DIRECTIONAL SPEED AND DISTANCE SENSOR

• US 20170129400A1
• Filed: 07/14/2016
• Published: 05/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Balu Subramanya
• Original Assignee: Balu Subramanya
• Inventors: SUBRAMANYA, Balu
• Granted Patent: US 10,124,726 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/002 for parking purposes, e.g. for warning the driver that his vehicle has contacted or is about to contact an obstacle warning arrangements in garages E04H6/42
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/00 Systems using the reflection or reradiation of radio waves, e.g. radar systems; Analogous systems using reflection or reradiation of waves whose nature or wavelength is irrelevant or unspecified
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/02 Systems using reflection of radio waves, e.g. primary radar systems; Analogous systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/10 using transmission of interrupted, pulse modulated waves determination of distance by phase measurement G01S13/32
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/103 particularities of the measurement of the distance G01S13/12, G01S13/14, G01S13/16, G01S13/18 and G01S13/20 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/12 wherein the pulse-recurrence frequency is varied to provide a desired time relationship between the transmission of a pulse and the receipt of the echo of a preceding pulse
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/14 wherein a voltage or current pulse is initiated and terminated in accordance respectively with the pulse transmission and echo reception
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/32 using transmission of continuous waves, whether amplitude-, frequency-, or phase-modulated, or unmodulated
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/91 for traffic control G01S13/93 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9314 Parking operations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9316 combined with communication equipment with other vehicles or with base stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9329 cooperating with reflectors or transponders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/003 Transmission of data between radar, sonar or lidar systems and remote stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/2926 by integration
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/2927 by deriving and controlling a threshold value
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/40 Means for monitoring or calibrating
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 1/30 Parking meters registering or indicating waiting time of vehicles by means driven by the vehicle G07C5/02; coin-freed parking meters G07F17/24
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09 Arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions railroad crossing signals B61L; reflectors E01F, G08B; indicating arrangements for variable information by selection or combination of individual elements G09F9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/14 indicating individual free spaces in parking areas

Abstract

A method of using a directional sensor for the purposes of detecting the presence of a vehicle or an object within a zone of interest on a roadway or in a parking space. The method comprises the following steps: transmitting a microwave transmit pulse of less than 5 feet; radiating the transmitted pulse by a directional antenna system; receiving received pulses by an adjustable receive window; integrating or combining signals from multiple received pulses; amplifying and filtering the integrated receive signal; digitizing the combined signal; comparing the digitized signal to at least one preset or dynamically computed threshold values to determine the presence or absence of an object in the field of view of the sensor; and providing at least one pulse generator with rise and fall times of less than 3 ns each and capable of generating pulses less than 10 ns in duration.

Claims

1. A battery operated sensor system for detecting a presence of a vehicle or of an object within a zone of interest on a roadway or in a parking space, comprising:

a sensing element comprising a transmitter and a receiver and housed within a sensor enclosure;

at least one of a second transmitter and a second receiver collocated with the sensor enclosure that is communicatively coupled with an in-vehicle device;

the in-vehicle device comprising a third transmitter and a third receiver and further comprising a unique identification of a vehicle and being configured to be mounted either inside or on the body of the vehicle; and

a processor for combining sensor status information from the sensing element with the unique vehicle identification, received from the in-vehicle device, to enable identification of the vehicle to facilitate processing of the vehicle for one or more of payment, enforcement, data collection, and advertising purposes.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensing element is a radar sensor.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the radar sensor produces an output derived from a duration of a time of flight of a radar transmit signal, originating from the transmitter, to an object or vehicle in a parking space, and back to the receiver.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the receiver, the second receiver, and the third receiver is phase locked to a received signal in order to generate at least one timing reference with the timing reference being used in a generation of a second transmit signal from a second transmit circuit coupled to the at least one of the receiver, the second receiver, and the third receiver for obtaining information related to the range distance between the in-vehicle device and the transmitter.

5. The system of claim 1, the in-vehicle device comprising one or more of:

at least one of an auditory, a visual, and a tactile indicator that indicates a status of communication with the sensing element and whether the vehicle has been identified by the sensing element;

an input device that receives input from a user;

a payment module configured to transmits at least one of an intent to pay, an authorization for payment, and a confirmation of payment; and

a processor for communicating information pertinent to a payment to the sensing element.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the receiver and the second receiver is coupled with a plurality of directional antenna elements configured to be steered to enable direction sensitive reception of signals and detect a received signal strength and compare the received signal strength from a plurality of different directions.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of:

the first transmitter and the second transmitter are combined and the first receiver and the second receiver are combined.

8. A detection system, comprising:

a parking occupancy sensor directed towards at least one parking occupancy detection zone that is mounted above a height of a parking surface near a parking space; and

the parking occupancy sensor comprising a radar transmitter and a radar receiver.

9. The system of claim 8, the parking occupancy sensor configured to produce an output that is derived from the duration of a time of flight of at least one traversal of a radar transmit burst from the radar transmitter to an object in the parking space and back to the radar receiver.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the parking occupancy detection zone comprises an unmarked parking area that does not contain visible demarcations between parking spaces.

11. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

the parking occupancy sensor being communicatively coupled to a payment device comprising a parking meter.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

the parking occupancy sensor being powered by a power source associated with the payment device.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the parking occupancy sensor and the payment device share a communication system such that any information generated from one of the parking occupancy sensor and the payment device is transmitted to at least one of the other of the parking occupancy sensor and the payment device, and a remote system.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the format of the format of the information is not altered.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the radar transmit burst is less than 10 ns.

16. The system of claim 8, wherein the parking occupancy sensor is mounted on one of a raised fixture or platform.