System and method for controlling passage through a gate of a parking lot

• US 20070150336A1
• Filed: 12/22/2005
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Daniel Boily
• Original Assignee: Daniel Boily
• Inventors: Boily, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US11/313,931
• Publication Number:
  US 20070150336A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/13
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/00 Arrangements or apparatus for collecting fares, tolls or entrance fees at one or more control points handling coins or valuable papers, e.g. banknotes, G07D; apparatus for vending or hiring articles or services activated by coins, credit cards, paper currency or the like G07F7/00, G07F17/00
• 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: H04L 2012/40247 LON

Abstract

A system and method for controlling movement of gate of a parking lot provides an access document reading means for reading an access identifier of an access document of customer. The access identifier is transmitted from access control device to a lot control device which consults a database in which access identifier identifies access rights assigned to customer and defining customer'"'"'s right to pass through gate. Based on access rights, lot control device controls movement of gate to control passage of customer therethrough in a vehicle. Access documents and access rights may be obtained by use of computing devices connected to lot control device by an Internet network. Further, images of parking lot are captured by cameras for security and surveillance purposes and are viewable from computing devices. Telephone communication between customer and an attendant of parking lot are also provided.

Claims

1. A system for controlling passage through at least one electronic gate of a parking lot, said system comprising:

at least one access control module connected to the gate and being adapted for controlling movement thereof for controlling passage therethrough;

a lot control device for controlling the access control module; and

a first network connecting said access control module and said lot control device, and by which said access control module and said lot control device communicate using Echelon®

communication protocol.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said lot control device comprises a first Neuron®

microprocessor and said access control module comprises a second Neuron®

microprocessor for providing communication in said Echelon®

communication protocol over said first network.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said lot control device is further connected to at least one computing device by a second network.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said access control module is connected to at least one access document reading means for reading an access identifier inscribed on at least one access document of a customer of the parking lot, said access control module transmitting said access identifier to said lot control device, said lot control device authorizing and declining the passage through the gate upon receiving said access identifier.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said lot control device is connected to a database comprising an access rights record for said customer, said access rights record comprising said access identifier and being identified thereby in said database by said lot control device, said access rights record defining access rights defining a right of a customer to pass through the gate and comprising an amount due for use of said access rights, said lot control device authorizing or declining the passage based on said access rights associated with said access identifier in said access rights record.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said lot control device and said computing device are adapted for entering said access rights record in said database from said computing device.

7. The system of claim 6, further comprising payment receiving means for receiving a payment of said amount due.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein at least one of said computing device and said lot control device are connected to a credit card processing network for transmitting thereto a credit card number and a respective credit card expiry date for a credit card of said customer for processing of said payment by said credit card processing network.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising a credit card reader connected to said access control module for receiving said credit card and for reading said credit card number upon presentation of said credit card to said credit card reader, said credit card number being transmitted from said credit card reader through said access control module to said lot control device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein said payment receiving means comprises said credit card reader, said credit card reader further reading said respective expiry date, said respective expiry date being transmitted from said access control module with said credit card number to said lot control device and therefrom to said credit card processing network for processing of said payment.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein said access identifier is said credit card number, said access document is said credit card and said access document reading means is said credit card reader.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein said access rights record is received by said computing device by input by a user thereof and transmitted therefrom through said lot control device to said database prior to said presentation of said credit card by said customer.

13. The system of claim 7, wherein said access document reading means comprises at least one antenna and a radio frequency identifier reader connected to said antenna and to said access control module, said access document comprises a radio frequency identifier tag, and said access Identifier comprises a radio frequency identifier emitted by a transponder on said radio frequency identifier tag for reception by said antenna and reading by said radio frequency Identifier reader for transmission to said lot control device.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein said at least one access document comprises first and second access documents, said access rights record further comprises access document distribution information for authorizing distribution of said second access document, and said access control module is further connected to a radio frequency identifier writer for writing said radio frequency identifier to said transponder and a radio frequency identifier distributor for subsequently distributing said radio frequency identifier tag to said customer as said second access document, said first access document being read by said access document reading means, prior to said writing and said distributing of said second access document, for transmitting said access identifier to said lot control device, said lot control device authorizing said writing and said distributing of said second access document based on said access document distribution information.

15. The system of claim 3, further comprising a camera control means and at least one camera connected thereto for capturing at least one image of the parking lot and transmitting said image to said camera control means, said camera control means being further connected to said lot control device on said first network for subsequently transmitting said image thereto, said image being subsequently transmitted by said lot control device on said second network to said computing device for viewing thereupon.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said image is transmitted from said camera control means to said lot control device using said Echelon®

communication protocol.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein said camera is an analogue video camera for capturing said image as an analogue image.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein said camera control means comprises a microprocessor for converting said analogue image into a digital image and for compressing said digital image into a compressed image using a Joint Photographic Expert Group algorithm, said image transmitted from said camera control means to said lot control device being said compressed image.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein said microprocessor is a third Neuron®

microprocessor.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein said camera control means is connected to said lot control device on said first network by a twisted pair of wires.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein said at least one image comprises a plurality of images which are compressed into a plurality of compressed images, and said camera control means comprises a memory unit in which said compressed images are stored.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein said analogue image is captured automatically by said camera, converted Into said digital image, and compressed into said compressed image at a predetermined time-interval, said compressed image being transmitted from said camera control means to said lot control device at said predetermined time interval.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein said compressed image is further transmitted, through said lot control device, from said camera control means to said computing device at said predetermined time interval, thereby updating said compressed image viewable by a user on said computing device at said pre-determined time interval.

24. The system of claim 1, wherein said access control module is connected to said lot control device on said first network by a twisted pair of wires.

25. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one satellite telephony module situated in said parking lot and connectable to an attendant telephone monitored by an attendant for providing telephone communication between said customer and said attendant.

26. The system of claim 25, further comprising:

a master telephony module connected to said first network and to an external telephone network extending outside of said parking lot and to which said attendant telephone is connected; and

an internal telephone network situated within said parking lot and to which said master telephony module and said satellite telephony module are connected, said master telephony module connecting said satellite telephony module to said attendant telephone by said internal and said external telephone networks.

27. A method for controlling passage of a customer through a gate of a parking lot with an access control module connected to the gate and a lot control device connected to the access control module by a first network, said method comprising the steps of:

consulting an access rights record identified by an access identifier in a database connected to the lot control device, said access rights record comprising access rights defining a right of passage through the gate; and

after said consulting, controlling movement of the gate by said access control module based on said access rights to control passage through the gate.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising the step of defining said access rights record, prior to said consulting, including specifying at least one said access identifier therefore and at least one access document encoding said access identifier, from a computing device connected to the lot control device by a second network.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising the steps of, after said defining, and prior to said consulting:

reading said access identifier from said access document, as a first access document, with an access document reading means connected to the access control module, thereby identifying said access rights record; and

distributing a second access document to the customer, based on said access rights record, from a distributor connected to the access control module.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein said step of defining said access rights record comprises entry of a credit card number of a credit card into said database from said computing device, said credit card number being said access identifier and said credit card being said access document.

31. The method of claim 27, further comprising the steps of:

capturing an image of the parking lot with a video camera connected to a camera control means connected to said first network;

compressing said image with said camera control means into a compressed image; and

transmitting said compressed image over twisted pairs of wires of said first network from said camera control means to the lot control device using Echelon®

protocol.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising the step of, after said transmitting to the lot control device, transmitting said compressed image from the lot control device to a computing device connected thereto by a second network for viewing of said compressed image from said computing device.