PARKING SPACE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20170278396A1
• Filed: 08/27/2015
• Published: 09/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Muni.Spark Ltd
• Original Assignee: sparkcity.com ltd
• Inventors: ROSEN, Itamar
• Application Number:
  US15/507,134
• Publication Number:
  US 20170278396A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3685 the POI's being parking facilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/26 Government or public services business processes related to the transportation industry G06Q50/40
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/015 with provision for distinguishing between two or more types of vehicles, e.g. between motor-cars and cycles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/13 the indicator being in the form of a map
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/143 inside the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/144 on portable or mobile units, e.g. personal digital assistant [PDA]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/146 where the parking area is a limited parking space, e.g. parking garage, restricted space
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/147 where the parking area is within an open public zone, e.g. city centre
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/148 Management of a network of parking areas

Abstract

A method of optimizing the use of parking spots in a contiguous parking zone includes dividing a parking zone into a plurality of component parking slots; evaluating the size of a dynamic parking spot required by a specific vehicle having known parking spot size requirements, as a function of the component parking slots, and evaluating the availability in the parking zone of the dynamic parking spot.

Claims

1. A method of optimizing the use of parking spots in a contiguous parking zone, the method comprising:

dividing a parking zone into a plurality of component parking slots;

evaluating the size of a dynamic parking spot required by a specific vehicle having known parking spot size requirements, as a function of said component parking slots;

evaluating the availability in said parking zone of said dynamic parking spot; and

informing the driver of the vehicle of said availability.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the size of said dynamic parking spot varies between the size of a single component parking slot and multiple component parking slots.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein when evaluating the parking requirements of a plurality of vehicles in a parking zone in at least overlapping time periods, said step of evaluating the size includes the step of performing a best fit analysis of the requirements of all of the vehicles, and evaluating for each said vehicle a dynamic parking spot required thereby so as to provide a dynamic parking spot for all of said vehicles.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein each vehicle of said plurality of vehicles is assigned a priority status, and if not all said vehicles can be accommodated in the available component parking slots, dynamic parking spots will be evaluated and assigned in order of priority.

5. A method according to claim 3, wherein said step of evaluating the availability in said parking zone of said dynamic parking spot is for a presently parking vehicle and includes the step of leaving available a maximum number of contiguous component parking slots, thereby to provide a maximum number of dynamic parking spots for additional vehicles to park in said zone while said presently parked vehicle is still parked.

6. A method according to claim 1 further comprising receiving a notification associated with a vehicle departing from a parking space.

7. A method according to claim 1 further comprising determining a number of free slots in said parking zone.

8. A method according to claim 1 further comprising selecting a vehicle from a list of vehicles based on selection rules.

9. A method according to claim 8 comprising evaluating a size of said selected vehicle.

10. A method according to claim 1 wherein said allocating comprises use of an allocation algorithm.

11. A method according to claim 10 wherein said allocation algorithm comprises any one of a best-fit allocation algorithm and a defragmentation algorithm.

12. A method according to claim 10 wherein said allocation algorithm comprises a defragmentation algorithm.

13. A method according to claim 12 wherein said defragmentation algorithm is based on closest available free parking slots.

14. A method according to claim 12 where said defragmentation algorithm is based on vehicle departure times.

15. A method according to claim 1 comprising storing information associated with a location of said plurality of parking slots.

16. A method according to claim 1 comprising storing information associated with an occupancy of said plurality of parking slots.

17. A method according to claim 1 comprising associating an identification marking on each parking slot of said plurality of slots with its location.

18. A parking space management system comprising:

a database comprising a plurality of parking slots wherein said parking slots are sized so that one or more component parking slots make up a parking space;

an allocator to allocate a dynamic parking space required by a specific vehicle having known parking spot size requirements by allocating more than one adjacent and available parking slots to a vehicle according to a size of said vehicle.

19. A system according to claim 18 wherein said allocator receives notifications associated with a vehicle departing from a parking space.

20. A system according to claim 18 wherein said allocator determines a number of free slots in a parking zone.

21. A system according to claim 18 wherein said allocator selects a vehicle from a list of vehicles stored in said database based on selection rules.

22. A system according to claim 21 wherein said allocator evaluates a size of said selected vehicle.

23. A system according to claim 21 wherein said allocator uses an allocation algorithm to perform the allocations.

24. A system according to claim 23 wherein said allocation algorithm comprises any one of a best-fit allocation algorithm and a fragmentation algorithm.

25. A system according to claim 23 wherein said allocation algorithm comprises a defragmentation algorithm.

26. A system according to claim 25 wherein said defragmentation algorithm is based on closest available free parking slots.

27. A system according to claim 26 where said defragmentation algorithm is based on vehicle departure times.

28. A system according to claim 18 wherein said database stores information associated with a location of said plurality of parking slots.

29. A system according to claim 18 wherein said database stores information associated with occupancy of said plurality of parking slots.

30. A system according to claim 18 wherein said allocator associates an identification marking on each parking slot of said plurality of slots with its location.