Parking lot monitoring system and parking lot monitoring method

Abstract

To provide a parking lot monitoring system capable of reducing a burden on a guard.SOLUTION: A parking lot monitoring system includes a biological sensor that detects whether or not a person is present in a parked vehicle, an observation area detection sensor that measures an area including an outer peripheral surface of the parked vehicle to detect an observation area in which a radio wave can be emitted to an inside of the vehicle, and a moving mechanism that moves a moving body on which the biological sensor is mounted to a vicinity of the vehicle. A position adjustment mechanism configured to adjust a position of the biometric sensor in a height direction at the moved position, and an alarm unit configured to output an alert when the biometric sensor detects a person in the vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a parking lot monitoring system and a parking lot monitoring method. [Background technology]

[0002] Users who use vehicles such as automobiles may use parking lots at their destinations. If the destination is a large supermarket, a commercial complex, a theme park, or the like, parking spaces are provided that can accommodate a large number of vehicles. Security guards are sometimes stationed in such parking lots to monitor whether any abnormalities have occurred within the parking lot. Security robots have been proposed that autonomously move around within a site to be guarded while providing security (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-032579 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, various situations can occur in parking lots. For example, after parking a vehicle in a parking space, if the driver does not get out of the vehicle to enter the facility, passengers such as children may be left behind in the vehicle. In this case, the temperature and humidity inside the vehicle may become high, especially in the summer, which may affect the physical condition of the passengers. If security guards have to check whether such abandonment is occurring, the security burden increases. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the burden on security guards when monitoring for abandoned vehicles in parking lots. It should be noted that the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 does not monitor abandonment.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to provide a parking lot monitoring system and a parking lot monitoring method that can reduce the burden on security guards. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one aspect of the present invention is a parking lot monitoring system that includes a biometric sensor that detects whether or not a person is present in a parked vehicle, an observation area detection sensor that detects an observation area in which radio waves can be irradiated into the interior of the parked vehicle by measuring an area including the outer surface of the parked vehicle, a moving mechanism that moves a mobile body on which the biometric sensor is mounted to the vicinity of the vehicle, a position adjustment mechanism that adjusts the vertical position of the biometric sensor at the moved position so that the interior of the vehicle can be observed through the observation area, and an alarm unit that outputs an alert when the biometric sensor detects the presence of a person in the vehicle.

[0007] Another aspect of the present invention is a parking lot monitoring method executed by a computer, which includes detecting whether or not a person is present in a parked vehicle, measuring an area including the outer surface of the parked vehicle to detect an observation area in which radio waves can be irradiated into the interior of the vehicle, moving a mobile body equipped with the biometric sensor to the vicinity of the vehicle, adjusting the vertical position of the biometric sensor at the moved position so that the interior of the vehicle can be observed through the observation area, and outputting an alert if the biometric sensor detects the presence of a person in the vehicle. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] As described above, according to the present invention, the burden on security guards can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1]1 is a side view showing a schematic external appearance of a parking lot monitoring system S according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the lifting device 30. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the stretching device 40 in a stretched state. [Figure 4A] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a configuration in which a rotary table 50 rotates a radar sensor 60 in the horizontal direction. [Figure 4B] 10 is a diagram showing a configuration in which a rotating table 50 can change the angle of a radar sensor 60 in the up-down direction. [Figure 4C] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration in which a rotary table 50 rotates around an axis in the horizontal direction. [Figure 5] 2 is a schematic functional block diagram showing functions provided in a mobile body 10. FIG. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the parking lot monitoring system S. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a case where the parking lot monitoring system S patrols the parking lot. [Figure 8] 10 is a diagram showing the results of observing a vehicle using a radar sensor 60. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example in which the parking lot monitoring system S observes the inside of a vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] A parking lot monitoring system S according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic external appearance of a parking lot monitoring system S according to an embodiment of the present invention. The parking lot monitoring system S includes a mobile body 10, a moving mechanism 20, a lifting device 30, an extension device 40, a rotating table 50, a radar sensor 60, an optical sensor 70, a vehicle state sensor 80, and a display device 90. A moving mechanism 20 is attached to the bottom of the moving body 10. The moving mechanism 20 is, for example, a crawler, and when driven, allows the parking lot monitoring system S to travel (move) on the road surface or the like within the parking lot.

[0011] An elevator device 30 is attached to the top of the movable body main body 10. The elevator device is extendable in the vertical direction (up and down) and rotatable around an axis in the vertical direction. One end of the elevator device 30 in the extension and contraction direction is connected to the movable body main body 10, and a stretching device 40 is attached to the other end.

[0012] The stretching device 40 is extendable in the horizontal direction, starting from the part (base) attached to the lifting device 30. A radar sensor 60 is attached via a rotating table 50 to the extendable tip end side of the stretching device 40. The lifting device 30 and the stretching device 40 are an example of a position adjustment mechanism. The position adjustment mechanism may include at least one of the lifting device 30 and the stretching device 40. In this embodiment, a case where the position adjustment mechanism includes the lifting device 30 and the stretching device 40 will be described. The position adjustment mechanism can adjust the vertical position of the radar sensor 60 using the lifting device 30, and can adjust the horizontal position of the radar sensor 60 using the extension device 40. The extension device 40 can adjust the depth position of the radar sensor 60, for example, by expanding and contracting in the depth direction using the position of the mobile body 10 as a reference.

[0013] The rotating table 50 has a drive unit, and by driving the drive unit, the rotating table 50 rotates so that the direction observed by the radar sensor 60 is oriented in a different direction in the horizontal direction.

[0014] The radar sensor 60 measures the surrounding situation by irradiating an observation target with radio waves and receiving the reflected waves. The radar sensor 60 is, for example, a millimeter-wave radar. The radar sensor 60 may also measure the situation in the observation area according to a change in phase between the radar's irradiated wave and the observation wave that is received as a radio wave reflected from the irradiated wave.

[0015] The radar sensor 60 has the function of measuring the surrounding conditions, for example, to detect the position of the window of the vehicle being observed, and to measure the vital signs of people inside the vehicle. When the radar sensor 60 detects the position of a vehicle window, it can detect the area corresponding to the window based on the difference in measurement results between the vehicle body portion and the window. The radar sensor 60 may have the function of detecting the positions of vehicle windows, but it may also be realized by using an optical sensor 70, which will be described later.

[0016] When detecting vital signs of a person inside a vehicle, the radar sensor 60 observes the inside of the vehicle through a window parked in the parking space indicated by the parking space ID, and detects whether or not a person is inside the vehicle based on whether or not vital signs are obtained. The parking space ID is identification information assigned to the parking space being measured. The radar sensor 60 detects the pulse, breathing, and other vital signs of a person present in the observation area from the body surface movements, and generates vital information representing the detection results. The vital information is data in which values ​​representing the state of biological activity, such as pulse and breathing, are arranged in chronological order. In this way, the radar sensor 60 can detect the presence or absence of a person without contact. Here, the radar sensor 60 can observe the interior of the vehicle through (transmitting through) glass surfaces such as a windshield, rear window, door glass, and side window of the vehicle, and can measure vital information of a person riding in the vehicle. Therefore, the radar sensor 60 can detect whether or not a person is present in the vehicle even if there are curtains or the like on the windows, and can measure the vital information of the person even if the person is covered with a towel, blanket, or the like, making it difficult to see from the outside.

[0017] Furthermore, when a person is in the vehicle and the vehicle is stopped, the person is the moving object, and therefore the radar sensor 60 can detect whether or not a person is present by obtaining measurements corresponding to the person's movement and the movement of the person's body surface due to biological activity. In this way, even in a situation where an obstacle prevents direct visual confirmation of a person's presence from the outside, the radar sensor 60 can detect whether a person is present on the other side of the obstacle (glass, towel, blanket, vehicle seat back, etc.) and measure vital information, as long as the obstacle is an object through which radio waves can pass.

[0018] The optical sensor 70 detects an observation area where radio waves can be irradiated to the interior of the parked vehicle by measuring an area including the outer periphery of the vehicle. The observation area where radio waves can be irradiated to the interior of the vehicle is, for example, a vehicle window. The vehicle window may be any window that allows the presence of a person inside the vehicle to be detected from the outside, and may be, for example, any of the windshield, rear window, front door glass, rear door glass, etc. The optical sensor 70 detects whether or not a vehicle is present around the mobile body 10. For example, the optical sensor 70 detects whether or not a vehicle is present in a parking space around the mobile body 10. A different sensor may be used instead of the optical sensor 70 as long as it can detect whether or not a vehicle is present in a parking space. For example, image recognition technology may be used to capture an image of the surrounding environment with a camera, detect an area corresponding to a parking space based on the captured image data, and detect the presence or absence of a vehicle based on whether or not an image corresponding to a vehicle can be extracted from the detected area. Such image recognition technology may use AI (artificial intelligence) to recognize whether or not an image corresponding to a vehicle is present in the captured image data. Here, a radar sensor 60 may be used instead of the optical sensor 70 as long as it can function as an observation area detection sensor that detects the position of a vehicle's window. In this case, the optical sensor 70 does not need to be provided in the parking lot monitoring system S.

[0019] The vehicle state sensor 80 detects whether the vehicle engine is stopped (off state). Alternatively, the vehicle state sensor 80 may detect whether the vehicle engine is on. The vehicle state sensor 80 may be, for example, an ultrasonic sensor, a gas sensor, or the like. If the vehicle state sensor 80 is an ultrasonic sensor, it detects whether the engine is stopped by detecting whether there is vibration that occurs when the engine is running.

[0020] If the vehicle state sensor 80 is a gas sensor, it draws in surrounding gas and detects whether the engine is off based on the components of the drawn-in gas and whether exhaust gas is being emitted from the vehicle's muffler. When the rear of the vehicle is facing the aisle in a parking space, the muffler is located close to the aisle, so by measuring the vicinity of the tip of the muffler, it is possible to detect exhaust gas and determine whether the engine is off.

[0021] If the vehicle condition sensor 80 is a temperature sensor, it detects whether the temperature of the measurement target area of ​​the vehicle is higher than the temperature around the vehicle, and if the temperature of the measurement target area is higher than the surrounding area by a certain amount or more, it can detect that the engine is on, and if the difference between the temperature of the measurement target area and the surrounding temperature is less than a certain amount, it can detect that the engine is off. The measurement target area of ​​the vehicle may be, for example, an area near the tip of the muffler, an area near the engine compartment, an area near the power motor, etc. Furthermore, when the measurement target area is the area near the tip of the muffler and the vehicle is parked facing forward (towards the aisle) in a parking space, the vehicle condition sensor 80 may measure the temperature near the tip of the muffler from the front to the rear of the vehicle, through the space between the bottom of the vehicle and the ground.

[0022] The display device 90 is, for example, a liquid crystal display panel, and displays various display contents.

[0023] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a part of the parking lot monitoring system S in FIG. 1, and in particular is a diagram illustrating the lifting device 30. As shown in FIG. The lifting device 30 includes a rod-shaped member 31 and a gear 32. The gear 32 is connected to the rotating shaft of a motor, and the rotation of the motor is converted into vertical movement of the rod-shaped member 31 via the gear 32, causing it to move up and down. The rod-shaped member 31 of the lifting device 30 is also arranged so that its central axis along its longitudinal direction is aligned with the vertical direction, and it can rotate around this central axis as a rotation axis. The lifting device 30 may be a mechanical type using a gear 32, or may be a hydraulic type that uses hydraulic pressure to move the rod-shaped member 31 in the vertical direction. In this way, by moving the lifting device 30 up and down in the vertical direction, the position of the radar sensor 60 relative to the moving body 10 can be changed in the vertical direction.

[0024] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a part of the parking lot monitoring system S in FIG. 1, and in particular shows the state in which the extension device 40 is extended. The stretching device 40 may be of any of the following types: mechanical, hydraulic, and compressed air type, as long as it is capable of extending and contracting in the horizontal direction. If the stretching device 40 is mechanical, it may be configured to include a rod-shaped member, gears, a motor, etc., and a gear may be connected to the rotating shaft of the motor, and the rotation of the motor may be converted into horizontal movement of the rod-shaped member via the gear, thereby allowing it to expand and contract horizontally. When the stretching device 40 is hydraulic, for example, the stretching device 40 may be a hydraulic cylinder, and may be configured to extend and retract in the horizontal direction using fluid energy generated by the hydraulic device. When the extension device 40 is of a compressed air type, for example, the extension device 40 is an air cylinder that is driven by compressed air supplied from inside the mobile body 10 to extend in the horizontal direction. Here, by using an air cylinder as the extension device 40, it is possible to reduce the weight compared to when other extension devices are used, and it is possible to prevent the parking lot monitoring system S from tipping over even when in the extended state. The extension distance of the extension device 40 can be adjusted arbitrarily within the range of the maximum extension length of the extension device 40. By extending the extension device 40, the position of the radar sensor 60 relative to the mobile body 10 can be changed in the horizontal direction.

[0025] 4A, 4B, and 4C are diagrams illustrating a configuration for changing the orientation of the rotating table 50, thereby changing the observation direction of the radar sensor 60. FIG. More specifically, FIG. 4A is a perspective view showing a configuration in which the rotary table 50 rotates the radar sensor 60 in the horizontal direction. A rotating member 50a is provided on the main surface on the upper side of the rotating table 50. A radar sensor 60 can be fixedly installed on the rotating member 50a. The rotating member 50a can be driven by a drive mechanism such as a motor to rotate in a direction along the main surface of the rotating table 50. By rotating the rotating member 50a, the observation direction of the radar sensor 60 mounted on the rotating member 50a can be changed in the rotation direction of the rotating member 50a. The rotation direction of the rotation member 50a may be set to be rotatable only in one of the right-handed (clockwise) and left-handed (counterclockwise) directions, or may be set to be rotatable in both directions.

[0026] 4B is a diagram showing a configuration in which the rotating table 50 changes the angle of the radar sensor 60 in the vertical direction. One end of the rotating table 50 is connected via a hinge 50b to the vertical plane of the stretching device 40. The rotating table 50 is also provided with a drive device that rotates the rotating table 50 in the vertical direction around the hinge 50b. As a result, the rotating base 50 can rotate up and down around the hinge 50b as a fulcrum, thereby changing the observation direction of the radar sensor 60 mounted on the rotating base 50 in the up and down direction.

[0027] FIG. 4C is a diagram showing a configuration in which the turntable 50 rotates around a horizontal axis. The turntable 50 is attached to the vertical surface of the stretching device 40 via a rotating member 50c. The rotating member 50c may be rotatable in only one direction, either clockwise or counterclockwise, about a horizontal axis, or in both directions. The rotating member 50c can be rotated around a horizontal axis by being driven by a driving mechanism such as a motor. By rotating the rotating member 50c, the observation direction of the radar sensor 60 attached to the rotating base 50 connected to the rotating member 50c can be changed according to the rotation of the rotating member 50a around the horizontal axis.

[0028] In this way, the orientation change mechanism as shown in Figures 4A, 4B, and 4C can change the attitude of the turntable 50 by being driven based on a control signal from the control unit 103, thereby making it possible to change the direction observed by the radar sensor 60.

[0029] FIG. 5 is a schematic functional block diagram showing the functions provided in the mobile body 10. As shown in FIG. The mobile body 10 has a communication unit 101, a storage unit 102, a control unit 103, a display control unit 104, an alarm unit 105, and an alarm sound output unit 106. The communication unit 101 communicates with external devices. Examples of external devices include a management center server 200 and a terminal device 210. The management center server 200 is a server communicably connected to a reporting device of the management center, and is used by the management center that manages the parking lot. The terminal device 210 is a terminal device carried by a security guard in charge of guarding the parking lot. The terminal device 210 may be any electronic device such as a smartphone, tablet, or mobile phone.

[0030] The storage unit 102 stores various data. The storage unit 102 is configured by a storage medium, such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a flash memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a random access read / write memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), or any combination of these storage media. The storage unit 102 may be, for example, a nonvolatile memory.

[0031] The control unit 103 controls each unit of the parking lot monitoring system S. Furthermore, when the control unit 103 detects that the engine of a parked vehicle is off based on the detection result of the vehicle state sensor 80, it uses the position adjustment mechanism to move the position of the radar sensor 60 in at least one of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction (e.g., the depth direction) for the parked vehicle whose engine is off so that the position corresponds to the vehicle window.

[0032] The display control unit 104 is provided in the vehicle body 10 and causes the display device 90 to display a message that enables the driver to understand that a check is being made to see if a person has been left behind in the vehicle.

[0033] When the radar sensor 60 detects that a person is present in the vehicle, the alarm unit 105 outputs an alert indicating that an abandonment may have occurred. The alarm unit 105 may also be configured to output a parking space ID that can identify the location of the parking space in which the vehicle in which the person is detected to be present is parked, along with a signal indicating that an abandonment may have occurred. The alarm unit 105 may also be configured to output vital sign information measured by the radar sensor 60, along with a signal indicating that an abandonment may have occurred.

[0034] The output destination of the alarm unit 105 to output the alert may be an external device, or the alert may be transmitted to the external device via the communication unit 101. Such an external device may be a notification device provided in a management center that manages the target parking lots monitored by the parking lot monitoring system S. When the notification device receives a signal indicating an alert from the alarm unit 105, it can display a message indicating that an abandoned vehicle may have occurred on a display screen or output an alert sound from a speaker or the like. Here, the alarm unit 105 may output an alert including the parking space ID of a parking space in which a vehicle that has been detected as possibly being abandoned is parked, so that the location of the parking space in which the vehicle that has been detected as possibly being abandoned can be identified. This allows a manager or security officer at the management center to visit the parking space in which a vehicle may have been abandoned based on the alert and check whether the vehicle has been abandoned. Here, the external device may be at least one of a terminal device carried by a security officer guarding the parking lot and a terminal device carried by a management officer managing the parking lot. By sending an alert to such a terminal device, the alarm unit 105 can receive the alert at the security officer's or management officer's destination even if the security officer or management officer is in a location different from the management center, and have them go to the parking space where the abandoned vehicle occurred.

[0035] The warning unit 105 may output an alert to an output destination such that an alarm sound is output around the parking lot monitoring system S via an alarm sound output unit 106. The alarm sound output unit 106 may be a device that outputs sound, such as a buzzer, or a device that outputs sound or voice, such as a speaker.

[0036] The above-mentioned communication unit 101, control unit 103, display control unit 104, alarm unit 105, and alarm sound output unit 106 may be configured by a processing unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a dedicated electronic circuit. Furthermore, at least one function of the control unit 103, the display control unit 104, the alarm unit 105, and the alarm sound output unit 106 may be provided in a server device communicatively connected to the parking lot monitoring system S. Such a server device may be a physical server, or may be a cloud server provided by a cloud computing service.

[0037] Next, the operation of the parking lot monitoring system S will be described. Figure 6 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the parking lot monitoring system S, Figure 7 is a conceptual diagram explaining the case where the parking lot monitoring system S patrols a parking lot, Figure 8 is a diagram showing the observation results of a vehicle observed by the radar sensor 60, and Figure 9 is a conceptual diagram explaining an example of the case where the parking lot monitoring system S observes the inside of a vehicle. The parking lot monitoring system S patrols the parking lot by moving along the aisles in the parking lot using the moving mechanism 20 (step S101 in FIG. 6), and moves to the vicinity of the parking space to be measured among the parking spaces in the parking lot. When a vehicle is parked in the parking space, the moving mechanism 20 can move the radar sensor 60 to the vicinity of the parked vehicle.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 7, the parking lot monitoring system S patrols within a parking lot P along passages adjacent to multiple parking spaces arranged side by side, such as parking space PS1, parking space PS2, parking space PS3, parking space PS4, etc. The patrol route may be determined in advance, and the parking lot monitoring system S may patrol along that route. Here, the storage unit 102 of the parking lot monitoring system S stores map data of the parking lot P that it will patrol. The map data is a map that shows the locations of the parking spaces within the parking lot P, the passages that the parking lot monitoring system S can use, etc. The map data includes a parking space ID assigned to each parking space.

[0039] The control unit 103 refers to the map data stored in the memory unit 102 and identifies a parking space to be measured based on the relationship between the current location of the parking lot monitoring system S and its own position, which is based on the measurement results of the current location, and measures the identified parking space using the optical sensor 70. The current location may be measured using a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) or simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). When using SLAM, the control unit 103 may generate map data by learning it by measuring the surroundings while patrolling the parking lot P before performing security duties within the parking lot P, and store the map data in the memory unit 102. The control unit 103 can identify a parking space to be measured and a parking space ID assigned to the parking space to be measured, among multiple parking spaces, based on the map data.

[0040] When the parking lot monitoring system S moves to the vicinity of a parking space to be measured by the moving mechanism 20, the control unit 103 measures the parking space to be measured using the optical sensor 70 (step S102 in FIG. 6). The control unit 103 then determines whether a vehicle is present based on the measurement results of the parking space measured by the optical sensor 70 (step S103 in FIG. 6). For example, the control unit 103 emits measurement light from the optical sensor 70, receives the reflected light with the light-receiving unit of the optical sensor 70, and detects the presence or absence of a vehicle based on the measurement results. In FIG. 7, a vehicle V1 is parked in parking space PS3, and the control unit 103 determines that a vehicle is present based on the detection results of the optical sensor 70. However, since no vehicle is parked in parking space PS4, the control unit 103 determines that a vehicle is not present based on the detection results of the optical sensor 70. Here, we have explained the case where the optical sensor 70 is used to detect whether or not a vehicle is present in a parking space, but it is also possible to measure the parking space using the radar sensor 60 and detect whether or not a vehicle is present based on the measurement results. If there is no vehicle (NO in step S103 in FIG. 6), the control unit 103 controls the moving mechanism 20 to move to the next parking space to be measured, and the process proceeds to step S101.

[0041] On the other hand, if a vehicle is present (step S103 in FIG. 6 - YES), the control unit 103 targets the detected vehicle and detects whether the engine is stopped (off state) using the vehicle state sensor 80 (step S104 in FIG. 6).

[0042] If the engine is not stopped based on the detection result of the vehicle state sensor 80 (NO in step S105 in FIG. 6), the control unit 103 proceeds to step S101 to observe another parking space. Here, if the engine is not off (if it is on), it means that the vehicle has just been parked or is about to leave the parking space, and it is highly likely that the driver is still in the vehicle, so it can be assumed that the vehicle has not been abandoned.

[0043] On the other hand, if the engine is stopped based on the detection result of the vehicle state sensor 80 (step S105 in FIG. 6 - YES), the control unit 103 observes the vehicle parked in the parking space using the radar sensor 60, and measures the direction in which the vehicle is parked and the position of the vehicle's windows based on the observation result (step S106 in FIG. 6). 8, the shapes of the body part 700, tires 701, etc. of the vehicle are detected, but a detection result different from that of the body part 700, tires 701, etc. is obtained for the window 702. That is, for the body part 700, tires 701, etc., a detection result based on the reflection of the observation wave is obtained, but for the window 702, a detection result based on the reflection of the observation wave by an object at the destination of the transmitted wave is obtained. Therefore, based on the difference in the observation results, it is possible to recognize the shapes of the body part 700, tires 701, etc., and also to detect the height from the ground to the position of the window 702 in the body part 700 and the position of the window 702 in the horizontal direction. For example, when the radar sensor 60 observes from the front of the vehicle, different observation results are obtained for the body and the windshield, so the external shape of the vehicle can be determined, and the position of the windows can be determined based on the external shape. Based on these observation results, the inside of the vehicle can be observed through the window positions, making it possible to detect whether or not a person is present and to measure vital signs.

[0044] The control unit 103 determines whether or not a window through which the interior of the vehicle can be seen has been detected based on the measurement result of the radar sensor 60 (step S107 in FIG. 6). By detecting such a window, it is possible to detect an area inside the vehicle that can be observed by the radar sensor 60, thereby avoiding a situation in which an abandoned object cannot be detected because the interior of the vehicle cannot be observed.

[0045] If the control unit 103 cannot detect a window (step S107 in FIG. 6 - NO), it uses the radar sensor 60 to measure whether there is an empty space on each side of the vehicle (step S108 in FIG. 6). Here, cases where a parked vehicle can be detected but a window cannot be detected include when the vehicle is parked with the rear facing the aisle of the parking space and there are objects such as luggage loaded around the rear window inside the vehicle, making it impossible to see inside the vehicle through the rear window, or when the vehicle does not have a rear window on the back door. Furthermore, when detecting whether or not there is an empty space on both sides of a vehicle, generally, a space for the driver to get in or out of the vehicle is secured on at least one of the left and right sides of the vehicle. Therefore, the radar sensor 60 can detect that space.

[0046] When a space is detected on the side of the vehicle, the control unit 103 moves the position of the radar sensor 60 in at least one of the vertical and horizontal directions (depth direction) using the position adjustment mechanism so that the radar sensor 60 is located in one of the detected spaces (step S109 in FIG. 6). For example, the control unit 103 of the parking lot monitoring system S drives the lifting device 30 so that the position of the radar sensor 60 in the height direction corresponds to the height of a window of the vehicle Va, and drives the extension device 40 so that the position of the radar sensor 60 in the horizontal direction (position in the depth direction) corresponds to the position of a window on the side of the vehicle Va. In this way, by driving the position adjustment mechanism, the position of the radar sensor 60 can be adjusted so that it can detect the vehicle window. As a result, even if the vehicle window cannot be detected from the aisle side, it can be detected from the side of the vehicle. Then, the control unit 103 shifts the process to step S106.

[0047] If the control unit 103 has successfully detected the position of the vehicle window (step S107 in FIG. 6—YES), it uses the radar sensor 60 to observe the interior of the vehicle through the window (step S110 in FIG. 6). When observing the interior of the vehicle using the radar sensor 60, the control unit 103 performs observation from a position in an aisle in the parking lot near a parking space. Here, the aisle in a parking lot often has an area where people using the parking lot pass and an area where vehicles pass. Therefore, even when the parking lot monitoring system S stops in the aisle and observes the interior of the vehicle using the radar sensor 60, by observing in an area where people pass, it is possible to observe without affecting the passage of vehicles. Furthermore, when observing the interior of the vehicle using the radar sensor 60, observation may be performed from a position close to the side of the vehicle rather than from a center position in the width direction of the vehicle. As a result, even if a person is inside the vehicle, the person can be observed from a position that is not directly in front of the person, thereby reducing the sense of oppression felt by the person inside the vehicle.

[0048] Furthermore, when observing the inside of the vehicle, the display control unit 104 may cause the display device 90 to display a string such as "Checking for abandoned vehicle." This allows parking lot users to understand why the parking lot monitoring system S is patrolling. This reduces the likelihood that parking lot users will become suspicious of what the parking lot monitoring system S is doing.

[0049] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the window position detection process is performed when it is detected in step S105 that the engine is stopped. However, the control unit 103 may instead detect whether or not a person is present in the vicinity of the vehicle for which the window position detection process is to be performed, and perform the window position detection process if no person is present. The presence of a person near the vehicle may be determined by providing a camera that captures images of the area around the parking lot monitoring system S and determining whether an image corresponding to a person can be detected near the vehicle for which the window position detection process is to be performed based on the image data from the camera. This allows the window position detection process and vital information measurement process to be avoided if a person who has exited a parked vehicle remains near the vehicle to organize luggage, etc. In this case, after observing the next parking space, the system may return to the parking space where a person was detected near the vehicle, and then again detect whether or not a person is present. If no person is present, the window position detection process and vital information measurement process may be performed.

[0050] Here, the control unit 103 uses the radar sensor 60 to observe the passenger seat and the rear seat of the vehicle, respectively, to detect whether or not a person is present, and if a person is detected, to measure the vital signs of the detected person. As for the driver's seat, since the driver generally gets out of the vehicle after parking the vehicle in a parking space, it is considered that the driver is rarely left behind, so observation by the radar sensor 60 may be omitted or may be performed. If the driver's seat is also observed, it may be possible to detect a state in which the driver remains seated in the driver's seat due to poor health or the like.

[0051] When observing the interior of the vehicle, the control unit 103 may change the position of the radar sensor 60 depending on the relative positions of the parking lot monitoring system S and the passenger seat, and the parking lot monitoring system S and the rear seat, so as to observe from a position corresponding to the seat to be observed.

[0052] 9 illustrates a case where a vehicle Va is parked in a parking space with its front facing the passage 800 adjacent to the parking space PSa. The parking lot monitoring system S illustrates a case where the parking lot monitoring system S observes the interior of the vehicle Va from the right side as viewed from the side of the vehicle Va, which is the object of observation. The control unit 103 of the parking lot monitoring system S drives the lifting device 30 so that the position of the radar sensor 60 in the height direction corresponds to the height of the window of the vehicle Va. The control unit 103 of the parking lot monitoring system S also drives the extension device 40 so that the position of the radar sensor 60 in the horizontal direction (position in the depth direction) corresponds to the position of the window on the side of the vehicle Va. This makes it possible to observe the interior of the vehicle Va using the radar sensor 60. Here, the radar sensor 60 observes from the side window of the vehicle Va, but if the passenger seat and rear seats of the vehicle Va can be observed through the windshield of the vehicle Va, the parking lot monitoring system S may observe the interior of the vehicle from the front through the windshield rather than from the side.

[0053] The control unit 103 determines whether or not vital information has been obtained based on the detection result of the radar sensor 60 (step S111 in FIG. 6). If the control unit 103 is unable to detect vital sign information (NO in step S111 in FIG. 6), the process proceeds to step S101. Here, if vital sign information is not detected from inside the vehicle, it can be assumed that there is no person inside the vehicle, and therefore it can be assumed that no person has been left behind.

[0054] On the other hand, if the alarm unit 105 is able to detect vital information (step S111 in Figure 6 - YES), it presumes that an abandonment has occurred, and sends an alert to the notification device of the management center via the communication unit 101, notifying that an abandonment has possibly occurred, including the parking space ID and the vital information measured by the radar sensor 60 (step S112 in Figure 6). Based on this alert, a manager or security guard standing by at the management center can then go to the parking space where a vehicle may have been left and check the interior of the vehicle. Here, the alarm unit 105 sends the alert to a reporting device at the management center, but it may also send the alert to a terminal device 210 or the like carried by a security guard. This allows a security guard guarding the parking lot or the vicinity of the parking lot to check the alert on their terminal device and head to the parking space where a vehicle may have been left. Here, if the respiration or heart rate indicated by the vital information included in the alert exceeds a reference range, the alarm unit 105 may transmit an alert to the management server of the management center of the fire station in addition to the notification device of the management center, thereby enabling smooth dispatch of an ambulance.

[0055] In the embodiment described above, the parking lot monitoring system S patrols the parking lot and sequentially measures the parking spaces to detect whether a vehicle is parked in the parking space. However, sensors for detecting whether a vehicle is parked in a parking space may be installed on the walls, ceilings, etc. of the parking lot, and each parking space may be targeted to detect whether a vehicle is parked there. For example, a camera may capture an image of at least one parking space, and based on the captured image data, whether a vehicle is parked there may be detected based on whether an image corresponding to a vehicle is present in the image area corresponding to the parking space. The camera may then wirelessly transmit the parking space ID in which the vehicle is detected to be parked to the control device 103 of the parking lot monitoring system S. The control device 103 may then generate a movement route based on the notified parking space ID and the current location, and move using the movement mechanism 20. This allows the parking lot monitoring system S to patrol only parking spaces where a vehicle is actually parked, eliminating the need for the parking lot monitoring system S to measure whether a vehicle is parked in an empty parking space, thereby improving patrol efficiency.

[0056] Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the parking lot monitoring system S detects whether or not something has been left behind by moving within the parking lot, but if it is possible to move, the moving mechanism 20 may be a mechanism that moves along rails installed above the parking lot rather than a mechanism that moves on the road surface of the parking lot.

[0057] In the above embodiment, the vehicle state sensor detects whether the vehicle engine is on or off in step S104, but the process may proceed to step S106 without performing the processes in steps S104 and S105. In this case, the vehicle state sensor 80 does not need to be mounted on the parking lot monitoring system S.

[0058] The communication unit 101, control unit 103, display control unit 104, alarm unit 105, and alarm sound output unit 106 of the parking lot monitoring system in the above-described embodiment may be implemented by a computer. In this case, a program for implementing these functions may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program may be loaded into a computer system and executed. Note that the term "computer system" as used herein includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. Furthermore, the term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, as well as storage devices such as hard disks built into a computer system. Furthermore, the term "computer-readable recording medium" may also include media that dynamically store programs for a short period of time, such as communication lines used when transmitting programs via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line, or media that store programs for a fixed period of time, such as volatile memory within the computer system serving as the server or client in such cases. Furthermore, the above program may be one that realizes part of the above-mentioned functions, or may be one that can realize the above-mentioned functions in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system, or may be one that is realized using a programmable logic device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0059] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes designs within the scope of the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 10 Mobile body 20 Moving mechanism 30 Lifting device 31 Rod-shaped member 32 gears 40 Stretching device 50 Rotating Platform 50a Rotating member 50b hinge 50c rotating member 60 Radar Sensor 70 Optical Sensor 80 Vehicle condition sensor 90 Display device 101 Communications Department 102 Storage section 103 Control Unit 104 Display control unit 105 Alarm section 106 Alarm sound output section 200 Management Center Server 210 Terminal Equipment 700 Body 701 Tires 702 Window 800 aisles P Parking Lot PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4, PSa parking space S Parking Lot Surveillance System V1 vehicle VA vehicle

Claims

1. It is a parking lot monitoring system that monitors parking lots. a biometric sensor that detects whether a person is present in the parked vehicle; an observation area detection sensor that detects an observation area in which radio waves can be irradiated to the interior of the parked vehicle by measuring an area including an outer periphery of the vehicle; a moving mechanism that moves a moving body on which the biosensor is mounted to the vicinity of the vehicle; a position adjustment mechanism that adjusts the position of the biosensor in the height direction at the moved position so that the interior of the vehicle can be observed through the observation area; an alarm unit that outputs an alert when the biosensor detects the presence of a person inside the vehicle; A parking lot monitoring system having:

2. The observation area detection sensor Detecting the vehicle window as the observation area The parking lot monitoring system of claim 1 .

3. The position adjustment mechanism includes: The position of the biosensor in the height direction is adjusted, and the position of the biosensor in the horizontal direction is adjusted. The parking lot monitoring system of claim 2.

4. The alarm unit The alert is notified to a terminal device used by a person in charge of managing the parking lot. The parking lot monitoring system of claim 1 .

5. a display provided on the moving body to display that it is being checked to see if a person has been left behind in the vehicle; 2. The parking lot monitoring system of claim 1, comprising:

6. The moving mechanism includes: a traveling device that travels on the road surface of the parking lot, 6. A parking lot monitoring system according to claim 1.

7. an operating state sensor for detecting whether the engine of the parked vehicle is on; a control unit that moves the position of the biosensor by the movement mechanism for the parked vehicle whose engine is off; The parking lot monitoring system of claim 1 .

8. 1. A computer-implemented method for parking lot monitoring, comprising: Detect whether a person is present in the parked vehicle, detecting an observation area in which radio waves can be irradiated to the interior of the parked vehicle by measuring an area including an outer periphery of the parked vehicle; A moving object equipped with a biosensor is moved to the vicinity of the vehicle; adjusting a position of the biosensor in a height direction at the moved position so that the interior of the vehicle can be observed through the observation area; An alert is output when the biometric sensor detects the presence of a person inside the vehicle. A parking lot monitoring method comprising:

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