JP2002109589A - Parking lot management device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To search a parking lot monitoring moving image of a specific vehicle or a specific time at a high speed by a shooting time or a license plate number of the vehicle, which has conventionally taken time and effort to retrieve the head, and to start the search. Play out. SOLUTION: A monitoring video of a parking lot is digitized and recorded on a hard disk drive device, and a photographing time of the monitoring video and a license plate number of a photographed vehicle are recorded in association with the monitoring video, Without stopping the recording of the monitoring video, the monitoring video can be retrieved and reproduced from the photographing time or the number plate number of the specific vehicle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is characterized in that the inside of a parking lot is monitored using a moving image, and the parking time of the entering and leaving vehicles is managed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional parking lot monitoring apparatus, a monitoring camera is installed in a parking lot, and a monitoring video image of a vehicle entering and leaving the parking lot is recorded using an endless VTR tape, or It was recorded by a time-lapse VTR device. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a parking lot. In the drawing, 1 is a parking lot, 2 is a vehicle entering the parking lot, 3 is a parking lot monitoring television camera for photographing the vehicle 2, and 4 is laid in the parking lot. The parking area is shown, and the parking lot monitoring television camera 3a monitors a vehicle entering the parking lot entrance, and the parking lot monitoring television camera 3b monitors the approaching vehicle at the parking lot exit.

[0003] In addition, the use of the parking lot of the vehicle is managed by using a device that manages the use of the parking lot separately from a device that monitors the parking lot. For example, a parking ticket that records the entry time is issued from an entrance ticket issuing machine (not shown) when the vehicle enters the parking lot, and is parked at an exit clearing machine (not shown) when the vehicle leaves the parking lot. Insert a ticket. The exit clearing machine calculates the use time of the parking lot based on the exit time and the entry time recorded on the parking ticket, and adjusts the parking fee according to the use time.

[0004]

In the conventional parking lot monitoring device, since the monitoring video is recorded using the VTR device as described above, it is necessary to interrupt the recording in order to reproduce the recorded video. was there. In addition, in order to play back a moving image of a specific vehicle, the observer fast-forwards the tape and searches for the image of the specific vehicle recorded in the tape based on, for example, the vehicle type and paint color, etc. The problem is that it is difficult to perform quick playback, and for example, when playing back a video record of a vehicle with a specific license plate, it took a considerable amount of time to search for that video. was there. In addition, when entering and exiting the parking lot, it is necessary to issue a parking ticket at the entrance of the parking lot or settle the parking fee using the parking ticket, and it takes time to process at the entrance and exit of the parking lot. Sometimes traffic was congested at the doorway.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and has as its object to locate a moving image of a specific vehicle at high speed from recorded information of the moving image. It is another object of the present invention to manage the use of the parking lot of the vehicle from the video for monitoring the vehicle.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a parking lot management apparatus for photographing a vehicle entering and exiting a parking lot, and associating a digitalized moving image with shooting time information of the moving image. And a search processing unit for searching for and outputting a moving image recorded from the recording device based on the shooting time information.

A parking lot management apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention provides a moving picture digital conversion section for converting a moving picture obtained by photographing a vehicle entering and exiting a parking lot into digital data, and a moving picture converted into the digitalized moving picture. A recording device that records time-related digital information by associating the time information; a search processing unit that searches the recording device for a moving image that has been converted into digital data using the shooting time information; And a moving image analog conversion unit for returning to a video signal.

A parking lot management device according to a third aspect of the present invention includes a number plate reading unit that reads a number plate of a vehicle entering and exiting a parking lot and converts the number plate into digitized number plate information, A recording device that records a moving image that is obtained by photographing the vehicle and is converted into digital data, in association with shooting time information of the moving image, and records the number plate information in association with shooting time information of a moving image of the vehicle. And a search processing unit for searching and outputting a digitized moving image of the vehicle entering and exiting the parking lot from the recording device based on the input license plate information.

The parking lot management device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the parking lot management device according to the first to third aspects, further comprising an erasure control unit for erasing a moving image for which a predetermined period has elapsed from the photographing time from the recording device. is there.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the parking lot management device according to the first to third aspects, when the remaining amount of the recording area of the recording device becomes equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the recording time is set in chronological order. A recording control unit for erasing the selected moving image from the recording device.

The parking lot managing device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the parking lot managing device according to the third aspect of the present invention, further comprising an entrance / exit managing unit for monitoring a number plate of the vehicle entering / leaving the parking lot. The vehicle is provided with means for searching for the entry time of a vehicle having the same number plate as the plate, calculating the parking lot usage time of the vehicle, and calculating a parking fee according to the parking lot usage time.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of a parking lot management device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 5 denotes a moving image digital converter for converting an analog video signal input taken at the entrance or exit of the parking lot by the parking monitoring television camera 3 (shown in FIG. 6) into a digital image, and 6 a number plate. A reading unit, 7 is a hard disk drive, 8 is a search processing unit, 9 is a moving image analog conversion unit, 10 is a license plate information search unit, 11 is an erasure control unit, and 12 is a recording control unit. In FIG. 1, a moving image digital conversion unit 5 to which an analog video signal from a parking lot monitoring television camera is input is connected to a number plate reading unit 6 and a hard disk drive device 7. , The hard disk drive 7 is connected to a search processing unit 8, and the search processing unit 8 is connected to a moving image analog conversion unit 9 that outputs an analog video signal to an external monitoring television monitor (not shown). The number plate information search unit 10 is a search processing unit 8
And the erasure control unit 11 and the recording control unit 12 are connected to the hard disk drive 7.

FIG. 2 is a moving image recording list of the parking lot management device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The moving image recording list is configured in a format in which the photographing time of the digitally converted moving image and the recording position of the digitally converted moving image on the hard disk drive 7 are associated with each other, and is recorded on the hard disk drive 7.

FIG. 3 is a license plate number record list of the parking lot management device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The license plate number record list is configured in a format in which the number plate number of a vehicle entering and exiting the parking lot is associated with the photographing time at which the vehicle was photographed, and is recorded in the hard disk drive device 7. The analog video signal output from the parking lot monitoring television camera 3 is
The moving image is converted into a digital image by the moving image digital converter 5. The license plate reading unit 6 performs a cutout process, a compression process, a coordinate conversion process, a difference process, an edge extraction process, a binarization process,
Image processing such as character pattern recognition is performed, characters are extracted from the license plate of the vehicle existing in the image of the parking lot monitoring television camera, and the number plate number of the vehicle entering and exiting the parking lot is read.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. In FIG. 1, an analog video signal from a parking lot monitoring television camera 3 is input to a moving image digital converter 5, converted into a digital moving image by a predetermined conversion method, and continuously recorded in a hard disk drive 7. . At the same time, at the time of recording the digital moving image, the recording position of the digital moving image on the hard disk drive 7 is detected at predetermined time intervals, and the photographing time of the digital moving image is determined based on the detected time. Ask. The obtained photographing time and the recording position of the detected digital moving image on the hard disk drive 7 are recorded in the hard disk drive 7 in association with each other in the form of a moving image recording list shown in FIG. When a license plate number of the vehicle is captured in the digital moving image, a license plate number is read by the license plate reading unit 6, and the read license plate number and the capturing time of the vehicle are set to the numbers shown in FIG. These are recorded in the hard disk drive device 7 in association with each other in a plate number record list. If the same number plate number is read continuously, the number plate number and the photographing time read from the second time onward are not recorded in the hard disk drive device 7.

The search processing unit 8 searches the moving image recording list for the photographing time closest to the time information input by the user, and continuously reads digital moving images from the recording position associated with the photographing time to read the moving image. Output to the analog converter 9. The moving image analog converter 9 converts the input digital moving image to an analog video signal and outputs the analog video signal to an external monitoring television monitor.

The number plate information retrieving unit 10 retrieves a number plate number corresponding to the number plate information inputted by the user from the number plate number record list, and retrieves the photographing time associated with the number plate number. 8 is output. The search processing unit 8 searches the moving image recording list for the photographing time, continuously reads a digital moving image from a recording position associated with the photographing time, and outputs the digital moving image to the moving image analog converting unit 9. The moving image analog converter 9 converts the input digital moving image to an analog video signal and outputs the analog video signal to an external monitoring television monitor.

The recording control unit 12 monitors the moving image recording list and deletes, from the hard disk drive 3, a moving image in which the difference between the current time and the photographing time exceeds a predetermined value.

The erasure control unit 11 monitors the recording amount of the digitized moving image on the hard disk drive 7, and when the recording area of the hard disk drive 7 becomes smaller than a predetermined amount, the erasing control unit 11 deletes the moving image. Search and delete the moving image with the oldest shooting time from the list.

In the present embodiment, the configuration is described in which the input is made from a single monitoring television camera. However, the configuration may be such that the input is made simultaneously from a plurality of monitoring cameras.

Embodiment 2 FIG. FIG. 4 is a structural diagram of a parking lot management device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In FIG. 4, 5 is a moving image digital conversion unit, 6 is a number plate reading unit, 7 is a hard disk drive, and 13 is an entrance / exit management unit. In FIG. 4, a moving image digital conversion unit 5 to which an analog video signal is input from a parking lot entrance monitoring television camera and a moving image digital conversion unit 5 to which an analog video signal is input from a parking exit monitoring television camera are provided. Each of the two number plate reading units 6 is connected to a different number plate reading unit 6, and the two number plate reading units 6 are connected to a single hard disk drive device 7,
The entry / exit management unit 13 is connected to the hard disk drive 7.

FIG. 5 shows a parking lot entrance number record list and a parking lot exit number record list of the parking lot management device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. These license plate number record lists are configured in a format in which the number plate number of the vehicle entering the parking lot or the vehicle leaving the parking lot is associated with the photographing time at which the vehicle was photographed, and are recorded on the hard disk drive device. You.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 4, an analog video signal from a monitoring television camera at the entrance of a parking lot is input to a moving image digital conversion unit 5 and converted into a digital moving image by a predetermined conversion method, and a number plate reading unit 6 is used.
Is input to When the license plate of the vehicle is photographed in the digital moving image, the license plate reading unit 6 reads the license plate number,
The read number plate number and the photographing time of the vehicle are recorded in the hard disk drive device 7 in association with each other in a parking plate entrance number plate list shown in FIG.

The analog video signal from the monitoring television camera at the parking lot exit is input to the moving picture digital conversion unit 5 like the analog video signal from the monitoring television camera for the parking lot entrance, and the number plate reading unit is used. 6
Is recorded in the hard disk drive device 7 in the parking lot exit number record list shown in FIG.

The entry / exit management unit 13 searches the number plate number record for the parking lot exit from the number plate number record list for the parking lot exit, and retrieves the same number plate number from the number plate number record list for the parking lot exit. The photographing time at the parking lot exit of the vehicle with the number is compared with the photographing time at the parking lot entrance, the parking lot use time is calculated from the difference between the times, and based on the calculated parking lot use time,
The parking lot usage fee is calculated according to a preset conversion table between the parking lot usage time and the parking lot usage fee. The calculated parking fee is presented to a parking lot user through a display (not shown) provided at the parking lot exit. Based on the displayed amount, the parking lot user can collect tolls at a toll settlement machine (not shown) provided at the parking lot exit or a toll booth (not shown) arranged at the parking lot exit. Pay the parking fee to the staff. In addition, ETC (E
electronic Toll Collection System (DSC) installed onboard the ETC and DSRC (Dedicat
ed Short Range Communication), if a system that communicates with the antenna is applied, ETC
As the vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle device passes through the parking lot exit, information for toll collection is transferred without contact, and the usage fee for the parking lot is automatically settled.

[0026]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a moving image of a vehicle entering and exiting a parking lot is recorded in the recording device in association with the photographing time information, so that it can be used from the photographing time information. It is possible to retrieve a moving image requested by a user at a high speed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a moving image photographed of a vehicle entering and exiting a parking lot is recorded in a recording device in association with photographing time information. Images can be searched at high speed, and moving images can be reproduced without stopping recording.

According to the third aspect, the license plate of the vehicle entering and exiting the parking lot and the photographing time information of the vehicle are recorded in the recording device in association with the moving image of the vehicle. A moving image requested by the user can be retrieved and reproduced at high speed from the number plate number.

Further, according to the fourth aspect, by automatically erasing a moving image for which a predetermined time has elapsed from the photographing time, the recording area of the recording device of the parking lot management device can be reused.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the recording of the moving image by the parking lot management device can be continued indefinitely by automatically deleting the moving image in the order of the oldest photographing time.

According to the sixth invention, the entry time of the vehicle having the same license plate as the license plate of the vehicle leaving the parking lot is searched, and the parking lot use time of the vehicle is calculated to determine the parking time. Can calculate the appropriate parking fee

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of a parking lot management device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a moving image recording list of the parking lot management device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a license plate number record list of the parking lot management device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a structural diagram of a parking lot management device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a number record list for a parking lot entrance and a number plate number list for a parking lot exit of the parking lot management device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of a television camera for monitoring a parking lot entrance and an exit in a parking lot.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 5 moving image digital conversion unit 6 number plate reading unit 7 hard disk drive device 8 search processing unit 9 moving image analog conversion unit 10 number plate information search unit 11 deletion control unit 12 recording control unit 13 entrance / exit management unit

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A recording device for photographing a vehicle entering and exiting a parking lot and recording the moving image converted into digital data in association with photographing time information of the moving image; A parking lot management device comprising: a search processing unit that searches for and outputs a moving image recorded from a recording device. 2. A moving image digital conversion unit for converting a moving image obtained by photographing a vehicle entering and exiting a parking lot into digital data, and recording the digitalized moving image in association with shooting time information as digital information. A device, a search processing unit that searches the recording device for a moving image that has been converted into digital data using the shooting time information,
A parking lot management apparatus comprising: a moving picture analog conversion unit for returning the moving picture converted into digital data to an analog video signal. 3. A number plate reading unit for reading a number plate of a vehicle entering and exiting a parking lot from a photographed image and converting the number plate into digitized number plate information, and a moving image digitalized by photographing the vehicle. A recording device for recording the image in association with the photographing time information of the moving image, and recording the number plate information in association with the photographing time information of the moving image of the vehicle, based on the input license plate information. And a search processing unit for searching and outputting digitized moving images of vehicles entering and exiting the parking lot from the recording device. 4. The parking lot management device according to claim 1, further comprising an erasure control unit for erasing, from the recording device, a moving image for which a predetermined period has elapsed from a shooting time. 5. A recording control unit for erasing the recorded moving image from the recording device in chronological order when a remaining amount of a recording area of the recording device becomes equal to or less than a predetermined amount. The parking lot management device according to claim 1, wherein: 6. An entry / exit management unit for monitoring a number plate of a vehicle entering / leaving a parking lot, and searching for an entry time of a vehicle having the same number plate as the number plate of the vehicle exiting the parking lot. Calculate the parking time of
The parking lot management device according to claim 3, further comprising: means for calculating a parking fee according to a parking lot use time.