INTELLIGENT PARKING GUIDANCE APPARATUS AND METHOD

• US 20080136674A1
• Filed: 10/30/2007
• Published: 06/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group), Kia Corp.
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Sung, Kyung Bok, Choi, Jeong Dan, Kim, Kyeong Tae, Lim, Jae Han, Kim, Mi-Jeong, JANG, Byung Tae, Yoo, Jaejun, Son, Myunghee, Kim, Do Hyun, Park, Jong-Hyun, Kim, Jung Sook
• Granted Patent: US 7,825,827 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/932.2
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/017 identifying vehicles G08G1/015, G08G1/054 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/14 indicating individual free spaces in parking areas

Abstract

Provided are an intelligent parking guidance apparatus and method. The intelligent parking guidance apparatus includes: an image sensor node recognizing a vehicle number of a vehicle, sensor nodes determining whether the vehicle exists in their own positions, a parking management server generating information for guiding the vehicle to an available parking space, and a mobile communication terminal receiving the information. The intelligent parking guidance apparatus and method provide information regarding parking lots which are within a predetermined distance from a destination and available parking spaces of each parking lot, to a driver, as well as provide a road guidance service to the driver to guide his/her vehicle to the destination, so that the driver can select an optimal parking lot. Also, when the vehicle enters the parking lot, the intelligent parking guidance apparatus and method guide the driver to an available empty parking space, thereby reducing difficulties in finding a parking space in a place which is unfamiliar to the driver.

Claims

1. An intelligent parking guidance apparatus comprising:

an image sensor node recognizing a vehicle number of a vehicle which enters a parking lot;

a plurality of sensor nodes determining whether the vehicle enters or leaves the parking lot and whether the vehicle is parked in the parking lot;

a parking management server determining whether the vehicle is a vehicle which has made an application for parking reservation service, on the basis of a sensing signal generated by the image sensor node, and generating information for guiding the vehicle to an available parking space after the vehicle enters the parking lot, on the basis of a sensing signal generated by the sensor nodes; and

a mobile communication terminal providing the parking reservation service and the information for guiding the vehicle to the available parking space, to a driver of the vehicle.

2. The intelligent parking guidance apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mobile communication terminal provides a road guidance service while operating in association with a Global Positioning System (GPS), until the vehicle reaches the parking lot.

3. The intelligent parking guidance apparatus of claim 1, wherein the parking management server provides parking lot information including a total number of parking spaces and currently available empty parking spaces of the parking lot, in real time, to the mobile communication terminal.

4. The intelligent parking guidance apparatus of claim 1, wherein the parking reservation service is provided using the number of the vehicle.

5. The intelligent parking guidance apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one sync node amplifying the sensing signal generated by the sensor nodes.

6. The intelligent parking guidance apparatus of claim 3, wherein the parking lot information is provided through the Internet.

7. An intelligent parking guidance method comprising:

sensing an available empty parking space in a parking lot;

recognizing a vehicle number of a vehicle which enters the parking lot;

determining whether the vehicle is a vehicle which has made an application for parking reservation service, on the basis of the vehicle number of the vehicle, and generating information for guiding the vehicle to the available empty parking space, on the basis of a signal indicating that the available empty parking space exists; and

providing the information for guiding the vehicle to the available empty parking space, to a driver of the vehicle.

8. The intelligent parking guidance method of claim 7, further comprising providing the parking reservation service on the basis of parking lot information including information regarding the total number of parking spaces and available empty parking spaces of the parking lot.

9. The intelligent parking guidance method of claim 7, further comprising amplifying the signal indicating that the available empty parking space exists.

10. The intelligent parking guidance method of claim 8, wherein the parking reservation service is performed through the Internet.

11. An intelligent parking guidance method comprising:

providing a road guidance service to guide a vehicle to a predetermined destination;

providing a parking reservation service, on the basis of location information of parking lots which are within a predetermined distance from the destination, and information of available empty parking spaces of each parking lot, while the road guidance service is provided; and

providing a parking guidance service for guiding the vehicle to an available empty parking space when the vehicle enters a parking lot in which a parking space for the vehicle is reserved by the parking reservation service.