JP2010079469A - Group management device and group management method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a group management device for managing the number of candidates configuring a group with high accuracy without manual work. <P>SOLUTION: A group management device 1 manages a customer in a vehicle (customer who has shared the vehicle) as one group for each vehicle using a parking lot. A plurality of operation terminals 2 are connected to the group management device 1 for enabling data communication. An operation terminal 2 is operated by a customer who has parked a vehicle in a parking lot when registering an occupant in the vehicle as a group in the group management device 1. A camera 3 is installed in each operation terminal 2, and configured to transmit a pickup image through the connected operation terminal 2 to the group management device 1. Furthermore, the group management device 1 restricts the customer from being registered across a plurality of groups. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a group management apparatus and a group management method for managing customers who come to a shopping center together as a group.

  Conventionally, stores such as shopping centers have recommended ride sharing to customers in order to effectively use parking space and to suppress the progress of environmental destruction caused by global warming, which has become a social problem. . Ride sharing is the sharing of vehicles by family, friends, acquaintances, and the like.

In order to allow more customers to practice this ride sharing, there has been proposed a parking lot management system that determines the content of services for customers who use the parking lot according to the number of passengers in the vehicle (patent) Reference 1). This is a system that increases the value of services provided to users as the number of passengers increases. The service provided to the user is, for example, a discount amount for parking fees or points to be given. In Patent Document 1, a staff member confirms the number of passengers using a parking lot and inputs the confirmed number of passengers to the terminal. The ticket issuing device issues a medium such as a parking ticket that records the number of passengers input by the attendant. Then, at the time of delivery, the settlement machine determines a discount amount or the like according to the number of passengers recorded on the medium, and calculates a settlement amount (parking fee) based on the discount amount.
JP 2006-53596 A

  However, in patent document 1, since the attendant checks the number of passengers in the vehicle using the parking lot and inputs the confirmed number of passengers, there is a problem that the operation of the system takes time and the operation cost increases.

  Moreover, in order to hold down the operation cost, it is also conceivable that the number of passengers of the vehicle using the parking lot is entered by the customer himself, not by the staff. However, this method cannot be detected even if the customer inputs more passengers than the actual number in order to illegally increase the value of the service provided, such as the discount amount of the parking fee. In addition, if such fraud cannot be prevented, the motivation for the user to practice ride sharing will be reduced, which will hinder its spread.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a group management apparatus and a group management method capable of accurately managing the number of persons constituting a group without manpower.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention is configured as follows.

  A registration request accepting unit accepts a group registration request. The group is a group of target persons, for example, a group of customers (target persons) who came in the same vehicle and visited the store together using public transportation. May be. The captured image receiving unit receives input of captured images of all the subjects belonging to the group for which the registration request receiving unit has received the registration request. The group registration unit processes the captured image received by the captured image reception unit for the group for which the registration request reception unit has received the registration request, and associates the group ID with the face image data of each target person belonging to this group. Register in the database. The face image data may be a captured image of the subject itself, or may be data indicating the feature amount of facial parts such as eyes, nose, mouth, and the like obtained by processing the subject's face image. Good.

  Further, the group registration means uses the face image data registered in the database, and the target person belonging to another group that has already been registered among the target persons of the group for which the registration request reception means has received the registration request. Whether or not is included. This determination can be made by using a known technique for face authentication. Simply put, for each target person of the group to be registered this time, the feature quantity of the facial part with each target person belonging to another group is collated, and the target person belonging to another group whose similarity is the maximum is selected. To detect. If the degree of similarity exceeds a predetermined threshold value, these two persons are determined to be the same person. Further, if the group registration means includes a target person who belongs to another group that has already been registered, the group registration means registers the target person who belongs to this other group as a target person who belongs to the group that has received the registration request this time. Limit. That is, it is possible to prevent one target person from being registered across a plurality of groups.

  Thus, for each group, the number of subjects constituting the group can be registered without manpower. In addition, since the target person is not registered across a plurality of groups, the number of persons in each group can be managed with high accuracy.

  Therefore, when this group management device is applied to a parking lot management system that increases the value of services provided to users as the number of passengers increases, it allows more customers to practice ride sharing. be able to.

  In addition, the customer group can be managed by grouping the group structure of the customers who visited the store by classifying by gender and age, and taking statistics, and there are guidelines for improving sales through product assortment and display etc. can get.

  When the registration deletion request receiving unit receives a group registration deletion request, the registration deletion unit deletes the group ID and the face image data of each target person belonging to the group from the database. Thereby, even if the target person is registered as a target person belonging to any group, the target person can be registered as a target person belonging to another group after the group is deleted from the database. Therefore, in stores, etc., if the data related to the group that left the store is deleted from the database when the group leaves the store, the customer can be registered in a different group for each store visit and the customer service will be reduced. Absent.

  In addition, when the group registration means determines that the target person of the group that has received the registration request this time includes a target person who belongs to another group that has already been registered, a message to that effect is output. The target person in this group may be allowed to recognize that unauthorized registration cannot be performed. In this way, it is possible to obtain a deterrent effect against fraudulent acts in which the number of people is registered.

  In addition, when the group registration means determines that the target person belonging to another group that has already been registered is included in the target person of the group that has received the registration request this time, the target person belonging to another group It is good also as a structure registered in a database except for.

  Further, if the registration request receiving means includes service content determination means for determining the contents of the service provided to the group according to the number of target persons constituting the group for which the registration request is received, the customer service can be improved. Can be planned.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately manage the number of persons constituting a group without manpower.

  Hereinafter, a parking lot management system to which a group management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of this parking lot management system. This parking lot management system is a system that manages, as a group, subjects who are on the vehicle for each vehicle that uses the parking lot. Here, a parking lot of a large store such as a shopping center is managed, and a description will be given as a system that manages, as a group, customers (subjects) who have come on the vehicle and come to the store for each vehicle. In addition, this parking lot system determines the value of the service provided to the group that has visited the vehicle according to the number of people constituting the group, that is, the number of passengers in the vehicle. Here, the service provided to the group is a service related to parking fee discount, point grant, or the like.

  This parking lot management system increases the value of the service provided to a group as the number of people constituting the group increases. This encourages customers to ride-sharing not only to make effective use of parking space, but also to suppress the progress of environmental destruction caused by global warming, which has become a social problem.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the parking lot management system includes a group management device 1, an operation terminal 2, a camera 3, an entrance gate device 4, and an entry gate device 5. The group management device 1 manages, for each vehicle that uses the parking lot, a customer who has boarded the vehicle (a customer who has shared the vehicle) as one group. A plurality of operation terminals 2 are connected to the group management device 1 so that data communication is possible. The operation terminal 2 is a terminal that is operated when a customer who has parked a vehicle in the parking lot registers the passenger who has boarded the vehicle as a group in the group management apparatus 1. The camera 3 is provided for each operation terminal 2, and transmits a captured image to the group management device 1 via the connected operation terminal 2. The imaging area of the camera 3 is the front of the connected operation terminal 2.

  Moreover, the entrance gate apparatus 4 restrict | limits that a vehicle enters into a parking lot by opening and closing the entrance gate provided in the entrance of a parking lot. The entrance gate device 4 normally closes the entrance gate provided at the entrance of the parking lot. The entrance gate apparatus 4 will issue a parking ticket with respect to this vehicle, if the vehicle stopped at the entrance of the parking lot is detected by a sensor (not shown). In this parking ticket, an issue number, an entrance time, and the like are recorded. When the entrance gate device 4 receives a parking ticket issued by a vehicle driver or the like, the entrance gate device 4 temporarily opens the entrance gate and permits the vehicle to enter the parking lot.

  Moreover, the participation gate apparatus 5 restrict | limits that a vehicle participates from a parking lot by opening and closing the participation gate provided in the exit of a parking lot. The entry gate device 5 normally closes the entry gate provided at the exit of the parking lot. When the entry gate device 5 detects a vehicle stopped at the exit of the parking lot by a sensor (not shown), the entry gate device 5 accepts the insertion of the parking ticket issued at the time of entry. When the parking fee for the use of the parking lot is settled for this vehicle, the entry gate is temporarily opened to allow the vehicle to enter the parking lot. The parking fee is calculated based on the usage time of the parking lot, the number of groups (passengers) managed by the group management device 1, and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of the group management apparatus. The group management apparatus 1 includes a control unit 11, a group management database 12 (group management DB 12), a communication unit 13, and an image processing unit 14. The control unit 11 controls the operation of each part of the main body of the group management device 1 and also controls the operation of the entire parking lot management system. The group management DB 12 is a database that registers, for each group, a group ID, the number of customers that make up the group, and face image data of each customer that belongs to the group (see FIG. 3). In FIG. 3, the customer's face image data is indicated by Data **. This face image data is feature amount data indicating feature amounts of face parts such as eyes, nose and mouth extracted by processing a face image captured by the camera 3.

  The face image data may be the face image itself captured by the camera 3, but since the data amount is large, here, as described above, the feature amount data indicating the feature amount of the face part is used. .

  The communication unit 13 performs data communication with the connected operation terminal 2, the entrance gate device 4, and the exit gate device 5. The communication unit 13 accepts a group registration request transmitted from the operation terminal 2, a parking ticket issuance notification transmitted from the entrance gate device 4, a parking fee settlement request transmitted from the entry gate device 5, and the like. At the same time, replies such as processing results for these requests are transmitted. The communication unit 13 also accepts input of a captured image of the camera 3 transmitted via the operation terminal 2. The image processing unit 14 processes the captured image of the camera 3 transmitted via the operation terminal 2, extracts facial feature amounts for each person captured in the captured image, and has already been registered. It is determined whether or not the person belongs to another group. The group management apparatus 1 restricts the customer from being registered across a plurality of groups based on the determination result of the image processing unit 14.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of the operation terminal. The operation terminal 2 includes a control unit 21, an operation unit 22, a display unit 23, a camera connection unit 24, and a communication unit 25. The control unit 21 controls the operation of the operation terminal 2 main body. The operation unit 22 receives an input operation by a customer. The operation unit 22 has a parking ticket processing unit that receives a parking ticket and reads information such as an issue number recorded in the parking ticket. The display unit 23 includes a display for displaying a guidance screen for a customer, a group registration result, and the like. The operation unit 22 has a touch panel pasted on the display screen. The camera connection unit 24 receives a captured image of the connected camera 3. The communication unit 25 controls data communication with the group management device 1.

  Next, the operation of this parking lot management system will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the group management apparatus. The group management device 1 is waiting for a parking ticket issuance notification from the entrance gate device 4, a group registration request from the operation terminal 2, or a parking fee settlement request from the entry gate device 5 (s1 to s1). s3).

  Customers who come to the store by vehicle first go to the parking lot to park the vehicle. When the entrance gate device 4 detects a vehicle stopped at the entrance of the parking lot, the entrance gate device 4 issues a parking ticket in which an issue number, an entrance time (current time), etc. are recorded as parking ticket information. When the entrance gate device 4 receives a parking ticket issued by the driver of the vehicle, the entrance gate device 4 temporarily opens the entrance gate and permits the vehicle to enter the parking lot. When this vehicle enters the parking lot, the entrance gate device 4 closes the entrance gate and notifies the group management device 1 of a ticket issue notification including the parking ticket information recorded in the parking ticket issued this time.

  When the ticket issuing notification from the entrance gate device 4 is received by the communication unit 13, the group management device 1 stores the parking ticket information included in the ticket issuing notification (s4), and returns to s1. In s4, the parking ticket information is stored in a ticket management database not shown. The group management device 1 manages the parking ticket issued by the entrance gate device 4 by performing the process related to s4.

  When the customer parks the vehicle in the parking lot, the customer determines whether to perform group registration. In other words, the customer who parked the vehicle in the parking lot may or may not perform group registration. A customer who performs group registration needs to perform an input operation related to group registration on the operation terminal 2. The operation terminal 2 may be installed in a passage connecting the parking lot and the store, an entrance of the store, or the like. Thereby, the customer who parked the vehicle in the parking lot can perform an input operation for group registration by stopping at the operation terminal 2 while moving to the store.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of group registration in the operation terminal. When the operation terminal 2 receives the parking ticket presented by the user through the operation unit 22 (s11), the operation terminal 2 reads the parking ticket information recorded on the parking ticket (s12). In addition, the operation terminal 2 displays the captured image of the connected camera 3 on the display unit 23 (s13), so that the faces of all the groups registered this time (all customers who have boarded the same vehicle) fit within the frame. (S14). The customer determines the standing position where each person is imaged while confirming the captured image of the camera 3 displayed on the display unit 23.

  When the customer who performs group registration operates the imaging button (s15), the operation terminal 2 captures the captured image of the camera 3 at that time (s16). For example, in the case of a group of four people, the captured image shown in FIG. 7 is captured. The operation terminal 2 transmits a group registration request including the parking ticket information read in s12 to the group management apparatus 1 together with the captured image of the camera 3 captured in s16 (s17).

  Here, as described above, one frame of captured images containing the faces of all the groups registered this time is transmitted to the group management apparatus 1, but one person is captured, and the number of captured images is transmitted. It is good as composition.

  When the group management apparatus 1 receives the group registration request transmitted from the operation terminal 2 in s2, the group management apparatus 1 executes the following group registration process (s5).

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the group registration process. The group management apparatus 1 processes the captured image of the camera 3 transmitted together with the group registration request by the image processing unit 14, and cuts out the face image of each person captured in the captured image (s31). The group management apparatus 1 determines whether or not a person belonging to another group that has already been registered is included in the persons whose face images are cut out in s31 (s32). In s32, the following processes (1) to (3) are performed for each face image cut out in s31, and it is determined whether the person belongs to another group that has already been registered.

  (1) Extract feature quantities of facial parts such as eyes, nose and mouth from the face image cut out in s31.

  (2) The feature amount of the facial part extracted in (1) is collated with the face image data of each person belonging to that group for each group registered in the group management DB 12 at this time. A person belonging to another group having the highest similarity is detected.

  (3) If the degree of similarity with a person belonging to another group detected in (2) exceeds a predetermined threshold, these two persons are determined to be the same person.

  If the similarity with the person belonging to another group detected in (2) does not exceed a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the person does not belong to another group registered at this time. .

  When the group management apparatus 1 determines that the person whose face image is captured in the captured image transmitted this time does not include a person who belongs to another group registered at this time, A group registration confirmation notification is transmitted to the operating terminal 2 that has transmitted the group registration request this time (s33). This registration confirmation notification includes the number of people constituting the group (the number of face images cut out in s31).

  When receiving the registration confirmation notification from the group management apparatus 1 (s18), the operation terminal 2 displays the number of groups registered this time on the display unit 23, and inputs an OK or NG input operation to the customer (operator). Request. The customer confirms the number of persons displayed on the display unit 23, and performs an input operation for OK if the number is correct and NG if the number is incorrect. When the input operation related to OK is performed, the operation terminal 2 transmits confirmation OK to the group management apparatus 1 (s19, s20). Further, when an input operation related to NG is performed, the operation terminal 2 again captures a captured image in which the faces of all the groups registered this time are within the frame (s21, s22). In s22, the process concerning s13-s16 mentioned above is performed. The operation terminal 2 transmits the captured image of the camera 3 captured in s22 together with the confirmation NG to the group management apparatus 1 (s23).

  When receiving the confirmation OK notification from the operation terminal 2 (s34), the group management device 1 registers the group according to the current group registration request in the group management DB 12 (s36). Specifically, the parking ticket number included in the group registration request transmitted this time is set as the group ID, and the number of face images cut out in s31 is set as the number of groups. Further, for each face image cut out in s31, the extracted feature amount of the face part is associated as face image data and registered in the group management DB 12. In addition, the group management device 1 transmits a group registration completion notification to the operation terminal 2 that has transmitted the group registration request this time (s37).

  On the other hand, when the group management apparatus 1 receives the confirmation NG notification from the operation terminal 2 (s35), the group management apparatus 1 executes the above-described processing after s31 using the captured image of the camera 3 transmitted together with the notification.

  When receiving the registration completion notification from the group management device 1 (s24), the operation terminal 2 returns the parking ticket accepted this time to the customer (s25), and ends this process.

  Further, in s32, the group management apparatus 1 includes a person who belongs to another group registered at this time among the persons whose face images are captured in the captured image transmitted this time. If it is determined that the group registration request is received, a group registration rejection notification is transmitted to the operation terminal 2 that has transmitted the group registration request this time (s38). When receiving the registration refusal notification from the group management apparatus 1 (s26), the operation terminal 2 notifies that it is an unauthorized registration request including a person belonging to another group registered at this time. While displaying a message on the display part 23, the parking ticket received this time is returned to a customer (s27), and this process is complete | finished.

  In this way, the group registration is performed by the customer who has come to the store by vehicle, so that no manpower is required and the operation cost is reduced. Moreover, since it can restrict | limit appropriately that a customer is registered ranging over a some group, the management of the number of persons of each group can be performed accurately.

  Note that a customer whose group registration has been rejected can perform group registration by performing the above-described operation again on the operation terminal 2. However, the above-described operation must be performed except for persons belonging to other registered groups.

  Next, the operation when the customer leaves the store will be described. When the entry gate device 5 detects a vehicle stopped at the exit of the parking lot (the vehicle of the customer leaving the store), the entry gate device 5 accepts the parking ticket issued at the time of entry. The participation gate device 5 transmits a payment request including the parking ticket information recorded in the parking ticket accepted this time to the group management device 1.

  When the group management device 1 receives the payment request from the participation gate device 5, the group management device 1 calculates a parking fee (s6). In s6, it is determined whether or not the group whose parking ticket number is the group ID is registered, and if registered, the number of persons constituting the group is obtained. In addition, the use time is obtained from the ticket issuing time and the current time. Based on these pieces of information, a parking fee is calculated. At this time, the group management apparatus 1 increases the discount amount with respect to the parking fee as the number of people constituting the group increases. The group management device 1 notifies the calculated parking fee to the participation gate device 5 (s7).

  When the payment of the parking fee notified from the group management device 1 is completed, the participation gate device 5 opens the participation gate and permits the vehicle to participate from the parking lot. When the vehicle enters the parking lot, the participation gate device 5 closes the participation gate and notifies the group management device 1 of completion of participation of the vehicle.

  When the completion of participation is notified, the group management device 1 deletes the group data relating to the vehicles that have participated from the group management DB 12 (s8, s9).

  As described above, the customer registered as a group is deleted from the group management DB 12 when the corresponding vehicle enters the parking lot, that is, when the customer leaves the store. Customers can register in a different group for each visit. Therefore, customer service is not degraded.

  In the above example, if the captured image transmitted together with the group registration request includes a person who belongs to another group that has already been registered, the registration rejection notification is performed in s38. The group may be registered with the remaining persons excluding persons belonging to another group. In this way, not only does the user not perform re-operation, but also the frequency with which the group management apparatus 1 accepts the group registration request can be suppressed, and the processing load on the system can be reduced.

  In the above example, a parking ticket is issued. However, a system that does not issue a parking ticket may be used. For example, instead of a parking ticket, a store card (such as a point card of the store) may be used as a parking ticket. In this case, the entrance gate device 4 described above can be dispensed with.

  Moreover, you may utilize the number currently displayed on the vehicle and the number plate. In this case, a license plate recognition device that recognizes the number written on the license plate of the vehicle is installed at the entrance or exit of the parking lot, and the operation terminal 2 allows the customer to input the number of the license plate. And it is sufficient. In this case, the number of the license plate may be used as the group ID.

  In the above description, a system that provides a customer with a service for discounting a parking lot usage fee has been described as an example. However, a point service or other services may be used.

  Further, when group registration is performed, attributes such as sex and age are estimated for each customer constituting the group, and group statistics can be used to promote the sale of products.

  Alternatively, a camera 3 may be installed at the entrance of the parking lot so that a registration request can be made simultaneously with the issuance of the parking ticket. In this case, it is only necessary to open the window of the vehicle and have a person appearing on the board.

  In the above description, the group management device 1 according to the present invention has been described as an example applied to a parking lot management system. However, if the system manages a target person in a group, the system can be applied to other systems. Applicable.

It is a figure which shows the structure of a parking lot management system. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the principal part of a group management apparatus. It is a figure which shows a group management database. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the principal part of an operating terminal. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a group management apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of an operating terminal. It is a figure which shows the captured image of a camera. It is a flowchart which shows a group registration process.

Explanation of symbols

1-group management device 2-operation terminal 3-camera 11-control unit 12-group management database (group management DB)
13-Communication unit 14-Image processing unit

Claims (6)

A registration request receiving means for receiving a group registration request;
A captured image receiving means for receiving input of captured images of all subjects belonging to the group for which the registration request receiving means has received the registration request;
For the group for which the registration request accepting unit has accepted the registration request, the captured image accepted by the captured image accepting unit is processed, and the group ID and the face image data of each target person belonging to this group are associated with each other in the database. A group registration means for registering,
The group registration means uses the face image data registered in the database, and the target belonging to another group already registered among the target persons of the group for which the registration request reception means has received the registration request. If a target person who belongs to another group that has already been registered is included, a target person that belongs to this other group is included in the group that has received the registration request this time. Group management device, which is means for restricting registration as a person. A registration deletion request accepting means for accepting a group registration deletion request;
The registration deletion means for deleting, from the database, a group ID and face image data of each target person belonging to the group for the group for which the registration deletion request reception means has received the registration deletion request. The group management device described in 1.   When the group registration means determines that a target person belonging to another group already registered is included in the target persons of the group that has received the registration request this time, an output that outputs a message to that effect The group management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means.   When the group registration means determines that a target person belonging to another group that has already been registered is included in the target persons of the group that has received the registration request this time, the target person belonging to another group is selected. The group management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the group management apparatus is means for registering in the database.   5. The service content determination unit according to claim 1, further comprising: a service content determination unit configured to determine the content of a service provided to the group according to the number of subjects constituting the group for which the registration request reception unit has received the registration request. The group management device according to any one of the above. The registration request accepting means accepts the input group registration request,
The captured image reception means receives input of captured images of all subjects belonging to the group,
The group registration unit processes the captured image received by the captured image reception unit for the group for which the registration request reception unit has received the registration request, the group ID, and the face image data of each subject belonging to the group, Is a group management method that associates and registers in the database,
The group registration means uses the face image data registered in the database, and the target belonging to another group already registered among the target persons of the group for which the registration request reception means has received the registration request. If a target person who belongs to another group that has already been registered is included, a target person that belongs to this other group is included in the group that has received the registration request this time. Group management method that restricts registration as a user.

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