Parking lot guiding device, and method for the same

Abstract

To provide users with information on a P&R (park and ride) parking lot in a stage before arriving at a destination, for example, in the stage searching for a facility, a place name and other serving as the destination, and facilitate using the P&R parking lot.SOLUTION: A parking lot guiding device comprises: a parking lot data storage unit; a facility and the like designation unit; a parking lot selection unit; and a parking lot suggestion unit. The parking lot data storage unit is configured to store a relationship between a special facility and the like and the P&R parking lot, and accept a designation such as a facility and the like by users, the parking lot selection unit is configured to, when the facility and the like designated by the user corresponds to the special facility and the like, select the P&R parking lot corresponding to the designated special facility and the like, and the parking lot suggestion unit is configured to suggest or not to suggest the selected P&R parking lot according to a prescribed condition.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a parking lot guidance device and a method thereof, and more particularly to a parking lot guidance device and a method thereof that utilize a park-and-ride (hereinafter referred to as P&R) parking lot.

Background Art

[0002] With the expected increase in tourism demand, it is necessary to strengthen measures to address the traffic congestion problem of vehicles at tourist destinations. Similar traffic congestion problems also occur at commercial facilities and event venues in urban areas. One measure to solve such traffic congestion problems is the construction of P&R parking lots. A P&R parking lot is a parking lot suitable for reaching the user's destination by means other than the vehicle parked here, and the means other than the parked vehicle mainly includes public transportation (hereinafter the same in this specification). For example, refer to Patent Documents 1 to 3 as documents introducing the technology related to the present invention.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Disclosure of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The use of P&R parking lots is an effective measure to solve the above traffic congestion problems. However, many drivers who are users often do not know the existence of P&R parking lots or their usefulness. In addition, after experiencing traffic congestion and arriving at the destination, they may come to know the existence of the P&R parking lot. Therefore, the present invention enables the provision of information regarding P&R parking lots to users at a stage before arriving at the destination, for example, at a stage where a facility, a place name, or the like (facilities, etc., the same hereinafter in this specification) which is the destination is specified, thereby promoting the use of P&R parking lots.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and its first aspect is defined as follows. A parking lot guidance device comprising a parking lot data storage unit, a facility etc. designation unit, a parking lot selection unit, and a parking lot presentation unit, wherein the parking lot data storage unit stores the relationship between special facilities etc. and P&R parking lots, the facility etc. designation unit accepts the designation of facilities etc. by the user, when the facility etc. designated by the user corresponds to the special facilities etc., the parking lot selection unit selects a P&R parking lot corresponding to the designated special facilities etc., and the parking lot presentation unit presents or does not present the selected P&R parking lot according to predetermined conditions, a parking lot guidance device.

[0006] According to the parking lot guidance device of the first aspect defined as above, when the facility etc. designated by the user via the facility etc. designation unit corresponds to the special facilities etc., the P&R parking lot corresponding to this special facilities etc. is selected by the parking lot selection unit. Here, the special facilities etc. are stored in advance in the parking lot data storage unit corresponding to the P&R parking lot. The P&R parking lot selected in this way is presented or not presented to the user by the parking lot presentation unit according to predetermined conditions, in other words, as necessary. By presenting the P&R parking lot to the user, the use of the P&R parking lot is promoted, and as a result, the arrival of the user to the destination also becomes smooth.

[0007] The second aspect of the present invention is defined as follows. That is, In the apparatus defined in the first aspect, the predetermined condition is the difference between the direct movement cost when directly reaching the designated facility or the like and the detour movement cost when moving to the designated facility or the like via the selected P&R parking lot. When the latter detour movement cost is smaller than the former direct movement cost, the P&R parking lot is presented to the user by the parking lot presentation unit. Of course, whether to use the P&R parking lot or not is left to the judgment of the user. When the direct movement cost is smaller than the detour movement cost, it is not necessary to specifically guide the P&R parking lot.

[0008] As the movement cost, the time required to reach the designated facility or the like (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the destination) from the current position can be adopted. The time required to reach the destination or the P&R parking lot from the current position is calculated by the function of a general-purpose navigation device that incorporates road information such as traffic jam information. The time of the public transportation from the P&R parking lot to the destination may be stored in advance, or may be obtained each time by using the official website of the public transportation operating company via the communication network.

[0009] The third aspect of this invention is defined as follows. That is, In the apparatus of the second aspect, the parking lot data storage unit stores a first P&R parking lot and a second P&R parking lot corresponding to the designated facility or the like, The parking lot selection unit selects the first or second P&R parking lot based on the comparison between the direct movement cost and the detour movement cost. According to the apparatus of the third aspect defined in this way, when two P&R parking lots (the first and second P&R parking lots) are associated with the designated facility or the like, the detour movement cost when each P&R parking lot is selected is compared with the direct movement cost to the designated facility or the like (destination). For example, the P&R parking lot with the smaller movement cost is selected.

[0010] The fourth aspect of this invention is defined as follows. That is, In the apparatus according to the third aspect, the parking lot data storage unit further stores a first guidance from the first P&R parking lot to the designated facility or the like and a second guidance from the second P&R parking lot to the designated facility or the like. The parking lot presentation unit presents the first or second guidance together with the selected first or second P&R parking lot. For users who are not aware of the existence of P&R parking lots, it is common not to know the route (the route of public transportation) from the P&R parking lot to the designated facility or the like (destination). Therefore, by presenting the guidance from the P&R parking lot to the designated facility (destination) or the like, the apparatus becomes more user-friendly for the users.

[0011] The fifth aspect of this invention is defined as follows. That is, A database creation apparatus including a P&R parking lot extraction unit, a special facility or the like extraction unit, and a relationship specifying unit, wherein the P&R parking lot extraction unit extracts candidate parking lots that can be P&R parking lots from map data according to a predetermined first rule, the special facility or the like extraction unit analyzes the driving history of the probe car according to a predetermined second rule to extract special facilities or the like that are the targets of P&R parking lot use, the relationship specifying unit selects candidate parking lots that are in a relationship of a predetermined third rule with the extracted special facilities or the like, specifies the candidate parking lots as P&R parking lots, and associates them with the special facilities or the like, a database creation apparatus.

[0012] According to the database creation apparatus defined in this way, by analyzing the driving history of the probe car, special facilities or the like associated with the P&R parking lot are extracted. In other words, based on the driving history of the probe car, special facilities or the like and the P&R parking lot are associated with each other. Since the driving history of the probe car is used, the relationship between the two becomes realistic.

[0013] The sixth aspect of this invention is defined as follows. That is, In the database creation device defined in the fifth aspect, the relationship specifying unit selects a plurality of candidate parking lots for the special facility or the like, specifies these as the first and second P&R parking lots, and ranks the first and second P&R parking lots according to a predetermined Rule 3-1. According to the database creation device of the sixth aspect defined in this way, when a plurality of P&R parking lots are associated with a special facility or the like, ranking is performed according to Rule 3-1. Such ranking serves as a criterion for strength when presenting a plurality of P&R parking lots to the user. Here, as Rule 3-1, the travel time from the P&R parking lot to the special facility or the like can be adopted, but other criteria such as fees can also be used. Also, the strength in the presentation of the first P&R parking lot and the second P&R parking lot is reflected in the order of display on the navigation screen and the like.

[0014] The seventh aspect of this invention is defined as follows. That is, In the database creation device defined in the fifth aspect, a parking lot guidance data storage unit that stores guidance from the P&R parking lot to the special facility or the like is further provided. According to the database creation device of the seventh aspect defined in this way, since the guidance from the P&R parking lot to the special facility or the like is further stored, by presenting this guidance to the user, it becomes more user-friendly for the user.

[0015] The eighth aspect of this invention is a parking lot guidance method using the parking lot guidance device of the first aspect, and is defined as follows. A parking lot guidance method using a parking lot guidance device including a parking lot data storage unit, a facility or the like specifying unit, a parking lot selection unit, and a parking lot presentation unit, causing the parking lot data storage unit to store the relationship between the special facility or the like and the P&R parking lot, causing the facility or the like specifying unit to accept the specification of the facility or the like by the user, When the facility or the like designated by the user corresponds to the special facility or the like in the parking lot selection unit, the parking lot selection unit is caused to select a P&R parking lot corresponding to the designated special facility or the like. A parking lot guidance method for causing the parking lot presentation unit to present or not present the selected P&R parking lot according to a predetermined condition.

[0016] A ninth aspect of the present invention is a computer program applied to the parking lot guidance apparatus of the first aspect, which is defined as follows. A computer program applied to a parking lot guidance apparatus including a parking lot data storage unit, a facility or the like designation unit, a parking lot selection unit, and a parking lot presentation unit, Causing the parking lot data storage unit to store the relationship between the special facility or the like and the P&R parking lot, Causing the facility or the like designation unit to receive the designation of the facility or the like by the user, When the facility or the like designated by the user corresponds to the special facility or the like in the parking lot selection unit, the parking lot selection unit is caused to select a P&R parking lot corresponding to the designated special facility or the like. A program for causing the parking lot presentation unit to present or not present the selected P&R parking lot according to a predetermined condition.

[0017] A tenth aspect of the present invention is a parking lot guidance method using the database creation apparatus of the fifth aspect, which is defined as follows. A database creation method using a database creation apparatus including a P&R parking lot extraction unit, a special facility or the like extraction unit, and a relationship specifying unit, Causing the P&R parking lot extraction unit to extract candidate parking lots that can be P&R parking lots from the map data according to a predetermined first rule, Causing the special facility or the like extraction unit to analyze the driving history of the probe car according to a predetermined second rule and extract special facilities or the like that are targets of using the P&R parking lot, A database creation method for causing the relationship specifying unit to select candidate parking lots having a relationship of a predetermined third rule with respect to the extracted special facilities or the like, specifying the candidate parking lots as P&R parking lots, and associating them with the special facilities or the like.

[0018] The eleventh aspect of this invention is a computer program applied to the parking lot guidance device of the fifth aspect, and is defined as follows. A computer program applied to a database creation device including a P&R parking lot extraction unit, a special facility extraction unit, and a relationship determination unit, causing the P&R parking lot extraction unit to extract candidate parking lots that can be P&R parking lots from map data according to a predetermined first rule, causing the special facility extraction unit to analyze the driving history of a probe car according to a predetermined second rule and extract special facilities and the like that are targets of P&R parking lot use, a program that causes the relationship determination unit to select candidate parking lots that are in a relationship of a predetermined third rule with respect to the extracted special facilities and the like, specify the candidate parking lots as P&R parking lots, and associate them with the special facilities and the like.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a database creation device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This database creation device 1 includes a P&R parking lot extraction unit 11, a candidate parking lot storage unit 13, a special facility extraction unit 15, a special facility storage unit 17, a relationship determination unit 20, and a P&R parking lot data storage unit 30. The P&R parking lot extraction unit 11 extracts parking lots (candidate parking lots) that can be P&R parking lots based on the parking lot data generally stored in the map data of the map data storage unit 3.

[0021] Here, the candidate parking lots that can be P&R parking lots preferably satisfy the following conditions (conditions of the first rule). (A) A predetermined parking capacity is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example, 100 vehicles) (B) Close to a station, stop, or boarding area of public transportation (for example, within a 5-minute walk) In addition, conditions regarding parking fees, for example, an upper limit value is defined, can also be adopted.

[0022] The special facilities and the like extracted by the special facility storage unit 17 are facilities and the like for which promotion of the use of P&R parking lots is required when the user of the navigation device designates them as destinations. Examples of such special facilities and the like include facilities at tourist spots, place names representing tourist spots, names of tourist spots, famous facilities in urban areas, and the like. For example, the following (1) to (5) can be cited. (1) Facilities at tourist spots where many tourists enjoy sightseeing and strolling. (2) Facilities with a short stay time (3) Facilities where the attached parking lot is likely to be full (4) Facilities where traffic jams are likely to occur near the facility (5) Facilities incorporated in regular courses and recommended courses

[0023] Whether each facility pre-stored in the map data storage unit 3 meets the conditions (the conditions of the second rule) such as the above (1) to (4) can be specified from the driving history of the probe car. (1) In the case of a facility in a tourist destination where there are many tourists enjoying sightseeing and taking walks, when analyzing the driving history of a vehicle (probe car) designated with this facility as the destination, as a pattern, it has parked at a plurality of other neighboring facilities during one trip (until returning home). The facility in (1) may also meet the condition in (2) that the stay time is short (for example, within 2 hours). (3) In the case of a facility where the attached parking lot is likely to be full, when analyzing the driving history of a probe car designated with this facility as the destination, as a pattern, there has been a long stop time before entering the facility parking lot, or it has parked at a parking lot other than the attached parking lot that is far (for example, 500 m or more) from the facility.

[0024] (4) In the case of a facility where traffic jams are likely to occur near the facility, when analyzing the driving history of a probe car designated with this facility as the destination, as a pattern, the roads near the facility are always congested during the daytime. In addition, when the facility is an event venue, it is preferably excluded from special facilities, etc. This is because traffic jams are inevitable during the event, but the drivers who intend to use the facility are fully aware that traffic jams will occur during the event. On the other hand, traffic jams hardly occur when there is no event, so it is not necessary to always make the facility a target for using the P&R parking lot as a special facility, etc. (5) In the case of a facility incorporated in a regular course or a recommended course, such a facility can be specified in advance without using the driving history of the probe car. The extraction of this facility can be performed based on the information on the facilities stored in the external database 7, or can also be manually input by the operator.

[0025] The special facilities, etc. extracted as described above by the special facility, etc. extraction unit 15 are stored in the special facility, etc. storage unit 17. The relationship specifying unit 20 specifies a parking lot suitable as a P&R parking lot from among the candidate parking lots stored in the candidate parking lot storage unit 13 for the special facilities etc. stored in the special facilities etc. storage unit 17. As specific conditions (conditions of the third rule), the following can be cited. (A) That the special facilities etc. and the candidate parking lot are connected by public transportation. (B) That the distance between the special facilities etc. and the candidate parking lot is within a predetermined threshold value (for example, 10 km) Furthermore, it is also possible to add as conditions the time required for movement between the special facilities etc. and the candidate parking lot, the fare of the transportation means, coupons (discount tickets), etc. by the special facilities etc. The P&R parking lot specified in this way is stored in the specified P&R parking lot storage unit 31 together with the correspondence relationship with the special facilities etc.

[0026] When there are a plurality of candidate parking lots that satisfy the conditions, all of them can be specified as P&R parking lots. In this case, (C) they can be made the first P&R parking lot, the second P&R parking lot,... in the order of the shortest distance between the special facilities etc. and the candidate parking lot (third - 1 rule).

[0027] The P&R parking lot data storage unit 30 includes a parking lot guidance data storage unit 33, and in this parking lot guidance data storage unit 33, data regarding the explanation of the specified P&R parking lot and data regarding the explanation of the public transportation required for movement between this and the special facilities etc. are stored. If the vehicle is connectable to the Internet, URLs for connecting to the HP of the specified P&R parking lot itself and the HP of the public transportation are stored in this parking lot guidance data storage unit 33. As data regarding the explanation of the P&R parking lot, the address, contact information (phone, address), the number of vehicles that can be accommodated, the regular holiday, etc. can be cited. As data regarding the explanation of the public transportation required for movement between the P&R parking lot and the special facilities etc., the name of the nearest station of the P&R parking lot, the name of the nearest station of the special facilities etc., the fare, the departure and arrival times, etc. can be cited. Such data can also be input manually by the operator.

[0028] The parking lot - special facility etc. travel cost storage unit 35 stores, as travel costs, the time required when moving from a specified P&R parking lot to a special facility etc. using public transportation. In addition, fares etc. required for travel can also be included in the travel costs.

[0029] In FIG. 1, the map data storage unit 3 stores map data that is generally used in a navigation device, and information regarding parking lots (coordinates, parking capacity, etc.) is also included therein. The driving history data storage unit 5 stores the history of driving information of the probe car. Here, the driving information refers to probe information (position information, time information) that is generally obtained from the probe car, as well as vehicle inner information of the probe car. Here, the vehicle inner information is information regarding various states of the vehicle output from sensors, control units, etc. provided in the vehicle, and is information that can be transmitted by various communication protocols including CAN (Controller Area Network) on the network mounted on the vehicle. This vehicle inner information includes driving speed information, acceleration information, brake operation information, steering angle information of the steering wheel, and other information.

[0030] The external database 7 stores data regarding facilities that are search targets, such as whether or not these facilities are incorporated in (5) standard courses and recommended courses, and this data is not stored in the facility data storage unit of the map data of the navigation device. The data input unit 9 enables an operator to input various data through this.

[0031] FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the database creation device 1 in FIG. 1. In step 1, the P&R parking lot extraction unit 11 extracts, from the parking lots stored in the map data storage unit 3, the parking lots that satisfy the above-mentioned conditions: (a) the predetermined parking capacity is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and (b) it is close to a public transportation station, as candidate parking lots, and stores them in the candidate parking lot storage unit 13.

[0032] In step 3, the special facility etc. extraction unit 15 extracts the facilities etc. to be searched from the map data storage unit 3, reads and analyzes the driving history of the probe car from the driving history data storage unit 5 for the extracted facilities etc., and the above-mentioned (1) facilities in tourist destinations where there are many tourists enjoying sightseeing and strolling, (2) facilities with short stay times, (3) facilities where the attached parking lot is likely to be full, (4) facilities where traffic jams are likely to occur near the facilities. The facilities etc. that meet the requirements are stored in the special facility etc. storage unit 17 as special facilities etc. Also, the facilities etc. to be searched are extracted from the map data storage unit 3, and when the extracted facilities etc. further correspond to the facilities (5) incorporated in the standard course and recommended course stored in the external database 7, the facilities etc. are stored in the special facility etc. storage unit 17 as special facilities etc.

[0033] In step 5, the relationship identification unit 20 compares the candidate parking lots stored in the candidate parking lot storage unit 13 with the special facilities etc. extracted in step 3. When the candidate parking lot satisfies the conditions that (A) the special facilities etc. and the candidate parking lot are connected by public transportation, and (B) the distance between the special facilities etc. and the candidate parking lot is within a threshold value (for example, 10 km) (step 5: Y), the candidate parking lot is identified as a P&R parking lot (step 7). In this way, the P&R parking lot is associated with a predetermined special facility etc. The P&R parking lot identified in this way is stored in the specified P&R parking lot storage unit 31 together with the correspondence relationship with the special facilities etc.

[0034] When a plurality of candidate parking lots are identified as P&R parking lots for one special facility etc., it is preferable to rank them in step 9. In this example, as the ranking, based on the distance from each P&R parking lot to special facilities etc., the first P&R parking lot, the second P&R parking lot... are ranked in ascending order of distance. This ranking can be stored in the specific P&R parking lot storage unit 31.

[0035] In step 11, the parking lot guidance data is stored in the parking lot guidance data storage unit 33. In this example, on the premise that the navigation device including the parking lot guidance device is connected to the Internet, the URL through which the necessary data can be browsed is also stored. For P&R parking lots that do not have a guidance address on the WEB, the necessary information needs to be input manually. Also in step 11, the moving cost from the P&R parking lot to special facilities etc. is stored in the parking lot - special facilities etc. moving cost storage unit 35. In this example, the moving time is adopted as the moving cost. The moving time from the P&R parking lot to special facilities etc. can be obtained by calculation from the distance from the P&R parking lot to its first nearest station, the operation schedule of public transportation, the operation interval of transportation means (trains, buses, etc.) at the first nearest station, the distance between the special facilities etc. and its second nearest station, and the operation time from the first nearest station to the second nearest station.

[0036] FIG. 3 shows the parking lot guidance device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the same elements as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and their descriptions are partially omitted. This parking lot guidance device 100 is incorporated in a navigation (N / V) device and includes an arithmetic unit 101 and an N / V interface unit 200. The arithmetic unit 101 includes a route search unit 110, a parking lot selection unit 120, a map data storage unit 130, and a parking lot presentation unit 140.

[0037] The route search unit 110 is generally provided in the navigation device and searches for a route to the destination specified by the user via the facility etc. designation unit 201. The map data storage unit 130 includes a parking lot data storage unit 131, a facility data storage unit 133, a road data storage unit 135, and an address data storage unit 137. Each storage unit stores data necessary for the route search unit 110 to execute a route search.

[0038] In this example, a P&R parking lot data storage unit 30 is incorporated in the parking lot data storage unit 131. The details of this P&R parking lot data storage unit 30 are as described in FIG. 1. When the facility or the like designated by the user corresponds to a special facility or the like, the parking lot selection unit 120 selects a P&R parking lot corresponding to the designated special facility or the like. The parking lot presentation unit 140 includes a direct movement cost calculation unit 141, a detour movement cost calculation unit 143, and a cost comparison unit 145. Traffic congestion information is provided from an external server 150.

[0039] As the direct movement cost calculated by the direct movement cost calculation unit 141, the time required to reach the designated destination (or the attached parking lot) is adopted. This direct movement cost may adopt the arrival prediction time calculated as a result of the route search by the route search unit 110, or further, the arrival prediction time calculated by taking into account the traffic congestion information from the external server 150 into this arrival prediction time may be adopted. As the detour movement cost calculated by the detour movement cost calculation unit 143, when the designated destination corresponds to a special facility or the like, the sum of the time required to reach the P&R parking lot (selected by the parking lot selection unit 120) associated with this special facility or the like and the time required to move from the P&R parking lot to the special facility is adopted. The traffic congestion information from the external server 150 may be taken into account in the time required to reach the P&R parking lot.

[0040] The cost comparison unit 145 compares the direct movement cost and the detour movement cost calculated above. When the direct movement cost is smaller than the detour movement cost, there is no need to use the P&R parking lot. In this case, there is no need to inform the driver of the existence of the P&R parking lot from the display of the N / V interface unit 200. When the former is larger than the latter, it is less stressful for the driver to use the P&R parking lot. In this case, it is preferable to inform the driver of the existence of the P&R parking lot via the display of the N / V interface unit 200.

[0041] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the parking lot guidance device in Figure 3. In step 21, a facility or the like such as a destination is designated by a user such as a driver via the facility designation unit 201. When the designated facility or the like is stored as a special facility or the like in the specific P&R parking lot data storage unit 31 (step 23: Y), the detour movement cost calculation unit 143 reads the movement time T11 from the specific P&R parking lot to the special facility or the like, that is, the time required for the movement, from the parking lot - special facility or the like movement cost storage unit 35 (step 25).

[0042] Next, the detour movement cost calculation unit 143 uses the function of the route search unit 110 and further takes into account the traffic jam data from the external server 150 to calculate the time T12 required to reach the specific P&R parking lot identified from the current position (step 27). The sum of the time T11 read in step 25 and the time T12 calculated in step 27 is the detour movement cost.

[0043] In step 29, the direct movement cost calculation unit 141 uses the function of the route search unit 110 and further takes into account the traffic jam data from the external server 150 to calculate the time T21 required to reach the designated facility or the like from the current position. This time is the direct movement cost. In step 31, the cost comparison unit 145 compares the direct movement cost T21 with the detour movement cost (T11 + T12). When the former is greater than the latter, the process proceeds to step 32, and the parking lot display unit 140 causes the identified P&R parking lot to be guided via the display 203. When it is smaller than the direct movement cost T21 and the detour movement cost (T11 + T12), the identified P&R parking lot is not displayed on the display 203 at all.

[0044] As the facility designation unit 201, when a predetermined coordinate (the coordinate of Matsuzakaya in the figure) in the central part of Nagoya city is designated (see Fig. 5), the display mode of the display 203 is shown in Fig. 6. Here, the area around Matsuzakaya is registered as a special facility or the like, and it is assumed that XX Parking Lot is identified as the corresponding P&R parking lot. As shown in Fig. 6, the estimated arrival time of the parking lots (Matsuzakaya South Parking Lot, Angel Building Parking Lot, Brother Sakae Building Parking Lot, Sakae 3 Park) near the designated coordinate is approximately 60 minutes.

[0045] On the other hand, the estimated arrival time at XX Parking Lot is 20 minutes. Furthermore, the content of the guidance data stored in the parking lot guidance data storage unit 33 is shown to the driver as shown in Fig. 7. According to the data in Fig. 7, it takes 2 minutes from XX Parking Lot to the nearest station, 10 minutes for subway riding, and 1 minute from the destination to the nearest station. Even considering the waiting time for the train, it is possible to arrive at the designated facility or the like from XX Parking Lot in 20 minutes. Therefore, it can be notified to the user that when using XX Parking Lot, it is possible to shorten the time by about 20 minutes compared to using a parking lot near the designated facility or the like.

[0046] Fig. 8 shows the hardware configuration of the database creation device 1 shown in Fig. 1. The arithmetic unit 300 includes a CPU 301, a ROM 303, and a RAM 305, and controls the entire system. At the same time, it controls the arithmetic parts of the P&R parking lot extraction unit 11, the special facility extraction unit 15, and the relationship identification unit 20. The ROM 303 is a non-volatile memory storing a control program for controlling the arithmetic unit 300 and the like. The RAM 305 provides a working area for the CPU 301. The control program for controlling the arithmetic unit 300 may be stored not only in the ROM 303 but also in the RAM 305 or the first storage device 340. Various data are output via the output device 320.

[0047] The first storage device 340 functions as a candidate parking lot storage unit 13, a special facility storage unit 17, and a P&R parking lot data storage unit 10. It is preferable to use a part of the memory device of the server system, such as a hard memory or a flash memory, for the first storage device 340. As a storage unit for temporarily stored data, that is, a so-called buffer memory, a part of the RAM of the arithmetic unit can be used. The external communication network is connected by a communication interface 360. Each device constituting the computer is connected by a system bus 370.

[0048] FIG. 9 shows the hardware configuration of the parking lot guidance device in FIG. 3. Note that elements performing the same operations as those in FIG. 8 are denoted by the same reference numerals and their descriptions are omitted. The first storage device 440 in FIG. 9 functions as a P&R parking lot data storage unit 30. The second storage device 450 functions as a map data storage unit for N / V. The map data storage unit for N / V stores facility data, road data, address data, etc. necessary for operating the navigation system. The arithmetic unit 300 controls the arithmetic parts of the route search unit 110, the parking lot selection unit 120, and the parking lot presentation unit 140.

[0049] The present invention is not limited to the descriptions of the embodiments and examples of the above invention. Various modifications are also included in the present invention within the scope that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art without departing from the description of the claims.

Explanation of Symbols

[0050] 1 Database creation device 3 Map data storage unit 5 Driving history data storage unit 11 P&R parking lot extraction unit 13 Candidate parking lot storage unit 15 Special facility etc. extraction unit 17 Special facility etc. storage unit 20 Relationship determination unit 30 P&R parking lot data storage unit 31 Specific P&R parking lot storage unit 33 Parking lot guidance data storage unit 35 Parking lot - special facility etc. movement cost storage unit 100 Parking lot guidance device 110 Route search unit 120 Parking lot selection unit 130 Map data storage unit 131 Parking lot data storage unit 133 Facility data storage unit 135 Road data storage unit 137 Address data storage unit 140 Parking lot presentation unit 141 Direct movement cost calculation unit 143 Detour movement cost calculation unit 145 Cost comparison unit 201 Facility etc. designation unit 203 Display

Claims

1. A parking lot guidance device comprising a parking lot data storage unit, a facility etc. designation unit, a parking lot selection unit, and a parking lot presentation unit, wherein the parking lot data storage unit stores the relationship between special facilities etc. and P&R parking lots, the facility etc. designation unit accepts the designation of facilities etc. by the user, when the facility etc. designated by the user corresponds to the special facilities etc., the parking lot selection unit selects a P&R parking lot corresponding to the designated special facilities etc., the parking lot presentation unit is a parking lot guidance device that presents or does not present the selected P&R parking lot according to predetermined conditions.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is the difference between the direct movement cost when directly reaching the designated facility etc. and the detour movement cost when moving to the designated facility etc. via the selected P&R parking lot.

3. The parking lot data storage unit stores a first P&R parking lot and a second P&R parking lot corresponding to the designated facility etc., the parking lot selection unit selects the first or second P&R parking lot based on the comparison between the direct movement cost and the detour movement cost, according to claim 2.

4. The parking lot data storage unit further stores a first guidance from the first P&R parking lot to the designated facility etc. and a second guidance from the second P&R parking lot to the designated facility etc., the parking lot presentation unit presents the first or second guidance together with the selected first or second P&R parking lot, according to claim 3.

5. A database creation device comprising a P&R parking lot extraction unit, a special facility etc. extraction unit, and a relationship identification unit, wherein the P&R parking lot extraction unit extracts candidate parking lots that can be P&R parking lots from map data according to a predetermined first rule, the special facility etc. extraction unit analyzes the driving history of the probe car according to a predetermined second rule and extracts special facilities etc. that are the targets of P&R parking lot use, the relationship identification unit selects candidate parking lots that are in a relationship of a predetermined third rule with the extracted special facilities etc., identifies the candidate parking lots as P&R parking lots, and associates them with the special facilities etc., a database creation device.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the relationship identification unit selects a plurality of candidate parking lots for the special facilities etc., identifies them as the first and second P&R parking lots, and ranks the first and second P&R parking lots according to a predetermined third - 1 rule.

7. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a parking lot guidance data storage unit that stores guidance from the P&R parking lot to the special facility or the like.

8. A parking lot guidance method using a parking lot guidance apparatus including a parking lot data storage unit, a facility or the like designation unit, a parking lot selection unit, and a parking lot presentation unit, causing the parking lot data storage unit to store the relationship between the special facility or the like and the P&R parking lot, causing the facility or the like designation unit to accept designation of a facility or the like by a user, when the facility or the like designated by the user corresponds to the special facility or the like, causing the parking lot selection unit to select a P&R parking lot corresponding to the designated special facility or the like, A parking lot guidance method in which the selected P&R parking lot is presented or not presented according to a predetermined condition by the parking lot presentation unit.

9. A program for a computer applied to a parking lot guidance apparatus including a parking lot data storage unit, a facility or the like designation unit, a parking lot selection unit, and a parking lot presentation unit, causing the parking lot data storage unit to store the relationship between the special facility or the like and the P&R parking lot, causing the facility or the like designation unit to accept designation of a facility or the like by a user, when the facility or the like designated by the user corresponds to the special facility or the like, causing the parking lot selection unit to select a P&R parking lot corresponding to the designated special facility or the like, A program in which the selected P&R parking lot is presented or not presented according to a predetermined condition by the parking lot presentation unit.

10. A database creation method using a database creation apparatus including a P&R parking lot extraction unit, a special facility or the like extraction unit, and a relationship specifying unit, causing the P&R parking lot extraction unit to extract candidate parking lots that can be P&R parking lots from map data according to a predetermined first rule, causing the special facility or the like extraction unit to analyze the driving history of a probe car according to a predetermined second rule and extract special facilities or the like that are targets of P&R parking lot use, A database creation method in which the relationship specifying unit selects candidate parking lots that are in a relationship of a predetermined third rule with respect to the extracted special facilities or the like, specifies the candidate parking lots as P&R parking lots, and associates them with the special facilities or the like.

11. A program for a computer applied to a database creation apparatus including a P&R parking lot extraction unit, a special facility or the like extraction unit, and a relationship specifying unit, causing the P&R parking lot extraction unit to extract candidate parking lots that can be P&R parking lots from map data according to a predetermined first rule, Cause the special facility extraction unit to analyze the driving history of the probe car according to a predetermined second rule and extract special facilities and the like that are targets for using the P&R parking lot. A program that causes the relationship identification unit to select candidate parking lots that are related to the extracted special facilities and the like according to a predetermined third rule, identify the candidate parking lots as P&R parking lots, and associate them with the special facilities and the like.

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