JP2017090968A - In-vehicle unit and parking support system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an in-vehicle unit and a parking support system capable of improving safety when parking.SOLUTION: An ECU 3(in-vehicle unit) comprises: a difficulty acquisition part for acquiring difficulty information indicating parking difficulty of each section in a parking lot; a skill specification part for specifying the level of a driving skill of a driver; an area determination part for determining a parking area in the parking lot on the basis of the level of the driving skill specified by the skill specification part and the difficulty information acquired by the difficulty acquisition part; and an area output part for outputting the parking area determined by the area determination part. A control part 31 functions as the difficulty acquisition part, the skill specification part, the area determination part, and the area output part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle device and a parking support system for supporting parking.

Conventionally, a parking support system has been proposed that presents information related to a parking lot to a driver (see Patent Document 1).
The parking assistance system described in Patent Document 1 collects driving information in a parking lot from a vehicle parked in the parking lot, and shows parking ease based on the collected driving information. Easy information is calculated, and the calculated easy parking information is presented to a driver who is looking for a parking lot.

This is because a driver with a high driving skill can park safely even in a parking lot that is difficult to park, but a driver with a low driving skill can park safely in a parking lot that is difficult to park. Because it is difficult.
The driver can determine whether or not the parking lot is appropriate based on the given easy parking information, and can safely park in the parking lot determined to be appropriate.
Hereinafter, a driver having a high / low driving skill is referred to as an expert / beginner.

JP 2013-8157 A

Here, a case is considered in which the same parking lot is crowded with a crowded area where parking is difficult because it is crowded and a quiet area where parking is easy because it is quiet. Since the parking assistance system described in Patent Document 1 presents average easy parking information of the entire parking lot, for example, if the quiet area is wider than the crowded area, there is a parking lot in which both are mixed. There is a possibility that it will be presented to beginners as a parking lot that is easy to park.
Since it is easier to park in the quiet area than in the congested area, beginners should go to the quiet area. However, the parking assistance system described in Patent Document 1 does not support the presentation of easy parking information of details of each parking lot.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, The main objective is to provide the vehicle equipment and parking assistance system which can improve the safety | security when parking.

  An in-vehicle device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a difficulty level acquisition unit that acquires difficulty level information indicating a parking difficulty level of each unit in a parking lot, a skill level determination unit that specifies the level of a driver's driving skill, and the skill level Based on the level of driving skill specified by the specifying unit and the difficulty level information acquired by the difficulty level acquiring unit, an area determining unit that determines a parking area in the parking lot, and a parking area determined by the area determining unit are output. An area output unit.

  The parking assistance system which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention is provided with the vehicle equipment which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention, and the alerting | reporting part which alert | reports the parking area which the said area output part output.

  Note that the present application can be realized not only as an in-vehicle device or a parking support system including such a characteristic skill specifying unit and an area determining unit, but also performing such a characteristic skill specifying process and an area determining process. It can implement | achieve as a parking assistance method and can implement | achieve as a program for making a computer perform this step. Further, a part or all of the in-vehicle device can be realized as a semiconductor integrated circuit, or can be realized as another system including the in-vehicle device or a parking support system.

  According to the above, since it is possible to notify the parking area of the parking difficulty level according to the driving skill of the driver, it is possible to provide an in-vehicle device and a parking assistance system that can improve safety when parking. It becomes possible.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the parking assistance system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the server with which a parking assistance system is provided. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the data registered into the registration part with which a parking assistance system is provided. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the level registration process performed with a parking assistance system. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the data accumulate | stored in the storage part with which a parking assistance system is provided. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the parking assistance process performed with a parking assistance system. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the image displayed on the guidance alerting | reporting part with which a parking assistance system is provided.

[Description of Embodiment of the Present Invention]
First, embodiments of the present invention will be listed and described. Moreover, you may combine arbitrarily at least one part of embodiment described below.

(1) The in-vehicle device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a difficulty level acquisition unit that acquires difficulty level information indicating the parking difficulty level of each unit in the parking lot, a skill level determination unit that specifies the level of the driving skill of the driver, Based on the level of the driving skill specified by the skill specifying unit and the difficulty level information acquired by the difficulty level acquiring unit, an area determining unit that determines a parking area in the parking lot, and a parking area determined by the area determining unit And an area output unit for outputting.

In this aspect, it is possible to notify the parking area of the parking difficulty level according to the driving skill of the driver. Therefore, the safety when parking can be improved.
Further, it is not necessary for the driver himself to find a parking area having a parking difficulty level corresponding to the driving skill of the driver. Therefore, the convenience of the driver can be improved.

(2) A configuration further including a guidance output unit that outputs guidance control information to be guided to the parking area is preferable.

  In this mode, for a driver who needs guidance (ie, a beginner), guidance to a parking area having a parking difficulty level corresponding to the driving skill of the driver is executed. Therefore, the safety when parking can be further improved.

(3) When the necessity determination part which determines the necessity of guidance based on the level of the driving skill specified by the skill specification part is further provided, and the guidance output part determines that the necessity determination part determines NO It is preferable that the guidance control information is not output.

  In this aspect, a driver who does not need guidance (that is, a skilled person) is not guided to a parking area having a parking difficulty level according to the driving skill of the driver. This is because useless guidance may irritate the driver and may interfere with safe driving.

(4) It is preferable to further include a difficulty level output unit that outputs the difficulty level information in association with the parking area.

  In this aspect, the driver can drive the vehicle in consideration of the parking difficulty of each part in the parking lot.

(5) It further includes a registration unit that registers and associates driver information that identifies a driver with the level of the driving skill of the driver, and a driver acquisition unit that acquires driver information, and the skill specifying unit includes: A configuration in which the level of the driving skill of the driver is specified by referring to the registration unit based on the driver information acquired by the driver acquisition unit is preferable.

  According to this aspect, since the level of the driving skill of the driver can be easily specified, the calculation time can be shortened.

(6) It is preferable that the parking difficulty level corresponds to the degree of congestion of each part in the parking lot.

  In this aspect, since parking in a crowded parking area is difficult, the parking difficulty is high. On the other hand, since parking in a quiet parking area is easy, parking difficulty is low. Therefore, the inconvenience that the vehicle which a beginner drives is stuck in the crowded parking area is suppressed.

(7) The parking assistance system which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention is provided with the vehicle equipment which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention, and the alerting | reporting part which alert | reports the parking area which the said area output part output.

In this aspect, it is possible to notify the parking area of the parking difficulty level according to the driving skill of the driver. Therefore, the safety when parking can be improved.
Further, it is not necessary for the driver himself to find a parking area having a parking difficulty level corresponding to the driving skill of the driver. Therefore, the convenience of the driver can be improved.

[Details of the embodiment of the present invention]
Specific examples of the in-vehicle device and the parking assistance system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited to these illustrations, is shown by the claim, and intends that all the changes within the meaning and range equivalent to a claim are included.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a parking assistance system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the server 4 included in the parking assistance system 1.
The parking support system 1 includes an in-vehicle camera 11, a car navigation system 12 (hereinafter referred to as a car navigation system 12), an in-vehicle communication device 13, and an ECU 3 (in-vehicle device) mounted on a vehicle 2, and a server 4 installed outside the vehicle. With.

As shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle camera 11 includes an imaging unit 111 and an image processing unit 112.
The imaging unit 111 images inside and outside the vehicle. The image processing unit 112 performs predetermined image processing on the image information output from the imaging unit 111.

The car navigation system 12 includes a control unit 121, an input unit 122, and a guidance notification unit 123.
The control unit 121 is a control center of the car navigation system 12. An input unit 122 and a guidance notification unit 123 are connected to the control unit 121, respectively.
The input unit 122 includes a touch panel or a hard key. The input unit 122 is used for the driver to input various information (for example, destination information described later) to the car navigation system 12. Information input using the input unit 122 is given to the control unit 121.
The guidance notification unit 123 includes a display unit and an audio output unit. The control unit 121 controls the operation of the guidance notification unit 123.

The input unit 122 and the guidance notification unit 123 function as a user interface of the car navigation 12 itself, and also function as a user interface of the ECU 3.
The guidance notification unit 123 functioning as a user interface of the car navigation 12 displays an image for guiding the vehicle 2 to the destination, and outputs a voice for guiding the vehicle 2 to the destination. Or the guidance alerting | reporting part 123 alert | reports traffic guidance, such as traffic regulation information or traffic jam prediction (image display or audio | voice output).

The input unit 122 that functions as a user interface of the ECU 3 is used by the driver to input a level registration command to the parking support system 1. The level registration command is input when the driver registers his / her driving skill level (hereinafter, “skill level”) in the parking support system 1.
The skill level in the present embodiment is two stages. The skill level of the beginner is “1”, and the skill level of the expert is “2”.

  The in-vehicle communication device 13 is an ECU for the ECU 3 to wirelessly communicate with the server 4. Communication between the ECU 3 and the server 4 is performed via the in-vehicle communication device 13.

The ECU 3 includes a control unit 31 and a storage unit 32.
The control unit 31 executes various processes according to the computer program. The control unit 31 communicates with the control unit 121 of the car navigation 12. For example, the destination information input using the input unit 122 is transmitted from the control unit 121 to the control unit 31. A storage unit 32 is connected to the control unit 31.
The storage unit 32 uses a nonvolatile storage device. The storage unit 32 stores a computer program that the control unit 31 should follow.
A part of the storage area of the storage unit 32 is a registration unit 321.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of data registered in the registration unit 321.
The registration unit 321 registers the driver and the level of the driving skill of the driver in association with each other.
In the present embodiment, image information indicating an image of the driver is exemplified as the driver information for specifying the driver.
In FIG. 3, driver identification information “driver α” for identifying the driver, image information “image α”, and skill level “1” are associated with each other. The case where the image information “image β” and the skill level “2” are associated is illustrated. Here, the driver identification information is for managing the image information and the skill level, and is generated by the control unit 31.
The image information registered in the registration unit 321 is preferably a feature amount of the driver's image extracted by image recognition.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of level registration processing executed in the parking assistance system 1.
The driver inputs a level registration command using the input unit 122.
The skill level input using the input unit 122 is transmitted from the control unit 121 to the control unit 31.
The control unit 31 determines whether or not a level registration command has been received (S11). If the level registration command has not been received (NO in S11), the process of S11 is executed again.

When the level registration command is received (YES in S11), the control unit 31 receives an input of a skill level (S12). For this purpose, the control unit 31 transmits reception control information for accepting the skill level to the control unit 121.
The control unit 121 that has received the reception control information receives the skill level via the input unit 122. At this time, the driver inputs the skill level using the input unit 122.
The skill level input using the input unit 122 is transmitted from the control unit 121 to the control unit 31.

Next, the control unit 31 determines whether or not a skill level has been received (S13), and if not yet received (NO in S13), executes the process of S13 again.
When the skill level is received (YES in S13), the control unit 31 transmits image request information for requesting the driver's image information to the in-vehicle camera 11 to the in-vehicle camera 11 (S14).
The in-vehicle camera 11 that has received the image request information images the driver with the imaging unit 111 and transmits the image information subjected to the predetermined image processing with the image processing unit 112 to the ECU 3.

Next, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the image information of the driver has been received (S15). If the image information has not been received yet (NO in S15), the process of S15 is executed again.
When image information is received (YES in S15), the control unit 31 generates driver identification information (S16), the generated driver identification information, the image information received in S15, and the skill level received in S13. Are registered in the registration unit 321 (S17), and the level registration process is terminated.

The skill level may be three or more levels.
Further, the driver identification information is not limited to that generated by the control unit 31, and may be, for example, the name of the driver input by the driver using the input unit 122.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the server 4 includes a control unit 41, a communication unit 42, and a storage unit 43.
The control unit 41 executes various processes according to the computer program. A communication unit 42 and a storage unit 43 are connected to the control unit 41. The control unit 41 communicates with a plurality of vehicles 2, 2,... Individually via the communication unit.

The storage unit 43 uses a non-volatile storage device.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of data stored in the storage unit 43.
The storage unit 43 stores destination information, parking lot information, area information, congestion information, and difficulty level information.
The destination information is information for identifying a destination such as a commercial facility or a station. FIG. 5 illustrates destination information “commercial facilities” and “station”.

  The parking lot information is information for identifying the parking lot 5 (see FIG. 2). FIG. 5 illustrates parking lot information “parking lot X”, “parking lot Y”,. The parking lot information indicating the parking lot 5 in the vicinity of the destination is associated with the destination information indicating the destination.

Each part in the parking lot 5 in this embodiment is each parking area 51 in the parking lot 5 (see FIG. 2). For example, the parking area 51 is a half on the side near the destination in the flat parking lot or a half on the side far from the destination. The parking area 51 may be easily discriminable visually by the driver (for example, a blue sky parking lot portion or a covered parking lot portion of a flat parking lot, or each floor of a self-propelled multilevel parking lot). 5 may be an virtually divided area.
The area information is information for identifying the parking area 51 in the parking lot 5. FIG. 5 illustrates area information “parking area A”, “parking area B”,... The area information indicating the parking area 51 in the parking lot 5 is associated with the parking lot information indicating the parking lot 5.

  The area information indicating the parking area 51 is associated with difficulty level information indicating the parking difficulty level of the parking area 51. Parking difficulty means the difficulty or ease of parking. In the present embodiment, a case where the difficulty level is two stages of difficulty / easy is illustrated. FIG. 5 illustrates difficulty level information “difficulty” and “easy”.

  As for the parking difficulty, the parking area 51 is congested with the vehicles 2, 2,..., The route to the parking area 51 or the route in the parking area 51 is complicated, or there is no room in the area of the parking area 51 itself. Or if the parking space is slanted, or there are many obstacles (for example, pillars supporting the roof) in the parking area 51, the parking area 51 is loose, the route to the parking area 51 or parking It is low when the route in the area 51 is simple, the parking area 51 itself has a sufficient area, the parking space is flat, or the parking area 51 has few obstacles.

In this embodiment, the case where the parking difficulty level corresponds to the degree of congestion of each part in the parking lot 5 is illustrated.
The degree of congestion of each part in the parking lot 5 is, for example, the difference between the number of vehicles entering the parking area 51 and the number of vehicles leaving the parking area 51 (that is, the number of vehicles currently existing in the parking area 51. Based on the existing number). The parking area 51 is congested as the ratio of the existing number to the number of cars that can be parked in the parking area 51 (hereinafter referred to as the number of cars that can be parked) increases. The percentage of the existing number of cars that can be parked is called the congestion rate below.
The area information indicating the parking area 51 is associated with congestion information indicating the congestion rate of the parking area 51. FIG. 5 illustrates congestion information “a%”, “b%”,.

The control unit 41 calculates the congestion rate and the parking difficulty level. For this purpose, the number of parking available parking areas 51 is written in advance in the storage unit 43 in association with the area information of each parking area 51 (not shown).
Further, for example, a proximity sensor for detecting the passing of the vehicle is arranged at an entrance / exit gate provided in each parking area 51, and the detection result of the proximity sensor is given to the control unit 41 via the communication unit 42. . The control unit 41 calculates the existing number based on the detection result of the proximity sensor, and calculates the congestion rate based on the existing number and the number that can be parked. Moreover, the control part 41 calculates a parking difficulty level based on a congestion rate. At this time, the control unit 41 calculates that the parking difficulty is difficult if the congestion rate is equal to or higher than the predetermined rate, and calculates that the parking difficulty is easy if the congestion rate is less than the predetermined rate. Further, the control unit 41 writes the congestion information indicating the calculated congestion rate and the difficulty level information indicating the parking difficulty level in the storage unit 43.
In FIG. 5, the congestion rate indicated by the congestion information “a%” and “c%” is less than the predetermined rate, and the congestion rate indicated by the congestion information “b%”, “d%”,. The case is shown as an example.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 31 determines an easy parking area, which will be described later, based on the parking difficulty level of each parking area 51 in the parking lot 5, but is not limited to this. You may determine an easy parking area based on the parking difficulty of the range narrower than the parking area 51 (for example, individual parking space). The easy parking area is a parking area having a parking difficulty level according to the driving skill of a beginner.
The parking difficulty level may correspond to the degree of congestion inside and outside the parking lot 5 (each part in the parking lot 5 and a roadway around the parking lot 5). In this case, probe traffic information is given to the control unit 41 via the communication unit 42. Based on the given probe traffic information, the control unit 41 obtains the degree of congestion inside and outside the parking lot 5 (and thus the degree of parking difficulty of each part inside the parking lot 5).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of parking support processing executed by the parking support system 1.
The control part 31 performs a parking assistance process, when the vehicle 2 approaches to the predetermined distance or less from the destination. For this purpose, the control unit 31 inquires of the control unit 121 of the car navigation system 12 whether or not the vehicle 2 has approached a predetermined distance or less from the destination.
Upon receiving the inquiry, the control unit 121 transmits information indicating whether or not the vehicle 2 has approached a predetermined distance or less from the destination to the control unit 31.
When the vehicle 2 approaches the destination, the control unit 31 transmits image request information to the in-vehicle camera 11 (S31).

Next, the control unit 31 determines whether image information has been received (S32). If the image information has not been received yet (NO in S32), the process of S32 is executed again. The control unit 31 that executes the processes of S31 and S32 functions as a driver acquisition unit in the embodiment of the present invention.
When the image information is received (YES in S32), the control unit 31 refers to the registration unit 321 based on the received image information (S33), and matches the received image information (that is, the driver image). Is registered in the registration unit 321 (S34).

When the driver's image is not registered (NO in S34), the control unit 31 causes the car navigation 12 to display an image or voice output for prompting the driver to register the driving skill. Information is transmitted to the control part 121 (S35), and a parking assistance process is complete | finished.
The control unit 121 that has received the registration control information controls the guidance notification unit 123 to display an image or a voice output of a word prompting the driver to register the driving skill. Next, the control unit 121 receives a level registration command at the input unit 122. As a result, the level registration process shown in FIG. 4 is executed.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the driver's image is registered (YES in S34), the control unit 31 registers the skill level registered in association with the driver's image (that is, the driver's driving skill). (High / Low) is specified (S36). When the control unit 31 executes the processes of S31 to S34, the in-vehicle camera 11 functions as a driver specifying unit for specifying the driver. Moreover, the control part 31 which performs the process of S36 functions as a skill specific | specification part in embodiment of this invention.

  Next, the control unit 31 transmits destination information to the server 4 (S37), and then determines whether or not various information including parking lot information, area information, and difficulty level information has been received (S38). . The control unit 31 that executes the processes of S37 and S38 functions as a difficulty level acquisition unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

  The destination information transmitted to the server 4 is received by the control unit 41. The control unit 41 refers to the storage unit 43 based on the received destination information, and transmits the parking lot information, area information, and difficulty level information associated with the received destination information to the ECU 3.

When various information has not been received yet (NO in S38), the control unit 31 executes the process of S38 again.
When various information is received (YES in S38), the control unit 31 determines an easy parking area based on the various information received in S38 (S39). The control unit 31 that executes the process of S39 functions as an area determination unit in the embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, since the parking difficulty level is two stages, the control unit 31 determines the parking area 51 where the parking difficulty level is easy as the easy parking area.
When the parking difficulty level is three or more, the control unit 31 may determine the parking area 51 whose parking difficulty level is equal to or lower than the predetermined difficulty level as the easy parking area.

Next, the control unit 31 determines whether or not to guide to the easy parking area based on the skill level obtained in S36 (that is, information indicating the level of the driver's driving skill) (S40). The control part 31 which performs the process of S40 functions as a necessity determination part in the embodiment of the present invention.
When the skill level is low (ie, level “1”), guidance to the easy parking area is required, and when the skill level is high (ie, level “2”), guidance to the easy parking area is not required. is there.

When it determines with the guidance to an easy parking area being required (it is YES at S40), the control part 31 transmits the guidance control information for making the car navigation 12 perform the guidance to an easy parking area to the control part 121 ( S41). The guidance control information includes information on an easy parking area that is a guidance destination. The control part 31 which performs the process of S41 functions as a guidance output part in the embodiment of the present invention.
When it determines with the guidance to an easy parking area being unnecessary (it is NO at S40), the control part 31 transmits the guidance unnecessary information which shows not guiding to an easy parking area to the control part 121 (S42).

  After the process of S41 or S42, the control unit 31 transmits notification control information for causing the car navigation 12 to notify the easy parking area and the parking difficulty level to the control unit 121 (S43), and ends the parking support process. The notification control information includes difficulty level information associated with parking areas 51, 51,. The control part 31 which performs the process of S43 functions as an area output part and difficulty output part in the embodiment of the present invention.

  The control unit 121 that has received the guidance control information and the notification control information ends the guidance to the destination when the vehicle 2 reaches the vicinity of the destination. Next, the control unit 121 notifies the parking easy area and the parking difficulty level of each parking area 51 (image display or audio output) by controlling the guidance notification unit 123 based on the received notification control information. Moreover, the control part 121 starts the guidance to an easy parking area by controlling the guidance alerting | reporting part 123 based on the received guidance control information. The notification of the easy parking area and the parking difficulty level, and the guidance to the easy parking area are finished when the vehicle 2 completes parking. That is, when the control unit 31 executes the process of S41, the guidance notification unit 123 functions as a guidance unit that guides to the parking area determined by the area determination unit. Moreover, when the control part 31 performs the process of S43, the guidance alerting | reporting part 123 functions as an alerting | reporting part in embodiment of this invention.

The notification of the easy parking area in the present embodiment is performed by image display.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an image displayed on the guidance notification unit 123.
FIG. 7 shows an image of the map 6 including a commercial facility as a destination.
The map 6 includes a destination block 61 indicating a commercial facility, area blocks 62 and 63 indicating parking areas 51 and 51 of the parking lot 5 attached to the commercial facility, a mark 64 indicating the current location of the vehicle 2, A guide arrow 65 for guiding the vehicle 2 to the easy parking area is included.

  The area blocks 62 and 63 include icons 621 and 631 indicating the parking difficulty level of the parking areas 51 and 51. FIG. 7 illustrates a case where “easy parking” is described in the icon 621 included in the area block 62 and “difficult to park” is described in the icon 631 included in the area block 63. That is, the parking area 51 corresponding to the area block 62 is an easy parking area, and the parking area 51 corresponding to the area block 63 is not an easy parking area.

A map 6 shown in FIG. 7 is presented to a beginner.
In the case of the map 6, the parking area 51, which is more difficult to park than the easy parking area, is closer to the current location of the vehicle 2. Therefore, if the notification of the easy parking area, the guidance to the easy parking area, and the notification of the parking difficulty level of each parking area 51 are not performed, the beginner is left with a nearby parking area 51 (that is, parking is difficult). May enter a large parking area 51).

However, a beginner who has visually recognized the map 6 can know in advance the easy parking area of the parking lot 5 and can drive the vehicle 2 according to the guidance to the easy parking area. It can be parked.
Since guidance by the car navigation system 12 is not compulsory, a beginner can ignore the guidance by the car navigation system 12 and park the vehicle 2 outside the easy parking area.

  On the other hand, the control part 121 which received guidance unnecessary information and alerting | reporting control information complete | finishes the guidance to a destination, when the vehicle 2 arrives at the destination vicinity. Next, the control unit 121 notifies the parking difficulty level of the easy parking area and each parking area 51 by controlling the guidance notification unit 123 based on the received notification control information. The notification of each of the easy parking area and the parking difficulty level ends when the vehicle 2 completes parking.

For example, a map similar to the map 6 shown in FIG. 7 is presented to the skilled person. However, the guide arrow 65 is not included in this map.
As a result, the skilled person can know in advance the easy parking area of the parking lot 5 and the parking area 51 other than the easy parking area (that is, the parking area 51 where the skilled person can safely park). Furthermore, the vehicle 2 can be run and parked in the parking area 51 other than the easy parking area or the parking easy area at his own judgment. Since unnecessary guidance by the car navigation system 12 is not performed, the skilled person can drive comfortably.

  The parking assistance system 1 as described above can improve the safety when parking regardless of the driving skill of the driver.

In addition, guidance or notification by the guidance notification unit 123 is not limited to image display, but may be by voice output (“Please go up the slope of the multi-level parking garage to the second floor” “Easy parking” This is the area on the east side of the parking lot.
The parking difficulty level may be obtained based on a plurality of elements (for example, the degree of congestion of each parking area 51 and the state of the parking space). In this case, the control unit 31 may notify the car navigation system 12 of the reason why the parking difficulty is high (or low) together with the parking difficulty of each part in the parking lot 5 (“parking because there are few other vehicles”). "Parking is difficult because the parking space is inclined").

When the parking difficulty level is three or more, the control unit 31 may consider only the parking area with the lowest parking difficulty level as the easy parking area, and all the parking areas below the predetermined difficulty level as the easy parking area. The configuration may be such that the car navigation system 12 is informed of that fact and the beginner is guided to an easy parking area with the lowest parking difficulty. When a plurality of parking areas are easy parking areas, the driver may be able to select a guidance destination.
In addition, when the parking difficulty level is three or more levels, the control unit 31 informs the car navigation system 12 that only a parking area with a low parking difficulty level is used by a beginner as an easy parking area, and the skilled person compares the parking difficulty levels. A configuration in which an expensive parking area is also notified as an easy parking area may be used.

Furthermore, when there is no easy parking area in the parking lot 5, the control unit 31 notifies the car navigation system 12 that there is no easy parking area (for example, “the parking lot 5 is generally crowded”). (Image display or audio output). At this time, the control unit 31 may cause the car navigation 12 to display an image or output a voice message that prompts the beginner to drive safely (for example, “Please drive carefully”).
On the other hand, when only the easy parking area exists in the parking lot 5, the control unit 31 may control the car navigation 12 to guide to the easy parking area closest to the vehicle 2, indicating that there is only the easy parking area. 12 may be informed (for example, a text saying “It is ok to park anywhere” is displayed or output as a voice) and no guidance is given even to a beginner (ie, the choice of the parking destination is left to the driver).

The driver specifying unit is not limited to the in-vehicle camera 11, and may be, for example, a portable device carried by the driver and having a wireless communication function. In this case, the registration unit 321 registers the unique information of the portable device (smart phone number or the manufacturing number of the smart key constituting the smart key system (registered trademark)) and the skill level. The driver specifying unit may be configured to specify the driver based on biological information such as a fingerprint or a voiceprint. When the driver is specified based on the fingerprint, a fingerprint reading unit may be provided in the steering.
The guidance notification unit 123 is not limited to the configuration for notifying the easy parking area and the parking difficulty level, and may notify only the easy parking area, and may notify the easy parking area and the congestion rate of each parking area 51. .

  When the parking difficulty level changes with time (for example, when there is a crowded time zone and a quiet time zone for the same parking area), the easy parking area is different for each time zone. Therefore, the difficulty level information may include information indicating a change over time in the parking difficulty level or information indicating a crowded time zone and a quiet time zone. At this time, the guidance notification unit 123 may notify the current easy parking area and may notify the easy parking area for each time zone. This is because the easy parking area is also a parking area having a departure difficulty level corresponding to the driving skill of a beginner. Therefore, the driver can select the parking area in consideration of whether or not the easy parking area at the time of parking is the easy parking area even during the scheduled time of departure.

  Furthermore, at least one of information for specifying the driver and information for obtaining the skill level of the driver is recorded on the driver's license, and a reading unit that reads the information recorded on the driver's license The structure mounted in the vehicle 2 may be sufficient. In this case, the driver is specified using the reading result of the reading unit, or the skill level of the driver is obtained.

The skill level of the driver is not limited to that based on the self-report of the driver. For example, the parking assistance system 1 may be configured to detect the number of times the vehicle 2 is turned back during parking and to register the driver as a beginner if the detection result is a predetermined number or more. Or the parking assistance system 1 considers the skill level of the driver's self-report and the skill level to be registered in consideration of information (information such as years of driving experience, age, or gender) that affects the level of driving skill. You may ask for.
The control unit 31 of the ECU 3 may be shared with the control unit 121 of the car navigation system 12.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Parking assistance system 11 Car-mounted camera 111 Imaging part 112 Image processing part 12 Car navigation system 121 Control part 122 Input part 123 Guidance alerting | reporting part (notification part)
13 On-vehicle communication device 2 Vehicle 3 ECU (on-vehicle device)
31 control part (difficulty degree acquisition part, skill specific part, area determination part, area output part, guidance output part, necessity determination part, difficulty output part, driver acquisition part)
32 storage unit 321 registration unit 4 server 41 control unit 42 communication unit 43 storage unit 5 parking lot 51 parking area 6 map 61 destination block 62, 63 area block 64 mark 65 guide arrow

Claims (7)

A difficulty level acquisition unit for acquiring difficulty level information indicating a parking difficulty level of each part in the parking lot;
A skill identifying unit that identifies the level of driving skill of the driver;
An area determining unit that determines a parking area in the parking lot based on the level of driving skill specified by the skill specifying unit and the difficulty level information acquired by the difficulty level acquiring unit;
An in-vehicle device comprising: an area output unit that outputs the parking area determined by the area determination unit.   The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, further comprising a guidance output unit that outputs guidance control information to be guided to the parking area. A necessity determining unit that determines whether or not guidance is necessary based on the level of the driving skill specified by the skill specifying unit;
The in-vehicle device according to claim 2, wherein the guidance output unit does not output the guidance control information when the necessity determination unit determines NO.   The in-vehicle device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a difficulty level output unit that outputs the difficulty level information in association with the parking area. A registration unit that associates and registers driver information for identifying a driver and the level of the driving skill of the driver;
A driver acquisition unit for acquiring driver information;
The said skill specific | specification part specifies the level of a driver | operator's driving skill by referring the said registration part based on the driver information which the said driver acquisition part acquired. The vehicle-mounted machine as described in one.   The in-vehicle device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the parking difficulty level corresponds to a degree of congestion of each part in the parking lot. The in-vehicle device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A parking support system comprising: an informing unit for informing a parking area output by the area output unit.

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