Parking position determination device, control method, program, and storage medium

Abstract

To provide a parking position determination device that can appropriately guide users to the correct parking position within a parking lot, depending on the situation. [Solution] The data storage unit 31 of the navigation device 1 stores a recommended parking position table 33 relating to recommended parking positions within the parking lot. The system controller 20 identifies the current situation, which is the target situation, based on the output of the sensor group 10 or the input to the input device 60. Then, the system controller 20 determines a recommended parking position corresponding to the target situation based on the recommended parking position table 33 and displays a layout image clearly indicating the determined recommended parking position on the display 44.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a technology for guiding users to parking positions within a parking lot. [Background technology]

[0002] Technologies for guiding vehicles to parking lots have been known for some time. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a navigation device that, based on destination information and information indicating the location of available parking spaces, preferentially displays available spaces in a parking lot that are closer to the selected destination as parking spaces for the vehicle. Other technologies related to the present invention are disclosed in Patent Document 2. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-042221 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-325181 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0004] In parking lots with many spaces, such as those in large facilities, it can be difficult for users to instantly determine the most suitable parking spot. Furthermore, in such parking lots, vehicles enter one after another, often leaving little time to check the layout and decide on a parking location. Patent documents 1 and 2 do not disclose any solutions to these problems.

[0005] This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its main objective is to provide a parking position determination device that can appropriately guide users to a parking position within a parking lot according to the situation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The invention described in claim 1 is a parking position determination device comprising: a storage unit for storing parking position information, which is information relating to a parking position in a parking lot recommended for each situation; a situation acquisition unit for acquiring the current situation; a parking position determination unit for determining a parking position corresponding to the current situation based on the parking position information; and an output unit for outputting information of the parking position determined by the parking position determination unit.

[0007] The invention described in claim 9 is a control method performed by a parking position determination device having a storage unit that stores parking position information, which is information relating to a parking position in a parking lot recommended for each situation, comprising: a situation acquisition step of acquiring the current situation; a parking position determination step of determining a parking position corresponding to the current situation based on the parking position information; and an output step of outputting the parking position information determined in the parking position determination step.

[0008] The invention described in claim 10 is a program executed by a computer that references a storage unit that stores parking location information, which is information relating to a parking location in a parking lot recommended for each situation, wherein the computer functions as a situation acquisition unit that acquires the current situation, a parking location determination unit that determines a parking location corresponding to the current situation based on the parking location information, and an output unit that outputs information of the parking location determined by the parking location determination unit. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a schematic configuration of the navigation device according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] This shows the layout of parking lot A based on parking lot layout information. [Figure 3] This diagram shows the data structure of the recommended parking location table and an overview of parking lot A. [Figure 4] This is a flowchart illustrating the process by which the navigation system determines the recommended parking location. [Figure 5] This is an example of a parking lot layout image that clearly indicates recommended parking spots. [Figure 6] Shows the schematic configuration of a parking position guidance system according to a modified example.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a parking position determination device includes a storage unit that stores parking position information, which is information regarding parking positions within a parking lot recommended for each situation; a situation acquisition unit that acquires the current situation; a parking position determination unit that determines a parking position corresponding to the current situation based on the parking position information; and an output unit that outputs information on the parking position determined by the parking position determination unit.

[0011] The above parking position determination device includes a storage unit, a situation acquisition unit, a parking position determination unit, and an output unit. The storage unit stores parking position information. Here, the parking position information is information regarding recommended parking positions within the parking lot and corresponds to each situation. The situation acquisition unit acquires the current situation. Here, the "current situation" is the situation serving as a reference when determining the parking position, and refers to the current situation regarding any event that can affect the determination of the parking position, such as weather conditions and the driver's psychological situation. The parking position determination unit determines a parking position corresponding to the current situation based on the parking position information. The output unit outputs information on the parking position determined by the parking position determination unit. In this aspect, the parking position determination device can preferably output a parking position suitable for the current situation by referring to the parking position information regarding the parking positions within the parking lot recommended for each situation.

[0012] In another aspect of the above parking position determination device, the situation acquisition unit acquires information regarding the weather as the current situation. According to this aspect, the parking position determination device can preferably output a parking position within the parking lot suitable for the current weather conditions.

[0013] In another aspect of the above parking position determination device, based on the parking position information, when the weather is at or above a predetermined temperature and sunny, the parking position determination unit determines a parking position that is in the shade, and when the weather is rain or snow, it determines a parking position having a roof. According to this aspect, the parking position determination device can output a parking position where the vehicle is not exposed to direct sunlight in the case of scorching sun, and can output a parking position where the vehicle is not easily soiled by rain or snow in the case of rain or snow.

[0014] In another aspect of the above parking position determination device, the situation acquisition unit specifies the current situation based on the output of the sensor. In this aspect, the parking position determination device can accurately determine the situation that affects the determination of the parking position such as the weather situation based on the output of one or more sensors provided in the vehicle or the like, and can preferably output a parking position suitable for the determined situation.

[0015] In another aspect of the above parking position determination device, the situation acquisition unit specifies the current situation based on the input to the input unit or the setting information stored in the storage unit. In this aspect, the parking position determination device can accurately grasp the psychological situation of the user and the like, and can preferably output a parking position suitable for the situation.

[0016] In another aspect of the above parking position determination device, when the parking position determination unit determines that the driving driver desires good access to the facility corresponding to the parking lot based on the input or the setting information, it determines a parking position within a predetermined distance from the entrance of the facility. According to this aspect, the parking position determination device can preferably output a parking position suitable for the situation when the driver desires good access to the facility corresponding to the parking lot.

[0017] In another embodiment of the parking position determination device described above, if the parking position determination unit determines, based on the input or setting information, that the driver desires a parking position that is easy to park in, it determines a parking position in which there are no obstacles within at least a predetermined distance. In this embodiment, the parking position determination device can suitably output a parking position appropriate to the situation when the driver desires a parking position that is easy to park in.

[0018] In another embodiment of the parking position determination device described above, the output unit outputs information to guide the vehicle to the parking position determined by the parking position determination unit. In this embodiment, the parking position determination device can guide the vehicle to a parking position suitable for the current situation.

[0019] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a control method is performed by a parking position determination device having a storage unit that stores parking position information, which is information relating to recommended parking positions in a parking lot for each situation, comprising: a situation acquisition step of acquiring the current situation; a parking position determination step of determining a parking position corresponding to the current situation based on the parking position information; and an output step of outputting the parking position information determined in the parking position determination step. By performing this control method, the parking position determination device can refer to the parking position information relating to recommended parking positions in a parking lot for each situation and output a parking position suitable for the current situation.

[0020] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a computer executes a program that references a storage unit that stores parking location information, which is information about recommended parking locations in a parking lot for each situation, and the computer functions as a situation acquisition unit that acquires the current situation, a parking location determination unit that determines a parking location corresponding to the target situation based on the parking location information, and an output unit that outputs information about the parking location determined by the parking location determination unit. By executing this program, the computer can reference parking location information regarding recommended parking locations in a parking lot for each situation and output a parking location suitable for the current situation. Preferably, this program is stored in a storage medium. [Examples]

[0021] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0022] [Navigation System Configuration] Figure 1 shows a schematic configuration of a navigation device 1 to which the calculation device of the present invention is applied. The navigation device 1 presents a recommended parking position (also called a "recommended parking position") within the target parking lot, taking into account the current weather, the driver's condition, etc. As shown in Figure 1, the navigation device 1 comprises a sensor group 10, a GPS receiver 18, a system controller 20, a data storage unit 31, a communication device 38, a display unit 40, an audio output unit 50, and an input device 60.

[0023] The sensor group 10 includes an autonomous positioning device 11, a camera 12, a temperature sensor 13, and a raindrop sensor 14. The autonomous positioning device 11 includes an acceleration sensor for detecting the vehicle's acceleration, an angular velocity sensor such as a vibration gyroscope for detecting the vehicle's angular velocity when the vehicle changes direction, and a distance sensor for measuring vehicle speed pulses consisting of pulse signals generated in conjunction with the rotation of the vehicle's wheels. The camera 12 is a camera that photographs the scenery outside the vehicle and is, for example, pointed in the direction forward of the vehicle. The temperature sensor 13 detects the temperature around the vehicle. The raindrop sensor 14 detects the amount of rain based on the characteristic that the amount of light received by a photodetector changes as infrared rays emitted from a light-emitting diode are scattered as they pass through raindrops.

[0024] The GPS receiver 18 receives radio waves 19 from multiple GPS satellites that carry downlink data including positioning data. The positioning data is used to detect the absolute position of the vehicle from latitude and longitude information, etc.

[0025] The system controller 20 includes an interface 21, a CPU 22, a ROM 23, and a RAM 24, and controls the entire navigation device 1. For example, the system controller 20 performs route searching to a destination specified by the user and route guidance based on the searched route. In this embodiment, the system controller 20 also identifies the current driving conditions (also called "target conditions") that serve as a basis for determining a recommended parking position, based on the output of the sensor group 10, and determines a recommended parking position according to the identified target conditions and provides guidance to that recommended parking position. The target conditions include weather conditions, vehicle conditions, and the driver's psychological state. The system controller 20 is an example of the "condition acquisition unit," "parking position determination unit," "output unit," and computer that executes the program in this invention.

[0026] Interface 21 interacts with the autonomous positioning device 11, the ambient sensor 12, the temperature sensor 13, the raindrop sensor and other sensor group 10, and the GPS receiver 18. Interface 21 then inputs the output data from these sensors to the system controller 20. The CPU 22 controls the entire system controller 20. ROM 23 contains a non-volatile memory (not shown) that stores control programs for controlling the system controller 20. RAM 24 stores various data, such as route data pre-set by the user via the input device 60, in a readable format, and also provides a working area to the CPU 22.

[0027] The system controller 20, data storage unit 31, display unit 40, audio output unit 50, and input device 60 are interconnected via a bus line 30.

[0028] The data storage unit 31 is composed of a storage medium such as an HDD and stores various data used for navigation processing, such as map data. The map data includes road data represented by links corresponding to roads and nodes corresponding to road connections (intersections), and facility information related to facilities. The facilities registered in the map data as facility information include parking lots and facilities with attached parking lots. The facility information corresponding to a parking lot or a facility with attached parking lots includes identification information for identifying the parking lot.

[0029] In this embodiment, the data storage unit 31 stores parking lot layout information 32 and a recommended parking location table 33 as part of the map data. The parking lot layout information 32 is information for identifying the layout of each parking lot, and for example, it includes location information for each parking space for each parking lot. The recommended parking location table 33 is a table in which information on suitable parking locations for each situation is recorded for each parking lot. The parking lots registered in the parking lot layout information 32 and the recommended parking location table 33 include not only independent parking lots such as coin parking lots registered in the facility information mentioned above, but also parking lots that are registered in the facility information as parking lots attached to facilities. The recommended parking location table 33 is an example of "parking location information" in the present invention.

[0030] The communication device 38 receives traffic congestion information distributed from the VICS (Vehicle Information Communication System) center and traffic congestion information distributed from a server device (not shown) that distributes traffic congestion information. The communication device 38 may also receive information from a server device (not shown) to be stored in the data storage unit 31 as map data (including parking lot layout information 32 and recommended parking position table 33) based on the control of the system controller 20.

[0031] The display unit 40 displays various display data on a display device such as a display under the control of the system controller 20. Specifically, the system controller 20 reads map data from the data storage unit 31. The display unit 40 displays an image based on the map data read from the data storage unit 31 by the system controller 20 on a display screen such as a display. The display unit 40 includes a graphics controller 41 that controls the entire display unit 40 based on control data sent from the CPU 22 via the bus line 30, a buffer memory 42 that temporarily stores image information that can be displayed immediately, consisting of memory such as VRAM (Video RAM), a display control unit 43 that controls the display of a display 44 such as an LCD or CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) based on image data output from the graphics controller 41, and a display 44. The display 44 is, for example, an LCD display device with a diagonal of about 5 to 10 inches and is mounted near the front panel inside the vehicle.

[0032] The audio output unit 50 is configured to include a D / A converter 51 that performs D / A conversion of audio digital data sent from RAM 24 or the like via the bus line 30 under the control of the system controller 20, an amplifier (AMP) 52 that amplifies the audio analog signal output from the D / A converter 51, and a speaker 53 that converts the amplified audio analog signal back into sound and outputs it inside the vehicle.

[0033] The input device 60 consists of keys, switches, buttons, remote controls, voice input devices, etc., for inputting various commands and data. The input device 60 is positioned around the front panel of the main unit of the in-vehicle electronic system installed in the vehicle, or around the display 44. If the display 44 is a touch panel, the touch panel provided on the display screen of the display 44 also functions as an input device 60.

[0034] [Data structure] Next, we will describe the data structure of the parking lot layout information 32 and the recommended parking location table 33.

[0035] Figure 2 is a layout diagram of parking lot A based on the parking lot layout information 32 recorded in the parking lot layout information 32. Parking lot A is a rectangular parking area with an entrance and exit, and the identification number "P A 1"~"P A There are parking spaces numbered "40" that are each assigned to a specific parking space.

[0036] The parking lot layout information 32 includes, in order to identify the layout of parking lot A as shown in Figure 2, location information regarding the boundaries of the entire parking area of ​​parking lot A, location information for the entrance and exit of parking lot A, location information for the entrance to the facility (store) containing parking lot A (including the boarding positions for elevators and escalators, etc.), and identification number P. A 1~P A The location information of the assigned parking space, number 40, is recorded. In this way, the parking layout information 32 records information for understanding the layout within each parking lot. The location information of each parking space registered in the parking layout information 32 may be the location information of each of the four corners of the target parking space, or it may be location information indicating the center position of the target parking space.

[0037] Figure 3(A) is a schematic diagram showing the data structure of the recommended parking location table 33. Figure 3(B) is a diagram that specifies the characteristics of parking lot A shown in Figure 2. The recommended parking location table 33 shown in Figure 3(A) has the following items: "Parking Lot", "Situation", and "Recommended Parking Location". The "Parking Lot" item registers the identification information of each parking lot. The "Situation" item registers symbols (X to V in Figure 3(A)) corresponding to each expected situation. Here, the above symbols are assigned according to the expected situation, and in the example of Figure 3(A), "X" indicates a weather situation of scorching sun, "Y" indicates a weather situation of rain or snow, "Z" indicates a situation where the driver prioritizes ease of parking, and "V" indicates a situation where the driver prioritizes good access to the facility to which the parking lot belongs. The "Recommended Parking Location" item registers the identification number of the parking space corresponding to the recommended parking location.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 3(A), in the recommended parking position table 33, for each situation where each symbol is assigned, the identification number of the parking space suitable for the situation is associated. For example, in the case of situation X indicating a weather condition of hot sun, the identification numbers corresponding to the parking spaces with roofs (in parking lot A, P A 1~P A 5) and the identification numbers corresponding to the parking spaces that are mainly shaded during the day other than the parking spaces with roofs (in parking lot A, P A 7~P A 14) are registered in the "recommended parking position" item. Similarly, in the case of situation Y indicating a weather condition of rain or snow, the identification numbers corresponding to the parking spaces with roofs (in parking lot A, P A 1~P A 5) are registered in the "recommended parking position" item. Further, in the case of situation Z indicating a situation where the driver attaches importance to ease of parking, the identification numbers corresponding to the parking spaces where adjacent parking spaces are statistically often empty, or / and the parking spaces where there are no obstacles that become obstacles when parking within a predetermined distance (in parking lot A, P A 16~P A 20, P A 23~P A 27) are registered in the "recommended parking position" item. The above-mentioned predetermined distance is set, for example, to the maximum distance from the parking position where the obstacle can become an obstacle when parking if the obstacle exists. Also, in the case of situation V indicating a situation where the driver attaches importance to good access to the facility to which the target parking lot belongs, the identification numbers corresponding to the parking spaces within a predetermined distance from the entrance of the facility (in parking lot A, P A 22~P A 25, P A 29~P A 35) are registered in the "recommended parking position" item.

[0039] Thus, the recommended parking location table 33 has information about parking locations suitable for each anticipated situation pre-registered as recommended parking locations for each parking lot. In addition, the facility information in the map data corresponding to the parking lot or the facility to which the parking lot is attached includes, for example, identification information for identifying the parking lot in the parking lot layout information 32 and the recommended parking location table 33. As a result, when a destination facility is specified, the system controller 20 refers to the facility information of that facility and identifies the target parking lot from the parking lots registered in the parking lot layout information 32 and the recommended parking location table 33.

[0040] [Identifying the target situation] Next, we will explain how to identify the target conditions necessary to determine a recommended parking position by referring to the recommended parking position table 33. In general terms, the system controller 20 identifies the target conditions related to parking based on input information to the input device 60, setting information stored in the data storage unit 36, information received by the communication device 38, or output information from the sensor group 10. Specific examples of these will be explained with reference to the example in Figure 3(A).

[0041] For example, the system controller 20 determines that the target situation is a weather condition where the vehicle is exposed to direct sunlight if the temperature output by the temperature sensor 13 is above a predetermined temperature (e.g., 30 degrees Celsius or higher), the average brightness of the image generated by the camera 12 is above a predetermined value, or the illuminance output by an illuminance sensor (not shown) is above a predetermined degree. In this case, when the system controller 20 refers to the recommended parking position table 33, it refers to the record corresponding to situation X to determine the recommended parking position. Alternatively, instead of using the output of the temperature sensor 13, the system controller 20 may determine whether the target situation is an exposed-to-direction weather condition by obtaining weather information about the area around the current location from a server device (not shown) based on the current location information output by the GPS receiver 18. In this case, the system controller 20 determines that the target situation is an exposed-to-direction weather condition if, based on the weather information received from the server device, the maximum temperature is above a predetermined temperature and the weather is sunny.

[0042] Similarly, the system controller 20 determines that the target situation is a rainy or snowy weather condition if the amount of rain output by the raindrop sensor 14 is greater than or equal to a predetermined amount. In this case, when referring to the recommended parking position table 33, it refers to the record corresponding to situation Y to determine the recommended parking position. Alternatively, instead of using the output of the raindrop sensor 14, the system controller 20 may determine whether the target situation is a rainy or snowy weather condition by obtaining weather information around the current location from a server device (not shown) based on the current location information output by the GPS receiver 18. In this case, the system controller 20 determines that the target situation is a rainy or snowy weather condition if it determines that the weather around the current location is rainy or snowy based on the weather information received from the server device. Furthermore, the system controller 20 may determine that the target situation is a rainy or snowy weather condition if it recognizes the presence of rain or snow in the scenery outside the vehicle using known image recognition technology based on the image generated by the camera 12.

[0043] In yet another example, when a parking lot or a facility with a parking lot is set as the destination, the system controller 20 identifies the target situation by receiving input from the input device 60 specifying the target situation. In this case, for example, the system controller 20 displays multiple items on the display 44 that can be selected via touch panel, such as "prioritize ease of parking," "prioritize proximity to the facility entrance," and "prioritize proximity to the exit." The system controller 20 then determines that, for example, if the item "prioritize ease of parking" is selected, the target situation is one in which the driver prioritizes ease of parking. Similarly, if the item "prioritize proximity to the facility entrance" is selected, the system controller 20 determines that the target situation is one in which the driver prioritizes proximity to the facility entrance.

[0044] Alternatively, the system controller 20 may accept input specifying the target status at any time of the user's choosing, instead of accepting input specifying the target status when setting the destination. In this case, the system controller 20 stores the received input information in the data storage unit 31 as setting information regarding the target status. Then, when the system controller 20 determines that it should identify the target status, it identifies the target status by referring to the setting information stored in the data storage unit 31.

[0045] [Processing flow] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the process by which the system controller 20 determines the recommended parking position. The system controller 20 repeatedly executes the processes shown in the flowchart in Figure 4.

[0046] First, the system controller 20 determines whether a parking lot or a facility with a parking lot is set as the destination (step S101). If the system controller 20 determines that a parking lot or a facility with a parking lot is set as the destination (step S101; Yes), it proceeds to step S102. On the other hand, if neither a parking lot nor a facility with a parking lot is set as the destination (step S101; No), the system controller 20 terminates the flowchart process.

[0047] Next, in step S102, the system controller 20 identifies the target situation based on user input to the input device 60 or output from the sensor group 10 (step S102). Alternatively, instead of using user input to the input device 60 or output from the sensor group 10, the system controller 20 may identify the target situation by referring to weather information received from the communication device 38 or setting information regarding the target situation stored in the data storage unit 31.

[0048] Next, the system controller 20 determines a recommended parking location according to the target situation identified in step S102 (step S103). Specifically, first, the system controller 20 identifies the identification information of the parking lot set as the destination in step S101 or the parking lot attached to the facility set as the destination, based on the facility information of the map data, etc. Then, based on the identification information of the identified parking lot, the system controller 20 refers to the recommended parking location table 33 and determines a recommended parking location. Also, before or after steps S102 and S103, the system controller 20 searches for a route to the destination and starts route guidance based on the searched route.

[0049] The system controller 20 then determines whether or not the destination set in step S101 has been reached (step S104). If the system controller 20 determines that the destination has been reached (step S104; Yes), it refers to the parking lot layout information 32 and displays a parking lot layout image with the recommended parking position clearly indicated on the display 44 (step S105). The parking lot layout image displayed in step S105 will be described later with reference to Figure 5. On the other hand, if the destination set in step S101 has not been reached (step S104; No), the system controller 20 provides route guidance to the destination and determines whether or not the destination has been reached based on the current location information output by the GPS receiver 18.

[0050] Figure 5 shows an example of a parking lot layout image that the system controller 20 displays on the display 44 in step S105 of Figure 4.

[0051] In Figure 5, the system controller 20 determines, based on the output of the GPS receiver 18 and the like, that a vehicle has arrived at parking lot A shown in Figure 2, and displays a layout image showing the overall layout of parking lot A by referring to the parking lot layout information 32.

[0052] Furthermore, the system controller 20 determines, based on the output of the sensor group 10, that the target situation is a weather condition of rain or snow (i.e., situation Y), and by referring to the recommended parking position table 33 shown in Figure 3(A), it determines that the parking spaces with identification numbers PA1 to PA6 are the estimated parking positions. Therefore, in the layout image of parking lot A, the system controller 20 determines that identification number P A 1~P A The system highlights parking space 5 and displays an explanation of why the highlighted parking space is the recommended parking location. The explanation of why the parking location is the recommended location displayed in this case may be a standard phrase that has been pre-associated with each situation and stored in the data storage unit 31, or it may be an explanation registered for each record in the recommended parking location table 33 (not shown in Figure 3(A)). According to the layout image shown in Figure 6, when the system controller 20 arrives at parking lot A, it can easily allow the driver to understand the parking location that is appropriate for the current situation in parking lot A and guide the vehicle to that parking location appropriately.

[0053] Alternatively, instead of displaying the example in Figure 5, the system controller 20 may display a current location marker indicating the vehicle's position within the layout image of Figure 5, and further display a route line tracing the route from the current location marker to the estimated parking position. This allows the system controller 20 to guide the vehicle to the recommended parking position more reliably.

[0054] As described above, the data storage unit 31 of the navigation device 1 in this embodiment stores a recommended parking position table 33 relating to recommended parking positions within a parking lot. The system controller 20 identifies the current situation, which is the target situation, based on the output of the sensor group 10 or the input to the input device 60. The system controller 20 then determines a recommended parking position corresponding to the target situation based on the recommended parking position table 33 and displays a layout image clearly indicating the determined recommended parking position on the display 44. As a result, the navigation device 1 can suitably guide the vehicle to a parking position appropriate to the current situation.

[0055] [Differentiation] The following describes various modifications of the embodiment. These modifications may be applied in combination to the embodiment described above.

[0056] (Variation 1) In this embodiment, a portion of the processing performed by the navigation device 1 may be performed by a server device that communicates with the navigation device 1 via a network.

[0057] Figure 6 shows the configuration of a modified parking location guidance system. In the example in Figure 6, the parking location guidance system includes a navigation device 1 and a server device 3 that has parking lot layout information 32 and a recommended parking location table 33.

[0058] In the configuration example shown in Figure 6, for example, similar to the embodiment, if the navigation device 1 determines in step S101 of Figure 4 that a parking lot or a facility with a parking lot has been set as the destination, it identifies the target situation in step S102. Then, in step S103, the navigation device 1 sends a request signal to the server device 3 that includes information about the identified target situation and the destination specified by the user. In this case, the server device 3 receives the request signal and, based on the request signal, refers to the recommended parking position table 33 to determine the recommended parking position in the target parking lot. The server device 3 then refers to the parking lot layout information 32 and sends information to the navigation device 1 for displaying a parking lot layout image that clearly shows the recommended parking position, as shown in Figure 5.

[0059] In this modified example, the CPU of server device 3 is an example of a computer that executes the "situation acquisition unit," "parking position determination unit," "output unit," and program of the present invention.

[0060] (Modification 2) In step S105 of Figure 4, the navigation device 1 may, instead of displaying a layout image of the parking lot clearly indicating the recommended parking position as shown in Figure 5, output voice guidance necessary to reach the recommended parking position from the entrance of the target parking lot via the voice output unit 50. In this case, the navigation device 1 may display the layout image of the parking lot shown in Figure 5 and output the aforementioned voice guidance via the voice output unit 50.

[0061] (Variation 3) In the case of a parking lot with multiple floors, the recommended parking location table 33 may have pre-registered information on floors suitable for parking in each anticipated situation as recommended parking locations. In this case, after identifying the target situation, the system controller 20 refers to the recommended parking location table 33 and, if it determines a specific floor of the target parking lot as the recommended parking location, it provides a display and / or audio output to guide the vehicle to that floor.

[0062] In this modified example, the recommended parking location table 33 may pre-register information on floors suitable for parking and suitable parking spaces within those floors as recommended parking locations for each anticipated situation. In this case, the system controller 20 provides a display and / or audio output to guide the user to a recommended parking location within that floor after guiding them to the target floor. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 1. Navigation system 3 Server equipment 10 Sensor Groups 12 GPS receivers 20 System Controllers 22 CPU 31 Data Storage Unit 38 Communication equipment 40 display units 44 displays 50 Audio Output Units 60 Input devices

Claims

[Claim 1] A storage unit that stores parking location information, which is information about recommended parking locations within the parking lot for each situation, A status acquisition unit that acquires the current status, A parking position determination unit determines a parking position corresponding to the current situation based on the aforementioned parking position information, The output unit outputs information about the parking position determined by the parking position determination unit, A parking position determination device having the following features.

Images