JPH0916897A - Method and system for parking lot management - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify the management constitution and to enrich the management contents. SOLUTION: The difference between the background picture with no vehicles and a properly photographed picture which are obtained by a parking lot photographing camera and a picture processing computer is operated to recognize the position of a vehicle. This position is compared with the parking space to display the position or an idle space. A vehicle on the outside of the parking space or another vehicle in the space for a contract vehicle is detected also. The detection result is reported to a manager. This system is applicable to various parking lots because of its simple constitution.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a parking lot management method and system using image processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a parking lot is large and there are many parking spaces, it is necessary to promptly and accurately inform a driver who is about to enter the parking lot about the vacant space. In such a case, usually, a plurality of staff members are dispersed in the parking lot and guidance is performed manually. However, this method is not only economically disadvantageous, but also it is difficult to communicate between staff members in a multi-storey car park or the like, which is not efficient. On the other hand, if an infrared detector or the like is attached to each parking space, all empty spaces can be grasped in real time, but the cost required for realization is large.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 6-187596 discloses a parking lot management facility for grasping empty spaces in a plurality of parking areas (for example, each floor of a multi-storey parking lot). This equipment includes (1) entrance vehicle detection means, which is, for example, a ticket issuing machine, (2) exit vehicle detection means, which is, for example, a fee payment machine, (3) vehicle advancing direction detection means, which is provided in a passage communicating with each parking area ) Comprising a calculation means for calculating the number of empty spaces in each parking area. That is, from (1) and (2) above, the total number of vehicles inside the parking lot can be known, and (3)
Since the number of vehicles moved between parking areas can be known from, the number of empty spaces in each parking area can be found from (4) based on these numerical values.

[0004]

The above-mentioned equipment may have the following problems.

[Problem 1] Many components are required (1) to (4). If there is already a ticket issuing machine or a toll payment machine, it is necessary to improve the number of vehicles, and if they do not exist, installation is required. If the parking fee is free, there is room for improvement in the configuration because the fee payment machine itself is not required.

[Problem 2] Unable to grasp the position of the vacant space Although the total number of vacant spaces in each parking area can be grasped, the position cannot be specified.

[Problem 3] Unauthorized parking cannot be grasped Here, "unauthorized parking" means parking in an area other than a parking space, or parking a vehicle other than a contract vehicle in a parking space for a contract vehicle. Shall be pointed out. The above equipment cannot grasp these.

[Purpose] In view of the above points, the purpose of the present invention is roughly stated below. That is, first, the configuration is simplified. Specifically, the above (1) to (3) will be simplified. The minimum system configuration of the present invention is, for example, one camera and one personal computer terminal. Another object of the present invention is to ascertain the position of a vacant space and to grasp parking without permission.

[0009]

A parking lot management method of the present invention includes a step of photographing a parking lot, a photographed image (hereinafter referred to as a "photographed image") and a photographed in advance in a state where a vehicle is not parked. And a step of determining a difference with an image of a parking lot (hereinafter referred to as "background image") and an identification step of identifying a vehicle location from the image after the difference is obtained. In a region where no vehicle exists, the captured image and the background image match each other, so the difference is approximately zero. The reason why the difference is "approximately" is that the difference may not be completely 0 due to an error such as weather at the time of shooting, but the range can be determined by an experiment or the like. Therefore, if the difference exceeds the error range, it is identified that there is a vehicle at that location.

In the identifying step, a vehicle shape area whose difference is not 0 and whose size is within a predetermined range is identified as the vehicle existing location.
This is because, if a vehicle exists, the area should have the shape of the vehicle, and the size of the vehicle falls within a certain range, so that the range of the size of the area is determined on the image.

The present invention further includes the steps of detecting a portion of the parking space where no vehicle currently exists (ie, an empty space) and displaying the position of the detected portion. Since the location where the vehicle exists is known in the identification step, the location where the vehicle does not exist is also known. If you position this,
It is convenient for drivers who are looking for an empty space in the parking lot. It is more effective if the position display is accompanied by the guidance of the vehicle.

The present invention further includes counting the total number of identified vehicles. The present invention also includes the step of restricting entry of vehicles into the parking lot when the total number reaches the allowable number of parking lots. This is because it is useful for management.

The present invention further includes a step of detecting a vehicle existing in a portion other than the parking space among the identified vehicles, a step of measuring a time during which the detected vehicle stays in the same portion, and the time. When the value exceeds a predetermined value, the step of notifying the manager of that fact is included. This is mainly to prevent unauthorized parking. Whether it is a parking space or not may be given as information similar to the background image. The reason why the vehicle stays at the same place is measured because there is a timing when the vehicle exists in a place other than the parking space when moving even if the vehicle is not parked without permission. Therefore, the "predetermined value" of the time here is, for example, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or the like, and the image capturing may be performed at this time interval.

The invention further comprises the step of comparing the identified vehicle image features to vehicle image features previously recorded at the same location. Further, the present invention, as a result of the comparison, a step of detecting a place where a vehicle different from the previous one is parked, and when the place is a parking space for a contract vehicle, the fact that the different vehicle is parked is notified to the administrator. And a step of notifying. For example, this is to prevent an uncontracted vehicle from parking without permission.

On the other hand, the parking management system of the present invention comprises means for photographing the parking lot and means for obtaining the difference between the photographed image and the image of the parking lot photographed in advance when the vehicle is not parked. , Means for identifying the location of the vehicle from the image after taking the difference. The operating principle of this system is as described above.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A preferred embodiment of the parking lot management system of the present invention will now be described. The contents of the parking lot management method of the present invention will be clarified by the explanation of the processing steps by the present system.

This system has the following configuration. In the present embodiment, a flat parking lot is assumed.

(1) Camera for photographing parking lot The whole parking lot is photographed from above the parking lot. Photography is done once every 10 minutes. Hereinafter, it is simply called a camera.

(2) Image processing The photographed image sent from the computer camera is compared with the background image. Hereinafter, it is simply called a computer. In this computer, a background image, a parking space, and a parking space for a contract vehicle (hereinafter referred to as "contract space") are stored in advance, and images taken up to the previous day are also stored. Also, a series of image processing software is installed.

As described above, this system requires at least two device configurations. The processing steps with this configuration will be described. The purpose of the processing is to grasp empty space and unauthorized parking.

[1] Grasp of free space The difference between the photographed image and the background image is calculated by the computer. A vehicle shape area whose difference is not 0 is searched for. At this time, an image processing method such as area division can be used.
However, even if the difference is not 0, the area having the value in the error range is excluded. FIG. 1 is a photographed image at a certain time point, and FIG.
Is a background image, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the difference between them. FIG.
As shown in, the difference image is ideally an image in which only the vehicle is extracted from the original image.

In the present embodiment, since the camera photographs the vehicle from above, the vehicle shape is approximately rectangular or parallelogram. Therefore, areas that deviate significantly from these shapes are also excluded. Further, the range of the size of the area on the captured image that the vehicle can take can be determined in advance from the magnification of the camera or comparison with the background image, so even if it is a rectangular area, it falls within this range. Those that do not exist are excluded as vehicles.

Each of the areas remaining after the above steps indicates the location of the vehicle. Here, by comparing the stored parking space with the location of the vehicle, an empty space is detected, and this position is displayed on a bulletin board, or guidance measures such as turning on an arrow-shaped light are taken, It may be convenient for the driver.

In addition, in the series of processes, the total number of vehicles existing in the parking lot may be counted. When the total number reaches the allowable number in the parking lot, it is possible to restrict the entry of vehicles into the parking lot by performing a full-occupancy display or the like.

[2] Grasp of unauthorized parking There are two types of parking: parking outside the space and parking outside the contract.

1. Parking outside space The parking space can be identified from the background image in FIG. That is, since the white space divided for each vehicle is the parking space, first, a vehicle not in the white line is searched. In FIG. 1, the vehicle A is detected.

Next, the time for which the vehicle A stays at that position is measured, and if this time exceeds, for example, 10 minutes, the manager is notified. In the case of the present embodiment, since the camera captures images every 10 minutes, the next captured image of the image of FIG. 1 is also notified if the vehicle A is detected at the same location. More specifically, if the difference is taken between the first captured image and the later captured image and the difference in the area of the vehicle A is approximately 0, it can be seen that the vehicle A remains at that position. .

As described above, this processing is useful, for example, when finding a vehicle that obstructs the movement of another vehicle in a parking lot without entrance restrictions.

2. Off-contract parking For example, in FIG. 1, it is assumed that the parking space in which the vehicle B is parked is the contract space and the color of the contract vehicle is black. Therefore, in the captured images up to the previous day, the color of the vehicle parked in this space is stored as black.

On the other hand, the vehicle B in FIG. 1 is white, and the difference between the photographed image in FIG. 1 and the photographed images up to the previous day exceeds the error range. Therefore, it is determined that the vehicle is out of contract. At this time, the computer may notify the administrator or the like of the detection of unauthorized parking. Of course, the contractor may accidentally park another vehicle, or another person may park the car under the permission of the contractor, and the specific action is determined by the manager.

The advantage of this processing is to solve a trouble in a space that is a contract space but is easily mistaken for a general parking space. That is, in the case of this processing, if the shooting interval of the camera is shortened to, for example, about 10 seconds and the manager is notified immediately after the unauthorized parking occurs, it is possible to notify the unauthorized parking owner before leaving the vehicle. Becomes In addition to the above-mentioned colors, image characteristics such as shape can be considered to determine whether the vehicle is a contract vehicle. In the case of color as well, it is possible to use brightness, lightness, etc. as factors for determination.

The above is the outline of the present embodiment. The present invention is characterized in that it can be widely applied to general parking lots without ticketing machines, fare payment machines, entrance / exit gates, etc. Although an example of a flat parking lot has been described in the embodiment, the present invention is naturally applicable to a multilevel parking lot. In that case, one camera may be provided on each floor.

In the present embodiment, the parking lot is photographed from above, but if this is not possible, it may be photographed from an oblique direction. In this case, the vehicle shape (trapezoid, parallelogram, and other various shapes) in each parking space may be determined from the coordinates of the camera and the coordinates of each part of the vehicle.

[0034]

According to the parking lot management method and system of the present invention, simplification of the configuration required for management can be realized. As a result, the above-mentioned problem 1 is solved.

According to the present invention, not only the number of empty spaces but also the position thereof can be displayed. Therefore, the above-mentioned problem 2 can be solved.

Further, in the present invention, since the total number of vehicles is counted, entry can be restricted when the vehicle is full.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to detect and notify unauthorized parking such as parking outside the space and parking outside the contract. As a result, the above-mentioned problem 3 can be solved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a captured image at a certain time point.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a background image.

FIG. 3 is an image showing a difference between a captured image and a background image.

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A step of photographing a parking lot, a step of obtaining a difference between the photographed image and an image of the parking lot photographed in advance in a state where the vehicle is not parked, and an image after the difference is taken. A parking lot management method, comprising: an identification step for identifying the location of the vehicle from 2. The parking lot management method according to claim 1, wherein the identification step is a vehicle shape area in which a result of taking a difference is not 0, and the size of which is included in a predetermined range. A parking lot management method characterized by identifying a location of a vehicle. 3. The parking lot management method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises a step of detecting a portion of the parking space where no vehicle currently exists, and a step of detecting the detected portion. A parking lot management method comprising: a step of displaying a position. 4. The parking lot management method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of counting the total number of the identified vehicles. 5. The parking lot management method according to claim 4, further comprising the step of restricting entry of vehicles into the parking lot when the total number reaches the allowable number of parking lots. A characteristic parking lot management method. 6. The parking lot management method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of detecting a vehicle existing in a place other than the parking space among the identified vehicles, A parking lot management method comprising: a step of measuring a time for which a detected vehicle stays at the same place; and a step of notifying an administrator of the time when the time exceeds a predetermined value. 7. A parking lot management method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the method further comprises visualizing the identified image features of the vehicle in the same location previously recorded. A parking lot management method comprising a step of comparing with a characteristic. 8. The parking lot management method according to claim 7, wherein, as a result of the comparison, a step of detecting a place where a vehicle different from the previous one is parked and the place is a parking space for a contract vehicle. And a step of notifying an administrator that different vehicles are parked, and a parking lot management method comprising: 9. A means for photographing a parking lot, a means for obtaining a difference between the photographed image and an image of the parking lot photographed in advance when the vehicle is not parked, and an image after the difference is taken. And a means for identifying the location of the vehicle from, and a parking lot management system characterized by including.