Pole-mounted vehicle sensor

• US 10,299,018 B1
• Filed: 02/27/2017
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IPS Group Incorporated
• Original Assignee: IPS Group Incorporated
• Inventors: King, David William, Schwarz, Alexander, Hunter, Stephen John, Randall, Chad P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yang, James J
• Application Number:
  US15/443,734
• Time in Patent Office: 813 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10415 the interrogation device being fixed in its position, such as an access control device for reading wireless access cards, or a wireless ATM banking machines in general G07F19/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/35 with light sensitive cells
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 for interrogation
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/40 using a wireless architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/88 Providing power supply at the sub-station
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/44 for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

Devices and meters comprising: a housing configured to mount to a pole supporting an existing meter, the housing defining an interior; a sensor within the interior of the housing, the sensor configured to collect environmental information pertaining to the local external environment of the existing meter; a wireless radio within the interior of the housing, the wireless radio configured to transmit the environmental information to the existing meter or to a remote server in communication with the existing meter; a power unit within the interior of the housing, the power unit supplying power to the sensor and the wireless radio.

Claims

1. A device for upgrading an existing meter by retrofit, the device comprising:

a) a sensor device housing configured to physically mount to a pole supporting the existing meter to upgrade the existing meter without mechanically altering or replacing the existing meter, the existing meter comprising a meter housing comprising a wireless tag, the sensor device housing defining an interior;

b) a sensor within the interior of the sensor device housing, the sensor configured to collect environmental information pertaining to a local external environment of the existing meter;

c) a wireless tag reader within the interior of the sensor device housing, the wireless tag reader configured to read the wireless tag to obtain an identifier associated with a unique physical location;

d) a wireless radio within the interior of the sensor device housing, the wireless radio configured to transmit the environmental information to the existing meter or to a remote server in communication with the existing meter and to transmit the identifier to the remote server to obtain configuration information; and

e) a power unit within the interior of the sensor device housing, the power unit supplying power to the sensor, the wireless tag reader, and the wireless radio;

wherein the device is configured to retrofit the existing meter by physically mounting to the pole and transmitting the environmental information to the existing meter or to the remote server in communication with the existing meter.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the existing meter is a parking meter and the sensor is a vehicle sensor.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the parking meter is a single space parking meter or a multi-space parking meter.

4. The device of claim 2, wherein the environmental information comprises the presence of a vehicle in a parking space associated with the existing meter.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the sensor is a radar and wherein the sensor device housing comprises a material that is at least partially radar transparent.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the wireless radio utilizes ISM-band, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or ZigBee.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the wireless tag reader is an RF reader, and wherein the identifier comprises a meter identification associated with the existing meter.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein the wireless radio is further configured to transmit the meter identification in association with the environmental information.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is operationally self-sufficient, the sensor, the wireless tag reader, the wireless radio, and the power unit being not electrically connected to the existing meter.

10. The device of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of sensors within the interior of the sensor device housing, wherein at least one of the plurality of sensors is a camera.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the power unit comprises at least one rechargeable battery.

12. The device of claim 11, further comprising at least one solar cell to recharge the at least one rechargeable battery.

13. The device of claim 1, comprising a plurality of sensors within the interior of the sensor device housing, wherein at least one of the plurality of sensors is a weather sensor, a seismic sensor, a chemical sensor, a radiation sensor, or a combination thereof.

14. A meter comprising:

a) a pole;

b) an existing meter device supported by the pole, the existing meter comprising a meter housing comprising a wireless tag;

c) a device for upgrading the existing meter device by retrofit, the device comprising a sensor device housing defining an interior, the device configured to physically mount to the pole, to upgrade the existing meter without mechanically altering or replacing the existing meter;

d) a sensor within the interior of the sensor device housing, the sensor configured to collect environmental information pertaining to a local external environment of the meter;

e) a wireless tag reader within the interior of the sensor device housing, the wireless tag reader configured to read the wireless tag to obtain an identifier associated with a unique physical location;

f) a wireless radio within the interior of the sensor device housing, the wireless radio configured to transmit the environmental information to the meter device or to a remote server in communication with the meter device and to transmit the identifier to the remote server to obtain configuration information; and

g) a power unit within the interior of the sensor device housing, the power unit supplying power to the sensor, the wireless tag reader, and the wireless radio

wherein the device is configured to retrofit the existing meter by physically mounting to the pole and transmitting the environmental information to the existing meter or to the remote server in communication with existing meter.

15. The meter of claim 14, wherein the meter is a parking meter and the sensor is a vehicle sensor.

16. The meter of claim 15, wherein the parking meter is a single space parking meter or a multi-space parking meter.

17. The meter of claim 15, wherein the environmental information comprises the presence of a vehicle in a parking space associated with the parking meter.

18. The meter of claim 15, wherein the sensor is a radar and wherein the sensor device housing comprises a material that is at least partially radar transparent.

19. The meter of claim 14, wherein the wireless radio utilizes ISM-band, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or ZigBee.

20. The meter of claim 14, wherein the wireless tag reader is an RF reader, and wherein the identifier comprises a meter identification associated with the exiting meter.

21. The meter of claim 20, wherein the wireless radio is further configured to transmit the meter identification in association with the environmental information.

22. The meter of claim 14, wherein the device is operationally self-sufficient, the sensor, the wireless tag reader, the wireless radio, and the power unit being not electrically connected to the meter device.

23. The meter of claim 14, comprising a plurality of sensors within the interior of the sensor device housing, wherein at least one of the plurality of sensors is a camera.

24. The meter of claim 14, further comprising a plurality of sensors within the interior of the sensor device housing, wherein at least one of the plurality of sensors is a weather sensor, a seismic sensor, a chemical sensor, a radiation sensor, or a combination thereof.

25. The meter of claim 14, wherein the power unit comprises at least one rechargeable battery.

26. The meter of claim 25, further comprising at least one solar cell to recharge the at least one rechargeable battery.

27. A method of upgrading a meter comprising:

physically affixing a device for upgrading an existing meter by retrofit to a pole supporting the existing meter comprising a meter housing comprising a wireless tag;

provided that the device comprises;

a sensor device housing defining an interior;

a sensor within the interior of the sensor device housing, the sensor configured to collect environmental information pertaining to a local external environment of the existing meter;

a wireless tag reader within the interior of the sensor device housing, the wireless tag reader configured to read the wireless tag to obtain an identifier associated with a unique physical location;

a wireless radio within the interior of the sensor device housing, the wireless radio configured to transmit the environmental information to the existing meter or to a remote server in communication with the existing meter and to transmit the identifier to the remote server to obtain configuration information; and

a power unit within the interior of the sensor device housing, the power unit supplying power to the sensor, the wireless radio, and the wireless reader;

wherein the existing meter is not mechanically altered or replaced;

whereby the meter is upgraded to collect and transmit the environmental information.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the existing meter is a parking meter, the sensor is a vehicle sensor, and the environmental information comprises the presence of a vehicle in a parking space associated with the existing meter.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the sensor is a radar.