program

Abstract

This disclosure aims to provide technology that reduces the provision of unnecessary information regarding the congestion level of parking lots. [Solution] The program causes the computer to identify a parking lot to be used by the user, according to the destination set by the user. The program causes the computer to determine whether the location of the identified parking lot is within or outside the user's living area, according to pre-set living area conditions, and, if it is determined that the location of the identified parking lot is outside the user's living area, it causes the computer to output information regarding the congestion level of the parking lot.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a program.

Background Art

[0002] In Patent Document 1, in order to park within a parking lot site, there is proposed a parking lot congestion estimation system including an outgoing waiting vehicle detection unit that turns on hazard lamps to detect a vehicle taking an outgoing waiting action, and a congestion degree estimation unit that estimates the congestion degree of the parking lot based on the detection result of the vehicle taking the outgoing waiting action.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] One object of this disclosure is to provide a technique for reducing the provision of unnecessary information regarding the congestion of a parking lot.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The program of this disclosure is configured to cause a computer to identify a parking lot used by the user according to the setting of a destination by the user. The program is configured to cause a computer to determine whether the location of the identified parking lot is within or outside the living area of the user according to the conditions of a preset living area, and to output information regarding the congestion of the parking lot when it is determined that the location of the identified parking lot is outside the living area of the user.

Effects of the Invention

[0006] According to this disclosure, it is possible to reduce the provision of unnecessary information regarding the level of congestion in parking lots. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Figure 1 schematically shows an example of the hardware and functional configuration of a vehicle and a server. [Figure 2] Figure 2 schematically illustrates an example of a scenario in which this disclosure applies. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows an example of the information processing procedure performed by an in-vehicle terminal. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] [1 Example Configuration] Figure 1 schematically shows an example of the hardware and functional configuration of a vehicle and server included in the information processing system related to this disclosure. The information processing system is a system for controlling the output of information regarding the congestion level of a parking lot (hereinafter referred to as congestion information). In this information processing system, the vehicle 10 and the server 20 are interconnected by a network N. As an example, the network N may be a wide area network (WAN), such as the internet, or a telephone communication network such as a mobile phone network.

[0009] (server) Server 20 is a server for managing parking lot congestion information. Server 20 comprises a processor 21, a storage unit 22, and a communication unit 23.

[0010] The memory unit 22 includes a main memory unit and an auxiliary memory unit. The main memory unit is, for example, Random Access Memory (RAM). The auxiliary memory unit is, for example, Read Only Memory (ROM), Hard It is a disk drive (HDD) or flash memory. The auxiliary storage unit is removable memory. This may include media (portable recording media). Removable media are, for example, USB memory sticks, SD cards, or disc recording media such as CD-ROMs, DVD discs, or Blu-ray discs.

[0011] The auxiliary storage unit stores the operating system (OS), various programs, and various information tables. The processor 110 loads the programs stored in the auxiliary storage unit into the main memory and executes them, thereby realizing the information processing of this embodiment. Some or all of the functions of the server 20 can be realized by hardware circuits such as Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) or Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). The server 20 does not need to be realized by a single physical configuration, but may be composed of multiple computers cooperating with each other.

[0012] The auxiliary storage unit can store the congestion information DB22A. The congestion information DB22A stores congestion information. The congestion information includes, as an example, the following items: parking lot ID, name, location information, type of use, day of the week, time of day, duration, and the name of the facility associated with the parking lot. For the type of use, either entry or exit is entered as the type of parking lot use. For the duration, the average duration of entry or exit for vehicle 10 (hereinafter referred to as average duration) is entered as information indicating the degree of congestion in the parking lot.

[0013] When calculating the average travel time, the processor 21 acquires probe data from the vehicles 10 via the network N. The processor 21 analyzes the acquired probe data and calculates the average travel time. The processor 21 may store the calculated average travel time in the travel time column of the congestion information DB 22A, associating it with the parking lot ID, etc. As an example, the processor 21 calculates the time from when the vehicle 10 enters the parking lot (leaves the road link) until the accessory power is turned off (time required to enter the parking lot) as a statistical value for each day of the week and / or time of day. The processor 21 may also calculate the time from when the accessory power of the vehicle 10 is turned on from off until the vehicle 10 leaves the parking lot (enters the road link) (time required to exit the parking lot) as a statistical value for each day of the week and / or time of day. The unit of time of day can be arbitrary. The unit of time of day can be a numerical unit such as one hour or two hours, or an attribute unit such as daytime, evening, or night. The interval between time of day can be constant or variable.

[0014] The communication unit 23 connects the server 20 to the network N. The communication unit 23 uses wireless communication standards such as 4th Generation (4G) or Long Term Evolution (LTE) to connect the network N. Communication with the in-vehicle terminal 11 is performed via the cable N.

[0015] The processor 21 is, for example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or a Digital Signal Processor (DSP). The processor 21 includes an output unit 211 as a functional unit.

[0016] The processor 21 operates as an output unit 211, and, for example, transmits congestion information to the in-vehicle terminal 11 each time the congestion information DB 22A is updated.

[0017] (vehicle) Vehicle 10 is a vehicle that moves from a departure location to a parking lot related to a destination. In one example, vehicle 10 may be a vehicle driven by a driver and an autonomous driving vehicle. Vehicle 10 may include an engine vehicle and an electric vehicle (including hybrid vehicles, etc.). Vehicle 10 includes an in-vehicle terminal 11.

[0018] (In-vehicle terminal) The in-vehicle terminal 11 is a computer that outputs the congestion situation of a parking lot according to the setting of a destination by a user and the conditions of a pre-stored living area. The parking lot is the parking lot where vehicle 10 parks. The in-vehicle terminal 11 is mounted on vehicle 10 during use. The in-vehicle terminal 11 may be disconnected from vehicle 10 when not in use. The in-vehicle terminal 11 has a processor 110, a storage unit 120, an input / output device 130, and a communication unit 140. The processor 110 is electrically connected to the storage unit 120, the input / output device 130, and the communication unit 140, respectively.

[0019] The input / output device 130 may include a touch screen. The touch screen receives an input by a user. The input / output device 130, as an example, receives an input of a request to search for a driving route of vehicle 10 (hereinafter referred to as a search request). The search request may include a departure location, a departure time, and a destination.

[0020] The input / output device 130 may output the driving route of vehicle 10 and the congestion information of the parking lot related to the destination of vehicle 10 (hereinafter also referred to as the target parking lot) output from an output unit 116 described later to the touch screen.

[0021] The storage unit 120 comprises a main storage unit and an auxiliary storage unit. The main storage unit and auxiliary storage unit of the storage unit 120 have the same functions as the main storage unit and auxiliary storage unit of the storage unit 22. The auxiliary storage unit of the storage unit 120 can store map information DB 120A. Map information DB 120A stores map information. The map information may include, as an example, link data related to roads (links), node data related to node points, intersection data related to each intersection, and search data for searching for routes. The map information may further include facility data including location information of facilities and information about parking lots attached to those facilities, and parking data including parking lot IDs and location information. The facilities may include, as an example, commercial facilities and entertainment facilities.

[0022] The living area information DB120B may store information about the user's living area conditions (hereinafter referred to as living area information). The processor 110 may have previously obtained the user's home address entered by the user into the input / output device 130. The processor 110 may store a predetermined range from the location indicated by the obtained address as living area conditions in the living area information DB120B. The predetermined range may be set to an area of ​​Nkm around the home (Nkm is arbitrarily set).

[0023] Alternatively, the processor 110 acquires driving data (location information during driving) from the vehicle's in-vehicle terminal 11 and analyzes the driving data. This allows the processor 110 to identify areas where the vehicle 10 frequently travels. The processor 110 may store the identified areas with high driving frequency as living area conditions in the living area information DB 120B. For example, the processor 110 may include in the living area locations where the vehicle 10 has traveled a predetermined number of times or more within a predetermined period. The predetermined period is, for example, one month. The predetermined number of times is, for example, four times.

[0024] The communication unit 140 is a communication interface that connects the in-vehicle terminal 11 to the network N. The communication unit 140 has the same functions as the communication unit 23.

[0025] The processor 110 is, for example, a CPU or a DSP. The processor 110 includes, as functional units, a search request acquisition unit 111, a search unit 112, a identification unit 113, a determination unit 114, a congestion information acquisition unit 115, and an output unit 116.

[0026] The processor 110 operates as a search request acquisition unit 111 and, for example, can acquire a search request for the route of the vehicle 10 to its destination from the input / output device 130.

[0027] The processor 110 operates as a search unit 112 and searches for a route for the vehicle 10 to its destination in accordance with the acquired search request and the map information stored in the map information DB 120A. In addition to searching for a route, the search unit 112 may also estimate the estimated time of arrival at the destination. In accordance with the search request and the map information, the search unit 112 may identify a parking lot that is the destination or a parking lot attached to a facility that is the destination as the target parking lot.

[0028] The processor 110 operates as a specification unit 113 and identifies the parking lot that is subject to determination by the determination unit 114, which will be described later. For example, if the vehicle 10 is about to depart for its destination or is in transit to its destination, the specification unit 113 may identify the target parking lot identified by the search unit 112 as the parking lot subject to determination. In some cases, the vehicle 10 may be parked in a parking lot and the user is using the facilities. In this case, the specification unit 113 may identify the parking lot to which the vehicle 10's current location, i.e., the location of the vehicle 10 at the time it stopped in the parking lot, belongs as the parking lot subject to determination.

[0029] The processor 110 operates as a determination unit 114 and determines whether the parking lot identified by the identification unit 113 is located within the user's living area. The determination unit 114, as an example, refers to living area information stored in the living area information DB 120B. If the location indicated by the parking lot's location information (the parking lot's location) is within the living area, the determination unit 114 determines that the parking lot is located within the living area. If the location indicated by the parking lot's location information is not within the living area, the determination unit 114 determines that the parking lot is not located within the living area (it is located outside the living area). The determination unit 114 may pass the parking lot ID of a parking lot that has been determined not to be located within the living area to the congestion information acquisition unit 115.

[0030] The processor 110 operates as a congestion information acquisition unit 115 and acquires congestion information for parking lots located outside the living area. For example, the congestion information acquisition unit 115 may acquire (receive) congestion information from the server 20 via the network N each time the congestion information DB 22A stored in the server 20 is updated. The congestion information acquisition unit 115 may also access the congestion information DB 22A on the server 20 via the network N, triggered by the parking lot ID being passed from the determination unit 114. The congestion information acquisition unit 115 may acquire congestion information for the parking lot corresponding to the passed parking lot ID from the congestion information DB 22A. The congestion information acquisition unit 115 may store the acquired congestion information in the storage unit 120.

[0031] The processor 110 operates as an output unit 116 and outputs the driving route searched by the search unit 112 and the estimated time of arrival at the destination to the input / output device 130. The output unit 116 may generate output information (hereinafter referred to as output information) based on the stored congestion information and output the generated information. The congestion information may also be information that represents the time required for entering or exiting the parking lot for each day of the week and / or time of day (for example, every hour, every two hours) in the form of a graph (for example, a histogram). The congestion information may also be information on time periods when the parking lot is congested. The output unit 116 may output the generated congestion information as an example to the input / output device 130 of the in-vehicle terminal 11 and / or to a user terminal held by the user. The user can check the congestion information output to the input / output device 130 and / or the user terminal before the vehicle 10 arrives at the parking lot related to the destination. Thus, this disclosure may recommend that users avoid peak hours, arrive at the parking lot for their destination during off-peak hours, and exit the parking lot during off-peak hours.

[0032] The estimated arrival time of vehicle 10 at the target parking lot may fall within a time period indicated by high congestion in the congestion information. In this case, the output unit 116 may output information suggesting to the user that vehicle 10 arrive at the target parking lot during a less congested time period. This allows the user to change the time of travel for vehicle 10 so that it arrives at the destination parking lot during a less congested time period. It can be recommended to users.

[0033] For example, the output unit 116 may output congestion information regarding the vehicle 10's exit from the parking lot after the vehicle 10 has arrived and while the user is using the facility related to the destination. The output unit 116 may also output the time period when the vehicle 10 is more congested than average (normal) for exiting the parking lot at the time the vehicle 10 arrives at the target parking lot. The output unit 116 may also output the congested time period a predetermined time before the time period when the parking lot is more congested than average arrives (for example, one hour or two hours before). This allows the user to be suggested to exit the parking lot at a time that avoids the most congested time. The output unit 116 may also output the congestion information to a terminal owned by the facility, regardless of the user of the vehicle 10. The terminal owned by the facility may output the outputted congestion information to an output device (for example, digital signage) installed inside and / or outside the facility.

[0034] The output unit 116 may output facility information to the user terminal that encourages the user to avoid leaving the parking lot during peak hours and to stay at the facility until it is less crowded. The facility information may include, for example, coupon information usable within the facility. This further encourages the user to avoid leaving the parking lot during peak hours.

[0035] [2 Examples of Application] Figure 2 schematically shows an example of a scenario to which this disclosure applies. Vehicle 10 moves from the starting point to a parking lot (target parking lot) at the destination. In one example, the target parking lot may be a parking lot located within the user's living area (hereinafter referred to as parking lot A). When the determination unit 114 determines that vehicle 10 is moving to parking lot A, the in-vehicle terminal 11 does not display congestion information. This is because the user can grasp the degree of congestion of parking lot A, which is located within their living area, based on experience, and providing congestion information may be bothersome to the user. This disclosure reduces the provision of unnecessary information regarding the congestion level of parking lots.

[0036] In one example, the parking lot may be a parking lot located outside the user's living area (hereinafter referred to as Parking Lot B). In one example, when the determination unit 114 determines that vehicle 10 is moving to Parking Lot B, the in-vehicle terminal 11 displays congestion information. This is because users are likely to have little knowledge about the level of congestion at Parking Lot B, which is located outside their living area. This disclosure makes it possible to provide useful information to users who use parking lots located outside their own living area.

[0037] [3 Examples of operation] Figure 3 shows an example of information processing by the processor 110 of the in-vehicle terminal 11 according to this embodiment. The following processing procedure is an example of an information processing method executed by a computer.

[0038] The processor 110 operates as a search request acquisition unit 111 and acquires a search request for a travel route including the destination of the vehicle 10, which has been received from the user by the input / output device 130 (S101).

[0039] The processor 21 operates as a search unit 112, refers to the map information DB 120A, searches for a driving route corresponding to the acquired search request, and estimates the estimated time of arrival at the destination. The identification unit 113 identifies the parking lot (target parking lot) to be used by the user according to the destination set in the search request (S102).

[0040] The determination unit 114 refers to the map information DB 120A and the living area information DB 120B, which are stored in advance, for the identified target parking lot (S103), and determines whether the location of the target parking lot is within the user's living area (or outside the living area) (S104). At any time before S102, the determination unit 114 refers to the user's living area stored in the living area information DB 120B The living area information related to the conditions is incorporated into the program. The determination unit 114 may acquire the living area information input to the input / output device 130 at any timing before S102. If the determination unit 114 makes a positive determination (YES in S105), the processor 110 terminates processing. Otherwise (NO in S105), processing proceeds to S106.

[0041] In S106, the congestion information acquisition unit 115 acquires congestion information for the target parking lot. The congestion information acquisition unit 115 may acquire congestion information at any time between S101 and S106. The output unit 116 generates output information based on the acquired parking lot congestion information, outputs the generated output information to the input / output device 130 and / or the user terminal (S107), and the processor 110 terminates processing.

[0042] [Features] Conventionally, estimation systems have been proposed that detect vehicles that have turned on their hazard lights and are waiting to exit a parking lot, and estimate the degree of congestion in the parking lot based on the detection results of vehicles that have taken this action. By providing information on the degree of congestion in the parking lot in advance, users can be prevented from entering or exiting during peak hours. However, providing information on the degree of congestion for every parking lot may be bothersome and wasteful for users. Therefore, there is a need for technology that reduces the provision of unnecessary information regarding the degree of congestion in parking lots.

[0043] In this embodiment, the program causes the in-vehicle terminal 11 to identify the parking lot to be used by the user. The program causes the in-vehicle terminal 11 to omit outputting information regarding the level of congestion if it determines that the location of the identified parking lot is within the user's living area, according to pre-set living area conditions. Therefore, the in-vehicle terminal 11 can reduce the provision of unnecessary information regarding the level of congestion of the parking lot.

[0044] [4. Variant] In this embodiment, as an example, the processor 110 of the in-vehicle terminal 11 is shown to perform information processing from S101 to S107. As a modification, the processor 21 of the server 20 may perform the same information processing as the processor 110. In this case, the processor 21 may have the same functional units as the processor 110, and the storage unit 22 may have the same database as the storage unit 120.

[0045] (Other embodiments) While embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail above, the above description is merely illustrative in all respects of this disclosure. Needless to say, various improvements or modifications can be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0046] 10...Vehicle, 11...In-vehicle terminal, 110, 21...Processor, 120, 22...Storage unit, 130...Input / output device, 140, 23...Communication unit

Claims

[Claim 1] On the computer, In accordance with the destination set by the user, the system identifies the parking lot to be used by the user. In accordance with pre-set living area conditions, determine whether the location of the identified parking lot is within or outside the user's living area, and If the location of the identified parking lot is determined to be outside the user's living area, information regarding the congestion level of the parking lot will be output. A program to execute.

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