JP2019168907A - Control apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To prevent a flow of vehicle leaving via a get-on place from being stagnated, while efficiently using limited get-on positions by preventing all the get-on positions from being occupied by a vehicle for which the time required for getting-on is long, and enabling a vehicle for which the time required for getting-on is short, to smoothly leave the get-on place.SOLUTION: A control apparatus is configured to instruct a vehicle which is parked in a parking area and can be automatically driven and to move the vehicle to a get-on place. The control apparatus comprises: a get-on time estimation unit for estimating a get-on time as the time required for a user to get on a vehicle, for each vehicle on the basis of acquired information with regard to multiple vehicles in the parking area; a grouping unit for grouping the multiple vehicles in the parking area on the basis of the get-on time estimated by the get-on time estimation unit; and an allocation unit for performing an allocation for each of the groups with regard to multiple get-on positions that are determined in the parking area, on the basis of the number of vehicles for each group.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a technical field of a control device that gives instructions to a vehicle that can be automatically driven parked in a parking lot and moves it to a boarding area.

  For example, an automatic valet parking system is considered as a system related to vehicle parking assistance. The automatic valet parking system automates valet parking using automatic driving technology of vehicles. For example, the control system of a valet parking facility such as a hotel or a large commercial facility mainly controls the vehicle. It is assumed that Specifically, in the automatic valet parking system, after a vehicle stops at a predetermined getting-off place and a user as an occupant (including a driver) gets off, the vehicle is automatically driven and the required parking place (parking space) Go to and park. Then, according to establishment of a predetermined condition such as a call from the user, it can be constructed as a system in which the control device moves the vehicle from the parking lot to the predetermined boarding area by automatic driving and greets the user.

  In addition, about the related prior art, the following patent document 1 can be mentioned. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for grouping vehicles and guiding the vehicles to a parking zone corresponding to the group.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-143387

  In the automatic valet parking system, it is effective for preventing the traffic jam of the vehicle heading from the parking lot to the boarding area to be able to accommodate a plurality of vehicles at the same time. At this time, a plurality of boarding frames are set in the boarding area, the vehicle called from the parking lot is guided to the boarding frame as an empty frame, and the user's boarding is performed with the boarding frame stopped. It is possible to make it wait.

However, when vehicles entering the boarding area are concentrated in time, such as when vehicle calls from a large number of users are concentrated in time, the boarding area is congested and the user's smooth boarding is hindered. The flow of leaving the vehicle from the venue to the outside of the facility is delayed.
In particular, at this time, if many boarding frames in the boarding area are occupied by the user's vehicle that takes a long time to board, the flow of leaving the vehicle from the boarding area to the outside of the facility will be significantly delayed, and the boarding area will be congested. There is a risk of further promotion.
Or conversely, even if many boarding frames in the boarding area are occupied by a user's vehicle that takes a short time to board, there is a risk that the vehicles leaving the boarding area outside the facility may concentrate in time. There is a possibility that the number of vehicles with which the exit timing overlaps increases. In this case, if the exit timing of the vehicle is adjusted to prevent a contact accident, the exit flow of the vehicle may be delayed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and avoids occupying the entire boarding frame with a vehicle that takes a long time to get on, and allows a vehicle with a short boarding time to exit from the boarding area without delay. It is an object of the present invention to prevent the stagnation of the flow of leaving the vehicle via the boarding area while efficiently using a limited boarding frame.

  The control device according to the present invention is a control device for instructing a vehicle that can be automatically driven parked in a parking lot and moving it to a boarding place, based on acquired information about the plurality of vehicles in the parking lot, A boarding time estimation unit that estimates a boarding time as a time required for a user to ride for each vehicle, and a group that groups the plurality of vehicles in the parking lot based on the boarding time estimated by the boarding time estimation unit A dividing unit; and an allocating unit that allocates a plurality of boarding frames determined in the boarding area for each group based on the number of the vehicles for each group.

  As a result, for each group of vehicles classified based on the estimated time required for the user's boarding, the number of boarding frames to be allocated can be changed according to the number of vehicles in the group. .

  In the above-described control device according to the present invention, the vehicle has a function of measuring a door opening time, and the boarding time estimation unit estimates the boarding time based on the door opening time acquired from the vehicle. It is possible to make it the structure which carries out.

  Since the door is opened at the time of getting on and off the vehicle, the door opening time is a measure of the time required for getting on and off the vehicle.

  In the control device according to the present invention described above, the boarding time estimation unit is configured to estimate the boarding time based on the door opening time at the time of getting off which is the door opening time measured when the vehicle gets off the user. Is possible.

  Accordingly, it is possible to estimate the boarding time based on the door opening time measured when the vehicle is getting off just before parking, that is, the door opening time measured when the vehicle is getting off related to the current facility use.

  In the control device according to the present invention described above, the grouping unit may be configured to perform the grouping for the vehicles whose estimated parking time in the parking lot is a predetermined time or longer.

  As a result, the number of vehicles to be processed for grouping is reduced, and vehicles estimated to be close to the start of movement from the parking lot to the boarding area are selected as processing targets for grouping.

  In the above-described control device according to the present invention, the allocating unit performs the allocating for each group according to the number of vehicles for a part of the occupying frames, and the other of the occupying frames. A specific group may be assigned to a part of the boarding frames.

  Accordingly, a dedicated boarding frame that is assigned regardless of the number of vehicles in the group is provided for at least one group.

  In the above-described control device according to the present invention, the vehicle determines the time required for the user to get on and the time required for the user to get off, respectively, based on the door opening time measured at the time of the user's getting on and getting off in the past. The boarding time estimation unit has the function of learning, and the boarding time estimation unit calculates the boarding time based on error information between the boarding time learned by the vehicle and the time required for the boarding and the door opening time when the boarding is performed. It is possible to adopt a configuration for estimation.

  Thus, when the boarding time is estimated using the door opening time when getting off, it is possible to correct the door opening time when getting off based on the error between the learned boarding time and the getting off time.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to avoid that the entire boarding frame is occupied by a vehicle having a long time required for boarding, and to allow a vehicle having a short time required for boarding to exit from the boarding area without delay, and the limited boarding While using the frame efficiently, it is possible to prevent stagnation of the flow of leaving the vehicle via the boarding place.

It is the figure which illustrated the composition of the welcome system provided with the control device as an embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of the vehicular accessible area formed in a valet parking facility to which the greeting system of the embodiment is applied. It is the block diagram which showed the example of the internal structure of the control apparatus as embodiment. It is the block diagram which extracted and showed the electric structure which concerns on the automatic driving | operation which the vehicle used by embodiment has. It is the block diagram which showed the example of the internal structure of the portable terminal used by embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the example of the process which concerns on boarding time estimation. It is the flowchart which showed another example of the process which concerns on estimation of boarding time. It is the flowchart which showed the example of the process which concerns on the grouping of the vehicle based on estimated boarding time, and allocation of the boarding frame with respect to a group. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of allocation of the boarding frame to each group based on the number of vehicles. It is explanatory drawing about the example of a setting of an allocation fixed boarding frame. It is explanatory drawing about the other example of a setting of an allocation fixed boarding frame.

<1. Configuration of the welcome system>
Hereinafter, a control device 1 as an embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a greeting system (hereinafter referred to as “greeting system of an embodiment”) provided with a control device 1 as an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a valet parking system to which the greeting system is applied. (Valet Parking) It is a schematic diagram of the vehicle passable area | region Aa formed in the corresponding | compatible facility.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, the greeting system according to the embodiment includes a control device 1, a plurality of vehicles 2, a plurality of portable terminals 3, and a network 4. The network 4 is a communication network such as the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network), for example, and the control device 1 can communicate with each of the vehicle 2 and the mobile terminal 3 via the network 4. ing. In this example, it is possible to perform communication via the network 4 between the vehicle 2 and the mobile terminal 3.

  The control device 1 is a computer device managed at a valet parking facility. The vehicle 2 is a vehicle used by a user as a user of a valet parking facility, and the portable terminal 3 is a portable computer device used by the user.

As shown in FIG. 2, a parking lot Ap and a boarding place Ab are formed in the vehicle-accessible area Aa of the valet parking facility. The parking lot Ap and the boarding place Ab are connected by a passage through which the vehicle 2 can pass, and the vehicle 2 can move between the parking lot Ap and the boarding place Ab.
Although not shown, the parking lot Ap is provided with a plurality of parking frames, and a plurality of vehicles 2 can be parked. Boarding place Ab is provided as a place for passengers to board the vehicle 2, and in this example, a plurality of vehicles can be accommodated. As illustrated, a plurality of boarding frames Sb are provided in the boarding place Ab. Each boarding frame Sb is a frame that defines a stop position when the vehicle 2 waits for a user as an occupant to ride. For example, as illustrated in the drawing, the boarding frame Sb is a frame defined by a white line or the like.

  In the boarding place Ab, a gate having an opening / closing bar, for example, can be provided at the entrance of the vehicle 2 from the parking lot Ap side.

In the automatic valet parking system assumed in this example, a vehicle having an automatic driving function is used as the vehicle 2. An occupant of the vehicle 2 gets on the predetermined getting-off place provided in the valet parking facility (both manual operation and automatic operation). After arriving at the getting-off place and the user as an occupant (including the driver) getting off, the vehicle 2 is, for example, a parking instruction from the user (for example, an operation input to the vehicle 2 or an input to the vehicle 2 via the portable terminal 3) In response to instructions, etc., the vehicle moves to the parking lot Ap by automatic driving and performs parking.
At this time, the control apparatus 1 manages the information of the empty parking frame in the parking lot Ap, and instructs the vehicle 2 moving from the getting-off hall to the parking lot Ap as described above to park in the empty parking frame. For example, a parking frame identifier is assigned to the parking frame in a form that allows the vehicle 2 to be identified (for example, a parking frame number is written for each parking frame), and the control device 1 uses the identifier to vacate each parking frame. When the vehicle 2 receives a parking frame identifier for an empty parking frame from the control device 1, the vehicle 2 parks the parking frame specified by the parking frame identifier by an automatic driving function.

In the automatic valet parking system of this example, the user operates the mobile terminal 3 to instruct the control device 1 to call the vehicle 2 parked at the parking lot Ap (call to the boarding place Ab). It is possible to do.
Upon receiving this call instruction, the control device 1 instructs the corresponding vehicle 2 to move to the boarding place Ab and greets the user at the boarding place Ab. At this time, the control device 1 manages the vacant state of the boarding frame Sb in the boarding place Ab, and the vehicle 2 that has been called is used as a boarding frame Sb (hereinafter also referred to as “empty boarding frame”). Induce.

  The present embodiment is characterized in that the vehicle 2 parked in the parking lot Ap as described above is moved to the boarding location Ab in response to a call instruction from the user (that is, the portion of the welcome system). Is a part for determining in advance to which boarding frame Sb the called vehicle 2 should be guided, that is, a part for assigning the boarding frame Sb to the vehicle 2 parked in the parking lot Ap. It has the characteristics. The details of the processing for assigning the boarding frame Sb as an embodiment will be described again.

  In the greeting system of the embodiment, the number of the vehicles 2 and the portable terminals 3 can be changed according to the number of system users, and can be singular.

<2. Configuration of each device>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the control device 1.
As shown in the figure, the control device 1 includes a control unit 11, a communication unit 12, and a storage unit 13. The control unit 11 includes a microcomputer having, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the CPU executes processing based on a program stored in the ROM. Thus, the required operation of the control device 1 is realized.

The communication unit 12 transmits / receives data to / from an external device (particularly, the vehicle 2 and the portable terminal 3 in the present embodiment) via the network 4 based on an instruction from the control unit 11. The control unit 11 can perform data communication with an external device via the communication unit 12.
The connection between the communication unit 12 and the network 4 may be either wired or wireless.

  The storage unit 13 includes a storage device such as a flash memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and is used by the control unit 11 to store various data. The storage unit 13 can store various data necessary for control of the vehicle 2, such as data on an empty parking frame and data on an empty boarding frame in the parking lot Ap described above.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram excerpting and showing an electrical configuration related to the automatic driving of the vehicle 2.
The vehicle 2 of this example includes an automatic driving control unit 21, a camera unit 22, an automatic driving control unit 23, a communication unit 24, a current position detection unit 25, a door sensor 26, and a seat sensor 27.

The automatic driving control unit 21 includes a microcomputer having a CPU and a memory (storage device) such as a ROM and a RAM, and performs control for realizing the automatic driving function of the vehicle 2. The automatic driving function here automatically moves to a designated position such as at least the above-mentioned getting-off place, parking lot Ap, boarding place Ab (boarding frame Sb), or automatically in the parking frame of the parking lot Ap. It is supposed to be a function to park at.
The automatic operation control 21 can acquire current position information by a current position detection unit 25 (for example, a GNSS sensor (GNSS: Global Navigation Satellite System)) that detects the current position of the vehicle 2 and Map information is stored in the memory, and various controls for automatic driving are performed based on current position information and map information, and images captured by one or more cameras included in the camera unit 22. The camera included in the camera unit 22 includes: The automatic driving control unit 21 performs image analysis on the captured image of the camera included in the camera unit 22 by the image processing unit 21a that the self-driving control unit 21 has, and recognizes an environment outside the vehicle. Detection, recognition of the detected object, etc. are performed to recognize the environment outside the vehicle, and the automatic operation control unit 21 recognizes the recognition result of such an environment outside the vehicle, and Based on the current position information and map information described above, automatic operation is realized by giving various instructions to the automatic operation drive control unit 23.

The automatic driving control unit 23 is a steering control ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that performs driving control of a steering actuator (for example, an actuator provided such that a steering angle can be changed, such as a power steering motor), and driving control of an actuator related to a vehicle propulsion device. Vehicle propulsion control ECU that performs brakes, brake control ECU that performs drive control of brake-related actuators (for example, hydraulic pressure control actuators for controlling hydraulic pressure output from the brake booster to the master cylinder and hydraulic pressure in the brake fluid piping), transmission It is a comprehensive representation of a mission control ECU that performs drive control of related actuators (actuators for performing shifting and forward / reverse switching).
As the vehicle propulsion device-related actuator, for example, when the vehicle 2 is an engine vehicle, various actuators related to engine driving such as a throttle actuator that drives a throttle valve and an injector that performs fuel injection correspond, and the vehicle 2 is an electric vehicle. In this case, a traveling motor or the like is applicable.

The automatic driving control unit 21 instructs the automatic driving control unit 23 on the steering amount and the vehicle propulsion instructions such as the accelerator opening based on the recognition result of the outside environment, the current position information of the vehicle 2, and the map information. Then, automatic operation is realized by instructing on / off of the brake and instructing forward / reverse of the vehicle 2.
Note that the specific method of the automatic operation control is not directly related to the present invention, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

A communication unit 24 is connected to the automatic operation control unit 21. The communication unit 24 transmits / receives data to / from external devices (particularly, the control device 1 and the mobile terminal 3 in the present embodiment) via the network 4. The automatic operation control unit 21 can perform data communication with an external device via the communication unit 24.
In this example, the connection between the communication unit 24 and the network 4 is a wireless connection, but a wired connection is also possible.

Further, a door sensor 26 and a seat sensor 27 are connected to the automatic driving control unit 21.
The door sensor 26 comprehensively represents a device that performs sensing related to each door provided in the vehicle 2. The door sensor 26 of this example is configured to be able to detect at least the open / closed state of each door.
The seat sensor 27 comprehensively represents a device that performs sensing related to each seat provided in the vehicle 2 (for example, each seat such as a driver seat and a passenger seat). The seat sensor 27 in the present example is configured to be able to detect at least whether a passenger is seated on the seat and whether a child seat is attached.
It is also possible to detect whether a passenger is seated on the seat or whether a child seat is attached by providing a camera that captures the interior of the vehicle and analyzing the captured image of the camera.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of the mobile terminal 3.
The mobile terminal 3 can be configured as a portable information processing terminal such as a mobile phone (smart phone or the like) or a tablet terminal.
The mobile terminal 3 includes a control unit 31, a communication unit 32, a storage unit 33, an operation unit 34, an output unit 35, and a current position detection unit 36.
The control unit 31 includes, for example, a microcomputer having a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU executes a process based on a program stored in the ROM, thereby realizing a required operation of the mobile terminal 3.

The communication unit 32 transmits and receives data to and from external devices (particularly, the control device 1 and the vehicle 2 in the present embodiment) via the network 4 based on an instruction from the control unit 31. Data communication can be performed with an external device via the unit 32.
In this example, the connection between the communication unit 32 and the network 4 is a wireless connection, but a wired connection is also possible.

The storage unit 33 includes a storage device such as a flash memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and is used by the control unit 31 to store various data.
The operation unit 34 has various operators provided in the mobile terminal 3 and outputs operation information corresponding to the operation to the control unit 31. Examples of the operator in the operation unit 34 include various buttons and a touch panel.

The output unit 35 comprehensively represents devices for outputting various kinds of information to the user, such as various display devices such as a liquid crystal display and an organic EL (electro-luminescence) display provided in the mobile terminal 3 and speakers. Is.
The output unit 35 outputs various information (screen display and sound output) based on an instruction from the control unit 31.

  The current position detection unit 36 includes a GNSS sensor, for example, and detects the current position of the mobile terminal 3. The control unit 31 can acquire the current position information detected by the current position detection unit 36.

Here, in the mobile terminal 3 of this example, the application for the welcome system (application program) is stored in a storage device that can be read by the control unit 31 such as the storage unit 33, for example.
This application for the welcome system realizes a function of providing a user with a call operation screen for performing a call operation of the vehicle 2.
In this example, when calling the user's own vehicle 2 in the parking lot Ap to the boarding place Ab, the user activates the application system for the welcome system and performs a predetermined operation on the call operation screen provided by the application.

In addition, although explanation by illustration is omitted, the mobile terminal 3 in this example has a payment function (settlement function) of purchase price by electronic money, and the purchase price has been paid by electronic money by this function. Accordingly, the control unit 31 can transmit information representing the purchase price (purchase amount) to the control device 1 (control unit 11) via the communication unit 32.
The processing performed by the control device 1 based on such purchase price information will be described later.

<3. About the method of identifying the vehicle to be called>
Here, in the greeting system of the embodiment, when the control device 1 receives a call from the user (mobile terminal 3), the control device 1 selects the vehicle 2 of the user who made the call from the vehicles 2 in the parking lot Ap. Then, the vehicle 2 is instructed to move to the boarding place Ab.
For this reason, the control apparatus 1 (control part 11) needs to grasp | ascertain the correspondence of a user and the vehicle 2. FIG. Various methods for grasping this are conceivable and not limited to a specific method, but an example is shown below.

First, the vehicle 2 (the automatic driving control unit 21) notifies the control device 1 of arrival in response to arrival at the getting-off place. At this time, the vehicle 2 notifies the control device 1 of predetermined vehicle information (hereinafter referred to as “vehicle identification information”) such as its own body number that can uniquely identify the vehicle 2. Thereby, the control apparatus 1 becomes possible [grasping | ascertaining vehicle identification information] about each vehicle 2 which moved from the alighting place and was parked in the parking frame of the parking lot Ap.
On the other hand, the user is allowed to set the vehicle identification information of his / her vehicle 2 for the application, for example, as an initial setting of the above-described greeting system application. When the vehicle 2 is called, the greeting system application transmits the set vehicle identification information to the control device 1 side together with the call instruction information.
Thereby, when the vehicle 2 is called, the control device 1 can specify the vehicle 2 to be called based on the vehicle identification information.

<4. Boarding frame assignment processing as an embodiment>
Hereinafter, the boarding frame assignment process as an embodiment executed by the control device 1 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 to 8.
As an outline of the processing, first, based on acquisition information about a plurality of vehicles 2 in the parking lot Ap (in this example, using “time required for getting off” measured by the vehicle 2 at the getting-off place as described later), For each vehicle 2, the boarding time as the time required for the user to board is estimated.
And based on the estimated boarding time, the some vehicle 2 in the parking lot Ap is divided into groups. For example, the vehicles 2 are grouped into groups of “long”, “normal”, and “short”. Then, based on the number of vehicles 2 for each group, allocation for each group is performed for a plurality of boarding frames Sb defined in the boarding place Ab.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing related to estimation of the boarding time. 6 and FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are executed by the control unit 11 (CPU) in the control device 1 based on a program stored in a ROM or the like.
In the present embodiment, the process shown in FIG. 6 is a process that is repeatedly executed a plurality of times on the time axis, such as being repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle (the same applies to the process of FIG. 7 described later).

  In FIG. 6, the control part 11 waits for reception of the arrival notification to alighting place in step S101. That is, as described above, the vehicle 2 waits for the notification received from the control device 1 in response to arrival at the getting-off place.

  When the arrival notification is received, the control unit 11 proceeds to step S102 and instructs the arrival vehicle to measure the time To required for getting off the vehicle. That is, the measurement instruction of the time To required for the user as an occupant to get off the vehicle 2 (automatic operation control unit 21) that has made the arrival notification in step S101.

  In this example, the time To required for getting off is measured as the time from when the first door is opened to when the last door is closed after arrival at the getting-off place. This corresponds to measuring the door opening time when getting off at the getting-off place. The automatic operation control unit 21 performs detection when the door is opened and when the door is closed based on the detection signal of the door sensor 26. In addition, when the last door is closed, for example, it is detected as the time when the door closest to the movement start timing from the getting-off place to the parking lot Ap is closed.

  In step S103 following step S102, the control unit 11 inquires of the vehicle 2 whether or not the child seat is attached as inquiry processing for the presence or absence of the child seat.

  In response to the inquiry, the automatic driving control unit 21 determines the presence / absence of a seat with a child seat based on the detection signal of the seat sensor 27, and controls a notification indicating that the child seat is installed when the corresponding seat exists. To the unit 11.

  Subsequently, the control part 11 waits for the movement start to the parking lot Ap by step S104. That is, this is a process of waiting until the vehicle 2 that has made the arrival notification in step S101 starts moving to the parking lot Ap.

In response to the start of movement of the vehicle 2 to the parking lot Ap, the control unit 11 obtains the measurement result of the time To required for getting off from the vehicle 2 in step S105, and in the subsequent step S106, determines whether there is a child seat. That is, it is determined whether or not there is a notification indicating that the above-described child seat is attached.
When it is determined that there is no child seat and there is no child seat, the control unit 11 performs the process of setting the estimated boarding time Trs to the time To required for getting off in step S107, and ends the series of processes shown in FIG.
On the other hand, if the notification is present and it is determined that there is a child seat, the control unit 11 performs a process of setting the estimated boarding time Trs as “time To get off + predetermined value C” in step S108, and a series of processes shown in FIG. Finish.

Here, the estimated boarding time Trs is an estimated value of the time required for the user of the vehicle 2 to board the boarding place Ab. As described above, for the estimated boarding time Trs, basically, the time To required for getting off the vehicle 2 at the getting-off place is applied and the child seat is attached, that is, an element that takes time to get on (to get off) In the case where there is an element in which the time required for boarding is longer than the time required), the time is obtained as a time obtained by adding a predetermined offset value (predetermined value C) to the time To required for getting off (that is, a corrected time).
As a result, it is possible to obtain an appropriate estimated boarding time Trs according to actual boarding conditions, and to improve the estimation accuracy of the time required for the user to board.

In the above description, the child seat is illustrated as an example of an element that extends the time required for getting on the vehicle more than the time required to get off, but various elements can be considered for the extended element.
For example, if the amount of baggage that a user scheduled to board is large or the size of the baggage is large due to purchase of goods at the facility, the time required for boarding will be longer than the time required for getting off Is assumed. Therefore, the offset value (predetermined value C) with respect to the estimated boarding time Trs can be made variable based on the amount and size of the user's luggage.

As an example, a method for estimating the amount and size of the luggage that the user has from the amount and size of the purchased item will be described.
For example, the amount and size of the purchased item can be estimated based on the type of store where the item is purchased and information on the purchase price at that store. In this example, the mobile terminal 3 has the electronic money settlement function as described above, and the purchase amount information is estimated from the electronic money settlement amount information.
That is, the mobile terminal 3 in this case transmits information on the payment amount to the control device 1 when electronic money payment is performed.
The control device 1 acquires and estimates the location information of the mobile terminal 3 at the time of product purchase (at the time of electronic money settlement) for the type of store where the product is purchased. The control device 1 holds, for each user, information on the type of store where the product was purchased and the settlement amount (purchase amount) at the store as purchase management information, and the user's purchase item based on the purchase management information A value correlated with the amount and size of the image is calculated as a “quantity size correlation value”. This quantity-size correlation value is basically calculated so that the value increases when there is a purchase at a store that handles a large product, and the value increases as the purchase price increases. calculate.
The control device 1 increases the predetermined value C as the quantity size correlation value calculated in this way increases. Thereby, it is possible to obtain an appropriate estimated boarding time Trs according to the size of the amount of luggage to be held by the user.

The predetermined value C can also be made variable according to the occupant configuration of the vehicle 2. For example, when a child is included in the occupant, the predetermined value C is increased so that the time required for boarding is prolonged. Whether or not a child is included in the occupant can be determined based on, for example, a result of analyzing a captured image of a camera (in-vehicle camera) that captures the interior of the vehicle in the vehicle 2.
Alternatively, the predetermined value C may be increased as the number of passengers increases. As the number of passengers of the vehicle 2, information on the number of seated passengers (for example, the number of seated passengers upon arrival at the getting-off place) is acquired from the vehicle 2. Whether a passenger is seated in the vehicle 2 can be detected based on, for example, a detection signal from the seat sensor 27 or a captured image of the above-mentioned in-vehicle camera.

  Here, the estimated boarding time Trs can also be calculated using the “time required for normal boarding” and the “time required for normal boarding” of the user obtained by learning on the vehicle 2 side. Here, “time required for normal boarding” and “time required for normal boarding” mean time normally required by the user to get on the vehicle 2 and get off from the vehicle 2, respectively. It is obtained by learning from a plurality of samples of a user's “time required for getting on” and “time required for getting off”. Specifically, in this example, the average values of the plurality of samples are obtained as “time required for normal boarding” and “time required for normal getting off”, respectively.

In the vehicle 2 of this example, the automatic operation control unit 21 measures and holds the “time required for boarding” of the user at the boarding place when using the valet parking facility. In this example, the “time required for boarding” is also calculated as the time from when the first door is opened to when the last door is closed. By using the valet parking facility a plurality of times, the vehicle 2 holds a plurality of sample values of “time required for boarding” in the past. In addition, as a valet parking corresponding facility said here, it is not limited to only one facility being targeted, and a plurality of facilities may be targeted.
In addition, the “time required for getting off” is measured by the vehicle 2 as the above-described time To, and a plurality of sample values are obtained as the “time required for getting off” by using the valet parking facility multiple times. Is retained.
The automatic operation control unit 21 calculates an average value for each of the sample values of “time required for getting on” and “time required for getting off” held in this manner, and calculates “time required for normal getting on” and “normally getting off”. It takes as "time required"

  It should be noted that “time required for normal boarding” and “time required for normal boarding” can be used differently for the calculation of the estimated boarding time Trs by learning different values for each predetermined condition such as every day of the week.

Processing when the estimated boarding time Trs is calculated using the error information (error time ΔT) between the “time required for normal boarding” and the “time required for normal boarding” learned on the vehicle 2 side as described above Will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
In FIG. 7, the difference from the process of FIG. 6 is that the process of step S201 is executed instead of step S103, and the process of step S202 is executed instead of the processes of steps S106 to S108. .

In step S201, the control unit 11 obtains an error time ΔT between the “time required for normal boarding” and the “time required for normal getting off”. Specifically, “the time required for normal boarding” and “the time required for normal getting off” are acquired from the vehicle 2, and the difference between them is calculated and acquired as an error time ΔT. In this example, the error time ΔT is calculated as a value obtained by subtracting “time required for normal getting off” from “time required for normal getting on”.
Note that the error time ΔT may be obtained on the vehicle 2 side.

  Moreover, the control part 11 performs the calculation process of estimated boarding time Trs by step S202. That is, the control unit 11 obtains the estimated boarding time Trs by correcting the “time To get off” acquired in step S105 by the error time ΔT. Specifically, an error time ΔT is added to the “time To required for getting off” to obtain an estimated boarding time Trs.

  As described above, according to the method of obtaining the estimated boarding time Trs by correcting the time To required for getting off based on the error time ΔT, the boarding time is appropriately set based on the error between the boarding time and the boarding time normally required by the user. Therefore, it is possible to improve the estimation accuracy of the boarding time.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of processing related to grouping of the vehicles 2 based on the estimated boarding time Trs and assignment of the boarding frame Sb to the groups.
The process shown in FIG. 8 is a process that is repeatedly executed a plurality of times on the time axis, such as being repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle, for example, similarly to the process shown in FIG.

First, in step S301, the control unit 11 specifies a vehicle 2 having an estimated parking time Tps of a certain time or more as a target vehicle. Here, the estimated parking time Tps means an estimated value of the parking time in the parking lot Ap of the vehicle 2. The parking time here means an elapsed time from the parking start time of the vehicle 2. For example, when the vehicle 2 enters the parking lot Ap, when the vehicle 2 first stops after entering the parking lot Ap, or when the designated parking frame is parked, the parking start of the vehicle 2 is started. A time point that can be regarded as a time point may be used. Specifically, as the parking start time, for example, from the time of entering the parking lot Ap to the time of parking in the designated parking frame (for example, when the gear is first put into parking after entering the parking lot Ap). Any point in time can be set.
In this example, the estimated parking time Tps is measured as the parking start time = the time when the vehicle 2 enters the parking lot Ap. Specifically, after the vehicle 2 starts moving from the getting-off place to the parking lot Ap, the control unit 11 determines the entry timing of the vehicle 2 to the parking lot Ap, and determines the elapsed time from the entry timing. This is measured as the estimated parking time Tps of the vehicle 2. The determination of the entry timing of the vehicle 2 to the parking lot Ap is performed, for example, by detecting the entry to the parking lot Ap from the current position information and the recognition result of the outside environment on the vehicle 2 side and notifying the control device 1 side. In addition, the control unit 11 can perform a method such as specifying the timing at which the notification is performed as the entry timing to the parking lot Ap. Alternatively, there are various specific methods for determining the entry timing to the parking lot Ap, such as determining the entry timing to the parking lot Ap based on the result of monitoring the current position information of the vehicle 2, and a specific method It is not limited to.
The estimated parking time Tps may be obtained by measuring on the vehicle 2 side.

  In step S301, the control unit 11 acquires the estimated parking time Tps as described above for each vehicle 2 in the parking lot Ap, and identifies the vehicle 2 having the estimated parking time Tps of a certain time or more as the target vehicle.

In subsequent step S302, the control unit 11 performs grouping on the target vehicle based on the estimated boarding time Trs. As this grouping process, in this example, the target vehicle is classified into one of three groups of “long”, “short”, and “normal”. Specifically, a threshold value TH1 and a threshold value THs (THl> THs) are set as threshold values for the estimated boarding time Trs in the control unit 11 of this example, and the vehicle 2 in which the value of the estimated boarding time Trs is smaller than the threshold value THs. Are classified into the “short” group, the vehicles 2 whose estimated boarding time Trs is greater than or equal to the threshold THs and less than or equal to the threshold TH1 are classified as “normal” groups, and the vehicles 2 whose estimated boarding time Trs is greater than the threshold TH1 are classified into “slow” groups. .
The number of groups is not limited to three, but can be two or four or more. Further, the grouping method is not limited to the above-described method of dividing by the threshold value, and may be performed by other methods such as grouping in consideration of the distribution degree of the estimated boarding time Trs.

  Next, in step S303, the control unit 11 calculates the vehicle number ratio for each group. That is, for each group, a value obtained by dividing the number of vehicles by the number of target vehicles (in this example, a percentage value) is calculated as the vehicle number ratio.

  In subsequent step S303, the control unit 11 performs a process of allocating the boarding frame Sb for each group based on the vehicle number ratio, and ends the series of processes shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example of assignment of the boarding frame Sb to each group based on the number of vehicles.
For example, as shown in FIG. 9A, it is assumed that the number of vehicles in the groups of “short”, “normal”, and “long” is 30%, 50%, and 20%.
FIG. 9B shows an example of assignment when the number of boarding frames Sb = 10. However, when the breakdown is as shown in FIG. 9A, assignment is made to each group of “short”, “normal”, and “long” as shown. The number of the boarding frames Sb is “3”, “5”, and “3”.

  Thus, in this example, the number of boarding frames Sb to be assigned to each group is determined based on the number of vehicles belonging to the group for all boarding frames Sb in the boarding place Ab. Specifically, the number of boarding frames Sb to be allocated is changed according to the number of vehicles in the group, and more specifically, the ratio of the number of boarding frames to be allocated is Allocation is performed so as to match the ratio of the number of vehicles for each.

By performing the assignment as described above, it is possible to prevent the entire boarding frame Sb from being occupied by the vehicle 2 having a long time required for boarding. At the same time, it is possible to leave the vehicle 2 with a short time required for boarding from the boarding station Ab without delay.
Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a stagnation in the flow of leaving the vehicle 2 via the boarding place Ab while efficiently using the limited boarding frame Sb in the boarding place Ab.

Further, it is possible to prevent the boarding frame Sb from being occupied by the vehicle 2 that takes a long time to ride (hereinafter also referred to as “vehicle 2 having a long boarding time”), so that the vehicle 2 ( Hereinafter, it is possible to prevent the user of “vehicle 2 having a short boarding time” from waiting at the boarding place Ab.
When the boarding frame Sb is occupied by the vehicle 2 with a long boarding time, the user 2 who arrives at the boarding place Ab trying to board the vehicle 2 with a long boarding time arrives at the same boarding station Ab. There is a possibility that the presence of the user of the vehicle 2 waiting for a short ride time may become a psychological burden. By preventing the boarding frame Sb from being occupied by the vehicle 2 having a long boarding time as described above, it is possible to prevent such a psychological burden from being given to the user of the vehicle 2 having a long boarding time. Can be achieved.

  In addition, although description by illustration is abbreviate | omitted, when the user calls the vehicle 2, the control part 11 specifies boarding frame Sb allocated to the group to which this vehicle 2 belongs, and specified boarding frame Sb. A process for guiding the vehicle 2 to an empty boarding frame is executed.

Here, in the above, an example is given in which the boarding frames Sb are allocated according to the number of vehicles in each group for all the boarding frames Sb in the boarding station Ab. It can also be limited to Sb.
For example, for a specific group, a boarding frame Sb (hereinafter referred to as “assignment fixed boarding frame”) that must be assigned to the group is determined, and the boarding frame Sb excluding the fixed boarding boarding frame is subject to the number of vehicles. It is also possible to assign the boarding frame Sb to each group.

A specific example will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 10 shows an example in which an assigned fixed boarding frame (boarding frame Sb surrounded by a broken line in the figure) is set only for a group having a long boarding time.
If the number of vehicles 2 belonging to the group having a long boarding time is small and the number of boarding slots allocated according to the number of vehicles is reduced, the boarding frame Sb of the group having a long boarding time is congested. There is a concern that the user will wait for a long time. As described above, by providing a fixed fixed boarding frame dedicated to a group having a long ride time, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of such a traffic jam and to prevent the occurrence of a situation in which the user is excessively waited. .

FIG. 11 shows an example in which fixed fixed boarding frames are set for each group.
In this case, the number of fixed fixed boarding frames may be the same for each group as shown in the figure, or the number of frames may differ among at least some groups, for example, a different number for each group. May be.
The group in which the fixed fixed boarding frame is set is arbitrary, and may be set for all groups as shown in FIG. 11 or may be set only for some groups as shown in FIG.

<5. Modification>
In the above description, an example of using the “time To get off” actually measured by the vehicle 2 when acquiring the estimated boarding time Trs has been described, but various methods for acquiring the estimated boarding time Trs are conceivable.
For example, the “time required for normal boarding” stored in the vehicle 2 can be acquired as the estimated boarding time Trs. Alternatively, the “time required for normal riding” is corrected based on factors that can influence the riding time, such as the use of a child seat, the occupant configuration, the amount size of the user's purchased items, etc., and the corrected time is estimated It can also be acquired as time Trs.
As another method, a common (fixed) boarding time (time required for boarding) is defined for all the vehicles 2, and the boarding time is determined based on whether or not a child seat is used, the occupant configuration, and the user's purchased product. It is also possible to perform correction based on the amount size of the vehicle and acquire the corrected time as the estimated boarding time Trs.

In the example using the common boarding time, in the case of adopting a method of correcting the common boarding time based on the quantity size of the purchased item of the user, the control unit 11 may, for example, set a common boarding time set in advance. The estimated boarding time Trs is acquired based on the amount size correlation value obtained from the information such as the electronic money settlement amount acquired from the user's mobile terminal 3. That is, in this case, it is not necessary for the control unit 11 to acquire information from the vehicle 2 when acquiring the estimated boarding time Trs.
At this time, since the information such as the electronic money settlement amount used for obtaining the estimated boarding time Trs (that is, information relating to the user's purchase item) is information relating to the user who is the user of the vehicle 2, It corresponds to an aspect of “information”.
Thus, the estimation of the time required for boarding may be performed based on the acquired information about the vehicle.

Further, in the above description, the example in which the number of boarding frames Sb to be assigned to each group can be appropriately changed according to the number of vehicles in the group is given, but instead, a plurality of boarding frames Sb each having a different number of boarding frames Sb. It is also possible to adopt a method in which a boarding frame portion is defined and a boarding frame portion having a larger number of boarding frames Sb is allocated to a group having a larger number of vehicles. As a specific example, the first boarding frame part having the largest number of boarding frames Sb, the second boarding frame part having the largest number of boarding frames Sb, and the third boarding frame part having the smallest number of boarding frames Sb are set. In addition, for each group of “short”, “normal” and “long”, the group with the largest number of vehicles has the first boarding frame part, the group with the largest number of vehicles has the second boarding frame part, and the group with the largest number of vehicles. A plurality of boarding frame parts in which the number of boarding frames Sb is fixed are determined such that the third boarding frame part is allocated to a small number of groups, and the number of frames corresponding to the number of vehicles is determined for each group. For example, a boarding frame portion is allocated.
Also by such a method, the number of boarding frames Sb to be allocated can be changed according to the number of vehicles in the group.
The number of frames may be set to “1” for at least one boarding frame.

  Moreover, in the above, it was assumed that the greeting system of this embodiment was applied to an automatic valet parking system, and the movement of the vehicle 2 to the parking lot Ap and parking were performed by automatic driving. Also, the present invention can be suitably applied when the vehicle 2 is moved to the parking lot Ap and / or parked in the parking frame by the driver's own driving operation.

<6. Summary of Embodiment>
As described above, the control device (1) of the embodiment is a control device for instructing a vehicle (2), which can be automatically driven, parked in a parking lot and moving it to a boarding area. Boarding time estimation unit (control unit 11: refer to the processing of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7) and boarding time for estimating the boarding time as the time required for the user to get on the basis of the acquired information about the plurality of vehicles in Based on the boarding time estimated by the estimation unit, a grouping unit (control unit 11: refer to S302 in FIG. 8) for grouping a plurality of vehicles in the parking lot, and a plurality of vehicles on the platform based on the number of vehicles for each group. An allocation unit (control unit 11: refer to S303 and S304 in FIG. 8) that allocates the determined boarding frame for each group is provided.

As a result, for each group of vehicles classified based on the estimated time required for the user's boarding, the number of boarding frames to be allocated can be changed according to the number of vehicles in the group. .
Therefore, it is possible to avoid having the entire boarding frame occupied by a vehicle that takes a long time to board, and to allow a vehicle that has a short boarding time to exit from the boarding area without delay, and to efficiently use a limited boarding frame. It is possible to prevent stagnation of the flow of leaving the vehicle via the boarding place.

  In the control device of the embodiment, the vehicle has a function of measuring the door opening time, and the boarding time estimation unit estimates the boarding time based on the door opening time acquired from the vehicle.

Since the door is opened at the time of getting on and off the vehicle, the door opening time is a measure of the time required for getting on and off the vehicle.
Therefore, by estimating the boarding time based on the door opening time, it is possible to improve the estimation accuracy of the boarding time, that is, improve the grouping accuracy of the vehicles, and prevent the flow of the vehicle leaving through the boarding area from being delayed. The effect can be enhanced.

  Furthermore, in the control device according to the embodiment, the boarding time estimation unit estimates the boarding time based on the door opening time at the time of getting off which is the door opening time measured when the vehicle gets off the user.

Accordingly, it is possible to estimate the boarding time based on the door opening time measured when the vehicle is getting off just before parking, that is, the door opening time measured when the vehicle is getting off related to the current facility use.
Accordingly, it is possible to improve the estimation accuracy of the boarding time, that is, to improve the grouping accuracy of the vehicles, and to increase the effect of preventing the stagnation of the flow of leaving the vehicle via the boarding place.

  Furthermore, in the control device of the embodiment, the grouping unit performs grouping for vehicles whose estimated parking time in the parking lot is a predetermined time or longer (see S301 and S302 in FIG. 8).

As a result, the number of vehicles to be processed for grouping is reduced, and vehicles estimated to be close to the start of movement from the parking lot to the boarding area are selected as processing targets for grouping.
Therefore, the flow of leaving the vehicle through the boarding place is slowed by assigning an appropriate boarding frame in consideration of the start timing of the movement of the parked vehicle to the boarding place while reducing the processing burden related to grouping. The prevention effect can be enhanced.

  In addition, in the control device of the embodiment, the allocating unit performs allocation for each group according to the number of some boarding frames among the boarding frames, and assigns them to some of the boarding frames. Has assigned a specific group (see FIGS. 10 and 11).

Accordingly, a dedicated boarding frame that is assigned regardless of the number of vehicles in the group is provided for at least one group.
Therefore, for example, by providing a dedicated boarding frame for a group that takes a long time to ride, it is possible to prevent congestion of the boarding place by a vehicle that takes a long time to board, and by providing a boarding frame dedicated to the group, The effect of preventing the congestion at the boarding place can be improved.

  Further, in the control device of the embodiment, the vehicle learns the time required for the user to get on and the time required for the user to get off based on the door opening times measured at the time of the user's getting on and the time of getting off in the past, respectively. The boarding time estimation unit estimates boarding time based on error information between the boarding time learned by the vehicle and the time required to get off and the door opening time when the boarding is performed (see FIG. 7). ).

Thus, when the boarding time is estimated using the door opening time when getting off, it is possible to correct the door opening time when getting off based on the error between the learned boarding time and the getting off time.
Accordingly, it is possible to improve the estimation accuracy of the boarding time, that is, to improve the grouping accuracy of the vehicles, and to increase the effect of preventing the stagnation of the flow of leaving the vehicle via the boarding place.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control apparatus, 2 vehicles, 3 portable terminal, Aa, Ap parking lot, Ab boarding place, 11 control part, 21 automatic operation control part, 26 door sensor, 27 seat sensor, 25 present position detection part, 31 control part, 34 operation Section, 35 output section, 36 current position detection section

Claims (6)

A control device for instructing a vehicle that can be automatically driven parked in a parking lot and moving it to a boarding area,
A boarding time estimation unit that estimates a boarding time as a time required for the user to board for each vehicle based on acquired information about the plurality of vehicles in the parking lot;
Based on the boarding time estimated by the boarding time estimation unit, a grouping unit that groups the plurality of vehicles in the parking lot;
A control device comprising: an assigning unit that assigns each group with respect to a plurality of boarding frames determined in the boarding area based on the number of the vehicles for each group. The vehicle has a function of measuring the door opening time,
The boarding time estimation unit
The control device according to claim 1, wherein the boarding time is estimated based on the door opening time acquired from the vehicle. The boarding time estimation unit
The control device according to claim 2, wherein the boarding time is estimated based on a door opening time when getting off, which is the door opening time measured when the user gets off the vehicle. The grouping unit
The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the grouping is performed for the vehicles whose estimated parking time in the parking lot is a predetermined time or longer. The allocator is
The allocation is performed for each of the groups according to the number of vehicles for a part of the boarding frames, and the specific group is allocated to some of the boarding frames. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The vehicle has a function of learning the time required for the user to get on the vehicle and the time required for the user to get off based on the door opening time measured at the time of the user's boarding and getting off in the past,
The boarding time estimation unit
The control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the boarding time is estimated based on error information between the time required for the boarding and the time required for the boarding learned by the vehicle and the door opening time during the boarding.

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