Parking information display device

Abstract

To enable users to use a parking lot, taking into account a discount rate.SOLUTION: When a user gives an instruction, a parking lot information display device displays on a display 110 a normal time fee (200 yen / 30 minutes), a normal time zone (8:00 to 19:00), an off-peak time fee (100 yen / 60 minutes), an off-peak time zone (19:00 to 8:00), and vacancy information (vacancy), as information on a charge fluctuation parking lot P2. Since the user can know the off-peak time fee and the off-peak time zone, the user can use the parking lot while taking into account a discount rate.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a parking lot information display device.

Background Art

[0002] The facility information display device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-209215 (Patent Document 1) displays, as facility information regarding a parking lot, fee information indicating the parking fee of the parking lot.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When using a parking lot displayed on a display device, if the parking lot includes a parking lot that offers a discount on the fee during a slack time period or the like, it is desirable to use the parking lot considering the discounted fee. This point is not mentioned in Patent Document 1.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to enable a user to use a parking lot considering a discounted fee.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The parking lot information display device of the present disclosure is a parking lot information display device that displays parking lot information in response to an instruction from a user. The parking lot information display device acquires information on a parking lot with variable fees that sets a first parking fee and a second parking fee lower than the first parking fee. When an instruction from the user is given, the parking lot information display device displays information on the first parking fee, a first time period during which the first parking fee is applied, the second parking fee, and a second time period during which the second parking fee is applied.

[0007] In this configuration, the parking information display device displays information about variable-rate parking lots when instructed by the user. Variable-rate parking lots have two parking fees: a first parking fee (for example, a regular rate) and a second parking fee lower than the first fee (a discounted rate, for example, an off-peak rate). The parking information display device displays information on the first parking fee, the first time period to which the first parking fee applies, the second parking fee, and the second time period to which the second parking fee applies. Therefore, users can understand the second parking fee and the time period to which it applies, enabling them to use the parking lot while considering the discounted rate.

[0008] Preferably, the information on variable-rate parking lots includes information on available spaces in variable-rate parking lots, and the parking information display device may further display information on available spaces in variable-rate parking lots.

[0009] With this configuration, users can determine whether or not a parking space is available based on the availability information.

[0010] Preferably, the information on variable-rate parking lots includes information on the availability of variable-rate parking lots, and the parking information display device may not display information on variable-rate parking lots if they are full during the second time period of the variable-rate parking lot.

[0011] This configuration prevents the display of information about variable-rate parking lots that are full and unavailable (cannot be used for parking), thus suppressing the display of unnecessary information for users when selecting a parking lot.

[0012] Preferably, the parking information display device may acquire information on fixed-rate parking lots where parking fees do not fluctuate, display information on variable-rate parking lots in a first manner, and display information on fixed-rate parking lots in a second manner different from the first manner.

[0013] In this configuration, the parking information display device displays information on both variable-rate parking lots and fixed-rate parking lots. Information on variable-rate parking lots is displayed in a first manner, while information on fixed-rate parking lots is displayed in a second manner that differs from the first manner. Therefore, it is possible to easily understand whether the displayed information pertains to a variable-rate or fixed-rate parking lot, thereby improving user convenience.

[0014] Preferably, the parking information display device displays information on the display screen of the navigation system, and may display information on variable-rate parking lots located within a predetermined distance from at least one of the current location and the destination.

[0015] This configuration allows the navigation system to guide the user to parking lots near their current location or destination, thereby enhancing user convenience. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to this disclosure, users can utilize the parking lot while taking discounted rates into consideration. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0017] [Figure 1] This figure schematically shows the overall configuration of the parking information display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This flowchart shows an example of parking information display processing performed by the control unit. [Figure 3] (A), (B), and (C) are diagrams illustrating examples of navigation screens displayed on a screen. [Figure 4] (A), (B), and (C) are diagrams illustrating the scale of the map displayed on the screen. [Figure 5] (A), (B), and (C) are diagrams illustrating examples of how parking information can be displayed. [Figure 6](A), (B), and (C) are diagrams for explaining an example of parking lot information display.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a parking lot information display device 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the present embodiment, the parking lot information display device 1 is embodied as one function of a navigation system (navigation device). The parking lot information display device 1 includes a vehicle 10 and a server 200.

[0020] The vehicle 10 includes a control device 100 and a display (display device) 110. The control device 100 includes a processor 101, a memory 102, a storage 103, a communication module 104, a GPS (Global Positioning System) module 105, and a database 106. The control device 100 is communicable with the server 200 via a network NW using the communication module 104. The GPS module 105 acquires information (GPS information) indicating the current position of the vehicle 10 and outputs the GPS information to the processor 101. The memory 102 is a volatile memory such as a RAM. The processor 101 expands and executes a system program and a control program read from a rewritable non-volatile memory, the storage 103, in the memory 102 to realize various processes including route guidance by navigation.

[0021] The display 110 is a display such as an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) or a liquid crystal. The display 110 is configured to display various information according to a control command from the processor 101. The display 110 is a display with a touch panel capable of receiving a user's input operation.

[0022] The user terminal 20 is a terminal carried by the user. The user terminal 20 may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet, etc., or may also be a wearable terminal such as a smartwatch. The user terminal 20 is capable of short-range communication with the control device 100 (communication module 104). Thereby, the display 21 of the user terminal 20 has the same function as the display 110.

[0023] The server 200 includes a processor 201, a memory 202, a communication module 203, and a database 204. The server 200 is capable of mutually communicating with the vehicle 10 (control device 100), the parking lot management device 300-n (n is an integer), and via the network NW using the communication module 203. The processor 201 realizes various processes by expanding and executing a system program and a control program read from a storage (not shown) in the memory 202. For example, the server 200 receives parking lot information from the parking lot management device 300-n and stores it in the database 204.

[0024] The parking lots 30-n (n is an integer) include a variable-rate parking lot and a fixed-rate parking lot. The variable-rate parking lot is, for example, a parking lot where the parking fee varies according to the busyness or slackness of parking lot usage. The parking fee during peak hours is set to the normal-time fee, and the parking fee during slack hours is set to a slack-time fee that is lower (cheaper) than the normal fee. The normal-time fee corresponds to the "first parking fee" of the present disclosure, and the slack-time fee corresponds to the "second parking fee" of the present disclosure. The fixed-rate parking lot has no variation in the parking fee and always has a fixed fee. In the present embodiment, for example, the parking lot 30-1 is a fixed-rate parking lot, and the parking lot 30-2 is a variable-rate parking lot.

[0025] The parking management device 300-1 installed in parking lot 30-1 transmits the fixed fee, vacancy information, parking lot location information, and parking lot identification information to the server 200. The vacancy information is generated from the operation status of the locking plates installed in the parking lot, the operation status of the entrance / exit gate bars, images captured by surveillance cameras (security cameras), etc., and transmitted to the server 200.

[0026] The parking management device 300-2 installed in parking lot 30-2 transmits the normal rate, the normal time period to which the normal rate applies, the off-peak rate, the off-peak time period to which the off-peak rate applies, vacancy information, parking lot location information, and parking lot identification information to the server 200. The normal time period corresponds to the "first time period" in this disclosure, and the off-peak time period corresponds to the "second time period" in this disclosure. The normal rate, normal time period, off-peak rate, and off-peak time period may be set in advance, or they may be set as appropriate (in real time) based on vacancy information. They are generated by the same method as the parking management device 300-1 and transmitted to the server 200.

[0027] The control device 100 of the vehicle 10 is equipped with a navigation system and provides route guidance when a destination is set. Even if no destination is set, the current location of the vehicle 10 can be displayed on the map shown on the display 110. In addition, if instructed by the user, parking information will be displayed on the display 110. Route guidance and parking information may also be displayed on the display 21 of the user terminal 20, instead of or in addition to the display 110.

[0028] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of parking information display processing performed by the control device 100. This flowchart is executed when the control device 100 is performing the functions of a navigation device and a user instruction (user operation) is given. Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a navigation screen displayed on the display 110. Figure 3(A) shows the current location (△) of the vehicle 10 on the map, and the facility display button 111a, detail button 111b, and wide-area button 11c are displayed. Touching the detail button 111b (operating the detail button 111b) increases the map scale, and touching the wide-area button 11c decreases the map scale.

[0029] In Figure 3(A), touching the facility display button 111a transitions the screen to Figure 3(B). When the facility display button 111a is operated, a button with the facility name is displayed as shown in Figure 3(B). Touching the parking button 111p transitions the screen to Figure 3(C). In Figure 3(C), the current location button 111g and the destination button 111m are displayed. Touching the current location button 111g displays parking information around the current location, and touching the destination button 111m displays parking information around the destination. Note that if no destination is set, the destination button 111m will not be active.

[0030] On the screen shown in Figure 3(C), when the current location button 111g or the destination button 111m is pressed, the flowchart in Figure 2 is executed. In step 10 (hereinafter, steps are abbreviated as "S"), after obtaining parking information from the server 200, the process proceeds to S11. The parking information obtained from the server 200 may be information about parking lots located near the current location or destination. The following describes the case when the current location button 111g is pressed.

[0031] In S11, it is determined whether or not there is a variable-rate parking lot within a predetermined distance α from the current location. The predetermined distance α may be, for example, 500 meters. If there is a variable-rate parking lot within the predetermined distance α from the current location, the determination is affirmative and the process proceeds to S12. If there is no variable-rate parking lot within the predetermined distance α from the current location, the determination is negative and the process proceeds to S14.

[0032] In S12, it is determined whether the location of a variable-rate parking lot within a predetermined distance α can be displayed on the map at the current scale of the map displayed on the display 110. Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the scale of the map displayed on the display 110. Figure 4(A) is an example where the map display on the display 110 is shown at a scale of 1 / 10,000. As in Figure 4(A), when the map is displayed at a scale of 1 / 10,000, if the location of a variable-rate parking lot within a predetermined distance α from the current location can be displayed without changing the map scale, as shown in Figure 4(B), then S12 is determined to be positive, and the process proceeds to S14 without changing the current scale. In Figure 4(B), parking lot P2 is a variable-rate parking lot, and parking lot P1 is a fixed-rate parking lot.

[0033] As shown in Figure 4(A), 1 / 10,000 If the map is displayed at a certain scale, and it is not possible to display a variable-rate parking lot within a predetermined distance α from the current location on the map, the process is rejected in S12 and proceeds to S13. In S13, as shown in Figure 4(C), the map scale is reduced until the location of the variable-rate parking lot can be displayed, and the process proceeds to S14. The map display scale in Figure 4(C) is 1 / 20,000.

[0034] In S14, it is determined whether there are any parking lots with variable rates that are full during off-peak hours, based on the scale set in S12 or S13, and displayed on the map of the display 110. Whether a parking lot is full or not can be determined based on the availability information. If there are no parking lots with variable rates that are full during off-peak hours, the determination is negative and the process proceeds to S15. If there are parking lots with variable rates that are full during off-peak hours, the determination is positive and the process proceeds to S16.

[0035] S1 5Next, parking information is displayed on display 110. Figure 5 illustrates an example of how parking information is displayed. As shown in Figure 5(A), for the variable-rate parking lot P2, the normal rate (200 yen / 30 minutes), normal hours (8:00~19:00), off-peak rate (100 yen / 60 minutes), off-peak hours (19:00~8:00), and vacancy information (vacant) are displayed. For the fixed-rate parking lot P1, the fixed rate (300 yen / 60 minutes) and vacancy information (vacant) are displayed. As shown in Figure 5(B), the parking information for the variable-rate parking lot P2 may be highlighted. In Figure 5(B), the parking information for the variable-rate parking lot P2 is highlighted by displaying the information in white text on a black background, but other methods of highlighting, such as using red text, may also be used. This highlights the display of information for the variable-rate parking lot P2 (display according to the first method) compared to the display of information for the fixed-rate parking lot P1 (display according to the second method), thereby directing the user's attention to the variable-rate parking lot P2.

[0036] Figure 5(C) shows an example of displaying parking information in a list. Touching the list button 111d on the screens in Figures 5(A) and (B) will transition to the screen in Figure 5(C), which will display a list of parking information for the variable-rate parking lot P2 and the fixed-rate parking lot P1. Touching the back button 111e on the screen in Figure 5(C) will return (transition) to Figures 5(A) and (B).

[0037] In S16, the display 110 displays parking information corresponding to when the variable-rate parking lot is full. Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of how parking information is displayed. As shown in Figure 6(A), for the variable-rate parking lot P2, the normal rate (200 yen / 30 minutes), normal hours (8:00~19:00), off-peak rate (100 yen / 60 minutes), off-peak hours (19:00~8:00), and vacancy information (full) are displayed. The word "full" in the vacancy information is highlighted. For the fixed-rate parking lot P1, the fixed rate (300 yen / 60 minutes) and vacancy information (full) are displayed. For the fixed-rate parking lot P1, it is not necessary to highlight "full". If the vacancy information is vacant, "vacant" is displayed.

[0038] As shown in Figure 6(B), the location of the full, variable-rate parking lot P2 may be displayed, but the parking lot information may not be displayed. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 6(C), the location of the full, variable-rate parking lot P2 and the parking lot information may not be displayed.

[0039] In S17, it is determined whether or not there is an instruction to cancel the display. The instruction to cancel the display is given by touching (operating) the display cancellation button 111k on the screen shown in Figures 3(B) and (C). If the display cancellation button 111k is not operated, it is determined to be negative and the process returns to S10. If the display cancellation button 111k is touched, it is determined to be positive and the process proceeds to S18. In S18, the parking information is hidden and the process is completed.

[0040] The above describes the case when the current location button 111g is operated on the screen shown in Figure 3(C). However, when the destination button 111m is operated, a map of the area around the destination is displayed on the display 110, and the same process is performed for parking lots (variable-rate parking lots and fixed-rate parking lots) around the destination.

[0041] According to this embodiment, the parking information display device 1 displays information about variable-rate parking lots when instructed by the user. The parking fees for variable-rate parking lots are set to a normal rate (first parking fee) and an off-peak rate (second parking fee) which is lower than the normal rate. The parking information display device 1 displays information on the normal rate, the normal time period to which the normal rate applies (first time period), the off-peak rate, and the off-peak time period to which the off-peak rate applies (second time period). Therefore, the user can understand the off-peak rate and off-peak time period, and use the parking lot while taking discounts into consideration.

[0042] According to this embodiment, the parking information display device 1 does not display information about variable-rate parking lots when they are full during off-peak hours (Figures 6(B), (C)). As a result, information about variable-rate parking lots that are full and unavailable (cannot be parked in) is not displayed, thus preventing the display of unnecessary information for the user when selecting a parking lot.

[0043] According to this embodiment, the parking information display device 1 highlights information about parking lots with variable rates, while not highlighting information about parking lots with fixed rates (Figure 5(B)). This makes it easy to understand whether the displayed information is for a parking lot with variable rates or a parking lot with fixed rates, thereby improving user convenience. In addition, because information about parking lots with variable rates is highlighted, it is possible to draw the user's attention to parking lots with variable rates.

[0044] According to this embodiment, the parking information display device 1 displays parking information on the display 110 of the control device 100, which is equipped with navigation system functions, and displays information on variable-rate parking lots located within a predetermined distance α from at least one of the current location and the destination. This allows the user to be guided to parking lots near their current location or destination using the navigation system, thereby improving user convenience.

[0045] The map database used in the navigation system may be stored in the database 106 of the control device 100, or it may be obtained by communication from the map database stored in the database 204 of the server 200. In the above embodiment, parking information was obtained from the server 200 in S10 (Figure 2). However, if parking information is stored in the database 106, the parking information may be read from the database 106.

[0046] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of this disclosure is indicated by the claims rather than by the description of the embodiments above, and all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims are intended to be included. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0047] 1 parking information display device, 10 vehicles, 20 user terminals, 30-n parking spaces, 100 control devices, 110 displays, 200 servers, 300-n parking management devices, NW network.

Claims

1. A parking information display device that displays parking information in response to user instructions, Information on variable-rate parking lots that have a first parking fee and a second parking fee lower than the first parking fee is obtained. When a user gives instructions, the location of the variable-rate parking lot is displayed on the map, and information on the first parking fee, the first time period to which the first parking fee applies, the second parking fee, and the second time period to which the second parking fee applies is displayed. The aforementioned information for the variable-rate parking lot includes information on the availability of parking spaces in the variable-rate parking lot. A parking information display device that, when the aforementioned variable-rate parking lot is full during the second time period, displays the location of the said variable-rate parking lot on a map, but does not display information about the said variable-rate parking lot.

2. We obtain information on parking lots with fixed rates that do not fluctuate. The parking information display device according to claim 1, wherein information on the variable-rate parking lot is displayed in a first manner, and information on the fixed-rate parking lot is displayed in a second manner different from the first manner.

3. The parking information display device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the parking information display device displays information on the display screen of a navigation system, and displays information on the variable-rate parking lots located within a predetermined distance from at least one of the current location and the destination.

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