JPH07282147A - Parked vehicle retrieval method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the work for confirming vehicles and to shorten the time required for retrieval. CONSTITUTION:The video images of the entering vehicles of a parking lot are photographed and preserved in a file, the video images are retrieved and the vehicle is specified. The data of a prescribed part on screen coordinates for which the vehicle is photographed are sampled as color data and the color data are preserved in the file along with the vehicle room number of the parking lot, garage entering time and date and the video image of the vehicle. The garage entering time, date and the color data are retrieved from the file by the garage entering time for the retrieval of a prescribed range and the color data for the retrieval of the prescribed range, the reduced video images equal to or less than a certain number of the vehicles suited as the result of the retrieval are displayed at a monitor, the displayed reduced video images are magnified and displayed and the parked vehicle is retrieved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for searching a parked vehicle when a user of a multi-storey car park loses a parking ticket.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a user of a multi-storey parking lot loses a parking ticket, he / she loses the means for knowing the entry compartment number of his / her own car, and especially in an elevator-type multi-storey parking lot, much effort is required to find the vehicle. It will significantly hinder the operation of the parking lot. To prevent this, a parking ticket loss countermeasure system is prepared in advance as a subsystem of the multi-storey parking lot. There is a vehicle search method as one of the parking ticket loss countermeasure systems.

In a conventional vehicle search method in a parking ticket loss prevention system of a multi-storey parking lot, a staff member stores a vehicle number (number) and a vehicle compartment number of the vehicle at the time of storage as a clue to identify the vehicle. There was a method of searching for the vehicle compartment number by registering in, and displaying the vehicle number on the monitor when a lost parking ticket is reported.

Further, a video of the entering vehicle and the vehicle compartment number is video-recorded and recorded on a video tape, and when the parking ticket is lost, the video of the vehicle previously recorded is reproduced, and while watching the video, the own vehicle is displayed. There was a way to search for.

Furthermore, a video image of the entering vehicle is taken by a TV camera, and the digital-converted file is stored together with the number of the multi-story parking lot where the vehicle is parked, the vehicle compartment number, and the entering date and time. There was a method of searching by the entry time of the vehicle, reading the video of the vehicle that entered near the time, and searching for the own vehicle while watching the video.

[0006]

The above retrieval method has the following problems.

The method of searching by vehicle number as a clue to identify the vehicle is not practical when the vehicle is crowded because the vehicle number input is troublesome.

Further, in the method in which the incoming vehicle and the vehicle compartment number are video-recorded and the own vehicle is searched by the image of the vehicle, it takes time to feed and return the video tape, and a new incoming vehicle is searched during the search. It had the drawback that it could not record.

The most practical method is to take a picture of the warehousing vehicle, save it in a file, and search for the own vehicle with the warehousing time and the picture of the vehicle. However, since the searching method uses only time, The number of applicable vehicles has increased, and the number of vehicles with distinctly different colors has also increased in number as candidates, which may take time to search.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned inconveniences, reduce the number of vehicles that must be checked whether or not the vehicle is the own vehicle, and shorten the search time.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a method for searching a parked vehicle according to the first aspect of the present invention takes a picture of a parked vehicle in a parking lot, saves it in a file, and searches the car image. In the method, data of a predetermined location on the screen coordinates where the vehicle was photographed is sampled as color data, and the color data is saved in a file together with the vehicle compartment number of the parking lot, the entry date and time, and the video of the vehicle, and used for searching within a predetermined range. Set the warehousing time and color data for search, search the file for the warehousing date and time, color data, display a reduced image of the vehicle that matches the search result on the monitor, and enlarge the displayed reduced image. It searches for parked vehicles.

A method for searching a parked vehicle according to a second aspect of the present invention is a method for shooting a video image of a parked vehicle in a parking lot and saving it in a file, and searching the video image of the vehicle. The sum of each component of the three-color signal at a location and multiple locations around it is sampled as color data, and the color data is saved in a file together with the vehicle compartment number of the parking lot, the date and time of warehousing, and the video of the vehicle. Set the warehousing time and the color data for search, search the file for the warehousing date and time, color data, display a reduced image of the vehicle that matches the search result on the monitor, and enlarge the displayed reduced image. To search for parked vehicles.

A method for searching a parked vehicle according to a third aspect of the present invention is a method for shooting a video of a parked vehicle in a parking lot, saving the video in a file, and searching the video of the vehicle. The sum of each component of the three-color signal at a location and multiple locations around it is sampled as color data, and the color data is saved in a file together with the vehicle compartment number of the parking lot, the date and time of warehousing, and the video of the vehicle. The storage time for retrieval and the color data for retrieval are set, and the retrieval date and time and a predetermined number of high-order bits of the color data are searched from the file, and a reduced image of a vehicle matching the retrieval result is displayed on the monitor and displayed. The reduced image is enlarged and displayed to search for a parked vehicle.

[0014]

The function of the parked vehicle search method according to the first aspect of the invention is as follows. First, the files of the vehicles that have entered the parking lot are created. The vehicle that has entered the garage is photographed from a predetermined direction. Data of a predetermined location on the screen coordinates is sampled from this photographing data and used as color data. These shooting data and color data are stored in a file together with the vehicle compartment number of the parking lot and the storage date and time. Next, when the parking ticket is lost, the vehicle is searched. The search is performed based on the color data and the storage date and time that were saved when the file was created. That is, when the searcher inputs the time when the vehicle seems to have been stored and the color data, the storage time for search and the color data for search within a predetermined range are set, whereby the storage date and time and the color data are obtained from the file. To be searched. If there is a vehicle that matches the warehousing time and color data set for these searches, a reduced image is displayed on the monitor by the image saved in the file. Since the search is performed not only by the storage date and time but also by the color data, the candidate vehicles can be narrowed down more reliably. A plurality of candidate vehicles can be collectively displayed by making the reduced image. When the vehicle desired by the search requester is selected, the vehicle is enlarged and displayed in more detail.

The method of searching a parked vehicle according to the second aspect of the invention operates as follows. First, the files of the vehicles that have entered the parking lot are created. The vehicle that has entered the garage is photographed from a predetermined direction. Data of a predetermined location on the screen coordinates is sampled from this photographing data and used as color data. The sample at this time was performed for each component of the three-color signal at a fixed point on the screen coordinates and a plurality of points around it, and the sum of these was taken. Not only one point but also the average with the surroundings were taken. In this way, the accuracy is improved. These shooting data and color data are stored in a file together with the vehicle compartment number of the parking lot and the storage date and time. Next, when the parking ticket is lost, the vehicle is searched. The search is performed based on the color data and the storage date and time that were saved when the file was created. That is, when the searcher inputs the time when the vehicle seems to have been stored and the color data, the storage time for search and the color data for search within a predetermined range are set, whereby the storage date and time and the color data are obtained from the file. To be searched. If there is a vehicle that matches the warehousing time and color data set for these searches,
The reduced image is displayed on the monitor by the image saved in the file. Since the search is performed not only by the storage date and time but also by the color data, the candidate vehicles can be narrowed down more reliably. A plurality of candidate vehicles can be collectively displayed by making the reduced image. When the vehicle desired by the search requester is selected, the vehicle is enlarged and displayed in more detail.

The parked vehicle search method according to the third aspect of the invention operates as follows. First, the files of the vehicles that have entered the parking lot are created. The vehicle that has entered the garage is photographed from a predetermined direction. Data of a predetermined location on the screen coordinates is sampled from this photographing data and used as color data. The sample at this time was performed for each component of the three-color signal at a fixed point on the screen coordinates and a plurality of points around it, and the sum of these was taken. Not only one point but also the average with the surroundings were taken. In this way, the accuracy is improved. These shooting data and color data are stored in a file together with the vehicle compartment number of the parking lot and the storage date and time. Next, when the parking ticket is lost, the vehicle is searched. The search is performed based on the predetermined high-order bits of the color data and the storage date and time, which were saved when the file was created. That is, when the searcher inputs the time when the vehicle is considered to have been stored and the color data, the storage time for search and the color data for search within a predetermined range are set, whereby the storage date and time and the upper several bits of the file are set. The color data and are retrieved. If there is a vehicle that matches the warehousing time and color data set for these searches, a reduced image is displayed on the monitor by the image saved in the file. Since the search is performed not only by the storage date and time but also by the color data, the candidate vehicles can be narrowed down more reliably. A plurality of candidate vehicles can be collectively displayed by making the reduced image. When the vehicle desired by the search requester is selected, the vehicle is enlarged and displayed in more detail. Since the number of bits of color data is reduced, the search speed can be increased.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a parked vehicle search method according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart for explaining the flow of the embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram for explaining the embodiment. In FIG. 2, 11 is a workstation, 111 is a mouse, 12 is a video switching machine, 131 is the first multilevel parking lot,
Reference numeral 141 is an ITV camera installed in the first multi-story parking lot 131, 151 is a parking ticket issuing machine connected to the first multi-story parking lot 131, 161 is a multi-story parking machine operation panel for controlling the operation of the first multi-story parking lot 131, 171 Is multistory parking lot No. 1 13
Vehicle arriving at No. 1, 181 is a pallet that elevates and lowers in the multi-story parking lot No. 1 131, 132 is a multi-story parking lot No. 2, 142 is an ITV camera installed at the multi-story parking lot No. 132, 152 is a multi-story parking lot A parking ticket issuing machine connected to No. 2 machine 132, 162 is a three-dimensional parking machine operation panel for controlling the operation of No. 2 multistory parking area 132, 172 is a vehicle stored in No. 2 multistory parking area 132, 182 is No. 2 multistory parking area It is a pallet that moves up and down in 132 in an elevator manner.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the arrangement of each part of a certain multistory parking lot, and the first multistory parking lot 131 is illustrated, but other parking lots have the same structure. ITV camera 14
1 is arranged inside the parking lot entrance 191 and the parking ticket issuing machine 151 is arranged outside the vicinity of the parking lot entrance 191.
The multi-story parking machine operation panel 161 connects the parking ticket issuing machine 151 and the multi-story parking lot No. 1 machine 131 to exchange various signals. The multi-story parking lot No. 1 131 has a predetermined number n of storage compartments. Pallet 1 for loading and transporting vehicles in each compartment
81i (i = 1, ..., N) are stored, and each pallet 181 is stored.
i is the corresponding passenger compartment and parking lot entrance / exit 1 for transporting the vehicle
Move between 91. A number is given to each pallet 181i for identification, and for example, the same number as the passenger compartment is used.

FIG. 4 shows an ITV camera 141 for the entering vehicle.
It is a display of the image taken in (142 ...),
(A) is a light vehicle, (B) is a sports car with a low vehicle height,
(C) shows a state in which the vehicle is photographed from above.

FIG. 5 shows the positions of the pixel S for sampling the color data and its peripheral pixels.

FIG. 6 shows an operation screen of the workstation 11 which searches for a vehicle by designating a warehousing time and a color.

File conversion will be described. In FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, when the vehicle 171 arrives at the multi-storey parking lot No. 1 unit 131 and the vehicle detector (not shown) detects the parking, the parking ticket issuing machine 151 receives the parking signal and receives the parking signal.
Issue an instruction to call the vacant room to 1. Multi-level parking machine operation panel 161
Automatically selects the pallet 181j of the empty vehicle compartment, and also outputs the landing signal of the empty vehicle compartment and the vehicle compartment number to the parking ticket issuing machine 15
Notify 1. The landing signal includes an identification number that specifies the pallet 181i. The pallet 181i designated by the identification number is conveyed to the multi-storey parking machine entrance 191 under the control of the multi-storey parking machine operation panel 161. Parking ticket issuing machine 1
51 is a video switcher 1 that communicates via a bus (not shown)
The number of the car and the number of the passenger compartment are notified to 2 together with the warehousing signal.
At this time, the vehicle 171 is transported to the pallet 181.
The vehicle is photographed by the ITV camera 141 after stopping at a predetermined position of i.

The video switching machine 12 is the workstation 1
1 is notified by serial communication of the warehousing signal and the vehicle compartment number indicating that there is warehousing at the multi-storey car park No. 131, and the video of the ITV camera 141 is selected and the composite video signal is given to the workstation 11. The workstation 11 responds to this video signal with the first multi-storey car park 1
The No. 31 machine number, vehicle compartment number, warehousing date and time, and color data described later are added to form a file.

When the vehicle 172 enters the multi-storey car park No. 2 132, the same process as that of the multi-storey car park No. 1 is performed. Vehicle 172 arrives at the multistory parking lot No. 2 132,
When the vehicle detector (not shown) detects the parking, the parking ticket issuing machine 152 receives the parking signal and receives the parking signal.
An instruction to call an empty cab is issued to 62. Multi-level parking machine operation panel 16
No. 2 automatically selects the pallet 182j of the empty vehicle compartment, and at the same time, the parking ticket issuing machine 1 receives the landing signal of the empty vehicle compartment and the vehicle compartment number.
52 is notified. The landing signal includes an identification number designating the pallet 182i. The pallet 182i designated by the identification number is conveyed to a not-shown multi-story parking machine entrance / exit under the control of the multi-story parking machine operation panel 162. The parking ticket issuing machine 152 notifies the video switching machine 12 of the machine number and the vehicle compartment number together with the warehousing signal through communication via a bus (not shown). At this time, the vehicle 172 is stopped at a predetermined position of the pallet 182i being conveyed, and the ITV camera 142 photographs the vehicle body.

The video switching machine 12 is the workstation 1
1 is notified by serial communication of a warehousing signal and a vehicle compartment number indicating that there is warehousing in the multi-story parking lot No. 2 132, and video of the ITV camera 142 is selected and video is input to the workstation 11 by a composite video signal. The workstation 11 responds to this video signal with the second multi-storey car park 1
The No. 32 machine number, vehicle compartment number, warehousing date and time, and color data to be described later are added to form a file.

Next, generation of color data will be described.

The color data is 8-bit RGB data,
It is calculated by the workstation 11.

FIG. 4 (A) shows an image 512 × 5 of a warehousing vehicle.
Shows a state where a light vehicle is displayed on a 12-pixel screen.
Indicates sample coordinates for generating color data. In FIG. 4 (A), it can be seen that S is in the hood of a light vehicle and S is a suitable sample point.

FIG. 4B shows a state in which a sports car having a low vehicle height is shown on the same screen. Similarly, S is in the hood of a sports car and it turns out that S is a suitable sample point.

As described above, the sample points of the color data are always obtained from the data of the same coordinates.

Since the position where the ITV camera is installed differs depending on the state of the passenger compartment of the multi-storey car park, the direction, height, and zoom of the ITV camera should be adjusted so that the S point is always inside the hood when entering various vehicles. adjust. If such an adjustment cannot be made, a photograph of the vehicle is taken from above and S is set at the center of the screen as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 5, S is shown in FIGS. 4 (A), (B),
It is a pixel at the coordinates of the sample point S in (C), and the pixels S1 to S8 are taken around it. Now, the R (red) data of S is SR, and the R data of S1 to S8 is S1R to S8R.
Then, the color data SR of R is

[0034]

[Equation 1] SR = (SR + S1R + S2R + ... + S8R) / 9 (1)

It is calculated by Similarly, SG (green) and S
B (blue) is obtained, and SR, SG, SB are stored as color data.

Next, a vehicle search will be described. Search when the driver's car is about to leave and the parking ticket is lost and the passenger compartment is unknown.

FIG. 6 shows a search screen (monitor) of the workstation 11. The search start time 62 in the parking ticket loss countermeasure / search window 61 is the time when the user is expected to enter, and the arrow key is the mouse 111.
(See Fig. 1) Click to set. The time range of the retrieval storage time to be searched is 15 minutes (variable) before and after the set storage time. To specify the color range, the search range on the color bar 63 is set by clicking the arrow key with the mouse 111. The vehicle type setting 64 is a function of automatically setting a known color range sold for the vehicle type when the vehicle type is set.

When the search execution key 66 on the screen is clicked with the mouse 111 after setting the search time and color range designation,
The data stored in the above-described filing and the retrieval storage time and the retrieval color data are collated and retrieved. If they match as a result of the search, the vehicle is displayed as a reduced image in the small window 67. The small window is used so that it is possible to display the corresponding car when there are a plurality of cars.

The color data for retrieval is a total of 2 of 8 bits for each of the 3 color signals obtained by the equation (1) as described above.
In the case of using 4 bits, for example, the upper 2 of the 8 bits
There is a total of 6 bits (called quantization). Quantization is more important for the upper bits of the 8 bits of R (similar to GB) data, and the least significant bit is regarded as noise. Therefore, if the upper 2 bits each are extracted from RGB (the lower 6 bits are masked) and the data is compared with a total of 6 bits, the data is compared with the case of using 24 bits.
About 4 times faster search can be performed.

The user selects a vehicle similar to his own vehicle from the small windows and clicks on the window with the mouse 111 to confirm that the enlarged window 68 appears and the vehicle is enlarged. Enlarged window 6 here
If the vehicle of No. 8 is not the own vehicle, clicking the NO key 69 with the mouse 111 closes the enlarged window 68, so that a vehicle similar to the own vehicle is selected from the other small windows 67. When the vehicle in the enlarged window 68 is the own vehicle, if the YES key 610 is clicked with the mouse 111, a departure reservation is made in the multilevel parking lot. If there are multiple vehicles that are similar to your own vehicle, you can make multiple reservations for shipping.

After making a reservation for leaving, the user waits in front of the entrance of the multi-storey car park.

Now, assuming that the relevant car is parked in the multi-story parking lot No. 1 131 and a plurality of reservations are issued, the workstation 11 via the video switching machine 12 operates the parking ticket issuing machine 151 to the multi-story parking machine operation panel. Make a reservation for delivery by designating the vehicle compartment number in 161. The three-dimensional parking machine operation panel 161 instructs to call the vehicle compartment of the number designated in the three-dimensional parking lot. When the pallet 181i in the passenger compartment is landed, the user confirms the actual vehicle, and if it is not his / her own vehicle, operates the parking ticket issuing machine 151 to call the vehicle for which the next departure reservation is made. Next, when the vehicle has landed and it can be confirmed that it is a self-vehicle, the parking ticket issuing machine 151 is operated to reissue the parking ticket for the vehicle. After that, the user pays the usual charges and leaves.

When the vehicle is parked in the multi-storey car park No. 2 132, the workstation 11, the video switching machine 12, etc. are the same as the multi-storey car park No. 1 131 leaving, as described above. The exit operation of 132 is performed.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, the number of applicable vehicles can be reduced because the retrieval is performed from both the arrival time and the color of the vehicle, and an accurate retrieval can be performed without causing user confusion. .

Therefore, the time required from the loss of the parking ticket to the solution of the problem is shortened, the cost of operating the parking lot is reduced, and the parking lot user is given a sense of trust. Further, when the color data is quantized, the effect of shortening the search time can be expected more.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram illustrating an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a layout of each part of a parking lot.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display state of an image of a warehousing vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a sample of color data.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an operation screen (monitor) for vehicle search.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... workstation, 12 ... video switching machine,
131 ... Multi-story parking lot No. 1, 141 ... ITV camera, 151 ... Parking ticket issuing machine, 161 ... Multi-story parking machine operation panel, 171 ... Vehicle, 181 ... Pallet, 191 ...
… Parking entrance / exit, 132 …… Multi-story parking lot No.2, 142
...... ITV camera, 152 ...... Parking ticket issuing machine, 162 ...
… Multi-level parking machine operation panel, 172… Vehicle, 182… Pallet.

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Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A method for searching a parked vehicle in which an image of a vehicle entering a parking lot is captured and saved in a file, and the image of the vehicle is searched for, and data of a predetermined location on the screen coordinates where the vehicle is captured is sampled as color data. Then, the color data is saved in a file together with the vehicle compartment number of the parking lot, the entry date and time, and the video image of the vehicle. And a reduced video image of a vehicle matching the search result is displayed on a monitor, and the displayed reduced video image is enlarged to search for a parked vehicle. 2. A method for searching a parked vehicle, which captures an image of a vehicle entering a parking lot, saves the image in a file, and retrieves the image of the vehicle. The sum of each component of the three-color signal is sampled as color data, and the color data is saved in a file together with the parking lot number, the entry date and time, and the video image of the vehicle. Data is set, the warehousing date and color data are searched from the file, a reduced image of a vehicle matching the search result is displayed on a monitor, and the displayed reduced image is enlarged and displayed to search for a parked vehicle. Vehicle search method characterized by. 3. A method for searching a parked vehicle for capturing an image of a vehicle entering a parking lot, saving the file in a file, and searching for the image of the vehicle, in a predetermined location on the screen coordinates where the vehicle is captured and at a plurality of locations around it. The sum of each component of the three-color signal is sampled as color data, and the color data is saved in a file together with the parking lot number, the entry date and time, and the video image of the vehicle. After setting the data, the file is searched for the warehousing date and time and the predetermined high-order bits of the color data, a reduced image of the vehicle that matches the search result is displayed on the monitor, and the displayed reduced image is enlarged and displayed. A method for searching for a vehicle, which comprises searching for a parked vehicle.