Information Management System

Abstract

The objective is to provide an information management system that manages information related to the automatic reservation of multiple parking lots under its management, which enables automatic reservations and also possesses flexibility. [Solution] The system includes a server connected to a user terminal and a parking lot terminal, and a storage device that stores trigger conditions for automatically reserving a parking space for each user. The user terminal has a pre-information transmission processing unit that sends pre-information to the server regarding the possibility of the user using the parking lot. The server has an availability information acquisition processing unit that acquires information on the availability of parking spaces, a trigger condition acquisition processing unit that acquires the trigger conditions of the user who sent the pre-information, an identification processing unit that identifies whether the user has met the trigger conditions from the pre-information and availability information, a reservation processing unit that executes an automatic reservation for a parking space, and a setting processing unit that can individually set the trigger conditions for each user.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information management system for managing information on a plurality of parking lots to be managed.

Background Art

[0002] An information management system that automatically reserves a parking lot for a user's automobile when a predetermined condition (hereinafter referred to as "trigger condition") is satisfied for a specific user is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] According to the information management system of the above document, using as a trigger that the user has searched by a navigation device mounted on the automobile, it automatically reserves a parking lot on the way to the destination, or using as a trigger that the distance from the parking lot targeted for reservation has become a distance of a predetermined value or less, it automatically makes a reservation for the parking lot, and it has high convenience.

[0004] On the other hand, since the information management system of the above document sets the same trigger condition uniformly for all of a plurality of users, there is a problem of lacking flexibility.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an information management system for managing information on a plurality of parking lots to be managed, which enables automatic reservation and also has flexibility.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides an information management system for managing information about multiple parking lots, comprising: a parking lot terminal installed for each of the multiple parking lots; user terminals, which are information terminals individually owned by multiple users; an information management server connected to each user terminal and each parking lot terminal via a network; and a storage device that stores trigger conditions, which are conditions for executing automatic parking reservations for each of the multiple users, wherein the storage device is provided on the information management server or on another server that can communicate with the information management server via a network, and the user terminals are configured to send pre-information transmission processing units to the information management server, which are pre-information that the user is likely to use. The information management server is characterized by having: an availability information acquisition processing unit that acquires availability information, which is information regarding the availability of at least some parking spaces, from the parking terminal or the storage device; a trigger condition acquisition processing unit that acquires the trigger conditions of the user who sent the prior information from the storage device; an identification processing unit that identifies whether the user who sent the prior information has met the trigger conditions, based on the prior information and the availability information; a reservation processing unit that executes at least a part of a series of processes related to the automatic reservation of a parking space to be used by the user for the user who has been determined by the identification processing unit to have met the trigger conditions; and a setting processing unit that can individually set the trigger conditions for multiple users and store them in the storage device.

[0008] The storage device may be configured to store evaluation information, which is information relating to the results of evaluations performed for each of the multiple users, and the setting processing unit may be configured to individually set the trigger information for each of the multiple users based on the evaluation information stored in the storage device and store it in the storage device.

[0009] The information management server may also have an evaluation processing unit that performs an evaluation for each of multiple users and stores the evaluation information, which is information relating to the results of that evaluation, in the storage device.

[0010] The aforementioned evaluation information may include information regarding the user's usage or payment status at the parking lot, or the frequency of use of the parking lot being managed.

[0011] The identification processing unit may be configured to determine that the trigger condition has been met when the distance between the parking lot to be reserved by the reservation processing unit and the user falls below a predetermined reservation start distance, and the setting processing unit may be configured to set the reservation start distance for each user.

[0012] The user terminal may have a storage unit that stores transmission conditions, which are information regarding the timing or circumstances under which the prior information is to be transmitted, and a transmission condition modification processing unit that modifies the transmission conditions stored in the storage unit, and the prior information transmission processing unit may transmit the prior information based on the transmission conditions stored in the storage unit.

[0013] The storage device stores transmission conditions, which are information regarding the timing or circumstances under which the prior information is to be transmitted. The information management server may have a transmission condition provision processing unit that provides the user's transmission conditions to the user terminal, and a transmission condition modification processing unit that modifies the transmission conditions stored in the storage device. The prior information transmission processing unit may transmit the prior information based on the transmission conditions transmitted from the information management server.

[0014] The aforementioned prior information may include at least one of the following: information regarding a request to reserve a designated parking space; information regarding whether or not the user has woken up; information regarding whether or not the user has left home; and the user's location information at that time. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the configuration of the present invention, trigger conditions, which are the conditions for executing automatic reservations, can be set for each of multiple users. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0016] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of an information management system to which the present invention is applied. [Figure 2] This is an explanatory diagram for explaining a parking lot to be managed. [Figure 3] This is an explanatory diagram for explaining the form of automatic reservation processing by an information management system. [Figure 4] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information management server. [Figure 5] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of a parking lot side terminal. [Figure 6] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of a user terminal. [Figure 7] This is a flowchart showing the procedure of setting processing. [Figure 8] This is a flowchart showing the procedure of a series of processes from the transmission of advance information to reservation processing.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0017] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an information management system to which the present invention is applied. The illustrated information management system includes an information management server 10 that manages information regarding a plurality of parking lots to be managed, parking lot side terminals 20 that are information terminals installed for each of the plurality of parking lots, and user terminals 30 that are information terminals individually possessed by a plurality of users who use the parking lots.

[0018] The information management server 10 and each of the information terminals 20 and 30 are configured to be able to communicate with each other via a global network 40 such as the Internet. Various types of information managed by this information management system may be stored in the storage device 12 (see FIG. 4) of the information management server 10 itself, or a part or all of it may be stored in the storage device (not shown) of a data server 50, which is another server configured to be able to communicate with each other via the information management server 10 and the network 40.

[0019] In the storage device 12 of the information management server 10 or the storage device of the data server 50, trigger conditions that are conditions for automatically making a reservation for a parking lot for each of a plurality of users are stored.

[0020] The user terminal 30 executes a pre - information transmission process for transmitting pre - information, which is information regarding the possibility that the user uses a parking lot, to the information management server 10.

[0021] The pre - information includes at least one of information regarding a request for reservation of a predetermined parking lot, information regarding whether the user has woken up, information regarding whether the user has left home, and the user's position information at that time.

[0022] When the information management server 10 receives (acquires) the pre - information transmitted from the user terminal 30, it executes an available - information acquisition process for acquiring available information, which is information regarding the availability of at least some of the parking lots, from the storage device of the parking - lot - side terminal 20 or the storage device 12 of the information management server 10 or the storage device of the data server 50.

[0023] Also, the information management server 10 executes a trigger - condition acquisition process for acquiring the trigger conditions of the user who has transmitted the pre - information from the storage device 12 of the information management server 10 or the storage device of the data server 50.

[0024] Furthermore, the information management server 10 executes an identification process for identifying that the user who has transmitted the pre - information has satisfied the trigger conditions based on the pre - information and the available information.

[0025] Then, the information management server 10 executes a reservation process, which is at least a part of a series of processes regarding an automatic reservation of a parking lot used by the user, for the user determined to have satisfied the trigger conditions by the identification process.

[0026] The trigger condition may be set as follows: for example, when the user approaches within a predetermined range of the parking lot they are trying to reserve during the reservation process. In this case, the information management server 10 is configured to determine in the identification process that the trigger condition has been met when the distance between the user and the parking lot they are trying to reserve during the reservation process falls below a predetermined distance called the reservation start distance.

[0027] Furthermore, the information management server 10 is configured to execute a setting process that sets the above-mentioned trigger conditions for each of the multiple users at a predetermined timing and stores them in the storage device 12 of the information management server 10 or the storage device of the data server 50.

[0028] Furthermore, the information management server 10 is configured to perform an evaluation process that evaluates each of multiple users and stores information regarding the evaluation results as evaluation information in the storage device 12 of the information management server 10 or the storage device of the data server 50. The evaluation information includes information regarding the user's usage status or payment status at the parking lot, or the frequency of use of the parking lot being managed.

[0029] Furthermore, the above-mentioned configuration process is performed for each of the multiple users, based on their evaluation information.

[0030] Next, we will describe the parking lot managed by the information management system based on Figure 2.

[0031] Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the parking lot to be managed. The illustrated parking lot P1 includes a parking lot terminal 20, which is an information terminal installed on the parking lot P1 side; a plurality of parking spaces S1, S2, S3 where users' vehicles are parked; an entrance / exit for vehicles to enter and exit the parking lot P1; an entrance / exit control device (gate) 26 installed on the entrance / exit side that restricts or allows vehicles to pass through the entrance / exit; a sensor 27 installed on the gate 26 that detects vehicles entering and exiting the parking lot P1; and a camera 28 that captures information on the availability of parking lot P1 and the user's usage status of parking lot P1 as still images or video data. The gate 26, sensor 27, and camera 28 are connected to the parking lot terminal 20 and constitute part of it.

[0032] Gate 26 is initially set up in a restricted state, preventing vehicles from passing through the entrance / exit (closing the entrance / exit). Gate 26 can be switched to an open state, allowing vehicles to pass through the entrance / exit (opening the entrance / exit), triggered by a predetermined operation by the user or by the approach of a user who has reserved parking space P1.

[0033] Sensor 27 detects vehicles passing through the entrance / exit via gate 26 and outputs the detection result to the parking lot terminal 20 as at least part of the vacancy information. Specifically, when entry is detected, it outputs to the parking lot terminal 20 that the number of available parking spaces in parking lot P1 has decreased as at least part of the vacancy information, while when exit is detected, it outputs to the parking lot terminal 20 that the number of available parking spaces in parking lot P1 has increased as at least part of the vacancy information.

[0034] Furthermore, the sensor 27 may be configured to include information identifying the user occupying a vehicle entering or leaving the parking lot P1 in its detection results.

[0035] The parking lot terminal 20 provides the information management server 10 via the network 40 with information on available spaces and user identification output from the sensor 27, as well as information on available spaces and the user's usage status in parking lot P1 output from the camera 28.

[0036] Furthermore, the parking lot terminal 20 may be configured to execute payment processing for the parking lot P1 usage fee for that user in response to a predetermined operation by the user. In this case, the parking lot terminal 20 provides information regarding the payment processing to the information management server 10 as information regarding the user's payment status. The gate 26 may also be configured to switch from a restricted state to an open state triggered by the completion of the payment processing.

[0037] In the illustrated example, two of the three parking spaces S1, S2, and S3 in parking lot P1 are already occupied by two vehicles C1 and C2, S1 and S2. In this case, the camera 28 captures an image of the single parking space S3 remaining as an available space, and this image is output to the parking lot terminal 20 as at least part of the availability information. The figure also shows the vehicle C3 of user U1, who is trying to reserve parking lot P1 (parking space S3), as indicated by a dashed line.

[0038] When the information management server 10 receives prior information transmitted from the user terminal 30 of user U1, who is a passenger in vehicle C3, it executes a process to obtain the availability information of parking lot P1 and a process to obtain the trigger conditions for user U1. Subsequently, the information management server 10 executes a process to identify whether user U1 has met the trigger conditions based on user U1's prior information and the availability information of parking lot P1. In this case, as mentioned above, parking space S3 is available, so if the prior information identifies that user U1 has met the trigger conditions, the information management server 10 executes the reservation process for parking lot P1.

[0039] After the reservation process for user U1 is completed, information indicating that parking space S3 is reserved is sent from the parking terminal 20 to the information management server 10 via the network 40, as at least part of the availability information. After vehicle C3 is parked in parking space S3, the camera 28 captures an image showing that there are no available parking spaces in parking lot P1, as at least part of the availability information, and outputs this image to the parking terminal 20. Here, if the information management server 10 receives prior information from another user, it similarly executes the process of obtaining the availability information for parking lot P1 and the trigger conditions for that user, and then performs the identification process described above. However, since there are no available parking spaces in the availability information, the reservation process for parking lot P1 for that user is not executed.

[0040] Next, we will explain the automated reservation, configuration, and evaluation processes using the information management system based on Figure 3.

[0041] Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the form of automated reservation processing by an information management system. The figure shows a user U2 riding in a vehicle C4 traveling on a road, and two managed parking lots P2 and P3 located in different places near the road. Parking lot P2 is located closer to the current location of user U2 (vehicle C4) compared to parking lot P3, while parking lot P3 is located further away from the current location of user U2 (vehicle C4) compared to parking lot P2. The figure also shows the reservation start distance d1 before the setting process for user U2's trigger conditions is executed, and the reservation start distance d2 after the setting process is executed, as indicated by dashed lines.

[0042] User U2's user terminal 30 performs the pre-information transmission process described above and sends pre-information, which is information regarding the possibility of user U2 using parking lots P2 and P3, to the information management server 10. In this case, the pre-information includes user U2's current location information.

[0043] When the information management server 10 receives prior information from user terminal 30 of user U2, it performs the process of obtaining availability information for parking lots P2 and P3, performs the process of obtaining trigger conditions for user U2, and performs the identification process described above.

[0044] In the identification process for the reservation of parking lot P2, the information management server 10 determines that user U2 has met the trigger condition because the distance between parking lot P2 and user U2 is less than or equal to the reservation start distance d1, and automatically executes the reservation process for parking lot P2. On the other hand, in the identification process for the reservation of parking lot P3, the distance between parking lot P3 and user U2 is greater than or equal to the reservation start distance d1, and therefore determines that user U2 has not met the trigger condition, and the automatic reservation process for parking lot P3 is not executed.

[0045] The information management server 10 is configured to reset (change) the reservation start distance for user U2 to a different distance from the reservation start distance d1, based on the evaluation information of user U2, through the setting process described above.

[0046] Specifically, if the information management server 10 identifies user U2 as a highly-rated user based on user U2's evaluation information, it changes user U2's reservation start distance to a longer distance than the reservation start distance d1 before the configuration process. Figure 3 shows reservation start distance d2 as an example of the reservation start distance after the configuration process.

[0047] In this case, the information management server 10, in the identification process related to the reservation of parking lot P3, determines that user U2 has met the trigger condition because the distance between parking lot P3 and user U2 is less than or equal to the reservation start distance d2 after the setting process, and automatically executes the reservation process for parking lot P3 as well.

[0048] If the information management server 10 identifies user U2 as a user with a low rating based on user U2's evaluation information, it may also reset (change) user U2's reservation start distance to a shorter distance than the reservation start distance d1 before the setting process.

[0049] Incidentally, there are no particular limitations on the evaluation method for each user. For example, it may be a relative evaluation by comparing it with the evaluation information of other users, or an absolute evaluation may be performed for each user by setting predetermined criteria for the evaluation information.

[0050] Furthermore, the information management server 10 may be configured to automatically cancel a parking reservation if, for example, the distance between the user and the parking lot for which the reservation process has already been completed exceeds a predetermined distance called the cancellation start distance.

[0051] On the other hand, the user terminal 30 may be configured to perform a pre-information transmission process based on transmission conditions, which are information regarding the timing or circumstances under which pre-information is transmitted.

[0052] Furthermore, the user terminal 30 may be configured to perform a transmission condition modification process that changes the transmission conditions described above. This allows the user to change the settings of their user terminal 30 to send pre-information at a desired time.

[0053] Next, the configuration of the information management server 10 and each information terminal 20, 30 for realizing the above-mentioned information management will be described based on Figures 4 to 6.

[0054] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information management server. The information management server 10 comprises a control unit 11 composed of a CPU and RAM, etc., and capable of implementing various functions (means) by program execution; a storage device 12 including RAM and storage such as an SSD or HDD; a wired or wireless communication interface 13 that enables communication via a network 40; an input interface 14 such as a keyboard, mouse or touch panel for inputting information; and an output interface 15 such as a monitor or speaker for outputting information.

[0055] The control unit 11 includes at least: a pre-information receiving processing unit 11a that performs pre-information receiving processing to receive pre-information transmitted from the user terminal 30 via the network 40 through the communication interface 13; a vacancy information acquisition processing unit 11b that performs the above-mentioned vacancy information acquisition processing via communication with the parking lot terminal 20 via the network 40 through the communication interface 13; a trigger condition acquisition processing unit 11c that performs the above-mentioned trigger condition acquisition processing; an identification processing unit 11d that performs the above-mentioned identification processing; a reservation processing unit e that performs the above-mentioned reservation processing; a setting processing unit 11f that performs the above-mentioned setting processing; an evaluation processing unit 11g that performs the above-mentioned evaluation processing; and a cancellation processing unit 11h that performs the above-mentioned cancellation processing.

[0056] The vacancy information acquisition processing unit 11b performs vacancy information acquisition processing by communicating with the parking lot terminal 20 as described above, and is also configured to acquire vacancy information from the storage device 12 of the information management server 10, or to acquire vacancy information from the storage device of the data server 50 by communicating with the data server 50.

[0057] The trigger condition acquisition processing unit 11c acquires the trigger condition from the storage device 12 of the information management server 10, or acquires the trigger condition from the storage device of the data server 50 by communicating with the data server 50 via the network 40.

[0058] As part of the above-described reservation processing, the reservation processing unit 11e communicates with the parking lot terminal 20 via the network 40 through the communication interface 13 and transmits information related to the reservation to the parking lot terminal 20 located in the parking lot used by the user who has met the trigger conditions. The identification processing unit 11d may also be configured to perform the above-described identification processing based on prior information, availability information, and information related to the reservation. In this case, when the reservation processing is executed, the parking space related to the reservation can be excluded from the list of available parking spaces, thereby preventing multiple users from executing reservation processing on a parking space that has already been reserved.

[0059] The configuration processing unit 11f is configured to execute configuration processing for each user. More specifically, it is configured to change and set the above-mentioned reservation start distance for each user and store it in the storage device 12 of the information management server 10 or the storage device of the data server 50.

[0060] In addition to the information provided by the parking lot terminal 20 as described above, the evaluation processing unit 11g can also use as evaluation information information stored in the storage device 12 of the information management server 10 or the storage device of the data server 50, which may include information regarding the user's parking lot usage status, payment status, or frequency of use of the parking lot being managed.

[0061] Furthermore, the information management server 10 may be configured to also perform the process of obtaining information regarding the frequency of parking use by the user who made the reservation and storing it in the storage device 12 of the information management server 10 or the storage device of the data server 50 when executing the reservation process described above.

[0062] Furthermore, the information management server 10 may be configured to receive information from the parking lot terminal 20 that identifies a user who has entered or exited the parking lot, which is included in the detection results of the sensor 27 described above, and to sequentially store this information in the storage device 12 of the information management server 10 or the storage device of the data server 50. In this case, the frequency at which this information is received or stored can be set to the frequency with which the user uses the parking lot, and the information related to this series of processes can be used as information regarding the frequency with which the user uses the parking lot.

[0063] The cancellation processing unit 11h is configured to execute at least part of the process for automatically canceling the reserved parking space reservation if the user has met the cancellation trigger conditions that are conditions for canceling the reserved parking space reservation after the reservation process described above has been executed.

[0064] In this case, the identification processing unit 11d may be configured to identify that the user has met the cancellation trigger condition. More specifically, the identification processing unit 11d may determine that the cancellation trigger condition has been met when the distance between the user and the reserved parking space that the cancellation processing unit 11h is trying to cancel exceeds a predetermined distance called the cancellation start distance.

[0065] Furthermore, the cancellation trigger conditions are stored in the storage device 12 of the information management server 10 or the storage device of the data server 50, similar to the trigger conditions described above. In addition, the cancellation start distance may be the same as the reservation start distance described above. In this case, both the reservation start distance and the cancellation start distance can be set or changed by the setting process described above.

[0066] One or both of the storage device 12 or the storage device of the data server 50 are provided with at least a trigger condition storage area 12a for storing the trigger conditions described above, a free information storage area 12b for storing the free information described above, and an evaluation information storage area 12c for storing the evaluation information described above.

[0067] The trigger condition storage area 12a stores the trigger conditions for each user. If a user's trigger conditions are changed through the setting process described above, the trigger condition storage area 12a stores the changed trigger conditions. However, the storage method may be to overwrite the trigger conditions before the change, or to store the trigger conditions before the change without overwriting them. The trigger condition storage area 12a may also be configured to store the release trigger conditions described above.

[0068] The available parking space information storage area 12b stores the available parking space information for each of the multiple parking lots that are under management.

[0069] The evaluation information storage area 12c stores evaluation information related to the results of evaluation processes performed for each of the multiple users.

[0070] Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the parking lot terminal. The parking lot terminal 20 may be a dedicated information terminal installed on the parking lot side, but a general computer such as a personal computer or tablet terminal may also be used as the parking lot terminal 20. The parking lot terminal 20 includes a control unit 21 composed of a CPU and RAM and capable of implementing various functions (means) by program execution, a storage device 22 including RAM and storage such as an SSD or HDD, a wired or wireless communication interface 23 that enables communication via the network 40, an input interface 24 such as a keyboard, mouse, switch, button or touch panel for inputting information, and an output interface 25 such as a monitor, printer or speaker for outputting information. The parking lot terminal 20 is also connected to the aforementioned parking control device (gate) 26, sensor 27 and camera 28.

[0071] The control unit 21 includes at least: an available information provision processing unit 21a that performs an available information provision processing by communicating with the information management server 10 via the network 40 through the communication interface 23 and sending available information output from sensors 27, cameras 28, etc. connected to it to the information management server 10; a reservation information acquisition processing unit 21b that performs a reservation information acquisition processing by communicating with the information management server 10 via the network 40 through the communication interface 23 and obtaining information related to the above-mentioned reservation processing from the information management server 10; a cancellation information acquisition processing unit 21c that performs a cancellation information acquisition processing by communicating with the information management server 10 via the network 40 through the communication interface 23 and obtaining information related to the above-mentioned cancellation processing from the information management server 10; an entry control unit 21d that performs an entry control processing by switching the above-mentioned entry control device 26 from a restricted state to an open state, or from an open state to a restricted state; and a settlement processing unit 21e that performs settlement processing regarding the user's parking fee by communicating with the user terminal 30 via the network 40 through the communication interface 23.

[0072] The payment processing unit 21e is configured to perform its payment processing via cashless payment through communication with the user terminal 30 described above. However, the payment processing by the payment processing unit 21e is not limited to being performed via cashless payment; it may also be performed by the user operating the input interface 24 of the parking lot terminal 20.

[0073] The storage device 22 has at least a reservation information storage area 22a, which is an area for storing the reservation information described above, and a fee information storage area 22b, which is an area for storing fee information related to the usage fees of the parking lot where the parking lot terminal 20 is installed.

[0074] The reservation information storage area 22a stores the above-mentioned reservation information and information about the user related to that reservation in an associated state.

[0075] The fee information storage area 22b may be configured to store predetermined fee information for each of the multiple parking lots that are under management.

[0076] Figure 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a user terminal. The user terminal 30 may be a dedicated information terminal such as an in-vehicle terminal, but it may also be a computer such as a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet. The user terminal 30 comprises a control unit 31 composed of a CPU and RAM, etc., and capable of implementing various functions (means) by program execution; a storage unit 32 including RAM and storage such as an SSD or HDD; a wired or wireless communication interface 33 that enables communication via a network 40; an input interface 34 such as a keyboard, mouse, microphone, or touch panel for inputting information; and an output interface 35 such as a monitor, printer, or speaker for outputting information. Various sensors 36, such as a GPS sensor, are also connected to the user terminal 30. The sensors 36 are configured to detect when the user wakes up, when the user leaves home, or the user's location information at that time, and to output the detection results to the control unit 31.

[0077] The control unit 31 includes at least a pre-information transmission processing unit 31a that performs the pre-information transmission processing described above by communicating with the information management server 10 via the network 40 through the communication interface 33, and a transmission condition change processing unit 31b that performs the transmission condition change processing described above.

[0078] The pre-information transmission processing unit 31a uses the detection results output from the sensor 36 as at least part of the pre-information and performs the pre-information transmission process described above. The pre-information transmission processing unit 31a also performs the process of transmitting the pre-information acquired by the user terminal 30 through information input via the input interface 34 to the information processing server 10.

[0079] The transmission condition change processing unit 31b executes the transmission condition change processing when a predetermined trigger for starting the transmission condition change processing is detected, and stores the changed transmission conditions in the storage unit 32. Alternatively, the transmission information change processing unit 31b may be configured to execute the transmission condition change processing in response to information input via the input interface 34.

[0080] The conditions for sending the information may include, for example, that the current time is a predetermined time, that the user has approved the sending of the information in advance, and that the distance between the designated parking lot and the user is less than or equal to a predetermined distance. This predetermined distance may also be the same as or approximately the same as the reservation start distance mentioned above.

[0081] The storage unit 32 has at least a transmission condition storage area 32a, which is a storage area in which the above-mentioned transmission conditions are stored.

[0082] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure for the setting process. When the setting trigger, which is the trigger for executing the setting process described above, is turned ON, the setting processing unit 11f starts the process and proceeds to step S101. In step S101, the trigger conditions are set or changed (reconfigured) for each of the multiple users based on the evaluation information of that user, and the process is executed to store them in the storage device 12 of the information management server 10 or in the storage device of another server (data server 50) that can communicate with the information management server 10 via the network 40, and the series of processes is completed.

[0083] The setting triggers may include, for example, the execution of evaluation processing by the evaluation processing unit 11g, the reception of part of the evaluation information by the information management server 10 from the parking lot terminal 20, the execution of pre-information reception processing by the pre-information reception processing unit 11a, the execution of cancellation processing, or the elapsed time since the previous setting processing was executed.

[0084] Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the steps of a series of processes from sending advance information to reservation processing. When the above-mentioned transmission conditions are met, the information management system starts the series of processes shown in the figure and proceeds to step S102. In step S102, the advance information transmission processing unit 31a of the user terminal 30 executes the advance information transmission process to send advance information to the information management server 10, and when the advance information reception processing unit 11a of the information management server 10 confirms that it has received the advance information, the system proceeds to step S103.

[0085] In step S103, the free information acquisition processing unit 11b of the information management server 10 executes a free information acquisition process to acquire free information from the parking lot terminal 20, the storage device 12 of the information management server 10, or the storage device of the data server 50, and then proceeds to step S104.

[0086] In step S104, the trigger condition acquisition processing unit 11c of the information management server 10 executes a trigger condition acquisition process to acquire the trigger conditions of the user who sent the prior information in step S102 from the storage device 12 of the information management server 10 or the storage device of the data server 50, and then proceeds to step S105.

[0087] In step S105, the identification processing unit 11d of the information management server 10 performs an identification process to determine whether the user who sent the prior information in step S102 has met the trigger conditions, based on the prior information and availability information. If it determines that the user has met the trigger conditions, the process proceeds to step S106.

[0088] In step S106, the reservation processing unit 11e of the information management server 10 executes a reservation process for a user, which is at least part of a series of processes related to the automatic reservation of a parking space to be used by the user.

[0089] This concludes the series of processes from sending preliminary information to completing the reservation.

[0090] On the other hand, if, in step S105, the identification processing unit 11d determines that the user does not meet the trigger conditions, step S106 is skipped and the series of processes ends there. In other words, if it is determined that the trigger conditions are not met, the reservation process is not executed.

[0091] With the information management system configured as described above, the conditions for executing automatic reservations can be changed to appropriate conditions for each of the multiple users by performing the setting process described above.

[0092] Furthermore, the above-mentioned configuration process sets trigger conditions individually for each user based on user evaluation information, making it possible to distinguish between users with low and high ratings regarding parking lot usage and set or change trigger conditions accordingly.

[0093] Furthermore, in the above example, the control unit 31 of the user terminal 30 had a transmission condition change processing unit 31b, and the transmission conditions were stored in the storage unit 32 of the user terminal 30. However, as shown by dashed lines in Figure 4, the control unit 11 of the information management server 10 may be provided with a transmission condition provision processing unit 11i that provides the user's transmission conditions to the user terminal 30, and a transmission condition change processing unit 11j that changes the transmission conditions for each user, and a transmission condition storage area 12d, which is an area where the transmission conditions are stored, may be provided in the storage device 12 of the information management server 10 or the storage device of the data server 50.

[0094] In this case, the pre-information transmission processing unit 31a executes the above-described pre-information transmission process based on the transmission conditions provided by the transmission condition provision processing unit 11i of the information management server 10.

[0095] Furthermore, as shown by the dashed lines in Figure 4, the information management server 10 may be configured to have a payment processing unit 11k in its control unit 11. In this case, a fee information storage area 12e is provided in the storage device 12 of the information management server 10 or the storage device of the data server 50. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0096] 10. Information Management Server 11b Availability Information Acquisition Processing Unit 11c Trigger condition acquisition processing unit 11d Identification Processing Unit 11e Reservation Processing Unit 11f Configuration Processing Unit 11g Evaluation Processing Unit 11i Transmission Condition Provisioning Processing Unit 11j Transmission Condition Change Processing Unit 12 Storage device 20 Parking lot terminal 30 User terminals 31a Pre-information transmission processing unit 31b Transmission Condition Change Processing Unit 50 Data Servers (Other Servers)

Claims

1. An information management system for managing information about multiple parking lots under its control, Parking lot terminals installed at each of the multiple parking lots, User terminals are information terminals that are individually owned by multiple users, Each user terminal and each parking lot terminal are connected via the network to an information management server, It includes a storage device that stores trigger conditions that serve as conditions for automatically reserving parking spaces for multiple users, The storage device is provided on the information management server, or on another server that can communicate with the information management server via a network. The user terminal has a pre-information transmission processing unit that transmits pre-information, which is information regarding the likelihood of the user using the parking lot, to the information management server. The aforementioned information management server is A vacancy information acquisition processing unit that acquires vacancy information, which is information regarding the vacancy status of at least some of the parking lots, from the parking lot terminal or the storage device, A trigger condition acquisition processing unit that acquires the trigger conditions of the user who has sent the aforementioned prior information from the storage device, An identification processing unit identifies whether the user who sent the aforementioned prior information has met the trigger conditions, based on the prior information and the availability information. A reservation processing unit that executes at least a part of a series of processes related to the automatic reservation of a parking space to be used by a user who has been determined by the identification processing unit to satisfy the trigger conditions, A setting processing unit capable of individually setting the trigger conditions for multiple users and storing them in the storage device, has An information management system characterized by the following features.

2. The aforementioned storage device stores evaluation information, which is information regarding the results of evaluations performed for each of multiple users. The setting processing unit is configured to individually set the trigger information for each of the multiple users based on the evaluation information stored in the storage device and store it in the storage device. The information management system according to claim 1.

3. The information management server has an evaluation processing unit that performs an evaluation for each of multiple users and stores the evaluation information, which is information relating to the results of that evaluation, in the storage device. The information management system according to claim 2.

4. The aforementioned evaluation information includes information regarding the user's usage or payment status at the parking lot, or the frequency of use of the parking lot being managed. An information management system according to either claim 1 or 2.

5. The identification processing unit is configured to determine that the trigger condition has been met when the distance between the parking lot to be reserved by the reservation processing unit and the user falls below a predetermined distance, which is the reservation start distance. The setting processing unit is configured to set the reservation start distance for each user. The information management system according to claim 1.

6. The aforementioned user terminal is A storage unit that stores transmission conditions, which are information regarding the timing or circumstances under which the aforementioned prior information is transmitted, A transmission condition modification processing unit that modifies the transmission conditions stored in the storage unit. It has, The pre-information transmission processing unit transmits the pre-information based on the transmission conditions stored in the storage unit. The information management system according to claim 1.

7. The storage device stores transmission conditions, which are information regarding the timing or circumstances under which the prior information is transmitted. The aforementioned information management server is A transmission condition provision processing unit that provides the user's transmission conditions to the user terminal, A transmission condition modification processing unit that modifies the transmission conditions stored in the storage device. It has, The pre-information transmission processing unit transmits the pre-information based on the transmission conditions sent from the information management server. The information management system according to claim 1.

8. The aforementioned prior information included at least one of the following: information regarding a request to reserve a designated parking space; information regarding whether the user had woken up; information regarding whether the user had left home; and the user's location information at that time. Information management system according to claim 1

Images