has greatly increased.

  When detecting that the uplink has resumed in this way, the parking position detection device monitors whether or not the vehicle having the unique ID XX has exited the communication area (S802), and determines that the vehicle has not exited the communication area. Monitoring whether or not the vehicle has left the communication area is continued. When it is determined that the vehicle has left the communication area, it is determined that the vehicle having the unique ID XX has left the parking lot. About this determination method, it determines with the method similar to the determination method performed by step S202.

  Then, the parking position detection device determines that the parking space where the vehicle with the unique ID XX is parked is “empty” (S803), reflects this information in the parking status data (S804), and displays the display on the display board. When changed, the parking position detection device returns to the standby state (S805) and ends the parking position detection process.

  As described above, in the parking position detection device according to the present embodiment, the presence or absence of a vehicle can be detected by one parking position detection device for a plurality of parking spaces. It is possible to eliminate the need for installation in a parking space, thereby rationalizing parking facilities and reducing costs associated with maintenance and management of the facilities.

  Further, in the parking position detection device according to the present embodiment, since the stop and start of the engine of the parked vehicle are detected based on the amount of change in the received electric field strength with time, it is accurately determined whether or not the vehicle is parked in the parking space. In addition, it is possible to accurately detect whether the vehicle is about to leave the parking space.

  Furthermore, since the entrance and exit of the vehicle are detected based on the amount of time change in the received electric field strength, the entrance and exit of the vehicle can be accurately detected.

  Moreover, in the parking position detection apparatus according to the present embodiment, DSRC can be used as narrow area wireless communication. Since this DSRC is a technique used for ETC, parking fee management, etc., it is not necessary to prepare a new special device, and a parking position detection device can be installed without additional costs.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the parking position detection apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the parking position detection device receives a plurality of antennas (reception means) 101A and 101B that receive a unique signal that is a signal unique to each vehicle transmitted from the vehicle 104, and receives the received unique signal. A parking position detection unit (parking position detection means) 102 that detects the position where the vehicle is parked based on the electric field strength, and a memory 103 that stores data necessary for the parking position detection process are provided.

  Here, the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that there are a plurality of antennas 101A and 101B, and the other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Next, parking position detection processing by the parking position detection apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. However, in the parking position detection apparatus of the present embodiment, the same processing as the flowcharts of FIGS. 2 and 8 is performed, so detailed description thereof is omitted, and only the processing for specifying the parking space in step S205 in the flowchart of FIG. 2 is different. This process will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 11 shows parking space specifying data for a plurality of antennas 101A and 101B, FIG. 11 (a) shows parking space specifying data for antenna 101A, and FIG. 11 (b) shows parking space specifying data for antenna 101B.

  As shown in FIG. 11A, when the received electric field strength of the unique signal received by the antenna 101A is Y [dBm], it is difficult to determine whether the parking space is No2 or No3. is there. Therefore, referring to the received electric field strength of the unique signal received by the antenna 101B, the received electric field strength received by the antenna 101B is Z [dBm] as shown in FIG. Can be identified.

  As described above, in the parking position detection device according to the present embodiment, the parking position of the vehicle is detected based on the received electric field intensity received by the plurality of antennas, so that the parking position of the vehicle can be detected with high accuracy. .

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a parking lot management system according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the parking lot management system includes an antenna (receiving means) 121 that receives a unique signal transmitted from a vehicle parked in the management area A, and a unique signal transmitted from a vehicle parked in the management area B. , A parking position detection unit (parking position detection means) 123 for detecting a position where the vehicle is parked based on the received electric field strength of the unique signal received by the antennas 121 and 122, and a parking position. A memory 124 storing data necessary for the detection process, a display board (parking status display means) 125 for displaying a parking status for a vehicle entering the parking lot, and a guidance signal for the entering vehicle And a guiding part (guidance means) 126 for guiding to an empty parking space.

  Here, in this embodiment, since the antennas 121 and 122, the parking position detection unit 123, and the memory 124 have the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The display board 125 displays a parking situation for an entering vehicle to notify a vacant parking space or to notify that the vehicle is full. At this time, a display such as “empty” may be simply displayed, or a map of the parking lot may be displayed to indicate where a vacant parking space is.

  FIG. 12 shows the case where the display board 125 is installed near the entrance of the parking lot. However, when the scale of the parking lot is large, a display board is installed for each parking block as shown in FIG. It may be displayed whether there is a parking space.

  Next, parking position detection processing by the parking lot management system according to the present embodiment will be described. In the parking lot management system of this embodiment, an antenna is installed for each management area, and a unique signal transmitted from the vehicle is received by the antenna. For example, in FIG. 12, the antenna 121 is installed in the management area A, and the antenna 122 is installed in the management area B. Then, based on the received electric field strength received for each management area, the parking position detection unit 123 performs the same processing as the processing described in the flowcharts of FIGS. 2 and 8 to detect the position where the vehicle is parked.

  In addition, for a management area where it is difficult to specify a parking space with one antenna, as described in the second embodiment, by installing a plurality of antennas, the parking space where the vehicle is parked is specified. Yes.

  Furthermore, the guidance part 126 transmits a guidance signal to the vehicle via the antennas 121 and 122 installed in each management area with respect to the entered vehicle, and guides to an empty parking space by sending voice guidance inside the vehicle. Like that.

  As described above, in the parking lot management system according to the present embodiment, the presence / absence of a vehicle can be detected with a single antenna for a plurality of parking spaces. Therefore, it is possible to rationalize the parking facility, and to reduce the cost associated with maintenance and management of the facility.

  Moreover, in the parking lot management system according to the present embodiment, the display state is installed and the parking situation is displayed, so that the driver of the vehicle who wants to park can easily check the availability of the parking space.

  Furthermore, in the parking lot management system according to the present embodiment, since the vehicle is guided to the vacant parking space by transmitting a guidance signal to the vehicle that has entered the parking lot, the driver is free without searching for the parking space. You can park in a parking space.

  As described above, the parking position detection device and the parking lot management system according to the present invention have been described based on the illustrated embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the configuration of each unit is an arbitrary one having the same function. It can be replaced with a configuration one.

A parking position detection device that detects the parking position of a vehicle by communicating with a vehicle via narrow-area wireless communication, and is extremely useful as a technology for streamlining parking facilities and maintaining and managing costs. Useful.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the parking position detection apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the detection process of the parking position by the parking position detection apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the method to determine the entrance of the vehicle by the parking position detection apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the method to determine the leaving of the vehicle by the parking position detection apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the method to determine the engine stop of the vehicle by the parking position detection apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the parking space specific data for specifying the parking space where the vehicle parked. It is a figure which shows an example of the actual measurement data measured in order to create parking space specific data. It is a flowchart which shows a process when the vehicle leaves by the parking position detection apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the method of determining the engine restart of the vehicle by the parking position detection apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the parking position detection apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the identification method of the parking space by the parking position detection apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the parking lot management system which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the display method in the case of installing a display board for every parking block by the parking lot management system of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1, 101A, 101B, 121, 122 Antenna 2, 102, 123 Parking position detection unit 3, 103, 124 Memory 4, 104 Vehicle 5, 105 On-board unit 125 Display board 126 Guide unit

Claims (8)

A parking position detection device that detects a parking position of a vehicle by performing narrow-area wireless communication with the vehicle,
Receiving means for receiving a unique signal that is a signal unique to each vehicle transmitted from the vehicle;
A parking position detecting device comprising: a parking position detecting means for detecting a position where the vehicle is parked based on the received electric field strength of the unique signal.   The parking position detection device according to claim 1, wherein the parking position detection means detects stop and start of the engine of the vehicle based on a temporal change amount of the received electric field intensity of the specific signal.   The said parking position detection means detects the approach to the parking position of the said vehicle, and the exit from a parking position based on the time change amount of the received electric field strength of the said specific signal, Either of Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. The parking position detection apparatus of crab. A plurality of receiving means;
The said parking position detection means detects the parking position of the said vehicle based on the received electric field strength of the said specific signal which each of the said several receiving means received. The parking position detection apparatus according to item 1.   The parking position detection device according to claim 1, wherein the narrow-area wireless communication is DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication). A parking lot management system for managing the presence or absence of parked vehicles in a plurality of parking spaces,
A parking position detecting device that receives a unique signal that is a signal unique to each vehicle transmitted from a vehicle parked in the parking space, and detects a position where the vehicle is parked based on the received electric field strength of the received unique signal. A parking lot management system comprising:   The parking lot management system according to claim 6, further comprising parking status display means for displaying a parking status of the parking space based on a detection result of the parking position detection device. The parking lot according to claim 6, further comprising guidance means for transmitting a guidance signal for guiding the vehicle to a vacant parking space based on a detection result of the parking position detection device. Management system.

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