Parking lot reservation system with electronic identification

• US 7,474,232 B2
• Filed: 06/16/2006
• Issued: 01/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: SIN ETKE Technology Company Limited
• Original Assignee: SIN ETKE Technology Company Limited
• Inventors: Chen, Kuo-Rong, Huang, Cheng-Hung, Lee, Chun-Chung
• Primary Examiner(s): Swarthout, Brent
• Application Number:
  US11/453,811
• Publication Number:
  US 20070129974A1
• Time in Patent Office: 935 Days
• Field of Search: 340/905, 340/932.2, 705/5, 705/13
• US Class Current: 340/932.2
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/14 indicating individual free spaces in parking areas

Abstract

A parking lot reservation system in which each vehicle sends to a remote server through a GPRS module a park reservation request carrying the information of the ID code and current location of the vehicle and specific conditions, and the remote server searches a parking lot database to select the qualified parking lot information subject to the park reservation request and then sends a reservation command to the parking lot computer of the associated parking lot through the Internet to finish the reservation. After success of reservation, the parking lot computer sends a response message indicative of successful reservation to the GPRS module of the vehicle via the remote server.

Claims

1. A parking lot reservation system with electronic identification comprising:

a plurality of vehicles, said vehicles each carrying an electronic identification device, each said electronic identification device providing a respective identification code, said vehicles each further including a global positioning device and a wireless communication device electrically connected to said global positioning device, said global positioning device being adapted to calculate the current location of the associated vehicle;

a plurality of parking lots, said parking lots each having at least one access, said parking lots each providing respective parking lot information, said parking lot information including geo data and vacancy capacity of the associated parking lot;

a remote server, said remote server having electrically connected thereto a wireless communication module and a parking lot database, said parking lot database having stored therein the parking lot information of each of said parking lots; and

a plurality of parking lot computers respectively installed in said parking lots and connectable to said remote server through the Internet, said parking lot computers each having electrically connected thereto at least one electronic identification reader being respectively installed in the at least one access of the associated parking lot;

wherein the wireless communication device of each of said vehicles is adapted to send out a park reservation request wirelessly, said park reservation request containing the information of the current location of the associated vehicle;

wherein said remote server receives the park reservation request from each of said vehicles through said wireless communication module, and then searches said parking lot database subject to the information of the current location of the respective vehicle contained in the received park reservation request so as to select the parking lot information of one of said parking lots subject to at least one predetermined condition that includes the condition that the vacancy capacity of the parking lot is greater than zero, and then said remote server sends a reservation command to the parking lot computer in the parking lot corresponding to the selected parking lot information to finish the reservation operation,

wherein the parking lot information of each of said parking lots further comprises the information of the fee rate of the corresponding parking lot;

said at least one predetermined condition further includes the condition of selecting the parking lot information of the parking lot of which the fee rate is the lowest, and

wherein said remote server further has electrically connected thereto a remote navigation system and an electronic map, said remote navigation system being adapted to search said electronic map so as to calculate an estimated arrival time;

each said parking lot information further comprises the information of the fee rate of the associated parking lot at said estimated arrival time.

2. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 1, wherein the parking lot computer of the parking lot of which the parking lot information is selected by said remote server sends a response of successful reservation to said remote server through the Internet after success of the reservation, and said remote server controls said wireless communication module to send a message of successful reservation to the wireless communication device of the corresponding vehicle upon receipt of said response of successful reservation.

3. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 1, wherein said parking lot computers each further have electrically connected thereto at least one gate controller, said at least one gate controller being respectively installed in the at least one access of the associated parking lot and adapted to drive a respective gate to close/open the associated access;

wherein said park reservation request further contains the identification code of the associated vehicle;

said reservation command further comprising said identification code;

wherein when the vehicle is going to enter the parking lot of which the parking lot information was selected by said remote server after success of reservation, the associated parking lot computer drives the respective electronic identification reader to read the identification code from the electronic identification device of the vehicle, and then compares the read-in identification code to the identification code contained in the received reservation command, and then controls said at least one gate controller to open the associated gate when the comparison has matched.

4. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 1, wherein said remote server further has electrically connected thereto a remote navigation system and an electronic map, said remote navigation system being adapted to search said electronic map for a navigation route, said navigation route being the route to guide traveling of the corresponding vehicle from the current location of the corresponding vehicle to the parking lot of which the parking lot information was selected by said remote server;

said remote server controls said wireless communication module to send the information of said navigation route to the wireless communication device of the corresponding vehicle.

5. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 1, wherein said vehicles each further have carried thereon a navigation system and an electronic map, said navigation system being adapted to search said electronic map for a navigation route, said navigation route being the route to guide traveling of the corresponding vehicle from the current location of the corresponding vehicle to the parking lot of which the parking lot information was selected by said remote server.

6. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one electronic identification reader is adapted to read the identification code of the vehicle entering/leaving the associated parking lot and to send the read data to the associated parking lot computer for counting, for enabling the associated parking lot computer to send the data to said remote server to update the vacancy capacity of the corresponding parking lot information in said parking lot database.

7. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 1, wherein said park reservation request further contains said at least one predetermined condition.

8. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one predetermined condition further includes the condition of selecting the parking lot information of the parking lot to which the route from the current location of the corresponding vehicle is the shortest.

10. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 1, wherein said electronic identification device includes an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) device;

and, the at least one electronic identification reader of each said parking lots includes an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) reader.

11. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 1, wherein said global positioning device is a GPS module.

12. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wireless communication device of each said vehicle is a GPRS module;

the wireless communication device of said remote server is a GPRS module.

19. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one predetermined condition further includes the condition of selecting the parking lot information of the parking lot to which the route from the current location of the corresponding vehicle is the shortest.

9. A parking lot reservation system with electronic identification comprising:

a plurality of vehicles, said vehicles each carrying an electronic identification device, each said electronic identification device providing a respective identification code, said vehicles each further including a global positioning device and a wireless communication device electrically connected to said global positioning device, said global positioning device being adapted to calculate the current location of the associated vehicle;

a plurality of parking lots, said parking lots each having at least one access, said parking lots each providing respective parking lot information, said parking lot information including geo data and vacancy capacity of the associated parking lot;

a remote server, said remote server having electrically connected thereto a wireless communication module and a parking lot database, said parking lot database having stored therein the parking lot information of each of said parking lots; and

a plurality of parking lot computers respectively installed in said parking lots and connectable to said remote server through the Internet, said parking lot computers each having electrically connected thereto at least one electronic identification reader being respectively installed in the at least one access of the associated parking lot;

wherein the wireless communication device of each of said vehicles is adapted to send out a park reservation request wirelessly, said park reservation request containing the information of the current location of the associated vehicle;

wherein said remote server receives the park reservation request from each of said vehicles through said wireless communication module, and then searches said parking lot database subject to the information of the current location of the respective vehicle contained in the received park reservation request so as to select the parking lot information of one of said parking lots subject to at least one predetermined condition that includes the condition that the vacancy capacity of the parking lot is greater than zero, and then said remote server sends a reservation command to the parking lot computer in the parking lot corresponding to the selected parking lot information to finish the reservation operation,

wherein the parking lot information of each of said parking lots further comprises the information of the fee rate of the corresponding parking lot;

said at least one predetermined condition further includes the condition of selecting the parking lot information of the parking lot of which the fee rate is the lowest, and

wherein said vehicles each further have thereon a navigation system and an electronic map, said navigation system being adapted to search said electronic map and to further calculate an estimated arrival time;

each said parking lot information further comprises the information of the fee rate of the associated parking lot at said estimated arrival time.

13. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 9, wherein the parking lot computer of the parking lot of which the parking lot information is selected by said remote server sends a response of successful reservation to said remote server through the Internet after success of the reservation, and said remote server controls said wireless communication module to send a message of successful reservation to the wireless communication device of the corresponding vehicle upon receipt of said response of successful reservation.

14. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 9, wherein said parking lot computers each further have electrically connected thereto at least one gate controller, said at least one gate controller being respectively installed in the at least one access of the associated parking lot and adapted to drive a respective gate to close/open the associated access;

wherein said park reservation request further contains the identification code of the associated vehicle;

said reservation command further comprising said identification code;

wherein when the vehicle is going to enter the parking lot of which the parking lot information was selected by said remote server after success of reservation, the associated parking lot computer drives the respective electronic identification reader to read the identification code from the electronic identification device of the vehicle, and then compares the read-in identification code to the identification code contained in the received reservation command, and then controls said at least one gate controller to open the associated gate when the comparison has matched.

15. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 9, wherein said remote server further has electrically connected thereto a remote navigation system and an electronic map, said remote navigation system being adapted to search said electronic map for a navigation route, said navigation route being the route to guide traveling of the corresponding vehicle from the current location of the corresponding vehicle to the parking lot of which the parking lot information was selected by said remote server;

said remote server controls said wireless communication module to send the information of said navigation route to the wireless communication device of the corresponding vehicle.

16. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 9, wherein said vehicles each further have carried thereon a navigation system and an electronic map, said navigation system being adapted to search said electronic map for a navigation route, said navigation route being the route to guide traveling of the corresponding vehicle from the current location of the corresponding vehicle to the parking lot of which the parking lot information was selected by said remote server.

17. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 9, wherein said at least one electronic identification reader is adapted to read the identification code of the vehicle entering/leaving the associated parking lot and to send the read data to the associated parking lot computer for counting, for enabling the associated parking lot computer to send the data to said remote server to update the vacancy capacity of the corresponding parking lot information in said parking lot database.

18. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 9, wherein said park reservation request further contains said at least one predetermined condition.

20. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 9, wherein said electronic identification device includes an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) device;

and, the at least one electronic identification reader of each said parking lots includes an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) reader.

21. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 9, wherein said global positioning device is a GPS module.

22. The parking lot reservation system with electronic identification as claimed in claim 9, wherein the wireless communication device of each said vehicle is a GPRS module;

the wireless communication device of said remote server is a GPRS module.