Parking lot management device

Abstract

To provide a technique capable of reducing a load of a contractor and a load of a manager of a parking lot by avoiding a situation where no contract vehicle can be parked.SOLUTION: A parking lot management device comprises a storage unit, a first determination unit, a second determination unit, and a parking control unit. The storage unit (102) stores contract information including contract vehicle identification information for identifying a contract vehicle of a contractor that contracts a first parking space out of a parking lot where the first parking space for the contract vehicle and a second parking space for a non-contract vehicle are arranged together. The first determination unit (100, 30 to 32) acquires vehicle identification information for identifying a vehicle inside the first parking space to determine presence / absence of the non-contract vehicle within the first parking space, based on the acquired vehicle identification information and contract vehicle identification information. The second determination unit (100, 30 to 32) determines presence / absence of the vacant second parking space. The parking control unit (100, 30 to 32) performs parking control of the parking lot, based on the contract information, and determination results of the first determination unit and the second determination unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a parking lot management device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a technique for guiding a vehicle entering a parking lot to an empty parking space has been disclosed. For example, the parking lot guidance system described in Patent Document 1 below guides an automobile to an empty parking lot according to the size of the vehicle entering the parking lot, or warns when the automobile enters a parking prohibited area or a parking area different from the designated area.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, in a parking lot, there may be a monthly parking space and a rental parking space provided together. The monthly parking space is a parking space where a vehicle of a contractor who has made a contract in advance (hereinafter referred to as a contract vehicle) can always park. The rental parking space is a parking space where a vehicle that has not been contracted (hereinafter referred to as a non-contract vehicle) can park temporarily. In such a parking lot, if a non-contract vehicle parks in the monthly parking space, a situation will occur where the contract vehicle of this monthly parking space cannot park. In this case, the contractor of this contract vehicle has no choice but to inquire with the administrator of the parking lot by phone or the like and wait for the administrator's response. In addition, the administrator has to go to the site and respond every time such an inquiry is made.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a technique that can prevent a situation where a contract vehicle cannot park and reduce the burden on the contractor and the administrator of the parking lot.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The parking lot management device according to the present disclosure includes a storage unit, a first determination unit, a second determination unit, and a parking control unit. The storage unit stores contract information including contract vehicle identification information for identifying contract vehicles of a contractor who has contracted for a first parking space among parking lots where a first parking space for contract vehicles and a second parking space for non-contract vehicles are provided side by side. The first determination unit acquires vehicle identification information for identifying a vehicle within the first parking space, and determines the presence or absence of a non-contract vehicle within the first parking space based on the acquired vehicle identification information and the contract vehicle identification information. The second determination unit determines the presence or absence of an available second parking space. The parking control unit performs parking control of the parking lot based on the contract information and the determination results of the first determination unit and the second determination unit.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] According to the above configuration, it is possible to prevent a situation where a contract vehicle cannot park, and reduce the burdens on the contractor and the administrator of the parking lot.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5A

Figure 5B

Figure 5C

Figure 5D

Figure 5E

Figure 5F

Figure 6

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will not be repeated.

[0010] (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a parking lot P in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the parking lot P has a monthly parking space PA (PA1 to PA5) provided in the site and a hourly rental parking space PB (PB1 to PB3). Hereinafter, when the monthly parking spaces PA1 to PA5 are not distinguished, they may be described as the monthly parking space PA, and when the hourly rental parking spaces PB1 to PB3 are not distinguished, they may be described as the hourly rental parking space PB.

[0011] In the present embodiment, the monthly parking space PA is an example of the first parking space, and the hourly rental parking space PB is an example of the second parking space. Note that the layout of the parking lot P and the number of parking spaces are not limited to the example shown in FIG. 1.

[0012] The monthly parking space PA is a parking space where a contract vehicle of a contractor who has entered into a parking contract with the management company of the parking lot P can park. Any one of the monthly parking spaces PA is assigned in advance to one contract vehicle. The hourly rental parking space PB is a parking space where non-contract vehicles can park and a parking fee is generated according to the parking time.

[0013] In addition, the parking lot P is provided with an entrance / exit E through which vehicles enter and exit, a payment machine 1, an occupancy indicator 2, and a plurality of cameras 3 (30 to 32). In this embodiment, the entrance and the exit of the parking lot P are the same, but the entrance and the exit may be provided separately.

[0014] The camera 30 is provided at the entrance / exit E and captures an image of a vehicle including the number of the vehicle entering and exiting the parking lot P. The cameras 31 and 32 are provided near the hourly rental parking space PB and the monthly parking space PA, and capture an image of the hourly rental parking space PB or the monthly parking space PA. The cameras 30 to 32 sequentially output the captured video data to the payment machine 1. Note that the number of cameras 3 is not limited to the embodiment as long as the numbers of at least the vehicles entering and exiting the parking lot P and the vehicles parked in the hourly rental parking space PB and the monthly parking space PA can be confirmed.

[0015] The occupancy indicator 2 is arranged beside the entrance / exit E outside the parking lot P and displays either full or empty under the control of the parking lot management device 10. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the occupancy indicator 2 is in a state where "empty" is displayed.

[0016] The payment machine 1 includes a parking lot management device 10, a touch panel 12, and a speaker 13. When a power supply (not shown) of the payment machine 1 is turned on, the payment machine 1 calculates the parking fee for the hourly rental parking space PB and performs parking control by the parking lot management device 10. This will be specifically described below.

[0017] The payment machine 1 is arranged beside the entrance / exit E inside the parking lot P. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the payment machine 1 and the parking lot management device 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the payment machine 1 includes a parking lot management device 10, a touch panel 12 (an example of a display unit and an operation unit), a speaker 13, and a payment control device 20. Although not shown, the payment machine 1 is provided with a money insertion slot for inserting coins and banknotes, and a payout slot for paying out coins and banknotes.

[0018] The touch panel 12 displays an image related to parking or settlement under the control of the parking lot management device 10 or the settlement control device 20. Further, the touch panel 12 outputs operation information indicating the position touched by the user's finger to the parking lot management device 10 or the settlement control device 20.

[0019] The speaker 13 outputs a voice related to parking or settlement under the control of the parking lot management device 10 or the settlement control device 20.

[0020] The settlement control device 20 stores the vehicle number of a non - contract vehicle parked in the hourly - rental parking space PB and the parking start time of the non - contract vehicle from the video of the camera 3. Further, the settlement control device 20 stores the parking end time of a non - contract vehicle exiting from the hourly - rental parking space PB from the video of the camera 3, and calculates a parking fee corresponding to the parking time from the parking start time and the parking end time of the non - contract vehicle. Then, the settlement control device 20 notifies the user of the parking fee via the touch panel 12 and the speaker 13 in response to an operation on the touch panel 12 by the user. The settlement control device 20 accepts a payment operation of the parking fee by the user and performs the settlement of the parking fee.

[0021] The parking lot management device 10 is communicatively connected to the occupancy indicator 2 and the cameras 3 (30 - 32). Further, the parking lot management device 10 is connected to the server 6 via a communication network such as the Internet. The server 6 is a server managed by the management company of the parking lot P. Contract information regarding contract vehicles is stored in the server 6. The contract information is registered by the management company of the parking lot P. Details of the contract information will be described later.

[0022] Note that the server 6 may be able to acquire video data captured by the camera 3 from the camera 3 or the parking lot management device 10. By sending the video data of the parking lot P to the server 6, the person in charge of the management company can check the situation inside the parking lot P and can go to the parking lot P to respond as necessary.

[0023] The parking lot management device 10 includes a control unit 100, a communication unit 101, and a storage unit 102. The communication unit 101 is a communication interface for communicating with the server 6. Under the control of the control unit 100, the communication unit 101 acquires contract information from the server 6.

[0024] The storage unit 102 includes non-volatile memories such as an SSD (Solid State Drive), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and a flash memory. Under the control of the control unit 100, the storage unit 102 stores the contract information acquired by the communication unit 101 and various control data used for parking control. In this embodiment, the contract information is acquired from the server 6 and stored in the storage unit 102, but it may be stored in the storage unit 102 in advance. Also, the contract information may be stored in an external storage device electrically connected to the control unit 100, and the control unit 100 may read the contract information from the external storage device and store it in the storage unit 102.

[0025] Note that the control data includes voice data and image data for guiding parking and the like, and parking determination data. The parking determination data includes, for example, an image recognition program for determining parking or vacancy in the monthly parking space PA and the hourly rental parking space PB from the image captured by the camera 3.

[0026] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the contract information in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, for each contractor ID, the contract information associates a contract vehicle compartment, a contract vehicle number (an example of contract vehicle identification information), and as contractor information, data such as the contractor name, telephone number, and email address. The contractor ID is identification information that uniquely identifies the contractor. The contract vehicle compartment is any one of the monthly parking spaces PA1 to PA5 assigned to the contractor. The contract vehicle number is the vehicle number of the contract vehicle that can be parked in the contract vehicle compartment. The contractor name, telephone number, and email address are, respectively, the name of the contractor, the contact telephone number of the contractor, and the email address. The contractor name, telephone number, and email address are examples of contractor information, and various other information such as a password set by the contractor may be arbitrarily set in addition to these.

[0027] The control unit 100 is electrically connected to the touch panel 12 and the speaker 13 provided in the calculator 1. The control unit 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and memories (ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory)). The control unit 100 controls each unit connected to the control unit 100 by the CPU executing a program stored in advance in the ROM to perform parking control.

[0028] Specifically, the control unit 100 performs a first determination process, a second determination process, a counting process, and a parking control process. The first determination process includes a process of determining whether or not a non-contract vehicle is parked in the monthly pole parking space PA by using the image of the camera 3 and the parking determination data and the contract information (FIG. 3) in the storage unit 102. More specifically, in the first determination process, it is determined whether or not there is a vehicle in the monthly pole parking space PA from the parking determination data and the image of the camera 3, and the vehicle number of the vehicle in the monthly pole parking space PA is acquired from the image of the camera 3. Then, the acquired vehicle number is compared with the contract vehicle number of the contract information, and it is determined whether or not a non-contract vehicle is parked in the monthly pole parking space PA. The first determination process also includes a process of specifying the contract car room in which the non-contract vehicle is parked when the non-contract vehicle is parked in the monthly pole parking space PA.

[0029] The second determination process includes a process of determining whether or not there is an available hourly rental parking space PB based on the image of the camera 3 by using the parking determination data in the storage unit 102. The second determination process also includes a process of specifying the available car room of the hourly rental parking space PB.

[0030] The counting process counts non-contract vehicles parked in the parking lot P based on the image of the camera 3 and the contract information. More specifically, in the counting process, the vehicle number of the vehicle in the parking lot P is acquired from the image of the camera 3. Then, the acquired vehicle number is compared with the contract vehicle number of the contract information to identify non-contract vehicles parked in the parking lot P, and the non-contract vehicles are counted.

[0031] The parking control process performs parking control of the parking lot P based on the image of camera 3, the contract information in the storage unit 102, the results of the first determination process, the second determination process, and the counting process. The parking control includes a first process, a second process, a third process, and a fourth process.

[0032] The first process and the second process are processes for performing entry control of non - contract vehicles into the parking lot P. Specifically, the first process is a process of permitting entry of a new non - contract vehicle only when the number (count value) of non - contract vehicles parked is less than the total number of time - rental parking spaces PB and the time - rental parking space PB is vacant. That is, in this example, even if the number of non - contract vehicles parked is less than 3, if the time - rental parking space PB is not vacant, entry of a new non - contract vehicle is restricted.

[0033] The second process is a process of restricting entry of a new non - contract vehicle when the number (count value) of non - contract vehicles parked matches the total number of time - rental parking spaces PB. That is, in this example, regardless of whether the time - rental parking space PB is vacant or not, if the number of non - contract vehicles parked is 3, entry of a new non - contract vehicle is restricted.

[0034] In this embodiment, when permitting entry of a new non - contract vehicle, the control unit 100 switches the display of the occupancy indicator 2 (Figure 1) to "vacant". Also, when restricting entry of a new non - contract vehicle, the control unit 100 switches the display of the occupancy indicator 2 to "full".

[0035] The third process includes a process of parking the contract vehicle in a vacant time - rental parking space PB when a non - contract vehicle is parked in the contract vehicle room of the entered contract vehicle. Specifically, in the third process, the control unit 100 uses the touch panel 12 and the speaker 13 to give a notice to guide the contract vehicle in the contract vehicle room where the non - contract vehicle is parked to the vacant time - rental parking space PB. Note that in the third process, the control unit 100 does not perform the third process if no non - contract vehicle is parked in the contract vehicle room of the entered contract vehicle.

[0036] The fourth process includes a process of giving a notification to prompt movement to a non - contract vehicle parked in the Tsukigoku parking space PA. Specifically, when a non - contract vehicle that has entered the parking lot is parked in the Tsukigoku parking space PA, the control unit 100 causes the speaker 13 to output a voice instructing the non - contract vehicle to move from the Tsukigoku parking space PA to the time - loan parking space PB. In addition, the control unit 100 causes the touch panel 12 to display a guidance screen instructing the movement from the Tsukigoku parking space PA to the time - loan parking space PB. Whether or not a non - contract vehicle is parked in the Tsukigoku parking space PA is determined based on the video of the camera 3 and the contract information.

[0037] In the present embodiment, the control unit 100 and the cameras 30 to 32 are examples of a first determination unit, a second determination unit, a counting unit, and a parking control unit. Also, the vehicle number is an example of vehicle identification information.

[0038] (Operation) FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the operation flow of the parking lot management device 10. FIGS. 5A to 5F are diagrams showing parking examples in the parking lot P. Hereinafter, the operation of the parking lot management device 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5F. The flow shown in FIG. 4 is started when the power supply (not shown) of the cash register 1 is turned on.

[0039] In step S11 of FIG. 4, the parking lot management device 10 starts the first process and the second process.

[0040] Specifically, the control unit 100 acquires contract information from the server 6 via the communication unit 101 and stores it in the storage unit 102, and sequentially acquires video from the camera 3. The control unit 100 uses the parking determination data stored in the storage unit 102 to count the number of non - contract vehicles parked in the parking lot P based on the contract information and the video. A parking vehicle whose vehicle number included in the video does not match the contract vehicle number in the contract information is counted as a non - contract vehicle.

[0041] When the counted number of non - contract vehicles matches the total number “3” of the hourly - rental parking spaces PB, the control unit 100 switches the display of the occupancy indicator 2 to “Full” and restricts the entry of new non - contract vehicles into the parking lot P (Second Process).

[0042] Also, if the counted number of non - contract vehicles is less than the total number “3” of the hourly - rental parking spaces PB, the control unit 100 determines the presence or absence of available hourly - rental parking spaces PB from the video. If there is an available hourly - rental parking space PB, the control unit 100 switches the display of the occupancy indicator 2 to “Empty” and permits the entry of new non - contract vehicles into the parking lot P (First Process).

[0043] FIG. 5A shows a parking example where the entry of non - contract vehicles is permitted by the execution of the First Process. In this example, the contract vehicles Ca1, Ca3, and Ca5 are parked in the three monthly - reserved parking spaces PA1, PA3, and PA5, and the non - contract vehicle Cb1 is parked in the hourly - rental parking space PB1. The number of non - contract vehicles Cb1 parked (= “1”) is less than the total number “3” of the hourly - rental parking spaces PB, and the hourly - rental parking spaces PB2 and PB3 are available. Therefore, the occupancy indicator 2 is displayed as “Empty”.

[0044] Returning to FIG. 4, when a non - contract vehicle enters the parking lot P (step S12: YES), the control unit 100 determines whether the non - contract vehicle has parked in the monthly - reserved parking space PA (step S13). Specifically, when the number of the vehicle entering the parking lot P included in the video of the camera 30 does not match the contract vehicle number in the contract information, the control unit 100 determines the entering vehicle as a non - contract vehicle. Then, the control unit 100 determines whether the non - contract vehicle has parked in the monthly - reserved parking space PA from the videos of the cameras 31 and 32.

[0045] When the control unit 100 determines that the non-contract vehicle that has entered has parked in the monthly pole parking space PA (step S13: YES), it executes the fourth process (step S14). That is, the control unit 100 determines whether the non-contract vehicle that has entered has parked in the monthly pole parking space PA from the image of the camera 3. And when it determines that a non-contract vehicle has parked in the monthly pole parking space PA, the control unit 100 notifies the non-contract vehicle of a movement instruction to the hourly parking space PB from the touch panel 12 and the speaker 13.

[0046] Also, in step S13, when it is determined that the non-contract vehicle that has entered has not parked in the monthly pole parking space PA (step S13: NO), that is, when the non-contract vehicle that has entered has parked in the hourly parking space PB, the control unit 100 repeats the processes of step S11 and below.

[0047] Figure 5B shows a parking example when the fourth process is executed. Specifically, Figure 5B shows a state where the non-contract vehicle Cb2 has entered and parked in the monthly pole parking space PA2 from the state shown in Figure 5A (step S13: YES in Figure 4). In this case, a voice prompting movement to the hourly parking space PB is output from the speaker 13, and an image prompting movement to the hourly parking space PB is displayed on the touch panel 12 (step S14 in Figure 4).

[0048] Returning to Figure 4, in step S12, when the vehicle that has entered the parking lot P is not a non-contract vehicle (step S12: NO), that is, when a contract vehicle has entered, the control unit 100 determines whether the contract vehicle can park in the contract vehicle room of the monthly pole parking space PA (step S15).

[0049] Specifically, when the number of the vehicle that has entered the parking lot P included in the video of the camera 30 matches the contract vehicle number in the contract information, the control unit 100 determines that the entered vehicle is a contract vehicle. Then, the control unit 100 uses the videos of the cameras 31 and 32, the contract information (Figure 3) and the parking judgment data in the storage unit 102 to determine whether a vehicle is parked in the contract vehicle compartment of the entered contract vehicle. That is, in the videos of the cameras 31 and 32 when the contract vehicle enters, if an image of a vehicle parked in the contract vehicle compartment of the contract vehicle is included, it is determined that the contract vehicle cannot be parked in the contract vehicle compartment (step S15: NO). Also, in the videos of the cameras 31 and 32 when the contract vehicle enters, if an image of a vehicle parked in the contract vehicle compartment of the contract vehicle is not included, the control unit 100 determines that the contract vehicle can be parked in the contract vehicle compartment (step S15: YES).

[0050] In step S15, when the control unit 100 determines that the entered contract vehicle cannot be parked in the contract vehicle compartment of the monthly pole parking space PA (step S15: NO), it executes the third process (step S16). That is, based on the video of the camera 3, the control unit 100 notifies from the touch panel 12 and the speaker 13 an instruction to park the entered contract vehicle in the available hourly parking space PB.

[0051] Figure 5C is a diagram showing a parking example when the third process is executed. Specifically, Figure 5C shows an example in which the contract vehicle Ca2 of the monthly pole parking space PA2 enters and parks from the state shown in Figure 5B.

[0052] In this case, it is determined from the vehicle number of the contract vehicle Ca2 shown in the video of the camera 30 that the entered vehicle is not a non - contract vehicle (step S12: NO). Further, from the videos of the cameras 31 and 32 and the parking judgment data, it is determined that the contract vehicle Ca2 cannot be parked in the contract vehicle compartment "PA2" in the contract information (step S15: NO). This is because another vehicle (non - contract vehicle Cb2) is parked in the contract vehicle compartment "PA2" in this example.

[0053] Also, from the images of cameras 31 and 32 and the parking judgment data, for example, time-sharing parking space PB3 is selected as an available time-sharing parking space. Then, a voice and an image instructing to park in the time-sharing parking space PB3 are output from the speaker 13 and the touch panel 12 (step S16). The contract vehicle Ca2 can park in the time-sharing parking space PB3 according to the instructions of the voice from the speaker 13 and the image on the touch panel 12.

[0054] Returning to FIG. 4, in step S15, when the control unit 100 determines that the entered contract vehicle can park in the contract vehicle room of the monthly pole parking space PA (step S15: YES), the process proceeds to the process of step S17.

[0055] If the control unit 100 determines YES in step S15, or after the process of step S16, if there is no instruction to end the parking control by the administrator of the parking lot P (step S17: NO), the processes below step S11 are repeated. Also, if the control unit 100 receives an instruction to end the parking control from the administrator of the parking lot P (step S17: YES), the parking control is ended. Note that the end of the parking control is performed, for example, when the power of the cash register 1 is turned off by the administrator.

[0056] FIG. 5D shows a parking example when the entry of non-contract vehicles is restricted by the execution of the second process. Specifically, FIG. 5D shows an example in which after the contract vehicle Ca2 parks in the time-sharing parking space PB3 in FIG. 5C, the non-contract vehicle Cb3 parks in the time-sharing parking space PB2. In this case, the second process is executed by the control unit 100, and the display of the occupancy indicator 2 is switched from "empty" (FIG. 5C) to "full". That is, in the parking example shown in FIG. 5D, there are 3 non-contract vehicles parked, which is the same as the total number "3" of the time-sharing parking spaces PB. Therefore, the display of the occupancy indicator 2 is switched to "full", and the entry of non-contract vehicles is restricted.

[0057] FIG. 5E shows an example in which the entry of non-contract vehicles is restricted by the execution of the first process. Specifically, FIG. 5E shows a state in which the non-contract vehicle Cb2 parked in the monthly pole parking space PA2 in FIG. 5D exits the parking lot P. In this case, the number of non-contract vehicles parked is 2, which is less than the total number "3" of the hourly rental parking spaces PB, but the hourly rental parking space PB is not available. Therefore, by the first process of the control unit 100, the display of the occupancy indicator 2 maintains "Full".

[0058] Note that in FIG. 5E, the contract vehicle Ca2 parked in the hourly rental parking space PB3 should originally be parked in the monthly pole parking space PA2. Therefore, after the non-contract vehicle Cb2 parked in the monthly pole parking space PA2 exits, the control unit 100 may send an email to the email address of the contractor of the contract vehicle Ca2 in the contract information to guide the movement to the contract parking space "PA2".

[0059] FIG. 5F shows a parking example in which the entry of non-contract vehicles is permitted by the execution of the first process. Specifically, FIG. 5F is a diagram showing a state in which the contract vehicle Ca2 has moved to the monthly pole parking space PA2 from the state of FIG. 5E. By the first process of the control unit 100, it is determined that the number of non-contract vehicles parked is 2, which is less than the total number "3" of the hourly rental parking spaces PB, and the hourly rental parking space PB3 is available. Then, the display of the occupancy indicator 2 is switched from "Full" to "Empty", and the entry of new non-contract vehicles into the parking lot P is permitted.

[0060] In the above-described first embodiment, parking control processing of the parking lot P is performed based on the contract information including the contract vehicle number stored in the parking lot management device 10 and the determination results of the first determination processing and the second determination processing. In the first determination processing, based on the contract information and the video of the camera 3, it is determined whether or not a non-contract vehicle is parked in the monthly fixed parking space PA. In the second determination processing, based on the video of the camera 3, it is determined whether or not there is an available hourly rental parking space PB. That is, by the parking control processing, parking in the parking lot P is controlled according to the parking situation of non-contract vehicles in the monthly fixed parking space PA and the availability of the hourly rental parking space, so that a situation where a contract vehicle cannot park anywhere is less likely to occur. More specifically, in the parking control processing, when the number of non-contract vehicles parked in the parking lot P is less than the total number of hourly rental parking spaces PB and the hourly rental parking space PB is available, the parking lot management device 10 displays the character "Vacant" on the occupancy indicator 2, and entry of non-contract vehicles is permitted (first process). Also, when the number of non-contract vehicles parked in the parking lot P matches the total number of hourly rental parking spaces PB, the parking lot management device 10 displays the character "Full" on the occupancy indicator 2, and entry of non-contract vehicles is restricted (second process). Further, when a non-contract vehicle is parked in the contract vehicle space of the monthly fixed parking space PA, the parking lot management device 10 notifies the contract vehicle in that contract vehicle space to park in the available hourly rental parking space PB (third process).

[0061] That is, by the first process and the second process, a number of non-contract vehicles greater than the total number of hourly rental parking spaces PB do not enter the parking lot P. Therefore, even if a non-contract vehicle parks in the monthly fixed parking space PA, a vehicle space corresponding to the number of contract vehicles in the entire parking lot P is secured. Also, even if a non-contract vehicle is parked in the contract vehicle space of the monthly fixed parking space PA, the contract vehicle of the monthly fixed parking space PA can park in the available hourly rental parking space PB according to the notification of the parking lot management device 10 by the third process. Therefore, even when a non-contract vehicle is parked in the contract vehicle space of the monthly fixed parking space PA, the contractor can park the contract vehicle without inquiring with the management company of the parking lot P, and the labor for the person in charge of the management company to go to the parking lot P to respond is reduced.

[0062] In the first embodiment described above, the parking lot management device 10 instructs a non-contract vehicle parked in the monthly exclusive parking space PA to move to the time-rental parking space PB (fourth process). In response to the instruction from the parking lot management device 10, the driver and passengers of the non-contract vehicle can notice the mistake in the parking space and move the non-contract vehicle to the instructed time-rental parking space PB.

[0063] (Second Embodiment) In the second embodiment, parking control will be described for the case where a vehicle other than the contract vehicle (for example, a rental car or a substitute vehicle) of the contract holder of the monthly exclusive parking space PA in the first embodiment is parked in the monthly exclusive parking space PA. Hereinafter, mainly the configurations different from those in the first embodiment will be described.

[0064] When the control unit 100 (see FIG. 2) receives a predetermined input operation when the vehicle parked in the monthly exclusive parking space PA is not a contract vehicle, that is, a non-contract vehicle, in the first determination process, the vehicle is regarded as an alternative vehicle to the contract vehicle. In this embodiment, the predetermined input operation is, for example, an operation of having the vehicle number registered in the contract information input by the contract holder on the touch panel 12. That is, when a vehicle other than the contract vehicle of the contract holder of the monthly exclusive parking space PA is parked in the contract parking space, by inputting the contract vehicle number registered in the contract information to the touch panel 12, the vehicle is determined to be an alternative vehicle.

[0065] The predetermined input operation may include an operation of inputting one or more pieces of contract holder information such as a phone number registered in the contract information, in addition to the vehicle number. By inputting not only the vehicle number but also the contract holder information, the credibility of being the contract holder is enhanced.

[0066] When the control unit 100 is not regarded as an alternative vehicle in the first determination process, the fourth process is performed.

[0067] (Operation) FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart of the parking lot management device in the second embodiment. In FIG. 6, the same steps as those in the first embodiment are assigned the same step numbers for the same processes. Hereinafter, the operations different from those in the first embodiment will be described.

[0068] In step S13 of FIG. 6, when it is determined that the non-contract vehicle that has entered the parking lot has parked in the contract vehicle space PA of the monthly pole parking space (step S13: YES), the control unit 100 determines whether the non-contract vehicle is an alternative vehicle to the contract vehicle (step S131).

[0069] Specifically, the control unit 100 causes the touch panel 12 to display a screen for accepting a selection as to whether the vehicle parked in the contract vehicle space is an alternative vehicle to the contract vehicle. Then, when the control unit 100 receives a selection operation indicating that it is an alternative vehicle via the touch panel 12, the control unit 100 causes the touch panel 12 to display an input screen for inputting the vehicle number of the contract vehicle and accepts an input operation of the vehicle number.

[0070] When the vehicle number input to the touch panel 12 is registered in the contract information stored in the storage unit 102, the control unit 100 determines that the vehicle parked in the contract vehicle space is an alternative vehicle to the contract vehicle. Also, when the vehicle number input to the touch panel 12 is not registered in the contract information stored in the storage unit 102, the control unit 100 determines that the vehicle parked in the monthly pole parking space PA is not an alternative vehicle to the contract vehicle.

[0071] In step S131, when it is determined that it is an alternative vehicle to the contract vehicle (step S131: YES), the control unit 100 repeats the processes of step S11 and below. Also, in step S131, when it is determined that it is not an alternative vehicle to the contract vehicle (step S131: NO), the control unit 100 performs the process of step S14.

[0072] In addition, when the control unit 100 regards a vehicle as a substitute vehicle for a contracted vehicle, it may register an image of the substitute vehicle captured by the camera 3 in the contract information according to the input operation of the contractor. Specifically, for example, the control unit 100 may display an image of the substitute vehicle captured by the camera 30 on the touch panel 12 and accept a selection operation as to whether to register the image of the substitute vehicle in the contract information. After registering the image of the substitute vehicle in the contract information, the input operation of the vehicle number or the like by the contractor becomes unnecessary, and the load of the determination process for the substitute vehicle is reduced.

[0073] In the second embodiment, when the vehicle parked in the monthly parking space PA is a non-contracted vehicle, the parking lot management device 10 accepts an input operation of the vehicle number of the contracted vehicle, determines that the vehicle is a substitute vehicle for the contracted vehicle, and permits parking in the monthly parking space PA. Therefore, the contractor of the monthly parking space PA can park a rental car or the like different from the contracted vehicle in the contracted vehicle compartment.

[0074] As described above, the embodiments of the parking lot management device have been described with reference to the drawings. However, the parking lot management device is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist thereof. In addition, by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the above embodiments, various inventions can be formed. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments. The drawings are schematically shown mainly for each component for easy understanding, and the number of each component shown in the drawings may be different from the actual situation for convenience of drawing creation. In addition, each component shown in the above embodiments is an example and is not particularly limited, and various changes can be made without substantially departing from the effects of the present configuration.

[0075] (1) In the first and second embodiments, a gate bar (an example of an entrance gate) may be installed at the entrance of the parking lot P. In this case, when restricting the entry of a non-contracted vehicle, the parking lot management device 10 may change the display of the occupancy indicator 2 to "full" and control the gate bar so that the vehicle cannot enter the parking lot P.

[0076] In addition, when the parking lot management device 10 determines from the contract information and the video of the camera 30 that the vehicle attempting to enter the parking lot P is a contract vehicle or an alternative vehicle, the parking lot management device 10 controls the gate bar to allow the contract vehicle to enter the parking lot P. Further, in the second embodiment, a display unit and an operation unit electrically connected to the parking lot management device 10 may be installed at the entrance so that the vehicle number of the contract vehicle can be input at the entrance of the parking lot P. The parking lot management device 10 determines whether the vehicle is an alternative vehicle to the contract vehicle based on the vehicle number input via the operation unit provided at the entrance and the contract information stored in the storage unit 102. By configuring in this way, an alternative vehicle to the contract vehicle can be allowed to enter the parking lot P.

[0077] (2) In the second embodiment, as alternative vehicle information regarding the alternative vehicle, at least one of the vehicle number of the alternative vehicle and a photographic image including the vehicle number of the alternative vehicle may be registered in advance in the contract information. In this case, the person in charge of the management company of the parking lot P may register the alternative vehicle information received from the contractor in the contract information on the server 6 (see FIG. 2). Or, the contractor may be able to upload the alternative vehicle information to the contract information on the server 6 using a smartphone or the like. By configuring in this way, the parking lot management device 10 can determine whether the vehicle that has entered is an alternative vehicle without receiving an input operation such as a vehicle number by the contractor at the parking lot P.

[0078] (3) In the first embodiment, when the contract vehicle cannot be parked in the contract parking space (step S15 in FIG. 4: NO), the parking lot management device 10 may, as a third process, send a guidance email of the time-rental parking space PB that can be parked to the email address of the contractor in the contract information.

[0079] (4) The predetermined input operation in the second embodiment may be an operation of inputting at least one of the vehicle number and the contractor information. Also, the contractor information to be input may be one or a plurality.

[0080] Alternatively, instead of inputting the vehicle number and contractor information, the parking lot management device 10 may authenticate the contractor using the face image of the contractor captured by the camera 3. In this case, the face image of the contractor may be registered in advance in the contract information, and the face image of the contractor registered in the contract information may be compared with the face image captured by the camera 3 in the control unit 100 to authenticate the contractor.

[0081] (5)In the first and second embodiments, for example, a rotating light (an example of a notification unit) that can be wirelessly connected to the parking lot management device 10 may be provided near the monthly parking space PA. When a non-contracted vehicle parks in the monthly parking space PA, the parking lot management device 10 may turn on the rotating light in the fourth process to warn the non-contracted vehicle of the parking prohibition.

Industrial Applicability

[0082] The present disclosure can be used in a parking lot where a monthly parking lot and a rental parking lot are provided side by side.

Explanation of Signs

[0083] 1 Cash register 2 Occupancy indicator 3, 30 - 32 Cameras 6 Server 10 Parking lot management device 12 Touch panel 13 Speaker 20 Settlement control device 100 Control unit 101 Communication unit 102 Storage unit P Parking lot PA, PA1 - PA5 Monthly parking spaces PB, PB1 - PB3 Rental parking spaces

Claims

1. Among parking lots with a first parking space for contract vehicles and a second parking space for non - contract vehicles, a storage unit that stores contract information including contract vehicle identification information for identifying contract vehicles of a contractor who has contracted for the first parking space; A first determination unit that acquires vehicle identification information for identifying a vehicle within the first parking space and determines the presence or absence of a non - contract vehicle within the first parking space based on the acquired vehicle identification information and the contract vehicle identification information; A second determination unit that determines the presence or absence of an available second parking space; A parking lot management device including a parking control unit that performs parking control of the parking lot based on the contract information and the determination results of the first determination unit and the second determination unit.

2. Further comprising a counting unit that acquires the vehicle identification information of a vehicle within the parking lot and counts the non - contract vehicles parked in the parking lot based on the acquired vehicle identification information and the contract vehicle identification information, The parking control includes: A first process of permitting entry of a new non - contract vehicle when the count value of the counting unit is less than the total number of the second parking spaces and the second determination unit determines that there is an available second parking space; A second process of restricting entry of the new non - contract vehicle when the count value of the counting unit matches the total number of the second parking spaces; A third process of parking the contract vehicle of the first parking space in the available second parking space when the first determination unit determines that there is a non - contract vehicle in the first parking space. The parking lot management device according to Claim 1.

3. Further comprising a notification unit, When the parking control unit determines that a non - contract vehicle is parked in the first parking space by the first determination unit, as a fourth process, the parking control unit causes the notification unit to perform a notification prompting movement to the second parking space. The parking lot management device according to Claim 2.

4. The parking lot is provided with an entry gate that is communicatively connected to the parking control unit, In the second process, the parking control unit performs at least one of notification control for causing the notification unit to perform a notification prohibiting entry of the new non - contract vehicle into the parking lot and gate control for blocking the entry gate for the new non - contract vehicle. The parking lot management device according to Claim 3.

5. In the third process, the parking control unit causes the notification unit to notify the contract vehicle in the first parking space where the non - contract vehicle is parked of the guidance to the available second parking space. The parking lot management device according to claim 3 or 4.

6. The parking lot management device further includes an operation unit that receives a user operation. The vehicle identification information includes a predetermined vehicle number. The contract information includes a predetermined vehicle number of the contract vehicle as the contract vehicle identification information and contractee information regarding the contractee. When the vehicle number indicated by the acquired vehicle identification information does not match the vehicle number of the contract vehicle, the first determination unit regards the vehicle as an alternative vehicle to the contract vehicle when at least one of the vehicle number of the contract vehicle and the contractee information is input as the user operation in the operation unit. The parking lot management device according to claim 3.

7. The contract information includes alternative vehicle information regarding an alternative vehicle different from the contract vehicle that is temporarily parked in the first parking space. When the vehicle number of the vehicle parked in the first parking space does not match the vehicle number of the contract vehicle, the first determination unit determines whether the vehicle is an alternative vehicle based on the alternative vehicle information. The parking lot management device according to claim 3.

8. When the vehicle is not regarded as the alternative vehicle in the first determination unit, the parking control unit performs the fourth process. The parking lot management device according to claim 6 or 7.

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