Handheld photo enforcement systems and methods
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A handheld photo enforcement unit, comprising:
- a camera to capture image data from a traffic event;
a speed detector to determine a speed of a vehicle associated with the traffic event;
a communication interface of the handheld photo enforcement unit configured to communicate with a department of motor vehicles database and a citation server; and
a processor to;
receive authorization from a user to process the image data;
identify a license plate in the image data;
attempt to determine a license plate number from the image data, if the attempt succeeds store the license plate number, if the attempt fails present a request to the user to review the image data and input the license plate number;
retrieve vehicle and owner information from a database based on the license plate number;
receive an input from the user to accept or reject the traffic event for issuing a citation using a citation process based on the retrieved vehicle and owner information;
in response from the user to accept the traffic event, initiate the citation process to provide the citation server with the image data, the vehicle and owner information, the citation, and instructions to generate a citation document and an evidence package; and
in response to the input from the user to reject the traffic event, discard the image data, the vehicle information, and the owner information from the citation process.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A citation system may receive data, including an image, from a handheld photo enforcement unit and issue a citation based on the image with minimal officer input. The citation system manipulates photos to identify license plate numbers involved in an event. The citation system requests identification from a driver database, issues a citation, and forwards the citation according to information from the driver database.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A handheld photo enforcement unit, comprising:
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a camera to capture image data from a traffic event; a speed detector to determine a speed of a vehicle associated with the traffic event; a communication interface of the handheld photo enforcement unit configured to communicate with a department of motor vehicles database and a citation server; and a processor to; receive authorization from a user to process the image data; identify a license plate in the image data; attempt to determine a license plate number from the image data, if the attempt succeeds store the license plate number, if the attempt fails present a request to the user to review the image data and input the license plate number; retrieve vehicle and owner information from a database based on the license plate number; receive an input from the user to accept or reject the traffic event for issuing a citation using a citation process based on the retrieved vehicle and owner information; in response from the user to accept the traffic event, initiate the citation process to provide the citation server with the image data, the vehicle and owner information, the citation, and instructions to generate a citation document and an evidence package; and in response to the input from the user to reject the traffic event, discard the image data, the vehicle information, and the owner information from the citation process. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores machine-readable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a traffic enforcement system, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
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receive event data from a handheld photo enforcement unit, wherein the event data includes traffic violation data and an image of at least a portion of a vehicle; determine a license plate number associated with the vehicle; present a request to a user of the handheld photo enforcement unit to review the image data if the license plate is unable to be determined; retrieve vehicle and owner information associated with the license plate number from a department of motor vehicles database; present the event data, license plate number, and vehicle and owner information on a client device to the user for citation approval to accept or reject an event for issuing a citation using a citation process; in response to receiving input representative of acceptance from the user, provide a citation server with image data, the vehicle and owner information, and the traffic violation data and instructions to generate a citation and an evidence package; and in response to receiving input representative of rejection from the user, discard the event data, license plate number, and vehicle and owner information from the citation process. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A traffic enforcement system, comprising:
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a handheld photo enforcement unit comprising; a camera to capture image data from a traffic event; a light imaging detection and ranging sensor to measure the speed of a vehicle and the distance between vehicles; a human machine interface to receive input from an a user indicating whether the captured image data should be processed for a citation; and a transmitter to wirelessly transmit the captured image data and associated vehicle speed and distance between vehicles; a citation server comprising; a receiver to receive a wireless signal comprising the captured image data and associated vehicle speed and distance between vehicles from the handheld photo enforcement unit; and a processor to; extract the captured image data and associated vehicle speed and distance between vehicles; determine a license plate number within the captured image data, wherein if the processor fails to determine a license plate number the processor transmits a first review request to a personal electronic device to review the image data; retrieve vehicle and owner information associated with the license plate number from a department of motor vehicles database; transmit a second review request to the personal electronic device to obtain approval to accept or reject the event for issuing a citation for the traffic event using a citation process; and in response from the user to accept the traffic event, initiate the citation process to prepare a citation and an evidence package if an approval is obtained; and in response to the input from the user to reject the traffic event, discard the image data, the vehicle and owner information from the citation process. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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Specification