Parking Position Assignment Based on User Flow Lines

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing parking lot management systems fail to consider the user's flow line from the parking position to the facility or vice versa, leading to suboptimal user satisfaction.

Innovation Solution

A parking lot management apparatus that includes a unit to manage parking lot status, associate user information with vehicle numbers, detect vehicle movements, and determine parking positions to minimize user movement within the facility based on facility use information.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If a recommended parking position is determined based on congestion state in the parking lot, then parking space utilization is improved, but user satisfaction deteriorates because the user's flow line is not taken into account

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveparking space utilizationVSAvoiduser satisfaction

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically determines parking positions by considering both congestion state and user flow lines. The determination unit adjusts parking position assignments based on real-time detection of user flow lines, making the parking guidance adaptive to actual user behavior patterns rather than using static congestion-based rules alone.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system incorporates feedback from flow line detection units that monitor actual user movement patterns. This feedback is used by the determination unit to refine parking position recommendations, creating a closed-loop system that learns from actual user behavior to improve both parking utilization and user satisfaction over time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Device complexity

If parking positions are assigned without considering user flow lines, then system complexity is reduced, but user movement distance increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem complexityVSAvoiduser movement distance

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSLength of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by detecting flow lines and determining optimal parking positions in advance of actual user arrival. The detection unit identifies flow line patterns and the determination unit pre-calculates optimal parking positions based on these patterns, so that when users arrive, the recommended parking positions are already optimized to minimize movement distance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS12482358B2Parking lot management apparatus, parking lot management method, and non-transitory computer readable medium

Publication Date: 2025.11.25 NEC CORP

AI summary

A parking lot management apparatus according to the present disclosure includes: a parking lot management unit configured to manage a use status of a parking lot in a facility; a user information management unit configured to associate facility use information of a user who uses the facility with a vehicle number of a vehicle used by the user and manage the associated information; a detection unit configured to detect a first vehicle number of a first vehicle moving in the parking lot; and a determination unit configured to determine, from among a plurality of parking positions that are not currently being used, a parking position of the first vehicle based on the facility use information associated with the first vehicle number so that a moving distance of the user moving in the facility is reduced.