Parking fee settlement system

Abstract

To provide a parking space allowing a user of a parking lot to park at the lowest charge within a predetermined range.SOLUTION: A parking fee settlement system includes a parking information reception unit that receives parking information indicating that a vehicle is stopped in a predetermined parking space from a portable terminal, a fee information reception unit that receives fee information of another parking space within a predetermined range from the parking space from the portable terminal, a fee comparison unit that compares the fee information of the parking space with the fee information of the other parking space, and a fee settlement unit that settles a parking fee based on the fee information of the other parking space when the fee information of the other parking space is cheaper than the fee information of the parking space.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a management system for hourly parking lots such as pay parking lots, and more particularly to a system for making payments for parking spaces using a portable terminal. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, there are hourly parking lots such as coin parking lots where users can use designated parking spaces by paying a fee according to the amount of time they park. In coin parking lots, the fee is often set by the hour, with a fixed fee for the first few hours and then increasing for each additional hour. In addition, there are sometimes time-based fee systems, such as nighttime discounts and maximum fee settings.

[0003] Incidentally, there is a type of coin parking called a gate-type. A gate-type coin parking is a system in which gates (barriers) are installed at the entrance and exit of the parking lot, and parking tickets are issued and fees are automatically calculated. Users obtain a parking ticket at the entrance, and when leaving, they use that ticket to pay the fee at the payment machine. Once the fee is paid, the exit gate opens, allowing the car to leave.

[0004] There are also coin parking lots called locking parking lots. In locking parking lots, the locking plate rises when the machine determines that a car is parked there, and after use, the locking plate lowers when the parking fee is paid at the payment machine, allowing the car to leave.

[0005] There are also coin parking lots with cameras, which use cameras to recognize vehicle license plates and manage entry and exit to the parking lot.

[0006] In a parking lot management system used in such coin parking lots, an external management terminal and an external image processing terminal including a surveillance camera are linked via a public communication network, as described in Patent Document 1, for example. The parking lot management system in Patent Document 1 detects vehicle entry and exit from image data captured by the surveillance camera, and transmits the data to the external management terminal using virtual measurement lines and areas. The external management terminal then receives this data, calculates the usage status of the parking lot, and displays it on a display device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-146976 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] In conventional parking lot management systems such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1, parking fees are calculated and generated based on predetermined fee information. However, there are many parking lots within a given area, and fees are determined for each parking lot and parking space. While users want to park in the cheapest possible location, those renting out parking spaces want to make parking fees as cheap as possible, which has led to the problem of difficulty in setting fee information.

[0009] In response to the above-mentioned problem, the present invention provides parking lot users with a parking space where they can park at the lowest parking fee within a specified range.

[0010] (1) The parking fee settlement system of the present invention includes a parking information receiving unit that receives parking information from a portable terminal when a vehicle is parked in a specified parking space; a fee information receiving unit that receives fee information of other parking spaces within a specified range of the parking space from the portable terminal; a price comparison unit that compares the fee information of the parking space with the fee information of the other parking spaces; and a fee settlement unit that settles the parking fee based on the fee information of the other parking spaces if the fee information of the other parking spaces is cheaper than the fee information of the parking space.

[0011] The price comparison section compares the price information of the parking space with the price information of other parking spaces and settles the parking fee based on the cheaper price information, so that the parking lot user can park at the cheapest price within a specified range. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, parking space is provided to parking lot users at the lowest parking fee within a predetermined range. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic plan view of a parking lot managed by a parking lot management system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a schematic image diagram of a server device. [Figure 2] 1 is a system configuration diagram of a parking lot management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] A parking fee settlement system S according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the parking space 10 is a conventional hourly parking space 10 that is well known.

[0015] First, the configuration of the parking fee settlement system S will be described.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 1, the parking fee settlement system S includes a parking lot and a server device 2. The identification marker 20 includes a plurality of parking spaces 10 in which vehicles such as automobiles can be parked, and an identification marker 20 provided corresponding to each parking space 10. In this embodiment, the identification marker 20 is a well-known signboard, and in addition to the identification marker, fee information regarding the fee for each parking space 10 is printed on it.

[0017] The parking fee settlement system S operates by linking a portable terminal 3, which is not included in the parking fee settlement system S, with a server device 2, and provides a parking space 10 with the lowest fee among hourly parking lots within a specified area. The portable terminal 3 is a well-known smartphone or tablet, and has at least a communication function, a camera function, and a payment function.

[0018] As shown in Figure 2, the server device 2 includes a parking information receiving unit 21 that receives parking information about vehicles parked in each parking space 10, a fee information receiving unit 22 that receives fee information for other parking spaces (not shown) in other parking lots within a specified range, a fee comparison unit 23 that compares the fee information for each parking space 10 with the fee information for other parking spaces (not shown), and a fee settlement unit 24 that settles parking fees based on the fee information.

[0019] When the portable terminal 3 reads the identification display of the identification display object 20, parking information is transmitted from the portable terminal 3 to the server device 2, and the parking information receiving unit 21 receives the parking information and determines when parking should begin in the corresponding parking space.

[0020] Fee information receiving unit 22 receives fee information for other parking spaces. Specifically, the user photographs an image of a display object displaying fee information for another parking space (not shown) in another parking lot (not shown) within a predetermined range from parking space 10 using portable terminal 3, the fee information for the other parking space (not shown) is transmitted to server device 2, and fee information receiving unit 22 receives the fee information for the other parking space (not shown).

[0021] The price comparison unit 23 compares the price information for the parking space 10 in the parking lot 1 with the price information for other parking spaces (not shown) received from the portable terminal 3, and determines the cheaper price information as the parking fee. In this embodiment, the parking fee is calculated based on the parking time and the fee per unit time, but the calculation may also take into account maximum fees, time-of-day fees, etc.

[0022] The fee settlement unit 24 settles the parking fee based on the parking fee information determined by the fee comparison unit 23. Specifically, the portable terminal 3 again reads the identification marking on the identification object 20, and the fee settlement unit 24 settles the parking fee using a payment system such as a well-known credit card. However, the fee settlement unit 24 may settle the parking fee using another payment system.

[0023] Next, the operation of the parking fee settlement system S will be described.

[0024] Entry Step (S1): A user searches for a vacant parking space 10 in the parking lot and parks their vehicle there. An identification display 20 that displays an identification mark corresponding to the parking space 10 is installed on the side of each parking space 10. In this embodiment, this identification mark is provided as a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark).

[0025] Start-of-use registration step (S2): After parking the vehicle, the user of the parking space 10 uses the camera of the portable terminal 3 to read the QR code (registered trademark) displayed on the sign. This operation causes the user's portable terminal 3 to start communication with the server device 2. In this embodiment, communication between the portable terminal 3 and the server device determines when parking in the parking space 10 has begun, and thus starts measuring the parking time.

[0026] Other parking fee information transmission step (S3): After reading the two-dimensional code and registering for start of use, the user moves out of the parking lot while still carrying the portable terminal 3. The user moves out of the parking lot and finds another parking space (not shown) in another parking lot (not shown). If the fee information for the other parking space (not shown) is displayed on the display, the user takes a photo of the display using the camera function of the portable terminal 3 and transmits the fee information for the other parking space (not shown) to the server device 2.

[0027] Price Comparison and Payment Step (S4): When the user returns to the parking lot, finishes parking, and is ready to leave, the user again uses the camera function of the portable terminal 3 to read the QR code (registered trademark) corresponding to the same parking space 10. This operation causes the user's portable terminal 3 to start communication with the server device 2 again, determines that parking has ended, and ends the measurement of the parking time.

[0028] Upon receiving the parking end information, the server device 2 calculates the parking fee for the user. In calculating the parking fee, a first parking fee is calculated based on the fee information for the parking space 10, and a second parking fee is calculated based on the fee information for the other parking spaces. The fee comparison unit 23 then compares the first parking fee with the second parking fee, and the fee settlement unit 24 settles the cheaper fee as the parking fee for the user. In this embodiment, the second parking fee is calculated by extracting fee information using artificial intelligence (AI) from an image of fee information displayed on a display object for the other parking space, captured by the camera function of the mobile terminal 3, for example.

[0029] Entry Step (S6): After confirming that the payment has been completed, the user removes the car from parking space 10 and exits the parking lot.

[0030] In this embodiment, the parking price comparison system has been described as comparing the price information of the parking space 10 with the price information of one other parking space. However, the parking price comparison system may also compare the price information of the parking space 10 with the price information of multiple other parking spaces. Even in this case, the parking price comparison system will settle the parking fee based on the cheapest price information.

[0031] The parking fee settlement system S according to this embodiment has been described above. However, the parking fee settlement system S is not limited to the above embodiment, and other configurations are possible within the scope of achieving the object of the invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0032] The present invention can be used to settle parking fees. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1 Parking lot 2. Server device 3. Portable devices 10 parking spaces 20 Identification information display 21 Parking information receiving unit 22 Fee information receiving unit 23 Price Comparison Department 24. Payment Department

Claims

[Claim 1] a parking information receiving unit that receives parking information indicating that the vehicle has been parked in a predetermined parking space from a portable terminal; a fee information receiving unit that receives fee information of other parking spaces within a predetermined range from the parking space from the mobile terminal; a price comparison unit that compares the price information of the parking space with the price information of the other parking spaces; a fee settlement unit that settles the parking fee based on the fee information of the other parking space if the fee information of the other parking space is cheaper than the fee information of the parking space.

Images