Management system, management method, and management program

Abstract

In order to manage the exit of each vehicle to a road from an exit in a parking facility that allows vehicles to be parked individually in a plurality of parking spaces, a processor of this management system is configured to execute: acquiring an exit throughput number (Nt) which is the number of vehicles permitted to exit to the road at the exit for each time zone; acquiring, for each time zone, a departure demand number (Nh) which is the number of vehicles wishing to depart among the vehicles parked in the parking spaces; and managing the vehicles allowed to depart from the parking spaces for each time zone by remote control according to a correlation of the departure demand number (Nh) with the exit throughput number (Nt).

Description

Management system, management method, management program Cross-reference to related applications

[0001] This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-226650 filed in Japan on December 23, 2024, and the contents of the base application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a management technology for managing the exit of each vehicle from a parking facility where a plurality of vehicles can park to a road.

[0003] The management technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 manages the departure of each vehicle so that the congestion status for each of a plurality of car bays provided as boarding and alighting spaces on the way from a multi-story parking lot to the road is made uniform in a valet parking type parking facility.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-207637

[0005] In the management technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, by adjusting the route from the multi-story parking lot through the car bays to the road for each vehicle wishing to leave the facility, it is possible to alleviate the congestion status at each car bay. However, since the route adjustment disclosed in Patent Document 1 assumes that each car bay faces the road, in the case of a parking facility where an exit route is provided from each car bay to the exit of the road, for example, there is a risk of vehicle congestion in the exit route depending on the status of the exit such as signal markings. Further, since the route adjustment disclosed in Patent Document 1 assumes the existence of a plurality of car bays, it cannot be applied, for example, to a valet parking type parking facility where a car bay is single, or a flat type parking facility or a multi-story parking facility that does not have a car bay in the first place.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a management system that reduces the risk of vehicle congestion associated with the exit of a vehicle from a parking facility to a road. Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a management method that reduces the risk of vehicle congestion associated with the exit of a vehicle from a parking facility to a road. Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a management program that reduces the risk of vehicle congestion associated with the exit of a vehicle from a parking facility to a road.

[0007] The following describes the technical means of solving the problem described in this disclosure.

[0008] A first aspect of this disclosure is a management system having a processor for managing the exit of each vehicle from an exit to a road in a parking facility where vehicles can be parked individually in multiple parking spaces, the processor is configured to perform the following: acquire an exit throughput, which is the number of vehicles permitted to exit to the road at the exit for each time period; acquire a departure request number, which is the number of vehicles parked in a parking space that wish to depart, for each time period; and manage which vehicles are to depart from the parking space for each time period by remote control in accordance with the correlation of the departure request number to the exit throughput.

[0009] A second aspect of this disclosure is a management method performed by a processor for managing the exit of each vehicle from an exit to a road in a parking facility where vehicles can be parked individually in multiple parking spaces, the method comprising: obtaining an exit throughput number, which is the number of vehicles permitted to exit to the road at the exit for each time period; obtaining a departure request number, which is the number of vehicles parked in a parking space that wish to depart, for each time period; and managing which vehicles to depart from the parking space for each time period by remote control in accordance with the correlation of the departure request number to the exit throughput number.

[0010] A third aspect of this disclosure is a management program stored on a storage medium for managing the exit of each vehicle from an exit to a road in a parking facility where vehicles can be parked individually in multiple parking spaces, and which includes instructions for causing a processor to perform said management, the program including instructions for obtaining an exit throughput, which is the number of vehicles permitted to exit to the road at the exit for each time period; obtaining a departure request number, which is the number of vehicles parked in a parking space that wish to depart, for each time period; and managing which vehicles are to depart from the parking space for each time period by remote control in accordance with the correlation of the departure request number to the exit throughput.

[0011] In the first to third embodiments described above, the number of vehicles permitted to exit onto the road from the parking facility is obtained for each time period. At the same time, the number of vehicles wishing to depart from the parking space of the parking facility is also obtained for each time period. The correlation between the obtained number of exit throughputs and the number of departure requests affects the travel time for each vehicle along the exit route to the exit. Therefore, by using remote control that corresponds to the correlation between the number of departure requests and the number of exit throughputs, it is possible to manage vehicles departing from parking spaces according to this correlation for each time period, and optimize the travel time for each vehicle along the exit route from the parking space to the exit. Thus, it becomes possible to reduce the risk of traffic congestion associated with vehicles exiting from the parking facility onto the road.

[0012] This is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the first embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing a parking facility to which the first embodiment is applied. This is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the management system according to the first embodiment. This is a flowchart showing the management flow according to the first embodiment. This is a flowchart showing the exit control subroutine of the management flow according to the first embodiment. This is a data table for explaining the management flow according to the first embodiment. This is a data table for explaining the management flow according to the first embodiment. This is a schematic diagram for explaining the management flow according to the first embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing a parking facility to which the second embodiment is applied. This is a schematic diagram for explaining the management flow according to the second embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing a parking facility to which the second embodiment is applied. This is a schematic diagram for explaining the management flow according to the second embodiment. This is a flowchart showing the exit control subroutine of the management flow according to the second embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing a parking facility to which the third embodiment is applied. This is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the third embodiment.

[0013] Hereinafter, several embodiments of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment, the same reference numerals will be used for corresponding components, and redundant explanations may be omitted. Furthermore, if only a part of the configuration is described in each embodiment, the configuration of other embodiments described earlier may be applied to the other parts of that configuration. Moreover, not only the combinations of configurations explicitly stated in the description of each embodiment, but also the configurations of multiple embodiments can be partially combined even if not explicitly stated, as long as there are no particular problems with the combination.

[0014] (First Embodiment) The management system 1 of the first embodiment shown in Figure 1 is installed in a remote management center 90 inside and / or outside the parking facility 9 in order to manage the parking and exit of vehicles 2 in the facility 9.

[0015] As shown in Figure 2, the parking facility 9 to which the management system 1 is applied includes parking spaces 92, exit roads 94, and driveways 96. The parking spaces 92 are divided into multiple sections so that vehicles 2 entering the parking facility 9 can park individually. The exit roads 94 are divided into at least one section so that vehicles 2 can be guided out of the parking facility 9 to the public road 8. In particular, in the first embodiment, a parking facility 9 limited to one exit road 94 is assumed. At the downstream end of the guided exit road 94, an exit section 94o is provided so that vehicles 2 exiting to the public road 8 can be temporarily stopped by at least one of the following: a stop sign, a signal sign, and a gate mechanism. Multiple driveways 96 are laid out in the parking facility 9 so as to connect each parking space 92 to the exit road 94.

[0016] Such parking facilities 9 may be constructed specifically for parking vehicles 2. Alternatively, parking facilities 9 may be constructed attached to service facilities such as shops or event venues that users of vehicles 2 use after parking. Therefore, parking facilities 9 may be indoor parking facilities, outdoor parking facilities, or parking facilities that span both indoors and outdoors. In the following description, an example of applying the management system 1 of the first embodiment to a flat-type parking facility 9 as shown in Figure 2 will be explained, but the management system 1 of the first embodiment may also be applied to a multi-story parking facility 9.

[0017] As shown in Figure 1, the management system 1 is connected to each vehicle 2 via a communication network 7 constructed by the fusion of wireless and wired communication. Each vehicle 2, while parked in a parking space 92 as shown in Figure 2, has its starting and staying states managed according to remote control from the management system 1. In particular, each vehicle 2 in the first embodiment can be remotely controlled according to control signals transmitted from the management system 1 via the communication network 7, not only for starting and staying in the parking space 92, but also for driving from starting until exiting the exit section 94o. That is, the parking facility 9 in the first embodiment is a facility exclusively for autonomous vehicles 20, as a type of vehicle 2 that can drive autonomously under remote control from the management system 1.

[0018] The management system 1 is constructed in the remote management center 90 and includes at least one dedicated computer, such as a cloud server. The dedicated computer constituting the management system 1 has at least one memory 10 and one processor 12. The memory 10 is at least one type of non-transitory tangible storage medium, such as semiconductor memory, magnetic media, and optical media, which non-temporarily stores programs and data that can be read by the computer. The processor 12 includes at least one type as a core, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer)-CPU.

[0019] In the management system 1, the processor 12 executes a plurality of instructions included in the management program stored in memory 10 to manage the exit of vehicles 2 (i.e., an autonomous vehicle 20 in the first embodiment) from the exit section 94o onto the road 8, as part of the management of vehicle 2 exiting from each parking space 92 in the parking facility 9. In this way, the management system 1 constructs a plurality of functional blocks to realize such management. The plurality of functional blocks constructed in the management system 1 include an information acquisition block 100 and an exit control block 120, as shown in Figure 3.

[0020] Through the combined efforts of these blocks 100 and 120, the management method for managing the exit of vehicles 2 from each parking space 92 in the parking facility 9, specifically the exit of vehicles 2 from the exit section 94o onto the public road 8, is executed according to the management flow shown in Figures 4 and 5. This management flow is executed repeatedly while the management system 1 is running. In this management flow, each "S" represents a step executed by multiple instructions included in the management program.

[0021] In S10 shown in Figure 4, the information acquisition block 100 acquires the number of vehicles 2 permitted to exit onto the road 8 at the exit section 94o for each time period T, as the exit throughput Nt shown in Figure 6. At this time, the exit throughput Nt is defined as the number of vehicles 2 that can exit from the exit section 94o per set time, depending on at least one of the following: the length of the exit road 94, the speed limit of the exit road 94, the congestion level of the destination road 8, etc. Here, the set time is set as the time interval between the start time and the end time that define the time period T. In other words, the exit throughput Nt can be said to be the number of vehicles that can exit per time interval of the time period T.

[0022] In S10, the information acquisition block 100 acquires the exit throughput count Nt for the current time period T (i.e., the current or future execution of the management flow) based on statistical information stored in a statistical database in at least one memory 10. The actual number of exit throughput counts Nt recognized from data such as surveillance cameras that can sense the exit section 94o is statistically analyzed, and a statistically predicted value of the exit throughput count Nt, which has been stored as statistical information for each time period T, is acquired from the statistical database. Here, for example, if the difference between the actual exit throughput count Nt and the statistically predicted value falls outside the acceptable range, the statistically predicted value updated based on that actual number is stored in the statistical database. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 7, the statistically predicted value of the exit throughput count Nt may be stored in the statistical database separately for each attribute, even within the same time period T, according to at least one attribute (Figure 7 shows examples of weather and day of the week), such as weather, day of the week, and the degree of congestion on the exit road 8.

[0023] As shown in Figure 4, in S20 following S10, the information acquisition block 100 acquires the number of vehicles 2 parked in the parking space 92 that wish to depart, as the number of desired departures Nh for each time period T shown in Figure 6. At this time, the information acquisition block 100 acquires the number of desired departures Nh for the current time period T based on the desired time information stored in the collection database in at least one memory 10. Therefore, the time period T or time of departure desired by the user, entered into the input unit of the vehicle 2, may be output from the communication unit of the vehicle 2 as desired time information and collected in the collection database via the communication network 7. Alternatively, the time period T or time of departure desired by the user of the vehicle 2, entered into a mobile terminal, may be output from the mobile terminal as desired time information and collected in the collection database via the communication network 7. In either case, it is preferable that the number of desired departures Nh is acquired based on the number of desired outputs No. for each time period T (see Figure 6) represented by the collected desired time information.

[0024] However, in S20, if a vehicle 2 was lingering in the parking space 92 during the previous time period T (i.e., the time immediately preceding the current time), the information acquisition block 100 adds the number of lingering vehicles Ns to the desired output number No., as shown in columns c, e to g of Figure 6. In this case, the information acquisition block 100 acquires the desired departure number Nh, which is the number of lingering vehicles Ns from the previous time period T added to the desired departure number Nh, during the current time period T. Here, in the previous time period T, as will be explained in detail later, lingering of vehicles 2 in the parking space occurs when the desired departure number Nh exceeds the exit throughput number Nt.

[0025] As shown in Figure 4, in S30 following S20, the exit control block 120 manages the vehicles 2 to exit from the parking space 92 and then exit from the exit section 94o for each time period T by remote control according to the correlation between the number of desired departures Nh and the number of exit throughputs Nt. Therefore, the exit management in S30 is carried out according to the exit control subroutine shown in Figure 5.

[0026] In the exit control subroutine S300, the exit control block 120 determines whether the number of departure requests Nh obtained in S20 exceeds the number of exit throughputs Nt obtained in S10 during the current time period T. As a result, as shown in columns a and c of Figure 6, if the number of departure requests Nh becomes less than or equal to the number of exit throughputs Nt, S300 determines that this is a negative result, and in the exit control subroutine, S301 is executed.

[0027] In S301, the exit control block 120 remotely controls all vehicles 2 that have expressed a desire to depart before the current time period T by transmitting a control signal to depart from the parking space 92 during the current time period T. As a result, the number of vehicles 2 permitted to depart during the current time period T, Np (see columns a and c in Figure 6), will match the number of vehicles Nh that have expressed a desire to depart during the current time period T.

[0028] Therefore, the exit control block 120 in S301 manages the departure order by transmitting a control signal that matches the departure order of vehicles 2 from the parking space 92 in the order in which departure requests were output from the vehicles 2. However, if the number of vehicles 2 lingering in the previous time period T, Ns, has been added to the number of departure requests Nh by S20 (see column c in Figure 6), a control signal is transmitted that prioritizes the departure of the lingering vehicle 2 over the vehicle 2 that has output a departure request in the current time period T. In this priority processing, it is desirable that the departure order be managed so that the vehicle 2 that has a departure request in the current time period T departs after the lingering vehicle 2.

[0029] In S301, the exit control block 120 further sets an assumed route Ro for all vehicles 2 that have been assigned a starting order, assuming that they will travel through the necessary roadway 96 and exit road 94 from the parking space 92 to the exit section 94o, as shown in Figure 8. Then, in S301 of the first embodiment, the exit control block 120 transmits a control signal to each vehicle 2 that is to be started, to remotely control its travel from the exit section 94o of the exit road 94 to the road 8 according to the assumed route Ro. At this time, it is preferable that the travel speed of the vehicles 2 to be started be remotely controlled, taking into consideration, for example, the speed limits of each road 96 and 94. In addition, taking into consideration a request to stop at the exit section 94o corresponding to at least one type of stop sign, signal sign, and gate mechanism, for example, the slow speed or waiting of the vehicles 2 to be started on the exit road 94 may be remotely controlled according to the status of the remaining vehicles 2. Upon completion of the execution of S301, the management flow for the current execution round in the current time period T is completed.

[0030] On the other hand, as shown in columns b, d to g of Figure 6, if the number of departure requests Nh exceeds the number of exit throughputs Nt, and a positive determination is made by S300, the exit control subroutine executes S302. In S302, the exit control block 120 distinguishes and manages the vehicles 2 that output departure requests before the current time period T into vehicles 2 that will depart from the parking space 92 during the current time period T and vehicles 2 that will remain in the parking space 92 during the current time period T. In this case, the number of permitted departures Np for the current time period T (see columns b, d to g of Figure 6) will be the same as the number of exit throughputs Nt for the current time period T. At the same time, the number of vehicles 2 that remain in the current time period T with departure pending, shown in Figure 6 (see columns b, d to g of the same figure), will be the difference obtained by subtracting the number of exit throughputs Nt for the current time period T from the number of departure requests Nh for the current time period T.

[0031] Therefore, in S302, the exit control block 120 sends a control signal to the vehicles 2 that have output a departure request from the current time period T, up to the order corresponding to the number of exit throughputs Nt. In this way, the exit control block 120 manages the departure order for the current time period T so as to match the order of requests up to the number of exit throughputs Nt. However, if the number of vehicles that were waiting in the previous time period T has been added to the number of departure requests Nh by S20 within a range that is less than the number of exit throughputs Nt for the current time period T (see columns e and g in Figure 6), a control signal is sent to prioritize the departure of the vehicle 2 that is currently waiting over the vehicle 2 that has output a departure request for the current time period T. In this priority processing, it is desirable that the departure order be managed so that the vehicle 2 that has output a departure request for the current time period T departs after the waiting vehicle 2.

[0032] On the other hand, in S302, the exit control block 120 sends a remote control signal to vehicles 2 whose departure requests are sent in a later order than the order corresponding to the number of exit throughputs Nt, instructing them to remain in the parking space 92. In particular, if the number of vehicles remaining in the previous time period T, Ns, is added to the number of departure requests Nh by S20 within a range that exceeds the number of exit throughputs Nt for the current time period T (see column f in Figure 6), a control signal instructing vehicles 2 whose departure is also withheld in the current time period T to continue remaining in the parking space is sent. Therefore, it is desirable that such vehicles 2 that continue to remain in the parking space be managed so that they are permitted to depart in the earliest possible time period T in the next time or later.

[0033] In S302, the exit control block 120 further sets an assumed route Ro for each vehicle 2 that is to be departed and sends a remote control signal that follows the route Ro, similar to S301. Upon completion of S302, the management flow for the current execution in the current time period T is completed.

[0034] (Effects) The effects of the first embodiment described above are explained below.

[0035] According to the first embodiment, the number of vehicles 2 permitted to exit onto the road 8 at the exit 94o from the parking facility 9, Nt, is acquired for each time period T. At the same time, the number of vehicles 2 wishing to depart from the parking spaces 92 of the parking facility 9, Nh, is also acquired for each time period T. The correlation between the acquired number of exit throughputs Nt and the number of departure requests Nh affects the passage time for each vehicle 2 on the exit road 94 to the exit 94o. Therefore, by remote control corresponding to the correlation between the number of departure requests Nh and the number of exit throughputs Nt, it is possible to manage the vehicles 2 departing from the parking spaces 92 for each time period T according to this correlation, and optimize the passage time for each vehicle 2 on the exit road 94 from the parking spaces 92 to the exit 94o. Thus, it is possible to reduce the risk of congestion for vehicles 2 when exiting from the parking facility 9 to the road 8. Furthermore, it becomes possible to reduce the amount of energy wasted due to congestion at the time of exit, out of the total energy consumed by the vehicle 2 in order to exit the parking facility 9 onto the road 8.

[0036] According to the first embodiment, when the number of desired departures Nh exceeds the number of exit throughputs Nt, the passage time of vehicles 2 on the exit road 94 is likely to exceed the time interval of the time period T. Therefore, by remote control that responds to the number of desired departures Nh exceeding the number of exit throughputs Nt, vehicles 2 to be departed from the parking space 92 and vehicles 2 to remain in the parking space 92 are managed separately for each time period T, so that the passage time of each vehicle 2 on the exit road 94 can be optimized for smooth exit. Thus, it is possible to ensure the reliability of the effect of reducing the risk of congestion for vehicles 2 as they exit from the parking facility 9 to the road 8.

[0037] According to the first embodiment, the departure order of vehicles 2 from the parking space 92 is managed remotely based on the order in which departure requests are output from the vehicles 2 for each time period T. This management of departure order ensures fairness among the vehicles 2 that have output departure requests, while optimizing the passage time of these vehicles 2 on the exit road 94 to reduce the risk of congestion. In particular, in parking facilities 9 attached to service facilities, the departure order managed in the order of requests can be guaranteed, allowing users of vehicles 2 to use the service facility until just before the time period T in which they wished to depart.

[0038] According to the first embodiment, if the number of vehicles wishing to depart Nh in the previous time period T exceeded the number of vehicles that exited through Nt, the number of vehicles 2 that remained in the parking space 92, Ns, will be added to the number of vehicles wishing to depart Nh in the current time period T. Therefore, in the remote control that corresponds to the correlation between the number of vehicles wishing to depart Nh (with the number of vehicles remaining Ns added) and the number of vehicles that exited through Nt in the current time period T, the departure order from the parking space 92 is managed so that vehicles 2 that are remaining in the parking space 92 are given priority for departure. This management of the departure order makes it possible to minimize the dwell time of vehicles 2 that are left to remain in order to reduce the risk of congestion.

[0039] According to the first embodiment, in a parking facility 9 dedicated to autonomous vehicles 20, remote control signals are transmitted from the management system 1 to the vehicles 2 parked in the parking spaces 92. This allows for the optimization of the passage time for each vehicle 2 on the exit road 94 by directly controlling the vehicles 2 that depart from the parking spaces 92 and the vehicles 2 that remain in the parking spaces 92 through remote control. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the risk of congestion for autonomous vehicles 20 as vehicles 2 exiting from the parking facility 9 onto the road 8.

[0040] (Second Embodiment) The second embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment. The management system 1 of the second embodiment may be applied to a valet parking type parking facility 9 as shown in Figure 11, in addition to a flat-type parking facility 9 or a multi-story parking facility 9 as shown in Figure 9. In any of these structural types, as in the first embodiment, the second embodiment assumes a parking facility 9 exclusively for an autonomous vehicle 20 as a type of vehicle 2, and is limited to a single exit lane 94.

[0041] In the management flow of the second embodiment, the exit control subroutine shown in Figure 13 executes S2301 and S2302, respectively, replacing S301 and S302 in the first embodiment. Specifically, S2301 is executed in the same way as in the first embodiment when the number of desired departures Nh becomes less than or equal to the number of exit throughputs Nt, while S2302 is executed when the number of desired departures Nh exceeds the number of exit throughputs Nt.

[0042] Specifically, in both S2301 and S2302, the exit control block 120 calculates the total length of the assumed route Ro, which is expected to be between the parking space 92 and the exit 94o, as shown in Figures 9 to 12. Then, in S2301 and S2302, the exit control block 120 selects a vehicle 2 to be temporarily stopped on the assumed route Ro by remote control according to the length of the assumed route Ro, from among the vehicles 2 to be given a starting order, similar to S301 or S302 of the first embodiment. Furthermore, in S2301 and S2302, the exit control block 120 transmits a remote control signal to the vehicles 2 to be started, so as to achieve management that matches not only the starting order from the parking space 92 but also the exit order from the exit 94o with the desired starting order. As a result, the exit order matches not only the desired order but also the starting order that follows the desired order.

[0043] The stop control block 120 in S2301 and S2302 sets the temporary stop position Po of the vehicle 2 to be started, which is to be temporarily stopped on the assumed route Ro in the parking facility 9, to the required roadway 96 on the upstream side of the exit road 94, as shown in FIGS. 9 to 12. At this time, particularly in the case of a valet parking type parking facility 9, for example, the temporary stop position Po may be set at the boarding and alighting space 98 on the assumed route Ro towards which the vehicle 2 to be started travels according to remote control, from a planar or three-dimensional parking space 92 as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

[0044] By executing such an exit control subroutine, in a planar or multi-layer parking facility 9, for example, for a vehicle 2b (see FIG. 10) whose assumed route Ro is shorter and whose starting order from the parking space 92 is slower compared to the vehicle 2a (see FIG. 9), a control signal instructing resumption of travel after a temporary stop at the position Po is transmitted. At this time, for the vehicle 2a, a control signal instructing continuous travel without temporary stop except waiting at the exit road 94 according to the first embodiment (in the case of FIG. 10), or a control signal instructing resumption of travel (not shown) after a temporary stop at the position Po for a shorter period than the vehicle 2b, is transmitted.

[0045] On the other hand, in a valet parking type parking facility 9 as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, for example, for a vehicle 2d (see FIG. 12) whose assumed route Ro is shorter and whose starting order from the parking space 92 is slower compared to the vehicle 2c (see FIG. 11), a control signal instructing resumption of travel after a longer temporary stop at the position Po than the vehicle 2c is transmitted. In other words, for the vehicle 2c, a control signal instructing resumption of travel (in the case of FIG. 11) after a shorter temporary stop at the position Po than the vehicle 2d is transmitted.

[0046] According to the above second embodiment, in the parking facility 9 dedicated to the self-driving vehicle 20 as the type of the vehicle 2, the vehicle 2 that is temporarily stopped on the assumed route Ro according to the length of the assumed route Ro assumed from the parking space 92 to the exit portion 94o is selected by remote control. According to this, not only the departure order from the parking space 92 but also the exit order from the exit portion 94o can be managed in the desired order. Therefore, with respect to the traffic jam risk in the exit road 94, combined with the reduction effect by departure order management, it is also possible to achieve the reduction effect by exit order adjustment specialized for the self-driving vehicle 20 among the vehicles 2.

[0047] Furthermore, according to the second embodiment, on the assumed route Ro in the valet parking type parking facility 9, the vehicle 2 as the self-driving vehicle 20 is managed by remote control so as to temporarily stop at the boarding and alighting space 98, whereby both the departure order and the exit order can be adjusted to the desired order. According to this, with respect to the traffic jam risk in the exit road 94, combined with the reduction effect by departure order management, it is also possible to achieve the reduction effect by exit order adjustment specialized for the self-driving vehicle 20 of the valet parking type parking facility 9.

[0048] (Third Embodiment) The third embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment. The management system 1 of the third embodiment is applied to a parking facility 9 having at least one exit road 3940, 3942 for each type of the vehicle 2, such as a planar parking facility 9 or a multi-level parking facility 9 as shown in FIG. 4. Here, in particular, the parking facility 9 of the third embodiment has an exit road 3940 having an exit portion 94o dedicated to the self-driving vehicle 20 as the type of the vehicle 2 and an exit road 3942 having an exit portion 94o dedicated to the manually driven vehicle 22 as a different type of the vehicle 2, each existing individually one by one across the set formation area of the parking space 92. In the example of FIG. 14, on the road 8, the exit portion 94o of the dedicated exit road 3942 for the manually driven vehicle 22 is connected to the upstream side, while the exit portion 94o of the dedicated exit road 3940 for the self-driving vehicle 20 is connected to the downstream side. However, it is of course acceptable if the upstream and downstream relationship of the connection is reversed.

[0049] In the parking facility 9 of the third embodiment, as shown in Figure 15, a restriction mechanism 3920 is installed in each parking space 92 that can restrict departure regardless of the type of vehicle 2 (not shown in Figure 14 above). Here, the restriction mechanism 3920 is constructed to be able to mechanically control the departure and dwelling of vehicle 2 in the parking space 92 according to a control signal transmitted from the management system 1 via the communication network 7 for remote control. As such a restriction mechanism 3920, an automatic locking mechanism may be employed that controls the dwelling and departure of vehicle 2 by voice output along with the vertical drive of a locking plate installed on the ground in the parking space 92. Alternatively, as a restriction mechanism 3920, an automatic gate mechanism may be employed that controls the departure and dwelling of vehicle 2 by voice output along with the opening and closing drive of a gate bar suspended in the space above the side end of the driveway 96 in the parking space 92. The restriction mechanism 3920 may of any type other than these automatic locking mechanism and automatic gate mechanism. Furthermore, an automatic gate mechanism may be provided at the entrance to the dedicated exit road 3940 for the autonomous vehicle 20, similar to that for the parking space 92, thereby restricting the entry of a manually driven vehicle 22 to the said entrance.

[0050] In the third embodiment, the management flow is executed for each type of vehicle 2. Therefore, the following explanation will focus on the differences between the third embodiment and the first embodiment regarding the management flow for each type of vehicle 2, and will omit explanations of points that are similar to the first embodiment. In the following explanation, the type of vehicle 2 that distinguishes between the autonomous vehicle 20 and the manually driven vehicle 22 will simply be referred to as "type".

[0051] Specifically, in S10 for each vehicle type, the number of exit throughputs Nt on the dedicated exit lane 3940 for the autonomous vehicle 20 and the number of exit throughputs Nt on the dedicated exit lane 3942 for the manually driven vehicle 22 are acquired independently. In S20 for each vehicle type, the number of desired departures Nh from the autonomous vehicle 20 and the number of desired departures Nh from the manually driven vehicle 22 are acquired independently. In S30 for each vehicle type, remote control based on the correlation between the number of desired departures Nh from the autonomous vehicle 20 and the number of exit throughputs Nt on the exit lane 3940, and remote control based on the correlation between the number of desired departures Nh from the manually driven vehicle 22 and the number of exit throughputs Nt on the exit lane 3942 are implemented by independent exit control subroutines.

[0052] Here, in the exit control subroutine for each vehicle type, as remote control in S301, a control signal is sent to the restriction mechanism 3920 of the parking space 92 where the autonomous vehicle 20 or manually driven vehicle 22 that wishes to depart is parked, thereby managing the departure order. Furthermore, in the exit control subroutine S301 for the autonomous vehicle 20 that is to be departed and has been given a departure order, remote control may be performed on the assumed route Ro (see Figure 14), or autonomous driving control that does not rely on remote control may be performed on the same route Ro. On the other hand, in the exit control subroutine S301 for the manually driven vehicle 22 that is to be departed and has been given a departure order, it is preferable that navigation guidance that does not rely on remote control is performed on the assumed route Ro (see Figure 14) for the user who is driving manually. Furthermore, in S301 for both the autonomous vehicle 20 and the manually driven vehicle 22, it is preferable that the assumed route Ro is assumed to be such that interference not only between vehicles of the same type but also between vehicles of different types can be avoided. In this case, when managing entry to each parking space 92 in the parking facility 9, each vehicle 2 may be parked in a parking space 92 (as in Figure 14) that is as close as possible to the exit road 3940, 3942 corresponding to each type of vehicle 2.

[0053] Furthermore, in the exit control subroutine for each vehicle type, as remote control in S302, a control signal is sent to the restriction mechanism 3920 of the parking space 92 where the autonomous vehicle 20 or manually driven vehicle 22 that wishes to depart is parked, thereby performing management that distinguishes between departure and lingering. In addition, in the exit control subroutine S302 for the autonomous vehicle 20 that is to be departed and has been given a departure order, remote control or autonomous driving control may be performed, similar to S301 described above. On the other hand, in the exit control subroutine S302 for the manually driven vehicle 22 that is to be departed and has been given a departure order, navigation display may be performed, similar to S301 described above.

[0054] According to the third embodiment described above, in a parking facility 9 where a restriction mechanism 3920 capable of restricting the departure of either an automated vehicle 20 or a manually driven vehicle 22 is installed in the parking space 92, a remote control signal is transmitted from the management system 1 to the restriction mechanism 3920. This allows for the indirect management of vehicles 2 departing from the parking space 92 and vehicles 2 remaining in the parking space 92 through remote control of the restriction mechanism 3920, regardless of the type of vehicle 2, thereby optimizing the passage time for each vehicle 2 in each exit lane 3940, 3942. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the risk of congestion associated with exiting from the parking facility 9 to the road 8 for any type of vehicle 2.

[0055] Furthermore, according to the third embodiment, in a parking facility 9 where there are separate exit sections 94o dedicated to autonomous vehicles 20 and separate exit sections 94o dedicated to manually driven vehicles 22, remote control can be realized according to the desired number of departures Nh for each type of vehicle 2 and the exit throughput Nt for each exit section 94o. As a result, for manually driven vehicles 22, whose passage time on the exit road 3942 is more prone to variation than that of autonomous vehicles 20 on the exit road 3940, passage time can be effectively reduced, for example, by obtaining an exit throughput Nt that is reduced to a safer level than that for autonomous vehicles 20. Therefore, even in a parking facility 9 where autonomous vehicles 20 and manually driven vehicles 22 are mixed, it is possible to reduce the risk of congestion associated with exiting onto the road 8.

[0056] (Other Embodiments) Although several embodiments have been described so far, this disclosure is not to be construed as being limited to those embodiments, and can be applied to various embodiments and combinations without departing from the spirit of this disclosure.

[0057] In the modified embodiments of the first to third embodiments, the dedicated computer constituting the management system 1 may have at least one of the digital circuit and the analog circuit as a processor. Here, the digital circuit is at least one of the following: ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), SOC (System on a Chip), PGA (Programmable Gate Array), and CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device). Furthermore, such a digital circuit may have a memory that stores a program.

[0058] In the modified versions of the first and second embodiments, in a parking facility 9 with multiple exit lanes 94, the sum of the exit throughput numbers Nt in those exit lanes 94 may be obtained by S10 of the management flow, and then compared with the desired departure number Nh by S30 of the same flow (specifically, S300 of the exit subroutine). In the modified versions of the first and second embodiments, in a parking facility 9 with multiple exit lanes 94, the exit throughput number Nt and the desired departure number Nh may be obtained for each exit lane 94 by S10 and S20 of the management flow, and then compared for each exit lane 94 by S30 of the same flow (specifically, S300 of the exit subroutine).

[0059] In a modified version of the first embodiment, in a parking facility 9 provided with a restriction mechanism 3920 similar to the third embodiment, remote control of starting and staying by the restriction mechanism 3920 may be performed by exit control subroutines S301 and S302 in the management flow. In a modified version of the third embodiment, in a parking facility 9 provided with a common exit section 94o regardless of the type of vehicle 2, a management flow including an exit control subroutine regardless of the type of vehicle 2 may be executed.

[0060] In a modified version of the third embodiment, a management flow including an exit control subroutine similar to that of the third embodiment may be executed in a parking facility 9 where a dedicated parking space 92 is provided for each type of vehicle 2. In a modified version of the third embodiment, a management flow including an exit control subroutine similar to that of the third embodiment may be executed for manually driven vehicles 22, and an exit control subroutine similar to that of the first embodiment may be executed for autonomous vehicles 20.

[0061] (Addendum) This specification discloses several technical ideas and several combinations thereof, as listed below. The symbols in parentheses in this addendum indicate the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments detailed above, and do not limit the technical scope of this disclosure.

[0062] (Technical Concept 1) A management system having a processor (12) for managing the exit of each vehicle from an exit section (94o) to a road (8) in a parking facility (9) in which vehicles (2) can be parked individually in multiple parking spaces (92), wherein the processor is configured to acquire an exit throughput number (Nt), which is the number of vehicles permitted to exit to the road at the exit section for each time period (T); acquire a departure request number (Nh), which is the number of vehicles parked in the parking spaces that wish to depart, for each time period; and manage which vehicles to depart from the parking spaces for each time period by remote control according to the correlation between the departure request number and the exit throughput number.

[0063] (Technical Concept 2) The management of the vehicles by remote control is a management system according to Technical Concept 1, which includes managing the vehicles to be released from the parking space and the vehicles to remain in the parking space separately according to the time period, by remote control in response to the number of requested departures exceeding the number of exit throughputs.

[0064] (Technical Concept 3) The management of the vehicle by remote control is a management system according to Technical Concept 1 or 2, which includes managing the order in which the vehicle departs from the parking space by remote control, in the order in which departure requests are output from the vehicle for each time period.

[0065] (Technical Concept 4) The acquisition of the number of departure requests includes adding the number of vehicles (Ns) that were parked in the parking space when the number of departure requests exceeded the exit throughput in the previous time period to the current time period to acquire the number of departure requests, and the management of the vehicles by remote control includes managing the departure order from the parking space so as to prioritize the departure of vehicles parked in the parking space by remote control in accordance with the correlation between the number of departure requests (with the number of vehicles parked added to the current time period) and the exit throughput, as described in Technical Concept 3.

[0066] (Technical Concept 5) The management of the vehicle by remote control is a management system according to technical concept 3 or 4, which includes selecting the vehicle to be temporarily stopped on the assumed route (Ro) by remote control according to the length of the assumed route (Ro) assumed from the parking space to the exit, in a parking facility dedicated to an autonomous vehicle (20) as the type of vehicle, and managing the order in which the vehicles exit from the exit in the desired order.

[0067] (Technical Concept 6) The management of the vehicle by remote control is a management system according to Technical Concept 5, which includes managing the vehicle that is temporarily stopped in the boarding / alighting space (98) on the assumed route in the valet parking type parking facility by remote control, and adjusting the order in which the vehicles exit from the exit in the desired order.

[0068] (Technical Concept 7) The management of the vehicle by remote control is a management system according to any one of Technical Concepts 1 to 6, which includes managing the vehicle to be started from the parking space and the vehicle to remain in the parking space by transmitting a remote control signal to the vehicle parked in the parking space at the parking facility dedicated to an autonomous vehicle (20) as the type of vehicle.

[0069] (Technical Concept 8) The management of the vehicle by remote control is a management system according to any one of Technical Concepts 1 to 6, which includes, in a parking facility where a limiting mechanism capable of restricting the departure of the vehicle in the parking space is installed, the management of the vehicle to be departed from the parking space and the vehicle to be left in the parking space by transmitting a control signal for the remote control to the limiting mechanism.

[0070] (Technical Concept 9) The management of the vehicles by remote control is a management system according to Technical Concept 8, in a parking facility where there are separate exits dedicated to autonomous vehicles (20) and manual vehicles (22), the management of the vehicles by remote control according to the number of desired departures for each type of vehicle and the number of exit throughputs for each exit, the management of the vehicles to be departed from the parking space and the vehicles to be left in the parking space.

[0071] Furthermore, the technical concepts 1 to 9 described above may also be understood within the respective technical concepts of the methods and programs.

Claims

1. A management system having a processor (12) for managing the exit of each vehicle from an exit section (94o) to a road (8) in a parking facility (9) where vehicles (2) can be parked individually in multiple parking spaces (92), wherein the processor is configured to: acquire an exit throughput number (Nt), which is the number of vehicles permitted to exit to the road at the exit section for each time period (T); acquire a departure request number (Nh), which is the number of vehicles parked in the parking spaces that wish to depart, for each time period; and manage which vehicles to depart from the parking spaces for each time period by remote control according to the correlation between the departure request number and the exit throughput number.

2. The management of the vehicles by remote control, the management of the vehicles by remote control, wherein the vehicles to be released from the parking space and the vehicles to be kept in the parking space are managed separately according to the time period, in response to the number of requested departures exceeding the number of exit throughputs.

3. The management of the vehicle by remote control includes, by remote control, managing the order in which the vehicle departs from the parking space in the order in which departure requests are output from the vehicle for each time period.

4. The acquisition of the number of departure requests includes adding the number of vehicles (Ns) that were parked in the parking space when the number of departure requests exceeded the exit throughput in the previous time period to the current time period to acquire the number of departure requests, and the management of the vehicles by remote control includes managing the departure order from the parking space so as to prioritize the departure of vehicles parked in the parking space by remote control in accordance with the correlation between the number of departure requests (with the number of vehicles parked added to the current time period) and the exit throughput, as described in claim 3.

5. The management of the vehicles by remote control, in a parking facility dedicated to an autonomous vehicle (20) as the type of vehicle, the management of the vehicles by remote control, which includes selecting the vehicles to be temporarily stopped on the assumed route (Ro) according to the length of the assumed route (Ro) assumed from the parking space to the exit, and managing the order in which the vehicles exit from the exit in the desired order.

6. The management of the vehicle by remote control includes, by remote control, managing the vehicle to be temporarily stopped in the boarding / alighting space (98) on the assumed route in the valet parking type parking facility, and adjusting the order of departure from the exit in the desired order.

7. The management of the vehicle by remote control, the management of the vehicle by remote control, in a parking facility dedicated to an autonomous vehicle (20) as the type of vehicle, includes transmitting a remote control signal to the vehicle parked in the parking space, thereby managing which vehicle is to be started from the parking space and which vehicle is to remain in the parking space, according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The management of the vehicle by remote control, in a parking facility where a limiting mechanism capable of restricting the departure of the vehicle is installed in the parking space, the management of the vehicle by remote control by transmitting a control signal for the remote control to the limiting mechanism, thereby managing the vehicle to be departed from the parking space and the vehicle to remain in the parking space, according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

9. The management of the vehicles by remote control, in a parking facility where an exit section dedicated to an autonomous vehicle (20) and an exit section dedicated to a manual vehicle (22) exist separately, the management of the vehicles by remote control according to the number of desired departures for each type of vehicle and the number of exit throughputs for each exit section, the management of the vehicles to be departed from the parking space and the vehicles to be left in the parking space.

10. A management method performed by a processor (12) to manage the exit of each vehicle from an exit section (94o) to a road (8) in a parking facility (9) in which vehicles (2) can be parked individually in multiple parking spaces (92), the management method comprising: obtaining an exit throughput number (Nt), which is the number of vehicles permitted to exit to the road at the exit section for each time period (T); obtaining a departure request number (Nh), which is the number of vehicles parked in the parking spaces that wish to depart, for each time period; and managing which vehicles to depart from the parking spaces for each time period by remote control in accordance with the correlation of the departure request number with respect to the exit throughput number.

11. A management program stored in a storage medium (10) for managing the exit of each vehicle from an exit section (94o) to a road (8) in a parking facility (9) where vehicles (2) can be parked individually in multiple parking spaces (92), the management program includes instructions for causing a processor (12) to perform said management, the instructions for which the program performs: obtaining an exit throughput number (Nt), which is the number of vehicles permitted to exit to the road at the exit section for each time period (T); obtaining a departure request number (Nh), which is the number of vehicles parked in the parking spaces that wish to depart, for each time period; and managing which vehicles are to depart from the parking spaces for each time period by remote control in accordance with the correlation of the departure request number to the exit throughput number.

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