Parking Management System

Abstract

To easily reassign a plot even when there is a plot that becomes unusable due to construction work or the like. [Solution] The system includes a memory unit (27) that stores management information (5) having parking lot information including lot information, schedule information, vacancy information, user information, and parking lot ID; a source lot selection unit (21) that selects a source lot which is a lot that needs to be transferred; an empty lot search unit (23) that extracts unused empty lots based on the management information (5); and a candidate display control unit (24) that causes a display unit (11) to display the unused lots as one or more candidate lots PR which are candidates for transferring from the source lot; and a selection unit (12) that accepts the selection operation of a destination lot which is a lot to be transferred from the displayed candidate lots PR.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a parking lot management system that manages a parking lot having spaces for parking vehicles. [Background technology]

[0002] Various management tasks are performed in parking lots. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a parking lot management system that manages parking lots using a computer via a touch panel. This parking lot management system also manages vehicle entry and exit, fees, parking status, customer information, and advertising. Parking lots also include monthly parking lots, which require various management tasks such as managing contracts for each parking lot section, managing renovations and construction work on parking lots, and reassigning each section used by users (moving sections) due to renovations and construction work. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-325628 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when transferring a parcel that becomes unusable due to construction or other reasons to another parcel, it is necessary to manage the construction schedule, manage parcels in use (under contract), and search for unused (vacant) parcels. Furthermore, when transferring parcels, it is necessary to consider the circumstances of the parcel users and individual circumstances other than the information managed for each parking lot and each parcel. Transferring parcels often requires manual judgment that takes into account various circumstances, making automation difficult. Therefore, there was a need for support to facilitate the transfer of parcels, which requires manual judgment.

[0005] To easily reassign a section even when a section becomes unusable due to construction or the like. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, one embodiment of the present invention provides a parking lot management system that manages parking lots having partitions, and includes a display unit, a selection unit that accepts an operation to select one of the displayed objects from among the displayed objects on the display unit, a memory unit that stores management information having partition information including a partition ID that identifies the partition and affiliation information indicating which parking lot the partition belongs to, schedule information that includes information when the partition will not be available for use, vacancy information that indicates whether the partition is under contract, user information that is information about the contracted user, and parking lot information including a parking lot ID that individually identifies the parking lot, a source partition selection unit that selects a source partition that is the partition that needs to be transferred, an empty partition search unit that extracts empty partitions that are unused partitions based on the management information, and a candidate display control unit that causes the display unit to display the unused partitions as one or more candidate partitions that are candidates for transferring from the source partition, and the selection unit accepts an operation to select a destination partition that is the partition to be transferred from among the displayed candidate partitions.

[0007] The transfer of sections must be carried out taking into consideration the individual circumstances of each case, and it is often difficult to do it simply, for example automatically.The above configuration makes it possible to easily display a screen (section transfer support screen) that supports section transfer operations, listing candidate sections that are candidates for the section to which the source section will be transferred based on management information.As a result, since the candidate sections that can be moved are listed mechanically, the worker (administrator) can easily transfer sections by simply selecting a destination section from the listed candidate sections, taking into consideration various circumstances.

[0008] The system may further include an unavailable receiving unit that receives information indicating a schedule when the partition will be unavailable for use, and a schedule reflecting unit that reflects the information received by the unavailable receiving unit in the schedule information of the management information, and the source partition selection unit may select the partition in which the schedule information has been reflected by the schedule reflecting unit as the source partition.

[0009] Information about the unavailability of a partition comes from various information sources, and management information is updated based on this information. With the above configuration, when updating (reflecting or creating) schedule information, the worker (manager) can then perform the task of reassigning the partition that will become unusable (the partition from which the partition will be moved). Therefore, while efficiently performing the reassignment task, the worker can easily reassign the partition using the partition transfer support screen.

[0010] The system may further include a source partition extraction unit that extracts the partitions that need to be transferred based on the management information, and a source partition display control unit that lists the extracted partitions on the display unit, wherein the selection unit accepts a selection operation for one of the listed partitions, and the source partition selection unit sets the selected partition as the source partition.

[0011] According to the above configuration, the partitions (source partitions) that need to be transferred can be easily extracted based on the management information and listed on the display unit. Therefore, the worker can use the partition transfer support screen to select the source partition from the partitions listed on the display unit and easily transfer the partition to the selected source partition.

[0012] In addition, the source partition extraction unit may list the parking lots on the display unit, the selection unit may accept an operation to select a parking lot to which the partition will be transferred from the parking lots listed on the display unit, the source partition extraction unit may display one or more of the partitions existing in the selected parking lot on the display unit, the selection unit may accept an operation to select the partition to which the partition will be transferred from the partitions displayed on the display unit, and the source partition extraction unit may extract the partition selected by the selection unit as the source partition.

[0013] With this configuration, if there are multiple sections that need to be transferred and they span multiple parking lots, the section transfer process can be started by first selecting a parking lot and then selecting the source section in that parking lot. As a result, even if there are many sections that need to be transferred, the source section can be selected one by one in order to perform the transfer process, making it easier to transfer sections.

[0014] The system may further comprise an information change unit that replaces the user information of the destination partition with the user information of the source partition and rewrites the management information so that the source partition cannot be used.

[0015] With this configuration, when a destination partition is selected using the partition transfer support screen, the management information for the source partition and the destination partition can be automatically updated. Specifically, the management information is automatically changed to prohibit the source partition from being used (contracted), and the user information in the management information is automatically changed from the user of the destination partition to the user of the source partition. As a result, partition transfer can be performed more easily.

[0016] The system may further include a priority determination unit that determines the priority of the candidate sections based on the management information, and the candidate display control unit may display the candidate sections in descending order of priority.

[0017] With this configuration, an appropriate destination section can be easily selected, and the section can be easily relocated.

[0018] In addition, the candidate display control unit may list the parking lots having the candidate sections on the display unit, the selection unit may accept a selection operation for one of the parking lots listed on the display unit, the candidate display control unit may list the candidate sections having the selected parking lot on the display unit, and the selection unit may accept a selection operation for the destination section by selecting one of the candidate sections listed on the display unit.

[0019] With this configuration, the worker can select a destination parking lot from the listed parking lots while taking various circumstances into consideration, and then select a destination section from the candidate sections of the selected parking lot. This allows the worker to use the section transfer support screen to select from parking lots to sections in stages while taking various circumstances into consideration, making it easy to transfer sections.

[0020] In addition, the management information may include location information of the parking lots, and the candidate display control unit may display a map on the display unit and display the locations of the listed parking lots on the map based on the location information.

[0021] When transferring a parking space, it is not always appropriate to simply transfer to a parking space that is close in a straight line, but it may be appropriate to consider the surrounding conditions of the parking space, etc. With the above configuration, it is possible to easily select a parking space and transfer to a parking space by taking into consideration various circumstances such as the surrounding conditions of the parking space.

[0022] The system may further include a priority determination unit that determines the priority of the candidate sections based on the management information, and the priority determination unit may calculate the straight-line distance from the parking lot having the source section to the parking lots having each of the candidate sections based on the location information, and determine the priority so that the priority of the parking lot having the candidate section with the shorter straight-line distance is higher.

[0023] With this configuration, it is possible to easily select a destination partition that is located as close as possible to the source partition, and to easily transfer partitions.

[0024] In addition, the priority determination unit may derive the number of vacant sections in the parking lot that has the candidate section from the management information, and determine the priority so that the candidate section in the parking lot with a large number of vacant sections has a higher priority.

[0025] With this configuration, by providing destination parking spaces in parking lots with many vacant spaces, the utilization rate of the parking lot can be improved. Also, even when multiple spaces need to be transferred from one parking lot, it is easy to find a destination parking lot with many vacant spaces, and multiple spaces can be easily transferred to the same parking lot at once.

[0026] In addition, the partition information may further include usage conditions, which are conditions for vehicles that can be used in the partition, and the candidate display control unit may display only candidate partitions that have the same usage conditions as the partition that is scheduled to become unavailable based on the management information.

[0027] Parking spaces may have usage conditions. For example, each space may be divided into spaces for large vehicles or smaller, medium-sized vehicles or smaller, small vehicles, etc., depending on the size of the vehicle that can be parked. Even if a space in which a large vehicle is parked is reassigned to a space for medium-sized vehicles or smaller or a space for small vehicles, the large vehicle that was parked in the original space cannot be parked in the new space.

[0028] According to the above configuration, candidate sections can be extracted and selected taking into consideration the section usage conditions, so that the section can be easily reassigned and the vehicle can be parked in the destination section after the reassignment. Note that the usage conditions do not have to be the same for the candidate section and the source section, and the usage conditions for the candidate section may be stricter than the usage conditions for the source section.

[0029] The facility may also include a contract management system that manages the parking lot and generates the management information, and an information communication unit that acquires the management information from the contract management system and stores it in the memory unit.

[0030] With this configuration, management information can be easily acquired and partitions can be easily reassigned.

[0031] The storage device may further include a partition input unit that accepts an operation to newly add the unused partition to the management information.

[0032] With this configuration, it is possible to add management information for parking lots that are not managed by the management information to the management information, and it becomes possible to use parking lots that are not managed as destination parking lots. As a result, it is possible to search and increase the number of candidate parking lots from a wide range, making it easy to transfer parking lots.

[0033] In addition, the user information may include the user's contact information, and the system may further include a notification unit that automatically notifies the contact information of the user of the section that is scheduled to become unavailable of information about the selected section to be transferred.

[0034] With this configuration, it is possible to easily reassign the section, and to quickly notify the user that the section has been moved and where it has been moved to.

[0035] The schedule information may also be information indicating that the section will be unavailable due to construction work.

[0036] With this configuration, even for sections that become unusable due to construction work, the section transfer support screen can be used to easily reassign sections while taking into consideration various circumstances. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0037] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a parking lot. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a server that manages a parking lot. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration for reassigning a section. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a parking lot management system. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of management information. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow of a section reassignment operation. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a section movement support screen. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a parking lot movement support screen that lists parking lots in order of priority. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0038] [Parking lot management] First, the management of the parking lot P will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0039] As shown in Figure 1, the parking lot P has several parking spaces PA (parking spaces), and each parking space PA is rented out to users. Parking spaces PA are rented out for regular use such as monthly rentals or for temporary use such as hourly rentals.

[0040] The manager M performs various management tasks for the parking lot P. For example, the manager M manages the usage status (vacancy status) of each section PA of the parking lot P, manages users, manages the receipt of fees, manages various tasks performed on the parking lot P, and manages the progress (schedule) of tasks, etc.

[0041] Usage status refers to whether each parking space PA is available or in use (under contract), and if in use, whether it is for regular use or temporary rental. User management involves managing who is using (contracting) the parking space PA. Fee receipt management involves managing the usage fees for each parking space PA and managing whether or not they have been received. Work management involves managing whether or not there are any events (work) such as construction work being carried out on the parking space P, and the details of those events. Schedule management involves managing who will do what work and when.

[0042] As shown in Figure 2, management of such parking lots P is performed by a server 1, and an administrator M accesses the server 1 via a client terminal 2 to perform processing to manage the parking lot P. The server 1 and the client terminal 2 communicate data with each other via the Internet or the like. The server 1 and the client terminal 2 each include a processor (computer) such as a CPU, and each functional block is controlled by the processor.

[0043] The server 1 includes a parking lot management system 4, a contract management system 7, and an hourly rental management system 8. The parking lot management system 4, the contract management system 7, and the hourly rental management system 8 manage the parking lot P based on management information 5, which will be described later. The client terminal 2 may be configured to be able to perform data communication directly with the parking lot management system 4, the contract management system 7, or the hourly rental management system 8 via the server 1.

[0044] Furthermore, information about each parking lot P (such as the contents of the management information 5) can be confirmed at the parking lot P (on-site) using a mobile terminal Tr or the like. For example, a code or the like unique to each parking lot P is displayed at each parking lot P, and the manager M or the like can read the information about that parking lot P on-site by reading the code or the like with a mobile terminal Tr. Alternatively, the manager M can read the information about the parking lot P on-site by inputting identification information unique to the parking lot P into the mobile terminal Tr.

[0045] The parking lot management system 4 performs various management operations related to parking lots P managed by a specific manager M. The parking lot management system 4 manages parking lots P based on management information 5, which may be generated and updated via the client terminal 2, or may be obtained from the contract management system 7 or another system.

[0046] The contract management system 7 manages usage contracts for each section PA of the parking lot P. Specifically, the contract management system 7 solicits monthly contracts (fixed-term contracts) for vacant parking lots (vacant sections PB (see Figure 3)), accepts applications for use from users, automatically carries out and assists with contract procedures, collects and manages fees, etc. At this time, the contract management system 7 generates, updates, and stores management information 5.

[0047] The hourly rental management system 8 manages hourly rentals for vacant spaces PB (unused and uncontracted spaces PA). Specifically, the hourly rental management system 8 solicits temporary rentals for uncontracted spaces PA and unused time slots of contracted spaces PA, accepts applications and reservations from users, and collects and manages fees. At this time, the hourly rental management system 8 generates, updates, and stores management information 5.

[0048] [Plot transfer] Next, a configuration for reassigning (moving) a section PA will be described with reference to Fig. 3. In the following description, a configuration for reassigning a section PA in accordance with scheduled construction work on a parking lot P will be described as an example, but the reassignment of a section PA may also be performed in accordance with any scheduled time when the section PA will become unavailable.

[0049] Suppose construction work is planned for some of the sections PA in a certain parking lot P1, and use of those sections PA will be prohibited during the planned construction period. The sections PA whose use is prohibited will be designated as the source sections PP. In other words, the source sections PP are the sections PA that need to be transferred.

[0050] If there is a monthly contract user (mobile user 10 (see Figure 7)) in such an area PA (source area PP) where use is prohibited, it is necessary to have the mobile user 10 use another area PA during the planned construction period. In other words, if there is an unused area PA (empty area PB) (without a monthly contract) in the same parking lot P1 or another parking lot P2, it is necessary to perform an area PA reassignment work to manage the area PA so that the mobile user 10 in the source area PP can use the empty area PB. The area PA reassignment work is the work of transferring the area PA that the mobile user 10 will use during the unavailable period from the source area PP to the destination area PN. In other words, the destination area PN is the area PA that can be viewed from the source area PP, and is the area PA that has been reassigned for use by the mobile user 10 who used the source area PP during the construction period.

[0051] [Parking lot management system] Due to scheduled construction or other reasons that will make the section PA unavailable, the reassignment of the section PA for the scheduled period is carried out by referring to the management information 5 stored in the parking lot management system 4. The reassignment of the section PA must be carried out taking into consideration various circumstances, making it difficult to automate. In this embodiment, support for the reassignment of the section PA is provided while automatically collecting predetermined information based on the management information 5. Specifically, the parking lot management system 4 displays a section transfer support screen 40 (see FIG. 7) on the client terminal 2 operated by the manager M based on the management information 5, and the manager M operates the section transfer support screen 40 while taking into consideration various circumstances to carry out the reassignment of the section PA. Note that the section transfer support screen 40 is not limited to being displayed on the client terminal 2, but may also be displayed on any terminal that the manager M can operate.

[0052] Next, referring to Figures 2 and 3, and also using Figures 4 and 5, we will explain the parking lot management system 4 that performs the work of transferring a section PA to a section PA that is scheduled to become unavailable due to construction. The transfer work is performed by the manager M, who refers to the section transfer support screen 40 displayed on the display unit 11 of the client terminal 2 and operates it while taking into consideration various circumstances. The section transfer support screen 40 is displayed and operated by the following functional blocks of the parking lot management system 4 or an application installed in the parking lot management system 4.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 4, the client terminal 2 includes a display unit 11 and a selection unit 12. The display unit 11 is a device that displays predetermined content, and is a display, a touch panel, or the like. The selection unit 12 accepts an operation to select one display object from among the display objects displayed on the display unit 11. The selection unit 12 may be a physical switch, but if the display unit 11 is a touch panel, at least a part of the selection unit 12 may be a software switch displayed on the display unit 11.

[0054] The parking lot management system 4 also includes an information communication unit 15, an unavailable receiving unit 17, a schedule reflecting unit 18, a source section selection unit 21, an empty section search unit 23, a candidate display control unit 24, an information changing unit 26, and a memory unit 27.

[0055] The information communication unit 15 communicates with the client terminal 2 and at least one of various devices inside and outside the server 1. The unusable receiving unit 17 receives information indicating a schedule of construction work or the like that will make the section PA unusable, obtained via the information communication unit 15 or by any other means. The schedule reflecting unit 18 reflects the information received by the unusable receiving unit 17 in the management information 5.

[0056] The source partition selection unit 21 extracts partitions PA that need to be relocated based on the management information 5. The empty partition search unit 23 extracts empty partitions PB, which are unused partitions PA, based on the management information 5.

[0057] The candidate display control unit 24 displays one or more candidate sections PR (see FIG. 7) on the display unit 11. A candidate section PR is an unused section PA (empty section PB) that is a candidate section PA (empty section PB) to be transferred from the source section PP. The information change unit 26 is a functional block that creates and changes (updates) the management information 5, and, for example, replaces a user of the destination section PN with a user requiring transfer 10 of the source section PP. The memory unit 27 stores various information such as the management information 5.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 5, the management information 5 includes parking lot information 31, section information 32, user information 34, schedule information 35, and vacancy information 37.

[0059] Parking lot information 31 is information about each parking lot P managed by the administrator M, and includes a parking lot ID 31i that individually identifies the parking lot P. Section information 32 is information about each section PA of the parking lot P managed by the administrator M, and includes a section ID 32i that identifies the section PA and affiliation information 32p that indicates to which parking lot P the section PA belongs.

[0060] User information 34 is provided for each section PA and is information about users who have signed a contract to use the section PA. Schedule information 35 is provided for each section PA and is information indicating scheduled construction or other events that will cause the section PA to be unavailable. Vacancy information 37 is provided for each section PA and indicates whether the section PA is under contract. Note that schedule information 35 is information indicating when the section PA will be unavailable due to construction, but it may also be information indicating when the section PA will be unavailable due to any schedule, not limited to construction.

[0061] [Plot reassignment work] Next, the section reassignment work will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0062] First, the unusable receiving unit 17 receives information indicating that the use of a section PA will be unavailable due to construction or the like, and information on which section PA will be unavailable (step #1 in FIG. 6). This information may be received via the information communication unit 15, or may be received by email, paper document, or the like.

[0063] Next, the schedule reflecting unit 18 changes (updates) the management information 5 based on the received information (step #2 in FIG. 6). Specifically, based on the received information, the schedule reflecting unit 18 inputs the schedule, such as the details of the construction work and the period of the construction work, into the schedule information 35 corresponding to the section PA that will become unavailable. At this time, the user of the section PA for which the schedule information 35 has been input becomes the movement-required user 10 who will need to be relocated (moved) to the section PA. The schedule reflecting unit 18 may automatically input the schedule information 35 based on the received information, or the manager M may manually input the schedule information 35 via the schedule reflecting unit 18.

[0064] In this way, with the management information 5 changed in accordance with the construction schedule (the schedule for the section PA to become unavailable), the relocation (movement) work for the section PA that will become unavailable due to the construction is carried out as follows.

[0065] First, the source partition selection unit 21 selects one or more source partitions PP that are partitions PA that need to be relocated (step #3 in FIG. 6). As described above, the partition PA into which the schedule information 35 has been input by the schedule reflection unit 18 corresponds to the source partition PP. Therefore, when the schedule information 35 is changed (reflected) by the schedule reflection unit 18, the source partition selection unit 21 selects one or more partitions PA into which the schedule information 35 has been input as the source partitions PP following input of the schedule information 35 by the schedule reflection unit 18, and starts the relocation work of the partitions PA. In other words, the source partition selection unit 21 selects the partition PA into which the schedule information 35 has been reflected (input) by the schedule reflection unit 18 as the source partition PP. At this time, the source partition selection unit 21 stores in the memory unit 27 the migration-requiring users 10 who are using the selected source partition PP.

[0066] Next, the empty section search unit 23 checks the vacancy information 37 in the management information 5 corresponding to each section PA to extract an empty section PB, which is an unused section PA. That is, the empty section search unit 23 picks out a section PA that is found to be unused in the vacancy information 37 as an empty section PB (step #4 in FIG. 6). The extracted empty section PB is stored in the memory unit 27 as a candidate section PR.

[0067] Next, the candidate display control unit 24 causes the display unit 11 to display a section transfer support screen 40 as shown in Fig. 7 (step #5 in Fig. 6). The section transfer support screen 40 is a screen for supporting the reassignment of sections PA, and in this case, it is a screen on which the extracted empty sections PB are displayed as candidate sections PR. In other words, the candidate display control unit 24 causes the display unit 11 to display, as the section transfer support screen 40, one or more candidate sections PR that are candidates for reassigning the unused section PA (empty section PB) from the source section PP.

[0068] Next, the administrator M selects the destination partition PN from the candidate partitions PR displayed on the partition transfer support screen 40 (step #6 in FIG. 6). In other words, the administrator M selects the partition PA to be used by the transfer-requiring user 10 of the partition PA (source partition PP) that will become unavailable from the candidate partitions PR displayed on the partition transfer support screen 40.

[0069] Specifically, the administrator M uses the selection unit 12 to select a candidate section PR to be the destination section PN from the candidate sections PR listed on the section transfer support screen 40 displayed on the display unit 11 of the client terminal 2. In other words, the selection unit 12 accepts a selection operation of the destination section PN, which is the section PA to be transferred, from the displayed candidate sections PR.

[0070] For example, a pull-down menu 42 corresponding to the candidate section PR is displayed on the section movement support screen 40 as the selection unit 12. When the pull-down menu 42 is selected, the movement-requiring users 10 of the source section PP that need to be transferred are read from the storage unit 27 and listed.

[0071] Then, the administrator M selects the pull-down menu 42 of the candidate area PR that will be the destination area PN, and selects one of the listed users 10 who require travel, thereby selecting the destination area PN that is located back from the source area PP used by the selected user 10 who requires travel.

[0072] In this way, the partition transfer support screen 40 is displayed based on the management information 5, and the manager M can check the information of the source partition PP and candidate partitions PR while looking at the partition transfer support screen 40, and select a destination partition PN from the candidate partitions PR after taking other circumstances into consideration. The partition transfer support screen 40 takes into consideration the information of the source partition PP and candidate partitions PR, and can also list multiple candidate partitions PR, so the partition transfer support screen 40 can provide information that can assist the manager M in easily selecting a destination partition PN. As a result, the manager M can easily transfer the partition PA by simply selecting a destination partition PN from the candidate partitions PR listed on the partition transfer support screen 40 after taking various circumstances into consideration.

[0073] When the destination partition PN is selected, the management information 5 is updated (step #7 in FIG. 6). Specifically, the information change unit 26 updates the user in the user information 34 corresponding to the destination partition PN in the management information 5 to the movement-requiring user 10 in order to replace the user of the destination partition PN with the movement-requiring user 10 of the source partition PP. Furthermore, the information change unit 26 rewrites the management information 5 so that the source partition PP cannot be used.

[0074] Thereafter, the movement-requiring user 10 to whom the section PA has been transferred may be notified that the section PA has been transferred, the destination section PN, etc. (step #8 in FIG. 6).

[0075] For example, the parking lot management system 4 further includes a notification unit 52, and the user information 34 in the management information 5 includes contact information 34a for each user. When the transfer of an area PA is performed, the notification unit 52 reads the contact information 34a of the user of the source area PP from the user information 34 in the management information 5, and automatically notifies the contact information 34a (user 10 requiring transfer) of information related to the transfer of the area PA. The information related to the transfer of the area PA includes at least information related to the destination area PN, and may be combined with any information such as a notification indicating that the area PA has been transferred and the period for which the transfer will be performed. Note that if the user information 34 does not include the contact information 34a, only the content of the notification may be automatically generated, and the notification may be performed by operation of the administrator M.

[0076] [Another embodiment] (1) In the above embodiment, a configuration may be adopted in which a transfer operation is performed on the section PA for which the schedule information 35 is input each time the schedule information 35 is input, but a section PA (source section PP) that needs to be transferred may be extracted and further selected based on the management information 5, and the transfer operation may be performed on the selected source section PP. This allows the transfer operation to be performed efficiently at any timing, for example, by performing the transfer operations on multiple source sections PP consecutively at the same timing.

[0077] For example, the parking lot management system 4 further includes a source section extraction unit 45 and a source section display control unit 46. As a process of selecting a section PA that needs to be transferred (source section PP), first, the source section extraction unit 45 extracts the section PA that needs to be transferred based on the schedule information 35 of the management information 5. Next, the source section display control unit 46 causes the display unit 11 to list the extracted section PA as a section transfer support screen 40. In this state, the selection unit 12 accepts a selection operation to select one section PA from the listed sections PA, and the source section selection unit 21 sets the selected section PA as the source section PP.

[0078] In this way, based on the management information 5, the sections PA that need to be automatically transferred are extracted and listed on the section transfer support screen 40, and the manager M can select the source section PP simply by selecting from the displayed sections PA. Therefore, the source section PP can be easily selected, and the work of transferring the section PA can be easily performed.

[0079] In this case, the source section extraction unit 45 may list the parking lots P having the section PA that needs to be transferred on the display unit 11, select a parking lot P, and then select the section PA that needs to be transferred as the source section PP from the sections PA that the selected parking lot P has. This makes it easier to select the source section PP, and facilitates the work of transferring the section PA.

[0080] For example, first, the source section extraction unit 45 lists the parking lots P having the section PA that needs to be transferred on the display unit 11 as a section transfer support screen 40. The selection unit 12 accepts an operation to select a parking lot P to which the section PA is to be transferred from the parking lots P listed on the display unit 11 (section transfer support screen 40). Next, the source section extraction unit 45 displays one or more section PAs existing in the selected parking lot P on the display unit 11 as a section transfer support screen 40. Then, the selection unit 12 accepts an operation to select a section PA for which the transfer work will be performed from the section PAs displayed on the display unit 11 (section transfer support screen 40). Then, the source section extraction unit 45 extracts the section PA selected by the selection unit 12 as the source section PP. At this time, the section PAs displayed on the section transfer support screen 40 may be all section PAs owned by the selected parking lot P, or only the section PA that needs to be transferred may be displayed.

[0081] (2) In each of the above-mentioned other embodiments, a candidate section PR selected from the candidate sections PR displayed on the display unit 11 may be set as the destination section PN, but the selection of the destination section PN may also be configured to select a parking lot P and then select the destination section PN from the sections PA that the selected parking lot P has.

[0082] For example, first, the candidate display control unit 24 causes the display unit 11 to list parking lots P having candidate sections PR as a section transfer support screen 40. Next, the selection unit 12 accepts a selection operation for one of the parking lots P listed on the display unit 11 (section transfer support screen 40). Next, the candidate display control unit 24 causes the display unit 11 to list the candidate sections PR of the selected parking lot P as a section transfer support screen 40. Then, the selection unit 12 accepts a selection operation for a destination section PN by selecting one of the candidate sections PR listed on the display unit 11 (section transfer support screen 40).

[0083] (3) In each of the above other embodiments, the section movement support screen 40 on which the parking lot P or the candidate section PR is displayed may display a map 48 as shown in FIG. 7, and the position PPm of the parking lot P including the source section PP or the position of the candidate section PR may be displayed at the corresponding position on the map 48, and the candidate sections PR may be listed together with the position PPm of the parking lot P displayed on this map 48.

[0084] For example, the management information 5 includes location information 31p of the parking lot P, and the candidate display control unit 24 displays the locations PPm of the parking lots P listed on the map 48 of the section transfer support screen 40 based on the location information 31p, as shown in Figure 7. In this state, when the manager M selects one parking lot P via the selection unit 12, the candidate display control unit 24 causes the section transfer support screen 40 to list the candidate sections PR of the selected parking lot P and display a pull-down menu 42 corresponding to the candidate sections PR. Note that usage conditions 32c (see Figure 5) may be displayed in association with the listed candidate sections PR.

[0085] Specifically, the section information 32 further includes usage conditions 32c, which are conditions for vehicles that can be used in the section PA. The usage conditions 32c are, for example, the upper limit on the size of vehicles that can be parked in the section PA, and more specifically, conditions that allow large vehicles to be parked, restrictions that allow vehicles of medium size or smaller to be parked, restrictions that allow vehicles of standard size or smaller to be parked, and conditions (restrictions) that the section is exclusively for light vehicles. Therefore, a section PA that has a condition (usage conditions 32c) that allows large vehicles to be parked also includes medium-sized and small vehicles, and therefore medium-sized and small vehicles can be parked there.

[0086] The administrator M selects one of the candidate areas PR while taking into consideration various circumstances such as the conditions of use 32c and geographical conditions, and then selects the pull-down menu 42 corresponding to the selected candidate area PR via the selection unit 12.Furthermore, by selecting one of the users 10 requiring travel displayed in the pull-down menu 42, the administrator M can select the destination area PN to which the source area PP being used by the user 10 requiring travel will be transferred.

[0087] This allows the transfer source section PP used by the transfer-requiring user 10 to be transferred to the destination section PN simply by selecting the parking lot P and the destination section PN in that order from the section transfer support screen 40 and then selecting the transfer-requiring user 10 from the pull-down menu 42. As a result, the section PA transfer operation can be easily performed.

[0088] (4) In each of the above-described other embodiments, the parking lots P and candidate sections PR displayed on the section transfer support screen 40 may be listed (displayed) in any order, but at least one of them may be displayed (listed) in order of a predetermined priority 54. Specifically, the parking lot management system 4 further includes a priority determination unit 51. The priority determination unit 51 determines the priority 54 of the parking lot P or the candidate section PR based on the management information 5, and stores it in the memory unit 27 in association with the parking lot P or the section PA (candidate section PR). Then, the candidate display control unit 24 displays the parking lots P or the candidate sections PR in order of highest priority 54.

[0089] Since the parking lots P or candidate sections PR are displayed in order of priority 54 on the section transfer support screen 40, the manager M can easily select the parking lot P or candidate section PR and perform the section PA transfer operation.

[0090] The priority 54 can be determined, for example, based on the distance from the position PPm of the parking lot P having the source section PP to the position RPm of the parking lot P having the candidate section PR.

[0091] In this case, the parking lot information 31 further includes location information 31p of the parking lot P. The location information 31p is information indicating the location of the parking lot P, such as map coordinates relative to a predetermined reference. Furthermore, based on the location information 31p, the priority determination unit 51 calculates a straight-line distance 55 from the location PPm of the parking lot P having the source section PP to the location RPm of the parking lot P having each candidate section PR, and determines the priority 54 so that the priority 54 of the parking lot P having the candidate section PR with the shorter straight-line distance 55 is higher. Note that the priority determination unit 51 stores the straight-line distance 55 in the memory unit 27 in association with the parking lot P or the candidate section PR. Note that the priority 54 is not limited to the straight-line distance 55, and may be the Manhattan distance between the parking lot P having the source section PP and the parking lot P having the candidate section PR, or may be determined based on a distance calculated by any method.

[0092] 8, the section transfer support screen 40 displays a map 48 and a list of parking lots P having candidate sections PR arranged in order of priority 54 along with their straight-line distances 55. The map 48 displays the position PPm of the parking lot P having the source section PP at the center, and the positions RPm of parking lots P having candidate sections PR around it.

[0093] The manager M selects one parking lot P via the selection unit 12 from the section movement support screen 40 on which parking lots P are listed, referring to the priority order 54. When a parking lot P is selected, the candidate display control unit 24 lists the candidate sections PR of the selected parking lot P on the section movement support screen 40. The listed candidate sections PR may be arranged in a predetermined order of priority order 54.

[0094] The map 48 in Figures 7 and 8 can be configured to display parking lots P having candidate sections PR that are located within the display range of the map 48, and the map 48 can be configured to be able to be enlarged or reduced in scale. Then, parking lots P having destination sections PN that are located within the display range of the enlarged or reduced map 48 are displayed. The map 48 may also have a scrolling function, and can be configured to display parking lots P having candidate sections PR that are located within the scrolled range. This allows the manager M to more easily select parking lots P and perform the section PA reassignment work. The operating devices for operating the enlargement, reduction, and scrolling can be provided arbitrarily, and can be, for example, software switches displayed on the display unit 11, which is a touch panel.

[0095] The priority order 54 can also be the distance from the source section PP to the candidate section PR. In this case, the position information 31p is information indicating the position of the section PA. The straight-line distance 55 is the distance from the source section PP to the candidate section PR. The priority order 54 is determined so that the candidate section PR with the shorter straight-line distance 55 from the source section PP to the candidate section PR has a higher priority order 54.

[0096] In this configuration, the candidate display control unit 24 lists the candidate areas PR in order of priority 54 on the area movement support screen 40. The manager M selects one candidate area PR from the area movement support screen 40 on which the candidate areas PR are listed, via the selection unit 12, with reference to the priority 54. For example, if there is no need to take special circumstances into consideration, the manager M can select the candidate area PR with the highest priority 54. This allows the manager M to more easily select a candidate area PR and perform the area PA transfer work.

[0097] The priority determination unit 51 may also be configured to derive the number of vacant sections PB in parking lots P that have candidate sections PR from the management information 5, and determine the priorities 54 so that the priority of candidate sections PR in parking lots P with a greater number of vacant sections PB is higher. For example, the priority determination unit 51 extracts vacant sections PB from the vacancy information 37 in the management information 5, and identifies parking lots P that have vacant sections PB from the affiliation information 32p of the section information 32 of the extracted vacant sections PB. The priority determination unit 51 then detects the number of vacant sections PB for each parking lot P, thereby deriving the number of vacant sections PB that are candidate sections PR in parking lots P that have candidate sections PR.

[0098] By increasing the priority 54 of the candidate section PR of a parking lot P with a large number of vacant sections PB, when transferring a plurality of sections PA from the same parking lot P, the destination section PN can be set to the same parking lot P as much as possible, and when a corporation or the like uses a plurality of sections PA, the user can easily select a section PA that is convenient for the user and transfer the section.

[0099] (5) In each of the above other embodiments, the candidate partitions PR displayed on the partition movement support screen 40 may be a list (display) of all empty partitions PB, or only candidate partitions PR with the same conditions as the source partition PP may be displayed, or only candidate partitions PR with conditions that include the conditions of the source partition PP may be displayed.

[0100] That is, based on the management information 5, the candidate display control unit 24 displays only candidate sections PR where a vehicle parked in the section PA (source section PP) that is scheduled to become unavailable can park on the section movement support screen 40 of the display unit 11. Specifically, the candidate display control unit 24 checks the use conditions 32c of the source section PP from the use conditions 32c contained in the section information 32 of the management information 5, extracts only candidate sections PR that have the same or included use conditions 32c from among the candidate sections PR, and displays them on the section movement support screen 40 of the display unit 11.

[0101] The size of the section PA varies, and the size of the vehicle that can be parked may be limited (use conditions 32c). In addition, conditions for the vehicles that can be parked in the section PA may be set as use conditions 32c for various reasons. Vehicles that do not meet the use conditions 32c cannot be parked in the section PA.

[0102] As described above, since sections PA having use conditions 32c that at least include the use conditions 32c of the source section PP are extracted as candidate sections PR, the reassignment work of the sections PA can be performed with high accuracy.

[0103] (6) In each of the above-described other embodiments, the server 1 may be configured to include the parking lot management system 4 together with the contract management system 7 and the hourly rental management system 8, or may be configured to include only the parking lot management system 4, or may be configured to include either the contract management system 7 or the hourly rental management system 8 together with the parking lot management system 4. This allows the configuration of the server 1 including the parking lot management system 4 to be configured with a high degree of freedom and efficiently according to the situation.

[0104] (7) In each of the above-described other embodiments, the management information 5 may be obtained from any system, or may be directly input to the parking lot management system 4.

[0105] For example, the parking lot management system 4 acquires management information 5 from the contract management system 7 via the information communication unit 15 and stores it in the memory unit 27. The contract management system 7 manages the contracts for each section PA and generates the management information 5. Therefore, by acquiring the generated management information 5 from the contract management system 7, the management information 5 can be easily acquired, and the section PA transfer work can be easily performed.

[0106] The parking lot management system 4 may also be configured to be able to input new management information 5. Specifically, the parking lot management system 4 further includes a partition input unit 57. The partition input unit 57 accepts an operation to add a new unused partition PA to the management information 5. More specifically, the partition input unit 57 may be provided in the client terminal 2, and the parking lot management system 4 may acquire the management information 5 input via the partition input unit 57 in the client terminal 2 via the information communication unit 15 and store it in the memory unit 27.

[0107] For parking lots P (areas PA) managed by the manager M himself, the management information 5 is input (generated) in the contract management system 7 in accordance with the contract, and is available to the manager M, who can use it to transfer areas PA. However, for parking lots P (areas PA) managed by others, it is generally difficult for the manager M to obtain the management information 5, and it cannot be used to transfer areas PA.

[0108] By providing a section input unit 57 and configuring it so that management information 5 can be newly input, sections PA of parking lots P that are not managed by the manager M can be added to the candidate sections PR by inputting the management information 5. This makes it possible to select a destination section PN from a larger number of candidate sections PR, enabling the travel-requiring user 10 to select a more convenient destination section PN. As a result, it is possible to easily transfer sections PA and select a more appropriate destination section PN.

[0109] (8) In each of the above-described embodiments, the management information 5 is not limited to the above-described divided information, and may be organized into a database in any configuration as long as it includes the contents of the above information. In other words, the contents of one piece of information may be included in another piece of information, or conversely, one piece of information may be further subdivided.

[0110] (9) In each of the above embodiments, the parking lot management system 4 and the client terminal 2 are not limited to those configured with the functional blocks shown in FIG. 1 and may be configured with any functional blocks. For example, the functional blocks of the parking lot management system 4 and the client terminal 2 may be further subdivided, or conversely, some or all of the functional blocks may be combined. Furthermore, the functions of the parking lot management system 4 and the client terminal 2 are not limited to the functional blocks described above, and may be realized by a method executed by any functional block. Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the parking lot management system 4 and the client terminal 2 may be configured with software. A program related to the software is stored in any storage device such as the storage unit 27 and executed by a processor (computer) such as a CPU provided in the parking lot management system 4 and the client terminal 2, or by a processor (computer) provided separately. For example, some or all of the processing of the program may be executed by a processor installed in a device provided separately from the parking lot management system 4 and the client terminal 2. [Industrial Applicability]

[0111] The present invention can be applied to the task of reassigning parking spaces in a parking lot. [Explanation of symbols]

[0112] 2. Client terminal 4. Parking Management System 5 Management information 10 Users who require transportation 11 Display section 12 Selection section 21 Source partition selection section 23 Empty space search unit 24 Candidate display control section 26 Information Change Department 27 Memory section 31 Parking Information 31i Parking ID 31p Location information 32 Plot Information 32c Terms of Use 32i Partition ID 32p Affiliation information 34 User information 34a Contact Information 35 Schedule Information 37 Sky Information 40 Block movement support screen 45 Source partition extraction section 46 Source area display control section 48 Map 51 Priority Determination Unit 52 Notification Department 54 Priority 55 Straight line distance P Parking Lot PA Section PB Empty Partition PN destination partition PP Source Partition PR candidate plot

Claims

1. A parking lot management system that manages parking lots having compartments, A display unit; a selection unit that accepts an operation to select one of the display objects displayed on the display unit; a storage unit that stores management information having parking lot information including a parking lot ID that individually identifies the parking lot, parking lot information including a parking lot ID that individually identifies the parking lot, parking lot information including a parking lot ID that individually identifies the parking lot, schedule information that includes information about when the parking lot will be unavailable, vacancy information that indicates whether the parking lot is under contract, user information that is information about users who have made a contract, and parking lot information including a parking lot ID that individually identifies the parking lot; a source partition selection unit for selecting a source partition that is the partition that needs to be transferred; an empty section search unit that extracts an empty section that is an unused section based on the management information; a candidate display control unit that causes the display unit to display the unused section as one or more candidate sections that are candidates for transfer from the source section, The selection unit is a parking lot management system that accepts a selection operation of a destination section, which is the section to be transferred, from among the displayed candidate sections.

2. an unusable receiving unit that receives information indicating that the section will be unavailable for use; a schedule reflecting unit that reflects the information received by the unusable receiving unit in the schedule information of the management information, The parking lot management system according to claim 1 , wherein the source section selection unit selects the section in which the schedule information has been reflected by the schedule reflection unit as the source section.

3. a source partition extraction unit that extracts the partitions that need to be transferred based on the management information; a source partition display control unit that causes the display unit to list the extracted partitions, the selection unit accepts a selection operation of one of the enumerated sections; The parking lot management system according to claim 1 , wherein the source section selection unit sets the selected section as the source section.

4. the source section extraction unit causes the display unit to list the parking lots; the selection unit accepts an operation to select a parking lot to which the section is to be transferred from the parking lots listed on the display unit; the source section extraction unit causes the display unit to display one or more sections that exist in the selected parking lot; the selection unit accepts an operation to select the partition to be transferred from the partitions displayed on the display unit; The parking lot management system according to claim 3 , wherein the source section extraction unit extracts the section selected by the selection unit as the source section.

5. The parking lot management system described in claim 1 further comprises an information change unit that replaces the user information of the destination section with the user information of the source section and rewrites the management information so that the source section cannot be used.

6. a priority determination unit that determines the priority of the candidate sections based on the management information; The parking lot management system according to claim 1 , wherein the candidate display control unit displays the candidate sections in descending order of priority.

7. the candidate display control unit causes the display unit to list the parking lots having the candidate sections; The selection unit accepts a selection operation for one of the parking lots listed on the display unit, the candidate display control unit causes the display unit to list the candidate sections of the selected parking lot; The parking lot management system according to claim 1 , wherein the selection unit accepts a selection operation of the destination section by selecting one of the candidate sections listed on the display unit.

8. The management information includes location information of the parking lot, The parking lot management system according to claim 7 , wherein the candidate display control unit causes a map to be displayed on the display unit, and causes the positions of the listed parking lots to be displayed on the map based on the location information.

9. a priority determination unit that determines the priority of the candidate sections based on the management information; The parking lot management system of claim 8, wherein the priority determination unit calculates the straight-line distance from the parking lot having the source section to the parking lot having each of the candidate sections based on the location information, and determines the priority so that the priority of the parking lot having the candidate section with the shorter straight-line distance is higher.

10. 7. The parking lot management system according to claim 6, wherein the priority determination unit derives the number of vacant sections in the parking lot having the candidate sections from the management information, and determines the priority so that the candidate sections in the parking lot having a larger number of vacant sections have a higher priority.

11. The section information further includes usage conditions that are conditions for vehicles that can be used in the section; The parking lot management system according to claim 1 , wherein the candidate display control unit displays only the candidate sections that have the same usage conditions as the section that is scheduled to become unavailable based on the management information.

12. a contract management system that manages the parking lot and generates the management information; The parking lot management system according to claim 1, further comprising an information communication unit that acquires the management information from the contract management system and stores it in the memory unit.

13. The parking lot management system according to claim 1 , further comprising a section input unit that accepts an operation to newly add the unused section to the management information.

14. The user information includes the user's contact information, The parking lot management system of claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that automatically notifies the contact information of the user of the section that is scheduled to become unavailable of information about the selected section to be transferred.

15. The parking lot management system according to claim 1 , wherein the schedule information indicates that the section will be unavailable due to construction work.

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