Digital camera valet gate
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A computerized valet parking system comprising:
- a device for collecting a first set of valet parking data from a first valet attendant;
a camera for collecting a pre-parking image of a vehicle at an entrance location of a parking area; and
a computer for associating the pre-parking image to the first set of valet parking data to determine the condition of the vehicle before it was parked and an identification of the valet attendant who parked the vehicle.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Reexamination
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for managing a valet parking system enables the tracking of the damage to vehicles. The method provides for linking digital images of a vehicle to a set of valet parking data. The valet parking data is collected from a valet attendant, and the digital images are collected from a plurality of digital cameras. The images document a physical condition of the vehicle when the vehicle is operated by the valet attendant. The method further provides for storing the valet parking data and the digital images to an electronic database. Thus, digital images can be retrieved from the electronic database based on the valet parking data, and damage can be assessed.
-
Citations
29 Claims
-
1. A computerized valet parking system comprising:
-
a device for collecting a first set of valet parking data from a first valet attendant; a camera for collecting a pre-parking image of a vehicle at an entrance location of a parking area; and a computer for associating the pre-parking image to the first set of valet parking data to determine the condition of the vehicle before it was parked and an identification of the valet attendant who parked the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
6. A method of parking vehicles using a valet attendant, comprising:
-
collecting and storing a pre-parking image of a vehicle at an entrance location of a parking area; collecting and storing a first set of valet parking data that includes information about the valet attendant parking the vehicle; and fetching and outputting the stored information to generate a report containing the pre-parking image and the valet attendant who parked the car. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A computerized vehicle monitoring system comprising:
-
a device for collecting a first set of individual identification data; a camera for collecting a pre-parking image of a vehicle at an entrance location of a parking area; and a computer for associating the pre-parking image to the first set of individual identification data to determine the condition of the vehicle upon arrival and an identification of an individual driving the vehicle prior to it being parked. - View Dependent Claims (14)
-
-
18. A method of monitoring vehicles, comprising:
-
collecting and storing a pre-parking image of a vehicle at an entrance location of a parking area; collecting and storing a first set of individual identification data that includes information about an individual driving the vehicle prior to it being parked; and fetching and outputting the stored information to generate a report containing the pre-parking image and the individual. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
-
-
25. A system for detecting damage to a vehicle, comprising:
-
a device for collecting a first set of vehicle identification data; a camera for collecting a first image of a vehicle at a first time; a camera for collecting a second image of a vehicle at a second time; and a computer for storing the first and second images along with the vehicle identification data in a manner sufficient to determine whether there has been a change in the condition of the vehicle between the first and second images. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28)
-
-
29. A method for managing a computerized parking system, the method comprising:
-
linking at least one digital image of a vehicle to a first set of vehicle identification data in an electronic database, the digital image documenting a physical condition of the vehicle when the vehicle exits the parking area; retrieving the digital images from the electronic database; and determining whether damage occurred to the vehicle before or after the vehicle exited the parking area based on the digital images.
-
Specification