Automated enforcement of parking meters
First Claim
1. A system for automatically enforcing one or more parking spaces, comprising:
- a vehicle sensor for determining whether a vehicle is parked in the one or more parking spaces;
a vehicle identification device for capturing one or more images of one or more unique characteristics of the vehicle parked in the one or more parking spaces, wherein the one or more unique characteristics are used to identify an owner of the vehicle; and
a parking meter comprising a processor, a memory, a file storage unit comprising a violation manager for determining whether a violation has occurred and generating a notice of violation in response to the violation, and a communications unit for transmitting the notice of violation, and the one or more images or the one or more unique characteristics of the vehicle, via a network to a central receiving office, wherein the central receiving office identifies the owner of the vehicle from the one or more images and creates a summons for the owner of the vehicle in response to the notice of violation;
wherein the processor, the memory, the communications unit, and the file storage unit are connected via a system bus, and wherein the vehicle sensor and the vehicle identification device are operatively connected to the parking meter.
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Abstract
In one aspect of the present invention, a system is provided for automatically enforcing parking spaces. The system comprises a vehicle sensor for determining whether a vehicle is parked in the parking spaces and a vehicle identification device for capturing images of the vehicle. The system further comprises a parking meter. The parking meter comprises a processor, a memory, a file storage unit comprising a violation manager for determining whether a violation has occurred and generating a notice of violation, and a communications unit for transmitting the notice, and the images or unique characteristics of the vehicle, via a network to a central receiving office, wherein the central receiving office identifies the owner of the vehicle and creates a summons for the owner of the vehicle in response to the notice of violation.
55 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system for automatically enforcing one or more parking spaces, comprising:
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a vehicle sensor for determining whether a vehicle is parked in the one or more parking spaces;
a vehicle identification device for capturing one or more images of one or more unique characteristics of the vehicle parked in the one or more parking spaces, wherein the one or more unique characteristics are used to identify an owner of the vehicle; and
a parking meter comprising a processor, a memory, a file storage unit comprising a violation manager for determining whether a violation has occurred and generating a notice of violation in response to the violation, and a communications unit for transmitting the notice of violation, and the one or more images or the one or more unique characteristics of the vehicle, via a network to a central receiving office, wherein the central receiving office identifies the owner of the vehicle from the one or more images and creates a summons for the owner of the vehicle in response to the notice of violation;
wherein the processor, the memory, the communications unit, and the file storage unit are connected via a system bus, and wherein the vehicle sensor and the vehicle identification device are operatively connected to the parking meter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A system for automatically enforcing one or more parking spaces, comprising:
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a vehicle sensor for determining whether a vehicle is parked in the one or more parking spaces;
a vehicle identification device for capturing one or more images of one or more unique characteristics of the vehicle parked in the one or more parking spaces, wherein the one or more unique characteristics are used to identify an owner of the vehicle; and
an interface device comprising a processor, a memory, a file storage unit comprising a violation manager for determining whether a violation has occurred and generating a notice of violation in response to the violation, a communications unit for transmitting the notice of violation, and the one or more images or the one or more unique characteristics of the vehicle, via a network to a central receiving office, wherein the central receiving office identifies the owner of the vehicle from the one or more images and creates a summons for the owner of the vehicle in response to the notice of violation; and
a module for interfacing with a parking meter;
wherein the processor, the memory, the communications unit, the file storage unit, and the module are connected via a system bus, and wherein the vehicle sensor and the vehicle identification device are operatively connected to the interface device.
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24. A system for automatically enforcing one or more parking spaces, comprising:
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a vehicle sensor for determining whether a vehicle is parked in the one or more parking spaces;
a vehicle identification device for capturing one or more images of one or more unique characteristics of the vehicle parked in the one or more parking spaces, wherein the one or more unique characteristics are used to identify an owner of the vehicle;
a module for interfacing with a parking meter; and
an interface device comprising a processor, a memory, a file storage unit comprising a violation manager for determining whether a violation has occurred and generating a notice of violation in response to the violation, and a communications unit for transmitting the notice of violation, and the one or more images or the one or more unique characteristics of the vehicle, via a network to a central receiving office, wherein the central receiving office identifies the owner of the vehicle from the one or more images and creates a summons for the owner of the vehicle in response to the notice of violation;
wherein the processor, the memory, the communications unit, and the file storage unit are connected via a system bus, wherein the vehicle sensor and the vehicle identification device are operatively connected to the interface device, and wherein the interface device is operatively connected to the module.
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Specification