Parking reservation systems and related methods
First Claim
1. A parking reservation system for a parking lot comprising a plurality of individual parking spaces, comprising:
- a plurality of object detectors, at least one in communication with one or more of the parking spaces in a parking lot comprising the plurality of individual parking spaces, wherein the object detectors are configured to detect if a parking space is vacant or occupied;
an electronic database of an inventory of available parking spaces in communication with the object detectors; and
at least one processor in communication with the electronic database, the processor being configured to;
(a) accept input regarding a request for a reserved parking space for an event specific and/or date specific need;
(b) automatically reserve a parking space for an occasional use patron of the parking lot upon receipt of a payment therefor;
(c) generate a confirmation of the reservation; and
(d) automatically adjust the database of the inventory of available spaces based on the reservation and data from the object detectors,wherein the processor is configured to relay the inventory of parking spaces to the computer network in substantially real-time based both on the spaces detected as being open by the detectors and spaces being unreserved based on electronic reservations.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Parking reservation systems and methods for a parking lot having a plurality of individual parking spaces include an electronic database of an inventory of available parking spaces; and at least one processor in communication with the electronic database. The processor can be configured to: (a) accept user input regarding a request for a reserved parking space; (b) automatically reserve a parking space for a patron upon receipt of a payment therefor; (c) generate a confirmation of the reservation for the patron; and (d) automatically adjust the database of the inventory of available spaces based on the reservation. Other systems and methods are configured to identify parking lots with vacancies in a geographical region of interest.
118 Citations
73 Claims
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1. A parking reservation system for a parking lot comprising a plurality of individual parking spaces, comprising:
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a plurality of object detectors, at least one in communication with one or more of the parking spaces in a parking lot comprising the plurality of individual parking spaces, wherein the object detectors are configured to detect if a parking space is vacant or occupied; an electronic database of an inventory of available parking spaces in communication with the object detectors; and at least one processor in communication with the electronic database, the processor being configured to; (a) accept input regarding a request for a reserved parking space for an event specific and/or date specific need; (b) automatically reserve a parking space for an occasional use patron of the parking lot upon receipt of a payment therefor; (c) generate a confirmation of the reservation; and (d) automatically adjust the database of the inventory of available spaces based on the reservation and data from the object detectors, wherein the processor is configured to relay the inventory of parking spaces to the computer network in substantially real-time based both on the spaces detected as being open by the detectors and spaces being unreserved based on electronic reservations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A parking reservation system for a parking lot comprising a plurality of individual parking spaces, comprising:
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a plurality of object detectors, at least one in communication with one or more of the parking spaces in a parking lot comprising the plurality of individual parking spaces, wherein the object detectors are configured to detect if a parking space is vacant or occupied; an electronic database of an inventory of available parking spaces in communication with the object detectors; and at least one processor in communication with the electronic database, the processor being configured to; (a) accept input regarding a request for a reserved parking space for an event specific and/or date specific need; (b) automatically reserve a parking space for an occasional use patron of the parking lot upon receipt of a payment therefor; (c) generate a confirmation of the reservation; and (d) automatically adjust the database of the inventory of available spaces based on the reservation and data from the object detectors, wherein the system is configured with an electronically adjustable grid of parking spaces associated with parking spaces in a reserved or limited access region of the parking lot, the adjustable grid of parking spaces can be adjusted in size based on demand, and wherein a defined grid size for a particular day and/or event is output to lot attendants so that physical boundaries associated therewith can be adjusted accordingly whereby the parking lot reserved and/or limited access region is adjustable in size day to day and/or event to event.
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20. A parking reservation system for a parking lot comprising a plurality of individual parking spaces, comprising:
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a plurality of object detectors, at least one in communication with one or more of the parking spaces in a parking lot comprising the plurality of individual parking spaces, wherein the object detectors are configured to detect if a parking space is vacant or occupied; an electronic database of an inventory of available parking spaces in communication with the object detectors; and at least one processor in communication with the electronic database, the processor being configured to; (a) accept input regarding a request for a reserved parking space for an event specific and/or date specific need; (b) automatically reserve a parking space for an occasional use patron of the parking lot upon receipt of a payment therefor; (c) generate a confirmation of the reservation; and (d) automatically adjust the database of the inventory of available spaces based on the reservation and data from the object detectors, wherein the processor is configured to identify a plurality of spatially separate parking lots within a target geographical location that have vacancies including parking lots not under common ownership or management, and wherein the system comprises a server that communicates with a computer network to relay that information to the patron. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of reserving parking spaces in a parking lot, comprising:
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detecting whether a space is vacant or occupied in the parking lot using electronic detectors; determining whether a space is reserved but unoccupied in the parking lot based on the detecting step; obtaining an inventory of available spaces in a parking lot based on the detecting and determining steps; accepting an advance request for a reservation of a parking space from an occasional use patron; reserving a parking space based on the accepted request for a reserved parking space; and updating the inventory of available spaces in the parking lot based on the reservation and the detecting and determining steps, wherein the step of updating available space inventory is carried out substantially continuously while reservations are being accepted and patrons are parking to provide a substantially real-time count of available parking spaces. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A method of reserving parking spaces in a parking lot, comprising:
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detecting whether a space is vacant or occupied in the parking lot using electronic detectors; determining whether a space is reserved but unoccupied in the parking lot based on the detecting step; obtaining an inventory of available spaces in a parking lot based on the detecting and determining steps; accepting an advance request for a reservation of a parking space from an occasional use patron; reserving a parking space based on the accepted request for a reserved parking space; and updating the inventory of available spaces in the parking lot based on the reservation and the detecting and determining steps, wherein the inventory is date-specific, the method further comprising; electronically defining a grid of parking spaces in a reserved or limited access region of the parking lot that can be adjusted in size based on demand, and wherein grid size for a particular day and/or event of the reserved or limited access region is output to lot attendants so that boundaries associated therewith can be adjusted accordingly.
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41. A method of reserving parking spaces in a parking lot, comprising:
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detecting whether a space is vacant or occupied in the parking lot using electronic detectors; determining whether a space is reserved but unoccupied in the parking lot based on the detecting step; obtaining an inventory of available spaces in a parking lot based on the detecting and determining steps; accepting an advance request for a reservation of a parking space from an occasional use patron; reserving a parking space based on the accepted request for a reserved parking space; updating the inventory of available spaces in the parking lot based on the reservation and the detecting and determining steps; and identifying a plurality of spatially separate parking lots within a target geographical location that have vacancies including parking lots not under common ownership or management and relaying that information to a potential patron or user using a computer network. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43)
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44. A method of identifying parking lots with vacancies in a geographical region of interest, comprising:
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electronically providing a database of an inventory of parking lots located in a geographical region of interest; identifying those parking lots within the geographical region with vacancies at a time period of interest based on data from object detectors in those parking lots that detect whether a space is vacant or occupied; and relaying vacancy data of the parking lots identified to a potential patron requester, wherein at least some of the parking lots are not commonly owned or under common management. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. A method of identifying parking lots with vacancies in a geographical region of interest, comprising:
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electronically providing a database of an inventory of parking lots located in a geographical region of interest; identifying those parking lots within the geographical region with vacancies at a time period of interest based on data from object detectors in those parking lots that detect whether a space is vacant or occupied; and relaying vacancy data of the parking lots identified to a requester, wherein the step of relaying vacancy data of the parking lots in the region of interest comprises; generating a visual map display of the region of interest with locations of the identified parking lots with relayed vacancy data and configuring the display to allow a requester to adjust a boundary of interest and automatically updating the visual display with the parking lots identified that reside within a perimeter of the adjusted boundary. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62)
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63. A method of identifying parking lots with vacancies in a geographical region of interest, comprising:
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electronically providing a database of an inventory of parking lots located in a geographical region of interest; identifying those parking lots within the geographical region with vacancies at a time period of interest based on data from object detectors in those parking lots that detect whether a space is vacant or occupied; and relaying vacancy data of the parking lots identified to a requester, wherein the relayed vacancy data includes parking lot information includes a graphic visual display of parking lots on a map with those having vacancies shown thereon, and wherein parking lots without vacancies are shown on the display in a manner different from the lots with vacancies on the map, wherein the parking lots without vacancies are shown with an “
X”
over their parking lot on the display.
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64. A method of identifying parking lots with vacancies in a geographical region of interest, comprising;
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electronically providing a database of an inventory of parking lots located in a geographical region of interest; identifying those parking lots within the geographical region with vacancies at a time period of interest based on data from object detectors in those parking lots that detect whether a space is vacant or occupied; relaying vacancy data of the parking lots identified to a requester; displaying a visual grid of a target geographical area of interest; allowing the requester to touch the screen on the display to select the target destination in the geographical area of interest; and displaying the parking lots identified as having vacancies in response thereto, wherein at least some of the parking lots are not commonly owned or under common management. - View Dependent Claims (65)
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66. A system of identifying parking lots with vacancies in a geographical region of interest, comprising:
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means for electronically providing a database of an inventory of parking lots located in a geographical region of interest; means for identifying those parking lots within the geographical region with vacancies at a time period of interest, wherein the parking lots have object detectors that identify whether a parking space is vacant or occupied, and wherein the means for indentifying obtains vacancy data from the parking lots based on occupancy or vacancy information provided by the object detectors; and means for relaying vacancy data or information of each of the parking lots identified to a requester, wherein the means for providing the inventory of parking lots with vacancies comprises at least one processor that is configured to identify a plurality of spatially separate parking lots within a target geographical location that have vacancies including parking lots not under common ownership or management, and wherein the system comprises a server that communicates with a computer network to relay that information to the requester. - View Dependent Claims (67, 68)
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69. A system of identifying parking lots with vacancies in a geographical region of interest, comprising:
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means for electronically providing a database of an inventory of parking lots located in a geographical region of interest; means for identifying those parking lots within the geographical region with vacancies at a time period of interest, wherein the parking lots have object detectors that identify whether a parking space is vacant or occupied, and wherein the means for indentifying obtains vacancy data from the parking lots based on occupancy or vacancy information provided by the object detectors; and means for relaying vacancy data or information of each of the parking lots identified to a requester, wherein the means for relaying the vacancy data is configured to generate a list of parking lots in the desired geographical region to the requester and present the list with the parking lots in a rotating order so that different parking lots are listed first for different requesters.
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70. A system of identifying parking lots with vacancies in a geographical region of interest, comprising:
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means for electronically providing a database of an inventory of parking lots located in a geographical region of interest; means for identifying those parking lots within the geographical region with vacancies at a time period of interest, wherein the parking lots have object detectors that identify whether a parking space is vacant or occupied, and wherein the means for indentifying obtains vacancy data from the parking lots based on occupancy or vacancy information provided by the object detectors; and means for relaying vacancy data or information of each of the parking lots identified to a requester, wherein the system is configured to generate a list of parking lots in the desired geographical region to the requester and present the list with the parking lots in a rotating order so that different parking lots are listed first for different requesters.
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71. A system of identifying parking lots with vacancies in a geographical region of interest, comprising:
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means for electronically providing a database of an inventor of parking lots located in a geographical region of interest; means for identifying those parking lots within the geographical region with vacancies at a time period of interest, wherein the parking lots have object detectors that identify whether a parking space is vacant or occupied, and wherein the means for indentifying obtains vacancy data from the parking lots based on occupancy or vacancy information provided by the object detectors; and means for relaying vacancy data or information of each of the parking lots identified to a requester, wherein the means for relaying the vacancy data is configured to electronically generate and wirelessly provide to a mobile communications device associated with the requester a visual map display of the region of interest showing locations of the identified parking lots with relayed vacancy data and showing the parking lots with vacancies in a different manner from those without vacancies, and wherein the map display of the region of interest is configured to allow a requester to adjust a boundary about the region of interest.
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72. A parking reservation system for a parking lot comprising a plurality of individual parking spaces, comprising:
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a plurality of object detectors, at least one in communication with one or more of the parking spaces in a parking lot comprising the plurality of individual parking spaces, wherein the object detectors are configured to detect if a parking space is vacant or occupied; an electronic database of an inventory of available parking spaces in communication with the object detectors; and at least one processor in communication with the electronic database, the processor being configured to; (a) accept input regarding a request for a reserved parking space for an event specific and/or date specific need; (b) automatically reserve a parking space for an occasional use patron of the parking lot upon receipt of a payment therefor; (c) generate a confirmation of the reservation; and (d) automatically adjust the database of the inventory of available spaces based on the reservation and data from the object detectors, wherein the system is configured to automatically adjust a size of a reserved zone within a parking lot based on user-demand for an event, and provide the parking lot with a perimeter size of the reserved zone for adjusting a physical size of the reserved zone for an event-specific parking configuration.
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73. A method of reserving parking spaces in a parking lot, comprising:
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detecting whether a space is vacant or occupied in the parking lot using electronic detectors; determining whether a space is reserved but unoccupied in the parking lot based on the detecting step; obtaining an inventory of available spaces in a parking lot based on the detecting and determining steps; accepting an advance request for a reservation of a parking space from an occasional use patron; reserving a parking solace based on the accepted request for a reserved parking solace; updating the inventor of available spaces in the parking lot based on the reservation and the detecting and determining steps; electronically adjusting a size of a reserved parking zone in a parking lot based on the updating step; and calculating a perimeter size of the reserved parking zone based on the adjusting step and providing the calculated perimeter size to the parking lot for a day-specific and/or an event-specific parking configuration.
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Specification