Parking sensors capable of determining direction and speed of vehicle entering or leaving a parking lot using magnetic signature recognition

• US 10,325,497 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2017
• Issued: 06/18/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Parkhub, Inc.
• Original Assignee: The Parking Genius, Inc.
• Inventors: O'Callaghan, Sean
• Primary Examiner(s): Mortell, John F
• Application Number:
  US15/711,796
• Publication Number:
  US 20190088129A1
• Time in Patent Office: 635 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/04 using optical or ultrasonic detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/042 using inductive or magnetic detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/127 to a central station ; Indicators in a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/143 inside the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/144 on portable or mobile units, e.g. personal digital assistant [PDA]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/148 Management of a network of parking areas

Abstract

A parking inventory management system includes a sensor apparatus with at least one magnetometer configured to generate a magnetic signature of a vehicle as it drives across the sensor apparatus. A computing device performs an analysis of the magnetic signature of the vehicle as received from the at least one magnetometer, the analysis including at least comparing the magnetic signature of the vehicle as received from the at least one magnetometer to known magnetic signatures of known vehicles. The computing device performs the analysis of the magnetic signature of the vehicle by comparing the magnetic signature of the vehicle to each of the known magnetic signatures of known vehicles to thereby determine a direction of travel of the vehicle based upon the comparison.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a single sensor comprising a magnetometer configured to generate a magnetic signature of a vehicle as it drives across the single sensor;

a computing device configured to perform an analysis of the magnetic signature of the vehicle as received from the magnetometer, wherein the analysis includes comparing the magnetic signature of the vehicle as received from the magnetometer to known magnetic signatures of known vehicle types to thereby determine a direction of travel of the vehicle relative to the single sensor based upon the comparison,

wherein each known vehicle type has a plurality of known magnetic signatures associated with each known vehicle type, wherein each known magnetic signature associated with each known vehicle type is a magnetic signature of that vehicle type captured during driving of a vehicle of the vehicle type over the sensor apparatus from a different direction or different vehicle orientation.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a network transceiver associated with the computing device and configured to send the direction of travel of the vehicle to a cloud server.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the sensor apparatus is disposed at an entrance or exit to a parking lot;

wherein the cloud server is further configured to increment a counter representing a number of cars in the parking lot as a function of the direction of travel of the vehicle being into the parking lot; and

wherein the computing device is further configured to decrement the counter as a function of the direction of the vehicle being out of the parking lot.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a network transceiver associated with the computing device and configured to send the magnetic signatures of the vehicle to the computing device;

and wherein the computing device is a cloud server.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device is further configured to determine a make and model of the vehicle to be equal to the make and model of a matching known magnetic signature of a known vehicle.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device is further configured to, during an initial training phase, execute a machine learning technique using each of the known magnetic signatures of known vehicle types;

and wherein the computing device performs the analysis of the magnetic signature by performing a machine identification technique, learned based upon the machine learning technique, on the magnetic signature.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the computing device performs the machine identification technique so as to determine a make and model of the vehicle.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the computing device performs the machine identification technique as to determine at least one of a speed of the vehicle and a position of the vehicle.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device performs the analysis of the magnetic signature of the vehicle by comparing the magnetic signature of the vehicle to each of the known magnetic signatures of known vehicle types, and is further configured to determine a make and model of the vehicle to be equal to the make and model of a matching known magnetic signature of a known vehicle type.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the computing device is further configured to determine a position of the vehicle as a function of which of the known magnetic signatures for the given known vehicle type matching the make and model of the vehicle was matched by the magnetic signature of the vehicle.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the computing device is further configured to determine a speed of the vehicle as a function of which of the known magnetic signatures for the given known vehicle types matching the make and model of the vehicle types was matched by the magnetic signature of the vehicle and the duration of the magnetic signature of the vehicle.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the single sensor comprises at least four magnetometers arranged in a rectangular pattern inside a single housing.

13. A method of determining direction of a vehicle, the method comprising:

acquiring a respective magnetic signature of the vehicle as it drives past a single magnetometer;

performing an analysis of the magnetic signature of the vehicle as received from the single magnetometer to determine at least one of a speed of the vehicle, a direction of travel of the vehicle, and a position of the vehicle with respect to the single magnetometer,

wherein the analysis of the magnetic signature of the vehicle is performed by comparing the magnetic signature of the vehicle to known magnetic signatures of known vehicle types,

wherein each known vehicle type has a plurality of known magnetic signatures associated with each known vehicle type, wherein each known magnetic signature associated with each known vehicle type is a magnetic signature of that vehicle type captured during driving of a vehicle of the vehicle type past the single magnetometer from a different direction or different vehicle orientation.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein a make and model of the vehicle is determined to be equal to a make and model of a matching known magnetic signature of a matching known vehicle.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising, during an initial training phase, executing a machine learning technique using each of the known magnetic signatures of known vehicle types;

and wherein the analysis of the magnetic signature of the vehicle is performed using a machine identification technique, learned based upon the machine learning technique, on the magnetic signature.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the analysis of the magnetic signature of the vehicle is performed by comprising the magnetic signature of the vehicle to each of the known magnetic signatures of the known vehicles, and determines a make and model of the vehicle to be equal to a make and model of a matching known magnetic signature of a known vehicle.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the position of the vehicle and the direction of travel of the vehicle are determined as a function of which of the known magnetic signatures for the given known vehicle type matching the make and model of the vehicle was matched by the magnetic signature of the vehicle.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the speed of the vehicle is determined as a function of which of the known magnetic signatures for the given known vehicle type matching the make and model of the vehicle was matched by the magnetic signature of the vehicle and a duration of the magnetic signature of the vehicle.