JP4031743B2 - Parking lot control device, portable communication terminal, parking lot control method and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a parking lot control device, a portable communication terminal, a parking lot control method, and a program.

  In recent years, the management of vehicle entry / exit in a parking lot is often automatically performed using a machine. Specifically, for example, when a vehicle enters a parking lot, it is necessary to open a gate provided at the entrance of the parking lot. The user inputs a personal identification number into the operation panel that manages the gate installed in the parking lot or instructs the opening of the gate using a remote controller. Then, the machine operates to open the gate, and the user can bring the vehicle into the parking lot. The same applies when leaving the vehicle from the parking lot.

  In such mechanization of parking lots, development of technology that allows vehicles to enter and exit smoothly has been performed. For example, a technology is disclosed that uses an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) vehicle-mounted device that allows users of toll roads to settle fees while traveling non-stop on a road, and manages entry and exit at parking lots. (Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2002-140740 A JP 2002-170137 A

  In these technologies, the opening and closing of the gate can be activated by performing transmission and reception with a management system provided in the parking lot by the wireless function of the ETC on-vehicle device mounted in advance in the vehicle. Therefore, it is not necessary for the user to stop the vehicle and perform input using the operation panel. In particular, the user does not have to perform the troublesome action of having to go out of the vehicle once to input to the operation panel.

  In addition to the ETC vehicle-mounted device, a technique using a remote controller for a user to easily open and close a gate when entering and leaving a parking lot is disclosed (Patent Document 3).

JP 2000-73636 A

  Since the management device can be operated by the remote controller, the user does not have to bother to go out of the vehicle and operate like the ETC on-board unit.

  By the way, in order to operate the ETC vehicle-mounted device, electric power is required. For example, it is necessary to start the vehicle engine and supply electric power to the ETC vehicle-mounted device. However, in a mechanical parking lot (three-dimensional parking lot) or the like, a pallet on which the vehicle is placed (in this specification, the term “pallet” includes “cage” in so-called tower parking) when the vehicle is released. After operation, the gate can be opened and the vehicle engine can be started only after getting into the vehicle. Therefore, in the mechanical parking lot, it is impossible to operate the pallet or open the gate using only the ETC vehicle-mounted device when leaving the vehicle.

On the other hand, in the technology using the remote controller, it is possible to open the gate by operating the machine even if the vehicle engine is not running. Therefore, even if it is a mechanical parking lot, a vehicle can be taken out. However, the user must always have a remote controller, and if the remote controller is forgotten or lost, the vehicle cannot be taken in and out.

  The present invention has been made based on such a technical problem, and an object thereof is to provide a parking lot control device and the like that are highly convenient for the user.

For this purpose, the parking lot control device according to the present invention is a parking lot control device that controls the entry and exit of vehicles, stores user information in a user database, and in a communication unit, Communicates with a portable communication terminal via a communication program installed on the communication terminal, and in the user information processing unit, references the user database based on the entry / exit request from the portable communication terminal received by the communication unit Then, the user is authenticated, and when the user is authenticated by the control unit, the machine of the mechanical parking lot is controlled so that the vehicle can be loaded and unloaded. In this parking lot control apparatus, the user can perform a vehicle entry process to the parking lot using a portable communication terminal in which a communication program dedicated to parking lot entry / exit is installed in advance.
Here, the communication program is acquired from the outside through authentication that the user is a pre-registered parking lot user, and is installed in the portable communication terminal of the user.

In the parking lot control apparatus, the mechanical parking lot includes a plurality of pallets on which a gate and a vehicle are mounted, and the control unit can open and close the gate based on a loading / unloading request sent from the portable communication terminal.
In addition, the parking lot control apparatus can include a notification information processing unit that performs a process of sending notification information to a user registered in the user database, and a notification information database that stores the notification information.

  The portable communication terminal of the present invention is a portable communication terminal capable of communicating with a parking lot control device in a mechanical parking lot, and can be transmitted / received to / from the outside via a network in a transmission / reception unit. A communication program with the apparatus is acquired from the outside via the transmission / reception unit, the acquired communication program is stored in the data storage unit, and the machine control device is executed by the short-range communication unit when the communication program is executed based on a user instruction It is characterized by sending a loading / unloading request. The user can enter and exit the vehicle when entering the parking lot using the portable communication terminal.

  The control unit of the portable communication terminal can acquire notification information regarding the parking lot via the transmission / reception unit and / or the short-range communication unit.

  Furthermore, the parking lot control method of the present invention is a method for controlling entry / exit of a vehicle to / from a mechanical parking lot, the step of obtaining a vehicle entry / exit request from a user, and the user who has made the entry / exit request. Determining whether or not is registered in the user database in advance, and determining that the user is registered in the user database in advance, performing a process of entering and exiting the vehicle, and requesting entry and exit Sending notification information related to the parking lot to the user.

In the parking lot control method, for example, the entry / exit request is sent from an ETC on-board unit mounted on the user's vehicle, and the notification information is sent to the user's portable communication terminal.
Further, in the parking lot control method, the entry / exit request can be sent from the portable communication terminal by executing a communication program with the parking lot control device installed in the user's portable communication terminal.

  In addition, the present invention can be implemented as a program, and the program is executed on a computer to control entry / exit of vehicles in a parking lot, and is used within a predetermined range from the parking lot. A process of receiving a user ID sent from the user's portable communication terminal, and a process of determining whether or not the user of the user ID has the right to use the parking lot based on the received user ID If it is determined that there is a right to use the parking lot, processing for performing gate opening / closing control in the parking lot, processing for determining whether there is notification information to be notified to the user of the user ID, and notification information If it is determined that there is, the computer is caused to execute processing for sending notification information to the portable communication terminal.

The notification information in the program may include information that is geographically related to the parking lot and / or information that is related to the time when the user moves the vehicle into and out of the parking lot.
In addition, the program determines whether or not there is notification processing and processing for recording the state of vehicle entry / exit in the parking lot in the user database after the processing for performing gate opening / closing control of the parking lot. In the processing, it is possible to perform processing based on the state of entry / exit.

As described above, according to the present invention, when a user enters and exits a vehicle in a parking lot, the user can remotely use a portable communication terminal or the like in which a communication program dedicated to entering and exiting a parking lot is installed. There is no need to have a separate controller or the like, and it is possible to easily enter and exit and obtain high convenience.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, when entering and leaving the parking lot, information related to the parking lot can be provided to the user in a timely manner, and high convenience can be provided.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system for managing a parking lot in the first embodiment.
In the system shown in FIG. 1, a parking lot control device (machine control device) 10 that controls a mechanical parking lot (three-dimensional parking lot) 1, a management server 20 that is used by a parking lot manager, and a user possessed Mobile communication terminals 30 that can be connected to each other via a network. Moreover, the parking lot control apparatus 10 and the portable communication terminal 30 can be connected via infrared rays. In the mechanical parking lot 1 shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle that wishes to park is placed on the pallet 3 through the shutter-type gate 2 and can be stored in the mechanical parking lot 1. A person's vehicle 40 can be stored.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the parking lot control device 10 shown in FIG.
A parking lot control apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 2 includes a transmission / reception unit 11 that performs transmission / reception with the outside via a network such as the Internet, and an infrared communication unit (communication) that can perform transmission / reception with the portable communication terminal 30 using infrared rays. Part, near field communication part) 12, parking lot control part (control part) 13 for controlling the movement of the gate 2 and pallet 3 of the mechanical parking lot 1, and user information processing for performing processing for identifying the user Unit 14, a notification information processing unit 15 for processing notification information to be notified to a user, a user database (hereinafter referred to as DB) 16 for storing information such as a user ID, and notification information for storing notification information A DB 17 is provided.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the portable communication terminal 30 shown in FIG.
A portable communication terminal 30 shown in FIG. 3 is, for example, a cellular phone radio or a PDA (Personal Digital).
Assistance) and the like, and a transmission / reception unit 31 that performs transmission / reception with the outside using radio, and an infrared communication unit (communication unit, short-range communication unit) 32 that can perform transmission / reception with the parking lot control device 10 using infrared rays. An input unit 33 that receives input from the user, a display unit 34 that is configured by a liquid crystal screen or the like and displays data to the user, a control unit 35 that is configured by a CPU or the like and controls data processing, and a memory And a data storage unit 36 for storing data.
The management server 20 shown in FIG. 1 is a general server device including an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU, a storage unit such as a memory, and a transmission / reception unit that performs transmission / reception with the outside via a network. This management server 20 is used for management of a plurality of mechanical parking lots 1 by a single management server 20 when the same parking lot manager (management company, management organization) manages a plurality of mechanical parking lots 1. In addition, when a plurality of parking lot managers manage different mechanical parking lots 1, one management server 20 can be shared and used.

  In the present embodiment, the user stores the vehicle 40 in the mechanical parking lot 1, but when using the mechanical parking lot 1, the user makes a contract with an administrator of the mechanical parking lot 1, for example, a real estate agent in advance. To do. The manager of the mechanical parking lot 1 makes a contract with the user, and then notifies the user of the download destination of the predetermined communication program, the user ID, and the personal identification number. Here, the communication program is a program necessary for the user to communicate with the parking lot control apparatus 10 using infrared rays when the vehicle 40 enters and leaves the mechanical parking lot 1, and the portable communication terminal 30. It is what is executed above. The user ID and the password are different for each user. In addition, the administrator registers the issued user ID and password with the user information in the user DB 16 of the parking lot control apparatus 10 and the management server 20. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of data registered in the user DB 16. As shown in FIG. 4, as the user information, for example, a user name, a mail address (electronic mail address), and a contact address are recorded. When the same manager manages a plurality of parking lots, for example, a parking lot ID for designating a parking lot that can be used by the user can also be registered.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a flow in which the portable communication terminal 30 downloads a predetermined communication program from the management server 20.
First, the portable communication terminal 30 accesses the download destination of a predetermined communication program notified from the administrator via the network, and sends a communication program download request from the transmission / reception unit 31 (step S301). Here, the download destination is the management server 20, and can be set by specifying a URL on the Internet, for example.

  The management server 20 receives a communication program download request (step S201). Then, in order to confirm whether the request is a request by a user registered in advance, the management server 20 sends a request for a user ID to the portable communication terminal 30 (step S202).

  The portable communication terminal 30 receives a request for a user ID by the transmission / reception unit 31 (step S302). And the portable communication terminal 30 sends out user ID to the management server 20 by the transmission / reception part 31 (step S303). Here, the user ID input by the user and sent from the portable communication terminal 30 to the management server 20 is an ID in which the user is notified in advance by the administrator.

The management server 20 receives the user ID (step S203), and determines whether or not the user ID is a user registered in advance by the administrator (step S204). As described above, the administrator registers user information in the management server 20 in advance, and here the management server 20 makes a determination with reference to the user information. If it is determined that the user is a user, the management server 20 sends a communication program for communicating with the parking lot control apparatus 10 to the portable communication terminal 30 (step S205), and the process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S204 that the user is not registered in advance, the management server 20 returns to the process of step S202 again.
However, the parking lot manager only gives the user the URL (Uniform Resource L
ocators) and finally checking the user ID and the like with the parking lot control device 10, in some cases, the step of checking the user ID in the above processing (steps S 202, S 203, S 204, It is also possible to omit S302 and S303).

  The portable communication terminal 30 receives the communication program by the transmission / reception unit 31 (step S304). And the portable communication terminal 30 stores the acquired communication program in the data storage part 36 by the control part 35 (step S305), and complete | finishes this process. As described above, the portable communication terminal 30 acquires a communication program for communicating with the parking lot control device 10 that is used when the user parks the vehicle 40 in the mechanical parking lot 1.

Next, the details of the process performed when the vehicle 40 enters the mechanical parking lot 1 will be described. In addition, when leaving the vehicle 40, the same processing as that for warehousing is executed.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing in the parking lot control device 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the portable communication terminal 30 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.
First, when the portable communication terminal 30 is in an area where the infrared communication unit 12 of the parking lot control device 10 and the infrared communication unit 32 of the portable communication terminal 30 can communicate using infrared rays, more specifically, For example, when the vehicle 40 is located in front of the gate 2 of the mechanical parking lot 1 or when the vehicle 40 is moved to a position within a radius of 10 m from the gate 2, for example, based on the user's operation input, the data storage unit The communication program stored in 36 is started (step S310). Note that the communication program can be always activated when the portable communication terminal 30 is turned on. In such a case, the communication program is already activated when a predetermined operation input is made. Call the operation screen based on the communication program you are using.
Based on the execution of the communication program by the control unit 35, the portable communication terminal 30 sends the user ID to the parking lot control device 10 by the infrared communication unit 32 (step S311). The portable communication terminal 30 holds the user ID input by the user when the communication program is acquired from the management server 20, so that the user does not have to input the user ID again in step S311. It has become a thing. However, the user ID may be input by the user via the input unit 33 every time the communication program is executed.

  The parking lot control apparatus 10 receives the user ID via the infrared communication unit 12 (step S101). Then, it is determined whether or not the received user ID is a user registered in advance in the user DB 16 by the user information processing unit 14 (step S102). When it is determined that the user is registered by checking the user ID, the parking lot control apparatus 10 sends a password request to the portable communication terminal 30 via the infrared communication unit 12 (step S103). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S102 that the user is not registered, the parking lot control apparatus 10 starts the process of step S101 again.

  The portable communication terminal 30 receives the password request via the infrared communication unit 32 (step S312). Here, the portable communication terminal 30 displays a password request on the display unit 34, and controls the parking number input via the input unit 33 by the user via the infrared communication unit 32. The data is sent to the device 10 (step S313). The password entered by the user at this time is the password obtained from the administrator at the time of contract.

The parking lot control apparatus 10 receives the password via the infrared communication unit 12 (step S104). Then, it is determined whether or not the received personal identification number is that of a legitimate user registered in the user DB 16 by the user information processing unit 14 (step S105). Thus, security in user authentication is increased by confirming the user using not only the user ID but also the personal identification number. When it is determined that the user is a legitimate user because the password is correct, the parking lot control device 10 operates the machine of the mechanical parking lot 1 by the parking lot control unit 13 to perform the warehousing process (step S106). . Here, the warehousing process is, for example, a process of opening the gate 2 of the mechanical parking 1 and moving the empty pallet 3 to a position facing the gate 2 so that the vehicle 40 can be garnished. Then, when the parking lot control device 10 confirms that the vehicle 40 has entered the pallet 3 and a request for closing the gate 2 is made by an operation input of the user's portable communication terminal 30, the gate 2 is closed and the vehicle 40 is closed. Is stored in the mechanical parking lot 1. If it is determined in step S105 that the user is not an authorized user, the parking lot control apparatus 10 starts the process of step S101 again.

  When parking of the vehicle 40 into the mechanical parking lot 1 is completed, the parking lot control apparatus 10 records the warehousing information of the vehicle 40 in the user DB 16 by the user information processing unit 14 (step S107). Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the user's loading / unloading state and the pallet number of the pallet 3 that is warehousing are registered in the user DB 16. Subsequently, the parking lot control device 10 refers to the notification information DB 17 by the notification information processing unit 15 and determines whether there is notification information to be notified to the user (step S108). When it is determined that there is notification information, the user's mail address is extracted from the user DB 16, and the parking lot control device 10 sends a notification information mail from the transmission / reception unit 11 to the user's portable communication terminal 30 via the network. (Step S109), and this process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S108 that there is no notification information, the parking lot control apparatus 10 ends this process.

  Here, the notice information is a notice of equipment inspection of the mechanical parking lot 1 or the like. Such notification information is directly registered in advance in the notification information DB 17 of the parking lot control device 10 by an administrator of the mechanical parking lot 1, or received from the management server 20 via the network, and the parking lot control device 10 This information is registered in the notification information DB 17. Note that the notification information may be information geographically close to the mechanical parking lot 1 or information related in time, such as a weather forecast or road conditions in the vicinity of the mechanical parking lot 1. In addition, different information can be provided for each user by registering the notification information in the notification information DB 17 in association with the user ID. For example, when the mechanical parking lot 1 is a parking lot at the user's residence, if something reaches the user such as a circulation board, home delivery, or cleaning, the user can be informed. By knowing such notification information in the vicinity of the mechanical parking lot 1, the user can immediately execute an action based on the information. In this way, it is possible to provide information convenient for the user in terms of position or time.

  Thus, when notification information is sent out by the parking lot control apparatus 10, the portable communication terminal 30 determines whether the notification information has been received via the network (step S314). If it is determined that the notification information has been received, the portable communication terminal 30 displays the notification information on the display unit 34 (step S315), notifies the user, and ends this processing. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S314 that the notification information has not been received, the portable communication terminal 30 ends this process.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the user can bring the vehicle 40 into the mechanical parking lot 1 using the portable communication terminal 30. Therefore, when the user parks the vehicle 40 in the mechanical parking lot 1, it is not necessary to go out of the vehicle and operate the operation panel attached to the mechanical parking lot 1. For this reason, even if the weather is rainy, for example, the user does not have to feel uncomfortable when wet. In addition, since the user normally possesses the portable communication terminal 30, the user does not need to possess a remote controller or the like specializing in parking lot control and feels less troublesome.
In addition, the portable communication terminal 30 can perform entry / exit using infrared rays by using a communication program dedicated to parking lot entry / exit that has been downloaded and installed in advance. Of course, it is possible to access the parking lot control device 10 or the management server 20 via the network at the time of entering / exiting without using such a communication program and infrared rays, and to perform the same exchange as described above. There is an advantage that the parts 12 and 32 do not have to be provided,
There is a problem that communication costs are incurred for access via a network. On the other hand, if the direct communication is performed using infrared rays as described above, the communication effect is not incurred and the above effect can be received at a low cost. And when accessing via a network, even if it is not necessarily near the mechanical parking lot 1, the storage operation can be performed. For this reason, if you operate from a distance because you want to open the gate 2 early before you reach the mechanical parking lot 1 or because you want to open it, other users can enter and leave the mechanical parking lot 1 It is lost and it is not preferable for safety. However, such a problem can be avoided according to the configuration of the first embodiment in which it is necessary to directly communicate with the parking lot control device 10 from a short distance using infrared rays.

  In the first embodiment, notification information useful for the user can be notified. In particular, the user enters the vehicle 40 into the mechanical parking lot 1 with information related to the management of the mechanical parking lot 1, information about the parking time and information that is geographically or temporally related to the mechanical parking lot 1. Can be provided at the timing. By providing in this way, it can be expected that the user's attention is more attracted to the notification information than when notification is made without taking any timing into consideration. In addition, these notification information may be notified directly to the user's portable communication terminal 30 by infrared communication from the parking lot control device 10 instead of mail via the network.

  In addition, the notification information may be notified to the user from the management server 20 instead of from the parking lot control device 10. Hereinafter, as a modification of the first embodiment, a case where notification information (failure information) regarding a failure in the mechanical parking lot 1 is notified from the management server 20 to the user will be specifically described.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the management server 20 as a modification of the first embodiment. The management server 20 includes a transmission / reception unit 21 that transmits and receives to / from the outside via a network, a user information processing unit 22 that performs processing for identifying a user, and a notification information processing unit 23 that processes notification information to be notified to the user. A user DB 24 that stores information such as a user ID of the user and a notification information DB 25 that stores notification information are provided. In the case of this modification, the parking lot control device 10 does not have to include the notification information processing unit 15 and the notification information DB 17.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the processing flow of the parking lot control device 10, the management server 20, and the portable communication terminal 30 when a failure occurs in the parking lot control device 10.
First, the parking lot control apparatus 10 recognizes a failure such as an error in the machine processing (step S110). And the parking lot control apparatus 10 sends out failure information to the management server 20 via the network from the transmission / reception part 11 (step S111), and complete | finishes this process.

  The management server 20 receives failure information by the transmission / reception unit 21 via the network (step S210). Based on the failure information, the management server 20 sends the failure information by e-mail to maintenance personnel who check and repair the failure (step S211). The maintenance staff can go to the inspection and repair of the mechanical parking 1 based on the notification of the mail. At this time, the maintenance staff can be instructed not only for failure information but also for a repair method and a processing procedure for the failure location.

  Further, the management server 20 extracts, from the user DB 24, the mail address of the user who uses the mechanical parking lot 1 where the failure has occurred in the user information processing unit 22 (step S212). Then, the management server 20 sends the failure information to the user by e-mail via the network by the transmission / reception unit 21 (step S213), and ends this processing.

The portable communication terminal 30 receives the mail by the transmission / reception unit 31 via the network (step S316), displays the failure information to the user by the display unit 34 (step S317),
This process ends. In this way, the failure information of the mechanical parking lot 1 can be notified to the user at any time, which is very convenient for the user. The management server 20 can update the failure information in the notification information DB 25 at any time based on the status of inspection, maintenance, and restoration by maintenance personnel, and can also provide the user with updated failure information at any time. .

As described above, in the first embodiment, the portable communication terminal 30 performs the opening / closing operation of the gate 2 of the mechanical parking lot 1, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a gate (hereinafter referred to as a management gate 4 to prevent confusion with the gate 2) is further provided in front of the gate 2, and the pallet 3 faces the management gate 4 from the gate 2. The same configuration as that of the above embodiment can also be applied to the mechanical parking lot 1 in which the vehicle 40 is loaded and unloaded by moving the vehicle 40 on and off the pallet 3 at that position. In this case, during the warehousing process, the gate 2 of the mechanical parking lot 1 is opened, and the pallet 3 in an empty state is moved to a position between the gate 2 and the management gate 4 so that the vehicle 40 can be admitted. And when it is confirmed by the parking lot control device 10 that the vehicle 40 has entered the pallet 3, and the user goes out of the gate 2 and makes a request to close the gate 2 by operating the portable communication terminal 30, The gate 2 is closed and the vehicle 40 is stored in the mechanical parking lot 1. Thereafter, the user leaves the management gate 4 and uses the portable communication terminal 30 to close the management gate 4. At this time, by operating the portable communication terminal 30 by leaving the gate 2 and the management gate 4 simultaneously, the operation of closing the gate 2 to store the car and closing the management gate 4 can be performed simultaneously.
Such a configuration can be effectively applied to a pallet-type three-dimensional parking lot, not tower parking using a cage as the pallet 3.

  Although the parking lot is the mechanical parking lot 1 in the first embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a self-propelled parking lot (planar parking lot). Moreover, although the shutter-type gate 2 opens and closes when the vehicle 40 is stored, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a chain type or a stop bar may be used as the gate 2.

In the first embodiment, the parking lot control device 10 and the portable communication terminal 30 communicate with each other by infrared rays. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, Bluetooth, UWB (Ultra Wide Band), Zig Bee Alternatively, communication may be performed via short-range wireless such as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network). Infrared, Bluetooth, etc. are used for the parking lot control device 10 and the portable communication terminal 30.
Since the parking lot can be processed by directly communicating with each other when they are close to each other, the security is high.

In addition, in Embodiment 1, when the parking lot control apparatus 10 authenticates the user, the user ID and the personal identification number are used. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the user ID and the portable communication are used. You may authenticate only with the identification information intrinsic | native to the terminal 30 (for example, the telephone number of the portable communication terminal 30, etc.). Further, only the user ID is registered in the portable communication terminal 30, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the password is also registered in the data storage unit 36 of the portable communication terminal 30 in advance, and the communication program May be automatically transmitted. These may be set as appropriate based on a balance between security and convenience.
In addition, in a user who has contracted to use a plurality of parking lots, the user registers a plurality of IDs and passwords in the data storage unit 36 of the portable communication terminal 30 and executes the communication program. May be selected from a plurality of IDs or passwords displayed on the display unit 34 of the portable communication terminal 30 and instructed for processing.

In the first embodiment, the download source of the communication program is the management server 20, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, even a general program download site on the Internet contracted by the administrator may be used. Good. Further, it may be provided by being attached to an email by an administrator or the like.

  Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the notification information is notified to the portable communication terminal 30 when the user's vehicle 40 is loaded or unloaded, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the portable communication terminal 30 The communication program stored in the data storage unit 36 may periodically inquire the parking lot control device 10 or the management server 20 via a network. In addition, notification information can also be acquired from the parking lot control apparatus 10 or the management server 20 using the portable communication terminal 30 by the user's own notification information acquisition process.

Embodiment 2
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a system for controlling a parking lot in the second embodiment.
In the system shown in FIG. 10, a parking lot control device (machine control device) 50 for controlling a non-mechanical self-propelled parking lot (planar parking lot) 5 and a portable communication terminal 30 possessed by a user are provided. Can be connected to each other via a network. The user's vehicle 40 is equipped with an ETC vehicle-mounted device 41 and can be connected to the parking lot control device 50 via radio. In the self-propelled parking lot 5 shown in FIG. 10, the vehicle 40 that desires to park enters the parking area through the gate 6 and stops in the predetermined parking area.
Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described. Components having the same configuration and function as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. Moreover, although the case where the vehicle 40 enters is demonstrated, the same process is performed also when leaving.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the parking lot control device 50 shown in FIG.
The parking lot control device 50 shown in FIG. 11 includes a transmission / reception unit 11 that performs transmission / reception with the outside via a network such as the Internet, a wireless communication unit 18 that performs transmission / reception wirelessly with the ETC vehicle-mounted device 41, and a self-propelled parking lot 5. The parking lot control unit 13 for controlling the gate 6, the user information processing unit 14, the notification information processing unit 15, the user DB 16, and the notification information processing unit 17 are configured.

Next, the details of the process performed when the vehicle 40 is parked in the self-propelled parking lot 5 will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing in the parking lot control device 50, the ETC vehicle-mounted device 41, and the portable communication terminal 30.
First, the parking lot control device 50 detects that the vehicle 40 is about to enter the self-propelled parking lot 5 by using a vehicle detection device or the like (step S501). And a user ID request | requirement is sent from the wireless communication part 18 with respect to the ETC vehicle equipment 41 of the vehicle 40 (step S502).

  The ETC vehicle-mounted device 41 receives the user ID request (step S401), and automatically sends the user ID to the parking lot control device 50 wirelessly accordingly (step S402), and ends this process.

  The parking lot control device 50 receives the user ID by the wireless communication unit 18 (step S503). And the parking lot control apparatus 50 judges whether it is a user registered beforehand with reference to user DB16 in the user information processing part 14 (step S504). If it is determined that the user is registered in advance by confirming the user ID, the parking lot control device 50 performs a process of opening the gate 6 by the parking lot control unit 13 (step S505). When the gate 6 is opened, the vehicle 40 can enter the self-propelled parking lot 5. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S504 that the user is not a user, the parking lot control apparatus 50 returns to the process of step S502 again.

The parking lot control apparatus 50 which opened the gate 6 in step S505 records that the vehicle 40 entered the self-propelled parking lot 5 in the user DB 16 (step S506). continue,
The parking lot control apparatus 50 refers to the notification information DB 17 by the notification information processing unit 15 and determines whether there is notification information to be notified to the user (step S507). If it is determined that there is notification information, the parking lot control device 50 sends a notification information mail to the portable communication terminal 30 via the network by the transmission / reception unit 11 (step S508), and ends this processing. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S507 that there is no notification information, the parking lot control apparatus 50 ends this process.

  In this way, when the notification information mail is sent out by the parking lot control device 50, the portable communication terminal 30 receives the notification information mail by the transmission / reception unit 31 via the network (step S330). Then, the portable communication terminal 30 displays the notification information on the display unit 34 in order to notify the user (step S331), and ends this processing. Note that the display in step S331 may be executed in accordance with a user instruction.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, the user can enter and park the vehicle 40 in the self-propelled parking lot 5 via the ETC vehicle-mounted device 41. At this time, the user is notified of information information. Can be sent. Therefore, the user can not only park the vehicle 40 without time and effort, but also can deliver information useful to the user to the user at an appropriate timing.

Note that the management server 20 as shown in the first embodiment can also be provided in the system in the second embodiment. In this case, the parking lot control device 50 does not have to provide the notification information processing unit 15 or the notification information DB 17.
The user ID can also use identification information unique to the ETC on-board device 41 (for example, the manufacturer name + serial number or a similar code of the device), the user's credit card number, or the like.

Moreover, in Embodiment 1, 2, although the mechanical parking lot 1 provided with the gates 2 and 6 and the self-propelled parking lot 5 were mentioned as an example, these mechanical parking lots 1 and the self-propelled parking lot 5 When a security gate such as a chain type or bar type is further provided in front, this security gate can also be opened and closed by the portable communication terminal 30 and the ETC in-vehicle device 41 in the same manner as described above. If it does in that way, the parking control apparatuses 10 and 50 of the mechanical parking lot 1 and the self-propelled parking lot 5 and the control apparatus of a security gate can also be made common, and cost reduction can also be aimed at. Further, in the case of the first embodiment using the portable communication terminal 30, the present invention can be applied to, for example, the entrance / exit of a condominium (building) itself or the opening / closing of the entrance of a dwelling unit.
In addition to this, as long as it does not depart from the gist of the present invention, the configuration described in the above embodiment can be selected or changed to another configuration as appropriate.

It is a figure explaining the system which manages the parking lot in Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure explaining the structure of the parking lot control apparatus 10 shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the structure of the portable communication terminal 30 shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the data registered into user DB16. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a flow in which a portable communication terminal 30 downloads a predetermined communication program from the management server 20. FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of the process in the parking lot control apparatus 10 shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, and the portable communication terminal 30 shown in FIG.1 and FIG.3. It is a figure explaining the structure of the management server 20 in the modification of Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of a process of the parking lot control apparatus 10, the management server 20, and the portable communication terminal 30 when a failure occurs in the parking lot control apparatus 10. It is a figure which shows the other example of the parking lot in Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure explaining the system which controls the parking lot in Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a figure explaining the structure of the parking lot control apparatus 50 shown in FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of the process in the parking lot control apparatus 50, the ETC onboard equipment 41, and the portable communication terminal 30. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mechanical parking lot (three-dimensional parking lot), 2, 6 ... Gate, 3 ... Pallet, 4 ... Management gate (gate), 5 ... Self-propelled parking lot (planar parking lot), 10, 50 ... Parking lot control Device (machine control device), 11 ... transmission / reception unit, 12 ... infrared communication unit (communication unit, short-range communication unit), 13 ... parking lot control unit (control unit), 14 ... user information processing unit, 15 ... notification information Processing unit 16 ... User DB, 17 ... Notification information DB, 18 ... Wireless communication unit, 20 ... Management server, 21 ... Transmission / reception unit, 22 ... User information processing unit, 23 ... Notification information processing unit, 24 ... User DB, 25 ... Notification information DB, 30 ... Portable communication terminal, 31 ... Transmission / reception unit, 32 ... Infrared communication unit (communication unit, near field communication unit), 33 ... Input unit, 34 ... Display unit, 35 ... Control unit, 36 ... Data storage unit, 40 ... Vehicle, 41 ... ETC on-board unit

Claims (11)

A parking lot control device that controls the entry and exit of a vehicle into a mechanical parking lot,
A user database that stores user information;
The user communicates with the portable communication terminal via a communication program acquired from outside through authentication that the user is a registered parking lot user and installed in the user's portable communication terminal. A communication department;
A user information processing unit that authenticates the user with reference to the user database, based on a store / receive request from the portable communication terminal received by the communication unit;
A parking lot control apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls a machine of the mechanical parking lot when the user is authenticated, and enables entry / exit of a vehicle.   2. The mechanical parking garage includes a plurality of pallets on which a gate and a vehicle are mounted, and the control unit opens and closes the gate based on a loading / unloading request sent from the portable communication terminal. Parking lot control device. A notification information processing unit for performing processing for sending notification information to the user registered in the user database;
A notification information database for storing the notification information;
The parking lot control device according to claim 1, further comprising: A portable communication terminal capable of communicating with a parking lot control device in a mechanical parking lot,
A transmission / reception unit capable of transmitting / receiving to / from the outside via a network;
A communications program with the parking control unit, via the transceiver, a control unit for acquiring from the outside through the authentication of the pre-registered parking lot user,
A data storage unit that stores the acquired communication program,
By executing the communication program based on a user instruction, a short-range communication unit that sends out a storage request to the parking lot control device;
A portable communication terminal comprising: Wherein the control unit, the portable communication terminal according to claim 4, wherein the obtaining the notification information about parking via the transmitting and receiving unit and / or the short-range communication unit. A parking lot control method in a parking lot control device for controlling entry / exit of vehicles,
Acquired from outside through authentication that the user is a pre-registered parking lot user, and executed by executing a communication program with the parking lot control device installed in the user's portable communication terminal Obtaining a vehicle entry / exit request from a user;
Determining whether the user who has made the entry / exit request is registered in advance in a user database;
When it is determined that the user is registered in advance in the user database, a step of performing a vehicle entry / exit process;
And a step of sending notification information related to the parking lot to the user who has made the entry / exit request. The entry / exit request is sent from an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) onboard device mounted on the user's vehicle,
7. The parking lot control method according to claim 6, wherein the notification information is sent to the user's portable communication terminal. When the parking lot control device recognizes the failure, it sends out failure information to the management server, and the management server extracts the user using the parking lot where the failure has occurred from the user database, 8. The parking lot control method according to claim 6, wherein failure information is transmitted to the extracted portable communication terminal of the user. A program that is executed on a computer to control entry / exit of vehicles in a parking lot,
Within the predetermined range from the parking lot by executing a communication program acquired from outside through authentication that the user is a registered parking lot user and installed in the user's portable communication terminal a process of receiving user ID sent from the portable communication terminal of the user is located,
A process of determining whether the user of the user ID has a right to use the parking lot based on the received user ID;
If it is determined that the right to use the parking lot, and processing for opening and closing control of the gate in the parking lot,
A process of determining whether there is notification information to be notified to the user of the user ID;
When determining that the notification information is present, the program causes the computer to execute a process of sending the notification information to the portable communication terminal.   The program according to claim 9, wherein the notification information includes information geographically related to the parking lot and / or information related to a time when the user moves a vehicle into and out of the parking lot. After the process of performing opening / closing control of the gate of the parking lot, a process in which the user records the state of entry / exit of the vehicle at the parking lot in the user database;
The program according to claim 9, wherein in the process of determining whether or not there is the notification information, a process of determining based on the state of the loading / unloading is performed.

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