EASY PARKING FINDER

• US 20160098929A1
• Filed: 10/02/2014
• Published: 04/07/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omid B. Nakhjavani
• Original Assignee: Omid B. Nakhjavani
• Inventors: NAKHJAVANI, OMID B.
• Granted Patent: US 9,418,553 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/30 Transportation; Communications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0175 by photographing vehicles, e.g. when violating traffic rules
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A driver uses a mobile phone application to transmit a request to a central processor for information on available parking spaces, accommodating a specific size car, close to her present location or a future location.

An image processor processes real time images from linked cameras overlooking parking spaces, comparing them with reference images of unoccupied parking spaces, vehicles including automobiles, bicycles and motorcycles, a no parking sign sandwich board and a traffic cone. The image processor sends the information on available parking spaces to the central processor.

The central processor saves image processor information and information on available parking spaces, parking fee and advertising promotions from parking facilities on a database and transmits a response to the driver'"'"'s request.

The mobile phone application displays and audio broadcasts the response. The driver pays a fee and reserves an available parking space to exclude it from responses to other requests.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

encoding a computer program comprising a computing platform application on a tangible computer readable medium for performing a sequence of functions on a computing platform including a mobile phone, a tablet, or a personal computer, the sequence of functions including;

a user activating the application,

the application transmitting a request for an information on a location of an available parking space, accommodating a specific size vehicle, proximate to a location of the computing platform, to a central processor comprising hardware and software,

the application receiving a transmitted response from the central processor comprising information on a real time available parking spaces off a street and an available parking space in a parking facility and associated information including a location and a direction to the available parking space, a parking fee and an advertising promotions of the parking facility proximate to the location of the computing platform,

where the available parking space is not occupied by an automobile, a bicycle, a motorcycle, a no parking sign sandwich board or a traffic cone,

the application further displaying and/or audio broadcasting the received information on the computing platform, and

the user selecting one of the available parking spaces.

2. Method of claim 1, the central processor receiving information on available parking spaces from a system of linked cameras surveying parking spaces off the street and in parking facilities, transferring a plurality of images of the parking spaces to an image processor,

the image processor comparing the parking space images with a plurality of reference images comprising images of an unoccupied parking space, images of vehicles including a series of automobiles, bicycles and motorcycles, and reference images of a traffic cone and a no parking sign sandwich board, identifying if the parking space is occupied by the vehicle, the sandwich board, the traffic cone or the parking space is not occupied,

the image processor providing information on available parking spaces and their location to the central processor,

the central processor further gathering information provided by parking facilities on available parking spaces in the parking facilities, and

the central processor updating a parking space database, on a real time basis, with the information on available parking spaces and retrieving the information for responding to the computing platform application inquiry.

3. Method of claim 1, where the location proximate to the location of the computing platform comprises a real time location of the computing platform, or a future location of the computing platform specified by the user.

4. Method of claim 1, where upon receiving a transmitted response from the central processor identifying the available parking spaces, the user, using the computing platform application, can select and reserve one of the available parking spaces by authorizing payment of a fee, precluding the central processor from responding to another computing platform application inquiry with the reserved available parking space,

where upon authorizing payment of the fee the computing platform application transmits a command to the central processor, causing the central processor to designate the reserved parking space as an occupied parking space, and

a status of the reserved parking space as the occupied parking space is not updated to the available parking space within a predetermined period of time or a next update of the database of available parking spaces, whichever is last.

5. Method of claim 1, the computing platform application further providing a driving direction to the user selected available parking space from the received transmitted response from the central processor.

6. Method of claim 2, where the information provided by the parking facilities on available parking spaces in the parking facility further includes parking fee and advertising promotions of the parking facility to be transmitted to the computing platform application upon parking facilities'"'"' authorizing payment of an advertisement fee.

7. The method of claim 2, the image processor processing parking space images captured in day light, or under limited light, and under clear or adverse atmospheric conditions comprising rain, fog, or snow.

8. Method of claim 3, the computing platform application further providing a distance information and an estimated travel time on foot, by a car or a shuttle from the user selected available parking space to the future location of the computing platform specified by the user.

9. A system, comprising:

a computing platform including a mobile phone, a tablet, or a personal computer,

a computer program comprising a computing platform application on a tangible computer readable medium for performing a sequence of functions on the computing platform,

a central processor comprising hardware and software,

a database comprising data on available parking spaces,

a database comprising reference images of an unoccupied parking space, images of vehicles including a series of automobiles, bicycles and motorcycles, and reference images of a traffic cone and a no parking sign sandwich board,

a plurality of linked cameras, and

an image processor comprising hardware and software.

10. The system of claim 9, where the central processor is in communication with the computing platform application,

the central processor is linked to a database comprising data on a plurality of available parking spaces on a plurality of street sides, in a plurality of parking facilities and associated information including location of the available parking spaces, any associated parking fee, and the parking facilities'"'"' advertising promotions,

the central processor is further in communication with the image processor, and

the central processor is further in communication with a plurality of parking facilities'"'"' databases.

11. The system of claim 9, where the image processor is in communication with the plurality of linked cameras,

where the plurality of linked cameras is positioned dominant to a plurality of parking spaces, and

the image processor is further in communication with the database comprising reference images of an unoccupied parking space, images of vehicles including a series of automobiles, bicycles and motorcycles, and reference images of a traffic cone and a no parking sign sandwich board.

12. A business method for providing a driver with real time information on an available parking space, comprising:

providing the driver a computer program comprising a computing platform application on a tangible computer readable medium for performing a sequence of functions on a computing platform including a mobile phone, a tablet, or a personal computer, the sequence of functions including;

the driver activating the computing platform application, transmitting a request for an information on a location of the available parking space, accommodating a specific size vehicle, proximate to a location of the computing platform to a central processor comprising hardware and software,

the computing platform application receiving a transmitted response from the central processor comprising information on real time available parking spaces off the street and available parking space in a parking facility and associated information including location and direction to the available parking space, parking fee and advertising promotions of the parking facility proximate to the location of the computing platform,

where the available parking space is not occupied by an automobile, a bicycle a motorcycle, a no parking sign sandwich board or a traffic cone,

the application further displaying and/or audio broadcasting the received information on the computing platform, and

the driver selecting one of the available parking spaces.

13. The business method of claim 12, where the location proximate to the location of the computing platform comprises a real time location of the computing platform, or a future location of the computing platform specified by the driver.

14. The business method of claim 12, further providing a plurality of linked cameras surveying a plurality of parking spaces,

the linked cameras providing a plurality of images of the parking spaces to an image processor comprising hardware and software,

the image processor comparing the images of the parking spaces with a plurality of reference images including an unoccupied parking space, vehicles images comprising a series of automobiles, bicycles and motorcycles and reference images of a no parking sign sandwich board and a traffic cone,

the image processor identifying if the parking space is occupied by the vehicle or the sandwich board or the traffic cone or if the parking space is not occupied, and

the image processor communicating a plurality of available parking spaces and their locations to the central processor.

15. The business method of claim 12, the central processor updating on a real time basis, an available parking space database with information on the available parking spaces from the image processor and data on available parking spaces and associated information in the parking facilities provided by the parking facilities, and

the central processor retrieving available parking spaces information from the available parking space database to transmit a response to the computing platform application inquiry.

16. The business method of claim 12, the driver selecting one of the transmitted available parking spaces, and the computing platform application providing a driving direction to the selected available parking space.

17. The business method of claim 12, where the parking facilities authorize payment of an advertisement fee for the central processor to include the advertising promotions of the parking facilities proximate to the location of the computing platform in the transmitted response.

18. The business method of claim 12, the driver selecting one of the transmitted available parking spaces, and the computing platform application providing a distance information and an estimated travel time on foot, by a car or a shuttle from the driver selected available parking space to the future location of the computing platform specified by the driver.

19. The business method of claim 14, the image processor processing parking space images captured in day light, or under limited light, and under clear or adverse atmospheric conditions comprising rain, fog, or snow.

20. The business method of claim 16, the driver further reserving the selected available parking space by authorizing payment of a fee by the computing platform application, precluding the central processor from transmitting the selected available parking space in response to an inquiry by another computing platform application,

where upon authorizing payment of the fee, the computing platform application transmits a command to the central processor, causing the central processor to designate the reserved parking space as an occupied parking space, and

a status of the reserved parking space as the occupied parking space is not updated to the available parking space within a predetermined period of time or a next update of the database of available parking spaces, whichever is last.