Methods for finding a parking space, parking management system and vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for finding a parking space, a parking management system, and a vehicle. The method comprises receiving a parking space search request from a vehicle 14, which is part of a vehicle fleet. Furthermore, the method comprises creating a profile of the vehicle and identifying a free parking space 18 or a parking space 17 that is about to become available. The method also includes selecting a suitable parking space 17 based on the profile of the vehicle 14 and sending data to the vehicle 14 containing information about the suitable parking space 17.

Description

The invention relates to the field of parking management for vehicles. In particular, the invention relates to a method for finding a parking space, a parking management system and a vehicle.Vehicles require a parking space when they are parked and / or when they are to be charged in the case of electrically driven vehicles. Unnecessary routes are often traveled in order to find a parking space in a parking area.Solutions for finding a parking space are currently being offered mainly in parking garages, since an infrastructure with sensor systems and communication devices can be installed there. The parking space finding is supported in a parking garage, for example, by information to the vehicle or the driver of the vehicle, such as traffic lights or a display of free parking spaces. For this purpose, sensors are required for each parking space. If a vehicle is detected with the aid of the sensor system, the parking space is marked as occupied.The solutions to date have disadvantages. For a parking garage management system, sensors and communication devices are to be installed, which cause costs. Furthermore, when operating the parking garage management system, sensor measurements may be subject to errors, for example when detecting parked vehicles. In particular, small vehicles or poorly parked vehicles are often not reliably detected. The sensors are in principle installed only in parking garages, but for outdoor parking spaces the sensor system often does not function reliably due to environmental influences such as rain and snow.DE 10 2015 222 566 A1 describes the transfer of a parking space becoming free from one vehicle to another vehicle. For this purpose, the method includes detecting an actuation of a mobile device, which signals that a driver of the vehicle is moving to the parking space. The method further comprises detecting a position of the mobile device and detecting the position of the parking space. Furthermore, an estimation of a first point in time at which the driver will reach the parking space is carried out at least depending on the position of the mobile device and the position of the parking space.DE 10 2016 005 483 A1 describes a method for managing at least one parking space for a vehicle, wherein a vehicle that is to be removed from the parking space informs a vehicle that is to be searched for by vehicle-to-vehicle communication, which is located at a predefined distance from the vehicle that is to be removed from the parking space, about the release of the parking space.It is an object of the present invention to facilitate finding a parking space for a vehicle in a parking area.This object is achieved by means of the method according to claim 1. Furthermore, the object is achieved with a parking management system according to patent claim 5 and with a vehicle according to patent claim 10.The method according to the invention comprises receiving a request for a parking search of a vehicle searching for a parking space, wherein the vehicle searching for a parking space is part of a fleet of vehicles. The method also includes creating a profile of the vehicle searching for a parking space and ascertaining a free parking space or a parking space becoming free. The method further comprises selecting a suitable parking space on the basis of the profile of the parking-space-searching vehicle and sending data to the parking-space-searching vehicle with information about the suitable parking space.Parking space finding for a vehicle is provided by parking space finding assistance using inter-vehicle communication. The inter-vehicle communication takes place via a database in which information about the vehicles of the fleet of vehicles is stored and updated.The determination of a free parking space or a parking space becoming free can be carried out on the basis of data from a database. Furthermore, statistics can be created with data of the fleet of vehicles, which can assist in predicting or predicting a parking space becoming free.Furthermore, the ascertainment of a parking space becoming free can be carried out on the basis of a prognosis, wherein the prognosis can be carried out on the basis of artificial intelligence.Users who search for a parking space are informed about possible parking spaces in the vicinity via a communication across the vehicle and, if desired, are guided from the user to the parking space when confirmed by a navigation system. Inter-vehicle communication is achieved by the membership of a plurality of vehicles in a fleet of vehicles.In this case, data (at least the position) of the vehicle driving away that are anonymous after user agreement are consolidated and, if the offer and demand with respect to a parking space match, the vehicle searching for the parking space is led or moved toward the parking space that has just been cleared (automated driving and parking, if appropriate). Thus, the method may include detecting a position of the appropriate parking space to guide the parking-space-searching vehicle to this position.Furthermore, the method may include guiding the vehicle searching for a parking space to the suitable parking space.This can be carried out by means of instructions in a navigation device of the vehicle or an application of a user. Furthermore, position data of a suitable parking space can be used to guide the vehicle to the parking space in an automated manner, i.e. without driver assistance.In this case, the information about the suitable parking space is at least navigation data which are made available to the vehicle via a communication link.In this context, a fleet of vehicles can be understood to be a group of vehicles. The group is characterized in that the vehicles of the group provide information and can access it via a common infrastructure, such as a cloud infrastructure. The proposed method for finding a parking space is understood as a service park and is available for all subscribers or customers of this service park. Furthermore, the group can comprise, for example, vehicles which originate from a common vehicle manufacturer or from a plurality of vehicle manufacturers. Vehicles of a fleet of vehicles preferably have common software components and / or communication protocols.It is also possible to guide only one vehicle in a parking space becoming free, i.e. the parking space is reserved in advance.According to one exemplary embodiment, provision is also made for data to be provided by vehicles of the fleet of vehicles in a database, the data being used for the selection of a suitable parking space.For example, data of the fleet of vehicles are recorded and matched to one another. Statistics and probabilities for departure times from the parking facility can also be created from the data.The selection of a suitable parking space is preferably carried out taking into account at least one piece of information from the group of the following data: position of the vehicle seeking a parking space, vehicle size of the vehicle seeking a parking space, type of maneuvers required for parking, number of maneuvers required for parking, environmental influences, weather at the location of the parking space, lighting conditions, position of the sun, precipitation, frequency of the parking at this parking space by the user of the vehicle seeking a parking space, charging station, parking space with charging station in a small radius, duration of the last parking at this parking space, vehicle occupancy, set departure times (preconditioning) or arrival times, possible appointment entries in the calendar of the user.The above-mentioned data or at least subsets thereof can be acquired by each vehicle and all vehicles of the fleet can be consolidated for the sum. This means that the data are sorted and edited, so that data of vehicles are taken into account depending on their sizes or properties (for example length, width, height, steering circle, etc.) and / or depending on user preferences for each individual vehicle, in order to provide the best available offer for each vehicle. Statistics can thus be generated for parking spaces at different regions and locations. These statistics can be created as a function of the times and seasons and the behavior for each vehicle of the fleet of vehicles or each user of a vehicle of the fleet of vehicles. From the information that a vehicle has traveled away from a location, a probability for a possible departure time can be calculated.A model can be created from the data, which model can be stored in a parking management system. The model can use KI and be constantly improved by KI. This is possible because hypotheses are confirmed or contradicted based on the captured data and are thus made more and more closely matched to reality on the basis of training data. A contradiction exists, for example, if the vehicle has not left the parking space as planned.Moreover, the model may use additional information, such as a particular location (e.g., school, shopping center, sport location), a particular season, or season (e.g., summer, winter, feri, Weikin's Coaster). Further information can also be used for the model, which is made available by an infrastructure of the parking management system, for example information from parking garages. Further, the model may use current traffic data in the vicinity of the parking areas or the potential parking spaces, such as traffic volume, traffic jam, poor visibility, etc.According to one exemplary embodiment, it is furthermore provided that the ascertainment of a parking space becoming free is carried out taking into account a probability of a departure of a second vehicle of the fleet of vehicles.Advantageously, a forecast is made at the time of deployment of a vehicle. It is thus possible to determine a parking space becoming free on the basis of a forecast. The prognosis can also be carried out on the basis of artificial intelligence. In electrically operated vehicles, the state of charge can also be taken into account in order to provide a forecast with respect to the departure time.According to one exemplary embodiment, it is furthermore provided that the parking-space-searching vehicle receives information about the suitable parking space via vehicle-to-vehicle communication and / or via infrastructure-to-vehicle communication.In this case, it is possible that the vehicles, even in the case of poor network reception from the parking infrastructure or from other vehicles, possibly also redundantly, receive the necessary information about parking space availability and parking space position in real time or quasi real time.The object is also achieved by a parking management system. For this purpose, the parking management system has a database, a computing unit and a communication device, wherein the communication device is configured to receive a request for a parking space search of a vehicle searching for a parking space. Furthermore, the computing unit is configured to generate a profile of the vehicle searching for a parking space on the basis of information stored in the database and to determine a free parking space or a parking space becoming free. In this case, the computing unit is configured to select a suitable parking space on the basis of the profile of the vehicle searching for a parking space, wherein the communication device is configured to transmit data to the vehicle searching for a parking space using information about the suitable parking space.For example, periods of impact or the parking demand can be estimated precisely by the parking management system. This can be based on the behavior of a user (habit) and can already be assessed in advance as soon as the user starts the car, wherein the probability of the prediction increases if a prediction about the direction of travel and an arrival of the vehicle at a specific location takes place some time after the vehicle has been started. This means that the parking management system can also estimate with a higher probability, with predictive action after a few minutes of travel time, where the respective vehicle is travelling, when it will arrive there and how long it will remain there.The indication about a free parking space may be proposed proactively as a service of the parking management system on the basis of the captured behavior data of a user shortly before a possible destination arrival. It is also possible for a request to be initiated via a suitable parking space as a request by voice or by key in a navigation device or an application.One possible operating mode of the parking management system may be, for example, to lead a searching vehicle, since a large number of vehicles of the fleet of vehicles are already currently parked. This has the advantage that the parking management system has sufficient data to predict precise departure times and thus times and position of parking spaces becoming free.According to one exemplary embodiment, it is provided that the parking space management system has a local infrastructure.A local infrastructure is understood to mean devices which are present locally in the vicinity of or on the parking lot. A local infrastructure can be permanently installed at the parking area or in the vicinity of the parking area or can be present in a mobile manner. In this case, for example, sensors can be provided which are installed, for example, on the entrance, exit and / or on the parking space areas. This means that the proposed parking facility management system can also integrate already existing sensors, as occur, for example, in parking garages. Sensors of vehicles of the fleet of vehicles can also be used as local infrastructure of the parking management system, for example as additional information sources. For example, cameras of running vehicles may be used.Furthermore, the local infrastructure can have a database, a memory and a communication device. The communication device can be used, for example, to communicate directly with vehicles, i.e. via an infrastructure-to-vehicle connection. This communication connection can be wired and / or wireless. A communication connection via a charging infrastructure of the parking area can also be used. In this case, an already present connection to the vehicle is used, for example to the charging infrastructure, in order to exchange further data with the vehicle.According to one exemplary embodiment, it is provided that the parking management system has a cloud infrastructure.The communication device can be configured such that it can establish a communication connection with a cloud infrastructure in order to exchange information. The cloud infrastructure may further comprise a database and a computing unit in order to analyze data for the parking management system and provide information.According to one exemplary embodiment, it is provided that the parking management system provides information in an application of a user.For example, information can be sent to the user as an incentive via an application in order to leave the parking space earlier than planned. Furthermore, information about free or released parking spaces can be provided in the application, preferably in addition to an installed navigation system in the vehicle.In this way, an incentive is created for a previous departure from the parking space. Furthermore, the parking management system can also attempt to prompt a user, in particular at collision times, or to move away earlier. An incentive can also be created for the user to choose a rapid charging of his vehicle. Furthermore, the user can receive a notification on his mobile terminal in the application upon consent in order to release the parking space earlier, if appropriate against intensive measures, for example a lower parking fee or discount during use of the parking management system and its services.According to one exemplary embodiment, it is provided that the parking management system provides graphics-based information in real time.By analyzing data in the database, a map of the possible parking spaces in a specific geographical area can gradually be produced for the complete fleet of vehicles. This map, or also called "heat map", can take into account various influences on the parking space situation, so that at a specific time (i.e. accurate in real time) information about parking space capacities, size of free or released parking spaces and specificities of the parking spaces (with charging infrastructure, particularly wide parking spaces, parking spaces under a roof, etc.) is provided. The totality of this information is taken into account in the map. A map with displayed free and possible free parking space locations is produced in real time. It is possible that after this assessment, the parking management system can lead, i.e. navigate, a vehicle searching for a parking space to a suitable parking space.The object is furthermore achieved by a vehicle, wherein the vehicle has a communication device for communication with the parking management system according to the invention, and wherein the vehicle is part of a fleet of vehicles.For use cases or application situations which can arise in the method and which are not explicitly described here, provision can be made for an error message and / or a request for inputting a user feedback to be output and / or for a default setting and / or a predetermined initial state to be set according to the method.The invention also includes the control device for the vehicle. The control device can have a data processing device or a processor device which is configured to carry out an embodiment of the method according to the invention. For this purpose, the processor device can have at least one microprocessor and / or at least one microcontroller and / or at least one FPGA (field programmable gate array) and / or at least one DSP (digital signal processor). In particular, a CPU (central processing unit), a GPU (graphic processing unit) or an NPU (neural processing unit) can be used as the microprocessor in each case. Furthermore, the processor device can have program code which is configured to carry out the embodiment of the method according to the invention when executed by the processor device. The program code can be stored in a data memory of the processor device. The processor device can be based on at least one circuit board and / or on at least one SoC (system on chip), for example.The invention also includes developments of the method according to the invention, which have features as have been described in connection with the developments of the parking management system according to the invention. For this reason, the corresponding developments of the method according to the invention are not described again here.The vehicle according to the invention is preferably designed as a motor vehicle, in particular as a passenger car or truck, or as a passenger bus or motorcycle.As a further solution, the invention also comprises a computer-readable storage medium comprising program code which, when executed by a computer or a computer cluster, causes the latter to execute an embodiment of the method according to the invention. The storage medium may be provided at least partially as a non-volatile data memory (e.g. as a flash memory and / or as an SSD-solid state drive) and / or at least partially as a volatile data memory (e.g. as a RAM-random access memory). The storage medium can be arranged in the computer or computer network. However, the storage medium can also be operated, for example, as a so-called store server and / or cloud server on the Internet. The computer or computer network can provide a processor circuit with, for example, at least one microprocessor. The program code can be provided as binary code and / or as assembler code and / or as source code of a programming language (e.g. C) and / or as a program script (e.g. Python).The invention also includes the combinations of the features of the described embodiments. The invention therefore also comprises implementations which each have a combination of the features of a plurality of the described embodiments, provided that the embodiments have not been described as mutually exclusive.Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described below. The only one is shown for this purposeFIG. shows a parking management system with a vehicle seeking a parking space.The exemplary embodiments explained below are preferred embodiments of the invention. In the exemplary embodiments, the described components of the embodiments each represent individual features of the invention that are to be considered independently of one another and that also develop the invention independently of one another. Therefore, the disclosure is intended to include combinations of the features of the embodiments other than those illustrated. Furthermore, the described embodiments can also be supplemented by further features of the invention that have already been described.The figure shows a parking management system 50 with a parking-space-searching vehicle 14. The parking lot 10 has individual parking lots 11, e.g., P1 to P8. Some of the parking spaces 11 provide a charging infrastructure 12. Vehicles 13 are already parked in parking lot 10. The vehicle 14 is searching for a parking space 11 with a charging infrastructure 12 Furthermore, a vehicle 15 going off is just to leave the parking lot 10 in this case. Thus, the vehicle 15 releases a parking space 11 as a releasing parking space 17. The arrows 16 indicate the directions of travel of the vehicles 14, 15, respectively.The vehicles 13, 14, 15 are each equipped with a communication device 20 having a transmitting and receiving device. Furthermore, the vehicles 13, 14, 15 have control units 21 and navigation units 22. A special feature here is that in particular vehicles of a vehicle group can exchange information with one another. This can take place via a vehicle-to-vehicle communication 37 (car-to-car communication) and also additionally via a cloud communication 36 with a cloud infrastructure 30. The communication links 36, 37 may be bidirectional wireless communication links.The cloud infrastructure 30 in the figure has a database 31 of the fleet of vehicles or a data memory 31. The cloud infrastructure 30 further comprises a computing device 32. It is possible to establish the communication connection 36 between one or more vehicles 13, 14, 15 and the cloud infrastructure 30. Data can be analyzed and behavior patterns predicted with the aid of an AI device 34 in a vehicle 13, 14, 15 and / or in the cloud infrastructure 30. A user of a mobile device 35 can also be integrated into the communication with the cloud infrastructure 30. For example, an application may be installed on the mobile device 35 that supports the parking management of the vehicle group. The vehicle group can be, for example, a group of vehicles of a vehicle manufacturer or of a plurality of vehicle manufacturers. In this way, as many data as possible are collected via predefined data communications and interfaces in order to enable predictions about parking space capacities and start and departure times of the vehicles 13, 14, 15. In the vicinity of the parking lot 10 or directly on the parking lot 10, a local infrastructure 40 or a parking lot infrastructure 40 is provided, which has a communication connection 36 to the cloud infrastructure 30. In this case, information can be exchanged between the cloud infrastructure 30, the parking space infrastructure 40 and the vehicles 13, 14, 15. Communication between the vehicles 13, 14, 15 is also possible, in particular car-to-car communication.In the figure, the incoming and parking-space-searching vehicle 14 receives the information that the outgoing vehicle 15 releases a parking space P 2 with a charging infrastructure. Thus, the parking space searching vehicle 14 can be directly guided to the parking space P 2 with charging infrastructure without further searching. The parking space P 8 is also a free parking space 18, but it does not have a charging infrastructure, so that the parking management system 50 does not offer this parking space 18 to the vehicle 14 seeking a parking space.The parking space infrastructure 40 in the figure has a transmitting and receiving device 41 for communication. Parking facility infrastructure 40 also has a database 41 and a computing device 42. Furthermore, the parking facility infrastructure 40 can additionally be equipped with an AI device 44. This can facilitate predictions for leaving parking spaces, since user data can also be taken into account by training data sets.The probability of a departure from further vehicles 15 can also be calculated and taken into account for the offer to vehicle 14 or to other incoming vehicles.In the parking spaces P 1 to P 4 in combination with a charging facility 12, the states of charge of the connected vehicles can also be used to take account of a forecast of the departure time of the vehicles in the parking spaces P 1, P 3 and P 4.Further users who search for a parking space 11 can be informed about possible parking spaces 11 in the vicinity via inter-vehicle communication. In this case, after user agreement, anonymous data (at least the position) are consolidated by the vehicles driving away. In the case of a correct offer, the searching vehicles are guided or driven toward the currently cleared parking space 11 (optionally with the function of automated driving and parking).The position of a parking space 11 can also be determined using redundant sensors, for example in a low-level garage or in the case of poor GPS reception (for example using cameras and / or dead-reckoning).A prediction can also be made with respect to an extension time (depending on anonymous consolidated data). For BEV, the charging times can also be included or set time taken into account for preconditioning or appointment events in the user calendar.In addition, the detection of possible parking spaces 11 that have become free or the parking / unparking of vehicles that do not belong to the fleet of vehicles is also supported via the surrounding vehicles via radar, parking sensors and / or cameras. The parked vehicles can also keep a bus system at rest permanently activated in order to detect and report possible changes in their environment (for example by means of front cameras, parking cameras, backup cameras or various radar functions and / or proximity sensors, etc.). A message may include, for example, information that another vehicle is driving in front of the parking-seeking vehicle or that another vehicle is driving in the vicinity.The size of a parking space and the best parking / unparking strategy (trajectory) can also be determined on the basis of sensors and / or dead-reckoning methods for vehicles of the fleet of vehicles. This information is available to all subscribers or customers of the parking service.Depending on the probability of a parking space becoming free of a suitable size, the vehicle searching for a parking space can be guided by an infotainment system or route guidance in a targeted manner to a free parking space.The habits of the respective users can also be trained (AI) or deliberately set, so that, for example, exclusive proposals for specific parking space types are made.As a result, the parking search is controlled selectively and is not permitted. The data in the databases are preferably made available to the fleet of vehicles.Overall, the examples show how a parking location may be provided for a vehicle by parking location assistance via inter-vehicle communication.List of reference characters10 Parking facility site 11 individual parking spaces, P1 to P8, for example, 12 charging infrastructure 13 parking vehicles 14 parking-space-seeking vehicle 15 driving vehicle 16 driving direction 17 leaving parking space 18 free parking space 20 communication device in the vehicle having transmitting and receiving device 21 one or more control devices 22 navigation device 30 cloud infrastructure 31 database of the fleet of vehicles or data memory 32 computing device 33 transmitting and receiving device of the cloud infrastructure 34 AI device 35 mobile device of a user 36 communication connection from and to the cloud infrastructure 37 vehicle-to-vehicle communication connection 40 local infrastructure or parking space infrastructure 41 database of the parking management system or data memory 42 computing device of the parking management system 43 transmitting and receiving device of the parking management system 44 AI device (AI= Artificial intelligence) 45 Communication link from the parking management system to one or more vehicles 50 Parking management systemReferences included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedDE 10 2015 222 566 A1

[0005] DE 10 2016 005 483 A1

[0006]

Claims

Method for finding a parking space (13), comprising receiving a request for a parking space search of a vehicle (14) which searches for a parking space, wherein the vehicle (14) which searches for a parking space is a first vehicle (13, 14, 15) of a fleet of vehicles; creating a profile of the vehicle (14) which searches for a parking space (18) or a parking space (17) which is becoming free; selecting a suitable parking space (17) on the basis of the profile of the vehicle (14) which searches for a parking space; and transmitting data to the vehicle (14) which searches for a parking space using information about the suitable parking space (17).Method according to Claim 1, further comprising providing data by vehicles (13, 14, 15) of the fleet of vehicles in a database (31, 41), wherein the data are used for the selection of a suitable parking space (17).Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the parking-space-searching vehicle (14) receives information about the suitable parking space (17) via vehicle-to-vehicle communication and / or via infrastructure-to-vehicle communication.Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the ascertainment of a parking space (17) which is becoming free is carried out taking into account a probability of a second vehicle (13, 14, 15) of the fleet of vehicles leaving.Parking management system (50) having a database (31, 41), a computing unit (32, 42) and a communication device (33, 43), wherein the communication device (33, 43) is configured to receive a request for a parking search of a vehicle (14) searching for a parking space; wherein the computing unit (32, 42) is configured to generate a profile of the vehicle (14) searching for a parking space on the basis of information stored in the database (31, 41); wherein the computing unit (32, 42) is configured to determine a free parking space (18) or a parking space (17) becoming free; wherein the computing unit (31, 41) is configured to select a suitable parking space (17) on the basis of the profile of the vehicle (14) searching for a parking space; and wherein the communication device (33, 43) is configured to transmit data to the vehicle (14) searching for a parking space with information about the suitable parking space (17).Parking management system (50) according to Claim 5, wherein the parking space management system (50) has a local infrastructure (40).The parking management system (50) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the parking management system (50) comprises a cloud infrastructure (30).Parking management system (50) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the parking management system (50) provides information in an application of a user.The parking management system (50) of any preceding claim, wherein the parking management system (50) provides graphics-based information in real-time.Vehicle (13, 14, 15) having a communication device (20) for communication with a parking management system (50), wherein the parking management system (50) is designed according to at least one of Claims 5 to 9, and wherein the vehicle (13, 14, 15) is part of a fleet of vehicles.

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