JP2010091465A - System of providing information about parking lot, method of providing information about parking lot, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system of providing information about a parking lot capable of guiding a parking lot suitable for a user, and to provide a method of providing information about a parking lot and a computer program. <P>SOLUTION: When a vehicle is parked in a parking lot, a number of times of turning which is carried out in a time period from entering the parking lot to completion of the parking and an open/close angle of a door after the parking are transmitted to a probe center 2 as probe information. The probe center 2 that has received the probe information sets a degree of usage difficulty to each parking lot on the basis of the received probe information and identifies a level of driving skill of a user. A vehicle 3 that has received information about the set usage difficulty of the parking lot and the level of driving skill of the user from the probe center 2 performs guiding to the parking lot corresponding to the level of driving skill of the user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a parking lot information providing system that provides information related to a parking lot, a parking lot information providing method, and a computer program.

  Conventionally, in-vehicle navigation devices, portable information devices such as PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) and mobile phones, personal computers, etc., roads and facility names such as general roads and expressways are stored in various storage devices as map information. Alternatively, a map of a desired area can be displayed to the user by downloading from a server or the like.

Furthermore, in order to improve the convenience for the user as well as displaying a map in a conventional navigation device or the like, the vehicle is parked based on information relating to a parking lot that is stored in advance as facility information in the map information. It was also done about guiding the parking lot to do. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-349740 relates to an extracted parking lot that extracts a parking lot that matches the vehicle width, vehicle height, and vehicle type conditions from a plurality of parking lots near the destination. As information, there is described a technology for guiding a user to a parking fee of a parking lot and a relative position with respect to a destination.
JP 2001-349740 (page 6-7, FIG. 2)

  Here, in the said conventional navigation apparatus, a parking lot is guided to a user based on the information regarding the parking lot previously memorize | stored as facility information in map information. In addition, “information about parking lots stored as facility information” is information in a uniform format preliminarily defined for each parking lot. For example, parking location, parking fee, available time, usage There is information such as possible car types, parking lot forms (planar parking lot, underground parking lot, rooftop parking lot, multi-story parking lot, etc.), passage width in the parking lot, etc.

However, the conventional navigation device described above cannot guide a parking lot suitable for the user. Here, in order to guide a parking lot suitable for the user, it is necessary to consider the ease of using the parking lot.
The following FIGS. 22 to 25 show examples of a plurality of patterns of parking lots to be parked by a vehicle. For example, when the passage width of the passage 101 in the parking lot shown in FIG. 22 is compared with the passage width of the passage 102 in the parking lot shown in FIG. 23, the passage width of the passage 102 in the parking lot shown in FIG. Therefore, when the vehicle is actually parked, the parking lot shown in FIG. 23 has to perform more turns than the parking lot shown in FIG. 22 and is considered difficult to use. In addition, pillars 103 and walls 104 are arranged between the parking spaces in the parking lots shown in FIGS. When a vehicle is parked in the parking lot shown in FIGS. 24 and 25, the pillar 103 and the wall 104 may become an obstacle and the door cannot be opened to a sufficient angle after parking. Therefore, it is considered that the parking lots shown in FIGS. 24 and 25 are more difficult to use than the parking lot shown in FIG.
In the above-mentioned conventional navigation device, it is possible to consider only the information related to the parking lot stored as the facility information, and the use of the parking lot when the vehicle as described above parks in the parking lot. It was not possible to consider the ease of doing this. As a result, it was not possible to guide a parking lot suitable for the user.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems, and can provide information related to the parking lot to the user based on the use difficulty level set for the parking lot, which is used by the user. It is an object of the present invention to provide a parking lot information providing system, a parking lot information providing method, and a computer program capable of guiding a suitable parking lot.

  In order to achieve the above object, the parking lot information providing system (1) according to claim 1 of the present application relates to a vehicle (3) parked in the parking lot and completes parking after the vehicle enters the parking lot. The parking mode acquisition means (20) for acquiring the number of turnovers performed before and the opening / closing angle of the door after parking, and the number of times of turning back of the vehicle and the door opening / closing angle acquired by the parking mode acquisition means Based on the use difficulty level setting means (20) for setting the use difficulty level for the parking lot, and on the parking lot based on the use difficulty level of the parking lot set by the use difficulty level setting means. And an information providing means (33) for providing information to the user.

  A parking lot information providing system (1) according to claim 2 is the parking lot information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the driving technique specifying means (20) for specifying a driving technique of a user, and the driving Based on the user's driving technique specified by the technique specifying means and the use difficulty level of the parking lot set by the use difficulty level setting means (20), the use difficulty level corresponding to the user's driving technique is determined. A parking lot specifying means (33) for specifying the set parking lot, and the information providing means (33) provides information on the parking lot specified by the parking lot specifying means to the user. It is characterized by providing.

  Moreover, the parking lot information provision system (1) according to claim 3 is the parking lot information provision system according to claim 2 or claim 2, wherein the vehicle (3) has parked an empty vehicle rate. And the use difficulty level setting means (20) is based on the empty rate of the parking lot acquired by the empty vehicle rate acquisition means. It is characterized by correcting.

  In addition, the parking lot information providing method according to claim 4 relates to the vehicle (3) parked in the parking lot, and the number of turnovers performed until the parking is completed after the vehicle enters the parking lot. Based on the parking mode acquisition step (S22) for acquiring the opening / closing angle of the door after parking, and the number of times the vehicle is turned back and the opening / closing angle of the door acquired by the parking mode acquisition step, Based on the use difficulty level setting step (S31 to S34) for setting the use difficulty level and the use difficulty level of the parking lot set by the use difficulty level setting step, information on the parking lot is provided to the user And an information providing step (S55).

  Furthermore, the computer program according to claim 5 relates to a vehicle (3) mounted on a computer and parked in a parking lot, and the reversal executed after the vehicle enters the parking lot until the parking is completed. Based on the parking mode acquisition function (S22) for acquiring the number of times and the opening / closing angle of the door after parking, and the number of times the vehicle is turned back and the door opening / closing angle acquired by the parking mode acquisition function, On the basis of the usage difficulty level setting function (S31 to S34) for setting the usage difficulty level and the usage difficulty level of the parking lot set by the usage difficulty level setting function, information on the parking lot is given to the user. And an information providing function (S55) to be provided.

  According to the parking lot information providing system according to claim 1 having the above-described configuration, information on the parking lot can be provided to the user based on the use difficulty level set for the parking lot. Therefore, it is possible to guide a parking lot suitable for use by the user.

  Moreover, according to the parking lot information provision system of Claim 2, it becomes possible to provide a user with the information regarding the parking lot corresponding to a user's driving skill. Therefore, even when there are a plurality of parking lot candidates, it is possible to select a parking lot suitable for use by the user from among them and provide information to the user, so that convenience for the user is improved. As a result, it is possible to provide appropriate driving assistance to users with low driving skills and users with high driving skills.

  In addition, according to the parking lot information providing system according to claim 3, the use difficulty level of the parking lot is corrected based on the vacant rate of the parking lot. It becomes possible to set the use difficulty of the parking lot.

  Moreover, according to the parking lot information provision method of Claim 4, the information regarding a parking lot can be provided to a user based on the use difficulty level set with respect to the parking lot. Therefore, it is possible to guide a parking lot suitable for use by the user.

  Furthermore, according to the computer program of Claim 5, the information regarding a parking lot can be provided to a user based on the use difficulty level set with respect to the parking lot. Therefore, it is possible to guide a parking lot suitable for use by the user.

  DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, a parking lot information providing system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings based on a first embodiment and a second embodiment.

(First embodiment)
First, a schematic configuration of the parking lot information providing system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a parking lot information providing system 1 according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the parking lot information providing system 1 according to the first embodiment is a probe center 2 that collects probe information and creates and distributes traffic information based on the collected probe information, and a probe car. The vehicle 3 is basically configured.

Here, the probe center 2 collects and accumulates probe information including “parking mode when parking at a parking lot” transmitted from each vehicle 3 traveling throughout the country, and the accumulated probe. Information that sets the use difficulty level of each parking lot by performing statistical processing on the information, and distributes information about the set use difficulty level of each parking lot (hereinafter referred to as use difficulty level information) to the vehicle 3 Distribution center.
Further, the probe center 2 also performs statistical processing on the accumulated probe information to identify the driving skill level of the user who drives the vehicle 3 that is the probe information transmission source, and the identified driving skill of the user. Information about the level (hereinafter referred to as driving technology level information) is also transmitted to the vehicle 3.

Here, the probe information collected by the probe center 2 in the parking lot information providing system 1 according to the first embodiment is a parking mode when the vehicle 3 parks in the parking lot. And as a parking aspect, the frequency | count of the return performed after the vehicle 3 approached into a parking lot and it completes parking and the opening-and-closing angle of the door after parking are included.
The “door opening / closing angle” is a maximum angle detected as a result of continuously detecting the door opening / closing angle with respect to the vehicle body within a period from when the door is opened to when it is closed.
Further, the use difficulty level is defined by five levels of “E (easy)” to “A (difficult)” when the vehicle 3 parks in the parking lot. The use difficulty level is set by collecting the parking mode of each vehicle 3 parked in the parking lot and performing statistical processing as will be described later.
In addition, the driving skill level is defined in five stages from “E (low)” to “A (high)” for the driving skill of the user who drives the vehicle 3. As will be described later, the driving skill level is set based on the comparison between the parking mode statistics of each vehicle 3 in the same parking lot and the parking mode of the vehicle driven by the user who is the target of level evaluation.

The vehicle 3 is a vehicle that travels on roads throughout the country, and constitutes a probe car system together with the probe center 2 as a probe car. Here, the probe car system is a system that collects information using a vehicle as a sensor. Specifically, the vehicle communication module 4 (hereinafter simply referred to as a mobile phone or the like) mounted on the vehicle in advance together with the position information of the GPS 41 and the operation status of each system such as the steering operation and the shift position, including the speed data. This is a system that transmits data to the probe center 2 via the communication module 4 and uses the collected data as various information on the center side.
Here, as the probe information acquired by the vehicle 3 and transmitted to the probe center 2 in the parking lot information providing system 1 according to the first embodiment, in particular, when the vehicle 3 parks in the parking lot, “ This includes the “number of turnovers performed after entering the parking lot and completing parking” and “the door opening / closing angle after parking”. And based on each information transmitted from the vehicle 3, the probe center 2 sets the use difficulty level of each parking lot contained in map information, and specifies a user's driving skill level.

  Further, a navigation device 5 is installed in the vehicle 3. The navigation device 5 is an in-vehicle device that displays a map around the vehicle position based on stored map data, guides a facility such as a parking lot, and searches and guides a route to a set destination. . In addition, the navigation device 5 provides a parking lot suitable for the user to use based on the difficulty level of each parking lot received from the probe center 2 and the user's driving technique, particularly when guiding the parking lot. Identify and guide the identified parking lot. Also, the VICS information received from the VICS center (not shown) is guided to the user. The detailed configuration of the navigation device 5 will be described later.

  Then, the structure of the probe center 2 which comprises the parking lot information provision system 1 is demonstrated in detail using FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the parking lot information providing system 1 according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the probe center 2 includes a server (parking mode acquisition means, use difficulty level setting means, driving technique specifying means) 20, probe information DB 24 as information recording means connected to the server 20, and ease of use. Degree information DB 25, center map information DB 26, and center communication device 27.

  The server 20 collects the probe information from each vehicle 3 and specifies the driving skill level specifying process for specifying the driving skill level of the user, and sets the use difficulty level setting for setting the use difficulty level of each parking lot based on the accumulated probe information. It is a control part which performs various controls in the probe center 2 such as an information distribution process for distributing information regarding the use difficulty level of each parking lot to the vehicle 3. A CPU 21 as a control device that performs overall control of the server 20, a RAM 22 that is used as a working memory when the CPU 21 performs various arithmetic processes, various control programs, and a driving technology level specifying process that will be described later. Program (FIG. 9), usage difficulty level setting processing program (FIG. 10), information distribution processing program (FIG. 11), usage difficulty level determination graph (FIG. 4), driving skill level determination graph (FIG. 14), driving skill level determination An internal storage device such as a ROM 23 storing a table (FIG. 15) and the like is provided.

  The probe information DB 24 is a storage unit that cumulatively stores probe information collected from each vehicle 3 traveling throughout the country. In the first embodiment, as the probe information collected from the vehicles 3, the “returns executed from when the vehicles 3 entered the parking lot until the parking was completed, especially when each vehicle 3 parked in the parking lot. Information ”and“ door opening / closing angle after parking ”.

Hereinafter, probe information stored in the probe information DB 24 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of probe information stored in the probe information DB 24.
As shown in FIG. 3, the probe information includes a vehicle ID for identifying the transmission source vehicle, a facility ID for identifying the parking lot where the vehicle has parked, and the date and time when the vehicle has completed parking in the parking lot (ie, the probe information). The date and time when the information was transmitted), the number of turn-overs performed after entering the parking lot and completing the parking, and the opening / closing angle of the door after parking. For example, the probe information shown in FIG. 3 indicates that the vehicle 3 with “ID: 10012” completed parking at 15:02:20 on September 15, 2008 at the parking lot with “ID: 310012”. It has been memorized that the door opening / closing angle after parking was 43 degrees after the parking was executed three times. In addition, the vehicle 3 of “ID: 13672” completes parking in the parking lot of “ID: 475789” at 15: 3: 46 on September 15, 2008, and makes one turnover until the parking is completed. It is stored that the door opening / closing angle after parking was 81 degrees. In addition, the vehicle 3 of “ID: 12876” completes parking in the parking lot of “ID: 276933” at 15: 4: 50 on September 15, 2008, and returns five times before parking is completed. It is stored that the door opening / closing angle after parking was 62 degrees. In addition, the vehicle 3 of “ID: 12309” completes parking in the parking lot of “ID: 110032” at 15:14:23 on September 15, 2008, and returns two times before the parking is completed. It is stored that the opening / closing angle of the door after parking was 33 degrees.

And the server 20 extracts the probe information parked in the same parking lot from the probe information memorize | stored in probe information DB24, and the difficulty determination graph (FIG. 6) memorize | stored in each extracted probe information and ROM23. Based on 4), the use difficulty level of the parking lot is determined for each probe information. Then, the server 20 statistics the plurality of usage difficulty levels determined in the same parking lot, takes a frequency distribution, and sets the most frequent difficulty level as the usage difficulty level of the parking lot.
Further, when the probe information is transmitted from the vehicle 3, the server 20 extracts the probe information parked in the same parking lot, and compares the extracted probe information with the newly transmitted probe information. By this, the driving skill level of the user who drives the vehicle of the probe information transmission source is specified.

Here, the difficulty level determination graph stored in the ROM 23 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a difficulty level determination graph stored in the ROM 23.
As shown in FIG. 4, in the difficulty level determination graph, the horizontal axis indicates the number of times of turning back, and the vertical axis indicates the door opening / closing angle. Also, five areas are set in the difficulty level determination graph, and the usage difficulty levels (“E (easy)” to “A (hardness)”) are defined for each area.
And the server 20 performs the following (A) and the process of (B), when determining the utilization difficulty of the parking lot for every probe information.
(A) First, the server 20 corresponds to “the number of turnovers performed from when the vehicle 3 enters the parking lot until parking is completed” and “opening / closing angle of the door after parking” included in the probe information. Plot the points on the difficulty determination graph.
(B) Next, the server 20 specifies the use difficulty level defined in the range to which the plotted points belong.

  The degree of difficulty of use is defined in five stages from “E (easy)” to “A (hard)”. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, if the door opening / closing angle is the same, the more difficult the difficulty of use is specified as the number of times of turn-back increases. Here, it is predicted that the number of turn-backs will increase in a parking lot with a narrow passage as shown in FIG. 23 compared to a parking lot with a wide passage as shown in FIG. Therefore, according to the difficulty level determination graph shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to set a higher difficulty level of difficulty for a parking lot with a narrow passage.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 4, if the number of times of turn-back is the same, the smaller the door opening / closing angle, the more difficult the difficulty of use is identified. Here, parking with obstacles (walls and pillars) adjacent to the parking spaces as shown in FIGS. 24 and 25, compared to parking spaces without obstacles as shown in FIG. The parking lot is expected to have a smaller door opening and closing angle. Furthermore, it is predicted that the door opening / closing angle becomes smaller as the distance from the parking space to the obstacle is shorter. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the wall 29 is positioned on the left side of the vehicle 3 parked in the parking space 28, the door 30 can be opened only to an angle at which the door 30 does not contact the wall 29. Therefore, it is predicted that the opening / closing angle θ of the door 30 decreases as the distance a from the parking space 28 to the wall 29 decreases, and the opening / closing angle θ of the door 30 increases as the distance a from the parking space 28 to the wall 29 increases. . Therefore, according to the difficulty level determination graph shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to set a higher difficulty level of difficulty for the parking lot where an obstacle is formed by approaching the parking space.

On the other hand, the use difficulty level information DB 25 is a storage unit that stores information on the use difficulty level of each parking lot set by the server 20. In the first embodiment, the information related to the parking difficulty level is generated based on statistical processing of probe information stored in the probe information DB 24 as will be described later.
Here, as information regarding the parking difficulty level, there are a facility ID for identifying the parking space, a usage difficulty level, and the like.

Below, the information regarding the utilization difficulty level of the parking lot memorize | stored in utilization difficulty level information DB25 is demonstrated in detail using FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of information related to the use difficulty level of the parking lot stored in the use difficulty level information DB 25.
As shown in FIG. 6, the information related to the parking lot use difficulty level includes a facility ID for identifying the parking lot and a use difficulty level set for each parking lot. For example, in the information regarding the usage difficulty level shown in FIG. 6, “E” is set as the usage difficulty level for the parking lot of “ID: 100001”. In addition, “B” is set as the use difficulty level for the parking lot of “ID: 100002”. In addition, “B” is set as the use difficulty level for the parking lot of “ID: 100003”. Also, “D” is set as the use difficulty level for the parking lot of “ID: 100004”.

  The center map information DB 26 includes, for example, link data regarding roads (links), node data regarding node points, map display data for displaying maps, intersection data regarding each intersection, search data for searching for routes, parking data The storage means stores facility data relating to facilities including a car park, search data for searching for points, and the like.

  On the other hand, the center communication device 27 is a communication device for communicating with the vehicle 3 via the network 8. In the first embodiment, probe information, information on the use difficulty level of the parking lot, and information on the driving skill level of the user are transmitted to and received from each vehicle 3 via the center communication device 27.

Next, a schematic configuration of the navigation device 5 mounted on the vehicle 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a block diagram schematically showing a control system of the navigation device 5 according to the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 7, the navigation device 5 according to the first embodiment includes a current position detection unit 31 that detects the current position of the vehicle, a data recording unit 32 that records various data, and input information. Based on the navigation ECU (information providing means, parking lot specifying means) 33 for performing various arithmetic processes, an operation unit 34 for receiving an operation from the operator, and a liquid crystal display for displaying information such as a map to the operator 35, a speaker 36 that outputs voice guidance related to route guidance, a DVD drive 37 that reads a DVD that is a storage medium storing a program, and a communication module 4 that performs communication between the probe center 2 and the VICS center. It is configured. In addition, a shift lever sensor 38 and a door opening / closing angle sensor 39 are connected to the navigation ECU 33.

Below, each component which comprises the navigation apparatus 5 is demonstrated in order.
The current position detection unit 31 includes a GPS 41, a vehicle speed sensor 42, a steering sensor 43, a gyro sensor 44, and the like, and can detect the current position, direction, traveling speed, current time, and the like of the own vehicle. ing. Here, in particular, the vehicle speed sensor 42 is a sensor for detecting a moving distance and a vehicle speed of the vehicle, generates a pulse according to the rotation of the wheel of the vehicle, and outputs a pulse signal to the navigation ECU 33. And navigation ECU33 calculates the rotational speed and movement distance of a wheel by counting the pulse which generate | occur | produces. Note that the navigation device 5 does not have to include all of the above five types of sensors, and the navigation device 5 may include only one or more of these types of sensors.

  The data recording unit 32 includes an external storage device and a hard disk (not shown) as a recording medium, a navigation map information DB 46, a navigation use difficulty level information DB 47, a driving skill level storage DB 48, and a predetermined program recorded on the hard disk. And a recording head (not shown) that is a driver for writing predetermined data to the hard disk.

  Here, the navigation map information DB 46 basically has the same configuration as the center map information DB 26 of the probe center 2, and displays, for example, link data related to roads (links), node data related to node points, and maps. Storage means for storing map display data for searching, intersection data relating to each intersection, search data for searching for a route, facility data relating to facilities including parking lots, search data for searching for points, and the like.

  The navigation use difficulty level information DB 47 is a storage unit that stores information (see FIG. 6) regarding the use difficulty level of the parking lot distributed from the probe center 2.

Further, the driving skill level storage DB 48 stores information related to the driving skill level (defined in five stages from “E (low)” to “A (high)”) of the user driving the host vehicle transmitted from the probe center 2. Storage means. A method for determining the driving skill level of the vehicle by the server 20 will be described later.
When the navigation ECU 33 provides guidance for the parking lot, information on the parking difficulty level stored in the navigation usage difficulty level information DB 47 and the driving skill level of the user stored in the driving skill level storage DB 48 are displayed. As described later, a parking lot corresponding to the user's driving technique is specified from among a large number of parking lot candidates around the destination and the vehicle, as will be described later, and guidance for the specified parking lot is performed.

  On the other hand, the navigation ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 33 is a guide route setting process for setting a guide route from the current position to the destination when the destination is selected, and when parking is performed at the parking lot. Based on the parking mode transmission process for transmitting the parking mode as probe information to the probe center 2, the information on the degree of use difficulty of the parking lot distributed from the probe center 2, and the information on the driving skill level of the user, It is an electronic control unit that performs overall control of the navigation device 5 such as driving support processing that performs guidance and the like. The CPU 51 as an arithmetic device and a control device, and a RAM 52 that is used as a working memory when the CPU 51 performs various arithmetic processes, and stores route data when a route is searched, a turn-back counter described later, and the like are stored. In addition to the control program, a ROM 53 in which a parking mode transmission processing program (see FIG. 8) described later, a driving support processing program (see FIG. 12), etc. are recorded, a flash memory 54 that stores a program read from the ROM 53, etc. An internal storage device is provided.

  The shift lever sensor 38 is built in a shift lever (not shown), and the shift position is “P (parking)”, “N (neutral)”, “R (reverse)”, “D (drive)”, It is possible to detect which position is “2 (second)” or “L (low)”.

  The door opening / closing angle sensor 39 is disposed on the door of the vehicle 3 and can detect the opening / closing angle of the opened door when the door is opened.

  Next, a parking mode transmission processing program executed in the navigation device 5 configuring the parking lot information providing system 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the parking mode transmission processing program according to the first embodiment. Here, the travel level specifying processing program is repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals (for example, every 200 ms) after the ignition is turned on, and probe information including the parking mode of the own vehicle when the own vehicle parks in the parking lot. This program is transmitted to the probe center 2. The programs shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 8 and 12 below are stored in the RAM 52, ROM 53, etc. provided in the navigation ECU 33 and executed by the CPU 51.

  First, in the parking mode transmission processing program, in step (hereinafter abbreviated as S) 1, the CPU 51 acquires vehicle information related to the own vehicle. Here, the vehicle information acquired in S1 is information related to the current position of the vehicle and the vehicle direction. The current position of the vehicle is detected using the GPS 41. Further, the vehicle direction is detected using the gyro sensor 44.

Next, in S2, the CPU 51 determines whether or not the vehicle has entered the parking lot outside the road from the road on which the vehicle is traveling based on the vehicle information acquired in S1.
Here, FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a parking mode when the vehicle 3 performs backward parking at the parking lot 61. And in 1st Embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, when the coordinate X of the rear-wheel axle center point of the vehicle 3 transfers from the road 62 into the parking lot 61, it determines with the vehicle 3 having entered into the parking lot. .

  And when it determines with the own vehicle having entered the parking lot (S2: YES), it transfers to S3. On the other hand, when it is determined that the vehicle has not entered the parking lot (S2: NO), the parking mode transmission processing program is terminated. If it is determined that the vehicle has entered the parking lot, the facility ID of the parking lot into which the vehicle has entered is acquired from the navigation map information DB 46.

  Subsequently, in S3 and subsequent steps, the CPU 51 starts counting “the number of turnovers performed by the host vehicle” and detecting “the door opening / closing angle” in order to specify the parking mode of the host vehicle. In the first embodiment, only the parking mode based on the backward parking, particularly the forward parking and the backward parking, is detected.

  Specifically, first, in S <b> 3, the CPU 51 initializes the count value of the switching number counter provided in the RAM 52. Note that the turnover counter is a counter that counts the number of turnovers that are performed from when the vehicle enters the parking lot to when parking is completed, and is counted up in S6, which will be described later.

  Next, in S4, based on the signal transmitted from the shift lever sensor 38, the CPU 51 determines whether or not the shift position has been changed to “R”, that is, whether or not a parking operation by backward parking has been started.

  If it is determined that the shift position has been changed to “R” (S4: YES), the process proceeds to S5. On the other hand, when it is determined that the shift position has not been changed to “R” (S4: NO), the process waits until the shift position is changed to “R”.

  In S <b> 5, the CPU 51 determines whether or not a turning operation performed to correct the vehicle direction to an appropriate direction (basically a direction parallel to the parking space) has been performed. Specifically, when the wheel speed pulse is input from the vehicle speed sensor 42 after the shift position is changed from “R” to “D”, the CPU 51 determines that the turning operation has been performed in the own vehicle. After that, when the shift position is changed from “D” to “R” and a wheel speed pulse is input from the vehicle speed sensor 42, the CPU 51 determines that the turning operation is performed again in the own vehicle. Further, when the steering sensor 43 detects that the steering angle has changed in a short time from a predetermined angle (for example, 180 degrees) in the left or right direction to a predetermined angle (for example, -180 degrees) in the opposite direction. The CPU 51 may determine that the turning operation has been performed in the own vehicle.

If it is determined that the switching operation has been executed (S5: YES), the process proceeds to S6. In S <b> 6, the CPU 51 reads out the count value of the turn-back counter provided in the RAM 52 and counts up. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S7.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the switching operation has not been executed (S5: NO), the process proceeds to S7.

  Next, in S7, the CPU 51 determines whether or not parking of the own vehicle is completed. Specifically, when the shift position is changed to “P” or the ACC is turned off, it is determined that the parking of the host vehicle is completed.

  And when it determines with the parking of the own vehicle having been completed (S7: YES), it transfers to S8. On the other hand, when it is determined that the parking of the own vehicle is not completed (S7: NO), the process returns to S5.

  In S <b> 8, the CPU 51 determines whether any door of the own vehicle has been opened based on a signal transmitted from the door opening / closing angle sensor 39.

  If it is determined that one of the doors has been opened (S8: YES), the process proceeds to S9. On the other hand, if it is determined that none of the doors are opened (S8: NO), the process waits until any of the doors are opened.

  Subsequently, in S9, the CPU 51 detects the opening / closing angle of the opened door based on the signal transmitted from the door opening / closing angle sensor 39. The door opening / closing angle is greatly affected by the arrangement of obstacles (other parked vehicles, walls, pillars) located around the parking space where the vehicle is parked, as already described with reference to FIG. The

  In S10, the CPU 51 counts the count value of the turnover counter (that is, the number of turnovers performed after entering the parking lot and completing the parking), the opening / closing angle of the door after parking detected in S9, The vehicle ID for identifying the vehicle and the facility ID of the parking lot into which the vehicle has entered are transmitted to the probe center 2 as probe information.

  Next, in S <b> 11, the CPU 51 receives the information regarding the driving skill level of the user transmitted from the probe center 2 (S <b> 25). The received information regarding the driving skill level of the user is stored in the driving skill level storage DB 48. In addition, when the information regarding a user's driving skill level is already memorize | stored in driving skill level memory | storage DB48, new information is overwritten with respect to old information. Further, the server 20 determines the driving skill level based on the probe information including the current parking mode transmitted in S10 (S24).

  Next, the driving skill level specifying process program executed in the probe center 2 constituting the parking lot information providing system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the driving skill level specifying process program according to the first embodiment. Here, the driving skill level specifying process program is a program that is executed at predetermined time intervals (for example, every 200 ms), receives the probe information transmitted from each vehicle 3, and specifies the driving skill level of the user. The programs shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 9 to 11 below are stored in the RAM 22, ROM 23, and the like provided in the server 20, and are executed by the CPU 21.

  First, in the driving skill level specifying process program, in S21, the CPU 21 determines whether or not probe information is transmitted from each vehicle 3 traveling throughout the country.

  And when it determines with there exists transmission of probe information (S21: YES), the transmitted probe information is received (S22). Then, the CPU 21 cumulatively stores the received probe information in the probe information DB 24 (S23). On the other hand, when it is determined that no probe information is transmitted (S21: NO), the driving skill level specifying process program is terminated. The probe information received in S22 is executed from the vehicle ID for identifying the transmission source vehicle, the facility ID for identifying the parking lot into which the vehicle has entered, to the completion of parking after entering the parking lot. There are the number of turnovers made and the opening / closing angle of the door after parking. In addition, said S22 corresponds to the process of a parking mode acquisition means.

  Next, in S24, the CPU 21 operates the driving technique of the user who drives the vehicle that has transmitted the probe information received in S22 based on the probe information received in S22 and the probe information stored in the probe information DB 24. Identify the level.

The details of the process for identifying the user's driving skill level in S24 will be described below with reference to FIGS.
First, the CPU 21 corresponds to “the number of turnovers performed after the vehicle 3 enters the parking lot until the parking is completed” and “the door opening / closing angle after parking” included in the probe information received in S22. The points to be plotted are plotted on the driving skill level determination graph shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 14, in the driving skill level determination graph, the horizontal axis indicates the number of times of turning, and the vertical axis indicates the door opening / closing angle.
Thereafter, the CPU 21 calculates the distance L from the origin of the driving skill level determination graph to the plotted point.
Thereafter, the CPU 21 extracts 30 pieces of probe information stored recently in the probe information stored in the probe information DB 24, which are probe information including the parking mode of the vehicle parked in the same parking lot and stored recently.
After that, the extracted 30 pieces of probe information similarly correspond to “the number of turnovers performed after the vehicle 3 entered the parking lot until the parking is completed” and “the door opening / closing angle after parking”. Is plotted on the driving skill level determination graph shown in FIG. 14, and the distance L is calculated.
Then, the probe information received in S22 and the extracted 30 pieces of probe information are ranked in ascending order of the distance L.
Thereafter, the user's driving skill level is specified using the rank attached to the probe information received in S22 and the driving skill level determination table shown in FIG. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 15, if the rank assigned to the probe information received in S22 is higher than 10%, “A” is specified as the driving skill level. Further, if the rank is in the upper 11% to 30%, “B” is specified as the driving skill level. Further, if the ranking is in the upper 31% to 50%, “C” is specified as the driving skill level. Further, if the ranking is in the upper 51% to 80%, “D” is specified as the driving skill level. Further, if the ranking is 81% or lower, “E” is specified as the driving skill level. That is, compared with other vehicles parked in the same parking lot, “the number of turnovers performed from the time the vehicle 3 entered the parking lot to the completion of parking” is smaller, and “the number of doors after parking” The larger the “opening / closing angle”, the higher the driving skill level of the user. Note that S24 corresponds to the processing of the driving technique specifying means.

  Subsequently, in S25, the CPU 21 transmits information on the driving skill level of the user specified in S24 to the transmission source vehicle 3 that has transmitted the probe information received in S22. As a result, the navigation device 5 can grasp the current driving skill level of the user.

  Next, the use difficulty level setting processing program executed in the probe center 2 constituting the parking lot information providing system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the use difficulty level setting processing program according to the first embodiment. Here, the use difficulty level setting processing program is executed after a predetermined period (for example, one month) from the previous execution of the program, and based on the probe information transmitted from each vehicle 3, each parking lot included in the map information. It is a program that sets the usage difficulty level.

  The following processes of S31 to S34 are executed in a loop for each parking lot included in the map information stored in the center map information DB 26, and are repeated until the processing for all the parking lots included in the map information is completed.

  First, in S31, the CPU 21 extracts probe information including the parking mode at the parking lot to be processed from the probe information stored in the probe information DB 24.

  Next, in S32, the CPU 21 determines the use difficulty level of the parking lot for each probe information based on the probe information extracted in S31 and the difficulty determination graph (FIG. 4) stored in the ROM 23. The details of the determination process of the parking space utilization difficulty level for each probe information have already been described with reference to FIG.

Thereafter, in S33, the CPU 21 statistics the plurality of usage difficulty levels determined in S32 and takes a frequency distribution to identify the most frequent difficulty level. In S <b> 34, the CPU 21 sets the specified difficulty level as the use difficulty level of the parking lot.
For example, when the frequency distribution shown in FIG. 16 is formed, the use difficulty level of the parking lot is set to “C”.
Thereafter, if there are any unprocessed facilities, the process returns to S31, and the processes of S31 to S34 are performed in the same manner. On the other hand, when the process of S31-S34 with respect to all the parking lots contained in map information is complete | finished, the said use difficulty level setting process program is complete | finished. In addition, said S31-S34 is equivalent to the process of a utilization difficulty level setting means.
In the first embodiment, the mode value when the usage difficulty level for each probe information is set to a frequency distribution is set as the usage difficulty level of the parking lot, but the arithmetic average value of the usage difficulty level for each probe information is The median value may be set as the parking difficulty level.

  Next, an information distribution processing program executed in the probe center 2 configuring the parking lot information providing system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the information distribution processing program according to the first embodiment. Here, the information distribution processing program is executed every predetermined period (for example, 200 ms), and distributes information on the use difficulty level of each parking lot set by the use difficulty level setting process program (FIG. 10) to each vehicle 3. It is a program.

  First, in the information distribution processing program, in S41, the CPU 21 determines whether or not there is a distribution request for information regarding the use difficulty level of each parking lot from each vehicle 3 traveling throughout the country.

  If it is determined that there is a request for distribution of information regarding the parking space usage difficulty level (S41: YES), information regarding the parking space usage difficulty level is distributed to the requested vehicle 3 (S42). ). In addition, the navigation apparatus 5 mounted in the vehicle 3 which received the information regarding the use difficulty level of a parking lot performs the below-mentioned driving assistance process (FIG. 12) based on the received information about the use difficulty level of a parking lot.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no distribution request for information related to the parking difficulty level (S41: NO), the information distribution processing program is terminated.

  Next, a driving support processing program executed in the navigation device 5 constituting the parking lot information providing system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the driving support processing program according to the first embodiment. Here, the driving support processing program is a program that is executed at a predetermined time interval (for example, every 200 ms) after the ignition is turned on, and performs driving support based on the information regarding the degree of difficulty in using the parking lot acquired from the probe center 2. .

  First, in the driving support processing program, in S51, the CPU 51 determines whether or not to provide parking guidance to the user. In addition, when performing guidance of the parking lot, when the own vehicle arrives around the set destination or when a user performs a predetermined operation for searching for a parking lot around the current location, etc. is there.

  And when it determines with performing the guidance of a parking lot (S51: YES), it transfers to S52. On the other hand, when it is determined not to guide the parking lot (S51: NO), the driving support process ends.

  In S <b> 52, the CPU 51 transmits a distribution request to the probe center 2, and acquires information related to the use difficulty level of the parking lot that is a candidate for guidance. This distribution request includes a condition for specifying a parking lot that is a candidate for guidance. In addition, as conditions for specifying a parking lot, there exist within a predetermined distance from a predetermined point, a predetermined area, etc., for example. For example, when the host vehicle arrives at the vicinity of the destination, information on a parking lot within 300 m from the destination is requested, and information on the use difficulty level of the guidance target candidate parking lot within the applicable range is acquired. . In addition, when a predetermined operation for searching for a parking lot around the current location is performed by the user, information on parking lots within 500 m from the current position of the vehicle is requested, and guidance within the applicable range is requested. Information on the difficulty level of use of the target candidate parking lot is acquired. Note that the information on the usage difficulty level acquired in S52 is stored in the navigation usage difficulty level information DB 47.

  Furthermore, in S53, the CPU 51 obtains the current driving skill level of the user from the driving skill level storage DB 48.

Next, in S54, the CPU 51 first compares the parking difficulty level information acquired in S52 with the current user's driving skill level acquired in S53, and becomes a parking target candidate for guidance. The parking lot corresponding to the current user's driving skill level is identified from among the above.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 17, the parking lot set to the use difficulty level at the same level or lower than the current driving skill level of the user is specified. For example, when the current user's driving skill level is specified as “A”, the parking lots of all the usage difficulty levels are specified as the parking lots corresponding to the current user's driving skill level. In addition, when the current user's driving skill level is specified as “B”, a parking lot whose usage difficulty level is set to “B” to “E” corresponds to the current user's driving skill level. To be identified as a parking lot. In addition, when the current user's driving skill level is specified as “C”, a parking lot whose usage difficulty level is set to “C” to “E” corresponds to the current user's driving skill level. To be identified as a parking lot. Further, when the current user's driving skill level is specified as “D”, the parking lot whose usage difficulty level is set to “D” or “E” corresponds to the current user's driving skill level. To be identified as a parking lot. In addition, when the current user's driving skill level is specified as “E”, only the parking lot whose usage difficulty level is set to “E” is the parking lot corresponding to the current user's driving skill level. Identified as In addition, said S54 is equivalent to the process of a parking lot identification means.

  Thereafter, in S56, the CPU 51 guides the user about the parking lot specified in S55. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 18, a mark 71 for specifying the position of the parking lot is displayed on a map displayed on the liquid crystal display 35. In addition, an information window 72 for guiding information such as parking fee, available time, available vehicle type and the like is displayed. Note that S56 corresponds to processing of the information providing means.

As described in detail above, in the parking lot information providing system 1 and the parking lot information providing system 1 according to the first embodiment and the computer program executed by the parking lot information providing system 1, the vehicle is parked. When parking in the parking lot, “the number of turnovers performed after entering the parking lot and completing the parking” and “the opening / closing angle of the door after parking” are transmitted to the probe center 2 as probe information. (S10). On the other hand, the probe center 2 that has received the probe information sets the use difficulty level for each parking lot based on the received probe information (S34) and specifies the driving skill level of the user (S24). In addition, since the vehicle 3 that has been distributed from the probe center 2 with the information about the difficulty level of use of the set parking lot and the user's driving skill level guides the parking lot corresponding to the driving skill level of the user (S55), Information on the parking lot can be provided to the user based on the use difficulty level set for the parking lot. Therefore, it is possible to guide a parking lot suitable for use by the user.
In addition, since it is possible to provide the user with information regarding the parking lot corresponding to the driving skill of the user, even when there are a plurality of parking lot candidates, parking suitable for the user to use from among them is possible. Information can be provided to the user by selecting the parking lot. Therefore, user convenience is improved.
In addition, by comparing the use difficulty level of the parking lot and the user's driving skill level, it is possible to select the parking lot suitable for the user's driving skill level and provide information to the user. Therefore, it is possible to provide appropriate driving assistance to users with low driving skills and users with high driving skills.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a parking lot information providing system according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the same reference numerals as those of the parking lot information providing system 1 according to the first embodiment in FIGS. 1 to 18 denote the configurations of the parking lot information providing system 1 according to the first embodiment. It shows the same or equivalent part.

The schematic configuration of the parking lot information providing system according to the second embodiment is substantially the same as the parking lot information providing system 1 according to the first embodiment. Various control processes are also substantially the same as the parking lot information providing system 1 according to the first embodiment.
However, the parking lot information providing system according to the second embodiment is different from the parking lot information providing system 1 according to the first embodiment in that the degree of difficulty in using the parking lot is corrected based on the vacancy rate of the parking lot. .

  Below, the parking mode transmission process program performed in the navigation apparatus which comprises the parking lot information provision system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment is demonstrated based on FIG. FIG. 19 is a flowchart of a parking mode transmission processing program according to the second embodiment.

  First, in the parking mode transmission processing program, in S101, the CPU 51 acquires vehicle information related to the own vehicle. Here, the vehicle information acquired in S101 is information relating to the current position of the host vehicle and the host vehicle direction. The current position of the vehicle is detected using the GPS 41. Further, the vehicle direction is detected using the gyro sensor 44.

  Next, in S102, based on the vehicle information acquired in S101, the CPU 51 determines whether or not the vehicle has entered a parking lot outside the road from the road on which the vehicle is traveling.

  And when it determines with the own vehicle having entered the parking lot (S102: YES), it transfers to S103. On the other hand, when it is determined that the host vehicle has not entered the parking lot (S102: NO), the parking mode transmission processing program ends. If it is determined that the vehicle has entered the parking lot, the facility ID of the parking lot into which the vehicle has entered is acquired from the navigation map information DB 46.

  Next, in S103, the CPU 51 obtains the current empty vehicle rate of the parking lot where the vehicle has entered. The vacancy rate of the parking lot is obtained from a center that manages the current parking situation of the parking lot or a parking lot management system. Further, the empty vehicle rate may be estimated from the past parking situation of the parking lot, and acquired from the estimation result. Note that S103 corresponds to the processing of the first empty vehicle rate acquisition means.

  Moreover, since the process after S104 is a process similar to the process after S3 of the parking mode transmission process program which concerns on 1st Embodiment, description is abbreviate | omitted. However, in S111, the CPU 51 counts the count value of the turnover counter (that is, the number of turnovers performed after entering the parking lot and completing the parking) and the opening / closing angle of the door after parking detected in S110. In addition to the vehicle ID for identifying the own vehicle and the facility ID of the parking lot where the own vehicle has entered, the probe center 2 also provides the vacant rate of the parking lot where the own vehicle acquired in S103 has parked. Transmit as probe information.

  Next, the use difficulty level setting processing program executed in the probe center 2 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the use difficulty level setting processing program according to the second embodiment.

  The following processing of S121 to S125 is executed in a loop for each parking lot included in the map information stored in the center map information DB 26, and is repeated until the processing for all the parking lots included in the map information is completed.

  First, in S121, the CPU 21 extracts probe information including the parking mode and the empty vehicle rate in the parking lot to be processed from the probe information stored in the probe information DB 24.

  Next, in S122, the CPU 21 determines the use difficulty level of the parking lot for each probe information based on the probe information extracted in S121 and the difficulty level determination graph stored in the ROM 23 (FIG. 4). The details of the determination process of the parking space utilization difficulty level for each probe information have already been described with reference to FIG.

  Thereafter, in S123, the CPU 21 corrects the use difficulty level determined in S32 based on the empty vehicle rate of the parking lot. Specifically, the use difficulty level determined based on the parking mode acquired under a situation where the empty vehicle rate is less than a predetermined ratio (for example, 50%) makes the rank of the difficulty level one rank easier. That is, when the empty vehicle rate included in the probe information determined as “B” is less than a predetermined ratio (for example, 50%), the usage difficulty determined for the probe information is “C”. To "". Thereby, it is prevented that the use difficulty level determined based on the parking mode in the case of parking in a crowded situation is determined to be more difficult than the actual difficulty level. On the other hand, the use difficulty level determined based on the parking mode acquired under the situation where the empty vehicle rate is a predetermined ratio (for example, 50%) or more is not corrected.

Next, in S124, the CPU 21 statistics the plurality of usage difficulty levels corrected in S123 and takes a frequency distribution to identify the difficulty level of the most frequent mode. In S <b> 125, the CPU 21 sets the identified difficulty level as the utilization difficulty level of the parking lot.
Thereafter, if there are any unprocessed facilities, the process returns to S121, and the processes of S121 to S125 are performed in the same manner. On the other hand, when the processing of S121 to S125 for all the parking lots included in the map information is completed, the use difficulty level setting processing program ends.

  Next, a driving support processing program executed in the navigation device 5 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 21 is a flowchart of the driving support processing program according to the second embodiment.

  First, in the driving support processing program, in S131, the CPU 51 determines whether or not to provide parking guidance to the user. In addition, when performing guidance of the parking lot, when the own vehicle arrives around the set destination or when a user performs a predetermined operation for searching for a parking lot around the current location, etc. is there.

  And when it determines with performing the guidance of a parking lot (S131: YES), it transfers to S132. On the other hand, when it is determined not to guide the parking lot (S131: NO), the driving support process ends.

  In S <b> 132, the CPU 51 transmits a distribution request to the probe center 2, and acquires information related to the use difficulty level of the parking lot that is a candidate for guidance. The parking lots that are candidates for guidance correspond to, for example, all parking lots within 300 m from the destination when the vehicle arrives around the destination where the vehicle is set. Further, when a predetermined operation for searching for a parking lot around the current location is performed by the user, all the parking lots within 500 m from the current position of the own vehicle are applicable. In addition, the information regarding the use difficulty level acquired in S132 is stored in the navigation use difficulty level information DB 47.

  Next, in S133, the CPU 51 obtains the current vacancy rate of the parking lot that is a candidate for guidance. The vacancy rate of the parking lot is obtained from a center that manages the current parking situation of the parking lot or a parking lot management system. Further, the empty vehicle rate may be estimated from the past parking situation of the parking lot, and acquired from the estimation result. Note that S134 corresponds to the processing of the second empty vehicle rate acquisition means.

  Subsequently, in S134, the CPU 51 corrects the use difficulty level set in the parking lot that is the candidate for guidance acquired in S132, based on the vacancy rate of the parking lot for each parking lot. Specifically, the use difficulty level of a parking lot with an empty vehicle rate less than a predetermined ratio (for example, 50%) makes the difficulty rank one rank difficult. That is, when the vacancy rate of the parking lot whose usage difficulty level is set to “B” is less than a predetermined ratio (for example, 50%), the usage difficulty level set to the parking lot is corrected to “A”. To do. That is, when the parking lot is congested, it is considered that it is difficult to park because there is not enough space in the parking space than when it is vacant, so the difficulty of using the crowded parking lot is more than the original difficulty level However, it is possible to make a correct comparison with the user's driving skill level. On the other hand, the use difficulty level set in a parking lot with an empty vehicle rate of a predetermined ratio (for example, 50%) or more is not corrected. Note that S134 corresponds to the processing of the utilization difficulty level correcting means.

  Furthermore, in S135, the CPU 51 obtains the current driving skill level of the user from the driving skill level storage DB 48.

  Next, in S136, the CPU 21 compares the parking lot use difficulty level information corrected in S134 with the current user's driving skill level acquired in S135, thereby determining the parking target candidate for guidance. A parking lot corresponding to the current driving skill level of the user is identified from the parking lot. Since a specific method for identifying a parking lot is the same as that in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  After that, in S137, the CPU 51 guides the user about information related to the parking lot specified in S136.

As explained in detail above, in the parking lot information providing method and the parking lot information providing method by the parking lot information providing system and the computer program executed by the parking lot information providing system according to the second embodiment, Since the parking use difficulty level is set based on this (S121 to S125), it becomes possible to set a more accurate parking use difficulty level in consideration of the empty rate of the parking lot.
Further, the parking difficulty level is corrected based on the vacant rate of the parking lot (S134), and the corrected usage difficulty level is compared with the driving skill level of the user (S136). Considering this, it becomes possible to make a correct comparison between the parking difficulty level and the user's driving skill level. Therefore, it becomes possible to select a parking lot corresponding to the driving skill level of the user more accurately.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
For example, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, when the vehicle 3 parks in the parking lot, “the number of turnovers performed after entering the parking lot and completing the parking” and “after parking “Door open / close angle” is transmitted as probe information to the probe center 2, and the probe center 2 statistically processes the transmitted probe information to set the difficulty level of the parking lot. Only one of “the number of turnovers performed from the time of entering until parking is completed” and “the door opening / closing angle after parking” may be transmitted as probe information. Also, information related to the parking mode other than “the number of turnovers performed after entering the parking lot until the parking is completed” and “opening / closing angle of the door after parking” may be transmitted to the probe center 2 as probe information. good. For example, there is a distance, time, etc. from entering the parking lot to completing parking.

Further, instead of “number of times of turning” as the probe information, “turning degree” may be transmitted to the probe center 2. Note that the degree of turning is calculated by the following equation.
Depth of turn = Σ (steering wheel turning angle / front and back travel distance)

  In S4, when the shift position is changed to “R”, the CPU 51 determines that the parking operation by backward parking is started and starts to acquire the parking mode, but omits the process of S4. May be. In that case, after entering the parking lot, acquisition of the parking mode is started.

  In addition, when detecting the opening / closing angles of the doors in S9 and S110, if the opening / closing angles of the plurality of doors are detected, the opening / closing angle of the door having the smallest angle among the detected opening / closing angles of the plurality of doors. To the probe center 2 as probe information.

  In addition, the parking space use difficulty level is set for each empty vehicle rate (for example, empty vehicle rate 0% to 20%, 20% to 40%, 40% to 60%, 60% to 80%, 80% to 100%). You may make it do. Moreover, you may set for every time slot | zone and every day of the week.

  Moreover, in 1st Embodiment and 2nd Embodiment, although the difficulty determination graph shown in FIG. 4 is used, the utilization difficulty of the parking lot for every probe information is determined, but it is a table instead of a difficulty setting graph. May be used.

  Moreover, in 1st Embodiment and 2nd Embodiment, the setting of the difficulty level of a parking lot and specification of a user's driving skill level are performed only for the parking aspect by backward parking especially among forward-facing parking and backward-facing parking. However, forward parking may also be included.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a driving support system according to a first embodiment. It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the driving assistance system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the memory area of probe information DB. It is the figure which showed the difficulty determination graph. It is the figure which showed the opening-and-closing angle of the door of a vehicle. It is the figure which showed an example of the memory area of utilization difficulty level information DB. It is a block diagram which shows typically the control system of the navigation apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the parking mode transmission process program which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the driving skill level specific process program which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the utilization difficulty level setting processing program which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the information delivery processing program which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the driving assistance processing program which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the parking aspect in case a vehicle parks backwards in a parking lot. It is the figure which showed the driving | operation skill level determination graph. It is the figure which showed the driving | operation skill level determination table. It is the figure which showed the frequency distribution table of the utilization difficulty level produced | generated for every parking lot. It is the correspondence table | surface which showed the utilization difficulty level corresponding to a user's driving skill level. It is the figure which showed the guidance screen of the parking lot displayed on a liquid crystal display. It is a flowchart of the parking mode transmission process program which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the utilization difficulty level setting processing program which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the driving assistance processing program which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the parking lot. It is the figure which showed an example of the parking lot. It is the figure which showed an example of the parking lot. It is the figure which showed an example of the parking lot.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Parking lot information provision system 2 Probe center 3 Vehicle 20 Server 21 CPU
22 RAM
23 ROM
33 Navigation ECU
51 CPU
52 RAM
53 ROM

Claims (5)

A parking mode acquisition means for acquiring the number of turnovers performed after the vehicle enters the parking lot and completing the parking and the opening / closing angle of the door after parking, with respect to the vehicle that executed parking in the parking lot,
A usage difficulty level setting unit that sets a usage difficulty level for the parking lot based on the number of times the vehicle is turned back and the door opening / closing angle acquired by the parking mode acquisition unit;
A parking lot information providing system comprising: information providing means for providing information on the parking lot to a user based on the use difficulty level of the parking lot set by the use difficulty level setting means. . Driving skill specifying means for specifying the driving skill of the user,
Based on the user's driving technique specified by the driving technique specifying means and the use difficulty level of the parking lot set by the usage difficulty setting means, a use difficulty level corresponding to the user's driving technique is set. A parking lot identifying means for identifying the designated parking lot,
The parking information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the information providing unit provides the user with information on the parking lot specified by the parking lot specifying unit. The vehicle has an empty vehicle rate acquisition means for acquiring an empty vehicle rate of a parking lot where parking has been performed,
The said utilization difficulty level setting means correct | amends the utilization difficulty level of this parking lot based on the empty ratio of the said parking lot acquired by the said empty vehicle ratio acquisition means. Car parking information provision system described in Crab. A parking mode acquisition step for acquiring the number of turnovers performed after the vehicle enters the parking lot and completing the parking and the opening / closing angle of the door after parking with respect to the vehicle that executed parking in the parking lot,
A usage difficulty level setting step for setting a usage difficulty level for the parking lot, based on the number of times the vehicle is turned back and the opening / closing angle of the door acquired by the parking mode acquisition step;
A parking lot information providing method comprising: an information providing step of providing information on the parking lot to a user based on the use difficulty level of the parking lot set by the use difficulty level setting step. . On the computer,
A parking mode acquisition function for acquiring the number of turnovers performed until the parking is completed after the vehicle enters the parking lot and the opening / closing angle of the door after parking, with respect to the vehicle that executed parking in the parking lot,
A use difficulty level setting function for setting a use difficulty level for the parking lot, based on the number of times the vehicle is turned back and a door opening / closing angle acquired by the parking mode acquisition function;
An information providing function for providing information on the parking lot to the user based on the use difficulty level of the parking lot set by the use difficulty setting function;
A computer program for executing

Images