System for estimating the location of vehicles in parking lots

• US 7,619,542 B2
• Filed: 03/06/2007
• Issued: 11/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Japan Information System Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Quality Informatoins System SA
• Inventors: Riesco Prieto, Pablo, Riesco Prieto, Javier
• Primary Examiner(s): BLOUNT, ERIC
• Application Number:
  US11/715,072
• Publication Number:
  US 20070205918A1
• Time in Patent Office: 987 Days
• Field of Search: 340/932.2, 340/988, 340/990, 340/933, 340/937, 340/435, 340/436, 705/13
• US Class Current: 340/932.2
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/017 identifying vehicles G08G1/015, G08G1/054 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/14 indicating individual free spaces in parking areas
• 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 1/207 with respect to certain areas, e.g. forbidden or allowed areas with possible alerting when inside or outside boundaries

Abstract

A system for estimating the location of vehicles in parking lots. The system includes a reading device to capture data related to license plates of the cars circulating through the inside of the parking lot through a plurality of control points, and a detection device to record the availability of the spaces through a plurality of sensors. The system also includes an input device to manually enter the license plate of a car to be located inside the parking lot, a location device to locate the vehicle by a control mechanism, based at least on the previously recorded information by the reading device and detection device, and an output device to generate a report with the spaces in which the vehicle is most likely parked.

Claims

1. A system for estimating the location of vehicles in parking lots, having:

reading means configured to read and record first data A associated with the license plate of a vehicle accessing the inside a parking lot; and

detection means configured to record, through a plurality of sensors, second data B indicating a change of availability status, selecting from free and occupied, of the parking lot spaces;

in which the reading means, through a plurality of control points, capture at least the following information corresponding to data A;

location of the control point, license plate number of the vehicle, exact date and time of this capture;

in which the detection means record at least the following information, corresponding to data B;

space number, the availability status of the spaces, exact date and time in which a vehicle has parked in the space;

in which the system comprises;

input means configured to manually enter a license plate number corresponding to a vehicle to be located inside a parking lot,

location means configured to locate the vehicle inside the parking lot,

output means configured to generate a report;

the reading means, detection means and location means being operatively related such that by making use of the previously recorded information through;

the input means,

a first receiver configured to receive data A, and

a second receiver configured to receive data B;

the location means can determine, by means of a control mechanism, a list of possible spaces in which the vehicle may be located inside the parking lot, wherein the control mechanism is configured to establish the list of possible spaces by means of a probability calculation.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the control mechanism is configured to calculate the list taking into account:

the information contained in the data A, and the data B,

an estimated theoretical time associated to each route comprised between the control point which took a last reading of the license plate and each of the spaces of the parking lot which have been occupied in a time interval after the moment in which this last reading of the license plate has been taken; and

,

the modulus of the difference between the estimated theoretical time established for each route existing between that last reading point and each space, and the time in which each of the spaces is actually occupied after this last reading taken by the control point.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein the output means are configured to send the report at least to a device selected from a mobile telephone, by means of an SMS, a PDA, a computer screen, a printer, and combinations thereof.