Parking lot system, elevator control device, and elevator control method

Abstract

To provide a parking lot system that enables a user of a multi-storey parking lot to move to a parking position of a vehicle simply and efficiently. [Solution] According to an embodiment, a parking system includes a parking management device that manages a multi-story parking lot, and an elevator control device that controls elevators installed in the multi-story parking lot. The parking management device associates usage identification information generated for each use by a user of a vehicle entering the multi-story parking lot with parking position information of the user's vehicle, and stores the information as parking information related to the vehicle. The elevator control device includes a presentation information processing unit that, upon receiving the usage identification information presented by the user, obtains parking position information corresponding to the usage identification information from the parking management device, a call generation unit that generates and registers elevator call information with the floor corresponding to the obtained parking position information as the destination floor, and an operation control unit that operates the elevator in response to the call information generated by the call generation unit.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to a parking system, an elevator control device, and an elevator control method. [Background technology]

[0002] In parking lots that are available to the general public, such as parking lots attached to commercial facilities, users must search for vacant parking spaces and park their vehicles in them. As a result, the parking space used each time is different, and users must remember the location of the parking space where they parked their vehicle each time they use the parking lot.

[0003] In view of this, a system has been disclosed that identifies and provides a location where a parking lot user has parked his / her vehicle (for example, Patent Document 1). By using this system, the user can check the parking location of the vehicle when leaving the parking lot. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-198172 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In recent years, there have been many large, multi-floor self-propelled multi-storey parking garages. In these parking garages, even if a user uses a system such as that described above to check where the car is parked, the user still needs to take an elevator to the floor where the car is parked, which takes time and effort.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a parking lot system, an elevator control device, and an elevator control method that enable users of a multi-story parking lot to move their vehicles to their parking positions easily and efficiently. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to an embodiment for achieving the above object, the parking system includes a parking management device that manages a multi-story parking lot, and an elevator control device that controls elevators installed in the multi-story parking lot. The parking management device associates usage identification information generated for each use by a user of a vehicle entering the multi-story parking lot with parking position information of the user's vehicle, and stores the information as parking information related to the vehicle. The elevator control device includes a presentation information processing unit that, upon acquiring the usage identification information presented by the user, acquires parking position information corresponding to the usage identification information from the parking management device, a call generation unit that generates and registers elevator call information with the floor corresponding to the acquired parking position information as the destination floor, and an operation control unit that operates the elevator in response to the call information generated by the call generation unit. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall diagram showing the configuration of a parking lot system according to one embodiment; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of an elevator car operation panel used by the parking lot system according to one embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an elevator control device and a central management device in a parking lot system according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing the processing executed by an elevator control device and a central management device in a parking system according to one embodiment. [Diagram 5] 4 is an example of a parking ticket issued by a ticket issuing device in the parking lot system according to one embodiment. [Figure 6] 13 is an example of display information displayed on a display device in an elevator car by the parking lot system according to one embodiment. [Figure 7] 13 is another example of display information displayed on a display device in an elevator car by the parking lot system according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] As an embodiment of the present invention, a parking lot system that manages the use of a self-propelled multi-story parking lot installed adjacent to a commercial facility will be described below.

[0010] <Configuration of the parking lot system according to one embodiment> 1 is an overall diagram showing the configuration of a parking lot system 1 according to one embodiment. The parking lot system 1 includes devices installed in a multi-storey parking lot 10, such as a ticket issuing device 11, an entrance camera device 12, area camera devices 13-1 to 13-8, a first communication unit 14, and an elevator 20, and a central management device 50 as a parking lot management device that is communicatively connected to these devices via a wide area communication network 40 and remotely manages the multi-storey parking lot 10.

[0011] The multi-storey parking lot 10 is an eight-story building, with two parking areas A and two parking areas B provided on each of the first to eighth floors. Five parking spaces A-1 to A-5 are provided in parking area A on each floor, and five parking spaces B-1 to B-5 are provided in parking area B. The number of floors in the multi-storey parking lot is not limited to eight, and may be any number of floors as long as it is two or more. Furthermore, the number of parking areas provided on each floor is not limited to two, and may be one or three or more. Furthermore, the number of parking spaces provided in each parking area is not limited to five, and may be one or three or more.

[0012] The ticket issuing device 11 is installed near the parking lot entrance E1, which is the entrance to the parking lot 10 from the outside, and when it detects a vehicle entering the parking lot 10, it generates usage identification information for the vehicle's one use of the parking lot 10. The ticket issuing device 11 issues a parking ticket that holds the generated usage identification information in a state that can be read from the outside to the user of the vehicle. The ticket issuing device 11 also transmits the generated usage identification information to the central management device 50.

[0013] The entrance camera device 12 is installed near the parking lot entrance E1 and photographs the vehicle for which the ticket issuing device 11 has issued a parking ticket. The entrance camera device 12 analyzes the captured image information and obtains vehicle number information, which is identification information of the photographed vehicle. The entrance camera device 12 transmits the obtained vehicle number information to the central management device 50.

[0014] Each of the area camera devices 13-1 to 13-8 captures an image of parking space A and parking space B on the floor where the area camera devices 13-1 to 13-8 are installed. The area camera devices 13-1 to 13-8 analyze the captured image information to obtain the vehicle number information of a vehicle parked in any of the parking spaces, and the identification information of the parking area or the identification information of the parking space as parking position information. The area camera devices 13-1 to 13-8 transmit the obtained vehicle number information and parking position information to the central management device 50.

[0015] The first communication unit 14 connects each device in the parking structure 10 to the wide area communication network 40.

[0016] Elevator 20 has a hoist 22 installed above an elevator shaft 21 in multi-storey car park 10, a rope 23 hung from hoist 22, a car 24 suspended from one end of rope 23, and an elevator control device 26 connected to car 24 via tail cord 25 and to hoist 22 via a communication line. Elevator 20 is installed in multi-storey car park 10 near facility entrance E2 for moving to an adjacent commercial facility, and operates on floors 1 to 8 of multi-storey car park 10 as service floors.

[0017] 2 is a front view of the in-car operation panel 30 installed in the elevator car 24. The in-car operation panel 30 has a group of operation buttons 31, a reading device 32, and a display device 33 as an output device.

[0018] The operation button group 31 includes a destination floor registration button, a door open button, and a door close button for a user to specify a destination floor. When a user presents a parking ticket issued by the ticket issuing device 11, the reading device 32 reads usage identification information from the parking ticket and transmits it to the elevator control device 26. The display device 33 displays display information obtained from the elevator control device 26 as described later.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the elevator control device 26 and the central management device 50.

[0020] The elevator control device 26 has a call registration unit 261, a first CPU 262, and a second communication unit 263. The call registration unit 261 registers information on a destination floor designation operation operated on an in-car operation panel 30 installed in the elevator car 24 as car call information, and also registers information on a destination direction designation operation operated on a hall operation panel (not shown) installed at the elevator hall of each floor as hall call information. The call registration unit 261 also registers car call information generated by the first CPU 262 as described later.

[0021] The first CPU 262 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) provided in a general-purpose microcomputer, and constitutes one or more information processing units described below by installing and executing a predetermined elevator control program. The first CPU 262 has an operation control unit 262a, a presentation information processing unit 262b, a call generation unit 262c, and a display control unit 262d as an output control unit. The operation control unit 262a controls devices such as the hoist 22 to operate the elevator 20 so as to respond to car calls and hall calls registered in the call registration unit 261.

[0022] When the presentation information processing unit 262b acquires the usage identification information read by the reading device 32 from the parking ticket presented by the user, it acquires the parking position information of the vehicle corresponding to this usage identification information from the central management device 50. The call generation unit 262c generates car call information with the floor corresponding to the parking position information acquired by the presentation information processing unit 262b as the destination floor, and registers it in the call registration unit 261.

[0023] The display control unit 262d generates display information as output information, including the parking position information acquired by the presentation information processing unit 262b, and causes the display device 33 in the car 24 to display the information.

[0024] The second communication unit 263 communicates with the central management device 50 via the first communication unit 14 and the wide area communication network 40 .

[0025] The central management device 50 has a third communication unit 51, a second CPU 52, and a parking information storage unit 53. The third communication unit 51 communicates with the ticket issuing device 11, the entrance camera device 12, the area camera devices 13-1 to 13-9, and the elevator control device 26 via the wide area communication network 40.

[0026] The second CPU 52 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) provided in a general-purpose microcomputer, and configures one or more information processing units described below by installing and executing a predetermined elevator control program.

[0027] The second CPU 52 has a parking information generating unit 521 and a parking information acquiring unit 522. The parking information generating unit 521 generates linked information by linking the usage identification information acquired from the ticket issuing device 11 with the vehicle number information acquired from the entrance camera device 12 corresponding to the timing when the ticket issuing device 11 performed the ticket issuing process. When the parking information generating unit 521 acquires the vehicle number information and the parking position information from any of the area camera devices 13-1 to 13-9, the parking information generating unit 521 specifies the linked information having the vehicle number information that matches the vehicle number information, and generates parking information by linking the usage identification information in the specified linked information with the parking position information. The second CPU 52 stores the generated parking information in the parking information storage unit 53.

[0028] When the elevator control device requests parking position information corresponding to specified usage identification information, the parking information acquisition unit 522 acquires the parking position information corresponding to the request from the parking information memory unit 53 and transmits it to the elevator control device 26.

[0029] Operation of the Parking Lot System According to an Embodiment As an operation example of the parking lot system 1 according to this embodiment, a case where a user U driving a vehicle C uses the multi-story parking lot 10 will be described. Fig. 4 is a sequence diagram showing the operations executed by the elevator control device 26 and the central management device 50 when the parking lot system 1 is in operation.

[0030] When a vehicle C driven by a user U enters the parking lot 10 through the parking lot entrance E1, the ticket issuing device 11 detects the vehicle C and generates usage identification information "x1" related to the vehicle's single use of the parking lot 10. The ticket issuing device 11 issues a parking ticket 111 that displays two-dimensional barcode information 111a including the generated usage identification information "x1". Figure 5 shows an example of a parking ticket 111 issued by the ticket issuing device 11 and including the two-dimensional barcode information 111a.

[0031] The user U receives the parking ticket 111 issued by the ticket issuing device 11. After generating the usage identification information and issuing the parking ticket 111, the ticket issuing device 11 transmits the generated usage identification information to the central management device 50.

[0032] In the central management device 50, the parking information generation unit 521 acquires the usage identification information "x1" transmitted from the ticket issuing device 11 via the third communication unit 51 (S1).

[0033] Furthermore, when vehicle C enters through parking lot entrance E1, entrance camera device 12 captures an image of vehicle C for which a parking ticket 111 is issued. Entrance camera device 12 analyzes the captured image information and acquires vehicle number information "14-1" which is identification information of the captured vehicle. Entrance camera device 12 transmits the acquired vehicle number information "14-1" to central management device 50.

[0034] In the central management device 50, the parking information generating unit 521 acquires the vehicle number information "14-1" transmitted from the entrance camera device 12 via the third communication unit 51 (S2).

[0035] Thereafter, when vehicle C travels through the parking structure 10 and parks in parking space A-1 in parking area A on the seventh floor, the area camera device 13-7 captures the parked vehicle C. The area camera device 13-7 analyzes the captured image information and acquires the vehicle number information "14-1" of vehicle C and the identification information of the parking space "7th floor A-1", which is the parking position information (S3). The area camera device 13-1 transmits the acquired identification information of the parking space "7th floor A-1" to the central management device 50.

[0036] In the central management device 50, the parking information generating unit 521 acquires the parking space identification information "7th floor A-1" transmitted from the area camera device 13-7 via the third communication unit 51 (S3).

[0037] The parking information generation unit 521 generates linking information "x1;14-1" that links the usage identification information "x1" obtained from the ticket issuing device 11 with the vehicle number information "14-1" obtained from the entrance camera device 12 corresponding to the timing when the ticket issuing device 11 performed the ticket issuing process.

[0038] If the time when the parking information generating unit 521 acquires the usage identification information "x1" from the ticket issuing device 11 and the time when the parking information generating unit 521 acquires the vehicle number information "14-1" from the entrance camera device 12 are within a predetermined time range (for example, within 3 seconds), the parking information generating unit 521 determines that the usage identification information "x1" and the vehicle number information "14-1" correspond to each other, and generates the linking information "x1; 14-1" based on this information. Alternatively, the parking information generating unit 521 recognizes the vehicle number information "14-1" of the vehicle along with the time when the ticket issuing device 11 issued the parking ticket 111 based on the image information captured by the entrance camera device 12, determines that the vehicle number information "14-1" of the vehicle and the usage identification information "x1" generated for the parking ticket 111 issued at this time correspond to each other, and generates and holds the linking information "x1; 14-1" based on this information.

[0039] After that, when the parking information generating unit 521 acquires the vehicle number information "14-1" and the parking space identification information "7th floor A-1" from the area camera device 13-7, it identifies the linking information "x1; 14-1" having the vehicle number information matching the vehicle number information "14-1" from the stored information, and links the usage identification information "x1" in the identified linking information "x1; 14-1" with the parking space identification information "7th floor A-1" to generate the parking information "x1; 7th floor A-1". The second CPU 52 stores the generated parking information in the parking information storage unit 53 (S4).

[0040] When the vehicle C leaves the parking lot, the user U gets into the elevator car 24 of the elevator 20 to go to the parking spot of the vehicle C, and holds the two-dimensional barcode information 111a displayed on the parking ticket 111 he / she holds it up to the reader 32 in the elevator car 24 to have it read.

[0041] The reader 32 reads the usage identification information “x1” from the two-dimensional barcode information 111a of the parking ticket 111 presented by the user U, and transmits it to the elevator control device .

[0042] In the elevator control device 26, the presentation information processing unit 262b acquires the usage identification information "x1" transmitted from the reading device 32 as the usage identification information presented by the user U ("YES" in S5). The presentation information processing unit 262b transmits a parking position request to the central management device 50, requesting parking position information corresponding to the acquired usage identification information "x1".

[0043] In the central management device 50, the parking information acquisition unit 522 acquires the parking position request transmitted from the elevator control device 26, and acquires parking position information corresponding to this parking position request, specifically, the parking position information "7th floor A-1" corresponding to the usage identification information "x1", from the parking information storage unit 53. The parking information acquisition unit 522 transmits the acquired parking position information "7th floor A-1" to the elevator control device 26 (S7).

[0044] In the elevator control device 26, the presentation information processing unit 262b acquires the parking position information "7th floor A-1" transmitted from the central management device 50, and sends it to the call generation unit 262c and the display control unit 262d. The call generation unit 262c generates a car call y1 with the "7th floor" corresponding to the parking position information "7th floor A-1" as the destination floor, and registers it in the call registration unit 261 (S8).

[0045] When the car call y1 is registered in the call registration unit 261, the operation control unit 262a controls the equipment such as the hoist 22 to operate the elevator 20 in response to this car call y1 (S9).

[0046] The display control unit 262d also generates display information including information indicating floors and parking spaces within the acquired parking position information "7th floor A-1" and displays it on the display device 33 in the car 24. The display control unit 262d displays this information for each vehicle (S10).

[0047] An example of the display information displayed on the display device 33 is shown in Fig. 6. The display information in Fig. 6 shows the vehicle number information, parking floor, and parking space information of four vehicles including vehicle C with vehicle number information "14-1".

[0048] In the above-described embodiment, when the area camera devices 13-1 to 13-9 are configured with camera devices having low analysis accuracy, when a vehicle is parked in a parking space within the shooting target range, the area camera devices 13-1 to 13-9 may acquire identification information of the parking area A or B without identifying the parking space as parking position information, and transmit the acquired information to the central management device 50. In this case, the display device 33 displays display information including information on the parking floor and parking area as parking position information of each vehicle, as shown in FIG. 7. By configuring the parking lot system in this way, the cost of building the system can be reduced.

[0049] According to the above-mentioned embodiment, the parking system includes a central management device that manages the multi-story parking lot, and an elevator control device that controls the elevators installed in the multi-story parking lot. The central management device has a parking information storage unit that associates usage identification information generated for each use by a user of a vehicle entering the multi-story parking lot with parking position information of the user's vehicle and stores the information as parking information related to the vehicle. The elevator control device also has a presentation information processing unit that, when acquiring the usage identification information presented by the user, acquires parking position information corresponding to the usage identification information from the central management device, a call generation unit that generates and registers elevator call information with the floor corresponding to the acquired parking position information as the destination floor, and an operation control unit that operates the elevator in response to the call information generated by the call generation unit.

[0050] This allows a user of a multi-storey car park to easily and efficiently use the elevator to move to the parking position of the vehicle even if the user forgets where the vehicle is parked when leaving the car park.

[0051] The elevator control device further includes a display control unit that generates display information including the parking position information acquired by the presentation information processing unit and displays the display information on a display device in the elevator car.

[0052] This allows the user to check the vehicle's parking location using the displayed information while traveling in an elevator that automatically drives to the vehicle's parking floor.

[0053] In addition, the presented information processing unit of the elevator control device acquires the usage identification information read by a reading device installed in the elevator car as the usage identification information presented by the user.

[0054] This allows the user to perform a simple operation inside the elevator car to have the reading device read the usage identification information from the parking ticket and transmit it to the elevator control device.

[0055] In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which, when a vehicle enters a multi-story parking lot, a parking ticket displaying two-dimensional barcode information including usage identification information is issued to the user of the vehicle. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an information issuing device (not shown) installed near the entrance to the parking lot may generate usage identification information and transmit it to a mobile terminal carried by the user and equipped with an application for using a specific parking lot. In this case, the mobile terminal generates two-dimensional barcode information including the acquired usage identification information using a function of the application. When the user leaves the parking lot, the user can display the generated two-dimensional barcode information on the display unit of the mobile terminal and have it read by a reading device.

[0056] Furthermore, the information for allowing the reader to read the usage identification information is not limited to two-dimensional barcode information, but may be one-dimensional barcode information, text information, graphic information, etc. Furthermore, the usage identification information may be transmitted to the reader by short-range wireless communication from the parking ticket or the user's mobile terminal.

[0057] In the above embodiment, a single reading device is installed in the elevator car, but the present invention is not limited to this, and multiple reading devices may be installed in multiple locations in the car. By installing multiple reading devices in multiple locations, users can easily perform the reading operation of the usage identification information even when the car is crowded.

[0058] Furthermore, the location where the reading device is installed is not limited to inside the elevator car, but may be at the elevator landing on each floor or at a specific floor.

[0059] In addition, the elevator control device may generate voice information including the parking position information acquired from the central management device and output the voice information from a speaker device (not shown), thereby providing the parking position information to the user.

[0060] Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 1... parking lot system, 10... multi-story parking lot, 11... ticket issuing device, 12... entrance camera device, 13-1 to 13-9... area camera device, 14... first communication unit, 20... elevator, 21... elevator shaft, 22... hoist, 23... rope, 24... car, 25... tail code, 26... elevator control device, 30... in-car operation panel, 31... operation button group, 32... reading device, 33... display device, 40... wide area Communication network, 50... central management device, 51... third communication unit, 52... second CPU, 53... parking information storage unit, 111... parking ticket, 111a... two-dimensional barcode information, 261... call registration unit, 262... first CPU, 262a... operation control unit, 262b... presentation information processing unit, 262c... call generation unit, 262d... display control unit, 263... second communication unit, 521... parking information generation unit, 522... parking information acquisition unit

Claims

1. A parking lot management device that manages a multi-story parking lot and an elevator control device that controls elevators installed in the multi-story parking lot, The parking lot management device includes: a parking information generating unit that generates linking information linking usage identification information generated for each use by a user of a vehicle entering the multi-story parking lot with identification information of the vehicle acquired by an entrance camera device that photographs the vehicle entering the multi-story parking lot, and when the vehicle is parked in any parking space within the multi-story parking lot and parking position information including the identification information of the vehicle acquired by an area camera device that photographs the parking space and information on the floor of the parking space where the vehicle is parked is acquired, identifies linking information having identification information that matches the acquired vehicle identification information, and generates parking information for the vehicle by linking the user identification information in the identified linking information with the parking position information; A parking information storage unit that stores the parking information generated by the parking information generation unit, The elevator control device includes: a presentation information processing unit that, when acquiring the usage identification information presented by the user, acquires parking position information corresponding to the usage identification information from the parking lot management device; a call generating unit that generates and registers call information for the elevator, the call information having a floor corresponding to the acquired parking position information as a destination floor; and an operation control unit that operates the elevator in response to the call information generated by the call generation unit.

2. The parking system according to claim 1 , wherein the parking position information included in the parking information is identification information of an area or parking space within the parking structure where the vehicle is parked.

3. An elevator control device that controls an elevator installed in a multi-story parking lot, a parking information generating unit that generates linking information linking usage identification information generated for each use by a user of a vehicle entering the multi-story parking lot with identification information of the vehicle acquired by an entrance camera device that photographs the vehicle entering the multi-story parking lot, and when the vehicle is parked in any parking space within the multi-story parking lot and parking position information including the identification information of the vehicle acquired by an area camera device that photographs the parking space and information on the floor of the parking space where the vehicle is parked is acquired, identifies linking information having identification information that matches the acquired vehicle identification information, and generates parking information for the vehicle by linking the user identification information in the identified linking information with the parking position information; A parking lot management device having a parking information storage unit that stores the parking information generated by the parking information generation unit is communicatively connected to the parking lot management device; a presentation information processing unit that, when acquiring the usage identification information presented by the user, acquires parking position information corresponding to the usage identification information from the parking lot management device; a call generating unit that generates and registers elevator call information with a floor corresponding to the acquired parking position information as a destination floor; and an operation control unit that operates the elevator in response to the registered call information.

4. The elevator control device according to claim 3 , further comprising an output control unit that generates output information including the parking position information acquired by the presentation information processing unit and causes an output device to output the output information.

5. a communication device connected to a reader that reads the usage identification information presented by the user; The elevator control device according to claim 3 , wherein the presented information processing unit acquires the usage identification information read by the reading device as the usage identification information presented by the user.

6. Controlling elevators installed in multi-storey car parks, a parking information generating unit that generates linking information linking usage identification information generated for each use by a user of a vehicle entering the multi-story parking lot with identification information of the vehicle acquired by an entrance camera device that photographs the vehicle entering the multi-story parking lot, and when the vehicle is parked in any parking space within the multi-story parking lot and parking position information including the identification information of the vehicle acquired by an area camera device that photographs the parking space and information on the floor of the parking space where the vehicle is parked is acquired, identifies linking information having identification information that matches the acquired vehicle identification information, and generates parking information for the vehicle by linking the user identification information in the identified linking information with the parking position information; An elevator control device communicably connected to a parking management device having a parking information storage unit that stores the parking information generated by the parking information generation unit, When the usage identification information presented by the user is acquired, parking position information corresponding to the usage identification information is acquired from the parking lot management device; generating and registering call information for the elevator with the floor corresponding to the acquired parking position information as a destination floor; and operating the elevator in response to the registered call information.

Images