Parking space arbitration device and parking space arbitration method

Abstract

This parking space arbitration device (10) comprises a parking space calculation unit (13a) that calculates parking space candidates for a host vehicle, and an arbitration unit (13b) that performs arbitration by requesting, to other vehicles parked in parking space candidates, movements for securing a parking space for the host vehicle. The parking space calculation unit (13a) calculates, on the basis of at least one among position information, vehicle characteristics, and past arbitration history of the host vehicle and the other vehicles, the time or effort required for the procedure of the movements of the other vehicles and the host vehicle for securing the parking space for the host vehicle or calculates the possibility of agreement of the arbitration, with respect to the parking space candidates. The arbitration unit (13b) preferentially performs the arbitration from a candidate for a parking space that requires less time or effort for the procedure of the movements of the other vehicles and the host vehicle, or from a candidate for a parking space in which the possibility of the agreement of the arbitration is greater.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a parking space arbitration device and a parking space arbitration method. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system that requests the user of a vehicle occupying a parking space within a certain distance from a destination to transfer the parking space (i.e., move from the parking space) on the condition that an economic compensation is paid, and if the request is accepted, the system guides the requesting user to the parking space. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2019-212035 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the technology of Patent Document 1, when there are multiple users to whom a parking space can be transferred, a request is made to the user of the vehicle occupying the parking space closest to the destination. However, the parking space closest to the destination is not necessarily the most reasonable parking space. For example, if the procedure for moving a vehicle to transfer the parking space requires a lot of time or effort, securing a parking space becomes time-consuming and unreasonable.

[0005] Furthermore, it is not reasonable to request a transfer of a parking space where the transfer request is unlikely to be successful.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to enable a parking space arbitration device that requests other vehicles parked in candidate parking spaces to move to secure a parking space for the vehicle to select a more reasonable parking space as a candidate parking space for the vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A parking space arbitration device according to the present disclosure includes a detection unit that acquires position information of the host vehicle, a storage unit that stores vehicle characteristics and past arbitration history of the host vehicle, a communication unit that acquires position information, vehicle characteristics, and past arbitration history of other vehicles parked in the vicinity of the destination of the host vehicle, a parking space calculation unit that calculates candidate parking spaces for the host vehicle, and an arbitration unit that performs arbitration by requesting other vehicles parked in the candidate parking spaces to move to secure a parking space for the host vehicle, and the parking space calculation unit calculates the time or effort required to move the other vehicles and the host vehicle to secure a parking space for the candidate parking space, or the likelihood of arbitration being successful, based on at least one of the position information, vehicle characteristics, and past arbitration history of the host vehicle and the other vehicles, and the arbitration unit prioritizes arbitration for candidate parking spaces that require less time or effort to move the other vehicles and the host vehicle, or candidate parking spaces that are more likely to result in arbitration being successful. The parking space calculation unit calculates the time or effort required to move the other vehicle and the subject vehicle based on at least one of the total movement distance, total number of movements, and total movement time of the other vehicle required to secure a parking space for the subject vehicle, which are calculated based on the position information of the other vehicle, and the distance from the subject vehicle to the parking space and the distance from the parking space to the destination, which are calculated based on the position information of the subject vehicle, and the parking space calculation unit calculates the likelihood of arbitration being established based on at least one of the vehicle characteristics of the other vehicle, which are the elapsed time after parking, the planned parking time, and the vehicle type. do. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the parking space arbitration device of the present disclosure, it is possible to select a more reasonable parking space as a candidate parking space for the vehicle.

[0009] The objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1]1 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of a parking space arbitration device according to an embodiment. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an expanded configuration of a parking space arbitration device according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a parking space arbitration device according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a parking space arbitration process. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a response process to a request signal. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a parking space movement process. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a parking space calculation process. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a simulation of the movement of other vehicles to actually secure a virtual parking space. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a parking situation map. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a parking situation map. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of position setting of a virtual parking space. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of position setting of a virtual parking space. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of position setting of a virtual parking space. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state after another vehicle is temporarily moved by simulation. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state after another vehicle is temporarily moved by simulation. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state after another vehicle is temporarily moved by simulation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the technology according to the present disclosure will be described.

[0012] 1 is a diagram showing the basic configuration of a parking space arbitration device 10 according to this embodiment. The parking space arbitration device 10 mediates between a vehicle currently parked in a parking space and a vehicle wishing to park in that parking space, and performs processing to satisfy the requests of as many vehicles as possible.

[0013] In this embodiment, it is assumed that each of a plurality of vehicles is equipped with a parking space arbitration device 10. Hereinafter, from the perspective of each parking space arbitration device 10, the vehicle equipped with that parking space arbitration device 10 will be referred to as the "own vehicle," and other vehicles (including vehicles equipped with other parking space arbitration devices 10) will be referred to as the "other vehicles." Note that the parking space arbitration device 10 does not need to be permanently installed in the vehicle and may be a device that can be removed from the vehicle. Furthermore, the parking space arbitration device 10 may be implemented on a portable communication terminal such as a mobile phone, smartphone, or PND (Portable Navigation Device) that can operate in conjunction with the vehicle.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, the parking space arbitration device 10 includes at least a detection unit 11, a storage unit 12, a control unit 13, and a communication unit 14.

[0015] The detection unit 11 acquires the position information of the vehicle itself. The storage unit 12 is a storage medium that stores various types of data.

[0016] The storage unit 12 stores temporary information D1, a program D2, a user information database D3, a map information database D4, and a vehicle information database D5. The temporary information D1 is data temporarily used by the parking space arbitration device 10. The temporary information D1 includes parking space information calculated by the parking space calculation unit 13a of the control unit 13 and a parking situation map created by the parking situation map creation unit 13c (FIG. 2), which will be described later. The program D2 is a program for realizing the functions of the control unit 13 of the parking space arbitration device 10. The user information database D3 stores user information including at least the user's past arbitration history. In addition to the past arbitration history, the user information may also include information on the parking space the user wants to reserve when parking, the number of points the user has earned as a reward for cooperating in arbitration, and so on. The map information database D4 stores map information. The vehicle information database D5 stores vehicle characteristics including the vehicle's length and width, the vehicle's type (e.g., general vehicle, transportation vehicle, emergency vehicle, etc.), etc.

[0017] The communication unit 14 is a communication means by which the parking space arbitration device 10 communicates with, for example, parking space arbitration devices 10 of other vehicles. Using the communication unit 14, the parking space arbitration device 10 can acquire position information, vehicle characteristics, and past arbitration history of other vehicles parked near the parking destination. In addition, the parking space arbitration device 10 uses the communication unit 14 to send and receive arbitration signals (request signal, agreement signal, refusal signal, request establishment signal, and completion signal) described below.

[0018] The parking space arbitration device 10 may also transmit and receive data other than those described above using the communication unit 14. For example, if a parking situation map is shared among the parking space arbitration devices 10 of multiple vehicles, the accuracy of the parking situation map can be improved, and each parking space arbitration device 10 can obtain information about distant locations that cannot be measured by its own detection unit 11. The communication unit 14 can communicate with communication terminals other than other parking space arbitration devices 10, such as a server that aggregates and distributes parking situation maps, a relay device that amplifies signals, or any user terminal, as long as the communication protocol is the same.

[0019] The control unit 13 includes a parking space calculation unit 13a and an arbitration unit 13b.

[0020] The parking space calculation unit 13a calculates candidate parking spaces, including "parking spaces that require less time and effort to process vehicle movements" and "parking spaces that are likely to result in successful arbitration," based on at least one of the location information, vehicle characteristics, and past arbitration history obtained from the detection unit 11, memory unit 12, and communication unit 14.

[0021] The arbitration unit 13b requests other vehicles that are parked in the candidate parking spaces calculated by the parking space calculation unit 13a to move to secure a parking space for the vehicle.

[0022] 2 is a diagram showing an expanded configuration of the parking space arbitration device 10 according to the present embodiment. The configuration in Fig. 2 is obtained by adding a guidance unit 15 to the configuration in Fig. 1, and by adding a parking situation map creation unit 13c and a monitoring unit 13d to the control unit 13.

[0023] The guidance unit 15 guides the vehicle to a specified position when moving the vehicle to an available parking space (hereinafter referred to as an "empty space") around the vehicle, when moving the vehicle to a parking space secured as a result of arbitration, or when moving the vehicle to secure a parking space for another vehicle. The guidance unit 15 communicates information to the driver to guide the vehicle (e.g., the direction to turn the steering wheel) using, for example, a video output device such as a display or an audio output device such as a speaker. The monitoring unit 13d monitors the movement of the vehicle guided by the guidance unit 15.

[0024] The parking situation map creation unit 13c creates a parking situation map, which is data representing the parking situation around the host vehicle, based on the position information of the host vehicle acquired by the detection unit 11, the vehicle characteristics of the host vehicle stored in the memory unit 12, the position information and vehicle characteristics of other vehicles acquired by the communication unit 14, and the map information held in the map information database D4 in the memory unit 12. The parking situation map is used by the user and the parking space arbitration device 10 to understand the parking situation around the host vehicle. The parking situation map may be held as high-dimensional map data such as a dynamic map.

[0025] 9 and 10 show examples of parking situation maps. Each of FIGS. 9 and 10 shows the vertical width W1 and horizontal width W2 of the parking space required for the host vehicle 101, the parking permission area A1, which is the entire space in which the vehicle is permitted to park, other vehicles 102, 103, and 104 parked in the parking permission area A1, and an empty space SP1 within the parking permission area A1. The empty space SP1 shown in FIG. 9 has a vertical width of W1 or more and a horizontal width of W2 or more, and is therefore capable of parking the host vehicle 101. The empty space SP1 shown in FIG. 10 has a vertical width less than W1, and is therefore not capable of parking the host vehicle 101. However, if the empty space SP1 can be expanded through arbitration, the host vehicle 101 can be parked.

[0026] The parking situation map creation unit 13c reflects, on the parking situation map, user information including the parking space the user wants to reserve when parking, past arbitration history, the number of points held as a reward for cooperating in arbitration, etc., stored in the storage unit 12. In addition, the parking situation map creation unit 13c reflects, on the parking situation map, vehicle information stored in the vehicle information database D5.

[0027] In the following explanation, for the sake of convenience, it is assumed that the parking space arbitration device 10 has the configuration shown in Fig. 2. However, if the parking space arbitration device 10 only instructs the driver to move the vehicle, the guidance unit 15 and the monitoring unit 13d may be omitted, as shown in Fig. 1. Furthermore, if the parking space arbitration device 10 does not create a parking situation map but instead acquires a parking situation map from a server using the communication unit 14, the parking situation map creation unit 13c may be omitted, as shown in Fig. 1.

[0028] Fig. 3 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the parking space arbitration device 10. As shown in Fig. 3, the parking space arbitration device 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 51, memory 52, auxiliary storage device 53, and positioning device 54, which are connected to a communication interface 56 and an input / output interface 57 via a bus 55. The communication interface 56 can be connected to a communication network external to the vehicle. The input / output interface 57 is connected to an input / output device 58 via the bus 55, and can also be connected to a vehicle network internal to the vehicle and a user terminal 60.

[0029] The CPU 51 is an example of hardware of the control unit 13. The CPU 51 is a representative example of a processor or processing circuit, such as a CPU chip having one or more CPU cores and peripheral circuits. For example, the CPU 51 executes the process of creating a parking situation map in the parking situation map creation unit 13c (FIG. 2), the generation of an arbitration task in the arbitration unit 13b, the parking space calculation process in the parking space calculation unit 13a, and the monitoring of vehicle movement in the monitoring unit 13d.

[0030] The CPU 51 also performs access processing between the hardware components of the parking space arbitration device 10. Alternatively, the parking space arbitration device 10 may include a dedicated circuit for performing this access processing as a peripheral circuit of the CPU 51.

[0031] The memory 52 and the auxiliary storage device 53 are examples of hardware of the storage unit 12. The memory 52 is a volatile storage medium such as a DRAM or an SRAM, and temporary information D1 is stored in the memory 52. ​​The auxiliary storage device 53 is a non-volatile storage medium such as a hard disk, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a flash memory, or a ROM, and a program D2, a user information database D3, a map information database D4, and a vehicle information database D5 are stored in the auxiliary storage device 53.

[0032] The positioning device 54 is an example of hardware of the detection unit 11. The positioning device 54 includes, for example, a camera, a locator, and a sensor (such as LiDAR or millimeter-wave radar). The positioning device 54 may also include an element that cannot perform positioning by itself but that improves the accuracy of positioning, such as a gyro sensor or an acceleration sensor. The positioning device 54 may be an external device to the parking space arbitration device 10. That is, the parking space arbitration device 10 may acquire vehicle position information from the positioning device 54 installed in the vehicle via the input / output interface 57 and the vehicle network.

[0033] The bus 55 is a collection of signal lines connecting the CPU 51, memory 52, auxiliary storage device 53, positioning device 54, communication interface 56, and input / output interface 57, and is equipped with signal lines such as an address bus and a data bus according to the application, and peripheral circuits such as a bus controller that controls the signals.

[0034] The communication interface 56 is an example of hardware of the communication unit 14. The communication interface 56 includes, for example, a long-distance wireless communication circuit, a short-distance wireless communication circuit, an antenna for transmitting and receiving signals, and a peripheral circuit for modulating and demodulating signals.

[0035] The input / output interface 57 includes a circuit for data conversion, and can be connected to an input / output device 58 within the parking space arbitration device 10 via a bus 55, or to an input / output device (such as a keyboard, mouse, or display) external to the parking space arbitration device 10 via the vehicle's in-vehicle network (such as a CAN (Controller Area Network)). A user terminal 60 such as a smartphone may be used as the input / output device.

[0036] The input / output device 58 is an example of hardware of the guidance unit 15 (FIG. 2). The input / output device 58 includes, for example, a video output device such as a display, and an audio input / output device such as a speaker or a microphone. Alternatively, a video output device or an audio input / output device provided in the vehicle may be accessed from the input / output interface 57 via a vehicle network or the like, and used as a substitute for the input / output device 58.

[0037] Next, a detailed description will be given of the operation of the control unit 13. The parking space calculation unit 13a of the control unit 13 calculates a reasonable parking space such as a "parking space that requires less time and effort for the procedure of moving a vehicle" or a "parking space that is likely to result in arbitration," and the arbitration unit 13b performs arbitration processing on the calculated parking space.

[0038] 4 is a flowchart illustrating the parking space arbitration process, which will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0039] First, the parking space calculation unit 13a acquires a parking situation map (step ST101). If the parking space arbitration device 10 includes the parking situation map creation unit 13c as shown in Fig. 2, the parking situation map is created by the parking situation map creation unit 13c. If the parking space arbitration device 10 does not include the parking situation map creation unit 13c as shown in Fig. 1, the parking space arbitration device 10 acquires the parking situation map from the server using the communication unit 14.

[0040] The parking space calculation unit 13a refers to the parking situation map and checks whether there is a vacant space available for parking around the vehicle (step ST102).

[0041] As in the example of the parking situation map in Fig. 9, if there is an available space for parking around the vehicle (YES in step ST102), arbitration is not necessary, and the processing in Fig. 4 ends. In this case, the parking space arbitration device 10 presents the available space for parking to the user (the driver of the vehicle). If the parking space arbitration device 10 is equipped with a guidance unit 15, the guidance unit 15 provides guidance for moving the vehicle to the available space.

[0042] As in the example of the parking situation map in Figure 10, if there is no available space for parking around the vehicle (NO in step ST102), the parking space calculation unit 13a simulates the movement of surrounding vehicles based on the parking situation map, calculates available space that can be created through arbitration, and sets the available space that can be created through arbitration as a candidate parking space for the vehicle (step ST103).

[0043] The parking space calculation unit 13a selects one of the candidate parking spaces for the vehicle (step ST104) and notifies the arbitration unit 13b of the selected candidate parking space. For the sake of simplicity, the parking space calculation unit 13a selects candidate parking spaces for the vehicle one by one and notifies the arbitration unit 13b, but the parking space calculation unit 13a may simultaneously select multiple candidate parking spaces and notify the arbitration unit 13b.

[0044] When the arbitration unit 13b is notified of a parking space candidate from the parking space calculation unit 13a, it generates an arbitration task to request other vehicles to move to secure a parking space for the vehicle. The arbitration task uses the communication unit 14 to send a signal (hereinafter referred to as a "request signal") to all other vehicles parked in the parking space candidate (for example, other vehicles 102 and 103 that overlap the parking space candidate in FIG. 11) requesting them to move to secure a parking space (step ST105). The request signal includes information specifying the destination location. Note that when multiple parking space candidates are notified to the arbitration unit 13b, multiple corresponding arbitration tasks are generated, and multiple arbitration processes are performed in parallel.

[0045] When the arbitration task receives signals (hereinafter referred to as "agreement signals") from all other vehicles in the parking space candidate area agreeing to move to secure a parking space for its own vehicle (YES in step ST106), it determines that arbitration has been established and terminates the processing in Fig. 4. At this time, the arbitration task uses communication unit 14 to send signals (hereinafter referred to as "request establishment signals") to those other vehicles indicating that the request has been established.

[0046] After transmitting the request establishment signal, the arbitration task waits until it receives a signal indicating that the movement is complete (hereinafter referred to as a "completion signal") from all other vehicles to which the request establishment signal was transmitted. Then, when the arbitration unit 13b receives a completion signal from all other vehicles to which the request establishment signal was transmitted, the arbitration unit 13b presents the secured parking space to the user. If the parking space arbitration device 10 includes a guidance unit 15, the guidance unit 15 performs a movement process (processing in FIG. 6 shown later) to move the vehicle to the secured parking space.

[0047] If the arbitration task does not receive a completion signal from any of the other vehicles to which the request establishment signal was sent even after a certain period of time has elapsed since the request establishment signal was sent, the arbitration task sends a signal (hereinafter referred to as an "interrupt signal") to all other vehicles to which the request establishment signal was sent to interrupt the arbitration process, and terminates the arbitration task.

[0048] On the other hand, if the arbitration task does not receive an agreement signal from any of the other vehicles in the parking space candidate (NO in step ST106), that is, if it receives a signal from any of the other vehicles refusing to move (hereinafter referred to as a "refusal signal"), the arbitration task sends an interruption signal to the other vehicles to which the request signal was sent, and records the other vehicles that have returned agreement signals and refusal signals up to that point as temporary information D1 (step ST107). If no response is received from any of the other vehicles even after a certain period of time has passed since sending the request signal, the arbitration task performs the same processing as when a refusal signal is received.

[0049] After step ST107, the process returns to step ST101. When the process returns to step ST101, the above processing is performed again, but the parking space calculation unit 13a refers to the temporary information D1 and selects a candidate parking space for the vehicle so as not to repeatedly transmit a request signal to the other vehicle that returned the rejection signal. For example, the other vehicle that returned the agreement signal may be put on hold, and an additional request to move may be made to another vehicle nearby.

[0050] In addition, when multiple arbitration tasks are being performed in parallel, an arbitration task that receives a completion signal from all other vehicles to which it sent a request success signal notifies the other arbitration tasks of the end of the arbitration process via inter-process communication. The arbitration task that has been notified of the end of the arbitration process sends an interruption signal to the other vehicles to which it sent its request signal and terminates. In other words, when multiple arbitrations regarding multiple parking space candidates are being performed simultaneously, if arbitration regarding one of the parking space candidates is successful, arbitration unit 13b interrupts or terminates arbitration regarding the other parking space candidates.

[0051] 5 is a flowchart illustrating a response process when the parking space arbitration device 10 receives a request signal from another vehicle's parking space arbitration device 10. The response process to the request signal will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0052] When the communication unit 14 of the parking space arbitration device 10 receives a request signal from the parking space arbitration device 10 of another vehicle, the arbitration unit 13b of the control unit 13 generates an arbitration task, notifies the user (the driver of the vehicle) of the destination location specified in the received request signal using the guidance unit 15 (step ST201), and allows the user to select whether to agree or reject the request for movement. The guidance unit 15 notifies the arbitration unit 13b of the user's selection result.

[0053] If the user agrees to the request (YES in step ST202), the arbitration task uses the communication unit 14 to transmit an agreement signal as a response to the request signal (step ST203). If the user rejects the request (NO in step ST202), the arbitration task uses the communication unit 14 to transmit a rejection signal as a response to the request signal (step ST204). Note that if the user does not select either an agreement or rejection of the movement request even after a certain time has elapsed since the user was asked whether to agree or reject the movement request, the guidance unit 15 assumes that the user has rejected the request and notifies the arbitration unit 13b to that effect.

[0054] After transmitting an agreement signal to the requesting parking space arbitration device 10 (the sender of the request signal), the arbitration task waits until the communication unit 14 receives a request establishment signal from the requesting parking space arbitration device 10. The reception status of the request establishment signal is notified to the user via the guidance unit 15. If an interruption signal is received instead of the request establishment signal at this time, the user is notified via the guidance unit 15, and the arbitration task is terminated.

[0055] 6 is a flowchart illustrating the movement process for moving the vehicle when the parking space arbitration device 10 receives a request establishment signal from the parking space arbitration device 10 of another vehicle. The movement process in response to the request establishment signal will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0056] After the arbitration task of the parking space arbitration device 10 transmits an agreement signal, when a request establishment signal is received by the communication unit 14, the arbitration unit 13b notifies the guidance unit 15 of the start of movement of the vehicle. The guidance unit 15 prompts the user to move the vehicle, and guides the vehicle to the specified destination position (step ST301).

[0057] While the guidance unit 15 is guiding the vehicle, the movement status of the vehicle is monitored by the monitoring unit 13d. When the movement of the vehicle is completed (YES in step ST302), the monitoring unit 13d compares the position of the vehicle with the position of the specified destination, and determines whether the difference between the two is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold (step ST303). If the difference between the two exceeds the threshold (NO in step ST303), the control unit 13 notifies the guidance unit 15 of this fact. In this case, the guidance unit 15 issues a caution or warning to the user (step ST304), and then returns to step ST301, and guides the vehicle to the specified destination position again.

[0058] If the difference between the position of the subject vehicle and the position of the specified destination is equal to or less than the threshold value (YES in step ST303), the monitoring unit 13d determines that the movement of the subject vehicle has been completed correctly. In this case, the arbitration task uses the communication unit 14 to transmit a completion signal to the parking space arbitration device 10 that is the request source (the sender of the request signal). Furthermore, when transmitting the completion signal, the arbitration task increases the number of points held as a reward for cooperating in arbitration, depending on the distance and area moved by the subject vehicle, the time required from receiving the request signal to transmitting the completion signal, and the like (step ST305). At this time, the control unit 13 updates user information, such as the conditions for agreeing to arbitration, the number of times arbitration has been agreed to, and the total reward obtained for cooperating in arbitration, which are stored in the user information database D3.

[0059] On the other hand, the requesting parking space arbitration device 10 updates the user information database D3 so as to decrease the number of points held when the vehicle moves to the reserved parking space.

[0060] In other words, when the user's vehicle receives a request from another vehicle to move and a parking space for the other vehicle is secured, the parking space arbitration device 10 awards points to the user as a reward. However, when the user's vehicle requests another vehicle to move and a parking space for the user's vehicle is secured, the parking space arbitration device 10 reduces the points.

[0061] The parking space arbitration device 10 can request arbitration until the number of points held is used up. Furthermore, for example, if there are multiple parking space arbitration devices 10 requesting arbitration, the request from the parking space arbitration device 10 with the most points held will be given priority, and the user of the parking space arbitration device 10 can receive benefits according to the number of points held.

[0062] 7 is a flowchart showing the process (step ST103 in FIG. 4) by which the parking space arbitration device 10 requesting arbitration calculates a candidate parking space when there is no available space for parking around the vehicle. Hereinafter, the parking space calculation process will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

[0063] First, the parking space calculation unit 13a acquires the vertical width W1 and horizontal width W2 of the parking space required for the vehicle (step ST401), and creates a virtual parking space having the acquired vertical width W1 and horizontal width W2 as the lengths of its sides (step ST402). Hereinafter, this virtual parking space will be referred to as a "virtual parking space."

[0064] Next, the parking space calculation unit 13a refers to the parking situation map and creates a list of vacant spaces around the vehicle that have an area equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold (step ST403).

[0065] If the list of free spaces is not empty (NO in step ST404), the following process is carried out for all free spaces in the list.

[0066] The parking space calculation unit 13a selects any one of the empty spaces from the list of empty spaces (step ST405). Then, the parking space calculation unit 13a sets the position of the virtual parking space so that the virtual parking space encompasses the selected empty space (step ST406). There are no restrictions on the method of setting the position of the virtual parking space. For example, if the empty space SP1 illustrated in FIG. 10 is selected, the center of the virtual parking space SP2 may be overlapped with the center of the empty space SP1 as shown in FIG. 11, or the top side of the virtual parking space SP2 may be overlapped with the top side of the empty space SP1 as shown in FIG. 12, or the bottom side of the virtual parking space SP2 may be overlapped with the bottom side of the empty space SP1.

[0067] Next, the parking space calculation unit 13a performs a simulation of the movement of other vehicles to actually secure the virtual parking space by moving all other vehicles present in the set virtual parking space out of the virtual parking space (step ST407). The vertical width W1 and horizontal width W2 of the virtual parking space secured in this simulation may be adjusted taking into consideration information on the parking space that the user wants to secure when parking, which is contained in the user information database D3. Hereinafter, the movement of the vehicle in the simulation will be referred to as "provisional movement."

[0068] Then, the parking space calculation unit 13a calculates the priority of the virtual parking space based on the result of the simulation and the position information of the host vehicle (step ST408). If the calculated priority is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold (step ST409), the virtual parking space is added to a list of candidate parking spaces for the host vehicle (step ST410).

[0069] One method for calculating the priority is to calculate a reference value for the time and effort required for the other vehicles to temporarily move to secure a parking space for the vehicle and the time and effort required for the other vehicles to move to the destination based on the position information of the other vehicles and the vehicle itself, for example, as follows: [total distance traveled by the other vehicles + total number of movements by the other vehicles + total movement time of the other vehicles + distance from the vehicle itself to the parking space + distance from the parking space to the destination], and the smaller this value, the higher the priority is set. Each term in the above calculation formula may be multiplied by a pre-set weight. Furthermore, at least one of the total distance traveled by the other vehicles, the total number of movements by the other vehicles, the total movement time of the other vehicles, the distance from the vehicle itself to the parking space, and the distance from the parking space to the destination may be taken into consideration.

[0070] Alternatively, a value used as a reference for the likelihood of arbitration being successful may be calculated based on the vehicle characteristics of the other vehicle, for example, as [(the other vehicle's planned parking time - the time elapsed since parking) x a coefficient according to the other vehicle's type], with the smaller this value, the higher the priority. Note that each term in the above calculation formula may be multiplied by a pre-set weight. At least one of the other vehicle's time elapsed since parking, planned parking time, and vehicle type may be taken into consideration.

[0071] Alternatively, a value used as a reference for the likelihood of successful arbitration can be calculated based on the other vehicle's past arbitration history as follows: [(correlation coefficient between the conditions agreed upon in the past and the current conditions) x (number of times agreements have been reached in the past + total points earned in the past)], with the larger this value, the higher the priority is set. Note that each term in the above formula may be multiplied by a weight set in advance. At least one of the conditions agreed upon in past arbitrations, the number of times agreements have been reached in past arbitrations, and the total rewards earned for cooperating in past arbitrations may be taken into consideration.

[0072] Further, based on the temporary information D1, it is also conceivable to control the priority of a virtual parking space containing another vehicle that has agreed to move, or to lower the priority of a virtual parking space containing a vehicle that has refused to move.

[0073] When the processes from step ST405 to step ST410 are performed for all vacant spaces included in the list of vacant spaces, all candidate parking spaces for the host vehicle are registered in the list. After that, the parking space calculation unit 13a sorts the list of candidate parking spaces for the host vehicle in descending order of priority (step ST411) and ends the process in Fig. 7. In step ST104 of Fig. 4, the parking space calculation unit 13a selects candidate parking spaces in the order of the list (in descending order of priority) and notifies the arbitration unit 13b.

[0074] Note that if the list of available spaces is empty (NO in step ST404) or if no candidate parking spaces are found in the parking space calculation process of FIG. 7, a parking space cannot be secured through arbitration. In such cases, the parking space calculation unit 13a receives a past parking situation map from other vehicles parked in the vicinity. The parking space arbitration device 10 then analyzes dynamic changes in the parking situation from the past parking situation map and predicts the turnover of parked vehicles around the vehicle. For example, the parking space arbitration device 10 estimates parking spaces that are likely to become available and the expected time when those parking spaces will become available based on the average turnover time of each parking space, and provides the estimated results to the user via the guidance unit 15.

[0075] 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of a simulation of the movement of other vehicles to actually secure a virtual parking space (step ST407 in FIG. 7). The flow of the simulation will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0076] The parking space calculation unit 13a acquires the positions of other vehicles (spaces where other vehicles are parked) included in the set virtual parking space (step ST501), and determines whether other vehicles are present in the virtual parking space (step ST502).

[0077] If there is no other vehicle in the virtual parking space (NO in step ST502), the virtual parking space has actually been secured, and therefore the flow in FIG. 8 ends without performing a simulation.

[0078] If another vehicle is present in the virtual parking space (YES in step ST502), the parking space calculation unit 13a performs a simulation to temporarily move the other vehicle out of the virtual parking space (step ST503). At this time, the direction in which the other vehicle is temporarily moved is set to a direction that requires the shortest moving distance. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, if the virtual parking space SP2 includes the rear of the other vehicle 102 and the front of the other vehicle 103, the other vehicle 102 is temporarily moved forward, and the other vehicle 103 is temporarily moved backward.

[0079] Next, the parking space calculation unit 13a determines whether or not another vehicle exists at the position of the temporarily moved other vehicle (step ST504). If another vehicle does not exist at the position of the temporarily moved destination of the other vehicle (NO in step ST504), the simulation is completed, and the flow of Fig. 8 ends. If another vehicle exists at the position of the temporarily moved destination of the other vehicle (YES in step ST504), the parking space calculation unit 13a temporarily moves the other vehicle from the temporarily moved destination of the other vehicle, and performs a simulation to prevent the position of the other vehicle from overlapping with the position of the other vehicle (step ST505).

[0080] The processing of steps ST504 and ST505 is repeated until there is no overlapping of the positions of all other vehicles.

[0081] Figures 14 to 16 are diagrams showing the state after another vehicle has been temporarily moved by simulation. Figure 14 shows the state after the simulation when the virtual parking space SP2 is set as in Figure 11, Figure 15 shows the state after the simulation when the virtual parking space SP2 is set as in Figure 12, and Figure 16 shows the state after the simulation when the virtual parking space SP2 is set as in Figure 13.

[0082] As described above, the parking space arbitration device 10 according to this embodiment calculates the priority of candidate parking spaces for the vehicle based on the position information of the vehicle and other vehicles, vehicle characteristics, past arbitration history, etc., and selects and arbitrates candidate parking spaces in order of priority. Therefore, a reasonable parking space for the user (for example, a "parking space that requires less time and effort to process the vehicle movement" or a "parking space that is likely to result in arbitration") is selected, and other vehicles included in the selected candidate parking spaces can be requested to move.

[0083] The embodiments can be modified or omitted as appropriate.

[0084] The above description is illustrative in all respects, and it is understood that countless variations not illustrated can be envisioned. [Explanation of symbols]

[0085] 10 Parking space arbitration device, 11 Detection unit, 12 Memory unit, 13 Control unit, 13a Parking space calculation unit, 13b Arbitration unit, 13c Parking situation map creation unit, 13d Monitoring unit, 14 Communication unit, 15 Guidance unit, D1 Temporary information, D2 Program, D3 User information database, D4 ​​Map information database, D5 Vehicle information database, 51 CPU, 52 Memory, 53 Auxiliary storage device, 54 Positioning device, 55 Bus, 56 Communication interface, 57 Input / output interface, 58 Input / output device, 60 User terminal, 101 Vehicle, 102-104 Other vehicles, A1 Parking permission area, SP1 Vacant space, SP2 Virtual parking space.

Claims

1. a detection unit that acquires position information of the vehicle; a storage unit that stores the vehicle characteristics and past arbitration history of the vehicle; a communication unit that acquires location information, vehicle characteristics, and past arbitration history of other vehicles parked around the destination of the vehicle; a parking space calculation unit that calculates candidate parking spaces for the host vehicle; an arbitration unit that performs arbitration by requesting the other vehicle parked in the candidate parking space to move in order to secure a parking space for the vehicle; Equipped with the parking space calculation unit calculates, for the parking space candidate, the time or effort required to move the other vehicle and the vehicle to secure a parking space for the vehicle, or the likelihood of arbitration being established, based on at least one of the position information of the vehicle and the other vehicle, the vehicle characteristics, and the past arbitration history; The arbitration unit performs the arbitration by giving priority to the parking space candidate that requires less time or effort to process the movement of the other vehicle and the host vehicle, or the parking space candidate that has a higher possibility of concluding the arbitration; the parking space calculation unit calculates the time or effort required to move the other vehicle and the subject vehicle based on at least one of the total movement distance, total number of movements, and total movement time of the other vehicle required to secure a parking space for the subject vehicle, which are calculated based on the position information of the other vehicle, and the distance from the subject vehicle to the parking space and the distance from the parking space to the destination, which are calculated based on the position information of the subject vehicle; the parking space calculation unit calculates the likelihood of the arbitration being established based on at least one of the vehicle characteristics of the other vehicle, including an elapsed time after parking, a planned parking time, and a vehicle type; Parking space arbitration device.

2. a detection unit that acquires position information of the vehicle; a storage unit that stores the vehicle characteristics and past arbitration history of the vehicle; a communication unit that acquires location information, vehicle characteristics, and past arbitration history of other vehicles parked around the destination of the vehicle; a parking space calculation unit that calculates candidate parking spaces for the host vehicle; an arbitration unit that performs arbitration by requesting the other vehicle parked in the candidate parking space to move in order to secure a parking space for the vehicle; Equipped with the parking space calculation unit calculates, for the parking space candidate, the time or effort required to move the other vehicle and the vehicle to secure a parking space for the vehicle, or the likelihood of arbitration being established, based on at least one of the position information of the vehicle and the other vehicle, the vehicle characteristics, and the past arbitration history; The arbitration unit performs the arbitration by giving priority to the parking space candidate that requires less time or effort to process the movement of the other vehicle and the host vehicle, or the parking space candidate that has a higher possibility of concluding the arbitration; the parking space calculation unit calculates the time or effort required to move the other vehicle and the subject vehicle based on at least one of the total movement distance, total number of movements, and total movement time of the other vehicle required to secure a parking space for the subject vehicle, which are calculated based on the position information of the other vehicle, and the distance from the subject vehicle to the parking space and the distance from the parking space to the destination, which are calculated based on the position information of the subject vehicle; the parking space calculation unit calculates the likelihood of the arbitration being successful based on at least one of the conditions under which arbitration was previously agreed upon, the number of times arbitration was previously agreed upon, and the total amount of compensation received for cooperating in arbitration in the past, which are the past arbitration histories of the host vehicle and the other vehicle; Parking space arbitration device.

3. the parking space calculation unit determines a priority of the parking space candidates based on the time or effort required for procedures to move the other vehicle and the subject vehicle calculated based on the position information of the other vehicle and the subject vehicle, the likelihood of arbitration being successful calculated based on the vehicle characteristics of the other vehicle, and the likelihood of arbitration being successful calculated from the past arbitration history of the other vehicle; 3. The parking space arbitration device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The arbitration unit simultaneously performs a plurality of arbitrations regarding a plurality of the parking space candidates, and when arbitration regarding any one of the parking space candidates is concluded, suspends or terminates arbitrations regarding the other parking space candidates.

3. The parking space arbitration device according to claim 1 or 2.

5. When there are other vehicles that have agreed to the request to move and other vehicles that have not agreed, the arbitration unit reserves the other vehicles that have agreed and makes an additional request to move to another other vehicle that is close to the other vehicle.

3. The parking space arbitration device according to claim 1 or 2.

6. the arbitration unit grants points as a reward to the user when the host vehicle receives a request from another vehicle to move and a parking space for the other vehicle is secured, and reduces the points when the host vehicle requests a movement from another vehicle and a parking space for the host vehicle is secured.

3. The parking space arbitration device according to claim 1 or 2.

7. a parking situation map creation unit that creates a parking situation map, which is data for the parking space calculation unit to grasp a parking situation, based on the position information and the vehicle characteristics of the host vehicle and the other vehicle; 3. The parking space arbitration device according to claim 1 or 2.

8. a guidance unit that guides the vehicle to the reserved parking space for the vehicle; a monitoring unit that monitors a movement status of the host vehicle being guided to the host vehicle's parking space; Further provided with 3. The parking space arbitration device according to claim 1 or 2.

9. If the parking space candidate is not found, the parking space calculation unit acquires past data of a parking situation map, which is data for understanding the parking situation, from the other vehicles parked around the host vehicle, analyzes dynamic changes in the parking situation around the host vehicle from the past data of the parking situation map, estimates parking spaces that are likely to become available and the expected time when the parking spaces will become available, and provides the estimation result to the user.

3. The parking space arbitration device according to claim 1 or 2.

10. A parking space calculation unit of the parking space arbitration device calculates candidate parking spaces for the vehicle, an arbitration unit of the parking space arbitration device performs arbitration by requesting other vehicles parked in the candidate parking spaces to move to secure a parking space for the vehicle; In the parking space arbitration method, The parking space calculation unit calculates, for the parking space candidate, the time or effort required to move the other vehicles and the vehicle to secure a parking space for the vehicle, or the likelihood of arbitration being established, based on at least one of position information of the vehicle and the other vehicles, vehicle characteristics, and past arbitration history; The arbitration unit performs the arbitration by giving priority to the parking space candidate that requires less time or effort to process the movement of the other vehicle and the host vehicle, or the parking space candidate that has a higher possibility of concluding the arbitration; the parking space calculation unit calculates the time or effort required to move the other vehicle and the host vehicle based on at least one of the total movement distance, total number of movements, and total movement time of the other vehicle required to secure a parking space for the host vehicle, which are calculated based on the position information of the other vehicle, and the distance from the host vehicle to the parking space and the distance from the parking space to a destination of the host vehicle, which are calculated based on the position information of the host vehicle; the parking space calculation unit calculates the likelihood of the arbitration being successful based on at least one of the conditions under which arbitration was previously agreed upon, the number of times arbitration was previously agreed upon, and the total amount of compensation received for cooperating in arbitration in the past, which are the past arbitration histories of the host vehicle and the other vehicle; Parking space arbitration method.

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