Storage control device and storage control equipment equipped with the same

Abstract

To reduce damage to a vehicle due to the contact even when the vehicle contacts, from every direction, an entry restriction member configured to be switchable between a rising state and a falling state.SOLUTION: At least a part of a U-shaped arm 10 configured to be switchable between a rising state and a falling state and becoming in the falling state when predetermined conditions are satisfied has flexibility which enables deformation by application of external force.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an entry prevention member installed in a parking space of a parking lot and an entry control device equipped with the same. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, there have been an increasing number of cases where entry prevention members are installed in parking spaces to prevent illegal parking or entry into parking spaces such as pay parking lots, or to prevent the parking or entry of vehicles other than those reserved. Such entry prevention members are configured to be switchable between an upright position and a reclined position, and are reclined only when entry is permitted, thereby preventing illegal parking or entry into a designated parking space, or the parking or entry of vehicles other than those reserved.

[0003] However, in such a structure that can be switched between an upright state and a lying state and that only enters the lying state when entry is permitted, if a vehicle accidentally comes into contact with the entry prevention member in the upright state, there is a risk that the vehicle may be scratched or dented, or the paint may peel off.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which a parking sign that is configured to be switchable between an upright state and a downright state automatically becomes downright when a vehicle comes into contact with the upright sign. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 61-198451 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In the device disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a vehicle comes into contact with the device in an upright position, the device automatically goes into a lying state, but this only happens when the vehicle comes into contact with the device in a direction that causes the device to go from upright to lying. Therefore, if the vehicle comes into contact with the device in a direction that causes the device to go from upright to lying, for example, from a diagonal direction, the device will not automatically go into a lying state, and there is a risk that the vehicle may be scratched or dented, or the paint may peel off.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems associated with the conventional technology as described above, and aims to provide an entry prevention member that is configured to be switchable between an upright state and a lying state, and that can reduce damage to a vehicle caused by contact even when the vehicle comes into contact with it from any direction, and an entry control device equipped with the same. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides: A storage inhibiting member that is configured to be switchable between an upright state and a lying state and that is in the lying state when a predetermined condition is met, At least a portion of the storage inhibiting member has flexibility that allows it to be deformed when an external force is applied.

[0009] In the present invention configured as described above, even if a vehicle accidentally contacts the entry inhibitor while in an upright position, the entry inhibitor deforms, thereby avoiding or reducing damage to the vehicle, such as scratches, dents, or paint peeling. At this time, at least a portion of the entry inhibitor itself is flexible enough to be deformed when an external force is applied, thereby minimizing damage to the vehicle caused by contact from any direction. Furthermore, even in an entry control device equipped with an entry inhibitor, the entry inhibitor deforms when a vehicle contacts the entry inhibitor, thereby mitigating the impact on the control unit of the entry control device and preventing major damage. Furthermore, even if a vehicle makes strong contact with the entry inhibitor, damage to the entry inhibitor is limited, and repair or maintenance can be completed by simply replacing the entry inhibitor.

[0010] Furthermore, if the entry prevention member is made of a material that has the ability to restore itself to its original shape when the external force is no longer applied after it has been deformed by the application of an external force, the entry prevention member can maintain its original function if the vehicle returns to a non-contact state after coming into contact with the entry prevention member.

[0011] Furthermore, if the entry control member is integrally formed by injection molding a thermoplastic elastomer, it has high moldability and a wide range of shapes and thicknesses, allowing for greater design freedom. It also reduces the risk of fragmentation when broken, and manufacturing costs can be kept low. Furthermore, when an entry control device equipped with an entry control member wirelessly communicates with the outside world via radio waves to switch the entry control member between an upright and a downed position, radio waves are less likely to be affected.

[0012] Furthermore, if the entry prevention member is a U-shaped arm consisting of a pair of pillars and a connecting part connecting the pair of pillars, and the connecting part is less flexible than the pillars, then by intentionally creating a point where the entry prevention member will deform when a vehicle comes into contact with it, when a vehicle comes into contact with it, the pillars will act to bend or the entry prevention member will act to twist, and the impact caused by the vehicle coming into contact will be absorbed by the deformation of the entry prevention member, further reducing the impact received by the vehicle.

[0013] For example, the U-shaped arm may have a hollow portion with an opening on one side in the direction in which it switches from an upright state to a lying state, and the hollow portion may have a plurality of horizontal ribs formed at intervals that connect the opposing inner wall surfaces of the outer shell that forms the hollow portion, and the connecting portion may have a thicker outer shell or horizontal ribs, or a greater number of horizontal ribs, than the pillar portion.

[0014] Furthermore, if the U-shaped arm has a hollow section with one side open in the direction in which it switches from an upright state to a laid-down state, and the hollow section has multiple horizontal ribs formed at intervals that connect the opposing inner wall surfaces of the outer shell that forms the hollow section, and the connecting section further has cross ribs in which the multiple horizontal ribs cross, then in a configuration in which horizontal ribs are formed within the hollow section, the flexibility of the connecting section can be easily made lower than that of the pillar section while suppressing an increase in weight. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention, at least a portion of the entry inhibitor member itself has flexibility that allows it to deform when an external force is applied, thereby minimizing damage to the vehicle caused by contact when the vehicle comes into contact with it from any direction while it is in an upright position. Furthermore, even in an entry control device equipped with an entry inhibitor member, the entry inhibitor member deforms when a vehicle comes into contact with the entry inhibitor member, thereby mitigating the impact on the control unit of the entry control device and preventing major damage. Furthermore, even if a vehicle comes into strong contact with the entry inhibitor member, damage to the entry inhibitor member can be limited, and repair and maintenance can be completed by simply replacing the entry inhibitor member, significantly reducing the costs and labor required for maintenance.

[0016] Furthermore, if the entry prevention member is made of a material that has the ability to restore its original shape when it is deformed by the application of an external force and then the external force is no longer applied, the entry prevention member can maintain its original function if the vehicle returns to a non-contact state after coming into contact with the entry prevention member.

[0017] Furthermore, when the entry control member is integrally formed by injection molding a thermoplastic elastomer, it has high moldability and a wide range of shapes and thicknesses, allowing for a high degree of design freedom. It is also less likely to generate fragments when broken, and manufacturing costs can be kept low. Furthermore, when an entry control device equipped with an entry control member wirelessly communicates with the outside world via radio waves to switch the entry control member between an upright position and a downright position, radio waves are less likely to be affected.

[0018] Furthermore, in cases where the entry prevention member is a U-shaped arm consisting of a pair of pillars and a connecting portion connecting the pair of pillars, and the connecting portion is less flexible than the pillars, by intentionally providing a point at which the entry prevention member will deform when a vehicle comes into contact with it, when a vehicle comes into contact with it, the pillars will act to bend or the entry prevention member will act to twist, and the impact caused by the vehicle coming into contact will be absorbed by the deformation of the entry prevention member, further reducing the impact received by the vehicle.

[0019] In addition, in a configuration in which the U-shaped arm has a hollow portion with one side open in the direction in which it switches from an upright state to a laid-down state, and in which a plurality of horizontal ribs are formed at intervals in the hollow portion connecting the opposing inner wall surfaces of the outer shell that forms the hollow portion, and in which a cross rib in which the plurality of horizontal ribs cross is further formed in the connecting portion, the flexibility of the connecting portion can be easily made lower than that of the pillar portion while suppressing an increase in weight in a configuration in which the horizontal ribs are formed within the hollow portion. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is an external perspective view showing an embodiment of a storage control device of the present invention; [Figure 2] 2A and 2B are diagrams showing the detailed configuration of the U-shaped arm shown in FIG. 1, in which (a) is a diagram seen from one side in the direction in which it switches from an upright state to a lying state, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A' shown in (a). [Figure 3] 2 is a functional block diagram showing functions of a base unit shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] 4A and 4B are diagrams showing an example of a parking lot in which the entry control device shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is installed, where (a) is a diagram showing the overall configuration, and (b) is a diagram showing the configuration of parking spaces. [Figure 5] 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the storage control device shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. [Figure 6]4A and 4B are diagrams showing the operating states of the storage control device shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, in which (a) shows the upright state and (b) shows the laid-down state. [Figure 7] 2 is an external perspective view showing a state in which a vehicle comes into contact with the storage control device shown in FIG. 1 and the U-shaped arm is deformed. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0022] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an embodiment of a storage control device according to the present invention.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1, this embodiment is a warehousing control device 1 that includes a U-shaped arm 10 and a base portion 20.

[0024] The U-shaped arm 10 serves as a storage-stopping member in the present invention. The U-shaped arm 10 has a U-shape and is configured to be switchable between an upright position and a lying position by rotating about an axis connecting both ends of the U-shape.

[0025] 2A and 2B are diagrams showing the detailed configuration of the U-shaped arm 10 shown in FIG. 1, where (a) is a view from one side in the direction in which it switches from an upright state to a reclined state, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A' shown in (a).

[0026] As shown in FIG. 2, the U-shaped arm 10 is U-shaped and is composed of a pair of pillars 11a, 11b and a connecting portion 12 connecting the pillars 11a, 11b. The outer shell 13 defines a hollow portion 14, one of whose surfaces is open in the direction in which the arm 10 switches from the upright position to the lying position. The hollow portion 14 is provided with a plurality of horizontal ribs 15 spaced apart from one another by a predetermined distance, connecting the opposing inner wall surfaces 13a, 13b of the outer shell 13. The connecting portion 12 also includes a cross rib 16, where two horizontal ribs 15 intersect. The cross rib 16 on the connecting portion 12 makes the connecting portion 12 less flexible than the pillars 11a, 11b. The hollow portion 14 is provided with a plurality of protrusions 17, each of which has a height sufficient to contact the ground when the U-shaped arm 10 is in the lying position.

[0027] The U-shaped arm 10 configured as described above is integrally formed by injection molding a thermoplastic elastomer, which gives the U-shaped arm 10 flexibility to be deformed when an external force is applied, and also gives it the restorability to return to its original shape when the external force is no longer applied after being deformed by the external force.

[0028] The base unit 20 serves as a base when the storage control device 1 is installed on the ground, and comes into contact with the ground when the storage control device 1 is installed on the ground. The base unit 20 has built-in rotary support members (not shown) connected to both ends of the U-shape of the U-shaped arm 10, and the base unit 20 supports the U-shaped arm 10 by means of these rotary support members so that the arm can be switched between an upright position and a reclined position.

[0029] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the functions of the base unit 20 shown in FIG.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 3, the base unit 20 has, as its functions, a communication unit 21, a control unit 22, and a motor 23.

[0031] The communication unit 21 communicates with the outside world by short-range wireless communication using Bluetooth radio waves. The communication unit 21 transmits, using Bluetooth radio waves, a signal that can be received by an on-board device mounted in a predetermined vehicle, a gateway installed in a parking lot, or a smartphone or the like carried by a user in the vehicle, and also receives instructions transmitted from the on-board device or the like that has received the signal.

[0032] The motor 23 is connected to a rotary support member connected to both ends of the U-shape of the U-shaped arm 10, thereby supporting the U-shaped arm 10 so that it can rotate around an axis connecting both ends of the U-shape.

[0033] The control unit 22 drives the motor 23 based on instructions received from the vehicle-mounted device via the communication unit 21, causing the U-shaped arm 10 in an upright state to rotate around an axis connecting both ends of the U-shape to bring it into a lying state, and when a predetermined condition is satisfied while the U-shaped arm 10 is in a lying state, the control unit 22 drives the motor 23 to rotate the U-shaped arm 10 in a lying state around an axis connecting both ends of the U-shape to bring it into an upright state.

[0034] A method of using the storage control device 1 configured as above will be described below.

[0035] 4A and 4B are diagrams showing an example of a parking lot in which the entry control device 1 shown in Fig. 1 to Fig. 3 is installed, where Fig. 4A shows the overall configuration and Fig. 4B shows the configuration of the parking space 3-1. The configuration of the parking spaces 3-2 to 3-n shown in Fig. 4A is the same as the configuration of the parking space 3-1 shown in Fig. 4B.

[0036] The entrance control device 1 shown in Figures 1 to 3 is used, for example, as shown in Figure 4(a), to restrict parking of vehicles in a parking lot 2 in which a plurality of parking stalls 3-1 to 3-n are each provided as parking spaces. Each of the parking stalls 3-1 to 3-n is equipped with the entrance control device 1 shown in Figures 1 to 3, and is also equipped with a car stopper 4 as shown in Figure 4(b). The entrance control device 1 is attached to the opposite side of the parking stalls 3-1 to 3-n from the car stopper 4, i.e., on the side from which vehicles enter the parking stalls 3-1 to 3-n, with the U-shaped arm 10 tilted in the direction in which the vehicles enter the parking stalls 3-1 to 3-n, and the base portion 20 is fixed to the ground of the parking stalls 3-1 to 3-n with anchor bolts, double-sided tape, or the like.

[0037] FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the storage control device 1 shown in FIGS.

[0038] The entry control device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 transmits a signal that can be received by an on-board device mounted on a vehicle that has been permitted to park in the parking lot 2 from a communication unit 21 using Bluetooth radio waves.

[0039] When a vehicle permitted to park in the parking lot 2 attempts to enter a designated parking slot 3-1 to 3-n, an on-board device mounted on the vehicle receives a signal transmitted using Bluetooth radio waves from the communication unit 21 of the entry control device 1 (step S1). Alternatively, the signal may be received by a gateway installed in the parking lot 2 or a smartphone carried by a user of the vehicle.

[0040] Then, the vehicle-mounted device etc. that receives the signal transmitted from the warehousing control device 1 using Bluetooth radio waves establishes communication with the warehousing control device 1 that transmitted the received signal, and transmits an instruction to place the U-shaped arm 10 of the warehousing control device 1 in a collapsed state (step S2).

[0041] When the communication unit 21 of the warehousing control device 1 receives an instruction to lay down the U-shaped arm 10 of the warehousing control device 1, transmitted from an in-vehicle device or the like (step S3), the control unit 22 of the warehousing control device 1 drives the motor 23 to rotate the shaft connected to the motor 23 by 90 degrees (step S4), thereby switching the U-shaped arm 10 from the upright state to the laid-down state (step S5). At this time, the protrusion 17 provided in the hollow portion 14 abuts against the ground, so that even if the U-shaped arm 10 rotates more than 90 degrees from the upright state, the outer shell 13 of the U-shaped arm 10 is prevented from coming into direct contact with the ground.

[0042] Thereafter, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the control unit 22 drives the motor 23, and the U-shaped arm 10 in the lying state rotates to the standing state. For example, when communication using Bluetooth radio waves with an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle that has entered the parking spaces 3-1 to 3-n is cut off, or when a sensor (e.g., an optical sensor) built into the warehousing control device 1 no longer detects the vehicle that has entered the parking spaces 3-1 to 3-n, the U-shaped arm 10 in the lying state rotates to the standing state. Alternatively, when the communication unit 21 of the warehousing control device 1 receives an instruction to set the U-shaped arm 10 to the standing state from a gateway installed in the parking lot 2 or an app installed on a smartphone carried by a user of a vehicle parked in the parking lot 2, the U-shaped arm 10 in the lying state may rotate to the standing state. Alternatively, the U-shaped arm 10 may be set to the standing state over time. In this case, it is conceivable that the U-shaped arm 10 is set to the standing state when a predetermined time has elapsed since the U-shaped arm 10 was set to the lying state. In addition, when using a sensor built into the storage control device 1, the U-shaped arm 10 will not be raised while a vehicle is detected by the sensor, even if the other conditions described above are met.

[0043] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the operating states of the storage control device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, where (a) shows the upright state and (b) shows the laid-down state.

[0044] 1 to 3 is in an upright state, as shown in Fig. 6(a), the height of the upright U-shaped arm 10 is higher than the height of the underside of the vehicle 5 from the ground 6, so that when an attempt is made to enter the vehicle 5 into the parking stalls 3-1 to 3-n shown in Fig. 4, the vicinity of the underside of the vehicle 5 comes into contact with the U-shaped arm 10. This makes it possible to prevent the vehicle 5 from entering the parking stalls 3-1 to 3-n.

[0045] On the other hand, when the U-shaped arm 10 of the entry control device 1 shown in Figures 1 to 3 is in a collapsed state, as shown in Figure 6(b), the U-shaped arm 10 is in a collapsed state, so that even when the vehicle 5 is entered into the parking spaces 3-1 to 3-n shown in Figure 4, the vehicle 5 will not come into contact with the U-shaped arm 10. As a result, the vehicle 5 can be entered into the parking spaces 3-1 to 3-n.

[0046] In this way, when a vehicle 5 that has been permitted to park in the parking lot 2 shown in Figure 4 attempts to enter one of the parking spaces 3-1 to 3-n, an instruction to lower the U-shaped arm 10 of the entry control device 1 is transmitted from the on-board device mounted on the vehicle 5, and when the instruction is received by the entry control device 1, the U-shaped arm 10, which is in an upright state, is lowered, thereby restricting the entry of vehicles other than the designated vehicles.

[0047] Further effects of the U-shaped arm 10 in this embodiment will be described below.

[0048] As described above, the U-shaped arm 10 in this embodiment is integrally formed by injection molding a thermoplastic elastomer, and thus has flexibility that allows it to deform when an external force is applied, and has the restoring ability to return to its original shape when the external force is no longer applied after being deformed by the external force. Therefore, even if a vehicle accidentally comes into contact with the U-shaped arm 10 in an upright position, deformation of the U-shaped arm 10 can avoid or reduce damage to the vehicle, such as scratches, dents, or paint peeling. In particular, damage to the vehicle caused by contact from any direction is reduced. Note that, as described above, even if the entire U-shaped arm 10 is not flexible, the above effect can be achieved if at least a portion of the U-shaped arm 10 is flexible.

[0049] Furthermore, in the warehousing control device 1 equipped with the U-shaped arm 10, when a vehicle comes into contact with the U-shaped arm 10, the U-shaped arm 10 deforms, thereby mitigating the impact on the motor 23, control unit 22, etc. of the warehousing control device 1 and preventing malfunction of the warehousing control device 1. Furthermore, even if a vehicle comes into strong contact with the U-shaped arm 10, damage to the U-shaped arm 10 can be limited, and repair or maintenance can be completed by simply replacing the U-shaped arm 10.

[0050] Furthermore, since the U-shaped arm 10 has restoring properties, if the vehicle comes into contact with the U-shaped arm 10 and then returns to a non-contact state, the U-shaped arm 10 can maintain its original function.

[0051] Although the U-shaped arm 10 may be made of urethane, silicone, hollow PE material, wood, cardboard, etc., it is preferable to integrally form it by injection molding a thermoplastic elastomer when considering its resilience, cost, moldability, and damage to the surrounding area and the environment when it is broken. Furthermore, if the U-shaped arm 10 is integrally formed by injection molding a thermoplastic elastomer, it has the advantage of being highly moldable and having a wide range of shapes and thicknesses, thereby increasing the degree of freedom in design.

[0052] Furthermore, in the case where the warehousing control device 1 having the U-shaped arm 10 performs wireless communication via radio waves with an onboard device mounted on a vehicle as described above to switch the U-shaped arm 10 between an upright state and a reclined state, the U-shaped arm 10 is integrally formed by injection molding a thermoplastic elastomer, making it less susceptible to the effects of radio waves.

[0053] Furthermore, by making the connecting portion 12 of the U-shaped arm 10 less flexible than the pillar portions 11a, 11b, a point is intentionally provided at which the U-shaped arm 10 deforms when a vehicle comes into contact with it, so that when a vehicle comes into contact with it, the pillar portions 11a, 11b act to bend or the U-shaped arm 10 acts to twist, and the impact caused by the vehicle coming into contact is absorbed by the deformation of the U-shaped arm 10, further reducing the impact received by the vehicle.

[0054] FIG. 7 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the U-shaped arm 10 is deformed due to contact of a vehicle with the storage control device 1 shown in FIG.

[0055] As described above, the connecting portion 12 of the U-shaped arm 10 is less flexible than the pillar portions 11a and 11b, so that when a vehicle comes into contact with the U-shaped arm 10, the U-shaped arm 10 can be made to twist as shown in Fig. 7. By twisting the U-shaped arm 10, the shock caused by the vehicle coming into contact with the arm is absorbed by the deformation of the U-shaped arm 10, and the shock received by the vehicle in contact can be further reduced.

[0056] Note that making the flexibility of the connecting portion 12 lower than that of the pillar portions 11a and 11b is not limited to the above-described configuration in which the cross ribs 16 are further formed in addition to the cross ribs 15 at the connecting portion 12 of the U-shaped arm 10. For example, the connecting portion 12 may be configured such that the outer shell 13 or the cross ribs 15 are thicker than those of the pillar portions 11a and 11b, or the number of cross ribs 15 is greater. However, if the connecting portion 12 of the U-shaped arm 10 is configured such that the cross ribs 16 are further formed in addition to the cross ribs 15, it is possible to easily make the flexibility of the connecting portion 12 lower than that of the pillar portions 11a and 11b while suppressing an increase in weight in a configuration in which the cross ribs 15 are formed in the hollow portion 14 of the U-shaped arm 10. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 1. Storage control equipment 2 Parking Parking spaces 3-1 to 3-n 4 Parking barriers 5 vehicles 6 ground 10 U-shaped arm 11a,11b Pillar part 12 Connecting part 13 Outer Wall 13a, 13b inner wall surface 14 Hollow part 15 Horizontal ribs 16 Cross Ribs 17 Protrusion 20 Base 21 Communications Department 22 Control Unit 23 Motor

Claims

1. A storage inhibiting member that is configured to be switchable between an upright state and a lying state and that is in the lying state when a predetermined condition is met, At least a portion of the entry prevention member is a U-shaped arm having flexibility such that it can be deformed by application of an external force, and including a pair of pillars and a connecting portion connecting the pair of pillars, The connecting portion has lower flexibility than the column portion.

2. The storage inhibiting member according to claim 1, The storage entry inhibiting member is made of a material that has the restoring ability to be deformed by the application of the external force and then return to its original shape when the external force is no longer applied.

3. The storage inhibiting member according to claim 2, The storage inhibiting member is integrally formed by injection molding a thermoplastic elastomer.

4. The storage inhibiting member according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the U-shaped arm has a hollow portion with one surface open in a direction in which the upright state is switched to the laid state, The hollow portion has a plurality of horizontal ribs formed at intervals that connect opposing inner wall surfaces of an outer shell that forms the hollow portion, An entry restraint member in which the connecting portion has a thicker outer shell or a thicker horizontal rib than the column portion, or has a greater number of horizontal ribs.

5. The storage inhibiting member according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the U-shaped arm has a hollow portion with one surface open in a direction in which the arm is switched from the upright state to the laid state, An entry prevention member in which the hollow portion has a plurality of horizontal ribs formed at intervals that connect the opposing inner wall surfaces of the outer shell that forms the hollow portion, and the connecting portion further has a cross rib where the plurality of horizontal ribs cross.

6. A storage control device comprising the storage inhibiting member according to any one of claims 1 to 5, a communication unit for communicating with the outside; a control unit that sets the storage inhibiting member to the laid-down state when a predetermined condition is received via the communication unit.

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