System for displaying parking spaces

• US 10,192,440 B2
• Filed: 11/09/2015
• Issued: 01/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cleverciti Systems GmbH
• Original Assignee: Cleverciti Systems GmbH
• Inventors: Hohenacker, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang, Quan-Zhen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Burgdorf, Stephen R
• Application Number:
  US15/525,769
• Publication Number:
  US 20180174453A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,177 Days
• Field of Search: 3409322
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/62 Text, e.g. of license plates, overlay texts or captions on TV images
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/02 taking into account a variable factor such as distance or time, e.g. for passenger transport, parking systems or car rental systems G07B15/06 takes precedence; taximeters G07B13/00; parking meters per se G07F17/24; car rental systems per se G07B15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/142 external to the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/144 on portable or mobile units, e.g. personal digital assistant [PDA]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/146 where the parking area is a limited parking space, e.g. parking garage, restricted space
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/147 where the parking area is within an open public zone, e.g. city centre

Abstract

The invention relates to a system which comprises at least one street-lighting device, a camera system mounted thereon, a recognition unit, a transmission unit and a mobile display device. The camera system is designed to provide image indicators of parking spaces within a parking lot. The recognition unit is designed: to store the geographical coordinates of parking spaces present in the visual range of the camera system; to assign, depending on the image indicators, to each parking space a respective occupation status, said status specifying whether the respective parking space is available or occupied; and to provide the transmission unit with the respective occupation status of at least the available parking spaces and the associated geographical coordinates, the transmission unit being designed to transmit the respective occupation status at least of the available parking spaces and the associated geographical coordinates to the mobile display device.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

at least a street-lighting device;

a camera system mounted on the street-lighting device;

a recognition unit;

a transmission unit; and

a mobile display unit;

wherein the camera system is configured for delivering image indications of parking space areas disposed within a parking space zone; and

wherein the recognition unit is configured to;

store geographical coordinates of parking space areas located in a field of view of the camera system;

associate a respective occupation status in dependence on the image indications of the parking space areas, the respective occupation status marking whether a respective parking space area is free or occupied; and

provide the respective occupation status of at least the free parking space areas with the associated geographical coordinates to the transmission unit;

wherein the transmission unit is configured to transmit the respective occupation status of at least the free parking space areas with the associated geographical coordinates to the mobile display unit; and

wherein the recognition unit is configured to output edge images and/or contour images of a parked motor vehicle detected by the camera system, with the edge images and/or contour images being output when a maximum parking time of the parked motor vehicle has been exceeded, and with the edge images and/or contour images showing the parked motor vehicle at the start of a parking process and after the reaching of the maximum parking time.

2. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the recognition unit is configured to compensate movements of the camera system that are caused by movements of the street-lighting device relative to the parking space zone in the image indications delivered by the camera system by means of an image processing method such that the image indications are not falsified by the movements of the camera system.

3. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the image indications exclusively comprise individual images.

4. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the camera system is configured to detect respective image indications of different areas of the parking space zone after one another.

5. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the recognition unit is configured to determine an occupation status independently of predefined parking space areas.

6. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the camera system and the recognition unit are arranged in a common housing, with only data relating to the respective occupation status being output from the common housing.

7. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least one of the recognition unit and the camera system has at least one acceleration sensor and/or a gyroscope for detecting movements of the camera system that are caused by movements of the street-lighting device relative to the parking space zone.

8. The system in accordance with claim 1,

wherein the camera system is fastened to a projection of the street-lighting device and

wherein the camera system is arranged adjacent to a lighting module of the street-lighting device.

9. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the camera system has at least two fixed-position, differently oriented cameras whose fields of view at least regionally overlap.

10. The system in accordance with claim 9, wherein a marking is applied to a carrier element of another street-lighting device in the field of view of the camera system and wherein the marking is arranged in the overlapping field of view.

11. The system in accordance with claim 9, wherein only one processor is provided in the recognition unit that is selectively couplable with a respective exactly one of the cameras.

12. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the street-lighting device has a profile groove with a constant cross-section and wherein a lighting module and the camera system each have a profile prolongation complementary thereto for coupling with the profile groove.

13. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least one lighting module and/or the camera system is/are respectively exclusively held at the street-lighting device by means of a magnetic coupling.

14. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the recognition unit is configured to control a brightness of lighting modules of the street-lighting device in dependence on parameters determined from the image indications.

15. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the recognition unit is configured to control a brightness of lighting modules of the street-lighting device associated with it and of further street-lighting devices in dependence on parameters determined from the image indications.

16. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the street-lighting device has an energy supply unit for charging electric automobiles.

17. The system in accordance with claim 16, wherein the recognition unit is configured:

to detect whether the energy supply unit is operated in a charge mode or in a standby mode; and

to provide corresponding status information together with geographical coordinates of the street-lighting device to the transmission unit in dependence on the detected operating mode,

wherein the transmission unit is configured to transmit the respective operating mode of the energy supply unit with the geographical coordinates of the street-lighting device to the mobile display unit.

18. The system in accordance with claim 17, wherein the recognition unit is configured to classify vehicles detected by the camera system using features associated with electric vehicle models and combustion engine vehicle models and thus to distinguish electric vehicle models from combustion engine vehicle models.

19. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the recognition unit is configured to apply a filter algorithm separately to each parking space area of the parking space zone to compensate brightness differences between the parking space areas.

20. A system comprising:

at least a street-lighting device;

a camera system mounted on the street-lighting device;

a recognition unit;

a transmission unit; and

a mobile display unit;

wherein the camera system is configured for delivering image indications of parking space areas disposed within a parking space zone; and

wherein the recognition unit is configured to;

store geographical coordinates of parking space areas located in a field of view of the camera system;

associate a respective occupation status in dependence on the image indications of the parking space areas, said respective occupation status marking whether a respective parking space area is free or occupied; and

provide the respective occupation status of at least the free parking space areas with the associated geographical coordinates to the transmission unit;

wherein the transmission unit is configured to transmit the respective occupation status of at least the free parking space areas with the associated geographical coordinates to the mobile display unit;

wherein the camera system is adapted to set an exposure time in a substantially unlimited time range in dependence on a brightness in the field of view of the camera system; and

wherein a marking is applied to a carrier element of the street-lighting device or another street-lighting device in the field of view of the camera system, and wherein the marking is in an unchangeable position relative to the detected parking space areas to allow compensation for movements of the street-lighting device.